O Captain My Captain (3/3), Hotch/Garcia, NC-17

[innerslytherin]

Title O Captain, My Captain (3/3)
Authors innerslytherin and severity_softly
Pairing: Hotch/Garcia
WC: ~21,400
Rating: NC-17
Summary: After the arson case in Indiana, Penelope decides that her adored boss needs to learn to relax a little, and she's just the woman to help.  For his part, Aaron is surprised at how relieved he is that Kevin is out of the picture, even if he isn't sure what to do about it.
Note: Thanks to resolucidity for the beta!  Spoilers for "House on Fire" and set during Season Four.

Part 1
Part 2



Epilogue: Six months later
 
 
It was impossible for Aaron to miss the annoyance on his ex-wife's face when Jack wriggled out of her arms and ran across the yard shouting, "Penny Penny PENNY!"  He jumped into her outstretched arms and knocked her over; fortunately she was looking sexy in a pair of faded jeans and one of Aaron's old shirts, instead of the skirts she usually wore.  Aaron grinned as his son and his girlfriend wrestled around in the grass.
 
When Haley reached him, he turned his smile on her.  "Thanks for switching us weekends."  Penelope loved Halloween as much as Reid did, and they were planning to take Jack out trick-or-treating while Sean and Aaron stayed home to pass out candy.  Aaron had no objection to Halloween, but he was perfectly happy to let the two of them herd his energetic son from door to door.
 
"Sure.  You're bringing him back the evening of your birthday?"  Haley gave Sean an absent wave.
 
Aaron nodded.
 
"Great.  See you then."  She left without another word, and without another glance at Penelope.
 
Aaron made his way over to where his brother was helping Penelope to her feet.  He knew Haley thought he must have been cheating on her, but he didn't care any more.  He'd done his best as her husband, and he knew it probably made her feel better to view him as being just as guilty as she was in the break-up of their marriage.  And he was, just not in the way she thought.
 
It didn't matter.  That was the past.
 
Jack tugged Penelope's hand, and she picked him up.  Truthfully, he was getting a bit big to be carried all the time.  Penelope seemed to enjoy it, though, and Jack liked playing with the colored streaks and various decorations in her hair.

"Do we get to ride in Esther?" Jack exclaimed as Penelope and Sean walked over.

"You bet your sweet cheeks we do," she said, and he cheered and kissed her cheek.

Sean was laughing, his arm around Penelope.  "Haley's just as perky as ever," he said.  "Has she smiled in the last decade?"  Aaron frowned at Sean and Sean held up his hands.  "Maybe she just doesn't like me."

Penelope snorted.  "Oh, well, I can't understand why."

Aaron shook his head.  "Hey, no flirting with my brother," he teased.  "Jack will start wondering which of us you're dating."
 
"I know, it's Daddy!" Jack interjected, making them laugh.
 
"You ready to get into your costume?" Sean asked, grinning at Jack.
 
"Yes!" Jack squealed, and Penelope winced, but then just laughed quietly.  "I'm going to be a spaceman!  And I'm gonna wear a cape, and fight crime!"

Penelope started laughing a little louder.  "I thought you were going to be Frankenstein and be my date.  I've got my wig all ready!"

Jack giggled.  "I can be a spaceman Frankenstein!  With a cowboy hat!"

"Wow.  Multiple personalities," she said, grinning.

"It's Dave's fault for buying him the cowboy hat," Aaron said.  "Did you ask Uncle Sean what he's dressing up as?"
 
"What are you dressing as, Uncle Sean?" Jack asked, much louder than necessary.

Sean grinned.  "I'm gonna be a rock star."
 
Penelope glanced over and gave Sean a flirty look.  "How is that a costume?"

"It involves leather pants," Sean said, waggling his eyebrows.

"Okay, that's enough," Aaron said, looping an arm around Sean's neck and pulling him away from Penelope in a mock headlock.
 
Penelope laughed.  "Well, you know, if you'd buy yourself some leather pants, this wouldn't be an issue," she told Aaron.

"I am not getting leather pants," Aaron called over his shoulder, dragging Sean towards the house.
 
"You ought to," Sean muttered.  "Clearly she'd be very into that."
 
Aaron nudged him.
 
"Oh, honey, he couldn't keep up with everything I'm into," Penelope said, but her gaze on Aaron was warm.

"What are you talking about?" Jack asked.

"Drag racing," Penelope said, without any hesitation.

"What's drag racing?"

"When you drive your car really fast," she said.

"Do we get to drag race in Esther?!" Jack yelled, bouncing.

"No," Penelope said, grinning.  "But Uncle Sean said we could go in his car."

Aaron sighed.  "You two are corrupting my son," he complained, but he couldn't help loving that Penelope and Jack liked each other so much.  Not to mention the fact that Sean was coming to visit a little more often now that Aaron was 'not as uptight as he used to be'.  Aaron had a feeling his brother had a crush on Penelope, but he could deal with that for now.
 
"Somebody has to," Penelope said.

"C'we make mud pies again?" Jack asked.

"Mud pies?" he asked, laughing, and Penelope shot him a look.

"Hush," she said to Sean, then looked back at Jack.  "Jack, baby, it's not raining, and Daddy's home."

"Oh," Jack said, his eyes widening.  "Oh yeah."  He pressed his finger to his lips and gave Penelope a conspiring look.  "Shh."

Aaron gave Penelope a look that said, "you're busted", but he just shook his head.  "You're going trick-or-treating, remember?" he said to Jack, and glanced at Penelope.  "Have you heard from Spencer?"
 
"Uncle Spencer?  Is Uncle Spencer coming too?"
 
"Remember what I told you?"  Aaron let go of Sean and went to ruffle Jack's hair.  "Uncle Spencer and Penelope are going to take you trick-or-treating."
 
Jack cheered as if it was the first time he'd heard it, and Penelope laughed.  She set him down gently, then sat on the couch, where he climbed back into her lap.  Aaron barely got any attention sometimes when she was around, but he couldn't help but love how happy Penelope made Jack.

"You have to help me dress Spencer up, okay?" she said.

"Okay," Jack said.  "Can we ride in Shirley?"

Her eyebrows lifted.  "Shirley?"

"Spencer's car!" Jack exclaimed, and when Penelope just looked at him, he giggled.  "I told Spencer it had to have a name so it could be best friends with Esther, and he said no, so I gave it one anyway."

"You gave Spencer's car a girl's name?" Aaron said, hiding a smile.  "What if it's a boy?"
 
"No, it's a girl!  It's all pretty and girly."
 
"Just like Spencer," Sean muttered, and Aaron smacked him on the shoulder.
 
"Shh. Children repeat things," Aaron muttered back.  Thankfully, Jack was chattering to Penelope about how the cars ought to park next to each other all the time.
 
"But what if they don't like each other?" Penelope said.

"Of course they'll like each other," Jack said.  "They're old, like Daddy!"

"Hey," Aaron protested, scowling when Penelope and Sean burst out laughing.
 
"You know, calling Daddy old might just be call for tickling," Penelope threatened, and Jack shrieked happily and jumped down, running out of the room.  Penelope looked back at Sean.  "You've been drafted.  Go get 'im, tickle soldier."

Sean obediently let out a roar and headed out of the room after Jack.  Aaron shook his head, smiling.  "That was subtle," he murmured, going over to kiss her softly.
 
"Mmm," she hummed against his lips.  "Subtlety is not one of my strong points, mon cher."  She shifted to get on the couch backwards, so she could face him on her knees, then kissed him again, her hands sliding around to give his ass a firm grope.

"You're going to get us in trouble," he whispered against her lips.  All the same, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her more enthusiastically.
 
"You love it," she accused, and squeezed again, and just then the doorbell rang.

"SPENCER!" Jack screamed from the other room, and Penelope whimpered and pulled away.  When Sean came in behind Jack, who made a beeline for the door, he looked between them, smirking.

Aaron just sighed and pulled Penelope to her feet, then draped an arm around her shoulders.  Spencer came in, looking awkward but happy the way he usually did around Jack.  Aaron had found his personal life blending more with the team after he and Penelope got together.  She said it was because the team was their family, and he couldn't think of any better reason.  It didn't really matter; it made him happy.
 
"Hi," Spencer said to Jack.  He was carrying a bag that undoubtedly held costumes and various other Halloween items, and Jack was shouting happily at him.  Spencer obviously had no idea that his car had been named Shirley, but was nodding and smiling anyway.

Penelope sighed dramatically.  "I get no love once Reid shows up."

Aaron glanced at her, his look accusing.  "Now you know how I feel."

She laughed and kissed him, which still made his cheeks heat when they weren't alone.
 
"All right, you three get in your costumes so I can take pictures before you go," Aaron instructed.  He was grateful that Spencer always just politely ignored the kissing, even if Sean was leering at him.
 
Penelope herded Jack and Spencer out of the room, and Sean sprawled on the couch.  "Have I mentioned how much I love your girlfriend?"

"Not in the last twenty minutes," Aaron replied.  He checked the batteries on the camera and snapped a shot of Sean looking comfortable.

"She's good for you.  You're not an asshole when she's around."

Aaron frowned at him, but he knew Sean only partly meant it.  They'd been learning to get along well before he and Penelope got together, but she had made a real effort to pull Aaron's brother into their lives, inviting Sean down for the Fourth of July cookout and random weekends with Jack.

Weekends-Without-Jack were reserved for things like Aaron being tied to the bed with a feather boa, but he was getting used to that, too.

It wasn't too much later that Penelope and Jack came downstairs, followed by Spencer.  Jack seemed to have vetoed the idea of being Frankenstein and had decided cowboy was good enough.  Penelope and Jack had done a great job of wrapping Spencer in gauze from head to toe, and he was beaming almost as widely as Jack from what Aaron could see of his face through his mummy get up.

Aaron had to wonder how Penelope's massive Bride of Frankenstein wig was even staying on, but was cut short in his musings when Jack walked over and held something up for him.  "Penny says you have to wear these," he said, opening his hands to reveal plastic bolts.

"You're making me be Frankenstein's monster?" Aaron asked, taking them.  He looked from Penelope to Spencer and back down at his son.  "I'm not even going."

"You have to!" Jack insisted.

Aaron held one up, glancing at Penelope.  "How do I make them stick?"

Penelope grinned.  "You just need one of your suits and something to stuff in the shoulders.  And no tie, of course.  If we put those on first, you'll just knock them off."

"I really don't need to dress up," Aaron said, brandishing the camera.  "I'm just here to take pictures."  He snapped a few of Jack hamming it up.

She sighed.  "Fine, but I think the kids you're handing candy out to would like it."  She pursed her lips at him, but didn't push it.  She looked down at Jack, then smiled again.  "We need a group picture!"

Aaron gave her a look, but he knew he was going to end up giving in.  He always did.  "Okay, Bride of Frankenstein, scoot in close to the mummy, but no snuggling."  He smiled faintly at the look on...well, what he could see of Spencer's face.  There was no way he was leaving Spencer out of the pictures.

Neither was Penelope, because when Spencer tried to slip away she grabbed him.  "Not so fast, my bandaged buddy."

"Garcia, I--"

"I nothing," she said, and squished him against her.  She looked at Aaron.  "And I can snuggle Spencer Platonically if I want."

Jack scrunched his nose.  "What's paten-on-ly?"

Aaron glared at Penelope, then sighed.  "If I dress up, will you snuggle me instead?"

Sean snorted and leaned down towards Jack.  "Platonically means snuggling someone like they're from Pluto.  Which Spencer is."

Jack giggled.

Garcia frowned, then reached over and thwapped Sean hard across the back of the head.

"Ow!" he complained, but she just looked at Jack.

"Platonically means like friends."

Spencer just held his hands up in mock surrender.  "I don't really need to be snuggled by anyone."

Aaron laughed and took some pictures, then Penelope waved for him to come get in the pictures.

"That thing has a timer, doesn't it?" she said.  "Get in here with us."

"This is the weirdest family picture ever," Sean said, but he picked up Jack and stood next to Spencer.  Aaron got between Penelope and Spencer, putting an arm around Spencer's shoulders and then smiling as Penelope snuggled up against him.

"Best family picture of all family pictures, rock star stud brother of my favorite suit-clad man," Penelope corrected.

Aaron made a face at her, but couldn't help but smile at the way she was looking at him when he looked down at her.

"It'll blink three times, then flash," he told them quickly, and they all looked at the camera.

"Best family picture ever," she repeated to Aaron softly, and just before the flash went off, she kissed his cheek.

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