Disclaimer: I don't own any of Criminal Minds or its intellectual property. I also don't own "T'was the Night Before Christmas". Please don't sue me; my lawyer's in jail.
Chapter 1-T'was the Night Before Christmas
Derek Morgan and JJ held their arms to their sides, their eyes straining to see something, anything, ahead of them. The snowflakes in the headlight seemed go sideways in the biting wind. Heavy, wet snow now covered all of the windows, except for both front and back. Each hill, no matter how small or straight, seemed to be a gut check for even these seasoned FBI agents. The SUV's heater didn't seem to help much. It was well after dark, and both FBI cars crawled along, crunching and slipping through the heavy snow and ice that blanketed the Maryland hills. No streetlights. No reflective signs. Just darkness and slick roads.
"Maybe we should've stayed on 83? We would've been home by now" Morgan protested, looking at the darkened window and thinking about his princess.
"Can't. Remember that big pileup in Hagerstown?" JJ reminded him.
"Yeah. Thanks. Maybe we just should've stayed the night in Harrisburg."
"We all decided to go back tonight so that we'd be home by Christmas Eve" Hotchner reminded him.
JJ squinted at her watch. "It's past ten now. How far are we from DC?"
"Not sure. I tell you what, though. I'm waiting to see The Abominable Snowman out there" Morgan said as blew into his fingers in this bone-chilling cold.
The FBI radio beeped from the dashboard. Holding tightly to the wheel with one hand, Hotchner picked it up. "Yeah."
David Rossi held the steering wheel just as tightly with one hand with his handheld in the other, stiffening up every time they slid. "How are you guys doing up there?"
Hotchner tightened his lips. "I can hardly stay on the road."
"Harrisburg being about an hour behind us, we still would've had to wait another three hours before they got the interstate cleared" Reid pointed out. "Also, given the rate the snow is falling and the time it would've taken to clear away that accident, I estimate that by taking this road, we'd be home an hour earlier than taking the interstate."
"Thanks a lot, Reid" Emily moaned. "Did you take into account the icy roads?"
"No."
"He's right" Rossi said as he squinted into the storm. "And we might have had to abandon our cars on the freeway." His windshield had begun to fog up, even with the defroster at full blast. Still holding the radio, he reached forward with his elbow and tried to wipe the fog off. .
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Hotchner said.
"That we better stop for the night? Yeah. I can't see a thing out there."
Hotchner squinted and leaned forward while the wipers squealed with every pass, trying to keep the windshield clear. "I don't know this area, and according to the GPS, there isn't much for miles around."
"We're gonna have to stop the first place we come to" Rossi insisted. "If we don't we could be stuck somewhere, and you know what that means."
"Yeah, I do. Okay, everybody be on the lookout for a hotel, a bed and breakfast, anything."
"Think the best we're gonna do is somebody's barn right now" Morgan said.
"Relax. We'll find something" Hotchner said.
JJ sighed. "I hate being stuck. This being Christmas Eve and all."
"Couldn't help it" Morgan said. "That case in Harrisburg went overtime. The hotels there are probably all full, and everything else is closed for the holidays."
The blonde agent nodded slightly. "I know. This just wasn't my idea of Christmas."
"If the roads are clear, we'll take off for Quantico first thing in the morning" Hotchner reassured her. "Sound good, Rossi?"
"Sounds like a plan."
"Hey! Right there! To the right" Reid said, pointing his finger. "The Hill Country Inn?"
The hotel that seemed to wait for them seemed like a beacon of hope right now. The building had exterior rooms, snow-covered railing, and a white blob that would normally be a swimming pool. It resembled one of those hotels from the sixties. What stood out to them was the number of snow-topped cars in the parking lot, seeming all crowded together.
"Looks like a popular place" Emily pointed out. "Hope we can get a couple of rooms."
"It's gonna have to do, Rossi insisted as he turned the SUV past the faded sign. "We can't take any chances on finding another one."
The BAU shivered and brushed snow off themselves as they hurried through the snowy driveway and sighed with relief in the warmth.
Hotchner, Rossi, Morgan, Emily, Spencer and JJ looked around them. People were sitting against walls, or in front of the fireplace, tucked under blankets and pillows. Others stretched out on the faded lobby chairs. Some in the hallways were reading or eating from those small potato chip bags. Somewhere else a toilet could be heard flushing.
"May I help you?"
Hotchner finally looked at the short, middle-aged woman that stood expectantly at the faded counter. She was stocky, her gray hair tied into a ponytail. The age on her face told the tale of running a hotel for decades.
"Uh yes" Hotchner finally said as he laid his FBI credit card on the counter. "We're with the FBI. We were hoping you'd have maybe three rooms. If not, we'll just take whatever you have available."
The woman picked up his credit card, shook her head at it, and placed it back down in front of them. The FBI didn't impress her right now. "Sorry, Agent, we're all filled up."
"But we're stuck out there" Emily protested.
She motioned at the lobby. "See all those people? So are they. Everybody's gonna be here until the roads get cleared! Now you're welcome to stay if you want. I got blankets and pillows, but this is it."
"How much?" Rossi asked as he glanced around again.
The woman sniffed. "No charge."
Resigned to their fate, Emily stretched out on the carpeted floor. "Well, I don't see what choice we have. If we sleep in the SUV's we might run out of gas or freeze to death."
Wrapped in their blankets and pillows, the BAU lay on the floor just under the red-ribboned Christmas tree, the only cheery thing about this place. "Well, it's Christmas Eve, but it could've been worse" JJ reminded them. "Maybe we can get some breakfast in the morning."
"Or maybe we'll make it home tomorrow morning" Emily said.
"Well, we won't make it if we don't get some sleep" Hotchner said before he loosened his tie and put his jacket over his head. "Well, good night everybody." A chorus of good nights met him.
Derek Morgan draped his coat under his head and closed his eyes, his arms folded tightly.
It was just minutes later that Morgan felt eyes on him. With bleary eyes, he flipped onto his back and looked. Two boys and a girl stood just inches from his body.
"Are you really the FBI?" one boy asked excitedly.
"Uh, yeah." Morgan was exhausted by now, but he couldn't help but be a little flattered by the attention. "Shouldn't you be asleep right now?"
"Our parents are sleeping in the hallway" the girl said matter-of-factly. "They can't read us a bedtime story, so we couldn't sleep."
One boy handed him a big, colorful book. "Would you read us a story?"
"Uh, I don't know. Kinda late, isn't it?"
"Please?"
Morgan could hear snickers around him. With a grin Rossi peeked out from under his jacket. "Yeah. Go ahead, Morgan. Read them a story."
With a tired sigh, the profiler sat up and opened the colored book. "T'was the Night Before Christmas."
All three children sat down around him, eyes fixated on him as he opened the book. "T'was the night before Christmas. And all through the house. Not a creature was stirring. Not even a mouse." From his peripheral vision, he could see more bleary-eyed children now walked up and sat around him, fascinated.
"Looks like you have an audience, Morgan" Emily laughed from under her coat.
He gave his colleagues a tight smile. "The stockings were hung at the chimney with care. In hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there."
The restless silence was then shattered.
"Help me! My wife's having a baby!"
