AN: And here we are at chapter 7. Hopefully this won't go on as long as chapter 6 did; sheesh. Recapping; there was the pool party, and then we made it to part of the actual birthday party for Mr. Dan'el; Alecta had just taken the stage (under duress). In this chapter we will find out what she performs (there are a few selections that are apparently shouted out by the crowd). Depending on how this chapter moves along there may be more to be seen from her father (Jake) and one or two of his friends; but before you quote me on that, let's see how things roll out. Thanks for putting up with me thus far.

-She's faced the hardest times
you could imagine
and many times her eyes fought back the tears
and when her youthful world
was about to fall in
each time her slender shoulders
bore the weight of all her fears
and a sorrow no one hears
still rings in midnight silence,
in her ears

Let her cry, for she's a lady
let her dream, for she's a child
let the rain fall down upon her
She's a free and gentle flower,
growing wild

And if by chance I should hold her
let me hold her for a time
but if allowed just one possession
I would pick her from the garden,
to be mine

Be careful how you touch her,
for she'll awaken
and sleep's the only freedom that she knows
and when you walk into her eyes,
you won't believe
the way she's always paying
for a debt she never owes
and a silent wind still blows
that only she can hear and so she goes

Let her cry, for she's a lady
let her dream, for she's a child
let the rain fall down upon her
She's a free and gentle flower,
growing wild

(Wild Flower, Skylark)

Alecta stepped onto the stage and spoke into the mic, the fact that her voice was sort of small and young sounding hand never escaped the team, but it hadn't been so glaringly obvious either…until now.

"This is the first song that 'Pops' taught me how to play,' she explained as she began strumming. Before long it was very apparent that she was playing Fleetwood Mac's 'Landslide', complete with Lindsey Buckingham's guitar solo. Once she started playing it was as though she got lost in the sounds the guitar made and didn't' seem to care that there was upwards of 200 people watching her; she focused on the sounds and even if she had to look up at the crowd, it didn't seem to matter.

Morgan was sitting at a table on the picnic bench sort of at a straddle, Garcia was leaning back against him, between his legs, and his arms were around her holding her tightly. JJ and Will were seated in much the same way. Mrs. King was sitting next to Rossi, facing the stage, smiling happily at her daughter. The kids were scattered all over the place playing and listening to music. Hotch was locked on target. Reid had been talking to Chaz a bit.

Everyone saw her smile at Kevin and Chaz while she as singing. The next thing JJ and Morgan know, the two of them get up and walk away. Soon enough they are followed by Victor and the boys. Something was up, but nobody knew why. As she ended 'Landslide', Alecta began to pluck a couple of strings, grinning, her mood seemingly lifted for the moment anyway.

"This is just for shits and giggles, 'cause ya'll loved it so much the last time."

Kevin and crew had walked out, each with their own guitars and stood in various places on the stage; within a few notes it was clear that they were playing 'Hotel California'. At the end of the song Alecta had every intention of leaving the stage, but people started requesting things. The look on her face plainly told the people at her table, i.e. the team that she had no idea this was going to happen.

"What first?"

Chaz ran back up to the stage and whispered something in her ear. Alecta rolled her eyes.

"No. Next request."

"Lex,' Chaz pouted cutely. Alecta shook her head, still saying 'no'.

"Fine." Chaz leaned in and whispered something else.

"Yeah, ok. That'll do." Chaz clapped ecstatically and ran back down to her spot at the table.

Third song starts, and it was 'Again and Again' by Jewel.

The entire time that she played, there were a few party goers that got up and danced with their significant others; even Morgan and Garcia.

As she neared the end of the last song that she played, Alecta stood up and all but threw the guitar at Mr. Dan'el; she couldn't wait to get rid of it.

Alecta made her way to the line for food. She was hungry. But once she got there, her stomach wasn't having it. After standing at one of the tables of food for a minute or two, trying to calm her roiling stomach she realized it was doing no good. Apparently there was nothing at this table that appealed to whatever life form was currently living inside of her rent free. She even grumbled to her stomach to tell it as much as she walked back to her table and sat beside Hotch.

"You know, I'm letting you ride around in there, not charging rent, and already I've been as sick as a dog. And at that to your baby cooties….pay back is coming Peanut."

"What did you say?" Hotch had heard her talking to herself.

"Nothing, merely ruminating on why this baby of mine sees fit to make me want to yak at the sight and smell of food. I'm so hungry I think I could eat the tires off our car. And I just tried to fix a plate and it was the worst idea in the long, sad history of bad ideas. I must think of a suitable form of payback for this chap…only to be exacted when he or she is old enough to hate me for it. I can't live off of oatmeal cookies for the next 5 months. Although….nah, never mind….I just wanna eat something. Damn it!"

"Oh, no; she'll be ready to snap soon." Kevin said jokingly as he sat down; only to jump right back up when he realized he'd been stabbed in the ass with a fork she swiped.

"Hey!"

Alecta only grinned, 'the baby made me do it. It doesn't like it when you talk shit about its momma."

"Alecta, some of the others want you to play some more."

"I have to go." Alecta jumped up and took off, sprinting away from Mr. Dan'el and his request.

Hotch got up to follow her. He hadn't liked the idea of her going very far on her own since that scene at the diner. By the time he had caught up with her she was walking several yards ahead; Hotch sauntered up to her right side, and she just looked at him.

"What do you think you're doing out here alone?"

"I had to get some air. The smell of the food was making me miserable. And if I had to play and sing one more song I was going to snap. I haven't played in years, not since….doesn't matter. Anyway, 20 or 30 years ago, 85% of the people in that room couldn't give two shits about me. That one older blonde lady…"

"Yeah."

"First grade teacher. She actually slapped me across the face hard enough to leave a hand sized bruise on my cheek. She thought I was getting smart with her, but I wasn't. She had told me to sit down in my seat. I told her that I couldn't sit down. And she hit me. I wasn't being a smart ass, Hotch, I promise I wasn't. But the beatings had been worse the day before and the day before that, and it hurt too bad to sit down. I don't guess she saw the bruises all over my arms, or if she did she didn't know what they were from or didn't care. And she smacked me across the face. It stunned me so bad I fell to the floor."

She walked on a little more….

"That one guy that asked me to play the next to last song…"

"Yes."

"One day when I had ventured into town, I was maybe 8 or 9….I was hungry. I was digging into trashcans on the side of the road. And he saw me and just pushed me out into the street on my ass. I skinned up my hands and knees a little bit. I hadn't been to school in days at that point because I had been a little sick, and if I wasn't able to go to school, I wasn't able to eat the lunch that Mrs. 'Ouisa had packed for me. And they were too afraid of daddy to come out to the house; and I was too afraid of him to venture to their house. I was scared he would catch me one day when he was on his way home.

For nearly everybody in that room, I can tell you everything they ever did or didn't do to me or for me. I never forgot. I can forgive most anything. But I never forgot. They try to be good upstanding citizens, but I was the gum on their shoes. A bony kid with ragged clothes and covered in bruises, that smelled like hell because there was nobody to take care of me or teach me how to do it myself. And they all hated me for it.

Whatever. Hypocrites, all of them."

Walking down the dirt road with her, with moonlight the only light to see by, Hotch had to admit that if it wasn't for what he knew happened here, this would be a lovely little town. It had its own charm for sure. And there was something about getting to know more about her that made it that much more appealing of a place.

"Stop, and be quiet." Alecta held up her right hand to his chest to halt his motion.

"What's going on?" Hotch questioned in a whisper.

"There are lights on at the old place." Alecta kept walking towards the old house, boldly, not giving a damn about being seen.

"Do you think this is a good idea? What with your dad knowing you're in town and everything? Davis, stay away from there. Wait until daylight, and we have more people with us."

"Is Hotch 'my boss' asking or is Hotch 'my friend' asking?"

"Does it matter?"

Alecta just looked at him. With her pale skin and dark hair and eyes, she was quite eerie looking by the moonlight, she made him think of some of the ghosts he had seen earlier this week. She tilted her head to the side and waited for him to finish the question, with that she gave a little little snort and proceeded to walk past him at a good clip.

"Alecta, stop! It's not just you this time. You are pregnant, or have you forgotten that fact?"

Turning on him quickly, the words coming through gritted teeth, 'That is the whole reason I am doing this. I have lived my entire life looking over my shoulder, terrified to go to sleep, terrified to wake up. Can't eat, can't sleep. I have turned myself into a robot; hunting suspects down. It never stops. I don't want my kids to have that same life."

Hotch could only follow her as she continued on her mission. She crept up to the porch, climbing the steps, and got down low on the floor, crawling up to the window, Hotch stayed as close as he could.

"Isn't this trespassing?"

"No, now shut up, or you'll get us caught."

"How can this not be trespassing?"

Alecta sat up and turned to Hotch and placed a little hand over his mouth, well most of his mouth.

"Please hush. It's not trespassing because, well, I grew up in this house, as did nearly every generation of my immediate family. Secondly, when the trial came around and daddy was getting sent to prison, the courts awarded the house and estate to me. This pile of bricks is in my name, as is every acre that it sits on. So whoever is in there are the ones breaking the law. Now, please, be quiet."

Hotch nodded from behind her little hand which she removed and turned back to the window, watching what was going on. It was only a second or two later and she turned away from the window, her back hitting the wall behind her, her breath was in short pants.

Grabbing Hotch's hand she bounded off of the porch, "We have to go. We have to go now."

"What's wrong?"

She wouldn't stop; once she was off of the porch she let go of Hotch and broke into a run.

"Alecta, wait a second."

She kept running, not looking back. Thank God his eyes had adjusted to the darkness and low lighting of the moon, he had to keep up with her and find his way back to the Eason's house without her aid.

She ran the entire way back to the house, not stopping. She hit the steps leading to the house mere seconds before Hotch. And she kept running up the stairs, tripping over two or three as she went, still not stopping. Hotch was able to finally hear that she was crying. She ran to the ballroom and Hotch tried to follow her.

Putting her hand up to his chest to stop him again, "No, you stay." With that she shut the double doors and locked it. Hotch stayed outside the room, right outside the door. He could hear her pacing, talking to someone…Abigail maybe? Her voice was low; he couldn't really make out the words she was saying. Then another door shut inside the ballroom. He took this chance to try to come inside of the room. He struggled with the door for a moment. It wouldn't budge, she'd locked it apparently. Thinking about the way things usually work around here, Hotch looked up towards the ceiling, shaking his head in disbelief at what he was about to say.

"Abigail, let me in. Please. I just want to make sure she's alright." He waited a moment, thinking at first he would have to call on that Revolutionary Patriot, Daniel to get any help. Suddenly, he heard the lock turn. Abigail must have had time to think it over, and opened the door for him. Hotch listened for any sounds that Alecta might be making. He heard her rifling around in the 'museum'. Kevin came up to the side of Hotch.

"This is what she does when she gets stressed out. She muddles through things in that room and rearranges things or just puts them back in the order she found them in. It's her room full of memorabilia. We have collected things from the Revolutionary, Civil, WWI, WWI wars. There may even be a thing or two in there from the Korean or Vietnam wars. Most of the really old stuff, we found it digging around the back yard and the open fields close by. Some of the things from like WWI and beyond were given to her by some of those old geezers that you saw in the diner. Her special collection includes things she got from Ollie and some of his old pen pals that were in the Royal military back in Great Britain. Ol' Ollie, he was part of His Majesty's Royal Air Force during WWII, back before the Queen had to take power. He actually met George VI on several occasions. Lex used to love listening to his stories about the war and the people he met…shit, she still does.

So, what happened this time? The only time that she gets this frustrated is when it has something to do with Jake."

"She saw lights on over at the old house, and she went to investigate. She looked through one of the windows on the porch and she just….she took off running back over here and I played hell keeping up with her. She still hasn't told me what she saw. I had to ask your friend Abigail to unlock the door to the ballroom so I could even make it this far."

"And she listened? Hmmm. That is strange. Abigail is known to be headstrong and obstinate, even after being dead for over 200yrs. She's not known for her cooperation. Ezra is some better. But in the past, when Lex has locked herself in here, I have had to get Daniel to pop the lock….or on rare occasions, Dorian.

As protective of her as Daniel can be, Abigail is waaaay more so. I think Lex reminds her a bit of her, during life. I dunno; they've talked…you know how women are. Not much has changed in 200 years. Just give her a little time to calm down. Jake really gets her wound up and it doesn't take much."

"Kevin she was crying, and running so fast that she tripped up several stairs as she ran. She was practically deaf, mute, and blind with the fear. She just kept running."

"Just give her a little time to calm down. She gets like this when it comes to Jake. He really just…." Kevin explained, giving a shrug of exasperation.

Hotch nodded, but didn't leave the room, Kevin walked back out to go back to the party. Hotch sat on the floor in the corner, leaning against the wall, waiting.

Moving around to lean his back against the door to the room that she was hiding in, and speaking to her through the door, Hotch could hear Alecta sniffing, "What did you see Alecta?"

Inside her little museum, Alecta had gotten her hands on a letter and sat down against the other side of the door still sniffling. The letter was one of her favorite things, reading it always calmed her down.

"Alecta…"

"You don't want to ask me that."

"I want to know what you saw."

"No. You don't." She sniffed. She looked over the letter she held. It was from one of Ollie's friends from the RAF. He had passed away years ago; he had sent Ollie letters over the years, sending with them little medals and ribbons he'd gotten for his service during THE war. He'd sent them to Ollie for him to give to Alecta; his name was Ian.

"Well at least come out. I won't ask you anymore about it…."

"Okay."

"For now."

"That's low. Abigail…"

As Hotch stood up from his position in front of the door, he felt a pressure on his left chest area, near his shoulder, give a pretty sturdy shove.

"Nice. So that's the game, eh."

Alecta chuckled a little bit as she opened the door.

"You little shit."

"You have to take me and ALL the baggage that might cling to me. Still love me now?"

Alecta walked out of the ball room.

"Where are you going to go now?" Hotch really wanted to know. They passed by Garcia and Morgan as they entered the hallway.

Alecta grinned at them, "Just don't get too carried away tonight, yeah."

Garcia had the good sense to blush profusely; Morgan only winked, grinning wolfishly. Alecta chuckled as she walked past.

"Well?"

"Well what boss man?"

"Where are you going?"

"Don't worry; I'm not going near that house again; at least not tonight." Alecta visibly shivered a bit from the thought of what she saw through the window.

She watched as Hotch fought hard to keep his word and not ask her about it again. She quietly said 'Thank You,' and went about her way.

"I don't know where I'm going. I just know that I have to find something to eat…that food at the party wasn't doing it. I'm hungry enough to snatch the tires off of your truck. And those damned cookies and orange juice are only gonna get me so far. Wonder if the little crumb snatcher likes mashed potatoes and gravy with fried chicken….."

Hotch followed her to the kitchen watched her dig through the refrigerator. As she dug into the leftovers in the fridge, Chaz came out to the house.

"Cop a squat sis. You want any?"

"Nah. I had some of the stuff at the party. The dinner out there didn't suit 'Squish' I take it."

"Too right. That and the crowd. All of those freaking people."

"Hypocrites. All of them."

Hotch smiled, 'That's exactly what Alecta said earlier."

"It doesn't surprise me in the least. It's the truth."

"Ooh! I'll be right back. Hang on….if the microwave beeps before I get back, just set my stuff on the island, please."

With that Alecta ran upstairs and rifled through her bags looking for something specific. She came running back into the kitchen around 5 minutes later carrying an old busted photo album, it was held shut with a strip of cloth that she had tied around it….the cloth looked like it had been part of a baby blanket once upon a time. The album was so full that the cover had started to bow out a little bit, and the spine had started to break away from the rest of it.

"They do make more of these ya know?" Chaz asked her as she hopped up on the kitchen island with Alecta.

"Shut up. Don't pick on my book."

"And this rag?"

"You remember the baby blanket?"

"Yeah, it was your great grandmother's, grandmothers, your mom's, and yours."

"Yep. And then it was Rachel's; it started tearing up a few years ago. This was around the edging of it. I've been able to save most of it. Sasha and Eva, and then Sofie and Emma….they have all fought over control over the blanket. Anyway, I knew by the last letter you sent me that you wanted me to bring this. So. Ta Da."

The whole time Alecta had been talking, Chaz had been munching off of the plate of food. Leaning over she grabbed a paper towel and wet it under the faucet that was attached to the sink that was part of the island. Alecta was swinging her left foot back and forth, bumping the heel on the cabinetry beneath the counter top; she had grabbed a drumstick and was tearing into it and grabbing her own dampened paper towel. Watching her Hotch was yet again struck by how much she was like her daughters and vice versa. And she had to ask if he still loved her; then he wasn't doing something right.

After cleaning her hands off, Alecta pulled her hair back with a little elastic pony-tail holder; Chaz decided to take the album over to the table to keep looking at it while Alecta chose to stay seated on top of the island, chomping away on her chicken.

"Who is THIS?" Chaz asked as she came to a picture of a three very tall men that were all quite handsome.

"Which one? They're all nice looking."

"Yeah. But the one in the middle is…."

"That is my old pal, Sky. I miss him. I could hook you two up if you wanted. You have a lot of stuff in common. You're in law-enforcement. He's retired from detective work. He's good with kids, he practically helped Lady Heather raise Rachel while I was under-cover and during the time I was committed. And you have a kid. You're taller than me, he's taller than me…."Alecta just smiled impishly at the last comment.

"Yeah but saying we're both taller than you is like saying grass is green."

"Oh, shut up." Alecta giggled as she flicked a spoonful of mashed potatoes at Chaz, hitting her target…the bridge of Chaz's nose.

"You think he'd be into me?"

"Seriously? Amazon Barbie, legs to your chin. And you carry a gun…that you know how to use. I can't believe you asked me that. You were one of the most popular girls in school. Hell, you were friends with 'Shitney'. Even IF things had been different, there was no way I could ever have competed against the two of you. In school, the two of you and your little friends made me sick. Ya'll had the greatest clothes, your hair was always in place. You were both so perfect.

Most of my life I've spent playing catch up. And no matter what I do, it's never enough. It's like Whitney said the other day. I'm always going to be somebody's whore. That's all anyone is ever gonna remember."

"You really believe that?"

"Out of the mouths of skanks and all that."

"Do you know how many times we have gone somewhere together and you walk into a roomful of people and all activity stops. Heads turn, I trip over men's lower jaws. Said men trip over their own feet around you. I don't have a painting that is kept hidden that was done by some strange French artist in your honor…."

"Ah, yes, I forgot about him. He was fun. He called me the other day. That was a fun couple of weeks in Paris. The stories I could tell you…" Alecta saw the look Hotch was giving her…"that I will wait 'til later to bring to light."

"But my point is, nobody ever painted a portrait of me. And the hell of it was, he painted it of you before he ever actually met you. He had seen you at a town celebration that they were having. He spotted you in the crowd and sketched you picture in his little journal and then went home and created that painting. I still don't know why you don't hang it somewhere."

"Don't be silly. I'm practically homeless. Where am I going to hang a painting? I have no walls."

"Well stop being homeless. Find a man…" seeing the glare that Alecta was shooting at her, "A real man, not Fletcher 2.0." Turning to Hotch, "Thank you for putting one between his eyes, by the way. I would have done that myself. But by the time that I was able to get to her, he had split and I had trouble tracking him down. Besides, I really just wanted to get her the hell away from Los Angeles."

"You're welcome."

"See. What I mean. Hotch is good people. He has a gun, his aim is the shit, and he doesn't hesitate to pull the trigger. And, he's good with kids, too."

Alecta grumbled something as she got down from the countertop finally.

"Look I know it's the Agnes way to be damned near homeless or at least to give off that impression. I know it's for the sake of the job. If you don't have an actual home, then when people come after you they don't know where to hunt you down at…"

"And that was one of my first mistakes with Fletcher. I fell for all his bullshit. I got roped into that….and after we got married there was no place for me to go. I married him. We had a life together, a home. And he was able to track me down no matter where I went. I was better off without him."

"And Yuri? Were you better off without him?"

"It's starting to look that way. I loved him. I loved him and our children; I would have walked to the ends of the earth for them. I had a total break down over what happened to them….and look what it's gotten me." Alecta threw her arms up, shrugging her shoulders. "He's leaving me no matter what I say or do. The only person since Kevin I ever loved and he's…he's leaving me. I ain't got a lot left to loose ya know. I can't take too much more of this." Alecta paused, pulling herself back together.

"Whatever. It doesn't matter anyway. It is what it is. Daddy was right. No decent man is ever gonna really want me. And even if one does, it's not likely to last long. I mean, I had Kevin in my life. I left him. And now, karma; Yuri's leaving me. Well played Karma, well played.

Speaking of Whitney and being the town whore, I think I want to go see her tomorrow. I want to have a little chat. I'm going to try to bury the hatchet one more time.

I'm going to bed. The two of you are free to do as you please."

Alecta made her way out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

"Did a French artist actually paint a portrait of her? Have you seen it?"

"Yes. It's beautiful."

"What do you know about Alecta?"

"The same that you do." Seeing the look Hotch gave her. "What do you want to know?"

"What do you want to tell me?"

"When we were kids I was one of her worst tormentors. At the trial, on her last day of testimony, I stopped her on her way out of the courtroom and begged her to forgive me for all that I had done to her over the years…and she did. And we've been as damned close to being sisters as you can get; I married her half-brother. He was my Fletcher. I know that she would take a bullet for someone she cares about."

Chaz saw a question forming in Hotch's eyes, "What else do you want to know?"

"There was a small little headstone in the cemetery. It didn't have a name or dates on it; all that there was, was a little chubby angel sitting on a rock, with a lamb sitting beside it, and the angel's hand was rubbing the lambs head."

"That is the spot where her first baby was buried."

"She had one before Rachel?"

"Yes. The baby's father was Jake. During the trial, as she sat on the stand, testifying against her father, she was nearly 8 months pregnant. After, everybody thought she was picking up the pieces and trying to move on; she's a great actress. She had us all fooled, even Kevin; she would smile and laugh and tell jokes, like there was nothing bothering her. And then one day she tossed herself down the stairs. Kevin came home from school to find her lying at the bottom of the stair case. He got her to the hospital in record time. Long story short, the baby didn't make it. Lex never did find out whether it was a boy or a girl. She never knew any of the baby's vital statistics like length and weight. She couldn't tell you hair or eye color; mostly it was because she was unconscious the whole time. But even once she came to she didn't care. A nurse asked her about whether she wanted to find out about her baby, and she bitch slapped the poor woman. Nobody ever asked her about the baby again. She never named it. And she was going to leave the body in the morgue and let the city pay to bury the body in an unmarked pauper's grave. Mr. and Mrs. Eason wouldn't let that happen. So they had the baby buried. It still doesn't have a name or any identification.

That's the only time that I have ever known for Lex to be just cruel….not caring a thing for that baby. She never talks about it all. The one time I asked her about it she told me that it had never been a baby, but that it was a disease and now she had cured herself of it, and it was gone and that was that.

If you only knew how much she loves her other children, you would know why this seems so strange. She adores her babies, Oleg the most, since he's the only boy. Rachel will always be her baby, the first, and that's something that nobody will ever take away. But, that Oleg…she absolutely adores that boy. I think she is proudest of him. The pregnancy was so difficult with him, and he was such a good baby…and he's turning out to be a wonderful young man. I think the thing that saddens her most is she missed seeing those three grow up.

Well look, I'm going to make my way to bed myself. Are you going to stay up?"

"I may go as well. What time is it getting to be?"

"It's about 10:30 or pretty close to it."

"Where are the kids?"

"Oh the others have them. It'll be ok. Mrs. 'Ouisa, Mrs. Rachel, Rachel 2.0, the guys...they have it covered. And besides, if I know my daughter very well at all, she won't leave until Ollie has told every story that he can possibly remember….."

"Lex."

"That child is like her through and through."

As Chaz began to make her way to the kitchen door to step into the hallway and up the stairs, Hotch thought of one more question he wanted to ask her.

"Just one minute, please."

"Yes, Agent Hotchner?"

"I never knew she had a brother."

"It's her half-brother. Jake was his father. His mother was some prostitute in the next town….or at least that's what we have always been lead to believe, by Jake of course. For the longest time Lex didn't know about her brother…his name is Jax. The first time that she ever met him in her life was when I brought him to meet her back when we first got engaged.

The part that pissed me off about it all, beyond all the sexual abuse that she suffered because of Jake, was the difference in the way Lex and Jax were raised period.

Jake never kept enough food in the house, Lex was always hungry…Kevin caught her stealing out of our lunch boxes, well his, back in kindergarten….she was practically starving. If it wasn't for Mrs. 'Ouisa, she would probably have worn the same rags through all of school. Her shoes…the soles of them would flap when she walked….when it would rain or snow, her poor little feet and socks staid soak and wet.

Jax on the other hand….his mom had been a hooker, I'm pretty sure of it. And even if she wasn't, she was definitely what someone in your line of work would be called 'high risk'. She still lives in the next town. I've driven past her house thousands of times. Jax always had clean clothes, well fitting. His shoes were always in one piece. He never had to worry about if he was going to have to eat sleep for dinner. His mom kept seeing the men that came in and out her life; but Jake always made sure that that boy was taken care of.

Part of the reason that our marriage broke up was his hatred of his own sister. Jax hated her so bad, all because he felt like their father ignored him and gave Lex all of his attention. And since I'm friends with her, it always ate at me that he hated her so bad. And my defending her would lead to fights.

I don't think he ever understood; Lex would have let Jax have all of Jake's attention if he would have kept his hands off of her. Jake would keep one kid well fed, and well dressed…his son. He had pride in that son. But for Lex, there was never any food in the house, her clothes were rags, and he…he….he raped her more nights than not…from the time she was two."

Hotch saw the young woman start to yawn, covering it with her hand.

"Thanks for telling me all of this. I hope it doesn't get you in trouble with Alecta."

"It shouldn't, besides, I'm not afraid of her." Chaz stated with a grin.

"Why are you helping me?"

"You love her right?" Chaz saw Hotch nod in the affirmative. "Well, good. You better not do her dirty. If you do and I ever find out about it….let's just say, I know where to hide a body. You will never understand just how much shit she has been through in her life. Some of it was my fault, and I will freely admit to what I did wrong. But there's so much that she hasn't even talked about…so much that people like Kevin and I don't even know yet. And there's only so much that one person can take.

Just please, don't hurt her."

"I have no intentions of hurting her. I've done nothing but try to protect her since I met her."

"That's good, then, we're on the same page. Good night Agent Hotchner."

"Aaron. You can call me Aaron."

"Well, then…Goodnight Aaron."

Post AN: Alrighty, I've decided that's the cut-off for chpt. 7; it seemed like a fairly logical place to tie it off. I'd love to hear from more of you, letting me know what you think (any ideas you might want to see in upcoming chapters, etc)….For real, lemme know. And thank you to the few that have let me know their opinions (good or bad, although, so far I have only heard good things).