Hotch was finishing up his morning coffee while going through some dead files that the answers still couldn't be found. He wasn't sure why or how so many cases were left unanswered when the facts pointed right to the answers and the evidence was there to back them up. Morgan walked in, it was still very early in the afternoon "What are you doing?" Morgan asked "Just some paper work others were too stupid to do" Hotch answered in his normal tone.
Reid yawned, finishing off his fourth coffee of the morning as he came into the work area and took a seat at his desk. He muffled a yawn as he took a look around to see who all was in so far. Prentiess was just on her way in, making a detour to the kitchen to get herself some coffee. He smiled lightly as he saw her bring out two cups and place one in front of him. "Thanks." he said, taking a sip. She smiled. "No problem." she said, taking a seat at her own desk.
Morgan sat at his desk, he preferred field work over paper work any day, it always got your blood pumping. Gideon walked in rather quickly stopping before the others "We have another case, a young girl at the age of 6 had just been reported for missing" Gideon continued "After she was almost abducted by Charles Mandrin who has a record of trying to abduct children within the past two, almost three weeks. Somehow he always finds a way to escape, but, this time he didn't get the girl, so he'll probably be scared or out looking for her. We need to find this girl and get to her before he does" Gideon was making it clear they needed to get started, normally Hotch got to things about cases before anyone else, but, this time he was busy finishing up some work he had needed to catch up on. Gideon held up a picture of the missing girl Alyssa Saunders "Her name is Alyssa Saunders, her parents are trying to search for her right now, we can't seem to get them to stay still, so we have police looking with them" Gideon added.
Reid had pulled out one of the many files on his desk, scanning through it quickly. He got through about two of the twenty or so files on his desk when Gideon came in. He looked up curiously before standing. "When do we leave?" he asked. His eyes flicked over the picture, already committing each detail to memory. He already started his mental list of the things he was going to need. The list wasn't too long, but it all really depends on where the case was going to take them and if they were going to be away from D.C. IF they had to get on a flight, then he wanted time to swing by his place to pack some clothes.
"The last place she had been seen was in southern California along the beach. She was there with her family until she wasn't found, so she could be in the sea, but, we have sources that say she never went into the ocean" Gideon spoke "So we're going to do this in teams until we find her" Gideon stopped talking as Hotch spoke in next "Gideon, Morgan you are team one. Rei and I will be team 2, JJ I want you and Prentiess to work with the police and see what all you can find out about the parents" (not sure all who is left) "The plan will be ready soon, we need to go pack, and get on that plain in two hours"
Prentiess nodded, ggathering up her things. She'd catch a ride with JJ so they can save money on gas. "We'll meet you at the airport." She said as she left. Reid gathered some of the files on his desk and put them in his bag before standing. Since he hates driving, he looked over at Hotch. "Do you think I can get a ride?" He asked. He figured he was going to be getting one anyway, but it wouldn't hurt to ask, right? He already had a mental list ready of the things he was going to pack, so he should be done quickly.
Hotch looked over at Reid "Yeah, come on" Hotch was ready to go and get to work, he would be able to pack easy, and then they'd be on their way. Hotch made his way outside to the vehicle, they would be the only two in the car until the airport. Gideon and Morgan was already gone and Penelope was getting whatever information she could from the internet. Once in the car he put his seat belt on "How many cups of coffee did you have this morning?" he somewhat joked seeing that Reid had alot of them.
Reid followed behind Hotch after saying goodbye to Garcia. He put the strap of his bag over his shoulder as he walked, but put it between his feet once in the SUV. A sheepish smile crossed his face as he put his seatbelt on. "Honestly?... I'd say about six." He admitted. It wasn't his fault though. He loved the taste of coffee and all the extra caffiene helped wake him up when he had trouble getting to sleep. The sleeping problems have been few lately, but he knew they were never going to go away.
"Six? I think you need to lay off the caffeine" Hotch shook his head and pulled out after making sure they both had their seat belts on. Then he drove wondering out loud "I wonder how she got away? If he has tried to get children before, then how did she out of all of them get away so easily?" maybe it wasn't easily, maybe she barely got away, but, his mind was wondering what crazy reason was it this time to kidnap a child?
Reid shook his head slightly. There was absolutely no way he would be able to slow down on the caffiene. It helps keep him moving. "Maybe this guy made a mistake or got careless?" He suggested. Based on how young this girl was, there was little chance that she would have been able to get away on her own. He hoped that she was safe somewhere, unharmed.
"After we get settled in we should check any places where anyone might go for safety" Hotch thought about it and thought if he was a kid, he would have went to another house, but, if there weren't any houses around, then he would go somewhere the suspect wouldn't go. But, a child being scared of someone who tried to take her that she didn't know, that would cause them to just run to any safe place. Problem was, there could be alot of safe places around there.
Reid nodded. That seemed like as good as plan as any. "Sounds good to me." He ran through a list of places where he would have gone, but the placest that he had thought was safe, any other child wouldn't feel the same. So he tried to think of a normal place a child would go. A friend's house... The police... Um... That really was all he could think of at the moment. They'll just figure something out later.
Hotch stopped by Reid's place in the driveway to let Reid out "I'll come back after I packed, it shouldn't take long" Hotch spoke, he really just wanted to spend time with Reid. Hotch drove back and packed his things, once he was finished he locked up his place making sure it was all safe. Then he drove back to Reid's place about half an hour to an hour later. Hotch pulled up in front of Reid's house again before turning the engine off.
Reid smiled lightly at Hotch before heading up to his apartment. He saw no point in having anything better than a small apartment since he never really spent much time here anyway because of work. He went back to his room and started packing his clothes. He packed enough for at least a week. The case really shouldn't take any longer than that. He added a few books that he hasn't read yet to his bag before heading outside to wait for Hotch. He pulled out a book to read while he waited and glanced up at the sound of a car. He grabbed his bag when he saw who it was and went to get into the vehicle.
Hotch opened the passenger door by leaning over to give him a hand with it, "You can throw your stuff in the back with mine" Hotch only packed the necessary things, including his laptop he mainly used for work. It came in handy from time to time. "Did you get everything you need?" he asks waiting for the other man to get in the vehicle.
Reid smiled in thanks when the door was opened for him. He tossed his bag into the back before sitting down. "Yeah. I have everything." he said, fastening his seat belt. He settled back into his seat to relax during the drive. He went through his mental list one more time just in case he had forgotten anything, but everything was packed up and ready to go.
Hotch put the car in drive and took his time driving, there was no point of rushing to a plane that wasn't going to take off any time soon. "Did you sleep alright last night?" Last night Hotch stayed late and not over at Reid's, he was busy filling out the paper work he had neglected for some time now, luckily last night he had finished it up and went home around 3 in the morning. Hotch kept his eyes on the road for now, though he did glance over at Reid when he said that.
Reid shrugged lightly, leaning back in his seat. "I slept alright." he said. He would have slept better if Hotch had been there, but he wasn't going to admit that. As it was, he went to sleep a little after 2 and was up at 6. Sure, that wasn't a lot of sleep, but that's what coffee is for. One of the main reasons that he drank so much coffee was because of his lack of sleep.
Hotch took Reid's hand in his while the other hand was still on the steering wheel, good thing about being alone, was the fact that they didn't have to hide anything. They could hold hands or hug without anyone saying anything. "Tonight you should get more sleep, you'll need it when we go looking for the girl" Hotch stated as the drive ended and he pulled into the airport, the others were already inside, their cars were parked near Hotch's. "Are you ready?" he asks, making sure before the two of the got out.
Reid felt himself relax even more when Hotch took his hand and he smiled lightly. He nodded slightly, glad for the thought of getting plenty of sleep. Well... Not if Morgan wanted to room with him. That was the only downside to working with his best friend. If he tried though, Reid could just say it'd be better for him to room with Hotch, since they were working together for the case. "Yeah. Let's get going." he said, getting out of the car. He grabbed his bag out of the back as JJ's car pulled up, parking next to them. He gave both girls a smile before heading onto their private jet.
Before Reid could get out of the car, Hotch kissed Reid on the lips, and then got out himself. He grabbed his things and followed Reid to the others. Gideon walked over talking to him about the assignment. After everyone got on bored, they put their things up, and then took their own seats. Hotch sat at a table while everyone began to discuss the places they could check for the girl, reasons on why the girl would be taken in the first place, and where this sicko went.
That kiss made Reid feel good and it took all his will power not to smile like some lovestruck teenager. Once on the jet, he settled down to his seat on the small couch, his bag securely next to him. Whenever they were done with talking, he wanted to have something to read close by that wasn't about the case. It helped him when he had something to distract him for a short while. Even though he sat a little away from everyone else, he still joined in the discussion whenever he had something to contribute.
"So far we know that the girl was being almost kidnapped by a man in his later 20s, brown hair, blue eyes" Gideon spoke as Hotch spoke next "The girl is out there somewhere, she has yet to turn up, and we believe she has run to somewhere safe that she has been to before" Hotch started thinking of different places she could be, but, then JJ spoke up "She could be anywhere, an amusement part, a store, a pool, anywhere" "Anywhere she would fit in or feel safe, somewhere we not a lot of people would be at" Morgan entered his opinion.
"Since no one's seen her yet, the possibility of her being at a friend's house is low." Prentiess said, leaning forward into her seat. Reid was quiet for a moment as he went through his list again. "She could be somewhere quiet, a place where she'd be able to hear this man if he was looking for her. Like a library or museum." That's where he would be if he was hiding from someone. Plus there was plenty of hiding spots in both places she could hide since she was so small.
"A park would be out of the question, too big, and too many spots where she could be seen, but, wouldn't be able to see him" JJ stated thinking kids always get taken from parks "Maybe a bridge, an old unused or abandoned house...there are too many possibilities" Gideon said as Hotch spoke up "Why don't we make a list of places, then each team will look in different places" Hotch waited after writing down the places he heard.
[[Library, Museum, Stores, Amusement park, pool, beach (caves/etc)]]
"There are six designated places that she could be at. So we'll split them up so it will be easier to look around and won't take as much time" Hotch spoke continuing "Morgan, Gideon, you'll take the Stores and any pools in the area owned by the community. JJ, Prentiess you'll take the beach and Museum. Reid and I will take the Library along with the amusement parks. For now, we'll have to wait till we get there, be ready when he land, we'll need to get to work right away" Gideon was fine with stores and pools, but, this would take awhile. JJ and Prentiess needed to stay close to the beach to talk to the parents.
Reid nodded. He wasn't sure exactly how comfortable he would be at an amusement park, but he was sure he'd be just fine as long as Hotch was there with him. Once he knew the discussion was over for now, he settled back into his seat and pulled out one of his many books. He took a quick look around to see both the girls moving off to the far side of the jet, chatting quietly and Morgan had already pulled his headphones on, his music already playing. Reid let his attention drop back down ot his book, flipping it open to the first page.
Gideon walked off to another part of the private plane while Hotch took out his laptop and started doing some research. Hotch glanced over at Reid then took out his cell and sent him a text [what are you reading?] was the text that was sent, while waiting he was looking up more cases that were finished up, but, still needed to be evaluated.
Reid paused in his book when he heard the faint sound of his phone vibrating from his bag. It took him a moment before he was able to find it and he glanced at the message. [The Many adventures of Sherlock Holmes] He set his phone next to him after he sent the text and turned his attention back to his book. It wasn't something he normally would read, but he wanted to just read something that he was just for fun.
The ride was boring, as usual, but, at least he wasn't afraid of flying. He finished going over a few cases and the ride was going to end soon so he put his laptop back up. [We will be landing soon, are you ready?] they would have to get to the hotel to drop their things off, but, after that they could just get to work like usual.
By the time the flight was almost over, Reid had managed to read basically all the books he's brought. He even tried reading slower, but that didn't seem to help. He glanced at his phone again when it went off and quickly typed a reply. [Yes, as ready as I will ever be] He put his book bag into his back, ready for them to land.
Hotch and the others split off into their teams after getting settled into the hotel. JJ and Prentiess went to talk to the family as everyone else went to what they were told to do. Hotch walked with Reid through the amusement park, so far there was no sight of the girl. Hotch felt sorry for the girl, her parents wanted her back and- his thoughts were interupted when he got a call on his phone hearing JJ on the other end of the line. Hotch shook his head "Alright, we'll keep an eye out, keep us updated"
Reid walked quietly through the amusement park, stepping around running children and happy families who were enjoying their time. He looked around for any place that looked small enough to hide a small child, while also keep an eye out for her if she was just wondering around. The possibility of her actually being here was slim, but that didn't mean that they shouldn't check it out anyway, right? He looked over to Hotch when the call was ended. "What did she need?" he asked, curious.
"JJ said the parents were found dead two hours before we got here. It's either the same guy or someone just wanted to kill. It's not a robbery, nothing was stolen, and all money was left there." Hotch put his cellphone away and looked at Reid then back to those around him "The little girl might already be dead" he whispered to Reid, they didn't need anyone to know who they were looking for or talking about. Then a scurrying sound from behind them caught Hotch's attention, it was a child, with long blonde hair, and they were running from whatever shadows they could to stay out of sight. 'That can't be her' he thought to himself 'then again, anything is possible with children' he added to his thoughts.
Reid frowned, an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach. It was the same feeling he got during every case, but it never got better. At least it wasn't worse. He just really hated the thought of people being killed just because someone was wanting to kill someone. Those were some of the worse people in the world to him. He turned when Hotch did and he tilted his head curiously. From what he could tell, the child matched the description. There was only one way to find out though he he approached her cautiously so he wouldn't end up scaring her.
Hotch slowly followed, but, made it look like he was mixed in with the crowd. Hotch didn't think it would be a good idea if two men, FBI or not, was going over to a child in an amusement park area. The child ran over behind some clown's tents and stayed there keeping an eye out. It was defiantly their girl, the one they were looking for, same looks, and height.
Reid paused a few feet away from the girl, a little afraid to go any closer. He never really was good with kids, seeing as how there were only a few exceptions. He would let Hotch take the lead, just in case. It was better safe than sorry, right? He gave a quick look around, relaxing minutely when there was no one in sight that matched the description of their kidnapper.
The little girl looked at Hotch and then Reid, she didn't really know who they were, she just saw them on tv sometimes next to some other people. If they were on tv trying to help people, then maybe they could help her, but, something made her wonder if she should trust them. Bad people were always in good disguise to trick others and get what they want from people. Hotch walked over slowly and knelt down to the girl, he waited just to show her he wasn't going to grab her "Are you Alyssa?" he didn't use her last name, but, saw her nod "I am Hotch, this is Dr. Reid, we're FBI, and we've been looking for you" "Is it about the man?" "man?" "the one who wanted to take me away?" Hotch nodded to her question "Will you come with us?" Hotch asked and the girl looked hesitant as he held out her hand, Alyssa took his hand cautiously, and he stood up "Don't worry, we won't let anyone harm you" Hotch spoke as Alyssa believed him
"Call Gideon, tell him we found her" Hotch stated then heard the little girl ask "Before we leave, can we stay and play a little?" she asked shyly, it was usual for a child to want to play at a small amusement park, win some games, get a prize, or just try to calm down from what she went through. Hotch knew telling her that her parents died wouldn't be a good idea and then she would have to learn about it later. "Alright, we'll stay for a little bit, get some games in" Hotch whispered to Reid "We need her to be relax when she finds out about her parents"
Reid was glad that they found Alyssa rather quickly and relatively unharmed. He expected her to be a little less trustful of them, but was glad that they were easily able to convince her to come with them. He pulled out his phone and just sent out a text to everyone, basically saying they found her and she was safe. When he heard about staying to play at the amusement park, he was a bit hesitant... But he couldn't really see the harm in it. Especially if it helped her to relax. He nodded to Hotch and put a smile on his face for Alyssa's benefit. "Alright." he said.
Hotch held her hand as they moved over to a balloon game, "3 arrows" Hotch said giving the man the two dollars and then handing the arrows to Alyssa while she tried aiming them at the balloons to hit the colors she could "Hey, let's just relax" Hotch whispered as he took Reid's hand. This would help the little girl relax before the bad news and it would be helpful to give the two of them some time together. They finished their job for the day, so it couldn't be so bad to take a break after searching for her for some hours.
Reid will admit, he was having a hard time relaxing. There were many reasons why, the main one being that there was some guy out there looking for this little girl. Another reason was because of all the people. He's never really did good with crowds. All his worries seemed to fade away though when Hotch took his hand. A small smile formed on his face as he intertwined their fingers. He nodded, smiling at Hotch. "I can do that." Relaxing shouldn't be hard now. Sure there were still things to worry about, but those were things for tomorrow.
Alyssa was able to hit the three balloons, she was better than alot of kids would have been, and was more special than most of them. She was better at a lot of things, well, besides getting along with other kids. She kept to herself most of the time during school time. They spent a couple of hours playing games, riding the rides, and just having fun. Hotch was glad Reid could relax, which made him relax a little, even though he kept his guard up. Soon it was time to go and Hotch was holding Alyssa because she fell asleep on one of the slower rides. "Well, I think it'd be best to head back" Hotch spoke, his other hand still intwined with Reid's.
Reid actually managed to relax and have a bit of fun. Alyssa was a real sweet girl and she didn't seem to hate him, which was always a plus. And he got to spend all day with Hotch without anyone else from the team bothering them, which was great. He had kept his guard up though during the little outing, knowing he wouldn't be able to relax completely. He smiled when he saw Alyssa asleep. "Sounds good to me." he said, taking the lead and heading back to their vehicle. THe others probably were wondering where they were by now anyway.
Hotch unlocked the car opening one of the doors, he then put the little girl in the seat (not the middle) and buckled her up closing the door as easy as he could. "I had fun with you today, I'm glad we got to spend some time together, even on the mission" Hotch spoke and then kissed Reid before they would get in the car, once they got back, they couldn't be alone until they got to their room, and after that they would be working again in front of the others. It wasn't the best thing to hide a relationship from anyone else, but, at least this way they couldn't get in trouble for dating a co worker. When Hotch kissed Reid, the evening sun was slowly setting, the wind gently blowing past them, it was almost perfect. It was perfect.
Reid watched as Hotch put Alyssa in their vehicle, a small smile on his face. "Yeah. Me too." he said, his smile growing some. He really did have a lot of fun. Even if some of the kids in the amusement park kept a wide distance away from him, it wasn't enough to really bother him. When Hotch kissed him, he felt a blush spread across his face against his will. He seemed to relax completely as he leaned in for one more kiss before stepping away. They really did have to get going or someone was going to come looking for them. Even though he didn't want this moment to end just yet, he knew it had too. He gave one last faint smile before getting into the car.
They both got in buckling their seat belts and driving off at a fine pace to not wake Alyssa. It took about 10-15 minutes to drive back and they got the car parked to get ready to go inside. Hotch shut the car off and went over to her door getting her out after unbuckling her seat belt. Closing the door after holding her like a little princess he said "Come on" Hotch wasn't that tired right now, he planned on getting some more work done or just relaxing. They took her inside, the others were already there, no one looked happy, and then Hotch's serious personality kicked in. He was holding the girl as the others looked over asking if she was alright.
Reid took the time to enjoy these last few minutes with Hotch while he still could. He knew once they got back to the police station, they were going to have to act like teammates. Once back, he got out of the car and followed behind the man silently. He kept an eye on Alyssa, pleased to see that she's managed to stay asleep so far. "She's unharmed." he said, staying a couple feet away from everyone else. Even if they were his friends, there were just times when he wanted space. "Someone needs to stay with her tonight who won't scare her when she wakes up." So bascially, Morgan couldn't and Gideon couldn't. JJ and Prentiess would be a good choice since they were both girls.
JJ stepped up "We can watch over her while we share our room while we are here" Prentiess nodded "Yea, I don't see any harm in it" Prentiess let JJ take Alyss from Hotch's arms "I would make sure she trusts you when she wakes up, otherwise she might run, and that wouldn't help us" Hotch state letting her take the girl. "What all did you guys find out?" Hotch asked as everyone shared in what had happened in the day (besides the part where Hotch and Reid took the girl on rides and such)
Reid filled in his part of the day along with everyone else, but he lefted out some details. After all, he didn't want anyone to know what he did with Hotch. When everyone was done talking and heading towards their own room, he waited until everyone was gone before turning to look at Hotch. "Ready to go relax for a bit?" He asked, tilting his head towards where their room was.
Hotch nodded and left as the others went across the hall and next door. The good thing was the rooms were separate, too many people in one area that were different (but alike in the same way) was hard to get everyone to be relaxed. Hotch walked into the room where they closed the door and was glad when it was shut "It has been a long day" he stated.
Reid sighed in relief once the door was closed, flopping down on the nearest bed. "Yeah... But we're alone now after what feels like forever." He said, kicking his shoes off. It really seems like so long since it was just the two of them and he wanted to make it happen as often as he could. Sadly, there was only so much he could do about it while on a case.
Hotch made sure the door was locked so people would have to knock if they wanted them. Hotch removed his suit jacket hanging it up in the small closet in the room. He sat on the bed removing his shoes, he knew better than to put shoes on the bed, it was how he was raised when he was younger.
Reid watched him for a second before sitting up. He stood up and removed his belt and sweatervest, putting them both with his bag. He wasn't quite ready to go to bed yet, so he'd change into his pajamas completely at a later time. He took a seat on the bed, sitting Indian style. "What'd you have planned for tonight?"
