Chapter 35

Hotch tried to occupy himself by turning on the television. Not that he was interested in the broadcast, but to keep from being bored. Even the brief session with his new shrink, Doctor Amanda Carson, didn't keep the boredom at bay. When he looked back at it, it couldn't even be called a session. It was more of a 'getting to know you' meeting. Still, Hotch believed the meeting hadn't been a waste. She decided to see him twice a week beginning tomorrow and he found himself readily agreeing. He told her he was willing to do all he can to heal himself not only physically, but mentally as well. He was so preoccupied, he wasn't paying much attention to the news. In fact, he almost missed seeing the door open, and a blonde female head with red eyeglass frames peek at him from the doorway. A smile showing his dimples broke out on his face.

"Garcia…" he said turning off the television using the remote, almost joyful to have someone to speak with instead of staring at a television screen.

"Is this a bad time, sir?" the tech analyst asked hesitantly having not stepped any further inside the room. She winced at how small her boss looked in the hospital bed, not to mention how pale he looked against his black hair and bruises.

"Never. It's a great time." He shifted his position on the bed to get more comfortable. "I've watched so much television lately I can probably recite what I've seen verbatim."

Garcia chuckled as she stepped further into the room. So glad his dimples are all right. I couldn't handle it if those adorable dimples had been damaged in the beating. She smoothed her white, bright red, and blue dress with a black waist-length jacket, sat down in the chair, and placed her computer carrying case beside her feet. Her dangling red, white and blue earrings matched her dress. She clasped her bejeweled fingers together and placed them in her lap, and stared at Hotch with a huge grin on her face.

"Then you would sound like our adorable mini-genius, Doctor Reid," she teased.

Hotch appeared horrified. "Don't be cruel, Garcia. One Doctor Reid on this team is quite enough." It was a joke of course, and despite his still swollen eye, she could see the amusement in his eyes. But he grimaced momentarily causing the tech analyst's eyes to narrow, concerned.

"Are you sure you're all right, sir? I can always come back later if you're not up to a visit right now. I don't want you to be obligated to stay awake just for me." She studied the bruises on his face, a few, though healing, were in various shades of greenish-yellow. And the fading blackish-red hand marks were still visible on his throat. Garcia wanted to cry seeing her dark and handsome Unit Chief looking like he'd gone fifteen rounds with Mohammed Ali and lost. Her eyes then fell on the wires and machines Hotch was hooked up to and bit her lower lip to keep it from quivering.

"Oh, sir…." She said shakily as her eyes got misty.

"Don't let all these machines frighten you. It looks worse than it really is," he said trying to lighten the mood.

A sad smile appeared on Penelope's face as she looked down at her hands for several seconds before looking up again.

"How are you, sir? Really."

Hotch smiled. "I'm okay."

Garcia relaxed a little. "Really? I mean…that's good. You look good. That's not to say you don't always look good. It's just that you look really good considering what hap... Wait, that didn't come out right. What I'm trying to say is…"

Hotch chuckled. God how he missed her rambling! He held up a hand. "Stop, Garcia. I understand what you're trying to say."

"Really? You're not just saying that, are you?"

"No. I swear." He observed his technical analyst in silence waiting for her to say something. After a few minutes, he broke the deafening silence. "How are you, Penelope? How's the team? I miss everybody."

"I'm good, my liege. The team's good. They're all hard at work trying to…you know. But they all send their love, and we all miss you. And we do, sir. Really. I mean, not that Rossi is a bad team leader, but he's not you, sir." Her eyes suddenly widened in horror when she realized what she mistakenly implied. "Nobody can replace you. But that's not to say Rossi's a bad team leader or anything. You won't tell him I said that, will you? He might get the wrong idea." she hid her mouth behind her hand.

Hotch smiled. "It'll be our little secret, Garcia. I promise. And thank you."

Garcia relaxed. "You're welcome, sir." Even though she wasn't a profiler, she sensed her boss felt left out of things. As if he wasn't part of the team, or even if he was needed anymore. And nothing could be further from the truth. "Sir, I have an idea what you're thinking, and you're wrong. We do need you. We'll always need you. And don't you dare think otherwise." Hotch stared into her eyes as a grin appeared on his face. She smiled back. To Hotch, it never ceased to amaze him how Garcia always understood the best way to brighten what began as a dark day.

To Hotch, words like 'thank you' were so inadequate, but would have to do for now. He made a mental note to himself to do something nice for her when he returned to work. His eyes fell on her the carrying case on the floor. "Why did you bring your laptop with you? Something tells me it didn't exactly tell you it missed me."

"No, silly," Garcia explained as she grabbed her bag, placed it on her lap, and removed the laptop from it. She sat it on Hotch's portable tray, opened it, and turned on the power. "Uh, sir, I uh…I brought it at the behest of my Acting Liege." She studied Hotch's reactions with a wary look. "He thought it would be better if you saw it for yourself."

"And what exactly is it I'm suppose to be seeing?" Hotch asked. He had a pretty good idea what it was, but wanted Garcia to verify his suspicion. His eyes narrowed which made Garcia wonder if her agreeing to do this had been a bad idea after all. But she had promised and couldn't back out now.

"It's Darryl Wheaton's confession, sir. Agent Rossi figured you might be more inclined to believe him if you saw the interview. Seeing as you didn't when he told you your friend had confessed to taking part in what happened."

Bingo!

"Dave asked you to show me?"

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry, sir."

Hotch shifted in the bed again until he got comfortable. "Sorry for what? You're just following orders." He understood exactly why Dave sent Garcia. It was because Hotch would never let his anger loose on her.

Garcia averted her eyes. "I know. But still, it's gonna be hard to see a friend admit to assaulting you. And Agent Rossi just…"

Hotch swallowed the lump in his throat. "Play it," he ordered stoically not letting her finish.

Garcia looked at Hotch warily. "Sir?"

"I want you to play the recorded interview with Darryl." He braced himself to see what he had already told himself to be true.

"Yes, sir."

Garcia pressed the play button and the recording started to play. As they viewed the tape, Hotch's body tensed when Wheaton described, in detail, what he and the UnSub did to him. Garcia studied his pain-filled face, and rested a hand on top of his gripping it tightly. It was the only way she could offer support, and let Hotch realize he wasn't alone.

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Nearly an hour after she had spoken with David Rossi, Jessica Brooks put Jack to bed. She was amazed that after the lunch he had that her nephew still had room for a dinner of mac and cheese and a glass of milk, but he did. Afterwards, instead of going to bed herself, she paced the living room floor; back and forth, back and forth, nervously wringing her hands as she paced. Why does CPS want to speak with me about Jack's relationship with Aaron? What is it they want?

All she had to go by was what she learned when she called the number on the card which had been left. She had asked to speak with the agent whose name was on the card as well, a Camille Marco. But Mrs. Marco was out on another case and unavailable. When asked why CPS wanted to speak with her, and what it had to do with her ex-brother-in-law, she discovered CPS had received a complaint. A complaint involving her ex-brother-in-law and his relationship with her nephew. And Mrs. Marco would speak with her in the morning. But she would pass on to the agent that Miss Brooks had called.

Jessica felt the beginnings of a migraine, but she kept pacing. Closing her eyes, she pinched the bridge of her nose. She suspected what she learned did not bode well for her ex-brother-in-law. Aaron was a good and decent man. In her heart, she had no idea what the complaint could be about as Aaron never did anything wrong in his entire life.

The ringing of her doorbell stopped her pacing. She hurried forward and looked through the peephole, suddenly afraid. On the front steps on her home was a middle-age man with thick black hair with a bit of gray at the temples. She paused as her heart dropped into her stomach. Dave Rossi had promised she would receive a call, not that somebody would come to her home. Had Mrs. Marco sent somebody to question her before Rossi's friend arrived? She hesitantly gripped the doorknob as the doorbell rang again.

"Miss Brooks?"

"Yes?" asked Jessica hesitantly without opening the door.

"My name is Daniel Harmon. I'm a friend of Dave Rossi. He asked me to talk with you about a matter of importance."

With a sigh of relief, Jessica unlocked the door and opened it. Daniel Harmon smiled broadly at the young woman who appeared to him to be at the end of her rope. Jess offered him her best smile considering the circumstances. Asking Harmon to please come inside, she stood aside and allowed the man to pass her. And for the first time since before she had found that business card from CPS in her door, Jessica Brooks sensed things would be all right no matter what.

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The recording ended and Garcia hit the 'STOP' button shutting off the laptop's power. Still gripping Hotch's hand, she stared into his face and saw sadness and betrayal reflected in his eyes along with what looked like understanding.

"Hotch? Are you all right?"

Hotch let out a deep breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. He looked at Garcia and saw only compassion in her eyes.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm all right. It was just…it's one thing to have been told Darryl did it, but another to hear the words from his own mouth. I guess I…I had to convince myself that what I suspected was true."

"I'm so, so sorry, sir. I realize he was a friend from college, but he had no right to do what he did to you. If you want, I can wreck his credit. I can ruin his life. I can even have my Chocolate Adonis do him in, then give him a place to hide the body. I can….oh…" Garcia noticed Hotch's expression change to one of resignation. "Sir, you said you suspected what you just heard to be true before you watched the tape. Does that mean you already made up your mind that Agent Rossi spoke the truth when he told you your friend had taken part in attacking you?"

"Yeah, I guess I did."

"So…so you're not mad with Agent Rossi anymore?"

"I was never angry with Dave, Penelope. What I meant to say is that I had to decide who was more likely to not be totally honest with me. I guess I had already convinced myself which one it was, but it wasn't until I watched that taped interview that I knew my choice was correct."

"When did you decide it was Darryl, Mon Capitan?"

"Darryl would never have done what he did if he hadn't been coerced. I understand why you reacted the way you did, but believe me when I say he's a good guy, Garcia. He never hurt anyone in his entire life. Yet somebody found out he was a single father, needed work, friends with me since college, and used that against him. What better coercion than your own child being threatened. I mean…that was probably why he called and asked me to meet with him." Hotch let out a deep breath. "He didn't deserve what happened to him, Garcia."

"Neither did you, sir. Neither did you." Garcia paused for several seconds and squeezed his hand.

"What is it, Garcia? I can tell something's on your mind."

"When he called you, do you think he wanted you to rescue his daughter from whoever was holding her and her babysitter?"

"That's exactly what I believe, Garcia. But somehow this kidnapper found out he was planning on asking for my help, and decided to take his daughter and babysitter as hostages."

Garcia found herself puzzled over something. "Hotch, how did the kidnapper find out he was planning to ask you to help rescue his daughter? I mean, how would he have that information? As far as we know, he wasn't anywhere around while you and Darryl were talking."

Hotch studied her face as a realization hit him. "You just raised an interesting question, Garcia."

"I did? What did I say?"

"Exactly how did the UnSub find out Darryl was calling me to ask for help? I mean, from what he said on that tape, it didn't sound like the UnSub had been present. And if that's true, the only way he found out was if he had inside knowledge. And for that to happen…."

"The UnSub has to be someone close to the investigation," Garcia interjected in horror.

Hotch's face brightened. Penelope had helped him uncover something important which needed to be passed onto Rossi.

"Thank you, Penelope."

"For what, sir?"

"For helping discover something to help uncover who this guy is. We need to get this info to the team asap."

Garcia smiled at her boss. "You're entirely welcome, Mon Capitan. Glad the Almighty Goddess of Technical Wonder was able to help you. And I'll also make mention that you were the one who figured it out."

"That isn't necessary." Hotch, using his good hand, started to reach for the phone only to have it ring the minute his hand touched it. With a curious glance at the blonde, he picked up the receiver putting the receiver to his ear.

"Hotchner."

"Agent Hotchner, my name is Agent Carson Scanlon from Child Protective Services."

Hotch's body tensed hearing CPS. And despite his best effort to try and hide it from Garcia, she still realized a slight change in Hotch. But one thing obvious to her was that whoever he was talking to, said something that affected her boss. She decided to keep watch over Hotch aware he was in a delicate state of mind and didn't need to be upset. Not by anybody. And damn anyone who crossed that line.

"Why is an agent from Child Protective Services calling me, Agent Scanlon?" Hotch asked warily. He had never heard of this agent, nor did he know anybody in CPS. "How can I help to you?" He glanced at Garcia who returned his stare with wide eyes.

"The reason I'm calling you, Agent Hotchner, is that we've had an allegation filed with our office against you claiming you sexually abuse your five-year-son, Jack."

"What?!" Hotch shot up straight in bed causing him to grimace from the sudden motion. The alarms of the machines he was hooked up to, began going crazy, especially the heart monitor. "That's a lie!" Hotch shouted. "I would never…never…" Hotch squeezed his eyes shut as pain shot through his body. He put one hand flat against his chest and his entire body shook.

"Hotch!" Garcia shouted jumping to her feet, scared out of her wits, her body frozen in place.

The door to his room was pushed open, and Doctor Sinclair rushed in, followed by two nurses. Sinclair was removing his stethoscope from around his neck. Garcia panicked and snatched the dropped receiver, moving as far out of the way as she could to give the doctor and nurses room to work. She pressed the receiver to her ear. Whatever this bastard said to upset Hotch is gonna pay for this! I am so gonna ruin you!

"Who are you?! And what did you say to upset Agent Hotchner?!" Garcia demanded as she watched Sinclair put the oval disc of his stethoscope to Hotch's chest. Hotch appeared to still be in the throes of a full-blown panic attack. Fortunately for her, the doctor and nurses didn't seem to remember she was even still in the room.

Garcia was frightened as to what was happening to her boss. But at least the alarms had ceased. "I asked you a question, Agent Scanlon. What did you say to Agent Hotchner?"

"Who…who is this?" Scanlon nervously asked. He didn't expect someone else to get on the phone, and wasn't prepared for it. Also, he had overheard the commotion taking place before Garcia came on the phone.

"This is Agent Garcia with the FBI, and I asked you first," Garcia's anger rose steadily. Also, she sensed something was seriously wrong here. She bit her lower lip as the doctor prepared a syringe and inserted the business end into Hotch's upper arm. She ground her jaw. Scumbag, you're gonna wish you had never spoken to Hotch who now had begun to quiet down from the injection.

"Agent Scanlon, for your information, Agent Hotchner is in the hospital. Whatever you said upset him to the point that his doctor stepped in and treated him. And just so you know, I do not like anybody upsetting my boss and causing the doctor to come running. So let me assure you, Agent Scanlon, that Agent Hotchner's superiors will want to speak with you about this matter and about your insensitivity to Agent Hotchner's condition."

Scanlon swallowed nervously. Hemminger's plan had hit a rough spot, and he was losing his nerve. "I am only doing my job," he announced trying to keep calm and control of the situation.

"As am I," Garcia announced. "Doing my job that is. And I am very good at my job, so I will ask you one last time. What did you say to my boss that upset him so much?" Garcia's question was met by a dial tone. Agent Scanlon had hung up his phone which Garcia found strange in itself. She glanced at her boss who seemed to be resting at the moment. The doctor, becoming aware of her presence in the room, motioned for her to follow him into the hall. She hung up the receiver and followed him out into the hall.

"What happened to my liege," she said. "Is he all right? Will he be all right?"

Sinclair exhaled and faced the blonde with a grim expression on his face.

Miss Garcia, I had to sedate Agent Hotchner for his own welfare. He will sleep throughout the night." He folded his arms across his chest. "Can you tell me what happened earlier which led to this reaction from him? He was doing so well earlier."

"He was fine until he received a telephone call from somebody. I don't know from whom," she lied. "But it upset him greatly, and my Boss-man doesn't get upset. Not like this. Will he be all right?" Her eyes became misty.

"He should be if he doesn't become upset again as he was a few minutes ago. In his current state of mind, he can't handle any added stress right now."

"I'm sorry."

Sinclair smiled. He liked the young brightly dressed woman. She was so different from the usual visitors his patient had. "I'm not blaming you, Miss Garcia. But you must understand that although Agent Hotchner is not in any danger of dying, I am worried about him emotionally. As his night doctor, I will not allow his emotional well-being to suffer further. Also, I will have to tell Doctor Correa of this latest situation. And whether he will allow Agent Hotchner to continue having visitors, or even have a phone, will be up to him as the primary physician." He felt badly seeing the woman's expression. "Please understand, Miss Garcia. I'm not saying that's what will happen, but is just a possibility."

Garcia nodded. "I understand."

"I hope so. Because emotionally he can't take any more stress on top of the stress from his injuries and from the assault itself. He's in a fragile state. I realize you and the other agents who have visited don't want to see him have a complete breakdown."

"Is that possible?" she asked with fear on her face.

"Anything's possible when one is dealing with the human mind."

Garcia let out a deep breath. "Gotcha. I don't want my liege to be hurt any more than he already is." She looked in the direction of Hotch's room. "Is it okay if I leave him a note so when he wakes he doesn't think he freaked me out with his reaction? He's gonna be embarrassed enough when he wakes up and remembers I saw him breakdown. I don't want him to worry about that."

Sinclair smiled with arms crossed. "It sounds like he's important to you and the others."

Garcia smiled. "Boss-man is very special to all of us, doc. He's always been there for us, and we want to be there for him any way we can. It's the least we can do for him."

"Of course."

"Thank you for understanding. Just let me grab my laptop, leave a brief note, and I'll be on my way."