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Happily Ever After-Chapter 37

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The ride to the hospital was a quiet one. As he drove, Hotch wondered how much more the Rossi family could take and still remain a strong family unit. He was worried about all three of them. While Hotch knew it was a sexist notion, Dave, as the man of the family, had to bear the responsibility of taking care of JJ and Abby and he wondered how long his friend could go on before breaking himself. Speaking of breaking, he thought as he glanced in the rearview mirror at his nearly catatonic pseudo niece, he wondered if Abby would ever be the same again. He knew the girl had been through a lot this week and it scared him to see her look so broken. And then there was JJ, who was physically broken. Would she be able to physically heal while her family was going through so much? How would the physical threat hinder her own recovery? As if reading his stormy thoughts, Emily, who was in the front seat of the SUV, reached over, took his hand and gently caressed it while he drove.

Seeing Emily and Hotch holding hands only reminded Dave of his daughter's new hatred of being touched. All he wanted to do was hold her in his arms and assure her that everything would be all right, but she wouldn't let him even hold her hand, much less hug her. Deep down he knew it was a reaction to the events that had taken place in the hotel room less than an hour previous. He could tell she figured out what Will was going to do to her before he killed her, and he knew the idea horrified her. As he snuck a glance at her, he saw that she was staring at the back of the front seat, still wide eyed and silent. She still had a wild look in her eyes and it frightened him a little. He knew it would take a lot of work to get her past the events of the night, but he knew that both he and Jennifer could do it.

Abby could feel her father's eyes on her, but she didn't care. She was somewhat aware that she was scaring the hell out of everyone, but she couldn't help it. She had to shut her mind down because if she thought about Will and what he had nearly done just an hour ago, she would completely lose it and once that happened, she didn't know if she would ever be able to stop being scared. As they grew nearer to the hospital, Abby wondered if she would ever feel happiness again, because for the last few days all she had felt was sadness and fear. She wondered if that was to be her family's new normal.

As the hospital came into sight, Dave directed Hotch to go to the ER.

"Why?" The unit chief asked.

"Dr. Robinson is on duty tonight and I want him to look at Abby. Her neck is still bleeding and she took a hell of a fall. I want to make sure she's okay before we go see Jennifer." It killed Dave to postpone seeing his wife, as he needed to see with his own eyes that she was unharmed, but his daughter was injured and her needs had to come first.

He realized just how out of it Abby was when she didn't argue with him about going to the ER. Normally she threw tantrums that would make six year-olds proud when anyone even mentioned her going to the doctor. Now she just nodded mutely, not looking at him.

Hotch parked the SUV and the four of them walked into the busy ER. As he did before, Dave strode up to the window and asked to see Dr. Robinson. Even though he didn't have an appointment for a wound check, the doctor must have left word that if Rossi came down to the department he was to be seen immediately, because the triage nurse buzzed them in and directed them to exam room eight.

"Prentiss," Dave said, "Can you go up to Jennifer's room and let her know what happened to us tonight? If she sees Abby without any warning, it will frighten her and I want to avoid that if possible."

"Of course," Emily said and moved towards the door. She caught Rossi's eye and motioned him over to the other side of the room. "When I was helping her get undressed, I noticed a large bruise on her hip and a few smaller ones on her upper back. You might want to have the doctor look at them," she told him.

"Thanks Em. Please make sure Jen knows we're all right and that we'll be up to see her as soon as possible."

"I will Dave," she assured him and then slipped out the door.

Dr. Robinson entered the small room less than five minutes later.

"Agent Rossi, what can I do for you?" He asked and then saw a bruised and battered Abby sitting on the exam table. He could tell at once by the girl's face that she had been physically beaten and emotionally traumatized. He could also see that her neck was bleeding in a few spots and he guessed by the way she was sitting that she had a couple of bruises elsewhere on her body.

Dave explained all that had happened and the doctor nodded along as he listened. " I can tell you right now she's going to need stitches in a few spots on her neck. I have to finish up with another patient and then I'll be back," he said as he reached into a cabinet. "I need you to put this gown on while I'm gone," he said to Abby as he put the item into her trembling hands. "I should be back in about fifteen minutes."

"Thanks doc," Dave said gratefully as the young resident exited the room. Dave turned back to his daughter. "I'm going to step outside with Hotch so you can get changed," he told her. He got one step away from her when he felt her hand grab his.

"Don't go," she said in a high pitched voice.

"I'm not going anywhere honey, I'll be right outside the door."

She tightened her grip on his hand. "Don't leave me alone!"

Hearing the panic in her voice, Dave said gently, "Okay Pumpkin, I won't leave." As he spoke, he gave her hand a gentle squeeze, grateful that she was allowing the contact.

"I'm going to step outside, I'll guard the room from out in the hallway," Hotch told them as he exited the small cubicle.

Once they were alone, Dave picked up the gown. "Can you change into this by yourself, or do you need help?" He asked.

"I can do it myself," she said softly. Even in her low tone of voice, Dave could hear the hysteria lurking just beneath the surface.

"Okay," he said, reluctantly letting go of her hand, "I'm going to turn my back so you can change." He turned around and studied the medical posters on the wall while Abby swapped her clothing for the uncomfortable hospital gown. After a minute or two, he heard her say in a shaky voice, "I'm done, you can turn around." He did and saw her struggling to tie the back of the gown. He brushed her hands away and tied it himself. As he did, he saw the bruises lining her back and once again cursed Will LaMontagne to the depths of hell.

Once the gown was tied, Dave stood next to Abby and once again reached for her hand. He was happy when she allowed him to hold it, instead of recoiling from his touch. He really wanted to throw his arms around her and assure her that everything would be okay, but he knew that would be too much, too fast, so he remained content just holding her hand.

True to his word, Dr. Robinson appeared within fifteen minutes and began examining Abby. He poked and prodded some of her bruises and asked her questions about the cause of injuries and her level of pain. Normally the teen would be very vocal about the pain he was causing, but right now he got one word answers from her. This was a very different girl than the one who had sat with her father while he was getting his IV antibiotics and he knew the events of the past few days had finally caught up with her.

Once he finished his exam he proclaimed her to be in good health, all things considered. He assured Dave that none of his daughter's bones were broken and none of the bruises required anything more than time to fade. He then quickly stitched up her neck and gave her antibiotic ointment for the stitches the split in her lip. Once he was done, he told Abby she could get dressed and walked towards the door.

Dave started after him, "Dr. Robinson, wait," he said and then turned back to Abby. "I'm not leaving the room Pumpkin; I just want to talk to the doctor for a minute."

Abby nodded and Dave turned towards the doctor, "What about her refusal to talk? Her not wanting to be physically touched?"

"I would guess it's a reaction to the emotional trauma she suffered tonight; she's trying to block it out of her mind. She should get past it in a couple of days, but if you'd like I could have psych come down and evaluate her."

"How long will that take?" Dave asked, anxious to see his wife.

"On a night like tonight? Probably another couple of hours. Also, she'll probably see the psych resident on duty," Dr. Robinson told him. Seeing the indecision on Dave's face, he told him, "Look Agent Rossi, with all that your daughter has been though, this isn't a totally unexpected reaction. My advice is to give it a couple of days and if she's still withdrawn, you can bring her back here and then I can call psych."

Dave nodded his agreement, "Okay, let's do it that way. Thanks again doc," Rossi said, shaking the younger man's hand.

"Any time sir, now go take care of your family," he directed, and Dave did just that.

After Abby was dressed, he helped her off of the exam table and led her out the door, where they met up with Hotch. The three of them took the elevator to the tenth floor and then made their way to JJ's room. Once there, Dave stepped inside with Abby following behind him.

"Jen, thank God," he said hoarsely as he rushed over to her and gave her a gentle hug. Now that he saw she was okay, he felt himself begin to break a little.

"I'm fine honey" she said as he released her, "But what about-oh my God, Abby?" Abby had stepped into the room and JJ got her first look at her daughter's bruised face. As she studied the girl, she realized her vacant expression bothered her more than the physical injuries. Emily had told them about the attack, and about Abby's withdrawal into herself, but JJ didn't know it was this bad. She wanted Abby to come over to her so she could hug and kiss her, but she stood off to the side of everyone, hugging herself with her arms.

"The doc said she should be fine in a few days," Dave said softly.

"My God Dave, what happened over there?" She asked.

"You mean Emily didn't tell you?"

JJ shook her head, "She gave me the cliff note version, but no details. Who would do this to us?"

"Will," Dave said resignedly. He knew his wife didn't need the additional stress of knowing that her ex had inflicted so much pain on her family, but he didn't want to lie to her and he knew she would find out eventually.

"Will LaMontagne?" She asked incredulously.

While Dave and JJ talked, Marie, who had been keeping JJ company, studied her granddaughter. "Abby," she said softly, "Are you alright?"

Abby was staring at the ground and she nodded mutely. Her reaction scared Marie, as she had never seen her granddaughter like this before. The girl looked utterly exhausted, like her father, and she looked as if she was just barely keeping it together.

Marie stood up, she really wanted to take her granddaughter into her arms but from what Emily had said, Abby didn't want that and Marie didn't want to upset her even further. "Here, take my chair," she said as she got up from the recliner near JJ's bed. Abby shuffled over to the chair and sat down while Marie left the room. She came back in a moment later carrying a homemade knit afghan and a pillow. She silently handed them Abby and watched as the girl debated for a moment and then finally put the pillow behind her head and snuggled into the blanket. Her parents and grandmother breathed a sigh of relief when they saw her eyes fall closed.

"I'm going to leave you three alone," she told them. She knew all three of them needed to sleep and after hearing her son's description of his near death, she knew the sandman wouldn't be visiting her for awhile and she didn't want to keep them up with her knitting. "I'll be in the waiting room if you need me."

"Thanks ma," Dave said as she left the room. He settled back into the other recliner and picked up his wife's hand.

""This is all my fault Dave," she said tearfully. "I'm the one who brought him into our lives, I'm the one who kicked him out, I'm the one-"

"Stop it right now!" Dave growled softly, so he wouldn't wake his daughter. "This is not your fault! It's Will's fault and his partner's fault and their employer's fault, but it is NOT your fault! Got it?"

She nodded, wiping at her face, "Got it," she said, somewhat convincingly.

"Good," he said. "Now how about you try to sleep?" he suggested.

"That's not going to happen for awhile," she told him, still shook up about the attempt on her life and the lives of her daughter and husband.

Dave was about to argue, but he realized it would be a losing battle, so instead they made plans for when she was released from the hospital. They talked softly for two hours, when suddenly Abby's eyes popped open and she sat bolt upright in her chair with a gasp. Dave rushed over to her side, "What is it sweetheart?" He asked, reaching for her hand.

She pulled it away and tried to slow her breathing. Seeing her parents looking worriedly at her, she knew she had to say something before they called someone to help. "Nightmare," she told them. It took her another few minutes to calm down completely, and once she did, she lay back down in the chair, but her eyes remained open for the rest of the night.

At around six o'clock the next morning, Hotch came into the room expecting to find the family asleep. Instead he found JJ and Dave talking and Abby laying wide eyed in her chair. Sighing, he asked Dave to step into the hallway.

"Does this have to do with last night?" JJ asked and Hotch nodded, "Then you can tell all of us," she directed.

"JJ," he began, but JJ interrupted him.

"No way Hotch, this concerns all of us, so whatever it is, just tell us!" She ordered.

Hotch took a deep breath, "Will's dead."