Life is about paying it forward. When a deed is done on your behalf, you shouldn't question the blessing but find a way to pass it on to the next person. I was blessed to have a friend who wrote a story for a pairing when I was stuck and unable to write. I promised if need be, I would return in kind. Sometimes things happen beyond our control but no matter the circumstances, a promise is a promise and I am paying it forward.

Song prompt: Piano In The Dark by Brenda Russell and Joe Esposito

Piano In The Dark

Smokey, dimly lit bars on the downside of town had never appealed to him before, but tonight he needed to get away from work, family…life. True, the answer to everything had never been found at the bottom of a whiskey bottle, but sometimes you had to search in order to find. Though the only thing he had managed to find as he plowed thru a fifth of the bottle would be his lunch from yesterday. Pouring two fingers full, he concluded that he wasn't looking hard enough.

He never thought he'd become a martyr or a victim…or even worse - Gideon. Dave had been right when he said that there was only so much one person could do. One person can make a difference so why did it seem that he was getting no where?

Looking up, he spied a piano in the corner and walked over to it. He wasn't feeling like a funky jazz piece, but a slow melodic rhapsody. What was that one he used to play for Hailey? His fingers unconsciously touched the keys as it tried to remember the notes from long ago.

"Does this thing work?" he asked above the noise of the ball game on the TV.

"Hell if I know," the bartender replied. "It's been sitting in the corner for as long as I can remember."

"Mind if I try it out?"

"Knock yourself out. Anything has to be a welcome relief from this stupid game."

"Hey!" a patron called out. "That's the Washington Nationals up there."

"So?" the bartender barked as he swiped the counter with his rag.

"They're going to play offs."

"Only if they're playing the Cubs."

"Wanna bet?"

As the argument escalated, Hotch sat down on the bench and flexed his fingers. It had been so long since he had played he wondered if he still had the ability. Gently at first, he played a slow and fast scale. Not bad. It was still there. Now if he could only remember the song. Closing his eyes, he let his fingers move over the keys.

At first no one paid attention to the dark haired man at the piano, but as the song intensified, the eyes concentrating on the game slowly shifted to the corner.

Hotch didn't know where the song was coming from, unless it was his soul trying to find a way to make sense out of nonsense.

Xxxx

She never thought she'd ever walk into a bar called "The Ace in the Hole", but she was always game for something new. Plus she needed to get away. Between the stress at work and her break up with Kevin, she needed to find a place where no one knew her name. This place looked as good as any to get a fresh start.

As her hand pulled the door open, the piano music greeted her. It was soft, melodic, and spoke to her in a way nothing had in a long time. Whoever was playing that piece should have it recorded. Hell, she pulled out her phone and hit record. If Beiber could be a star on YouTube, this guy could go even further.

Stepping up to the bar, she nodded to the bartender.

"What will it be?" he asked.

"A Coke. Straight up. With a straw."

The bartender raised his eyebrow. "Sure you don't want some rum in that Coke?"

"Only if you want to see me tap dance on top of the upright." The bartender handed the Coke over. "What do I owe you?"

"It's on the house." He winked.

A quick sip. "Who's tickling the ivories?"

"I don't have a clue, but I'd give him a job in a minute. This is the first time in a month I've been asked to turn the TV down."

"I have to go check this out." Taking her drink, she walked thru the smoke to the corner. Eyes closed, his head bobbed to the rhythm. When he lifted his head, she had to gasp.

"Boss?"

Hotch's eyes flew open. "Garcia? What are you doing here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing." She sipped her drink again. "What is the name of this tune?"

"I don't have one; I'm making it up as I go along."

"Sounds really good."

They got quiet as the tune finished. A light applause was the response.

"You're a hit," Garcia commented. "Play something else before they turn up the TV."

Hotch tinkled the keys lightly and launched into another tune. Tapping her foot to the beat, Garcia felt herself getting carried away.

"I didn't know you played piano."

"Twelve years. Then I went to college. This is what helped pay the bills while I was in law school."

"You didn't go professional?"

"I thought about it. Then I got hired at the DA's office. My piano playing went out the window."

"Did she like your playing?"

"Sometimes. That first year of our marriage we had to sell the piano to pay some bills. I wanted to get another, but life happened. This is the first time in ten years I've played."

"I could never give something that I loved up so easily."

"You'd be surprised what you can do if you have no choice." He shifted the tune to one of haunting. Softly he sang along.

"You know 'Piano In The Dark' by Brenda Russell?" Garcia asked.

"It's one of my favourites."

"Mine too." Hotch continued singing. At the chorus, Garcia joined in. As the song finished, a couple of the patrons came over and laid money on the lid.

"I didn't know you sang." Garcia tried to filter all the surprises her one night had offered. Hotch's eyes twinkled. "Well, aren't you a wealth of secrets."

Hotch started another song. Looking at Garcia's dress, he smiled. "Where did you get that dress?"

"You like?"

He cocked his head to the side. "I didn't say that, but it's different. I've never seen a dress pattern with windmills."

"A friend made this for me. She said it fit my extraordinary tastes."

"You have an exceptional friend."

A silence fell between them as each searched for something to say.

"Hotch?"

"Yes, Penelope?"

"That first song you were playing when I walked in…that was her song, wasn't it?"

Hotch closed his eyes. "Yes."

"When does it stop hurting?"

"It doesn't."

"Great. I was hoping the memory of Kevin would be gone before morning," her laugh was filled with mirth.

"Good luck." Hotch shifted the tune to blend into another. Garcia felt her stomach drop and her mouth went dry. Oh God! She had never heard anything like that before and she considered herself a connoisseur of music. Unable to speak, she closed her eyes and let herself get carried away.

Hotch felt the music pour from his hands as his heart began to lighten and his brain cleared for the first time in months. He felt alive again. He was getting his second wind.

Finishing the song, he did a little play on the last two keys for effect. Looking at Garcia, he noticed she was crying.

"What's wrong Pen?" He was genuinely concerned by the look on her face.

"Boss, that was beautiful," she breathed thru her tears. "What's it called?"

"It doesn't have one; I just wrote it." Taking a deep breath, he thought for a second. "I'm going to call it 'Night Time In Amsterdam' in honour of you."

"Oh, Boss! Can I buy you a drink?"

He looked at the tall glass in her hands. "I'll have what you're having."

"A straight up Coke?"

Hotch's eyes twinkled. "Can I have mine on the rocks?"

"Sure, if you fulfill one little request."

"What's that?"

"Play it again, Sam."

And he did.

The End.