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.

25. Chapter 25

Chpt 25

"There are darknesses in life and there are lights, and you are one of the lights, the light of all lights." (Bram Stoker, Dracula)

"I am all in a sea of wonders. I doubt; I fear; I think strange things, which I dare not confess to my own soul. God keep me, if only for the sake of those dear to me!" (Bram Stoker, Dracula)

"And yet, unless my senses deceive me, the old centuries had, and have, powers of their own which mere 'modernity' cannot kill." (Bram Stoker, Dracula)

Aaron and Alecta hit a couple of maternity boutiques that happened to be in the city. Alecta picked up a few tunics that peaked her interest; there was one, eggplant in color, that had sweeping long sleeves….and it had gathers under the bust, and would drape over any baby belly that she did wind up with….the draping effect was actually quite attractive on her. There was a white one that had some almost crocheted design around the V-neck and some on the sleeves, the sleeves were fitted, but the body of the tunic was very loose fitting. There was a coppery colored Greco/Roman styled tunic with the flowing sleeves that had a drawstring under the bust that you could tie up to give it a more form fitting appearance, but like the others, from the bust down it flowed freely. Alecta had decided against buying any pants at this point since she wasn't sure just how large she would get….she only knew that she had two months left, approximately, on her pregnancy…if her belly was going to get very big at all, it had a lot of time to make up for.

Before they went to lunch they stopped by a baby store and Hotch bought her a ton of stuff; clothes, toys…..if she even hinted that something had caught her eye, he put it in the basket. Hotch wanted her to know that he didn't care if these weren't his biological children, he was going to take care of them like they were…and her….and that too much was never enough.

After dropping the bags that they had already acquired into the back of Hotch's SUV they walked on to the Greek restaurant that Alecta had decided on. She ordered the Veggie platter, no fries, no Greek salad, but with extra falafel and dolmathakia, and an extra bit of spanakopita and extra hummus and tzatziki . Hotch had the beef souvlaki and used some of her extra sauce to go with it.

They chatted as they ate, deciding where to go next. It had been such a sunny day, with only a slight breeze in the air to keep it comfortable, that they had opted to sit outside at one of the bistro tables and enjoy the day.

Suddenly, Alecta looked around, there was crackle in the air, like static…it made all the hair on the back of her neck and her arms stand up. She looked around scanning for any signs of trouble, and at the same time tried to act normal; she didn't need to alert Hotch and have him freaking out. Upon doing her initial sweep of the immediate area, she saw nothing. But just before she returned to her meal and conversation, her eyes fell on him, that strange, foreign 'diplomat'. He should have been easily seen from outer space. Among all the people that were dressed in shorts, T-shirts, and flip-flops, this man was still wearing that same rumpled dark suit he'd had on when he came to her hospital room.

Where he was sitting was maybe seven tables away from them and on the side of the dining space closest to the building; Alecta had gravitated towards a table that was nearer the street, it was just a strange feeling she had had all day. From the angle that the 'diplomat' sat in, Alecta could tell he was looking at the paper, but he was not reading it; after having watched him for several long moments, Alecta realized he hadn't turned a single page. She wanted to look away, she really did, Alecta wanted to focus on Hotch and whatever he was saying about Jack and soccer….or was it Jack's school that he was talking about? But she couldn't look away. Her attention was stuck on the thoughts about 'how is he able to move about in daylight?' Of course she knew better than anyone alive that HE didn't always follow the legends people spread about him…but the idea that he could travel about by day and not only at night….this really and truly terrified her. All the centuries before, you could at least rely on daylight to give you some protection, but apparently now, that was a distant dream.

As she sat there staring, becoming more worried by the second, the 'diplomat' turned down a corner of the paper he was reading and looked up at Alecta and winked.

Food half-finished and all, Alecta threw down a wad of cash for a tip and grabbed Hotch by the arm, dragging him out of his seat and up the sidewalk in the direction of their car.

"What the hell…?!"

"I'm sorry, I just….some stomach upset…..I want to go back to the apartment. Please?"

Hotch wanted to be angry about having to give up such a beautiful day and the good food but he could see her worry. Her eyes couldn't seem to focus and kept darting everywhere. Her body shook. Her skin had gone deathly pale. She looked sick, he couldn't argue that, so he agreed. As they kept walking, he noticed she kept looking back as if expecting to see someone following them.

Alecta held tightly to Hotch's hand as they walked briskly towards the SUV. She couldn't help but to keep looking back and checking to see if they were being followed. At one time, before they had gotten far, Alecta had turned around and looked back there. The 'diplomat' was standing to the right of his former table gathering his unread newspaper under his arm and walking out to the sidewalk. He looked in their direction, removed his hat and bowed slightly to Alecta as if bidding her good day, and winked. Alecta quickly turned back around facing forward, walking with Hotch, squeezing her eyes shut for just a moment, trying to rid herself of the image of the diplomat.

Once they were back in the SUV, Alecta began to buckle her safety belt and stared straight ahead, shutting her eyes again, trying to take a deep breath. Hotch buckled his seat belt and started the vehicle and turned onto the street in the direction of his apartment.

Things were going fine the closer they got heading back to Hotch's apartment. That is until there was a bit of grid lock on the bridge.

"There shouldn't be this much traffic. It's the last week of summer vacations for most schools in the area, and most of the families with kids are on the last bit of their beach trips…." Hotch began to wonder out loud.

Alecta had tuned him out. She was looking out of the passenger window right next to her. Hotch's SUV was in the middle lane of three lanes going in the same direction. Alecta was looking past the car next to them towards the outside shoulder of the bridge. There standing just beyond the hood of the car, she could see her strange diplomat. Now he was wearing a different suit. The jacket to this one was a dark green; it appeared sort of velvety in the daylight. The pants were a dark brown. He was wearing another dingy shirt with it. There was a dark colored top hat of sorts atop his head that looked as though it matched his trousers. Hotch and Alecta were at least three miles from the restaurant they had been eating at. The stranger was looking back at Alecta, a smile on his face as he tipped his hat to her slightly and bowed again.

Alecta grabbed Hotch's free hand again, still looking at the stranger as he turned to walk away again. 'Why is he doing this to me again?' Alecta wondered to herself….

So she thought. "Who's doing what to you?"

"What?"

"You asked, 'Why is he doing this to me again?' Who is HE and what is HE doing?"

She snatched her hand away, 'It's noth…"

"Your hand was cold and clammy. You've been distracted since we were at lunch. You've been jumpy since that day at the hospital. What's going on? And don't try to tell me it's nothing."

"You don't want to know. Please, drop it."

Alecta curled her legs up in the seat, pulling her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. Hotch decided to drop it, for now. He would try to ask her more later when she was calmer…if she was calmer.

She was quiet the rest of the way back to the apartment, resting her head against the headrest of her seat. Hotch could tell she was thinking waay to hard about God only knows whatever it was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~CM~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once back at the apartment, Alecta ran to take a shower and wash away the film of ick that seemed to have attached itself to her after her sightings of her strange diplomat. She couldn't scrub hard enough. The whole time she was in the shower, her mind kept running over the last time she saw him. She had thought so hard about it that she started having flashbacks to that day in 1476. She had saved the life of the Sultan, his Gloriousness Mehmed II in June of 1462, if only just. She hadn't been able to save all of his men, but the Sultan lived to fight another day. And Alecta was one of the ones responsible for Dracula's assassination. She had tracked him for days, studying his movements. And, when the time was right to strike, she sent word.

Remembering all the times that their paths had crossed before and since, Alecta scrubbed even harder. At one point she managed to break the skin. Seeing this, she stopped her shower and toweled off. Instead of her usual pajamas she put on one of Hotch's dress shirts and buttoned it up, leaving the top two buttons undone. She towel dried her hair and combed through it and left it to dry naturally.

As she made her way down the hall to see what Hotch was up to, she saw him lying on the couch, his back resting against one of the arms of the sofa, watching some movie on TV. She walked over and lay down on top of him, and he wrapped his arms around her, noticing that she was shaking. He could tell she was trying to stop shaking and failing miserably at it. She rested her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around his torso just as he had wrapped his arms around her.

She could tell he wanted to ask her to talk to him again, 'There's a lot that I haven't told you about myself yet; mostly because it's safer that you don't know most of it, and then also because…you wouldn't believe half of it anyway. I just save myself the trouble of being committed again."

Hotch tightened his hold on Alecta considerably causing her to wince a bit.

"I'm sorry. I just don't like the idea of you being afraid to tell me something."

"I know, but this time….There's too much at stake, or I would tell you." Not bloody likely. Alecta thought quietly to herself.

They laid there together on the sofa for about another hour before Hotch decided he needed to run to the grocery store and stop to pick up a pizza on his way home.

Alecta played it cool, watching from the sofa as he left, telling him to be careful. Once he had shut the door, she ran over and watched out of the window to see when his car had driven out of sight. As soon as she was sure he was gone, she jumped on her cell phone.

"Dr. Spencer Reid."

"Reid, how quickly can you get to Hotch's?"

"I can be there in about 10 minutes. Is there something wrong? Are you in trouble?"

"You have no idea…."

"What?"

"Nothing. Just get here as quick as you can, I need you here ASAP. If there is time I can try to explain later." With that she hung up and made a second call to Mac, telling him to get to Hotch's apartment and to bring Kong.

Reid showed up first, Alecta let him in, and then began to pace even more than she had before Hotch left. Next, Mac came in bringing the human mountain that was Kong with him.

"What's wrong Poppet?"

Alecta took off down the hall, heading for her office, coming back with three spray bottles of holy water and three rags; she handed one each to the men.

"First, Reid, memorize the layout of the furniture over here. Second, I need the three of you to go around and spray down and spread around this holy water on the exits and the window sills. Thirdly, I need Mac and Kong to move the furniture and this rug. Shit, I'll be right back."

She ran back towards her office one more time, returning this time with a silver box and a few bulbs of garlic. Quickly she made her way over to the kitchen and rummaged through Hotch's drawers until she found a meat tenderizing mallet and a hand chopper. She took a couple of the bulbs of garlic and whacked the crap out of them with the mallet and placed them in the chopper; setting the chopper to pulse, she had turned the garlic into a bit of a paste with the aid of a couple drops of olive oil. Next, she used a table spoon to place dollops of the garlic paste into small dishes, three of them.

"When you're done with that, smear a little of this across the threshold of the exits, perhaps along window sills…."

Reid noticed when Alecta opened the silver box that it contained large sticks of chalk. Alecta grabbed one or two of them and began going around the apartment, taking pictures off the walls….not all of them, she alternated them. When she took a picture down, she would draw a cross, eye of Horus, or some other religious symbol on the wall where the picture had been, then hang the picture back in its place. There were crosses, eyes of Horus, Ankhs of Isis, and Crescents (representing his gloriousness Sultan Mehmed II) ….stars of David, even words to Quran prayers were scribbled on the wall.

"Rug is rolled up, mum' Kong announced.

Alecta turned around and grabbed a fresh stick of chalk and sat in the middle of the floor beginning to draw out a cross on the floor, going over the outlines of it time and again to make it more defined. Inside the cross she began to make little characters that Reid recognized as Western Aramaic, if just barely.

She was writing and drawing furiously, sweeping her hair back from where it had fallen over her left shoulder and began draping the floor.

"Where did you learn Western Aramaic?"

Without even looking up, "Who do you think invented it?"

She kept drawing, adding a few more good luck symbols around the outer edges of the cross.

"Invented….what are you talking about? And what is this all for?"

"Just….' Closing her eyes and trying to reign in her attitude, 'Trust me, please. That's all I ask. Mac, ya'll can start putting the furniture back anytime now. Reid, make sure it all goes where it should. I don't want Hotch knowing about this….at least not yet."

After she finished drawing on the living room floor, Mac and Kong moved the furniture back into place. Next, for good measure, Alecta had them move Hotch's and Jack's beds so she could do some rudimentary crosses and symbols under them. Altogether the entirety of the preparations took about an hour.

"We've only got about 10 or 15 minutes before Aaron comes back, are ya'll finished?'

"Yes love, all done."

Alecta thanked both Mac and Kong, hugging them tightly.

"Now Poppet, suppose you tell us what this is all about?"

Alecta paced some more, heaving a huge sigh, 'You remember my troubles in Romania?"

"Yes,' both Mac and Kong answered.

"Well, he's here; in Quantico."

"Should the team know about this?" Reid questioned aloud.

"NO! I mean, I don't think they can help me this time."

"I'm sure that whateve…."

"Dear sweet, scientific Reid. No, don't drag them into my mess. This problem can't be solved with science and careful deduction. Derek's ability to destroy a door, JJ's aim, none of it will mean anything."

"But…"

"No, Spencer. Not this time. None of you can help me.' Alecta turned to look out of the window. 'I wish there was a way, but you'll only get killed if you try."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Do you know how to kill a man that is nearly 600 years old?"

"Wait. Romainia? Who are you talking about?"

"Seriously? Dracula, who do you think?"

"He died in 1476."

"Yeah, I know. I was the one that assassinated him. I got to watch a soldier from the Crescent Guard sever his head. They buried the body in a separate place from the head. They feared him so, dead or alive. And now, he's here in Quantico."

"Why?"

"Did you space out around the part where I assassinated him? He wants revenge."

"But wait. You're only 40."

"EH! Try again."

"How old are you?"

"Well you're partially right. This…..body…I'm trapped in is only about 40. But, the being inside of it…..i'm thousands of years old."

"What? How?"

"It's a bit hard to explain. The best way to sum it up in a nice neat little package…..When Jesus was born, I wrapped him in his first little blanket and handed him to his mother. My eyes were the first things he saw when he came into the world. When he was being crucified, I held his mother as she sobbed at his feet; my eyes were also the last things he saw as he took his last breath.

But I am even older than that. That was merely the main turning point in my existence at the time. Up to that point….

I was created, not born. I sat on the right side of the Almighty throne. Satan sat on the left. When Satan turned on us, I stood against him; I cornered him as the boss began to send him down into hell. Satan never forgave me for that. We had been inseparable friends for so long, and then I turned on him. But he brought war to our kind. I wouldn't stand for it.

But when I saw the boy that I had watched grow up….that I had risked everything to keep alive...up on that cross….'Sacrifice for the greater good' that's what the boss called it. I couldn't do it anymore. I stopped following orders. I became an avenger.

I had, for centuries, been begging to be given a mortal life. Then, I went off the rails. I hunted Pontius Pilate to France….well Gaul, as it was during Roman times. Most of what you will read says he committed suicide. I poisoned him. It was better than he deserved. But, I didn't want to leave a mess and be found out. Being what I was it was so much easier to let people believe he killed himself out of guilt. Technically, maybe they're right. He did drink the wine that I gave him. The only thing that went wrong is that I put to high of a dose of the poison in his drink. I had planned for his death to be longer and more painful. I hung Judas from a tree, after I played with him for a while. He deserved no better. The boy trusted him, and he turned on him for some money! By the time I strung him up in that tree, he was begging for death.

I wanted to hunt down the priests that were responsible for ratting Jesus out. But even I knew better than to do harm to holy men. And to be quite honest, I was still quite….I got a certain buzz from taking out Pilate and Judas. Nothing tastes so good as dining on the fear of others…..I'd say ask those Roman soldiers I tortured to get the location of Pilate in the first place. But, well….they were left speechless."

"And after all this, you were still a high ranking member of your kind?"

"Oh yes, darling. I am one of the best at what I do. Who was he going to get to replace me?"

"Is there anything else I need to know?"

"Not right now. There isn't time for further discussion as it is. Aaron will be back any minute. The only thing I have left to say right now is actually….Please, don't tell him. I wanted to leave that whole part of my life behind. I got the mortal life I had asked for. He wouldn't…..if he knew….he wouldn't want me anymore….and it's been ever so long since anyone cared for me at all. I might look like a 40 year old mortal woman. But I'm, whatever I am….this is the first time that I have had to go through all of these things the way normal humans go through them."

"He deserves to know what he's getting himself into."

"And do I not deserve to finally have something, anything? I spent thousands of years keeping mankind alive. I fought in battle after battle, watching your kind and mine dying by the thousands. I gave up my life, my power, all of it to have a mortal life like yours because I was tired of the bloodshed. I was tired of everything. You're right, he does deserve to know. I know you're right. But….Here he comes, act like we were reading. Come on."

She grabbed Reid's hand and dragged him to her office and tossed a book at him as she shoved him onto the daybed and sat down next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder.

Hotch came back into the apartment with three bags from the store in one hand, balancing the pizza as he unlocked the door.

"Alecta, are you home?"

"In my office,' he heard her reply.

He walked back to the office to see her curled up on the day bed, her head resting against Reid's shoulder her arm looped through his, as they were reading over some old dusty book….

"Whatcha reading?"

"It's one of the oldest existing versions of Beowulf. This particular volume was written in about….1045….it's done in the Old English of the day." She sounded so…chipper that Reid could almost forget their earlier conversation. Truth be told he hadn't memorized a thing on the page or any word they'd read thus far. He kept thinking over everything he had learned before Hotch came back. It was mind boggling to say the very least. He prided himself on being able to solve most of his issues with scientific facts. He didn't necessarily not believe in religion; he knew that it was important to most people, in their day to day lives to have belief or faith in the fact that there was a better life than this one waiting for them when their number was up. He knew that it comforted people to believe that there was a natural order in the world and that there was some higher power that made all the tough decisions for them. But he didn't believe in Angels and demons and silly things such as that. There was good and evil and that was that. Or was it? Leaning on his shoulder was living proof that there was more to the story that he had always believed.

And he knew he was doing wrong if he kept this from Hotch. He knew his friend deserved to know the truth so he could make up his own mind about whether or not he wanted to be involved with someone like Alecta. But, then again, Reid knew very well the loneliness she spoke of, maybe not on the same level as she had known it, but he still understood. Outside of the team, there were very few people that ever troubled themselves over him. Perhaps he could hold off for a little while, at least until he had more facts in about what was going on.

Alecta had been chattering with Hotch about….Reid wasn't sure. He had been too lost in thought to even pay attention.

Reid and Alecta hopped off of the day bed and followed Hotch back into the living room; Hotch began opening the pizza as Alecta helped him put away the grocery items. Reid watched them. They seemed as though they were happy together. Alecta was starting to trust Hotch a little more every day. Hotch finally had somebody to love after the whole mess with Hayley and the break up with Beth.

"Well it's getting late enough that I need to be getting back to my place. There are a few things I want to look over; I will be giving a lecture at the university a couple weeks into the new semester, and I want to go over everything I have so far to make sure everything is in order."

"Well, before you go, I have something to give you. Come with me, please."

Reid followed her back to her office, where he saw her walk over to another mystery cabinet, unlock it, and take out a silver box; it was quite simple really, not a lot of decoration on it, as though it was meant to come across as non-descript.

"Come over to the desk Dr. Reid. I don't bite…..Well, there was that one time…..But that's really more the domain of my strange diplomat friend."

Reid walked over to the desk as she had asked. He watched her carefully open the lid; for all its simplicity, the box was certainly gleamingly bright, it had been well taken care of. Peeking inside once the lid was open Reid saw that the lining inside was brilliantly red….velvet…fire engine red velvet.

"What is this?"

"It's a vampire hunting kit. I picked it up during the 18th century in France; Paris actually. It was about two years prior to their Revolution. Bloody business that was; I went there to try to stop it. I didn't have enough back up, I failed. The only thing I did manage to achieve was to get the royal children out of harm's way. But I could not save their parents. Anyway, I was in a shop of sorts; it sold rare or hard to find books, curiosities. It was down near the Seine, near the older parts of the city, and was back then….I think the building dated to the 16th century. It's a pity that time has not been kind; they tore it down back in the the….' she seemed to be thinking, 'I think it was 1925. They put up a lovely Art Deco pile of bricks, that is still there. 'Tis a real shame though. You would have taken up residence at this curiosity shop."

"I don't need this. I don't believe in Vampires and things such as that."

"So, where does that leave me? I'm here, in front of you as plain as the nose on your face. Do you believe in me?"

"You have a point there."

"Yes, I do. Look, you don't have to believe in things like Vampires for them to be real. I'm not asking you to believe a word of anything that I have told you. But, please, humor me. I may not always be around and I need to know that I've done what I can to protect those that are close to me.

It has a dagger with a silver blade. I traded the old flint lock pistol that was in here for this little number.' She held up a small handgun, 'the Taurus PT709 Slim; generally there might be better guns out there, but it's small and fits nicely in this little box, and it'll keep you alive a little bit longer. I have three clips of silver ammo; that ammo costs a small fortune, I had all of my kits outfitted the same way. Be careful with the ammo. It's in short supply, but I have some on back order. There is a little flask of some holy water. The garlic is long gone, but you can manage to find some fresh if you need it."

"Is there anything else?"

"Yes. This." Alecta popped open a secret compartment and revealed a plain silver cross on a chain. "Wear this. Again, pleas just humor me."

"Alright, I'll try. Will the others be getting these kits?"

"I'm sure they will at some point. But for now, I am giving you yours since you have learned my little secret. Now, go. And Reid….."

"Yes?"

"Please be careful. I've seen what this….what he can do. Like I said, I won't always be around to look out for ya'll."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing….nothing at all. Just, please….Just this once…."

Reid could tell she was getting highly agitated. She was pacing again. She was really nervous about things, she was shaking as she paced.

"Alright, I'll play this your way. But, you will eventually have to tell him."

"Yes, I know. I'm just trying to figure out how. There's so much to say….and thank you for agreeing to do this for me."

"We're friends, of course I will." Reid smiled gently to her and grabbed the box and took his leave. Alecta stayed in her office, looking out of the window, watching her strange diplomat in the street below as he looked up to the window, their eyes meeting. He looked slightly pissed; perhaps he could sense that she had done her best to fortify the Hotchner household. She knew the religious iconography would only hold him at bay for so long, maybe only a matter of days. But that would have to be enough. She had more fish to fry besides just him. There was a matter of a certain teacher….she would confront the man if he made any move towards Henry and Jack.

The religious drawings throughout the apartment would set her mind at ease enough that she could concentrate on naughty Mr. Dunbar. Meanwhile, some of her colleagues would be looking into stronger measures to help her protect the team.

Smiling down at her old enemy, she gave him a shit eating grin…and then in her most charming, lady-like way, gave him the finger just before he turned away….he was profusely mad as he left the street out front. She knew it was probably the worst idea in the long sad history of bad ideas to provoke him. But she also hoped that by doing so she would get him angry enough to make a mistake. If she could throw him off of his game even a little, perhaps she would stand half a chance this time of defeating him once and for all. It would be one hell of a fight. She knew that she would likely die this time; when she was granted this 'mortal' life, she was stripped of any real power she had before. Her one hope was that, if it came to that, that she would stay dead. She didn't want to wind up like him.

"iieee" (Tori Amos)

With your E's
And your ease
And I do one more
Need a lip gloss boost
In your America
Is it God's
Is it yours
Sweet saliva
With your E's
And your ease
And I do one more
I know we're dying
And there's no sign of a parachute
We scream in cathedrals
Why can't it be beautiful
Why does there
Gotta be a sacrifice
Just say yes
You little arsonist
You're so sure you can save
Every hair on my chest
Just say yes
You little arsonist
With your E's
And your ease
And I do one more
Well I know we're dying

And there's no sign of a parachute
In this Chapel
Little chapel of love
Can't we get a little grace
And some elegance
No we scream in cathedrals
Why can't it be beautiful
Why does there
Gotta be a sacrifice

*Post AN: So, there's chapter 25. Love it, hate it, ambivalent? Lemme know peeps. And when in doubt for a moody song to cover something, Tori Amos is your chick.