FOUND

Chapter Four

Wish You Were Here

Penelope has quickly come to hate the break room. Although the blinds are drawn there are still tiny gaps which she feels people are peering into. It doesn't make much sense, but it's like she's sitting in an aquarium for everyone else's amusement. Reid and Morgan left her alone a few minutes ago and she feels lonelier now than she has been for years. "Liam, you answered their questions so well, and I'm really proud of you," she says, sliding down onto the floor so she can help him colour.

Liam looks up and gives her a small smile, "do you think I helped, Mommy?"

"Of course you did, sweetling," she replies, "every little bit you remember about this morning will help the good guys to find Bridie." She plucks yellow and orange out of the pile of highlighters and begins to colour in the sun with them.

"Are they really the good guys, Mommy?" he asks, pushing out his lower lip as he concentrates on drawing a head. Any other person might think Liam is drawing a blob on top of another blob, but Penelope knows it's a person. "Will they get Bridie for us?"

He looks so sweet and hopeful that Garcia can't bring herself to destroy it with doubts. "They're going to try very hard, Liam, and they're the best good guys in the whole wide world," she says, gently rubbing his back for reassurance, "that's why we shouldn't be scared, okay?"

"Okay Mommy," he agrees. Liam's face is absolutely serious and his long eyelashes make him seem so delicate and fragile. Penelope looks at his little nose and the soft curves of his face and she knows they have to find Bridget. She loves Liam dearly, loves Bridget just the same, and she doesn't know what she would do without either of them.

She turns away so he can't see her wipe away the tears that are welling up in her eyes. Suddenly the door begins to open and Penelope jumps to her feet in case there's news, in case Bridget has been found and it's time to spring into action.

It's just one of the female agents who came to the house this morning.

"Hi, I can't recall whether I introduced myself to you earlier, but I'm Kelly and I handle the press on behalf of the team these days," she states, slipping into the room and closing the door behind her. She has a beautifully thick head of red coloured hair, the kind that Penelope would have coveted once upon a time. "We've organized for a conference in ten minutes and I'd really like to go through some of the talking points with you."

Penelope's heart stops and her mouth goes dry. "Talking points, like you want me in front of the camera?" she clarifies, hoping it's a misunderstanding.

Kelly nods and offers Penelope a piece of paper, "I know the idea is intimidating, but it'll really help Bridget. The man who took her, the unsub, reached out to make contact with you when he wrote you that note. He has a preoccupation with love, so it needs to be you who talks about Bridget if we're going to reach him. That's what the profile says, and you should trust these guys."

"I trust them, I really do, but my face can't be in the news. I don't know what they've told you, but there's someone dangerous out there who wants to find me," she talks in a low voice and steps away from Liam so he can't hear, "please, I can't be seen."

"Ms. Gardiner, if you're worried about someone we can offer you full protection, the Marshall Service if need be, but having you communicate with this unsub is our best chance at ensuring that Bridget doesn't come to harm. The first hours are the most important and we have to as effective as possible, which includes getting you to communicate to him, as he did to you through that note," Kelly explains. Some of her hair has fallen out of her strict pony-tail and over her face, but it doesn't distract from her intense gaze.

"I need to have her back, but after that I need my children to be safe and they won't be if Peter Reynolds knows they exist," her words are a little more measured, a little less transparent than they would be if she was speaking with one of her old friends. She reaches out to take the piece of paper but can't summon up the courage to take it.

"Ms. Gardiner, I don't know who Peter Reynolds is. What I know is my team, and you knew them once too. Let me assure you that they are just as passionate, just as thorough, and just as committed as they were when you worked with them," Kelly Shane's expression is absolutely serious, "you should have more faith in them."

Penelope resolutely shakes her head and watches as Kelly turns on her heel and leaves the room. She is only protecting everyone from harm. It's necessary and Penelope wishes people would understand that. Gideon can do it, or Agent Shane. They'll be just as effective, she tells herself. She's frightened that no one will understand how much she wants Bridget returned and afterwards, once the police and agents have left, she wants her children to remain safe.

. . . . .

The minutes pass as a more thorough profile is made and agents from both the CACU and BAU narrow down names on the list of sex offenders. Anderson phones in that two different people from the next street over have noticed an unfamiliar white Hyundai Elantra parked in their cul-de-sac intermittently over the past three days, and a shift worker saw the same model car leaving Cameron Mills Road at around 6:10am. The car is included in the briefing they give to the law enforcement.

Kelly sidles up next to her superior and waits for an opportunity to talk quietly with him. "Hotch, Ms. Gardiner is refusing to do the conference. She claims it will put people in danger of a Peter Reynolds," she says softly when everyone's attention is focused on Reid.

Hotch inclines his head, giving the slightest nod, and steps outside the room with Kelly. "It's a delicate situation," he explains, "but she'll be there. Give me the list of talking points and make sure the press is assembled outside."

"Hotch, it's scheduled to start in five minutes. We've already bumped it back this morning and we can't afford to wait," Kelly reminds him, "it might be more useful to recall Mr. Gideon from the dump site and have him address the press."

He plucks the paper from her hand, holding it neatly in his own, "I'll have her there in two. Meet us downstairs."

. . . . .

"I want my Mommy. I want Papa Giddy," little Bridget's voice is high pitched and her words are squeezed out between sniffles. "I don't like you. I wanna go home," she adds in a whine. Her large brown eyes look at her abductor imploringly as her bottom lip quivers. She considers screaming again but she's already done that and no one came to help.

The man called Sam shakes his head. "I'm your family," he tells Bridget gently, reaching into his pocket and presenting her with a handful of sweets. "I love you, Katie. I'm going to take care of you and we'll be happy together. I won't let you get hurt again," he tells her.

"I'm not Katie," she whimpers. Bridget takes a step backwards, despite being interested in the brightly-wrapped sweets. She hasn't eaten since dinner last night and she's kind of hungry, but she only wants Papa's pancakes or toast that Mommy has made and cut into quarters. She doesn't want to be here with this man in his strange little house. Instead of Papa's pictures of birds and smiling strangers, photos of a girl who looks just like Bridget are scattered everywhere.

Sam gives her a concerned frown and studies her little face. He just knows that he can get her to trust him again, and then they can talk and play like they used to. "It's okay, you're Katie and I'm going to take care of you, remember? You have to be Katie. Only Katie gets to have sweets, or play with her toys, or watch cartoons," he explains patiently. He turns around and picks up a little black box from beside the TV. "Come on," he says, "come watch Care Bears with me, they're your favourite."

Bridget doesn't know what Care Bears are, but a little song starts up and talking animals and rainbows start sliding across the screen, so she sits. "I want Mommy," she whispers dejectedly as she rubs her eyes. The bears on the television are very friendly and should make her smile, but Bridget just feels sad. She doesn't like it here.

. . . . .

He hasn't been alone with Penelope since he'd asked whether the children were his. In truth, he's been avoiding such a situation. It had been reasonably easy to do that in the car because she was in the back seat talking with Liam, he was in the front with Reid, and the radio had been on. Penelope had kept her eyes on Liam the entire way to the precinct, which allowed Hotch to sneak subtle glances of them in the rear-view mirror.

Hotch waits for Kelly to leave before moving towards the door. He hesitates for just a fraction of a second, and then swings it open. Profiling is a peculiar profession; you make your living by reading people and predicting their responses. Aaron is well aware of the fact that there are many suitable approaches to the conversation he's about to have, but if you factor in time it seems there is only one. Liam is wearing headphones and has his eyes glued to the TV. Hotch gives him a reserved smile and a little wave, but it seems the rabble of strange dancing creatures is so enthralling that Liam hasn't even noticed the new arrival.

"I thought it would be Jason sent in to talk to me," Penelope admits, looking up from her phone. She clearly doesn't know what else to say, but the turmoil she's experiencing is apparent. Hotch is silent for a few moments, hoping she'll come to her senses before he has to speak. Her hand nervously reaches to tuck hair behind her ears. "Aaron, I'm so sorry," she tells him, the words coming out in a flood, "I didn't know I was pregnant when I left. When I did found out I was too busy trying to cope with the idea myself, and then I just thought it would be less painful for everyone if I just stayed away."

The honesty in her explanation half-satisfies him, however it's not what Hotch came in here for. It would take more than two minutes to go through the events of the past five years, and they just don't have that kind of time. "We'll discuss that later," he states, "right now you need to know why it's me who's in this room and not Jason."

Hotch heads towards the four-seater table to sit down and crooks his finger, gesturing for her to join him. Dub him too cautious, but Hotch knows sometimes headphones don't completely muffle outside noises, and he doesn't want Liam listening. Penelope joins him, sitting in the chair farthest away, "okay," she says quietly. This close to her he can see some fine wrinkles that weren't there before, and notices that her hair falls well past her shoulders, it's longer than she's ever worn it before.

"Jason is at a nearby park, looking at a disposal site where someone left a four year old girl. She's not Bridget, but she's the exact same type. It means this unsub will kill, and though we don't know when the deadline is, we know it's there," his tone is cold, hard, and factual. He places the page of talking points before him and moves it to the middle of the table, though his intense gaze never leaves Penelope's face. "Our best chance of delaying Bridget's death is you talking to this unsub, so you're going to do it."

She rigidly sits back in her chair. "I can't, Reynolds-" she begins.

"I appreciate that you're scared of Reynolds and you have reason to be, but you're protected from him. The unsub has watched you and the children, he needs to see and listen to you. We can't just put someone else out there and hope it has the same effect. It has to be you," Hotch's face is stern and unmoveable. She has only ever seen his side of him from a distance. This is the big name prosecutor, the impassioned profiler, and Garcia knows she's going to be on the losing end.

That doesn't stop her from trying, "Peter Reynolds killed Kevin because of me. He stabbed Kevin five times, and each time he did it he twisted the knife, literally twisted it. While Kevin was screaming and bleeding out, Reynolds promised he'd let me call an ambulance if I admitted I'd never loved Kevin, and it would only ever be him," Garcia takes a shaky breath, "so I won't let him find me, I won't let him do that to my children or the people I love again."

She's crying, her nose is running, and she looks like an absolute mess, but Hotch won't be shaken. "We'll take measures against Reynolds. He won't get into this station, he won't get into your home, and you can relocate once this is over," Hotch means what he says, although he knows those assurances are less powerful than Penelope's fear of her ex-boyfriend's murderer. "However, there's a man out there who has Bridget. You've made every decision in her life so far, and I'm making this one. You're doing the press conference because I want our daughter to stay alive long enough for me to meet her."

It's a low blow, but necessary, and the sentiment behind it is genuine. For most of his life Hotch was determined he didn't want to be a parent. His objection stemmed from a childhood spent anticipating the next time his father would strike out at him, or his mother, or Sean. Over time Haley had convinced him that he could never be that kind of father, and by the time Jack arrived Hotch most certainly believed it. He could never hurt Jack, and now he can't allow Bridget to have anything less than the best chance at being saved. He wants to get to know his daughter. Her favourite colour, her favourite animal, her favourite nursery rhyme, these are all things Hotch wants to find out from the girl herself.

Garcia's demeanour shifts from defensive to resigned, and Hotch knows his words have done their job. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a tissue which she uses to scrub at her face. "What do I say?" she asks afterwards, biting her lower lip. Her face is set into a grimace and Hotch doesn't know whether it's at him, herself, or the entire situation.

He slides the talking points closer to her, "I'll run you through it while we go downstairs, we're scheduled to air across networks at 9:00, so we need to be down there now." He stands and walks towards the door, which gives the perfect vantage point as she detracts Liam from the show (which now features a grown man wearing bright orange spandex). The last thing Hotch says before leading Penelope and his son out of the room is, "Penelope, thank you." Never let it be said that Aaron Hotchner doesn't show gratitude when it's needed.

. . . . .

Anderson had put in the hard yards for many years before being selected to join the BAU's profiling team. He had been in the FBI since graduating college and was assigned to the BAU for over a decade until he'd trained up enough to become a profiler. After that it had been a long wait for the position, as for some reason the team didn't have a very high turnover. After he'd joined their ranks it took just one jet ride for Anderson to figure out why the profilers rarely quit. It was all to do with loyalty.

Once you've earned the rest of the team's trust and respect, you're good to go. Unfortunately, Anderson is pretty sure that Langley won't make it that far. They walk away from the last house on the street, satisfied that they've found out all they can for now. That means they're free to go back to the command post and meet up with the team for the next step of the investigation. What it doesn't mean is that it's time for Langley to start interrogating Anderson about things which aren't any of their business.

"So, tell me again about this woman," Langley asks, batting her eyelashes and feigning innocence of the fact that she's just a busybody. "Why did she leave?" she clarifies. For all that she's dressed professionally, Anderson is convinced she's no better than a gossiping teenager. He much preferred the agent before Langley, but a gunshot quickly put an end to that happy union. Special Agent Powell is now safely nestled in the white collar unit and the team is stuck with Langley.

Anderson squares his shoulders and forces himself not to sigh, "I wasn't on the team then, wasn't close to anyone, I was only an acquaintance. All I know is what I've told you already. Garcia was the team's technical analyst, she'd been dating a guy for a few years and he was murdered while she was in the room. Almost a year after that she split. The team looked for her but she was never found, and now we're all here." His hands go to his tie, like they always do when he's frustrated. "I've told you because you need to know so you can be effective on this case, not because I want to examine the personal lives of our teammates," he says swiftly.

"Gosh, you're a spoilsport!" Langley exclaims. She hasn't seemed to get the point, and Anderson reminds himself that she rarely ever does when she's dealing with her colleagues. He used to be amazed that she her years in Counterintelligence hadn't given her a little more finesse, or at least some common sense, but now he's just annoyed.

He glowers at her and shakes his head, "I'm going to go get us a lift to the precinct. You can come with me if you think you can keep your curiousity under control," he says.

. . . . .

The press are assembled on the steps of the precinct, and Penelope arrives in time to hear Kelly reminding them to show some discernment and sensitivity. "Ms. Gardiner won't be taking any questions as the focus needs to be on appealing to the abductor. If you have queries you may direct them to me after she has made her statement," the agent says.

She's taken her hair out and as she's standing at the podium she reminds Penelope of someone. It's someone significant, but not anyone Penelope had known for an extended amount of time. "Is she..." Garcia tries to think of the name but all that comes to mind is 'pig farm', and she doesn't want to remember the 89 pairs of orphaned shoes. "She reminds me of Canada," Penelope says, naming the place she's only been to once. She's sure the country has some rather nice bits, but she never got very far from the border and the place will forever be associated with horrifying experiments.

"Kelly was the survivor," Morgan confirms as he comes up beside Hotch, "Reid and I are heading out to check on the scum of society. Call if anything changes." He nods to Garcia before forging past the sea of reporters and cameramen. She feels more trusting of Agent Shane, now that she knows the young woman was once a victim in a case that Garcia helped to solve.

Beside her, Hotch checks his watch, "we can't wait for Jason, but Kelly will be next to you the entire time. I know she's not JJ, but she's just as compassionate and does her job very well. If you forget the talking points, she'll be there to help." He stoops down so he's at Liam's level and straightens out the boy's red sweater. "You are so brave, buddy," he says, "remember to talk to Bridget when your Mom asks you to, alright?"

Agent Shane is waving them forward and the murmurs between journalists are beginning to ease. Penelope picks Liam up and walks towards the podium, perfectly aware that every eye is on them. The BAU's current liaison gives her a reassuring smile and steps back from the microphone. A duplicate copy of the talking points is perched on the podium, but Garcia has been encouraged not to rely on them too much. At the last moment Jason appears on the platform and sidles up next to her. "Sorry I'm late," he says quietly, just before Agent Shane nods to the cameras.

Penelope is supposed to speak from the heart, so she does. "My name is Pippin Gardiner, and this is my son Liam, and his grandfather. This morning while I was sleeping, a man came into the room that Liam shares with his twin sister, Bridget. We sometimes call her Bridie. Bridget is three; she will turn four in October. She likes running and jumping, and gets very bored when I try to make her walk. We went to the zoo last week and she told me she wants to be a dolphin when she grows up," Penelope swallows and surveys the multitude of cameras that surround her. Their lenses glint in the sun, but when she makes eye contact with the people holding the cameras, they smile supportively.

"Um," she glances at Liam who seems absolutely awestruck, "Liam and I miss Bridget very much. We know that sometimes we forget to show Bridget how much we love her, but we really do. So I am grateful towards the man that Bridget is with now, because he has reminded me it's very important." That line had come directly from Hotch, who had explained that it was a bad idea to make the unsub feel ashamed. "I hope that Bridget will be returned to us safely soon. Bridget has never spent the night away from us. Baby, if you're watching or listening, I love you so much," Penelope tries to look happy in case her baby is watching. "Is there anything you want to say, Liam?" she asks.

Gideon reaches in and adjusts the microphone so it's closer to Liam's mouth, then he nods at his grandson. Liam looks unsure of what to say, even though he's run through it with Hotch three times already. "I miss you, Bridget. And thank you remembering her toy lion, mister," Liam says solemnly. He raises his tiny hand to his mouth and blows a kiss to the camera before burrowing his face in Penelope's neck. The small gesture is sweet, and Liam's own idea.

It makes tears spring up in Penelope's eyes and her throat is so choked up that she can't speak anymore, so she steps down from the podium. Jason moves into her place and sets his hands down on the polished dark wood. He to make one of his broad, beaming smiles, the kind that cheers Bridget up if ever she's feeling sad. "Bridie, I don't want you to be scared," he speaks slowly and softly in the same tone he uses when he puts the children to bed. "Please remember that I love you all the way to the moon and back, just like Big Nutbrown Hare in your favourite book, and I can't wait to give you a hug when you come home," he gives one last peaceful smile to the cameras before relinquishing the podium to Agent Shane.

. . . . .

Bridget sits listlessly on the couch with her arms hugging her knees tightly to her chest. After a while her arms start to feel funny, so she eases her legs down and leans back into the couch. She lets her arms fall down by her sides and one of them crashes onto something hard. The silly sounds of the Care Bears instantly disappear, and in their place is her Mommy's voice, "...the zoo last week and she told me she wants to be a dolphin when she grows up."

"What did you do?" Sam demands, leaping up off the couch. He looks confused and angry, and it makes Bridget even more scared than she was before.

"I bumped it on accident!" she says. She doesn't want to make Sam mad, but she wants to see if that's really Mommy on the television, so she leans over to peer around him. It is. It's Mommy, and Papa, and Liam, all standing inside the television. "That's my Mommy," she informs Sam quietly, pursing her lips together and pointing at the screen.

Sam turns around and looks too, he looks surprised but Bridget hardly notices because she's too busy watching her family. She hopes that if she doesn't move, he'll forget that she's there and let her keep watching Mommy. It seems to work, because Sam doesn't turn the TV off and he doesn't keep yelling at her.

Bridget listens to Mommy, she listens to Liam, she listens to Papa, and then she screams when they disappear. That makes Sam remember her. He lunges towards the television and presses the button that makes it go black. "They're lying! You're not Bridget, you're Katie, and I'm the only one who loves you," he scowls darkly and rushes out of the room, leaving Bridget to throw herself across the couch and sob.

A/N: Thanks again for reading, and an extra big thanks to those special someones who have left reviews or set up alerts. I love signing in and seeing that people are enjoying my writing. I'm astounded by how many visitors this story has and it makes me write all the more faster. I tried to upload this earlier today but FF.N was having a meltdown, so it got postponed.

What can we look forward to next chapter, you ask? Some JJ, a less reserved Hotch, and a side of interesting phone calls!