Chapter 17
The whole team eyed Hotch warily as they walked into his room. Hotch looked at them all and started to get worried. "What's wrong?"
"What do you mean?" JJ asked him.
"Why are you all looking at me like that?"
"Like what?" Morgan asked him.
"Like. . . I don't know. . . just weird." Hotch noticed that Reid shot Rossi a look. "Reid?" Hotch asked.
Reid gulped and took a step backwards as his eyes went to Rossi again.
Hotch's hand went to his forehead and he massaged his temples. When he looked up again, he had his stare trained on them. They all cast glances at each other. "Maybe we should let you rest," Morgan suggested and they all headed for the door.
"Ok," Hotch told them reservedly. He knew something was wrong, but he had no idea what it was.
Rossi wasn't sure if it was Hotch's headache or if Hotch hadn't changed, but he resigned himself to let Hotch rest and see what he was like tomorrow. "You want me to tell the doctor you need something for your head?" Rossi asked once everyone else had left.
"Please. I'll see you tomorrow, right?"
"Of course. We'll have everything wrapped up, and all you'll have to do is go home."
"That's good because I couldn't help you close the files anyway," Hotch told him with a weak smile.
Rossi nodded. "Try to get some rest."
XXX
Rossi took one SUV to pick up Hotch while the others went to the jet to wait for them. By the time Rossi got to the hospital, Hotch was ready and waiting for him. "Are you cleared to fly?" Rossi asked him knowing that Hotch would probably fly anyway.
"Yes, but I had to promise the doctor a follow up visit at home," Hotch told them as he held his head at a strange angle.
"Are you sure you're alright," Rossi asked him with concern.
"My head hurts, Dave, and if I understand things correctly, it has a right to hurt."
Rossi eyed him warily. Maybe he hasn't changed. "It does, but you sure you don't want to rest for a day or so? I can stay with you and then we can drive back."
The look Hotch gave him told him he thought that idea was horrible. "I just want to go home."
"Alright, Aaron, but you're resting on the jet," Rossi told him in his fatherly tone, but was expecting Hotch to argue. He didn't, all he did was nod strangely and motioned for Rossi to lead the way. Rossi grabbed Hotch's bag and lead the way to the waiting SUV.
Hotch looked around once they were outside. Rossi noticed his hesitation. "What?"
"I still don't know where we are."
Rossi chuckled. "Phoenix."
Hotch nodded and got in the SUV.
Rossi looked at Hotch as he got in. "Are you sure you're ok?"
"Jesus, Dave. I'm fine. Stop worrying so much."
I'm fine? That sounds like old Hotch. Rossi gave him a small smile and nodded. Hotch studied him, but his head hurt too much to try to figure out what was wrong with Rossi, so he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
Once they got to the jet, Hotch climbed the stairs and noticed how they all looked at him. He was sure something was wrong with them. "What?" he asked.
They all quickly looked away and mumbled 'nothing' or 'sorry' and tried to act like they were engaged in something else. Hotch shook his head and walked to the back of the jet. It was obvious they didn't want him around them. He sat down heavily as he tried to figure out what was going on. Jessica was going to keep Jack for the night, so he had a night to figure out what he was going to say to him, too, about his lack of memory. He shook his head and hoped he hadn't lost anything important about his son. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
Rossi finally came on and when he saw Hotch sitting in the back by himself he shook his head. Damn it! Rossi sat down with the rest of the team but where he could keep an eye on Hotch.
Hotch never said a word the whole ride home, and Rossi saw him grab his head a couple of times. Even if Hotch hadn't changed, he still felt sorry for him. Nobody deserves to keep getting hurt like that.
Once they were back at the BAU, Rossi grabbed Hotch's bag and took it to his car. He knew Hotch wouldn't want him treating him like a child, but Rossi thought he needed it. Besides, he had to find out one way or the other if Hotch was still new Hotch. He had survived his anger before, and he prayed that if Hotch let loose, he could survive it again.
Hotch saw Dave grab his bag and he sighed. "What are you doing?" Hotch asked him as he walked up to him. Hotch could see his car sitting in its usual spot.
"I'm driving you home."
"I can drive myself, Dave."
He said Dave. "I know, but your head hurts, so I thought I'd keep an eye on you." Brace yourself. It's coming.
"Alright, but that means you have to fix dinner."
What? Oh my God! Oh my God! "That's fine." Keep pushing. "I'll probably stay the night, just to make sure you're ok." It's gotta happen now.
"Unless I've done something to the guest room in the last two months, you can crash there," Hotch told him as he got in Rossi's car.
Rossi couldn't hold back his smile any longer. Thank you, God! He quickly got in and looked at the man sitting in his passenger seat. He smiled even wider.
"What?"
"What?"
"Why do you look like the cat that ate the canary?"
Rossi shook his head. "Just glad to be spending some time with my friend. Is that alright?"
Hotch eyed him warily. Now he knew something terrible had happened, but he wanted to wait until he was home to confront him about it. "I guess." He rested his head back and closed his eyes. It didn't escape his notice that Rossi's smile never left the whole way to his house.
Rossi led the way to Hotch's door. "You haven't changed the code, have you?" Hotch gave him a look. "Oh, sorry. Well, I guess we're about to find out." Rossi opened the door with his key and went to the alarm pad. He smiled when the code worked. Hotch walked past him to the kitchen. Everything looked normal. He opened the fridge and was shocked to find a case of beer. What the hell? He decided to check out the rest of the house.
Rossi watched him intently, but didn't say anything.
"What the hell?!" Hotch yelled from down the hall.
Oh Shit! I forgot about his office! "Just wait a minute," Rossi told him as he went down the hall quickly.
"What happened?" Hotch asked as he took in his empty office.
Rossi was actually surprised by it. Everything had been cleaned up and everything that had been destroyed had been removed. Other than being empty, the only thing that was awry was the numerous holes in the walls. "I was going to ask Morgan about fixing those."
Hotch looked at him with concern. "I did this?"
Rossi nodded slowly. "You weren't exactly yourself."
"So all my stuff. . . I destroyed it?"
Rossi could hear the sadness in his voice. "Yeah, but we'll get it all replaced."
"How bad was it?"
"Honestly?"
"Please."
"It looked like a tornado struck in here."
Hotch shook his head, shut the door, and walked to his bedroom hesitantly.
"This is the only room you messed up, and Jack never saw it," Rossi told him.
Hotch looked back at him and nodded. He went in the bedroom and the first place he went was his closet. He held his breath as he opened the doors. He let his breath out in a sigh as he looked at his suits. He had thought something must have happened to them, too, since he was wearing one when he came to and he hadn't packed any. He took a deep breath and decided it was time to find out what he had done in the past two months. You're going to answer some questions, Dave.