Chapter 11
Kahlan quickly unlocked the door as Hotch laughed at her. "Gotta go bad, huh?"
She swung the door open. "Shut up, Aaron," she joked and threw the stuff she had in her hands down on the floor and quickly walked towards the bathroom.
Donna came around the corner just in time to see Kahlan shut the door; she laughed, and when she looked at Hotch she laughed even harder. "Did you all clean the carnival out?" she asked as she went up to him and tried to help unload his arms of the various stuffed animals and other prizes.
"I think Joey is going to be pretty happy when she sees all of these," Hotch told her with a smile.
As Donna juggled a big bear and a few smaller toys, Hotch's briefcase fell out of his hand and onto the floor. "Sorry," she told him and bent down to pick up the files that fell out of it. She dropped the bear and stood up quickly as she locked eyes with Hotch. "Why do you have a picture of Lucas?"
Hotch almost choked on his own breath. "You know him?"
"Of course I know him; he was. . ." she stopped herself and looked at him with eyes full of suspicion. "Is he back?"
"He was what?" Hotch asked desperately as he took the photo from her.
Before she could answer, Kahlan came out of the bathroom, and Hotch stuffed the photo down into his briefcase and shot Donna a look.
"Damn, Sis, I thought you were banned from playing carnival games?" Donna asked with a grin as she took a basketball from Hotch and picked up the bear she dropped.
"I didn't win those, Aaron did," Kahlan told her as she came in and picked up the stuff she dropped on the floor.
"Where should I put these?" Hotch asked her about the stuffed animals still in his hands.
"Put them on the island. I wouldn't want Sampson to try to sleep with them on the couch," Kahlan said as she looked at the Doberman. He ducked his head and left the entryway quickly.
Hotch laughed and went towards the kitchen.
Kahlan and Donna followed him. After about ten minutes of hearing about the couple's entertaining night, Donna said she had to leave.
"Thanks for watching the kids. Aaron and I had fun," Kahlan told her as she pulled her sister into a hug.
"No problem. I'm glad you enjoyed yourselves," Donna told her and started for the door.
"I'll walk you out," Hotch told her as he caught up with her.
"I'm jumping in the shower," Kahlan yelled to him before they went out the door.
As soon as Hotch shut the door, Donna turned to him. "What the hell is going on, Aaron?"
Hotch took a deep breath. "I don't know to tell you the truth. Please tell me who Lucas is."
Donna licked her lips as she looked back towards the door.
"Donna, please. This guy shows up and it upset your sister, but no one will tell me who he is."
"He used to work with her."
Hotch's shoulders slumped a little. "I know that. I also know his last name and everything else that the computers could tell me. I want to know how else he is connected to Kahlan."
Donna bit her lip as she looked at her feet.
Hotch studied her for a moment. "I can't protect her if no one will tell me who this guy really is." He knew that with the way Donna flinched slightly at hearing that her sister had gotten upset, that Donna was worried about something, and he hoped nudging her big-sister, protective side would get her to tell him. He put a hand on her shoulder. "Please."
Donna took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes. "We only met him once. She brought him home for Christmas to meet the family. . . Brooke was a baby, so I guess it was in '94."
Hotch took a step back from her. "Brought him home for Christmas?" His hand went to his forehead. "He was an old boyfriend?"
Donna shook her head slightly.
"She was married to him?" Hotch asked desperately, and they both cringed at how loud he had gotten.
"No," she told him quickly. "But they were engaged; something happened and the next thing we knew he was gone."
"What?" Hotch asked as he tried to figure out what it meant.
"She never told us why, and she never answered any questions about him, either."
Hotch rubbed the back of his neck.
"It was obvious that whatever he did was very painful to her. If he is back, it cannot be good."
"I don't know that he is back per say," he tried to lessen her worry. "I know he was here, but Chuck says he's gone now."
"Thank God!" she exclaimed and then started for her car.
Hotch opened her door for her. "Thank you for telling me."
She smiled and got in her car. "It's a good thing Luc is gone. I would have had to track him down to give him a piece of my mind for hurting my baby sister!"
Hotch's brows furrowed. "She called him Luke?"
"Yeah. Why?"
He forced a smile. "No reason. Thanks for everything."
She eyed him thoughtfully. "Don't worry about it, Aaron. I'm sure she sent him packing with his tail between his legs."
He laughed. "I bet," he agreed and shut her door. He watched her drive away and then walked back to the house slowly, trying to process what it all meant. Son of a bitch!
XXX
As Hotch laid in bed, he thought about it all. Alright, fine, he was something important to her in the past. . . Apparently something bad happened and she, or he, broke off the engagement. . . Is that why he left the squad? Hmmm. . . Kahlan stirred a little in her sleep, so he put his arm around her more tightly and she settled back down. That's why it was a rough week. He showed back up and it brought back painful memories. I wonder what happened. He drummed his fingers on the side of his head. But it was him she must have been thinking about the night she got drunk. Whatever he did probably fueled that binge when it mixed with her memories of her father. Damn it!
Why would she feel she needs to hide that from me, though? I know about Collin, why couldn't I know about Lucas? Damn, how many other guys have you been involved with, Babe? He frowned. No, I know about Collin because of Wyatt. So what happened that was so bad that she doesn't want to tell me? He swallowed hard. It couldn't have been so bad if she was willing to help him with a consult. She also gave him her number. He mentally shook his head. No. She would have given him her number because of helping him with the case, so that doesn't mean anything. He took a long slow deep breath. But why did it bother her to hear his name? If whatever happened was so bad that his name bothers her, why did she help him with a case?
It has to be more than that. It wasn't just his name; it was me saying it. . . But Chuck said he's gone. . . Can I believe him? Chuck definitely doesn't like him. . . Why? He ran a hand down his face. If Lucas hurt her, then Chuck would hate him, so that makes sense. He pinched the bridge of his nose. Is that all it was?
"What's keeping you awake?" Kahlan asked him as she shifted in his arms.
"Shit, Babe. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up," he told her tenderly.
She moved to look him in the face. The alarm clock lit up the side of his face, and she could see the tension in his brow. "What's wrong?"
He shook his head quickly. "I think I'm amped up on sugar. That damn cotton candy put me over the edge," he told her with a smile.
She laughed lightly and sat up. "That, or the fried Oreos, or the funnel cake, or the. . ."
"Alright, yes, I was worse than one of the kids."
She giggled. "You want me to make you a cup of tea?"
He smiled. "That is a great idea, but you sleep. I'll do it, and I'll try not to wake up when I come back to bed."
"You sure?"
"Yeah," he told her and slid out of the bed. He kissed her cheek. "Go back to sleep, Babe."
She snuggled back down into the bed. "Love you."
He turned back before going out the door. "Love you, too."
Hotch paced back and forth in the kitchen as the kettle heated. If he's gone, I guess it doesn't really matter. There's still probably a lot of stuff she hasn't told me about. He sighed heavily as a smile came to his face. At least now I know; and he's gone, so I don't need to worry about him. He nodded as he made his tea. Now if I can just stop being such an idiot, everything will be fine.
XXX
Hotch awoke to his alarm, but groggily. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Damn, maybe I shouldn't have drunk that tea so late. Kahlan was already out of bed like usual, so he got up and went in search of some much needed coffee.
Kahlan giggled at him as soon as she saw him. "Wow, you look like you could use an espresso."
"Ha ha ha," he told her as he grabbed a mug out of the cabinet and poured himself a cup of coffee.
"Sugar highs are awesome until you feel that crash."
"I think your tea was too strong," he told her and then took a long drink.
"Go take a shower. That will help revive you."
He nodded and headed back towards the stairs, cup still in hand.
"What do you want for breakfast?" she called up after him.
"I don't care," he told her truthfully. "As long as it doesn't have any sugar in it." He heard her laughing all the way upstairs.
XXX
After the morning briefing, the team was on the jet to Wisconsin to help find a fourteen year old boy. Three dead teen boys had already been found tortured and killed, and they all prayed they could find the missing boy before another family had to face the worst possible scenario.
By nine o'clock that evening, two more bodies had been found, and Garcia had traced them down as missing from Kansas and Oklahoma. Finding more bodies and not the unsub put the team in foul moods, but none of them wanted to give up and call it a night.
When Hotch and Rossi were making their way back from the ME's, Hotch let Rossi drive so he could call his wife. Without knowing when they would actually get to the hotel, he wanted to make sure to call her then to let her know she might not be hearing from him for a while. She, of course, understood and wished him luck. She also made him let her speak to Rossi.
"Hey, Kiddo."
"I know that you all will not stop until you get a break in the case, but promise me you will not let any of them go so long that it's dangerous. Take naps in shifts if you have to. You may have to take a break just to make sure Hotch does."
"Yep," he told her with a grin.
"Ok. Thanks, Dave. I love you.'
"Love you, too, Kiddo."
"Let me have my husband back."
Rossi laughed and gave Hotch back the phone. "Hey, Babe."
"Don't push yourself to the breaking point, Aaron."
"I won't."
"And watch Dave. You might have to take a rest just to make sure he does."
"You know I'll keep an eye on them all."
"Alright. Love you."
"Love you, too, Babe."
"Be safe!"
He chuckled. "Promise."
As he put his phone away, he and Rossi shared a look, and they both knew they she had gotten them to agree to look out for the other, and they laughed.
XXX
By noon the next day, they were physically and mentally exhausted, but they had found the boy in time to save his life. The unsub didn't give up without a fight, though; he preferred suicide by FBI agents over life in prison. Hotch text Kahlan to let her know they were done but that they were headed to the hotel to crash and he would call her once he got up.
XXX
After their nap, the team had the case wrapped up by six that evening and they all voted to head home then instead of waiting until morning. Hotch went ahead and called Kahlan to let her know he would be home in a few hours, and she promised to wait up for him.
While everyone else settled down for some much needed sleep because their four hour nap still left them all dragging, Rossi poured himself and Hotch a drink from his stashed bottle and joined him in the back of the jet
Hotch took that time to tell him what he had learned about Lucas.
"Wow, I wouldn't have guessed that," Rossi told him as he sipped his drink.
"Yeah. I always got the impression she was never actually with anyone while she was on the squad," Hotch agreed and then took a drink. "I always pictured her as the type to not mix business with pleasure."
Rossi chuckled. "Apparently he is the reason behind that."
Hotch huffed.
"You're not worried anymore, though, are you?"
"It still bothers me to think that he can affect her like that, and yet she helped him with a case." He shook his head. "It doesn't make sense."
"It makes sense," Rossi started and Hotch looked at him questioningly. "She's just like you. She can't pass up the opportunity to help especially if it involved kids at all."
A small smile worked its way onto Hotch's face. "Yeah, that's true." He took a deep breath. "But why would he need her help? I looked it up. Dark Arrow is a paramilitary group that works all over the world with security and such around bases and establishments, and they're based out of California. Why would he travel all that way to get her help when he probably has people like her all around him?"
Rossi stroked his goatee as he thought about it. "You think he used the case as an excuse to see her?"
Hotch shrugged.
"Why wait all this time, though?"
Hotch drummed his fingers on his leg. "I don't know."
Rossi studied him. "Are you going to let this go?"
Hotch took a deep breath. "There's no reason to pursue it any further if he's gone."
Rossi nodded as he smiled. "Good."
