1. No Lighter!

Into the Gotchaverse

Halloween Season 9 additional scene

« Oh, Sir, you don’t have to do that! », Penelope exclaimed, seeing her boss pick up the now full trash bag and deftly closing it with the plastic tie.

« It’s fine, Penelope. You’ve just hosted a wonderful evening, so the least I can do is help you clean up. », he replied, donning the bright purple gloves with feathery trim used for doing the dishes.

He swiftly filled the sink, added dish soap to a sponge and began washing the plates, glasses and silverware that had been used over the course of the evening.

Penelope busied herself putting away leftovers and they worked in companiable silence, occasionally bumping shoulders as Penelope got containers out, opened the fridge and put away unused utensils.

Once she was satisfied that everything had been satisfactorily stored in its proper place, she came to join him at the sink, drying what had already been washed.

Hotch began humming quietly, earning him a surprised look from Penelope.

« Sorry, Penelope, I’ll stop if it’s bothering you. I always seem to sing or put music on when I’m doing chores, it makes them less boring somehow. » he apologised.

« No, please don’t stop, it’s lovely! I had no idea you were so musical! You also have great taste, Blackbird is such an underrated Beatles song! » , she trilled, grinning widely.

As the two of them finished tidying up the kitchen, they sang together, voices harmonising on ABBA, Queen and Beatles songs.

« Well, I think that’s everything. I’ll take the trash out for you on my way out. » said Hotch. « Thank you again  for a wonderful evening, Penelope. » he continued.

« Thank you, Sir. Please don’t leave yet, I’ve got something for you, for your birthday! » Penelope replied, rushing to her bedroom and rapidly opening and closing cupboards and drawers before returning.

« It’s not much, but I hope you like it » she announced, handing over a red gift bag with a flourish. «  And yes, I know you don’t want a big fuss made of you and your day at the office, but it and you should definitely be celebrated! » she uttered, gesturing wildly with her hands and smiling broadly.

Hotch blushed and smiled, activating his dimple.

« Thank you very much, Penelope. You’re so thoughtful, and I appreciate your discretion. If your presents for Jack are anything to go by, it will be perfect! » he replied, opening his arms for her to hug him.

She squeezed him tightly, reaching up impulsively to kiss his cheek and leaving a scarlet lipstick mark there.

«  You’re welcome, Sir. Now let’s get you home before the witching hour and I turn into a pumpkin! Drive safe! » she declared, releasing him from her embrace and guiding him to her front door, then ushering him into the hallway.

« Goodnight, Penelope, see you at work tomorrow », he replied, waiting until the door had shut behind him to touch his cheek and discovering the vibrant red makeup mark she had left on his cheek.

His technical analyst certainly was one of a kind, he mused.

Reblog if it's okay to start talking to you.

Into the Gotchaverse!

Because @hotchley has just celebrated a birthday, I thought it was the perfect time to post this! I have taken inspiration from several writers @themetaphorgirl from her PSOLC series for the triplets’ nicknames and Spencer not being able to master pronunciation of foreign languages, @hotchley or someone else I think came up with the strawberry allergy and any similarities to @winterscaptain a joyful future series are accidental ( and can be changed if needed). 

Birthday

Hotch yawned, stretched and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Rolling over, he found his wife’s side of the bed empty but still warm.

As he awoke, he tuned in to the sounds of chatter, laughter, giggling and cupboards and drawers being opened and closed that carried up the stairs from the kitchen.

« Mama! We have to put chocolate chips in! They are Dada’s favourite! » Scarlett ordered loudly. «  Oh, and strawberries too, of course! », she added.

Hotch had come to expect nothing less of his Type A, opinionated four year-old daughter who would quite likely be running the country someday.

« Maybe we could put banana in instead, Lettie? », Stella suggested, looking for middle ground and a way to keep everyone happy.

«  No, not stwawbewwies! Dada’s super ‘llergic, ‘member! We don’t want him to have to go to hostipal, not on his biwfday! » Theo piped up, sounding worried. Hotch could picture his son pushing his floppy blonde hair out of his eyes and biting his lip.

“ If you three don’t quiet down, you’ll wake your Dada up!”, his wife reprimanded his three youngest gently. “ And definitely no strawberries in the pancakes, Scarlett. We do not want a repeat of the 4th of July picnic, thank you very much.”, she added.

“Yeah, hard pass on that one! And we all know that Dad’s a grumpy bear before he’s had his morning coffee”, his eldest added.

It was enough of a birthday gift to have his eldest home from college, though he wasn’t far away, between his studies, his long distance girlfriend and enjoying life, visits home were not as frequent as he would have liked.

“Who wants to help me make coffee? Unless you’ve already made some, Penny?”, he questioned his stepmother, attempting to keep at least one of his siblings from making too much mess.

“ Not yet, sweetheart, I’m still on my herbal tea health kick, but you go right ahead. Stella, you go and help Jack, OK?”, she replied.

“Yes, Mama!”, Stella replied.

Hotch could picture her grabbing Jack’s hand and could hear them move her step-stool over to the proper area of the counter.

“We need, coffee beans, water in the jug, a mug, a spoon and a… filter, right, Jack-Jack?”, she enumerated.

If anyone became followed in his footsteps and became a profiler, it would be her, Hotch mused, as her attention to detail was second to none and her memory could rival Reid’s one day.

His thoughts were interrupted by a blur of short, dark, wavy hair flinging itself at him. The owner of the hair looked up at him, frowning slightly.

“Uh, Dada, you should be sleeping! But you’re awake, so you can read me books, right?” Scarlett declared. “Happy birthday, by the way!”, she added, rushing out of the room before he could answer, then dashed back with an armful of books.

Hotch proceeded to read all about Peppa’s adventures with her brother George and the well-meaning but pretty incompetent Daddy Pig.

While they were in the middle of yet another story about Peppa being bossy, Stella knocked on the door, waiting to be told it was OK to come in. Hotch nodded and gestured to her to join him on the bed. She entered, with Penelope following behind, wearing her purple silk pyjamas, matching robe and co-ordinated glasses. Her hair was pulled back in a simple braid, but she looked beautiful. She was bearing the special breakfast tray, which had a plate of pancakes on it ( thankfully strawberry-free), a glass of juice, a mug of coffee that bore the inscription that the drinker was the world’s best father, a vase with a small sunflower in it, plus all the cards that his children and his wife had made or bought him. Jack arrived a moment later, carrying Theo.

Penelope settled the tray in front of him, deftly scooping Scarlett up and out of the way before kissing him and positioning herself next to him, then placing Scarlett in her lap. Stella cautiously reached out from his other side to put her arms around his neck and give him a gentle kiss.

“Joyeux anniversaire, papa chéri! Bon appétit!”, she whispered excitedly. “ Auntie Emily helped me learn it, it means happy birthday, darling daddy. And bon appétit means bon appétit, of course!”, she explained eagerly.

“Why thank you, principessa”, Hotch replied, using the nickname that Rossi had chosen when Stella was born. “ How’s my Italian accent? Is it better than Uncle Spencer’s?” he asked, smiling at his clever daughter.

Stella just smiled and nodded, twirling one of her long brown curls around her finger, ever tactful about his former colleague’s ability to actually speak foreign languages that he could read and understand perfectly.

Meanwhile, his boys had settled by his feet.

“Happy birthday, old man!”, teased his eldest, grinning cheekily.

“Jack Thomas Hotchner! Don’t call people old, it’s wude! Happy biwfday, super young Dada!”Theo countered indignantly. “ Oh, and careful with the coffee, it’s hot!”, he added, brown eyes wide with concern as his father lifted the mug to his lips.

“Thanks for the compliment and the heads-up, buddy”, he replied, smiling at his children’s antics.

Once he had finished his delicious breakfast and the tray had been safely placed on the nightstand, out of the way, he began opening his cards. Scarlett got bored and burrowed under the covers, while Theo, still sitting near the end of the bed with Jack, had wrapped himself in the throw that was there, wearing it like a hooded cape.

“Oooh, present time now, Aaron!” his wife declared cheerfully.

“Oh look, I think you have some gifts already, as those strange lumps weren’t in our bed this morning!” she added, indicating the spots where Scarlett was hiding and Theo was sitting.

“Ah yes, bed lumps, just what I always wanted!” Hotch declared, prodding and tickling the bulge closest to him as his wife went to get the undoubtedly enormous stash of presents she had purchased for him.

The strange comforter-covered gift let out a giggle and poked out its head.

“ Am I a good surprise, Dada?”, she enquired.

“Yes, passerotta, you’re always a great surprise!” he replied.

“ Now, how about that lump that’s growing next to Jack, hmm?” he announced to the room.

He patted it gently and the fleecy dome wriggled, dislodging the blanket.

“Oh, a Theodore Atticus Morgan Hotchner, what a lovely surprise!”, he declared, which made Theo smile widely, activating the dimples that all of his siblings had inherited from him.

“ I fink Mama has some weally weally good pwopew pwesents fow you too” he added, regaining his usual quiet and serious tone.

As if on cue, Penelope returned, arms laden with beribboned gift bags and several deftly wrapped boxes. Every year she outdid herself, and, by now, he was starting to get used to being thoroughly spoiled, hugged, kissed and made a fuss of all day.

Her character is one of the reasons I got so into Criminal Minds! In a lesser show, she’d have been the dumb, blonde secretary and her role would be played by a stereotypical nerdy guy! As a short, curvy blonde who is very empathetic, I was so happy to see her on screen!

I am in love with Penelope Garcia. Obviously.

As a plus size woman, i love having plus size representation in the media. It’s really hard to find.

Most of the time, if there’s a plus size character at all, their only character trait is that they’re big. They’re always pictured eating and talking about how much they love eating.

I love Penelope Garcia because I want representation.

Because Hollywood is unfair to people who wear anything bigger than a size 2.

Because Penelope has a successful career.

Because Penelope built healthy relationships, platonic and romantic.

Because Penelope wasn’t held back by being big.

Because Penelope isn’t just fat.

She’s a person.

Because Penelope is beautiful and funny and sweet and has amazing characterization!!

Bless the Criminal Minds writers and casting agents, and bless Kirsten Vangsness for the amazing character that she embodied and gave to people like me to look up to.

OK, here is my take on this prompt! In my version of events, Penelope and Hotch go as friends ( who both want more than friendship) to Will and JJ’s wedding, they start dating soon after, are engaged by Season 9 ( a bit after Route 66), get married and discover Penelope is expecting triplets soon after their honeymoon. So they move to a bigger place, get a massive car and are starting to settle in before their 3 kids are born. This was so much fun to write, and I’ve included some lore from the show that I thought made a clever « get me out of here » code… Any ideas for a title gratefully appreciated, as I struggle with those a lot!

« Sorry, Penny, I’m stuck in traffic. There’s been a massive pile-up so I’m going to have to find another way back from the university. Tell Jack I’ll be there as soon as I can. I love all 5 of you » Aaron said to his wife.

« OK, Aaron, drive carefully. Jack, the pickles and I need you back in one piece », Penelope replied, the phone tucked between her head and her shoulder, one hand cradling her ever-growing baby bump.

Being pregnant with triplets was no walk in the park, especially as an unexpected and not exactly planned first pregnancy.

At least she had a really cute outfit for the neighbourhood barbecue in their new residence. Her green dress with the white spots flowed and clung to all the right places, and she’d found cat eye glasses and a pair of ballet flats ( alas, high heels were not going to be an option for the foreseeable future, but having three babies made up for it) in a perfect matching shade of green. A white flowery heabdand and cardigan, plus a pair of diamond and pearl earrings ( a « just because » present from her lovely, handsome husband) completed the look.

Calling out to Jack as she reached the kitchen, she somehow managed to grab hold of the mac and cheese dish that was the Garcia-Hotchner contribution to the social event. Holding the dish proved a little complicated, as her nails had just been done and were longer than she usually opted for. They were painted a pearlescent white with green spots and she loved them.

Jack arrived, wearing his shoes and jacket.

« Where’s Dad? He said he’d be here! It’s not like he’s with the FBI anymore, he’s a professor, so what’s his excuse? » Jack grumbled, clearly upset at missing out on Dad time.

Penelope quickly explained the situation, whoch seemed to mollify the pre-teen.

He grabbed a bottle of soda from the fridge, as well as the house keys, and the two left the house. 

Once they arrived at Sarah Jones’ residence, they made their way to the garden, where there was a group of dads milling around the grill, drinking beers and chatting as the women brought out trays of sausages, burgers, kebabs and assorted cuts of chicken for them to cook. 

Penelope dropped off the mac and cheese on the nearby  table, which was heaving with all sorts of salads, rolls, chips, dips and crudites. Jack placed the bottle of Coca-Cola he’d been carrying in the gigantic cooler that was under the table, before running off to play basketball with Sarah’s twin boys, Matt and Luke. 

Penelope looked around, taking in the women around her, who were clustered in little groups of 4 or 5.

Her eyes met Celia’s, who was mother to Charlotte, a girl in Jack’s fifth grade class.

Penelope sighed inwardly as Celia waved at her, gesticulating for her to come and join her coven. 

« Hi Penelope, glad you could make it. I think you’ve met Caro, Jen and Liz, right? », Celia asked, sipping some sort of fancy, fruity  alcoholic beverage whilst simultaneously smoothing her already perfectly coiffed dark bob. 

« Yes, how lovely to see you all again », Penelope lied, as she had no interest in joining their mindless chitchat about shopping, having lunch out, shopping, gossiping about other moms and their perceived failings, or whose husband they were sleeping with and shopping. She was sure she had been or still was their preferred topic of discussion, as none of them seemed to believe that she was actually married to her tall drink of water of a husband.

She participated in the conversation about the PTA, the upcoming school trip, how the lunch menu needs to be improved. She twisted her wedding and engagement rings, the diamonds, opals and pearls glinting as they caught the light. 

Where on earth was Hotch? 

Her thoughts were interrupted by an exuberant « Hi Dad! » from the other side of the yard. She watched Jack run to his father, who hugged him and smiled broadly at his son. 

He ruffled Jack’s hair as she called out to him. 

« Hi honey, over here! »

« Sorry for the delay, sweetheart, the alternate route home took forever! » he replied, before sliding his arms around her, dipping her and giving her a kiss worthy of a Hollywood movie. 

« Hello ladies, thank you for keeping my wife company. Now, Penelope, let’s see if we can get you a non alcoholic version of whatever your friends are drinking » Hotch declared, his hand on Penelope’s back, before guiding her away.

The two of them ended up sitting on a bench, virgin mojito and beer in hand, watching Jack play with his friends. Aaron’s free hand was either holding his wife’s or was gently resting on her prominent belly, which he kissed tenderly.

The abandoned clique of mothers, plus anyone else in the vicinity could not help but admire the blissfully happy couple, who seemed to be in their own little bubble of not so newlywed joy. 

I'm once again thinking about Gotch moving to a new neighborhood and there's a neighbors party and Penelope arrives before Aaron can get out of work so she's out there making instant-friends with everyone she meets and it's loud and funny and her hair is pink this month and she's wearing a new white and green polka dot dress with nails that look like you can't do anything with your hands wearing those but she manages and when Aaron gets there he just sees her surrounded by everyone and the people he's met in passing over the couple of weeks since they've moved there look at him and then her and go "Oh? Oh! Oh wow." because they are so different no one expects they'd be together, but they really are, and Aaron calms Penelope without silencing her and Penelope brightens the light in his eyes without pushing him too far out of his comfort zone and by the time he's got an arm around her waist and hers is looped around his neck playing with the hair at his nape, they look like they belong with each other so completely that the neighbors just, hearteyes at them.

I love this scene between them, it’s really sweet and encapsulates their dynamic beautifully. She calls him Aaron, which hardly anyone else does ( Haley, Jess, Sean, I think and possibly Gideon and Rossi)! 

Criminal Minds rewatch Grrrr Rossi

I have currently started rewatching Criminal Minds, currently about halfway through Season 3.

Firstly, I was struck by how much more I understood Gideon’s character. He can sometimes be rude when he doesn’t introduce himself to the LEOs when the team arrives at the crime scene, it’s not great, but he is just intensely focused on getting started on solving the crime. However, he remains a team player, unlike Rossi, who has to be given a “there is no I in team” speech by Hotch. He also gets angry with Penelope and calls her stupid, which I didn’t think was a very good way to handle things, but Rossi getting all up in Penelope’s face and yelling at her to remember what happened in the episode bearing her name was just totally out of line! Both he and Gideon are equally bad at remembering her name and probably couldn’t pick her out of a line-up, however!  Gideon would also never have done what Rossi does to Morgan when Morgan quite clearly states he is not comfortable talking to the priest and Rossi states that he will be doing the interview. I couldn’t remember the scene very well ( I binge-watched and sometimes dozed off during eps in previous viewings) so thought maybe Rossi had explained afterwards he thought the priest might be more comfortable talking to Morgan rather than a rich, white guy like Ross, but no, just Rossi being disrespectful and not a team player!  I know there’s also the ep where Reid is injured ( gunshot wound to the knee, if I recall correctly) and Rossi sends Reid down the bank to investigate, because he has just bought new shoes made from Italian leather, as well as countless other moments where he is racist/sexist or just thoughtless! In Gideon’s last episodes, I felt quite emotional hearing his letter and genuinely actually missed him, this time!  So, to conclude, I would rather have kept Gideon and not have Rossi around! 

This is one of my favourite episodes. It never fails to make me cry every time I watch it, but at different moments or for different reasons.

Elliot being all brash and writing off the crazy perp/suspect at first, but then shutting up and listening to Olivia telling him it’s Kathleen.

He immediately goes from judgemental cop mode to concerned dad mode, and he is right, Kathleen’s girlfriends have abandoned her.

Going to see his mother is such a poignant moment.

I love that their different accounts of the same event show their different personalities/the choices they’ve made in life.

She’s talking about making sandcastles on the beach, how it was blissful and idyllic, he remembers being scared out of his mind and thinking his mother wanted him dead.

She remembers wanting to go on an adventure to Paris to become a painter, while he remembers a chaotic trip that probably involved being woken up in the early hours of the morning and his mother being loud and embarrassing.

Elliot has definitely chosen to parent very differently from the way he was raised, which in some ways is great, as he tells his kids he is proud of them, that he loves them, gives them hugs and reassurance when they are afraid or upset as well as giving them rules and structure. He tries very hard to be patient and gentle with them, to not be physically or verbally abusive, but can be too over-protective sometimes and not trust his kids to make their own choices and mistakes, then face the consequences of their actions.

His parents were emotionally and physically absent ( dad working double shifts and mum who would take to her bed for days/weeks at a time), so while Elliot does work long hours, we see him actively trying to make time for his wife and kids, doing tasks that his father would have considered Bernie’s responsibility like preparing dinner. He also tries to go out for dinner/to a picnic with his family , playing at the park, driving the kids  to school, reading them stories, doing their hair…

Something he always does is apologise to his kids if he’s been too controlling/come down too hard on them/made a bad parenting decision, which I can’t imagine his parents ever did. 

Olivia going to see Bernie is just an incredible moment, we can see how much she loved and still loves her son, and her experience with mental health facilities in the late 60’s/early 70’s is just heart-breaking. 

The scene really shows Olivia’s deep ability to empathise and not judge, it really made me love her more than I already did. It also showcases just how much she cares about Elliot and his family.

Bernie’s exchange with Kathleen and when she tells her the story of driving in the ice and snow which causes her to crash the car and break Elliot’s arm ( he would have be3n about 3 at the time) is just a perfect way to explain that her actions are hurting the people she loves. 

Kathleen thinking her dad hates her breaks my heart.

This episode makes me wonder when Joe Sr died, as Kathleen is able to remember stealing his hat and cigars for a snowman she made with Bernie, but no actual dates are given.

The accounts of Elliot’s childhood also very much make him sound like he was an only child, but I know in earlier episodes he references siblings as he says his parents didn’t praise or say I love you to us growing up, it was just the typical Irish way of doing things at the time. 

In later episodes ( the more recent ones, in L and O OC), we find out that he has 3 brothers and two sisters. From what I have heard, he is the second oldest, which just seems weird to me. 

If he were the eldest, I think he would have stayed in touch with his mum to make sure his younger siblings were safe, so I like to think he is the youngest, by 10-15 years. Bernie and Joe Sr had the first 5 kids within the first 5-10 years of marriage, then they had a big gap, and as Joe Sr got progressively more violent/abusive and started cheating more and more, Bernie thought maybe a new baby might help him be faithful/get his act together. Hence no mention of siblings being around during Bernie’s episodes or Joe Sr beating Elliot ( Ripped, Season 7).

All in all, this is such a powerful episode about mental health, families, parenting and how the choices you make can affect those you love. 

Bernie to elliot: But it wasn't your life. It isn't your life. You living your living your father's life all over again. If you can only find a way to be your own man.

I love how the two of them are so different. He's weighted down by responsibility and how much that shaped his life. How stability is something he didn't have as a kid. And how much he craves it and how much he fights for it for his kids.

Bernie is so uncombered by responsibility she is a free spirit and lives her life by her own rules. But it cost her a great deal to chase her own heart. So Elliot went the other way. He chose responsibility and stability over what he wanted in his heart.

Bernie just wants him to go out there and be himself. And now finally he's had time to get to know who he is away from the job. In Rome. He's gotten more comfortable with his emotions. He expresses them much easier now.

So what's going to go down with him and his mom in the new episodes? Did she know about Kathy's murder? I can't think she didn't know by why was she not there?

This was such a vital relationship to elliot. His mother. Who shaped the man who he became. I wanted so much for them to delve me into this relationship and so hopefully they will in oc.

I just think that the two is them are opposite sides of a coin. Both need to learn from the other to be a better person. Elliot needs to live more for himself and Bernie needs to own up to her responsibilities, obligations and her family.

rewatching old criminal minds and suddenly I wanted a 1940s noir AU