Anonymous Caretakers - Aaron Hotchner

2.2 - The Zoo

This one is a little shorter than the last one, sorry.

-

7 Weeks after the first date.

[Sunshine:] Tickets?

[You:] Yes

[Sunshine:] ID?

[You:] Yes

[Sunshine:] Should I bring some travel games?

[You:] Sam, it's a 30-minute drive

[Sunshine:] Sun protection?

[You:] This isn't my first kid's day out, you know. Yes, I have everything.

Aaron couldn't help but laugh at Samantha's stressed texts.

[Sunshine:] Right, sorry.

[Sunshine:] So no games?

[You:] Nope

[Sunshine:] Great, I'll be at your house around 11.30!

He looked at the time and realized that he had to hurry. "Jack!" The boy came downstairs in his pajamas, and Aaron sighed.
"Kid, what did I tell you?" Jack shrugged.
"I said go get dressed, Nathan and Samantha will be here in half an hour." His son's face lit up.
"I'm gonna put on my elephant sweater," he said excitedly. Aaron frowned.
"Sweater? It's 80 degrees outside," he pointed out.
"Oh please," Jack begged. Aaron gave in, he couldn't say no to those puppy eyes.

A few minutes later, someone outside honked. Jack immediately ran outside, he almost tripped over his own feet. The moment Jack opened the car door, Aaron heard Queen blasting in the car.

"What," was the first thing Samantha said when Aaron sat down in the front seat. He furrowed his brows. "What do you mean by what?" A smile formed on her lips before she turned the volume down.
"You should've seen your face when you heard the music. You looked as if you'd seen a ghost." Aaron opened his mouth to deny it, but Jack was faster.
"It's because he's old. Old people don't like loud music," he told her as if it was a completely normal thing to say. Samantha burst out in laughter. Aaron was offended.
"Excuse me, I'm not old," he protested, but nobody agreed with him. Instead, Samantha started to sing I Want To Break Free, and the boys decided to play the yellow car game.

"I've fallen in love
I've fallen in love for the first time
This time I know it's for real
I've fallen in love, yeah," she sang while drumming on the steering wheel with her fingers.

"God knows, God knows I've fallen in love," Aaron softly joined. Samantha smiled, and his heart warmed up. It was as if she radiated sunshine whenever she did that.

"It's strange but it's true, hey," Nathan sang with them, to his surprise.
"You like this music?" He saw the boy shake his head through the mirror.
"I just hear it all the time," he complained. Samantha turned the volume up.

"Oh, I want to be free, baby
Oh, how I want to be free"

-

After a noisy car ride, they arrived at the zoo. Samantha hadn't had the time to look at Aaron properly until they got out of the car.
He wore a short-sleeved red shirt today, which showed off his body perfectly. He looked like a god, with his trained body and charming smile.
"You look great," she complimented. Aaron's smile grew.
Cute, cute, cute.
"So do you, darling," he answered.
"Eww," Jack said disgusted. Nathan had the same expression on his face. Samantha laughed at their reactions.
"Guys, be nice," Aaron sighed. But the boys were already walking away to the entrance.
"Oh God," she sighed. "We are so going to lose them."

After passing the zoo gates, Samantha immediately had to grab Nathan's wrist to stop him from running away. Aaron had to take a sprint to get Jack back, which looked hilarious. Once they were together again, Nathan snatched the map out of Samantha's hand.
"Ooh, we're near the cobras, look!" The boys were ten times happier about it than she was.
"How fantastic," she mumbled sarcastically. Jack nodded.
"Yeah, I know right?" Aaron chuckled and Samantha shot him a glare.
"Are you really scared of snakes behind a glass?" Aaron taunted. She gave him the finger.

They walked into the cobra enclosure after buying some drinks, where Samantha was greeted by a terrible thing the employee said.
"Hi there, would any of you like to hold Missy the cobra?" She turned pale at the thought of having a snake in the same room as herself.
"Please, Samantha please?" Nathan begged. Aaron already said yes to Jack, so she had no choice.

"I want to die," she told Aaron. They both watched how Missy the cobra was put around Jack's neck. It made her sick. "What kind of person names a snake Missy, anyway?"
"Don't be so dramatic," Aaron chuckled while taking about a hundred photos. Samantha focussed on him. She watched his heartwarming, proud smile and listened to the compliments he gave his son. How someone so perfect had taken an interest in her, was a mystery to her.

Then it was Nathan's turn. Samantha forced herself to come a little closer to the deadly, slippery monster, so she could take a picture of her glowing boy.
"Smile at your mommy and daddy," the employee said. She froze, Aaron also didn't know how to react. Nathan decided to answer her.

"No-ooh, she's my aunt. Aaron and Aunt Sam are in love, so they took us to the zoo." Nathan looked at Samantha, who suddenly felt very uncomfortable.
"Does that mean that Aaron's my uncle?" Aaron choked on his drink. Jack, however, didn't sense their mood shift and decided to join Nathan.
"Hey, that makes us nephews," he cheered. After the snake was taken away, the boys ran off to the aquarium they'd spotted. The employee smiled uncomfortably.
"I'm sorry," she said before quickly making her way out.

"Well that was fun," Samantha mumbled sarcastically after catching up with Nathan and Jack. A chuckle escaped Aaron's mouth.
"Oh come on, you can't blame the poor girl," he laughed. She shrugged.
"I suppose you're right. I don't even know what to tell Nathan when he asks about us." Aaron wrapped an arm around her waist, and she felt herself warm up.
"Say... Aaron and I like each other a lot in a different way than friends do, and that's why we're together all the time," he suggested. Samantha giggled at it.
"We do like each other a lot, don't we?" He gave her a kiss on her cheek as confirmation.

"Ew," they heard in the distance. It was Nathan this time. "You're ew," she answered. "Now let's get a snack."

"I'm warm," Jack complained with a mouth full of fries. Aaron rolled his eyes.
"I told you the sweater would be too warm." The boy kept whining, so they went to the gift shop to get a shirt. Samantha was amazed by the amount of hideous merchandise they sold, but the boys clearly had a different opinion.

"Just a shirt, Jack," Aaron sighed. Jack didn't listen and returned after a few minutes with a tiger plushie and a shirt that said 'You are giraffing me crazy', with a picture of a giraffe. It was the worst shirt made in history. Nathan held the same one. Samantha forced a smile.
"Is this the best shirt they have? Maybe there are even better ones," she suggested, but the boys refused to pick another one.

The rest of the day was spent being dragged around by the children, while also holding a ridiculous amount of stuffed animals and other merchandise, all equally ugly.

"This was your idea," Aaron mumbled. He'd just dropped a stuffed crocodile for the third time.
"I thought it was going to be romantic," Samantha sighed. When she turned to see him, she saw a smile on his face though.
"I don't mind, it's fun to see you around the children, you know. They love you." She turned pink at the compliment.
"That's one of the best compliments anyone ever gave me," she said softly. His gorgeous smile grew.
"If I could kiss you right now, I would, but there's a giraffe toy in front of your face."
"Gross," the boys yelled at the same time.

Right, the children were here.

"I'm tired," Nathan complained shortly after that.
"Yeah, me too," Jack joined. She and Aaron tried to convince them to stay for a while, but they wouldn't listen. There was no choice but to go home.
Samantha looked at her watch.
"Great job guys. This is officially my first day out that ends before dinnertime. "
"Thanks," Jack said, oblivious to the sarcasm.
"You're welcome."