Thanks to lilyflower101 and hippiechic81, for reviewing the last chapter

Sorry it's been so long between updates but the story is now finished, thanks to everyone who has read it and left reviews I really appreciate hearing what you all think.

"Good morning Aaron" Rossi greeted as Hotch walked into the kitchen the next morning

"Good morning Dave" Aaron replied

"I'm sorry about last night," Dave started "we shouldn't have teased you about your date"

"That's ok, I over reacted, I guess I'm just ready to be back at work and start getting my life back to normal"

After the team had finished breakfast they decided that they would all head back to their own homes and get ready to return to work the next day. Once they were all packed Aaron asked Rossi for a lift home, " I can take you" JJ offered over hearing their conversation,

"Thanks JJ" Hotch replied

As they were getting into the car, Garcia came running out and handed Hotch his small brown bear, " here sir, don't forget this" she smiled

"Thanks Garcia"

They rode most of the way in silence while Hotch contemplated what life would be like now, if this experience had changed the team dynamics at all.

He knew that being at home alone would probably take some getting used to after living with them all.

" you're quiet today, is everything ok?" JJ asked

"Sorry, yeah I'm fine just thinking about everything that's happened" he replied "and thinking about getting back to work tomorrow, I'll be surprised if I can even see my desk through all the paperwork that's sure to have piled up"

" yeah hopefully we all get some time to clear our paperwork before we get sent on a case" she replied as she turned into Aaron's driveway

They sat in awkward silence for a moment before Aaron spoke "thanks again for everything that you did for me, I really do appreciate it"

"You don't have to thank me Hotch, that's what family does" she replied smiling at him

Aaron smiled at her and watched her drive away before heading inside. Hotch unpacked his bag, made himself a cup of coffee and went to sit on the couch. The house was so quiet it was almost eerie, Hotch had always enjoyed the quiet of his apartment but after the last few weeks he just found it unsettling.

In the morning Hotch had a shower and quickly finished his morning routine before heading to the office. Once he arrived he went straight to see Chief Strauss.

" thank you Chief Strauss for handling my unique situation with such an open mind." Aaron started " not many people would have believed what happened"

" that's ok agent Hotchner, I knew it was you as soon as you looked at me, no normal baby could give a look like that" she smiled "I'm glad that you and your team are back and ready to work but you will still have to have a psychological evaluation to ensure you are ready to be back after your experience. You have your first appointment this morning so make sure you are on time"

"Of course" Hotch replied as he left her office.

"I need coffee" Aaron mumbled to himself after taking one look at his file covered desk.

As he walked into the kitchen he saw JJ and Reid standing very close together and talking quietly, he made a mental note to keep an eye on them and make sure nothing inappropriate was happening while they were working, then cleared his throat to announce himself. Hotch almost laughed at the guilty way they jumped back from each other

"Good morning" he said with a smirk as he went about making himself a coffee

"Good morning Hotch, how are you feeling?" JJ asked

" I'm fine thanks, and after I've had coffee I'll be ready to tackle my mountain of paperwork, you?"

" fine thanks, it was weird being home alone last night, I kept waking up and listening to hear if you were crying, before I remembered that was over now" she smiled

"I think it will be awhile before everything goes back to normal" Hotch replied " but for now it's time to get to work"

The rest of the team greeted him as he walked through the bullpen, " lets get to work guys" he said cutting off all their questions " we'll all go out for lunch and catch up then ok?"

After a few hours of work and one psych evaluation later it was finally time for lunch, once they had all ordered their meals, Aaron started the conversation

"To answer all of your questions, I'm fine, yes it's good to be back to normal, yes it's good to be back at work and lastly, yes I passed my psych evaluation so we can start going out on cases again." He smiled "and yes it was weird being home alone last night and not having anyone to tell me when to go to bed" Hotch laughed

"That's fantastic Hotch" said Rossi " I know how you feel, the mansion feels really empty now without you all"

" I really need to thank you all so much for everything you all did for me. I could never ask for for a better family support system than you guys, and I am extremely grateful for that" Aaron said as the food arrived putting further conversation on hold while they ate.

Rossi spoke first "I think I can speak for all of us when I say that you are very welcome, and we know that you would have done the same for any of us if we were in your position" the rest of the team nodded their agreement

"I also want to apologise for the day at the carnival, now that I'm back to my old self I understand why you were all so mad at me but at the time I was just having fun" Hotch said looking over at Reid

"That's ok Hotch, from what I've read it was typical child behaviour. All kids try something like that" Reid answered.

Just as they finished lunch Hotch got a phone call from Strauss.

"Looks like we have a case, wheels up in 30"

The end.

Thanks for reading!