Criminal Minds Imagines

sleeping at last - aaron hotchner

2 am.

You loved your child, your sweet angel faced baby, more than anything else on the planet, but at 2 am her screams of discontent from her bassinet made you want to rip your eardrums out. You knew it was only natural, as two month olds couldn't communicate in any other fashion; but being woken up every hour after 10pm every night had a way of making you cranky.

"Your turn," you groaned, rolling over and smacking your husband lightly on the chest.

Aaron had a pillow over his face, held down by one of his muscular arms. He mumbled something unintelligible.

"Hotchner, so help me God, if you don't get up," you grumbled into the dark, "You're rarely home, you deserve to take the 2 am shift."

He knew you didn't mean any true malice behind your words. Sleep deprivation combined with constantly having a child attached to your boob or arm was definitely taking a toll on you mentally and physically. You knew Aaron couldn't help his job, and you knew it would be like this before you tried for the baby. You assumed you would be able to handle staying home, but never getting any alone time anymore was having it's effect.

Aaron didn't seem to hear your unfinished threat, a snore erupting from him seconds later.

While your baby still screeched across the room, you decided to stand your ground, reaching up for the pillow behind you. The man beside you bolted up when your dense memory foam pillow collided harshly with the pillow covering his face.

"Huh? What? Is everything okay?" He rasped frantically, and you might've felt bad at any other time.

"Your daughter. Your turn," you said sleepily, turning back over onto your other side and shutting your eyes again.

He didn't respond, knowing far better than to argue. Not that he would have argued anyways. Hotch knew the effect his absence had on his wife and baby, and he was determined not to let what happened with him and Hailey happen with the two of you. He promised after you and him and Jack were out of witness protection that he would only return to the BAU temporarily, until they could fill his spot. He assured you that Emily Prentiss would be taking over soon and he would be retiring. Until then, he was committed to being fully home when he was home, and that meant obeying your every wish and command. You adored him for it, and tried not to abuse the power.

You felt him smooth a hand over your hair affectionately before swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, standing and crossing the room swiftly to Cassidy's bassinet. Your heart swelled in your chest, even in your half-asleep stupor.

He cooed at her as he gingerly picked her up and carried her out of the room to prepare a bottle in the kitchen. Her frustrated wails faded into little whines and whimpers as he laid her against his shoulder and bounced her gently, holding her tiny body firm against him with one arm and hand while using the other to take a bottle from the fridge and put it in the warmer.

With all the careful silence it takes to sneak up on an unsub, he made his way down the hall to her nursery, careful not to wake you again. You smiled as you listened to his efforts, his socked feet barely making a squeak in the hardwood as he entered the small room next to the bedroom.

You listened until your baby's sounds subsided finally into the peaceful quiet of the night, with nothing but the sound of the white noise maker in the corner to be heard. You tried desperately the fall back asleep, but no matter how tired your body was, you failed. With a sigh, you decided to get up and offer to take over so Aaron could get back to sleep. He needed as much of not more rest than you did, as you never knew when the next case would come in.