"I am a forest, and a night of dark trees: but he who is not afraid of my darkness, will find banks full of roses under my cypresses." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Jack Hotchner ran around the small apartment with glee, holding his toys and mumbling words here and there. He was pretending he was his dad and stopping criminals, who happened to be his stuffed animals at the moment. Loren White laughed lightly at the small boy's antics and returned to her grading. For about a year she had been watching Jack for Aaron, his father, who was always busy working. Ever since his wife, Haley, had died, he had entrusted Loren and his sister-in-law Jessica to watch his son. Since Aaron hadn't called about leaving on a case, she knew he would be home soon. Marking in red on a few papers, she paused and glanced around the Hotchner apartment. It was the same as it had been since the first time she had ever saw it. White walls, dark flooring with leather accents. It was… impersonal. There were a few pictures of Jack and Aaron, but none of Haley. Jessica explained that Aaron had been so depressed after Haley's death, that Jessica had to take all of the photos down. She didn't throw them away, she merely put them in a box that rested in the back of a closet. Loren had never seen what Haley looked like, but she assumed she was beautiful. Rubbing her eyes, Loren noticed how quiet it had gotten.

"Jack?" She called out. Nothing, complete silence. "Jack, come on out." Loren stood and walked out of the living room to the kitchen. Peering around the island, she noticed his stuffed animal, who was portraying the bad guy, was lying on the floor. Picking up the stuffed bear, Loren walked further down the small hallway and into Aaron's room since it was the closest. "Buddy?" All of a sudden a small body smacked straight into her body, making her topple over. Jack began tickling Loren while letting loose small giggles at her. "Stop! Stop, you little monster." She joked and grabbed his body, pulling him to her so she could hug him. "You scared me, buddy." She laughed and Jack was smiling at her with his brown eyes wide and bright.

"What are you guys doing on the floor?" At the sound of his dad's voice, Jack jumped up and ran past Loren to him. Loren caught her breath and sat up a bit, turning to see the stern looking man behind her. He was tall, around six foot, with dark hair and eyes. Aaron Hotchner was the epitome of seriousness and practically embodied an alpha male.

"Jack decided he wanted to scare me." Loren shrugged and smiled at how happy Jack seemed. His little arms were wrapped around Aaron's legs and he was muttering nonsense. "You're earlier than I expected." Standing up, she grinned at the man who stood before her and patted Jack's head as she walked past them.

"Finished my work pretty fast." Was all he said as he watched the brunette walk into his kitchen. Loren was the exact opposite of Haley Hotchner. Loren was short, dark haired and green eyed while Haley had been tall, blonde and brown eyed. He had met her one evening when he was grocery shopping. She had been having trouble reaching something and Aaron had swooped in and got it for her. That chance meeting hadn't been the only one after that. They met again while running in the local park, and once again at Jack's school. Loren was a tenth grade teacher and a volunteer there and was helping out with Jack's school play. He hadn't immediately asked Loren to watch Jack, but it didn't take long for the brunette to win him over. After Garcia had done an extensive background check, Loren proved to be as honest and innocent as she seemed. She was an only child to deceased parents and had never gotten any sort of tickets or charges. Loren had earned her bachelors in Education a few years ago and had just recently started teaching at Jack's elementary school.

"What do you boys want for dinner?" Loren questioned as she stacked up her graded papers.

"Pizza!" Jack shouted, still attached to his dad.

"How does pizza sound, Aaron?" She asked the older Hotchner boy with a hand on her hip.

"Perfect." He shrugged and pulled Jack away from him for a moment. "Buddy, I am going to change. Why don't you go pick up your toys?" Jack nodded and ran off, gathering his stuffed animals. Aaron shut his bedroom door to change, so Loren took that opportunity to order the pizza. She had grown accustom to what each Hotchner boy liked to eat. Aaron liked only pepperoni and peppers on his pizza, while Jack loved just cheese. Loren herself liked just pepperoni, but after eating pizza with peppers on it for awhile, she ended up dealing with it. So, as a compromise, she ordered a medium pizza with a half as cheese the other half pepperoni with peppers.

Aaron came down the stairs moments later wearing sweatpants and a white t-shirt. Loren loved this moments. Usually Aaron Hotchner was "uptight" and stoic, he always wore dress shirts, ties and dress pants. When he wore sweatpants or even jeans, Loren always had to stop and stare a bit, making sure it wasn't a dream. And then she felt jealous that she didn't have comfy clothes to change into. Her sleeveless blouse, dress jeans and blazer were not lounging clothes. Settling on the couch while Aaron picked a child-appropriate movie, Loren slid off her blazer and folded it. Jack had finished cleaning his toys up and climbed onto the couch into Loren's lap. Aaron had glanced up and saw the two, a painful feeling hit his chest as he thought of Haley. Looking away and catching his breath, he stood and sat next to the two. The three of them spent some time watching the beginning of the movie before the pizza arrived. Aaron handed Loren money and she went to retrieve the food.

"Hello." She smiled, opening the door. The boy holding the pizza happened to be a new student of hers, Josh Rogers. "Oh, Josh. It's nice to see you." She saw him glance back at Aaron who had straightened a bit when she opened the door.

"You too, Ms. White." He coughed. "That'll be ten fifty." Loren handed him the money and he collected exact change for her. Making sure she gave him a tip, she almost shut the door when Josh put his hand out.

"Uhm, anything you need, Josh?" She could hear rustling behind her and glanced behind her to see Aaron on full alert. She was too. When Josh had put his hand out to stop the door, her heart jumped a bit, a natural reaction.

"Just wondering if you were done grading our tests." He questioned, eyes zoning in on Aaron who had gotten closer.

"I have. You'll know you're grade tomorrow, Mr. Rogers. Thanks for the pizza." She saw a flicker of annoyance but he gave a smile and waved goodbye. Shutting the door tightly, she made sure to chain it and deadbolt it. Jack, unaware of anything, was still sitting on the couch engrossed in the movie. Aaron relaxed a bit but gave her a look, silently asking her if she was alright, and she was. Josh didn't cause her any harm, just scared her a bit. After both of them calmed down, they called Jack into the kitchen where they ate their fill. It was nearly nine o'clock, Jack's bedtime. While his father tucked him in, Loren cleaned up and turned off the TV. She gathered her papers and folders so she could pack up and then slid her blazer back on. Loren hated this part. She had always felt so comfortable around the Hotchner's that she never wanted to leave. Unfortunately, she had her own home and couldn't technically stay.

"Leaving?" She heard a voice behind her ask.

"Early morning. I still have some papers to grade." Loren answered, turning to see the oldest Hotchner watching from the front door.

"You're alright driving home?"

"Well, I did have two glasses of pop, but I don't think I'm that buzzed." He laughed, a rare occurrence. "Thanks for worrying, Aaron. I'll be fine." She grabbed her keys.

"I'll walk you out." The two ventured out into the cool night together, whispering about random things. Aaron held Loren's things while she unlocked her car and then waved to her goodbye when she backed out. Shaking his head, he realized that Loren had become an integral part of his and Jack's life.