Chapter 10

Prentiss took a few long gulps of the hot chocolate. Jessie just stared silently at her cup as she thought deeply.

"This is good. Amazing! It's so thick and chocolaty. Like a dream." Prentiss mused.

There came a knock on the door and Garcia walked in.

"What are you doing here? What's happening?" Jessie was on edge the minute Garcia walked in.

"What is that delicious smell?" Garcia asked as she eyed the hot chocolate pot. Prentiss grabbed a mug off Jessie's coffee stand and poured some for Garcia. Garcia placed her laptop bag against the wall, sat on the bed and took the mug.

"We found them." Garcia said. "We found one. But he's not letting on where they are. And I can't do anything to help anymore so I came to switch places with Emily."

Jessie almost protested when Garcia lifted her mug to her lips and took a sip. Garcia moaned and drank down half the cup. Jessie bit her lip and continued to stare at her own cup.

"Okay, then I'll go see if I can help with anything." Prentiss stood, put on her shoes and walked to the door.

"Are you going to change?" Jessie asked, a bit on edge.

"I did already." Prentiss reached the door and swallowed the rest of her hot chocolate before putting the mug on a drawer. Then she greeted and walked out. Jessie started pulling chapped skin off her lips in distress.

Garcia slapped her hand away and handed Jessie lip balm. Jessie watched with a frown as Garcia finished her hot chocolate and continued on to a second one.

"You haven't drunk any of yours." Garcia commented and tilted Jessie's mug so she would drink.

"Stressed." Jessie said simply. But she took a sip after Garcia insisted. Garcia frowned and Jessie took a few more sips.

Garcia yawned.

"So what were you girls talking about?" Garcia asked with another deep yawn.

"Spencer." Jessie watched Garcia intently.

"Why do I even ask?" Garcia whispered. "What about him?"

"About how after he left me all those years ago; the only way I could sleep without nightmares was by drinking a hot chocolate concoction of alcohol and sleeping drugs." Jessie said dryly. Garcia frowned and snapped her head up when she dozed off. Garcia's eyes widened for a second in shock before they shut completely and her body slacked. Jessie caught her head and placed Garcia gently in a normal sleeping position. She took Garcia's glasses off and put them on the bedside table. Jessie leaned over Garcia and whispered, "I'm sorry you had to get into this. And thank you for the advice. It really helps to not be myself."

Jessie put the tray and mugs on the drawer and left.

Jessie yawned and shook her head to clear it. She found Prentiss asleep on a hallway bench, phone in hand. Jessie struggled to pull Prentiss into her room where she placed her on the bed next to Garcia. Jessie checked the last calls made from Prentiss's phone.

"Reid" was written on the top of her call history. Call duration was no more than 30 seconds. She may have just informed him that she was going to help too. Or, more likely, that Jessie had drugged her.

Jessie raced into the window when she heard the familiar sound of the elevator arriving. She opened the window and climbed onto the balcony. She shut the window, just before Reid walked into the room. Jessie hid behind the wall and peaked around the corner to see Reid throw Prentiss's phone across the room. After Reid searched the room, bathroom and dressing room, he left. Jessie climbed back in and took Garcia's laptop into the bathroom where she started working on it on the floor.

It took a while but eventually Jessie found something that Garcia wouldn't have made a connection with. An Irish pub that had moved recently from Seattle to Vegas. 'Brother's Pub' was the name. It belonged to the brothers. Well, not on paper anyway. So it was just a guess. And it was a long shot. But Jessie had an instinct about these guys.

She had a brief moment of sanity where she considered informing the team, but then yawned and shook her head. She jotted down the address and erased the computer history out of habit. She put the laptop away and stared at Garcia and Prentiss asleep on her giant bed.

Jessie kissed her fingers and then touched them to Garcia and Prentiss's foreheads.

"Take care of him for me." She whispered and climbed out the window.