It was early morning and, as he worked outside in the sunlit yard repairing pallets in preparation for the upcoming harvest, Hotch suddenly realized he was – Content. That was the only word he could think of to describe it. Hard driven, alpha male dominant, FBI Special Supervisory Agent Aaron Hotchner was content repairing wooden pallets on an uncharted island in the middle of the Caribbean. He smiled to himself. This was nothing like what he had expected his life to be.
"Well, 751, you certainly look happy this morning," 433 returned from handling an issue at the men's dorm. "What's your secret?"
"No secret," Hotch replied. "It's just that I suddenly realized how lucky I am. I have a wife I love, I have a son, and I have a child on the way. I also have a job I enjoy. That's a lot to appreciate." (He thought guiltily of Jack and Jessica and, reluctantly, pushed that thought out of his mind.)
"Right you are," 433 agreed with him as he picked up the next pallet on the stack and began examining it. "I strongly suspect that a lot of people don't have all that."
"Now, let's get these pallets repaired so we can start on the bookshelf for my wife," (433 smiled happily as he said the word). "Ever since she saw the one you built for your room she has been asking me to build one for ours. We don't have all kinds of books the way you do, and we don't need to set up a lower shelf like you have for your boy to keep his stuff on, but I'm sure she will find plenty of things to put on it."
"Now, 464 swears that 765 is already reading – Is he?"
"I think so," Hotch admitted. "Last night he read a story to 586 and me, and he seemed to have all the words right."
"And, 464 isn't the only one asking for a bookshelf," he added. "It appears that I have a backlog of orders for them. They're not hard to build, though, so it shouldn't take long to get them all completed."
"Then let's get going!" 433 smiled.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
"I'm sorry, but I am going to have to ask you gentlemen to leave - This is a private island," the big man sternly told the group on the first boat to arrive at the Hutchens Island dock. Rossi noted that there were several other equally large men standing a short distance behind him.
"This island is owned by H & J, I believe?" Ron Hartnell asked from his place in the bow of the boat.
"That is correct," was the cautious reply.
"In that case, you may want to let us come ashore," he suggested. "I'm Ron Hartnell, and these two gentlemen (he gestured to the seats behind him) are Wayne Hayward and George Hughes, and we, along with Freddy Jewell, are the owners of H & J."
"I am so sorry, Mr. Hartnell," the man immediately apologized. "But the only person who ever comes here is Mr. Jewell. I have never met any of you, so I didn't recognize you. Why don't you let my men help tie your boats up to the dock so you can come ashore? Then I'll take all of you up to the house."
"By the way, I'm Commander," he added as he waved for his men to come and secure both boats to the dock. "I'm in charge of the workers here at Farm #3 and my wife, Mistress, is the Farm Manager. Any questions you have, we'll be glad to answer them for you. And, we will also be glad to show you around."
"Thank you," Ron Hartnell replied. "That would be great."
After the boats had been secured to the dock and everyone was standing on shore, Morgan stepped forward to speak with Commander.
"I'm SSA Derek Morgan," he began authoritatively.
"And, like me, he is an assistant to the owners of H & J," Rossi quickly stepped forward to interrupt him, which gained him a glare from Morgan.
"David Rossi," he introduced himself.
"Perhaps I had better introduce all the members of our group," Ron Hartnell hurriedly suggested.
"As I said, I am Ron Harnell and these are the other partners of H & J, Wayne Hayward and George Hughes." He gestured towards the other two men.
"And, we have with us several members of our staff – Matt Cruz, Derek Morgan, David Rossi, Jennifer Jareau, Tara Lewis, and Dr. Spencer Reid," he continued while each member of the group smiled and gave a small wave when their name was mentioned.
"We also have several members of our marine staff, who will be keeping an eye on our boats as well as checking them to make sure they are capable of handling the trip back to San Juan," he concluded with a gesture which included the security people as well as the boat captains.
"Mr. Jewell always said H & J was a large company," Commander replied. "And, from the size of your group here, I guess he was right."
"Now, if you will come with me, I'll take you up to the house where you can meet Mistress and get whatever information you've come to get." He began leading them down a dirt road towards the interior of the island.
"Rossi, why did you interrupt me, Man?" Morgan hissed at the man.
"We aren't sure what is going on here," Rossi reminded him. "And I didn't think it was wise to risk alerting him as to why we are here."
"Your security people are staying with the boats?" Cruz quietly questioned the island's owners.
"It seems prudent," George Hughes told him. "Even though I don't see any signs of anger or violence. And, I assume your agents have side arms, even if they aren't visible."
"You're right about that," Lewis assured him. "However, as things stand now, I honest don't think we are going to have to use them."
"Don't count on that!" Morgan growled. "If they are holding Hotch – "
"Hush," JJ hissed. "It looks like we have arrived."
"Oh My Gosh!" Wayne Hayward breathed as they stood at the edge of the lawn looking at the Victorian house. "If I didn't know better I would swear I was at your family's home on Long Island." He looked at Ron Hartnell.
"Right down to the carved pillars on the porch," Ron Hartnell's mouth was hanging open. "I don't believe it!"
"Who knows what else we are going to find?"