Episode tag for season 7 episode 1 It Takes a Village.

Rossi: "Well that's a good look (Jack) will love that beard."

Hotch: "We skype'd every day, he's not a fan."

Aaron Hotchner rolled off his sleeping bag, the desert heat caused his shirt to stick to his back. He pulled it off and moved to unzip the tent. When his tablet lit up in the dark, he tried to keep it close to him at night but sharing a tent with four other men, sometimes made it difficult.

He picked it up and accepted Jack's call as he crawled out of the tent.

Aaron smiled as his son's face appeared on the screen, "Hey, Buddy."

"Hi, Daddy."

Aaron's brow knotted, when Jack turned six he'd stopped calling him 'Daddy.' He lowered himself on the ground and brought the tablet closer. Jack was still in bed, dressed in pajamas. With the laptop in front of him. When he should have been dressed for school.

"What's wrong, Jack?"

"You don't look like yourself."

Aaron chuckled, and ran his hand over his newly grown beard. Shaving took a backseat to his new responsibilities. "You don't look like yourself either."

Jack pulled at the collar of his t-shirt and shook his head, "Hot."

Aaron frowned at the redness in his son's cheeks, and glassy eyes, "On the inside, or outside?"

"Inside, are you gonna shave today?"

Hotch chuckled, "Why do you want me to shave?"

"Don't like the beard, can I take off my shirt like you?"

Hotch was grateful that the tablet was far enough away, that his son couldn't see the scars on his body, inflicted by George Foyet.

"Sure, Buddy, does Aunt Jessica know you're not feeling good?"

Jack pulled his shirt off and nodded, "Uh huh. Can you see the sun yet?"

Aaron looked toward the sky, the dark was starting to lift but he couldn't see the sun yet. When he was reassigned to the middle east, Jack was curious about the time difference.

"Not yet, Buddy."

"Is that your dad, Jack?"

Jack nodded and Jessica appeared in the frame with a bottle of medicine and a glass of orange juice.

She waved, "Two shirtless Hotchner's, oh boy." She joked.

Aaron shook his head and looked down at his bare torso, Oops. "Sorry, I was trying to cool off when Jack called."

"We're trying to cool off here too, right Jack?" She said, pouring some medicine into the cup and passing it to Jack.

He nodded and frowned, sniffing the purple liquid.

"Smells weird, huh?" Aaron said.

"Yeah."

"Plug your nose and drink it fast, okay."

Jack pinched his nose and tipped the liquid into his mouth, he grimaced and stuck out his tongue. "All done."

"That might make you sleepy, Jack." Jessica said, running her hand through his hair.

Aaron tried to smile, it was times like these that he resented his job he was in a foreign country while his son needed him at home. Sometimes his job stunk.

"Already sleepy." Jack muttered, with droopy eyes.

"Get some rest, Buddy, feel better."

"Love you, Daddy."

"Love you too."

The screen went black and Aaron pulled himself off the ground, the faster the job was done, the sooner he could come home.

Finished

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