SSA Scottley - A collection - S.R.

The slave of duty

Episode: 5x10

When Lily finally found Spencer, he was standing just outside Hotch's office in his old house, hugging Jack tight, trying his best not to cry in front of his son.

"Can you go outside with Lily for a bit?" He asked, when he noticed the both of them there.

Lily crouched down on the floor and opened her arms as the five-year-old boy innocently ran to her, waiting to be picked up.

"Come on, buddy. Let's go outside for a bit, yeah?"

Jack nodded in her embrace and Lily made her way out of the house, trying to avoid the vision of Foyet's body in the middle of the living room. He didn't need to see that.

"I'm taking you over there so the doctors can check you up, is that alright?" She asked, as she walked toward one of the three ambulances parked outside.

"Why?" Jack asked. "I'm fine."

"I know, buddy. It's just to be sure, okay?"

"Okay."

With his consent, Lily placed him down on the hammock and stood by his side as the doctor checked him up. Thankfully, he didn't have so much as a scratch and when the doctor nodded, Jack gripped Lily's hand as she guided him to his yard and sat with him underneath a tree.

"Aunt Lily?" The boy asked, as the woman hummed at him. "Where are mommy and daddy?"

At that, Lily felt her heart clench. How was she supposed to say this? She looked up to see Hotch's broken form being carried to an ambulance, but before Morgan could take him all the way, he stopped and nodded at Lily. He wanted her to break the news. Great.

"Okay, Jack, come here..." She sighed, as she pulled the young boy in her lap, so he was facing straight at her. "I have to tell you something, but it's not a good something."

"Okay." Jack nodded.

Lily pulled in a deep breath. She needed to be strong.

"Jack... Your mommy... She's not coming out of the house." She said, as the boy frowned.

"Why?"

"Jackie... You know how your daddy travels sometimes so he can catch the bad guys?" She asked as he nodded. "Do you know why he does it?"

"Because the bad guys hurt people."

"That's right. But, I... One of these bad guys... He hurt your mommy, sweetie, very badly."

"So... I'm never seeing mommy again?" Jack asked with a pout and Lily knew right then he would start to cry.

"No, buddy, I'm sorry."

And she was right. Leaning against her, he buried his face in her chest and cried as she tried her best to cradle him and calm him down, holding him in place long enough for the medics to pull both, Foyet's and Haley's bodies out of the house Lily was sure Jack was never stepping foot in again.

***

He would be lying if he said he was surprised to see Lily standing outside his door through the peephole. Hotch turned the key and unlocked the door, before the young woman smiled at him.

"Hey." She greeted.

"Hello." He responded. "Want to come in?"

"May I?" She asked, as he nodded, stepping aside to give her space to step inside his apartment.

At the sound of heels clicking on the wooden floor, Jack – who up till now was way more interested in his cartoon then in seeing what was going on – lifted his head and his eyes widened as he saw Lily there from across the couch.

"Aunt Lily!" He squealed, running toward her.

The woman laughed and crouched down, opening her arms to give him a hug.

"Hey, buddy, how are you?" She smiled at him, after the tight embrace.

"I'm okay." He answered. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to your daddy." She answered.

"Can you play with me?"

"Hum... How about I make you a deal, huh? I talk to your dad and then I go play with you a bit. Is that okay?" She asked, as Jack nodded, excitedly. "Great, then... Go to your bedroom, so you can decide what we'll do later."

Jack smiled, before running out of the living room and toward his and his father's bedroom. Lily lifted herself up and spun around, only to find Hotch smiling at her. She blushed.

"What?" She asked.

"You're just so good with kids." He shrugged, walking toward the couch to sit down. "With Jack, Henry, Claire and all the children from the cases... You and JJ are always the ones to calm them down."

"I guess so." She agreed, coming to sit beside him. Hotch turned off the television. Probably he was already tired of watching cartoons, after all. "So... I came here because... I don't really know actually."

"I do." Hotch said, without looking at her, instead, staring at the blank TV in front of them. "You understand what I'm going through better than the rest."

"I thought so too, but now I realized I don't. I mean... Sure, I lost Oliver, but we were dating for like... 6 months, or so. You and Haley... I mean, I... I'm sorry."

"Does it get better?" He asked, suddenly.

He finally turned to face her, but after giving him a sweet smile, Lily turned to face the TV.

"It does." She answered, after taking a deep breath. "I mean... I guess it'll never stop hurting, you know? I still miss my mom and it's been what? 7 months? And Oliver... It still hurts a lot. I think about them every day. But slowly, you'll be able to smile instead of cry when you do."

Hotch smiled gently at the woman beside him. He sighed.

"I'm happy you came. If not for me, at least you can distract Jack for a while."

Lily nodded, turning to face him.

"You know... I've never told you that, and I'm not sure if you know or not, but... I admire you a lot, Hotch. Not only as a Profiler, or as a co-worker, but as a person. And, you know... If you ever need anything, I'll be happy to help as much as I can."

"I know that, Lily." He answered. "And I want you to know that I also have deep admiration for you. Not only you are incredibly smart and good at your job, you're also caring and selfless, and every time I see you comfort a family member of the victims or a scared child, I'm reminded that, even with the awful things we see at a daily basis, there's still hope."

Lily smiled. As she was about to respond, Jack appeared by the door.

"Aunt Lily?" He called, causing her to look back to face him. "Can we play now?"

She looked at Hotch and he nodded. She smirked as she turned to Jack.

"Depends. What are we doing?" She asked, as he showed her a few papers and crayons he was carrying.

"Can we draw?"

"Of course, buddy. Come here."

He smiled brightly as Hotch got up from the couch, cleaning up the center table so the two of them could play. Jack thanked his father and placed all the things he was carrying on the table. Hotch ruffled his hair and Lily giggled as Jack gave her a paper and a green crayon.

"Hey, buddy." Hotch called, causing Jack to look up from his draw to his father, who was standing at the kitchen. "Can we have some pasta for dinner?"

"Yeah!" He nodded, happily. Lily smiled. "Daddy, can Aunt Lily eat with us?"

"I don't know, buddy. Why don't you ask her?"

"Can you, Aunt Lily?" Jack asked, turning to her.

"I, hum..." She turned to Hotch, who just nodded, slightly, not even looking up from his place cutting some onions. He knew she was going to look for a confirmation with him. She laughed. "Sure thing, Jack."

"Yay!" He cheered. "Thank you, Aunt Lily."

"Oh, Jack..." She shook her head with a found smile. "Thank you."