Who is the Victim Here
I would love to hear your opinions and look to working further on the story.
I do not own or have connection with the "Criminal Minds" program or its characters.
Chapter Fifteen.
Eighteen days go by and David is getting more and more irritated because it seems that Susan and her brother have disappeared off the face of the earth and he can't seem to get rid of his babysitters. Every three days, he goes to stay with someone else. Today he is with Penelope and her little people and he is ready to give them all a burial down the disposal. It isn't that he doesn't appreciate his co-workers for their concern and sacrifice for putting up with him but he just wants to be alone for awhile. Every day they go to the office and there is another box of dead flowers waiting for him. The flowers can be picked up from anywhere, so they haven't been able to pinpoint where Susan is getting them. She pays these messengers to deliver them. They all describe the same person but it always a different messenger every day and she gets them from anywhere she can find them. Most have been students who would just love to get some extra cash. They did a get a break eight days ago when they were asked to help out on a case in Mississippi but it didn't last for more than a few days and the flowers were there when they got back.
This morning Penelope and he came in and he put his bag in his office, he goes with Morgan tonight, Yippy he thinks. He is beginning to feel like the foster child who goes from home to home and he is not a happy man about it. He sees the flowers on his desk and goes to crush them and throw them in the trash, he notices that today, there is tulip, a rose and a tiger lily. Those seem significant somehow, but he can't seem to remember from what they would be. He throws them away and continues on doing some work write-ups.
In New York, Angie is trying to get a hold of someone by telephone. The phone rings at the other and a woman answers, "Hello."
"Hello Hayley is Jack available to talk to Aaron today, just to say good morning."
"He is getting ready for school right now."
"I was hoping in about ten minutes, if that would be okay. You could call and I would have Aaron ready. He really just needs to hear his voice and know that he is happy and okay. Please Hayley."
"I will have him ready in ten minutes, but you call here."
"Okay, ten minutes." She then proceeds to have the sound protection opened up so that the signal could leave the nursery and walks to the nursery where Aaron is sleeping in his crib. She looks at the sleeping man and brushes that errant lock of hair off his forehead and thinks about the past many days of working with him. Although, he is progressing, he in not doing as much as she would like him to be doing and so it her hope that a talk with his son might spur him off his plateau. She gently nudges the man to encourage him to waken
He says, "Go away, sleepy."
"Time to wake up angel." When he hears that word, he messes himself, even though he is still half asleep. "Oh my, smells like we have a messy diaper." She puts down the side of the crib and reaches down to pick up her sleepy man. She takes him to the changing table and strips off his night sleeper and removes his messy diaper. She cleans him up and is still trying to nudge him further awake so that he could talk to Jack. She is fastening the diaper when she begins to dial Hayley again. "Good morning again, is he available?"
"Yes."
"Hello Jack, would you say hi to daddy really loudly, as loud as you can." Angie places the phone next to Aaron's ear and an excited little voice comes over in a very loud voice saying, "GOOD MORNING DAD!" Aaron's eyes open and his hand go to the phone where he says, "Jack is that really you?"
"Yeah Dad, it is really me. How are you?" Still very loudly.
"Good morning Jack and I am doing great now that I am hearing your voice. What have you been doing lately?"
"Not much, just school and playing at home. What have you been doing? Can I see you?"
"Well, we won't be able to see each other for a while but I am doing well. I love you Jack and I am doing much better whenever I hear your voice. "
"Mom says I gotta get off to go to school. I love you Dad. Get well so we can see each other."
The phone goes dead in Aaron's hand, he looks at Angie and says, "Thank you."
"Are you ready to do some big boy things today or are we still younger than Jack?" She looks at him expectantly.
"I'm cold." She dresses him into a coverall with a pair of socks.
"Will you walk today?" He sits on the edge of the changing table and looks her in the eye as she has stepped back from him.
"Pick up." Disappointed, she goes and lifts him from the table and takes him to the feeding chair. She is not holding him for most of his bottles now and is encouraging him to chew food again. She sits next to him and begins to spoon feed the man, he has been started on solid food for about six days now and although, his mind rebelled against it in the beginning because he didn't want to upset his master. But he believes Angie when she says that his master can't find him and that it is okay to do big boy things like chew food and walk and talk. His mind is still confused sometimes but daily it is getting better. Today he got to talk to Jack and so he knows that his master doesn't have him. Jack is still protected.
He chews his oatmeal with bananas as she places the food in his mouth, he still refuses to pick up a spoon himself, but she is hoping in the next few days. She is always hoping for more. After his solid food, he then gets a bottle of juice and then they start the days exercises and work ups. She has him work on his leg muscles to encourage him to walk and they are doing language exercises to get him talking and reading. She works with him to begin to write again and be able to communicate with others. His penmanship is horrible but that's why you do exercises.
Three days later, David has once again brought his bag to work, he is going to Spencer's tonight and of course sees the flowers again, a rose, a tiger lily and a tulip. Once again he thinks that is significant, but can't think of how it can be.
In New York, Angie is getting ready to forget the whole thing. For the first time, she feels like a failure in being able to help a client. Aaron has not improved at all in days and refuses to do anything that he should be at the level to do. Since talking to Jack, he has stopped talking all together, he won't stand or walk on his own, he stopped eating solid food yesterday and every time she tries to feed him, he purses his lips. He will only accept the bottle and will not hold it himself. It is as if he is regressing again and she doesn't understand why. She is considering calling Sean and having him come early to pick him up, because she doesn't think that anything more can be done. Aaron is at the level that he could be at for the rest of his life.
Aaron is sitting on the floor playing with some toys watching Angie through the door as she sits in her office. He knows that she is frustrated with him, but how can he explain that he is trying to protect the people he loves. If he stays this way, the man won't hurt them. It seems all of our profiler's instincts and knowledge has gone by the wayside as the torture hit home. He just can't think beyond that he has to sacrifice his own sanity and abilities to protect them. Even here, they are watching him because that woman came to see him two nights ago.
FLASHBACK
Two nights ago, Aaron is sleeping in his crib and Angie has gone to bed, when a shadow comes beside the crib and looks at the sleeping man. The shadow pokes the man, who wakes startled and looks at the figure. "Hello puppy." The man whimpers, "No", he thought he was safe here. "Be quiet puppy. You have been a very good puppy but you are not obeying your master's orders, no talking, no walking, and no chewing food. Remember you have to be a baby and the people you love will be okay, otherwise I will take your little boy and cut him up. I will take your brother and slice him like a ham. I will take your little genius and make sure he joins his mommy. I will take your co-workers, one at a time into the dungeon and whip them till the bleed to death. You obey the rules and they are safe. I am still watching you puppy." The shadow leaves.
End FLASHBACK
In the office, Angie is talking with Sean about Aaron telling him the progress he had made and yet he now has regressed again. She is telling the man that she doesn't think she can help Aaron, he is beyond her capabilities and she believes that there is nothing more that can be done for him. She tells him to think about whether he can take care of him or if Sean feels that it is too much for him then the man needs to be put into a home that can care for him. Aaron had crawled to the door to listen to what Angie was talking about and when he heard this, tears came to his eyes. He hadn't thought that he would be put away in a home because he trying to protect his family. He knows that if that happens he will never get out again.
Sean thanks Angie and hangs up. He thinks about what to do with this older brother, He doesn't want to put him in a home, but he needs his big brother, can he really take care of him instead of the other way around. He looks around the apartment and thinks how it can be set up for his big baby brother. He calls William and asks for his opinion about what to do with their big brother.
Angie leaves the office and looks around to see her man and sees him in a corner trying to look as small as possible. She walks over to him and bends down to lift his face to look at her and notices that he has been crying. "Oh baby, what is the problem, why are you crying?" He reaches up to her and she lifts him up and carries him to the rocking chair for some cuddling. "I wish you would talk to me and tell me what it is you are thinking." She rocks him and cuddles him as much as she can in order to soothe the upset man. He thinks how can I tell her that I am only doing what I do to protect those I love.
