After the phone call, DeBruin walked on shaky legs back into Garcia's office. The techie looked up and frowned at the sight of her. "Hey hey, you okay? What was that about?" She was about to get up, but Kara stopped her.
"I'm okay Penelope. Hotch just drilled into me." She said with a nervous chuckle. "Come on, let's start digging."
The team worked from the time they landed to about eleven that night. They had no leads, but had uncovered multiple remains. They had to assume the unsub was still out there. The most recent victim had been killed only a couple days ago.
Hotch headed back to the hotel. He sat down on the edge of his bed with a heavy sigh. He was glad to be kept busy throughout the day. He had calmed down during the day, able to focus on work. Kara was the last thought on his mind until he got into his hotel room. He shed his suit jacket and pulled out his phone. He scrolled through a couple texts from her. His brow furrowed. He called her and pressed the phone to his ear. It rang through without an answer. He frowned and set his phone on the desk in the corner of the room and started getting ready to lay down.
His phone started ringing. He picked it up and put it to her ear. "Hey." He said, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Hey. Sorry I was in the shower." Kara's voice came through the line. "What's up?" She was glad to hear his voice, especially now. A lot calmer than before. He had the entire day to blow off steam. And while the team noticed he was a little pushy and more frustrated than usual, they assumed it was cause of the case. It had all of them on edge.
He ran a hand through his hair. "I just wanted to check in." He paused. "And apologize for earlier." He was out of line, and he knew it. Whatever was bugging her, she wasn't going to open up if he was yelling at her, frustrated with her. He had to treat her as his girlfriend, not his coworker. He was still working that part out. He took a deep breath. He wished he could be with her, but he needed to tell her now.
She sat on the edge of her bed, towel still wrapped around her body. She sighed quietly and nodded, even if he couldn't see it. "Okay."
"I'm sorry for my reaction. I'm worried about you Kara. I've never seen that side of you." He spoke his words as if he had practiced them in his head all day. "You need to take some time to rest. But we're a team now. Bigger than we were before. When somethings bothering you, I'm someone you can run too. Kara...I know you have demons; we all do." He remembered the talk he had with Rossi a couple nights ago about his own. He knew how hard it was to come forward, because he had fears as well. "And I want to help you with them."
She was quiet, taking his words in. "I know baby...I know, and I'm sorry." After talking to Penelope all day, the idea of talking to him seemed a lot less scary. Of course she said it was a problem that her best friend was having, but with the questions being asked, Garcia didn't push. The techie could tell that whoever Kara was asking about was important to her.
"I'll tell you." She said finally. "But not over the phone. It isn't something to be said over the phone."
He nodded. "Sounds good. Have you eaten today?" He changed the subject quickly, not wanting to stick around if they didn't have to.
She raised an eyebrow and pulled the phone from her ear. She clicked the FaceTime button.
He couldn't help the small smile on his face. He answered, "hey-" an immediate blush on his face.
And that was when she realized she was still in her towel. She took a sharp breath. "One sec." her face was hot as she set her phone on her bed and went to her closet. She quickly changed into a sweatshirt and shorts. She grabbed her phone and headed to her desk. "Okay, sorry." She chuckled, embarrassment clear on her face.
"It's okay. Have you eaten today?" He repeated.
She nodded. "Garcia made sure I ate." She chuckled before focusing on him. "Have you eaten?"
It was rare to get decent meals in the field, and considering the case on their hands right now, the only meal he had time to grab was a late dinner, but he nodded. It wasn't a lie.
"Good. You need to try and get some sleep. Please? Call me whenever."
He nodded and the call ended
The next day was almost pointless. They had nothing new, no new bodies, no new information. There was a good chance their unsub had known they were here and went into hiding. It was frustursting. The team threw around possible profiles, involving Garcia and DeBruin, trying to find anything they could get out to the press.
It was difficult. The multitude of victims, different victimology right from the start, different weapons and methods. It was so disorganized.
By the end of the day, JJ was able to stand in front of the press and give out a profile. "The guy we're looking for is a white male, late thirties, early forties. From the look of it, he's been killing for at least ten years. He's physically fit, and has most likely served time."
The third day was when they actually had something to chase.
Garcia had gotten a hit on a forty-four year old man who had just quit his job. "Robert Gest quit his job yesterday, he worked at a factory, his boss said he planned to move and start over."
"Any prison time?" Morgan asked.
"In his twenties, breaking and entering."
"That's a big escalation." He frowned, looking around the team.
"Does he have a wife? Kids?" Hotch looked down at his phone, the picture of Gest coming through.
"His wife and him divorced ten years ago," she fell silent as she continued reading over his file. "Due to the death of their child."
"How'd their child die?" Hotch continued.
"Stillborn."
"Say Gest is our guy, that's definitely the stressor." Morgan crossed his arms over his chest.
"It fits the time period. So far the farthest victim we've found is from ten years ago." JJ added.
Hotch nodded. "Go."
The team suited up and headed to Gest's house. It wasn't far from the station. Gest was outside, packing suitcases into his Suburban. He looked up when he saw the lights and his eyes widened. He grabbed his backpack, through it over his shoulder, and booked it.
Morgan didn't need to see anything else. He unlocked the passenger door of the SUV and as soon as Rossi slowed down, he took off running. He followed Gest towards his house, the unsub running inside, and most likely out the back door. Prentiss and JJ were behind him in an instant. The three entered the house, quickly clearing the area.
Morgan stepped into the kitchen and scanned around. He heard JJ clear the bedroom. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he turned a corner. He heard footsteps he didn't recognize. He spun around, quickly took in the shadow of Gest. "Robert Gest." He announced.
Gest raised his arms. "I'm tired of running..." he mumbled. He looked down at the ground and didn't fight when Morgan strapped on the cuffs.
Hotch sat across from Rossi on the jet. He was trying to get a head start on some paperwork, but had chosen to text instead. He quickly told Kara that they were on their way home and it shouldn't be too much longer.
Rossi cleared his throat. Hotch looked up and raised an eyebrow. "What's bothering you kiddo." His friend said. "We never got to finish that conversation from your office a couple days ago."
He nodded. "Right." He looked down at his phone, quickly finished off the text, and set his phone down. "I was just worried about her."
"Why?"
"She had a nightmare, but not like the basic ones. She immediately shut herself off from me, and I didn't know what spooked her." He looked across the table. "So I was worried, but my worry became anger."
Rossi nodded, urging him to go on.
"And we talked about it after we had time to breathe. She said she's going to tell me, but I'm not pushing it anymore."
"It's not wrong to be pushy, but I'm glad you backed off." There was a frown on the older man's face. He knew Kara, knew her like a daughter, but her past was probably a good reason why the two of them clicked so well. He had no idea what could have driven her to her nightmare. "Keep me updated."
The team landed in Quantico.
"Who's down for food?" Were the first words out of Morgan's mouth as they landed.
"Yes please." JJ said with a nod, nudging Emily with her shoulder, the other woman nodding as well. Food was usually the first thing on her mind after a case.
"Pretty boy?" Morgan turned to the genius. Reid nodded and fixed his bag on his shoulder, "I have to grab something, but I'll meet you there."
The team walked into the bullpen where both Garcia and DeBruin waited for them. "You two down for food?" He asked, offering his arms to both of them. Garcia wrapped her arm with his, but Kara immediately found Hotch and met his eyes. "Um...maybe later." She looked up at Morgan and nodded.
She waited for Hotch and Rossi to walk up to her. "Hey kiddo." Rossi offered her a smile. "How you feeling?" Hotch didnt bother stopping. He headed up to his office, leaving the two of them.
She took a deep breath, tapping her toes in her sneaker. "Anxious." She mumbled. "I'm assuming he told you?"
He nodded. He rested a hand on her good shoulder and squeezed. "You gotta talk to him. I don't know what it is, but no secret is a good secret."
She nodded. "I know I'm about to."
He nodded before he split off as well. He headed towards his own office.
Kara knocked on the door and pushed it open. Hotch was already at his desk with a file spread out. She huffed, an amused smile on her face. "It never stops does it?"
He looked up and offered her a small smile. "It does for you." He shut the file and pushed it off to the side.
She wasn't sure if she was happy to have his full attention or not. She took a seat across from him. She took a deep breath, looking at his hands. He reached out and grabbed her hands in his. He squeezed her hands. "You don't have to tell me." He murmured. "I get it."
"No baby you deserve to know."
She squeezed his hands. "I'm not sure where to start..." she met his eyes. "When I was thirteen, my dad started making these...comments. He would talk about how good my body looked in certain outfits. I didn't know any different, so at first I took them as compliments." She paused, immediately Aaron's grip on her had tightened. He was getting angry, but not with her.
"And then he started touching-"
"Stop." He didn't want to hear anymore. He knew where it was going. He stood up. "Come here."
"What?"
"Just come here." He grabbed her and pulled her tightly into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her back, hiding her face in his chest. "You're safe. Nothing like that will ever happen again. I promise."
Little did they know, Reid's watchful eyes peered through the window of Hotch's office, confusion clear on his face.