Title: On the first day of Christmas 14
By: Daisyangel
Pairing: Hotch/Prentiss
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Hotch has an accident putting together his daughter's new dollhouse.

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"Hey, Hotch, what happened to your thumb?" Morgan asked as he saw the unit chief as they arrived in the briefing room two days after Christmas. Criminals never stopped and unfortunately their vacation was cut short.

"Oh, it's nothing," he answered quickly.

"Don't listen to him, Morgan. It was definitely not nothing," Emily protested.

"Yes it is," her husband argued back.

"Spending two hours in the ER Christmas Eve night does not constitute nothing," she replied.

"Okay, now we have to hear the story," Reid piped up.

"Yeah, I'm curious now as well. Tell us," JJ requested. Garcia nodded as she sipped from her coffee.

"Okay, well it started when he was putting Amy's doll house together," Emily said, beginning the story.

XXXX

"Amy's doll house is the last present that needs to be put together," Hotch said as he and Emily were in the living room Christmas Eve after Jack and his little sister were in bed.

"Then we can go to bed," she said with a yawn. "The kids will have us up early."

"That they will, sweetheart. That they will. Hand me the hammer and I'll begin putting this together," Hotch requested. Nodding, Emily handed him the requested tool then continued to put the now wrapped presents under the tree.

XXXX

She had just placed the last present under the tree when she heard a loud noise then a curse. Turning she saw her husband holding his thumb with a nail sticking out of it.

"Aaron, what happened!" she cried.

"My hand slipped and the nail hit my thumb!" His teeth were gritted in pain and Emily could see blood where the nail had punctured his thumb. Getting up she reached for her cell phone and began dialing.

"I'm calling jess to stay with the kids and we're going to the ER." Aaron just nodded he was trying to keep his hand elevated and not scream out due to the pain. Twenty minutes later they were off to the ER to spend the rest of Christmas Eve waiting to have Aaron's thumb stitched. Luckily they made it home in time for the kids to open their presents before both adults convinced them to play quietly in their rooms while Mommy and Daddy took a much need nap.

XXXX

"So that's how we wound up at the ER on Christmas Eve," Emily concluded.

"I have just one question?" Garcia asked.

"What is it, Garcia?" Hotch replied.

"Did Aims love her doll house?"

"Yes, Jess finished putting it together and wrapped it for s. Amy hasn't stopped playing with it since she opened it," he answered. Spending time in the ER wasn't something he enjoyed, but the giant smile on his little girl's face Christmas morning when she opened her present was something he most definitely enjoyed.

Finished!

A/n: this is something I could totally see happening to Hotch. Oh, and, if you have to put kid's presents together, do it carefully.

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