Chpt. 23

Can't believe the lack of quotes that I can find that suit me enough to be added to these chapters….I'm sure they are out there, but none of them have really struck me.

The paramedics had been able to do little else but keep Alecta stabilized until they got to the hospital, and they were barely able to do that; she flat-lined twice on the way there. The second time, they were struggling to get her back and Hotch grabbed her hand on impulse and told her she damned well better wake up and that was an order. "Besides, I've heard it said before that you can't be killed. So don't even think about it." Oddly enough, she stabilized, opened her eyes, and even spoke….it was barely above a whisper, and it was raspy….but she spoke.

"You aren't the boss of me." She gave him a weak smile and a wink before her eyes shut again; she didn't regain consciousness again on the way to the hospital.

At the hospital the doctors were able to stitch up the stab wound and stop the bleeding from that. Next they ordered an ultrasound to see to the state of the pregnancy and some x-rays to see if there were any internal injuries. According to the ultrasound, the babies were miraculously just perfect, even if the baby boy was kicking rather raucously in protest, and it looked like his sister was smacking at him with a balled up fist to make him be still. This actually made the doctor chuckle in spite of himself; that little girl would likely be very tiny, but she was already quite a bossy little one, and it was likely that the little boy was going to give everybody a run for their money. The doctor looked over at Alecta, still unconscious, 'It's a shame you can't see this, they're actually quite entertaining. But I'll record it so you can watch it with your friends when you wake up. And their heartbeats are quite strong, they are a little more stressed than we'd like to see them, but considering all of the circumstances today, it explains a lot. I will tell your people out there that we will keep you for at least 48 hours, merely for observational purposes, as long as the attending physician sees fit."

The x-rays didn't show any broken bones which was amazing. The worst of it was a shit ton of bruising all over her body from the beatings.

Mrs. King had been looked over, she was in quite good condition when compared to her daughter, there was only some bruising on her face and around her ribs and stomach where Mark had beaten her, but other than that, there were no serious injuries. She was allowed to go sit in the waiting room with the rest of the team, Rossi not leaving her side once she got settled. She looked up at JJ and Prentiss, who were just grinning at her, and rolled her eyes. Rossi himself had undergone having to have the bullet removed from his leg before getting stitched up; he was given crutches to help alleviate any unnecessary strain on the injured leg, but all in all he was safe to go home.

The team and Mrs. King were getting antsy, it had been 3 hours since they had gotten here, to the hospital, and they had heard nothing. After another hour a doctor came out to give them the lowdown; he had called out Alecta's name and was taken aback at how many people stood to represent.

Regaining his composure, 'Well, she will live. We have stitched up her stab wound and established that there was no internal bleeding of any kind, so that's a bonus. There were no broken bones. The babies are alright. I have to warn you though, she will have trouble speaking for several days, if she's able to speak at all."

Hotch's head snapped up, paying closer attention than ever, 'What are you talking about?"

"It seems that there was some damage to her larynx. I don't want to go so far as to say it was crushed, but it was damaged, and that will make it difficult for her to speak…it may even render her unable to so for several days, even up to a couple of weeks. I am recommending that, under the circumstances, she be kept here for up to 48 hours for observation."

"If she is alright, why should she stay?" JJ and Garcia had come forward and were ready to pounce on the doctor if his argument wasn't strong enough.

"Well, while she is doing better…she is still unconscious, unable to speak…and the babies, though doing well, were slightly distressed due to the situation that they were in. I just want to make sure that she wakes up as healthy as possible, and to make sure that there are no residual effects on the babies. She may not even be required to stay the entire 48 hours, but I was just using that time frame as a precaution. If she improves enough, she can go home sooner than that. Now, I'm going to check on her one more time, and have her placed in a room. A nurse will come and get you when you are allowed to visit her." With that, the doctor left them to mull over everything that they had learned.

"Mrs. King will see her first. The rest of you can go in pairs. I'm staying the night…"

"I'll have them move a cot into the room or something."

"Thanks Dave."

Twenty minutes later a young nurse, a lady in her late 20's or early 30's came to get the team and lead them to a different area of the floor, closer to where Alecta's room would be and then instructed them that they had to make a left down the first corridor they came to and then her room was the third one on the right down that hall. Of course the nurse couldn't help but give Hotch the once over; most women wouldn't be able to blame her, hell, some men couldn't blame her.

"Ma'am…' Reid spoke quietly as they walked down the hall to the new waiting room.

"Yes?"

"I saw you checking out Agent Hotchner."

"And?"

"While I may understand why you did it, I am inclined to give you a warning."

"What kind of warning would that be?"

"You can look all that you want, get an eyeful. But that is as close as you will ever get to him. He is impossibly in love with our friend. And, our friend…..How can I put this delicately?" Reid thought momentarily. "Oh yeah…When she wakes up, and she will, if she catches you with your eyes or any other part of your body anywhere near her man, she will remove them.

"Whatever you say."

"Come on kid; let her find out the hard way." Morgan said with a chuckle as he walked past.

The team all went in for a moment just to get the lay of the land so to speak, to commit it to memory just where the room was and how it was laid out. Mrs. King had set about ordering an extra blanket for her daughter and trying to rake some of Alecta's hair out of her face, meanwhile muttering about how the man that did this had better be glad he was dead.

Yes, Mark Goodnight was dead. He had run from the house. JJ, Morgan, and Prentiss had given chase. They thought they were closing in on him, but he seemed to be one step ahead of them. They came to a section that was near the edge of some woods and seemed to have lost him until he jumped out grabbing Emily. There was an argument over whether or not he would drop his gun. Emily grew tired of the whole ordeal; she was not a very patient person. So, she had head-butted him, punching him in the ribs, and stomped his foot..all of these things together causing him to release his hold on Emily. As soon as she was free of his grasp, she dropped to the ground and JJ and Morgan fired three shots into his body. JJ's shot had caught him between the eyes; Morgan's two shots…one caught Mark in the chest, just millimeters away from his heart and the other had hit him in the spleen. There had been no hope for the monster, no matter what happened, he was going to bleed out.

One by one every trickled out of Alecta's room, leaving her mother behind to visit for a little while, until Rossi came to get her and take her home.

He didn't miss the look on Rachel's face as they exited the room, 'We can come by some tomorrow and see her again. And she may even be awake by then."

"It's just that every time I turn my back, something bad happens to her. Damn! We've forgotten to call Rachel and the kids."

"Let me take care of that when we get home. You can take some of your pain meds and catch a nap."

The look he gave her brooked no argument, "Very well. I'd much rather you face Rachel's wrath than me anyway. She inherited her mother's temper you know?"

"You…"

JJ rolled her eyes at the two older people, "Well, I need to be getting home to my two men. Call me if you need anything Hotch."

"Yes, of course. Thank you."

Reid caught a ride home with JJ. Morgan and Garcia were the last two of the team to leave. They made sure that Hotch was settled at least for the next couple of hours, getting him something to drink and a snack from the cafeteria before they took off. Upon turning to shut the door to Alecta's room, Morgan watched Hotch settle down in his chair that was pulled next to the bed and rest his head on his arm that was folded while he grabbed her hand with his free one. Derek shook his head; he couldn't say he blamed the man. If Pen was in the hospital bed, Derek knew that he'd be in Hotch's exact position. That thought caused Derek to shiver; he didn't even want to think of Pen being back in a hospital bed anytime soon, especially not unconscious, unable to see her sparkly brown eyes teasing him…and that laugh. No, it would kill him. He couldn't imagine what was holding Hotch together. If only…

According to the clock on the wall it was about to turn 4 am. Alecta looked around and surmised that she was in the hospital. When she couldn't readily move her hand she looked carefully and saw why. There was a headful of dark hair resting very nearly on her hand it was so close, and the grip that was holding it was strong enough that she would have to struggle to be let go. Carefully she worked her hand free, trying not to wake Hotch. She took a second to stroke his hair and watch his face as he slept. Even though he wasn't her typical type, he was still quite handsome…she'd be foolish not to think so. He had to be every bit of 6'1, dark hair, sharp features, and his eyes….they were quite nice, too. Yeah, she was fairly certain that she could do a lot worse…Hell, she had done a lot worse.

Soon, the independent streak in Alecta hit, she had to go use the restroom, and she had to figure out how to get out of the bed without waking Hotch. She was sure as hell sore in places she couldn't pronounce, but she had to get up. Finally, she scooted off of the bed, trying to be extra careful. She was almost home free, with in like seven steps of the bathroom door when she heard his voice….

"Where the hell are you going?"

Alecta stopped in her tracks and sort of winced at being caught.

"Lex? Where were you going?" Hotch drew out her name…it was almost like when she was with the twins and Sofie did something that would potentially get her in trouble.

"The bathroom,' she shrugged. "I, um…."

Hotch made it over to her rather quickly, surprising her really by how fast he made the trip. She just looked up at him, her brows creased a bit as if she was trying to figure him out.

"You should have paged for a nurse or something." Hotch states simply as he scoops her up, trying to be mindful of her injuries.

Alecta just shrugged, 'Eh."

Hotch shook his head, she didn't even argue about being carried everywhere now; perhaps, between himself and Morgan, it had been over-done. Hotch refused to apologize for it regardless.

He set her down in the restroom and then shut the door to give her some privacy with the instruction to let him know when she was ready to go back to bed.

After finishing her potty break and washing her hands she knocked on the inside of the bathroom door to signal that he needed to let her out. "You do know that carrying me around everywhere is going to spoil me and I'm well on my way to being a small parade float."

"Then hush and let me enjoy this as long as I can."

Alecta had her right arm wrapped around Aaron's neck, watching his face, especially his eyes as he spoke.

"You….You enjoy doing all this?' seeing his sturdy gaze as he nodded two or three times, "Well, alright. But only because you leave me with little choice."

Hotch placed her back on the bed and got her comfortable, pulling the covers up to make sure she was warm enough.

"Why didn't you wake me up and let me know you had regained consciousness?"

"You were sleeping. After these last few weeks, especially yesterday, I figured you needed the rest. I didn't have the heart to wake you up."

"I've been worried you wouldn't…."

"I always snap out of it. I wonder if Garcia would be up to going shopping with me, I may need a few things if I do blimp out….I don't have any of my old maternity stuff anymore." She was beginning to ramble a bit.

"Well, you need the rest more than I do."

Alecta gave off a huge yawn, trying to stifle it a little bit, 'Perhaps you're right, just this once."

She rolled up on her good side a little bit to face Hotch as he talked to her some more. He explained that Rossi was going to call her daughter and let her know what was going on. As Hotch went on about a few other little details, he noticed how quiet Alecta seemed to have gotten. Looking down he realized that she had fallen back asleep, holding on to his hand almost as tight as he had been to hers before.

As he held her hand his thumb brushed over her fingers examining how small they were; Jack's hands were almost the exact same size, and he was nearly 9 years old. Seeing that the rest of their conversation would have to wait, Hotch swept some hair out of Alecta's face before he settled back into his previous position.

Fifteen minutes later Alecta came awake with a sharp pain, 'OW!"

Hotch immediately snapped to attention, 'What is it? What happened?"

Before Alecta could answer him he could see a sharp kick coming from inside her body.

"Oh my God, I think he's trying to kill me." Alecta nearly doubled over in pain. Seeing Hotch's confused look, 'Mighty Mouse woke up. Mommy's sorry, just please stop kicking the shit out of me already,' she was rubbing her invisible baby belly. "Please, please stop kicking me."

Hotch could tell it was hurting her because each kick seemed to move her a fraction of an inch across the bed. He hit the nurse on call button to have someone come and check Alecta out.

The nurse that had been checking him out earlier happened to be the one that came to see what the trouble was.

"How can I help you, sir?"

"My girlfriend is pregnant with twins, and one of them is kicking her to pieces, she's in a lot of pain."

The woman tried to hide her glare from Hotch and Alecta, but being a world class profiler, Hotch caught it.

"Yes, I'd say it's pretty normal, especially given the circumstances she was brought in here under."

By now, Alecta had curled up almost into a ball from the pain she was in from the baby kicking, rubbing her tummy. She kept saying she was sorry and begging the baby to stop kicking, tears were streaking down her cheeks.

"Well can you send a doctor in, I'd like a second opinion if you don't mind."

"Sure thing, but you're really over reacting, as I've seen women go through similar things before when they have high stress pregnancies."

"All the same…"

"Yes, I'll send a doctor in straightaway."

"Thank you."

The doctor could hear Hotch and Alecta talking quietly amongst themselves as he approached the door, 'Its ok, Aaron, the babies are just freaked out; a lot has happened in the last 24 hours. Besides, he's a typical little boy. I'll be fine."

The last sentence was kind of breathy as the baby must've kicked yet again, knocking the wind out of Alecta with how hard it was.

Knocking before entering, 'Agent Davis, what seems to be the problem?"

"Baby ninjas. But I can make him stop. I swear I can. You don't have to give me anything for it, just let me try."

"Very well, go for it. Let's see what you got."

"Hmmmm….alright, alright.' Rubbing her belly some more, 'Come on Squish, tell your brother we're going to play the quiet game. Whoever is quiet the longest will win."

There was one more really hard kick, like the others had been. Then right after that there was a smaller gentler kick, it seemed to actually tickle a little bit, because Alecta actually chuckled when it happened.

"See, I told ya. Now, you can wait here for a minute or two to see if it worked for sure or not."

So the doctor did wait, he waited five minutes to be exact, and there was not another kick period in the entire five minutes.

"Well, I'll be damned." Hotch and the doctor said in unison.

"Now, if you don't mind, I have to get back to sleep."

"Yes ma'am Agent Davis. Oh, Agent Hotchner, I have made arrangements to have somebody bring a cot in here, should you decide to get more comfortable."

"Thank you doctor, I think that may come in handy."

"Have me paged if there are any other issues that pop up; I have to finish making my rounds. You be careful young lady."

"Doctor, there is just one other thing."

"Yes Agent Hotchner?"

"That nurse that was in here earlier…."

"Yes sir?"

"I'd like a different nurse attending to Alecta from now on. I can't explain it, but I just didn't care for that other young woman at all, something about her attitude….it's hard to describe. But after everything that Alecta has been through in the last 24 hour or so, I don't want anything else to stress her out if I can stop it."

"Not a problem. I can have Nurse Crabtree take over as your primary nurse for the rest of you stay if needs be. She's a bit older, has a bit more experience, better bedside manner. These younger women just don't seem to understand sometimes. It makes it difficult for the good ones."

"Thank you doctor."

"Of course, it's no problem at all."

Within just a couple minutes of the doctor leaving, Alecta had dozed back off, Hotch had not been ready to give up his original position yet; he was still in the chair, resting his head on the bed next to Alecta, holding her hand as tightly as before.

Twenty or 25 minutes into their current nap, Alecta woke up from a horrible nightmare, at least that's how she chose to understand it. She began trying to shake Hotch to wake him up, but it wasn't working. She couldn't rouse him, 'Wake up. Please, please wake up!" Nothing was working. She looked up from her task and saw a strange man standing in her room. He was stocky, only slightly shorter than Hotch. He was wearing a suit, although it was quite distinct, it didn't look expensive. The jacket was navy blue. His shirt probably used to be white but was yellowed, most likely from age. The pants were either navy blue as well or possibly black. His tie was also a dark color. His shoes were leather loafers of some sort, and they too had seen better days. As far as his clothes were concerned, his entire look was rumpled, as if he had travelled a great distance. His hair was long, at least to his shoulders, and dark….he currently had it pulled back at the nape of his neck. He had a dark mustache, the ends of which nearly grazed his chin. His skin, though somewhat swarthy, still managed to hold a sallow pallor. His eyes, the most frightening aspect of his entire appearance were a shining bright green, hawkishly intelligent.

Alecta merely stared at the man for a moment; they were old adversaries.

"Ce doriti? Ce ai facut cu prietenul meu?"

"El este doar adormit greoi….pentru acum. Capentru ceea ce vreau….Bine, Am sa ma intore la tine pe ca. De acum, este destul ca să intelegeti că TE pot gasi oriunde şi oricând."

"Apoi Amnevoie pentru care trebuie sa-l inetelgi ca va voi duce in mormânt…din nou."

"Apoi vom vedea fiecare alte din nou in curând."

"Cu siguranta."

"Aştept cu nerăbadore să să vă mănâce cuvintele dumneavoastră."

"ŞI aştept cu nerăbdare să vă sufocare la moarte pe gol amenintari."

"Cum MI-a scapat. Ultimele câteva sute de ani au fost ... lipsit. Bine, până când ne întâlnim din nou. ASTEPT de la tine sa fie in forma de lupta data viitoare AM să te vadă."

With that last word the strange 'diplomat' vanished leaving a worried and shaking Alecta in his wake.

Post AN: Serry, I figured that would be a pretty cool place to end it this time. Another chapter is coming down the pipeline though. Who was the mystery diplomat? Stay tuned….

Now, the different language that you see is Romanian, I've done my best to translate it from English into Romanian…If anybody out there that does read my stories knows the language better than I do, let me know how I did. Meanwhile, provide the English version here, so you can keep track of what they were saying…..

"What do you want? What have you done to my friend?"

"He is merely sleeping heavily…for now. As for what I want…Well, I'll get back to you on that. For now, it is enough that you understand that I can find you anywhere, anytime."

"Then I need you to understand that I will put you in your grave….again."

"Then we will be seeing each other again soon."

"Certainly."

"I look forward to making you eat your words."

"And I look forward to you choking on your empty threats."

"How I've missed you. The last few hundred years have been….lacking. Well, until we meet again. I expect you to be in fighting form the next time I see you."

So there's the translation….hopefully that will help. I just figured it would be a little more mysterious to use the Romanian, and if you think about the use of Romanian, it should give you a clue as to who she was talking to. If not, all will be revealed. Eventually.