CHAPTER ELEVEN
Detective Bellum sat in awe as he listened to Agent Prentiss' story. But really, it wasn't the story that caught his attention, as heart-breaking as it was, but the way her supervisor stood behind her the entire time, his hands resting on her shoulders.
Hotchner took over when Prentiss sagged in her seat, story finished, though his hands stayed securely on her shoulders. "JJ, take Reid and see if our UNSUB had any contact within the last twenty-four hours. Dave, Morgan, we're going to need some sort of protection detail for Congressman Smith. Detective Bellum, do you think you can spare some men to do shifts with my agents?"
Bellum nodded his agreement. He could reassign a few officers, call in a few favours, even if he didn't like the Congressman. It was their job.
Hotchner still held onto Prentiss' shoulders. "I want to talk to that PI again."
"Agent Jareau?"
Bellum looked over at his partner, the same as the rest of the occupants of the room.
"You asked me to tell you when the Bentley shooting hit the news."
Bellum watched almost in awe as the entire demeanour of the room shifted. With a quick look exchanged between Jareau and Hotchner and a quick nod from Hotchner, things changed.
"Emily, go with Reid to Bentley's place. JJ-"
"Give me three hours," she said, already pulling out her Blackberry. "And chocolate."
"Detective, I could use your help to interview the PI."
And as Bellum nodded his agreement, the agents started to scatter. Prentiss and Hotchner didn't move and Bellum watched the adoration fall over Hotchner's face. Bellum continued to watch as he murmured something to the dark-haired woman, then leaned down and kissed the top of her head. Bellum looked away then, so as not to be caught watching and to give them as much privacy as he could for the obviously intimate moment.
"Ready, Detective?"
He followed the agent out of the room, unsurprised when he took his time in leaving. Meanwhile, Bellum ensured his partner would handle the assignment of Congressman Smith's security detail. It wasn't until he and Hotchner were in his car heading to the PIs office that Bellum commented on the past hour.
"How long have you and Agent Prentiss been together?" He felt his blood run cold as he glanced over at the glare Hotchner sent him.
"Not that it's any of your business, Detective, but we're not together," he replied.
"With all due respect, Agent Hotchner, there's something there. Unless you're as overprotective and affectionate with the rest of your agents as you are with Agent Prentiss." Bellum hadn't expected to hit a nerve but it was obvious that he had. By the stoic way the SSAIC had held himself, despite the unfortunately obvious bags under his eyes, Bellum probably should have expected it and mentally scolded himself.
"Agent Prentiss and I are colleagues and friends. She's going through a difficult time."
Bellum filled in the blanks with ease. If Hotchner wanted to live in denial, Bellum wasn't totally sure he wanted to be the one to burst the other man's comfortable bubble. "She's exceptionally strong."
"She is."
Bellum wasn't immune to the guarded tone in the agent's voice. He forced a shrug. "She must be someone special to be able to go through that and tell the story not once but twice."
"Detective, I'd like to focus on the case."
"Of course," Bellum agreed. "What do we know about the PI?"
"I can tell you his computer wasn't the one to access the congressman's file yesterday," Garcia said to Derek over the phone.
The African-American man ran a hand over his head. For Emily's sake, he'd hoped the case would be solved quickly. It didn't seem like it now. "Did you trace it?"
"IP address links it to the library at Shaw-Howard University. And I have more bad news."
Derek blew out a breath. "Lay it on me, Mama."
"Hotch asked me to flag Slime Guy's credit cards. According to a bank statement and video surveillance, he was making a deposit in Falls Church around the time Congressman Bentley's supposed time of death."
He swore under his breath.
"How is she, Derek? Really."
There was no way he'd be able to hide from Garcia and he hated any form of lying to her. "She's hanging tight. Rossi says not so good."
"My poor gum drop! First Colorado, then Ohio and now this! Why can't UNSUBs give her a break?"
"She's got Hotch, Baby Girl. He won't leave her to do this alone."
"Oh?" Garcia's voice sounded piqued with interest, a complete twist from the upset tones from seconds before. "Define 'won't leave her alone'."
"He stayed in her room last night. Was reluctant to see her leave with us this morning. And that's not even touching on his reaction to her telling us the story again."
"It's about time," Garcia said, and Derek could almost see her leaning back in her chair, satisfaction written in every line of her body.
"Mama, she's struggling. And he was there for her in Ohio. It's perfectly understandable that she'd turn to him first."
She let out a sound of displeasure. "As if you haven't seen our version of Clark Kent eye up Lois Lane."
"Baby Girl, you really need to stop comparing us to superheroes," Derek said, shaking his head. He'd only been trying to inject some form of realism into the conversation. A friend helping a friend was a perfectly logical explanation as to why Hotch seemed so keen on keeping a close eye on Emily.
"Ha! So you have seen it!"
Derek sighed. She wouldn't let it go and he knew it. "Of course I have. We're profilers."
She hummed her approval. "It's too bad those two are still oblivious."
Derek sighed. He didn't lie to his Baby Girl. "I don't know how much longer they're going to be oblivious."
"No!" she gasped in excitement. "Really?"
"If the way he was with her this morning is any indication... I've never seen him that open and emotional. Em brings out something in him, Garcia. Something I've never seen in my too many years of working with him."
"That's good."
Her tone was affectionate and Derek found himself smiling. They were all colleagues, but they were more than that, and though it was easier to see between most of the team with the exception of Hotch, he knew that Garcia cared just as deeply for the unit chief as she did the rest of them. Most of them were outcasts, misfits, but together, they made an unbeatable team of kids with too many issues. Sometimes it made him chuckle to realize they all had their hang ups and they were all almost different from each other.
If Hotch found solace in Emily the way he found it in Garcia, Derek certainly wasn't about to argue. Emily deserved something good in her life, someone she could rely on to pick up the pieces when she fell apart. And if he was honest with himself, Derek was glad it was Hotch.
Thanks to everyone who's still reviewing and still sticking with this. I'm so sorry there was such a break there. Apparently stories like this one are requiring a lot more concentration than I'd orginally thought.
Let me know what you thought of this!
