- BAU HEADQUARTERS -

Aaron wondered whether the team knew that he had been on holiday with Reid. Penelope cast him a curious look as he entered the meeting room but she didn't ask any questions. Of course, he thought, she has access to all our holiday addresses! He hadn't thought of this before. It was likely she had realised that his and Spencer's address was exactly the same. Although, he silently hoped, it was also possible she hadn't even looked at the information, or that she was too concerned with coping with Emily's death to spot the resemblance.

"We've got two bodies in Birmingham, Alabama.", Penelope started the briefing. "They've been identified as Carter Blake, 29, from Dallas, and Henry Rathfield, 25, a tourist from Cambridge, England. As far as we know they weren't acquainted." While she spoke she used the laser pointer to indicate the respective pictures. Both men were rather handsome but they had ugly red and blue marks on their throats. Someone had strangled them.

"It seems the murderer chose the victims at random, although he seems to have a type.", Morgan remarked.

Penelope went on, "Both men were found on a rubbish dump. They were both abducted from their hotel rooms in Birmingham, tortured and before they died they were forced to make a phone call. Blake called his mother, and Henry his girlfriend."

"Do we know anything about these phone calls? Have they been recorded?", Hotch interrupted.

"Here's the thing. Strangely enough the unsub was taping the torturing and the calls. What he did was televised live into the police station and as soon as the police realised what was going on they started recording it. That's why we know exactly what happened to them. They had to read out a written note from the murderer when they called their loved ones."

"He's playing with the police!", Rossi said. "It seems to please him that we know what he does while we have to watch helplessly. Can the signals be traced back?"

"I'm afraid not. It can only be done when the unsub is transmitting his film and with all respect, the Birmingham police force does not have a Penelope Garcia in their team."

"Have we identified the unsub yet?", Hotch asked.

"No, he's wearing a mask when he tortures the victims. He does have a local accent though.", Penelope replied.

"Well, I think we can discuss the rest of the case on our way.", Aaron concluded the discussion.

- PLANE -

A while after they had considered possible assumptions about their case Hotch's hopes of nobody knowing about his holiday with his lover were abated. Morgan came toward him in a quiet moment and said, "I heard you've been to France."

"Um. Yes, I was. Paris and Cannes, it was very nice and sunny. Jack loved it."

"Sounds great. I wondered... It's just... Why did you go with Reid?"

He shrugged, hoping to look casual and calm. "Oh you know, it was a spur of the moment decision to ask him, really. I knew that he's got no one and I kind of didn't want him to be all alone for a month. Not after what happened with Emily." He thought that this sounded like a normal thing to do. "And I do remember you've been on holiday with a friend from work, too.", he added with a smile.

"Well, I was, but that was Elle. Who wants to go on a holiday with Reid? I bet he was in museums all day, reading books in French and lecturing forever on local history."

Hotch forced a smile. "It wasn't that bad, really. As you can see he got tanned which proves he was on the beach as well. And he found someone who is interested in the same TV series as he is: Jack."

Morgan chuckled. "So you didn't get the full blast then."

"Nope.", Hotch replied tersely. He didn't like the way Derek spoke about Spencer. They were supposed to be friends after all!

Their conversation was interrupted by Penelope calling out before he could express his anger though. She had received the recordings of the unsub's self made movies. As he was watching them he kept wondering what the other team members thought of him. Did anyone suspect him? Penelope might well do so but had she told anyone?

- HOTEL (BIRMINGHAM) -

Due to the jetlag they both lay awake for quite a while that night in Reid's hotel room. Hotch was crushed tightly against Spencer, feeling the other man's heart beat slowly against his chest. His hand was affectionately but absentmindedly stroking the delicate skin of the side of his lover's neck which he was so utterly obsessed with.

Both were pondering on their respective sorrows. Aaron asked himself whether he should have been more careful with their holiday. It worried him that someone might have found out about him and Reid. It made him feel uneasy and tried to think of something else. For a while he was contemplating whether he should leave now so no one was able see him leave in the morning. Then his mind was cast back to his lover's fear of being schizophrenic. He tried to figure out a way to put his beloved out of his misery but it was to no avail. Was Spencer really being drawn into that dark and fearful place? It made him feel sick not being able to help him. Panic closed its ice-cold hand around his heart. In the last few weeks he had sometimes woken up from nightmares in the middle of the night, being drenched in sweat and feeling just as afraid as he was now. Then he would hold his sleeping lover, like a teddy bear, but a living one, that was important, because he'd lay his head on Spencer's chest to feel his heart beat. In these moments that steady, reassuring sound was the only thing that was able to calm him down again.

Meanwhile Spencer wondered why his lover was so keen on keeping their relationship a secret. They obviously were mad about each other and yet Aaron seemed to fear his friends' scorn. Did love scare him? Why was he so anxious about hiding what was supposed to be the most beautiful thing in the world?

Hotch sighed and closed his eyes. Perhaps the best thing he could do was just to be there for his lover, being the person he could talk to, and someone who took his mind off his problems for a while. He looked at Reid, who had his eyes open but appeared lost in thought, probably very clever thought though, and smiled, for whenever he saw Spencer he felt the urgent need to smile. The mere sight of the young agent created a bubble of joy inside his chest which he had to forcibly suppress every time they were in company.

The young man stirred as he noticed his lover's steadfast gaze, and looked him in the eyes. "Hey, still not sleeping?", he smiled.

"I'm not tired.", Hotch answered with such a fond expression Spencer had never seen before.

"Me neither. That's probably because at home it's only eleven p.m."

Aaron began placing tender kisses all over his lover's face.

"Honey..."

"Hm?", he growled into Reid's temple, breathing in his smell.

"We really should try to sleep."

"I'm – just – kissing – you.", he murmured as he moved towards the corner of Spencer's mouth.

"Which will, eventually, lead to us having sex. You know that exactly!"

His lips wandered down the throat. "Don't – be so – sure – about – that..."

"Aaron, you're a sex addict!"

He stopped kissing his lover's shoulder and fixed his gaze on his eyes instead. "What?"

"You are, and you know it!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Well, maybe you're right. I haven't heard you complaining about it so far though!"

"Oh, I'm not complaining!"

"Good!" He put his hand on the shoulder he just had kissed and pressed his lover on his back, to be able to roll onto him. He was hovering above Spencer, propped up on his elbows, his face only a mere inch from the young man's. "Cause I want you! Right now! If that's all right with you..."

"Yeah, sure... It's just that we'll be wasted tomorrow if we're doing it now..."

"Sh!" He silenced his boyfriend by kissing him fiercely.

"SSA Aaron Hotchner should be thinking of his work, at least sometimes..."

He smiled. "He does that often enough! Besides, SSA means 'Sex-with-Spencer-Addict'. At least when it comes to me!"

Reid snorted with laughter.