Criminal Minds © CBS.
Part 21 of Shadows Within.
AN: Okay guys, here we go again! Aren't you glad to see me back? Anyone?
Also, at the first of the year, keep an eye out on Amazon for an actual novel written by me! I'll let you guys know when, exactly, it goes on sale (I'm putting the final touches on it now) but keep it in mind, kay?
For a Father's Love, Pt 1
A very long time ago, when Hotchner first became an FBI agent, he took a case involving a sociopathic male who was teaching his son how to kill women. The child was young, and Hotchner assumed he would heal with the proper therapy and love. Even when the child kicked and screamed, even when he cried out for his father as the man was arrested, Hotch knew the child stood a good chance of being okay.
He passed off the child to social services, and the boy looked him right in the eye and whispered, "I will make you pay."
That child was Frank Harding.
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JJ walks home alone from her date. It was a good date, she supposes, but nothing has yet to beat the nights spent with the team when there are no cases and they can all simply relax. The café where she met her young man for coffee isn't that far from the mansion, and she enjoys the walk there. The night air is crisp and clear for a change, and she hums a little while she walks.
"Jennifer Jareau?"
She turns around. The young man behind her might be Reid's age, maybe a little bit older, with messy blond hair and wire-rimmed glasses. His looks remind her enough of her Spence that she smiles at him. "Yeah, that's me." she says. "Can I help you?"
"Maybe." The man shifts. "Can you pass along a message?"
"I can try."
"Tell Aaron Hotchner it's time to pay."
There's a glint of metal in moonlight. There is no time for fear, no time to call out for help. JJ has enough time and training to move, but the gun goes off and pain explodes across her side.
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At the mansion, the team sits around the table and enjoys their after-dinner drinks. Reid helps Hotch clean up the plates while the others talk about anything and everything that does not involve work. Contentment and peace permeates the air, and Reid relaxes, taking it all in with a happy smile.
Hotch glances at him as the younger man puts away a plate. Enjoying this? he asks with no small amount of amusement.
Reid nods. When I was a kid, when Mom started really going downhill, I never thought I'd find this. he admits. It feels good. He stretches up to put away the lasagna plate, and suddenly –
PAIN. It sears across his side like fire, and he drops the plate. It shatters across the floor. Reid staggers backward, arms wrapping around his waist, and Hotch grabs his arms before he can step on the glass. The others have felt it as well, but Prentiss is the first to make the connection.
"JJ."
"Go." Hotch orders. "Find her." Morgan and Prentiss flee the room, Morgan grabbing his gun along the way. Hotch turns his focus back to Reid. He's gasping in pain, struggling to stay on his feet. Hotch gently picks him up and hands him off to Rossi. "Put him on the couch." he says. "Garcia, can you clean this up, please?"
"Sure – of course, sir." Garcia automatically heads into the utility room for a broom, grateful to have something to do with her hands. Hotch heads into the living room. Rossi is sitting up on the couch, Reid curled up into his side. The older agent looks up.
"No Garcia?"
"She doesn't need to be panicking right now." Hotch explains. "Reid? Can you hear me?" He can feel the phantom ghost of pain, and every member of his team knows what a bullet wound feels like. Slowly, Reid looks up at him.
"She's healing." he says quietly. "She shouldn't be, but she is."
"What's going on?" Jane appears at the foot of the stairs. "Morgan and Prentiss left in a hurry."
Hotch mentally runs through a list of curses that has Rossi holding back his laughter. He forgot that Jane and Frankie are spending the night. "Are Henry and Frankie still asleep?" he asks.
"Yes."
"Can you go upstairs and make sure it stays that way? We'll let you know what's going on when we know." he says.
Jane nods. "Sure thing, Hotch." She turns and makes her way back up the stairs. Hotch can hear Jack's voice as she talks to him. He waits until he hears the bedroom door shut before turning his focus back to Reid. One son at a time. He can deal with the kids once he knows Reid will be okay.
Slowly, Reid pulls out of the fetal position and sits up on his own. Rossi doesn't let him go far. "You okay, kid?" he asks.
"I am now." Reid replies. "I – did you guys feel that?"
"Not as strongly as you did." Hotch muses. Garcia enters the living room and sits down on Reid's other side. Hotch finally asks the question he knows Garcia can't right now. "Is JJ okay?"
Reid nods. "Yeah, she is now. They should be here in a minute."
Sure enough, the front door opens. Hotch stands up to see, and he's immediately glad the kids are upstairs. JJ is walking under her own power, but her face is pale and her shirt stained with blood. She smiles faintly at them.
"Gunshots still hurt like hell." she says flatly. It makes Garcia laugh as she launches herself at the other woman, hugging her tightly. JJ smiles. "Garcia, I'm gonna get blood all over you."
"I don't care, you scared us half to death." Garcia murmurs. "We have got to stop doing this to each other."
Hotch stands up. "JJ, what happened?" he asks.
She sighs. "I was told to pass along a message." she says lightly, but Hotch knows her fear just as everyone else does. With each close call that proves Castiel's words, they lose a little of the blinding terror, but the fear still remains. He swallows hard.
"What message?"
"It's time to pay."
His eyes go wide. Suddenly it's Reid and Rossi helping him keep his feet under him. Now he remembers, and it's been a long time since he thought about that old case. A very long time.
"I will make you pay."
"Hotch, what is it?" Reid asks, his own eyes wide.
"Frank Harding."
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AN: Yep, another multi-chap, but probably only three to five chapters. Let me know what you think, and hopefully I haven't lost you all.