Title: Aaron’s Christmas Surprise
Series: Doctor Spencer Chronicles
Series Order: 3
Fandom: Criminal Minds/Doctor Who
Category: Angst, Romance, Time Travel
Ratings: Teen
Pairings: Spencer Reid (The Doctor)/Aaron Hotchner
Spoilers: Doctor Who season 5
Summary: Christmas with the Doctor is never boring. Especially when Weeping Angels are involved
Words: 4219
Warnings: None
Beta: None. No non-consensual Beta

_______________________________

Aaron was trying to find Dave as he walked through the mansion they were currently at. Four people had disappeared in the last few days, and with it coming closer and closer to the holidays, he knew Dave liked to have big gatherings at his house. It was beginning to worry him that he couldn’t find the man.

The team was lucky in that the case was close to home. A famous mansion that was used for parties, weddings, holiday engagements and many movie productions had been having a slew of disappearances. Aaron was worried about what was happening. Four people in a week was a high disappearance rate, even for an Unsub going on a spree, but even that didn’t feel right.

“DAVE,” Aaron called out as he walked through the upstairs seeing if maybe he was checking the rooms over. “Dave, where are you?” Aaron had been worried; Dave was now missing for over three hours. No one had seen him anywhere. Sighing, Aaron walked back downstairs and started to look for him there. When Spencer came to find him, he shook his head that he couldn’t find their colleague and friend.

“Let’s check out the grounds. Maybe he got lost somewhere?”

“Maybe he’s bitching because he got his new Prada’s dirty?” The two men chuckled despite the situation.

“Would not put it past him. Come on, let’s check outside.”

The grounds were enormous. And Aaron couldn’t help comparing it to where he grew up. Those were memories he wanted to put aside. They had no bearing on the case at hand, even if looking out on the grounds reminded him of things best left in the past.

Aaron started off towards the pool area while his partner went another way.

“Dave!” Aaron called out again, now getting worried that his friend somehow suffered the same fate as the missing people. When he approached the pool area, he looked around and was reminded of a Greek bath. A large, almost Olympic size pool with tall columns surrounded it at the edge of the grass area. Growing along the sides and tops of the columns were Ivy and Wisteria. The plants gave the space a sense of another place and time.

What caught Aaron’s attention, though, were the statues. Angel statues. He frowned as he stood there mesmerized by them. He felt drawn towards them, yet repulsed at the same time. He stood there wondering what it was that gave him such an uneasy feeling. He was about to step forward to investigate further when he heard Spencer shouting at him.

“Aaron stop!” The urgency in his lover’s voice had him stopping where he was. He wanted to turn to look at Spencer, but a hand landed on his shoulder. “Whatever you do don’t blink, don’t look away, just back up slowly and keep your eyes always on those statues.”

Aaron’s heart started to race a little as he did precisely what Spencer told him to do.

“Spencer? What’s going on?”

“Just keep walking till I tell you it’s safe to turn around.”

“I can assume this is a Doctor think and not a Spencer thing?”

Aaron had learned about a year prior that Spencer wasn’t human. He was an alien called a Time Lord, and he was much, much older than the team knew. Aaron had found out by accident, but he couldn’t say that he regretted ever finding out. The adventures the two had so far had been, well all Aaron could think was that they were life-changing. Not only was Spencer the Doctor, but in that year they had fallen in love.

“Yes. And I now know what is going on. Shit.” Spencer cursed which made Aaron look at him with a raised brow. Neither Spencer as himself or Spencer as The Doctor only swore when things looked really bad.

Aaron didn’t ask questions yet till they were back in the house and not looking at the statues.

“I didn’t find Dave.”

“I fear I know what may have happened.” Spencer was going to start explaining when the doorbell rang. Aaron looked at his lover and frowned. This was a crime scene, and no one should be coming into the house for any reason. When the bell rang again, Aaron moved to the door and with gloved hand, opened it up and was surprised to see a courier.

“Hi, I’m looking for Aaron Hotchner?”

Aaron frowned even harder as he held out his hand for the very obviously old looking letter.

“I’m Aaron Hotchner.”

“I have a letter here for you. It’s quite strange. Actually, we’ve had this letter in our office for…well for a long time. Here.”

Aaron took the letter, tipped the courier and said his goodbyes. The young man had gotten curious, but the glare from Aaron had him backing away quickly.

“What is it?” Spencer asked as he came level with Aaron standing next to him.

“A letter.” Aaron opened it up and saw Dave’s neat scrawl. It was short, and Aaron almost laughed at the contents.

“Well, I knew an Unsub would get me someday, but this is a little ridiculous even for us. Now, Aaron Hotchner, I’m not sure how, but you are going to fix this or I’m going to haunt you for the rest of your days. I’m not joking. Get me back home.”

“He doesn’t know about you, does he?”

Spencer looked down at his feet and shuffled them a moment.

“He might have found out.”

Aaron just shook his head and wondered just how they were going to get Dave back.

“Alright, just, what is going on, Spencer?”

“Those statues? They aren’t really statues. They are a quantum-locked species. When you look at them they don’t move, but when you turn away, and no one looks at them they move.”

“Please tell me we don’t have a world domination issue on our hands?”

“Oh, no. They don’t kill. Well, during this time they don’t kill. Don’t ask, that’s a long story. Anyway, they don’t really conventionally kill you. What the Weeping Angels do is displace you in time. When they get stronger, they can also displace you in space and time. They then feed off of the residual time energy caused by that displacement. A target rich environment like this place? They could create enough temporal energy to feed for decades.”

“How do we stop them, Spencer? And what do we tell the other’s about Dave?”

“I don’t know. Let me think.” Spencer walked away, and Aaron had a bad feeling about what was going to happen now. Christmas was beginning to look very bleak without their friend and colleague around.

Aaron was sprawled on the couch in the TARDIS’ control room with files spread out all around him. He tried not to watch The Doctor because that’s who Spencer was at the moment, pace around trying to figure out how to save their friend. Instead, he focused on the Christmas decorations that The Doctor had gone all out on. Looking around Aaron hoped that they could get their friend back in time for Christmas.

“Spencer, what if we go back in time to just a few hours before?”

“Can’t do that. Too much risk of running into ourselves.”

“But we know when we will be there if we stay out of the way of ourselves, can we get to Dave before he gets sent back in time?”

“Aaron, you are asking me to do exact calculations. And we would have to land the TARDIS in the woods. I hate the woods.” Spencer frowned as he flopped down on the couch next to Aaron.

Aaron smiled despite the situation and pulled Spencer onto his lap after getting all of his files out of the way.

“If I know one thing, Doctor, you are the smartest being in the galaxy. I’m sure you can figure it out.” Aaron snaked a hand through Spencer’s hair and kissed him. He knew Spencer needed to get out of his head and the one way to do it was a proper snog. The situation wasn’t dire, just worrying. He needed to get Dave back, he just wasn’t sure how. He would have to rely on his lover.

“Maybe we can try it. If we go back and prevent him from being taken, as long as we don’t run into ourselves, then we can somehow pull this off. But, you have to let me go, Aaron.”

Smiling, knowing Spencer would do whatever he could to help get Dave back, he went back to the files he had brought into the TARDIS with him.

With Spencer working on his computer, and Aaron working on the files, they both got lost in their work. When there was a knock on the TARDIS door both Spencer and Aaron frowned, wondering who had found them and what they wanted. Spencer moved away from his monitor and walked towards the door.

“Who the hell…” Aaron didn’t hear anything, which made him look up just in time to see a man rush forward and pull Spencer into a hug and spin him around.

“Jack!” Spencer cried enthusiastically as he hugged the newcomer back. Aaron glared as he stood. He knew The Doctor had a past. A very long and sordid history, but this man was making him a little uneasy.

“Doctor. I have to say, I love the new you. Been a while.”

“What are you doing here, Jack? And where are we right now?”

Jack’s smile faltered a moment as looked around the console room.

“Ianto’s gone. I did…” Jack swiped a hand over his face as he looked around and his eyes landed on Aaron who was standing there with his arms crossed. “Doctor I did terrible things to save a lot of people. It doesn’t mean it was right, though at the time I thought it was.”

“Jack. You have to know what you did, the terrible sacrifices you made, you saved millions of children.”

“It doesn’t make it right.”

“Why are you here?”

Jack smiled and leaned against one of the railings separating console area from the rest of the room.

“You asked me to come at this precise time at this precise date. You said I could be useful in helping out a little problem you had, but you didn’t tell me what that problem was.”

Spencer chuckled and shook his head. When he turned to look at Aaron and saw the look on his face, he knew he needed to make introductions.

“Jack, this is Aaron Hotchner. Aaron, Captain Jack Harkness. He’s a time anomaly and can’t die. In fact, I wonder if you would be affected by the Angels.”

“Angels?”

“Weeping Angels.”

“Oh hell no. Doctor, whatever you have planned…”

“Jack, just listen. I’m sure it will be worth your while.”

“Doctor….”

“Trust me, Jack.”

“I…fine. Let’s go.”

__________________________

“And why did you think that was a good idea?” Aaron asked as he watched Jack saunter up to his earlier self.

“Because of two things. One, you secretly find Jack hot, and two, he will keep our earlier selves quite occupied.” Spencer smirked at Aaron as he watched them leave from their initial cursory look around the property.

“I’m trusting you here, Doctor,” Aaron growled. He was in Unit Chief mode, and somehow this plan seemed like an idiotic idea.

“It will work, Hotch. I promise.” The two of them watched till Jack had, what only Aaron could think of as luring, him away from the area, Spencer followed, keeping a very straight face. They waited some more till they saw Dave walking across towards the pool area. Aaron and Spencer ran out of their hiding spot, running past the Angels, trying not to even look at them, then grabbed Dave and dragged him, with no explanations, to the TARDIS.

Once inside, with the door shut, Aaron and Spencer both breathing hard with a very confused looking Dave.

“Would one of you tell me what exactly is going on here?”

“We just saved your ass from disappearing in time.” Aaron panted as he got his breath back.

“I’m sorry, what?”

Spencer stood upright and went on to explain what the Angels were and how Dave had been sent back in time.

“If I had never seen all of this, I would think the both of you had a damned breakdown. Statues that aren’t statues, boxes that are bigger on the inside, I swear it’s like I’m in a weird science fiction movie.” Dave groused as he flopped down on the couch.

“Yeah, well you almost ruined Christmas.” Aaron tried to keep the laugh in as Dave glared at him.

“I will get you back, Aaron Hotchner.”

Aaron smiled and shook his head.

“I don’t doubt, Dave.” Aaron stood and let Dave stew on the couch as he walked over to Spencer. “Okay, now what do we do about these Angels? And how do we get the other’s back?”

“I’m sorry Aaron. Without knowing exactly where in time the others were sent to, I have no way of tracking them to get them back. I can’t do a geographical profile and say, ‘look they are here.’ As to what to do about the Angels, I have an idea.” The wicked look on Spencer’s face had Aaron a little worried.

_______________________

The party was a bad idea. A terrible idea, Aaron kept saying to himself as he moved around the crowd. Spencer kept reassuring him that it was going to be okay. He had a plan. Aaron always knew when The Doctor had a plan it either went a little sideways or horribly wrong. He wasn’t quite sure about this one.

The rest of the team had their orders, confusing as they were. The pool had been opened up, and bright lights had been quickly installed around the perimeter. Rossi, knowing everyone one who is anyone in the area, and who were game for adventure, were at the gathering.

Christmas lights decorated the area, intertwined in the Ivy, then around each of the Angels. Aaron watched Spencer and Morgan stringing them up, and he noticed that Spencer had a rather gleeful, almost evil smile as he looked into the eyes of each of the Angels. He wasn’t sure what he whispered to them, but they appeared to have stayed put. In fact, some of them had moved earlier in the day, then with just a few words from Spencer, when he turned his back on them they went back to their previous places. Aaron was almost afraid of what he had said.

The TARDIS was still at the edge of the woods, camouflaged.

“So far no one is missing.”

“Too many people around. The Angels are getting frustrated.” Spencer glared at one. “Aren’t you? This will be a reminder of why this world is protected and who protects it.” Spencer glared, and the look was one Aaron never wanted to see directed at him. If anyone ever thought Spencer weak, they should think again.

As Aaron walked around, he noticed that the faces of the Angels changed ever so subtly. They went from a sweet smiling face, to angrier. He had to concede that maybe Spencer’s plan was going to go off without a hitch.

The partygoers had been told that they might have some exciting interactive entertainment later in the evening. Spencer was hoping that the press of humanity where the Angels were would frustrate them and keep them exactly where they were. That the sheer numbers of people would overwhelm them and their frustrations would be their defeat.

When the small orchestra Rossi had hired started to play Christmas songs, everyone began to move towards the dance floor that was at the edge of the pool. The first song was the signal for everyone at the party to dance. That many people turning their backs on the Angels would make the aliens even more frustrated. Spencer hoped this plan worked.

“Want to dance with me, Doctor?” Aaron asked as he pulled the Time Lord close to him and started to dance to the Christmas music.

“I would love to, Aaron.” The smile was the one Aaron always loved.

“You sure Jack knows how to use that thing?” Aaron asked as he looked out past the other side of the pool area. It was dark, with only the pool and the fairy lights giving off enough illumination so that no one would hurt themselves as they walked around or danced.

“Yes, Aaron. Jack knows how to use the Multi-Dimension Spotlight focus.”

“You know that sounds like something from a bad television show.”

Spencer laughed as they danced, getting ready for their move. When he looked back towards the pool and the Angels, he saw that one of the partygoers was straggling.

“Shit, we have to get them out of there, Aaron.”

Aaron looked to see the woman, who was obviously inebriated, stumbling around.

“I’ll be right back.”

Aaron started to run over, with Spencer shouting at him to stop. Aaron couldn’t. He couldn’t let that woman disappear like the others, and if the Angels were as agitated as they appeared, it wasn’t going to be pleasant for her. He knew the risks, but he also knew that somehow, The Doctor would find him no matter what happened.

When he got to the woman and grabbed her arm, she started to struggle and slur her words.

“Hey, you let me go.”

“You have to leave this area, it’s not safe.”

“And who the hell put you in charge.” The woman was slapping at Aaron’s arm trying to get him to let her go.

“The US Government. Now come on.”

The woman was so unwieldy that she stumbled and wobbled her way towards the others. When Aaron heard grinding, and a sound almost like a scream, he wanted to cover his ears to try to cut off the noise. He ran. Aaron ran as fast as he could with the woman behind him. As he ran, he heard more of that grinding, and just when the thought they were going to clear the area, both he and the woman were caught and held fast by a cold, strong hand that felt like concrete.

What the Angels had not realized is when they were being wrapped in the lights, they were all strung together. When one of the Angels tried to go after Aaron and the woman, they had moved in such a way that it tugged on the cords surrounding them, pulling the other Angels with them.

“Aaron,” Spencer screamed as he saw Aaron struggling.

“Just do it, Spencer!”

“No. I can’t lose you too.”

Aaron frowned and wondered what Spencer meant. The rest of the team was shouting, trying to figure out what was going on.

“Spencer, you have to.”

Spencer had run over and was looking at the scene before him. Angels in various states of falling. One had even started a slow collapse on its side, breaking its wing in the process. The plan was sort-of working. Now all they needed to do was get Aaron and the woman free, turn on the lights and look away.

A hand cupped Aaron’s cheek and the look of agony on Spencer’s face he had never wanted to see there.

“I trust you, Doctor. My Doctor. My heart, my everything. I trust you.”

Spencer didn’t know what to say. He was torn, and Aaron saw the emotions playing out on Spencer’s face.

“It’s got me around the arm, Spencer. Unless you have a sledgehammer and the strength behind it, I’m not going anywhere.”

“I’ll find you, Aaron. I promise I’ll find you if its the last thing I do in my life.”

Aaron smiled, kissed Spencer and signaled for Jack to turn on the lights. The build-up of energy was the same energy that the Angels used to displace people in time. Spencer, or rather The Doctor had been working on something to combat them for a long time. This was the first time he would be able to use his invention in practice. Aaron smiled as Spencer backed away, tears leaked out then a flash and the Angels, Aaron, and woman were all gone.

______________________

Aaron woke-up with a terrible headache.

“Hello, there handsome.” The voice was familiar, but he didn’t know where he was at. Slowly he sat up and looked around.

“Where the hell am I?”

“Well, you’re in France, December 23rd, 1944.”

Aaron finally looked up at the face of Jack Harkness. Frowning, he wondered how Jack had gotten there.

“Jack?”

“You know me? I don’t remember you. Though a face like that how could I forget.”

“Shit.” Aaron sighed. “So you don’t know The Doctor yet?”

“The Doctor? How do you know The Doctor?”

“Long story. Wait. That means I’m still on Earth, and I can send a message. But how the hell did I end up in the same place as you?”

“Okay, big guy, you need to tell me everything. Only then can I help.”

Taking a deep breath, Aaron told Jack a quick rundown of the events of the last few days.

“Wow. Taking out Angels isn’t easy on the best of days. Taking a small nest, that’s impressive. Come on, I’m sure we can get a message out to where you need it.”

Aaron and Jack walked together back to a village where allied troops had taken camp in and around. They made small talk as they walked and Aaron wondered what happened to the man to make him virtually immortal. Aaron knew it had to be something in the future.

When they got to the camp, the Commander of the gathered, combined forces was reluctant to let Aaron use the equipment, afraid of what would happen.

“Oh, don’t worry, Commander. I can assure you the message I’ll be sending, if it’s interrupted, no one will understand it.”

The sounds of fighting were in the distance, and it sobered Aaron up to his situation.  When he looked around the camp, there were small signs that it was Christmas. He wondered what was going to happen, to him, to Jack and to all the other men around him.

“Alright. But it has to be quick, and it has to be short.” Aaron nodded and quickly used the code that Spencer and he had come up with if they were ever in danger or separated. Knowing the date and the year, Aaron almost wanted to tell these men that the fighting would be over soon. A mere nine months away, but he knew he couldn’t. He wanted to give them hope. A lump formed in his throat as he looked out seeing hurt, tired, frustrated young, so very young men sharing their meager meals with each other.

“They all chose to forgo their normal rations to get food from the area to make Christmas dinner.”

“I wish…”

“I know…” Jack laid a hand on Aaron’s shoulder, feeling exactly what he was feeling.

“Here, you two look like you could use this.” A young lieutenant handed them a couple of camp plates filled with some beans, vegetables and a small portion of meat.

“I can’t…”

“Please. Any friend of the Cap’s here. Besides, we all had our fill.”

Aaron didn’t know what to say. Emotion stuck in this throat as Jack led him to a fold-out table. Aaron ate, it would be rude not to. He sat there in silence, on Christmas Eve eating the food he knew was scarce, the sounds of battle off in the distance. Warplanes flying overhead and for a moment his fear melted away, and he felt blessed. Sitting here, he saw the best of humanity, even in war and it touched something very deep in his heart.

Jack was silent, and Aaron was thankful for that.

When another noise, a familiar sound, was heard off in the background, Aaron and Jack were both up like a shot and running towards that noise. There, standing in the doorway was The Doctor, smiling and waiting. Aaron ran as fast as he could. He didn’t even slow down as he got to Spencer, grabbing him in his arms and spinning him around.

“You found me. I knew I could trust you.”

“Aaron.” Spencer wrapped around him, and the two men held on tight. “I thought I lost you. Then the TARDIS picked up your message.”

“I love you.” Aaron blurted out. It was the first time he had voiced what it was he felt for The Doctor, Spencer Reid.

“I love you, Aaron,” Spencer said as he buried his face against Aaron’s neck.

“Let’s go home.”

“Home. That sounds good. Merry Christmas, My Doctor.” Aaron kissed Spencer as the TARDIS started on its flight back to Earth. Virginia to be exact. Rossi’s backyard to be precise.

“Oh, this could be so much fun.” Jack grinned as both Aaron and Spencer looked at him wondering where he had come from.

“Jack…”

“Just exactly how did he distract our other selves?”

Jack just grinned, even more, then the memories started to coalesce in Aaron’s mind.

“But…”

“Oh yeah.” Jack walked over and kissed The Doctor, then turned to kiss Aaron. “A very Merry Christmas indeed.”