QUICK NOTE: To the Guest reviewer who asked if Hale will end up with a team member...I have yet to make any solid, 100% decisions, although I have a plan in my mind. What are your opinions? If you think she should, then with who? If you think she shouldn't, then who should she be with (because let's face it, a girl like Hale needs someone eventually :P) I'd really love some genuine feedback on this! Thanks!

CHAPTER 21: A BUMP ON THE HEAD (HOTCH)

In the year she'd been with us, Hale had been a one hundred percent invaluable agent. Ever since she'd proven her strength on the Larry Miller case, she'd helped us put many other unsubs away. She'd been a force of nature, taking down men twice her size.

And to see her on her hands and knees because of some wasted ex-boyfriend made me furious.

First, when he came up behind her in the bar, I knew things would go south. When she jumped at his touch, I was immediately taken back to Jarrod Harris, and in that moment I almost moved to my spare Glock hidden at my ankle. But then, after a terse exchanging of words, they went outside.

"I don't like him," Morgan said, watching him go.

"I don't know," Garcia remarked. "He is one fine piece of United States military man."

"He's drunk," Reid said. "You can tell by the dilation of his eyes and the distinct unsteadiness of his stride. Also—".

"He reeks of alcohol," JJ finished for him.

"Right," Reid said, blushing.

"I'm guessing he's her ex," Rossi said.

"Yeah," Prentiss said. "She told me about him when we first met. He was her boyfriend right before she joined the BAU. She left him pretty suddenly."

"Do you know why?" Morgan asked. I knew how protective he was over the youngest member of our team. He took care of her like the fiercely loyal agent he was, and he'd do anything for her. And I agreed that he had a right to be concerned about her.

"I don't remember exactly," Prentiss said. "We were kind of drinking when she told me. But I remember her saying something about him shoving her down when she was on those crutches. Apparently he didn't take to her being in the FBI so well. Felt like he was being lied to."

"I was there," I said. The team looked at me. "At her apartment, when she told Jason. It was back when she needed protective detail around with her wherever she went. I had a feeling she lied when she said he just tripped over her crutch, which led her to fall over, but she was so adamant about it that I didn't question it. She was already leaving him."

"So you're going to let our baby Hale go out and talk with that meanie while he's under the influence of copious amounts of alcohol?" Garcia exclaimed.

"Well, she did steal his cat," I countered.

"Hotch, Penelope has a point," Morgan said. "Maybe we should go check on her."

"I'll do it," Rossi said. "No one's hurting Hale on my watch. She doesn't have a dad to kick a guy's ass, so I'll do it for her."

"I'll come, too," Morgan said. "Tiger's fierce, but when it comes to people she's close to, she's blinded."

I watched as Morgan and Rossi walked outside. "You don't think anything's actually wrong, do you?" Reid asked, perpetually nervous.

"Hale can handle herself," JJ said. "She's a tough girl."

"Yeah, but he's a muscular guy," Prentiss argued. "And if she knows him…it could be harder for her. Like Derek said."

"He did seem pretty grabby," Garcia said. "Oh, we should just go out there."

"I agree," Reid said.

"C'mon, Morgan and Rossi have it handled," JJ said. "Hale deserves a chance to talk it out with her ex."

"But if her ex jumps her?" Garcia asked.

"I think we should go out there," Reid reemphasized. "You know how all that stuff with Jarrod Harris affected her. Maybe you've forgotten, but obviously I haven't. We should go see if she's okay. Besides, if it was alright, Rossi and Morgan would be back now."

Everyone glanced at me. "Let's go," I said, and we tossed some cash on the table and headed out of the bar.

Once we were out of the bar, we could hear a commotion off to the side of the building. There was a thump, and then I heard Rossi yell, "Watch your mouth!" It was the blatant anger in his voice that made me—and the rest of the team—hurry around to the side of the building.

The scene in front of us was horrific. Derek had Jason slammed up against the wall face first with his arm twisted behind his back, and Rossi was leaning over a huddled figure on the ground. It was denial that made me not immediately identify her as Hale. She had just vomited, and there was blood on the back of her head. Rossi was tucking her hair behind her ear and putting a fatherly hand on her back, and even from where we were standing I could tell she was shaking.

"What's going on?" I asked, which incited a commotion of responses from the rest of the team. I interrupted just as JJ was about to speak. "I asked what's going on?" I repeated, furious.

Morgan explained that Jason had assaulted her, rendering her with a concussion. I really was not in the mood to skirt around the anger in me today. I knew she was in bad shape when she vomited again. When Rossi told me to call an ambulance, I quickly gave that responsibility to Reid and went to talk to Jason.

"This is the second time I've met you, and I was really hoping that horrible first impression had just been a fluke," I said, keeping my hands tucked in my pockets to restrain myself from strangling him. Derek had pulled him away from the wall so he could face me.

He grinned at me, and I knew he was completely drunk. "We're meant to be. She knows that."

"Yeah? Then why is she on the ground like that?" I asked, the volume of my voice rising.

He looked confused. "I didn't hurt her," he said. "We were about to have sex. We're getting back together."

"Really?" I asked, getting closer and in his face, my voice lowering to a deep almost-whisper. "And how many times of her saying no was it going to take until you realized she had different ideas? When were you going to realize you had knocked her unconscious? Before or after you raped her?"

"What the hell, dude?" Jason exclaimed. "We were just getting back together."

"The bastard's completely wasted, Hotch," Morgan said, his face mirroring the anger I felt. "We shouldn't have let her go, I should have trusted my instincts."

"Hey, she'll be fine," I said, clearly trying to convince myself more than anything. "Reid's calling the ambulance."

"Rossi?" Hale's voice called out, and I could hear it break as it tried to reach a louder volume. "Hotch? Derek?"

I immediately walked over to where Hale and Rossi were crouched. Rossi looked up at me, an uncertain look in his eye. "I c-can't see! Why can't I see?" Hale asked in a small voice. She looked horrible, and the beginnings of multiple bruises were forming on her neck and jawline, most likely from where Jason had tried to kiss her. I was disgusted. I saw many things in my line of work, but rarely, if ever, did anything happen like this to my team. Rossi double checked with Reid about the ambulance and started saying something about getting Hale to stay awake. After which she promptly collapsed against Rossi, her eyes fluttering uncontrollably.

He grabbed her shoulders. "Damn it, Hale! I just said not to pass out."

"Dave," I said, trying to easy his panic, and maybe even mine. "Shaking her isn't going to make her stay awake."

Her eyelids stopped fluttering. "Aaron, she's out," Rossi said, and his voice was filled with a fatherly concern I'm sure Hale would've loved to hear.

Morgan called over at us, "What's going on? I'm tired of holding this guy, how's Tiger doing?"

"She's unconscious," Rossi said. "Hold Jason a little longer, the paramedics are almost here, no doubt with police in tow."

As if on cue, sirens pierced the night and they were fast approaching. Rossi sat against the brick wall, absentmindedly pushing Hale's hair back out of her face as he waited. Her head was lying on his lap, and her bangs were perpetually falling into her eyes. It was probably good that Morgan had been the one to apprehend Jason. Rossi might not have seemed it, but if he had gotten his hands on Jason I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have left the Marine quite as unscathed as Morgan had. I was surprised Morgan had restrained himself as much as he had.

Two paramedics rolled a gurney out of the ambulance as a third and forth ran over to check out Hale. I watched as they shined a light into her eyes and assessed the injury she'd sustained to her head. "We need to strap her into the gurney," a male paramedic told us. "I'm guessing she'll be alright in the end, but she needs medical attention immediately. Is anyone going to ride with her in the bus?"

"I am," I said, almost instinctually. Rossi gave me a look. "My subordinate being hurt on my watch is my problem. Besides, hospitals are Hale's and my thing."

Rossi just shrugged, giving an unaware Hale a quick kiss on the head before letting the paramedics load her onto the gurney. I followed them in the back of it, watching as the team of paramedics hooked her up to God knows what.

Three minutes into our hurried drive to the hospital, Hale stirred. Relief spread throughout my body as her eyes opened and darted around, hyperaware of her surroundings. "Hotch?" she asked when her eyes finally settled on me. "Where the hell am I? What happened to my head? I think someone filled it with explosives... Oh my God, I have the worst taste in my mouth, did Derek make me drink something he concocted again, we know how bad that went last time."

The corners of my mouth twitched. "I'm glad you're awake, Hale," I said, knowing she'd put the pieces together.

She looked around a few more times. "Am I in an…ambulance?" I nodded. "Huh. It's the first time I've been conscious in one of these. Either Derek overdid the drink or…something else happened."

"You don't remember?" I asked.

One of the paramedics, who had been listening to the banter, started to speak. "It's completely normal for her to not remember anything. The memories will return in due time, or they may not. Depends how traumatic the experience."

"Traumatic?" Hale asked. She tried to sit up, and before anyone could push her back down she put her hands to her head and moaned, lying back down. "What happened to me? Why…why would this be traumatic?"

"Hale…we ran into Jason at the bar," I started. "Do you remember going to the bar?"

"I…it's fuzzy…."

"What's the last thing you remember clearly?"

"Um…watching Emily shoot Randall Hightower in San Diego."

"That was last night. How could twenty-four hours of her memory be unaccounted for?" I asked, directing my question to the paramedic.

"There's no exact science for the effects of cranial injuries. But if the memory loss is that bad, it's probably best we get to the hospital ASAP."

"Cranial injuries?" Hale asked, her eyes darting around in worry. "Hotch, what happened? Why am I here?"

"Hale…Jason attacked you outside of the bar we were at. He slammed your head against a brick wall."

I watched as what I said sunk in. She looked at me, dazed. "But…Jason wouldn't hurt me like that," she said quietly. "He…he really cared about me."

"He wouldn't hurt you like that?" I reiterated. "So he's hurt you in other ways."

She looked annoyed at me. "Jason always had a temper problem," she said. "Occasionally he'd be a bit more physical than I liked, or he'd reach over to grab my shoulder to get my attention and squeeze too hard…but he was always very careful. He knew he had a problem, he even had gone to a therapist…some of the things he saw overseas changed him, Hotch, it was PTSD. It was something I found endearing about him…something I could help him with…. I was always a fixer, my mom hated that about me, said it'd get me into boy trouble. Guess she was right." She looked conflicted. "Hotch, he'd never do that to me. He wouldn't."

"He did, though," I said. "He was completely intoxicated. He probably won't remember assaulting you tomorrow morning."

"So that was it?" she asked. "I walked outside to patch things up and he just…bashes my head against a brick wall?"

"You need to just rest now," I said. "Slow your brain down. Rest your eyes. But, God help me, do not fall asleep again."

"Hotch." The tone of her voice made me grow serious and look at her. "Hotch, what did he do to me?"

"Another time, Hale—"

"No, Hotch! Not another time! Now! Did he…did I let him…."

I gently placed my hand on her shoulder. "He was making advances towards you. We're guessing you fought back, he got frustrated, and shoved you into the wall. Morgan found you just as he was trying to take your shirt off."

She just looked at me, showing me no emotion. Which was definitely worse than anything else. "Did…did he…"

"You'll have a couple bruises on your neck, and you'll have one hell of a headache…but that's all."

She nodded, closing her eyes. "I think I'll take that eye rest now," she said quietly.

"You do that, Hale," I said. "Just don't fall asleep."

The team sat in the waiting room at the hospital, waiting for a verdict on Hale's wellbeing. Morgan was staring angrily at the corner of the room, Prentiss was pacing, JJ and Reid were sitting motionlessly, Rossi was looking about the same as Morgan, and Garcia was trembling in her chair. They'd done this too many times already. I waited, emotionless, for a doctor to tell us how she was doing.

As if the universe had been reading my mind, a man in green scrubs walked in. "Um, is the family of Natalie Hale in here?" Immediately, the team stood up. The doctor looked at us skeptically, in our motley state, and then proceeded. "She's fine. She sustained a pretty bad concussion and almost needed stitches, but we decided the bandage covering her head should be efficient enough, and as long as someone stays with her to make sure she doesn't go to sleep tonight she should be fine. We're prescribing some pain meds too, but it's imperative that she doesn't take them until morning, because they cause drowsiness. Tonight will be hell for her, but she'll live. Someone will come let you know when she can be taken home."

The relief in the room was almost tangible. Once the doctor left, we all stood there and tried our hardest to make some idle chatter. "Em, are you going to stay with her?" Reid asked.

"No, I was actually thinking of moving out tonight," she snapped sarcastically.

"I was just asking," he remarked defensively.

"Don't chew each other out," Garcia said. "I'm stressed enough as it is. And you all know that being stressed is not good for PG up in here."

"Have you heard any news about Jason?" Rossi asked, looking at me.

I rubbed my hands down my face. "All I've heard is that he's in lockup, and once we get a statement from Hale he's done for."

"You said she lost her memory, Hotch," Morgan said. "How's she going to make a statement if she doesn't remember one damn detail?"

"She'll remember," I said. "She just needs some time."

"And if she doesn't remember?" Morgan challenged.

"Then Metro PD will have our testimonies and the physical evidence. That should be enough."

At that moment, a female doctor walked into the room, followed by Hale. "Miss Hale is all set to go now," she said, and then she left.

Immediately Garcia bombarded Hale with a hug. I watched as Hale scrunched up her face in pain, but she gave a small, wheezy laugh. "That worried about me, Pen?" she asked, amused.

Garcia let go of her. "I was terrified. I've worked my job long enough to have a justifiable phobia of bat poop crazy ex-boyfriends." Hale laughed, and then her hand shot up almost unconsciously to her forehead and she winced in pain. After realizing what she'd done, she tried to pass it off as tucking her hair behind her ear, but she didn't sell it. Garcia frowned. "You poor baby. Give me Jason's last name, and this tech analyst-slash-former hacker of government institutions can make his life hell."

"That's sweet of you to offer, truly, but I think the police can handle him just fine," she said. She looked around. "Everyone's here? C'mon, guys, you didn't have to come all the way over here, it's just a bump on the head."

"A bump on the head?" Morgan exclaimed. "Hale, I can't wait until you remember what he did to you. Because I'd really like to see you kick his ass in court."

"I remember a little," she said. "Not much. Just seeing his face at the bar."

"It'll come back in bits and pieces," Prentiss reassured her. "But it's okay, you don't have to remember now. You need to come back to the apartment and take a shower, your hair is in desperate need of a wash."

"Well, yeah, dried blood tends to do nasty things to human hair," Hale said. She looked around at us one more time. "For God's sake, stop staring at me with all that pity in your eyes. I'm fine! Jeez, it's like your victimizing me or something."

"We're not victimizing you, Nat," Reid said, and I could hear the brotherly affection that he had for her in his voice. "We were worried about you."

"Were worried. Past tense. There's nothing to worry about here, as long as Emily here can keep me awake all night." Hale grinned. "Before I took this job, the last all-nighter I pulled was in college. Now it's a regular gig."

"Alright, we should all go back home and hit the sack," I said. "Everyone here has work tomorrow, except for you, Hale. Don't show up tomorrow, or the next day, or the next. That's an order."

"C'mon, Hotch, I'm fine," she whined.

"You won't be sitting around doing nothing," I said. "Metro is going to want to talk to you about what happened with Jason. That's your priority for the next couple days, alright? That, and getting better."

"Since I know nothing I say will convince you otherwise, alright."

"Seriously, Hale. Go home," I said. "You're in good hands with Prentiss."

"Don't I know it," she said, giving a slight grin before Prentiss finally led her out.

As always, thank you for reading and please continue to comment/favorite/follow/so forth! ~ Lacey :)