a/n: I worked on this chapter for a long time. It just didn't flow the way I wanted and then my computer crashed so I had to recover the files. I hope to have the rest of the story edited soon and posted as well.

I don't own Criminal Minds or High Mountain Rangers. However, it has been said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

A few hours later

Cody looked up as his parents came back into the room. Matt had stayed with him while the others went to get something to eat. He narrowed his eyes as he noticed the two men following behind his father.

"Where's Lisa?" he asked quietly. "And who's that?"

"She's heading back to the station with Jim." Jesse pulled the chair up to his son's bedside. "We gave her the choice of staying here or going back and she wanted to leave. This is Agent Morgan and Agent Gideon from the FBI."

"Why is the FBI here? Does this mean you're going to tell me the truth now?" Cody shot a pointed look at his brother over his father's shoulder.

"Matt didn't lie to you Cody. He just didn't tell you the whole story." Jesse drew the teen's attention back to himself. "What's the last thing that you remember clearly?"

Cody frowned as he thought for a moment. "Filling up my canteen and getting ready to head home," he said slowly. "And maybe a woman?" He blinked and shook his head. "Dad what happened to me?"

"We don't know the entire chain of events but at some point, you were attacked by two people who blame me for their father's death. You were knocked unconscious and dropped over the cliff near Carter's Ridge. Matt and the other rangers found you and evacuated you here to the hospital in the chopper." Jesse paused for a moment to steady his voice. "The hospital staff rushed you into emergency surgery and they have kept you sedated for a week until you healed enough to be able to breathe on your own."

A haunted look came over Cody's face. "I was hurt that bad?"

Jesse nodded. "Badly enough that the doctors were preparing us for the possibility that you wouldn't wake up at all. We almost lost you twice, once in the ER and once while you were in surgery."

"I don't remember any of this," Cody whispered almost to himself. He stared down at the blankets. "I remember being really cold and being in pain and I sort of remember knowing Matt was talking to me but that's it. Why don't I remember?"

"You had a skull fracture that caused some bleeding in your brain. That trauma is affecting your memory," his father said quietly.

"Believe me Toad, you don't want to remember this." Matt spoke softly trying to hide the catch in his voice. "I never want to see you in that kind of condition again. The chopper ride was terrifying because I didn't know if we were going to get here in time."

Cody looked up at Matt hearing the pain in his older brother's voice. "It scared you? You're never scared."

Matt closed his eyes briefly as he took a deep shaky breath. "Cody, I watched you stop breathing in the ER. I thought I was going to lose my little brother for good. Yeah, you scared the heck out of me." He moved forward until he could pull the teen into a tight hug. "Please don't ever do that to me again."

"I'll do my best," Cody murmured against his shoulder. He pulled away and a faint grin touched his mouth. "If you stop calling me Toad."

Matt laughed softly at the long-standing joke the two brothers shared. Those few words, more than anything else, reassured him that his brother was on the mend.

Morgan spoke up. "I know you said you don't remember much. But I'd like to ask you a series of questions that's designed to help your mind recall information. Do you feel up to talking to us?

Cody didn't speak for several long moments. Jesse and Matt shared a look as the silence dragged on.

"Cody?" Gideon spoke quietly. "I know it's scary to try and think about what happened. I know you don't really want to relive those memories. And I promise you, no one is going to force you to talk to us. But if you can tell us what happened, we'll have a better chance at figuring out how to catch the people that hurt you." Once again there was a tone to the man's voice that convinced Jesse that Gideon understood the situation on a personal level. "And if it makes you feel better, I've used these techniques with my own son when he was involved in an altercation."

"I'm scared," Cody finally spoke. "I'm already having trouble figuring out what's real and what's a dream. I feel like I'm in a fog and I can't think clearly. How do we know that what I say is even what really happened?"

"We don't. But we can use the information that you give us along with the information that we already have to form a timeline." Morgan answered the teen's questions evenly. "And if at any point you want to stop, then we will. Like Gideon said, we're not going to force you to do something you don't want to do."

"Do my parents have to listen?" Cody suddenly asked after another short silence.

Jackie frowned. "Cody, I'm your mom. We deserve to know what happened to you." She folded her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes at her younger son.

Jesse rose and took her arm. "If he's more comfortable talking without us in the room, then we'll go out to the waiting room and give him some space. He doesn't need us hovering over him." The former ranger gently guided his wife from the room. Matt made to follow before Cody spoke his name.

"Matt? Don't go. I need you here." There was a slight tremor to the teen's voice. Matt turned back and dropped into the chair his father had vacated squeezing his brother's hand.

"It's ok Cody. I'm not going anywhere."

Morgan stepped forward and placed a hand on Cody's shoulder easily sensing the tension enveloping him. "We'll take it slow, okay? And any time that you want to stop, just say the word. Now take some slow deep breaths and close your eyes. Think back to your ride and the area you were in." He paused until he saw Cody's body relax. "What are you seeing around you?"

"The clearing and the stream. I saw a couple of deer and got some pictures of them before I just relaxed until the sun was about to go down."

"What are you feeling?"

"Content. Relaxed. Happy. I love the mountains."

Morgan nodded even though the young man couldn't see him. "Are you alone?"

"Yes. The clearing is pretty remote. There aren't a lot of trails up that far. Weekend hikers wouldn't know about it."

Gideon narrowed his eyes. Cody's statement reinforced the idea that Allen and Christine had planned the attack for an extended period of time before carrying out their plan.
"Tell me what you're hearing."

"The water from the creek. Cooper grazing, the birds singing. The sun is starting to set so I decided that it was time to head home."

"Had you unsaddled your horse?"

"No. I gathered the reins and was about to mount when she appeared."

"She?"

"A woman just appeared. I don't know who she is."

"Did she say how she got there?" Morgan asked.

Cody frowned slightly. "She said she was lost and she just kept walking."

"What can you tell me about her?"

"She…." Cody stopped for a moment. "She doesn't look like she's been hiking for a long time."

"How so?" Matt bit his lip as the question slipped out before shooting an apologetic look at Morgan. The agent gave him a reassuring smile.

Cody opened his eyes and looked over at his brother. "She didn't have a pack. She didn't seem out of breath or tired for someone who had been hiking for several hours. She wasn't anxious like someone who claimed to be lost." He sighed and closed his eyes again. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. I don't feel good right now."

"One last question. Can you give us a description of this woman?" Gideon asked from the corner of the room.

"She was probably around Matt's age." Cody replied without opening his eyes. "I don't remember anything else."

"Thank you, Cody. You did great." Morgan and Gideon headed for the door.

"Wait," The two agents looked back at the bed. Cody had half opened his eyes with an odd look on his face. "She told me her name. Her name was Christine."

Morgan kept his face neutral even as a sense of elation swept through him. The pieces of the puzzle were falling into place. "Are you certain?"

Cody let his eyes fall closed again as he shrugged slightly. "As certain as I am about any of this," he said ruefully.

A half smile touched his brother's mouth. "You're doing great Toad."

"Quit calling me toad." Cody was asleep almost before the words left his mouth.

Gideon chuckled softly. The easy banter between Matt and Cody reminded him of the interplay that often happened between his own sons.

"What is it?" Matt glanced over at the agents.

"Watching you and your brother reminds me of the relationship between my own sons. The age gap between Spencer and Ezra is a little more than you and Cody but they have the same teasing interactions."

Matt smiled again then blinked as Gideon's words registered. "Spencer? As in Dr. Reid?"

Gideon nodded. "Yes. Reid is my son. I won't go into the details because it isn't relevant to this case but suffice it to say, I fully understand what you and your father are going through. When this is all over, we can sit down and talk about it. But now isn't the time." He opened the door and followed Morgan into the hall. "I'll send your parents back in."

"Thank you, Agent Gideon."

The next morning at the station

"I've narrowed it down to two different cabin rentals that meet our criteria. Unfortunately, neither of them actually made a copy of the renter's identification. However, Cutler and Prentiss are taking pictures of Allen and Christine to both rental offices to see if anyone can make a positive identification." Reid posted a map with the two cabins circled on it for the rangers and agents to see.

"I know where both of those cabins are located," Hart pointed the one of circles. "This one is the closest to Jesse's cabin. It's a little further from the hospital but it's not significantly out of the way."

"We'll check that one first then. If we don't find anything, we'll head to the other one," Hotch said.

Just then Morgan's phone rang. "Hey Prentiss, what did the rental company say?" He nodded as he listened. "Sounds good. We're headed there now." He turned back to the unit chief. "Allen rented the first cabin approximately four months ago."

"Let's move. Allen's a time bomb since his sister was arrested." Hotch led the way.

"Do you think he'll go after Matt?" Hart was at his side as the team left the station.

"Not if he stays at the hospital. I don't think Allen will challenge him there." Hotch replied. "I just hope Allen doesn't try to lure him away."

"You think he will?" Hart sounded skeptical.

"I don't know. His pattern has been broken so there's no telling how he's going to respond." Hotch replied grimly.

Allen smiled to himself as he watched the FBI agents and the rangers raid the cabin he had rented. "Took you long enough to find me," he thought to himself. He lowered the binoculars he was using and checked his watch. "Just enough time to make a phone call."

Connie knocked on the door before poking her head in. "Matt? There's a call for you at the desk."

The tall ranger glanced at his phone before shooting the nurse a confused look. "Who is it?"

"I'm not sure. They said they were from the sheriff's office."

Matt followed the nurse to the desk and picked up the line she indicated. "Matt Hawkes."

"Hello Matthew. How's Cody doing today? Seems the nurses' station is all abuzz with the news that he woke up yesterday."

The ranger stiffened as the man on the other end of the line spoke. "Allen Stratton," he said quietly. "How do you know Cody's condition?"

"Oh, I know all sorts of things about that hospital. I've been in and out so many times that I almost have the layout memorized. I also know that Deputy Anderson is the one assigned to Cody's room at the moment." Allen paused to let his words sink in. "By the way, the FBI and your rangers finally found my cabin. I thought about rigging it to explode but changed my mind and just watched them scurry around in confusion instead."

"Why did you change your mind?"

"Because they aren't the ones I'm after. You are and it's time that we finished our little game of cat and mouse."

Matt took a deep breath. "What do you want Allen?"

"I want your head on a platter."

"That's not going to happen," Matt said firmly.

"Oh, I think it will. You see you have two choices. You either meet me on the ridge where you found your brother or I will walk into that hospital and start shooting each person that I see." Allen's voice was low and smug. "You come alone and unarmed. You have two hours."

"How do I know that you won't start shooting even if I do meet you?" the ranger kept his voice down to minimize the chances that the nursing staff would overhear his conversation.

"You don't but if you don't meet me then it's guaranteed I will," Allen shot back. "Two hours Ranger Hawkes."

The dial tone sounded before Matt could respond. He stood at the counter for a few more minutes just staring at the phone. Finally, he sighed and went back to his brother's room. Cody was dozing again but his parents were talking softly.

"Dad? Something's come up. I need to run to the station for a few minutes." Matt fervently hoped his father wouldn't press him for details. Jesse was famous for knowing when people were lying to him, especially his sons.

His father narrowed his eyes at him but thankfully didn't ask any questions. "Hurry back."

"I will." Matt squeezed his brother's shoulder and hugged his mom before hurrying to his vehicle. He swiftly drove back to the station but instead of parking in the lot like usual, he pulled around back to the shed where the team stored the dirt bikes, snowmobiles and motorcycles when not in use. He sat there for a few minutes trying to formulate a plan. Suddenly he paused as he noticed Robin walking across the yard to the shed and he smiled as a thought occurred to him. He waited until the door closed behind her then swiftly slipped inside. Robin spun around as he entered and he pressed his finger to his lips in the signal for silence. She frowned but nodded in understanding. Matt glanced out the small window in the shed before pulling Robin down and out of view of anyone that could be watching.

"Matt? What's going on?" she whispered softly.

"I don't have much time to explain," he replied. "I owe you an apology. I never should have questioned your judgement as a Ranger. I know you'd never purposefully do anything to endanger Cody."

"I didn't follow protocol," Robin pointed out.

"True but you had a good reason and your instincts were right." Matt paused to take a deep breath. "Stratton called me at the hospital. If I don't meet him in an hour and a half on the ridge where we found Cody, he's going to shoot up the hospital."

"He what?" Robin gasped. "Matt, you can't make yourself a target."

"I don't have a choice. I'm not going to risk him killing more people. He was watching when the teams raided his cabin so I'm sure he's watching the station now."

"Then I'm going with you," she said determinedly.

"You can't. He said alone and unarmed." Matt held her eyes with his own. "I need you to make sure he doesn't kill anyone at the hospital. Wait until the deadline then inform the FBI and lead the rest of the team up to the ridge. If the worst has happened, you track down Stratton and you bring him in. That's an order," he added as she made to protest.

Robin pressed her lips together before nodding. "I don't like this, Matt."

"I know. I don't either." Matt shook his head. "I wish I could slip inside and get some supplies but I don't dare risk it."

Robin half smiled. "I'll be back in a minute. You get your bike ready." She was gone before he could object.

By the time he checked the fuel levels and tire pressure on his bike, she had returned with one of their backpacks slung over one shoulder.

"Here, I put trail rations and water in it for you. There's also a small first aid kit and a fire starter."

"Thanks Robin." Matt grabbed his helmet then paused. "I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't backed into a corner."

"I know," Robin answered. "Be careful and watch your back. Stratton's playing for keeps."

"I know. I'll see you soon." Matt walked the bike out of the shed before hitting the gas and taking off across the field. Robin watched him until he disappeared into the trees, a feeling of unease building as he left.

"There's no way you're letting him go alone."

She jumped as Morgan spoke from behind her. She turned to look at him. "We don't have a choice. Matt isn't willing to risk Stratton shooting innocent people at the hospital."

"What if Stratton doesn't know we followed?"

Robin met his gaze thoughtfully before a determined look crossed face. "Do you know how to ride a horse, Agent Morgan?"