Jesse POV

Derek insisted he come back with me. I wasn't in the mood to argue. We walked into the hotel room, and I grabbed clothes to take a shower. Derek sat on the couch, and Daemon went and sat up on his lap. Daemon fell back asleep, and Derek looked like he was about to do so too. I motioned for him to lay on the bed, and I went into the bathroom. I looked in the mirror, and shivered. It seemed I was still cold. Derek and I were exhausted, who know how many hours of sleep we had both had?

I got in the shower, and turned it on warm. I stood there, just letting the water run down my body. I had almost gotten kidnapped again today. Why wasn't I more worried about this?

I knew Derek's presence helped. If he wasn't here, I'd probably freak out and leave for Scotland.

When the water turned cold, I got out. After I was dressed, I walked out to the bedroom. Derek was asleep on top of the covers, with his clothes on. I smiled; he looked so peaceful. I went over the couch, and was glad it was long enough. I was six feet, and I fit just right on the couch. I'm glad Derek moved to the bed, he wouldn't fit on here.

I immediately fell asleep.

I woke up at six, I was going to go for a short run. I wasn't even aware of the time, but I made sure to grab my gun this time. I went into the bathroom so I wouldn't wake anybody up, but when I got out, the lights were on. Derek was sitting on the edge of the bed in sweats and a wife beater. "Where do you think you're going?"

I gave him a look, "I can go out by myself Derek, I'm not five."

He stood up, "I know, but it's obvious you're still a target. The guy at the station clearly couldn't have kidnapped people, he wouldn't have the strength to remain on two feet. So, until we catch him, I'm your body guard; especially because you didn't have your gun yesterday. You're lucky no one told Hotch."

I walked to get Daemon's leash, "Fine. But you better keep up."

He smiled and nodded, "I'll keep up just fine." With that, we exited the hotel, and started jogging.

A few blocks into it I asked, "Where did Emily sleep last night?"

Derek turned to look at me, "She slept on the other bed in Rossi's room. You could've just taken the bed last night, there was an empty bed."

"I was fine. I sleep better on couches sometimes. Last night was just one of those nights. Besides, I didn't wake up once last night."

He nodded, and I could hear his breathing getting short, so I slowed, "You don't have to slow for me, I said I'd keep up."

I shook my head, "I don't need to go at such a grueling pace. I'd like to keep my knees for as long as possible."

He laughed, and Daemon nipped at his hand, "Hey."

Derek looked at me, "What he'd do that for?"

"He wants you to pay attention to where you're going. You almost hit a loose brick back there."

He looked at the dog, then back at me, "Oh, smart dog." I smiled and shook my head.

"Yeah."

About twenty minutes later, Derek was really having a hard time breathing. I turned back to the hotel, and he waved his thanks. I knew he wouldn't talk until his heart stopped pounding.

We sat on the benches right outside the hotel. I walked inside and grabbed a water bottle, and a wet rag. I handed Derek the bottle, then started rubbing Daemon down with the rag. I knew it would cool him off faster.

When I heard Derek's breathing slow, I looked at him, "You ok?"

He nodded, "Yeah. Just a little sore."

I looked at him again, "That short of a run shouldn't be that difficult, especially after the training we did."

He shrugged his shoulders, "I ate a lot yesterday. I haven't worked out the entire time we've been here."

I shook my head, "No, that wouldn't explain it." I saw Derek take another drink of water, then I snatched it out of his hands. I sniffed it a little, and noticed the smell was off. I sipped a little, then immediately spit it out. I took the rag off Daemon, then grabbed Derek's face in my hands. I looked into his pupils, then at his complexion. "You're pale."

"That's just from the run."

I shook my head, "Lean your head back."

I felt his tonsils and his throat glands; they were swollen too. I leaned in and smelled his breath. It didn't have a peculiar smell, but it was off. I couldn't exactly describe it. I grabbed his hand, and pulled him up. I stormed to his room, and then banged on the door. It took a few minutes, but Emily eventually opened the door, I stormed past her, still holding Derek's hand. I pointed to the bed, and said "Sit." Both him and Daemon did so. I riffled through all the food, and water in the room. I looked at Rossi, he seemed fine, maybe a little bit confused, but fine.

A minute later Hotch and Spencer walked in, "What's going on?"

Derek looked at them, "No clue. She just started freaking out when I was panting heavily after our run. Then she made us run in here."

I kept looking through everything, I moved onto their clothes. Derek protested when I went into his boxers, but I told him to shut up, "Think about what I'm doing."

I pulled out an electronic bug, and set it on the table. That had been wrapped up in some of Derek's socks. I went over to the water, and poured it all down the drain. I turned the shower on to cover up the noise. Then, I put the bug on the bathroom sink.

When I walked up I held a finger up to my lips, "If we whisper, we should be fine. Derek, I think you've been slightly poisoned." I could see him start to freak out, "You're fine. Just drink a ton of water the rest of the day, and you should be fine. Inspect the caps of the bottles for contamination though." He nodded, then sat back down on the bed.

Hotch looked at me, "How may of us do you think are poisoned?"

I shook my head, "No way to know. It only shows slight symptoms for the first few days, and then you wind up dead after the 4th day if I guessed the right drug. Everyone be careful until we find this son of a bitch."

Derek looked at Hotch, "We need to make sure the profile's perfect. He knows we're here, and he knows how to get to us. Before we go out and search the woods, let's give the local officers an updated profile."

Hotch nodded, "Ok, everybody in the SUVs in five. Everyone make sure you always have someone with you. Be extra careful. Jesse, can I see you outside?"

I nodded, and followed him out, "What's up?"

He looked at me, and I leaned against the wall in a submissive position so he would know I was cooperating. "I don't like the fact that you're keeping things from the team."

"Everyone has their secrets Hotch."

"Yes, but you've outright lied to us."

I was confused, I may hide certain facts, but I tried to not lie to the team, "What do you mean?"

"Your tattoo for one."

I looked at him and had to stop myself from laughing, "Really? Is that what your worried about? I got it when I was 19. My sister had one like it before she died."

"That's not it. You were going for runs in the morning, you're causing my team to lie to me." Before I could interrupt he held up a hand for me to stop, "Derek and Rossi both knew you didn't have a gun on you yesterday."

Shit. I didn't want to get them in trouble, "Hotch, if you have a problem with me, just tell me. I'll be on the next plane out of here. I really think I can help, but not if you're resisting me."

He looked me in the eye, "I want your help because if I don't, the director may disband my team."

I looked at him, "You covered for Strauss didn't you? With her drinking problem?"

He looked at me in shock, "You can't prove that."

"Exactly. And you can't prove I didn't have a gun on me yesterday. Besides, with a gun, the UNSUB would be much more injured than he is now. Had he attacked anyone else, they would've killed him, and you wouldn't know there was another UNSUB." I waited for him to respond, but he didn't, "Look, I don't care if you like me, but just don't get in my way."

I turned to walk back into Derek's room, but Hotch grabbed my arm before I could. I tensed up, and Hotch let go. I turned around, and he spoke, "Thanks for checking up on Derek. Without you, he may have ended up dead." I nodded my head, and we parted ways. It seemed Hotch was going to cause me some trouble. Hopefully I could solve this case and get on his good side.