"Holy shi…!" Dr. Barton's strangled expletive was lost beneath his patient's snarling attack.
He propelled himself backwards, the wheels on his chair squeaking at the unaccustomed velocity. When they encountered the edge of the small carpet the doctor's interior designer had added to his office décor to 'warm the place up,' they snagged. Chair and doctor tumbled to the ground in an ignominious heap.
Simultaneously…
The outer door burst open, revealing Reid, Morgan, J.J. and Garcia. Alerted by the sound of an animal attack, they were momentarily frozen, gaping at the therapy session that had degenerated into a free-for-all centered around their raging leader.
Rossi made a grab for Hotch, missing; his fingers grazing, but failing to grip shoulders that bunched with muscular tension, bent on vanquishing the doctor.
Prentiss had known they were entering dangerous, subconscious territory. She didn't question the occult awareness that told her Hotch would strike. She had moved a fraction of a second before anyone else. She threw herself against her leader; her full body weight knocking him off target. As Barton sprawled on the floor, scrabbling to get yet further away from the frothing animal bent on his demise, Emily wrestled with Aaron.
She was no match for him physically. With the added factors of his fury and desperation, all she could hope for was to delay his reaching the doctor. When she felt Hotch's weight being lifted away from her, she was relieved to realize Morgan had entered the fray. But all that served to do was incite the crazed thing that was their Unit Chief to greater efforts.
"Dammit, Barton, wake him up!" Rossi's shout broke through the stupefied expression on the doctor's face. The man seemed mesmerized by the struggling agents.
Morgan had wrapped Hotch in a bear hug, Aaron's back pressed against him as he pinioned the man's arms to his sides and tried not to squeeze too hard. What Derek found most distressing was that his boss wasn't fighting with the cagy agility of which he was capable. What he held was a beast trying to thrash its way free with no thought for its own physical welfare.
Barton clambered to his feet, intending to approach his patient, but the red-rimmed eyes that glared at him out of Hotch's face made him recoil. He'd seen the entire gamut of human emotions in the course of his career, but this… His breath caught as he realized…This isn't human! This is inhuman!
In the tiny window between Morgan's intervention and the doctor's hesitation, Prentiss slipped in once again.
"Hotch! Hotch!" She managed to lay her palms along their boss's gaunt cheeks, trying to control his wild movements by forcing him to focus on her.
"Prentiss, NO! He's out of control!" She ignored Derek's warning…
…and then, from somewhere or some-when, she didn't know why or how, but the compulsion was too strong to resist…she pressed her lips against Hotch's ear and whispered, "Es esmu šeit, es esmu šeit, mans draugs, mans partneris, man ir jums ..." But in Emily's ears is sounded like I'm here, I'm here, my friend, my partner, I have you...
The effect on Hotch was electric, like cutting the current that animated his limbs. With no warning that his adversary would cease struggling, Morgan fought to keep his balance. The other observers, doctor and agents, stared, trying to understand what was happening.
Prentiss held Aaron's face between her palms. She pressed her forehead against his. "Es esmu šeit, es esmu šeit," she murmured I'm here, I'm here...
Hotch's guttural, growl creaked in response. "You left me...You left me...You left me..." His tortured, brown eyes rose to meet hers. "Why?...Whyyyyy…?"
All Prentiss could do was shake her head and gather him into a hug as best she could with Morgan still holding on. She still didn't know where all this was coming from, but it felt like puzzle pieces in her soul sliding into place.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Dr. Barton opted to retreat once he saw the rogue FBI agent had calmed. He backed away and sought refuge behind his nice, solid, defensible desk.
Morgan panted, waiting until he was sure Hotch wouldn't succumb again to whatever had coursed through him, making him more beast than man. When Prentiss seemed in control, he released his boss, letting his hands slide down and away until the man was free.
The only sounds in the room for several beats were the Unit Chief's harsh, whistling gasps and Derek's labored breathing.
Rossi broke the relative silence. "Children, I think it's time for us to leave." He nodded at Barton as he bent to retrieve Aaron's shoes. "I trust you'll maintain patient confidentiality, Doctor. I'll see your receptionist about the bill."
"Tha…that's…uh…never mind…" The only coin Saul Barton was interested in obtaining was that of their departure.
He stayed behind the fortress of his desk until the agents had left, the dark-haired woman still holding onto a shivering, but subdued, Mr. Hotchner.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Once they were in the elevator that would take them down to street level, Rossi handed Aaron his shoes. The Unit Chief was unsteady, but managed to put them on without help.
They walked out to the SUV in shocked silence. Reid slid behind the wheel. J.J. rode shotgun once again. Rossi, Morgan and Garcia crammed into the back seat, managing to give Hotch and Prentiss a space to huddle together. For a few minutes, no one moved. No one spoke.
Except Emily. She had a distant, distracted look in her eyes, but she pulled Aaron's head down to her shoulder and stroked his hair with one hand as she gazed out the window.
Rossi was reminded of how he would absentmindedly pat Mudgie after a long case when the dog needed reassurance that his best friend was back home and still loved him as much as ever. He took a deep breath. "Well. That was…" He paused. "Hell, I don't know what that was."
"I do." Morgan's adrenalin was still rushing from having to overpower Hotch. "That was bat-shit crazy! What were you thinking, Bossman?!"
"Shhh! Leave him alone." Prentiss returned from wherever her thoughts had taken her in full protective mode. Her frown and her tone were like an aftershock to the entire experience.
Another few minutes of silence fell. Reid had been studying Emily and Aaron in the rearview mirror. He pitched his voice to be as neutral and inoffensive as possible. "Prentiss? What was that language you were speaking?"
"Huh?" Her scowl deepened. "Wha'd'you mean? What language?"
"When you were talking to Hotch. What was that? I didn't recognize it."
"Reid, I don't know what you're talking about."
The young genius accessed his phenomenal memory. "You said…'Es esmu šeit.' You repeated it a couple of times. There was more, but I couldn't catch it."
Emily felt her heartrate increase. "That's Latvian, I think…I'm not sure."
"What does it mean?" Now Reid was the one frowning. Why did his teammate looked confused and even a little scared?
"I don't know what it means. I don't speak Latvian. Or any of the Baltic languages. I don't. But I can recognize some of them."
Silence filled the SUV interior again.
All eyes were on Prentiss and Hotch, displaying various levels of concern. Even Garcia didn't think the occult aura surrounding them was 'cool' anymore. It was dark and violent.
"We're not going to figure anything out here." Rossi took command of the situation. "Let's go back to the hotel. We can talk about it more there. And Hotch needs rest."
"I'm not leaving him." Emotion throbbed in Emily's voice. "He can sleep, but I'm staying by him." Only Aaron heard her whisper against his hair. "I need to call my mother back. Maybe she can help…but I won't leave you. I'm sorry if I ever did."
A small whimper in the back of Hotch's throat might have been gratitude.
Or doubt.