Well folks, looks like alot of people enjoyed the first chapter so here is the next. Oh, before I forget I want to warn you that I am a once a week poster. That way I can stay several chapters ahead which means a lot less pressure. Seems I posted the first on a Tues. night so Tues. it is. Now sit back and enjoy and don't forget to tell me what you think.
Knock. Knock.
"Come in," Hotch said, never looking up from the report he was perusing.
JJ entered the office, moving over to his desk to set down on it a stack of files. She patted the top one in satisfaction. "I'm all finished with my pile of files. All you have to do is sign them."
Hotch set his report to one side. "That was fast," he commented as he flipped open the top file, glancing up at the blonde woman.
JJ shrugged modestly as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I had some motivation. I was hoping I could leave early to spend some quality time with Will and Henry."
Hotch stopped reading the file and folded his hands on top of it. "I don't have any problems with you leaving early. Take advantage of this downtime. We may not be this lucky next week."
"Thanks, Hotch," JJ said, smiling in relief.
"How are things on the home front?"
She sank down into the visitor's chair with a sigh. "It's been rough. Will and Henry are still adjusting to the long hours and unpredictable schedule but it's getting better."
"What about you?" Hotch asked, noting the tired look on the young woman's face.
"I'm fine," she answered with a dismissive wave of her hand.
Hotch arched an eyebrow. "That sounded like a 'Emily' answer." He instantly regretted his words when JJ's eyes filled with sadness. "I'm sorry, JJ, I shouldn't have said that."
She smiled wanly. "It's okay, Hotch. You're right. Emily used it to dodge uncomfortable questions and so did I. You want the truth?"
He nodded.
"I'm so stressed. I don't know how much longer I can continue with this deception. I hate having to constantly lie to my co-workers and family about Emily. I know, I know," she said holding up her hand to forestall Hotch when she saw him starting to speak. "We did this to save Emily's life but to quote her second favorite saying 'this sucks'."
The corner of his mouth curled up into a small smile. "It does suck."
JJ blinked at her boss in surprise. Never in the six years she had worked with him, he had ever used that word. He had used other colorful words but never that one. This was a first for her and she couldn't stop herself from letting out a small chuckle.
"We'll get through this, JJ," he said seriously. "We will capture Doyle and then we will bring Emily home."
JJ jumped to her feet in frustration to pace before his desk, her arms wrapped tightly around her body. "When, Hotch, when? It's been five months and no Doyle. It's like he fell off the face of the earth."
"Morgan will find him," he said calmly even though he didn't feel calm. He was just as frustrated as she was but he couldn't show it. Outwardly he had to be the glue the held the team together. "It just going to take some time. He is working hard at it."
"How much time?" she asked, stopping behind the chair and grabbing its' back with both hands. "I'm really worried about her. You haven't seen her since that horrible night. I have. When I met her in Paris, I was shocked by her appearance." JJ's eyes grew distant. "She had dark circles under her eyes, she was paler than normal, and she hadn't started to put on any of the weight she had lost during her hospitalization."
"I didn't know," Hotch said softly.
"Of course you didn't," JJ said with a rueful laugh. "I didn't want to dump that on you while you were dealing with the team's grief so I kept it to myself."
"But now you have. Feel better?"
JJ rubbed the bridge of her nose and sat down again. "A bit." She leaned forward to rest her hand on the desk. "You know what the worst thing was?"
Hotch shook his head.
"Emily wouldn't look me in the eyes. She just stared at the envelope I had given her. She has retreated behind those damn walls of hers and I think that they are even thicker than before. I'm afraid that none of us may be able to get through to her when we do get her home. We may have lost her for good."
"And we may not have," Hotch countered. "It doesn't do you any good playing the 'what if' game. We'll deal with Emily's physical and emotional trauma one-step at a time. The team will be here for her."
JJ was about to answer when Hotch's desk phone rang. She gestured for him to answer it, indicating she could wait to the finish the conversation.
"Aaron Hotchner," he said into the receiver.
His eyebrows sank into a deep frown as he listened, knuckles turning white as he gripped the phone tighter.
"When?" he barked, causing JJ to sit up straight and stare at him in concern.
"Did they close it down?" A pause. "Good. Have they contacted the police?" Another pause. "I'm leaving now. Don't do anything until I get there," he ordered and slammed the phone into its cradle, cutting off the person on the other end.
JJ shot to her feet as Hotch shot passed her. "Hotch what's wrong?"
He stopped in the doorway, hands tight fists at his side. "Jack's missing," he said in a flat voice.
"Oh, god," JJ cried, her hands going to cover her mouth in shock. "Go. I'll get the team and meet you there."
Hotch nodded in appreciation and rushed to the elevator, pushing and pushing the down button in a futile attempt to get it there quicker. He knew it wouldn't work but it kept him from slamming his fist into the door.
Finally the doors slid open and he stepped in. Turning he glared hard at an agent who was trying to enter the car with him. The agent gulped, stepping back saying feebly, "I'll catch the next one."
When the doors closed and the elevator started its' descent, Hotch let the mask of stone crumble. He was no longer the unemotional F.B.I. agent but a scared father.
"Jack," he whispered, closing his eyes to prevent the tears welling up from falling. "Oh, god, Jack," he repeated, his voice now shaking.
Hotch shook his head thinking that this couldn't be real, this couldn't be happening. First Haley died and now his son is missing. He didn't know what he would do if he lost Jack. He had promised Haley that he would keep Jack safe but it seems that he has failed just like he had failed in preventing Foyet from killing her.
The elevator dinged, announcing its arrival at the lobby. Hotch scrubbed his face with both hands to wipe away any errant tears and to compose himself. Taking a deep breath, he slid back into his persona of impassive agent and stormed out, determined that he will find his son and keep his promise to his dead wife. He also vowed that if Jack wasn't simply lost but taken, he would tear the kidnapper apart with his own bare hands.
Jack's head felt funny. It didn't feel like the time he had tripped and hit his head on the coffee table. This felt more like someone had packed his head full of cotton balls. Slowly he sat up, blinking in confusion as he took in his surroundings. A jolt of fear shot through him when he realized he was no longer at the zoo. Instead, he found himself sitting on a bare mattress that was shoved up against one wall in a small empty room, dimly lit by a small window way over his head.
Pulling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them, Jack pondered how he had gotten here. He distinctly remembered the man with the blue eyes and gray hair saying his name. That had made him pause, which had allowed the man to kneel down before him. The man had then whipped out a handkerchief and said something about having dirt on his face. As the cloth was pressed against his nose, he had gotten a whiff of a sweet smell and then his little world went black.
Getting uneasier by the minute, Jack climbed to his feet and went in search for the door, intending to tell the first person he saw that he was lost and wanted to go home. They would then call his Daddy and all would be all right. He knew that his Daddy would be worried and he would end up having a long talk about wandering away from his teacher but that sounded much more appealing than this dirty room he was currently standing in.
Finally spotting the door on the far wall, Jack hurried over, grabbed the knob with both hands and tugged. Nothing happened. He tried pushing but the door refused to open.
It's lock his mind screamed at him, sending a chill down his spine. Desperation set in, as he pulled harder on the knob.
"Let me out!" he cried over and over, tears now streaming down his cheeks.
Giving up on the knob, he started banging his hands against the door. "I wanna go home. Please open up. I wanna go home!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.
Jack kept up the noise for as long as he could until exhaustion started creeping up on him. "I want my Daddy," he sobbed before giving the door one last half-hearted slap. "I want my Daddy," his voice cracking as he leaned his head against the cold, unforgiving door. "Please!"
Sniffling and hiccupping from crying so hard, Jack despondently turned away from the door and slowly made his way back to the mattress. Flopping down in a heap, he wiped at his tear-streaked face. It was then he spotted the shopping back from the zoo. Reaching over, he grabbed it and pulled out the stuffed red panda. Hugging it close, Jack curled up in a tight ball, whispering into its fur "I want my Daddy," before falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.