Title: Amontubobo
By: Eligent
Pairing: gen
Rating: PG
Summary: Towards the end of 'Extreme Aggressor', Hotchner and Gideon discuss baby names. In the light of that discussion, how could Hotchner possibly have agreed to call his son Jack? Very short.
A/N: This has been driving me crazy ever since I found out the name of Hotchner's son. Just had to get it out of my system. Don't own CM, don't speak the language.

***

Conversation overheard on the plane between Gideon and Hotchner in 'Extreme Agressor':

"You and Haley pick the baby's name yet?"

"You know, it's- it's funny. Haley liked the name Charles, but, you know, then all I could think of…"

"Manson."

"Then there was Henry."

"Lee Lucas."

"Uhh… Jeffrey."

"Dahmer?"

"There's just too many of them."

Hotchner sat on the hospital bed next to his tired wife and looked in amazement at the bundle in his arms. To think that something this precious could exist in his world and belong to him, be a part of him.

His son's small face was still red and wrinkly. The boy's age was counted in mere hours. Now his face was relaxed in sleep. Hotchner couldn't believe how small he was, how light he was in his arms, how perfect those tiny, tiny fingers were. He couldn't believe the baby was really here with them.

"No," he told his wife as Haley stretched out a hand and smoothed down a wrinkle on their son's blanket.

"Why not?" she wondered. "I really like it."

"Because," Hotchner answered.

"That's not an answer," she pointed out.

He sighed. "You know what I do for a living."

"Hmm…" Haley said teasingly. "Let's see. You sell insurance policies, right?"

"Haley…"

"All right, sorry," she conceded. "But I don't understand what your job has to do with this."

Hotchner looked at her for a moment. "Pretend you don't know me."

"Done," she said quickly.

Hotchner had to smile at that. "Now, if someone said the words serial killer to you, who would you think of?"

"Uh… Charles Manson."

"And if you weren't American."

"But I am," she said cheekily.

"Come on, Haley, you know where I'm going with this, right?"

"Fine then," she said, rolling her eyes. "Jack the Ripper."

"Exactly," Hotchner said. "And I don't understand why you want to name our son after the most famous serial killer in history."

"I don't," Haley said simply. "I want to name him after my father. Dad never had any problems with his name."

"Well, you father isn't me."

"And our son is not Jack the Ripper," Haley pointed out. "There is nothing wrong with the name Jack. It's a common name, and I very strongly doubt that a person's murderous tendencies will be higher than normal just because he's named Jack. Besides, no one knows who Jack the Ripper really was, so no one knows his real name."

Hotchner looked at her, somewhat disturbed by her logical reasoning. "But…"

"No buts, Aaron. Through all times, crimes have been committed all over the world by people with all different kinds of names. If you want a name that's completely pure in that aspect we're going to have to call him Amontubobo."

"Amontubobo?" Hotchner raised an eyebrow. "That's not a name."

"Exactly. Don't you like the name Jack?"

Hotchner looked down at his sleeping son. Didn't he look a little like his grandfather? Around the eyes, maybe? Could you even tell this early?

"I like it just fine," he answered.

"And will you be able to look at your son without thinking of serial killers if we call him that?" Haley asked.

Hotchner hesitated. Could he? Could he look at this little creature whose life and wellbeing was entrusted to him without thinking of all the horrors he wanted to protect the child from?

Just then the boy woke up, his unfocused eyes blinking up at his father. Hotchner's gaze met his and in that single heartbeat Hotchner knew that no matter what he would never be able to think of his son with anything but joy and love.

"Jack," he said, tenderly stroking his finger over the downy head. "My son Jack. Jack Amontubobo Hotchner."

Haley's pearly laugh filled the room as she reached for Jack. "How about we just call him Jack. Jack Hotchner."

The End