A/N: I want to thank everybody who voted for FLOWERS FROM DEATH for a Profiler Award as runner-up for BEST TEAM/CASE Fic. Congrats to all the other winners also. And kudos to the moderators for a job well done.

Chapter 38

It was an emotionally drained David Rossi who walked through the front doors of the hospital early this morning. But as tired as he was, he desperately needed to see his best friend before he went to work. He stifled a yawn as he approached the nurses' station.

He had been so exhausted by the time he got home the night before, he hadn't even bothered to change out of his work clothes. He collapsed onto his king-size bed with Mudgie stretched out beside him as if sensing his master's exhaustion. The dog snored softly, content to snuggle up against his master's back.

But try as he might, Rossi had been unable to sleep. He had been too tightly wound up to allow his body to rest. In fact, after what seemed like hours, he soon gave up and swung his legs over the edge of his bed. Mudgie lifted his head and stared at him, annoyed at being disturbed. But the dog soon lay his head back down and went back to sleep again.

As he ran his hands down his face, Rossi glanced at the clock on his nightstand. The time was a little past four a.m. After that, he suspected he wouldn't get any more rest so he gave up, got out of bed, and prepared a pot of coffee. He somehow doubted his team members were getting anymore sleep than him. While he waited for the coffee to be ready, he let himself think about Hotch. When the coffee machine signaled it was done, Rossi poured himself a full mug, and sat down in his plush lounger with his feet elevated.

Mudgie had come downstairs while his master was in the kitchen, and sat beside the lounger, his head resting on the arm of the chair staring at his owner. Rossi studied his dog's eyes, and swore he saw worry etched in them. As he took a drink of coffee, he ran a hand over the dog's head. In response, Mudgie wagged his tail back and forth. He seemed to be smiling at his owner.

Rossi recalled how Mudgie and Aaron had gotten along so well the moment they first met. But it was Hotch's son, Jack, who apparently won the dog's heart. Whenever Aaron and Jack visited, Mudgie never left Jack's side, even when asleep. The dog usually curled up on the foot of Rossi's bed. But whenever Jack stayed over, the dog could be found cuddled against the boy on his bed. "You're worried about Aaron, too, aren't you boy?" Rossi asked. The dog 'woofed' softly in response to his master's question as if he understood. Rossi smiled and scratched the dog's head. "So am I, boy. But he's gonna be okay. I promise you. We won't let anybody hurt him further. So try not to worry, okay?" Mudgie barked excitedly in response trusting his master.

Rossi finished his coffee and got to his feet. As he got out of the chair, only one thought ran through his mind, and that was he needed to see his friend. And he didn't care if visiting hours were hours away. Garcia had told him how Hotch was doing after that phone call, and he didn't doubt she had told the truth. But when it came down to it, he needed to see him with his own eyes. If necessary, he would use his badge to gain access to Hotch's room if they wouldn't allow him to see him right away.

Rossi walked into the kitchen, rinsed out his coffee cup, and sat it on the kitchen counter to dry. As it did so, he headed into the bathroom for a quick shower and change of clothes. Afterward, he would take Mudgie out for a walk, and put down fresh water and food before he left for the hospital.

A little over an hour later, Rossi was on his way to the hospital in his SUV. There weren't many vehicles on the street at this early hour, so he arrived at the hospital sooner than he thought. After he parked his vehicle, the agent got out and marched up the steps, reaching into his jacket as he did so. He wanted to have his credentials ready in case he was stopped. As there weren't many people about, Rossi didn't have to wait in line as he approached the Nurses' counter. The gray-haired older woman glanced up from her computer and stared at the older man. Her name tag said 'Bowers.'

"Can I help you?" she asked coolly. Rossi held up his credentials. The nurse didn't seem to be impressed at all. "Sir, visiting hours aren't for two more hours."

"I realize that, nurse. I am Agent Rossi of the FBI. And I'm here to see Aaron Hotchner…Agent Aaron Hotchner." He put away his identification. He sensed this woman was going to give him problems which he was not in the mood for at the moment.

The woman still wasn't impressed one bit. "Sir, visiting hours begin at nine a.m. But our cafeteria is open, so I suggest you have some breakfast or a cup of coffee, and come back around then." She returned to her paperwork ignoring Rossi completely. But Rossi was not someone to be ignored. He slammed his palm onto the counter top causing the nurse to look up at him, annoyed.

"Nurse Bowers," Rossi said looking into her face again, trying to keep a lid on his rising anger. "I am well aware of when visiting hours begin. But you will find out if you bother to check, that the FBI has permission from the Chief-of-Staff to visit Agent Hotchner before, during, and after visiting hours."

Nurse Bowers eyed Rossi up and down with disdain. These federal agents believed that flaunting a badge gave them special privileges regular people weren't given. They should have to adhere to the same rules and regulations the rest of the public had to follow. Well, not on her watch would any feds get away with pulling rank on her. She turned her harsh glare onto the agent.

'Agent Rossi…" she hissed as if his title left a bad taste in her mouth. "Flashing your badge doesn't carry any weight with me. You feds have to follow the rules like everybody else. And don't threaten me with Doctor Maurer. He will agree with what I'm telling you. Now if you wish to come back during visiting hours you…"

"Nurse Bowers!" an angry voice growled from behind her causing the woman to look behind her. She found herself staring into the blazing blue-gray eyes of her boss, Doctor Edward Maurer, the Chief-of-Staff.

She felt so confident the COS would support her that she stood her ground. "Dr. Maurer, I didn't notice you standing there."

"Obviously," Maurer snarled crossing his arms over his chest, still staring at the woman.

"Agent Rossi is trying to visit a patient before visiting hours, doctor. I was simply trying to explain to him..."

"I heard what you were explaining to Agent Rossi, nurse. And now I'm going to explain something to you, and since I'm going to explain it only once, you'd better listen carefully."

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Unless otherwise told, Agent Rossi and the members of his team are allowed to visit Agent Hotchner anytime they please and even stay overnight if they consider it necessary. This is an FBI matter, and is an unusual set of circumstances. So I am permitting it as long as it doesn't disrupt the workings of this hospital. Anything they need or want, and you are on duty, you will see to it right away, no questions asked. And lastly, if Agent Hotchner is to be examined by doctors, Agent Rossi is to be contacted. He is to be with Agent Hotchner when the exam takes place. And if he isn't, the exam will be put off until he arrives. Both doctors have been apprised. You also are not to interfere with either the agents keeping guard inside or outside Agent Hotchner's room. Do I make myself clear, nurse?"

Bowers, still glaring at Rossi's smug face spoke without looking at her boss.

"Yes, doctor," she replied.

"Good. Because if I'm told even one word about you disobeying my instructions, or interfering with what these agents need to do, I promise you there will be dire consequences."

"I understand, doctor."

"Good. Now get back to work. I will take over here." Maurer took Rossi's arm and led him away from the nurses' station. The agent could still feel the woman's eyes boring a hole in the back of his head, but he didn't care. This was Hotch who was involved, and Rossi refused to let anybody prohibit him from doing what was necessary. He was so caught up in his own thoughts he missed most of what Maurer was saying.

"I'm sorry. My mind was elsewhere. Could you repeat what you just said, doctor?"

"I said Agent Hotchner had a restful night, and should be waking up within the next two hours. You're welcome to sit with him until he does. But I must warn you, he might be a bit out of it."

"I understand. And don't be so hard on Nurse Bowers, doctor. I'm sure she means well," Rossi stated. "I'm just worried about Aaron." The two men continued walking toward the bank of elevators.

"I do understand, believe me. And I realize she means well. But she also needs to understand that we often have an unusual set of circumstances which need a different set of rules be implemented. And as I said, as long as it doesn't interfere with the running of this hospital, I have no problems with it. But I will not allow somebody, even a member of my staff, to interfere with what you and your people have to do to protect your agent."

"Thanks," Rossi replied as he pushed the 'up' button for the elevator. He turned toward Maurer and stuck out his hand. The doctor smiled and shook it firmly.

"Let me know when your friend wakes up as I want to have him examined by Doctor Correa. Especially after what I heard happened yesterday." The doctor's eyes narrowed as he folded his arms again across his chest. "Exactly what did happen, Agent Rossi? From what Doctor Sinclair told me late last night, Agent Hotchner became upset after he received a telephone call and had to be sedated?"

"Yeah." Rossi stuck both hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Whoever had a hand in assaulting him, wants to have him believe he's gonna lose his son to CPS." The elevator 'dinged' just before the doors hissed open.

"Child Protective Services? How do they fit into this?" He followed Rossi into the empty elevator.

"The UnSub…"

"UnSub?" asked Maurer.

"Short for Unknown Subject. He had somebody pretend to be calling from CPS, claiming Aaron was being investigated for abusing Jack. That's his son. He became quite upset, thus he had to be sedated when his alarms went crazy."

Maurer shook his head sadly. "From what I understood, a visit from that little boy did wonders for Agent Hotchner. Besides, he doesn't strike me as someone who would hurt anybody especially not a child. I hope you find this bastard."

"We already have, doc. We already have. We're just hoping we can get answers as to who's behind this vendetta against Aaron and put an end to it."

The elevator door hissed open once reaching Hotch's floor, and the two men stepped into the corridor. They walked in the direction of Hotch's room in silence for a few minutes.

Seeing the two agents posted outside Hotch's room, Rossi paused and again held out his hand again.

"Thanks again for all your help, Doctor Maurer. I mean it."

Maurer smiled as he shook the agent's hand. "Anytime. I hope you get whoever's behind this vendetta against Agent Hotchner."

"We will, doctor. We will."

With a nod, the doctor turned and walked away in the opposite direction. He had mountains of paperwork waiting for him from yesterday.

Rossi watched Maurer walk away and sighed. He just hoped he hadn't told the doctor a lie. Or to himself as well. Nodding to both the agents outside the door, Rossi gripped the door handle and started to open the door. But before he did, he heard something which made his blood boil, and anger flood his brain. He released his grip on the door handle, and glared at the agent on the right who avoided looking at him directly.

"What did you just say?" he hissed at the younger man.

"I said how you can be friends with someone like him?" the man asked with a look of disgust on his face.

Rossi glared angrily at the man with arms now across his chest. "Friends like whom?" he spat. He noticed the younger agent starting to wilt under his imitation of the 'Hotchner' stare.

"Friends like him." The man jerked his head toward Hotch's room making it quite clear he was talking about Hotch.

"What's your name, agent?" Rossi asked with knitted eyebrows.

"Agent Smithson, sir."

"Well, Agent Smithson, I suggest you watch your mouth as far as Agent Hotchner is concerned. He is a good man. And I'm sure your boss wouldn't like it if he knew another one of his agents were spreading rumors about Agent Hotchner again." He got right up in the man's face so their noses were nearly touching. "I know I don't like it one bit. Are we clear on that, agent? And I use the title loosely because you may not be one much longer if I decide to report it."

Smithson swallowed hard. He had completely lost his nerve. "I…I didn't realize it was a rumor, sir. I'm…I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't, son." Rossi glanced at the other man on the left side of the door. "And that goes for you as well. Capice?" He saw the man nod his understanding. Rossi then stepped back and opened the door to Hotch's room, closing it behind him. After dismissing the two agents inside the room, he stood with his back to the door trying to calm himself down before he approached his friend.

After a few minutes of taking in and letting out a deep breath, Rossi approached the bed and sat down in the hard plastic chair. He reached out, gripped Hotch's good hand, and held it. He let his eyes scan the machines and wires surrounding his friend before finally settling on his friend's bruised and swollen face.

"I am so sorry, Aaron. So sorry I wasn't here to stop what happened to you yesterday. But I promise I will find the person responsible and make them pay. I also promise you will not lose Jack so don't even worry about that happening. I've seen to it that Jessica has somebody to help her so you needn't worry yourself. You will not lose that little boy. I swear on all I hold dear that will not happen. All you need to do it concentrate on getting better."

Just then, Rossi head a soft noise which sounded like a moan coming from Hotch. The older man leaned closer, still gripping his friend's hand.

"C'mon, Hotch. Open those eyes for me. You can do it. Just open your eyes."

Hotch moaned again and moved his head a bit. Slowly, his eyes opened a slit and tried to focus on the voice speaking to him. Although he couldn't make out who was doing the speaking, the voice did sound familiar. He squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again. He turned back toward the voice, and a faint smile appeared.

"Dave…" he said in a soft voice. He then licked his lips. "Forgive me?"

Rossi's head tilted to the side slightly. "Forgive you? For what?" He had a suspicion but hesitated to voice it as he knew Hotch had to get what was on his mind out.

Hotch sighed. "For doubting you."

"How do you mean?" Rossi asked with narrowed eyes.

"For believing you'd lie to me about Darryl. I know you wouldn't lie just to spare my feelings. I'm sorry."

Rossi smiled. "No need to apologize, Aaron. I don't blame you one bit for thinking what you did when I told you about Wheaton. Besides, I knew you'd figure things out on your own eventually. You just needed time is all."

Hotch snorted. "That's no excuse for how I treated you. I practically called you a liar to your face."

Rossi chuckled. "I've been called worse. Just ask any of my ex-wives." Seconds later, a serious look replaced his original expression. "Aaron, I want to talk with you about the phone call you got yesterday."

Hotch turned his face away from his best friend. "What phone call?" he lied.

"The one Garcia told me you received from CPS."

"Oh," was all Hotch said as he stared out the window on the far side of the room avoiding Rossi's eyes. "It was nothing, Dave. Garcia needn't have worried you. I'm fine."

Rossi knew Hotch well enough to understand that the man was embarrassed. And not only by his reaction to the phone call. But that one of his subordinates had seen his meltdown.

"You are not fine, Aaron. Garcia told me you became upset by that phone call when the caller led you to believe CPS was going to take Jack away from you."

Hotch's sad eyes landed on Rossi's face, but he remained silent. He hoped not commenting would encourage his friend to drop the conversation, but that didn't happen. Rossi is like a small terrier. Once he sank his teeth into something, he didn't let go.

Rossi sighed. "Aaron, I will die before I let CPS or anybody take your son from you. I promise you, I will not let you lose that little boy. And you know I never break my promises."

Hotch sighed wearily. "I know that, Dave.' His eyes misted over and his lower lip quivered. He felt like crying, but didn't want to break down in front of another subordinate even though this one was like a father to him. He was embarrassed enough that Garcia had seen him do so. He did not want a repeat performance. "But I know the accusation isn't true. Still, something tells me someone wants to convince people otherwise. I'm not like my father, Dave. I wouldn't do something so despicable! I try so hard not to treat my son like my father treated me! I would never abuse my son!"

Rossi noticed Hotch become upset even without the frantic beeping of the machine alerting him. He rested one hand on Hotch's shoulder and tried to calm him. The frantic beeping began to slowly return to normal. The last thing Hotch needed was to have doctors and nurses rushing into his room.

"Anybody who knows you knows that, Aaron. And just to make you aware, Garcia found the man who called you yesterday claiming to be from Child Protective Services."

Hotch arched an eyebrow. "Claimed?"

"His name's Carson Scanlon, and he has a lengthy rap sheet. He was last arrested for claiming to be with CPS. Had a fake badge and everything. He would contact people who were under investigation by CPS claiming he could make their cases disappear if they paid him money. He got caught when somebody who paid him had their children removed by CPS."

Hotch shook his head. He had seen results like this hundreds of times. People so desperate to believe in something. Desperate and willing to pay thousands of dollars not realizing what they wanted to believe wasn't true. And it turned out to be nothing more than a scam. His eyes narrowed.

"But why would he call me? I'm not being investigated by CPS."

"Aaron, somebody contacted CPS claiming you abused Jack."

"Oh God!" Hotch's heart machine started going haywire again. "I can't lose Jack, Dave. I can't lose my son!"

"Aaron, calm down, please. You're not gonna lose him. I already have a friend helping Jessica who knows about these matters. Everything's gonna be fine. I promise."

The door to Hotch's room burst open and a doctor and two nurses rushed inside looking anxious. Rossi and Hotch both stared at them.

"It's all right," Rossi assured them. "He's not panicking. He just got some troubling news, but he's calming down, doctor. He doesn't need to be sedated again."

"Please leave me alone," Hotch added. "I'm all right."

The doctor looked back and forth between Rossi and Hotch. But when the beeping of the heart machine returned to normal, the doctor nodded and ushered the nurses out of the room before following behind them. Alone, Rossi turned back to Hotch.

"Aaron, we also suspect Scanlon was working with somebody who has a vendetta against you, and wants to see you suffer by losing your son."

"That can be anybody, Dave. We've all made many enemies throughout our careers. You have somebody specific in mind?"

Rossi exhaled. "Jason Hemminger."

Hotch's eyebrows arched and disappeared into his dark hair at the news.

"Jason? Are you sure?"

"We're sure, Aaron. We're also certain he's responsible for the rumors that are being spread about you."

Hotch couldn't accept what he was hearing to be true. True he hadn't seen Hemminger in several years. And the last time he had was three years ago. And there was no sign of any ill will on Hemminger's part. How did he miss it? Yet, he had wondered about the reason behind the odd looks he'd been receiving from several agents on his security detail.

"Aaron?"

Hotch focused on Rossi not fully realizing he had 'blanked out' for a few seconds. "Sorry, Dave. Guess I 'zoned out' on you. Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah, we are. Apparently he blamed you for years for his dad's death. And has convinced himself you were responsible for his mother's death as well a year later. We uh…we also suspect he's working with the Rohypnol rapist."

Hotch was stunned. "What? Dave, what are you trying to tell me? Why would Jason be working with the rapist?" He suddenly swallowed hard. "Oh my God! You found traces of him on me…in me, didn't you?" He felt a panic attack starting to build.

Rossi saw it also. He squeezed his friend's shoulder. "No we didn't. His DNA doesn't match the unknown sample we found. It wasn't him. He appears to be supplying inside information on you and the investigation to the rapist. It's in exchange for being allowed to torture you with the promise he doesn't kill you."

"What are you saying, Dave? I don't understand?"

Rossi didn't want to tell Hotch the truth.

"We suspect that the rapist wants to attack you again. That's why he doesn't want Jason to kill you, Aaron." He saw Hotch's stricken face. "I am so, so sorry to have to tell you that."

"My attacker wants to rape me again?" Hotch closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Jason wouldn't do this, Dave. No matter how much he hated me."

"You said the same thing about Wheaton, Hotch," Rossi reminded him gently. He saw Hotch open his eyes and stare at him again. "I'm truly sorry. Really. But it was Reid who figured out the connection between Hemminger and the rapist."

"And this Scanlon is connected to my attacker also?"

"It seems he made an arrangement with Hemminger to help torture you by having you believe you were going to lose Jack to CPS. And since Hemminger was the one who arrested Scanlon a while back on the CPS scam, he may have something on him to get him to make that phone call. And we believe you were right when you suspected someone close to the investigation was feeding the rapist inside information. There was no other way he could have known Wheaton was comin to you asking for help in finding his daughter and her babysitter."

"Have you found Darryl's daughter and babysitter yet?"

"The babysitter's dead. Her body was found in an alley a few days ago. The little girl's still missing and presumed to be alive. We're still trying to find her, but we're afraid her time might be running out."

"Dave, you have to find Alana. She's all Darryl has. If he loses her…well, let's just say his reaction will be the same as mine if I was to lose Jack."

"We'll find her, Hotch. I promise you we will."