Chapter Text
“These,” JJ started, getting the attention of the roundtable. “Are the Petersons. The fourth family murdered in their homes just this week. All shot at point-blank and staged at the dinner table. Punxsutawney P.D. wants this case under wraps since Groundhog Day’s coming up soon, but a deputy had a theory that the murders were organized, so here we are,” She said, placing down the case files in front of every agent.
“The scene looks so disorganized, almost like a break-in,” Rossi stated, narrowing his eyes at the gruesome crime scene photo of the disheveled dinner table on the screen.
“But, the staging of the bodies indicate a level of meticulousness,” Prentiss finished, pointing at the monitor.
“Garcia, does the police report note any signs of forced entry?” Hotch added, flipping through his file.
“Yes, actually, sir,” she began typing away on her laptop, the screen of the monitor changing in the result. They looked at the image of four doors, all seemingly batted in.
“Emily’s right. We could be looking at an unsub who dissociates during the murders, maybe getting high, then staging the bodies and running off,”
“Either way, he won’t stop until we catch him. Let’s go pay Punxsutawney Phil a visit,” Hotch said, interrupting Reid’s thought.
“I’ll call for the jet,” JJ decided, flipping her phone open and exiting the room.
_________
The town was a Pennsylvanian suburb, there was nothing remarkable about it. Aaron had grown up in a suburb himself, but the school had been elite, massive, flowing with personality. He had developed a law about cities like this; small towns, tiny minds. The second they landed, they were greeted by sheriffs in drop hats and khakis, their mustaches bigger than Dave’s. All the men bore a pin of a groundhog on their shirt pockets proudly, making the supervisor hold back a scoff from the corniness of it all.
“We have to double up. They’re all full beds this time, you’re welcome,” JJ said from the back of the crowded SUV, tapping at her phone.
“Dibs on JJ,” Emily said, smiling unconsciously.
“Derek,” Rossi decided, waving his hand.
“I’m with Hotch then, I guess,” Reid muttered, not looking up from his book.
They arrived right at the small, overcrowded police department office, setting down their bags atop of each other in a messy pile. Spencer quickly requested the board to organize his thoughts with, pinning photos from his satchel up upon its arrival. It had taken three days of interviewing and sifting through suspect lists and gruesome crime scenes, but they had finally found a lead on a retired high school teacher diagnosed with manic depression. Hotch had made the split-second decision to rush the man’s house, getting a confession nearly immediately upon his arrest.
He was booked at the station, Morgan sighing in relief at his cooperation during interrogation. The man was, to put it simply, a nut. He had been high out of his mind half the time on a cocktail of hard drugs, the effects of it nearly snapping his brain in two. Rossi and Hotch shook the hands of the sheriffs while the rest of the team had been packing up on the other side of the room, Reid raving about the facts of Groundhog Day from the corner. “That was the traffic department. Road’s are pretty much shut down out of town until the third.” A deputy interrupted, causing the unit chief to groan in frustration. JJ walked up to the group, arms folded across her chest.
“The owner of the B&B called, she’s willing to give us the extra night for free,” she sighed, eyes expectant.
“I’ll call Strauss,” Rossi muttered, his phone snapping open. The profilers walked over to the rest of their group, striding over to the coat rack exhaustively.
“I can get a movie on Pay Per View if anyone wants to join,” Prentiss consoled, shivering in the cold.
“There’s a liquor store next to a pizza place on the corner. I can get the food and the booze,” Rossi added, reaching out for his wallet.
“Now that sounds like a party,” Morgan joked, elbowing Emily. The group had all agreed on the plan, hurrying inside of the shop to make their selection.
The walk back to the bed and breakfast was short, the pouring snow making it seem much longer than it should’ve been. “Not a fan of blizzards?” Spencer joked, nudging himself into his superior’s arm carefreely.
“Not in particular, no,” He smiled, watching the younger man spin around, sticking out his tongue with a smile like a toddler.
“I like the cold, it makes me feel,” he whispered, pulling off his scarf.
“Okay, Plato,” Rossi jived with a chuckle. Hotch found himself smiling more at the reaction, his face finally flushing out of embarrassment.
“Unnecessary, Dave,” He shot back, mouth still wide. They all laughed, wiping their shoes down on the doormat before entering. The place they had been staying had a character that only a Western Pennsylvanian B&B could possess, crocheted pillows and quirky paintings boasted over the wallpapered hallways. They made their way down the narrow room, every profiler silently agreeing on changing into pajamas before regrouping with Emily and JJ.
The two had become incredibly red at the heat, Spencer’s pale skin darkening as he undressed. His figure was thin and defined, in a way pretty. Hotch’s expression relaxed from his stern shield as he changed into sweatpants and a flannel himself, seeing his employee in a sweater that only he could possibly wear. He and his friend finished readying themselves, locking the door behind them before striding down the hall.
_______
The piercing sound of the ringing of the hotel phone pierced through Aaron’s hungover brain, exiting his ears with a painful buzz. He groaned, rolling over into the bed to pick up the receiver. “Hotchner,” he muttered, voice stoic and cool.
“I have a 7 AM wake up call for Dr. Reid. Happy Groundhog Day!” the cheerful voice sang, the tone making his head throb even worse.
“Thanks,” he whispered, moving the phone down back onto the receiver. He rolled over to the other bed, watching the man who faced him breath tiredly. He felt it rude to wake him, instead silently squirming out of his bed to his jacket, searching for a pack of painkillers. He walked out of the bathroom minutes later, the radio alarm sounding suddenly. Reid yelped, falling off the mattress. A jingle played loudly, announcing that it was groundhog day to the recipients. The sounds of annoying announcers passing corny jokes around caused Aaron to moan in frustration, it’s cold enough, you lose up to 80% of your body heat through your head. Reid laughed at that from the other side of the room, getting up from his awkward position on the carpet.
“The army actually corrected that, it’s around 40 now,” he didn’t respond, instead of popping 5 pills into his mouth, washing it down with a bottle of water. The man and woman from the fuzzy radio raved about groundhog day for minutes, Reid crumbling at the coldness he had received from his friend. “Happy Groundhog Day,” he muttered, still not looking up.
“Tylenol?” he said finally, offering him a pill. He extended his hand in acceptance, picking up the bottle soon after.
“Rossi said yesterday that he wanted us all to have a normal day, see Phil, get some drinks. We have nothing better to do here,”
“What’s not to like about here ?” Aaron scoffed in response, lacing up his Timberlands.
“I’m sorry?”
“Never mind,” He decided, convincing himself that the thought of Aaron Hotchner having a normal day in a small town might actually not do any harm. He held the door for his subordinate a moment later, the two rushing down the stairs for breakfast with the others.