A/N: I am on a roll and loving it! I just hope it continues. Only X and Y are as yet unnamed though I have a vague idea of what to do with Y so maybe X will be my only issue. I'll see what happens. As to this one, I only got the idea as I was finishing up with Teresa and it was totally different in my head when I wrote out my little synopsis for it. Then I went for a walk and the whole thing changed to what you see below.
Thanks to babygurl0506 who reviewed Teresa within an hour of my posting it. You'll definitely get to know her better in my coming pieces.
This one would be rated D for Danger if there were such a rating but as there isn't, I'm rating this one T for a little bit of language and a lot of suspense.
Up and Away
Agent Patrick Warner took a deep breath and prayed he'd live to see another day. With the message he had to deliver, he wasn't at all sure that was even a possibility. After knocking briefly (and wondering why he'd even bothered since he didn't wait for an invitation) he opened the door in front of him and stepped into the room with an apologetic look at Chief Strauss, who shot him a look that would have crisped him if that was even possible. Her voice, when she spoke, would have frozen him again if it were even possible.
"Agent Warner, did I or did I not, make it very, very clear that this was a closed meeting; uninterruptible for any reason?"
"You did make it completely clear Mam but I'm afraid the message I have couldn't wait another hour."
Strauss frowned at him and he gulped audibly but he stood his ground because though the woman could fire him, there were four agents in this room who would rip him to shreds if the message didn't make it to them in time and one of them was pregnant. Having five sisters, all of whom had at least one child, he knew better than to mess with a pregnant woman, particularly one who was already a mother.
She sighed angrily and threw down her pen as she gestured him to speak.
He turned away from her and with another deep, fortifying breath he began to relay the message.
"This message has been passed on through me from Sergeant Wilkins who witnessed the incident at hand while waiting for his family's turn to take a hot air balloon ride at the carnival in town.
"While waiting for his turn, he watched the operator in charge of the air balloon ride turn away a bunch of drunk teenagers, refusing to take them up because it was dangerous for them in their condition. They walked off swearing at him and he turned to load up the balloon for the next ride. Carrie Whitman and Jess and Mitch Stephen's stayed on the ground and Agent Jordan Todd boarded the basket to ride with the children as supervisor. The ride went off without a hitch and the balloon returned to the ground to be unloaded. The operator stepped out of the balloon to secure the ropes to pegs planted in the ground when he was rushed by the drunk teens."
Patrick took another breath, sent up another prayer and pushed on. "Somehow the balloon started to rise again and one of the boys knocked it off balance. Agent Todd fell out the open gate and fell 2 and a half meters to land on Mitch Stephen's who lunged to catch her. He has a concussion and has been sent to hospital in an unconscious state. Agent Todd has a sprained ankle and a possible fractured rib but refused medical treatment in order to stay on site.
"Unfortunately no one thought to try to grab the ropes trailing off the basket until it was too late. The following from oldest to youngest are currently unsupervised in a rapidly rising and moving hot air balloon; Daniel and Sean Stephen's, Toby Whitman, Jack Hotchner, Henry LaMontagne and Ben Todd-Morgan."
For a moment no one moved or breathed. Then suddenly Derek was out the door with JJ right behind him. Aaron stopped only long enough to help Emily to her feet and then they were following and the rest of the team were right behind them.
The trip down in the lift was interminable but when they reached the parking lot, they found two vehicles already running and waiting for them.
"I took the liberty of getting the cars ready knowing you'd all be going. Someone will phone shortly to update you on what is going on with the balloon."
"Thanks for interrupting the meeting," Dave murmured as he closed the passenger side door after helping Emily get settled.
"Not a problem. I'd rather be fired than dead."
"Smart man."
New Section-
Daniel Stephen's finally got the gate latched closed and gulped as he looked down at the ground falling rapidly away from them. He kept thinking of his mother's shouted, "Remember to stay calm" as they'd risen away from the carnival and the adults trying to bring them down. It was one thing to hear his mother say it; it was going to be a completely different matter to follow this instruction as he turned his ten-year-old body to face the rest of the boys in the basket with him and assess the situation as his uncle Aaron would do.
Jack held baby Ben close and had wrapped him back up in the blanket he'd half come out of when his mother shoved him at them when she knew she was going to fall. Toby and Sean looked terrified but they'd wedged themselves in on either side of little Henry who was crying quietly and were trying to comfort the boy.
He looked around the basket and noted the radio the man had used while they were in the air was in another corner where it had obviously fallen. Looking up, he noticed the flame pushing air into the balloon was huge and continuously running and he wondered if that was a good or bad thing as he picked up the radio and tried to figure out if it was working.
New Section-
JJ shrieked just slightly as her phone went off in the tense silence blanketing the car and after hitting the answer key and putting the phone to her ear, she took the hand Dave held out and clung to it as her husband's anxious voice came over the line.
"Sugar where are you?"
"We're on our way to the carnival. Where's the balloon?"
"On the way out towards the ocean. Marines are already scrambling to get boats out under them and are keepin' pace. I'm on a boat at the jetty and we're just waitin' for all of you before we go."
"Hotch, go towards the jetty. The balloon's heading out over the ocean."
"I wondered why the car behind us changed routes all of a sudden," he muttered as he shot the car briefly into the middle of oncoming traffic before shifting them back into the right lane.
"Sugar, he'll be alright. They'll all be alright."
"What did the operator say about getting them down?"
"We don't know what he would have said. He was rushed to the hospital with his skull split open after the teenagers got through with him. Another expert has just arrived to assist in the rescue but doesn't as yet know anythin' useful."
She let out a short shriek as the car nearly tipped over when Hotch wrenched the wheel hard to avoid slamming into Derek's car as they entered the gates to the jetty at the same time. Both cars righted unscathed and the passengers were left to pull themselves back together as the two men drove with single minded intensity towards the group of people obviously waiting for them.
She rescued her phone, assured her husband she was alive and hung up. A minute later they were rushed onto the large cruiser and the boat started to power away from the jetty.
Emily took the hand of the Marine who held a life jacket out to her and allowed him to help her to a seat before he settled the jacket around her and did it up securely. The tightness in her back was increasing with every second and the ripples across her abdomen were causing her concern; but not enough to even think of abandoning Jack when he might need her.
She looked around for Aaron and spotted him with the captain of the vessel and two other men. Jordan was sobbing on Derek's shoulder, JJ was similarly situated in Will's arms and Carrie sat nearby with her hand in a death grip with Jess. Dave and Reid came to sit with her and Kelly stayed with Garcia who was rapidly typing on her laptop and appeared to be the only reason the blonde hadn't already fallen off her seat as the boat picked up speed and turned quickly out towards open water.
When Aaron descended a few minutes later, he easily had everyone's full attention.
"One of the zodiacs keeping pace with the balloon noticed the nozzle for the gas on full. The expert we have on board to assist with the rescue thinks it won't be too long before the balloon starts to descend because the gas will be used up pretty quickly. Unfortunately there is also the chance that rather than slowly run out, the gas could just suddenly shut off and a strong gust of wind might knock the basket about enough to toss it to the water roughly which means they'll hit pretty hard."
Jordan started to hyperventilate slightly as Derek bit out tightly, "Ben's only two months old. How are they expecting him to swim?"
"They aren't. The hope is that one of the boys will be able to keep hold of him as they land and get them both out of the basket and to one of the waiting zodiacs before anything major goes wrong."
There were several cries of alarm at that plan and more than a few angry shouts before a Marine rushed up with a radio.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I've got someone here who needs to talk to you." He depressed a switch on the radio and said, "Go ahead son."
"Hello?"
Jess lunged for the radio. "Daniel? Baby it's mummy. Are you alright?"
Daniel's voice trembled but it didn't sound like he was crying and he certainly didn't appear to be panicking either. "Mummy I'm okay and Sean's okay too. Henry's crying and we're all scared but we're all okay too. Mummy, we don't like it up here and we want to get down."
Aaron rubbed Jess's back as she reassured her son that he was doing a great job and watched Emily as she hissed in air and pressed a hand to her abdomen under the vest she wore. He sent up a quick prayer that it wasn't what he thought it was and moved to her side as Carrie got on the radio to talk to Toby.
"Em, honey are you alright?"
She nodded despite the pinched look on her face. "I'm fine Aaron, really. The baby's just kicking a little harder than normal."
He felt relief rush through him as he placed a hand over hers. "Are you sure that's all it is?"
She nodded. "Just get me the radio so we can talk to Jack and reassure him that we'll be here waiting for him when he comes down."
He turned to see where the radio was but rapidly turned back as Emily swore behind him.
"Shiiiit," she drew out with feeling.
He went to his knees in front of her, cradling her body with his own until her eyes opened to look at him.
"It's too early," she whispered softly.
He leaned in and kissed her forehead, wondering what else could go wrong when the radio JJ was holding crackled to life with a bunch of screams that were abruptly cut off. A moments panicked silence was interrupted by an adult voice stating clearly, "The balloon is in the water, I repeat the balloon is in the water. Teams 1, 2 and 3 moving in for rapid assist and rescue."
Coordinates came through the radio and the boat lurched forward and picked up speed.
"I hope someone has the little shitheads who started this whole disaster rolling so I can beat them to a bloody pulp for this," Derek growled as Jordan sobbed in his arms.
"Get in line," JJ muttered darkly as she clung to Will's hand and strained to see as far ahead as she could.
Emily clung to Aaron and did her best to remember to breathe through the pain crippling her thought processes and trying to tear her body apart.
"Is she alright?" Jess asked as her attention was caught by the near silent Hotchner's crouched near where she sat. Everyone turned to look at them as Aaron shook his head.
"She's in labour," he reported roughly as her arms tightened around him and her breathing sped up. "If the breathing is any indication, she's had three contractions in the last five minutes."
A round of swearing was interrupted by the same male voice from before. "Please be advised all 6 children have been rescued and are alive. Please advise of ETA for handoff?"
The Marine who had brought the radio retrieved it and moved away as everyone cheered.
Emily took a slow deep breath and felt her anxious body start to relax. Her son was alright; now she just had to make sure her daughter would be too.
Five minutes later, they caught up to the forward teams and the children were lifted into the larger boat and the waiting arms of their parents. Emily had sent Aaron off to be there when Jack came on board and he'd gone only because one of the on-board medics had arrived to shift her into one of the downstairs rooms so that he could examine her. By the time her two men arrived, the Marine looked a lot less harried than he had been when he first started to examine her after mentioning he'd never delivered a baby before.
Aaron set a blanket-wrapped, shivering boy on the bed beside her and she immediately reached out to cuddle him close. Jack had been fine until his dad had held him and then he'd started to shake uncontrollably. But the minute his mother's arms wrapped around him he burst into tears and buried his face in her shoulder.
Aaron watched this anxiously as he asked after Emily.
"I'm not an actual doctor and I obviously don't have the right equipment around me, but I'm almost completely certain that she's just suffering from Braxton Hicks contractions. She isn't in the least dilated and the baby's heart rate is strong and sure, not to mention the fact that she hasn't entered the birth canal yet. Her doctor may want to monitor her for the night but I doubt you'll be meeting your daughter anytime this week."
Aaron shook hands with the man, his relief palpable as he watched the medic gently coax Jack upright on the bed so he could take a look at him. Emily continued to hold his hand and murmur softly to him but the look she shot him was pure relief and he grinned in reply to the smile she shot him.
New Section-
Several hours later, Aaron shifted slightly in his chair and arched his back carefully, trying not to dislodge the child asleep in his arms as he watched Emily sleep in the hospital bed. The Marine medic had been correct in his assessment much to everyone's relief but her doctor had still insisted on keeping her in overnight for observation. Listening to his two ladies' heartbeats was more comforting than he could adequately put into words as his son snored ever so softly where he was draped over his father and wrapped in a blanket.
All of the boys had been given the all clear to go home except for Ben, who was being kept in hospital under close observation simply because of his age and his anxious parents requests. Carrie had taken Toby home and after being told that Mitch would be alright, Jess had been coaxed into taking Daniel and Sean home also. Will had left with a sleeping Henry and a drooping JJ and the rest of the team had disbanded to their own homes.
He looked up at a noise in the door and gestured Derek into the room. For several minutes they both just watched Emily sleep.
"How is she?"
"She's fine. They both are; this is just a precaution. How are Ben and Jordan?"
"Jordan is finally asleep in the bed provided for her beside Ben's cot and Ben appears to be fine. The story I heard is that Jack went into the water with his body curled around my son and refused to let him go until they were both in the zodiac. The Marine's have titled him the little hero and I think I was half hoping he'd be awake so I could thank him for saving Ben's life."
Aaron nodded. "So I heard but unfortunately your thanks will need to wait until morning. When I asked why he did it, he just shrugged and said if it wasn't him it would have been one of the other boys as if it didn't really matter; they simply did what needed doing in the moment."
He sighed and nodded slightly. "I'm going to return to Jordan so she doesn't worry if I'm not there when she wakes. I just wanted to make sure you were all alright."
Aaron nodded and wished him a soft goodnight as the other man left. He shuddered slightly to think how much worse the day could have ended and was glad that though the boys were slightly traumatised and clingy, they appeared no worse for wear for their impromptu flight, fall and swim.
The operator of the balloon was going to be alright eventually but was going to be in the hospital for at least a couple of weeks while he recovered from his severe head trauma. The teens were all being charged for the attack and would most likely see jail time for their actions.
Aaron made a mental note to teach his son better behaviour than those boys had shown that day and tried again to get comfortable as he settled in to his all-night vigil over his precious family, reminding himself again that in the end, all was well and tomorrow was another day to treasure what he held most important in his heart.
End-
A/N: I wasn't entirely sure how that one was going to end but I knew what I was doing for the next piece so I thought I'd better leave it on a good note. As the next piece is half written already anyway, I'm going to see if I can get it out tonight and make it three in a day. If not, you'll definitely get it tomorrow morning.
Stay tuned for the next piece; V is for…
As always I love reviews, so please feel free to let me know what you think.