I'm Coming Home

by Shortstakk7932

After having a rocky start in the BAU during 'Who Are You', Alecta and the team head back to her home town for a birthday bash; it's part of the two week vacation that they have been granted by Strauss. While they are there, the team starts to learn even more about what has made Alecta the woman she is today. Nothing very sexual. Rated M to be safe for possible foul language.

3. Chapter 3

AN: So, my pal Virginia seemed to like chapter 2 quite well. So here's chapter 3. Hopefully it's at least as good, if not better. Ya'll met Constance. There's a chance she will appear again in chapter 3, depends on the direction the chapter takes. I know in my story 'What Now?' I introduced another spectral character, Daniel…at some point in this story I DO intend for him to come back; and when he does it'll be a doozy (I hope).

Around nine o'clock the kids started going to bed, the guests started leaving. Niko was sacked out on his father's shoulder, his mother-Zoe was placing his jacket over him gently so as not to wake him.

The children had played hard; running up and down stairs all night, playing hide and go seek with Sasha, Eva, and Oleg, as well as some of the other more grown kids. Jazzy was crapped out asleep on Rachel's lap, sprawled out in a way that only a toddler can be. Sofie and Emma were crawling up in Alecta's lap, each girl settling on a hip, their eyes droopy from being so tired. Emma gave a monstrous yawn, rubbing her nose with her little curled up hand. Alecta wrapped an arm around each little girl, rubbing their backs. Dare, or 2, as she made it clear she preferred, was curled up asleep, resting her head against Chaz's chest, sucking on her thumb, some of her hair tumbling over to cover her face.

Once Alecta realized the twins were asleep she figured it was time to get up and try to put them to bed. With two children in her grasp, she was having some trouble standing though; Hotch walked over and offered to take one of the girls.

"Uh, no thanks. If I jostle them much at all they will wake up. And YOU will get the joy of trying to make them go back to sleep."

"Well at least let me help you stand."

"Very well." Alecta took the offered hand that he placed on her elbow and helped her retain her balance. He followed her up the stairs to the room she was going to put the girls in.

"Can you hand me their little suitcase please? I have to get them into their jammies. This should be fun."

As Hotch brought over the little case as Alecta asked, she got the kids settled on the floor. There she could spread out and actually manage moving the kids around without too much trouble. She took out a little short sleeved t-shirt styled gown with one of the 'seven dwarves' on it; it was grumpy. The words on the front of it said, 'Not a morning person doesn't even begin to cover it'.

"Sofie?"

"How'd ya guess?"

She got the little girl out of her play clothes that she'd had on all day and slipped her pajamas on; next she placed her in her little bed on the bottom bunk and covered her up with just a sheet and a light blanket. Then, with Sofie being seen to, she turned her attentions to Emma. Her little night gown was a retro thing that advertised 'Rainbow Brite'.

"They are totally different people aren't they?"

"Yes sir, they are that…it's funny how much like me they are though. Sometimes it's just sort of spooky."

After she got Emma changed and into her own little bed, Alecta leaned against the bed, quite tired herself. She would have gladly closed her eyes and slept right there in that position if Hotch hadn't made a sound.

"What did you say?" Alecta blinked heavily a couple of times looking in Hotch's direction.

"I said it sounds like you've had enough excitement for one day. Let me help you up."

"Ok, but if you pick me up one more time, we go together. I can walk."

Hotch let her have her way, she walked out of the room. As it turned out everyone was making their ways up the stairs. The dinner guests were finally all gone, except for Chaz and 2. They were staying the night. Drowsily, Alecta told Chaz she could put 2 in the room with the twins, and Rachel was heading that way with Jazzy.

"What about Jack and Henry?" Alecta thought suddenly.

"Jack's old enough to get himself ready for bed, he said so weeks ago. And JJ has Henry taken care of."

He saw how unsteady on her feet Alecta was becoming; she was just so tired. She had had a pretty eventful day. They had flown into her home town; she had to face down her father already. She came face to face with one of her worst tormentors besides Jake, and found out that he had actually turned into a rather decent young man despite her misgivings. There was a lot for her to take in. Not to mention all the things that had happened in the last couple of weeks on top of everything. Running in to her estranged husband. Husband number 1 coming back from the dead; ditto for her mother. Watching estranged husband #2 being shot. Losing one of her very best friends in the world in Theo. And being sick and pregnant on top of her other issues. It had been a rough couple of weeks for Alecta. She got to her bedroom door and just stood there looking at it like it was a foreign thing.

"Davis, you have to turn the knob to make it work." Rossi was trying to be a smart ass to get a rise out of her. She didn't even seem to notice.

"Davis?" Morgan was worried.

"Ah hell, she actually fell asleep standing up again. That hasn't happened in a long time." Kevin said with just the slightest touch of humor in his voice.

Hotch walked over, damned the consequences, and scooped her up as he opened the door. If she really was asleep, she'd likely never remember what she said to him earlier as she put the girls to bed, and with any luck she would never remember how she got into bed. Being a gentleman he neglected to change her into her pajamas. If she did wake up, she could severely injure him, depending on what thoughts were going through her mind at the time. Besides, he had already walked into one door today; he wasn't sure what his composure would be if he had tried to help her change. He was Aaron Hotchner. He had to remain unreadable. And he would be completely transparent if he wasn't careful around her.

He laid her in the bed and pulled the covers up over her; she was out cold. Hotch had to admit; when she was quiet and not a riot of activity and you actually got to look at her she was quite attractive. In her relaxed state she seemed younger than she appeared during 'business' hours. Awake and alert, she was always moving; she always had something to say. She never stopped. And being an insomniac at the best of times….it was hard to remember sometimes that Alecta wasn't yet 40, she was awfully close, but still not there yet.

In this relaxed state she really did look remarkably like Sofie and Emma and even a good deal like 2 (Dare). The same rosy pink lips, that even in sleep looked like they would start speaking any minute. The small rounded nose, the big saucer like eyes. Hotch couldn't get over the difference between 'awake Lex' and 'sleeping Lex'. Eventually he had to snap out of it or they were liable to send a search party. Hotch walked out into the hall to make his way to the room that he was sharing with Rossi; as he made his way out of Lex's room he could see Rossi leaning out of the door to their room with a smirk on his face.

"Don't even start old man."

Both men went into the room and got changed into their pajamas and settled in for the night.

The next morning Alecta got up around 10AM and realized that everyone else was already up.

"Why didn't somebody wake me up?"

"Baby, you were kidnapped. You're pregnant. And you're still getting over your touch of pneumonia. You needed your rest."

"Mom."

"Lex, you fell asleep standing up last night, just outside your bedroom door."

"Whatever. Still, why didn't somebody wake me up?"

"Sugar, you have slept through hard thunderstorms and, if memory serves, the odd tornado or hurricane…Wake you up? With what?"

"Oh, Pops, it's not that bad."

"Sure. Whatever you say doll face."

"Do you want breakfast?"

"Yes please, just…um…No eggs, yeah."

"You got it doll. French toast?"

"No, I don't think so. I can't usually take anything too sweet on an empty stomach. Ooh! BLT?"

"Simple enough; one BLT coming up. You still take your tomato between the lettuce and the bacon don't you?"

"Of course…can't have the sandwich getting all soggy on me can I? Thanx Mrs. 'Ouisa."

Hotch had noticed that before Alecta had come downstairs she had changed out of the clothes that she had worn yesterday. Right now she was wearing a little pair of rosy pink track shorts and a pink/brown camouflage tank top layered over a pink camisole style top. It was official; she was out to kill him.

Alecta flopped down on the sofa where her mother was sitting, she laid her head in her mom's lap and was sitting there talking to her. Every once in a while she would raise one of her legs and her mom would grasp her by the soles and help her stretch. Hotch took the time to excuse himself to brush his teeth; he left the room to the sound of Rossi trying to stifle laughter. By the time Hotch made it back downstairs Alecta had put on a hoodie over her ensemble and was eating; she glanced up at him and smirked with a devilish gleam in her eye and continued right on as if nothing had happened. That little shit would be the death of him, Hotch was sure of that.

Mr. Dan'el had talked with Morgan and Garcia and told them about some areas that were safe to take walks around.

"You can go pretty much anywhere you please. But stay away from the old King place. Nobody much goes there anymore; the last I was over there it was getting a bit over grown and all. But with that no account son of a bitch being loose, I just don't want you going near the place. I don't know what he's up to, but he's never been anything but trouble. So stay away from that place just on the off chance he would show up. You can go to the stables; we have a shit load of horses. Some of them are descended from horses that Lex gave us when she fled. There's only one that I suggest you don't try to ride. Bubba. He's not a people person. We've had him for months, trying to get him broken in and trained, but he isn't having it. But that isn't a huge surprise. He comes from a long line of stubborn ass mules. He's just like his father, and the one before him and the one before that. So he's fourth generation pain in the ass. I'll have to get Lex out to see him sometime this afternoon. You can walk around in some of the woods, just stick to the trails and you should be alright."

"Warn them about the marsh Pops." Lex took her last bite of sandwich and took a drink of her tea.

"Oh yeah. Dead Water Marsh….stay away from it. Once you start getting close there will be signs up warning you."

"What's up with Dead Water Marsh?"

"Nothing much, except to say that even since the early days of European settlement, not even the local Native Americans would venture into the marsh. They always had a notion that it was no good. A lot of people have either been killed in it or near it; or the body was tossed there later…."

Alecta got up, going over to where Morgan and Garcia were standing, making her way to the door, "Think 'Pet Sematary' except without that mangy ass cat and that creepy little boy."

"Nice."

"Totally. Once, ok, several times I made the mistake of wandering down there. If the spooks don't get to you on your journey, then, by the time you get to the marsh….if you happen to wind up in it the odds and ends of skeletal remains that you bump into will."

"You're a liar."

"Emily Prentiss, are you calling me out…"

"Em, she's for real." Reid tried to quietly warn.

"Yes, as a matter of fact. I am."

"Oh somebody ate her 'Bitchy Flakes' this morning. Fine, you're coming with me Princess." Alecta was already pulling on some little white tennis shoes, and lifting one leg at a time to tie them while she stood on the opposite leg. "Stop stalling. Bring your ass on. And it'll be ever so much more interesting. I'm preggers, and spirits tend to be overly sensitive to that sort of thing. They will practically jump out of the marsh to greet us."

As Prentiss followed Alecta to the stables, she began to question the sanity that had graced her when she called Alecta a liar. Alecta had zipped up the hoodie, and suggested that Emily wear a light jacket over her arms, 'Where we will be riding, there may be branches and things that will scratch at you….just better to be safe than sorry."

"Pops, where is this horse of mine you were going on about."

"I don't suggest trying him out on this particular trip. He's unstable as it is, and taking him down to Dead Water….that's insane. You're pregnant, he's out of his mind, and that place….ah hell you're both a little to the left of normal. Follow me."

Mr. Dan'el showed her to the horse; he was huge. Bubba was a giant Clydesdale/Shire mix. While most standards of either breed stood at approximately 16-18 hands at the shoulders (which is equal to roughly 6'), Bubba was an impressive 20 hands, or a full 8 inches taller than most. And although Clydesdales and Shires were typically draught horses, used for heavy working conditions, Bubba was actually quite fast. Mr. Dan'el and some of his stable hands had turned Bubba loose in the corral one day to clock his speed, he was as fast as just about any Quarter Horse in the area. He was inky black, shiny, beautiful. He was midnight, without all the stars messing up the view. But he was a wild one. Nobody, none of the stable hands, not even Kevin had been able to stay on him for more than 3 minutes at most. He threw everybody he came into contact with. They picked a much safer, yet still quite capable horse for Prentiss. She got the one they affectionately called 'Pooky', she was a Hanoverian; this meant she was a good jumper, and that she was fast. Where Bubba was unpredictable and dangerous to those that had tried riding him before, Pooky was the total opposite. She loved people.

Everybody had their doubts about the sanity of giving Alecta the horse of the Baskervilles, as one stable hand had dubbed Bubba.

"Bring him into the corral. I want to see him."

She sat up on the fence and waited for him to be released. He came barreling out of his stall like a house on fire; as always. Seeing him taking a turn around the corral, Alecta jumped down from her perch and stood right in his oncoming path, not flinching. The horse was coming at her with no intention of stopping. Kevin wanted to grab her arm and jerk her out of there, but he knew she was testing him as only she could. If he laid a hand on her now, she would do her best to liberate it from his body. She stood there waiting. She didn't have to wait long. Bubba was running at close to 50 miles per hour coming straight at her. She crossed her arms over her chest and kept waiting. Suddenly, as if he just noticed she was in his path, the horse slammed on brakes and skidded to a stop, mere inches from her…their noses almost touching.

Looking the animal right in the eye, 'That the best you got?"

Then, pointing at him and pointing to the ground she watched as the horse lowered his head and almost seemed to kneel on one of his front legs.

"Say hello to my friends, Bubba." He raised his head and came back upright and snuffled at everybody.

"Ok, formal greetings. Bubba, this is Emily. That's JJ, Morgan, Hotch, Garcia, Reid, and Rossi. Be nice to them." That last bit she whispered to the horse in such a way that the others barely heard her.

"Bubbs, you have to take me out to Dead Water Marsh; Miss Emily is gonna bring Pooky. Come on old boy."

She grabbed a foot stool that would help her even reach up to the stirrups, and got into the saddle with minimal grumbling from the horse. Then she took him on a couple quick doughnuts around the corral just to get a feel for him and get used to being back on a horse; she hadn't been on one in quite some time.

"Come on Miss Emily, up and at 'em."

"I'm coming with you." Hotch spoke up.

"Really? I don't know if I can baby sit you both."

"Well after meeting your father at the diner yesterday, I'm not letting you go somewhere if it's possible he will show up."

"Awww, how cute. Don't worry baby, I have my bases covered." She opened the hoodie; on either side she had three blades that were held in with secret pockets that were stitched in and snapped shut to hold the daggers in snuggly. Then she lifted up some secret compartments on the saddle….more blades.

"You see Agent Hotchner, Lex's horse through and through."

"What about a gun?"

"I never have much cared for guns. Hotch, really it's alright. I'm loaded down, Emily is a decent shot…"

Seeing Hotch give her the 'Hotch' look, the one with the one arched eyebrow that almost said, 'Do not argue with me' she looked over at Mr. Dan'el, "Get Hotch a horse. Lightening should do."

With that, knowing she was defeated at least this once, she turned Bubba around and started to ride, slowly at first to give Emily time to catch up and for Hotch to get mounted on Lightening. As she turned away on horseback she could be heard to mutter something about 'that man being damned infuriating'.

"Good thing I had them prep another one for him anyway." At Mr. Dan'el's request, Lightening was brought out with your basic riding saddle, nothing much fancy to speak of.

Taking Hotch aside over closer to the horse, Mr. Dan'el raised a secret flap just behind where Hotch's leg would rest on the saddle; behind the flap he revealed a glock on either side.

"Never mind how I came into possession of these. Are you any good with one?" Mr. Dan'el saw the mischievous grin on Hotch's face, "I'll take that as a yes. If they come out there, if they get too close, give no quarter. Aim for something vital."

"I did the other night. I have no qualms about doing it again."

"Yeah, I heard about that. Not a bad piece of shooting if I do say so myself. Repeat if necessary."

With that, the older man allowed Hotch to mount Lightening and catch up with Prentiss and Alecta.

As Hotch got closer to catching up to them, Alecta turned back around looking at Reid, "Are you sure you don't want to come, or would you rather wait for our card game later?"

"I…um…I'll be fine waiting for the card game."

Alecta smiled and nodded her head. The good doctor, it seemed had learned his lesson. If Constance had pleasantly surprised him, then Dead Water Marsh would likely terrify him in great measure; especially if it put on the same show it always did…the one where the apparitions of the people dumped there (or that died there to begin with) began floating to the surface….their pale, water logged skin….the eyes glazed over with opaqueness. The dead stares; there were hundreds of them. And the sounds that you could hear; if you listened carefully, you could hear the sounds of a Revolutionary skirmish taking place in the nearby distance. And there was the odd scream of the dying. Yes, it's an educated guess that, after meeting with such a quiet and calm specter like Constance, he would totally shit his pants once he was introduced to a place like Dead Water. He was already an insomniac. The marsh would only make matters worse for him.

The only place worse than the marsh, was the swamp. The natives that used to populate the area would only ever go a certain distance into the swamp to fish or to hunt. And much farther in than that distance, just like with the marsh, they considered to be evil. And most people had accepted that over the years. If the natives, who had lived here for centuries, if not thousands of years before the first Europeans came over, were terrified of a place, there was at least a grain of truth to their stories. And the white people who came to the new world and began to colonize the place took the stories for their value. They might have complained that the natives were savages, but the Europeans were still religious enough at the time to be superstitious and believe the stories.

And in recent years there was always the odd few that dared to be different; the adventurers that would go beyond the final frontier. Most were never seen again, alive or otherwise. It was never known if they were eaten by a bear or something…or if they were….if something else entirely different had happened to them. Some would of course lose their way and die in the swampland of starvation eventually. But there were others….there had been the story of one man when she was a child. He had been a belligerent drunk that didn't believe shit stunk. He was the kinda guy that started drinking at noon on Sunday and never stopped. One day some old timers had been talking about the myths of the area, and in his drunken ways he told them he wasn't scared of some old wives tales that didn't amount to a hill of beans. And to prove that he was right and that everyone else was just a bunch of sissies, he would venture into the swamp. He packed a bag full of a change of clothes and some bottles of water, small first aid kit, etc. and set out. He wasn't seen or heard from for days after that. When he was found, he was alive, but he was never the same since. He was committed to one of the psychiatric hospitals a few towns over. His hair had gone completely white, and he was mumbling incoherently. He was a mess. The town's people tried to give him a few days for his nerves to calm down and see if he would come out of his fit…but things only got worse. He stopped talking altogether…he deteriorated mentally, had a breakdown of sorts. That's when they committed him. He still lived in the institution. He was still a babbling idiot. He still sat in his chair rocking back and forth, drawing sketches of things that nobody understood but him. Sure he made it out alive, but at what cost?

It was a barren area, most wild animals avoided it. It was beautiful to look at though; trees as far as you can see, with the swamp intermingled throughout the area. But something about it was just eerie.

Alecta had only ventured into that place once or twice herself. She had no other choice. She was running for her life then. She either had to take her chances with the 'evil' in the swamps or the evil that was chasing her in the first place. She had a place to hide if it came down to it. There was a cave that she'd found and left some things in. Hopefully they still worked. She'd never been to check them. It wasn't the kind of place you lingered in unless what was in the outside world was somehow worse.

Heading out to the marsh, Alecta didn't open Bubba up to top speed, if she had it would have been difficult for Prentiss and Hotch to keep up; even if their horses were fast enough, they didn't know the way. And if they did by some chance find their way, they would play hell getting close to the marsh…animals sense evil.

It took them about 10-15 minutes to go through the bit of woods and then the clearing that lead to the marsh. As they came within sight of the marsh, Alecta slowed Bubba down to a very slow walk.

"What are you doing Davis?"

"You may not believe anything you're told about this place. But I lived here. My ancestors help found this town over 300 years ago. We know it better than most anybody alive. I'm being cautious."

As they inched closer to the marsh, Alecta got down off of her horse, walking forward a few steps, keeping her hand wrapped around the lead. Bubba, standing 6'5 in human height at the shoulders, his head looming over Alecta's, leaned over and gently grabbed Alecta by the back of her hoodie pulling her back.

Struggling against the animal's insistence that she not go any closer, "Dude, really. It's alright, it's safe…for now."

"And just how do you know that?" Prentiss questioned snippily from her saddle as she began to get down.

Hotch was soon following suit, getting down off of Lightening.

"Well for one thing, there's no welcoming committee that has floated to the surface. And Daniel…

"What about Daniel? Who is he?"

Looking back at Hotch and Prentiss and then looking back to the area just ahead of them, "That is Daniel."

Alecta pointed to a place just a few feet in front of her. Hotch and Prentiss looked more carefully. They saw a man walking towards them…walking, sort of. He was dressed in clothes that were at least 200 years out of date.

"And pray tell what does he have to do with this?"

"Emily! Show some respect please! He fought for this country's independence. He has watched over me for a long time."

As the spectral man came closer and stopped just to the right of Alecta, Alecta turned and smiled at Prentiss and Hotch.

"This is Daniel Hollowell. He was killed in a small skirmish just beyond that cluster of trees up ahead; I believe he said once that it was around 1774 or 1775. When he comes to me in his regular clothes, as he is now, all's quiet….it's safe. If you see him in his patriot uniform shit is about to get real. And, if, like now, he comes to us as he is, and it's all safe…if things change while he's with us, you will need to be on the look-out for a Royalist soldier or a Native American guide that shows up. Especially if they show up together…if you see them both, jump on the horses and ride like hell."

"What happens if you stick around," Hotch asked. It surprised Alecta, he had been pretty quiet most of the way here.

"Well there was one time that I stayed here, even after the warning. The Royalist had appeared; the only name I have ever known him by is Dorian. I was 10, maybe. I was sitting over there, near the dock, just at the head of it actually. Daniel was sitting nearby. I had gotten up to walk over and see to my horse. As I got close to the horse I had brought with me, I saw Dorian standing near her. She wasn't really afraid of him, but he made her a bit nervous. He said trouble was coming. But me being me, I wasn't gonna just turn away."

Seeing Prentiss walking up the dock of the marsh, "Don't get too close to the edge. They tend to like to touch the 'new people'.

"Who does?" Emily asked as she glanced back behind her to see Alecta coming towards her, and then over the edge of the dock; she saw a body in old clothing floating to the surface. It was still in fairly decent condition, considering how long it had been there. Judging by the clothes, that had been at least 130 years if not longer. The main difference was the pasty, water logged skin and the clouded eyes. Prentiss could hear the body gasp for air violently as it came to the surface.

Watching Prentiss back away from the edge, "Them."

There were several other bodies that surfaced.

"Who are these people?" Hotch managed to ask.

"Well, you see those…' counting under her breath, " six bodies there, the blonde ones?"

"Yes."

"They were last seen alive with daddy and his friends. That one that is closest to the other bank….I watched them torture and kill her. I think her name was Merilee. The people in this marsh were either killed nearby during the Revolutionary or Civil War era or they were out right murdered, like Merilee, and dumped here to hide."

"And this little girl?" Alecta turned to see what Prentiss was getting at. There was the specter of a little girl standing not even 15 feet from them.

"Who is she?"

"Daphne, what are you doing here?"

"It was so boring. I saw people at the house. Do you want to play? Oh, who is she? You are so pretty. Oooh! Can she play with me? What's your name?"

The little girl in question had on a small vibrant green 'Regency' style dress. She had dark brown hair, the sides of which were pulled back to showcase her lovely face, the remaining curls cascading around her shoulders and waist. She had eyes that very nearly matched the green of her dress. She was certainly lively, clapping intermittently as she asked her questions.

"Slow down baby. What are you talking about?"

"Ma'ma. She wants me to go get eggs from the chickens. I hate getting the eggs. She could make Julian go do it. He's trouble anyway. Did you know he burned my hair, again? And all papa said was 'boys will be boys'. I was so angry. So I hid his tin soldiers, and now ma'ma makes me go to get the eggs. Well, I'm going to take my time. She might get them today and she might not. Can we play instead? I promise I will behave."

"Are you sure? Last time…"

"But that was so long ago. When did you get big? You used to be a girl like me. You're big like ma'ma and Cecilia. Why?"

The little girl sounded positively heart-broken that her one time friend was now grown up.

"I had to get bigger, I couldn't stay your age forever sweet heart. Don't worry there are some little girls at the house for you to play with. Come by sometime this afternoon and I will let you meet them."

"Oh, and Dorian is coming. He said be ready. I will be there. You promise I can play with the little girls? It's been so lonely not having any friends."

"Yes baby now go, it'll all be ok. And my friend's name is Emily."

"I had a friend named Emily one time; except she wasn't big like you. She was like me. She got sick, I think mama said she had Scarlet fever. That's why I didn't have any friends anymore. Some of them died. Dare, I have to go. Dorian is coming."

With that the little girl began to run away and vanished as she went.

"What's the deal with her?" Emily was genuinely curious now.

"Wait. We have to see Dorian first. He's up to something."

Soon the Royalist soldier came into view, walking from the tree line.

"My lady, get on your horse, and go. Go now."

"I'm not 10 ya know."

"Sir, will you please talk some sense into her; she must leave now."

"Your name is Dorian right?' Hotch waited to see the man nod in the positive,"I haven't had any more luck than you so far."

"Daniel, please. Make your kin see some sense in what I say. I swear I didn't know that stubbornness could be passed on through the blood."

Daniel stepped forward and whispered something into Alecta's ear and Hotch and Emily watched her change color. She became as white as a sheet and looked to her left. There was a Native American man standing there staring at the group, an all too serious look on his face, his arms crossed over his chest.

"We have to go. Get on the horses. Now."

She took off running, heading for Bubba; Hotch and Prentiss weren't far behind.

After hopping on the horses, Alecta turned her horse to face them, 'Please try to keep up."

With that she took off at break-neck speed; Hotch and Prentiss were right behind her, so far doing a good job of following orders. They rode into the woods. Ten minutes later, Alecta slowed her horse to a walk, and began listening; again Hotch and Prentiss followed her directions.

She heard voices in the woods. They were all too familiar to her. Turning her horse in the direction of the sounds, she saw her father and two of his friends come into view.

Prentiss and Hotch heard her gasp in shock.

"No." Alecta said almost too quietly. About the same time, Jake looked up and saw her. He and his friends began making their way towards her, apparently not seeing her friends with her. Before they could get more than a few feet, Hotch and Prentiss and Alecta saw the Native American man again. Suddenly three trees broke off five feet from the ground and fell in Jake's path, blocking him from being able to get to Alecta.

"We'll go this way." Alecta lead them away from the men. Once they reached the clearing she opened Bubba up to top speed. Lightening and Pooky followed suit, no questions asked.

They arrived back at the house with Alecta jumping off of her horse before he'd come to a complete stop. Running into the house, Alecta began looking for Garcia.

"Where is she?"

"Who?" Rossi looked up from the book he had been engrossed in.

"Garcia, where is she?"

"She went with Derek. They were walking…." Reid didn't get to finish his sentence. Alecta was pretty sure she knew which route they had taken. There was a pond that was about a 20 minute walk from the house, maybe 30 minutes. It was between the Eason family property, and the property that had been owned by her family. It was a very beautiful place actually. It had large oak trees that were scattered around the edge every few feet. There were four stone benches that sat there; they had to be 150 years old. Some of the trees were decorated with rattan hanging from them. Some of them had Spanish moss as well.

Alecta had taken off at a dead sprint out of the house in the general direction of the pond.

She ran as hard as she ever had in her life. It was one thing for the team to have met her father at the diner. There were witnesses. Jake wasn't stupid. But Alecta feared him coming back after Garcia. She wouldn't let that happen.

It wasn't until Alecta came closer to the pond and slowed down that she noticed that Kevin and Hotch as well as Victor and Reid had been trying to keep up with her. She stopped at a tree nearby, seeing them sitting on one of the benches. Garcia was leaning her head on Morgan's shoulder as she spoke quietly. Every couple of minutes you could hear her sniffing and Morgan's grip on her got tighter.

Alecta could hear some of the one sided conversation. Garcia was telling Morgan some of the things that happened to her when Jake had gotten to her. Alecta put a hand against the tree and leaned over to try to catch her breath. She was breathing hard after having run like the devil was after her.

"Sit down old girl, you'll pop a lung."

"She's talking about those last days. I….we…."

"Hush; just calm down first, you can talk after you catch your breath."

"What happened?" Rossi demanded, Mrs. King had finally made it…she wasn't quite as fast as the others.

"While we were out on our ride, we saw Jake two or three other men. They saw us. She became worried for Garcia's safety."

Alecta stood up and walked closer to the bench that Garcia and Morgan were sitting on and cleared her throat. They turned to see her standing there, still breathing hard.

"What's up Davis?" Morgan turned to see what she wanted.

Garcia noticed the look in her eyes and the body language, "Um, hot stuff, we should be going in now. It's getting late. The diner for lunch?"

Alecta would agree to anything just to get them away from this place and somewhere safer.

So the group went back to the house and got cleaned up and made their way to the diner for lunch. Garcia and Alecta kept sharing looks between each other. Garcia was grateful for the heads up, and Alecta was just glad that nothing bad had happened. This time.