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Hotch shut his phone and returned it to the clip on his belt. His stomach was churning at the news he'd just been given. The kitchen was right ahead of him, so he detoured in for a cup of coffee. Dave made the best coffee outside of Gideon's famous brew. It was ten times better than the sludge at Quantico.
The kitchen was huge with a center island for extra counter space. Above the island was a wine rack about half full. The appliances were stainless steel and top of the line. The granite counter tops and terracotta tile floors were polished to a high shine. There was a square wooden chopping block in one corner of the room that doubled as a place to eat. Two wooden chairs faced it at precise angles like soldiers. If he didn't know how much Rossi loved to cook, he'd think that no one lived there.
The smell of coffee drew him to the coffee maker on the counter next to a tree hung with coffee cups. He grabbed one and was pouring a cup when someone cleared their throat behind him. He turned to find Reid standing there shuffling his feet.
"Hello Hotch," he said softly.
His eyes met Hotch's forthrightly, but he looked confused and shell shocked. He also looked like he was still upright by sheer force of will.
"Why aren't you sleeping?" Hotch said and then flinched at the way his question came out sounding so harsh. "I mean, you look so tired and I'm sure you must be glad to be out of where you were held."
"Um… Yeah, I just can't sleep. I smelled the coffee and since Austin is asleep…"
He suddenly went so red in the face that Hotch felt embarrassed for the young man. He clearly wasn't comfortable with Rossi putting the two of them in the same room for the night. But it couldn't be helped as there were only so many bedrooms in the house and they'd all refused to go home.
"I'll get you a cup." Hotch turned back to the coffee pot.
When he turned around again, Reid was sitting on one of the chairs at the cutting block. Hotch took the cup to him and didn't criticize his caffeine intake at that time of night.
"I'm sorry that you can't sleep." Hotch said as he sat down. "I had hoped you would get some rest before I told you what I've learned and what I've done. I must ask you to keep the first thing I'm going to tell you to yourself."
Reid nodded and remained silent. Hotch's stomach churned again at the look of total trust on the young man's face.
"I've had a conversation with our friend on the fourteenth floor."
"Oh…"
"Yes, He asked me to assure you that SSA Calloway, SSA Stark and Section Chief Strauss, will never bother you again. No matter what you hear about them, they'll never touch you or Austin again. Do you trust me?"
The large hazel eyes never moved from Hotch's face. He nodded slowly at this revelation. "I trust you Hotch."
"I must ask you never to tell anyone what I've told you. If there is fallout, I will take the responsibility."
"Yes sir."
"Now, I just spoke with a contact in Los Angeles. Your uncle is in custody. Apparently he confessed to everything on a promise from Calloway that you would come see him."
"I don't ever want to see him again."
"You don't have to see him. Calloway lied and now that he is less then reliable to the FBI, that agreement is withdrawn. However, in a search of his residence, the police found souvenirs from the murdered men and other evidence."
"He was my favorite uncle." Reid whispered. Tears fell down his face and he wiped them away impatiently. "He was the one that taught me my first magic trick. I trusted him with my life."
"Reid…"
"Did you know that I haven't been able to see him all these years? I didn't remember, but somehow I knew. I should have tried to harder to remember."
"Reid, it's going to be hell getting through this, but we'll help you."
"I never want to see him again." Reid said bitterly and more tears leaked out of his eyes.
"You won't have too. He'll never see the light of day again either."
"He'll always be alive in my mind."
"And you have us and Austin to help you though it."
"I wouldn't blame Austin if she left."
"She's not going to leave. She cares a lot about you."
Reid wouldn't look at him. He played with the handle of the coffee mug on the table in front of him. His cheeks were pink and Hotch had to smile.
"You know Reid, just because it isn't logical doesn't mean that love at first sight isn't possible."
Reid's head snapped up and his mouth dropped. Hotch tried not to laugh, but couldn't stop the smile that turned up his mouth.
"How did you…"
"I'm a profiler, but more important I'm a man. I remember the first time I saw Haley… I knew we'd be together always. Then I messed it up. I'll always regret that for the sake of my son. Hold on to Austin, don't let anything come between you, you'll regret it if you do. If the day ever comes that you must chose between her and the job, be sure you pick her. You can do whatever you want. I know that you're here in this job because of your uncle. You wanted to make sure that no one goes through what you did and I understand that, but now you need to decide if you're here because you truly love it."
Reid took another sip of his coffee and thought for a long time. "I'm here because I want to be. I love my job."
"I'm glad, because we care about you and want you to be happy."
"Thanks Hotch."
"Now, leave that coffee alone and go back to bed. There is a traumatized young woman that needs you and I suspect you need her."
"Hotch, Um… Can I ask you a question?"
"Yes, of course you can."
"Um… What do I say to her?"
"Why don't you go back and hold her. You'll know what to do when she wakes up."
"Um… Okay."
Hotch watched the young man leave the room and he let himself indulge in a laugh. Reid was about to find out how great love could be.
"Don't let him mess it up like I did." He said to no one in particular.
---
Reid opened the bathroom door. It was down the hall from the room he was sharing with Austin which happened to bee next door to Rossi. The hallway looked very long, and not long enough at the same time. He'd changed into the sweats and tee shirt from his ready bag that he used for pajamas. Jordan had brought one of her night shirts for Austin to wear so sleeping in the same bed should be safe enough for them.
He tiptoed down the dark hallway. Morgan was downstairs with Hotch using a couple of sleeping bags that Rossi had in storage. Emily was sharing the pullout bed in the living room sofa with Garcia. Jordan had taken the only other furnished bedroom in the house with a twin bed. The house was silent, but he felt like someone was listening to him creep around.
No one is listening to you. Calloway is gone!
Still, that prickly back of the neck feeling wouldn't go away. Suddenly he didn't feel safe at all. He dashed to the door that he could barely see in the moonlight from the living room that seeped into the hallway. He opened the door, raced inside and slammed it shut. More moonlight showed the figure in bed sit up and Austin said, "Who's there," in a shaking voice.
He crawled into the bed and pulled her into his arms. "I'm sorry if I scared you."
"Spencer… What's wrong? You're shaking," She patted his back with trembling hands.
"He's never going away."
"It's okay, we're safe."
"No we're not. He'll come after me again."
"No, he won't come after you. He's going to jail."
"He'll never stop!"
"Shh… It's okay baby." She kissed his forehead. "Try to get some sleep."
"No! I love you Austin. I can't lose you."
"You're not going to lose -"
He kissed her and her mind went blank, shutting out everything but the feel of his hands on her body and the heat of his lips on hers.
---
Austin opened her eyes to golden sunlight seeping into the room around the blinds at the window. The confusion of where she was left when two arms tightened around her. She lay on her side and a warm body was holding her close. She looked down to see two familiar hands holding her around the waist.
She untangled from him and got up. He turned over as soon as she stood up. She pulled on the sleeping shirt Jordan had leant her, but that had spent most of the night on the floor. She looked down at him and nearly laughed. He lay on his back spread eagle with his arm thrown out. His hair was a mess but he seemed to be sleeping peacefully.
The bathroom was calling her so she grabbed her tee shirt and jeans, also leant by Jordan. A shower was just the ticket. Then she'd figure out how to deal with new feelings that had hold on her heart.
She opened the door to the bedroom and nearly tripped over a black labrador dog that lay next to the door. The dog looked up and whined at her. "Well hello there!" She reached done and patted his head.
The dog whined and looked in Reid's direction. "Is Spencer why you're out here?"
The dog chuffed softly and stared at the sleeping man. "He's okay!" She assured the dog who looked up at her with dark eyes.
"I promise!"
She petted the dog till he lay back down and put his head on his paws. "Stay with him... He needs lots of friends."
---
Emily was helping Rossi with breakfast when Morgan and Hotch came into the room with Garcia and Jordan. "Smells great…" Hotch said.
"There's coffee over there," He pointed with the spatula in his hand. "I thought we do this buffet style in the dining room."
"Sounds great," Morgan said.
They took turns with the coffee and made their way into the dining room through the swinging door. Garcia had grabbed the platter of pancakes and Morgan took the pitcher of orange juice.
Rossi finished up with the bacon just as Austin came into the big room. "Hi," She said.
Rossi looked at Emily and smirked. "How's Reid this morning?"
"He's fine." She said brightly.
"Hey everyone," Reid came into room still clad in sleepwear, and rubbing at his eyes like a small child. Emily began to laugh at him.
"I know I'm no prize in the morning but do you have to laugh!"
"It's not that," Rossi said as Emily transferred bacon to another platter.
"Then what's so funny?"
"I'll try to say this as delicately as I can because there are ladies present." Rossi said, as he removed the griddle to the sink. "We all understand that you two went through a terrible ordeal. We know you're both feeling very vulnerable right now."
"What are you trying to say?"
"Just that you forgot last night that you two weren't alone in this house," Rossi said.
Reid went scarlet, because he had forgotten that he and Austin weren't alone that night. Austin was nearly as red as Reid.
"I'm sorry Dave. Um… did we keep you awake?"
"Yes, but I'm willing to forgive and not say anything to the rest if you agree to clean up."
"That's blackmail!" Reid said indignantly.
"True," He stared at the young couple who were squirming uncomfortably under his gaze and Emily's smirk.
"Fine, we'll clean up the mess."
"Now see, that wasn't so hard." Rossi put his arm around Reid and led him out of the kitchen.
"Don't worry, we won't tell on you." Emily promised Austin.
"Thanks, it was just that -"
"You don't have to explain. Reid is happy and I'm very glad."
Austin went pink again. "You guys really care about each other."
"Yeah, we do…"
"I'm glad! Spencer needs good friends and family."
"He has it. And don't worry… Everyone involved in this is out of the picture. They'll never hurt you or Reid again."
"Are you sure? He was so scared last night."
"I'm sure. Hotch got the call this morning. Agent Ramirez, the one that helped you, is getting immunity for his part in this. No one wants to take him away from his family."
"Is that okay."
"Yeah, I think its okay. I think I can understand why he would have helped Calloway."
"Me too," Austin said. "Even though I don't know that whole story, there was something about him that I trusted."
"Well, enough about this. Let's go eat before they wonder what happened to us."
Austin followed Emily to the dining room. Now she understood why Reid wanted to stay at his job despite the heartache. His family was here. They looked out for him and each other. She would do everything she could to find her place with them.
The swinging door opened and Morgan came in. "There you are! Are you hiding from us," he grinned at her.
"No, I was just on my way to join you!"
A/n this is the last chapter before an epilogue dealing with my version of what happens to Stark, Strauss and Calloway. There will be a cameo from a character I borrowed from Editor Frog. In her universe, there is an original character named Josh Hollenbeck. He's French, a rather large man and head of counter terrorism at Quantico. He's been in cases with the BAU in her stories and has become quite fond of the team, including Reid. He knows just about everyone and you don't mess with him on any level. That's who Hotch called to 'take care,' of the terrible three.