The Last Best Days, Hotch/Rossi, NC-17 (8/21)

[innerslytherin]

Title: The Last Best Days
Author: innerslytherin and severity_softly
Artist: tli
Pairing: Hotch/Rossi
Rating: NC-17
Word count: 147,800
Summary: Futurefic--Shortly before Dave turns sixty, he is diagnosed with a grade III brain tumor. He and Aaron have to come to terms with what this means for their relationship. Eventually the team has to help Aaron say goodbye.
Notes: Heavy angst. Lots of medical detail. Character death. This fic would not exist without the extensive help, support, encouragement, and hand-holding from resolucidity, who served as our medical consultant throughout.

Master post


Chapter Eight

The weekend after Jack arrived, the team was back in town after a case, and Dave had suggested to Aaron that they throw a late birthday party for Jack. He'd promised to do the grilling and decorating if Aaron could get the team to buy presents and show up. Touched by the idea, and hopeful because of the ambition Dave was exhibiting, Aaron agreed.

They hadn't told Jack about it, just in case the team was called away again, but on the morning of the party there hadn't been any new cases, so Aaron kept Jack occupied inside while Dave put up a banner and balloons on the deck.

At eleven the doorbell rang and Aaron sent Jack to answer it.

The team had been slowly gathering outside, and when Jack got the door, they were all standing there and yelled "surprise!"

Jack's jaw dropped open, and he stared at them, taking in the presents they were carrying. "What the..?!" he exclaimed, and Aaron covered his face with his hand. God, he was growing up so fast.

"We heard you had a birthday, kid," Morgan said, grinning at him.

"Yeah, how old are you now, eighteen? Nineteen?" Emily was carrying a box that suggested, with its size, that she'd spent too much money on it.

Jack laughed. "Ten, dork," he said.

"Ah, are you going to let us in, or make us have the party on the porch?" Spencer asked.

"Oh," Jack said, and laughed again, then stood to the side to let them in. "You guys threw me a party?! A surprise party?!" he asked, looking between Dave and Aaron.

Dave grinned. "Now you're getting it," he teased. "But you're probably more interested in eating lunch than opening presents, right?"

"No!" Jack said.

"Yeah, well, we're not opening presents right away," Aaron said. "It's suspense, Jack."

Jack whined, and Garcia grinned. "Yeah. And we'll just play drinking games until then."

"Wrong kind of party," Dave said. "Don't go teaching our kid bad habits."

"What are drinking games?" Jack asked.

"Uh, we see which one of us can drink a gallon of water first, and that person gets to open the first present?" JJ suggested.

"You can actually die from that," Spencer said, putting his gift down on the coffee table. "Consuming too much water over a short period of time upsets the balance of electrolytes in the body. Over diluting sodium and potassium in the blood plasma can lead to what's called osmotic shift--"

JJ stopped Spencer with a hand on his shoulder. "It was a joke, Spencer."

"No, no, I know," he insisted. "But seriously it can--"

"We believe you, pretty boy," Derek interrupted. "But maybe it's not the best party conversation." He grinned and draped an arm around Spencer. "But if we play Trivial Pursuit or Scattergories, I'm claiming this guy as my partner."

Jack laughed. "You're silly," he told Morgan.

"Yes, he is, munchkin," Garcia said. "So do I get the first dance with the birthday boy?" she asked, then took his hand and spun him. Aaron could tell Jack was already over excited, because he just laughed instead of making some comment about girls being gross.

"No, Emily," Jack said, grinning.

Garcia gave an exaggerated gasp. "I'm wounded," she said, then ruffled his hair and smiled. "It's okay; I'll learn to love again someday."

"Why do I always get the younger men?" Emily joked, grinning at Garcia.

"Dancing? Here I thought we were playing basketball," Derek said. "I'll dance with you, sugar." He slid an arm around Garcia's shoulders and winked at the room in general.

Aaron glanced over at Dave, who was grinning. He looked a little goofy, but Aaron could tell he'd just missed the team.

"We can play basketball first!" Jack said, then looked dubiously at Spencer. He seemed to decide Spencer couldn't possibly be capable of playing, and looked back at Aaron. "You're going to play, right, Dad?" Aaron noticed that Spencer didn't look offended, but rather relieved.

"What, I get no consideration?" JJ said.

"You're a girl," Jack informed her, then bit his lip and announced, "You can be on Dad's team." JJ just snorted.

That prompted a chorus of groans and catcalls, then Garcia said, "Okay, JJ, just for that, you have to beat them so hard they cry."

Dave sidled over to Aaron, shaking his head in amusement. "We have a lot to teach our son before he gets a girlfriend," he murmured.

Aaron chuckled. "I think I prefer this stage," he said, his voice low enough that Jack wouldn't hear, but Morgan caught it and shook his head, grinning.

"You'd better not hold me back, Hotch," JJ said. "If you do, you're out. Depending on how bad you actually are, I might do better without you."

"Probably," Dave said, earning a glare from Aaron. He grinned at his lover and went to collect Spencer and Garcia. "We'll just watch from the sidelines and critique your skills," he said. "Emily, you playing or critiquing?"

"Watching," she said, and Garcia looped an arm with hers.

"We're the official cheerleaders," she said, beaming, and JJ rolled her eyes as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

"Girls," she said. She already had her 'game face' on, and Jack just stared at her.

"Let me get my pompoms," Dave said dryly, going to get chairs for Emily, Garcia, and Spencer. "I'll leave the short skirt to Spencer."

"He's got the best legs of the group," Morgan teased.

Spencer lifted his hand, looking like he was about to flip Morgan off, but then remembered Jack and dropped it again.

Dave snickered as Jack told Morgan, "Boys don't wear skirts, silly."

"Right, but Dave said..." Morgan trailed off, then shrugged. "Never mind."

"Dave was joking," Jack said.

Morgan lifted his eyebrows. "You think I was serious, little man?"

Jack stuck his chest out and lifted his chin. "Who are you callin' little?" he said, scrunching his face up.

"Are we gonna play or are you guys just gonna try to talk us to death?" JJ demanded.

"She's gonna start without us if we don't move," Emily said, laughing, and they all followed JJ outside, where Morgan and Jack paired up against JJ and Aaron.

Aaron wasn't bad necessarily. It was just that everyone else was better than him, Jack included. He didn't mind, though, and took JJ's ribbing with a grain of salt. Considering she was keeping Morgan and Jack from stomping them, he was pretty pleased, actually, and JJ and Morgan both made a point not to let Jack win, but to also not take advantage of the fact that Jack was so much shorter than the rest of them.

Dave occasionally prompted Spencer to share facts about basketball, usually when Morgan was about to take a shot, and Garcia kept cheering when JJ had the ball. Emily cheered every time Jack made a basket, so it turned into a rowdy game. Eventually Dave and Spencer got involved in some kind of conversation, from what Aaron could see--at least, the basketball facts grew further between and Dave was leaning on the picnic table towards Spencer.

Finally they called the game, since Morgan and Jack had been three baskets up for several minutes and Aaron was getting worn out. Jack high fived Morgan and cheered, but he was smiling at JJ too, seeming having earned a new respect for her. Aaron had a feeling he wouldn't be so quick to write her off next time.

Once the players had a minute to cool off, Aaron went inside and ordered pizza for everyone, and brought out cool drinks.

"Can we open presents now?" Jack asked.

Aaron laughed. "Impatient. You take after Dave."

"Hey," Dave and Jack complained at the same time. Everyone else laughed.

"I think he could open a couple presents now," Dave said, pouring himself a glass of iced tea. Aaron couldn't deny that he was glad Dave had cut back on alcohol since his diagnosis, even if he wished Dave had done it a different way.

"All right," Aaron said. "Anyone have a burning desire to let Jack open their present first?"

"Ooh, me!" Emily said, grinning at Jack. "I know he can't wait to open his new cookbook and recipe box!" Then she covered her mouth. "Oops."

"Ha ha ha," Jack said, and Aaron reflected that his son had learned sarcasm somewhere.

Jack ripped open the paper and was thrilled to find a toy detective kit with fingerprinting tools and the like. Aaron gave Emily a dry look, knowing as well as she did that Haley wouldn't be excited about it. Before Jack started fingerprinting everyone at the party, Aaron got him directed to the next present, which turned out to be a remote control motorcycle from Morgan. Garcia had provided him with a small MP3 player that was loaded with what she said were 'the best songs ever'. JJ had given him a subscription to a kids' sports magazine, and Reid's present was a computer game with math. Aaron hid a smile; Dave must have said something to Reid about Jack's math grade.

"Cool!" Jack announced when they were done with presents. He and Morgan had just started opening the motorcycle when the doorbell rang and their pizza had arrived.

The girls and Morgan all grabbed a beer from the fridge, and they fell into comfortable conversation as they ate. Aaron had ordered Jack's favorite pizza, and was amused that Jack was happily eating all the toppings, while Spencer picked every vegetable off and dumped Parmesan cheese all over it.

Morgan was watching him too, and leaned over to tap Spencer's temple. Spencer frowned and swatted at his hand as Morgan laughed and said, "All that rolling around in there, and yet you still haven't grasped basic nutrition."

"Maybe geniuses are fueled by sugar, caffeine, and pizza," Emily joked.

"Not everyone's a fitness freak," Spencer replied, making a face at Morgan.

"Freak? Aw, man, I'm hurt." Morgan shook his head. "Geez, you do a few sit-ups every day and people start calling you names."

"Psh, a few sit-ups?" Garcia said. "Honey, I've seen that tight, bl--" Aaron cleared his throat, and she bit her lips together, then glanced at Jack, before finishing, "tight stomach."

Dave snickered. "Yeah, I think calling your workout routines 'a few sit-ups' is sort of like saying Spencer is 'kind of smart'," he said.

"And kinda weird," Jack added.

Aaron frowned at him, but Spencer didn't look offended. He looked more used to it than anything. "Yeah, I get it," he said, taking another big bite of food.

Dave shook his head, grinning at Aaron. "Someday you're gonna call the wrong person weird and get into trouble," he told Jack. "So after lunch you're going to show us how the motorcycle works, right?"

"Right!" Jack said, and launched into an explanation of how cool it was and what the box said about stabilizers so it didn't need 'training wheels'. Aaron let the conversation drift around him, enjoying himself. It was rare that the team got to spend down time together, and he was grateful that they'd been able to have the party.

"All right?" said a voice next to him. Dave had moved and was holding out a glass of iced tea. He was smiling.

"Yeah," Aaron said, smiling at him. He leaned against Dave a moment later, and Dave slipped his arm around his waist. "You all right?"

"I'm great," Dave said. "Feels good to have everyone around." He squeezed Aaron gently.

"It does," Aaron murmured, then took a sip of his tea. "Think we should talk to Jack about the 'weird' thing?"

Dave chuckled. "Maybe. I don't think Spencer would argue the accuracy of the description, but sometimes tact is more important than accuracy." He glanced sideways at Aaron. "Even I know that."

Aaron laughed. "Are you sure?"

Dave grinned. "Sometimes I do."

"Mmm." Aaron glanced at the empty table, then kissed Dave briefly.

Dave hummed and stole another kiss, which prompted Jack to protest. "Ewwww, they're bein' mushy." Dave gave Aaron a wry look and, instead of letting him go, kissed him one more time. Then he stepped away, gave Jack a smile with more than a touch of smugness, and sat down.

Aaron rolled his eyes, and looked at the ground for a moment. He still wasn't quite used to being affectionate with Dave around his team, even if none of them cared.

When he looked up, Dave's expression said he knew very well that Aaron still embarrassed easily. "Get used to it, kiddo," Dave said easily. "And don't think we'll forget this when you get yourself a girlfriend. Or boyfriend," he amended after a moment.

Jack scrunched his nose. "Eww."

"At what age do they stop sounding like a broken record?" Spencer asked.

Aaron shook his head and smiled. "Thirty."

Spencer's eyebrows went up. "You met me when I was twenty-three," he pointed out.

Dave chuckled. "Good point."

Aaron's smile melted into a grin. "Your timeline of development doesn't exactly mirror that of most men."

"I dunno, he was kind of a broken record about some things for a while," Morgan teased. "But it's all good, I've got the physics of Star Wars almost memorized by now." Spencer smacked him, which made Dave laugh.

"You never know," Aaron said. "If you manage to live another thousand years or so, that could come in handy."

"What are you even talking about?" Jack said, squinting at them.

Dave snorted. "Never mind," he said. "So you gonna show us how this motorcycle of yours works?"

"Yeah!" Jack grabbed Morgan's arm and tugged him over to the box, where they finished unpacking the toy. They spent some time learning by trial and error how to run it, then they had it zooming all around the patio. Derek kept trying to sneak it up behind Spencer and crash into his feet, which made Jack start running into everyone until Aaron finally put a stop to it. After a while Jack offered to let Spencer have a turn playing with it.

They brought out the cake after that, when Spencer started to explain the mechanics of real life motorcycles and Jack started looking bored. The team sang a rousing round of happy birthday, and Jack manage to almost blow out all his candles in one go.

The cake was almost gone when they finished eating it, and Aaron had a suspicion that Spencer had helped with that as much as Jack had.

Dave made sure Jack thanked everyone again for his presents, and then the party started breaking up when JJ said she had to go pick up Henry at her parents' house. Garcia and Emily left shortly after that, and finally Jack let Morgan go. Spencer had helped them clean up, but when Morgan said he was ready to go, Dave shooed Spencer out the door too.

Jack ran back out to the yard to play with his new motorcycle, and Aaron and Dave spent some time rinsing dishes and putting them in the dishwasher, not really saying anything. Aaron was just enjoying the quiet companionship, but then their relationship had always been grounded in that.

Aaron wrapped his arms around Dave from behind when they were done and nosed under his hair. "Hi," he murmured.

"Hi," Dave said, leaning back lightly. "This was fun." He turned his head for a kiss.

"Mmm, yes it was," Aaron said. "You still feeling all right?"

"I feel great." Dave smiled at him. "We might have to lock Jack out of the house for a while and have some fun."

Aaron laughed. "If only," he said, grinning.

Dave grinned and turned to wrap his arms around Aaron. "I love you," he murmured. "Days like today remind me how lucky I am."

"You're not the only one," Aaron said, and kissed Dave, deepening it after a moment. God, today had been a good day.

He felt Dave's fingers slide into his hair as they kissed, and then Dave was pulling him closer, letting their groins rub together. Dave groaned faintly.

"Bad idea," Aaron whispered, but he didn't stop kissing Dave. "Maybe Jack will go to bed early."

Dave chuckled. "Maybe we'll just send him to bed early." He trailed his lips along Aaron's jaw. "We could tell him we're going to be mushy in front of him until he goes to bed."

"Not going for father of the year award this year?" Aaron said, grinning and tilting his chin up to let Dave continue.

"Don't think I'll ever beat you out for that one." Dave nipped lightly, then pulled away as the back door slammed open.

"Dad! Dave! Check out what I can do!"

They were still close enough that Jack looked suspiciously between them for a moment. "What's that?" Aaron asked, smiling.

Jack wrinkled his nose, then bounced in place. "Come look!" he ordered, and led them back outside, where he made his remote control motorcycle do a wheelie. Dave and Aaron applauded obediently.

"Did Morgan teach you that?" Aaron asked.

"No," Jack said proudly.

"Are you going to teach me?"

Jack laughed. "You don't play with motorcycles, Dad!"

"Hey, it's never too late to learn," Dave said. "Go on, Jack, I want to watch." He settled down in a chair again, smiling faintly.

***

Dave knew he was going to be in trouble when Aaron got home from work. It was why he was currently elbow-deep in Italian food from the best of his mama's recipes, and why he had a very good bottle of wine breathing. He'd ignored four calls from Aaron since getting out of the doctor's office three hours ago.

He knew Aaron was going to be annoyed with him...but he wanted to share his news in person.

The door opening and closing too quickly wasn't unexpected, nor the tossing of Aaron's keys down a little more forcefully than necessary. "David," Aaron called.

Ah, yes. The full first name. Aaron really was annoyed.

"David," Aaron said again, as he walked in to the kitchen. He glanced around, then gave Dave an angry look, obviously ignoring the food and wine. "Why haven't you called me? I've been worried all day."

Dave bit back a grin and didn't turn around. Instead he poured Aaron a glass of wine and carried it over to him. "Oops. Sometimes I forget to turn my phone back on after I'm in the clinic." He leaned in for a kiss.

Aaron was still frowning, but he took the glass. "Oops?" He took a long drink, then frowned thoughtfully at the glass. A moment later, he looked back at Dave, the frown fading a little. "Tell me this is good news."

Dave released the grin. "The MRI was clear. I have another in two months to keep an eye on things."

A smile broke across Aaron's face, and he put his glass aside in favor of wrapping his arms around Dave and kissing him hungrily. One hand slid into Dave's hair, while the other slid up under Dave's shirt. "God, I could make love to you right here, right now," he murmured.

"Oh, I get healthy and suddenly you want sex, huh?" Dave teased, thrilled by Aaron's reaction. He kissed Aaron again, but teasingly, inviting him to be more assertive.

"I always want you," Aaron breathed, his fingers tightening in Dave's hair. Then he walked them back and pressed Dave to the counter, trailing his lips down Dave's neck. "Except for when you leave me hanging all day after you've gone to the doctor." He pulled back and looked at Dave. "You could have been sitting here drinking yourself into a stupor over bad results, for all I knew. I almost left work early."

"I would've been okay with that," Dave gasped, clutching at Aaron's shoulders. "Nnnh, Aaron..." He kissed Aaron quickly. "I wanted to tell you in person."

"I know," Aaron said, then sighed. "Damn it, Dave." He kissed Dave hard, and tugged up on Dave's shirt, tossing it across the room once it was off. "Is there anything that's going to catch on fire if we don't pay attention to anything but each other for a little while?"

Dave hummed. "Just me." He grinned at Aaron and waggled his eyebrows, sliding a hand up Aaron's abdomen.

Aaron rolled his eyes, but he was tugging off his own shirt anyway. "I love you," he whispered, stroking his hand down Dave's chest. He pressed against Dave, his desire evident. "So much."

"Love you too," Dave managed, sliding his palms across Aaron's skin. "God, I want you so much, Aaron." He kissed him hungrily, more pleased than ever at his lover's reaction to the good news.

Aaron just groaned in reply, his hand sliding down to grip Dave's ass. His lips moved down over Dave's neck as he squeezed, and then he was working them both out of their pants. Dave moved quickly to help him, his hands eager. There hadn't been anything wrong with their lovemaking during his treatment, but it certainly hadn't had this heated rush to it in a long time. Dave pressed against Aaron, panting with desire.

"Floor?" Aaron whispered. "Or up on the counter?"

Lust burned through Dave at the terse question, and he groaned. "Counter," he said after a bare moment's hesitation. Six years ago when they'd finally gotten their acts together and quit dancing around the idea of a romantic and physical involvement, Aaron had pushed him against a counter. Dave had had a fondness for counter sex ever since, despite the innate lack of hygiene that went along with it.

"Up," Aaron ordered quietly, and Dave pushed himself up to sit on the counter, feeling breathless. Aaron leaned over him, kissing and licking over his collar bones, and down to a nipple. "God, you're going to be okay," he breathed, then bit down lightly, as his fingers curled around Dave's cock.

Dave just managed an incoherent noise as he dug his nails lightly into Aaron's back. He loved it when Aaron let his emotions take over. It was incredibly arousing. He slid a leg around Aaron's waist and tried not to twitch too much under Aaron's touch.


"Ungh," Aaron managed, then sucked hard just along Dave's ribs, hard enough to leave a mark. Aaron's thumb ran over the head of Dave's cock, and then his strokes grew firm and hard, moving in a way Aaron knew Dave loved.

Groaning, Dave dropped one hand to clutch the edge of the counter. He tensed and leaned his head back against the cabinet with a thunk. "Aaron," he panted, his other hand scratching lightly up Aaron's back.

Aaron hummed a pleased noise, then licked over the head of Dave's cock. A moment later he chuckled. "Spit or olive oil?" he asked, and Dave couldn't tell if he was kidding. Of course, that was when Aaron slid his lips over Dave's cock and he couldn't focus anyway.

"Fuck!" Dave gasped, and buried his free hand in Aaron's hair. He loved the short-cropped way Aaron had worn his hair these last few years. "God, Aaron, yes," he breathed, letting his hand ride on top of Aaron's head as it bobbed.

He jerked in pleasure when Aaron moaned, then Aaron pulled away. "I'll assume no answer means spit is sufficient," he said, then spit into his hand and took Dave into his mouth again. Aaron's finger was slick and questing at Dave's entrance a moment later, pressing inside in a sure and steady way, though not too fast, then his finger crooked inside Dave just right.

"Yes!" Dave repeated, jerking at the rush of pleasure that sent through him. He panted and scratched lightly at Aaron's scalp. "So good," he gasped.

Aaron slid another finger inside, rubbing at Dave's prostate gently and sucking harder until Dave was breathing hard. Then he pulled back and trailed his lips up Dave's body to kiss him heatedly. "Want to fuck you," he said, his voice husky.

"God, yes," Dave agreed, thrilling at the sound of Aaron's voice. "Want you inside me. Please, Aaron."

Aaron spit again, then slicked himself. He didn't waste any time sliding into Dave, and Dave gasped, arching and pulling Aaron deeper with his leg. Aaron paused, mouthing along Dave's jaw, his breath ragged. "Going to be okay," he whispered, then sucked at Dave's earlobe. "God."

Dave groaned and raked his nails lightly down Aaron's back. "More," he ordered, clutching at Aaron.

Aaron thrust, and Dave's head thumped the cabinet again, which made Aaron laugh quietly. "Your brain is clear, but I'm going to give you a concussion," he said, grinning, then slid a hand into Dave's hair, between his head and the cabinet and thrust again, harder, as he leaned in and kissed Dave.

"Nnnnh." Dave arched, enjoying the rush of pleasure through his body as Aaron moved against him. "Be fun explaining that to the doctor," he mumbled, and kissed Aaron.

Aaron hummed an amused noise, then bit down on Dave's neck, slowly moving into a steady rhythm. "You're so gorgeous," he whispered. "All mine." His fingers slid down to Dave's cock and started to stroke.

"Entirely," Dave agreed breathlessly. He slid a hand up Aaron's chest and stroked the other through his hair. "More," he urged. He knew it wouldn't take him long tonight. He loved how aggressive Aaron could be when the mood struck him.

Aaron obeyed readily, sliding his free hand down to pull Dave closer to the edge of the counter. Then he picked up his pace, his tongue moving along Dave's collar bone. He groaned against Dave's skin--almost a growl--and Dave shuddered with pleasure, his hand sliding around to clutch at Aaron's back as Aaron's movements started to shake him again.

Dave tightened his leg around Aaron's hips and let his nails dig in just a little. "Fuck, yes," he gasped, watching Aaron hungrily. Desire and pleasure were rushing through him, both at the way Aaron moved and the heat in Aaron's gaze when he glanced up at him.

"So good," Aaron panted, his hand moving faster in time with his thrusts. Aaron wasn't going to last long either, but it didn't matter. This moment was what mattered, celebrating that they were both still very much healthy and together.

Dave ran his palms over Aaron's skin and through his hair, watching Aaron as his movements grew more ragged and less controlled. Dave could feel himself grinning at Aaron and wondered vaguely if he looked like an idiot, but he thought Aaron would understand. He felt so fucking good that he couldn't stop grinning. As he watched, Aaron's mouth dropped open a little and his shoulders tensed. Dave raked his nails down Aaron's back and was rewarded with a loud groan. A moment later he felt the flood of heat inside him as Aaron came. With a few short, fast strokes of Aaron's hand, Dave followed.

Aaron collapsed forward against him when they were spent, panting hard against Dave's neck. "God," he breathed, nosing at Dave's jaw. "Mmm, God, I love you."

Dave lifted a hand to pet Aaron's hair. "I love you too," he whispered. "I need you."

"I forgive you for not calling me back," Aaron murmured, a lazy smile in his voice.

"Oh, good." Dave kissed him and pulled back, glancing down. "I'm going to have to Lysol this counter," Dave muttered, but he was smiling. He brushed his lips against Aaron's. "I love it when you're like that," he said, stroking a finger along Aaron's jaw.

"Couldn't help it," Aaron murmured. He kissed Dave slowly. "Good thing you cooked before you gave me the news, though."

Dave snorted and wrapped his arms more tightly around Aaron. "I'm going to have to reheat our supper too," he said.

"It was worth it," Aaron said, smiling.

"Yeah, it was." Dave kissed him softly. "I love you, Aaron. So much."

"Love you too," Aaron whispered. His fingers trailed idly up Dave's back, and he kissed Dave again. "I'm so ridiculously happy," he said, smiling.

Dave was too, but he just said, "I'm so ridiculously naked." He grinned at Aaron.

Aaron laughed and slid his hand down to squeeze Dave's ass. "What did you think I was happy about?" he teased.

Dave snickered and nudged Aaron back a little so he could slide down off the counter. As soon as he did, he wrapped his arms around Aaron again and kissed his jaw. "I feel free," he whispered. "I feel like a huge weight has lifted off my back."

"Mmm," Aaron hummed, his fingers stroking tenderly through Dave's hair. He nuzzled Dave's cheek. "Me too." Then he pulled back and grinned. "I expect you to be back at work next week, you know." He kissed Dave. "Hasn't been the same without you."

"Yes, sir," Dave said. He grinned back and stroked a hand down Aaron's cheek. "I want to be back at work. Medical leave is boring."

"Spencer's going to be thrilled," Aaron said. "You wouldn't believe how mopey he's been."

Dave snorted. "He's got Derek there. He ought to be fine." He couldn't help feeling good, though, that they had missed him. He kissed Aaron again, then gave him a little push. "Let me get cleaned up so we can eat."

Aaron sighed and stepped back, then started pulling on his clothes while Dave cleaned himself up. As soon as Dave was done wiping his belly, Aaron threw his shirt at his head while Dave's back was turned.

Dave let out a grunt of surprise and laughed. Aaron was happy. It made Dave want to do nothing but kiss him all night. He turned and gave Aaron a mock glare.

Aaron just grinned, and Dave couldn't hold the expression for very long. "You don't fool me, Rossi," Aaron said, tugging on his pants as Dave pulled his shirt over his head. Aaron threw Dave's pants at him too while Dave's head was covered in his shirt.

"Now, look, pal," Dave began, pulling his shirt down, and Aaron hit him in the face with his boxers. Spluttering, Dave advanced on him with a threatening look. "I know your ticklish spots."

"Oh yeah?" Aaron said, his eyes flicking down and back up. "And all your sensitive bits are completely exposed. I think I'd win."

Dave's eyes widened. "You wouldn't hurt those. You have uses for them." He stopped and tugged on his boxers quickly, anyway.

Aaron laughed softly, then wrapped his arms around Dave and kissed him. "Mmm," he hummed, then pulled away to murmur, "Worked up an appetite."

"I'm glad, because I cooked a lot." Dave grinned at him. "God, I love you so much, Aaron. It does my heart good to see you like this."

"Stay healthy and I'll never stop being happy," Aaron said, kissing Dave again. "I could kiss you all night."

"Mmm, maybe I should just put the food in the fridge so you can do that," Dave murmured, running his fingers through Aaron's hair. He laughed quietly. "Good thing Jack had to go home for camp, or we wouldn't have been able to celebrate like this at all." He'd loved having Jack with them for a few weeks, but he had to admit it was nice to have their house all to themselves again.

Aaron laughed. "I'm all for getting naked in the kitchen as often as possible," he teased. "Maybe we should have dinner and wine in bed."

"Mmm, that's a nice idea," Dave agreed. "You take the wine back there and I'll start reheating the food." He stole one last kiss, then went to disinfect the counter before doing anything else.


***


Aaron finished delivering the profile and glanced over at his lover. Dave had been a little more subdued on this case than he used to be, and he'd been going back to the hotel earlier than he used to. But by and large, it was like old times. Aaron had Dave and Spencer working together, which had earned him a look of gratitude from both of them when he first suggested it.

"Don't forget," Dave said to the assembled police officers. "When you find this man, he will respond best if you treat him with respect. He wants affirmation, particularly from someone in authority." He looked at the detective in charge of the case, who nodded and dismissed everyone.

As soon as they left, Spencer involved Dave in an explanation of something he'd discovered in the timeline. Spencer had been more long-winded with Dave than usual, and as good as it was for them to get to work together again, Aaron could tell Dave was getting a little overwhelmed. He didn't appear to have the heart at the moment to tell Spencer to shut up, though.

"Hey, Spence, could you come give me a hand with this map?" Morgan called. Aaron glanced over at him, and to his surprise, Morgan gave him a brief grin. It warmed Aaron to think that Morgan was keeping an eye on Dave too. Spencer went over and peered at the map, then started talking to Morgan.

"I could really use a cup of coffee," Dave muttered, but he grinned faintly at Aaron.

Aaron smiled and touched Dave's elbow, guiding him toward the coffee pot. "I'll join you," he said, then when they got a few feet away, he lowered his voice and said, "Told you he'd be happy."

Dave snorted. "You weren't kidding." His grin strengthened. "It feels incredible to be back at work." He studied Aaron for a moment. "Not that I'm complaining, but you're being a little more, ah, obvious than usual." He glanced down between them, drawing Aaron's attention to the fact that he was standing closer than he usually did.

"I don't have a problem with being close to anyone else on the team," Aaron pointed out. Only he knew it was only partly true. He did try to keep from crossing boundaries with the women, and he had always stayed away from being too close to Dave since they'd been together, just to be as neutral as possible. Right now, however, he didn't care.

"I did say I wasn't complaining," Dave pointed out. He added a packet of sugar to his coffee and leaned in a little. "Tell the truth," he teased quietly. "You're happy I'm back too, aren't you?"

"I haven't already told you that enough yet?" Aaron asked. "I missed the pain in my ass once it was gone."

Dave laughed. "It's just good to hear how much you appreciate me."

"Hey, Rossi, Hotch, look at this," Morgan called, interrupting their moment of reprieve. "Reid's found a connection between the dump site and the abduction site."

They headed over to look, and it wasn't long before they were heading out into the field again, Dave with Spencer, and Aaron with Morgan and Emily, who didn't find anything new at the abduction site.

Dave and Spencer, however, with the help of Spencer's new insight, quickly pieced together the meaning of the symbol the unsub had drawn on the pavement where the body was dumped.

After that it was a matter of getting Garcia to run some searches for them, and they soon had it narrowed down to someone working at a customer service call center. There were six people that fit the evidence they had, so Aaron sent Morgan and Emily to the call center with the profile.

It had been a close call. When the unsub realized what was happening, he held his supervisor at gunpoint. Morgan managed to talk him down while Emily covered him, stroking his ego until the unsub calmed enough to let down his guard.

All the same, it had ended with no further loss of life, and Aaron couldn't help but be grateful that Dave had been so important to helping Spencer pull things together. Dave sat with Spencer for much of the flight back to Virginia, but eventually he came over and joined Aaron on the couch, holding out a cup of tea for Aaron.

"Thank you," Aaron said, taking a sip. Dave knew exactly how he took it. That was nothing new, but it still made Aaron feel good.

"They did good work," Dave said, nodding at the rest of the team. He rested his hand on Aaron's knee, the gesture not obvious but warming. "I'm glad to be part of this again."

"I'm glad you are too," Aaron said. Everyone else on the jet was wrapped up in their own things, so Aaron covered Dave's hand with his own.

Smiling, Dave turned his hand and laced their fingers together. "I'm proud to be with you, Aaron," he said quietly. "I feel so good right now. So amazingly blessed."

"Me too," Aaron said. A smile flickered across his face. "If you had told me this was going to happen on your first case back, I would have never believed it."

"What was going to happen?" Dave asked.

"Us," Aaron said. "You getting so close to the team. Everything."

"Hmm." Dave leaned back in his seat and smiled at Aaron. "I was a little scared of Spencer when I first met him," he admitted. "And I definitely didn't understand the team dynamics. But I'm glad I got over myself enough to listen to you and learn from you."

Aaron snorted. "Morgan actually asked me the other day when 'Mom' was coming back. I can only assume he meant you."

Dave scowled. "Mom?" he asked in mock-outrage. "I think you're the mom."

Aaron lifted his eyebrows. "And why is that?"

"You nurture the team. In a motherly fashion." Dave glanced at him. "And I'm grouchy and gruff, which is clearly father-mode."

"I'm also the one that follows and implements the rules," Aaron said. "And hands out spankings when necessary." He glanced around the cabin, making sure no one was listening. "You've got the quicker temper when it comes to protecting them."

Dave raised his eyebrows. "I may have a quicker temper, but you're scarier," he countered. "And you're more touchy-feely than I am. Mom."

Aaron snorted. "Dads are scarier." His smile tried to slip, but then he just lowered his voice. "And you're plenty touchy-feely."

"Aaron," Dave said, and he was obviously trying to sound scandalized, but he started snickering and just shook his head. "I don't know how I had to be the mom," he grumbled, still laughing.

"If the oven mitts fit," Aaron said.

"Oh, I'm the mom because I cook?" Dave nudged Aaron, then stifled a laugh when Morgan glanced over at them. Morgan grinned at the way they were both smiling, then turned his attention back to whatever Spencer was saying.

"You clean more than I do, too," Aaron pointed out, grinning too.

Dave sighed. "I suppose wanting to play matchmaker means I'm the mom too," he grumbled.

Aaron's eyebrows lifted. "Matchmaker?"

Dave shrugged. "I want to see Spencer settled," he admitted.

"With who?" Aaron asked, watching Dave.

Dave raised an eyebrow, then cut his eyes towards Morgan.

It took a moment to click, then Aaron said, "Never going to happen." He rolled his eyes and settled back in his seat.

Dave sighed. "Probably not. Spencer's too oblivious and Derek's too used to thinking of himself as a ladies' man."

Aaron gave Dave a flat look, and whispered, "Spencer would tell you himself that, statistically speaking, it's highly unlikely that all four of us swing that way."

Dave shrugged. "True, but wasn't it forty-some percent of all men had had some experience with both sexes, according to Kinsey?" He grinned. "Anyway, no one else on the team seems to get Spencer as much as Derek does, and Spencer's too good for just anyone." He yawned and shifted so their shoulders touched. "And you know damn well I never fell for any man but you."

"That's mutual, but that doesn't mean you should push Spencer and Morgan into bed together." Aaron was smiling, though, his voice barely above a whisper. "Oh, you are definitely the mom. Wanting to see all your kids settle down, get married... Maybe they'll adopt kids one day."

Dave snorted but didn't actually argue. He glanced sideways at Aaron and then sighed, smiling faintly.

It was getting late when the team got home, but Morgan suggested drinks at the Auld Dubliner, since they would have the next day off. Dave grinned and dragged Aaron along when he would have bowed out, and they ended up having a good time, even if JJ was still the best darts player on the team.

Comments

[innerslytherin]

Yeah, I think JJ taught Jack a lesson about overlooking her. ;) I hope your English Exam goes well. I'm glad you've enjoyed this so far!

[severity-softly.livejournal.com]

Glad you like it so far!

[severity-softly.livejournal.com]

Glad you're enjoying it!

[thelana.livejournal.com]

The Morgan/Reid shipper in me definitely squeed at this chapter. But I've been noticing their interaction in this fic for a while, but chalked it up to "everybody is gay" fic being unlikely.

I loved basketball champ JJ :)

I also liked the addressing of the PDA. I definitely noticed it in the fic and for lack of a better word it felt kind of "unamerican" to me, at least based on the real life americans I have met who all were rather touchy on the subject even though it was on heterosexual PDA. I generally chalked it up to a lot of time having passed and Hotch having grown used to it, but it did feel unusual to me at times.

[thelana.livejournal.com]

BTW, feels sooooo right to have them back at the BAU :)

[innerslytherin]

*G* One of us in this writing partnership is a bigger fan of Morgan/Reid than the other. ;) We'll just say that Morgan and Reid are very close. :D

Aaron definitely isn't a man who's comfortable with any sort of participation in PDA. Dave, of course, is an expressive Italian, and he's not so shy. But I think they definitely kept PDA to a minimum before Dave got sick.

[severity-softly.livejournal.com]

*sigh* You can chalk up the Morgan/Reid to my other half. She tries to sneak them into every damn fic we write. :P

As for the PDA, she pretty much addressed that. lol

Thanks!

[thelana.livejournal.com]

Hey I sympathize. As you can see via my recs in my journal, for the later chapters of this, I had to pretty much alternate between a chapter here and a snuggly Morgan/Reid just for balance (of course I would have loved to alternative sad Hotch/Rossi with fluffy Hotch/Rossi, but alas there isn't that much fic on them and especially not that much fic that I haven't read yet. [though I felt very tempted to throw myself at iscaris' feet and beg her for a fluffy sequel to her recent post 5x01 piece. Very tempted ;D])