A/N: Segment 4 is up! A quick note about the one shots: 7) not necessarily in canon if you decide to read into the last part, though this one is one of my favorites! 8) in canon and set in season 8. With both, I hope I satisfactorily kept everyone in character—let me know!
Also – I know a few of you asked for a sequel to #6. Technically these are all one-shots with no relation to the other. HOWEVER, maybe I can make an exception in one of the later chapters Stay tuned and review please!
Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.
The Hotch Chronicles – Segment 4
/7/
"Garcia while I admire your enthusiasm I can't allow you to decorate the bullpen with garland and lights."
"But sir! It's Christmas! The time for joyous festivities! I can't be joyous in a non-festive environment!"
"Garcia you are the one person I know that can always find a way to be joyous."
"Thank you, sir but that's not the point."
You stop writing and look up from your report. "It isn't?"
"No!" she responds, clearly affronted you thought differently. "We need some holiday cheer in this place!"
Based on her outfit, you find it odd that your tech analyst feels the need to spread even more holiday cheer.
"I mean we practically live here!" She slaps the folder on her lap to accentuate her point. "Don't you want to try and make people happy when they are forced to be here rather than at home with their cocoa and chestnuts over their open fires?"
This time you set your pen down and lean back in your chair. You give her a skeptical look because even after all these years, you still don't fully understand the mind of Penelope Garcia. "Chestnuts?"
She must catch on that you think this conversation is a little ridiculous because she straightens and smoothes out her candy cane scarf before trying again. "Sir I think my request is fairly reasonable considering," Garcia says in her best diplomatic voice.
You decide to humor her because until you do, she will not drop it. You rest your elbows on your desk and clasp your hands. "Considering what?"
"Just…everything!" Garcia splays out her hands as if she's flabbergasted by your question and you raise an eyebrow at her familiar dramatics. "I mean we are a family, aren't we? Which brings me to my next request." Garcia clasps her hands in her lap, takes a deep breath and goes in for the kill. "A Christmas tree in the conference room."
Now you've heard it all. "No."
You pick up your pen and begin to get back to work; anything to convey this conversation is over.
"Just a small one!"
But you also know Garcia doesn't take hints very well. Or, perhaps she does but chooses to ignore them.
"No."
"But why? We need something in there to lighten the mood and realign our auras when we are surrounded by the ickyness of unsubs!"
You sigh at her persistence. "Garcia that is what the conference room is meant for; to examine the…ickyness…of the cases we are investigating." You inwardly cringe at you use of Garcia's unique vocabulary before continuing. "Not for Christmas trees."
"But—"
"No."
"Okay then." She sits there and mentally checks off "Christmas Tree" in her head. Now she is staring at you with an innocent look, but you know better. You raise your eyebrows, letting her know you're not fooled and are waiting for her to speak. "Where can I hang the mistletoe?"
"Absolutely not." You take your pen and point it at her, making your point as clear as possible.
"Not even over your door?" She gives you a hopeful smile and you are getting exasperated. Penelope Garcia is bubbly, peppy and flamboyant, but that doesn't explain why she thinks hanging mistletoe in the BAU is appropriate.
"Especially not over my door Garcia. Or yours. Or Morgan's." You briefly wonder if you should clarify any other doors, just for good measure, but then you realize you don't have that kind of time.
"Oh!" Garcia's eyes grow big. "Are you concerned we're showing favoritism towards Christians? We can always set up a few menorahs and snowflakes. And I'm sure we can find some Kwanza things—"
"Hold on!" You raise you hand to stop her. "Hold on! There's no 'we', Garcia. No. Decorations."
She slouches in her seat and you hope she's finally giving in.
"Why not?" she whines. "Your office could use some sprucing up!" she motions to the room the two of you have been sitting in for the past fifteen minutes. It astounds you how quickly she can go from disappointment to excitement and do so in one breath. You close your eyes and pinch your nose because you're pretty sure you have a migraine coming on.
"Okay bad idea," she concedes without further comment from you.
"I'm glad you think so." You're thankful for small victories, but you're a debate for nutcrackers and sugar plums is next.
"I'm not going to win this argument, am I?" Her question makes you do a double take seeing as you thought this conversation was going to last for at least another ten minutes.
At the sight of her defeated face you almost feel bad. You attempt to let her down easy. "Not likely, Garcia. I'm sorry."
"Okay." She shrugs and stands, slowly trudging out of your office.
You purse your lips and run a hand down your face. Unhappy isn't a good look on Penelope Garcia. Your eyes land on a picture Jack drew for you of a Christmas tree that is sitting on your desk, tucked into a picture frame. You suppose it is nice to have. You roll your eyes and give in.
"Garcia? You can go ahead with the small Christmas tree."
The transformation is instant and glaringly obvious. Garcia is bouncing on the balls of her feet in the middle of your office with a large grin on her face. You stand up and hold out a finger in warning. "Small, Garcia." She's clapping and nodding and can't stand still. You place your hands on your hips and drop your head and because you can't believe you're saying all of this. You look back up and are met with the bundle of energy that also happens to be your tech analyst. "And if people want to hang some garland on their desks, fine. But no lights."
"Okay, sir!" she answers, but her eyes are glazed over with her undeniable excitement.
Suddenly you realize that she probably isn't hearing any of your instructions. You follow her as she begins to make a hasty exit, probably to get a start on the decorations. "And no mistletoe. And I'm talking minimal decorations, Garcia, or it will all have to come down, understood?" you call after her as she makes her way out your door.
You stop at the doorway and are wondering if you just made a big mistake. JJ comes to a stop next to you after hearing your last statement. She crosses her arms and smirks.
"Hotch, Garcia doesn't do minimal," she chastises.
At JJ's words Garcia immediately swivels around before she takes the steps down into the bullpen. "No! It's okay, I can do minimal!"
You breathe a small sigh of relief and give your tech analyst a quick nod. "Very good."
Garcia practically skips away as she finally heads back to her office. Out of the corner of your eye you see JJ shake her head as she leans against your doorframe. She is struggling not to laugh at your presumed naivety. You glare at her and she does her best to quiet down but is failing miserably. Her soft snorts and chuckles make the corner of your lips move upwards.
Suddenly Garcia stops and turns back to you, and JJ, again.
"Sir?" she folds her hands in front of her and you suspect mischief. "I think you should know that I experimented with some décor possibilities before speaking with you."
Her words put you on guard. Sensing trouble, you watch your tech analyst closely. "How do you mean?" you ask her, narrowing your eyes.
With a sneaky smile she points just above yours and JJ's heads. "Mistletoe."
/8/
This case was a bad one.
You feel jaded in saying so since, in actuality, all of them are bad. However, all you have to do is remember the crime scenes you've visited the past few days to know this case was harder than most.
You're standing just outside the old house in Florida—why are all the bad ones in Florida?—looking for him. The red and blue flashing lights illuminate the front yard that sits next to the dirt road but you still don't see Reid anywhere.
Your youngest profiler was acting odd during the whole case. You knew something was off, but chose to let him handle it. Now, you're not so sure he can. His reaction to the crime scene—an especially grotesque one—was severe, to the point where he mumbled an "excuse me" and ran out. You and Rossi were left behind in the living room amongst the rotting, severed limbs and crime scene techs. Dave offered to follow him but you decided it was better for you to go.
You see Morgan and JJ talking with Blake by the big willow tree and venture over to them. Rather than alarm them about your AWOL agent, you subtly insert yourself into the conversation without mention of Reid.
"Did you find anything upstairs?"
"No. It was in pristine shape. Clean…normal. Nothing suspicious," Blake answers you.
"Are we sure about that? The living room suggests otherwise." The four of you glance at the front door. You turn back just in time to see JJ wince.
"Bad?"
You nod since you can't bring yourself to describe the unsub's atrocities towards innocent children. JJ looks down and angles herself away from the house and you know it is because she is trying not to think of Henry.
"But why there? I mean it is the first room you see when you enter the house. It has a bay window facing the front yard. It doesn't make sense, Hotch." Morgan looks to you for answers you don't have.
"You're right it doesn't. But the owner of the house is dead and he wasn't our unsub. So, we need to go through everything again. Upstairs and down." You look at them and can tell they don't want to go. However, you trust their professionalism and know they will do what needs to be done. It is the only way to bring justice to all of the children and their mourning families.
The group begins to disperse. "Has anyone seen Reid?"
"Wasn't he with you and Rossi?" Morgan asks, confused.
"Yes, but he came outside."
JJ looks from Morgan to Blake and then to you. "We didn't see him."
You clench your jaw. "Okay."
You turn back towards the street and gaze about, growing more concerned. Your eyes land on one of the FBI SUVs and you decide you might as well try there. You approach the vehicle but cannot see inside it due to the tinted windows. You open the driver's door and immediately see Reid sitting in the passenger's seat.
"Reid?"
He takes a moment before acknowledging you and when he does, his voice is quiet. "Hi, Hotch."
You purse your lips and get into the vehicle, closing the door to shut out the commotion. You angle yourself towards the young man seated beside you. You don't say anything because you know your silence is all the prompting Reid needs.
"I'm having trouble compartmentalizing." He speaks these words slowly, as if he can't believe them himself.
"We all do once in a while."
He looks at you and frowns. You know he is disappointed with himself. "I ran out on you guys, Hotch. Then I threw up like some rookie. Then I came in here to hide."
It is clear to you that he is ashamed by his behavior. You recall his atypical conduct during the last three days and you wonder if it is really the circumstances of the case that is the cause of his struggles.
"You've been acting differently throughout the whole case. Ever since Garcia presented it. What's going on?"
Reid sits facing forward. He doesn't react to your words but you see his eyes follow the various people running around outside. He has yet to answer so you try another approach. "Reid it would be unreasonable for me to assume that you can take everything that is thrown at you. You aren't expected to lose your humanity in order to be an asset to this team."
At your words Reid clenches his fists before relaxing his hands on his lap. His body language screams frustration.
"I can't be an asset if I'm running away from crime scenes and isolating myself from you guys." He still doesn't meet your eyes, but you can tell he isn't done speaking. "It is ridiculous, really. I mean if anyone should be acting this way it should be you. Or JJ." You raise your eyebrows at Reid's suggestion. "You each have Jack and Henry. I don't have kids. This case relates to you two more than it does me. It's stupid. Of all people it shouldn't be me having a hard time with this case. I'm being irrational and—"
"Reid, slow down." You raise your hands to calm his rambling. When you have his attention you continue. "Kids or not this case is hard on everyone. I appreciate your concern but it isn't your responsibility to worry about me. And JJ's given no indication that she can't handle things. You need to trust us."
"I do. I do trust you but I owe you. You came running the moment I called you about Maeve. And JJ came to my place all the time to check on me even though I'd never answer the door."
"You don't owe anything, Reid. Supporting each other doesn't mean there's a debt to be paid."
Your voice is stern and commanding, leaving no room for argument. The two of you sit in silence; Reid staring straight ahead and you at him. It is clear to you that the young profiler isn't telling you everything.
"Reid, have you considered that you are simply running out of fuel? Within the past two months you've faced two cases that were pretty personal."
Reid swallows and takes a deep breath. He doesn't bother to deny your words and that surprises you. You're also wary. If one of your agents can't handle the field, you prefer to know that before they are actually in the field on a case.
"Do you need me to pull you off this case, Reid?" You'd hate to lose him since the case just blew wide open but in a way he isn't 100% with you anyways. "Why don't you head back to the hotel and get some sleep. We'll re-evaluate things in the morning."
You're about to exit the car but Reid bristles beside you. With your hand on the door handle you pause. "Reid?"
"Evaluate…" he mumbles. Reid's eyes light up and he snaps a finger. Almost as if he is physically snapping himself out of his funk, you muse.
"Hotch! Our unsub was in a mental institution, right?"
"Right." You recognize Reid's excitement—it is the same kind he gets when he is about to ramble off a statistic of his.
Soon, you're listening to him verbally work out a missing piece of the puzzle. What he says is logical, rational and is a glimpse of the Reid you're used to. His brilliance cracks through the troubled, lost man that was seated next to you only moments ago. Reid leaves his insecurity behind him and allows his intellect to take over, ultimately bringing out his personality.
While you know that Reid's struggles are nowhere near over, his determination to do his best is evident and for that you are proud.
When he is done, you're already in agreement with his theory. You offer him a curt nod for his job well done and tell him: "Let's go!"