Anonymous Caretakers - Aaron Hotchner

10. Birthday Boy

Aaron woke up by his phone, which was continuously ringing.

[Sam:] Ok but guess what

[Sam:] I just heard the craziest thing

[Sam:] Bert, Candice's husband, was caught making out with Mary yesterday

[Sam:] I'm so losing it

[Sam:] It's gonna be so awkward during the parent board meetings

[Sam:] But like, why Mary? She's the exact copy of Candice, apart from her hair color. What's the point?

[You:] Samantha, it's 6 AM

[Sam:] Are you not interested in this story

Aaron hated to admit he was.

[You:] I am. So tell me, how did she react?

He listened to the gossip until Jack entered his bedroom singing happy birthday. His heart warmed up, seeing his little boy smiling with a drawing in his hands.

"Hey there buddy, thank you so much!" He looked at the drawing and saw the two of them drawn next to what seemed to be an elephant. 
"It's us at the zoo!" Jack said excitedly. Aaron furrowed his brows, he'd never been to the zoo with Jack alone, only with Hailey by his side.

"I wanna go to the zoo again," the boy explained. 
"My gift is taking you to the zoo?" He shook his head. "My gift is my presence." Aaron snorted.
"Okay, who taught you that?" Jack grinned.
"Miss Samantha said that all awesome people are presents and that everyone should be grateful to have us. And then she called me awesome." Aaron laughed and shook his head.
"Of course she did." He looked at the clock. "Time to get dressed, buddy."

His phone buzzed while he was brushing his teeth.

[Sam:] By the way, happy birthday, sweetie. 

Aaron felt his cheeks burn up, he hated it.

[Sam:] May you stay a Dilf for many other years.

He choked on his toothpaste.

[You:] Bold statement, for all you know, I'm small and wrinkly

[Sam:] I don't think so

[You:] Really? what do you think?

[Sam:] That you're a charming, unbelievably sexy man

He didn't know how to react. Then he realized he was smiling, like some sort of teenager in love.

[You:] Maybe one day you'll find out ;)

[Sam:] Is that an invitation?

Aaron had no idea what to say. Then JJ called him, he'd never been so happy to see her name on the screen.

[You:] Work's calling, I have to go. Have fun at the school party tonight

[Sam:] Tsss

-

Samantha was working at school to set the party up. But with Candice and Mary in the same building, the mood was killing. A part of her wanted to participate in the drama, but she was also busy with something else. During the upcoming break, she would go to the FBI building, to deliver a very special gift for Aaron. She personally thought it was very funny, but maybe too much. But after the messages from this morning, she was a little less worried. 

The bang of a confetti twister took her back to reality, and she sighed when not only the school gym got covered with confetti, but also Mary.

Samantha made her way to the FBI building. She'd recently found out that Aaron worked with the BAU. She may or may not have interrogated Jack for it, but there was no other way.

She nervously came out of the elevator, praying that Aaron wasn't downstairs. But the only people she saw were either female or too young. One of the ladies looked up at her, and Samantha quickly walked to the team to explain what she was doing there.

"Hi," she said awkwardly. One of the blond girls smiled kindly. "Hi, I'm agent Jareau, how can I help you?"
"Well, I'm here to drop off something for Aaron, for his birthday." The darker man raised his brows with a smirk.
"Aaron," he repeated. "Nice to meet you lady, I'm agent Morgan by the way." She offered her hand.
"I'm Samantha, an... acquaintance of Aaron." The older man next to Morgan had a big grin on his face, and something told her that he had an idea of who she was.

"What's in it?" The other blonde lady asked curiously. "You'll find out. Aaron's gonna kill me for this one," Samantha chuckled. Then she turned serious.
"So Aaron might start to ask questions when he sees this, probably about what I look like. Could you not tell him anything at all?" 

"Of course, kiddo," the older man assured. Samantha's phone rang, it was Bianca. "I gotta go, they need my help at school. Nice meeting you guys!"

-

The moment Aaron left his office, six people stared at him with a grin.
"I'll fire you all if you start singing happy birthday," he threatened.
"No sir, we're just here to tell you that a person dropped off a gift. It's on Morgan's desk waiting for you. You should open it, like right now," Garcia said with a giggle. Aaron had no choice but to follow them downstairs and open the gift. 

He was a bit terrified because of the team's interest. He opened the card first.

-Hi there Aaron! Please don't be mad that I went to your workplace, but it was the only way to give you a gift. I just wanted to surprise my favorite, anonymous man ;) Happy birthday sweetheart, and say hi to Jack from me. Kisses, Sam

He felt butterflies in his stomach while reading the message. He knew it was crazy to feel that for a woman he'd never met, but he couldn't help himself.

"Hotch are you blushing?" Reid asked suddenly.
"No," he immediately said. He heard a few people chuckle, and he cursed himself.

There were three things in the bag, a shirt, a small box, and an envelope. He pulled the shirt out.
"Hotch's a D- oh no." Morgan and Garcia in particular were wheezing. 
"Hotch's a Dilf," Garcia read with a high-pitched laugh. "I love her!"

"Speaking of Samantha, what does she look like? I'd like to know, since my son-"

"Nice try, Aaron," Rossi interrupted. He sighed and opened the box. It was an expensive-looking maroon tie. He recognized the Armani logo on the box and didn't know how to react to such a big present. But then he saw another little note.

- Aaron, please don't bitch about this and just put it on.

"What is it? Tell us!" Prentiss took the box and smirked. "Armani, nice." He felt a bit uncomfortable with five profilers and a tech expert staring at him. Lastly, he opened the envelope. 

Aaron's heart skipped a beat when he saw what it was. Four tickets to the zoo.

- You can go with whoever you want, but just so you know, Nate and I are big fans of the zoo.

"Your jaw is literally dropped," JJ chuckled, and Aaron quickly pulled himself together. His phone buzzed, and he looked at his team members as if he needed permission. "Go ahead Hotch, nobody's stopping you," Morgan said while wearing a grin.

[Sam:] Was it too much

[Sam:] It was too much, wasn't it

[You:] No, don't worry, it was hilarious.

[You:] And sweet. Thank you, Samantha.

[Sam:] No worries, handsome. Now go have fun with your friends

Aaron put his phone away and forced everyone to go back to work.