Chpt. 24

"Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen.
Keep in the sunlight." ( Benjamin Franklin)

"Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life, and when it comes, hold your head high, look it squarely in the eye and say, 'I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat me." ( Ann Landers)

"Trouble is a sieve through which we sift our acquaintances. Those too big to pass through are our friends." ( Arlene Francis)

Alecta had been kept overnight again. The doctor said that even though she seemed to have recovered nicely, albeit with her voice strained from the injury to her larynx, he still wanted to keep her under observation because of the stress to her pregnancy. Although Alecta hated the idea, she conceded, considering she was totally against bed rest for the remainder of her term as a time-share. When the doctor had brought up the idea of bed rest or restricting her to 'house arrest' as she termed it, she wanted nothing more than to throttle the man; it was only by Hotch getting the man quickly and safely out of harm's way that the poor doctor survived her wrath.

Rossi had made the call to Rachel, Alecta's daughter, to let her know what had gone down and that her mother was in the hospital and was recovering…he let her know that she could bring the kids, but to keep the stress levels low. Rachel was angry and ready to shred somebody for not letting her know for so long, but after she realized how fast things happened and that they had gotten her mother back in one piece, she let the anger go. It was what had to be done, she couldn't bring more stress around her mother, not in her very pregnant condition.

During the afternoon, Rachel managed to bring the kids out to see their mother. Sofie and Emma, as always, were popping off questions rapid fire about everything that had happened. Sasha, Eva, and Oleg would quietly question her about things that had them worried. Rachel watched her mother for any hint that something might be wrong in her demeanor that the others couldn't see; she thought she could sense some underlying worry…Alecta's eyes seemed to be a bit feral, but Rachel thought she could let it go until Alecta had been sent home and could relax…then she would ask her mother what was wrong.

Hotch, too, had noticed that something was off with Alecta. He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. He only knew that before they had taken that one nap, she seemed fine, actually quite spunky under the circumstances. And then when they woke up she was withdrawn considerably, maybe even a bit pensive; when he woke up he saw her laying in the bed, turned away from him, fully awake, but on her own planet. Hotch knew something was off with her but he had yet to get her to talk to him about it. All he could do was keep his eye on her and hope for the best.

On the car ride home, Alecta was quiet. Sometimes when Hotch would look over at her he would catch her staring at him, as if she was trying to burn everything about him into her brain….his looks, what colors he was wearing, his mannerisms, everything. She wasn't shy about it; she never bothered to look away. He could see a deep sadness in her eyes; it seemed as though there were tears just behind them that hadn't managed to fall. She seemed to shake, sometimes almost to the point of vibrating. Something had her scared and she wouldn't or couldn't say what it was. He wanted to know so bad it was killing him, but he had to be patient; pushing her might make things worse…besides, her voice would come and go because of the damage to her larynx, he didn't want to make matters worse.

Arriving back at his apartment, Hotch hopped out of the car and went to her side, opening her door for her and helping her out. She followed him into the apartment, looking around….she felt like it had been ages since she'd seen this place. Somehow, seeing his apartment again made her even sadder than she had been before. Normally, she loved the fact that his apartment was so orderly and well appointed; but for some strange reason today, it seemed to upset her.

"If you want, you can go get a shower and get a little more relaxed. It might make you feel better."

Alecta only nodded and mumbled a teary 'Thank you' before walking quietly down the hall to Hotch's room. Her shower lasted about 15 minutes as she washed her hair and her body carefully; she had to get the hospital crud off, as well as whatever funk was left behind from the slime ball that had taken her in the first place. She dried off, applied some lotion, combed through her hair, got some pajamas on….she felt almost human now….that thought caused her to chuckle somewhat bitterly. If only people knew what she really was.

By the time Alecta came back down the hall from her time in the shower, Jack had been dropped off by his Aunt Jessica; Jessica was still there talking to Hotch, asking how Alecta was feeling. Jack turned and saw Alecta coming down the hall and took off at a sprint towards her. Alecta knelt down to his level and caught the boy in a hug.

"Where'd ya go? I missed you."

Alecta wasn't sure how to answer that without totally screwing the kid up, 'A bad guy came after a friend of mine. I had to make him stop. Your daddy helped me stop him."

"Really?"

"Yes, Sir Jack, really."

After Jessica had talked to Hotch for a few minutes and found out that Alecta would be ok, she took her leave. Hotch grabbed his phone and was going to order some delivery, 'What are you in the mood for tonight?"

"Something Middle Eastern, go light on the spicy."

Hotch didn't mind so much, it seemed like Middle Eastern food, be it Arabic or Hindu in origin, seemed to calm her nerves a bit….and right now, her nerves were teetering on the razors edge it seemed. She probably wished that Kong or Lakshmi was around to cook it for her, to give her an authentic dish, but the local Indian place would have to do.

After dinner the three of them watched a bit of TV before Jacks bedtime. Hotch had been sitting on one end of the couch, Alecta was curled up against his side, her head resting on his chest with one of his arms around her…Jack was leaning against Alecta in much the same way, one of his little arms draped around her waist. By 9pm Jack was sleeping away, leaning against Alecta; Hotch helped her sit up so he could move around and pick up his son and take him to bed. After he tucked Jack in, Hotch came back and saw her still sitting on the couch.

"You ready for bed, after the kind of day you've had, you're probably tired."

"I am really tired, you're right about that. But I don't think I could sleep just now. If you want, you can go to bed, I'm going into my room to….read….for a bit. I'll come to bed once I've wound down a little more."

"Ok, whatever you like, just don't over-do it please."

"Thanks."

Hotch went on back into his room and got ready for bed. As soon as his bedroom door was shut, Alecta grabbed her own cell phone and fired off a quick text to Immogene. She told her to come to Hotch's place and bring the girls, and to text her when they were outside the door, so they wouldn't have to ring the bell, since everyone was in bed.

Twenty minutes later, Immogene and the girls arrived, as planned sending a text to Alecta. Alecta opened the door to see them standing there with their bags in hand as well as some snacks. A text at 10pm meant there was work to be done, and snacks would be needed to make things go ever so much easier.

Alecta and the other six women went straight on back down the hall to Alecta's little cave. There was a day bed on one side of the room, almost directly opposite of the large cabinet that everyone seemed to love; two of the girls plopped down on that amongst some of the decorative pillows that represented half of the countries on the globe. Four of the others were sprawled around the room in various little chairs that dotted the room.

Alecta sat behind the desk in her chair…Margaret Tudor's chair….

"Ma'ma, what are we here for?" Lakshmi cut straight to the chase as always.

"First order of business….This man,' she handed a stack of papers that turned out to be sketches of the unknown man that she had been seeing the past couple of weeks…the one that she had seen that night as she went into the restaurant with Hotch and the team…'Pass those around, study them. Study these as well. This is the make and model of his car….I took the liberty of having these printed from the internet…I'm no good at sketching these sort of things. This is all I know about the license plate."

"How did we get this assignment?" Immogene was studying the sketch of the man's face carefully; getting up she walked over to a small bin on the desk top and picked up a manila folder, some paper clips, and a few sheets of printer paper. The others followed suit. They would begin making notes on how many people in the city of Quantico had this make and model of car, then narrow it down by the few digits of the license plate that were provided…it was only a partial. At least one of the girls would check the names of the car owners to DMV photos to see if they could get a match. Once a match was found they would need to know about financials, mainly to see what kind of activity the guy had been getting into over the past few days or weeks.

"This one fell right into my lap."

"Please explain,' Isis was so level headed, at least for the moment.

"Some time ago I noticed this car seemed to be following us around; by us I mean Hotch, Jack, and myself. Jack mentioned in passing the other day that he saw a guy in a car much like this one near JJ's house. He was telling his dad that he thought maybe the guy was lost and needed help, but that he was playing football with Henry and didn't pay too much attention beyond that. I heard him describing the car that first time. And then I say the car that night outside of the restaurant with the man inside of it; he was trying to act nonchalant, but I saw the way he glared at me when I put my arm around Jack. When I first noticed the man sitting there in the car, what Jack had told his dad came back to me, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I put my arm around Jack as anyone would to usher a kid along….the man glared at me like wanted me dead."

"Are you sure you were reading it right?"

"Cossette, each of us have seen our fair share of pedophiles; we know how they act when they are hunting. I know for a fact he is hunting Jack and I have to assume that he's got Henry in his sights as well."

"What do you want us to do?" Lakshmi asked as she flipped through some of the papers.

"For now, just figure out who…" There was a small knock on the door.

Oona got up and answered the door, "Hello young Jack."

"Jack, what are you doing out of bed?"

"I heard talking; I came to see what was going on." He trudged into the roomful of women with his little bear under his arm. "What's going on Lex?"

"Jack, I have a question for you?"

"Ok, whatcha need?"

"Come. Sit." Alecta sat behind her desk, Jack hopped up on her lap. Holding up a copy of the sketch of the man, "Do you recognize this man or the car in this picture?"

Jack looked at the pictures carefully, thinking really hard. "Lexa, I remember seeing the car on the street near Aunt JJ's house. Don't know if this man in the picture was in it, but the car was there. But I do know that the man is a teacher at our school. His name is Mr. Dunbar. I don't like him very much. I can't really say why, but he's weird."

"Can you tell me anything about him at all?"

"Well, he is a good teacher, I think; he knows what he's talking about most the time. But…."

"What is it Jack? Tell us only what you know to be true."

"There were two kids, maybe three, from my class…they were good kids. But Mr. Dunbar would start asking one of them to stay after school for detention. I didn't understand why. But they did it so they wouldn't get in trouble. They'd be made to stay maybe once a week or something. Then, after some time, their mommy and daddy would make them go to a different school…."

"Is there anything else Jack, anything else that you can possibly think of?" Lakshmi's nearly black, almond shaped eyes studied him closely.

"No ma'am. I don't know anything else for sure."

"Alright Jack, before you have to go back to bed….I need you to do your best to look out for your cousin Henry while you're at school. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes ma'am, of course."

"Good. And, if Mr. Dunbar tries to make you or Henry stay for detention after school, you tell him NO, and come on home or to your Aunt Jessica's. If he has a problem with the fact that you won't be staying for detention, you give him this number. It will connect him to me. I will get you out of trouble with him.' Alecta handed him a card with a cell phone number for her on it. "Tell him I am your nanny and that your father is out of town on business and I am under strict orders for your care; when and if he calls me, I will back you up and clear up this misunderstanding."

Walking over to the cabinet of wonders, Alecta pulled out an old and beautiful alabaster box; the girls had seen it on numerous occasions, but still knew little about it. It was a gift to Alecta from a dear friend, in the 12th century. The carving on the lid depicted St. George slaying a fearsome dragon; it had an Eastern European sort of design. Opening the lid you could see a vibrantly purple colored lining; it was really a stunning shade of purple. Reaching into the box, Alecta grabbed a pendant on a black leather cord.

Stooping down in front of Jack, to be nearly eye level with him, Alecta placed the pendant around his neck, 'Since I ask so much of you Sir Jack, the least I can do is offer you this."

Once the clasp had been fastened, Jack turned the pendant over in his hand to look at it; upon seeing the back he repeated the words 'Brotherhood of St. George'.

Seeing Jack's curios expression, 'Yes Jack, the brotherhood of St. George. If at any time you are on some adventure, such as the one we are about to go on, and you need the police to help you, show them this and give them that card that has Kong and Mac's numbers on it, tell them to call those numbers. Help will be there in a matter of minutes. And, depending on the adventure, the pendant is made of pure silver, so it's good luck…."

"Like a rabbit's foot?" Jack beamed at Alecta.

"Exactly like that sweetheart. This makes you an honorary member of the brotherhood, because you promised to do the best you can to look out for yourself and Henry when I or your father can't be there. Now, off to bed with you then."

She walked with him down the hall and got him all tucked back into his bed. Before she left his room, she gave him an emergency burn phone to go along with the two business cards she had told him to keep.

"Keep this phone in your pocket, not just in your school bag….if you get separated from that bag, you need to have a way to get help. It has my number, daddy's number, Auntie Pen's Uncle Derek's, the whole team is programmed into this, even Kong and Mac….just in case you lose their numbers, you don't have to worry. I know this is a lot, but do you think you can do it?"

"Yeah. I used to help daddy look for the bad guys all the time. So….I get to help on this adventure?"

"You do. But be careful, if you find yourself in too much trouble call one of us, don't take any unnecessary risks. And, I know I shouldn't say this, but don't tell your daddy."

"Like a secret?"

"Yes, very much so. If he asks you about any of this, do not lie, I don't want you to lie to him. Lying is never a good thing, at least not when you're talking to your father. But, if he doesn't bring it up, don't offer any information. I have to look into some things, I have to…."

"Investigate?"

"I forget how bright you are don't I baby? Yes, I have to investigate. I don't want to worry your father if there is no reason to. Now, do you need a story tonight?"

"No. I think I will be alright. I think I can make up one tonight with my 'magination."

"Ok, to sleep with you then, or daddy really will have my as…butt in a sling."

Leaning over to click off his bedside lamp and place his bear back in his bed with him, Alecta kissed Jack on the forehead. As she made her way out of the room and closed the door behind her, she looked upward, 'My dearest Michael, guard this boy." With that she made her way back to her cave and the girls.

"Immogene…."

"I have already placed the call. There will be an incognito detail placed on the boys around the clock starting after breakfast tomorrow morning. There will be alternating shifts so nobody on either side of this gets suspicious."

"Very well."

"Next order of business?" Isis was tucking away her copy of the file on Mr. Dunbar.

"We have to head to Ballynure, Ireland. We have yet to bury Moira and Cinnamon. I have a priest that is on schedule to do the ceremony; it's just going to be a small one, at the burial site. I didn't think it would be a good idea to have a larger ceremony and announce our presence in town. Then I, at least, need to get into Romania. One of the grandmothers has died. She has already been buried, but I still need to pay my respects to her…."

"Lex, Romania? Are you sure? The last time you were there…"

"Yes, I know. But, I have no other choice. That woman saved my life, she fed me and gave me a place to stay….she crossed HIM by hiding me, and she did it successfully for three days. She deserves to have me come and pay my respects; it's all I can give her now."

"Did you not hear how she died?"

"I heard! If I can't risk it for her then, who am I going to risk it for? I'd do it for anyone of you, so why should I not do it for her? Now, that is it, Oona, I won't speak on this further."

"Fine."

"You do know we are coming with you." Lakshmi looked at Alecta challengingly.

"I didn't figure you'd miss the opportunity to stare down an arch Nemesis of the Crescent Guard. I had rather counted on the fact that you were all going. And after Romania, I will want to spend some time in Istanbul of course. I haven't been there in a few years. I need to check on our interests in the area, and do some shopping."

"Question."

"Yes, Cossette?"

"You do remember the part where you are pregnant and due in a matter of weeks right? Will all this travel not be difficult in your state of…."

"I have to do these things. I don't want to bury my friends, but they are dead, and they deserve to be buried according to their wishes. And I really don't want to invite danger, but I am going to Romania, feud be damned. If I can survive Romania, I will make it to Istanbul; I will receive lodging and protection there. Let HIM come for me there if he dares."

"Very well then. Is there anything else that we need to discuss tonight ma?"

"No Immogene, there isn't. We will need to be in touch over the next few days to see where our investigation leads us, but other than that we should be alright. School will have just started within the next week or so, I think that's what I overheard Jessica and Aaron saying earlier; we will need something to be in place by then."

Soon after that the group broke up; Alecta's six friends left and made their way back to their own homes. Alecta went back to her desk, putting away the file on Mr. Dunbar; she got back up and walked over to her cabinet again, this time she pulled out a larger box….it wasn't as deep as the last one, but it was longer and wider. This box was made out of wood; it had Arabic lettering on the lid of it, some of them worn from centuries of life. The words were a kind of prayer against evil.

She opened the box, taking out scrolls of paper, some were written in Cyrillic and some were in Arabic, most were over 500 years old. There were some pamphlets….odds and ends of scraps of papers about the movements of her old enemy. Among the papers were a few things that were in her own handwriting…she had written some in Latin, Cyrillic, Arabic….there were even a few pages there in an old Greek dialect that was fashionable for a couple hundred years in the east. There were sketches of tombs and churches that had been possible hiding places for HIM and some that she had used. Most were no longer in existence; so many of these places had been destroyed during wars or torn down by man to make way for something new. It was the story of her existence….live long enough to watch empires crumble; watch fact become history, history become legend, legend become myth…Myth becomes forgotten and covered by sand and dirt and time….

Hotch woke with a start; he sat up and looked at the clock, 9:30 am? The bed beside him was empty. Alecta never came to bed. Thinking of recent events Hotch hopped out of bed immediately, nearly running down the hall.

Opening the door to her cave, Hotch saw Alecta curled up on the day bed, papers scattered all around her, a wooden box on the floor. He walked over to begin collecting the papers and putting them away; they looked old and important and he was sure that Alecta wouldn't want them damaged. As he got closer to the bed, he reached for the first stack of papers, but before he could get a grip on them, Alecta sat up, pulling a blade on him. He backed up immediately, seeing how the tip of the blade had come within millimeters of his throat. Alecta put her hand to her head, sweeping some of her hair out of her face…

"Oh, it's just you. Sorry, force of habit. Let me put these things away."

Hotch saw her hands shake as she began piling the papers together to put them back into the box.

Placing his hand on top of hers, 'What's wrong?"

"There's nothing wrong, nothing at all." Hotch knew better than to believe her, she wouldn't look at him and he could hear her draw in a shaky breath.

Alecta couldn't tell him that this 'stranger' would come after him and Jack or some of the others before he came to try to finish her off. Yes, she was going to Romania to pay respects to the old gypsy woman. But she was also going to draw the attention of the 'stranger' off of Hotch and Jack. If they aren't in his crosshairs, perhaps they would make it out of this in on piece. She knew she should have killed this person ages ago. She let her sentimental feelings get in the way at that time. She had watched him grow up in the shadow of the wars with the Turks. She had watched him become a young man that tried to empower his people. But she had also watched him rapidly turn into one of the most evil beings that she ever met.

"There is something wrong. What are you not telling me?"

"Trust me; you are so much safer not knowing. This is something that I should have taken care of a long time ago."

Alecta put the papers in the box, closed the lid, locking it. She walked over to the cabinet and slid the box back into its spot.

"Alecta…"

"Aaron, don't. Leave it be for now. Such matters don't deserve to hear or see the light of day. Please."

She walked out into the great room, seeing Jack wide awake watching some kids show on TV. She walked into the kitchen and began making some breakfast; no eggs.

During breakfast, JJ had called and asked if it would be ok to take Jack swimming with them for a little while. Of course Hotch said it was just fine, the little boy loved few things more than swimming. After finishing his breakfast, Jack ran and got himself dressed and ready to wait for Aunt JJ to come and get him.

Once he was gone, Hotch tried again to get Alecta to talk to him for whatever reason, 'If you want to go shopping for some of the maternity stuff that you wanted we can go today."

Alecta knew that he wouldn't give up trying to get the truth out of her; he must have been a damned good prosecutor. Alecta didn't want to tell him 'no', but she wasn't sure she wanted him going with her. He was trying so hard to show her that he meant what he said when he told her he loved her. But with so much going on lately, the death of her friends, and with the added pressure of….she needed time away from Hotch to think. But at the same time she needed to keep him close, to protect him. But, by being close to her it put him in danger as well. She didn't know what to do.

"Well….ok. I could probably stand to go out and get some fresh air anyway. It'll only take me like 10 minutes to change and brush out my mop and be ready. Last one ready buys lunch." She said as she held an arm out to keep him from beating her down the hall. They raced down the hall, getting to the bedroom door at the same time, shoving at each other a bit out of the way, trying to squeeze through the frame at the same time.

Alecta beat him by a hair, she bounced into the room laughing, diving onto the bed and rolling over so she could hop up where the closet was, not giving up the game.

"Hmmmm…."

"Trying to decide what to wear?"

"No, trying to decide where you're going to be taking me for lunch."

Since she had her back to Hotch she didn't see him rush up and grab her by the sides tickling the shit out of her. She let out a sharp squeal as she doubled over laughing, her feet coming up off of the floor as his grip tightened on her waist. He swung her around and she landed on the bed, bouncing slightly before landing in the middle.

"You cheated."

"It's not very gentlemanly to call a woman out on her short comings. Face it, you lost. You're a physically fit man, shoulda been able to keep up." She shrugged as she tried to get up, stopping when he started tickling her again. She twisted around laughing hard, 'Uncle! Please, Uncle. Lemme up."

Hotch stepped back and she darted off the bed, 'Damn, gotta go." She made fast tracks to the bathroom before she literally peed on everything in sight.

After coming back from the bathroom, having brushed her teeth and hair while she was in there, she couldn't help but notice that Hotch had quickly dressed himself in her absence. He was in a pair of jeans with one of the baseball style ¾ sleeve t-shirts, it was a smoky shade of blue and white; the ends of the sleeves resting about the middle of his forearms….guys like Hotch were the reason they invented these shirts, that was one conclusion that she came to rather quickly.

"I see, Agent Hotchner, you have beaten me at my own game. I see you the tickle fight, and raise you a very hard issue…for you…for the rest of the day."

She had suddenly decided what she was going to wear. She pulled the rosy pink drape necked top that he had nearly fallen over in the store and a pair of 'ass' jeans. These would help her make sure he was tripping over his own feet most of the day. They hugged her ass like a second skin, and were flared below the knee in a boot-cut style. She slipped on a pair of thong sandals that had a wide silver strap that went across the top of her feet, they were some of her favorites…her SKETCHER'S flip flops…and they were quite comfortable.

"Since I am apparently buying today after all, I hope you're in the mood for Greek."

Alecta reached out and grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him out of the bedroom; quickly enough he began walking quickly to keep up with her.

Post AN: I'm going to let that be the end of Chpt 24. It seemed like a decent stopping point. Next chapter perhaps what happens while they are out shopping….will the 'stranger' make an appearance? Eh, we'll see.