Hotch left the office that day, went home and had dinner with Jack. They watched cartoons. His phone was silent, undisturbed. Garcia didn't call about a case. Rossi didn't text to offer a nightcap. There was just peace.

He and Jack made pancakes in the morning, and he was in a damn good mood when he walked into the BAU. They'd just wrapped up a huge case, and he was ready to have some calm.

He knew it wouldn't stay calm, but hell, he could hope.

He walked in, and there were agents that he didn't recognize by Kate's desk. Still, that wasn't odd in and of itself. They might just be waiting to talk to her.

"Can I help you?" He asked, heading straight for them.

"No," they replied, and Hotch raised an eyebrow.

"This is my unit," he said. "What are you doing here?"

"We're just doing our jobs," the burlier one answered.

"Hotch," Garcia called out, and he turned around to see her rushing towards him, an anxious look on her face. She gestured for him to follow her, and he reluctantly walked to his office, shutting the door behind him.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Listen, I'm not sure," she bubbled. "I don't have the clearance but I'm also not stupid."

"Spit it out," he said, already on edge.

"I think Kate's in trouble," she managed. "I was talking to Kevin, and god knows we don't talk anymore, but he said he saw her last night."

"Saw her where?" Hotch asked, brow creasing. What the hell could Kate have gotten into so fast?

"Being led out of Cantor's office," she said. "In handcuffs."

He felt like he was walking through mud, and he wasn't sure he'd ever been this angry. Not since Haley, at any rate.

Anyone who came at the BAU came at him. And he was not going to take this lying down.

Garcia would later tell him that he'd slammed the door to his office open so quickly that the wall had dented. She would later tell him that everyone had jumped, she'd tell him that she'd never seen people part so quickly.

He didn't remember any of it. He took the stairs down to the second floor, since the elevator wasn't quick enough. Garcia was scrambling after him, and he wouldn't be surprised if the others had joined her. But he didn't notice any of it.

Cantor had chosen to go after Kate. After all, it made sense. Although Hotch had been really careful since January, when things got a little too close, then it wouldn't be hard to find an agent with a loose mouth concerning office gossip.

"Hotch," Rossi said, and Hotch was aware that yes, the team was following him. "What's happening?"

"I don't know," he said, keeping walking straight to Cantor's office.

"Aaron," Rossi said, his voice sharper now. "You can't just go in there without knowing what's going on."

"The hell I can't," he spat. "He crossed the line here, you don't get to go after my agents without repercussions."

"Aaron," Rossi repeated, but it was too late. Hotch slammed the door open to Cantor's office, but the man inside didn't even jump.

"Agent Hotchner," he said coolly. "And...team." His eyes scraped over the other agents. "I had a feeling you'd be stopping by, and if you're here to ask about SSA Callahan, it brings me no pleasure to tell you this."

"What did you do?" Hotch snapped.

"I didn't do anything," Cantor shrugged. "But let me tell you, this is above your paygrade."

He saw red. His line of vision actually turned red, and Hotch barely held back from attacking the man sitting across the desk from him.

"She's my agent," Hotch said. "I will go to Matt Cruz and get this sorted out. Is this really where you want to stake your ground?"

"This has nothing to do with me," Cantor replied. "But again, it's just above your paygrade. SSA Callahan has been taken into custody regarding her actions on the case you just solved. And the rest of the investigation is none of your business."

Hotch swirled around, leaving in a haze. The whole team seemed to be trying to hold him back, but it was obvious that no one dared touch him. They got into the elevator in silence, and Hotch walked straight to Mateo Cruz's office the instant the doors opened again.

He closed the door before anyone could enter behind him.

"What the fuck, Matt," he said. "I have jurisdiction over my fucking agents. Where the fuck does Cantor come in?"

"Calm down," Cruz said, holding up his hand.

"Don't fucking tell me to calm down," Hotch swore, and Cruz stood up.

"Stand down, Agent Hotchner," he blazed, and Hotch reined himself in. "My hands are tied. This order came from above me."

"This isn't how the FBI works," Hotch snapped. "You can't just detain my agent without telling me why."

"Her actions in the Parkett case are being investigated," Cruz said. "And I know, this isn't how it should play out, but I don't know what to tell you."

"Did it come from O'Connor?" Hotch asked, and Cruz paused. That was answer enough. Hotch sank down into a chair, his legs suddenly giving out. "She's fucked, isn't she?" He said aloud.

Cruz shook his head. "Even if O'Connor doesn't like the BAU, SSA Callahan will still be treated as everyone else."

"She already isn't being treated like everyone else," Hotch rebutted. "He took my agent, and he took her because she's mine. He's going to make her life a living hell."

Cruz sat down, looking him directly in the eye. "Even O'Connor doesn't have that much power," he repeated. "She will get a full investigation. There is red tape even he can't cut through."

"And then what?" Hotch said. "The FBI doesn't just fire agents on her level."

"There's a good chance she'll end up relocated," Cruz said. "But that's just my educated guess. We don't know that they won't clear her."

Hotch scoffed. "Do you really think they're going to let her go once they have her?"

Cruz hesitated, but once again, that was answer enough.

"I'll do everything I can," he finally said. "But even I don't have that kind of influence. There's a cost we had to pay when O'Connor took over, Hotch. You know that."

"I didn't think it would be Callahan," Hotch said, tight lipped.

"You can't afford to push the envelope on this one, Aaron," Cruz said. "I'm serious. They are looking for any reason to get you out of here."

He left Cruz's office, his head in a fog. He couldn't believe this was happening. The team had gone back to the sixth floor, and were waiting in the round table room for a full briefing, as if to say that they could treat this like any other case.

But it wasn't like any other case at all. "Our hands are tied," he said simply.

"What happened?" Rossi asked. "My influence stretches higher than yours, or Mateo's."

"She's being investigated for her actions concerning the kidnapping ring," Hotch said. "And the order came from O'Connor." His gaze swept the room, and he knew everyone could tell the weight of what he'd just said. "She's fucked. We can't afford to investigate this. Our jobs are on the line if we do."

It was Reid who spoke. "So what?" He said. "What do our jobs mean if we just let the Bureau railroad her?"

"They're going to do it anyway," JJ said. "I've seen this happen before. And we all know it would have happened to Elle if she hadn't left, and if Hotch hadn't…" She trailed off. "There are some things we can't stop."

Rossi stood up. "I'll talk to O'Connor," he said wearily. "It just may be I have some leverage with him yet."

It was a long morning. Hotch struggled to concentrate on his files. The Kate vision was back, but she was tied up, her eyes frantic, her face bruised as it had been in the prison. "Help me," she asked, and he slammed the folder he was working on shut, wanting to throw it across the room.

He should just stop loving women, since every time he did, bad things happened. Haley had died. Kate's life as she knew it was effectively over from this moment on.

When Rossi came back, hours later, Hotch stood up, noting how much older Rossi looked from when he'd left the round table room.

He came straight to Hotch's office, and sank down in the chair, head in his hands. "I never thought someone else would have to pay for the bad blood between me and Cantor," he said, picking his words carefully. "I always thought it would be you or me, and we both can handle it, without a question. Kate has no idea how bad this administration is, Seaver's unit is in its own little bubble. No one fucks with her, since no one wants her job. But you? And I?" He looked up wearily. "I should have known he'd find a way to exploit this. Kate did her job and she did it too well. So he pounced."

"What did he say?" Hotch said, trying to keep steady.

Rossi shook his head. "Hotch, they're saying she's dead."

His world shook. "What?" He asked.

Rossi couldn't speak for a long moment. "I went to talk to O'Connor," he said, struggling to get the words out. "And the look on his face, to finally see David Rossi crawling in. We talked. He acted like he was listening. And then he told me that Kate committed suicide last night in the holding room."

Hotch felt like he was about to pass out.

"Aaron, he was lying, he had to be," Rossi said. "Aaron, Kate wouldn't do that."

"She might have if she thought it was hopeless," Hotch said, and now he was the one struggling to find words. "My god."

"Aaron, Kate would never do that, because she wouldn't give up hope," Rossi repeated. "Listen to me. She knew that you would have her back. She knew that you and I would do anything to help her out. She did not commit suicide. She wouldn't."

"Maybe," Hotch said. "But that doesn't mean she isn't dead."