Chapter 13

When Doctor Hochstein checked on his patient the following morning, he found the man had improved to the point where he ordered the ventilator and intubation be removed. With his penlight he again checked Aaron's eyes, hoping this time he might get a response after three days. But sadly, both pupils remained unresponsive. Finally, he ordered a CAT scan to check the man's most serious injury…his head.

"How is he, doctor?" the nurse asked as they left Hotch's room.

"He's holding his own so far. I just hope the CAT scans will show improvement as well. Please contact me when the results are ready."

"Yes, doctor."

When the entire team arrived at the hospital, they went directly to the ICU.

Knowing they could only visit two at a time, Rossi and Prentiss decided to go first while the others waited in the hallway outside his room. But the minute Rossi opened the door preparing to walk in, he froze as did Prentiss who peered over his shoulder. Hotch's bed was empty.

Where was Hotch? Had he succumbed unexpectedly to his injuries during the night? Or had something unexpected happened causing a setback in his recovery?

Rossi and Prentiss looked over their shoulders at the others who, seeing their faces, sensed something was terribly wrong.

"What's happened?" asked Morgan, scared. "Is Hotch okay?"

"He's not in his room," Emily explained.

The moment he saw a nurse approaching, Rossi intercepted her.

"Excuse me," he said trying not to panic. "But can you tell us where Agent Hotchner is? His room's empty."

"I believe he's been taken to X-ray."

"Oh My God!" cried JJ. "What happened to him? Did something go wrong?" She felt her heart drop into her stomach.

"X-ray?!" said Morgan raising his voice. "Why the hell was he taken to x-ray? What happened?"

Rossi swallowed the growing lump in his throat wondering what had happened to his friend now, and how much more his injured body could tolerate. But one look at Morgan by Rossi told the man to calm down. Garcia took Morgan's hand in hers trying to calm the man.

It took a minute for the nurse to realize that the group in front of her misinterpreted her words. She smiled.

"I apologize for making you think the worst. Doctor Hochstein ordered a new CAT scan of Mr. Hotchner's head to see how he's healing," she further explained in a calm voice.

"So he's all right?" asked Prentiss nervously.

"As far as I know. Once the doctor sees the results, he will come and talk with you. Until then, you can all wait in the visitor's lounge. I'll be sure to tell him you're here."

"Thank you," Rossi said with a smile for the nurse. While he ran a hand over his hair, he looked at his teammates, and suggested they all take a seat and wait.

It was during lunch when Hochstein's pager went off. Quickly downing the remainder of his black coffee, he hurried to the nurses' station. A nurse behind the counter handed him a large manila envelope. Impatiently, he ripped open the envelope and carefully reviewed the films. A slow smile appeared on his face. The films showed the swelling under the fracture had gone down slightly, but would have to go down further before he could say his patient was out of the woods.

Having been informed that his patient's team had arrived and were waiting in the visitor's area, he headed there to greet them. The minute he walked into the room, he was immediately surrounded by the agents all looking concerned.

"How is he?" asked Morgan anxiously.

Hochstein eyed the six anxious faces in front of him before he continued. "Mr. Hotchner is fine," he said with a smile.

"Did the CAT scan show any marked improvement?" asked Reid sticking both his hands in the pockets of his trousers to hide his nervousness.

Hochstein studied the young agent. "Yes. The swelling has gone down a bit, but needs to go down completely before we can tell if he suffered any brain damage. It's just too early to tell."

There were gasps from JJ, Emily, and Garcia while Rossi, Morgan, and Reid were stunned. Just the thought of Hotch possibly suffering brain damage because of the beating was more than any of them could accept. But they promised they would be there for their fallen leader should the worst happen.

"How soon will you know?" interjected Morgan, glaring at the doctor. "C'mon, man. You're supposed to be the expert here. What does your experience and your gut tell you?"

"Honestly, Agent Morgan, there's simply no way to tell right now."

"But he's getting better?" asked Rossi, ignoring Morgan and struggling with this latest news.

"He is."

There was a small intake of breath from Garcia. "Can we see him?"

"Of course," Hochstein said sympathetically. "But remember only two of you at a time can visit. Now if you'll excuse me, I have other patients I need to check on."

Rossi smiled. "Of course. Thank you doctor."

Once the doctor was out of hearing range, the older man turned his attention on the black agent.

"Morgan, I know you're upset; we all are. But losing your temper with the doctor isn't helping matters any. You need to calm down and be positive right now. Aaron needs only positive vibes around him. So if you can't do that, then I suggest you go home and stay away while we visit. What's it gonna be?"

Morgan let out a deep breath. He knew Rossi was right. He needed to maintain control of his emotions. "I'll be okay, I promise. I want to be here. And I want Hotch to know I'm here."

Rossi nodded as a smile crossed his face. "Then let's go."

They soon found themselves approaching Hotch's room taking note of the two FBI Agents posted outside their Unit Chief's door as extra security. Rossi and Garcia produced their credentials. Once their credentials had been acknowledged, the duo was allowed to proceed. It had been decided that he and Garcia would visit first, while the others sat on a bench against the wall outside the room. The older man gripped the door handle and they paused just inside the doorway and stared at the man in the bed.

Aaron's physical appearance had improved to a degree. His complexion was still extremely pale which made the bruises on his face and upper torso more pronounced. He still wore casts on both arms, and a bandage across his nose. He was covered by a white sheet up to his waist and still had a bandage wrapped around his head.

Slowly, Rossi led the way further into the room. He moved a chair close beside his friend's bed and sat down on it. He reached out a hand and rested it on his friend's uninjured shoulder. Garcia had grabbed the one remaining chair and pulled it close to the bed on the opposite side. She put a hand on the hand with an IV needle in its back. To her his hand felt so cold. Her eyes were glued to her boss's face her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"Oh, sir. Please open your eyes. We need to see you open your eyes. Please."

Rossi felt tears prick his eyes as he stared at Hotch's battered face. If it wasn't for the bruising, he would have thought the man was asleep.

"I don't know if you can hear me, Aaron, but Garcia and I are here. JJ, Emily, Morgan and Reid are outside. Jack and Jessica send their love and will visit later." He paused and swallowed the lump in his throat as he felt wetness on his cheeks. But he struggled to continue. "You're my best friend, and one of the best men I know. I would give my life right now just to hear you tell me to shut up. You need to get well and come back to us. So wake up and get your lazy ass outta this bed."

It was early afternoon when the team sans Morgan, returned to the BAU. The drive back was somber as each was lost in his or her thoughts. Although they knew Hotch was getting better, seeing him so pale and unresponsive was still troubling. They didn't know what any of them would do if he never woke up at all.

But despite the seriousness of their boss's condition, they understood they still had work to do. So any thoughts of Hotch were shoved into the back of their minds as they set to work on trying to help Morgan.

Rossi checked his watch and noticed it was now one p.m. Reid, JJ and Emily were gathered in his office with the door closed. He had just finished explaining what had been learned from the cognitive interview with Morgan.

"You're telling us they called his mother?" Reid asked with wide eyes. He could only envision what the older woman he had met once was going through after being told this information. She would be frantic with worry.

"That they did," Rossi said from behind his desk. "Frankly, I think they purposely told Morgan this just to get under his skin. Bastards." He went on to explain what the IA agents had said.

"We have to clear him and soon," said Prentiss. "We can't allow this to continue."

"We will and we won't."

"So Morgan remembered feeling like he was being watched when he arrived at Hotch's the other night?" asked Reid. "And that Hotch was going to call you and have you come over?"

Rossi nodded. "That tells me whoever it was not only stalked Aaron, but saw Morgan arrive, and then saw him leave. I never received a call from Aaron, so my guess is that our UnSub attacked between the time Derek left but before Aaron could call me."

"Any idea why Hotch was going to have you come over?" asked Prentiss.

Rossi shrugged noncommittally. "No idea," he lied smoothly. "Best guess is Aaron probably needed somebody to talk to about the situation with Morgan and how best to handle it." He studied each member hoping they bought his explanation. They were well aware of the father-son relationship the two men had. And if Hotch needed anybody to talk to after work, it would be him, so the explanation was easy to believe.

"So what do we know so far…" he said looking at the others, waiting.

"We know the UnSub stalked his victims and learned their routines before he struck," Prentiss began.

"He's somebody who wouldn't raise alarms when he shows up at our victims' homes. Maybe a co-worker. He also tases his victims before he attacks in order to gain control over them," added Reid.

"He's confident and patient, and doesn't care if his victims are married or single," chimed in JJ.

"He uses mostly items available in the victims' houses in his attack but he does bring items with him as well," said Reid.

"And there were no signs of breaking and entering which proves that he was let into the homes by the victims," added Prentiss.

"And finally," concluded Rossi. "He did not call the police after the three murders, but he did after he attacked Aaron. He wanted Aaron found alive. We need to find out why and what part Morgan plays in this." He then checked the time. It was going on ten minutes past one. He looked at JJ. "You and Prentiss got everything ready for when Jack and Jessica arrive?" The blonde had told him about Flaxen's orders to have Jack come in for an interview.

JJ crossed her arms and studied the older man. "I still don't like this. I really don't. We have no idea what this will do to Jack even with Emily helping me make it easier on him."

"I know you don't. I don't like it either. But the alternative is far worse." He saw both women stare at him. "Strauss could have Jack questioned by IA without you or Emily there, and that could be disastrous for him."

Both women glanced at each other, agreeing. Then JJ addressed the brunette.

"We better check one last time and make sure we have everything we need before Jack and his aunt get here."

"Right," Emily concurred as the two women got to their feet and left the conference room leaving Reid and Rossi alone. The older man studied the young genius.

"Did Garcia find anything in the backgrounds of our three murder victims yet?" he asked needing to distract himself.

The moment they arrived at the conference room to be used, Emily and JJ rechecked to make sure nothing had been overlooked. Neither woman was looking forward to this, but both knew they had no say in the matter. To refuse would cause more problems than the team could afford right now.

Seeing they still had about forty minutes before the interview took place, JJ wished it was over and done with, mainly for Jack's sake. She knew how she would feel if her son, Henry, had been put in this position. And she could only imagine if Hotch was here how he would feel having his son subjected to this.

Emily looked at the blonde and could tell from the expression on her face that she was thinking now as a mother instead of an agent about to conduct an interview.

"What if Mason and Flaxen don't agree to let me take part in Jack's interview?" she asked.

"I'll stick to my guns and call the whole thing off," said the blonde. "Besides, if they want to talk to Jack that badly, they'll have to agree with me or else."

"Aren't you afraid they could cause trouble for you with Strauss?"

"I wouldn't worry about it, Em. Strauss is a mother as well. I'll just remind her how she would feel if it was one of her own children being questioned instead."

"If you say so," Prentiss answered as the corners of her mouth curled upward. But she kept any other concerns to herself.