"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one."
—Jane Howard
The smell of antiseptic hung in the air of the hospital's waiting room, Aaron Hotchner threw his suit jacket across the back of a chair and continued pacing. His footsteps reverberated through the silent waiting room. He dialed Dave's number for the third time, just like all the times before the call went to voicemail. He wanted to go home and change his clothes, he cringed internally glancing down at his white shirt was stained with Erin's blood. If there had been foul play he'd look like the prime suspect and his go-bag was at home waiting to be repacked. He checked his watch and kept up the pace, it was 1 in the morning and he had never been more grateful for Jessica's deep dedication to Jack.
"We need to call the kids," Erin said, reaching her hand out to Dave for his phone.
"Heh," he chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Babe, I would love to, except my phone is dead and all of our stuff is back at our house."
"Great…" Erin shook her head and wracked her brain for a phone number so she could use the hospital's phone. "Let's call the house," she said, searching for the number in her head. Exhaustion was beginning to sink in between the blood loss and the late hour,her head felt foggy and she couldn't conjure up a likely combination of numbers. "Do you know the house number?"
Dave tried to turn on his phone, but the screen blinked and turned off. "Honey, I have no idea" he sighed, leaning his head against the window. "The team is with the kids, they're safe and they're probably asleep."
She nodded, "Yeah I know, I hope they stay sleeping, you should go home too."
"Are you crazy?"
"No, I'm going to sleep anyway and I don't want the kids to be scared of strangers in their house."
Dave shrugged, "I'm sure they're okay and the kids know Hotch."
"Yes, but Aaron is still here."
"They know Henry and Jack from soccer practice," he offered, Mackenzie's team met on the same field as Jack and Henry's. Sometimes, if they arrived at the field early enough all the kids would kick the ball around before a game.
"I guess this is my fault, if I would have hosted the team sooner we wouldn't have to worry about this."
Dave stood up from his seat,"I'm not saying you're wrong," he dropped a soft kiss on her forehead. "But if it will make you feel better, I'll go find Aaron and check on the kids."
"You should." She nodded. "He saved my life."
"I'm pretty sure he has a shirt to prove it."
She shut her eyes and sighed, "and his car, oh God I can't imagine the detailing bill."
"You let me worry about Aaron and his car."
"David, it's a rental from the last time I was in his car."
"And I will take care of it."
"You'll have to sell around 100 copies to pay him off."
He shrugged and reached for the door handle. "Lucky for us I sold 200 this morning and 50 of them were local."
"Oh thank God for college kids who don't know what they want to do with their lives," she quipped with a smile.
"More like bored housewives and libraries. Get some rest before Nurse Hatchet comes in," he said and flipped off the light.
"David, we haven't even met the nurse on this shift yet." She laughed, "Do you know how funny you are? What if her name really is Nurse Hatchet!" She was at the point of exhaustion where everything was hilarious. "Wouldn't that be great!"
Dave shook his head, after the night they had they deserved a good laugh, but 1am wasn't the greatest time. He walked over to the bed and pulled the blanket over her. "If her last name is Hatchet, I get to tell the joke. Okay?"
"Oh fine," she huffed and stuck her tongue out at him.
He kissed her forehead and walked out the door, "Sweet dreams," he called as the door closed behind him.
He jogged down the hall toward the waiting room to get a second wind, Erin was right. He owed Hotch a lot more than a cup of coffee for getting them to the hospital but now, the adrenaline was fading and he needed sleep.
"Aaron," he called and stepped into the waiting room.
Hotch stopped pacing and walked towards Dave, "How is everybody?"
"We're okay," he blew out a breath. "Erin lost a lot of blood and she has to be on bedrest for awhile; but we're okay."
Hotch shook his head, "Dave that was terrifying."
"You think I don't know," Dave held up both hands. "I left the room to make a sandwich and two minutes later my life imploded."
"Thank God for Garcia's app."
"That woman needs a raise. Come on," Dave clapped his hand on Hotch's shoulder. "Let's go find a Wal-mart, I'll buy you a shirt."
"I pictured you for a Target guy."
"They close at 10pm." Dave argued, "I have teenage daughters and sometimes you need stuff after midnight."
"What do you need right now?"
"I need to call my house and check on the kids, Aaron. We left them asleep, alone in their they see our bedroom they're going to think we were murdered."
"I asked Morgan to have J.J. or Garcia stay with them."
"I know."
"Is something wrong?"
"Erin's upset because the kids don't know the team, she blames herself and I'm not fighting her."
"Come on," Hotch offered, "Let's go charge your phone in my car and get some stuff."
"Look, I don't want to blame Erin." Dave said, plundering down the aisle. "I'm saying, I hate that there's such a divide between my team and my family." He stopped the cart and tossed a bag of pretzels into the cart.
"What do you want to do about it?" Aaron asked. He grabbed a Red Bull off the shelf, popped the tab and gulped it down.
"Really, Aaron?" Dave asked, wagging his eyebrows.
"What? I'm tired and we have stuff to do." Hotch deflected, hoping Dave wouldn't say anything else about his poor grocery store etiquette. " Anyway, what are you going to do about Erin?"
"It was her idea to have everyone over, but I want her to have friends." He hated the idea of his family being alone in the world if something happened to him. They would have his team; if Erin let them in.
"She's friends with me," Aaron offered, "and when you were in the hospital she was open with J.J."
"Well, they have a history. I just thought, if I could get everyone together they could get to know each other- she's a good person, Aaron."
"Dave, can I speak openly here?" Aaron asked as they rounded the corner towards the cheese case. Aaron tossed a box of chocolate chip cookies onto the stack of chips, crackers and varieties of dip.
"Sure," Dave shrugged he grabbed a loaf of bread and put it in the child seat of the cart, "But you gotta remind me to get peanut butter."
"I think, when you think of Erin you picture her as a person who is different everywhere she goes."
"She's not a chameleon, Hotch," Dave argued. "I don't want the team to judge her based on her professional choices." He knew they looked at her as the enemy and he would never have both the team and his family if they couldn't learn to like each other.
"And they won't, if you let them figure her out for themselves. You can't orchestrate friendships, Dave and you can't protect her from backlash from the team if it comes." Aaron said, draining his Red Bull, he tossed the can in a nearby trash bin.
"Hotch," Dave fired back, "Protecting her is in the job description-"
"And if you want to have your cake and eat it; you'll let things happen naturally."
Dave sighed deeply,"Aaron, my family needs the team, what happened tonight made it obvious. You saved us, I couldn't have carried her down the stairs without blowing out my heart."
Hotch shook his head, "You did everything you could and there's nothing that will change that. Now," Hotch pulled out his phone and handed it to Dave. "Call Garcia and check on the kids."
"Thanks," Dave took the phone and dialed.
Penelope reached for her phone, from her spot at Rossi's kitchen table. Where she was stationed since arriving at the Rossi mansion 3 hours ago.
"Hi Boss, how can I help?"
"Hey Penelope, how are things going?"
"Oh! Hi Rossi," she yipped in surprise, "how's your lady?" She asked, walking towards the staircase.
"Everything's okay right now, she wants me to come home so the kids don't freak out."
"Oh, okay.." Penelope said softly, worry tinged her tone. "Well Morgan and J.J. are here too. Reid took a cab home when he realized his medical knowledge wasn't needed; We will leave the light on for you."
"Thanks, Penelope I'll see you soon."
Penelope disconnected the call and mounted the staircase, "Guys, Rossi and Hotch are on their way back."
"Baby Girl," Morgan held his palm up to stop her from entering Dave's bedroom. "What did I say when we got here?"
"That I'm not supposed to come up here," she mumbled and tried to move past him. He grabbed her shoulder and steered her away from the bedroom. "Go back downstairs and wait for Rossi."
"What- What's with the gloves?" Penelope eyed Derek suspiciously. "Derek I'm not going anywhere until someone tells me what's going on."
"J.J. Do you want to fill her in?"
J.J. stood up from her place on the bedroom floor and threw the scrub brush in the bucket beside her. "Erin's pregnant."
"O-okay," Penelope stammered. "Why-why do you know that? Why are we not more excited?" Her mind buzzed with questions that kept falling out of her mouth.
"Penelope!" J.J. said sharply, getting her friend's attention. "I know because I found out her test on the jet and she confirmed when Rossi was in the hospital.
"I just learned all of this myself, Baby Girl." Derek said, holding up both his hands, in case of an attack.
"Also, we're not excited because she had some bleeding and there was blood everywhere." J.J. continued answering all of Penelope's questions. "I wouldn't want to come home to that mess, so we're cleaning it up for her."
"Well, you should be excited," Penelope said. "I just talked to Rossi and he's coming home."
"Did he say what happened?" Derek asked, "Hotch peeled out of here with Strauss in his arms and the way this room looked…" Derek trailed off, "it was probably worse than he let on."
"I don't know," Penelope shrugged, "But he hasn't told me his good news yet."
"They will tell us when they're ready to." J.J. said, as a peace offering. "For now, we need to get their room back in shape." J.J. resumed her position on the floor, she grabbed the box of baking soda and scrubbed it into the red stain on the carpet. She'd already tried carpet cleaner on the light colored carpet, but it barely faded the stain.
"I can help," Penelope offered.
"Good, go find me some sheets." Derek said, he bundled up the sheets on the bed and held them away from his body. "How would you get blood off white sheets?" He asked.
"Peroxide!" Both women said in unison.
"You're handsome, but you're dumb." Penelope flirted, "let me teach you a thing or two."
"Why did you even involve him?" Penelope huffed, "we both know this is woman's work."
"Well, ya know," J.J. played along, "I just couldn't resist those manly charms."
"Come on Baby Girl,suit up and show me what you got." He handed her a fresh pair of gloves from his pocket and Penelope started downstairs.
"Take this bucket, too" J.J. said "I think this is as good as it's going to get."
Derek shrugged and grabbed the bucket, "It's better than it was."
"Derek, do you see any bloody clothes? I want to get rid of those too," J.J. said standing up.
"I haven't seen any," he said, "J.J. why are you so involved in this? You don't have to make any effort here, but you're going above and beyond for someone you barely know."
"Because," J.J. hissed, their voices were growing louder and she didn't want to wake the kids. "Can you imagine how horrible it would be to come back into this room if they lost their baby tonight?"
"She's never had your back, J.J." Derek argued, "Never. She sent you away for months, away from your family and you're protecting her! Again, you're spending the night away from Henry and Will for someone who couldn't give a damn about you."
"Can you think about someone other than yourself, for once?" J.J. spat, "you're being so selfish tonight, Derek. And keep your voice down before you wake the kids."
"I'm selfish," he repeated. Throwing the sheets down the stairs, "I'm here, cleaning up blood, just like you."
"Yeah," J.J. said, throwing her hands wide, "but you're only here because Penelope and I are here and you can leave right now."
"Fine," he growled and took off down the stairs the bedroom door slammed behind him.
Just then, Mudgie bolted out of Mackenzie's bedroom, noise filled the house as the dog charged toward Derek with his teeth bared.
"Mudgie, what the hell?" Derek screamed as the dog came closer to backed towards the door and reached for the door handle and cracked the door slightly.
"Mudgie! Stop!" Penelope shrieked as she ran in from the laundry room. Still the dog barked and inched closer to Derek.
"Stop it!" J.J. grabbed the sheets off the staircase so she didn't trip over them and took off down the stairs towards Derek and the dog. "Derek you better leave before someone has to explain to Dave that we had to shoot his dog." J.J. said.
"I'll call you later, Baby Girl!" He called over his shoulder and took off through the front yard.
Mudgie, worn out from guarding the house, lay down in front of the staircase.
Mackenzie got out of bed and went to find her dog, the yelling and barking woke her from a light sleep."Who are you?" she asked, holding back the fear in her chest. "Where's my mom!" She screamed from the middle of the staircase, "How did you get in the house?"
"Mackenzie, it's okay," J.J. said and handed the sheets to Penelope. "I work with your mom.." she said gently. "She had to go to the hospital, so me and Penelope are staying with you until she comes home."
"Where's Dave?" The little girl's voice trembled in fear and worry. "What's wrong with my mom?"
"He's on his way home," J.J. held out her hand, "let's call Dave and find out what's going on with your mom, together."
Mackenzie nodded and slowly made her way down the stairs. J.J. took out her phone and pulled up a picture, hoping to gain the little girl's trust. "I think you know my little boy," she handed Mackenzie the phone, "do you know him?"
Mackenzie nodded, "that's Henry."She said, her voice shook but she didn't feel scared.
"Yeah, you guys play soccer together sometimes, I'm his mom." J.J said, taking her phone back, she dialed Dave's number and handed the phone back to Mackenzie.
"Oh, I only see his dad," Mackenzie put the phone on speaker and waited for Dave to pick up.
"Yeah," J.J. nodded, "I have to work a lot."
Mackenzie shrugged, "that's okay, my mom and Dave work a lot too."
"Yeah, they do," J.J. agreed right as Dave answered the call.
"Hey, J.J. is everything okay?"
"Mackenzie woke up and she wanted to talk to you. She was a little panicked at first."
"Oh God," Dave's stomach twisted in an anxious knot, "did she go in the bedroom?"
"No, she's right here, say hi."
"Hi Dave."
"Hey Sweetheart, I'm on my way home. Everything's okay, go back to bed."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah," Dave smiled at the kid's concern, she was more like Erin than he realized. "I'm sure. You can go with me to pick Mom up tomorrow. Now go back to bed and don't go in mom's room right now."
Mackenzie yawned and handed the phone back to J.J. the adrenaline was fading and she wanted to curl up and sleep. She walked over to the couch and laid down. "Come on Mudgie," she called. The dog jumped on the leather couch and curled behind her knees.
"I think we're in the clear Rossi," J.J. said, as she covered the little girl with a blanket. "We'll see you soon." She said and disconnected the call.
"Penelope," she called, as she crossed the dining room into the laundry room. "Are you okay here?"
Penelope stood in front of the washing machine with a box of Oxi-clean in her hand. A swirl of questions and emotions ran through her. "Do you think they're okay?" She asked softly. "There was so much blood, there's no way everything is just fine now."
J.J. touched her friend's shoulder, "I think…" she trailed off, choosing her words carefully. "Penelope, we got here because of you and Rossi said Erin's coming home tomorrow."
"Everyone is so mean to her, J.J." Penelope snapped, she dumped a scoop of Oxi clean in the machine and slammed the lid closed.
"I hate the way Derek is acting. I hate that everyone hates her!" Penelope continued her tirade, "I heard Derek yelling at you! That's why Mudgie freaked out on him." She opened the dryer and yanked the lint trap from its slot. Her hands shook in anger as she scraped the trap clean. "To make things worse,we sat around criticizing and profiling Strauss and Rossi when they needed us most."
"You didn't criticize," J.J. reminded her friend. "You left."
"Because I like her." Penelope said with gritted teeth, "She's a nice person and I know I shouldn't like her because of the team, but-"
"Stop." J.J. stopped the rant in its tracks. "I like her too.."
"Oh..good, I want to be her friend."
"She's a really good person, Penelope." J.J. said and Penelope felt in her gut that there was something she didn't know. "J.J?" She whispered.
"Hey! I'm home," Dave called out, effectively interrupting the conversation.
J.J. grabbed a set of clean, king sized sheets with purpose, at the very least he could have a clean bed to sleep in. "Hey, let me put these on the bed before you go upstairs."
"Eh," Dave shook his head, "thanks but I'll take care of it in the morning, I'll sleep in the den."
"Are you sure?" J.J. asked, raising her brow.
"Nah, I'll clean it up tomorrow."
"Rossi…" J.J. said slowly, "We took care of it for you."
"No way," Dave shook his head in disbelief, "you guys didn't have to do that."
"You would do it for us," Penelope piped in, "I'll go make the bed." J.J. passed her the sheets and she took off up the stairs.
"You're right, we would," Dave agreed, even still gratitude filled his chest, cleaning up that mess wasn't something he would wish on his worst enemy.
J.J. shrugged, "Erin did."