A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Brummie 10 and Xzonia, who both requested that I tell Jessica's version of how Haley met Hotch. I hope you like it and it holds up to your expectations. I'm a little nervous about it, so please tell me what you think! Hope everyone enjoys one more trip down memory lane!

One week later…

Jack was busying himself in Aunt Jessica's living room, trying to figure out how many presents under her Christmas tree belonged to him. He wasn't actually reading yet, he was still a bit young for that, but he had learned to recognize his own name. So far the count was up to six!

Aaron was helping Jessica clean up the kitchen after dinner.

"Thank you for doing this," he said.

"No problem," she answered. "I figured you could use the distraction tonight."

"Yeah."

He was going back to work tomorrow. It would be the first time since Haley's death that father and son would be apart. Jack seemed to be dealing with this okay, so far. Aaron…not so much. He was, rather uncharacteristically, a nervous wreck. They finished up and headed back into the living room.

Jessica had a plan to hopefully get Aaron to relax and to have both Hotchner boys laughing by the end of the night.

"Hey Jack."

He looked up from his quest. He was half under the tree and the garland draped around his head like a blue and silver halo. Jessica stifled a chuckle.

"Remember that story your Dad told you last week about how he met your mom?"

"Yeah."

"You want to hear your Mom's side of the story?"

"Yeah!" He jumped up and ran to the couch, promptly climbing into Aaron's lap and giving his Aunt his full attention.

"This should be interesting," Aaron said. "I don't know if I've heard this version."

"Get comfortable," she said, and she began to tell Haley's side of their story.

"Now, I am two years younger than your Mom, so I didn't go to the same school as she and your Dad. When she was in tenth grade in high school, I was in eighth grade in middle school. So I didn't find out about their unexpected meeting until she got home from school that day. She came running into the house, flew up the stairs, and went straight to her room. I knew right away that something had happened, so I followed her."

Jack was entranced by her storytelling already. She had a way of infusing her stories with great enthusiasm.

"She was sitting on her bed with her yearbook, like the one your Daddy showed you last week, you remember?"

"Yeah!"

"Well, she had one, too. And she was flipping through the pages really fast!" She mimicked Haley paging through the book and Jack giggled. "And she kept saying, Where is he? Where is he? I thought she was going crazy! I finally asked her what she was doing, but she just kept flipping!"

That really had Jack giggling. Even Aaron had to laugh at that image.

"And then she said, Finally! I looked over her shoulder to get a better look. I asked her who she was looking at, so she pointed out his picture and said, Aaron Hotchner."

"That's you, Daddy!" Jack was borderline giddy by this point.

"That's right," Jessica answered before Aaron could. She nudged Aaron with her elbow. He was blushing just a little bit. Haley had told him once how she felt when she saw him for the first time, but hearing about it from her sister's point of view had him slightly embarrassed. Jessica knew it and she was going to play it for all it was worth. She continued the story.

"I must admit, your Daddy was a very good looking young man. But I'd never heard her talk about him before. So I asked her, 'Who's Aaron Hotchner?' And she said, 'I don't know, but I'm going to find out!'"

"Oh, geez," Aaron uttered. Now he was really getting embarrassed. Jessica's plan was working masterfully. And she had one teeny tiny major league surprise in store for them later. Through her giggles, Jessica continued.

"Okay, so anyway, the next day she came home after school and was in a super good mood because this Aaron Hotchner guy had decided to join the theatre club and he sat next to her during their meeting."

"She actually told you all this?" Aaron asked skeptically.

"Oh, honey, I got a new story every day!"

"Wow! Daddy, she talked about you a lot!"

"Yeah, it sounds like it, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Um…if you boys are finished?" Jessica joked and continued.

"So, everyday I got to hear about how Aaron sat next to her, and how he asked for her phone number, and she was so giddy when he asked her to go to the theatre club party as his date after their play on opening night. That's the night I and your Grandma and Grandpa finally got to meet him."

She stole a quick glance at Aaron. Jack looked up at him as well. He was smiling. Seeing his Daddy smile made Jack smile, too. Finally, little by little, they were starting to heal. And it seemed that telling Jack stories about his Mom helped move that healing process along. So Jessica kept talking.

"Your Daddy was so nervous. So was your Mommy. She warned us before the play that he was not a very good actor and begged us not to make fun of him. And we kept our promise, even though he was really, really bad!" Aaron shook his head, silently chuckling. "He was very nervous about meeting our Dad. He tried to look confident, but he was nearly shaking!"

"Really?" Jack looked at his Daddy in surprise. "But you're not afraid of anybody!"

"Not now, but back then I was young and I really wanted him to like me."

"But Grandpa likes everybody."

"Yeah, but he didn't know me then. And I didn't know him. You know how you feel when you meet somebody for the very first time? How you're a little bit scared and unsure?"

"Yeah."

"That's how I felt."

"Oh."

"So, he was very nervous, but then he would look over at Haley and immediately calm down. And he would smile at her with those big dimples and she would just grin from ear to ear! She really liked this boy, and he must have really liked her too to make a total fool of himself on that stage just so he could be close to her. So Dad let Aaron take Haley to the party. And that was their first date. And you know the rest!"

Aaron noticed a devious little glint in Jessica's eye and he knew the evening wasn't over yet.

"What are you up to?"

Jessica's grin grew wider. "Now," she said to Jack, "I have a little surprise for you."

"A present?" He was getting giddy again with anticipation.

"Sort of. I don't even think your Daddy knows that this even exists."

She reached underneath the couch and pulled out a little black rectangular case. Aaron saw it and his face conveyed several distinct emotions seemingly all at once. His eyes narrowed in confusion, widened in surprise as it dawned on him what that case possibly held, and then he was hit with…could it really be… fear? No. More like abject terror!

"Please, God, please tell me that's not what I think it is." He was practically begging. Jessica laughed. Hard.

"What is it?" Jack insisted. "What is it?"

"You want to see your Mommy and Daddy when they were in that play?"

"Yeah!" Jack squealed in excitement. "No!" Aaron pleaded in panic.

"Sorry, Aaron. You've been outvoted!"

Aaron's head dropped as Jessica got up and put the old videotape in the VCR and pressed play. Jack was mesmerized at the sight of his Mommy and Daddy as teenagers. It was like a fairy tale come to life right in front of him.

Haley was beautiful. She sang beautifully. She danced beautifully. She really was a very talented actress. Aaron, on the other hand, was terrible. He sang off key. He danced out of step. He messed up what few lines he had. He truly had no acting ability whatsoever.

Jack sat glued to the television and loved every second of it. And he laughed his head off at how horribly bad his father was on that stage. Even his four-year-old mind could plainly see why his father was considered "the worst fourth pirate in history!"

"Is it over yet?" Aaron sounded more like his four-year-old son than a 43-year-old FBI Agent.

That made Jack laugh harder. Finally Aaron was put out of his misery when the tape ended. He let out a sigh.

"Thank goodness."

"Daddy?"

"Yeah, buddy?"

"Let's watch it again!"

"Nooo, let's not!" He leaned over and started tickling his son. He loved to hear that youthful laugh and see that innocent smile. Honestly, he'd do just about anything to see and hear it whenever possible. Even endure the most embarrassing moment of his life over and over and over again. But Jessica rescued him.

"Next time you come over, you and I will watch it without him so we can really laugh. What do you say to that?"

"Yay!"

"Okay, buddy. Go get your jacket. We need to be heading back home."

While Jack ran after his jacket, Aaron turned to Jessica.

"I can't believe she never told me about that tape!"

"That's because she knew you'd try to destroy it!"

They both laughed. She looked at him admiringly for a moment.

"It's good to see you smile again. Haley always loved your smile. It was the dimples. She thought they were so cute."

He chuckled and blushed slightly. "She talked about my dimples?"

"Oh yes!" He shook his head.

"Thank you for doing this. It helps."

"Anytime. Like I told you, you're still family. I just want to see you and Jack happy again."

"We're getting there."

Jack came bustling back in with his jacket already on. He gave his Aunt a big hug. She whispered in his ear. "Remember, next time we watch it again, just the two of us. Deal?"

He smiled big. "Deal!"

"You two be careful out there."

"We will. Thanks again. For everything."

She nodded understandingly. "Good night."

"Night."

She closed the door behind them, went to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine. She brought it back into the living room and restarted the tape. She held up her glass to the screen and made a toast to her best friend, her confidant, and protector.

"Well done, sis. You did good."