A/N:Thank you all for your reviews!
Robert Patterson held the gun to his head, his hands shaking, his finger on the trigger; and now the intimidating presence of the FBI at his door.
They didn't look happy, they looked downright angry. There was only one way out of this as far as Patterson could see. His finger twitched again. And then a voice spoke, a voice he had been terrified to hear for over a week now.
He squeezed his eyes shut and forced himself to listen, trying to stop a lone tear that ran down his cheek.
Aaron Hotchner's fears and suspicions were confirmed when he and the SWAT team entered the small house. Robert Patterson was there, sitting against a wall, a gun to his head.
"Chief, put the gun down." Hotch ordered, anger rushing through him. He almost wanted this man to make a sudden move, any move so that it would give Hotch an excuse to shoot him; his anger at this man ran so deep all Hotch could think about was what he had done to JJ.
When Patterson didn't move, didn't seem to acknowledge the existence of anyone else in the house, Hotch took a moment to look around the room. Pictures of a happy man and woman lined the hallways, evidence of grandkids were there too. A baby was smiling as Patterson held her, a grown woman smiling as the chief looked down at the baby.
This man had a family, just like JJ did. And despite what he had done, Hotch forced himself to
remember that. He took a deep breath and thought about JJ, what she would want.
This was for JJ and nobody else.
"Chief." Hotch started again, "Please, look at me." He waited until the chief did as he was asked, and when his eyes met Hotch's, he started to cry. He watched the strong, determined agent, holstered his weapon and lowered his voice.
"Chief. You killed my agent, you shot her in cold blood. You killed a talented young woman, took away a beautiful life, stole a wife from her husband and a mother from her child. You took an agent from her team, and a guardian from her people. Every aspect of me wants to hate you right now. You stole my agent, my coworker, my team and ripped our hearts apart," He nodded behind him where his entire team stood, with their guns still aimed at the chief; yet they were listening to Hotch's words just as much as the chief was.
Hotch knew he had the chief's attention and continued speaking. "JJ lived for family, her family, our family, your family. She truly hated seeing families ripped apart by violence; which is exactly what you did to her family. And as much as I want to make sure you never see the outside of this house again, I am doing this for JJ. JJ would look around your house and see the photos of your wife and children and grandchildren- she would do everything to make sure this resolved peacefully. I am not JJ, but am acting in her behalf. Chief, I am asking you to put down the gun, and let us walk out of here. I am not going to let you die and take the easy way out, I will not take you from your family.
Patterson couldn't believe what he was hearing. Hotch was not going to shot him, and was asking him to put down his gun.
"Chief, you have a family. Don't make them lose you this way." Hotch's voice spoke again to him. "The grandkids need their grandfather, your daughter needs you"
Chief Patterson looked up and stood up. "I am so sorry." He conceded, not removing the gun from his head yet. "It was never supposed to happen like this.." And he collapsed back onto the ground, the gun falling from his hands as he simply started crying, unable to fight as he felt his hands cuffed behind his back. It was over.
