It was mid-morning of the next day before the BAU team (including Hotch, 586, and 765,) as well as the three owners, left Hutchens Island, heading back to San Juan.
"Did you get to speak with Jack and Jessica last night?" JJ asked Hotch as she sat next to him at the front of the first boat.
"No," he replied sadly. "However, I did get to talk with Garcia. It seems that Jack is off on a weekend long outing for children of law enforcement officers who were lost in the line of duty, and Jessica had a meeting she couldn't avoid. However, Garcia assured me that she will have Jessica standing by to speak with me this afternoon after we dock."
"Good," JJ nodded her head in approval. "You need to reconnect with your family as soon as possible."
"You look awfully worried," Rossi said quietly to 586, who was sitting next to him several rows back in the boat.
The look she gave him was of pure terror. "This was a mistake!" she wailed. "I don't know where I am going or what I am doing or what is going to happen to me and my son and my baby. This whole thing was a bad idea!" She sounded close to tears.
"Okay now, calm down," Rossi put an arm around the trembling woman and gave her a hug. "You do trust Aaron, don't you?"
"Of course I do!" was the immediate reply.
"And you do know that he wouldn't do anything to bring harm to you or your children, don't you?" Rossi continued.
"Yes, but – "
"No' buts' about it, young lady," Rossi told her. "Aaron is going to be doing his absolute best to take care of you and the children. You are going to be fine. And, if he does give you any problems, you let me know. I'll set him straight." He smiled at the young woman.
"Everything is going to be so different," 586 worried. "I don't even call him Hotch or Aaron or whatever it is that everybody else does. To me he is 751. And I don't know what I am going to do when we get there."
"Why don't you start by calling him Aaron," Rossi suggested gently. "That would be your first step. And, then, the two of you need to talk about what you want for your and your son's names. That would be a good way to start on your new life."
"We've talked about that," 586 admitted. "But we never reached a decision."
"Then move up there, sit down next to him, and get everything settled," Rossi gave her a nudge. "The sooner, the better."
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
As the two boats approached the dock at San Juan, no one could miss seeing the brightly dressed person dancing around on the dock, waving excitedly.
"Garcia?!" Hotch greeted her with a wide grin as he climbed onto the dock. "What are you doing here?"
"I was not about to let my Boss Man arrive home without a welcoming party!" Garcia exclaimed. "Even if it was just me. So I flew over and - Welcome Home Hotch!" She threw both arms around his neck and began sobbing.
"Now I know you are really here," she exclaimed between sobs. "You are really, really here!"
"Penelope Garcia," Hotch gently pulled himself free so he could look her in the eye. "Thank You! Both for coming here to greet me and for all the work you put in trying to find me. Everyone has told me what you and Rossi have been doing and I can't begin to tell you what it means to me." He looked around at the other people standing on the dock.
"Jessica's not here?" he questioned.
"No, I came alone," Garcia told him. "Jessica thought she should wait for Jack to come back from his trip. The two of them will be waiting for you when we get back to Quantico. Although – " she checked her watch. "I will be calling her on her cell in about half an hour. She said she would be standing by waiting to talk with you."
"Thank you," Hotch smiled happily. "There is something I need to have her speak with Jack about before I get there."
"In the meantime, Penelope," his smile got even bigger. "There is someone I would like you to meet." He gestured for 586 to come over and join them.
"Penelope Garcia," he said proudly. "I would like you to meet, Lynn, my wife." He put his arm around the pregnant woman and pulled her closer to him. "And, standing over there with Reid, is her son, Jacob."
"JJ told me you are married," Garcia admitted as she held her hand out to shake with the scared looking woman.
"Hello," she said with a smile. "I'm Penelope and I'm so glad to meet you."
"Oh – What the heck!" she exclaimed as she dropped her hand and enveloped the surprised young woman in a big hug. "I am so glad you and boss man are happy –And you have a baby on the way and everything."
"You decided on a name?" Lewis asked Hotch quietly.
"Lynn was my mother's name," Hotch explained. "And I've always liked it."
"Jacob is from the Hebrew," Reid added as he led the youngster over. "He was a very important patriarch of the Jewish people who founded the original twelve tribes of Israel." He smiled down at Jacob who grinned back at him.
"Plus, 586 – Lynn – liked the name Jacob," Hotch added.
"Ahoy there!" the shout out came from an older man striding towards the group. "Mind if I join you?"
"Captain Smith?" JJ smiled at the man as she recognized him. "It's good to see you!"
"It's good to be seen, especially at my age," was the rejoinder. "And, you too agent," he heartily shook hands with Morgan.
"Hotch, this is Caption John Smith. He's been a big help in our search for you," JJ explained.
"He travels around quite a bit on his boat and has been keeping an eagle eye out," Garcia added cheerfully. "Hello again Captain!"
"Thank You Captain!" Hotch shook the old salt's hand. "I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate that!"
"My pleasure," the man grinned at Hotch and his wife. "Always glad to see a happy ending."
"Now, I heard a rumor yesterday," he continued, speaking to the group. "And, as I was in the neighborhood, I sailed straight over here to tell you. It seems that about two days ago several boats who were on the water southwest of St. Thomas saw a column of smoke rising from the water during the late afternoon. Naturally, they headed over to see if someone needed any help but, when they got there, there wasn't anything to see. Maybe a hint of an oil slick, but that was it. One of the boats thought that they may have seen a small runabout on the horizon, headed in the opposite direction, but they weren't sure."
"Someone set a boat on fire and then scuttled it?" Rossi suggested.
"Quite possibly your kidnapping pirate gang," the captain suggested. "That's what I would do if I got word that it looked like I was going to get caught."
"Freddy has had more than enough time to warn them," Ron Hartnell observed. "If they've scattered, chances of catching them have diminished to next to nothing."
"We can still go after Freddy," George Hughes reminded him. "But we still don't know where to begin looking."
"He's probably gone to ground someplace," Morgan pointed out. "I have no doubt he had a safe haven set up somewhere. His family has probably maintained it for years."
"Well, if I hear or see anything, I'll let you know," Captain Smith assured them. "And, not to worry, I know how to reach you."
"Now, I have to get going," he grinned. "I have a standing reservation at a tavern not too far from here and I've no doubt there is a cold beer sitting in there with my name on it waiting for me."
"If you would care to join us this evening at our resort on the other side of the island, we'd love to have you," Wayne Hayward told him. "Our treat."
"Well now, I'll have to give that some serious consideration," the captain winked at him. "You just might see me there."