A few hours later

Allison stepped into Hotch's room, watching the sleeping patient. Poor Aaron, she thought as she watched Hotch struggle through another nightmare.

"Alright, Reid and I will take the west hallway while Rossi and Prentiss will take the east hallway," JJ commanded. She quickly turned and started down the stairway with Reid next to her. Hotch blinked before he muttered, "I was just in the-I fell asleep again."

Rossi and Prentiss disappeared down the stairs leaving Hotch with Morgan. Morgan turned on his flashlight and stated, "Come on let's go." He aimed his gun in front of him and entered the north hallway causing Hotch to think, 'Don't lose him! Don't be left alone-'He darted down the stairs with his hand on his gun holster.

Hotch turned to his left and found the hallway to be empty. "Morgan?" he called out. Hotch reached to his left for where his flashlight would be and found nothing. "Morgan?" he called out again. He gripped his gun and slowly started down the hallway with a hand out in front of him. After walking a few feet, Hotch suddenly saw a light coming from a room in the hallway. He crept towards it, expecting anything to jump out at him.

Once he reached the door, Hotch gently pushed the door room and found himself in a conference room.

A conference room with six blood covered bodies scattered around the room floor.

All six bodies were his teammates: Rossi, Prentiss, Garcia, JJ, Reid, and Morgan were lying dead on the floor.

Sitting above them was Foyet, who was fascinated by the crimson blood on the small knife in his hand. He looked up at Hotch and gave him a mischievous smile.

"Aaron, Aaron, Aaron….look what you did. You couldn't protect your wife and now look- you can't even protect your team." Hotch gasped for air as the reality sunk in. Foyet walked up to him and put a hand on Hotch's shoulder.

"Because of your incompetence….they're all dead."

Hotch woke with a start at the touch of someone's hand on his shoulder. It was Allison who was holding onto his shoulder, her eyes filled with worry. He let out a gasp of air and scooted away from her. She pulled her hand back and said, "Aaron! Aaron, it's me. Allison."

Wha-What happened? "All-Allison," he gasped, "Wha- time is it?"

"It's 2:30am."

"Um, ok. I'm ok." Hotch glanced down to his hands, which were shaking as they did when he was in his office with Reid a week earlier. He pulled them close to his body and looked at Allison.

"Nightmare?" she asked.

"Allison, I'm ok."

"I'm going to take that for a yes." Allison smiled at him when an interesting idea suddenly formed in her head. She held up a finger and said, "I'm not supposed to do this…but I'm going to break the rule anyway. We are going to go for a walk."

"What?" Hotch exclaimed as Allison sprinted out the door. She returned only a few minutes later with a wheelchair and a set of restraints. She pushed the wheelchair next to Hotch's bed and held out her hand to him. "Come on, it'll be good. You haven't left this room in four days."

"No, I don't think that'll be-"

"Aaron, don't make me pull you out of that bed. I'm small, but I'm strong. Come on."

If it'll keep me from falling asleep, then I'll do it. "Fine, but I don't want the restraints."

"Ah, there is no room for negotiations, Mr. Hotchner. Give me your hand." She smiled again when Hotch reluctantly placed his hand in hers. Allison then pulled him forward, causing him to slid out of the bed and land on a knee. I can't even walk?

"Aaron, you haven't walked in four days," Allison told him as she helped him into the wheelchair, "It's going to take awhile before everything is back in full motion."

She kneeled next to him and started to set up the restraints. Hotch rolled his eyes in response, causing her to say, "I can break the rules, but I don't break them stupidly. I cannot let a level four patient out without some form of restraints."

"What do you mean level four?" Hotch asked as Allison finished the second restraint and walked up behind him.

"It's our way of sorting our patients. Our director," Allison pushed the wheelchair forward towards the door, "implemented a new system where we do levels. Level one- you are here for just therapy. Level two- you are an admitted patient, but you have lots of freedoms and aren't so much of a worry for us. Level three- you are an admitted patient without the freedoms that a level two patient has. Level four-"

"Level four is suicidal."

"Yes- our level four patients are suicidal, clinically insane- our broken folks, as I call them."

"I'm broken, then." Allison stopped the wheelchair and leaned over Hotch. "Yes, but as I see it- broken things can always be fixed."

I don't deserve to be fixed, Hotch thought.

"So where did this nickname of Hotch come from?" Allison asked, pushing the wheelchair again.

"From my team; it kind of just started out of nowhere," Hotch answered quietly.

"I think it's adorable." Hotch gave her a disapproving looking causing Allison to laugh. She pushed the wheelchair to the left into a hallway lit by moonlight. "What? I think it's adorable! I personally like Aaron better, but hey, it's your team."

"Not anymore."

"A team is always a team, regardless if it is official or not. Aaron, they get a month of paid medical leave and they are spending every waking moment of it here."

They shouldn't. They shouldn't. Lost in his thoughts, Hotch accidently let his thoughts slip out, "They shouldn't-"

"Excuse me?" Allison stopped the wheelchair and walked around it, allowing her to kneel in front of Hotch."What do you mean- they shouldn't?"

"Allison, don't-"

"Noooo, Aaron, that's not going to work with me-"

"Leave it alone!"

"Aaron, what do you mean they shouldn't?" Hotch was now shaking along with tears welling up in his eyes. "Aaron?"

"They shouldn't be worried about me because I don't deserve it!"

Bull's-eye, Allison thought. "Oh, Aaron."

"I don't deserve any of this! I don't-I deserved to die- it should have worked- I –I should have-"

"Aaron, you did nothing to deserve this."

"I-Haley- they shouldn't worry- no one should-"

"Aaron, calm down," Allison whispered. She grabbed his hands and looked him directly in the eyes. "You do not deserve to die."

"I-I killed them-I- don't-I-"

"Aaron is that what your nightmare was about?"

"Ye-they-dead- Foyet- I don't-victims-lots of victims-"

"Aaron, you are having a panic attack. Look at me…umm; tell me about your family. Your sister in law and son were here earlier- tell me about them- talk about Jessica and Jack."

"Jack…..." Hotch whimpered, " I don't deserve Jack-"

"What happened with Jack today, Aaron?"

"Uh-he-he- brought me a card."

"Ok, what kind of card? Did he make it?"

"Ye-ye-yes, I think." Allison felt Hotch's hand shaking begin to slow down.

"Ok- what kind of paper? Is he a marker man or a crayon man?"

"Cra-crayons. …He chose blue on a green construction paper. My favorite color." Hotch's breathing had slowed down significantly.

"Good, now I'm going to ask you a hard question. What did you two talk about?"

Hotch let out a chuckle amongst his tears. "Super heroes. Jessica-she told him that I was at a super hero hospital."

"Ah and what did his super hero g-man father say?"

Hotch took a breath, feeling a return of control. "I told him that Daddy needed a break to get better."

"And was he ok with that?"

Hotch's mind suddenly went back to his son's brown eyes when Jack had said, "Ok, Daddy. I hope you get ok soon so you can come home again."

"He was- he's a strong boy from what he'd seen the last couple of months."

"Was he disappointed in you?"

"He's very young, but no- he didn't seem disappointed." He deserves better, but…..he knows that I still love him. I'll always love him….

"Aaron, in Allison's one-on- one session, we think out loud," Allison joked, snapping him out of his thoughts. She stood up as Hotch said, "You aren't a therapist."

"I know. I should be, huh?"