It took Hotch nearly twenty minutes to understand why his stomach was twisted into knots. There was really only one explanation for the turmoil swirling inside him. Turmoil that only grew each passing minute, though there was no information reaching him that would cause the spike in anxiety.
His bond was allowing him to detect Reid's emotions.
After he noticed it, Hotch didn't quite understand how he had missed it. Sure, it wasn't consistent, and he had to focus on it, but he thought he had been searching for it, if not consciously then at least subconsciously. How he'd missed it wasn't a big deal, however; he was more concerned with how to approach the issue without Reid realizing how he knew.
The first chance he received was right before they delivered the profile. He pulled Reid aside, ignoring the questioning glances from the rest of his team, and decided that perhaps he should simply start with asking how Reid was handling things in an attempt to allow the Omega to open up without him having to pry too much.
"You all right?" Hotch murmured, watching the younger profiler's face for signs that could potentially belie Reid's reply.
Reid shrugged one shoulder, hazel eyes flicking away for a quick moment before returning. "Yeah; why wouldn't I be?" the genius asked with a sad excuse for a smile. His gaze turned almost contemplative. "Is something upsetting you?" The note of concern caused the Alpha's heart to clench painfully.
Hotch managed a smile and shook his head. "No," he lied. "I just thought I would check on you. This case is a different dynamic than we're all used to."
For a moment he thought he'd said too much. The Omega's gaze sharpened, searching his eyes and face, and he could feel the speculation and wariness. But it passed whenever Reid didn't find what it was he was apparently looking for. "I'm fine, Hotch. We should join the others before they think something's up."
Hotch merely nodded in reply and followed behind Reid, doing his best to ignore the whispered thoughts of how useless he was if he couldn't get his Omega to talk to him when he knew something was obviously wrong.
It happened again as they were giving their profile. When Reid started to explain what exactly "the Company" was, Hotch focused on the part of him that was connected to Reid and couldn't help but look over at the younger man in concern. His stomach was tight with a jumbled mess of emotions not his own, and he yearned to comfort the genius profiler. But he knew that he couldn't. Reid wouldn't allow it, and doing so without being explicitly told the younger man was upset would result in having to disclose his capability of feeling Reid's emotions.
So he waited. Reid seemed oddly withdrawn, giving his input at certain times but not in his typical way. He stuck close to JJ and Prentiss, which wasn't abnormal, but he also seemed to go out of his way to avoid both Hotch and Rossi. The behavior was odd enough that even Rossi gave a few questioning looks, so Hotch decided to try again.
He caught Reid in the break room, just after they had returned to the station and were waiting for Malcolm Ford to be brought in. The younger man glanced up at him curiously, and he smiled slightly. "I hope you aren't getting more coffee. You're restless enough as it is," he teased gently.
The Omega smiled weakly in response and shook his head. "I'm not. I was just trying to clear my head a little."
Almost immediately an entirely different worry niggled at Hotch's brain. "Your migraines?" he asked softly, watching Reid intently.
"No. Those are... I've taken care of those," Reid answered cryptically before grimacing. "Not with anything addictive, though." He paused and cleared his throat, wiping his palms on his thighs. "But no, I was staring at the evidence we have, and I couldn't stop thinking about how we don't have enough to convict Ford with yet. I'm worried about how Morgan will react when we run out of time."
Lie. At least a partial one. The worry over Morgan was true, but it was an afterthought, not what the younger profiler had originally intended to say. The relief at having an excuse had practically sung through Hotch's half of the bond. Reid was doing his best to hide what was truly bothering him; Hotch knew that with as much conviction as he had known Haley was cheating on him. It was nearly impossible for someone to hide something from whomever he or she was bonded to.
He ignored the way his skin was crawling, ignored the part of him that demanded he obtain the truth from his Omega. "We still have time, Reid," Hotch said instead, hesitating before gently clapping the genius on the shoulder. "Don't give up hope yet." He lingered, squeezing Reid's shoulder in an effort to silently convey that he was there for the younger man. Without another word, he turned and walked away, his hand dragging along Reid's shoulder. For a prolonged breath the turmoil abated, and then it swelled once more, possibly even more viciously.
As Hotch started down the hallway, he wondered if Reid intended to keep quiet until he had no choice but to break—and just how long that would be.
Reid's mood progressively worsened; not only could Hotch feel the ever-growing bundle of emotions, he could see the dark mood the Omega was in when he caught glimpses of the other man when Reid thought no one was looking at him. His Alpha was irritated, more concerned with the genius profiler than with the case, and Hotch was having to fight against his instincts more and more as the case continued. He felt a distinctive relief when Morgan made headway by finding out there was a cabin where children were being held, though it wasn't just because they'd finally gotten a helpful break in their case.
When it was wrapped, they ended up with far too many children in their care, and it took longer than usual for them to finish things up at the precinct. It was too late for them to head home, but thankfully it only took a quick call to book a few rooms at a nearby hotel. By the time he and Reid were entering their shared room, Hotch was tired, but his Alpha was wide awake, and he was having difficulty fighting it. His eyes were trained on the younger man as Reid set his bag down on one of the beds and started rifling through it.
"You need to talk to me," he announced softly, but his voice sounded oddly loud in the silent room.
Reid paused in his search and turned to look over his shoulder. "Excuse me?" His tone was sharp, his eyes narrow.
Hotch corrected himself before his Alpha could make matters worse. "I need you to talk to me."
Hazel eyes softened slightly but not for long. "There's nothing to talk about. We caught Ford, and we returned Cindi to her family. Her son finally gets to be around his mother more than a couple times a year. Minus the amount of children going into CPS, it was a successful case," Reid surmised, his attention shifting back to his bag.
The dark-haired man gritted his teeth, restraining his Alpha just barely. "Then you should be relieved, but you're not. You're closing yourself off, have been slowly doing it ever since we found out about Ford enslaving Cindi. Everyone's noticed it, and they're waiting on you to be ready to talk, but I can't do that, Reid. My Alpha believes you're my mate, and I can't just stay silent and wait patiently like I usually do."
"I'm fine, Hotch," Reid snapped, baring his teeth as he gathered his pajamas and other bathroom supplies into his arms. "I just need to sleep it off. And if you can't wait until morning for my agitation to wear off, then maybe you need to stay in Rossi's room."
The dismissal was evident, and the hurt that crashed through Hotch knocked him breathless. He was only just aware of stopping Reid as the younger man tried to move around him toward the bathroom, and he spoke quietly, "We're not finished."
Reid's low warning growl caused Hotch to flinch away from the Omega, and Reid took advantage of it, pushing past him and heading for the bathroom. "I don't need your permission to end a conversation, Alpha." The bathroom door shut firmly behind the other man, and Hotch felt his Alpha retreat, a soft whine escaping him.
Hotch wasn't sure what happened after that, although he was somewhat aware of walking down the hall, but the next thing he was cognizant of was the feel of a hand gently stroking down his cheek and along his jaw before sweeping back up and repeating the same motion. Muffled voices reached his ears, but he didn't care what they were saying. "Reid," he gasped, his eyes fluttering open as the hand that was on his jaw stopped and pulled away. He searched the area for a particular face, and when he found it twisted in concern, he felt relief swamp him. "JJ."
The blonde took a few steps forward and asked, "What happened, Hotch? Reid won't answer the door."
Hotch sighed, closing his eyes momentarily as he fought his way out of the drop. "He's upset about something, and my Alpha wouldn't let it go. Reid lashed out." He pulled his room key out of his pocket and held it out. "I don't care who goes, but he needs someone who isn't me."
JJ's expression altered slightly, and then she took the key card from him. "I'll go." She spared him a small smile before turning around and heading out of the room.
"You gave JJ and Emily quite the scare, Aaron," Rossi admonished, and Hotch barely refrained from glaring at his best friend. "And Garcia and Morgan were doing their best to get us kicked out of the hotel by trying to make the kid open the door to his room."
"In our defense he would have come around a lot quicker if we'd gotten Reid to come out," Garcia commented, and Hotch wasn't surprised to see she had pulled a chair up beside the bed the others must have put him on. That cleared up who had been touching his face earlier. He managed a smile for her as he slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position, and he allowed her to take his hand hostage while he turned to Morgan, who was pacing at the foot of the bed.
"Thank you for not kicking down the door," Hotch murmured, and Morgan stopped in his tracks, shooting him a look like he didn't know whether to be amused or exasperated.
Prentiss cleared her throat, and Hotch felt the bed dip to signify she'd taken a seat beside him. He shifted his gaze to her questioningly, and she smiled at him. "Did you know you're the only person I've ever met who apologizes before passing out, even half-delirious?" the Beta teased, and Hotch shook his head as the other three chuckled.
"That definitely sounds like Aaron," Rossi agreed. "If he can manage it, he's damned well going to do it."
Garcia gently squeezed his hand, and he quirked a brow as she grinned. "It's obviously the southern gentleman in him. He wouldn't be him without it."
"What are you saying, Mama? Only southern boys can be polite?" Morgan queried, crossing his arms.
"Don't you start that with me, Derek Morgan," Garcia warned, pointing a finger at the agent who immediately uncrossed his arms to hold his hands up defensively. "Obviously that's not what I'm saying, but you can't deny the fact that Boss Man is about as gentlemanly as they come, and he had a southern upbringing."
Hotch took note of Prentiss's valiant effort not to laugh; she was biting down on her lower lip while grinning, and her head was ducked just the slightest bit. "What part of this are you finding so amusing?" he asked her, and her expression quickly became one of pure innocence.
"What kind of person do you think I am, sir? I'm not finding any of it humorous," Prentiss replied with furrowed brows and a decently believable expression of affrontation. "There is absolutely nothing funny about one team member chastising another member of our team."
Rossi snorted, and Hotch spared him a glance that would have terrified most people. So of course the other Alpha simply grinned at him. He opted to ignore the smug look on the senior profiler's face. "How long was I out?" It was an obvious attempt at changing the subject, but they all allowed it.
"Long enough for me to contemplate taking you to the hospital," Rossi answered after a short moment of silence. "JJ came and got me, and I ended up calling Garcia to fill her in, and she and Morgan had time to come across town, cause a commotion in the wee hours of the night, and finally settle down in here to wait for you to wake up."
Hotch frowned and nodded his thanks, deciding that likely meant he'd been close to the one hour mark. The drop had been sudden and borderline painful, and Hotch had a difficult time believing that was what Reid had intended, even when lashing out. He knew they would end up discussing it at some point because JJ wasn't likely to keep quiet about that particular response, and he was already dreading it. He didn't think he could stand seeing or feeling Reid's guilt over it.
"I don't know about the rest of you, but I doubt I'll be getting any sleep tonight. What do you say we stay up playing cards and hate ourselves for it come morning?" Rossi suggested, and Hotch was pulled from his thoughts to see the other Alpha brandishing a deck of cards.
"I'm game," Morgan agreed. "Poker?"
Prentiss grinned almost devilishly. "Count me in."
"Oh, no, I am not playing poker against her," Garcia retorted. "Last time I lost my favorite troll pen."
Prentiss made a noise of discontent. "We wouldn't have to make bets."
"Where's the fun in that? Nobody wants bragging rights when he or she could have a new troll pen," Rossi contradicted with a snort. Prentiss then turned to Morgan for assistance, but he shook his head.
"Sorry, but I'm with Rossi on this one. It's not as much fun if you don't reap the rewards," Morgan commented.
Prentiss crossed her arms with a slight pout. "Well, then what should we play? And if someone says Go Fish or Rook, I am not going to be held responsible for my actions." The room was quiet for a short moment, and Rossi, Morgan, and Garcia all shared a look before Garcia looked at him in an almost hopeful manner.
Hotch found his lips twitching into a smile as he suggested, "Rummy, then?"
A murmur of agreement (two more reluctant than the others) sounded from the four agents, and Hotch shifted so his legs weren't stretched out in front of him while Morgan perched on the foot of the bed and Rossi nabbed the desk chair. Hotch glanced at Garcia as she finally released his hand, and he barely refrained from smiling as she moved her chair just slightly and then promptly arranged her arms so the upper part of her forearm was pressed against his knee. He knew the Beta sought reassurance of their well-being through contact, and he was willing to indulge her for the time being.
Hotch slowly allowed himself to relax as Rossi started shuffling the cards. JJ was handling the situation with Reid, and he trusted she would resolve it in a way that was at least beneficial to the Omega, which was all he wanted. It was a slight struggle to ignore the temptation of checking to see what Reid was feeling, but he managed and instead tried to focus on his teammates as they chatted idly. When the cards were dealt, it helped to keep his mind off what could be potentially happening in another hotel room, and he dove into the distraction willingly.
He wasn't even aware of how much time was passing, but he realized it must have been a while when the sound of a clearing throat had them all stopping mid-laugh or -smile at Garcia and Prentiss's friendly bickering. Hotch's gaze immediately zeroed in on Reid, who was hovering behind JJ, his expression difficult to discern. He must have made some sort of noise because hazel eyes met his just before Garcia stood to block his view, and he felt Prentiss's hand, gently restraining, on his shoulder. He was aware of the whine he made then.
"Derek, don't make me throw you on your ass," Rossi threatened, but Hotch wasn't concerned enough to see what the Beta was doing to warrant that response. "I get that all of you are irritated, but what you're doing or want to do is only upsetting Aaron right now, so either let the kid approach him or let him get to the kid."
The hand on his shoulder lifted, and Garcia turned to look at him before nodding and taking a few steps to the side. Finally, JJ moved, and he was able to see Reid fully. He didn't move, however, his Alpha too aware of what had happened the last time he'd gotten close to the younger profiler when he wasn't wanted.
A small smile curved the Omega's lips, which then parted around soft words. "Come here, Alpha."