Twenty Years [FanFic]
Title: Twenty Years
Author: Tooks
Pairing: Jack/Cassidy
Rating: FRT
Summary: A now grown Jack Hotchner unknowingly meets someone from his father's past
Notes: You can look at this as an epilogue for "Suffer the Children" (it contains a now grown OFC from that story) or as the first in a varied number of AU pieces set 20 years in the future from the BAU now...or both. Please let me know what you think!
“Keep up, please,” the teacher of the freshman class called out once more as some of the male students lingered at a classic nude painting, mumbling and practically giggling amongst one another.
Jack Hotchner came up behind one with a tiny smile, “Matthew Gideon Hotchner, you better just be really appreciating those brush strokes.”
Matt jumped some at his elder brother’s voice as the others scurried off with laughs and snickers. “Uh…”
Jack smiled more, “Don’t worry about it, but we need to keep moving, okay?”
“Yeah.” Matt’s face was bright red, like all the men in the family’s seemed to get when embarrassed, as he quickly moved to catch up.
Jack tried to hold back a chuckle as he watched the fourteen-year-old boy hurry to put some distance between them. Poor Matt. Maybe he shouldn’t have snuck up on him like that? It was hard enough going through puberty without your big brother scaring you half to death while you ogled a painting of naked, full-figured, woman.
The 24-year-old man hadn’t planned on chaperoning the class, his mother was going to, but in the end both her and his dad were called into some kind of emergency meeting…not an infrequent occurrence even on the bureaucratic end of the FBI. Jack didn’t mind though; he’d just completed his Masters in Criminology and had the spare time as he considered his next move, law school or The Academy. That and, well, he was always glad to help out his loved ones, always had been since he was a boy.
The guided tour ended at a wing that was clearly still undergoing preparation, though the banner set overhead announced it was “Darkism: The New Face of Art Wears a Mask.” That wasn’t what really caught Jack Hotchner’s eye, however. It was the woman talking to a curator that did.
So often women were called “raven-haired” and Jack never saw why, but with this woman he did. Her hair was long and black with a strange sheen that picked up the colored lights above her making it seem that there were dark streaks of red, blue, and gold throughout. Her locks also made her seem paler than normal, though as she pointed to an area he thought he could see tan lines under her oversized white gauze shirt that continuously slid across and off her shoulders. There was something about the woman that Jack found completely captivating as he watched her.
“Jack, come on!” Matt called out impatiently, loudly, “We’re heading to the gift shop!”
The teen’s voice not only caught his older brother’s attention, but the woman’s as well. She turned to look down the hall and directly at Jack. For a moment she didn’t seem to give a reaction, but then a faint look of amusement crossed her face and curled her lips. Jack smiled back a touch then raised his hand to wave warily, just praying he didn’t make a complete fool of himself. The woman mirrored the act, wiggling her fingers almost playfully.
“Jack!” the teen called again before he gave a dramatic groan and stormed up to his brother, grabbing his arm, “Jeeze, you’re the one who wanted us to keep up.” He began to pull Jack towards the gift shop where students and chaperones alike were milling about and making various purchases.
Jack wandered around some before stepping just outside the store within the museum to examine the brochures they had for various current and upcoming exhibits, searching for the one they were bound to have on “Darkism”.
“If you’re interested in the exhibit,” a female voice suddenly appeared at his side causing the young man to straighten up some before turning to see the woman from just moments before as she leaned across him some to lift a pamphlet from a slot.
At first the young man had nearly stepped back from her, wanting to give her an appropriate amount of space, but when she set a hand on his shoulder for seeming balance he stayed still. It was better to be too close than pull away now. “Thank you,” Jack replied softly as he took the brochure from her once she was standing again. His face was hot, his whole body warm, which he knew meant he was probably blushing feverishly as he looked at her.
The woman didn’t seem to notice though, “It starts next Monday and goes at least throughout the summer. You should come to the opening,” her lips started to curl into a faint smile, making Jack wonder if she did note his blush, “I can get you in.”
“Huh?” Jack gave her a confused look a moment before smiling himself, “You can?” What a wonderful thought, not only did the woman want him there, she wanted him there enough to get him in!
She gave a soft laugh and pulled the pamphlet open as Jack tried to make sure he didn’t drop it. Pointing to a photo she spoke, “That’s me.”
“You’re one of the artists?” he questioned as he saw her standing before a metal sculpture before looking at her in hopes he was correct.
“I am.”
Jack smiled at her, then looked back at the picture to read the caption underneath, and then back at her, “Well, uh,” his face heated up once again, “it’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Keel.”
“Please, call me Cassidy,” she stood back just enough to offer him her hand, “And you are?”
“Jack,” Jack shook her hand with a touch more vigorousness than he would’ve liked to, though she didn’t seem to mind, “Jack Hotchner.”
***
It took Jack almost the whole opening night at the museum to actually get to see Cassidy, but he didn’t mind too much. The exhibit was interesting; nothing he’d bring his family to see but interesting anyway. He was looking over a painting of a murder similar to The Black Dahlia case when she came up beside him as he sipped his champagne.
“So,” she took a sip from her own flute, “what do you think?”
His nerves, and her surprising stealth in what he’d noted were heeled boots earlier, got the better of him and he nearly spilled some of the drink down his chin. “Um,” he smiled a little at her, the blush returning for the first time that night, “of the exhibit or the piece?”
Cassidy shrugged in a dark blue sundress that matched the velvet boots, “Either. Or both.”
“Interesting,” Jack answered evenly, trying to manage that tone his father had that was both cordial and unreadable.
“A polite way of saying no comment,” the woman smiled at him to show she was, mostly, teasing.
“Oh, no, that’s not it,” Jack replied quickly before giving a small, unsure, laugh, “I just…I’m not sure what to say to be honest. All I can think is how a psychiatrist could have a field day with this exhibit.” Actually, a profiler, his parents, but he didn’t want to explain all that just now.
The woman gave a small laugh, something that caused Jack to puff out his chest subconsciously in pride at having successfully amused the woman with his joke. “Fair enough,” she said before tipping her head back and allowing the rest of her champagne to travel down her throat in one graceful movement. She then tilted her head some to look at Jack curiously, “Would you like to take a walk?”
“A walk?” Jack downed his champagne nervously before adding, “where?”
“Does it matter?”
Jack’s now rose-colored cheeks began to dimple some, “No, I suppose not.” At least not at the moment as the woman stretched out her hand with a playful look in her eyes. This wasn’t his normal behavior, not at all, but for some reason Jack felt the irresistible urge to throw caution to the wind and wander off somewhere private with her.
"The advantage of the emotions is that they lead us astray…" ~ Oscar Wilde
Author: Tooks
Pairing: Jack/Cassidy
Rating: FRT
Summary: A now grown Jack Hotchner unknowingly meets someone from his father's past
Notes: You can look at this as an epilogue for "Suffer the Children" (it contains a now grown OFC from that story) or as the first in a varied number of AU pieces set 20 years in the future from the BAU now...or both. Please let me know what you think!
“Keep up, please,” the teacher of the freshman class called out once more as some of the male students lingered at a classic nude painting, mumbling and practically giggling amongst one another.
Jack Hotchner came up behind one with a tiny smile, “Matthew Gideon Hotchner, you better just be really appreciating those brush strokes.”
Matt jumped some at his elder brother’s voice as the others scurried off with laughs and snickers. “Uh…”
Jack smiled more, “Don’t worry about it, but we need to keep moving, okay?”
“Yeah.” Matt’s face was bright red, like all the men in the family’s seemed to get when embarrassed, as he quickly moved to catch up.
Jack tried to hold back a chuckle as he watched the fourteen-year-old boy hurry to put some distance between them. Poor Matt. Maybe he shouldn’t have snuck up on him like that? It was hard enough going through puberty without your big brother scaring you half to death while you ogled a painting of naked, full-figured, woman.
The 24-year-old man hadn’t planned on chaperoning the class, his mother was going to, but in the end both her and his dad were called into some kind of emergency meeting…not an infrequent occurrence even on the bureaucratic end of the FBI. Jack didn’t mind though; he’d just completed his Masters in Criminology and had the spare time as he considered his next move, law school or The Academy. That and, well, he was always glad to help out his loved ones, always had been since he was a boy.
The guided tour ended at a wing that was clearly still undergoing preparation, though the banner set overhead announced it was “Darkism: The New Face of Art Wears a Mask.” That wasn’t what really caught Jack Hotchner’s eye, however. It was the woman talking to a curator that did.
So often women were called “raven-haired” and Jack never saw why, but with this woman he did. Her hair was long and black with a strange sheen that picked up the colored lights above her making it seem that there were dark streaks of red, blue, and gold throughout. Her locks also made her seem paler than normal, though as she pointed to an area he thought he could see tan lines under her oversized white gauze shirt that continuously slid across and off her shoulders. There was something about the woman that Jack found completely captivating as he watched her.
“Jack, come on!” Matt called out impatiently, loudly, “We’re heading to the gift shop!”
The teen’s voice not only caught his older brother’s attention, but the woman’s as well. She turned to look down the hall and directly at Jack. For a moment she didn’t seem to give a reaction, but then a faint look of amusement crossed her face and curled her lips. Jack smiled back a touch then raised his hand to wave warily, just praying he didn’t make a complete fool of himself. The woman mirrored the act, wiggling her fingers almost playfully.
“Jack!” the teen called again before he gave a dramatic groan and stormed up to his brother, grabbing his arm, “Jeeze, you’re the one who wanted us to keep up.” He began to pull Jack towards the gift shop where students and chaperones alike were milling about and making various purchases.
Jack wandered around some before stepping just outside the store within the museum to examine the brochures they had for various current and upcoming exhibits, searching for the one they were bound to have on “Darkism”.
“If you’re interested in the exhibit,” a female voice suddenly appeared at his side causing the young man to straighten up some before turning to see the woman from just moments before as she leaned across him some to lift a pamphlet from a slot.
At first the young man had nearly stepped back from her, wanting to give her an appropriate amount of space, but when she set a hand on his shoulder for seeming balance he stayed still. It was better to be too close than pull away now. “Thank you,” Jack replied softly as he took the brochure from her once she was standing again. His face was hot, his whole body warm, which he knew meant he was probably blushing feverishly as he looked at her.
The woman didn’t seem to notice though, “It starts next Monday and goes at least throughout the summer. You should come to the opening,” her lips started to curl into a faint smile, making Jack wonder if she did note his blush, “I can get you in.”
“Huh?” Jack gave her a confused look a moment before smiling himself, “You can?” What a wonderful thought, not only did the woman want him there, she wanted him there enough to get him in!
She gave a soft laugh and pulled the pamphlet open as Jack tried to make sure he didn’t drop it. Pointing to a photo she spoke, “That’s me.”
“You’re one of the artists?” he questioned as he saw her standing before a metal sculpture before looking at her in hopes he was correct.
“I am.”
Jack smiled at her, then looked back at the picture to read the caption underneath, and then back at her, “Well, uh,” his face heated up once again, “it’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Keel.”
“Please, call me Cassidy,” she stood back just enough to offer him her hand, “And you are?”
“Jack,” Jack shook her hand with a touch more vigorousness than he would’ve liked to, though she didn’t seem to mind, “Jack Hotchner.”
***
It took Jack almost the whole opening night at the museum to actually get to see Cassidy, but he didn’t mind too much. The exhibit was interesting; nothing he’d bring his family to see but interesting anyway. He was looking over a painting of a murder similar to The Black Dahlia case when she came up beside him as he sipped his champagne.
“So,” she took a sip from her own flute, “what do you think?”
His nerves, and her surprising stealth in what he’d noted were heeled boots earlier, got the better of him and he nearly spilled some of the drink down his chin. “Um,” he smiled a little at her, the blush returning for the first time that night, “of the exhibit or the piece?”
Cassidy shrugged in a dark blue sundress that matched the velvet boots, “Either. Or both.”
“Interesting,” Jack answered evenly, trying to manage that tone his father had that was both cordial and unreadable.
“A polite way of saying no comment,” the woman smiled at him to show she was, mostly, teasing.
“Oh, no, that’s not it,” Jack replied quickly before giving a small, unsure, laugh, “I just…I’m not sure what to say to be honest. All I can think is how a psychiatrist could have a field day with this exhibit.” Actually, a profiler, his parents, but he didn’t want to explain all that just now.
The woman gave a small laugh, something that caused Jack to puff out his chest subconsciously in pride at having successfully amused the woman with his joke. “Fair enough,” she said before tipping her head back and allowing the rest of her champagne to travel down her throat in one graceful movement. She then tilted her head some to look at Jack curiously, “Would you like to take a walk?”
“A walk?” Jack downed his champagne nervously before adding, “where?”
“Does it matter?”
Jack’s now rose-colored cheeks began to dimple some, “No, I suppose not.” At least not at the moment as the woman stretched out her hand with a playful look in her eyes. This wasn’t his normal behavior, not at all, but for some reason Jack felt the irresistible urge to throw caution to the wind and wander off somewhere private with her.
"The advantage of the emotions is that they lead us astray…" ~ Oscar Wilde