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Previously on Criminal Minds- "We have a problem."
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All heads snapped to the door, eyes glaring at the two newcomers.
Will winced. "Sorry" he whispered, gazing at the injured little boy on the bed. Seeing Spencer still sleeping soundly, he let out a sigh of relief. He then looked back at the adults in the room and motioned to the couch. "We need to talk."
Hotch nodded. He glanced down at his slumbering son and then strode over to the sofa where the rest of the group was already gathered. "What's happened?" he questioned.
"Will and I went to Rossi's to get all our bags and the place has been ransacked. Morgan replied.
"What?!" Dave growled.
"Yeah, and it looked like someone searched through everything before trashing the place." Will explained.
Rossi groaned, hating the idea of someone combing through his things. He had a lifetime of nick-nacks and keepsakes some of which were very personal stored at that cabin.
"It gets worse." Morgan told them. "After we discovered the mess at Rossi's, Will and I decided we needed to check on everyone else's homes. And they were all the same. Every last one of them had been searched and then trashed."
Garcia flopped down on the couch her hand over her mouth. "They, they went through my things?" she stammered.
"Afraid so, Baby Girl" Derek said sitting and wrapping an arm around her shoulder.
"But, but those are my, my things. Nobody sh-should…"
"That's it." Aaron declared, cutting off the flustered tech analyst. "We've got our next case."
"We can't. This case is in the hands of the local PD and they haven't invited us in yet." Morgan argued.
"It doesn't matter. Someone is targeting our family. That makes it our case." Hotch definitively stated.
"The director will never go for it, Aaron. You know that." Rossi pointed out. "We're too close to this one."
"That's exactly why we have to be the ones to handle the case." Hotch countered. "We have the insight needed to solve it." He shifted his gaze to the upset woman on the couch. "Garcia, I want you to go to the office. Pull up Mr. Reid, Ms. Ellen Pringle, and Officer Joe Ramiro, as well as anyone else that might have a grudge against one or more members of the team. See if you can trace their whereabouts within the last week. Also, look into any inquiries or hits on our names. Morgan, you go with her. Until this case is solved, I don't want anyone going anywhere alone. Understand?"
The other agents nodded.
"And one more thing: Spencer is not to be told about any of this." Aaron ordered. "He's wasted far too much of his second childhood with cases, injuries, and illnesses. I won't have him spending the rest of it working especially when the case involves our family."
"I'm not sure that's wise. The kid's sharp as a tack. He'll realize something's up once he's well again. And he'll explode when he finds out that we've kept it from him." Dave argued.
Aaron sighed. "I'll deal with that situation when and if it comes up." he responded.
"Your funereal" Dave muttered.
Hotch glowered at a smirking Rossi for a moment and then turned his gaze to the goddess of all things tech. "Garcia" he softly called.
"On it" Penelope answered. Hopping up, she hurried over to the other side of the room and snatched up her pocketbook. "I'll have that info to you in two shakes of a lamb's tail." Interlocking her arm with Morgan's, she started pulling him to the door. "Come on Stud Muffin. We have a date with my babies."
Morgan groaned playfully, pretending to be exasperated. His smile gave him away though. "I'm coming, Baby Girl." He halfheartedly grumbled.
"I'm gonna head out too." Will said. "I wanna get back to JJ and Henry. I know the police have men stationed at our hotel room door but I'll feel better if one of us is with them."
"Hang on! We'll go with you." Dave called, grabbing the handles of Emily's wheelchair. "Prentiss is supposed to home resting anyway."
"I not sure about the resting part but I am ready to be someplace that isn't here." Emily told the group.
"I know what you mean." Penelope agreed as the group started for the door. "This décor is so, so blah. This is a child's hospital room. It should be all bright and colorful with lots of cartoons and super heroes painted all over the walls. Sick kids like seeing…"
Aaron shook his head as the tech analyst's voice was cut off by the closing of the door. If Garcia hadn't ended up at the BAU, she could have easily found a career in a day care center or as a nanny. She was wonderful with children; always seeming to know what to say or do to make their day a little brighter. That's what she did for the team come to think of it. No matter how horrible the case the bubbly woman was always there with a witty remark or a silly saying. It never failed. The team was always smiling after a conversation with her. That was one of the reasons he'd chosen her for his team. Yes, she was an expert in all areas of technology and she could unearth crucial information before the vast majority of the other tech analysts even booted up their computers. But it was her personality that had caught his attention. His team saw the worst of the worst; things most people could never even dream of happening. They needed someone like Garcia; someone who always saw the bright side; someone who could make people smile just by walking into a room. She had…
"H-h-h-otch?" Spencer sleepily called as he knuckled his eyes.
Smiling, Aaron walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge. "Hey buddy, did you have a nice nap?"
"Uh *yawn* huh" Spencer answered. He scooted over and leaned into his father's figure's side. "But all fat leeping made me hungwy. Tan I haf some tooties?"
"I'll see what I can do." Aaron said. His smile widened as he walked over to the tray table. Spencer being hungry was a good sign. It looked like his son was finally starting to feel better.
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Garcia slammed her hand down on her desk with a growl. "Ahhh! This is getting us nowhere!" she shouted, glaring at her computer screens.
"Calm down Mama. You'll find something." Morgan assured the frustrated lady. "You always do."
"That's just it! I've ran through every suspect Hotch gave me plus a huge catalog of past unsubs and ticked off victims' families and all I've found is a whole lotta nothing!" Penelope ranted. "Mr. Reid hasn't left Vegas and he hasn't made any shady transactions unless you count the money he's been dropping at a certain strip club just outside of town. Ms. Pringle hasn't budged from her hometown. She's clean too. But she has been running internet searches on regaining custody of children in foster care so we should probably give Matt's foster parents a heads up about that."
"What about Officer Ramiro?" Derek asked.
"Dead. He was suspended from the police force about a week and a half after we left for watching Matt's new foster parents. He or some of his buddies would tail them to work, school, and home. He flipped out when he found out about the suspension. After storming out of the police station, he got in his car and sped away. And apparently, he let his anger cloud his vision because he drove right into the path of an oncoming train. He was killed instantly." Garcia related. Dropping her pen onto her desk, she sighed. "Everyone else I checked is either clean or in jail. I can't find anyone who even remotely seems to fit."
Morgan closed his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck. He'd hoped they would find information on the unsub so they could quickly put this behind them. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to be the case. They were going to have to…a sniffle pulled him from his thoughts. "Hey don't worry Baby Girl" he softly said as he wrapped his arms around her. "We'll figure this out. We always do."
"I hope you're right." Penelope whispered, returning the hug. "I hope you're right."
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The physician scribbled a couple of notes on the Hotchner boy's chart before discretely placing the file on top of the desk of the one pediatric nurse on duty who wouldn't balk at the prescribed medication. Knowing her, she probably wouldn't even register that it wasn't one she should administer. She'd just follow the order and give it to the boy which is just what he wanted her to do. Grinning, the doctor turned and began walking down the corridor. He would have his revenge very soon.