January 14, 2012- San Francisco, CA- Hotel Vitale-

JJ dropped her go-bag on her hotel room floor , let out a tired sigh, and looked to the bed, centered in the middle of the room. The queen size bed looked so welcoming and soft, but the agent felt as if she were glued to the floor. I can't hold this in any longer; she thought, I need to talk to someone. After a few minutes, JJ left the room and walked down the long hallway towards Prentiss' room.

JJ gently knocked on the door and heard, "It's open." JJ pushed the door open and found Prentiss sitting on her bed with her bag next to her. Prentiss looked up to JJ and said, "It's sad when Egyptian cotton sheets and a queen size bed aren't appealing right now."

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep. I just-"JJ bit her and felt tears begin to form in her eyes. Prentiss gave JJ a concerned look before patting a spot on the bed next to her. With a hand on her small gold necklace, JJ reluctantly sat down next to Prentiss.

"I have only told one other person on the team about this and it was Hotch," she stated, "I have been so scared for him because…..my sister."

"What happened?"

"My sister committed suicide when I was eleven. The last time my sister and I spoke, she gave me this necklace. I was too young to understand it, but now that I know the signs…Hotch's behavior…I don't want to live through that again."

"JJ, he's being watched like a hawk. Jessica is going to get him help and…..he won't do that."

JJ let out a whimper and bowed her head. "I know, but a part of me feels like we are going to lose him. Emily, I can't-"

"Jennifer, he will be ok. We just need to get through this case then we can go home and try to help him."

JJ wiped her eyes and smiled at Prentiss. "I know; I just can't live through it again. It frightens me."

"Well, you have been the strongest one out of all of us today, which is impressive with what happened to your sister."

JJ chucked, "Thanks, Em." Prentiss laughed and looked over to the mini fridge next to the TV. "Hey, I know that I probably won't be able to sleep much tonight and was planning on picking up some Rocky Road ice cream from the Walgreens that is down the street…."

"Ice cream and a movie?"

"There is a Sex in the City marathon on channel 11!" Prentiss exclaimed. JJ chuckled, " I'm in."

January 15, 2012- Quantico, Virginia-

Buzz, Buzz.

"Huh? What the-"Garcia mumbled as she sat up in the chair. She yawned as she began to search for her phone. Hotch was sitting in the living room, searching through a stack of old case files. Garcia found her phone, shot Hotch a worried glance, and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Morning, princess," Morgan said. Garcia rolled her eyes and looked for the clock. "Chocolate thunder, why are you calling me at 9 in the morning? Isn't it 6 am over on the West Coast right now?"

"Yeah, I was up and I wanted to check in on you and Hotch."

"I'm fine, but Hotch not so much, "she lowered her voice, "He had a really bad nightmare last night so sat I with him for a few hours. I must have eventually fallen asleep- I don't know if he ever went back to bed. He also had a fever so I tried to get him to take something, but he refused. I had to threaten to call Jessica before he finally took something. I tried getting him to talk, but Hotch being…Hotch shut me down. He did ask me to sit with him after he woke so that's an achievement right there."

"I see…did he say anything much about what happened in San Francisco?"

"He didn't say anything to anyone until Strauss dropped him off. Should I call Jessica or Strauss or…." She leaned over and saw the pale, somber expression on Hotch's face, "the psych ward? He's really not doing well, Derek."

"Um, go ahead and give Jessica a call. We need to keep her updated. I also think that she was going to bring Jack over today, but that may not be the best idea right now. "

"Ok, I will do that as soon that as soon as possible. How's the team?"

"Rossi and Prentiss are still pissed, Reid is siding with me, and JJ is playing nice, but I think she is angry with me as well."

"Ok, any more fights since we last spoke? "

"I haven't spoken to anyone since about 8 last night. I just hope we can have a good day and catch the unsub. "

"Me, too. Be safe, my sexy captain."

Morgan chuckled, "Will do, Penelope. Will do."

Garcia hung up and walked over to the living room. Hotch was flipping through a six week old file, but stopped as soon as she entered the room.

"Did you eat?" Garcia squeaked. Hotch blinked and mumbled, "A little."

"My version of little or your version of little?" It was weird for Garcia to challenge her boss.

"Garcia-"

"Hotch, you had a fever and barely slept. You know what? I'm calling Strauss and letting her know that we are staying home. All I need is my laptop and I'm good on helping the team."

"Garcia, I'm fine! I can go to work-"

"NO!" Garcia yelled. She glared at Hotch, who was glaring back at her. No matter how intimidating he was at times, she was going to hold her ground. Hotch glared at her a few seconds before a wave dizziness hit him. It was the worst of the many waves he had felt within the past week; it was so bad that it made him want to fall to his knees.

Hotch winced before sitting down on the couch. Garcia quickly approached him as he put his head between his knees. "You win, "he muttered. Garcia nodded and said, "Ok." I'll make you some tea."

I don't deserve this, Hotch though as he fought nausea, They shouldn't waste my on me. He blinked a few times before a photo of Haley and Jack caught his eye. He looked at the photo before thinking, I'm so sorry, Haley. It should have been me instead of you….

San Francisco

JJ walked into the conference room and sat next to Rossi, who was leaning back in his chair with a sleepy look on his face. Prentiss was sitting on one side of Rossi while Reid was sitting on the other side of JJ. Morgan entered a minute after her and dropped a case file at the other end of the table. He put his hands on the table and asked, "Did anyone get any rest?"

"I tried," Rossi said, "I think I got maybe two hours total."

Reid nodded. "I slept for about three hours and read when I couldn't sleep." He looked over to Prentiss and JJ and asked, "How about you guys?"

"After drowning our sorrows in a quart of ice cream, I would say about three hours" Prentiss answered.

"The point of last night was to get some rest. Did you two even try?"Morgan, who had not gotten any sleep, snapped.

"What kind of question is that? Of course we tried!"JJ snapped back, the irritability from her lack of sleep taking over.

"Hey, eating ice cream doesn't sound like trying to me," Reid interjected.

Prentiss glared at him and exclaimed, "Reid! What-"

Rossi interrupted and exclaimed, "Enough!" instantly quieting Prentiss, JJ, and Reid. Morgan sighed and calmly stated, "We need to focus on the case and catching the unsub. Prentiss, Rossi, JJ; I know you are all extremely angry with me, but you need to put that on hold until after the case. We can argue, yell, fight, and kill each other on the flight home. Ok?"

Quantico

A few hours later, Garcia stepped into the guestroom and closed the door. After arguing with Hotch for an hour prior, he finally agreed to take a break from paperwork and take a nap. It was one of the many struggles they had endured throughout the morning. She pulled out her phone and dialed Jessica's number.

"Hey, it's me, Penelope Garcia."

"Hey, Penelope. I am just about to bring Jack over," Jessica piped.

"Yeah, about that….. I have had to fight with him to do anything. It's like he wants to wither away to nothing. I don't think bringing Jack over today would be a good idea….."

"Ok, um…I have actually been thinking about taking temporary custody away from Aaron. I know it will hurt him, but I really think Jack needs stability right now. I will hand back the reins when Aaron is stronger."

"I actually think that might make things worse-"

"Penn, I will let him see his son of course, but Jack's mother just died and he needs stability. How about I come over with Jack and talk with Aaron? You can take Jack out for ice cream while Aaron and I talk."

"Ok, I guess we could that," Garcia answered. She suddenly heard noise come from the living room. "Jess, I think he's up. So I will see you in twenty minutes?"

"Yep, see you soon," Jessica said before she hung up. Garcia slipped her phone in her pocket before cautiously approaching the living room. Hotch was standing in the kitchen with his hand shaking. A mug was shattered across the kitchen floor as if it had been dropped. Hotch looked up to Garcia with an embarrassed and upset look on his face.

"Garcia, I- I- I don't know what happened….it was...it was…"

"Hotch, its ok! Don't worry about it," Garcia assured as she walked over to the linen closet to grab a broom. She walked over to him and gently touched his arm.

"Go sit….it's ok! " Garcia repeated. Hotch hesitated then sat down on one of the silver counter stools. He sighed as Garcia swept the shards of the broken mug.

"Penelope, I want to apologize for my actions this morning and last night. I was extremely disrespectful and I am sorry. I know all you were doing was trying to help me," Hotch apologized. He watched the technical analyst dump the shards into a trash can before she walked back over to Hotch.

"It's ok, Hotch," Garcia whispered, "I know this must be frustrating for you, but try and remember that we don't think any different of you. I'm a little upset you didn't come to me, but that's because I would go straight to you if I ever found myself in such a dark spot. "

"I know." Both gave each other an encouraging look before Garcia piped, "Jack and Jessica are coming."

Garcia spotted a little sparkle return to Hotch's eyes. "That's excellent."

"In the meantime, everyone else on the team has tried my double Hersey- double marshmallow hot chocolate and chocolate chip cookies except for you. Are you up for it?" She gave Hotch a hopeful smile.

Hotch looked down at the counter before saying, "Ok."

"Excellent!" Garcia grabbed an apron and got to work.