Hotch woke the next morning to the sound of Allison humming and Prentiss and Rossi talking amongst themselves. He blinked and let out a yawn, which caught the attention of all three of them. Allison smiled and said, "Morning, sleepyhead."
"What time is it?" Hotch mumbled. He could see sunlight dripping through the window shades, having him guess it to be morning or noon.
"8:45 AM. You slept like a champ." Prentiss and Rossi smiled at him and Rossi said, "JJ, Garcia, and Reid were here about twenty minutes ago. They left to get to work early…which speaking of, we need to go."
"Morgan?"
"I didn't see him," Rossi said with a sigh, "I've been here since 8."
"He came at 7:15 and left about 7:45 this morning," Allison said. She expected some form of emotional response, but only found impassive looks on both profilers' faces. To Allison, Hotch's expression showed confusion, disappointment, and anger all at the same time.-Come on guys. It's something! She thought.
"Oh, well- at least he came," Prentiss answered, her voice filled with annoyance. She threw her bag over her shoulder and said in a joking, but sad manner, "Stay out of trouble. Just because we're back to work, doesn't mean we won't be here for you."
Hotch nodded and mumbled, "Ok."
Allison smiled and crossed her arms. "I'll watch him like a hawk. Scout's honor."
"That's all we ask."
FBI Office
"First day back," Rossi muttered as he unlocked the door to his office. He planned on spending the morning catching up on his work before swinging by the hospital with Prentiss and JJ during lunch. He pushed open the door, but heard "Agent Rossi!" before he could step into the room.
He turned to see Strauss standing next to a short gentleman, who Rossi recognized to be Agent Daniel Camen, one of the eldest agents in the bureau. "I need you and your team in the conference room as soon as possible."
"Not even five minutes, Erin?" Rossi asked, earning a glare from the Section Chief. He watched Strauss and Camen enter the conference room and turned to the bull pen where he yelled, "Guys!"
Prentiss and Reid looked from their desk in confusion. "Gather the team, "he directed and headed to the conference room.
-5 Minutes later-
"First, I would like to say welcome back," Strauss stated as the team stood in a corner of the room. There were five younger agents sitting where the team usually sat in the conference room.
"Secondly, I brought you here to tell you that for awhile, Agent Camen will be running bought the A and the B team."
"What?" Morgan exclaimed, "….ma' am."
"I think the team needs leadership from someone outside of your group. Until I find someone, Agent Camen will run both teams. So for the case in Wyoming that you will all head to today, both of the teams will go. Play nice and good luck in Wyoming." Strauss briskly left the room before anyone could say anything.
That has got to be a record for stupidity for Erin, Rossi thought. Agent Camen coughed to get all eleven individuals' attention.
"I would like to say welcome back for the A squad. I hope medical leave went well?"
JJ looked at Camen with a confused look, "I guess…."
"Excellent. Now, we all are on the same level here and I hope that we can work together until you all get a new Unit Chief."
"Or one that doesn't go crazy," sniped one of the agents sitting at the table. Morgan took a step forward to defend Hotch, but Rossi out a hand in front of him to stop him. "It's not worth it."
Camen ignored the agent's comment and said, "B team- go get ready for the flight; I need to speak with the A team."
Once the other team left, Camen turned to the A team. "I've heard a lot about all of you- breaking rules-"
"We didn't break any rules- "Garcia said.
"It's sir on my team. Here are the rules- we follow order on my teams. Miss Garcia, no inappropriate conversation or dress, Agents Prentiss and Jareau- I don't want to hear anything about your own personal lives. Agent Morgan- you pull one stupid stunt and you are off this team, and Agent Rossi- you need to understand that I am in charge and that you are on the same level with the rest of the team. And no nicknames between all of you- that especially goes for you, Miss Garcia. It's these things that made your team fall apart in the first place- you all are too close for a team. So, until you get a strong, efficient leader, you will follow my rules. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, sir," the team replied, exchanging nervous and annoyed glances amongst themselves.
"Good, now here's how this team will function. Everyone will work on a certain aspect- Victomology will be done by Agents Rossi and Jareau. Interviews with families will be done by Agents Prentiss and Morgan. Agent Reid will work on geographic profiles and any technical information. Everything else will be done by me. Also, my team will take point on this and future cases until I deem you all strong enough to function on your own. Plane leaves in an hour. Go."
This is going to be interesting, Rossi thought as he watched his team mates scatter.
Quantico Medical Center
"Now take a deep breath for me, Aaron," Miles commanded as he placed a stethoscope on Hotch's back. Hotch attempted to take a breath, but only let out a heavy cough. Miles took off the stethoscope and said, "Lungs are still pretty weak. Aaron, you're still pretty sick, but today I want to get some food in you. Just a little and it's going to be rough especially since you stopped eating regularly- what was it, two months ago?"
Hotch only gave Miles a blank look before saying, "Two and a half."
"OK- two and a half months. One of the nurses will bring you up a small bowl of broth and we'll start from there. Ok?"
Again, Hotch paused before answering quietly, "Ok."
Allison watched Miles leave before turning to Hotch and said, "By the way, you will be eating it- if I have to force it down your throat, I will."
Hotch turned his head away from her causing her to ask, "Earlier, why did you ask about if Morgan came to visit?"
"I don't know," Hotch mumbled. Allison stepped by his bed and asked, "Are you….wanting to talk to him?"
"No."
"So I guess that means that you are still mad, huh?"
"I don't want to talk about it." Allison opened her mouth to respond, but stopped at the sight of a nurse in yellow scrubs bringing in a tray of broth and a small cup of water. Allison said to the nurse, "I'll take care of it."
"Are you sure, ma am?"
"Yep- I can take care of it."
"Ok." The nurse quickly left, leaving Hotch and Allison alone. Allison picked up the spoon from the tray and dipped it into the bowl. "Aaron," she responded, motioning to take a sip. He only shimmied away from her, nearly falling out of the bed. Allison grabbed his arm and glared at him.
"Aaron, take a sip."
"No."
"Aaron, you really want me to force feed you?"
"Allison, don't- just-"
"I'll call Jack for you." Hotch stopped fidgeting and stared at Allison in shock. "You're serious?"
"I'm super serious- you take….five super sips and I'll call your son and allow you to talk to him. It's either that or you wait till later and get a shorter phone call under Jessica's watchful eye."
-I have to talk to him. "Ok," Hotch said with a sigh. He sat up as far as he could and put out a trembling hand towards the bowl. Allison grinned and held the spoonful of room temperature broth in front of him.
Hotch took a sip and instantly grimaced- his sore throat did not deal well with the soup. Allison laughed and said, "You remind me of my son when he's trying something new!"
Hotch coughed and gasped, "That was- that was one. Another."
"Alright, mister. Time for number two- here comes the airplane-"
"Don't." Hotch took another sip, this time tolerating the broth a little better.
"That's two." She dipped the spoon once again and Hotch sipped it almost instantly. Within a minute, Hotch finished five sips. His eyes quickly traveled over to Allison's purse when she immediately said, "Wow, slow down there. I'm going- I'm calling."
She picked up her small silver cell phone and dialed Jessica's number. Hotch let out a few coughs as Allison spoke to Jessica and suddenly said, "Hey, Jack. Do you remember me? I'm Miss Allison- I'm making your Daddy a superhero again. Do you want to speak to him?"
She turned to Hotch and said on the phone, "Alright, here he is." She placed the phone next to Hotch's ear. He took a small breath and answered, "Hello?"
"Hi, Daddy," Jack answered. Hotch placed his hand over Allison's hand over the phone. "Hey, buddy," he answered, his voice slightly stronger.
"Are you better yet?"
A tear rolled down Hotch's cheek. "No, not yet, buddy."
"OK, Daddy. When you come home, are you gonna be able to fly? Auntie Jessica said that you is gonna get new powers!"
Tears were now running down Hotch's face. "I hope so buddy; I really do."
"I hope so too- if you could fly, you could catch bad guys faster! Daddy, what kind of super heroes are there at the superhero hospital you're at?"
Hotch wiped his face and said in a shaky voice, "So many, Jack. How about you name one and I'll tell you if they are here?"
"Ok-is Batman there?"
On the other side of the room, Allison sat down in the chair and pulled out a Vogue magazine, leaving father and son to reconnect.
Flight to Cheyenne, Wyoming
"We have twelve dead bodies in Cheyenne, boys and girls," Camen said as the jet ascended into the air. Rossi bit his lip and thought, I've known him for an hour and I already truly hate this man.
Camen turned to his group of agents and asked, "Theories, anyone?"
The smallest agent of the B squad- a small Asian female- piped, " The unsub is burning them is public places- it reminds me of some of the acts of terrorist groups-"
"You think this is a terrorist?" Rossi blurted out. Camen turned and glared at him. " Agent Rossi, do not speak out of turn." Rossi muttered, "Yes, sir," in response and sat back in the chair. Camen turned to the young agent and said, " Continue."
"Like I was saying, sir, it mirrored the act of a terrorist group. We should look into any groups on the area that have the possibility of becoming violent. Also, all the victims were young adults, age 19-25: the unsub could be holding a vendetta against that age group- we need to look into any grudges in the area."
In a town on 60,000, it could be an array of things, Rossi thought. The jet leveled causing all eleven agents to settle in their seats. As the young agent continued to talk, JJ looked back behind her to see Reid staring aimlessly out the window. She quickly glanced over to Camen and his agent cautiously before quickly unbuckling her seatbelt and darting over to Reid's side.
"You alright, Spence?" she asked quietly, hoping not to draw Camen's attention. He shrugged and answered, " I guess- I just feel weird leaving Hotch. I keep feeling like-"
"We're going to get another phone call that he actually tried again and succeeded? Yeah- everyone is worried about that. But Spence, Hotch would want you to be focused on the case and less about him."
"But JJ," Reid whispered, " I feel like he's going to-"
"Agent Jareau! Agent Reid! Is there something that you want to share with the rest of us?" both agents suddenly heard, causing them both to nearly jump out of their seats. Camen smiled maliciously, expecting both agents to make a fool out of themselves. Reid looked to his team mates then answered, " The fact that they were burned in public isn't necessarily terrorism. In the days of medieval times, burning someone alive in public places was also done as a form of punishment. Some historians say…."
As Reid continued to rant, his team members sat back and enjoyed Camen's cocky expression turn into horror. The Agent snapped after a minute, " I get your point, Agent Reid. Enough!"
He turned back to his agents and began to discuss the case.
Rossi took the opportunity to walk over by and sit next to JJ and Reid. He said in a low voice, " When the jet lands and Camen's team goes off, we will run through the case by ourselves and see if there is something that we can come up with."
Prentiss, who was sitting in front of JJ, turned and whispered, " Even if we do find something, Camen won't take it from us."
"Well then, let's review it as if Hotch were here." The seatbelt sign suddenly turned on, prompting Morgan and JJ to return to their seats. Rossi stayed back and said to Reid, " Spencer, I'm sorry about any bad behavior of mine towards to you since San Francisco."
Reid hesitated before saying, " It's ok- I'm sorry if I was a pest."
"You were never and never have or will be a pest, Spencer Reid. You may rant, but even that," Rossi pointed over to Camen, who still appeared to be annoyed with Reid's comments, "is a skill that when used at the right time is brilliant."