Chapter 69
When Hotch finally thought he could escape the party without causing any problems, he started to drift to the outskirts. Intent on getting to the guesthouse and getting his bag so he could leave, he headed towards the right path but stopped as Rossi stepped in front of him. "And where would you be going?"
"I have something that I want to do."
Rossi appraised him. He knew Hotch was tired of all of the attention he'd been getting all night, but the younger man looked to be on a mission. "Care to share what it is with an old friend?"
Hotch smiled. "You're welcome to come with me, but I didn't think you'd want to leave the party."
Rossi looked back towards the crowd and then back to Hotch. "And if I stay, I can cover for you."
Hotch nodded. "Yes."
Rossi took a deep breath. "Do I need to be worried?"
Hotch put a hand on the older man's shoulder. "Not in the least. I just want to go check on someone."
Rossi smiled. "Lana."
Hotch nodded. "And I'll see you all at the hotel in the morning."
Rossi nodded and pulled him into a hug. "She's fine, but I understand you wanting to see her."
Hotch licked his lips. "I need to make sure she doesn't need some help forgetting what she went through."
Rossi pat him on the back. "You're a good man, Aaron."
XXX
Hotch was surprised to see all the lights on and Lana's mother still awake with as late as it was by the time he got to their house. He took a deep breath and went up the door.
Mrs. Kehele answered the door with a frown and then smiled once she realized who it was. "Agent Hotchner, what can I do for you?"
Hotch looked around the little house and while he couldn't see Lana, he could hear her soft cries. "I was just checking on Lana. I was wondering how she's doing."
Mrs. Kehele wilted then stepped closer to Hotch. "The vet is worried that Kiko won't make it through the night, and Lana refuses to go to sleep thinking that not sleeping will stop anything bad from happening."
Hotch mentally cringed but then a thought hit him. He took a deep breath. "Would you mind if I talk to her?"
She stepped back from the door and motioned him in. "Go ahead."
Without thinking, Hotch took a step into the house and it took everything in him not to crumble. He forced himself back out onto the sidewalk and locked eyes with the woman intent on compelling her to invite him in.
"She's actually in the back yard." She sighed. "She's out there with Kiko's toys."
"I'll just go around," Hotch offered and then turned.
"She won't even come inside."
"I'm sorry this has happened to them," he offered and went around the house.
He found Lana sitting on the ground at the base of a tree holding a red rubber ball. The teeth marks in it marked it as a favorite of the dog's and Hotch's heart clenched to see tears trailing down the little girl's cheeks. He was about to clear his throat so as not to startle her, but she turned to face him first.
"I knew you'd come," she told him simply as she wiped her face.
"I don't mean to intrude," he offered as he moved in front of her. "May I join you?"
She pat the ground next to her. "Sure."
He settled himself down next to her and took a deep breath. "I was wondering how you were doing."
She shrugged. "I miss him."
He nodded. "I heard about Kiko, and I'm sorry he's not doing that well yet."
She turned to look at him. "Yet?"
Hotch smiled. She was so much like Joey that he had to stop himself from puling her into a massive hug. "Just because he's struggling, that doesn't mean he will leave you. I'm sure he misses you as much as you miss him."
Her eyes studied him for a few moments and then she smiled and launched herself into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. "If U'i Koa Akua says he'll be alright, then he'll be alright," she whispered.
Hotch placed gentle arms around her. "Lana, I'm not a god, I'm just. . ." he knew from Heather and Reid that akua meant god but he had no idea how the 'U'i Koa' in front of it may change the meaning of the word.
She pulled away from him and smiled. "I won't tell anyone, I promise! You saved me from the tutua, I owe you my life."
Hotch mentally winced. Knowing that Lana thought he was a god meant that she definitely saw and remembered what happened in the forest, and while he had no idea what tutua meant, he was sure it didn't stand for man. He took a deep breath. "Lana, what you think you sa. . ."
She shook her head. "And I swear I haven't told anyone! Not even Kiko when I saw him. I played along with the maka'i."
Hotch sighed. He knew he should make her forget the whole thing, but everything in him told him that he could trust the young girl. "Maka'i?"
"Your friends and the police, they told the others what happened and I agreed with them."
He smiled. At least she doesn't know that I'm a vampire. "You are very brave, Lana, and I thank you for protecting my secret."
She nodded and got up. "Eme wants me to go to bed and now that I don't have to be so scared for Kiko, I think I will make her happy by trying."
Hotch got up and dusted the back of his pants off. "Yes, I bet it's way past your bedtime."
She laughed. "Yep," she agreed and then wrapped her arms around his waist. "Oh, I almost forgot," she told him as she pulled away and then ran to the picnic table. She came back with a lei in her hands. "I made this for you," she said as she held it up.
Hotch smiled and knelt down on the ground. "You made this for me?" It was made out of different colored hibiscus blooms from the colorful shrubs in the front yard.
She nodded as she placed it over his head and then leaned in to give his cheek a kiss. "I told you I knew you would come. Thank you, U'i Koa Akua, and aloha."
He smiled at her. "Thank you, and aloha to you, Lana. I wish you and Kiko the very best."
XXX
Hotch studied the veterinarian office. They were closed, but he could tell someone was in there. He thought about going in through an opened second story window, but decided to try the buzzer on the door first.
A young woman answered the door with a frown. "May I help you?"
He pulled out his badge. "I'm Agent Hotchner with the FBI and I was wondering how Kiko was doing."
The woman winced but held the door open. "Please come in." He nodded his thanks and then waited for her to shut and lock the door behind them. "He's gone through surgery, but there's nothing else we can do for him."
Hotch took a deep breath. "Make I see him?"
She nodded and led the way down the hall to a recovery type room. Kiko was lying on a metal table hooked to two IVs and covered with a blanket. "He's lost so much blood. . ." She sighed as she pet the big white dog's head. "It's up to him now."
Hotch reached into his pocket and his fingers rubbed over the little glass bottle he'd brought with him. "Are you the doctor?"
She looked at him and wilted a little. "Yes, I'm sorry. Dr. Becky White," she offered as she stuck out her hand.
Hotch shock it as he locked eyes with her and pulled out the bottle. "You are going to give him this."
She nodded as she took the bottle. "I'll give him this," she replied and then went to a cabinet and grabbed a large syringe.
Hotch watched as she used the needleless tool to suck up the blood and then pushed it into the dog's IV. When she was done, he locked eyes with her again as he took the bottle back from her. "You are going to forget doing that and the fact that I was even here."
She nodded.
He leaned down by the dog's head as he rubbed the course fur of its neck. "Hurry up and get better. Lana's waiting for you, boy," he whispered and then left.
XXX
The next morning, Rossi smiled as he walked onto the hotel's patio holding his coffee and a massive pastry. Hotch was already up and sitting under the shade of a big umbrella at one of the tables. He sat down and took a drink of his coffee. "So how did last night go?"
Hotch nodded. "Good."
Rossi checked his watch. "Have you seen the others yet?"
"Yes. Reid and Mack headed out first to go exploring and then the other three left for the nearest beach about twenty minutes ago. They made me promise that we'd meet up with them for dinner."
Rossi laughed. "Good. I was worried about them being able to get up after having so much fun last night." He studied the man hiding behind sunglasses. "Are you going to tell me what you did?"
Hotch took a sip of his coffee. "I went to see Lana; you know that."
"Are you going to tell me what else you did?"
"Nope."
"Aaron!"
Hotch chuckled.
Before Rossi could say anything else, his phone vibrated. He took it out and his eyes grew wide as he read the message. He licked his lips and fixed the younger man with a look. "How many of those bottles from the Schewels do you have left?"
Hotch frowned as he leaned on the table. "Why do you ask?"
Rossi held his phone up so Hotch could read the message from Detective Iona telling them that he'd just heard from the vet and that Kiko had made it through the night and was recovering quickly.
Hotch licked his lips and sat back in the chair. "That's great news. Lana was very worried about him."
Rossi huffed. "I bet she was, and you just had to do something to help the dog out, didn't you?"
Hotch shrugged. "She looked at me with those big brown eyes and. . ." He sighed. "She just reminded me so much of Joey that I couldn't leave her being that sad, Dave."
"You do know how rare of a gift those bottles are, don't you?"
Hotch nodded. "Yes, and if I can use it to help that little girl and her dog be together again, then so be it. If we had been able to catch it sooner, neither one of them would have been hurt."
Rossi put a gentle hand on his arm. "I'm not saying it was a bad decision, Aaron, I. . . it's just. . ." He sighed.
"You would have done it, too, Dave, and don't try to say you wouldn't have."
Rossi shrugged. "I know I would have, but I'm an old softy."
Hotch snorted and then looked at him. "Does the rest of the team know that I got them?"
Rossi shook his head. "No, and I wouldn't tell them."
Hotch studied him.
"You know Kitten would want you to drink one of them right in front of her so she could watch you shift, and the rest of them, well if they knew about the healing properties, they might get a little careless knowing that you could possibly save them."
Hotch nodded. "I plan on keeping one with me at all times but I would like to keep it a secret from them."
Rossi nodded and then chuckled. "You think it will hurt the dog in anyway?"
"I don't think so, but we can ask Jimmy," he told him as he gestured to the far side of the patio.
Rossi turned and then smiled as Jimmy walked up and sat down with them.
After greetings and updates, Jimmy turned to Hotch. "It's funny how that little girl's dog is doing so much better today."
Hotch smiled apparently Jimmy knew what he'd done. "It won't hurt him, will it?"
"How much did you give it?"
"One bottle."
Jimmy's brows shot up. "A whole bottle?"
Hotch shared a concerned look with Rossi. He mentally cringed with the thought of making the dog better just to have something happen to it later. "Yes, the whole thing."
Jimmy laughed as he shook his head. "No, it won't hurt him, but when he's still alive when Lana's a grown woman, people may start to get curious."
Rossi burst out laughing. "Did it make him immortal or something?"
"No, but he'll live about three times longer than a normal dog."
Hotch studied him. "Jamison kept talking about being older than most of us put together. You all don't age like humans do, do you?"
Jimmy smiled. "I'm seventy three."
Rossi choked on a bite of his pasty and had to take a drink of his coffee to get it all the way down and then fixed the shapeshifter with a look. "If you're seventy-three, how old is your grandfather?"
"One hundred and twenty-six this year." He looked at Hotch. "But a quarter of the bottle would have healed the dog. You don't need to use the whole thing unless you want to shift for a long period of time. Anything quick only needs a couple sips and any healing would depend on the type of wound. But the lesser the being, like a dog or something, the less it will take."
Hotch nodded. "I think I understand. Thanks, Jimmy."
He smiled. "Yep. Anything else I can help you with?"
"Actually, yes, what does 'U'i Koa' and 'tutua' mean?"
Jimmy laughed. "U'i means handsome, Koa means warrior, and tutua means monster basically but literally it means terrifying dangerous creature. Where did you hear these words?"
"Lana. I needed to know what she remembered," Hotch explained.
Jimmy nodded. "It's good you took care of her. She probably wouldn't ever want to step foot outside again knowing there are monsters out there."
Hotch mentally smiled. He knew Lana wasn't afraid. "She'll be fine."
Jimmy stood up. "Good, and now I will leave you gentlemen to relax and enjoy your day." He stuck out his hand towards Hotch.
Hotch stood up and shook it.
"But in case I don't see you again before you leave, thank you, Mana'akua, for everything."
Hotch gave him a smile. "You're welcome, and thank you for all of the help."
Jimmy nodded and shook Rossi's hand. "Tell your whole team, we said thank you."
"I will. Take care of your family, and tell your Grandmother I said thank you, again, for the wonderful spaghetti."
Jimmy laughed. "I will."
Once they were alone Rossi looked at Hotch with an impish grin. "Handsome? Who was that, Lana, her mother, or the beautiful vet?"
Hotch huffed as he watched several kids playing in the pool. "Lana thinks I'm a handsome warrior god."
Rossi rolled his eyes. "Little god or honored one and now handsome warrior god?" He huffed. "Don't let this case get to your head, Aaron."
Hotch's eyes filled with revulsion. "Get to my head? Dave, you know I would never. . ."
Rossi laughed. "No you wouldn't because you're still the same stubborn, always down on yourself, pain in the ass that you've always been."
Hotch shook his head. "Shut up, Dave."
