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Through Jack's Eyes	By : graballz Category: 1 through F > Criminal Minds Views: 2183 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds, nor the characters portrayed within. I just love them dearly and make no money from this.

Chapter List
- 1-Through Jack's Eyes
- 1
Title: Through Jack's Eyes
Author: Graballz
Rating/Warnings: R (mild profanity, reference to slash M/M), Spoilers for current season, H/C Hurt/Comfort, COMPLETE, ONESHOT, WAFF
Characters/Pairing: Hotch/Rossi (my favorite!), Jack, mention of past Hotch/Haley and Hotch/Blackwolf (It just came out of nowhere!) -- nothing graphic
Summary: Aaron Hotchner looks at his and his son's life through Jack's eyes and sees things he never saw before. Through his musings, Jack and Dave are finally able to help him forgive himself and move on once and for all.
Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds, nor the characters portrayed within. I just love them dearly and make no money from this.
Author's Note: I have no idea where this came from, but I hope you like it and find it realistic enough to imagine! Enjoy!

                Aaron Hotchner sat on the bed, going through an old box he didn’t even know existed. He grunted a little as a cloud of dust threatened to choke him as he broke the tape and opened the top of the box. It was a file, of sorts, and Aaron’s brow furrowed, thinking perhaps it was some of his old work papers he had forgotten about?
                He pulled out the first page. It was a child’s drawing of three people holding hands in front of a typical single-door-and-window square house with a chimney. The tallest figure on the left had a massive scribbling of black hair with black clothes and a line of red cut vertically down the chest. Aaron shuddered because his job took his mind to twisted places before he realized the normal reaction was to see the red tie for what it was. The figure on the right wore pink and had a mop of blonde hair that curliqued all the way down to the grass on which they were standing. She had bright red lips in a big smile, and the smallest figure in the middle, holding both of their hands, had brown hair.
                The profiler smiled, though the corners of his mouth tugged downward, and he turned the paper over. Jack, age 3 read the inscription, and Aaron recognized Haley’s handwriting. He gently set the paper to the side and reached into the box again.
                This time, he pulled out a small “booklet” of papers that were stapled on one side. It was one of those generic fill-in-the-blank books, and Aaron turned it over curiously.
                My Daddy – by Jack Hotchner. My daddy is an FBI agent and he has black hair. My daddy is very smart because he always catches the bad guy. I like to watch cartoons with my daddy. On the weekends, we like to play in the park and watch movies. I love my daddy and he loves me!
                An adult definitely wrote the words, but the drawings that accompanied each simple sentence were all lovingly hand-drawn by a preschool-aged Jack, and Aaron smiled wider. He briefly wondered why he had never seen this before, but he chalked it up to being away with the BAU so much.
                The next page he pulled out was another drawing of himself, but it had to be him at work because Jack had depicted him all in black once again with a red slash down his chest, but this time, crayon-drawn Aaron had his gun drawn and pointed and was frowning with ‘mad’ eyebrows. There was another figure in the picture, also clad in black, but this one had his hands up, and while the mouth was downturned, Jack had drawn in little dots of blue to symbolize tears.
                Aaron was somewhat perturbed at his five-year-old son’s image of himself, but then he realized that a dried coffee stain had blurred the other part of the picture: the word bubbles coming out of their mouths. Aaron squinted at the words to make out what his son had written in wobbly kindergarten printing.
                No! Stop being bad! Agent Hotchner was saying in the picture, and the unsub (Aaron knew logically his son wouldn’t have referred to the other figure as such, but it was an ingrained habit by now) was saying, I’m sorry. I’ll be good.
                Aaron chuckled softly at his son’s depiction of him ‘catching the bad guy’. Then he realized that it was folded in half, and when he unfolded the other part, there was Jack standing in the background with a big smile on his face and an enthusiastic GO DADDY! was written to the side of his head.
                The next memory Aaron found was another booklet accompanied by drawings, but this one sent Aaron back in time to the worst moments of his life.
                Happy Mother’s Day! By Jack Hotchner, age 6 My mommy is dead and she ~~has~~ had blonde hair. For Mother’s Day, I am getting flowers for my mommy. Daddy and I are going to put roses on her grave for Mommy on Mother’s Day. She is very special because she tried to protect me from George. I love my mommy and she ~~loves~~ loved me!
                All of the strength left Aaron’s body as he flipped through the booklet. The front page depicted a round face with short blonde hair, smiling, and Aaron knew that was how Jack saw his mother. He had just turned four years old the month before she died, and though he’d been very sad (understandably so, along with Aaron), he had shown a remarkable resilience. There had been a couple of very minor instances at school in the following year where Jack hadn’t listened to his teacher and gotten sent to the principal’s office, but Aaron always talked to him about it afterwards, and Jack articulated his understanding.
                Aaron had gotten him involved in a soccer team, and after the first couple of games, had taken over as coach. Jack seemed to like soccer, and when Aaron’s colleague David Rossi had agreed to take on the role of assistant coach, it was a natural transition to the three of them spending some weekends together, especially on the soccer field. Dave had started to come back to Aaron’s place for a beer (after Jack was in bed, of course) every once in a while, and then more frequently, but Jack always enjoyed Dave’s company, begging for Dave to bring Mudgie (his dog) over to play.
                Two years after Haley died, though, was a rough patch for them. Jack was showing more frequent signs of inexplicable anger, and Aaron had been concerned. The Mother’s Day booklet, while not exactly violent, wasn’t the typical picturesque portrait of a loving mother, either.
                The second page was a drawing of a woman with her eyes closed, and the brown lines around her represented the coffin, Aaron knew. She looked as if she could be sleeping, and Aaron’s throat closed up for a second, remembering how heartbreaking Haley’s funeral was, holding Jack and watching him blow his mother a kiss. Jack had drawn red and white roses on the third page, and the fourth page depicted a large gray mound with “MOMMY” printed neatly across it: Haley’s grave. Jack had drawn a disproportionately large grave surrounded by much smaller flowers, which made Aaron think that seeing his mother’s grave was doing him more harm than good at that point in his life.
                Aaron dreaded turning the page because he knew he would see his son’s version of the Bogeyman come to life; every monster who had ever lived in a closet had George Foyet’s eyes for both Aaron and Jack.
                Though completely unrealistic, Jack’s depiction of George Foyet included lots of harshly drawn heavy black lines. The mouth was open and snarling, and Jack had drawn horrible fangs and blood dripping from them. The eyes were angry and scary, with demonic eyebrows, and Aaron forced himself to confront his attacker once again. If his son had drawn it, Aaron had to be able to look at it in order to understand what Jack saw and thought of Foyet.
                The profiler stared at the image until he finally quit shaking, and it was only after he steeled his nerve to curl his lip at the deceased serial killer (showing Foyet that Aaron would not let Foyet have power over him in death) that he allowed himself to turn the page to look at the full page broken heart Jack had drawn, with jagged edges right down the middle, complete with more bleeding. Aaron always thought this picture looked like the heart was both dripping blood and crying (albeit, bloody tears), but he had to hand it to his son for capturing exactly how devastated they both felt over Haley’s death.
                Aaron finally put the book down, hanging his head and breathing deeply, reminding himself that Haley’s death wasn’t his fault, which didn’t really stop the guilt, but it allowed him to continue functioning. When he felt centered again, he reached into the box and pulled out an essay: Jack’s first essay.
                The Most Influential Person in My Life by Jack Hotchner, Grade 2
                The most influential person in my life is my Uncle Dave. He works with my dad and together they catch bad people who hurt others. I called him Agent Rossi first, and then when he coached my soccer team, I called him Coach Dave. My dad didn’t think I should, but Uncle Dave told me to call him that. He is strong and brave just like my dad. He is my dad’s best friend and my dad smiles more around him. Uncle Dave brings his dog Mudgie over for me to play with, and Mudgie is my best friend. I hope my dad will take me to Disney World and I hope Uncle Dave can come too!
                A wry smile graced Aaron’s face, and he remembered Jack bringing the paper home proudly. His son had announced that they weren’t supposed to pick their parents—which was why he picked Dave—but Aaron never forgot how quick Jack was to reassure him that he, Aaron, would have been first pick. Aaron remembered smiling and wondering how a seven year old knew what the word ‘influential’ meant, and Jack proudly announcing that it was the biggest word he knew, after ‘unsub’.
                At that point, Aaron had lost his smile and demanded to know how Jack knew THAT word. His son had given him his own version of the Hotchner Death Glare and told Aaron that he wasn’t a baby anymore. That was when Aaron knew Dave had been the ‘influential’ culprit, which prompted a fight, of course.
                With Jessica taking care of Jack for the weekend, Aaron had gone to Arizona, and that was also when he realized his relationship with Dave had gone beyond mere friendship some time ago, and while they had never spoken of their mutual attraction, Aaron had been floored to learn that Dave was biding his time, patiently waiting for Aaron to figure it out without pushing, while thoroughly enjoying every family opportunity that came his way. Upon returning to Virginia, Dave was pleasantly rewarded with Aaron's newfound readiness to take the next step in turning their friendship into something more permanent.
                Aaron still wasn’t quite sure how Dave had managed to turn into Jack’s parent without more of a rebellion from Jack, but he suspected that—had he remarried a woman—Jack wouldn’t have taken to a stepmother the way he took to Dave. Granted, Aaron knew that loving any other woman was totally and completely out of the question; Haley had been his high school sweetheart and the love of his life, even though they had fought, (she cheated on him), separated, and divorced.
                What he hadn’t counted on was falling in love with a man, but while Aaron hadn’t ever labeled himself as ‘gay’, he couldn’t even really say that he preferred ‘men’ as much as he preferred Dave. After three ex-wives, Aaron had just assumed Dave had had his fill of divorces—especially with his old womanizing reputation at the Bureau—but Dave’s feelings for him had taken him completely by surprise.
                Shortly after officially becoming a couple, Aaron and Dave had planned the Disney World trip for Jack during the summer between second and third grade, including Epcot, MGM, and of course, the new Harry Potter theme park that had recently opened. Though he’d only seen the first movie, Jack loved every minute, dragging Aaron and Dave from ride to ride, exhibit to exhibit, and though the week had been downright exhausting (so much so that Aaron actually felt relief at sitting back at his desk doing paperwork!) , Aaron wouldn’t trade those memories for the world.
                Jack’s third-grade rendition of his family still featured himself and his father, but this time, it was Aaron who was in the middle, holding hands with both Jack and Dave. Mudgie was drawn on Jack’s other side, and there was a woman’s face with blonde hair smiling down from the clouds.
                Though the little boy still awoke occasionally with nightmares, moving in with Dave had been one of the best decisions Aaron made. Jack was much happier in third grade than second, and the profiler had to attribute that—at least in part—to Dave and Mudgie.
                Aaron and Dave had only coached Jack’s soccer team through last year; Jack was finally old enough to be in a league with real coaches where it started to get competitive. They were now relegated to spectator and cheering squad, which they did with relish, along with Haley’s sister Jessica, who had been more than a little perturbed and offended when Aaron and Dave first got together.
                Aunt Jessica only had to make the mistake once of putting Dave down in front of Jack. The little boy had flown to Dave’s defense in the blink of an eye and hadn’t let Jessica forget how great Dave was all week long. She had been reacting to Haley’s memory at first, jumping to the wild conclusion that Aaron had been gay all along and was just ‘stringing Haley along’ while he ‘had’ Dave on the side, but THAT had been a very hushed, very adamant conversation that ended those notions in a heartbeat.
                Aaron had loved and been faithful to Haley during their entire marriage; it was she who had cheated. Jessica knew that, and though it took her some time, she eventually came to accept that Aaron and Dave’s relationship was not in any way harmful or detrimental to Jack. They talked about Haley freely—though she hadn’t liked Dave, the older man saw no reason to pass the sentiment along to her son—and Jack flourished under the guidance of his father and his father’s best friend.
                In fourth grade, he had come home with straight A’s and perfect attendance, which prompted Dave to present Jack with his very own mountain bike, and the three of them began weekend cycles with Mudgie trotting along beside. It was during one of those rides that Mudgie had gotten too excited, chased the wrong skunk, and ended up howling and baying his way back to Jack’s side, smelling to high heaven.
                Eight cans of tomato juice later, a pinkish-stained Jack curled up with Mudgie in his doghouse outside (because Dave refused to let him in while he smelled like skunk) with only an old blanket because it was summer; he didn’t have to get up for school; and Aaron was a pushover for Jack’s lower lip. That was when Dave knew he had been replaced as Mudgie’s best friend, but given how fiercely and loyally Jack loved the dog and the dog loved Jack, Dave didn’t mind in the least.
                Aaron had started the night dozing on one of the deck chairs, only to be prompted by Dave to come inside once it got darker. Aaron refused at first, but Dave pointed out that Jack had a blanket and Mudgie for warmth, they weren’t going to lock the back door, and Mudgie wouldn’t let anything happen to Jack, so they would hear him barking or growling if anything went wrong. The younger man had set his jaw stubbornly, about to refuse again, when Dave quietly reminded him that he needed to give Jack space to learn to take care of himself.
                Compliant, Aaron had allowed Dave to lead him back to their bedroom, where he proceeded to reward Aaron with a blow job and a night of passionate love making that still curled both of their toes just thinking about.
                After that, Jack’s middle school and high school years had flown by, it seemed to Aaron, and he watched (both proudly and in dismay) as his only son blossomed from a sweet, sometimes angry little boy into a sensitive, loyal, solidly moral young man with a quiet compassion that was the spitting image of his father and a sometimes arrogant streak that Aaron blamed on Dave. Aaron had cried unashamedly at Jack’s graduation, and now Dave was finishing packing the car. They were driving Jack to college the next day and helping him move into the dorms, about to begin his freshman year of college.
                “Dad? Are you still up here?”
                Jack’s voice shook Aaron out of his reverie, and he quickly brushed away the tears that he hadn’t realized were streaming down his face. He reached for the small pile of papers he’d made, intending to shove them back into the box before Jack could see, but his son entered the room, dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a Georgetown t-shirt.
                “What are you looking at?” Jack eyed the pile of papers curiously, recognizing it as memories from his childhood.
                “Nothing,” Aaron replied, too quickly, and Jack raised one eyebrow, another trick he learned from his father. “I was trying to find a flashlight for you to take.”
                “Uh-huh,” Jack grunted skeptically, opening the box lid farther as his father gathered up the papers to place them back in. He reached in and pulled out an old picture frame.
                It was the three of them: Aaron, Haley, and Jack…the family portrait taken around Christmas time, about a month after the new shopping mall opened. It was the case where Aaron and his team had been called in to stop a domestic terrorist attack; Jason Gideon, Emily Prentiss, and Spencer Reid had gone to Guantanamo Bay to talk with the Egyptian leader, who revealed that the plan was to release anthrax into the ventilation system at the mall.
                It had been the same day that Haley scheduled pictures for Jack, and Aaron had been in a silent panic knowing that his family would be at the mall and feeling the pressure of duty not to break protocol by calling Haley to warn her. They thwarted the terrorists and turned in a false robbery story to the media; Aaron had rushed home to find Haley and Jack safe and sound. He practically sobbed with relief when Haley told him she wanted him to be there for the portrait, so they had gone back for a Christmas shoot.
                Aaron paused, seeing the picture upside down, and they both grew somber. Jack sat absently on the bed next to his father.
                “I miss her,” he said softly. Aaron put his arm around his son.
                “I do too,” he confessed. “But she loved you very much. ”
                “I know,” Jack sighed, still staring at the picture in his hands. “But I love Uncle Dave too. ”
                “Jack, it’s not a competition,” Aaron began. “Loving Dave doesn’t take anything away from loving your mother. ”
                “I know,” Jack said again. “Dad…do you think you and Uncle Dave would have gotten together if Mom were still alive?”
                Aaron blinked, taken aback by the question, and he dropped his arm.
                “I don’t know, Jack,” he said slowly, trying to buy time to think. “Your mother was the love of my life. ”
                “I remember when she used to cry while you were gone,” Jack said quietly. “I just thought it was because she missed you, but now, looking back, she really couldn’t handle your life at the BAU, could she?”
                “Your mother wanted a different life than the one I gave her,” Aaron looked down at the ground. “She deserved better.”
                “But that’s just it, Dad!” Jack leaned away from his father, his heart beating fast with what he was about to say. “You did the best you could for her, but it was never enough! Even when you were home, I was on Cloud Nine because I couldn’t wait to spend time with you! But it seemed like she was always unhappy, even when you were with us! Uncle Dave said—”
                Jack stopped abruptly and bit his lip, knowing he had just misspoken. Sure enough, his father’s eyes narrowed dangerously.
                “Uncle Dave said WHAT?”
                “Uncle Dave said that you deserved better too,” Jack said, squaring his shoulders in preparation to defend Rossi. “He said that you devoted yourself to the job, which made you a damn good profiler, and that when you were home, you devoted yourself to me, which makes you a damn good father.” Jack paused, choking up a bit. “But he also said that because you gave all of yourself to me and the Bureau, there wasn’t any more of you left for Mom or for yourself, and that now, you do a better job of balancing work and home, but that it came at a cost to you. You deserved better, Dad, whether you believe it or not.
                “I’m grown up now, and I know you’ll always be there for me, but I’m not four anymore,” Jack continued, putting a hand on his father’s shoulder. “You don’t have to sugarcoat things for me and tell me ‘it’ll be alright’. I knew things weren’t perfect as a kid, as much as you tried to pretend like they were. I love Mom, but you and Aunt Jessica treat her like she’s some kind of saint. Uncle Dave tells me things that are REAL, Dad, and while I love the stories about Mom being a princess and all, I want to know the real her, too, the way I know the real you.”
                Aaron didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t often that anyone rendered the veteran profiler speechless, but Jack had done just that. Aaron couldn’t even claim he was mad at Dave anymore; as quickly and white-hot as his anger had been, it had flamed out in the next minute upon hearing that Dave was able to give his son something he (Aaron) couldn’t: his mother, in a realistic light, man to man.
                “He’s right, you know,” came an interruption from the doorway, and both father and son turned, startled.
                David Rossi leaned on the door frame, smiling at his family humorlessly, having heard the latter portion of Jack’s speech.
                “Haley loved you, and you loved her, but she didn’t support you, Aaron,” Dave continued, pushing off the door frame to stand beside Jack, putting a reassuring hand on the young man’s shoulder. “Even during that last conversation with Foyet, she still doubted you.”
                Aaron’s eyes widened and his throat went dry. He had never looked at it like that before, and while Dave’s words were making sense, Aaron’s loyalty to Haley railed against the argument, whispering mercilessly about betrayal of Haley’s memory.
                “No…”
                “Foyet mentioned the deal, you were giving her the key to her survival, but she played right into his hands, and that’s on her,” Dave said, and Aaron began shaking his head. “She could have told Foyet that he was a liar, but instead, she asked you what he was talking about.”
                “I lied to her,” Aaron whispered desperately as he tried to fight back the tears. “I was trying to protect her. I was trying to save her.”
                “But Dad, you DID save me,” Jack leaned forward, putting his hand on his father’s arm and trying to look into his eyes.
                “You saved Jack because he TRUSTED you, Aaron, the way Haley should have trusted you and didn’t,” Dave reached out and put a hand on Aaron’s other arm, mirroring Jack.
                “No, Haley…”
                “Was an excellent mother,” Dave filled in. “She loved you, but Aaron, she wasn’t perfect. None of us are. It’s time to let go.”
                “B-but…” Aaron protested as the tears fell.
                “Dad, it’s okay,” Jack smiled, though he was already crying. “You raised me just right. You and Mom did what you could, but you and Dave are the ones who showed me how a successful relationship works. You don’t have to hold onto Mom anymore because she’s free, and you deserve to be happy. Dave makes you happy, Dad, happier than Mom ever could have made you, and that’s okay.
                “It’s also time to let me go,” Jack took a deep breath. “Yeah, I’m scared about going off to college, but I’m almost more scared of leaving you behind. And not because I’m going to miss you—which, I AM—but you’ve devoted your whole life to either the job or me. And now I’m going to college, so I’m not going to be around, but I don’t want you to work yourself to death, okay? I want you to keep that balance of work and home and be happy. I love you.”
                “I love you too, Jack,” Aaron replied, voice cracking. Dave’s strong hand ran up Aaron’s arm and squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. “And I’ll miss you too.”
                Aaron put his arms around his son and pulled him in for a fierce hug, feeling his son’s body shaking from crying, but then, Aaron was crying too. Dave wrapped one arm around Aaron’s shoulders and the other around Jack’s back, leaning his cheeks on the tops of their heads, and they sat like that for a little bit, just holding each other.
                “I’ll be back some weekends,” Jack sniffled, pulling back and smiling sheepishly. “And holidays. You won’t be getting rid of me that easily, but I’m serious, Dad; I’m really worried about you.”
                “Don’t be,” Aaron replied immediately, putting one hand up to grasp Dave’s arm and rubbing, drawing comfort. “I’ll be fine.”
                “And you won’t work too hard?” Jack mock-wagged his finger in his father’s face.
                “I won’t work TOO hard,” Aaron acquiesced, which drew groans from both Jack and Dave.
                “By whose standards?” Dave grumbled good-naturedly, squeezing Aaron again.
                “I’m not kidding, Dad, you have to take time for yourself and for Dave,” Jack was adamant about this; his father had spent the better part of his life (and practically the entirety of Jack’s) putting other people first, and though Jack was old enough to appreciate his father’s sacrifices, he agreed with Dave’s assessment that Aaron was TOO self-sacrificing at times.
                “I will,” Aaron nodded, finally coming to the realization that he had to take care of himself first to be healthy enough to take care of his loved ones. It was a lesson a long time in the learning, and even then, Aaron suspected Dave would have to remind him of it often.
                “Maybe you guys should go back to Arizona and visit John Blackwolf,” Jack suggested. “Or meet him in Texas; you know, cowboys and Indians, kind of a thing?”
                The young man had meant for it to be a joke, but his grin faded as his father blanched and Dave’s smile dropped.
                “I don’t think visiting Blackwolf is such a good idea,” Aaron said quickly as a blush rose up in his cheeks, just as Dave said, at the same time, “I’m not such a big fan of Texas; I don’t do the whole cowboy thing.”
                Jack’s eyebrows knit together as he looked back and forth between the two men, piecing together the obvious signs of discomfort.
                “Okay, I know Uncle Dave doesn’t care for Texas because of Waco and Ruby Ridge,” Jack said apologetically as Dave flinched. “But Dad, why don’t you want to see Blackwolf? I thought you guys hit it off.”
                “Oh, they hit it off, alright…” Dave smirked, and Aaron’s mouth dropped open.
                “Shut up, David!” He snapped, swatting at the older profiler, who jumped away too late, chuckling.
                Jack’s eyes grew large as Dave’s innuendo clicked in.
                “DAD?!?!?!”
                Aaron pressed his lips together, his face turning even redder, which prompted more laughter from Dave.
                “It was one time,” he said defensively. “It was right before Dave and I got together. Er, actually, that weekend camping trip to Arizona WAS the reason Dave and I got together. Blackwolf helped me…um, figure out what I wanted, actually…”
                “Wait, so you mean…Uncle Dave wasn’t your first?” Jack asked incredulously, and Aaron covered his face with his hands. This was more embarrassing than having the ‘birds and bees’ talk with Jack, only to find out that Dave had already covered it in a much cruder manner!
                “I am NOT having this conversation with you!” Aaron exclaimed through his hands, and Dave was nearly in tears from laughing so hard.
                “What? I already had this conversation with Uncle Dave, and I just assumed…” Jack trailed off as Aaron’s head shot up.
                “WHAT?!?” It was Aaron’s turn to be incredulous, and he turned on Dave, who choked off his laughter and held his hands up, backing away.
                “Dad, knock it off, it’s fine,” Jack waved away his father’s surprise at the frankness of his and Dave’s talks. “Uncle Dave told me that you were his first, and I just assumed he was yours…but…Blackwolf???”
                “David Rossi, you are…I can’t believe you…you TALKED to him about…ARGH!” Aaron could hardly put a coherent sentence together, much less a threat. Dave was just glad their guns were downstairs, otherwise, he was pretty sure Aaron would have used him for target practice five minutes ago!
                “There’s an old Apache saying,” Dave began, and Jack grinned. They had gone as a family out to Arizona to visit John Blackwolf’s reservation at least every other year; Jack knew his father and Blackwolf had a special affection for each other, but Dave said it was only because Blackwolf had called Aaron ‘Captain America’ at the close of one of their cases. (Granted, Dave said that case had been before he rejoined the BAU, so he heard the story secondhand from Aaron himself after they committed to each other.) Blackwolf had repeated the ‘old Apache saying’ many times, and most of them had been with a knowing grin and sly wink at his father, which Jack always attributed to their work history, but now that Dave finally confirmed their ‘other’ history, Jack wondered how much of that was an inside joke.
                “There are many paths to the same place,” the young man filled in, and Aaron grunted.
                “The fortune cookie is true,” Dave nodded, smirking. “Here we are; we’re all in the same place, and yet, we each got here by different paths.”
                “And even though our paths may differ in the future, they’ll still cross,” Jack got up and crossed the room to Dave, slipping under the older man’s arm for a hug and held his other arm out to his father. Dave grinned for real this time, holding out his other arm to Aaron also.
                Aaron finally cracked a smile and got up from the bed, replacing all of Jack’s old papers back into the box and closing the lid, symbolically putting away the old undying loyalty to Haley and preserving an unrealistically perfect ideal that had been slowly eating away at him still.
                With a light heart and a happy smile, Aaron joined his son and lover in the group hug.
                “You bet your ass they will, kiddo,” Dave said as Aaron kissed his son’s forehead.
                “Don’t swear in front of our son,” Aaron mock-glared at Dave, who raised an eyebrow. Unit Chief though Aaron might be, David Rossi wasn’t the Senior Profiler for nothing.
                “Or what…Captain America?”

FIN
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Through Jack's Eyes