Chapter 63

As soon as Hotch landed right next to the surprised shifter and ripped Lana out of his hands, he tried to turn back to Rossi and Morgan, but just like he figured, his feet wouldn't move again. He looked towards Morgan, who was running towards him, and tossed Lana as gently but as strongly as he could to him. As soon as the girl was out of the way, Hotch shoved the unsub back as hard as he could. "Now!" he yelled and then braced himself for the report of a pistol that was surly coming. When the only sound that could be heard was the shifter's rage as he fell, Hotch turned and looked at Rossi.

Rossi wasn't aiming the new pistol waiting for the right shot like Hotch thought he would be. No. Rossi's arms were slack at his sides, his mouth was hanging open, and the fear in his eyes made Hotch look back towards the shifter thinking it had changed into some impossibly huge animal or something. It hadn't, so Hotch looked back towards the older agent. Rossi's eyes weren't focused on Hotch's, though; they were looking at the ground, at Hotch's feet.

Wondering what would scare the older man so much, Hotch looked down. Oh shit! Smoke was wafting out from under his shoes. I guess I really should have thought the whole jumping into and onto scared ground thing through a little better. He could feel heat building under his feet, and when he moved his toes, he knew the soles of his shoes were melting. Son of a bitch! Now what the hell do I do?

He didn't have to wonder long, though, because the shifter had gotten back up and grabbed the scruff of Hotch's shirt with a meaty hand. "You wanna fuck with me?!" he hollered as he shook Hotch. "Let's see how your undead ass likes burning!" he continued at the top of his lungs as he shoved Hotch toward the ground.

Hotch's hands reflexively shot out to stop his downward momentum; but as soon as his hands touched the ground, pain seared through them as his skin started to blister and peel. A shriek escaped him as he pulled his hands back and let the shifter hold all of his weight.

The unsub laughed as he pushed Hotch even closer. "How about we let your face burn off first?" he asked in a maniacal tone as he grabbed the hair at the back of Hotch's head and pressed him even further towards the blackened, ash-rich soil.

Hotch twisted and his fingers tore at the man and his clothes as he tried to keep himself off the ground, but it was like his strength had left him. Feeling desperation he hadn't felt in a long time, Hotch tried to make himself change thinking that letting the vampire come to the surface would give him added strength, but it wouldn't come. It was as if he'd never been changed and Hotch was no match for the giant of a man who had him in his clutches.

The unsub laughed even more as he pushed Hotch's face closer to the ground, and as soon as the tips of Hotch's hair came into contact with the ground, tiny flames burst into life on each strand like little candle wicks. The little bit of heat he could feel on his head was nothing compared to the pain in his feet, though, and when Hotch caught a glimpse of his legs, he cringed. His shoes weren't just smoldering anymore, there were flames overlapping them, and he knew then that he was in serious trouble. Oh shit!

As his face inched ever closer to the ground, Hotch squeezed his eyes shut and hoped that the end he was surly going to be facing would come quickly. Sabastian hadn't said that fire could kill him but he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to heal after being reduced to ashes. I'm so sorry, Babe. Please know I tried my best to keep my promise.

He bit back the scream that wanted to escape when the side of his forehead touched the ground and he held his breath to await even more pain. When the crack of a gun being fired was immediately followed by the bellow of the unsub, Hotch was jolted away from the ground. His eyes flew open as the unsub stumbled back and the blood appearing on the man's chest told him that Rossi had finally snapped out of it and used the pistol he had bought.

Rage filled the unsub's face as he pulled Hotch back towards his chest intent on using his prisoner as a shield, but Rossi was too swift. Another shot, a better aimed shot because the man was basically standing, tore into the man's chest, and it was obvious the silver bullet had hit its intended target. The scream that had been erupting out the man's mouth died on his tongue as he fell backwards and Hotch fell with him. Before Hotch hit the ground, he used the last bit of strength he had and launched himself at the alter he was next to and clung onto it to keep himself from hitting the damning soil.

After only a few seconds, the little bit of strength he had mustered faded and he began to sink down the massive stone and he screamed as flames licked up his legs. The unnatural flames consumed his flesh quickly and his screams died down as nerves were snuffed out as the flames burned deeper and deeper as he sank lower and lower. Just as his fingers slipped even more and he was sure he was going to fall to the ground completely, strong hands gripped him. When the hands started to pull him away from the stone, he scratched at the rock to try and hold on even more.

"It's alright, Hotch. I've got you," Morgan insisted and he fought to get a better grip on his Unit Chief.

"Don't let him touch the ground," Rossi ordered as he helped to get the wounded man off of the alter.

Hotch twisted and focused on Morgan. "Lana?"

"Mack's got her," Morgan told him as he gripped him under the arms.

"She's taking her back to get her medicine," Reid told him as he grabbed one of his thighs and Rossi grabbed the other and together they all carried him out of the sacred circle.

Hotch wasn't sure when his youngest team members had showed up, and he didn't put a whole lot of thought into it as his eyes slid shut and he nodded and tried to slow his breathing. As soon as they got Hotch back onto the grass, though, the vampire within him came roaring to the surface and he violently pulled away from their helping hands because the pain that had blissfully left him came roaring back, too, and he screamed.

Neither Morgan nor Reid knew what to do, so they both looked to Rossi for guidance.

Rossi ignored the snarling vampire as he writhed in pain and knelt on the ground. Once Hotch was in the right position, Rossi lunged in and wrapped the younger man in strong arms. Hotch fought him, but Rossi increased his hold. "Hotch, it's me!" Hotch continued to struggle, though, so Rossi bent next to his ear. "Aaron, it's ok. I got you," he offered with a tender tone and hugged him even tighter. "I got you, Aaron," he kept repeating until Hotch finally stopped fighting.

Rossi took a deep breath as his eyes trialed over the man he loved as a son, and he pulled him closer to his chest. "You're going to be alright, Aaron," he tried to sound reassuring but with the shape Hotch was in, he wasn't even sure he believed it. Hotch's feet and legs up to his knees were burnt so badly that charred bone could be seen in some places, and all that was on top of the wounds the poor man had already suffered.

"Aaron?" Rossi asked in a gentle tone as he stroked Hotch's wet hair back, but he wasn't sure Hotch even heard him. His whole body was trembling, he was breathing in rough intervals mixed with soft whimpers he was obviously trying hard to keep back, and he seem more interested in hiding his face behind blistered and pealing hands.

Rossi's sigh was deep; he knew Hotch was more worried about showing his vampire self in front of them than being wounded. He took a deep breath and grabbed the younger man's chin. "Look at me, Aaron," he commanded softly. Hotch's face scrunched up and his eyes were squeezed shut, and Rossi could tell he was trying to change back but he wasn't having any luck with it. Rossi shook his head. "We don't give a damn about seeing you like this, Aaron. Look at me!" he demanded in a fatherly tone.

A whine escaped Hotch, but he licked parched lips through his fangs and finally opened his eyes. "Sorry. . . can't get it. . ."

"We don't give a shit about that, Man!" Morgan yelled as he knelt down on Hotch's opposite side and put his hand on Hotch's arm.

"Yeah, we've grown accustomed to it. You don't have to hide it from us, Hotch," Reid agreed.

Hotch looked at them both and then back to Rossi. "Thank you," he got out and then tensed as pain rippled through him.

"He needs to feed," Reid instructed as he dug through his messenger bag. After a moment, he pulled out a bag of blood and handed it to Rossi. Hotch's eyes snapped to his and he could tell that Hotch was not happy that he'd had the blood. He tried to smile. "Sorry, Hotch, but I took it out of your bag after the sun had hurt you. You can yell at me later, but right now you need this."

"Yes he does," Rossi agreed and took the bag from the young genius and then took out his knife and cut the top open.

As soon as the plastic was open Hotch could smell it and the vampire in him wanted it so badly that a growl escaped him because he was too weak to hold it in.

Rossi brows rose but he edged the bag towards Hotch's face. "Here."

Hotch shook his head and pushed the bag away. "Na. . .no. . ."

"Damn it, Aaron. You need it and you are going to drink it!" Rossi demanded as he pushed Hotch's hand down and moved the bag even closer to his face.

"Yeah, Man. We don't care about that either, but if you need us to we'll turn around," Morgan put in with an edge in his voice hoping the Unit Chief would listen.

Hotch pushed it away again. "No. . . pour it. . . on my. . . legs," Hotch instructed and most of them looked at him as if he'd sprouted wings.

Rossi stopped trying to force it to Hotch's mouth. "That's what you did at the hotel. That's how you healed so quickly?"

Hotch swallowed and gave him a weak shrug. "It worked," he breathed as his eyes pleaded for Rossi to believe him.

Rossi took a deep breath as he considered it. After a moment he nodded. "Alright, but take a couple drinks first." When Hotch took a breath to argue, Rossi sighed. "You were starving before this happened. You need it, Aaron!"

Hotch's stomach rumbled loudly as if voicing its agreement with Rossi, so Hotch wilted even further into the man's lap. "Alright," he got out in a huff.

Rossi smiled and put the bag to Hotch's lips and tilted it up.

After swallowing a mouthful, Hotch forced himself to pull away.

"I said a couple drinks, Aaron," Rossi insisted as he still held the bag by Hotch's face.

Hotch shook his head. "Legs. . . need it."

Morgan looked at the man's legs and cringed. "I guess we need to peel your shoes off, or what's left of them anyway, for this to really work, huh?" The little bit of Hotch's shoes and pants that were left had melted into his charred tissue.

"That would allow for more contact," Reid agreed as he searched the ground around them.

"What are you doing, Pretty Boy?" Morgan asked him as Reid took a few steps away from them.

Reid let out a little triumphant chuckle as he bent down. "Looking for something like this," he admitted as he held up a thick branch. He moved back towards his wounded boss and knelt down beside him. "Here, Hotch, you may want to bite down on this. Apparently the vampire keeps the nerves alive; it's probably going to be very painful."

Hotch eyed the stick and then nodded, so Reid gave the stick to Rossi and then moved to Hotch's other foot so they could do both legs at the same time.

Rossi put the stick into Hotch's mouth careful to avoid his fangs. Hotch took a deep breath, bit down on the stick, and then nodded to let them know he was ready.

"On three," Morgan told Reid as they both grabbed what was left of Hotch's shoes. "One," Morgan started as Hotch shut his eyes and tried to steal himself against the pain he knew was coming. Before Morgan spoke again, his eyes locked with Reid's and he nodded, and they both peeled off the remaining pieces of Hotch's shoes.

The stick couldn't stand up to the strength of Hotch's jaw and it splintered into pieces and they didn't nothing to stop the scream the tore out of Hotch's throat.

Rossi squeezed him even tighter as his heart ached for the pain they were putting him through. "I'm so sorry, Aaron."

Hotch spit the wood out as his chest heaved. "Finish it," he got out as his eyes locked with Morgan's.

Morgan took a deep breath and reached for a piece of fabric that used to be a part of Hotch's pants that was stuck to the exposed muscle of Hotch's right calf.

"Wait!"

Morgan turned in a rush as he drew his pistol but he quickly pointed it skyward as several people emerged from the forest on the other side of the clearing. His breath left him in a rush of relief as soon as he recognized Jimmy and his grandfather among them.

Once they were close enough, Jamison shook his head. "Jesus Christ. What are you trying to do, Son, give this old man a heart attack?" he asked with a kind smile as he knelt down next to Hotch and put a hand on Rossi's shoulder.

Hotch glanced at Rossi. "Sorry."

"You did what you had to do to save the girl, Aaron. You did good," Rossi assured him as he gave him another squeeze.

"Beyond good, I would say," Jamison insisted. "We all owe you for ridding the world of that monster when no one else could." He smiled at Hotch again. "Now let us try to return the favor and help you."

"He wants me to pour this blood on his legs," Rossi told him.

Jamison nodded as he smiled. "You know that trick, huh? Good." He fixed serious eyes on Rossi's. "But even that will be extremely painful. Let me help him by putting him out."

"How would you do that? Vampires can't. . ." Reid started.

Jamison stopped him with a raised hand. "I may be old but I am still ten times stronger than all three of you. I can do it," he insisted as he looked back to Rossi.

Rossi took a deep breath and then looked at the man still in his arms. "Aaron?"

Jamison put a gentle hand on Hotch's arm. "Trust me."

Hotch licked his lips as he looked up at Rossi for a second and then looked back to Jamison. "James?"

Jamison smiled. "James is already home and he told us what you did for him. Thank you for saving yet another member of my family. So can we do this?"

Hotch wanted the pain to end not get worse, so he looked back at Jamison and then nodded. "Do it."

Jamison nodded as he got up and then went in behind Hotch. Rossi took a deep breath and relinquished his hold on the man he loved like a son. "Be gentle with him."

Jamison gave him a small smile as he wrapped one arm around Hotch's neck and started to squeeze. As soon as Hotch felt his airway start to constrict, his hands flew to his throat and his fingers tore at the man's arm.

Tears filled Rossi's eyes and he had to turn away as Jamison tightened his grip even more and Hotch really started to struggle to breathe. "Don't fight it, Mana'akua," Jamison's gentle words were whispered right into Hotch's ear. "Let sleep take you, Mana'akua, and it will be over before you wake," he told him as he stroked Hotch's hair with his free hand.

Morgan's ground his teeth together and he was severely tempted to shoot the man who was causing his boss even more pain. Reid apparently realized what he was thinking because he put a restraining hand on Morgan's arm. "It's working."

Rossi turned back as Hotch's hands started to slip away from Jamison's arm.

"There you go, Mana'akua. Sleep," Jamison continued as he squeezed even harder, and after a couple more grunts, Hotch went limp in the man's arms. Jamison laid him down with gentle hands and then stood up.

Rossi rushed back to Hotch and put a tender hand on Hotch's face. "I'm so sorry, Aaron."

"Quickly now, you all go back and do what you have to, we'll take him back to the plantation and see to it that he gets what he needs," Jamison told them.

Rossi's head snapped to him but before he could argue, Morgan stepped closer. "Hell no! You all aren't. . ."

"How can we even begin to handle the case," Reid put in. "One, we need Hotch to do that, and. . ."

Heather took a step forward and smiled before she grew about a foot and a half and turned into Hotch right before their eyes. "But I'm right here," she offered in perfect imitation of Hotch's voice.

Morgan ran a hand over his head as he eyed his newly made boss. "Alright, but how the hell are we supposed to convince anyone that she is responsible for any of the killings?" he asked as he pointed to their dead unsub. When Rossi's silver bullet had pierced the unsub's heart, it had reverted back to its original form, a beautiful young girl who looked barely sixteen.

Jimmy looked to one of the young men beside him, and he turned into a giant of a man. "You mean me?" he asked and then went over and touched the dead girl.

Rossi stood up and looked the shifters over and then looked back to his teammates. "This might work."

Jimmy grabbed his cuffs as he went to the big man. "And he will even confess to all of the killings," he assured the agents.

The man winced as he allowed himself to be cuffed. "There are even more victims you all didn't find."

"And you all can deal with that. We will take him to our boat and. . ." Jamison said as he looked at the others with him who immediately moved to grab Hotch.

"I'm not leaving him," Rossi insisted as he stepped closer to Hotch.

Jamison locked eyes with him for a second and then nodded. "Of course not. The boy will need his father now more than ever," he agreed.

A woman stepped forward with a kind smile. "I would be honored to represent you," she told Rossi as she stuck out her hand.

Rossi took a deep breath, nodded, and then shook her hand. Before he even let her go, a mirror image of himself was staring back at him. He huffed. "I guess you'll do."

The shifter Rossi smiled. "At least I'm better looking than you."

Despite everything, Morgan laughed. "She's perfect."

Rossi smiled. "Alright. You all go and get everything taken care of, and we'll take care of Hotch."

"And do not worry about him. I promise you that he will be back to his usual serious self in no time," Jamison assured them.

Morgan grabbed the cuffed man's arm and then he took one more look at Hotch.

"Go," Rossi insisted. "They're bound to be getting close and we don't want anyone to find all this."

Morgan took a deep breath, nodded, and then led their fake unsub away with Reid, shifter Rossi, shifter Hotch, and Jimmy following close behind him.