Description: Hotch recieves some bad news on Jack.
Disclaimer: I own Brenda and the doctors in this chapter. Nothing else is mine.
"I promise you I will learn from my mistakes." Coldplay (Fix You)
It is the following morning and Hotch is about to leave for work when the phone rings.
"Hello?" He asked as he answered the phone.
"Aaron, you need to get to St. James Hospital right away. Jack's been hurt." Brenda frantically said on the other end of the phone.
"Wait, what do you mean he's been hurt? Is he okay?" Hotch asked, worried.
"I'll explain everything to you when you get to the hospital." Brenda said as she hung up the phone.
Before Hotch left, he dialed a number on his cell phone. He waited for an answer.
"Hello?" A voice asked.
"Dave, it's me. I need you to tell Strauss that I can't come to work today. Something happened to Jack. He's in St. James Hospital." Hotch said.
"What happened?" Rossi asked, worried.
"I don't know. Brenda said that she'll tell me when I get to the hospital."
"I hope Jack's okay." Rossi said.
Two hours later…
Hotch has arrived at the hospital and he is talking to Brenda.
"What happened to Jack?" Hotch asked.
"This morning when I was cooking breakfast for the kids, I noticed that Jack and Tristian wasn't at the table. I checked both of their rooms and they weren't there. About twenty minutes later, two police officers show up. They told me that they found Tristian and Jack in an abandoned grocery store. They had both been stabbed. Tristian's was self inflicted. It was too late for him."
"Why would Tristian stab Jack?" Hotch asked, not realizing that Brenda had been lying to him.
"Aaron, do you remember the day you took Jack to the carnival and he had a black eye?" Brenda asked.
"Yeah he told me that he ran into the door." Hotch said.
"That isn't what happened. Tristian had been abusing Jack. Tristian is, I mean was a troubled teen. I would have called the police, but I guess I was just protecting my own child. I'm sorry Aaron. I just hope it's not too late for Jack" Brenda said.
"I'd like to see my son. Do you know where he is?"
"He's in room 215. I haven't gone in there or asked about his condition because I believe you should be the one to receive the information first."
"Thank you." Hotch said.
"You're welcome. I'm going to make a few phone calls. I decided to keep the kids out of school today." Brenda said.
Fifteen minutes later…
Hotch is sitting beside Jack's bedside. He is in a coma. The battered and lifeless child looks nothing like Jack. He is covered in cuts and bruises. The area where he was stabbed is stitched up. There are also a few stitches in his chest, where he had fallen on the glass plate. Hotch picks up Jack's hand and begins to talk to him.
"Jack, you really need to wake up. I'm so sorry this happened to you. I'd give anything in the world to trade places with you right now."
"We all would." Rossi said.
Hotch turns around and see's his six team members standing in the doorway.
"When did you all get here?" Hotch asked.
"About five minutes ago. Mind if we come in?" Rossi asked.
"No, I don't mind. Come on in. Does Strauss know you all are here?" Hotch asked as his team stepped into the room.
"After you called me, I talked to Strauss and told her about Jack. She insisted that we be here with you. The case we were supposed to be working was given to another team of profilers." Rossi explained.
"You guys really don't have to be here." Hotch said.
"Hotch, we're a family. We're not going to let you go through this alone." Prentiss said.
"Thank you." Hotch said.
"Do you know who did this to him?" Morgan asked about Jack.
"Brenda told me that if was her fifteen year old son, Tristian. He had been abusing Jack. After he stabbed Jack, he stabbed himself to death." Hotch said.
At that moment, Jack flat lines and everyone begins to panic.
"Oh my God. What's happening to him?" A scared Garcia asked.
"We need some help in here!" JJ and Reid shouted.
A group of doctors rush in and immediately begin to work on Jack.
"You all are going to have to leave. We can't be distracted." One doctor said to the team. The seven profilers did as they were told and quickly rushed out of the room.
"We're losing him!" A doctor shouted.
End of chapter twenty one. Please review. Chapter twenty two will be up soon.