Sorry about the break.
I actually got to go to an awesome Ranch for the better half of the summer, and our Wi Fi wasn't working.
Horatio took the wheel of the Hummer and sped out of the glades. He took a few shortcuts through shallow water, and made Hotch cringe.
"Relax, this is the reason the county pays for these gas hogs." Horatio chuckled. "They are semi-aquatic and practically bulletproof."
"Maybe you just destroy other vehicles."
"That's true. How many SUVs have you destroyed?" Horatio floored his way through another sunken road.
"That's classified."
"Why do I even ask?" Horatio mumbled to himself and drove onto the highway. Eric was now leading the way, and got off the first exit. He followed Eric through downtown and out to a reasonably nice neighborhood. The four men walked the perimeter of a six foot hedge, and peered over a gate. Eric motioned to the dark blue van in the driveway. "Kick it down." Horatio said.
"Shouldn't we wait for backup?"
"There's no time," Hotch shook his head. Eric kicked the gate and broke the lock right out of the wood. Eric and Ryan ran to the side of the home, toward the van, while Hotch and Horatio went in through the front door. Hotch moved through the living room silently, hearing his own heart beating, and turning corners quickly. Horatio jumped at a small noise and cursed as a cat ran across his feet. He kicked open the door at the end of that hallway and let out a loud 'clear.' He peeked around the virtually empty bedroom and went to follow the agent.
He had also discovered an empty, plain bedroom. Horatio froze as he heard shouts from the other end of the house. The two bolted through the kitchen and found a door leading outside. The red head flinched as shots rang out from two directions. He glanced back at Hotch, wincing and holding one side of his head.
"You okay?" H asked and Aaron weakly nodded. He saw Ryan and Eric disappear into a garage and heard a few exchanged words. The taller man followed Horatio into the musty smelling, dark cement floored room. Wolfe stepped over the body of a middle aged man and opened the door of a truck.
"Nothing H." Ryan shook his head.
"Good job." Horatio commented and found Hotch out by the van. He held his gun in one hand and looked at the taller agent, gun at the ready. "Ready?" Hotch nodded. He flung the door opened and stepped back.
A boy around Jack's age stared back at them with round, terrified eyes.
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Aaron Hotchner sat at a bar in Miami, looking at the light coming through the amber liquid in the glass. He shook the ice before taking another sip. Light danced across the wall as lightning rang out in the sky, and rain poured down on the roof. The rattle seemed deafening in the quiet bar, and to his fragile state of mind.
He turned his head slightly as the door swung open. Horatio Caine shook the water from his bright red hair, now a dark amber, and threw his jacket on a barstool before sitting with Aaron.
"Jack on the rocks please." His deep voice rumbled. The cuban bartender nodded and took a bottle from the shelf behind the bar.
"Why are you here?" Aaron asked.
"I haven't known you for more than 36 hours, but I can tell something is eating you alive."
"I would rather not talk about it." Aaron said quietly.
"I lost my wife too." Horatio said and thanked the bartender as he sat a glass on the marble.
"How do you know anything about me?"
"It was about five years ago. She was murdered by a gang I have been dealing with."
"What is the point lieutenant?"
"When we signed up for our jobs, the danger comes standard. Do not blame yourself for her death."
"I think that is none of your concern."
"We all regret choices we make. But, look at what we do for a living. You and you team saved an innocent child today, isn't that worth the risk?"
"What are you saying?"
"I am saying, take a month off. Spend time with your son, he needs you now more than ever." Horatio drained his glass and stood up. "If you don't take time off, you'll regret it, trust me. There is a light at the end of the tunnel Aaron, you might not see it, but it's there. You can never fill that hole again, but you can move along. She's in a better place now." Horatio smiled before picking up his jacket. "I'll see you back at the station." With that, he turned and walked out into the rain.