Chapter 3

Several hours later, everybody still anxiously waited for word on Hotch from the surgeon. Garcia and JJ went to the cafeteria earlier and got coffee for everyone as nobody wanted food right now. Afraid if they left, they might miss the surgeon's report on Hotch's condition.

Rossi rubbed his forehead and let out a deep breath. "I have no idea how much longer I can just sit here without finding out something. This not knowing is killing me."

Strauss, seated beside Rossi, put a hand on his back and gently rubbed calming circles. "These things take time, David," she replied understanding his impatience over his best friend. "I'm sure it's taking a long time because they're doing all they can for Agent Hotchner."

Rossi turned toward her, his own face blank. "I hope that's all it is," he said blandly. Internally, he was more scared than ever. Hell, in their line-of-work, they had all been injured before, but nothing like this. His best friend, the man he considered like a son, was brutally beaten and left lying in an alley to die. Who the hell does that to a person? But more than being scared was the guilt manifesting itself in his gut. The guilt over having left Hotch alone in the office. Rossi lifted his head and looked up at the ceiling, his eyes brimming. I'm so, so sorry, Aaron. I should have dragged you out of that office and made sure you went home before I left. And because I didn't, you might die, and I'd be responsible. Rossi sighed, closed his eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose hoping nobody noticed he was crying. A hand on his shoulder caused him to turn to the woman beside him. He saw Strauss offer him a comforting smile.

"He'll make it, David," she said with confidence. "You just hang onto that."

"I'm trying, Cara," he replied in a husky voice. "I'm trying."

JJ sat beside Emily who held the blond's hand tightly in hers. They tried to draw strength from each other while they waited for word. Emily saw JJ stare at a spot on the floor, and bit her lower lip before speaking.

"He's going to be all right, JJ," Prentiss said softly. "You have to believe that. Hotch is tough. He'll pull through, tell us who did this to him, and we'll find him and lock up the bastard."

JJ looked at the brunette woman and offered a weak smile. "I hope you're right on both accounts," she said. "I don't want to think of how we'll carry on without Hotch. How will Jack handle losing his father after he lost his mother if Hotch dies? How could we carry on without Hotch?" She swallowed the building lump in her throat. "Emily, do you…do you think…" She struggled to find the words she wanted to say.

"What?" Prentiss asked the blond with a puzzled expression.

"Was Spence right? About it being the Rohypnol Rapist who attacked Hotch?"

Prentiss hesitated a few minutes as she organized her thoughts. "I have no idea. Really I don't. I mean, it's like Morgan said, we have no evidence that Hotch was raped and sodomized. But if he was, the son-of-a-bitch responsible is gonna pay."

JJ placed her head in one hand and shook it. "This is a total nightmare. How anybody can do this to Hotch is beyond comprehension. And that someone did this to him, even without the sexual abuse, boggles the mind. And what if he was raped? How will he recover?" She looked at Prentiss. "How?"

"With help from us," Prentiss said. "We'll get him through this regardless of the sexual assault."

Garcia and Morgan sat side-by-side away from Rossi and Strauss where they couldn't be overheard. Morgan wrapped an arm around Garcia's shoulders and held her close. She rested her head on his shoulder. Morgan turned toward her when he heard her let out a deep breath.

"You all right, sweet girl?" he asked.

Garcia wiped at her cheeks. Right now, she couldn't flirt with Morgan. Not with her boss and friend fighting for his life on an operating table. "I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"About why somebody did this to Hotch? I mean, I understand you guys make enemies of the slime balls you meet while doing your job. But this…to intentionally hurt Hotch like this…" she couldn't finish and pressed a hand over her mouth as a sob came forth.

Morgan kissed the top of her head and put his chin on top of her head. "I understand baby girl. I do. But trust me when I say Hotch will fight, both for us and for Jack. He won't leave any of us."

"Derek?"

"What is it, baby girl?"

"What Reid said about it possibly being the Rohypnol Rapist. Do you…I mean, do you think it's possible that Hotch was…y'know…"

Morgan let out a deep breath. He hated the possibility that his boss, mentor, and close friend had been violated in the worst way possible, but it needed to be considered. If Reid's assumption proved to be correct that is. But until they knew for certain, Morgan pushed the image too terrible to consider to the back of his mind. He straightened, gently gripped Garcia by both arms, and turned her towards him. "Penelope, I want you to listen to me. Until we have absolute proof of anything other than what we know to be true, we can't jump to conclusions. Understand me?"

Garcia looked into Morgan's eyes. After a minute, she nodded and leaned her head against his chest as his arms circled her.

"I hope you're right, Derek," she said in a low voice.

Reid sat on the floor across from his friends with his knees drawn up, his arms wrapped around them. His friends left him alone, and for that, he was grateful. He wanted to be alone right now. He needed to be alone, and didn't deserve to have any friends around him. Not friends who cared about him anyway. His hazel eyes stared straight ahead at nothing in particular, but his mind was a jumble of mixed thoughts he shouldn't have been having. Thoughts of what he would do if the Unsub they didn't find in Milwaukee had followed them to Quantico just to get to Hotch. He realized Hotch fit the profile of the earlier victims, but when he had pointed that out to the Unit Chief, Hotch dismissed it as nothing more than coincidence. Reid blamed himself for not pursuing the issue with his boss. I should have insisted Hotch take the necessary precautions, or gotten Morgan or Rossi to insist. I should have realized when the attacks stopped that the rapist had focused on Hotch and waiting for an opening. I missed it and looked what happened. Hotch, I am so sorry. I wouldn't blame you if you kicked me off the team, or never spoke to me again.

After he swallowed the lump in his throat, Reid lowered his head and his lower lip quivered. The guilt was enormous and growing steadily. He had failed not only his team, but his Unit Chief; especially his Unit Chief. He had made a mistake by believing the Rohypnol Rapist had left town as the attacks had suddenly stopped. If only he had stopped to realize that the rapist had spotted Hotch and now focused on him instead. If only…

He shuddered as he fought against the image of his boss suffering at the hands of the man he believed responsible. Reid ground his lower jaw so hard he thought it would break. He was positive the Rohypnol Rapist was still in Virginia as Hotch who, to the best of his knowledge, was still alive. He didn't care if anyone had doubts. He himself didn't. The bastard hadn't left any of his earlier victims alive. So why was Hotch still alive? Was it an accident? Had the attacker been interrupted or scared off before he could finish what he started? Did he plan on coming after the Unit Chief again to kill him? The fact that none of his earlier victims lived did not bode well for Hotch. He massaged his forehead against the thoughts running through his head.

You bastard! You fucking bastard! How dare you attack the best man I have ever known in this intimate way. I promise I will end your fucking life when we find you.

Reid was so angry right now he closed his eyes tightly. Added to that had been the fact he had never hated anybody in his entire life. He didn't like the idea of killing anybody in cold blood, but this was different. If anybody deserved to be killed, it was this bastard. Then again, Morgan might be right that they had no proof anything sexual had happened. Only the beating and leaving of Hotch in an alley. That had been bad enough. And if robbery turned out to be the case, he would forever bury his thoughts. But he suspected he was right, and it had been the Rohypnol Rapist, which would mean Hotch had been…stop it! Don't even consider it! Reid ran a hand through his long shaggy brown hair. He had to pull himself together if he was going to help catch the bastard responsible. He had failed Hotch earlier, but he wouldn't fail him this time.

Detective Moeller walked through the front doors of the hospital. After his men had finished searching the alleyway and finding nothing else, the crime scene had been secured. The detective wanted to not only check on Hotchner's condition, but if possible, question him as to whether Benjamin Yardley had been responsible for his injuries.

He was still convinced the janitor was responsible, but he had no evidence, and suspicion alone wasn't proof of the assault. He approached the nurses' station while reaching into his jacket for his credentials. A petite redheaded nurse looked up and smiled.

"Can I help you, sir?" she asked. He held up his badge for the woman to see. Her name-tag read Sallie.

"Yes, ma'am. I'm Detective Moeller. I'd like to know into what room Agent Hotchner of the FBI has been moved?" He put his credentials back in his pocket.

"Hold on one minute, sir, while I check." Sallie's fingers raced over her computer keyboard. Several minutes later her eyes scanned the information on the screen. "I'm sorry, detective, but Agent Hotchner is still in surgery."

Moeller's eyes narrowed. His gut told him this wasn't good. "How long has he been in surgery?"

"Several hours now. If you'd like to wait for the surgeon so you can speak with him, you're welcome to join the others in the waiting area. Do you need directions?"

"I can find it. Thank you." With another smile, Moeller turned away and walked in the direction of the waiting area. He had been in this hospital several times in the past to visit injured or sick friends, and fellow officers wounded in the line-of-duty. As he neared the waiting area, he saw Hotchner's team along with an older woman with blond hair, he did not recognize even though she did seem familiar.

As he got closer, he saw David Rossi look up in his direction. The older man got to his feet and shook hands with the detective.

"Detective Moeller, it's good to see you again," Rossi said. He had liked the detective the first time they met three years ago. He quickly re-introduced the rest of the team each of whom Moeller remembered. Rossi then noticed the detective looking at Strauss. "Let me introduce Section Chief Erin Strauss. You spoke with her on the phone about Agent Hotchner."

Moeller smiled and shook hands with the Section Chief who got to her feet. "It's a pleasure, ma'am," he said with a faint smile.

"The pleasure is mine, Detective," Strauss replied with a small smile. "Are you handling the investigation into the attack on Agent Hotchner?"

"Yes, ma'am, I am. I was hoping to speak with him and get his statement seeing as we have a possible suspect."

After the others heard that, they quickly gathered around the two men and Strauss. Even Reid had gotten to his feet.

Rossi's eyes narrowed. "You have a suspect? Already?"

"Who is it?" asked JJ with arms folded across her chest.

"His name is Benjamin Yardley. He's the janitor of the building next to the alleyway in which Agent Hotchner was found. When I spoke with him, he says he found him when he was taking out the trash. He checked to see if he was still alive, panicked when he found the FBI badge and ID, and called 911."

"You don't believe him?" asked Morgan.

Moeller wrapped his arms around himself. "Not completely. I did at first when he said he panicked after he found Hotchner's badge and ID. But my gut tells me he wasn't being completely honest with me."

"What makes you say that?" asked Strauss.

"I have no proof of anything as I said earlier. But we found Hotchner's wallet near the trash cans; there was no money in it. Now it's possible whoever attacked Agent Hotchner took the money and tossed the wallet afterward. His watch is also missing. I noticed the lines of a stainless steel band on his wrist, but no watch. And we didn't find it anywhere in the alley, so we assume whoever took his cash took the watch, probably to pawn it. To be honest, it looks to be a simple mugging. From the beating Hotchner took, I'd guess about two, possibly three people overpowered him, dragged him into the alley, and proceeded to beat him viciously before robbing him. Then they took his cash and watch, and ran off leaving him in the alleyway. The only thing I haven't figured out yet is how he ended up where he did. From the address on his driver's license, he doesn't live in that area. So how did he get there?"

"You suspect this Benjamin Yardley kidnapped Hotch and brought him into the alley?" asked Prentiss suspiciously. Her gut told her this scenario made no sense, especially with Hotch being a trained agent who easily can defend himself against an assailant. With a glance at her friends, she suspected they felt the same way.

"I don't know. As I said, my gut tells me he's withholding something. Unfortunately, I can't arrest him on suspicion alone so I was hoping to speak with Agent Hotchner. If he can implicate Yardley in his attack, I can then arrest him and hopefully get him to roll on his accomplices. Right now I have no reason to bring him in other than my gut."

"So you suspect this is nothing more then a simple robbery gone wrong," stated Rossi folding his arms across his chest. He stared at Moeller intently. "And maybe…maybe…you have a suspect."

"Unless something tells me otherwise, yes I do on both accounts."

Reid listened to everything being said, and in his analytical mind, it didn't compute. It didn't make sense. He knew Hotch would fight tooth and nail if somebody tried to rob him. There was also a nagging question in his mind that he needed the answer to if possible. Sticking his hands in his pants pockets, he looked directly at Moeller.

"Was there any proof of a sexual assault involved?" he asked point-blank. The others paused and looked at Reid.

Moeller appeared confused. "If you're asking if there was any sign he was raped, I really couldn't tell you. Didn't appear to be. I mean his clothes were disarranged. But that could have easily happened during the fight with his assailants. Why do you ask?"

Strauss looked at Reid with concern. "Where are you going with this, Doctor Reid? There's no proof Agent Hotchner was sexually assaulted, or that this Rohypnol Rapist is even in Virginia."

But Reid plunged straight ahead anyway, and looked at Moeller seeing his confusion. "There was an Unsub in Milwaukee who got away before we could apprehend him called the Rohypnol Rapist who targeted men with dark hair and in their forties. After he raped and sodomized them, he would manually strangle them, and leave their bodies for the police. Hotch fit the profile of the earlier victims. I believe he targeted Hotch, but couldn't get to him because he was never alone."

Moeller was still puzzled. "And you're telling me this Rohypnol Rapist came here just to attack Agent Hotchner?"

Before Reid could respond, Morgan jumped into the discussion. "We don't have any proof of that, detective." He then looked at Reid who avoided his friend's eyes and looked down at his shoes.

"Sorry," Reid muttered, embarrassed. He knew he had to get a grip on his emotions if he was going to be any help in finding Hotch's assailant or assailants. But he just couldn't shake what his gut was telling him.

Moeller let out a deep breath. "I understand how each of you feels. But until I can speak with Agent Hotchner, and the doctor who examined him, we can't prove anything."

"Family of Aaron Hotchner?" asked a voice.

Everybody turned to see a man of average height with green eyes, wearing bloodstained surgical garb and a cap covering his head. His face was unreadable, but there was something in his eyes that scared the small group in front of him.

"That's us, and it's Agent Hotchner," Rossi said as everyone gathered around Rossi. He introduced the others and Detective Moeller. Everybody then waited for the doctor to speak and tell them about their friend.