Chapter 2

When they touched down in the CVG airport the team split up Rossi took Morgan and Reid to the police station to look over every aspect of the Mathew Cantrell case to gather information on who this unsub is and why they are targeting prepubescent boys. Hotch took JJ and Emily to the Kenwood Mall to hear from Timmy Walkers family and pinpoint where he was taken and if anyone remembered anything unusual. The drive to the mall was quiet as Emily opted to sit behind Hotch to avoid any awkward eye contact. Her efforts were futile when they kept catching each other in the rear view mirror Emily opted to close her eyes and focus her mind over matter reflex to avoid any more motion sickness. Hotch continued watching her in the mirror, JJ noticed her boss watching her sick friend but opted not to say anything because the brunette had been in such denial for weeks stating she felt fine but it was obviously not true Hotch was most likely concerned like everyone else on the team at this point.

When they arrived to the mall parking lot JJ started press control while Hotch hung back to wake Emily. Hotch parked and walked to open her door and as he gently shook her shoulder she woke up with the immediate need to vomit. Fortunately for Hotch she had nothing left to come up and what startled her was only dry heaving. Hotch rubbed her back and asked if she wanted to stay in the car for a while. Emily shook her head no and wiped a tear from the stomach pains. Hotch handed her a water and a bag of original chips from the trunk.

"If you want to work I'm not going to stop you, but I do want you to sit and go over the case when we go in, maybe take point on the child interview with Timmy's big sister. You are a valuable team member, but your health comes first. And I won't have you running yourself into the ground." It was obvious he cared for her even if he didn't show it often.

When they walked in Emily took the case file over to an empty room and went over it while slowly eating the chips and water trying to get something into her system. During the child interview with Timmy's sister Emily noticed something.

"Was there anything out of the ordinary just after you noticed Timmy wasn't there anymore?" Emily asked.

"I was with Timmy in the food court and I got up to get us some ketchup and when I came back there was a little pink bunny near our table but Timmy was gone." Jessica explained.

Emily quickly alerted Hotch she may have something.

"What did you get?" Hotch asked.

"Jessica remembered a little pink bunny rabbit near the table they were eating at that wasn't there when she got up to get the ketchup. I think I remember seeing one in the crime scene photos of the Mathew Cantrell case." Emily stated.

Emily was starting to seem a bit more like herself and was eager to find this boy as quickly as possible.

"Call Garcia and I'll be calling Rossi and the others to come here." Hotch said as he turned to make his call.

"Hey PG I need a favor are you busy." Emily asked.

"Never too busy for you my raven haired beauty! What do you got for me?" Penelope responded.

After Penelope looked at the first crime scene pictures she seen it was a pink bunny only sold at Claire's which allowed her to pull video footage from the Claire's from both malls to see who bought a pink bunny at both places. Once she identified Sam Hockins as the buyer they were able to track him through the mall security cameras and found a path to a service stairwell that was supposed to be off limits to the public but the keypad had been short circuited. Timmy Walker was reunited with his family safe and healthy. It was a bit too late after a long day so Hotch made the decision for the team to stay the night in the hotel near the jet and leave first thing in the morning. The closest motel was a Super 8 that only offered single rooms which was nice but a safety concern to Hotch so they were all able to get rooms close together.

On the drive to the Super 8 it was clear Emily had fallen asleep again but she was broken in a cold sweat and looked scared. Hotch made a mental note to try to wake her a softer when they pulled up.

Emily's eyes fluttered open to an unfamiliar bedroom something was familiar about the aesthetic, but slightly different. Emily started to stretch when she noticed two things she was very sure of the first being she wasn't alone. Secondly she was not as clothed as she thought she was. Emily slowly rolled out of the bed careful not to wake the other sleeping form. She was successful at staying quiet, but as she looked at the messy hair of her boss something inside her screamed out to get her clothes and get out before it got any worse.

Emily bolted awake in a full sweat scaring both Hotch and JJ who were now more concerned than before.

"Wow you really need a vacation. Don't you have some sick time saved up? Maybe that Barcelona trip you were talking about could do you some good." JJ stated oblivious to the dream Emily had been trying to repress for weeks.

"My mother's visiting family friends there right now and with my luck I'd come back sicker than a dog." Emily said exasperatedly.

Hotch and JJ didn't respond to comment but shared a look saying as if you weren't already sicker than a dog. They pulled up to the Super 8 and started to find their rooms to settle in before meeting up for dinner.