"Erin looks like she's about to fall asleep on her feet," Hotch said as he came up to Derek to refresh his coffee mug.

"I could say the same about JJ, too. They're both in the final stretches of their pregnancies, and from what Erin's told me, this is when energy levels just continue to dip. Do you think that we could get them to head back to the hotel and turn in early? We're no closer to figuring out where Curtis has holed up in the City, after all, and at some point, it just feels like banging our heads against a brick wall."

"I agree, Derek," Rossi said as he joined them by the coffee maker. "But if you think that you can convince two of the most stubborn women in our orbit to do anything that they don't want to, well, you're braver than I am."

Derek nodded as he took a deep breath. Reid looked up, giving him a little smirk, and that cemented his resolve to get the women to head back and get some rest. Wrapping his hand firmly around his mug, he sauntered over to the women, hoping he looked casual and unassuming.

"Oh, here comes trouble, Erin. Really, how do you keep him in line?" JJ teased. He was surprised to see Erin swallow a chuckle before she yawned deeply. "I feel that, too."

"And that is why I've come over here," Derek said as he slung his free arm around Erin's waist, holding her close as he rested his cheek against her head. "We're about to wrap it up for the evening, but there are a few things that I'm waiting for Garcia to track down. I know it might only be an extra half hour or so, but it's an extra hour of sleep for you, if you leave now. Blake can take you back to the hotel, and we'll all jam into the remaining SUV."

"Derek…"

"No, Erin, you look like you're going to pass out, and that can't be good for the baby. Same for you, Jayje. I know, you want to feel like you're just as raring to go as us, but your bodies are telling a different story currently. Please?"

Erin let out a long breath before rubbing her cheek against his chest. "I hate that you're right. I feel like I'm dragging the team down by being here."

"Erin, you helped us zero in on who the Replicator is. That's not dead weight." He was glad to hear JJ defend his wife, and he smiled at her before pulling away from Erin. "And while I would love to stay here and wait for one last piece of data, I agree with your husband in this case. Let's go before Hotch changes his mind."

Erin nodded before turning to face Derek. Her eyes looked exhausted, but she still looked so beautiful to him. "If I'm asleep when you get back, wake me with a kiss? I'll want to say good night properly."

"Of course, Pretty Lady," he murmured before kissing her gently. Then he looked over at Blake and cocked his head before speaking once more. "And you'll drive safely, right, Blake?"

"Of course. I know that I'll be ferrying precious cargo." He nodded and gave Blake a warm smile before watching the three exit the room.

"We shouldn't be here too much longer, Derek."

"I know, Hotch, but I have this hinky feeling that I can't shake. Like we're so close to this case that we can't see forest for the trees. I really wish that we had been able to call in the Red Cell team to help us with this, they're not as close as we are."

"If the Director had allowed it, I would have brought them on in a heartbeat. He still isn't all that convinced this is that important of a case." Hotch looked so weary in that moment, and that was when Derek realised that this was taxing his resolve, too. "Though if you want to allay some of that worry, you could call the hotel and ask that they call us the moment they get there."

He nodded, knowing that that was a good suggestion. It was a brief call, and the night clerk agreed to do make that call the moment he saw the trio. Once that was done, he went back to the others and took a seat at the table, sifting through the information that they had, along with some of the data that Garcia had already sent their way. There was just so much information there, and it didn't feel like they would ever get any closer to finding Curtis.

The next forty-five minutes passed in the blink of an eye, and he was startled by the heavy feeling of Hotch's hand dropping onto his shoulder. "Do you have your phone on silent?"

Derek shook his head as he picked up the device. There were no notifications from Erin or the hotel, and he knew that the drive should only have taken twenty minutes, thirty if there had been an accident along their route. The blood drained from his face as he looked up into his boss's face, and Hotch closed his eyes as he let out a short puff of breath. "Maybe the clerk forgot to call. Give me a moment?"

"Of course."

Derek unlocked his phone and pressed the number for the hotel, bringing the phone to his ear as he tried to think calmly and clearly. There was every possibility that the clerk had been occupied when the women came by, and so had not been able to call Derek. Or the women had managed to slip by unseen, and he would need to call Erin next to see where she was. Everything was going to be fine. It had to be.

"Thank you for calling the Belvedere, how may I help you?"

"This is Agent Derek Morgan. I called about fifty minutes ago, asking for you to call when our other agents arrived back at the hotel. It's been a little longer than anticipated without a call, and I was just checking in. I know that you might have had other guests to deal with, and so weren't able to call right away, and then it might have slipped your mind. It happens. But, have you seen them?"

"Oh, no, Agent Morgan. There hasn't really been any other guests come in this evening, and I haven't left the front desk since you called, as I know that this was rather important to you. They haven't shown up. Maybe they decided to get food before coming back to our hotel?"

"That's a possibility, yes. I'm going to call my partner, but if you see them before I reach her, would you please call me?"

"Of course, sir. You've probably just crossed wires somewhere."

"I hope. Talk to you soon." The clerk replied similarly, and then Derek was ending the call to tap on his recent calls list, pressing Erin's name. The phone rang and rang before sending him to voicemail, which told him that her phone was still on, but she couldn't answer. After leaving a quick message telling Erin that he loved her, he ended the call and went on to JJ. Again, the phone rang and rang before going to voicemail, and that was when he started to worry even more. Hotch caught his eye, and he shook his head.

"Where are we at, Derek?" he asked as he took a seat across from him at the table.

"They haven't reached the hotel, and both Erin and JJ's phones sent me to voicemail after ringing for a long time. I'm about to try Blake, but…"

"I understand. Dave, Reid, come join us."

The other men took seats at the table, and Derek was grateful for the companionship as he set his phone on the table and then called Blake, putting it on speaker. The longer it rang, the more his anxiety heightened, and he began to tap his foot in an uneasy tattoo. And then, the call went to voicemail, and he closed his eyes as he hung his head lowly. "Fuck."

"I think that it's time we called Garcia," Hotch said softly, and Derek nodded in agreement. His hands were shaking too badly to make the call, and he was relieved when Rossi set his phone on the table next to Derek's, the call immediately on speaker.

"What can I do for you, my dear Italian Stallion?"

It was so good to hear a happy voice in that moment, and Derek let out a long breath as he waited for someone, anyone, to respond to the question. "Kitten, we have a very large problem."

Even though he couldn't see her face, Derek somehow knew that Penelope's entire demeanor had just changed, and she was now laser focused in on them. "Tell me what you need."

"We need you to track down where the women are by GPS. Their phones are on, but they're not answering our calls, and they haven't reached the hotel, either. They've been out of reach for the last hour, now."

"Fuck," he heard Penelope whisper, her fingers clattering away on her keyboard. "What the fuck? Seriously? The fuck!"

"What is it, Garcia?" Hotch asked, his voice tight.

"I can't find them. Their last registered position is outside the hotel, and then they're just…gone. The only way to block GPS is to have a physical blocker, and that's skirting the bounds of legality. There's no way for me to crack it, either, since I have no idea the make or model being used. They're in the wind, Dave, and I am unable to help you."

"That's not true, Kitten. Think about the last time we were in New York, and you were able to track the unsubs through the camera system. Can you do something like that once more?"

"I'd need warrant."

"When was the last time that ever stopped you? Hack into their system and try to track them down. You said that they had stopped outside the hotel, yes?" Rossi asked, frustration dripping from every syllable.

"Yes."

"Then start there. We're three agents down, and time is of the essence. Are you any closer to find John Curtis, either?"

"No."

"I know that you're under a lot of pressure, Garcia. If you need to, pull Kevin or Anderson in to help you out. Dave's right, time is of the essence, and while I don't want to lose any of them, JJ is the first to lose out, since she's collateral damage in this scenario. Curtis doesn't want her, he wants Alex and Erin."

"Oh," Penelope breathed out, and Derek could hear the tears in her voice. "I, I'll do what I can, and bring the others in. As soon as I know something, I will call you back. Stay safe out there, please."

Derek groaned as the magnitude of what Penelope's hands being tied truly meant washed over him. "Our son is depending on you, Garcia. Please, do whatever you can to find them."

"Of course, Boo." Penelope ended the call, and he looked up into Reid's face, seeing that he understood exactly what he was going through, having just been through it with Maeve. His friend tried to smile, but he knew that Reid was thinking the same thing that Derek was thinking – that this would not end well.

"Erin told me that something felt weird about this case before we even flew out here. She knew that something bad was going to happen. I don't think she thought it would be this catastrophic."

Rossi nodded as he pressed his hands flat on the table. "I don't want to think about what they're going through. I want to be out there, canvassing the area, trying to find them."

"And if we head out there half-cocked and full of anger and revenge, we'll get nowhere. So until we have any answers from Garcia, we're going to stay here, pore over the information that Garcia has already given us, and try to build a trail from there. Except for you, Derek. You're too close to this situation at the moment. I know that there's a room here with beds, and I'd like you to get some sleep."

"But Hotch!"

Their leader shook his head, letting out a long breath. "I'm not about to allow you to come apart at the seams when we inevitably track Curtis down and find him and our team. You need the rest in order to give your best when Erin needs it. So please, have one of the officers here show you where you can get some rest, and I promise that I will get you as soon as we have movement. You know that I know what you're going through, and I'm trying to do for you what I wish someone had done for me. Are we clear?"

Derek nodded slowly, knowing that Hotch was right on all counts. "You swear to me that the very second?"

"Yes."

He rose to his feet and slid his phone into his pocket as he looked at the men at the table. He trusted them to have his back in this matter, since it was his wife and their son who's lives were on the line thanks to John Curtis. He just didn't want to miss a thing when time would be of the essence to finding everyone and rescuing them safe and sound.