Chapter 32

Once the doctor was done, Kahlan and Rossi went back in and Kahlan told Hotch that she would be up later. She gave him another kiss on his cheek and patted Rossi on the shoulder as she left. "See you later, Kiddo," Rossi told her with a smile. He looked at Hotch once the door was shut. "You've got yourself one remarkable woman there, Aaron. You better not screw this up," Rossi told him seriously.

Hotch studied his friend for a moment. "I don't plan on it. What did she do?"

"If it wasn't for her, we wouldn't have found you." Hotch's look told him that he needed to explain. "First of all, she was the one to call me because you wouldn't answer your phone. We went to your house and knew something had happened. We were clueless, though. We figured it was your stalker, but we had no idea even where to start."

"I figured. Hell, even when I saw the guy, I still didn't know what it was about."

"Well, Kahlan went to her CIA friend again, and found satellite footage of the guy kidnapping you in a white van."

"I'd like to meet this friend of hers someday."

"Yeah, and by him a beer," Rossi told him with a smile. "Anyway, while we were checking out the van; Garcia found several and hunted down every last one of them. She narrowed it down to one that had been stolen."

"Then how. . ." Hotch started. He knew a stolen van would have been a dead end.

"Because Chuck found out from some of his buddies on the force that there was a woman looking for a hit man who didn't care about killing an FBI agent. That, and the woman wanted revenge for the agent killing her brother, so Kahlan told us to focus on sisters of unsubs you had killed." Hotch nodded. "She had a picture of the hit man, too, and found out where he liked to hang out, so we staked the places out. Morgan and JJ found him first, but they lost him." He paused to make sure Hotch understood it all. "Then she found him and slipped a bug on him that she could track with her phone. We found where he was staying, and when he finally left there; we followed him to you."

"She was with you the whole time?"

"Yep. Hell, she even picked the lock that allowed us into the building. Morgan couldn't have got it down if he'd tried," Rossi told him with a smile at Hotch's surprise. "Morgan, JJ, and I took the man down, but he wouldn't tell us what he had given you. Kahlan got him to talk, though."

Hotch could tell Rossi wouldn't elaborate on that point.

"That way the medics knew how to treat you. Then you were brought here."

Hotch ran a hand down his face. "I really don't want to consider what that psycho would have done to me next," Hotch told him in a low voice. "I thought being shot with a vest on was bad, but I'd do that a hundred times again to never, ever have to suffer hallucinogens again."

Rossi studied his friends face. "They were really bad, huh?"

"My worst nightmare, a thousand fold. Every horror I've ever seen with this job was there, twisted and emphasized. I've never been more frightened in my life," Hotch told him, his voice shaking.

Rossi shook his head. "You were still in them when we found you. It was horrible knowing you were fighting something and knowing I couldn't help you," Rossi told him as his eyes teared up.

"Whoever said drugs gave you a sense of euphoria, fucking lied."

That made Rossi smile. "Well, I think we need to do something for Kahlan as a way of saying 'thanks'." Hotch smiled at that. "I meant the team. You can tank her in your own way later."

"She won't want the attention."

"Yeah, I know. You and her are too much alike in some ways." Rossi grinned. "She doesn't need to know about it until it's too late."

"Well, don't plan any parties until I'm outa here," Hotch told him seriously.

"Wouldn't dream of it. Besides, we'll probably need you to pull it off."

XXX

After two more days in the hospital, Hotch was going stir crazy. He all but threatened the doctor to allow him to go home to finish healing. The doctor told him it would take time for his ribs to heal; he just had to be careful bending and lifting. He didn't care how easy he had to take it; he couldn't stand being in the hospital any longer. The constant in and out of the nurses led to him getting very little sleep. That and he kept having nightmares, although he would never admit it. He hoped it was the setting and that being home would allow him to relax more. He didn't get released until late in the afternoon, and Jessica and Jack took him home.

As soon as he opened the door, he could smell a roast cooking. The house was quiet, so he knew no one was there. He went straight to the kitchen and lifted the lid on the crockpot. Apparently Kahlan had provided them with dinner. He smiled. He had only seen her for a few hours each day, and other people where visiting at the same time, so he never got to talk to her about her involvement in finding him. Once he told Jessica goodbye, he took out his phone to call Kahlan.

"You don't expect me and Jack to eat all of this do you?"

She laughed. "Well, I wasn't sure who all would be there. You can have roast beef sandwiches for lunch for a few days."

"Why don't you and Wyatt join us?"

She could hear Jack in the background yelling 'please'. "You sure you don't want to just relax tonight?"

"Are you saying I can't relax around you?"

"I'm saying you haven't had a moment to yourself for almost three days, and I'd understand if you want to be alone."

He smiled. "Well then, I guess I'll just have to carry this pot all the way down to your house. . ."

"You'll do no such thing!" she yelled, knowing full well he wasn't supposed to be lifting anything for a few days. "Fine. We'll be there in a few minutes."

"See you then."

Hotch opened the door after he heard the doorbell. Wyatt showed up first, he had ridden his bike. He ran in to play with Jack and Hotch waited on the porch as he watched Kahlan walk up the sidewalk. She leaned up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You look tired," she told him as she withdrew.

"Yeah. You're supposed to rest and heal in the hospital but they don't let you sleep more than a couples hours at a time. Go figure." He blocked her from going to the door. "My lips aren't hurt," he told her as he looked into her eyes.

"Oh yeah?" she smiled. "Let me be the judge of that," she said as she put her arms around his waist gently and leaned up and gave him a passionate kiss. He leaned in and deepened the kiss as his left hand went to the side of her head and his right hand went to the small of her back. She finally pulled away. "Whoa! You're not cleared for that kind of activity yet," she told him with a grin. "But you're right, your lips still work perfectly."

Hotch groaned and tried to pull her back to him. "Just one more to tide me over."

"Just one." And she let him pull her close, but not close enough to hurt his chest. They kissed and their tongues fought for dominance.

He finally pulled away from her, breathing heavily. "Maybe we shouldn't have done that," he told her and she could see his breathing was making his ribs hurt.

"See! You should have just listened to me. If men would listen to woman more often, the world would be a better place."

"I bet. We better go inside before the boys wonder what happened to us."

He led her in and she made him sit at the table. "You want to eat now? I know that hospital food had to be boring, so I figured I fix you a nice dinner."

"My stomach did a fist pump as soon as I smelled it," he told her and he flashed his dimples.

She called for the boys and they sat down and had a nice dinner with the boys telling Hotch about the fort they wanted to build. With the look Kahlan gave him, he knew they had already told her all about it. Hotch finally agreed to think about it, and they settled to talking about wanting to learn how to skateboard. Kahlan gave Hotch a shocked look. Apparently they hadn't talk to her about that. Before either adult could tell them 'no', they quickly added they would wear helmets. That made Kahlan laugh. She told them she would think about it and dinner was finished without any more tag-teaming from the boys. They excused themselves and left Hotch and Kahlan alone.

"Ok, the whole fort thing was probably Wyatt's idea. He's wanted one since he was little, but he's never wanted a skateboard. Hell, Reliance didn't even have a place to even ride one. "

Hotch laughed. He could remember the small, dirt road town. "Jack's always watched the older boys on their skateboards, but he's never said anything about actually getting one. I thought the helmet thing was a good touch, though."

"Yeah. You been teaching Jack how to be a lawyer?"

Hotch laughed. "I figured that came from Wyatt, he always seems to know exactly what I'm thinking."

"No he doesn't. He just knows you're cautious. Anyone who is around you and Jack can tell that."

"He'd make a great profiler," Hotch told her seriously.

That made her laugh. "God, I hope he picks a nice safe job."

"You mean, take after his mommy?"

She blanched. "Yeah, he should definitely be a profiler." Hotch laughed as she got up to clean away the dishes. Hotch tried to help but she shot him a look and he sat back down. "You know what else they've been asking about?" she asked him from the kitchen.

"God, do I want to know?"

"You remember the park when they first met?"

"No. Is Jack going to be asking for a dog again?"

She smiled as she wiped off the table. "I was thinking of getting Wyatt one," she told him and before he could comment she sat down and gave him a serious look. "If you got him a dog, Wyatt could watch it while you're away."

"Yet, I feel there's another reason why."

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "That man would never have been able to surprise you."

Hotch sat back in his chair. "I would never get a guard dog."

"No! But even the friendliest dog in the world will bark when a stranger enters its yard," she told him seriously.

"Let me guess, they've already looked at some."

She smiled sheepishly. "Maybe."

"And you told Jack to let you handle talking to me about it?"

"Why do you think they left the table so quickly?" She got up and went into the kitchen to start the dishes.

Hotch shook his head. If she's told Jack that Wyatt could watch him while I'm gone, there will be no stopping his begging. He suddenly felt very outnumbered in his own house. He got up and walked to the kitchen. "So what kind of dog does he want?"

"He fell in love with this male black lab. He said it reminded him of Mudgie."

Hotch smiled, he knew Jack loved Rossi's dog, so he wasn't surprised. "And what kind does Wyatt want?"

"Oh, he took after his mother on that. There's a beautiful black and tan male Doberman he had his eye on." With Hotch's look of shock she continued. "And don't even look like that. I've owned several dobbies throughout my life. They are just like any dog; it's how they're raised and treated." He could tell not to challenge her from her tone. "Besides, maybe, eventually, Jack would be staying with us while you're away."

He smiled. "So when are you supposed to have an answer from me?"

"I told him I would bring it up, but that you would want to talk to him about it."

He studied her face. "And yet you still have a deadline?"

"Alright, the guy's only going to hold them until next weekend."

He smiled as he shook his head. She was as bad as the boys. "Fine, I'll talk to him tomorrow."

"I do need to tell you that I will get Wyatt one, no matter what your decision; but if you choose not to get Jack one, I'm sure Wyatt will gladly share his with Jack."

After an hour or so, Kahlan and Wyatt left so Jack could go to bed. Kahlan made Hotch promise to call her if he needed anything, and Hotch agreed. After Jack was in bed and the house was quiet, Hotch tried to watch a little TV, but he found himself dosing off so he went to bed.

XXX

Hotch tried to save the children from the roots. As soon as he stepped too close to the tree, a branch swung out and smacked him back. Hotch jerked himself awake with a scream. He laid in bed, breathing heavily, his chest hurting. He wasn't sure if he had screamed out loud, so he listened to see if he had disturbed Jack. As soon as he could, he got up and checked on his son. Hotch was relieved to see Jack sleeping peacefully. He walked to the kitchen and got himself a drink and realized it was 3:30. He knew the images weren't real, but he couldn't stop them from entering his mind as he slept.

With a sigh he turned on his family room light and decided to see if watching a little TV would calm him down. His cell phone rang suddenly. He jumped up to grab it and then cussed himself for moving so quickly as his ribs reminded him that he'd been too hurt to jump for anything. He noticed it was Kahlan, and immediately got worried.

"What's wrong?" she asked him, her voice full of concern.

Hotch was shocked, How does she know? "Nothing," he lied.

"Why are you up if it's nothing, Aaron?"

"How do you know I'm up?"

"Cause I saw your light come on, and unless Jack is in the habit of getting up at 3:30 in the morning, it had to be you."

"I needed a drink; are you watching my house?"

She laughed. "I haven't gone to bed yet. You still didn't answer my question."

"I said I needed a drink."

"Tired as you are, you wouldn't wake up just to get a drink. Talk to me. What's wrong?"

He sighed heavily. "My chest's hurting. I hate taking those stupid pills," he lied again. He figured he could get away with it since she was on the other end of the phone and not be able to see his face.

"I see," she said and he realized she saw right through it.

"I'm fine. I'm just going to sit here until I get tired again."

"Ok. Then I'll let you go so you can relax."

He didn't like her tone. "You coming over tomorrow?"

"I'm sure I'll see you sometime."

He felt bad for lying, but he felt too embarrassed to admit he was having nightmares. "Maybe I'll come over to your house. I haven't seen it since you've unpacked."

"That's fine. I'll see you then," and she hung up.

Damn it! Rossi told him not to screw it up, but he had the feeling he just did.