Title: Surrogate
Author: nancy
Pairing: Hotch/Morgan
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: none
Series: 25 (Kink) Days of Christmas
Warnings: discipline, no sex
Summary: Someone needs to take Hotch in hand, now that Gideon's gone
Notes: thanks to juli for her inspiration with her christmas countdown last year and to free for being my evil pom pom cheerleader.
More notes: Juli's bunny on this one. :o)

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Derek whistled softly under his breath as he strode from the elevator towards the office to get his laptop. Normally, he would've just left it for Monday, but he had it off like the rest of the team, in anticipation of the holiday. The whole place was dark, being the Saturday before Christmas. Everyone was probably out shopping for last minute things, determined to spend every available minute of time off somewhere else.

He noticed the light on in Hotch's office and amended, Everyone but Hotch.

Shaking his head, Derek headed for his desk with every intention of grabbing his laptop and getting out before the other man knew he was there. But then there was a loud, crashing noise and a furious shout from Hotch's office and he jogged over without thinking. He opened the door and stopped short at the sight that met his eyes; Hotch in a t-shirt and jeans, hair mussed, breathing hard, barefoot, and absolutely nothing on the desk.

There was nothing on the desk because it had all been shoved onto the floor. That was what shocked Derek most. He'd never once seen the other man reveal the fury that he now saw plain as day on Hotch's face.

Hotch spotted him and froze as well. They stared silently at each other for a long moment before the other man said matter-of-factly, "The computer crashed for no reason."

"So you thought you'd give it something to crash about?" Derek prompted, aiming for humor.

It fell flat, thanks to Hotch's scowl. "Do you want something, Morgan?"

Derek held up his hands and answered, "Just left my laptop. Wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine."

"Yeah, I can see that."

There didn't seem to be anything else to say, so Morgan withdrew and returned to his desk. He stood there a few minutes before groaning silently and admitting to himself that he wasn't going anywhere with Hotch in that kind of state. Now that the divorce was officially underway, there the other man obviously had some serious problems he was trying not to face.

He walked back to the office and called out, "Hotch, I know you don't wanna talk, but it'd probably help," as he opened the door again.

Hotch glared at him, snapping, "If I wanted to talk, I'd talk to someone."

"Who?" Derek challenged. "Gideon's gone. You and Rossi aren't exactly on friendly terms, not yet. And there's no way you'd unload onto a subordinate, so that lets out everyone else."

"You're a subordinate."

"You know what I mean."

"Leave it, Morgan."

"No. I'm not going to let you self-destruct!"

"Morgan, I'm warning you to drop it. Now."

"Forget it. You need..."

He barely registered Hotch moving, the other man jumped the desk so fast. He noticed the displacement of air and the sudden feel of wall against his back in a solid impact that made him grunt. A knife appeared without warning, the flat of the blade against his throat, and Hotch's eyes had never looked so dark before.

Hotch's voice was soft and deadly as he questioned, "Do you know what I really need?"

Derek didn't move, didn't even want to swallow, but answered, "What?"

"You to shut up and leave me alone. Do you think you can do that?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I can do that."

"Good. I'm stepping back now."

Derek waited until Hotch was mid-step before striking. His hand snapped out and grabbed Hotch's knife hand, twisting and shoving until he'd pinned the other man over the desk. Derek tossed the blade onto the sofa some distance away and kept his arm across the back of Hotch's neck, using his greater bulk and strength to advantage.

Strangely, Hotch didn't fight him.

When he realized there'd be no struggle, Derek frowned and asked slowly, "You back with me, Hotch?"

Hotch's head thumped against the wood a couple of times before he sighed and nodded. "Sorry, Morgan. I just..."

The elbow to his side took Morgan by complete surprise, but he only hissed in pain and pressed down harder, not letting go and getting a better hold on the other's arms. Clearly Hotch was not back to normal, though he was at a loss to explain or deal with this new, violent man. It was almost like he was trying to get put down...

Trying to have someone else take him down, Derek realized.

It was just like he'd said a few minutes earlier; Gideon was gone. It was just Hotch in charge now. There was no one to take the burden from his shoulders the way Gideon had before. Not for the first time, Derek cursed Gideon for leaving. They'd all known the pain it had caused Spencer, and had all dealt with their own, personal betrayal, but no one had thought twice about how it had affected Hotch, who'd known Gideon longer than anyone.

All of that raced through his mind in a few seconds. And it took another few seconds to come to the conclusion that Hotch needed something no one on the team could give him except Derek.

Maybe Rossi, he allowed, somewhat reluctantly. But Hotch doesn't trust him enough for this.

Decision made, Derek growled, "Don't fuckin' move again, Aaron. You hear me?"

Hotch went completely still beneath him.

"Good. I'm going to stand up now and you're going to stay right there," Derek continued in that hard tone.

This would be the test.

Derek stood and Hotch didn't. Hotch stayed exactly where he'd been put, including his arms still twisted behind his back.

God, what I could do to that body, Derek thought, licking his lips. He wouldn't, not this first time, but damn. Hotch sure as hell hid a fine body under the perfectly pressed suit he wore to work. Shaking off the train of thought that had his dick half-hard, Derek demanded, "What did Gideon do when you got like this? Did he paddle your ass until you couldn't sit?"

Hotch's breath hitched visibly as he nodded and then added, "He would tie me so I couldn't move."

Made sense. If Hotch couldn't move, then he had a physical reminder that he wasn't in control anymore. They didn't have any ropes, but... Hotch groaned when the cuffs locked around his wrists.

Derek didn't think that a spanking would be a good idea right then. It was both too personal and not harsh enough. Later, if they made this a regular thing, he'd love to get his hands literally on Hotch's ass. He instead set about undoing Hotch's pants, letting them fall to the carpet. He hesitated, but ultimately left the briefs in place as he took off his own belt for the beating. Goosebumps shivered over Hotch's arms and the back of his legs as Derek stepped closer and got into position.

"How many?"

"Fifty."

Derek's eyebrows rose at the number, but didn't question it. He kept his voice harsh as he stated, "You deserve more, behaving like a brat throwing a tantrum, but we'll start there."

He started without preamble, using a strong, steady rhythm that he knew Hotch would be able to get into. Derek spared the backs of his thighs, keeping the strapping just to the fleshy part of the ass, knowing that would be enough pain for the other man to handle. By the time he finished, not two minutes later, Hotch laid loose-limbed and easy on the desk, a completely different man. Shaking his head in amusement, Derek put his belt back on and uncuffed Hotch, waiting to see what would happen next.

Hotch pushed upright with a small hiss, tugging at his briefs and then pulling his pants back up and putting himself to order. Running a hand through his hair, he flashed a mildly embarrassed smile at Derek and said simply, "Thanks."

"Any time," Derek answered, meaning it.

Hotch's gaze narrowed at him briefly, assessing as he replied, "That's good to know."

Derek winked and offered, "I was going to grab a beer tonight. Want to come?"

Hotch hesitated, but nodded, looking shy all of a sudden. Clearing his throat, he said, "Let me just clean this mess up first and I'll be out."

"Sure thing," Derek agreed, leaving the office.

He had no idea what this meant for them, but if Hotch needed a strong hand with Gideon gone, Derek was more than happy to provide it.

 

END

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