Criminal Minds One Shots

HotchxReader

Y/n knew that Hotch grieving over Haley's death was normal, but she was still extremely worried about him. It had been nearly three years since the death of his ex-wife and he hadn't met a single woman in that time frame; he had thrown himself into his work, only emerging every now and then to take care of his son, Jack.

Y/n used to be friends with Haley and now she was practically raising Jack when Hotch was gone; but she didn't really have a choice, she couldn't leave him on his own and Haley's sister was too busy taking care of her dad now that his memory was slowly fading. Because she was taking care of Jack so much, she had basically moved into the guest bedroom and had a few clothes and necessities stashed in the drawers and bathroom. She viewed Jack as her own son and treated him as such; it was what Haley would've wanted.

But what she wouldn't have wanted was to watch Hotch work himself to death and y/n knew it. She also knew that her feelings for Hotch would have to stay buried in the back of her mind, far away from the light of day. The very last thing that he needed was to find out that the best friend of his dead ex-wife was absolutely head over heels in love with him. So, she kept her mouth shut and didn't say a word, not wanting to make things even more complicated on everyone. She was more than happy to take care of Jack whenever he asked her to; they got along well and she knew that he needed the mother figure in his life.

With a sigh, she rolled out of bed to go and get Jack ready for school, knowing that Hotch wouldn't be home in time to take him to school, even though last night he said he would be. "Jack!" She called down the hallway, sighing as she padded down to his bedroom and opened the door. 

"Come on little buddy, it's time to get up and get dressed for school." She shook his shoulder and smiled at the blonde boy as he began to wipe the sleep out of his tired eyes. 

He groggily nodded, slowly widening his eyes, looking up at y/n with a sleepy yawn. "What's for breakfast?" He mumbled, smiling at her as she laughed at his large appetite for food. 

"Well, whatever you want! And if I remember correctly, your dad will be home sometime today!" The enthusiasm in y/n's voice wasn't faked; Hotch had been gone for over a week and she missed seeing him around the house and having him to talk to about Jack's progress in school and just life in general. 

"Yeah!" Jack immediately woke up upon hearing his dad would return home and bolted out of his small bed, running to the bathroom to brush his teeth while y/n laid out his clothes for the day with a small chuckle. She loved seeing him so excited whenever his father came home; they could be excited to see Aaron together, even if Aaron didn't know her happiness was genuine. 

A few minutes later, y/n and Jack were standing in the kitchen attempting to make pancakes and bacon, upon Jack's request of course. "Did daddy stop another bad guy at work when he was gone?" He asked with hopeful eyes; y/n forced a smile at the cheerful expression on his face. Even though he was happy over the fact his father was coming home, she knew he missed Hotch whenever he was away. 

"Of course daddy did!" A deep voice responded from the front door, partnered with the jingle of keys being put down onto the coffee table. Y/n smiled to herself as she heard Hotch walk in through the front door and quickly rushed to meet him, leaving the pancake mix on the counter as she giggled. 

"Daddy! Daddy's home! Mommy look!" 

The entire room seemed to freeze for a few minutes at Jack's exclamation. No one moved; Aaron and y/n looked at each other with bright red faces and complete surprise. Aaron cleared his throat awkwardly, averting y/n's gaze with embarrassment.

"Jack... Y/n isn't your mom..." He managed, trying to get the words out of his mouth. Y/n stared at Jack and Hotch for a moment, feeling as if a ball of cotton was stuck in her throat before she awkwardly shuffled on her feet.

"Hotch, may I talk to you for a moment in private?" Her words were strained as Jack watched the two with innocent eyes while they both slowly walked to the kitchen. 

"I am so sorry about that y/n! I never thought that he'd-"

"Aaron, stop apologizing, it's okay. Truth be told, with as much as I've taken care of Jack, I'm not surprised. It's not that big of a deal." She smiled weakly, attempting to calm the nerves and tension between the both of them.

Hotch sighed deeply, running his hands down his face with frustration. "You're right... I just... I'm not sure how to explain to him that you're not his mother, even though you're here all of the time and you take him to school and pack his lunch and drive him around-" Hotch stopped himself before he could rant any further, taking another deep breath. 

"Like I said, it's not a big deal. Why don't we talk to him about it during dinner?" she suggested with a soft smile. 

Hotch looked at y/n for a moment, his head tilted to the side. "How is it that you always know just what to say at just the right time to calm me down?" He wondered out loud, causing a light blush to appear on y/n's face. 

"I... I just... I just try to help when I can Aaron," She whispered nervously in response, suddenly very aware that the two were standing extremely close.

"Y/n... I... How would you feel if... Well, nevermind..." y/n bit her lip, looking into the brown eyes that made her heart melt.

"If what...?" She tried not to sound as if she were begging for him to continue, but inside she was desperate to hear what he was going to ask her. 

"I don't know if this idea is crazy or not... But how would you feel if... We went out to dinner sometime... Just you and me, without Jack... Kind of like a..." His voice trailed off for a moment as he tried to keep his stone cold composure. 

"Date...?" Y/n finished the sentence he was struggling with, a soft smile playing out on her lips. 

"I mean... I mean if you want to call it that then yeah, but I totally understand if it would be too awkward or weird but Jack obviously already likes you and you've done so much for me... I can't help but have... Feelings... For you..." He stuttered over his words, his confidence slipping with every passing second. He hated feeling like he was weak and couldn't just spit the words out, but this was a delicate situation and he really wanted things to work out. 

When he finally looked up, he was more than relieved to see a large grin plastered on y/n's face. "I would love to," She responded, her face gleaming with happiness. 

Hotch looked taken aback for a moment, but relaxed when she seemed sincere about her answer. 

"Does this mean mommy and daddy love each other?!" A happy squeak came from the living room and both Hotch and y/n sighed before bursting out into laughter, the tension diffused between them entirely before they made their way over to Jack. 

"Yes buddy... Yes, it does." Hotch answered, blushing as he smiled at y/n, who was smiling back with the same look on her face. 

OKAY I'M SORRY IF THE ENDING WAS REALLY SHITTY AND RUSHED BUT I FELT BAD FOR NOT POSTING ANYTHING IN THE LAST MONTH!!! IF YOU GUYS HAVE ANY REQUESTS, PLEASE SEND THEM IN VIA THE COMMENTS OR MESSAGE ME! :)