Author's Note/Disclaimer: I am so, so sorry about my long absence! Between finals, two jobs and moving into a new house, I have had little to no time to get this up, even though I've had it written out for you all. Now that it's summertime I should be able to update faster, though it might still be a bit slow the first few weeks while I finish training and start my summer classes. But enough of that! I do not own Criminal Minds (though I now have a TV where ION plays marathons all day long- guess what I'm doing on my day off XD), but I do own Nina and this story! I'm happy to report that I have reached 100 followers and 51 favorites- thanks to all of you, I'm really happy that you enjoy this story! Thanks goes out to Guest, Daisyangel and HPmia for their reviews, and please drop me another one on the way out, all of you!

Chapter 10:

There was a certain change in the feeling of the BAU. None of the team could quite put their finger on what it was- their cases were still long and hard, the paperwork was still boring, and they still had little to no personal free time. Everyone was in the exact same state of mind they'd always been in, so they couldn't figure out why, for some reason, they were having such calm days in the office.

It wasn't for three or four weeks that Rossi first started noticing a big difference- Hotch was gone during lunch more than just twice a week. He knew that he went in with Jack whenever he was working at the office, but Jack only went twice a week. He wondered where Hotch was going on Wednesdays.

Rossi finally managed to pull Hotch aside one Friday after a few weeks had gone by.

"Hey, I was thinking about getting lunch at that new Italian place across the street on Wednesday." He said casually as they were getting coffee in the break room. "It's supposed to be very authentic. Want to come?"

Hotch, to his credit, just calmly sipped his drink. "I actually have an appointment."

Rossi just continued stirring his coffee, eyeing the other man out of the corner of his eye. "Jack have an extra session?"

Hotch didn't like to lie in general- maybe it was the residual prosecutor in him- but he especially didn't like to lie to Rossi. The man had always tried so hard to help him, and lying seemed like a poor way to say 'thank you'.

"No, actually, just with Ni- his doctor." Hotch caught himself about to say 'Nina', which she'd insisted on when it was just the two of them- "I'm not your doctor, we're both adults here"- but Rossi still caught the hesitation anyway.

"Just the two of you?"

Hotch sighed, knowing what was coming. "It's not a big deal, Dave." He said, hoping to discourage the conversation he knew was coming. "Dr. Connelly likes to meet with the parents separately to update them and make sure they understand what's happening at each step in the process."

"A good practice," Rossi conceded, "But you're still meeting up with her alone? For a meal?" The Italian felt the need to clarify, keeping a little grin to himself. "That sounds cozy."

"It's nothing like that." Hotch said hurriedly. "She does this with all her patients and their families."

"Sure, sure." Rossi said, hands up, dropping the subject long enough to head back towards their offices. "I wasn't under the impression you missed that many of Jack's appointments."

This was true- the team's schedule, while still busy, had been comprised of many consolations and one-day causes, rather than entire weeks on one case. He'd been able to be at the majority of Jack's cases.

"I haven't." Hotch said shortly, effectively shutting down the conversation. He didn't want to talk about his meetings with Nina, if for no other reason than that he felt they were his business, his and Nina's. He also didn't want to admit that these meetings were for him, for his well-being. He and Nina never talked about it, but their meetings were becoming less and less about Jack, and more and more about Hotch, about his recovery without actually having treatment.

Rossi understood without Hotch saying that these meetings were more than just about Jack, to stop prodding. What Hotch needed to do was his own business, at least for now.

And if these meetings were helping him, then that was that.

Hotch closed the door to his office, letting out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. His meetings with Nina weren't illegal, he wasn't doing anything wrong by getting a little help from her.

For some reason, though, it was something that he just didn't want to share.

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The Monday after his and Rossi's meeting in the breakroom, JJ brought in a case from California of a killer striking during the city's mandatory blackouts. After he updated the team, he called Jess to let her know that he would be gone. Jack asked him eagerly if he would be back in time for his next appointment- "Miss Nina said we might play soccer again!"- and Hotch promised he would try.

The case would end up lasting for several days- the killer attacked several families before his intended target of a local police officer, his sister, and his daughter. The officer was killed, but his daughter, eight-year-old Ellie, was saved.

Saved for what?

Her mother could not be contacted, and despite the hug she'd given Morgan (the team member she'd grown closest to) she had shut herself off, and she had nowhere to go. Because of Morgan the team was still in town, trying to decide how best to help this girl move on with her life.

Hotch stepped out into the hall during the discussion, rubbing a hand over his face in exhaustion. It wasn't until he checked his phone that he realized that it was Thursday- he'd missed all of Jack's appointments for that week, as well as his own unofficial appointment with Nina. He hadn't noticed at 12:30 that he was meant to be somewhere else, but now, he felt a phantom memory in his chest of a moment he'd missed.

As if responding to that unspoken wish, his phone buzzed and Hotch opened it to find a video from Jess.

When he opened it, he saw with a smile that Jack had gotten his soccer game after all. The screen lit up with bright green grass and Jack running after the ball, closely followed by Nina (who was careful to look like she was losing accidentally). He kicked the ball into the goal and he started cheering, running back and jumping to high-five Nina. She was grinning just as widely before pointing Jack towards the camera.

"I hope you're having a good case Daddy!" Jack said, and Hotch pondered how he could have such a bright face so soon. "Miss Nina and I can't wait for you to come home!"

Hotch could see Nina shake her head in the background, smiling, before Jack tugged on her arm to wave herself. "I'll fill you in when you get back." She promised. "For now, keep our country safe, Mr. Super Soldier." She teased before the camera went black.

Hotch stood in the hall for an extra few minutes, smiling, before Rossi poked his head out looking for him.

"Hey, Hotch, you okay out here?" He asked.

Hotch nodded, dialing his phone before glancing at Rossi.

"I've got an idea."

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Nina was at Lena's house, laughing at her latest tale about Willow's exploits at school- who'd been very disappointed (putting it mildly) to find that she couldn't wear her Elsa dress all the time- when her cell rang. The name 'Hotchner' flashed on the caller ID.

"Hold on a sec Lena," She said apologetically. "I've got to take this." She left her sister raising an inquisitive eyebrow as she went into the front hallway. "Hey Aaron, what's up?"

"I'm sorry to call so late," the agent said apologetically. "But I thought you might be able to help with the end of this case I'm on."

Nina let out a breath. Anytime a law enforcement agency requested a therapist's help, the reason was never a good one. "What do you need?"

"Do you know any good child therapists in the L.A. area? We have a girl who just lost her father and her aunt, and we want to make sure that she's taken care of before we come back."

Both callers, while thinking of Ellie Spicer, also thought about their own place as an aunt and a father- Ellie could have been Jack. She could have been Willow.

"One of my old classmates has a practice out in L.A." Nina said finally. "Hector Renolds. I'll text you his number, I'm sure he could help you out."

"Thank you." Aaron said, pausing. "And thank you for the video. It was, uh, a nice message to get after this case. Although I thought you were going to get a better nickname for me." He couldn't help but rib her a little bit.

Nina let out an incredulous laugh. "Oh, is that really how this is going to be? Well then, Agent, I'll just have to start working on that right away."

Aaron smirked on his end before thanking her again and hanging up. His phone beeped a moment later with the therapist's number and a message: "Hope the spandex is getting more agreeable." He chuckled before dialing the number given to him.

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"I don't want to leave until we know Ellie's going to be alright." Morgan insisted as the girl sat in the other room. "We can't just mess up her whole life and leave her hanging out to dry."

"No one is suggesting that-" Rossi started, but stopped as Hotch entered the room with another man, a little younger than him, who smiled at the group.

"This is Dr. Renolds." Hotch introduced the man to the team, who all had fallen silent and just looked confused. "He's a child psychologist here in Los Angles who can work with Ellie until someone gets ahold of her mother, and after that if she needs it. Dr. Renolds, this is the Behavior Analysis Unit team of the FBI."

Dr. Renolds nodded at the group. "It's nice to meet you all, but if you don't mind, I'd like to meet with Elli right away."

Rossi gestured towards the room where Ellie was staying, and JJ followed him in to introduce him to Ellie.

Morgan turned to Hotch incredulously. "A child psychologist? Where the hell did you find this guy on maybe three hours notice? How can we even be sure he's good?"

"He was recommended to me," Hotch said, folding his arms. "I had Garcia run a background check and he seemed perfectly qualified to do this job. I talked to the detective and he agreed to keep them in contact after we left."

"Recommended." Morgan said, trying to wrap his head around how fast this was all happening. "Recommended by who?"

Hotch's face did not twitch or give anything away, but Rossi noticed a sort of stiffness in the other man's demeanor. "An acquaintance of mine recommended him. She knows her way around this field so I trust her judgement in Dr. Renolds." His tone was understanding, but left no room for argument.

Dr. Renolds and Ellie stayed in the room for a half hour- JJ came out about ten minutes in, nodding to the team when they asked if Ellie was doing alright. After the half hour, Ellie looked as though she'd been crying, but she gave Morgan another tight hug and she was smiling slightly now, which she hadn't been since she'd been kidnapped.

Only then did Morgan feel like he'd kept his promise.

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On the plane ride home, Hotch had lulled himself to sleep with the video Jessica had sent him. About an hour away from Quantico, he woke up to the hushed whispers of his team.

"I still don't get it." Morgan said, glancing over at Hotch's supposedly sleeping form. "How'd Hotch find a good psychologist that fast? It's not like he's already lived in L.A. or anything."

"He said Dr. Renolds was recommended." Reid pointed out. "Maybe Hotch knows someone who lived in L.A. who knew about him."

"But he said the recommender knew their way around the field," Prentiss pointed out, curious as well. "I don't think Hotch is in the habit of meeting a bunch of psychologists, do you?"

Hotch sighed and figured now was as good a time as any to speak up. "Would that be such a bad thing?"

His team turned to look at him, guilty expressions crossing their faces when they realized they'd been overheard. Hotch pulled his earphones out so they'd have his full attention.

"Dr. Renolds was recommended to me by Dr. Nina Connelly." He said. "She's a child psychologist who's been working with Jack for the past few months after Haley's death. I called her because I knew how much she'd helped Jack recover, and I thought it would be good for Ellie to have that opportunity."

If the team hadn't looked guilty before, they certainly did now that Hotch had shared something so personal. He rarely, if ever, talked about Jack to any of them, and even more rarely brought up Haley and what had happened to her all those months ago.

"I'm sorry Hotch." Morgan said quietly. "I didn't mean…"

"It's alright." Hotch said, settling back in his chair. He understood Morgan's hesitation- he'd felt it himself, leaving Jack's wellbeing up to someone he didn't know. But now, he was glad he had and Jack was doing well. He hoped that Ellie Spicer would do the same.

He still did not share his own meetings with Nina.