Chpt. 34

Am the owner of nothing but a bit of debt, and my OC's. There, I said it.

"I wonder if that's just how it feels to miss someone so bad – like being stabbed in the gut a little bit, each time you think of them." (Kate Ellison, Notes from Ghost Town)

"The distant soul can shake the distant friend's soul and make the longing felt, over untold miles." (John Masefield)

"There was nowhere I could go that wouldn't be you." (Jeffrey Eugenides, Middlesex)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(Latitude, Elton John)

Grey London morning, wet London streets
Rain on the window, wind in the trees
It's my time to write, it's your time to call
There's something about distance that gets to us all

Dark clouds above me, little people below
All walk with a purpose with someplace to go
It's my place to paint my own selfish scene
On this cold lonely canvas, it's just the weather and me

And latitude
Fold back the morning and bring on the night
There's an alien moon
That hangs between darkness and light
Latitude between me and you
You're a straight line of distance
A cold strech of black across blue
Latitude

Cracks in the sidewalks, dogs on the run
An old poster reading "Give us your sons"
Window frames capture moments in time
But latitude captures the heart and the mind

"But it's so blasted cold. I want out of here."

"Momma, Mac wants you to sit in here for a little while to lower your heart rate. It was going so fast he worried about you going unconscious. So, you're going to sit there until he says to pull you out. You can give me the stink eye all you want."

"But…."

"You just squeezed out three babies, two with one to grow on. You are weak…"

"Not that weak."

"And you need to calm down."

"I am calm."

"Sure you are. That's why you've been so glum ever since we got to Istanbul. This is one of your favorite places in the entire world; that should at least make you a little happy."

"I have lived through another run in with human traffickers. I have survived contact with my father, can't say the same for him. My second husband tried to kill me….How many times? He's dead now. I had to watch someone that I thought was one of my best friends being killed because she turned on me. I just got through burying two of the best friends I have ever had. Hotch and I are at odds. He wanted to be here for the babies, and because of our disagreement he isn't. I venture into Russia to allow my children to see their grandparents and get shot at. To top this all off I go into labor; and exactly how much of Istanbul have I seen? So far, all I have seen is the inside of Selim's apartment, which I am grateful for. There are few safe places for me at the moment it seems. And in the middle of all of this, the only bright spot, outside of the fact that I have been able to spend time with the children I already have, is that I have just given birth to three seemingly healthy babies….that I haven't even named yet…haven't even held them yet. I should be a little happy? Pray tell why?"

"Fine, let me check your pulse rate and see if it's calmed down any and get Mac back in here to get his opinion. If he says it's ok, you can be put in the bed to rest. We'll get you warmed up, and get something for you to eat."

"That's a start at least. When can I hold the babies?"

"We'll see what Uncle Mac says."

Meanwhile back in the living room, Mac and the others could not believe the bomb that Immogene had just dropped. Kong was fuming mad.

"I thought that Yuri was supposed to be blind. His eyes….."

"When I saw him through the scope, his eyes looked fine. Think about it, as long as he was around the traffickers, Mengele could have given him something to make him blind, perhaps the day before the raid. How are we to know?"

"But why would he or Sergei do something like this?"

"I don't know yet. I am going to call Garcia and have her dig into this."

"Wait. By doing that you'll be revealing where we are. Hotch…."

"Mac, right now the idea that Hotch might find out where we are is the least of my worries. Sergei and Yuri are hunting her now. We know what they are like. And, let's not forget about Impatiev. If they are hunting her, what's happened to the old man? I don't give a shit about Hotch knowing she's here. I need to know what the hell is going on and why."

"Fine. Whatever you think is best. I just don't see why you can't call on some of your other connections."

"Most of them have to operate within the boundaries of the law. Pen has no such restraints, she can and will go where others will not. How do you think she got her job at the bureau? It wasn't for selling girl-scout cookies. I'll be back; I have to go find an area with some decent reception to make the call."

"Take this with you." Selim pressed a gun that happened to be loaded with silver bullets into her hand. 'You never know what kind of crazy things are out there." He winked as he let her be on her way out the door.

Immogene bowed her head slightly in a gesture of thanks as she turned for the door.

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

Once Immogene had left the apartment to go make her call, Rachel had finally been able to get Mac's attention, getting him to come check on Alecta.

"It should be alright to transfer her to the bed now. We will need to keep an eye on her though; are you up to this Rachel?"

"She's my mother, I'm insulted that you even asked me that." She walked over to the basin in the room which had been filled with fresh water thanks to Yildiz and soaked a rag in it before wringing the excess out. She walked over to her mother and patted her face with the damp rag as Alecta turned on her side to try and get comfortable.

The men walked back out into the living room, thinking about a great many things.

Selim was the first to speak, 'I think we should hold off on telling her the identity of the shooters you speak of. She has already had enough excitement for one day and that may be just too much to bear."

"You could be right. I'm going to go look in on the babies for a moment." Mac made his way out of the room.

The three infants had been taken to Selim's study and kept there. It wasn't the best place perhaps, but it had that view of Hagia Sophia….consequently, the Hagia Sophia had a view of them; that sad fact alone made that one room in the apartment the safest room in all of Istanbul right now.

Mac looked the babies over carefully. Their little arms and legs were stretching and flexing as they got use to the freedom of movement, finally being on the outside world. He weighed them. Each of the girls weighed barely more than 5lbs.; their brother was substantially bigger, that little chunky monkey weighed in at nearly 9lbs. The girls were only about 14 inches long each. The boy was nearly 22 inches long.

Looking at the three bundles, their chubby little cheeks, and dark eyes looking around everywhere, 'Where did your mother hide all this baby cargo?"

The babies had been properly cleaned up by Yildiz, Cossette, and Ivory. After the cursory check-up, Cossette picked up one of the little girls cuddling her a bit, while Yildiz made such a fuss over the little boy; he was such a big baby, and how handsome he was going to be, etc.

Mac made his way back out into the living room. Kong was staring out of the window, daring someone with less than perfect intentions to come near the apartment. Mac was sure, just from the look on the man's face, most of the known world would quake in fear if they realized how deadly serious Kong was.

Selim looked thoughtful, staring at an old picture on the wall.

Walking up next to Selim, 'What is on your mind old man?"

"We will have to move her to the fortress soon. My home was enough to give her a safe place to have the babies. But the fortress will be better for long term use. We don't know what the dark prince is planning, and we would be in a vulnerable position here. Not to mention that if the others, her friends from America, join us…..where would everyone go? We need more space. We need more weaponry. And we need a more defensible spot to regroup. "

"You're right of course. Let's just give her a couple hours to rest though yeah? That will give you and Bayezit time to make arrangements as well as giving Immogene time to get back and tell us what she knows."

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

Alecta lay in the bed, asleep, restlessly. She kept trying to get comfortable. And once she did get comfortable and could doze off she kept playing the last few weeks over in her head….the first sighting of that monster coming back into her life that had turned her already turbulent life even more upside down; that day at the café, when she and Hotch had been having a bit of lunch when they had been shopping for things for her and the babies. Then that train of thought led her to thinking about Hotch. She wanted to call him. She needed to apologize and beg him to forgive her. And she missed Jack, but then again, so did Sofie and Emma. He was their little friend, as well as Henry. They had been asking when they could see the boys again every day since they had first been in Ireland.

Rachel noticed her mother's melancholy demeanor and knew what it was about.

"You will see him again soon enough I, feel sure of that. Now, rest."

"I'm trying."

Rachel knew that it was the truth. She knew also that her mother wouldn't truly rest until she was able to see Agent Hotchner again. She knew that things weighed heavily on her mother's conscience, few things more than the current situation.

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

Hotch was sitting in his office at the BAU. It was a Thursday; and it was over cast outside….raining its ass off. That was just as well with him. Nothing had been right for about two, nearly three, weeks. On top of all his other issues of guilt about what happened between himself and Alecta, Jack was angry at him for her leaving now, too.

She had left that damned note for him. Part of it had told him to make sure that Jack got to keep that old dusty edition of 'Hound of the Baskervilles' that she had been reading with him. Jack had loved the book so much; not only did he get to keep that book, but she left behind just for Jack, all of her old Victorian Gothic mystery books….The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dr…(he didn't even want to think the word, just in case it could bring something bad down on him)…but it was a book by Bram Stoker, Allan Quartermain….there was an entire collection of early editions of Sherlock Holmes…..among others; of course she gave express instructions that most of them were not supposed to be read by Jack alone. Some of them might have material that Hotch wouldn't find appropriate for Jack, so he needed to read them to Jack so he could sensor them if he felt the need. There were several other things she had left for Jack….a very old compass (it had to be nearly 200 years old), a very old set of tin soldiers (Hotch wasn't sure about their age, but Reid had dated them to be about 350 years old….and Reid knew almost everything)…there had been a note to go with the soldiers….'They are to be kept in the box until their help is needed. Soldiers work hard and need their rest….'

Hotch had to smile when he thought of that; she was always finding new ways to get Jack to use his imagination….he could never have guessed they were so much more than ordinary tin soldiers.

It was of little consequence anyway. Jack had become so angry at Hotch over this whole episode that he had taken to staying with his aunt Jessica on weekends. When he was home during the school week he stayed in Alecta's cave almost 24 hours a day; he only came out to take his meals and use the bathroom. Hotch realized he had barely heard his son speak in nearly three weeks. Oh, sure he had tried speaking with Jack, tried to apologize to the boy for everything. But it seemed as though Jack was inconsolable. He missed his Alecta. There was nobody that could tell a story quite like her. Sometimes when Hotch would walk past the door to the cave he would see the boy sitting in the floor flipping through his Sherlock Holmes books. These seem to fascinate the boy the most. Sometimes Hotch would find the boy asleep in the floor, his head resting on one of the large books; sometimes the boy would be asleep in the day bed, with the book across his chest, and an arm draped over the book to hold his place.

Hotch missed Alecta….and he missed his son. He prayed every single day that someday soon he would find out whatever had happened to her and her babies. He needed to find her and bring her back home.

Frantic knocking sounded at his office door. "Come in,' Hotch said, an agitated tone to his voice. He wanted to be left alone. He'd become so unbearable the last couple of weeks that he was nearly put on administrative leave; if Rossi hadn't stepped forward and told Strauss and the Deputy Director that he would take over Hotch's duties until further notice, Hotch would have gotten his ass canned for the foreseeable future. He wasn't even concentrating on paper work. He couldn't give a damn about paper work on some inane case that looked just like the last three before it. Leaning back in his chair he waited for the person on the other side of his office door to enter.

"Is it safe in here?' Garcia asked meekly.

Hotch thought about that. This was the first time in days that Garcia had spoken to him directly for anything, well since that day that he had jumped her shit and she had burst into tears, running from the room. It took him two days to be able to see out of his left eye again, thank you Derek Morgan….he thought inwardly.

"Yes, it's safe, Garcia. How can I help you?"

Coming more fully into the room, sitting nervously, 'This time I think I can help you."

"Do tell."

"I just got a call from Immogene."

"Yes."

"She needs me to do some investigating."

"Annnd."

Sighing, 'It seems that after going to Ireland to bury the girls, Alecta was taking the kids with her to Russia to visit her in-laws. Well….once they disembarked from the plane and had made it out onto the tarmac someone started shooting at their little group…."

"Say what!" Hotch stood abruptly, turning his chair over in the process.

"Shhh, shhh, shhh. I'm not finished. Immogene took a few shots at the snipers. She killed one and winged the other apparently. Everyone, including Alecta got back onto the plane safely and they made their way to Istanbul. But due to the stress of the last few weeks, and being shot at, Alecta began having contractions. She had the babies earlier today, in Istanbul….at her friend Selim's apartment. Mac helped her."

"Is there anything else?"

"Not just yet, I have to do some research on a few things that Immogene asked for. I just thought you ought to know what I had learned so far."

"Thank you Garcia. I don't deserve it after the way I've treated everybody, but thank you."

"Yes you do. You made a mistake; you're paying for it now. You love her…..that's all there is to understand. Sometimes that makes you do things, behave, in ways you wouldn't ordinarily."

Getting up to make her exit, 'Look if I can find anything else at all that I think you would want to know, I will come and tell you. "

Hotch only nodded. Seeing his depressed posture and the look on his face, "Sir, if it's any consolation at all, Immogene did say that Alecta had been talking about you earlier, before she had the babies. She, Immogene, said that Alecta misses you something awful; that she feels like hell because of all of this….and that she has seemed so melancholy since they left us."

With that, Garcia turned to leave. It didn't make Hotch feel any better at all. Alecta was being wracked with guilt over leaving when she did nothing wrong….this should be one of the happiest moments of her life, and she was in as bad a shape as he was. In his mind things were settled. He missed Alecta. She missed him. Hotch missed his son. Jack missed Alecta….Hotch knew that he had to do something to get her back in their lives as soon as possible.

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

Garcia made her way back to her office deep in thought. She didn't even notice when Derek called out to her, she was thinking too hard about all that she had learned in the last 45 minutes.

Derek saw his Baby Girl walking back to her office, almost as if she was in a fog. He called to her and got no response so he decided to go to her to get her attention.

"Baby, what's going on? What was that about with Hotch?"

"Huh? Oh, that…"

"Sweetheart…."

"I found Alecta."

"How?"

"Immogene called. It was around 45 minutes ago, I just got off the phone with her."

"What did she say?"

"She said that she needed me to do some research on some people. Apparently, after Alecta and the others went to Ireland, they were going to go to Russia so she and the kids could see her in-laws. People started shooting at them as they disembarked the plane."

"What!?"

"They are safe, nobody was hurt…well except one of the shooters, he's dead. Alecta and the others made it back on the plane and into the air safely. Although, after all the stress of the past couple of weeks, Alecta went into labor. They flew to Istanbul, made it to the safety of a friend's apartment. Immogene said that Alecta had the babies earlier this afternoon before she left to make the phone call."

"Did she say who the shooters were at the airport in Russia?"

Derek could tell by the guilty look on Garcia's face that she knew the identity of the shooters.

"Pen, who were the shooters? Does Hotch know?"

"Hotch knows they were shot at, but I didn't tell him who the shooters were."

"Who Pen? Who were the shooters?"

Garcia fidgeted a moment, unsure of how to say it to make it sound less…..not as bad as it was.

"We're going to find out eventually anyway, so you might as well come on out with it Darling."

"I know, I know.' Releasing a heavy sigh, 'the shooters that were at the airport in Russia….it was….They were….It was Sergei and Yuri."

"Why would Yuri try to kill his own wife?" Derek was stunned, more than Penelope had seen in a long time.

"We're not sure. That's why Immogene wanted me to look into it. And I need to try to get in touch with Impatiev to see if he knows anything about it. I just have this feeling that something is terribly wrong; more so than it has been in the first place."

"Well, do you need my help?"

"Not just yet stud. I have to see what I can find with my babies first. But, I'll call you as soon as I know something."

With that Derek gave her a peck on the cheek and let her get back to her work; he returned to his desk and began calling one of the local police departments and giving them a consultation on a case they had asked for a bit of help with. Glancing up to the door of Hotch's office, Derek couldn't help but think that Penelope was right and that the troubles had only just begun.

Post AN: OK, so that's 34. Hope it was at least up to par with my other work. Lemme know whatcha think. Have already started on 35, lol.