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….10th muse...
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Criminal Minds
Yves, Your Cheatin' Cologne
Part 4
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It was a sleepless night at the Hotchner residence.
Hotch kept Jack company as the toddler was restless; but with pain medication, Hotch was able to keep his son from fidgeting and trying to itch his new cast.
Jack thought it was the neatest thing. Parents however thought otherwise, their fore front thoughts were the Child Welfare Services. Hotch had dealt with them plenty of time when he had worked on the other side with abused children, he had never expected to be on this side!
And then, on top of it all, he was worried about Emily, who was still missing. Reid had just arrived at the New Jersey PD. They had been cooperating with the FBI division up there, as the bureau had taken over the investigation. Garcia was now splitting hair on both sides working Baltimore and NJ, pulling an all nighter; she had insisted on staying at Quantico when she heard Prentiss was missing.
At Baltimore, Gideon was the only one who knew about Emily been missing; Hotch had warned him not to inform Morgan and JJ. He did not want them to be distracted until their case was closed, Gideon had agreed, and Hotch had also gave the heads up to Garcia.
It was now early morning, 6am, Hotch was exhausted and beat but he couldn't bring himself to sleep not knowing where Emily was.
Every fiber of his being was calling out to her as he felt nothing but frustration. He was stuck in Virginia and as far as he knew, she was in New Jersey, and there was not a damn thing he could do!
Her last words still fresh in his mind; 'I don't kiss and tell on my first loves.' She had smiled cryptically. Granted, she was playfully referring to Jack, but he knew she was trying to tell him he was her first love...he was her first love! She loved him!
He looked up, Emily, hang in there! I'll hunt whoever has you! He or she had better not harm a single hair on you! Or else...He clenched his fists hard, so hard that his knuckles whitened as he breathed hard in the quiet of his son's room.
Jack had finally gave in to sleep.
Hotch was able to take a quick shower in the guest bathroom across from Jack's room.
Dressed in sweater and jeans, he decided to make a stop to the BAU and the crime lab.
He had to make sure.
"Aaron, what about the Child Welfare Services?" Haley glared at him, her arms across her chest, her expression was cross.
"Haley, they are not due till 10am, I'll be back by then." He was tying his shoe laces. "Jack's fast asleep." He said quietly. "I won't be long.
She was mum but her looks spoke volume.
He did his best to ignore her.
Somewhere in the house, a cell phone rang; Hotch knew it was not his as his phone was in his pocket.
With another stern look from Haley, she shook her head before she left the room.
Hotch followed after her and saw she had went downstairs to the kitchen.
It was Jessica, her sister.
Without a word, Hotch left the house.
…...
At the BAU, he saw that Garcia had left.
Good, he was beginning to worry about her, he had intended to physically haul her out of her own office; she was good at her job but if she was dead on her feet, she would not be good to anyone on his team.
Half of his team at Baltimore were asleep anyways, as well as the deputies at New Jersey. Reid was the only still up; Hotch knew the young man could function on minimal sleep and loads of caffeine.
The last he had checked, Reid couldn't tell him anything about Emily's disappearance, or anything unusual. His only comment was that there was no indicative the disappearances of the Sheriff and Emily were connected.
How strange, Hotch thought. It then occurred to him and he asked Reid to go over all the cases of missing people in the last year. That was why Hotch and Emily had went up there to give a consult in the first place. It seemed there might have a connection to those particular cases and the disappearance of either Emily or the Sheriff.
Now, to the crime lab to drop off the incriminating foil wrapper and another significant evidence; Haley had revealed to him that sweet neighbor Brett had came by and personally dropped off their Christmas card he had designed.
Chancing that he'd left his prints on the envelope, Hotch presented lab technicians and wished them luck and headed home.
He had rounded the corner of his street when he spotted his 'favorite' cheating neighbor; he was walking away from Hotch's house; what was he doing at his home? Hotch wondered. And now he was headed back to his home.
Hotch was tempted to confront him at the moment but he held back as he controlled his temper and told himself to wait.
He'd wait for the results of the foil wrapper and the envelope; he was a patient man as he pulled up his drive way.
Entering his home, he was hit by Yves...again.
Maybe he'd get that man a new brand of cologne for Christmas, something less pungent to his sense of smell. Sheese, did he bathe in that damn foul thing?
Hotch sighed as he tried to take short breaths and breathed out through his mouth; just like he did if he were coming upon a badly decomposed body; short breath in and out the mouth.
"Aaron? It that you?" Haley poked her head from the kitchen.
He nodded, "Yeah, it's me-" He stopped when he saw a slight mark right below her left jaw line...damn, is that a hickey mark?
Seriously? Who gives hickeys anymore? He thought privately. Now Yves-bather is a certifiable vampire!
"Is something wrong, Aaron?"
He shook his head as he looked away, "No...nothing is wrong."
"How's work?"
He shrugged, "It''s going fine." Okay, since when have you shown any concern about my job?
She nodded, "Do you want something to eat?" She offered.
He shook his head, "I'm fine, Haley. I'm going upstairs to check on Jack." Without waiting on her reply, he stepped away but the doorbell chime stopped him, Hotch and Haley exchanged looks.
"I'll get it." He changed direction and headed towards the door.
Haley nodded nervously.
…...
During the interview with the CWS, Hotch's phone buzzed, he ignored the call. It rang three more times before it went silent.
Haley was holding Jack, Mrs. Holloway was watching their interactions at the same time she was asking them questions.
Hotch tried not to act anxious during the questioning process but Mrs. Grace Holloway seemed to sense his anxiety. "Mr. Hotchner, am I holding you up?"
He shook his head, "No ma'am. Not at all."
She watched him for a moment longer before she asked the next question, "Do you have a child safety gate for the stairs." She indicated their staircase.
"Jack has just started to walk yesterday," Haley started to explain but stopped when she saw the look on the woman's face, and shook her head. "No, I'll make sure it's a priority today."
Mrs. Holloway nodded as she made a notation on her clipboard before she headed to the kitchen.
"You'll need to child-proof these cabinets." She opened the lower cabinets. "He's at a curious stage now," She explained. "He'll want to open these cabinets and probably drawers." She pointed at them.
Haley and Hotch nodded attentively.
"Or, you can install another baby gate between the hallway and your kitchen doorway." She suggested. "Anywhere you don't want your son to go, put a gate up. He may be slow now, but once he gets a hang of walking, it won't take but two or three seconds to lose sight of him." Mrs. Holloway continued.
Hotch nodded, "Believe me, ma'am, I've covered many missing child cases."
She stared at him, "Then you should know better to protect your son, Mr..." She glanced down at her clip board and looked up at him, "FBI...I'm sorry, Agent Hotchner." She nodded at him. "You do know about missing and abused children then."
He nodded bleakly.
She sighed, "I'm signing this case off, it seems this is just simply an accident. I certainly don't see any indication of abuse here. But another mishap with your son, you and your wife will be under my radar. Good day, Agent Hotchner, Mrs. Hotchner." She nodded at them as she walked towards the front door.
Feeling relieved, "Thank you, Mrs. Holloway." Hotch nodded gratefully as he opened the door for her. "Have a great day, too."
Shutting the door after the CWF woman had left, Hotch smiled at his wife, "That went well."
Haley nodded, "Yes, thank goodness. We'll have to go buy the baby gates today and those child-proof locks she mentioned."
Hotch paused, "Can you handle this yourself, Haley?"
She stared at him, "What? Why?"
"I have to get back to New Jersey."
Staring in disbelief, "Aaron, I can't believe this, I need your help, I can't do all by myself."
"I..." He opened his mouth to argue when he closed them again, and nodded. "Very well, we'll go to the store and get the stuff."
She watched him and nodded as she passed Jack to him, "I'll get my purse. You can put him in the car seat."
He nodded as he held his son. "We'll wait in the car."
As he got behind the driver's seat, he looked into his phone, his heart beat hard; it was Emily! She had been trying to call him half an hour ago!
He quickly called her back, it went straight to voice mail. Shit!
He dialed again, voice mail.
He called Reid, "Reid, has Emily called you?"
No...why? Has she tried to call you?
"Yes, half an hour ago but I couldn't answer. She used her cell phone."
I'll have a tech analyst trace her calls. Reid said.
Hotch nodded, "Great, keep me posted." He said as he watched Haley walking towards the SUV.
As she climbed into the passenger side, "Ready?" She turned to him.
He nodded, "Sure."
He pulled out and drove off, and looking up into the rear view mirror, he thought he saw Brett coming out of his house, watching him drive away.
A moment later, Haley's cell phone buzzed in her purse. She ignored it.
It buzzed again.
"Aren't you going to answer it?" Hotch watched her.
Haley shook her head, "It's nobody important." She looked away from him, turning her head towards the passenger's side window.
So, his name is now Nobody.
…...
End of Part 3