"Confucuis once said, 'It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.' " ~Derek Morgan.
Another day has went by and Hotch sat at his desk, his eyes daring to close, yet when they did, he saw Aspen. The office seemed to be quiet, but every time Hotch looked out his window the team was hard at work. Not one member went home last night and Aaron, not sure when he would be back home got Jack, his ten year old son, a sitter for the next couple of days. Garcia abruptly came through Hotch's office door without even a knock.
"Owen Peterson!" she said quickly. "His name is Owen Peterson, the man in the photo's, Sir." Aaron almost couldn't believe what he was hearing. This gets them one step closer to finding her. Hotch got up from his desk and went to the door looking cool and collected.
"Thanks Garcia, have you told the others?"
"No Sir, I came straight here."
"I'll pass on the information, we're going to need to know everything about this Owen Peterson." Aaron left Garcia standing in the doorway as he walked down to the conference room and he entered with a sense of urgency about him. Stepping into the conference room he froze. His feet seemed to be nailed to the floor.
"Hotch? What's up?" Morgan asked looking his boss up and down, but he seemed to be fine just a bit whiter than normal.
"We found him." Hotch spoke letting out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. "His name is Owen Peterson, Garcia is working on where we can find him as we speak."
"We talked to a waitress down at May's Lounge, Aspen's favorite restaurant and when we showed her a picture of this Owen guy she said he was a regular." Emily spoke up. " Came in every Friday, that is until the waitress stopped seeing Aspen a few months ago. She said she never thought twice about it."
"What else do we know about this guy besides that he's patient and seems to be well organized. What made him snap into killing?" Rossi said walking over to the white board once again, scanning it.
"The first victim Rachel Mason was taken May 5th of last year." Jennifer Jareau or also known as JJ added to the conversation and the whole team stared at Rachel's photo, another college student of 24. She was a beautiful young woman with short brown hair and deep hazel eyes. Her roommate said she had left their apartment for guitar lessons at 7pm and never came back.
"Where was she taken from?" Hotch asked raising a brow at the blonde agent.
"She had to have been taken between her apartment and lesson because the instructor said she never showed up." JJ answered Hotchners question quickly.
"Wait," Spencer stepped forward. "this is about Aspen right? Where was she on May 5th of last year?"
"That's when we got back from that really big case in Montana." Half the team raised a brow at Emily. "The cannibal." She added blandly and it was as if a light bulb went off in everyone's head.
"Isn't that the night Aspen showed us May's Lounge for the first time?" JJ asked recalling the night.
"I didn't notice anything strange that night, did you?" Emily asked trying to piece the night together.
"We all found out that Aspen is a lightweight, that's for sure." Morgan laughed lightly at the memory. Spencer smiled, it was so nice to talk about Aspen as their friend rather than a victim.
"But, I don't see how that's relevant." Emily added in confusion. "Why would something as small as going to a restaurant be this man trigger? He had to have seen her go out with friends before."
"True, but probably not with a friend she had romantic interest in." Rossi added as they were putting the pieces of the night together quickly. After Rossi spoke up all eyes drifted to Hotchner who seemed oblivious to what they were talking about.
"Huh? What?" Hotch asked when he realized all eyes were on him.
"What happened on May 5th?" Rossi asked when no one else would. Clearing his throat Hotch remained his calm self, as the memory came back to him.
It was early when the team arrived back at the BAU after being in Montana for two weeks trying to find a seriously sick UnSub, it was only around 9pm. Aspen had offered to take them to her favorite restaurant for the first time called May's Lounge. She always raved about it, so in turn the team was ecstatic to finally have the privilege of dining there. They walked in May's Lounge and the smell of strawberries hit them with a hit of alcohol, but it wasn't an overwhelming sent. The hostess quickly seated them when she learned it was Aspen's team. They were sat in her favorite booth towards the back. Close enough to the bar that it wasn't a long walk, but far enough away that it wasn't to loud.
They had spend 3 hours there talking, laughing, dancing. Anything you could think of really. Around 12pm the team decided it was probably time to head back to their own homes considering the time. Aaron and Aspen had been the last two left in the lounge as Aspen dug through her purse for the keys to her old ford pick-up truck. Catching sight of this Aaron grabbed her hand stopping it from digging any farther.
"I can't let you drive in your condition." He looked down at her. Aspen smiled her cheeks red from the alcohol. Her red hair fell in front of her as she laughed.
"I'm not that bad." She tried to assure him, her smile so addicting to him that he could help, but smile down at her softly.
"I can drop you off it's-"
"I can't let you do that." She interrupted him quickly, not letting him say what she knew he was going to.
"I want to." Aaron's expression softened when their eyes locked. He was much more caring then he let people see. She could tell by the way his hand lingered on hers as he stopped her from digging for her keys.
"Fine," Aspen rolled her emerald green eyes. "if you must." She giggled at her words as if they were the funniest thing she'd ever said.
"Come on." Aaron said letting Aspen use him as a support as they walked out of the building together. The drive to Aspen's small farm house was quiet after she had passed out in the front passenger side seat. Aaron laughed every once in a while when she said something in her sleep.
Pulling into her quaint driveway Aaron put the car into park. Rushing to the other side of the vehicle, he opened the passenger door. Careful not to wake her, he carried Aspen to the front door bridal style with her head falling softly to his chest. Kneeling down as smooth as possible without losing balance, Aaron peeled back the welcome mat to find a shiny silver spare key. Unlocking the door, he skillfully carried her through the rustic house, until he reached the last door at the end of a dark narrow hallway.
Aaron pulled back the grey cover of her queen sized bed. He'd done this so many times with Jack that he was pretty much a professional by now. Gently, Aaron placed her in the large bed and pulled the covers over her thin figure of a body. Walking towards the door Aaron was stopped by a faint whisper, causing him to turn back to Aspen who was propped up on her elbows.
"Stay." She whispered slowly, the word slipping off her tongue as if she'd said it a million times before and hittings Aaron's ears like he'd heard it over thousands of times. They had such relaxed body language, like this situation was so natural for them.
"I-I can't." He lied. Jack's babysitter was there until tomorrow evening.
"Please Aaron," she paused looking down. "I don't want to be alone." She fought back the tears that were wanting to form in her innocent eyes.
"Okay." He answered quietly. Moving to the opposite side of the bed, he sat down and leaned back on the head board. Aspen wrapped her arms around his torso pulling herself closer to him, to his warmth.
"Thank you." She mumbled into his chest closing her eyes slowly as her breath slowed and her head rose and fell with every breath Aaron took. Unable to speak the words raced through his mind. Exhaustion began to overtake his body. No one seemed to sleep while they worked their last case. His eyes closed leaving his breathing to slow.
Blinking his eyes awake the light from the bedside lamp hit Aaron's eyes. Check his watch, he squinted at the time that read 2AM. Rubbing the sleep from his face, Aaron glance down at Aspen who now was sprawled out on the other side of the bed. He smiled sliding off the bed carefully trying not to wake her, another think he'd mastered thanks to Jack. After locking the front door on his way out and returning the spare key to under the mat, Aaron got in his car and drove -
"Aaron?" Emily questioned pulling Hotchner out of the flashback he was having.
"Right." He shook his head clearing the memory from his mind. "As were leaving I noticed Aspen digging through her bag for her car keys, so I offered to drive her home. She passed out on the drive to her house, therefore I carried her in and then I left." Aaron spoke about the night almost defensively which Rossi picked up on quickly.
"Can I speak with you Aaron," he paused. "outside."
"Of course." Hotch answered without hesitation and followed Rossi out of the large conference room. Closing the door behind them, Rossi turned to face Aaron matching his serious demeanor.
"Okay, what did you leave out?"
"I was being stupid, Dave. I don't know what I was thinking." Aaron belittled himself.
"What did you do?" Rossi questioned Hotchner slightly concerned about what his friend might say.
"I laid down, Dave, I stayed."
"And?"
"And nothing." Aaron stated simply. "I fell asleep and when I woke up at 2 in the morning I left."
"You realize that's the trigger. Rachel was taken only moments after you two left the lounge. I would bet you money that she had to walk passed the lounge to get to her lesson."