Another Boy

"I've concluded that the unsub lives in this part of the state." Reid indicated the yellow and green overlap on his map. Deputy Raines glanced sideways at Emily, who was shaking her head.

"Reid, that's practically the whole village." Morgan informed him, from where he was lounging in a computer chair, a few meters away. "Not wanting to sound ungrateful here, but is that all that you have?" Reid frowned at him.

"Actually, I haven't finished." He said testily. "It's more probable that the unsub lives in the blue area because he operates in the purple area." Raines leaned closer to Prentiss, as Reid continued to spew statistics and probabilities.

"He likes his highlighters, huh?" He asked, grinning, making Prentiss laugh quietly.

"I borrowed on once without asking and he didn't talk to me for the next three days." She joked, though it was true. Reid was awfully protective of his highlighters. JJ took one look at Prentiss and Raines' proximity to each other, and their whispered conversation, and picked up the phone to call Garcia.

"Prentiss, what do you have for me?" What was unmistakeably Hotch's voice rang across the room, and Prentiss scooched away from Raines, though not before Hotch saw.

"We concluded that the unsub who dumped the bodies had too much respect for the bodies to mutilate them like that." She answered, as Hotch and Rossi took the empty seats on either side of Morgan.

"Good. We came to the same conclusion about the killings and the abductions." Hotch replied, though with a little more hostility than he had before. Which of course, Rossi noticed immediately.

"Sorry to interrupt, but does this mean that there are two killers out there?" Raines asked, sounding shocked. It was hard enough to believe that a man who brutalised small children was in his town, but was there really two?

"Not necessarily." Hotch contradicted, confusing him further. "This suggests that unsub #1 is bringing the boys to unsub #2, then disposing of their bodies after unsub #2 is done with them. It's a classic example of a dominant meeting a submissive, and taking advantage of them. It happens more than you might think." Hotch's stoic expression and down-to-business tone fooled most of the team, and the Deputy, but Prentiss and Rossi both picked up on his bitter undertones, and exchanged glances.

"I see." Raines stood up, hooking his thumbs in his back pockets. "Since you guys are the experts, I'll leave you to all talk about what's going on. Anything you need though, and I'm just in the next room." The team nodded, and Raines smiled down at Prentiss before walking away. Rossi noticed Hotch's glare towards the man, which was merely more than an angry flash of his eyes, and rolled his own. Kids.

"Well I have Garcia on the line." Interjected JJ from behind Reid. "And she hasn't found anything. Should I ask her anything more?" While this was directed at Hotch, Rossi answered.

"Put her on speakerphone and when we need her to look someone up, we can ask her." He said, calmly, and JJ did so, placing the phone in the middle of the table.

"Okay Garcia, you're on with the crew." They convened almost automatically in a circle, like the profiling room at the BAU, Hotch at the unmistakable head of the table, the only one facing the board directly. "Is there any connection whatsoever between the victims' families?"

"There is lots of overlap, my friends. They go to the same school, are the same age, born in the same hospital, partly because there only is one, their parents all went to the same school, their work overlaps occasionally, and they're in the same small neighborhood, so it's very likely that these kids knew each other." Garcia's voice sounded the same at first, but a few seconds into her speech, even Reid could tell that she was feeling for the children. "I'm trying to work out more scenarios, but I don't think that overlap's going to help you here, and there's nothing weird in the history of the parents. Financial records are normal, no criminal records except for one of the fathers was arrested at an animal rights protest in LA about fifteen years ago, and that's probably inconsequential-"

"Baby girl," Morgan interrupted, as they all recognized that she was rambling. "You did real good today. If you find anything else, call." There was no immediate answer. "Penelope?"

"Morgan, pick up the phone." Uneasy and slightly muffled over the great distance and probably through one of her colorful scarves, Garcia's voice was loud in the silence of the makeshift profiling room. The rest of the team looked away, as Morgan picked up his cell and held it to his ear, taking it off speakerphone.

"Yeah, Pen." He walked away, and Prentiss stood up, going closer to the board, and speaking really to stop herself from listening to what Morgan was saying. Even though none of the team were listening, they knew what it was about. Garcia wasn't trained like they were. She didn't know how to regulate her emotions so that no one could tell what she was thinking, and she most certainly did not want to see pictures of brutalized children. If it toyed with their emotions so much, how would she be dealing with it?

"Right, so we've agreed that there are two Unsubs?" Prentiss asked, making sure that there was no objection. Rossi nodded, and the others' lack of response showed that they agreed. "One dominant, one submissive..." Prentiss paced in front of the board, staring at the pictures. "What is the relationship between them?" Her question prompted no audible answers, as her teammates were lost in thought.

"It all depends on why the dominant wants the child." Rossi answered, without answering her question.

"We could start with a connection with the submissive and the children." Prentiss, as professional and thick-skinned as she was, couldn't refer to them as 'the victims'. Morgan slipped back into his seat, catching a sideways glance from JJ, who asked in a glance if Garcia was okay. Morgan gave a tiny nod, but crossed his arms. He clearly wanted to go home and console his best friend, but was unable to. Understanding, JJ turned away, exchanging a look with Rossi, who sighed.

"It would be someone who knows exactly what they look like." The 'founding father' of the BAU contributed. This case was wearing him down - maybe he was getting too old to see the evil in the world. Why couldn't he just retire? He had enough money so that his grandchildren would never need to work a day in their lives. That was, if anyone was going to reproduce with him. Rossi wondered briefly if he was past that as well.

"Like a teacher, or a counselor. A close friend to the parents." Hotch listed off common possibilities, going through each in his mind and trying to plug them into the scenario he had working in his head. Prentiss silently marveled at how fast his mind worked, but refrained from dwelling on it. Now was not the time for mindless admiration.

"Maybe someone who worked at the hospital they were born at?" Morgan offered, his mind clearly still on Garcia. Hotch shook his head.

"They will have changed, unless they have a check-up regularly with the same Doctor. It's still possible though - have Garcia check it out." Morgan eyed Hotch warily, warning him not to overload his baby girl - she was under enough stress as it is. "We'll give her some time, but then she has to do her job, or give us another number to call." Morgan's eyes narrowed slightly, but he knew that his Unit Chief was correct. Garcia was there to work, not for play.

"Is there any other observations-" Prentiss was halfway through a sentence when Deputy Raines hurried through, his young face creased in worry.

"Sorry to interrupt, agents, but another boy's been taken." Hotch stood up, and the rest of his team followed suit, subconsciously looking at him for direction. He was, after all, still the boss.

"Rossi, Deputy Raines, we'll go the abduction site. Make sure that the disposal site is watched, just in case another drop is made." Prentiss looked taken aback - she was usually the one who came to talk to the parents - but kept silent all the same, as her boss and company strode away, towards the door of the precinct. JJ sighed, and put her head down into a file as Morgan stalked away to call Garcia again, knowing that she would not be happy.

Reid continued to color in his map, the tip of his tongue sticking out in concentration.


"Mr. Lane, I assure you that we are doing everything that we possibly can to find your son." Hotch's words were not empty: they were trying. However, Michael and Daphne Lane, the latest victim's parents, remained unconvinced.

"But who could have done this? I know that the town is small, but we never thought... he's so precious to us!" Victim number five, Joshua Lane's mother cried, sobbing. "We don't know anyone who could have done this!" Her husband merely stared out of the window, haunted by the present situation.

"I know that this is a hard time for you, but I would like to ask you some questions." Hotch asked, carefully, knowing that Deputy Raines would not know what words to use. Rossi was looking at the little boy's room now, just like he had with the other victims'. No doubt finding the same thing.

"You know that this is a hard time?" Daphne repeated, in disbelief, eyes wide and tear-filled. Michael looked at the ground, his tall frame trembling slightly. "What do you know? He is our only son! We are his parents, and we need to take care of him. Do you have children, Agent Hotchner?" Hotch despised these questions - he disliked talking to anyone he did not know about Jack, but he rationalized, albeit grudgingly, that right now was an exception.

"I have a son." He acknowledged, stiffly, clearly surprising Daphne with his admission. "I know what it's like to care for them. To protect them because that's your job." The distraught woman before him calmed slightly. At least she wasn't talking to a hypocrite. "But you really must answer some questions. They will help us find Joshua in time."

"What do you need to know?" For the first time since the conversation had started, Michael Lane squared up and took charge, his voice deeper and more stable than his wife's. The anger stage was beginning.

"I would like to know if there was anyone out of the ordinary that you saw in the days leading up to Joshua's disappearance. Anyone unusual, or any unusual vehicles." Both parents shook their heads, not that Hotch had suspected any different. He was certain that their Unsubs were local - there was no other option. Those first questions were just to make them think that everything was normal. They were the sort of questions one would imagine would be asked in a kidnapping investigation.

"No, no one." Daphne said finally, hiccuping slightly. Her husband pulled her close with one of his arms, trying to give her comfort that he didn't have to spare.

"No one was acting suspiciously, or suddenly approached your children when they had expressed no interest in them before. Anything you can tell us, anything at all will help us find Josh." The subtle use of the victim's shortened name only made them think and cry harder.

"I'm sorry." Michael's resolve was starting to break down too now, and Hotch realized that there was nothing that this couple would know. At this point, the Unsub who was abducting the children knew exactly how to do it and not get caught. He was practically a professional.


Hotch and the Deputy waited for Rossi leaning against the car, surveying the street. Hotch was isolating places that the Unsub could have watched the boy from, but could find none that would not have been noticed in such a crowded community, even if they were locals.

"So Agent Hotchner," Hotch's eyes narrowed slightly as the Deputy spoke, interrupting his pondering thought. "You have quite the team."

"Yes, I do." The Unit Chief replied calmly, keeping his voice even. He didn't know what it was about this man; he did not know why he disliked him so. He was nothing except cooperative and even contributing towards the investigation, and he was far past competent. Perhaps it was something to do with how close he was sitting with Emily earlier.

"Agent Prentiss. She's quite something, huh?" Deputy Raines was nice. Deputy Raines was even kind, but there was something in his casual tone which irked Hotch. Even more so when he knew what Deputy Raines was going to say next. "Is she... er, involved with anyone at the moment?"

"I would not know." It took a lot to keep the malice from his tone, but luckily Hotch had years of practice on his side. "I work with her, but we're not close." Closeness had nothing to do with anything. He knew that Emily was single, if just because of fragmented gossips which he had heard around the BAU, and a couple of overheard conversations and offhand comments. However, he would plead ignorance. They wouldn't work out anyway.

Why not? Was this jealousy that he's feeling?

Hotch cleared his throat.

"But no, I don't think so." He added, almost sheepishly. The feelings he had been quenching for Emily may well go away if she was taken. If she didn't seem so irresistably available to him. The Deputy watched him carefully for a few minutes, and was about to ask about the elephant sitting between them, when Rossi appeared, strolling out of the door like someone who belonged.

"The Unsub must have known the victims closely - there was no way that they could have been watched at home - too public." Hotch nodded in agreement, happy to have a distraction from his awkward conversation with the Deputy.

"I came to the same conclusion." He barked, rounding the car. "So that means that we need Garcia to find the connections between these victims, or we have nothing." Rossi eyed the street analytically, being the second and last one to climb into the car - the Deputy had brought his own, more conspicuous one.

"Actually, I think that we'll find we have enough for a profile, if we look at it the right way." Hotch sighed, and drove away. This was going to be a long night.


He couldn't stop thinking about Jack. He knew it was irrational: he was almost half a continent away from the little boy, which meant so was the Unsub, but he could not help but to worry. Ever since Foyet had targeted Hotch, he had become more aware of where Jack was at all times. He had already lost Haley, and he had no right to lose the only part of her he had left.

"Okay, let's think this over." Emily paced in front of the boards once more, and Hotch watched her with slightly narrowed eyes. She had been leading profiles for a while now. Not taking control, by any means, but she would start the conversation. She was the thought-provoker.

And she was also looking right at him.

"What about the genders of the Unsubs?" Hotch quickly brought attention away from his stare, and he was pretty sure that no one had noticed except for Emily. A room full of profilers, but they were all focussed on the case.

"The abductor could be a woman because usually, women are the submissive in these partnerships." Morgan piped up, and Emily would have glared at him had she not known that it was true. "And the dominant could be her husband or a close friend-"

"-husband." Hotch confirmed, and Morgan went on.

"The woman abducts the children, for some unknown purpose, and then the dominant keeps them for varying amounts of time, before mutilating the bodies." Morgan scratched his brow ill-temperedly, keeping the universal question silent. How could someone do this to a kid?

Across the way, JJ tried to stifle a yawn, which in turn, set Emily and Reid off yawning. Reid looked like he was dying to tell them a statistic about yawning, but knew that this was not the time.

"Tell you what, it's late. We start fresh in the morning." Hotch knew that everyone needed a chance to clear their heads, and was grateful at Rossi's suggestion, nodding to show his appreciation of his plan.

"Everyone can go back to the inn and get a couple of hours. We'll work up everything that we know in the morning." The team began to clear up, their movements slow and sluggish, from their lack of sleep over the past few days. Just coming back from a case a few hours before they were sent out on this one, they barely had time to go home and replenish the stock of clean clothes in their go bags before once more they were off.

Hotch had barely had time to see Jack before he left once again, leaving him apologetically in the care of Jessica, who did not seem to mind. She loved that little boy like she was his own, and would do anything to spend time with him. Hotch merely wished that it was under different circumstances.

Taking his time with the cleanup of files, still unable to stop thinking about his son, Hotch found that he could not concentrate. Dividing his time between Jack and work had been hard, but now there was a new variable which threw his carefully placed routine into chaos.

Emily Prentiss.

He knew exactly why he had felt so strange when the Deputy had asked him about her. Having felt jealousy before, he was no stranger to it, but it was still an odd feeling, him not having felt it for quite a long time.

Hotch snorted. This was just ironic. He, who studied human behaviour for a living, could not interpret what his own feelings meant.

Shaking his head, he gathered up the last of the files, and turned around to be faced by a very nervous looking Prentiss. His first instinct is to ask what she had done. His second instinct was to ask what was wrong, but he held it back, because he knew that too much worry would show through in her voice. Prentiss wasn't stupid. She would know when something changed between them.

"Prentiss?" Instead, he kept his voice level and secure, not blinking too much, and without sweating excessively or twitching his eyelids.

"Hotch, I know that this is bothering you." Taken aback by her truly blunt behaviour, Hotch narrowed his eyes.

"What do you mean?" The question was a statement, and the statement was a warning. She should not venture into such dangerous waters. He was still her boss, and although she looked honestly concerned, it was none of her business what he was feeling, unless he wanted to tell her.

"I mean that you are thinking about Jack." Letting his mask slip momentarily, Hotch raised a singular eyebrow. "Don't even try to lie about it. When you think about Jack, you always check your watch and you slouch." Emily told him, matter-of-factly, making the other eyebrow raise. Maybe she was a better profiler than he gave her credit for.

"Yes, I was thinking about Jack." He admitted, though it was not in the tone of an admission; it was a lot more forceful than that. "But there's nothing wrong with that."

"You're worried." Emily corrected.

"It's irrational to worry." Hotch deflected, breaking her eye contact on the pretence of putting the files he had separated from the main pile into his briefcase. A hand on his arm made him pause, surprised at the human contact.

"It's Reid's job to be completely rational. He doesn't have kids, so he can't possibly understand. You can let things slide for a couple of minutes and just talk to someone." Her eyes were wide and concerned, and her hand remained on his arm, holding him back from leaving.

With effort that he did not completely understand why he needed to use, Hotch pulled his arm away, breaking contact completely, but staring straight at her. He didn't know why he was angry, but he was.

"I'm fine, Prentiss. Go back to the inn and get some sleep." His words were a lot more hostile than they were before, and she recoiled slightly at his vicious tone, not knowing which nerve she had trapped. Picking up his briefcase, Hotch strode away, his long gait leaving Emily far behind, merely staring at him as he walked away.

Leaving her alone in the darkened office.