**As always, I do not own Criminal Minds – If I did, the whole team would be available for all of us fanfiction geeks to meet.
The Revenant
Chapter 1
Hotch pulled into the driveway. The boys were riding their skateboards and practicing on the ramp he had made for them at the beginning of summer. Joey was running through the sprinkler while Kahlan was lying on a lounge chair, reading a book. "Daddy!" Joey yelled and ran up and hugged his legs. He felt his pants get wet as she pressed her little body up against him.
He picked the three year old up. "How's Daddy's little angel?" He asked and headed over to Kahlan.
"Wet," she told him with a smile. Her dimples showed with the wide grin and Hotch's heart skipped a beat. Her big brown eyes smiled as much as her mouth did. Hotch's alpha stirred because he loved having a daughter who look like him.
"Yeah, I can tell," he told as he leaned down to give Kahlan a kiss.
"Hey, Hun," Kahlan greeted him and smiled at how wet his suit was.
Hotch turned around as he heard the scratching of skateboard wheels. "Hey guys."
"Dad, you've got to see this gnarly new trick Jack mastered," Wyatt told him with a smile as he took off his helmet. He shook his long hair and sweat flung everywhere.
"Really, Wyatt?" Kahlan yelled as she jumped up to avoid being hit.
"Oh, sorry," Wyatt said sheepishly.
Hotch sat Joey down and picked up the sprinkler. He unhooked the hose and sprayed Wyatt. "You know, for being so intelligent, you sure do have some dumb moments," Hotch told him with a smile as Wyatt just stood there and enjoyed the cold water. Jack started laughing and Hotch sprayed him, too. Wyatt was already a foot taller than Jack and almost as tall as his mother. Hotch finally put the hose down. "Show me your trick, Buddy."
Jack rubbed the water off his face and jumped on his skateboard. He speed it up as he hit the ramp. When he jumped into the air, he somehow flipped the board around twice and landed on it easily and continued down the driveway. Hotch shook his head. Jack was really turning into a great skater. "That's awesome. How many times did it take to master it?"
Jack beamed. "Just two."
Wyatt shook his head. "And I still can't do it, and I've been trying all day."
Hotch smiled at him. Wyatt was already getting thick with muscles, but Jack was built like Hotch, which made him more agile. "Well, your better at football. There's nothing wrong with you guys being better at different things." Anymore, it seemed like the only thing the boys were equal at was soccer.
"Yeah, just wait until Joey's older, she'll kick both of your butts at everything," Kahlan joked with them.
"Teach me, Wy," Joey said as she climbed onto Wyatt's skateboard. Wyatt smiled and grabbed her hands and led her around on the board.
"I'm going to start dinner. You all have thirty minutes, then get cleaned up and dry before you come in the house," Kahlan told them and went inside.
"You guys got Joey?" Hotch asked them.
"Sure, Dad." Wyatt said with a smile.
Hotch went inside to help Kahlan. He snuck up behind her in the kitchen.
"If you think you are going to hug me and try to get me wet, I need to warn you, I have a knife in my hand," she told him without even turning around.
Hotch froze. Damn you! I will get you one time, I promise! "I wouldn't think of it," he lied.
She turned around and smiled at him. "The day Aaron Hotchner sneaks up on me is the day I retire."
"You are retired."
"Oh yeah," she told him with a kiss.
He shook his head. "I'm going to change since your daughter got me all wet."
"She's more your daughter than she is mine," she joked.
He smiled as he walked upstairs. That's right!
XXXXX
In Baltimore, a man was grilling hotdogs on a park grill as his family played. He was so intent on the task in front of him that he didn't notice a man come up behind him. "Dogs are. . ." the man started to say but was cut off as a something hit him in a the back of his left knee and his throat was cut. The killer let the man's body fall to ground and walked away.
"Tom?" a woman called as she looked for her husband. She went to the grill. The hotdogs were burning. She screamed as she saw her husband's body lying on the ground in a pool of blood.
XXXXX
The next day, Garcia was in Hotch's office showing him a few case files from police departments who were asking for consults on cases. Hotch was reading over them and assigning them to his team members. "If this one escalates, they may need to ask us to come out and help," he told Garcia as he read about a serial rapist in Washington State.
"Ok," Garcia said as she made a notation on her tablet.
"Let Morgan have this one," he said handing her another file.
And they spent another 30 minutes dividing the cases up.
Hotch spent the rest of the day catching up on paperwork.
XXXXX
A group of kids from a branch of the YMCA were visiting the inner harbor. One boy was looking at a giant anchor on display. As soon as the chaperone looked back to see the boy, she screamed. The boy was lying in a pool of blood; his throat cut.
XXXXX
The next day, the team was called out to Louisiana to help with a child abduction case. Two little girls had already been found dead. They had been raped and there was another girl who had come up missing that morning. The profilers hit the ground running because they knew time was of the essence.
XXXXX
That evening five friends were enjoying themselves at a club in Baltimore. They were all on the dance floor having a blast. They were all getting drunk to celebrate one of the girls' birthday. A dark haired woman left the group to go to the restroom. She never returned, and she was found with her throat cut in the hallway leading to the restrooms.
XXXXX
It was 1:00am when Hotch finally got to his hotel room. He picked up his phone to call Kahlan, she never cared when he called, she was always willing to let him talk or just let him tell goodnight. Once the kids were in bed, she put her cell on vibrate and kept it on her nightstand in case he called. "Hey," Hotch told her when she answered.
"That bad, huh?"
"Yeah. This son of a bitch had already killed two little girls."
She knew any case involving kids upset him. "You can't let it keep you up, Aaron. You'll do your job better if you get some sleep. Trust in yourself and your team; you guys are the best."
He sighed heavily. "I know, it's just. . ."
"It's what?" She asked after she realized he wasn't going to continue.
"Nothing."
"Don't give me that shit, Aaron. I think I know you a little better than that."
He chuckled weakly. "Yeah, I guess you do."
She could tell something was really bothering him. "Tell me."
"One of the little girls looked an awful lot like Joey."
"Oh, Aaron. I'm so sorry. Do you want to talk to her? She'd love to talk to her daddy."
"No. Don't wake her up as late as it is."
"She'll go right back to sleep. If you need this, then let her help."
He smiled at how understanding and supportive Kahlan was. They'd been married for over three years, but she still never ceased to amaze him. Before he could say anything, though, a sleepy little voice came over the phone.
"Daddy?"
"Hey angel. I'm sorry mommy woke you up."
"No. Me love talkin to my Daddy."
Hotch smiled. "I love talking to my little angel, too."
"You wanna hear my ABC song?"
Hotch listened to her and felt some of the tightness in his chest loosen. Kahlan was right, of course, he did need this. After a few more minutes, he told her he loved her and wished her goodnight. After a few moments Kahlan came back on the line. "You are an amazing woman, Kahlan Hotchner."
She could hear the difference in his voice and she smiled. "I try," she joked. "I understand the bond between father and daughter; remember I do have two sons."
He laughed. "Yeah, now I think I finally understand it."
"You better try to get some sleep."
"Yeah. I love you."
"I love you, too. Good luck and be safe."
"Yes Ma'am," he told her and hung up. He sank back on the bed and drifted off to sleep.
XXX
With renewed vigor, Hotch and his team narrowed down the suspects, and by the next evening they were hunting their unsub.
XXXXX
A man was waiting at the back of the line to purchase movie tickets. Once the box office was open the line moved quickly. Someone in the crowd screamed as soon as the man's body was noticed. His throat was cut.
XXXXX
The next morning Hotch and the team were on the jet. They were going home in a good mood because they found their unsub and saved the little girl. Once they got home and after closing the case files, Hotch was heading out of the bullpen thankful for being able to go home. Rossi caught up with him. "Mind if I join you?" Rossi asked with a smile.
Hotch smiled back. Rossi had been spending a lot of his off time with Hotch and his family, and everyone loved it. "Please, Joey would kill me if she ever found out I told you 'no'."
Rossi smiled wider at the thought of his God daughter. "Actually I was thinking about Kahlan's cooking," he told him as they got in the elevator.
Hotch raised his brows. "Let me guess, she texted you and told you she was fixing Italian."
Rossi smiled, apparently Kahlan hadn't texted Hotch. "Nope, not Italian," he told him as the elevator opened and went to his car.
Hotch walked to his car still looking at Rossi. Rossi just smiled and got in his without another word.
"That's not fair," Hotch told him as Rossi backed up and rolled down his window to look at Hotch.
"I can't help it if she loves me more." He put the car in drive and took off, he left Hotch standing there shaking his head.
XXX
"Poppi!" Joey yelled as soon as she saw Rossi come in the door. She ran to him and jumped into his arms.
"Have you grown since the last time I was here?" Rossi asked her as he carried her into the kitchen. She giggled.
He reached into his pocket and took out a Sweet Tart and gave it to her. She giggled even more. She knew that he always carried her favorite candy in his pocket. "A Sweet Tart for my sweet heart."
"Dave. If you don't stop spoiling that child she's going to become an even bigger handful," Kahlan told him as he went up and gave her a kiss on the check.
"Spare the rod, spoil the child, and all that stuff."
"Where's Aaron?" she asked him but heard the door open. "Never mind."
Hotch went straight to the kitchen. His dimples showed as he looked at Kahlan and lifted the lid on the crockpot and reached in a stole a piece of the roast.
"Get out of there. It's not even done yet," Kahlan told him.
"It's done enough," Hotch told her as he sucked air in his mouth to help lower the temperature of the meat.
"You're worse than one of the boys," she told him as she laughed.
XXX
"Hey, my lovely crime fighters, I am really sorry to call you guys back in here tonight," she started.
"And we're not going to like what you are about to tell us," JJ pointed out. They could tell by Garcia's tone that the case was going to be difficult.
"Baltimore has got itself one slippery serial killer."
Hotch's brow furrowed. "Is this about the guy who got his throat cut?"
"Yes, but he's not the only one. There have been three more killings. You should have the files on your tablets, now." She said as she typed and brought up pictures on the screen. "First is Tom Calhun, that's the one Hotch talked about. He was with his family in the park." She went on to tell them about the other victims.
"They were all killed in public places and no one saw anything?" Morgan asked.
"There are mixed reports. One witness thought he saw a young black man. Another saw three Hispanic guys, and one old lady swears she saw a teenage girl," Garcia informed them.
"So, they basically have nothing," JJ pointed out.
"No, sorry. They do have all of the bodies at the city morgue. And the lead detective will be waiting for you at the station."
Hotch looked at the faces of his team. "Morgan, you and JJ go check out the latest crime scene. Reid and Blake, you two go to the station and start on victimology."
"I've started my search, and so far I can't find any connections between the victims. I will keep looking, though," Garcia cut in.
"Dave and I will go to the morgue." They all nodded.
"He doesn't have any preference in his victims. He crosses age, gender, socioeconomics, and race," Blake stated the obvious.
"Just what we need, another God damned omnivore," Rossi said disgustedly.