Not as I Do (Criminal Minds, Hotch/JJ)

[matilda3948]

Oh...wow...

[jezebel215]

Part 8

“The body appears to have been dead about 5 days.”

Rossi’s voice was flat.

“Given the stages of cadaveric decay I place our corpse at the early ‘active decay’ period.”

“I wonder when the UnSub wanted us to find her. At this point the bacteria and maggots have destroyed her. Do you think we were meant to find her earlier? When she was still beautiful, merely heading into the bloat?”

Rossi’s tone was reflective as he paced around the autopsy table. The remains of the victim lay neatly assembled on the insistently shining steel.

“How much decay did he want? Did he even care?”

Emily surveyed the body. “She was buried, albeit lightly. But in the orchard, he had to know we’d find her. Almost as if burying her was a formality, something to keep himself above the beasts who seek only to scourge and savage.”

Rossi raised an eyebrow.

“What? It’s not only famous authors who can wax poetic.”

“True. So why here, why now? The forensics at the scene were minimal, preliminary examination of the body revealed no gross DNA or fingerprints. This may be the first body we’ve found but I don’t think it’s his first kill.”

“No. I agree. Hotch wanted us to concentrate on the tooth sockets. The exodontia seems to be the distinguishing feature of the UnSub’s MO.”

The profilers paused and looked at the professionals of the coroners office.

“The best information we’re ging to get about the size, shape and striations of the tool used to remove the teeth is going to come after we boil the bones. We just need to make sure that we have all the information we can get from the soft tissue before we destroy it.”

Rossi nodded, still looking at the body.

“There’s no lipstick, no makeup, no attempt at styling her hair. She’s not naked but it looks like she’s wearing little else but cotton long johns, if that. She has defensive wounds on her hands, scratches on her arms, diffuse bruising over the torso....” he trailed off. “She put up a fight but through all that, her face remained pristine. No bruising, no damage, only the complete removal of every single tooth.”

Emily and Rossi locked eyes over the dead body. Finally she spoke.

“It’s only about the teeth. The rest of the victimology may help us figure out why she was targeted, what her relationship was to the UnSub, but the primary psychopathology we are seeing here is odontophilia - a fetish for teeth. It’s possible the extraction itself is a key component in his fantasy.”

She paused, staring down at the bloated body on the autopsy table.

“She had a life ahead of her. She had- Emily paused and Rossi finished. “She was about to start everything and now she is nothing but a pile of organic remains. We can make her more than that. And now, I for one, need to go learn a lot more about teeth.”

He gestured to the staff, “Photograph and document every millimeter of the body, especially what we can see of the oral cavity. Our goal is to reach the bone but for the tooth sockets and overall maxillary and mandibular dissection go slowly, every choice the UnSub made here is significant.”

~.~.~.~.~.~

The drive from the landing strip to the Stillwater PD was one of the most stressful of JJ’s life. She was amazed how much energy she had to spend trying to look like she wasn’t looking at anything but the road in front of her.

Hoch sat next to her in the passengers seat, case folder opened in front of him. He was puting on a good show of diligent work. But it was his tells that were driving JJ crazy. He was slouching. Hotch never slouched. And more than once she’d caught him resting his head on his hand. As soon as he saw her he straightened up but that only made it worse. Worse because he didn’t feel well and still wouldn’t be honest with her about it.

Stillwater PD was only about 10 minutes from the landing strip and they were still making introductions while Reid was discovering Minnesota ragweed season.

“I’m Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner and this is SSA Jennifer Jareau, from the BAU,” Hotch’s voice sounded rough even to his own ears but he ignored it, figuring that to people who didn’t know him, no difference could be noted. “We’re not here to take over your investigation and honestly, squabbling over jurisdiction is really not high on our priority list right now.”

Hotch stopped as his voice broke. JJ continued seamlessly “That is to say, we want to get this guy and it doesn’t matter who gets the credit. You were right to call us in because there is some serious bad happening right now in Stillwater and our only goal is make it stop.”

There was a sea of nodding in the audience. The initial cast of faces had been guarded, desperate but defensive at this influx of ‘Feds.” As always, JJ had turned that fear and mistrust into support.

The moment of pleasure he felt at JJ’s proficiency left Hotch suddenly complacent and that was a luxury he could not afford. His lapse in attention found him half leaning, half swaying against a door frame and try as he might, he could not move away from the wall without support.

It could have been ages but it wasn’t because as groggy as he was, JJ missed nothing. She was at his side in a minute, spouting off instructions in setting up the command center infrastructure and simultaneously leading Hotch to a chair, using her body to block him from the view of the room. Even still Aaron forced himself to sit up in his chair and plastered a look of eager disdain on his face. That part was easy, it was the expression his face assumed naturally.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

[tma]

Wow!! This is getting Really good! I Crimminal Minds and great plot and characters are spot on!!

[Evergreen]

you're awesome. hotch being all sickly and needing JJ to help support him? i may or may not need some support here in a second because that makes ME go weak in the knees. <3

[matilda3948]

i may or may not need some support here in a second because that makes ME go weak in the knees. <3

Yep!! That about sums it up for me too

[silentdreamer789]

i may or may not need some support here in a second because that makes ME go weak in the knees. <3

Yep!! That about sums it up for me too

Ditto.

[jezebel215]

Part 9

“How large is the orchard?” Derrick’s voice was clear in the gathering dark. Despite antihistamines Reid had gotten more congested, eventually annoyed enough that he almost stopped talking.

Almost.

“Sixty acres. Did you know that Honeycrisp were the first type of apples planted here, when the farm opened in 1948? Now there are more than 6,000 trees in the orchard and include varieties that ripen spanning nearly the whole year.”

Derrick looked at Reid and raised his eyebrows. Reid stopped talking abruptly and looked awkwardly aside. It had only just occurred to him that Derrick wanted to know more than just the facts you can find on the website, parameters like how big the whole area was, including undeveloped lands and the affiliated vineyard.

“Well, your boy’s right. The orchard is about 60 acres and we did start with the Honeycrisp. The vineyard is only about 4 acres right now but there’s another 15 acres we’re developing, we’re planning to expand.”

Reid ignored the ‘your boy’ comment because, like Morgan, he felt overwhelmed to realize they would be searching nearly 80 acres of land. Finding this body and finding it so early may have been what the UnSub wanted but it may also have been chance. Either way, they had a long day tomorrow.

“We’re going to need cadaver dogs,” Reid stated, looking past Morgan at the rows of apple trees fading into the dusk.

“And some luck,” Derrick answered.

~.~.~.~.~.

“In the geologic record, teeth are the longest lasting part of the human body,” Rossi offered as they discussed the extraction.

“In fact, dental anthropology is a unique field of study. The science of tooth shape, attachment and growth patterns reflect the dietary and subsequent behavior of the creature.”

Emily’s reply garnered a raised eyebrow from Rossi.

“I’ve had a lot of time to read,” She answered, not quite meeting his eyes. The silence was suddenly awkward.

“About the mouthwash smell the officers noted,” Rossi started again. “Was it immediately prominent or did they have to investigate the body?”

This earned him a blank stare.

“That is, did the whole body smell like mouthwash, did it reek like cheap cologne? Or was it a subtle thing you only noticed up close?”

They were standing in front of the body and Emily couldn’t discern a palpable aroma of mouthwash so she suspected the latter option were true. But it’s not like people like to say they went and sniffed a dead person’s mouth... so Rossi was being ambiguous.

“Umm. I think they noticed the aroma when they were looking for identification.”

Emily:

“So, mouthwash may be a part of the ritual but it appears to be functioning within it’s normal societal parameters, not taking on the significance of a libation or ritual ablution.”

Rossi:

“As far as religiously symbolic annointing, no, the body doesn’t appear to have been marked or annointed with the substance. We pulled trace and have sent it out to get confirmirmation of the exact material composition.”

Emily:

“It will help when we’ve identified the body. If there is something special about teeth that sets him off it would be nice to see what hers looked like.”

Rossi:

“Unfortunately, with dental records being a no-go, her fingerprints a strike-out in AFIS and the lack of surgical implants our Jane is as Doe as they get nowadays.”

Emily:

“So we need to figure out a new plan. And soon. Hotch was right. This isn’t his first body and I hope but doubt it will be his last.”

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Hotch leaned against the sculpted back of his ergonomic chair, appreciating the support but wishing whole-heartedly it was a bed. He had set up, well, actually, JJ had set him up in a semi-private office while she stood guard against the huddled masses.

That may have been an exaggeration though it didn’t feel like one.

Hotch felt slow, his thoughts syrupy in his head, unable to distill the pertinent facts from the information at hand and filled instead with a deep sense of dread. Which was, obviously, fairly unhelpful to the investigation. That was the whole point of profiling - the details, the distillation, the clarity. At this point he felt none of that.

JJ watched Hotch in his “office.” He sat resolutely staring at the file but had yet to turn a page. Sometimes she saw him start to relax into his chair only to snap back into a vigilant posture. Reid and Morgan had called to say they were on their way back into town. Rossi and Prentiss were about 10 minutes away at the coroners’. It was heading into evening and the single hour time delay felt magnified, superimposed on the general exhaustion of the team.

She knocked on the doorway and went in when Hotch looked up. His eyes seemed glassy but JJ wasn’t putting much stock in her own observations at this point. She was long past an objective observer.

“Yes?”

“Reid and Morgan will be here in about 10 minutes, Emily and Dave in five. I think we should figure out where we’re spending the night and then regroup. It sounds like tomorrow will be an early day.”

Hotch nodded. Nodding hurt.

“Is there a problem finding rooms?” Hotch asked - normally JJ didn’t mention finding lodging in their mini-briefings. She looked pained but answered, “This is Stillwater’s Annual Apple Festival. So, actually, yes. I’ve been talking to the local hotels and I think I found six beds for us at the AmericInn but not six rooms.”

Hotch looked confused.

JJ could feel herself blushing. “They have a double queen standard, a Deluxe two-room family suite and a Deluxe Honeymoon suite.” She paused. “Six beds, we just have to double up.”

Hotch felt his plan of stealthy sickness slipping away. Though he would never normally use his position as team leader to ‘pull rank’ it occurred to him that the two family room might offer the most privacy. It didn’t make much sense that there were two beds in the deluxe honeymoon suite.. unless one of them was a roll-out on the couch. He was right.

Hotch cleared his throat. “Well, we couldn’t have planned our visit more punctually.”

He met JJ’s eyes and saw her confusion. “I’m joking. Well, I’m trying to joke. I meant -” he paused, “I meant this was a terrible time to come but unavoidable and not one we chose.”

By the time he finished JJ was smiling. “I knew what you meant Hotch. It’s just so rare for you to joke about anything I wasn’t sure.”

Hotch looked embarrassed and half smiled, “You’re sure it’s not just that i’m not funny?”

JJ smiled openly at that. “You shouldn’t quit your day job.”

~.~.~.~.~.~

Within 15 minutes the team was assembled, moving from Hotch’s mini-office into a large interrogation room of the Stillwater Police Department.

“It was a dump site. No signs that the victim was held or killed at the orchard location. Minimal attempts at concealment. But the choice of location in the orchard? I’m unsure of the UnSub’s motivation. It’s like he wanted us to find her but wasn’t sure. She wasn’t displayed but she wasn’t hidden particularly well. It feels like a transition and maybe that’s exactly what it is.”

Morgan quieted and Reid picked up. “We only examined the region proximal to the discovery of the body. The orchard covers about 60 acres, the vineyard nearly four and there are another 15 or so acres in development.”

Rossi looked up. “The vineyard?”

“Apparently the Orchard diversified. Now there is a fully functional winery affiliated with the orchard. And between the two programs there is about 80 acres of land in varying degrees of cultivation and observation.”

“Cadaver dogs?”

Hotch’s question was a statement.

“Already requested from the Minnesota FBI field office - they can be here by 10 am tomorrow.”

“Good. That’s more ground than we can cover by foot.”

Hotch turned to Rossi and Emily, “Anything new from the body?”

“The body tells us nearly as much in its absence of evidence as it would with its presence. Preliminary investigation showed no skin trapped under the victim’s fingernails yet there were signs of a struggle. The body showed diffuse bruising across the upper arms, torso and legs but the face was untouched.”

“Except for the teeth,” Emily interjected, her voice conveying the absurdity and horror of the case at hand.

“Yes. Except for the teeth,” Rossi continued. “There are some signs the UnSub used mouthwash on the victim but we are waiting for more forensic information on the details of the oral cavity. So far fingerprints and other means of identification have been useless so we sent a CT scan of the skull to Garcia. Maybe she can reconstruct a face based on known tissue markers - it will only be a guide but it’s better than nothing.”

Hotch nodded. Nothing. It seemed like that was all they had. Nothing except a very dead body and a very bad UnSub.

There was a break in conversation and as the silence grew the team looked to Hotch to fill it. He rose to the challenge.

“We’ll start tomorrow as early as we can get the cadaver dogs. We have rooms tonight at the AmericInn. I apologize but we all have to double up.”

Hotch didn’t mention the specific room configurations. That would just add more drama to the situation.

“Reid’s been sneezing his head off. I’m bunking with Emily.” Derrick’s statement was jovial, seeming frivolous while it covered his protectiveness and guilt since her ‘death’.

Rossi looked at Hotch, JJ and Reid. “I’m half deaf already. I’ll take Sneezy.”

Reid flushed as he was bandied about but at least his discomfort obscured the mix of reactions Hotch was feeling. He felt exposed rooming with JJ but also, if he admitted it to himself, if he was going to be exposed, it was her he felt most comfortable with.

JJ managed the room distribution with ease.

“Since you chose your roommate first, you get the worst room,” she said smiling as she handed Emily and Morgan keycards for the double queen standard.

“Hey, I didn’t choose my roommate,” Emily retorted.

“But you didn’t object either,” JJ answered and continued, “For your great suffering, Agent Rossi, I present to you the Deluxe Honeymoon Suite. It is up to you and Reid who gets the Kingsize bed and who gets the fold out couch. Or - ” She paused and looked at them, a teasing smile snaking its way over her face “The king size is a really, really big bed.”

The team laughed and Reid blushed before mumbling something about pull-out couches being good for his back.

Hotch sat back, watching the proceedings around him and realizing that JJ had secured them the Double Family Suite - the room and roommate he wanted, without ever making it seem like it was their choice. She made it seem effortless.

Edited April 14, 2012 by jezebel215

[Evergreen]

once again i am blown away by the thought you've given this case and the research you've conducted. it's so realistic! and of course i'm swooning at the idea of hotch and JJ sharing a room.

[jezebel215]

Part 10

The team filtered out of the room and Hotch realized it was time for him to stand up. He did so slowly and carefully, keeping one hand on on the table and the other on the back of his chair until he was well and truly upright. The room moved blurily around him but settled back into its normal position within seconds.

“We got the best room.”

Hotch turned to the voice, moving too quickly. His grip on the chair tightened.

“I know.” His answer was short but he met JJ’s eyes before adding, “Thank-you.”

“Well, I didn’t do it out of the goodness of my heart.” Hotch looked over at her. “I think you’re the best roommate.” She started to blush but continued, “Reid has hayfever, Rossi snores, Morgan likes to fall asleep with the TV on playing sports and I don’t think Emily knows how to sleep more than 45 minutes in a row.”

Hotch’s chuckle turned into a cough but he stopped himself quickly. “Well, I’m perfectly happy to be your pawn.” He spoke without thinking - something really out of character. He blamed his loose tongue on his growing fever.

JJ smiled, wondering if Hotch knew most of what she had said was a lie. A lie made of many truths, perhaps, but a lie all the same. The apple festival was in full bloom, that was true. And sharing a room was a little more intimate and slightly awkward when she knew he would like nothing more than the privacy to be openly ill. But the truth - JJ wanted to be able to keep an eye on the team leader. Now she had an excuse.

“How do you know I don’t snore or pace or sleep with the TV on?” Hotch asked suddenly.

JJ caught herself before “I wouldn’t care” slipped out.

“Come on, Hotch. You’re...” she paused and looked at him, raising an eyebrow, “you.” As she finished she picked up her pile of folders and crossed the short distance between them. “Let’s go. I don’t want Morgan to have a change of heart and try to steal our suite.”

Hotch smiled as he stepped gingerly away from the table.

“There are times it wouldn’t be so bad to pull rank.”

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

The drive from the police department to the AmericInn took about 15 minutes. The sun had set and the horizon darkened from cornflower to cerulean in the night sky. A few saffron clouds lingered as the first stars became visible. The temperature had dropped about 15 degrees and there was a heaviness in the air that chilled Hotch more than the temperature itself. He sat tightly in the passenger’s seat while JJ drove. As they left the station he had put on his heavy coat, scarf and gloves and would have worn the hat as well had he not looked around and noticed the rest of the team was wearing only light fall jackets. He had tucked the hat in his pocket and resolved not to shiver.

Resolutions are a funny thing. Are they a promise you make to yourself? Hotch wondered? Or an arbitrary sentence you impose, acting as your own judge and jury? At the moment he felt the latter option was more probable. JJ had turned the heat on as soon as the engine was warmed up. Though the heat felt wonderful Hotch felt an obligation to protest but was concerned that JJ might call him out on his bluff. So instead he said nothing and focused his energy on looking calm, being relaxed and above all - on not shivering.

He succeeded for the first half of the drive. They were stopped at a redlight and the silence was awkward.

“Are you hungry,” JJ asked, pausing to glance at Hotch. She permitted herself this one glance - it was so hard to balance between being nosy and being rude. All she wanted was to stare at him but in avoiding that she found herself purposefully ignoring him. Try as she might she could not find the balance of eye contact and interaction that blossomed under normal circumstances.

“Not really,” Hotch answered before thinking. “But I could eat something,” he added quickly.

“I was thinking about just ordering room service once we’re checked in. There’s a diner about a mile away but I think the rest of the team is also planning on an early night. It looks like Reid and Rossi have a den with a fireplace-” she paused.

Hotch met her gaze and smiled.

“Romantic.”

“Very. I was thinking we could all order room service and figure out the plan for tomorrow. No sense in letting the Honeymoon Suite go entirely to waste.”

Hotch chuckled but the laugh caught in his throat and he coughed instead. It was a barking, painful sound and JJ couldn’t disguise the concern on her face. She grabbed a bottle of water, opened it and passed it to Hotch. It took him a moment but after a series of careful sips he was able to breath normally again.

It didn’t matter. The damage was done. His chest ached and he was acutely aware of his flushed cheeks and aching muscles. Hotch ordered himself to stop his mental inventory of discomforts but was caught unaware by a series of whole body shivers and left him clutching his coat tightly and his teeth chattering.

The light had changed while he was coughing, thank goodness, so JJ hadn’t been witness to his entire display of weakness, Hotch thought. He was mostly wrong. The light had changed and they were again driving but JJ hadn’t missed anything. She bit her lip to stay silent.

“Room service sounds good,” Hotch said finally. His voice had begun to sound creaky and he cleared his throat. “Do you think we should bring them a house-warming gift?”

JJ started to laugh than looked at Hotch to make sure he was joking. To have him joke at all was out of character and she didn’t want to misinterpret the situation. She saw his lips trying to curl into a smile and matched it with one of her own.

“Absolutely. I was thinking flowers - yellow roses actually. But we should make sure Reid isn’t allergic to all yellow flowers.”

“I was thinking more along the lines of matching stuffed teddy bears but roses are nice as well. We could bring an arrangement of local wild flowers-” Hotch stopped and waited for JJ to look over. “But that would just be cruel.”

~.~.~.~.~

JJ had already checked them in over the phone so all they had to do in the lobby was to pick up the electronic keycards to their room. It was a fairly small hotel and they had found a parking spot close to the entrance but Hotch felt winded by that short walk.

“I’m Aaron Hotchner. I believe there is a reservation for me. That is, for the BAU?”

The desk clerk looked up from the faux granite countertop. “We don’t have any reservations under that name,” he said distractedly.

“It’s under Jureau,” JJ interupted. “There should be three rooms, we need keycards to the Double Family Suite.”

She stopped, slightly confused. The rest of the team should have beated her them to the hotel, having left Stillwater PD a few minutes before her.

“Did the rest of our team check in?” she asked but before the clerk could answer she had her phone out and texted the rest of the team.

“No Ma’am. You’re the first.”

JJ’s phone beeped rapidly in succession.

“Stopped at the diner. Could we bring you anything?” Reid was the first to respond.

“Hey, Hotch?”

Hotch was leaning against a faux stone pillar, his go bag on the floor by his feet. He raised his eyebrows.

“They stopped at the diner. I guess the rest of the team was pretty hungry after all. What do you want them to bring you?”

“I’m not that hungry. Maybe just soup or something.”

JJ texted Rossi, “Large chicken noodle soup or closest soup available for Hotch. Pancakes for me.”

‘Pancakes?’ Rossi replied.

‘Humor me.’

‘It’s on its way - now you get our fearless leader some rest.’

JJ put the phone back in her pocket. “Let’s go get settled. They’ll be back in an hour or so.”

Hotch nodded and pushed himself up from the pillar. “Thanks Jayje.”

JJ picked up Hotch’s overnight bag before he could bend down and started walking toward the elevators. He would have argued but Hotch was pretty sure if he did that he wouldn’t have the energy to get to his room so he just followed JJ. As they crossed the lobby the front doors swung open and a red-faced couple stumbled in.

“I love cider,” the woman spoke then giggled.

“You love hard cider,” the man with her corrected.

“The harder the better,” the woman answered, her insinuation obvious. Her boyfriend looked at her and she nodded. They practically ran to the elevator.

The profilers watched in amusement but Hotch’s smile seemed forced. He leaned over and spoke softly near JJ’s ear.

“They have no idea.”

“No. Can you remember being that carefree?”

Hotch’s thoughts were interrupted by the gust of minnestota autumn that followed in the wake of the couple. He shivered imperceptibly as the cold air slipped between his scarf and collar and up the sleeves at the junction of cuff and glove. The tickle in his nose was so sudden he didn’t have time to do anything but turn away from JJ and tuck his nose in his elbow.

“Haz'Gnkxt..eish'Gkxt..eh..heh..Eah'Hischue.”

He sneezed a forceful triple then waited a moment to be sure he was done. He looked up and over to JJ.

“No, I can’t remember ever being that carefree.”

Edited April 30, 2012 by jezebel215

[matilda3948]

Ahhh!!! SO. GOOD.

[Evergreen]

i CANNOT wait for JJ and hotch to be in the room together. bah! like you have no idea!!! and i loved him calling her "Jayje". anddddd i also loved this joking side of him. i can't wait to see more.

[Lexi]

Fucking hell! I have the biggest crush on Hotch, I live for Hotch fics! this is great I neeeeeeeeeeeeeeed more

[jezebel215]

I just wanted to check in and say i'm still alive - I just started my clinical year of vet school and it seems like a 10-14 hour day is about normal. So i'm still working on my story, just slowly. Here is the few paragraphs i've written so far (really a drabble I suppose). More to come.

Part 11

His tone was sad and JJ wished she could take her question back. Hotch had looked away and seemed unwilling to meet her gaze directly. He sniffed quietly and JJ could hear the avalanche of congestion in his sinuses.

“Come on. Let’s check out our new digs,” she said with forced cheer. She grabbed her bag and Hotch’s and walked toward the elevators. They stood in silence broken by Hotch’s increasingly desperate sniffles and snuffles.

“Just blow your nose already,” JJ said finally, turning to face Hotch with a plaintive grin on her face, her request delivered with a hint of admonition.

Hotch flushed but complied, turning away from her and blowing discretely into his hankerchief. He tried to be quiet but the ominous gurgling noise escaped him and JJ flinched, knowing whatever bug Hotch had picked up, it was going to be a rough few days for him.

~.~.~.~.

[matilda3948]

Tease! Kidding. Good luck with your vet program!!! That's awesome!

[Evergreen]

aww i want more. speaking of more, i'm working on your piece again. damn life getting in the way of writing! haha.

[jezebel215]

Part 11

His tone was sad and JJ wished she could take her question back. Hotch had looked away and seemed unwilling to meet her gaze directly. He sniffed quietly and JJ could hear the avalanche of congestion in his sinuses.

“Come on. Let’s check out our new digs,” she said with forced cheer. She grabbed her bag and Hotch’s and walked toward the elevators. They stood in silence broken by Hotch’s increasingly desperate sniffles and snuffles.

“Just blow your nose already,” JJ said finally, turning to face Hotch with a plaintive grin on her face, her request delivered with a hint of admonition.

Hotch flushed but complied, turning away from her and blowing discretely into his hankerchief. He tried to be quiet but the ominous gurgling noise escaped him and JJ flinched, knowing whatever bug Hotch had picked up, it was going to be a rough few days for him.

~.~.~.~.

The rest of the team was subdued as they sat at the diner. Rossi’s phone beeped with JJ’s return text and he was met with three expectant gazes.

“Remind me to order soup and pancakes to go,” Rossi offered as means of an explanation.

Morgan raised his eyebrows, indicating disdain for the meal choice, but then shook his head.

“How long are we going to pretend the boss isn’t sick?” he asked.

Rossi had no choice but to smile. “As long as he keeps pretending he’s fine.”

Reid looked up from his grilled cheese. “Hotch is sick?” he asked with obvious concern and confusion. Emily laughed out loud while Morgan managed to hide his smile by wiping his mouth with his napkin.

Reid looked a little indignant. “Was there a memo I didn’t get?” He was embarassed that everyone else had noticed something was amiss with Hotch and frustrated with himself that he had missed it. Well, he thought to himself, he had been busy studying the case file and his allergies hadn’t helped anything.

Morgan said, “Sorry Reid, I didn’t mean to laugh. One of your stengths is how you can focus so totally on the problem at hand that you can shut out non-pertinent details. For us mere intellectual mortals all that mayhem floods in constantly.”

Reid felt mollified. He mentally replayed the last eighteen hours, concentrating on Hotch.

“He did spend a lot of time with me when I was sick, although he thought I didn’t notice. And he stayed in the conference room an extra minute after the meeting. JJ stayed too. And he was three minutes late getting to the plane. And he slept on the plane ride, but he said it was just allergies. And I saw JJ give him two aspirin even though she thought she was being sneaky. But I thought it was a sinus headache. Then we all split up and we haven’t seen him since...” Reid paused, “but I did see him hand JJ the car keys. That’s strange because Hotch always drives. But he said he was having an allergy attack and had taken those pills so I thought he was making the logical decision for JJ to drive while he was still feeling drowsy.”

Reid was silent again. He had observed everything the others had but had failed to reach the conclusion which had been obvious to everyone else.

“Reid, man, I’m sorry-” Morgan started to speak again but Reid interrupted him.

“No Morgan, it’s ok. This has been educational actually. I noticed the incidents that were inconsistent with Hotch’s normal behavior but I trusted his explanation even though it did not make perfect sense. I guess even people you respect lie to you.”

The silence at the table felt glum.

“He didn’t lie to you Reid,” Rossi offered. “He is busy lying to himself. He feels he can’t let himself be sick, not when there is an unsub out there doing bad things. He just wants to be the perfect leader and it wouldn’t matter if God himself told him it was OK to take a sick day. Aaron Hotchner does not get sick. At least, not in his mind.”

Reid smiled. “Yeah, I guess I didn’t really want to admit I was sick either.” He paused then flushed. “Was I as obvious as Hotch?”

With that question the mood at the table lightened considerably and the three other agents laughed.

“No Reid, not quite so obvious,” Morgan started but stopped when Reid glared at him.

“No, really. You are the one who notices ALL the details so in the beginning we didn’t realize there was something up with you. And it didn’t really matter, in the end, your brain kept working even if you were leaking unholy amounts of snot.”

Reid blushed but felt somewhat pleased with himself.

“Well, I’m done being grumpy. What are we going to do about Hotch?”

Emily had been silent through the discussion but her transition back to the team had left her with a unique sensitivity to Hotch’s conflicting emotions.

“We look out for him. If he insists on doing something we don’t want him to do, even if it seems like a bad idea, we let him. He’s an adult, after all. But all of us know that he has a safety net, even if he doesn’t want to ask for it. The more we pretend not to notice the more comfortable he will feel and he may even stop spending so much energy pretending to be fine. When he’s ready, he’ll tell us. And then we can all act suitably surprised and concerned. Until then he’s in charge. Sick or not, Aaron Hotchner will not make bad command decisions. He’ll endanger his own health but never his team’s.”

The others nodded and returned to their dinner in silence. Rossi signalled for the waitress.

“Can we had an order of pancakes and a large chicken soup to go?” he asked.

“We only have chicken and stars,” she answered, apologetically. “It’s, ah, more of a kid’s menu item.”

“Then chicken and stars it is, but can you make it a quart-size? ” Rossi said, secretly enjoying the idea of Hotch eating something he would normally feed his son.

The waitress nodded and left.

“You’re cruel man,” Morgan said with a half grin.

Rossi’s face was pure innocence. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Then he smiled too. The rest of the meal was finished in pleasant conversation and once the take-out was ready the team split up into their cars and headed to the hotel.

~.~.~.~.~

Hotch and JJ approached the elevator just in time for the doors to close in front of them. A small hand shot out and forced the doors open again. It was the cider-girl, a friendly grin on her face.

Hotch nodded stiffly while JJ thanked her for holding the elevator. The girl wandered back to her boyfriend, snaking her arm through his and pressing the length of her smooth leg against his decidedly hair one.

“Are you... two.. here for” she stopped as words failed her. “For the cider festival?” she finished with a smile.

Hotch opened his mouth to say no but JJ answered instead.

“It’s really a lovely festival,” she answered. Hotch closed his mouth, enjoying JJ’s purposefully vague answer.

The elevator stopped and Hotch gripped the bar behind him to catch his balance. The young couple staggered off, still partially entwined. As the doors closed behind them Hotch and JJ could see them stop in the hallway and, believing themselves already alone, wrap into a passionate kiss. The doors closed completely before the man’s hand could reach someplace R-rated and JJ and Hotch both exhaled a sigh of relief.

It was audible and they looked at each other, startled.

“We’re old,” Hotch said with a half-smile.

“And crotchety,” JJ added.

Hotch barked out a surprised laugh that turned into a cough. Somehow JJ had a bottle of water ready in seconds and by the time the elevator stopped three floors above Hotch had downed half of it and stopped coughing.

He kept the bottle as the stepped out of the elevator. JJ still carried both their go-bags and when they saw their room was at least two hallways away Hotch handed her the bottle and slid his arm around her waist. JJ was surprised - both by the action and the warm flush that spread up and down her body, originating at his touch. After the first hallway he was half leaning on her and despite her fitness level JJ was struggling under his weight and carrying both duffels. She was relieved to see the door to their room ahead and quickened her pace. Hotch stumbled but caught himself and JJ forced herself to slow down. She slid her card into the electronic lock and exhaled in relief as the light beeped green and the door opened.

~.~.~.~

In the car ride from the diner to the hotel Rossi noticed Reid was once again silent, a melancholy look on his face.

“It’s not your fault, you know,” he offered, as the silence in the car began to suffocate him.

“Maybe.” Reid’s voice was thin, sad in the darkness. “My mother, she hated sickness. Germs came from the government, an attack, and so she pretended they didn’t exist. She pretended she never got sick. And honestly, she didn’t go out much, so she was pretty healthy. If I was sick I shut myself away in my room until I was healthy again. I knew I would scare her. Maybe I saw what was wrong with Hotch but pushed it away.”

The car remained quiet until they pulled into the parking lot of the AmericInn.

~.~.~.~

“Roommates, eh?” Emily stated, not quite a question. She sat in the passengers seat as Morgan drove. His expression seemed both bashful and defensive in response to her question.

“Not that I’m complaining. You know Rossi snores and Reid will probably sneeze all night. We should stop and get him some benadryl, you know he won’t think of it. Not to mention Hotch has the plague.”

Morgan’s mouth curved in a half smile. He was pretty sure Emily knew why he wanted her close, the memory of her blood seeping through his fingers as he pressed harder and harder, yelling helplessly... He shook himself out of the memory. It was a lie, well, mostly a lie, as Emily had flat-lined. She had died for real, not just to protect them. But she was back. Eventually he was going to have to deal with that. But for now he would drive, watch the door, and sleep with one ear open.

“Benadryl’s a good idea. We passed a Walgreens on the way to the diner. It’ll only take ten minutes to double back.

Pleased with their decision Morgan made an illegal U-turn at the next light. The Walgreens appeared where he had remembered it, its glowing red sign a beacon in the Minnesota night. Inside they split up and met five minutes later at the checkout. Morgan had a pack of generic benadryl (Wal-Dryl) while Emily had a whole basket of items.

“Lord woman, are we bringing the entire store home?”

Emily reddened but said “A good scout is always prepared.”

Morgan smiled. “I thought that was my line.”

[matilda3948]

Oh yay!! You're back and I just love this story

Hope school's going well!

[silentdreamer789]

Amazing!

Edited August 27, 2012 by silentdreamer789

[jezebel215]

As usual, I apologize for a ridiculous absence. Life has kept on churning and I've graduated, finished my internship and am working as a real vet! I've been watching Criminal Minds streaming on Netflix and wanting to work on this story but finally got myself to put down actual words. I will try to be more frequent in updating (like, not every two years...)

Part 12

JJ appraised the room. It was spacious and well-furnished, much nicer than the usual BAU travel digs.

“Hhh-Eksht.”

Hotch’s sneeze brought her back to the moment. She quickly dropped the two duffel’s and pulled out a travel pack of tissues from her pocket. She pushed them into Hotch’s hand as he sagged against the doorway.

“eksch'Hischu..heh..eh..NK'Guschue.”

“Bless you.”

Hotch nodded miserably then seemed to remember himself and, though still leaning on the door, pulled himself up straight.

“Thank-you JJ,” he replied formally, turning away from her to blow his nose softly into the tissues she had given him.

JJ sighed silently as she picked up the duffels and walked through the suite, looking for the bedroom. As she had expected there was a king size bed in one room and a suspicious looking couch in the room they had entered. Without asking she dropped Hotch’s bag on the king-size bed and brought hers back into the front room, placing it as the foot of the couch.

Hotch looked up blearily, his expression confused.

“Isdn’t this the double fambily suite?” He asked. “Where is the secod roob?”

JJ smiled ruefully. “You’re standing in it.”

~.~.~.~.~

Rossi and Reid arrived at the hotel well ahead of Emily and Morgan. They waited a moment then decided to just get the keycard and check out their ‘Honeymoon’ suite. The took the elevator up three floors then wandered the serpentine hallway until they found their room. It was, as promised, romantic. The room seemed to smell of roses and everywhere they looked they saw only silk bedding. Reid blushed. Rossi laughed.

“I’ve been on four honeymoons and never have I seen this ridiculous amount of red silk bed linens.”

Reid smiled in relief and walked to the couch. “This is good for me, you can have the ...” he paused, embarrassed again.

“The wedding bed?” Rossi asking, the laughter threatening to spill into his voice.

“Yes, yes, the bed. Whatever.” Reid began to examine the sofa, pulling off cushions and looking for the lever to convert it to a temporary bed. Rossi helped and in moments the couch had been repurposed into a lovely not-wedding bed, complete with cotton sheets and what seemed to both of them, a comforter of shame.

“I guess this is for when the wedding night goes poorly” Reid said drily.

“Oh, you never know,” Rossi answered and Reid found himself blushing again.

Reid looked at the clock. It was only 8:20pm, Minnesota time, meaning it felt like 7:20pm on eastern standard time. He was tired but not ready for bed and thoughts of the next day’s search filled him with nervous energy.

“We should make sure Emily and Morgan get here safely,” he said, heading for the door.

“They’re on their way,” Rossi replied without moving.

Reid glanced over in surprise but saw Rossi typing a message into his phone. “They stopped at the drugstore.”

Reid nodded. That made sense.

“They wanted to make sure you had Benadryl for your hayfever.”

Reid blushed crimson. He felt both taken care of and embarrassed that with everything going on Morgan and Emily had thought to worry about him. Also embarrassed that he needed worrying about. Which he didn’t, of course. Still, as soon as he heard the word ‘hayfever’ his nose began to itch and he began patting down his pockets, looking for the handful of napkins he had swiped from the diner. He turned away from Rossi as he buried his nose in the rough fabric.

“ehh-Chiew...hck'Gishoo.”

Reid’s sneezes were airy, allergic. He scrubbed wearily at his nose before looking back at Rossi.

“Benadryl sounds pretty good right about now.”

~.~.~.~.~

Morgan and Emily checked into the hotel a half hour after Reid and Rossi. Emily sent Rossi a text letting him know they were safe and sound then she and Morgan found their way to the ‘Double Queen Standard.’ It was on the third floor, only a few minutes from Reid and Rossi’s ‘Honeymoon Suite.’ They were pleasantly surprised to walk into an ante room of moderate size, complete with a couch and chairs. The attached room showed two double beds and, though silently, both Morgan and Emily sighed in relief.

“Dibs on the window bed,” Emily announced.

“Fine with me,” Morgan replied and they began to settle in to their temporary home.

Morgan’s phone beeped and he read the message out loud. It had been sent to him, Emily and JJ.

“Meeting in the honeymoon suite (318) - 9pm.”

~.~.~.~.~

JJ’s phone beeped but she ignored it, hoping Hotch hadn’t heard it.

“Come on. You need a good night’s rest,” she said, guiding him toward the King bed in the other room.

Hotch tried to protest but got only so far as opening his mouth before JJ said, “No arguments. I’m shorter, smaller and healthier and I will be fine on the sofa bed, Aaron Hotchner.”

Hotch blushed and closed his mouth. In the bedroom he sat carefully on the edge of the bed. Thankfully the bathroom entrance was in the hallway adjoining the rooms so JJ wouldn’t have to sneak through this room to shower.

JJ looked him over critically. He still hadn’t eaten anything and she did want to get some food into him before he fell asleep.

“Hotch, why don’t you take a shower and I’ll go get our takeout from Rossi,” she offered. “Or a bath, you know, if you can’t stand up that long.” She wanted to take back the words as soon as they came out, knowing they were all wrong for the situation.

Hotch flushed, somewhat annoyed.

“Thank-you Agent Jureau. A shower does sound nice. Tell Rossi the team is meeting at 6:15 tomorrow morning and everyone should take an early night.”

“Right boss,” she said and left him to settle in. She headed out for the elevator then changed her mind and took the stairs. It was only two floors to Rossi and Reid’s romantic hideaway. Her knock on the door was answered quickly and she saw she was the last to arrive.

“Geez guys, it’s only 8:42,” she said smiling then went to sit on the edge of the sofa bed, pulled awkwardly into the main room.

“How is he?” Reid asked, anxiety obvious in his voice. Hotch’s illness was still news to him and he was hoping the others had somehow misread the situation.

“He’s ok.” JJ glanced at Rossi who nodded. “I think it’s just a cold but he needs a good night’s rest. Oh, he wanted to tell everyone we are meeting at 6:15 tomorrow morning.”

Morgan feigned a groan though he had been expected a five’o’clock meeting.

“I just need to pick up the take-out and head back up-”

Rossi stopped her. “JJ. You don’t have to do this alone.”

“No, really, he’s taking a shower then I’ll make him eat something and give him some medicine. Hopefully he’ll be on the mend after a good night’s sleep.”

The rest of the group looked doubtful but didn’t argue.

“Tomorrow’s going to be a long day,” Rossi warned. “The Orchard is nearly 80 acres and it’s supposed to-“

“To rain.” JJ finished “I know. I just…” she trailed off.

“We’ll work it out,” interjected Emily. “We’ll make sure everyone, not just Hotch, has appropriate weather gear. We’ll make sure there is a covered command center and I think with a little planning we can end up with Hotch running point and avoid him tramping around in the rain all day.”

Morgan nodded. “There’s not much sense in worrying now about things we can’t control. We all know we’re working together to protect the Bossman from himself. But as much as we all care about Hotch, we have to stay focussed on the Unsub.”

The room was quiet in agreement.

“Well, I guess I’ll grab the food and head back. I’ll see you guys in the morning.” JJ picked up the take-out containers and headed back to her hotel room.

“Wait, take this” Morgan went to his bag and pulled out one of his extra sweatshirts. “You know Hotch won’t have anything warm to sleep in.” He handed it over then remembered the cold medicine Emily had gotten.

“We picked this up at the drug store,” he said, half smiling as he handed her the overflowing bag.

JJ took the offerings. “Thank-you.” She said it quietly then looked quickly over the room, making eye contact with each member of the team “For everything.”

~.~.~.~.~

[MyOwnPrivateSFC]

Oh my goodness! I'm sorry, this sounds awful to say, but I'm so glad you only came back to this story now, because apparently I missed it the first time around! You are so good at writing all the characters, and the case itself is fascinating. I'm really looking forwarding to reading more.

[stars123]

aw yay happy you are back! I love this story!!

[ToothTen]

Holy shemp, last time I checked it wasn't anywhere near my birthday, but then I log on to see this!!!!! I actually may need assistance if I try to stand any time soon, this is so beautiful. I had written this off as a wonderful-yet-tragically-unfinished gem to be wistfully read and reread every so often, but to have MORE?!! Thank you x100000

[matilda3948]

Congratulations on all of your accomplishments! That's really fantastic!!

And hooray for picking up your story again. Went back and read it from the beginning and it's just as awesome as I remember

[jezebel215]

Part 13

Hotch leaned against the wall in the shower. JJ was out of the room and he felt safe with the sound of the shower covering up his sneezes. Because he had been sneezing. The steam was doing something to his nose and it felt good, the hot water on his sore muscles and the steam breaking up some of the congestion in his head. He tried to relax and hopefully use up his sneeze quotient for the evening, if that was a thing.

“Hih’Heshoo..eh…heh..Hapt’choo…WRUH’Fisschue..”

He could feel the mucous sliding out of his nostrils but he just turned his face into the hot stream of water and let it all melt away.

“Eah’Hischue…heh..ISZH-Gischue…hehhh…”

He hadn’t heart the sound of the door opening during his fit. JJ walked into ‘her’ room of the suite and her heart sank as she heard Hotch in the shower. It was good that he was letting the sneezes out but she knew he wouldn’t want her to hear. She decided to wait until the fit was over and then open/close the suite door loudly.

The sound of the hotel room opening jarred Hotch out of his semi-delirious reverie.

“At least she didn’t walk in while I was sneezing my head off,” he thought wryly as he reluctantly turned off the shower. He could feel goose bumps rising on his skin as the heat bled out of the room. He dried himself off quickly and slipped into the white t-shirt and FBI sweats he had brought to sleep in. The t-shirt wasn’t enough but he wasn’t sure what he had that was warmer and sleep appropriate.

JJ put Morgan’s sweatshirt on Hotch’s bed and was setting up the food on the small counter when Hotch came out of the bathroom. He saw the sweat shirt and had started to put it on before realizing it wasn’t his. He shivered and finished pulling it on but he was worried about how muddled his brain felt. The whole point of profiling was to notice the details and he felt like he was on autopilot, not even noticing he wasn’t even putting on his own clothes!

The heat from the shower had dissipated and even though he had done his best to towel dry his hair he could feel the dampness. He was tempted to put on the hood but that was so out of character he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He walked toward the kitchenette area, making a concerted effort not to shiver.

“Hey, I brought your soup,” JJ said brightly, not quite making eye contact.

“Thangs.” Damn, he was already stuffed up. He tried to sniff discretely. “And thank-you, for the sweat shirt.” He looked over at her. JJ had looked away but he thought she might be blushing.

“Morgan overpacked, thought someone could use it.” It was a hollow explanation.

Hotch took the container of soup and slumped into a plush but uncomfortable hotel chair. The soup was pretty good, he thought. It was warm in his belly and easy on his throat and really that was about all he could tell. He had finished about half of it when he realized he was full.

JJ had been picking at her dinner, eating bites that totaled only about one full pancake. She was too wound up to eat. Hotch looked a little better after the shower. He still looked pale but he seemed a little stronger, more ‘with it’ than he had when they had checked in.

“I think I’m going-“ Hotch’s voice broke on the word. He cleared his throat carefully and said more cautiously, “to bed.”

He stood and handed JJ the uneaten soup. “It was good,” he said earnestly “I’m just not very hungry.”

JJ put the lid back on the soup and tucked it into the small refrigerator in the corner, taking out a bottle of water at the same time. An even smaller microwave was perched on top of the fridge.

“You can warm up the rest whenever you get hungry.”

She handed him the bottle of water and made to follow him into his room.

“JJ, what are you,” Hotch stopped, not wanted to offend her.

JJ felt her face turning crimson. “I was just going to make sure you had everything you needed.”

A look of confusion played across Hotch’s face but before he could ask what she meant he gasped and turned away, sneezing harshly into the elbow of the sweatshirt. He kept his head tucked while the tickle played out and finished with a total of three sneezes.

“eish’Gkxt..HSZ-Chusch..AHP-Gnkxt.”

They were half stifled and the effort made his head ache. He looked up, eyes bleary. JJ had closed the distance between them and was holding out a tissue. It seemed like a peace offering. He took it, nodding brusquely and pinch-wiped his nose. He tried to walk away but JJ put her hand on his arm. Her touch was light but it stilled him.

“Wait.” She handed him the rest of the box of tissues and walked over to the counter, pulling the drugstore bag into view. Hotch started back into the kitchen then stopped, confused.

“What is all this? Where did it come from. Who eh..heh…” he trailed off, his breath hitching. “WRUH’Fisschue.” He caught the sneeze in a tissue and realized how soft they were. “Are these the kind with lotion?” he asked before he could stop himself.

JJ smiled. “Of course they are.” She had a blister pack in her hand with two blue capsules. “Take these.” Hotch opened his mouth to answer but JJ stopped him with a hard look. Surprising himself Hotch did as told then looked at her as if awaiting more instructions.

“Now go to bed.” As quickly as she said it JJ felt awkward but again, in a surprising and worrying move, Hotch nodded. He grabbed the box of tissues and bottled water and walked the three steps that separated her ‘room’ from his much nicer accommodations. He set the tissues and water down on the bedside table and tried not to feel so guilty as he saw JJ laying a sheet down on the couch.

“Aren’t you going to open it up at least?” He asked.

“This is fine for tonight.”

JJ finished making her bed. Hotch was still sitting on the side of the bed looking guiltily down the hall. She grabbed the bottle of cough medicine and walked into his room, trying to look confident.

“This is going to be here if you need it,” she said, placing it next to the tissues and water. Not waiting for a reply she pulled open the closet and pulled out the extra blankets. “Here, help me spread this one out.”

Hotch started to protest but was silenced with another stern look. After the bed was made up to JJ’s satisfaction she pulled up the covers and made a ‘get-in’ gesture. Hotch wanted to be annoyed at her presumption but he was starting to feel woozy just from standing so instead he climbed into bed.

“I’m right next door if you need anything,” JJ said as she left. She paused briefly at the doorway and turned back.

“Feel better.”

~.~.~.~.~

[ToothTen]

Awww I love JJ's on-and-off confidence and mother henning (autocorrect tells me that isn't a word), as well as Hotch's adorable bleariness and over all out-of-it-ness. This is just too adorable

Also, Hotch sneezing messily in the shower was just ??