There was a knock on the door, in response to which Morgan called, "Come in, it's open." He had jammed it open slightly, just in case someone decided to check on him. He had planned ahead, knowing that the local anesthesia would wear off shortly and he was going to be very sore, very quickly, meaning he probably wouldn't be up for walking across the room to open the door.

He smiled when he saw Emily; she looked the happiest she had been in several days and his heart soared in the hopes that maybe she had finally gotten the call telling her there was a new heart waiting.

Shutting the door behind her, she said, "Did you hear? They found a marrow donor for Jack! Hotch just got the call, he's on his way to the hospital now."

"Oh really?" he faked surprise, "Do they know who the donor is?"

"No, just a really generous stranger." She stopped short when she saw him grimace in pain and press the ice tighter against his hip. "What's wrong?" she asked, worried.

"Nothing," he said quickly, "I'm just a little sore... Must be getting old." Even his smile at his own joke seemed weak. He wasn't sure if he had lied because he didn't want her to worry or because he didn't want his web of lies to unravel. "Come, sit with me," he said, very slowly and carefully shifting over on the bed to make room for her.

She gingerly sat down next to him, not wanting to aggravate his injury. There was a beat of silence for several minutes, filled by nothing but the muted sounds of the television and conversation from the next room. Morgan was the one to break it, quietly asking, "Why are you really here?"

She gave him a mirthless smile. "That obvious, huh?" She sighed and leaned back against the head-board. "I'm really happy for Jack, but... It just makes me think..."

He thought he knew what she was going to say, but decided to let her release what was no doubt an overflowing dam of emotions. He reached out to take her hand in his, a small comfort, but it was something.

"What's going to happen to me?" Her voice was barely a whisper, "There are kind strangers out there willing to give a part of themselves to save a dying child. But no one can just decide to give you their heart..." Her voice broke even more with a choked out sob. He had to strain to hear her next words. "No one would pick me to save if they could..."

******

In such a line of work, constantly surrounded by the worst of humanity, it is easy to forget to see the good in people. As he hugged his son before they put him under for the transplant, Hotch realized that he had forgotten to have faith in humanity, in people doing the right thing just for the sake of it.

And, after so many months of watching his son slowly slip away from him, he could hardly believe that it might really be all over. That he might be cured.

All because of the kindness of a total stranger.

As the porter wheeled the surgical gurney towards the OR, Jack smiled at him sleepily and gave him a thumbs up. A gesture Hotch returned, along with the smile. He thought he had forgotten how...

******

"Garcia, we need you to search the list of people in the Chicago area waiting for donor organs, including bone marrow," Rossi said into the phone.

"All organs?" she asked incredulously, "That list will be a hundred miles long!"

"Narrow it down to anyone with type AB blood," he stipulated.

"That's still a lot of names..."

"We've got to start somewhere..."

"What's this unsub getting from stalking people waiting for new organs?" Emily asked.

"Maybe he gets off on preying on those too weak to defend themselves," suggested Rossi.

"I don't think so," Morgan argued, "He hasn't hurt any of the people who claim to have seen him, he hasn't threatened them, he hasn't even made any contact, really."

"Isn't that sort of the point of stalking?" Reid pointed out, "The unsub doesn't have the courage to just blitz the victim so he lays in wait for vast amounts of time learning about them so he can be in total control of the situation when he finally does approach them."

Morgan shot him a warning look. "I think Emily and I should go back to the hospital," he said, changing the subject, "We don't really need all five of us going through the list. And we still need to speak with Maggie Williams' father; he's at the hospital undergoing dialysis."

Rossi nodded, though not without a moment's hesitation, considering what was going on. With that, they turned to leave. "If you see Hotch..." JJ started to say.

"We'll be sure to let you know how Jack's doing," Morgan preemptively replied. He covertly reached out to give Emily's hand a reassuring squeeze, knowing that the previous night's worries were still plaguing her.

She returned the pressure thankfully. How had she ever gotten through this without him?

A/N: Please read the message on my page... It explains why you're all probably thinking we're total n00bs who forgot about this story... It also explains why this will be the last update for awhile. Sorry :(