Chapter 25

When Chuck had called Damian and told him that Kay wanted to see him, he could just imagine the grin on Damian's face. He laughed mentally. Idiot doesn't realize just how much he's pissed her off. Oh well, he'll find out soon enough. At least he's protected by the glass. He looked at Kahlan. "He's on his way. You want me to stay?"

"I don't care."

"I think I should," Chuck told her seriously.

She studied him. "Why?"

"Cause I think, he thinks this is about something else."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," he told her quickly.

"Ut-uh. Out with it."

"I think he has a crush on you."

"What?!"

He shrugged.

"He told you that?"

"Not exactly."

"Please. I'm an old woman. . ."

"Yeah right! You're one of the prettiest women I know. . ."

"And I'm married and a mother. . ."

"And still sexy as hell, and I don't think he cares that you're married. . ."

"Just stop. There is no. . ."

"Just wait. You'll see it as soon as he gets here," Chuck assured her.

XXXXX

Speaking with Dr. Hamill hadn't provided any relief. While she was seeing symptoms from each of the diseases, she confirmed her earlier thought of that the bug must have been a mixture of each of them. While the information was helpful, she needed the specific strands of the diseases to truly be able to combat them. Rossi informed her of the morning raid and she wished them luck. Once he was done talking with her, he explained what was said to Hotch.

"We need to go now. The faster we have this Doctor in custody, the faster Hamill will be able to save them," Hotch told him as he got up off his couch and started for the bullpen.

"That's fine. We can have Morgan and his team head out now. . ."

"I need to go. . ."

"No you don't. You need to get some sleep. You are the only one who hasn't been able to get a break in. . ."

"I'll sleep when my girls are safe. . ."

"I thought you were going home to check on the boys."

Hotch hung his head and rubbed his temples. He had almost forgotten about needing to check on the boys. "Donna's with them. She would have called. . ."

"They need to see you Aaron. They need to see their father," Rossi told him seriously. He knew Hotch wanted to go and handle things to assure they were doing everything they could, but Rossi knew Morgan was beyond capable.

"You could go check on them. They'd understand. . ."

"Yeah they would, but they need their father," Rossi repeated. He was afraid of Hotch pushing himself to the breaking point, and if he had to use his family against him to get him to rest for a few hours, then so be it.

Hotch's shoulders slumped. "Alright. Let me go talk to Morgan. . ."

"Then I'll drive you home," Rossi told him as he followed him out of the office. Hotch nodded.

XXXXX

Within twenty minutes, Damian walked into the room connected to Kahlan's with a grin on his face. Chuck leaned up against the side wall and almost chuckled. Damian ignored him and went straight up to the glass and looked Kahlan in the eyes. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yeah, I did," she told him nicely. Chuck rolled his eyes.

"What can I do for you?" Damian asked her with another smile.

She took a deep breath. "I was impressed when I found out you were able to get information from people we had already questioned. . ."

"I'm sure it was just the luck of the drawl. Maybe sitting in a cell for a little while loosened some tongues," he told her nicely as he flexed his arms and chest muscles subtly and crossed his arms.

She shot Chuck a look because she could tell by the way Damian was looking at her that Chuck's feelings were correct. Any other time she was sure a young man like Damian would brag about being able to do something she and Chuck hadn't, but he was being nice and actually admitting to not being better. It pissed her off even more as she realized he was trying to flirt with her. We don't have time for this shit! Her smile turned into a hard look. "Well, I was impressed until I found out who you questioned," she told him coldly.

"Huh?" Suddenly Damian wasn't so sure of himself.

"Just what and the hell are they teaching you all now?" She asked as she fixed him with a malicious look.

"What? He had information. . ."

"Yeah, and his two addresses led to nothing but an abandoned house and an empty lot in a mobile home park!"

"So if his information would have panned out, it would have been alright?" He asked trying to defend himself.

"No! It is never alright to question a juvenile! My God, when you do shit like that you're no better than the assholes who use kids in the first place!"

Damian swallowed hard and then stood up straighter. He finally looked at her again and smiled slyly. "If Hotchner wasn't such a suit, we would probably already have. . ."

"What!? You don't like the way he's running things?" Kahlan asked him as she felt her anger start to rise.

"It's just that, maybe if someone like us was in charge, we might be. . ."

"Like us? You mean me? Cause you're not old enough to be in charge of anything. . ."

"I'm the head of my team. . ."

"And if you have half a brain you would realize that every other person around this case has a hell of a lot more experience than you. You would also understand that you should be kissing their asses and sucking up as much as possible because these are the people who will report back to Clapper on your performance. You would also see that these are the contacts you should be making for when you need them later."

"So he's a good leader, he still isn't. . ."

She shook her head and shot a look to Chuck; he was grinning because he knew he was right. "I'd shut up if I were you," Chuck mumbled, but stopped when Kahlan fixed him with a look.

Kahlan took a deep breath. She knew Damian wasn't really listening because he had was more interested in her than what she was saying. She had to stop it now, and she knew she would have to crush him because sometimes that was the only way to treat a man. "Aaron is an amazing man. . ."

"But you would be more. . ."

"Jesus Christ, I'm old enough to be your mother!"

"I don't care about that. Age is just a number."

Chuck got her attention by motioning that he would cuff Damian in the back of the head if she wanted him to. She shook her head slightly and returned her focus to Damian. "Are you really that thick? Do you really think that with everything that is happening, that right now is the best time to try and hit on me?"

"I've learned to take advantage of any situation. When I see something I like, I go for . ."

"Oh. My. God!" She yelled and raked her hand through her hair roughly.

"You're lucky she's behind that glass," Chuck told him under his breath. Damian shot him a surprised look.

"Why would I want some boy like you when I already have a man? You're too cocky, too self-centered, too pretty."

"Other women don't seem to mind," he told her confidently.

"And I can just imagine what type of woman you're referring to. You're not even a fourth of the man Aaron is. Even if I was your age, I still wouldn't be interested in you."

That got him. His smile finally faltered. "Why? What would I have to do. . ."

"Nothing! There is nothing you could do. Maybe once you actually grow up and become a real man. . ."

"I am a man," he told her defiantly.

She huffed. "Let me give you some advice. If you ever want a real woman, someone with some substance, then you need to realize that women want a man who is caring, responsible, brilliant, and sensitive; a man like Aaron! Not some pretty boy who thinks too much of himself!"

His shoulders slumped and he looked at the floor. "I can be those things."

She sighed. "And when you do, you will find someone amazing."

He huffed and looked at his watch. "I better get going. If there isn't anything else you need."

"No. Just watch yourself; I will be keeping a closer eye on you and your team, and I will be reporting to Clapper."

"And he highly values her opinion," Chuck finally chimed in.

Damian looked at him and then took one more look at Kahlan. "I will find the Doctor, and I will save you."

She shook her head. "That's another problem that makes you a turn off; you should have said 'we'. Never put yourself before your team."

He considered her words, nodded, and then walked to the door.

As soon as he was about to open it, it opened from the other side and there stood Hotch and Rossi. Hotch almost growled as his alpha's hackles stood up as soon as he saw who was on the other side of the door. What the hell is he doing here? God damn it! He immediately looked from Damian to Kahlan and back again. Damian smiled and went past him. Hotch had to fight the urge to punch the smile off the younger man's face. He quickly went into the room and then looked at Chuck and then to Kahlan. "What was that about?"

Kahlan smiled. "Nothing. What are you doing here so late? I thought you were going home to the boys?"

Why are you smiling like that? Hotch looked back to Chuck, but his face didn't reveal anything either. "I'm on my way. I wanted to tell you goodnight."

"I'm taking him home," Rossi told her with a smile. "I'll see you later, Kiddo," Rossi told her and then grabbed Chuck by the shoulder and pulled him out of the room to let the couple be alone.

"See ya tomorrow, Kay," Chuck told her quickly before Rossi pulled him through the door.

She shot him a look and then turned to her husband. "What?"

"Why was he here?" He asked her again.

"I just wanted to check on him and his team to see how they were working out," she told him innocently. If you knew how he felt about me you'd kill him, Hun.

Hotch eyed her warily. He knew he wasn't get anything more out of her, and it worried him to think she was lying. He wasn't absolutely sure she was, but something in his gut told him she was. He took a deep breath. "Has anyone told you what we found out?"

Her shoulders slumped. "God, what now?"

"The lead we got led us to the CDC, and they are missing an employee."

"The CDC?" She asked as the blood drained from her face. She sighed heavily. "Tell me."

"Dr. Bowman has disappeared and so have specimens of five different diseases."

"That makes sense with what Hamill has found so far," she started as she studied him. He was being Agent Hotchner and not a husband or father, so she knew it must have been bad. "Which ones?" She asked quietly.

He took a deep breath and licked his lips. "Bad ones," was all he said. He wasn't sure he could bring himself to tell her exactly which ones.

She put her hand on the glass and he mimicked her. "Aaron, knowing which ones helps to make their job easier." She gave him a small smile. "Just tell me."

He took a deep breath, reverted back to his work face, watched her closely for any reaction, and told her: "The Spanish Flu," her eyes squinted a little. "Malaria," her brows furrowed. "Cholera," she winced. "Plague," she smirked. "And Ebola," she glanced towards Joey's room.

"Cholera? Were they sure?" She asked quickly.

Really? That's the one your most scared of? "Yes, why?"

"Cause that can kill within a day. At least all the others take time." She couldn't bring herself to tell him that she had almost dies of Cholera in ninety-five.

"Oh," Hotch said quietly. "I didn't realize." He rubbed a hand down his face. "I was worried about the last two. Those are pretty scary."

She gave him another small smile. "I'm not scared for me, I'm scared for Joey. I just hope what she got from me will be enough to. . ." she couldn't finish as she looked at the floor.

Hotch saw her free hand ball into a fist, and he knew she was angry for not being able to do anything more to protect their daughter. "Babe," he started. She took a shuddering breath but didn't look at him. "Kahlan," he said a little more forcibly. She took a deep breath and slowly raised her head to look him in the eyes. "Morgan is about to go after him now. She will make it."

She nodded weakly. "I know. You need to go home and get some sleep. You need to be rested for when they bring him back."

"I know."

"If he doesn't cooperate, bring him here. I would love to question him," she told him with an evil grin.

"I bet," he told her with a smile.

"Tell the boys I love them."

"I will. I love you."

"I love you more."

He grinned and locked eyes with her. "I'm really beginning to hate glass."

She chuckled. "You're not the only one."

"I'd give anything to be able to kiss you right now," he told her seriously.

"That would make my night so much better," she told him with a grin and then sighed deeply. "Get out of here. Give my boys a hug."

He nodded and left the room.

A tear escaped the corner of her eye as she watched him leave. And now I know why I have a headache. God Damn it!