Hi everyone! Hope you're all having a good weekend!

Lady Dianne Salvatore: I'm sorry! But hopefully they'll be okay with each other soon, like you said he cares about her so we shall see what happens between them next! Hahah just stuff him in a suitcase and open it in london, surprise Reid! You're staying with her now! Thanks for reviewing again, I chuckled at this one! Enjoy this chapter, look forward to receiving your next review! Lots of love too!

Lenika08: hola, bueno en este capítulo puedes pensar ligeramente diferente sobre Hotch, ¡espero que te guste!

Happy Reading!

Chapter Twenty-Seven.

I couldn't sleep, don't get me wrong I was utterly exhausted but every time I closed my eyes I see him leaning over me with his hands wrapped tightly around my throat. I laid there, staring at the ceiling as I let the pain remind me that I was alive, the doctors came in every so often and gave me some more pain killers but I told them to lower the dose, just enough to take the edge off. I was told after Reid left that I'd broken or bruised most of my ribs, bruised the deep tissue in my back, had a concussion and obviously I had all the wounds from the glass too which have now been stitched or glued shut. All in all I'm a total mess and the one thing I really wanted was a shower, I still stank of river water and I… well I feel dirty from what he did to me.

My eyes moved to my doorway and I saw a tall dark shadow lingering there, I sat up quickly and backed away holding up my hands to protect myself.

"Get away from me!" I screamed, the dark shadow taking a step closer. "Leave me alone!"

"Miss Davis?" A nurse ran into the room, straight through the shadow which disintegrated right before my eyes. "Miss? Are you alright?"

"Someone was there…" I whispered and she turned on the lamp beside me, looking around the room.

"Nobody is here, nobody can hurt you. Your friend, uh what's his name…" she paused. "The tall, rather straight faced looking man?"

"Hotch?"

"Yes! He's down the hall in the waiting area. Nobody can get in without him knowing." She looked at me sadly, her hand placed gently on my shoulder. "He can't get you anymore sweetie."

I just looked at her, completely baffled that Hotch was still here. This was completely out of character for him, he doesn't get involved like this, I decided to push that subject aside for a moment while I asked her for something else. "Can I get a shower…? I know it's late but I can't sleep and I want to get this muck out my hair…"

My nurse just looked at me, her lips pursing. "Okay, sure. It's the room next door so I'll help you get there, you'll need a chair."

I shook my head "I can walk, I need to walk. You can be beside me but please do not make me sit in that chair."

"Alright fine – but just so you know, I've got a key so if they're any problems pull on the red string, okay?" I nodded and she disconnected me from the monitor, holding onto my elbows as I pushed off the bed to stand, for a moment I wobbled but I soon got my balance. "Okay, take it nice and slow…"

I took a step forward and my leg shook, my body aching with every other step I took. It wasn't long to walk so thankfully by about ten odd steps I was stood in the bathroom, my nurse switched everything on for me and gave me a towel and a change of clothes that Prentiss had brought in for me. I'll have to thank her for that later.

"I'll give you ten minutes okay? Remember if you need anything…"

"Pull the red string. I'll be fine, thank you." I gave her a small smile and she shut the door behind her. I wonder if she will let me walk down to see Hotch, I wanted to ask him why he was back here again – I appreciate some bosses go above and beyond for they're team but this seemed different some how.

I pulled the string of my gown, pulling my arms out the sleeves before staring at my nude body in the full length mirror. I looked like a purple and white panda, the bruises patchy across my body but more prominent around my torso. I sighed, hating what I saw – I look like a doll whose been thrown around and dumped.

"Jesus…"

I turned away and stepped into the shower, letting the warm water run down my skin. I know it wasn't going to change what happened but it'll certainly make me feel a little better, at least I won't smell like a swamp anymore. I shut my eyes, letting the water wet my hair as I sang an old lullaby my mother used to sing to me.

Down in the valley, valley so low
Hang your head over, hear the wind blow
Hear the wind blow, dear, hear the wind blow
Hang your head over, hear the wind blow.

Roses love sunshine, violets love dew
Angels in heaven know I love you
Know I love you, dear, know I love you
Angels in heaven, know I love you.

I hung my head, humming the rest of the song as I pictured my mother singing it to me when I was scared or brushing my hair before bed. It was the song I sang at my parents funeral, I don't think of it as a sad memory – I think of it and hope that they can still hear me and are watching over me even now. I stood under the spray for another minute before I used the shampoo and soap to clean all the muck off me, stepping out of the shower smelling a lot more like citrus than a dirty damp swamp.

I grabbed the towel and dried my body, quickly pulling on some jogging bottoms and one of my thick hoodies from home – suddenly feeling much cleaner and more comfortable.

"Davis?"

I heard a familiar male voice from outside and rubbed the towel through my hair, opening the door to see Hotch standing their in the same suit as yesterday.

"Sir…?" I pulled my sleeves past my hands as I draped the towel over my arm, looking at him nervously. "If you don't mind me asking… why are you still here?"

I looked up at him and he rubbed his eyes, clearly tired.

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright being here by yourself."

I blinked at him, trying to hide my surprise. "You didn't have to do that… I'm sure if I freaked out completely they'd just drug me up until I calmed down."

He didn't find that very amusing and I shuffled on the spot, looking down at the floor.

"Miss? Everything alright?" My nurse interrupted at the perfect time and I looked at her, nodding.

"Yes, I feel much better now thank you. Do you mind if I get a tea from the machine?" I gave her a pleading look and she rolled her eyes, taking the towel.

"He has to go with you, I've spoken to the doctors and they will discuss discharging you tomorrow."

"That's the best news I've had all day. I won't be long." I moved slowly past Hotch and I heard the nurse mutter something not quite audible to him.

"Was that you singing earlier?" He asked as he caught up. I just looked up at him and screwed up my nose a little, tucking a wild strand of wet hair behind my ear.

"You heard that huh?" I turned down the hall and stopped in front of the machine, seeing it required money to use. "Oh…" I heard Hotch dig out some change and put it into the machine, allowing me to choose what I wanted to drink.

"Thank you." I gave him a small smile and waited for my cup to fill. "My mother used to sing me that when I was younger, no matter what I'd always feel safer or happier when I heard it." The machine stopped and I took my cup, placing the lid on top before cuddling it to keep my hands warm.

"Saying you miss her would be a stupid thing to say, I'm sorry to hear about what happened."

I smiled and nodded at him. "Don't be. Although It's times like this where I wish she was still around." I moved to the seats right behind us and sat down, crossing my legs underneath me.

"But if you think about it, you probably would never have been in this situation if you didn't lose your parents the way you did. You joined the FBI to make a difference to people, to get there before it was too late."

I took a sip of my tea, it wasn't the best cup I've ever had but it tastes pretty damn good considering. "That's a very good point." I didn't really know what to say, I've never had a conversation like this with him before – I don't know how to react.

"You fought for your life Clara, you did what none of those other girls could do. That just shows he underestimated you…" he paused as I looked up at him sadness and guilt in my eyes. "You're stronger than you think, you never gave up then and you shouldn't now. You'll get through this and you'll come out the other side far stronger than you ever were before."

I sat there in silence, taking in the incredibly good advice from a man who I thought hated me. "How are you so sure?"

He gave me a smile I've never seen and I was shocked to see how his face changed when he did, he looked so different – handsome maybe. "Because Clara, you've got a strong personality and you care about other people so much. You've been through such an ordeal and that's not something to be taken lightly but I see so much potential in you, you make people feel so much better about a situation. You help them see that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that's a hard quality to find in a person."

My bottom lip started to quiver as I tried to control my emotions, I seemed to cry at everything at the moment and his kind words, words I never thought would come from him was too much.

"You're going to make me cry…" I sniffed and he let out a small chuckle which caused me to become a blubbering mess. "I told you." Hotch took the tea from my hands so I could wipe my eyes. "You can't just say all that to someone and then smile and laugh, it's too much." I tried to laugh but I just ended up crying more. Jesus I needed to pull myself together.

"You're crying because I smiled and laughed…?" The confusion on his face made my cheeks burn and I looked away, taking deep breaths.

"Well considering I thought you hated me and that you're a miserable bugger some times… yeah it did…"

He smiled again and shook his head, "I never hated you. I was just cautious that's all."

I managed to regain my composure, turning back round to face him.

"Do you want your tea back?"

I nodded, letting out a small chuckle as he gave it to me. "Sorry… I'm an emotional broken mess." I went silent again and looked back down at the cup, his gaze still on me.

"I've seen much worse." He patted slash rubbed my knee in what I think was his attempt to comfort me. I didn't expect this from him but I will say this without any hesitation, I respect this man so much and I couldn't be more grateful with him being here for me right now. I've seen a completely different side of this man and I think we're finally okay with each other. Now all I need to figure out is if London is a couple of months or the rest of my life. Why does he have to be so nice and throw a curve ball. I let out a sigh and we sat in silence for a few more minutes before he walked me back to my room. Tomorrow will be a very interesting day indeed.