"This is it…I think."

Reid peered through the windshield at what the GPS told him was the trailhead for a moderately strenuous hike through untrammeled, evergreen forest.

He gave his teammates the benefit of his encyclopedic knowledge as they disembarked the SUV. "Even if you wander off the beaten path, you shouldn't get too lost, guys. This is a wooded area they left just for city-dwellers who want a quick getaway. Walk in any direction for 15 to 20 miles and you'll come out of it."

"Don't worry, Reid. We'll be careful." Prentiss was rummaging through the ample storage space in the rear of the vehicle, filling a small knapsack with some of the standard issue survival gear stocked in every official SUV. She scooped up a few bottles of water and some energy bars. "We're just looking for some fresh air, although…" Her sigh was wistful. "…it would be nice to be able to climb someplace high and feel the wind."

The young genius frowned. "There is no wind. That's why we're stuck here." Shaking his head, he delivered a few parting words. "There might be some pockets where phone reception's spotty. Just sayin'. When you guys wanna be picked up, call, okay? Oh! And I think there might be a place you can climb…not very high according to the topographical maps of the area, but, like I said…no wind."

"We'll be fine, Reid. Thanks for the ride. Have fun at Microsoft." Hotch shouldered the backpack, leaving Emily unencumbered for their excursion. He had a hunch that feeling free and unfettered was important to her.

They waited until Spencer had driven off, swallowed up by distance and fog, before plunging into the forest proper.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"I didn't mean for you to carry everything."

Prentiss was enjoying her freedom, but felt a touch of guilt for burdening her Unit Chief.

"It's okay. I don't mind. Besides, this was your idea. I'm just tagging along. Kind of like a pack mule."

"Hotch!" She didn't know if he was serious or not. Her leader's acerbic wit didn't appear often enough for her to be sure. And the idea of Hotch being playful was too alien for her to accept a joking attitude right off the bat. "Seriously, we can take turns carrying it." Emily's voice lowered, taking on a melancholy tone. "You should be able to run free, too…probably need it more than I do, even…" The last had been under her breath, meant for her ears alone.

But Hotch heard everything. Not just the words, but the sadness and longing and sympathy. Ordinarily, he didn't let things touch him. But Prentiss's remark in this place where there was nothing to splinter his focus…did.

"Emily, the backpack really doesn't matter." He took a deep breath and a chance. "And I have no idea what I need. Other than to be out here. I'm glad you suggested it."

Prentiss heard the open honesty. She wasn't sure how to respond.

So she didn't.

XXXXXXXXXXX

After the initial push that burned off random energy and took the hikers deep enough to leave behind all sounds of traffic, Hotch and Prentiss slowed to an easy pace accomplished in companionable silence. The trail changed direction several times, making the wooded area seem much larger than Reid's estimate of 15 to 20 miles.

Two hours later, both agents were perspiring, and both were feeling much better than they had at the start of the day. Hotch was in the lead when he pulled up short.

"Prentiss? You still want to go someplace high and try to feel the air move?"

Emily came to stand beside her boss, looking in the direction he indicated. A rise in the ground could be seen between the trees off to one side. The incline increased sharply from what she could tell.

"I would. I know the air's stagnant, but…I would."

"Okay then…"

Side by side, they scaled a slope that went from pine needle-covered ground to shale to mid-sized granite boulders, topping out in a surprisingly craggy, alpine meadow. Fog limited the visibility, but even so, the pair had the sensation of open space. It manifested as a pressure in their ears, a quality in the currents that twisted tendrils of mist.

Wordless, Hotch took a seat on one of the boulders, flexing his shoulders and letting the backpack slide to the ground beside him. He watched as Prentiss stood a few yards away. Lifting her arms like wings, she closed her eyes and raised her face to the shifting, grey sky. She held the posture, lips parting as though fog had a flavor.

Hotch didn't need to be a profiler to read yearning in every line of his teammate's body. It was primal. It was a caged creature recalling freedom. It was bliss.

He couldn't share it, but he didn't want it to end.

Which is why, as his own fascination with her grew, he felt he had to interrupt this pure dance of instinct.

"Careful, Prentiss. Don't get too close to the edge."…although he had a feeling the edge was where this woman would always be most comfortable. His words had the desired effect. In a slow, graceful arc, Emily lowered her arms to her sides.

Hotch squeezed his eyes shut for a moment against a faint touch of vertigo…and the impression of feathers. Long pinions of dark and glossy hue. He shook his head. When he looked again, it was gone. It's just the fog and the color of her hair…just a visual aberration…almost an hallucination…And maybe we should eat something.

By the time Prentiss had come over to share his boulder, Hotch had unearthed two bottles of water and a handful of oat-and-honey granola bars. He handed Emily one and sat back to enjoy the sense of space that surrounded them. A few minutes of quiet broken only by the sounds of crunching and swallowing passed before Prentiss spoke in a soft, but satisfied tone.

"I needed this. My mother always said that getting out into the fresh air was better than a Chippewa dream catcher. They're the tribe that originated them, you know? Anyway, being out here clears out the cobwebs…almost wipes the slate clean." She glanced at Hotch and was caught by the intensity in his dark eyes. "What?"

He blinked, frowning. "Dreams?"

One side of her lips quirked upward in a roguish grin. "Yeah. Had one last night that's like an old friend. Used to have it all the time growing up. Thought it was gone, but…" She shrugged, smile growing. "…it came back. I think I actually missed it. Like I said…an old friend."

The Unit Chief's troubled eyes were scanning hers, trying to decipher something. A touch of concern disturbed the peaceful feeling she'd been enjoying. "Hotch? What's wrong?"

She could hear him swallow in the still air. "Same thing happened to me last night." Eyes as dark as omens locked on hers.

"Only mine isn't an old friend. More like an enemy I can't shake." His gaze went distant. "An enemy that's always looking for me. And I can't get away…"

Can't get away... Prentiss caught her breath. She'd enjoyed the sensation of flying so much, she'd forgotten the unpleasant part. The part where she couldn't get away...where she was pulled back by a leather strip studded with tiny bells.

Cold like a chip of ice settled in her stomach.

"Hotch, was there a...a leash in your dream? Something that…that tied you?"

Of all the details he couldn't recall, that one came surging up out of murky depths with her words. He nodded.

And the ice chip entered him as well.

"Prentiss…tell me your dream…"