A/N: I do not own any aspect of Criminal Minds. It is owned by CBS. I am just a fan who has a story to tell and time to tell it.
A/N: I hope you enjoy this story. More will be coming soon. I would love to hear any and all feedback. Thank You for taking your time.
My brain is still in a bit of a whirl wind. My thoughts haven't quite caught up with my actions yet. At the moment I was sitting next to Hotch in the coach section of a passenger plane. Hotch was next to me looking over a case file, I'm pretty sure he realized I was lost in thought, so he leaned in close to my ear.
"Are you alright?" he said so quietly that it sent shivers up and down my spine. "You look lost in deep thought."
"I'm alright," I whispered still trying to contain the start he gave me. "My brain just finally got up with the rest of me with what we are about to be doing."
"Are you nervous?" he asked this time a little farther from my ear. I turned to look him in the eyes, those beautiful deep brown eyes.
"A little," I said as I met his gaze. He met my gaze and didn't break it except for when the flight attendant passed by doing her seat check.
"Good Morning passengers! This is your captain speaking. We are next to leave Dulles. Our next stop is Billings, Montana. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight." the pilot said over the intercom as we started taxing toward the runway. I think Hotch could sense I was a bit and he instinctively grabbed my hand and gave a little squeeze.
"It'll be ok," He said with a smile, "The worst is about to be over."
I nodded in acceptance as the plane began its rapid launch and quick ascension. In a moment of fear I squeezed his hand, as we hadn't let go yet, and I could hear him slightly chuckle. I settled into my seat a bit more as the plane leveled out. We were in for a long flight.
"Thank you," I finally muttered as we both unhooked our seatbelts.
"Anytime," He said with that same smile that both put me at ease and made me wonder what was going on is his head over all this. "I never realized you had a fear of flying."
"It's not so much flying," I said with a smirk, "it's more of a fear of crashing. It's the take-off and landing of a plane that are the worst and the occasional turbulence doesn't help anything."
"Even on the jet?" Hotch asked with a quizzical look.
"Even there," I said nodding slightly, "It isn't as bad on the small plane, however in here I feel more afraid. It has always been that way ever since I was a kid. That's why I sleep well on a plane." I chuckled a bit at that last statement because I don't sleep well on a plane at all. Every time we head out to a case on the jet I was too preoccupied with case details to notice anything, it was on the way back when everyone was tired and unnoticing that I no one really noticed my discomfort, or so I thought. Hotch chuckled again and leaned in close again.
"I've known since our first case." He said with a smile. I chuckled at that comment.
"Of course you have," I said with a smile, "That's why you are the boss."
He chuckled and turned his attention back to the file in his lap. I noticed it was the case we were going on. UNDERCOVER. Because of the nature of the case and what's been happening, Hotch and I are going undercover as a newly engaged couple. Last night and this morning was such a whirlwind of information and preparation that I haven't fully processed what is going on.
***FLASHBACK***
We were getting ready when Morgan noticed JJ quickly heading over to Hotch's office a file in hand and a concerned look. Morgan nodded to Hotch's office and we all watched as JJ handed Hotch the file and how he gave JJ a strange look then quickly stood and headed out of the office with JJ right behind him.
"Conference room!" Hotch said as he motioned toward the conference room.
"This doesn't seem good," Emily said as she headed towards the conference room.
"They look very worried." I said shrugging and heading up to the conference room behind Emily.
Emily and I enter and take a seat as Rossi and Reid come in followed by Morgan.
"What's up Hotch?" Morgan asked as he looked up at the Unit Chief who was reading a file. Off to his left JJ and Penelope were fixing the monitor and computer.
"We've been asked for special consult out in Montana." Hotch said as Penelope lipped some images on the screen.
"For the past four years, someone has been killing engaged couples in their homes." JJ said as Garcia pulled up the different case file photos.
"How do they know the cases are related?" Rossi asked as a tech brought in copies of the case file for us all to look at.
"There was a similar message left for all the couples for two weeks prior to the murders," Hotch said as he nodded to Garcia.
"And each message was similarly at each crime scene." Garcia said as she clicked the pictures and not daring to look at them.
"These are passages are all from a poem by a woman named Angela Morgan. It's titled Choice." Reid said as he had read all the messages with his superhuman reading skills. "The lines are out of order and repeated through all the murders, but it's definitely her poem."
"How'd you do that so fast, pretty boy?" Derek asked with a smirk, because we all knew the answer to that question.
"My eidetic memory allows me to remember everything I have ever read and heard…" Reid mumbled but Rossi cut him off.
"Reid," Rossi said as he patted his shoulder, "he was being sarcastic." Reid shifted uncomfortably. We all chuckled until Hotch spoke once more.
"The Montana Bureau has been tracking the case over the years and had come up with a plan but they need outside help with the case." Hotch said as he looked up from the file in his hands.
"What kind of plan needs outside help?" Rossi said cocking his eyebrow.
"An undercover operation." JJ piped in, "Since the bureau has been covering the case since its beginning, all the agents in the office are known in the public."
"They have asked for our team to come help out with the profile as well as two of our agents being sent undercover." Hotch said as he set the file down and crossed his arms looking over at us.
"Wait, Hotch!" Morgan said as he realized what he was saying, "Who is going under?"
"We need to look at the victimology to determine that," Hotch said as he nodded to Garcia who clicked up the photos of each couple onto the screen.
We all looked though them on screen and in our folders.
"The first thing I notice is all the couples are white, newly engaged and there is a bit of an age difference between the couples," Emily said looking from the file up to Hotch.
"There is a 15 to 20 year age difference between the men and women." Rossi noted looking up at Hotch, "That's a new turn."
"All the girls are brunettes," I said without thinking. When my brain caught up a split second later, I looked up and caught Hotch's gaze. He met my gaze and nodded then turned to face Rossi. No matter how many times he looked my way it made my heart beat a bit faster. I realized the team kept going with the discussion as I regained from my train of thought.
"It can't be me," Rossi was saying with a laugh, "I'm old enough to be her grandfather. What do you say Alice?"
"Huh?" I said hallway coming from my thoughts. "I'm sorry I was a bit lost in my thoughts of the case."
Morgan chuckled, "I'm trying to picture any of these combinations in my head too, Alice."
"Look, it has to be one of you," JJ said with an authoritative voice, "We have to let the lead agent know in 2 hours."
"It's you guys choice." Emily said with a sly grin. We all chuckled a bit as the Senior Agents stared each other down.
"I better match the age range," Hotch said to our surprise to break the silence that felt like forever but was really only a few seconds. "Are you ok with that Alice?" He said as he looked across the table at me.
"I am good with whatever is best for the case." I said trying to hide my nerves. "How long will the assignment last, and what are all those other kinds of details is all I am concerned about." I hope that came out with my best profiler voice. The room looked a bit shocked at my comment and I just shrugged a little and locked my gaze on Hotch's eyes. He seemed to understand.
"The length isn't determined," Hotch said as he took a seat, "nor is the nature of the assignment. Outside of the fact that we will have to portray a newly engaged couple, we will have to work out the details and have a debriefing in the morning. We do need to leave tomorrow. The rest of you will need to arrive tomorrow evening and go to the Bureau office and meet up with the agents working the case. They can't know about us and who we are. Morgan you will be temporary team leader for this case." Morgan nodded.
"I can work up all the necessary documents and preparations for the two of you and your cover story." Garcia said with that smile she gets when she has a fantasy idea. She shot me a look that threw me a bit as she bounced out of the room and headed to her office.
"Alright," Hotch said with a sigh, "Let's head home and make all the prep for this upcoming case. Alice, I'll need you to come here at 7, so we can go over our cover story and head off to Montana to get into place." I nodded in approval. "Good night team. Remember this is a highly closed case and no one can know of what is going on, so keep this close to the vest. Once we are all in Montana we will have a way of communication via Garcia."
Everyone nodded in approval. We all got up and headed to our respective desks. As Rossi and Hotch head up to their offices.
"What about jack?" Rossi asked as they headed out.
"Jess won't mind watching him for a bit," Hotch said with a smile, "Her parents are coming in and have been dying to spend time with him."
Their conversation faded off as they entered Hotch's office. I reached my desk and hurriedly put my files into my bag. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see JJ and Emily directly behind me.
"Hey guys!" I said slinging my backpack on.
"You ready for this?" Emily asked with that questioning look she has perfected over the years of interrogating.
"As best I can` ever be, I guess." I said as I shifted a little from the thought of the assignment.
"I know this might be weird" JJ started giving me a comforting smile, "but it shouldn't last long and then we can go back to the way we've been."
"You're right," I said with a smile meeting her eyes.
"Plus, maybe we'll get to see Hotch loosen up a bit." Emily said with a chuckle. We al chuckled a ibt.
"Hotch loosen up?" Reid said as he came over, "I don't think that's possible."
"You'd be surprised Reid," Morgan said messing with Reid's hair. "He can have his loose moments."
We all gave Morgan a quizzical look but decided to not press it. We all said our goodbyes and headed off to head home and get ready. As I reached home, I packed up my suitcase with what I figured I would need for the entirety of the case. I packed a little of everything since I didn't know what we would possibly do. I checked the weather and packed the proper clothes. As I showered and got ready for bed after having a small dinner, my brain wouldn't stop mulling over what the next few days or weeks would have in store.
"I'll be spending days to weeks with Aaron Hotchner. What was I thinking for agreeing to this?" I started thinking, "Oh yeah! Because there is a serial killer tormenting couples and it's my job to help protect the community. But still, I don't know if I can contain my heart from leaping out of my chest during this time. I will try to keep that part of me a secret, and since I've been able to do it for the past year, or at least I hope I've concealed it, this shouldn't be too hard for me."
I sighed deeply as I laid my head on my pillow and fell asleep with lots of thoughts flowing around.
-Next Day-
I arrived to meet up with Hotch, JJ, and Garcia to go over our cover details. I walked in right behind JJ. I put my stuff outside the conference room door and sat next to JJ. Garcia and Hotch came in seconds after and placed a folder down sat across from us as Garcia handed me a file. I opened and began reading as Hotch started talking.
"So," he started as he opened his folder, "we will be going undercover as the newly engaged couple, Jeff Hawkins and Maggie Tyler. We will have been engaged for three months. We are moving to Billings, Montana for work and will be having our wedding in a year after life has settled a bit."
"What jobs do we have?" I asked quizzically.
"Hotch will be working as an attorney in the local DA's office." Garcia said as she points down to the file. "He will be transferring from the Virginia office. All his calls for references will be directed through me." She said with a smile.
"There is also a full background set up." Hotch said looking towards Garcia.
"That shouldn't be too different." JJ said as she looked at Hotch.
"You are right my lovely JJ," Garcia said flipping some pages, "All I had to do was change his FBI years into successful Lawyer information. A friend of Hotch's was kind enough for us to use his cases and life to base Hotch's info off of."
"We have discussed his cases in depth," Hotch said, "I understand and know most all of his work, in case I am asked anything to do with my past cases."
"Now Alice," Garcia said with a sly grin, "Onto your Wonderland." I shook my head with a smile. "You have just bought a dying café and are now running it. The owners have decided to retire and desired to sell. As you have an MBA and a love for cafes, this will be a fun new adventure as you and your fiancé start to get settled in."
"That sounds like fun." I said as I perused over the file. I looked just in time to catch Hotch's gaze and he shot me a confident nod.
"You will be living in a cute 2 bedroom home not far from downtown," Garcia said as she clicked up a picture of the home and map of the area, "You guys will be working on the same block. Hotch will be in the DA office here and your café will be just down the block." Garcia said as she pointed at the map the points where we are working. "The rest is in the folder and you can read it on the way. Your life history is your own and plays into your cover. Except for…" Garcia held off saying the last part and looked at Hotch with a sad look, which he understood.
"For our cover purposes, Jack wasn't born," He took a deep sigh, "and Hayley was still murdered during a case, only it was because they thought I was in the car not her." He looked down as he said that last part.
"Will and I will take care of Jack when Jess is busy," JJ said with a reassuring smile.
I couldn't believe everything that was being said nor could I wrap my head around everything that goes into our cover story. Everything we were told on the case just flew by so fast and was just a bit of a blur. We covered the case for a bit and finally JJ and Garcia sent us on our way to the airport. We made is through security and were finally settled in for our 4 hour flight.
-Present Time-
I don't know when I fell asleep but I felt the plane surge a bit as we were making our final descent. I blinked my eyes and noticed I had fallen asleep on Hotch's shoulder. I shifted back up and yawned a bit.
"Sorry about that." I said as I buckled back in.
"No worries," He said as he put his file back in his briefcase, "We are supposed to be a newly engaged couple after all." He smiled as he said that. "Why not go ahead and get started."
The plane jolted a bit as we landed on the tarmac. "You're right," I said with a smile, "We never know when the UnSub will be watching." I grabbed his hand which made him jump a bit. "I guess we should act like it." He chuckled a bit which took me aback a bit, Hotch never laughs.
We taxied to the gate and as the plane stopped and began unloading. As it came our turn to disembark, Hotch stood up and grabbed his briefcase; and he turned back towards me and stuck out his hand with a smile. I smiled up at him and took his hand and we began to disembark the plane.