Hey, everyone. So, here it is: the Born to Die sequel. Many people wanted a sequel and I came up with a plan and I've decided to put it into action.
If you haven't read "Born to Die", I'd recommend you do as you won't understand what is going on here.
The title of this story comes from the wonderful Graysonation. She was helping me out with titles and came up with this brilliant one. If you haven't checked out her stories, I highly recommend you do; they're fantastic.
Disclaimer- I don't own, and probably never will own the beauty that is Criminal Minds.
Enjoy, and, though reviews aren't needed, they are greatly appreciated.
Hotch looked down at his pocket when his cellphone started vibrating, indicating he had a call. He sighed and reached into his pocket, pulling out his cell; 'Strauss', it read.
"Hotchner," the unit chief answered.
"Agent Hotchner… Aaron," Strauss replied. Hotch swallowed; the use of his first name told him that this was not going to be a pleasant phone call. "I just found out in the hour, and I wanted to tell you first…"
Hotch had to stifle a small, uncharacteristic gasp at what the section chief just told him. How could this be? How could they let this happen?
"I thought, as you are his unit chief, that you should be the one to tell Agent Reid, and the rest of your team," Strauss informed him. Hotch nodded, even though he knew that the woman couldn't see him. He figured, as a profiler, that part of the reason that Strauss was asking him to tell Reid was because she couldn't stand to do it herself. And, if Hotch was being honest with himself, he was nervous and not sure how his subordinate would react.
Hotch looked up from where he was staring at the ground and saw Reid walking out of the building; he and Morgan were walking the recently arrested UnSub to the local officers. What was his agent going to do when he found out?
"Yes, Ma'am," Hotch said. "I'll tell Reid and the rest of the team when we get back from the case."
"Thank you, Aaron," Was all Strauss said, a bit of worry leaking into her usually calm and strict voice.
Hotch was about to hang up when he suddenly spoke again. "Ma'am? Are you sure?" He asked.
"Unfortunately, yes," Strauss sighed. "I'll talk with you when you get back to Quantico. You can tell me how things went with the rest of your team."
Hotch said a quick goodbye and hung up his cellphone. How could this be happening? He'd thought for sure that this nightmare was over.
Hotch's palms were sweating as he and the team walked into the bullpen. He was uncharacteristically nervous. The whole way to the airport and the entire flight home he'd been thinking and trying to figure out how he was going to break the news. Though, the whole time he'd been trying to come up with a plan, his own worries kept pushing through.
Hotch was aware that Reid and the rest of the team were his first concern. But, the whole ordeal had always put him through a large amount of unhealthy stress. Though he'd never admit it, Hotch still occasionally woke up from a nightmare about what had happened.
The unit chief hadn't even realized that he'd gotten to his office until he stopped at the locked door. Proves just how much I'm at work, Hotch thought.
Hotch took his key ring out of the pocket of his trademark black suit pants, and unlocked his office door. He reached his arm to the right and flipped on the light switch, and continued to sit down at his desk, putting his head in his hands with a sigh. A moment later, there was a knock on his door.
"Come in," Hotch answered.
The door opened to show Rossi standing the doorframe. He walked into the office and shut the door behind him.
"I just came to see how you're doing," Rossi told him. "You haven't looked too good ever since we arrested the UnSub, Hotch. The case wasn't that bad."
"I'm fine, Dave," Hotch replied a little too quickly. He knew before Rossi said anything that his answer wouldn't be accepted.
"Aaron," Dave said. "I'm a veteran profiler. And, I'm also your friend. I know when you are fine and when you're not."
"Could you…" Hotch started. "Could you get everybody in the briefing room?"
Rossi let a quick look of worry cross his face, but it was quickly pushed away, and he left with a nod.
Hotch took one more deep breath and stood, heading toward the door and exiting his office. He walked the short distance to the briefing room and saw that the team were all already gathered around the table.
"Hey, Hotch. What's goin' on?" Morgan asked with a bit of concern in his dark eyes.
"Uh," Hotch began. "I got some news earlier today, when we were just finishing up with the case."
Hotch looked around at the team as he spoke. He knew that they could tell that whatever Hotch was about to tell them wasn't going to be good‒ they were profilers for God's sake, ‒of course they would. He noticed the worry that had leaked onto their faces, the way their backs had straightened, how alert they looked at the moment.
"What happened?" Prentiss said slowly.
"Uh," Hotch started. Just spit it out, his mind snapped at him. "Nate Walker…" The unit chief saw how each team member immediately stiffened, how Reid's eyes grew wide and his breathing picked up a bit just at the name. Say it. It's your job. "He, uh, he escaped from prison today."
Reid knew that something was up as soon as Rossi told them all that Hotch needed them in the briefing room. At first, he'd thought it was another case; but no, the team would never be given a new case as soon as they walked through the bullpen doors; the case would've been given to another team.
So, his mind wandered to other possibilities and he quickly realized that every time they'd been called into the briefing room for an unknown reason, there was never any good news.
When Hotch finally came into the briefing room, looking uncharacteristically nervous and worried, Reid got even more anxious than before.
Then Hotch began to speak. "Uh," Hotch said. "I got some news earlier today, when we were just finishing up with the case."
Even though Reid knew that this wasn't going anywhere good, there was no preparing him for when the name that he'd worked so hard to forget was mentioned. "Nate Walker…" Reid could've sworn that his heart stopped for a moment and his eyes widened. God, he'd hoped he'd never have to hear that name ever again. "He, uh, he escaped from prison today."
In that moment, Reid felt all of the walls that he'd worked so hard to build back up, fall down. His breath stopped, and he could've sworn that his heart jumped right out of his chest; though the logical part of his brain knew that was impossible. But, how? No, this couldn't be happening. This has got to be a joke, right? No, Hotch would never joke about something like this. Reid couldn't keep his panicked thoughts straight as Hotch's words rang through his mind over, and over. But, no, he wasn't going to be weak this time, and he quickly repaired tried to repair himself, knowing that he'd fail. So, with a deep breath, the youngest agent looked around the room at his teammates.
He saw the looks of shock run over their faces, and how they quickly tried to hide it. Reid couldn't pretend that he didn't see them occasionally glance his way out of the corners of their eyes. God, how could this be happening?
"I'm not worth it." Reid's own words that he'd told his unit chief the last time they'd dealt with Nate passed through his head. His friends shouldn't be worrying about him; he wasn't worth it. No, they're your family; of course they'll worry about you.
Rossi was the first team member to recover and speak. "How did this happen?"
"I'm not sure," Hotch told them. "I'm speaking with Strauss later tonight. I'll tell you when I know."
Reid was back to panicking. Nate was going to come after them‒ or him, ‒wasn't he? Reid couldn't think of another reason that Nate would risk trying to get out of jail. "He's coming after us, isn't he?" The young genius hadn't even realized he'd spoken aloud until the team turned to him.
"Honestly, I'm not sure. He's gotten his r-revenge," Hotch choked the word out. "But there's always the possibility," he said in a regretful tone.
"You fascinate me, Spencer," Nate's words flashed through Reid's head.
Morgan sighed. "We're going to have to take precautions."
"No protective custody," Reid said immediately. He didn't need to explain why; the team all remembered what had happened to Haley with startling clarity.
"We'll stay with each other," Hotch suggested. "We'll make sure we're not alone at all times."
Morgan turned to his youngest teammate, "I'll stay with you, Reid."
"No," Reid said firmly.
"What?" Morgan asked him, a bit of confusion in his eyes.
"In case he's after us again, I'm not letting any of you risk your life for me." I'm not worth it. "I'll be fine by myself. I'm not weak."
Hotch looked his agent in the eyes. "Reid, we're not suggesting that you're weak in any way. It's just safety protocol."
Reid let his emotions get the best of him; he really just needed a moment alone to stop, breathe, and think. "Yeah, well, screw protocol," Reid started walking. "I'll be fine on my own." With that, the young man left the room, a lone tear in his eye. How could this be happening?
"Reid" and review, please. I hope enjoyed the first chapter.