or what, sir? |a. hotchner| ✔️

forty one

Aaron and I were laughing at something I had said as he opened the door to his apartment, and I put my bag on his couch. Shaking my head, I said, "I'm serious, he fell right on his face!"

Even though he wasn't still laughing, he had a huge toothy smile on his face. He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me in closer to him. He was about to kiss me, but we heard,

"Ronnie!" My eyes went wide as Aaron and I pushed away from one another, both looking down to our left to see Jack. He had the biggest grin I had ever seen, he was basically shaking with excitement. He rushed over to me as I bent down, and he engulfed me in a tight hug.

I let out a laugh at how thrilled he had been to see me, "Where have you been!"

I hadn't seen him since the night I found Aaron and Jessica talking about me, and I couldn't believe it had been that long. Almost three weeks.

"I've been so so busy with work," It wasn't quite a lie, but I didn't need him knowing that his father and I had stopped talking for a while. I looked down at his shirt and smiled, "Ooh... Hulk!" I pointed at it, making him glance down at it as well.

He nodded quickly, "Daddy bought it for me" I looked up at Aaron, who seemed both relieved and overjoyed at the sight of his son and I.

"And guess what, Jack?" Aaron asked as he kneeled down next to the two of us, "Veronica and I are going to be here for an entire week" Jack's eyes went wide and he started to jump up and down, which only made me grin brightly.

He was so small and adorable, I just wanted to squeeze him all the time. "Can we watch Iron Man Two? It came out!" He begged, mostly directing it to Aaron. It was PG-13, and Jack had only been six at the time.

Aaron looked very hesitant, and I bit my lip. "Maybe when you're a little older?" Aaron suggested, and Jack frowned a bit. "I'm sorry, buddy. It's just a little old for you" He defended, and Jack nodded.

Aaron patted Jack's back, "I'm going to go tell Aunt Jessica she can go home" He stood, walking into the other room. I raised both my brows and slowly looked back at Jack,

"If you don't tell daddy, we can watch it tomorrow when he goes to the store" I whispered, and Jack looked at me with excited eyes. He nodded quickly, and soon enough, Aaron and Jessica walked in. I glanced up at her and shot her a fake tight lip smile, right before looking back at Jack.

She always made me uncomfortable, even before I found out she didn't like me very much. I guess it ran in her family. "Oh, Veronica? I didn't know you would be coming here" She said, and I stood up.

"Oh, I was just going to drop Aaron off is all, I-" Aaron put his hand on my back, standing straighter as he examined Jessica.

"Actually, I told her to come over" He started, "I mean, my girlfriend should be allowed to" My eyes went wide.

He said it.

Girlfriend.

Alright, I could pass away peacefully now.

However, Jessica looked like she was about to stab herself. Guess she wasn't as pleased as I was, "Oh" She replied, grabbing her purse, "I'll see you in a week?" She asked Aaron, and he nodded. She kissed the top of Jack's head and hurried out, and once the door shut behind her, I looked at Aaron.

"She's furious"

"I don't really care, she can be as mad as she wants" He admitted as he started walking towards the kitchen, "Do you want anything to-"

"What's a girlfriend?" We both heard Jack ask innocently, and we instantly tensed up. He wasn't ready for his father to have a new female in his life this way, he had just lost his mother.