"In the night of death, hope sees a star, and listening love can hear the rustle of a wing" Robert Ingersoll.

The press conference had gone much as he had expected. Though a lot of calls had come into the tip line JJ had set up, nothing had led them anywhere closer to where Penny was. Strauss had been pleased with their progress, though, and had extended their time by another week if they needed it; Hotch was grateful for that and didn't think to ask if there would be a cost for that particular boon.

When he got into work the next day, JJ came running up to him. "Hotch, something came in to the tip line half an hour ago that you need to hear." He followed her, and found the rest of the team standing around the phone. They all turned to look at him, looks of anger and sorrow on their faces.

"Well, play it for me," he demanded, worried by their expressions.

Reid pushed the play button, and Hotch heard a somewhat familiar voice begin to speak. "So, you found me. Good job, Boss Man, but as you found out, I didn't leave any clues for you to find there. By the by, I'll be sending the FBI a bill for my door. Agent Morgan should really work on his temper; it will get him into serious trouble one of these days. Anyway, your Penelope is doing fine, if getting a little stir crazy. I think she really misses Jack. That picture you chose to put on TV made her cry, and you are so good at that, aren't you, Aaron? So, I think we should cut to the chase here. I want money, and I know you have it, throwing around Benjamins like you did that night. Look for a courier to arrive sometime today with my demands. Fill them, and you'll get Penelope back. Don't, and well, I don't think I need to say what will happen. Your mind will do that for me." The recording stopped, and he had to take several deep breaths to calm himself down.

"The good news is, this is our chance to nail him," Rossi said, looking at Hotch. "Though we'll have to see just how much he's asking for."

"Doesn't it bother anyone else that he knows so much about what is going on?" Hotch said, looking around at his team. "I mean, he even knows about Morgan kicking the door in. How is he watching us without us noticing him?"

"He's learned how to blend in with anything, I suppose. I mean, he's just an average looking person, really, and if he isn't doing anything to attract notice, I certainly wouldn't remember seeing him on the street," Prentiss answered. "Look, at least we know he hasn't hurt Garcia yet. Since we know the ransom demand is coming in today, we should be thinking about getting a small tracking device ready to stick in with the money. It sounded like he wouldn't be bringing her with him to the drop-off anyway. We need to get a few steps ahead of him, and this would do it."

Rossi nodded in agreement. "Why don't you go about requisitioning one, then." Emily turned and left the room, shutting the door behind her. Hotch stared at the closed door, still trying to process what was going on. "Let's go to your office, Hotch, and wait there for the courier to arrive." He felt Rossi gently take his arm and lead him across the way. A quick glance back showed the team following them like ghosts. This was taking such a toll on them, he thought, but soon it would be over. He could feel it in his bones.

The next few hours were tense as they waited for the letter to arrive. Emily had returned with a tracking device and a canvas bag to use for the money. As he watched, she quickly hid the tracker in the seam of the bag. It was small enough so that unless you knew what to look for, you wouldn't be able to find it.

A sudden tapping on the office door caught all their attention, and as one, they looked at it. "Enter," Aaron said, unable to keep his voice from shaking.

The door opened, and Margaret stepped inside. "The letter came, Sir. I already signed for it." She handed over the thin envelope.

"Thank you, Margaret. But how…"

"I was the one who took the call, Sir. Believe me, we all want Garcia back," she said as she smiled a pained smile at them and exited the room.

Aaron looked at the envelope addressed to him. Slowly, he turned it over and broke the seal. Opening the flap, he pulled out a single sheet of paper. The writing was neat, matching the house they had searched in preciseness of layout. Clearing his throat, he began to read:

"Hotch, my demand is really quite small in comparison to how much Penelope and the baby are worth to you. I only need $750,000 and they'll be returned to you, safe and sound. The drop off will happen in the evening again. Nine o'clock worked so well last time, so shoot for then. I'll be waiting in the Baptist church parking lot on the corner of Federal and Monroe. Once I've verified the contents I've asked for are all there, I'll drop Garcia off at your house. If it sounds easy, well, that's because it should be. Don't do anything stupid at this late juncture. Oh, and since you probably won't be allowed to do the drop, I want that pretty brunette on your team to do it. I would have asked for JJ, but I'm getting rather tired of blondes. Once again, alone or with Morgan. Anyone else, and the deal is off. Have a nice day, Aaron. Hopefully, we'll both have what we want very soon." He looked at Emily, who was holding on to JJ. They were both openly crying, and Morgan was trying to keep his composure as well.

"Do you have that kind of money, Hotch?" Reid quietly asked, staring at the ground.

"Yes. I made good money as a prosecutor, plus the life insurance policy was just recently awarded to me. I couldn't take an early retirement with that much gone, but we'd survive."

"All right, we'll get the money together. And like Mark wrote, I do not want you anywhere near this. Take Jack out of school early and go somewhere, anywhere, but around here. Try to get your mind off of this. I promise, I will call the minute anything happens."

Hotch nodded and looked around the room at his team. Emily was quickly pulling herself together and JJ was on her phone, most likely with Will, from the sounds of it. "Morgan, are you?"

"Of course, and we'll be careful, I promise. No unnecessary heroics tonight, not with her so close to home."

"Thank you." He turned and left the room. He could feel everyone in the office turning away from staring at the door as he walked past. After he got in his car, he called Jack's school and asked for him to be pulled from his class. When he got to the school, he could see Jack in the office window, watching for him. Walking quickly, he entered the office and signed his son out.

They went back out to his car, and Hotch got him situated in the booster seat. "Where are we going, Daddy?" his son asked, looking up at him.

"It's such a nice day that I thought we'd go to the zoo. How does that sound?"

"Yay! Is Aunt Penny going to join us?"

Aaron buckled him in and then got in the driver's seat before answering. "Remember, Aunt Penny is on a trip, so she can't come with us today. She should be home tonight, though." He began the drive to the zoo, glancing back occasionally at his son. He was much too quiet for being told he was going to one of his favorite places. "Jackers, what's wrong?"

"Has Aunt Penny gone away like Mommy did?" he asked softly, staring out the window.

Aaron quickly responded. "No, why would you think that?"

"Because you seem sad, like after Mommy went away, and Aunt Penny hasn't called or written or anything. She wouldn't forget about me like that, would she?"

He sighed, trying to come up with an answer for his son. "Jack, Aunt Penny loves you, she could never forget about you. It's just her trip has kept her really busy, and she hasn't had much time to call anyone." He looked back and saw Jack still seeing starting out the window at the passing scenery. "How about this? As soon as I know that Aunt Penny is back, we'll go see her, no matter how late it is, all right?"

Jack looked at him and nodded. "Can I get something for her?"

"Of course. And while we're talking about Aunt Penny, how would you feel if she were to move in with is when she returns?"

Jack's face lit up with joy. "Really? Forever and ever?"

"If she'll have us for that long," he replied, smiling himself. He pulled in the zoo entrance and found a parking spot somewhat close to the entrance. "So, where should we start?" he asked as he took his son's hand.

"Dad, you know. The big cats!"

"Oh, that's right, the big cats." The day flew by quickly, and the sun had set when they exited the gift shop. Jack was carrying a large stuffed giraffe under one arm, and a smaller one in his other, while Hotch carried him.

As he buckled Jack in, he impulsively said, "Let's make one more stop before we go home, okay?" Jack nodded slightly, and Hotch could see that his son was more tired than he'd expected. "I'll be really quick, promise."

Thankfully, the lights were still on at the first jewelry store he saw, and he pulled into their parking lot. "We're here, buddy," he said as he gently shook his son awake. Helping him out of the car, he then picked him up and went inside.

"Can I help you?" a young woman asked as he approached one of the display cases.

"I'm looking for an engagement ring."

"Certainly. The diamonds are over here," she said, gesturing towards a case further in the store.

"No, no diamonds. Those aren't her style. We need to look at something a little more unorthodox. Nothing too gaudy or large, but unique, beautiful, like she is." He looked down into the case he was in front of. "What do you think of this one, Jack?" he asked, pointing out a rather large round emerald.

"No, Aunt Penny likes pink. Do you have any pink rings, ma'am?"

The sales girls took a look at Jack, about to answer him when sudden recognition dawned in her eyes. Aaron rushed to say something before she could say anything that would upset his son. "Yes, when she's back from her trip, I'm going to ask her to marry me. So, like my son asked, do you have any pink rings?"

She nodded and walked over to another case. "There are these Brazilian Garnets. It's a very dark pink. Do any of these look right for her?"

He looked at the tray she held out and was immediately drawn to one ring. "What do you think of these, Jack?"

"That one, Daddy, the heart."

Aaron smiled, Jack had just picked the one that he had found to be perfect for Penelope. "We'll take that one. Is it available in a size seven? I'd rather like to take it with me for tonight."

The sales girl smiled. "Let me check, I think I saw one when I took inventory last night. I'll be right back." She went into a back room, and Hotch looked up at the clock. It was a little after six, only three hours until the drop off. A few moments later, she returned, holding a small square box. "You're in luck, it was still there. I can ring you up over here," she said, leading him to the register. As she waited for his credit card to go through, she explained about the free ring sizing they offered and how to take care of the ring. When the transaction was finished, she put the ring box in a bag and handed it to him. "Thank you, and I hope you have a wonderful evening."

"You too," he replied, taking Jack's hand and leading him out to the car. "So, what do you think about having ice cream for supper?" he asked once they were under way.

Jack nodded, a smile seemingly permanently plastered to his face. "In front of the TV?"

"Of course." They were soon home, and Jack ran in to pick a movie to watch while Aaron made up two bowls of ice cream. He carried them out to where Jack was and handed his son the smaller of the two bowls. "So, what are we watching?"

"Up."

"Good choice." He sat on the couch next to Jack and pressed the play button on the remote. By the time the movie ended, Jack was fast asleep, leaving Aaron with an hour to wait before he heard anything.

Promptly at nine, his cell phone rang. "Yes, Dave?"

"Morgan and Prentiss are on their way right now. The tracking device is working perfectly. I'll call you once things change."

"Thank you," he replied and hung up the phone. His Penny-love was one step closer to being home.