Natural Born Killer – Epilogue

Aaron Hotchner stood in front of the bathroom mirror. He gently touched the growing bruise on his face. It made him flinch. He was finding it difficult to move his mouth now the shock was wearing off, and it was starting to hurt. He felt his teeth with his tongue. A couple on the left side were loose, but he wasn't worried about that. Nothing was broken

His mind flashed back to the attack in Tony's Auto Wrecking. He went over it in his mind – how it could have turned out differently. He had let the UnSub catch him unawares and his leg was throbbing where he'd been hit with the pipe.

Very carefully he took off his tie and undid his top buttons. There was a thin red line at the sides of his neck. In places, it had bled onto his shirt collar. The fronts of his fingers were cut by the wire, but that was probably what saved him. Bruising was beginning to show where his knuckles had been pulled into his neck. Swallowing was painful. His voice was croaky.

He was glad Haley was at her sister's. She would freak if she saw him like this, and they would only end up having another row. Always the same words. She would try to get him to leave the BAU, he would refuse, she would slam the door, he would sleep on the couch.

He was getting so tired of his life. Growing up in a violent house hold with a Dad who spoke to his elder son with his fists had taught him to keep his emotions hidden in front of others, but here in this cold and lonely house, he had no reason to hold back.

A childhood punctuated by beatings, when he had met Haley, she was soft and feminine and she had loved him in a new way – a way without pain and hurt and betrayal. He couldn't help but love her. But over the years, he had realised that even love such as hers came at a price. And it was a price he could not pay. And now there was a child on the way. He prayed that it wasn't the biggest mistake of his life.

He opened the medicine cabinet and got out a bottle of antiseptic and poured a little into a bowl. Goodness knows what was on that wire that had dug into his neck, doubtful that it had been cleaned since its last victim. He added some water, and pulled a lump of cotton wool out of Haley's supply. He was about to begin, when there was a knock at the door.

He quickly did up his buttons as he went to answer it. He glanced at his watch. It was quite late for visitors. He checked through the spy hole before he opened the door.

It was Reid.

He opened the door, slightly puzzled.

Reid looked embarrassed. "Erm...I heard ww-what happened at T-tony's." He stammered. "I came by to see it y-you were ok...and I brought y-you this." He held up a bottle of Glenfiddich.

"Oh." said Hotch, also embarrassed. "Please, Reid, come in." he touched his neck. "I was just cleaning this." He undid the buttons again. "But I guess I can have a drink first."

"No Haley?" Reid asked. The living room was dark and cold.

"She's at her sister's." He noticed the look flash across Reid's eyes. Another person would have missed it, but Hotch was a trained profiler. "Only for a couple of days."

He noticed that he was starting to fumble on his words. "I'll get some glasses."

His hands were shaking as he got the glasses out of the cupboard. One he put on the worktop, the other he dropped on the floor, where it broke into a thousand deadly shards.

"Crap!" He knelt down and started to pick them up with his fingers. Haley was always telling him to stay out of the kitchen. He began to pick up the small pieces and put them onto the biggest piece.

"Crap crap crap!" Tiny cuts on his fingertips bled onto the kitchen floor. "Ouch! Dammit!"

He looked up from where he was kneeling on the floor. Reid was standing in the doorway.

"Do you have a dustpan?"

"Erm...yes. In that cupboard." He went to put his bleeding fingers in his mouth.

"Don't do that!" Reid said, pulling his hand away from his face. "You could have glass in it." His hand stayed on Hotch's just a little longer than was necessary. Hotch didn't pull away, but he looked at Reid in confusion. Reid turned on the tap and Hotch washed his fingers in the cool water. Reid checked there was no glass, and said,

"Where are the band-aids?"

"In the bathroom."

"I'll get some, Hotch. You go and pour us a drink."

"Uh...ok...do you have water or ...erm...anything?"

"Just straight please." Reid handed him the glass, and got another out of the cupboard. Hotch took them out into the living room, Reid went up stairs to get the band-aids.

Hotch sat at the coffee table in the living room with a frown on his face. He felt strange. Maybe it was where he'd been tazered.

Yes. That was probably it!

He poured the drinks, drank one and poured another, and Reid came down the stairs. He had a towel, a box of band aids, and the antiseptic that Hotch had got ready earlier. He sat opposite Hotch and took his hands. One at a time he gently dried his fingers, and put band aids on. Hotch had strange feelings rush through him as Reid touched him. The frown vanished, and he smiled.

"You're good at this, Reid."

Reid smiled back as he put the ninth band-aid on him. One of his fingers had escaped mutilation. They picked up their drinks.

"This was very thoughtful of you Reid. But I promise, I really am ok." He knocked back his drink and poured another. He drank half of it.

"Let me see your neck, Hotch." Reid said, reaching for his collar. Hotch allowed him to unbutton his shirt. He finished his drink and poured another. He was feeling light headed.

The tazer?

The drink?

Reid?

Reid very gently touched Hotch's neck, and Hotch flinched.

"Oh I'm sorry. He did hurt you." Reid laid the towel on the couch beside Hotch.

"Lay down on the towel, Hotch. Let me clean this up for you."

Hotch laid back on the towel, and Reid gently cleaned the places where the garrotte had cut his skin, cleaning the blood from his neck with care. Hotch closed his eyes. He felt the cool water trickle round to the back of his neck and dampen his hair. Reid's gentle fingers touched him, it almost felt like a healing. Very softly, Hotch sighed with pleasure.

"Do you like that?" Reid asked. Hotch nodded very slightly. "Tell me if it hurts."

"Doesn't hurt." he whispered. "Feels nice."

Reid put the bowl and cotton wool down. He touched the darkening bruise on the edge of Hotch's mouth.

"Does this hurt?" he asked. Hotch felt his head floating.

"N-no, no" Hotch opened his eyes and looked at Reid. He reached up to him, and put a hand on his face. "It does...n't ...hurt when you...erm...t-touch me...oh..."

Reid's eyes locked with Hotch's. Hotch touched Reid's lips with his good finger. Reid closed his eyes and opened his mouth slightly. Very hesitantly, he kissed Hotch's finger. Hotch moved his hand into Reid's hair. He was breathing rapidly, and he could feel his heart beating in his chest. He tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and sighed.

"Ahh...Reid...Spence...Oh..." His words were lost as he felt Reid's lips on his neck and feelings he hadn't felt before shot through him. He trembled and turned his head, exposing the side of his neck to Spencer's soft erotic kisses.

He felt Spencer's hand caress his skin as he undid the rest of his buttons, and stroked his chest. Spencer kissed and nibbled and worked his way up to his mouth. When their lips met, Aaron thought he would die. He clutched Spencer's hair in pure ecstasy.

"Spence...no...oh god... ahhhhh..." He pulled the man as close as he could and returned the kiss, wrapping his arms around him, unable to speak or think, lost in the moment.

Hotch fumbled with Spencer's shirt buttons, but he was too drunk. Spencer pulled it over his head and laid down next to him, their bodies touching, energy passing between them.

"What's...happening, Spence? Help me..." Aaron was bewildered, not understanding this feeling that was overwhelming him.

"Don't be afraid, Aaron. It's ok." Spencer held Aaron's face in his hands and kissed him deeply and softly.

Aaron shivered with excitement, and gave himself up to him.