i would make up some excuse about why it has taken so long to update but ya...i dont know why and i cant really think of a good excuse. i can just say i was out looking for unicorns and mermaids. i didnt find any. fail. but theres not many warnings in this chapter. u find more about laura and u meet a few new characters. i cant say much about them right now but i know that rickie will be pretty big
Ed drove slowly back to his work. He wasn't that anxious to start looking at murdered corpses, but that was his job. He chose to do this kind of work, and he was going to stick with it. A small group of officers were waiting outside for him. Ed saw a few paramedics sitting in their van, and it was obvious that's where the bodies were. He parked his car out front, and after zipping up his jacket all the way, he made his way out to meet with the officers.
"Hello gentlemen," Ed called out.
"Sorry, but the sheriff wanted these bodies looked at tonight."
"I know, I know," Ed mumbled.
He found his keys, and unlocked the building. He took off his jacket while the officers went to get the bodies, and Ed went to work turning on the lights. He wished that his partner still wasn't out of town, but he was. There was no point in thinking about something he couldn't change. He just wished he didn't have to work on these bodies all by himself. The cops would be leaving soon enough, and then he would be alone with the bodies of psychopaths. He watched the bodies be brought in, and Ed directed them to be put on the tables. He was expecting two or three corpses so when a fourth one was laid out, Ed was surprised.
"Who is this?" Ed asked.
"Two of them are the Bates kids, one of them is the Bates dad, and the last one is some kid we found in the lake," the officer said.
"A kid in the lake?" Ed asked. That didn't seem like a situation that needed Ed to rush to identify the cause of death. While falling in a frozen lake wasn't exactly common, it wasn't unheard of.
"You're going to want to look at him," the officer said. "Falling the lake isn't what killed him."
Ed nodded. He didn't really want to know what killed the kid in the lake, but Ed would look at him first. He was probably the last victim of the murderers on the other tables. He deserved to be looked at before the others.
"How long do you think it will take?" the officer asked.
"A few hours to get an idea of what happened to them," Ed said truthfully. "To get more details, it will take a few weeks, but I'll tell you what I can tonight."
"I'll tell Bill," the officer said. "Did you need me to stay?"
"No, no, it's fine," Ed said smiling. He knew the younger man didn't want to be there, and Ed wasn't going to force him to. Most people didn't like to be around the presence of death. "You go on back. I'll call you when I find out anything."
"Thanks," the cop said smiling back. "Don't hesitate to call me if you need anything. It's kind of creepy in here, and you're not even alone yet."
"I'm used to it," Ed said. "But I promise you I'll call."
"Have a good night."
"You too," Ed said.
Ed watched him leave, and heard him shut the front door. Ed waited a few moments to make sure the cop was gone, and then he turned around back to the bodies. As he planned, he went over to the kid's body first. He put gloves over his hands, and turned on his tape recorder. He didn't always use it, his partner was usually with him, but it would be helpful in this situation. He unzipped the black bag the kid was in, and he was greeted with dark blood almost spilling out of the bag. It was covering the kid's face. Saying the lake isn't what killed him was an understatement. This kid had his face bashed in.
"First one tonight. Teenage boy. High school age. Maybe 16 years old? Somewhere around that age. He has brown hair. His face is covered in blood. I'm going to start working on getting it off him to see where the first injury occurred."
Ed picked up a wet cloth, and went to work wiping the blood off the kid's face. There was a lot of it, and while the cold water from the lake did get most of it off, there was still plenty for the doctor to scrub. Some of it was like glue on the kid's pale face, but Ed was stubborn. He wasn't going to stop until the blood was all gone. Ed found a black indent on the kid's forehead, and several large marks on his cheeks and nose. Just by feeling around, Ed could tell the kid's nose was broken. The skull had caved slightly in with the first blows, and both of the bones in his cheeks felt shattered.
"He was beaten. Badly. Baseball bat maybe? Something hard enough to break bone on impact. The skull caved in above the eyebrow. His nose is broken and so are his cheekbones. I think he was left in the snow after he died. His death happened only a minute or so after the beating started. I won't know for sure until after a full autopsy is done, but I'm guessing that a piece of his skull fell against his brain causing major internal bleeding and that is what killed him."
Ed unzipped the black bag further, and saw the kid's hands were black and blue. He picked one of the hands up, and sighed when it hung limply in his hand. The hand was stiff as it was expected to be, but the fingers were sticking out every which way. The hand was broken.
"It looks like he was trying to defend himself. One of his hands is completely shattered. When his hand broke, it was over for him. The beating went on for quite some time after he died. A beating with this kind of force would take some time, and the victim died in about a minute or so. The blood on his face wasn't easy to come off which is why I think he wasn't thrown into the lake for about an hour after his death. The blood froze on his face, and the killer or someone else came back to toss him in the lake. He doesn't have any socks or shoes on, and somebody took his shirt and jacket."
Ed sighed again, and looked at the teenager. The poor kid suffered a terrible death, and the killers tried to throw him away after they stole his belongings like he was trash. He was looking much better with the blood cleaned off him. There was still some bad bruising, but that would be able to be covered up with some good powder. The rest of the body looked like it was in alright condition. The beating is the reason that this boy would never see his high school graduation, and the cause of the beating was on one of the tables next to him. Ed took great care putting the boy's body in one of the freezers. Ed wasn't sure if his family would want him to further investigate the cause of death, but Ed didn't see any real need. It was time to let the boy rest.
He said a quick prayer for the boy's soul, and turned back around to look at the other three bodies still zipped up in black bags. One of the three was the reason his wife was dead. They were the reason the poor kid was dead. He felt the anger boiling up inside of him, but he wasn't going to let the anger take control. His wife wouldn't want him to live his life looking for revenge. She would want him to just do what he was hired to do, and that's what he was going to do. He walked over to one of the kid's bodies, and unzipped the bag.
Morgan led the way down to Hotch's room. A nurse at the front desk was kind enough to tell them which room he was in, and since visiting Reid was out of the question that night, they silently agreed to go see Hotch. Morgan could tell that all of the girls were mentally and physically exhausted. None of them were complaining, but Morgan knew them well enough to see when they were tired. J.J. was rubbing her eyes when she thought no one was looking, and Prentiss looked like she was having trouble focusing. Garcia was the only one who wasn't trying to hide it. She would yawn in the open, and roll her neck to keep herself awake.
It was quiet in the hospital. Morgan could only spot a few nurses running back and forth, but they weren't talking loudly to each other. They were stare at Morgan and the rest of them team as they walked by, but they weren't gossiping about what was happening. Most of them looked like they wanted to go back home. Nobody really wanted to work during a snow storm. Morgan could think of a thousand places that he could be, but the top of his list would always be with the people that needed him the most. He would rather spend the night in the hospital with Hotch and Reid than visit with lovely ladies back home or dance at a club.
"Room 363," Rossi said pointing out one of the last rooms on the right.
Morgan didn't need to remind any of them to be quiet. All of them were fully aware of the terrible shape that their team leader was in, and that he needed sleep more than anything. Rossi opened the door slowly, and the rest of them filed in behind him. The curtain was put up around the bed, but J.J. pulled it back. It didn't make much noise, but Morgan noticed that it didn't disturb Hotch at all. His superior was fast asleep in his bed.
It was strange seeing Hotch like that. He had an IV connected to one of his arms, and one of his legs was being raised off the bed. Morgan figured it was probably to help the bone grow back or something, but he didn't really care why it was lifted. The doctors knew what they were doing. Hotch was terribly pale. He didn't even look like was still alive, but the constant beeping from the various machines assured Morgan that he was. He had a few cuts on his face, but it looked like the majority of the damage was done to Hotch's legs. Morgan saw faint bruising on Hotch's wrists, probably from ropes or chains put there to restrain him, but he wasn't going to point it out to the others.
Garcia was already sitting down in the closest chair to the bed. She gently put the teddy bear by Hotch's pillow, and kissed his hand. Tears were streaming down her face as she took in how much Hotch suffered, and she was having a hard time keeping herself quiet about it.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered to him. "You're going to get all better though. You are going to walk out of here, and we will be waiting for you."
J.J. came up behind Garcia, and offered a big hug. Prentiss sat down in a chair next to Garcia, and Rossi walked around to the other side of the bed, but Morgan couldn't move. He couldn't explain why. He saw Hotch in the house with the paramedics working on him, but it was different seeing him in a hospital bed. None of this would have happened if Morgan worked harder. If Morgan paid more attention to the kids in Parker's class, he would have been able to find Hotch and Reid sooner.
Morgan recognized seeing Benjamin Bates before, but he couldn't figure out where. It was just about an hour ago that Morgan remembered where. He was stopped at a diner with J.J., and that was when Benjamin and his wife tried to leave. One of them dropped a chair, and that was when Morgan looked that son of the bitch in the eyes and let him leave. It made sense now that the chain was part of Parker's necklace, and they were trying to find the missing piece. If Morgan arrested that bastard that night, Hotch and Reid would have been found sooner.
"You didn't cause this," Rossi said quietly. Morgan hadn't even seen him come back around. He was too warped in what Hotch had to be feeling when he was going through hell on earth. "None of this was your fault."
"I saw the Bates dad before though. If I stopped him when I first saw the son of a bitch," Morgan complained.
"You didn't know. None of us would have known," Rossi said gently.
"Yeah, well my mistake almost killed Hotch and Reid," Morgan said quickly. He knew it was wrong to blame himself. He knew that Rossi was right. He was usually right, but someone needed to be blamed and since Morgan was in charge of the team while Hotch was missing, he blamed himself. "My mistake killed Tommy Phelps."
"And if he was here, he wouldn't blame you for the second. There would be no way for you to know that he would go looking for the killers. When Hotch and Reid wake up, they will be telling you the same thing."
"I know," Morgan said.
"You can't be looking like this when Hotch wakes up," Rossi said. "He's going to need to see some cheery faces, and we are all looking like death warmed over."
"I guess we all need a good night's sleep," Morgan said.
"I don't think Hotch will be waking up anytime soon," Rossi said.
Morgan nodded, and went over to see Hotch. He heard Garcia's quiet sobs, and he put one of his hands on her shoulder. He squeezed Hotch's hand, and tried to see if Hotch was dreaming, but he couldn't tell. His eyes weren't moving around under the lids, and he wasn't moving around or moaning. He looked like he was just sleeping peacefully, and that's what he needed.
"We're all here for you Hotch," Morgan whispered. "Hang on."
Bill didn't stay that long at the Bates house. He had the entire property blocked off from the public, and he was going to have officers on the scene all night. He also made sure to tape off the lake where Tommy's body was found. He didn't think they would find anything else by the lake that night, but he wanted to be safe. Somebody was murdered there, and so that entire area needed to be respected. He planned on having a cross put there in the morning so the kid would never be forgotten. Tommy was a Christian, and so he was sure Tommy's family would be grateful. Bill was willing to put up the cross himself if that's what it took.
Bill wanted to drive over to the hospital to see how the wounded agents were holding up, but he decided to go to the station first. Laura Bates was sitting in one of his cells, and he wanted to have a word or two with her. He just couldn't believe that all of this happened right under his nose. He talked to this woman just the other day. He told her about that damned town meeting, and she just kept on smiling at him. He didn't know how much she was involved with the actual murders, but she wasn't just some innocent. She knew that people were being murdered in her house, and she still had the nerve to smile at the sheriff. He saw her at church last weekend. She sat across from him with her family. He just couldn't believe it.
He parked his car out front, and was relieved to see that the storm was letting up slightly. He didn't bother zipping up his jacket. He would be inside soon enough. He was going to have to give a talk to the deputies on duty. He left the best ones he had back at the house so the ones watching over Laura weren't the greatest ones, but he knew they weren't going to do anything stupid. He just needed to remind them not to talk to her. Laura wasn't very smart, and she didn't have many redeeming qualities, but he didn't want to risk anything going wrong. He wanted Laura in perfect condition for when she talked to the agents tomorrow.
A cold breeze blew in his face just as he opened the front door. He was greeted by a blast of warm air coming from inside. He heard the familiar sound of the television replaying some old ball game, and he could smell fresh coffee brewing. Two of his officers were sitting by the brown desk. Dave, his older and balding friend, was sitting at the desk with his eyes glued to the television. His beer belly hung over his pants, and the buttons in his shirt looked like they were almost ready to pop off. Bill needed to remind him to get a larger size. Jake, one of the few blonde men on duty, was sitting on top of the desk chewing on gum. Both of them jumped on when they saw Bill walk on.
"Evening gentlemen," Bill said.
"Hey Sheriff," Dave said.
"Just you two on duty?" Bill asked. He put his hat on one of the chairs by the door.
"Derek left like half an hour ago," Jake said. "But Rickie just got in."
Rickie was some deaf kid that had been passed from foster home to foster home ever since his parents abandoned him when he was just a baby. His current foster family, the Stanelys, put him to work as soon as they got him. The kid never stepped a foot in the high school so he didn't have any friends. The family claimed they home schooled him even though they sent their other children to school. Bill kept meaning to look into it, but he never got around to it. Things kept popping up. He wasn't too eager to take Rickie in when they offered him to help around, but they said it would keep him out of trouble. It took a while to get used to someone who couldn't hear or talk, but Bill finally warmed up to him. The kid could read lips, and he did a terrific job at the keeping the station clean. Bill just wished he wasn't here tonight.
"Where is Rickie?" Bill asked.
"Cleaning one of the cells," Jake said casually looking back at the television.
"When do I get my phone call?" Laura shouted.
Bill walked around the desk so he could see Laura in her cell. She was sitting on the bed, and staring at the wall in front of her. Her dark hair was pulled black in a sloppy ponytail, and most of the makeup she had on from earlier was coming off. She looked like a mess. Bill noticed that she was wearing nice black shoes, and dark tights that were mostly covered up by a long skirt with flowers on it. She pretty much looked just like she always did, but she was wearing the same pink sweater that Miss Parker had on when she went missing. The teacher wore that sweater a lot, and this woman was wearing it. She was wearing a dead woman's sweater, and complaining about getting a phone call.
"How has she been?" Bill whispered.
"Exactly the same as she is now," Dave answered quietly. "Been shouting, cursing, threatening us…She sure is something special."
"You shoulda seen her harassing Rickie when he got in," Jake said. "She was shouting all this sexual crap at him when his back was turned. It was pretty funny. She had no idea. She thought he was just ignoring her."
"You guys shouldn't have even allowed him to come in," Bill said.
"He barely even noticed her," Jake said.
"He's just a kid," Bill argued. He didn't want the kid here, but it didn't matter anymore. They were probably right. Rickie had no idea who the bitch was, and it was better that way. Bill knew that Rickie would rather be working than be at home.
"Stop talkin about me behind my back!" Laura shouted.
"I should go talk to the missus," Bill said smiling. "After I leave, don't talk to her. None of you. Got it?"
"We've been ignoring her all night," Dave said.
"Good. She doesn't need any more attention," Bill said.
He cleared his throat, and walked over to her cell. She cracked her neck, and finally looked over at him. She smiled sweetly, and Bill got a good look at her missing front teeth. Was this smile that last thing that all of those victims saw? It gave him shivers just to think about it.
"Missed you sheriff," Laura said.
"How are you doing?" Bill asked.
He heard Dave come up behind him and the older man unlocked Laura's cell to let him in. As soon as he was all the way in, Dave locked it again. They weren't taking any chances. Laura didn't seem to notice.
The cell was small. It was easy to forget that when he was standing on the outside. The mattress she was sitting on was just a twin size, and the rest of the cell featured a silver toilet and a concrete bench connected to the opposite wall. There was barely any walking room, but this room wasn't designed to keep criminals for a long time. In fact, Bill couldn't remember holding a person as dangerous as Laura was. If she was guilty of all the crimes she was being accused of, she was a full out psychopath. She was a serial killer, and Bill would do everything in his power to make sure this monster received the maximum penalty for her crimes.
"I want to go to the hospital to see my sons and my husband," Laura said calmly.
"Why do you think they are there?" Bill asked.
"I know they is. I saw my husband get shot. That black bastard shot him twice. Can you believe it? And he didn't do nothing wrong!"
"Why do you think your sons are there?" Bill asked.
"Cuz they ain't with me here," Laura answered. "Daniel been gettin bad headaches. I'm sure that's where you pigs took my boys."
"One of the FBI agents is going to talk to you tomorrow," Bill said changing the subject. He wasn't going to be the one to tell her that she was the last surviving member of their family.
"I don't want to see none of them," Laura said.
"But they want to see you," Bill said. "They want to talk to you about what you did. Do you remember what you did?"
"I didn't do nothing wrong," Laura said firmly.
"You are wearing Miss Parker's sweater," Bill said. "That was the same sweater she wore the last time anyone saw her. They found two federal agents on your property, and we found Tommy Phelps dead in the lake by your house."
"People fall in lakes all the time," she said.
"You killed him. You killed a teenage boy, a teacher, and you tried to murder two federal agents. I can't believe this. You pulled all this shit in my town!"
"You want to see me pull some shit sheriff?" Laura asked him licking her lips. "You bring me that kid you have workin here. You bring him to me, and we can watch some real shit go down."
Bill stood up suddenly, and slapped her across her face. Her head swung to one side, but she didn't cry or scream out. She looked back at him, and offered him the same creepy smile he saw from earlier.
"You comin on to me sheriff?" she asked.
"Get me out of here," Bill called out to Dave.
Dave unlocked the cell, and Bill made sure Laura was still seated before he got out. Dave quickly locked her cell back up. Laura was staring at them the entire time.
"Sorry for scaring you big ol' sheriff," Laura said. "You get me my husband and my boys, and then we can talk again. But I want me a good lawyer!"
Bill didn't say anything to her when he turned around. He got back to the desk that Jake was sitting at, and slammed his fist onto the study wood. Jake look startled, but didn't say anything. Bill couldn't believe that Laura was acting like this to him. He had known this woman since he first became sheriff, and she was treating him like dirt. She needed to rot. She needed to spend the rest of her life behind bars just for threatening Rickie like that. He didn't think he could wait until morning for the agents to talk to her.
Dylan Gable went back to where the nurses were just finishing putting Agent Reid in his room. Gable gave Reid one of the biggest rooms in the hospital because he knew that he was going to be getting a lot of visitors, but that wouldn't happen until later. The first night in the hospital was going to be crucial, and Gable needed to be there to make sure Reid got through it. His fever was constantly rising and dropping, and while Gable did trust all of his nurses, he wasn't going to leave Reid alone just yet.
He stopped in the hallway just outside of Reid's room, and pulled out his cell phone. There weren't many patients in the hospital, and Gable's wife had a right to know where he was. She could be worried that he was caught in the storm or something. He would rather be home with her right now. He would rather be wrapping himself in the blankets on their bed, and kissing his baby daughter on the forehead before she went to sleep, but he needed to be here. Gable knew that if he went to the hospital in a condition like Reid was, he would want his doctor there with him that first night as well. It was only fair.
"Hello?" Catherine asked when she picked up the phone.
"Hey honey, it's me," Dylan said softly.
"Hey, where are you? Weren't you supposed to be home like an hour ago?"
"Yeah, I was on my way when I got called back. I'm going to be spending the night here."
"Was there a car accident?" Catherine asked. "I heard a whole bunch of sirens earlier, and it was a bad snow storm out there."
"No car accidents so far," Dylan said. "The FBI agents just rescued some people who were with the crazy killer guy tonight."
"The guy who killed all those people in the ditch?" Catherine asked.
"Yep. Two of them were brought in, and I'm in charge of care for one of them He's not in good shape at all. I won't go into details, but he needs me here."
"Just thank God you weren't caught in the storm," Catherine said. "I was getting worried when I didn't hear from you, but it's good they finally found that killer."
"How is Debbie?"
"She went to bed a few hours ago," Catherine answered. "She's been sleeping good, but I'm still expecting her to wake up screaming around 2am."
Dylan laughed. Giving up their nights was one of the many joys of having a baby. Debbie had a bad habit of screaming between 2am and 4am every night. Catherine couldn't wait until the nightly routine stopped, but Dylan enjoyed it. He liked Debbie being so small. They weren't that little for long and he wanted to enjoy it while he could. It wouldn't be long before she was begging his car and going out on dates. He didn't look forward to that day.
"Well, give her a kiss for me," Dylan said.
"I'll give her two kisses from you," Catherine replied.
"I'll call you tomorrow," Dylan said. "I love you."
"I love you too," Catherine said. "Good night."
Dylan heard her hang up the phone, and he returned his cell to his pocket. He went to Reid's room, and looked in. The young agent was sleeping peacefully on his bed. The two nurses were checking his vitals, and making sure all of the stitching was holding up. Everything looked fine, but Dylan was ready in case something went wrong. Things tended to go wrong when he wasn't expecting it so he was prepared. He just prayed that Reid didn't wake up again. He gave the agent plenty of pain medication which was supposed to make him drowsy, but Dylan was going to keep a close eye on him. He was going to be there if Reid needed him.
Rossi chose to stay behind when the others left. None of them really wanted to leave Hotch alone, and so it was hard getting any of them to leave. Garcia and J.J. were both near tears as the night went on, and Morgan looked like he was getting ready to collapse. All of them needed rest badly. After a lengthy debate, Rossi was chosen to stay with Hotch. He promised them that he would stay with Hotch all night, and call them immediately if anything changed. Rossi wasn't convinced at all that any of them would sleep. He was hoping that the girls would collapse as soon as they saw their beds, but he wasn't so sure about Morgan. He knew that Morgan was blaming himself for everything that happened. Rossi tried talking to him, but his words could only do so much.
Rossi took the armchair by the window. He couldn't see anything outside, but it was comforting to hear the wind blowing. He found a magazine, and tried looking through it to keep himself awake, but there was only so much time that he could even pretend to be interested in what was happening with Lindsay Lohan or Tom Cruise. He wished that he had brought one of his books, but he didn't really plan on going to the hospital that night. He didn't think a book would do a good job of keeping him awake either. He was just as tired as the others were. He just did a better job at hiding it. He wanted to turn on the television, but he wasn't going to do anything that might wake Hotch up.
Rossi stood up, and stretched his arms over his head. If he wanted to stay awake, he couldn't keep sitting in a comfy and warm arm chair. He took off his coat, and walked around the room. It was a nice room, and Rossi saw that Jackie was Hotch's nurse for the next few hours. She had her name drawn on the white board next to a sloppy flower drawn with a red marker. The little cupboard by his bed was empty, and Rossi wondered if they were ever going to find the clothes that Hotch was wearing when he was abducted.
Rossi was wondering if he could sneak away for a moment to find out where Reid was staying when he heard a rusting coming from the bed. Rossi turned around, and saw Hotch moving his fingers. Rossi thought that the doctor had given Hotch enough pain medication to keep him fast asleep until the morning, but Hotch was clearly waking up. Rossi quickly sat down on the chair that Garcia first chose, and watched the chief leader's eyes move under their lids.
"Aaron?" Rossi asked gently.
Hotch opened his eyes slightly, and then shut them again. Rossi thought Hotch was going to be going back to sleep, but that was when Hotch's eyes shot open. His mouth dropped, and he was focusing on everything except for Rossi. He was looking up at the ceiling, and at the door leading out of the room. His breathing sped up, and he looked close to having a full out panic attack. Rossi put his hand on top of Hotch's and squeezed.
"It's alright. Everything is okay," Rossi said.
"What?" Hotch's voice sounded forced and strained.
"You're at a hospital. You just got here a few hours ago."
"Reid? Where's Reid?" Hotch asked quickly.
"He's in another room. He's resting, just like you should be."
Hotch didn't look convinced, but he let his head fall back down on his pillow. He took a deep breath, and sighed. He was still breathing much too fast, and Rossi was debating against grabbing a nurse. Hotch was going to get himself sicker if he didn't calm down.
"A hospital?" Hotch asked.
"Yes," Rossi answered.
"I need to see Reid," Hotch said.
He tried to get himself up, but Rossi held him down. Hotch wasn't going anywhere. Hotch needed to go back to sleep.
"Not now," Rossi said firmly. "He is still sleeping."
"I," Hotch started, but he fell back down on the pillow. He was clearly shaken up about something, but Rossi couldn't figure out what it was. "Don't leave him alone."
"He's not alone," Rossi said.
"Where's Laura?" Hotch asked sitting back up.
"Calm down," Rossi said. "You need to sleep. You won't be able to see Reid if you don't rest. You are sick. The doctor said you have pretty bad food poisoning."
"You don't understand," Hotch said. He was starting to shake, and Rossi was expecting him to throw up at any given second. "I need to see Reid."
"When he wakes up," Rossi said. "Aaron, you need to rest. You need to sleep. Everything is okay. You are safe now, and so is Reid."
Aaron was going through something in his own head that was causing him to act like this. He obviously knew that Reid had been raped. He probably even saw their youngest get raped, and that would be enough to send anyone over the edge. Rossi couldn't even imagine what that had to have been like, but he knew that it would never really be over. Once you saw something like that, you would never be able to just forget it. It would never go away.
"He's awake?" a nurse called out from the doorway.
She ran in without waiting for Rossi's response. Rossi stepped aside, and let the nurse who he assumed to be Jackie, do her work. She tried to keep Aaron on the pillow, but he wasn't really working with her. He avoided her touches, and almost fell off the bed trying to get away from her.
"It's okay Aaron," Rossi told him. "She's just a nurse."
"I need to see Reid," Hotch pleaded. "Please."
Jackie added a clear liquid to Hotch's IV, and it only took seconds to take effect. Rossi saw Hotch trying to fight the medication, but it soon took over. Hotch was asleep in less than a minute, and it was only then that the nurse was able to arrange him back in his bed. She pulled his covers back up, and made sure that his leg hadn't fallen out of the lift.
"How long ago did he wake up?"
"Just about five minutes ago," Rossi said.
"Was he trying to talk about what happened?"
"No," Rossi said. "Not really. He kept asking me to see Reid. That was really his main concern."
"I'm going to get the doctor," she said. "I don't think he broke anything, but Doctor Sullivan would want to know he woke up. I'll be back in a few minutes."
Rossi couldn't bring himself to sit back down. He was shaken up. Hotch was really panicking about seeing Reid. Was it just because Reid was raped or did something else happen? Did something else happen that the doctor didn't know about? Rossi wasn't going to ask Hotch directly when he woke back up. He might not even remember doing any of this by morning, but Rossi was worried. He was going to ask the others what they thought, but he wasn't going to tell any of them until the sun rose. They needed to sleep, and he knew that they would be on their way over if they found out Hotch woke up. Rossi would have to wait.
Laura stayed quiet for the most part after the sheriff left. What else was there for her to do? They weren't telling her anything about her husband and children. It seemed like weeks since she had last seen them, and it was killing her. The last time she saw her beloved husband, he was bleeding badly and needed to see a doctor. She left Joseph inside to watch after Mister Hollywood, and she last saw her youngest out in the snow. She told him to get his little butt inside, but she didn't stay there long enough to see if he listened to her. It made sense that all three of them were in the hospital, but she had a right to see them.
The two older pigs sat their fat asses in front of the television, and they talked as loudly as they could just to ignore her. Benjamin would have loved to be watching that silly ball game with them, but he wasn't given that option. That damned agent didn't give him a choice when he shot her husband. The agent was the one who deserved to be shot. He was the one who invaded their property, and broke into their house with the intent to cause damage. There wasn't any justice left in the world for sure. If there was, the pigs would be the ones who were locked up and she would be at the hospital with her husband and her boys.
She didn't think the sheriff was going to come back that night. She didn't know what time it was, but she had a strong feeling that is was really late. She wasn't going to be able to attend mass that weekend, but she was sure that God would understand. What she really needed to concentrate on was finding out how to get out of there. She stood up, and looked around her tiny room. There was no way that she would be able to break down the bars. She wasn't really that big, and she would probably just end up hurting herself. She didn't have any pins in her hair to pick at the lock, and she couldn't spot any little holes or cracks in the wall that she could make bigger to get out. She was completely sealed in the cell.
The only other way she could think of escaping was through the pigs themselves. None of them looked that bright. If they was any smarter than her, they wouldn't be working as cops. They would be going to school or working as doctors or something like that. She was probably smarter than any of them combined, and she knew she wasn't bad looking. It couldn't be that hard to try and seduce one of them…or all of them. She just needed for them to stop looking at the damned television for just a minute so she could work her magic. She was much prettier than anything they could see on that stupid ball game.
"Hey big guys," Laura called out. She wrapped her arms around the black bars, and pressed her body against it. It was hard trying to look good in jail, but she had to try.
The pigs didn't even acknowledge her. In fact, the blonde one in his chair turned his back towards her. She couldn't believe it.
"Come on boys, let mommy show you a good time."
Laura smiled as seductively as she knew how, and pulled her skirt up one of her knees. It was almost impossible to keep it up there when she was standing up, but she somehow managed. She let the boys get a wonderful view of the stockings she was wearing. She was sure they were getting a turn on, but when she turned to see their tongues hanging out, they weren't even looking in her direction. Blondie was laughing at the game, and baldie was working on putting some kind of chips in his fat mouth.
What the hell was wrong with these men? Were they gay or something? She sat back down on the pathetic excuse for a bed, and cleared her throat. Both of the pigs shouted out in joy when their team scored, and the kid that was working on keeping the place clean was dusting a cabinet on the far wall. She tried threatening this kid earlier. She figured that the cops treated this boy just like the FBI agents treated Reid. This was their baby, and they would do anything they possibly could to protect him. The sheriff sure did get mad when she mentioned the boy earlier.
The kid looked a lot like her sons. His skin was in better shape, but he had dark hair and pretty eyes just like her boys. He was closer to Joseph's age than Daniel, but it was hard to get a good look at the kid. He kept shuffling through papers or picking crap off the floor. Her kids could learn a few lessons from this guy about keeping house. She was sure that she would be able to convince the boy to help her out. He wouldn't want his own mother locked away in jail so he would be more than willing to help her.
"Hey kid," she whispered. She didn't want to attract the attention of the pigs.
The kid didn't turn around. He kept right on working.
"Hey," she said a little more loudly. She stood by the thick bars of her cell, but the kid still wasn't looking at her. He seemed better at ignoring her than the pigs were.
"Stop talking to him lady!" baldie barked at her.
He got his fat butt away from the television, and walked right up to her. The kid was finally looking towards her, but it was too late for her to talk to him. She would have to wait until baldie went back to blondie to pretend to act like real men. They were fools. He banged his fist against her bars, but she didn't back away. She wasn't afraid of an old man.
"Bite me," she said rolling her tongue over her top lip.
"I wouldn't bite you if you was the last lady on earth, got it?" baldie asked.
"Oh, you would officer, and you enjoy every snap!" Laura shouted. She slapped her hand on her butt, and laughed loudly. "Oh, if my husband were here…what he would do to you!"
"You need to sit yourself right down lady," baldie said.
"I ain't doin nothin you want until you give me what I want!" she shouted. "Let me see my husband!"
The boy was staring intently at her, but he still wasn't saying anything to help or hurt the situation she was in. He was probably just a queer or something. If her husband really was here, she enjoy watching him break all three of them. The kid needed to die just because he was refusing to help out a woman in dire need. He was a bastard.
Baldie turned away from her to face the kid. The boy looked completely shocked about what was going on here. He had to be hiding under a rock not to know that she was here. She had to be a local celebrity. She was sure she was. All the photographers would be wanting her picture soon.
"Rickie, you should just go home for tonight. We got it covered here."
The kid grabbed a little notebook from his pocket, and took a pen off the desk. He started scribbling something down, and held it up for the bald pig to see. Why the hell was he doing that?
"Fine, fine," badlie said looking around. "Just work on the windows in front then. Don't come back here again. Got it?"
Rickie nodded, and went to the front of the station like requested. It was weird that the boy would rather write something down than talk. Did he know how to talk? He was sure a weirdo if he didn't, but she needed to find a way out of here. Rickie was her only hope.
J.J. got out of her bed, and sat at the desk by the window. She had been tossing and turning all night. She didn't think she got 5 minutes of sleep, and the sun would be coming up soon. She stayed as quiet as possible. The rest of her team were still lost in their dream worlds, and she would never want to take them away from that. She just wished she was still at the hospital or at the house or even at the station. She hated to not be doing something. She was wide awake, and she felt like she was just wasting time sitting around.
She could have used a hot cup of coffee, but her room didn't come with a coffee maker. The hotel room was simple enough with a large bed, desk, television, a dresser, and a pretty nice bathroom. She thought about taking a shower earlier, but Prentiss was in the room next to hers and she didn't want to wake up her up. She would have to wait for her coffee and her shower. The snow had stopped falling hours ago, and she was sure that it was going to be a nice day. She just wanted to sneak out and get down to the hospital, but she didn't trust herself driving on the icy roads. All they needed was for her to get in a car accident.
She would go crazy if she had to sit in the room any longer though. She put on a big jacket, black boots, and headed downstairs. She held her breath while she locked the door behind her, and had to tiptoe down the stairs. Once she got to the lounge, she waited to see if anyone followed her down, but she was alone. She sat down on the couch in front of a fireplace, and stretched out her legs. She wished there was a fire going, but it didn't look like anyone else was up but her. She put her legs out on the couch, and laid her head down on one of the pillows when she heard someone else walk in. She quickly sat back up, and straightened out her hair.
"You don't need to get up dear," an older woman said.
J.J. looked around the couch and saw a woman in her 60s coming toward her. She had dyed red hair, and pretty green eyes. She was wearing a dress that looked like it came out Little House on the Prairie. With the dim light in the building, she could pass as a ghost. The woman didn't look like a threat in her flower patterned dress, but J.J. wanted to go back upstairs.
"I'm sorry ma'am. I was just going back to my room," J.J. said.
"No need. I'm one of the owners of this hotel," she said smiling. "My name is May Judd. You're one of the FBI agents?"
"Yes."
May sat down on the armchair next to her. It was strange that J.J. had never seen her before, but then again, J.J. was rarely at the hotel. She didn't want to be there. She wanted to be working.
"You look exhausted dear," May said.
"Just a little," J.J. admitted. "It's been a long week."
"Your friends won't be up for another few hours. You could take a little nap before they are ready to leave. You could even sleep here on the couch if you wanted."
"I should probably just go back to my room," J.J. said quickly.
"No, it's fine sweetie," May said.
She stood up, and dragged out a blanket from underneath the couch. She handed it to J.J. and added another pillow to the couch. J.J. was feeling more tired that she was than when she was in her room, but she didn't want to sleep downstairs. She didn't want the team finding her asleep on the couch.
"I made this blanket myself about 20 years ago when my fingers still worked properly. Sleep well agent. I'll make sure no one disturbs you until it's a proper hour."
J.J. wanted to argue and protest, but the older woman was already walking away. J.J. reluctantly put her head back on the pillow, and before she knew it, her eyes were closed. She wanted to see Hotch and Reid again. She didn't want to directly confront the sole survivor of the family that nearly killed them, but J.J. did want to see her. J.J. wanted to make sure that Laura Bates suffered the maximum penalty that the state offered. J.J. wanted to know how long the Bates brothers were abused by their parents, but she really wanted to be there when Hotch and Reid woke up. She finally fell asleep in the early hours of the morning with that on her mind.
so let me know how u like the new characters and if u have any direction in how u think it should go. i really like rickie so i have some plans for him, but laura is something else. its going 2 b pretty fun when she finds out her entire family is dead haha. so let me know and plz review! xoxo