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Aaron Hotchner became a creature of habit. He would start his mornings at six am, not too early before and not after. He would wake Jack up for babysitting before going to get coffee before work. It was always a black coffee with one singular packet of vanilla creamer. Based on the day it was either paperwork or a case in another area of the States. He would work until seven before returning to his hotel or home. He would put Jack to sleep with a book, whether on the phone or in person before showering and going to bed himself. It became a life he became used to, the life he loved. That was until Kate Callahan came along, and the spunky fireball brunette had him changing his routine like a convert changing their religion. He went from a precise pattern, to holding an illicit affair in his hands. Moving to the brim of implied insanity as he went to the coffee shop to meet her before work. As he went to her hotel room while on cases.
He thought in some ways she knew of the attraction he had for her. Of the longing and desire that filled him. He thought in some ways she knew that the dainty floral perfume she wore drove him absolutely insane. But at the same time, he wondered how could she know? It wasn’t that he ever told her flat out ‘make sure nobody sees you leave’ he wasn’t ashamed of her. With somebody that beautiful how could anyone be ashamed of her? He did know though that she was probably going to leave a permanent place with her hands on his bedpost.
The thing that had him worried, and in a way scared out of his mind was when she asked, with a concerned look on her face if she could see him before they went over case files. “You wanted to see me?” He asked, sitting her down in the chair in front of him. What could she have wanted? He had a feeling but even then again each conversation they shared her words seemed to scream “your secrets safe with me.”
“Hotch.”
“Kate, call me Aaron please.”
“No… I need to keep this short… please just listen…” she inhaled a shaky breath “Aaron, you gave up on me.” Kate said softly. “You gave up on the idea of us… and I don’t know what to do anymore.” And he had to sit there and watch her walk away. Putting on the same brave face he had seen every day since then. “So please… let’s keep this professional for now on…ignore the idea of me you had.
“Kate please just listen.”
“Aaron —“ she put her hand on the side of her face. “It breaks my heart to have to do this. But I feel like I’m some — some dirty secret… and that’s the thing that kills me.”
“You know that’s not true
“Do I?! Do I know it’s not true. Aar— Agent Hotchner… let me go. Please.” And she walked out. Like nothing had happened. He didn’t know how to respond to that. Sitting there as he looked at the papers in front of him. Standing up at the desk unsure how to move on from that.
Paulson Illinois was a small town with a population of five hundred, and a charming history behind it. It had a simple way behind it. From the beautiful buildings that arched, to the museums that had definite history behind it. This place looked like the perfect area to place your roots and grow with whatever happened. But there was something to it that was eerie, it wasn't right. Maybe it was the fog that lifted in through the area when the jet landed. Maybe it was the feeling that it was close to Halloween, so everything seemed a little odd. But maybe it was the murders and disappearances. All of which caused a new wave that further progressed whatever had been going on. “I think it's best that we first assess the chapel. Interview the kids and if they saw anything.” Hotch announced, his authoritative voice booming over the sound of the construction from a half mile down the road.
“Do you want us to break up into pairs?”
“I think we’ll cover more ground as a group. We can break off once we see what’s going on.”
JJ who had asked the question nodded, the blonde entering first to see the officers who interviewed the children and their families.
One of the kids shook their heads. “Sir, I've been here for three months. The last thing I remember seeing was the door slamming shut after I had the blindfold removed.” one of the three, a thirteen year old named Olivia. She exclaimed, shaking her head. Olivia had messy, knotted brown hair. Green eyes with a bruise formed right under one of them.
Each kid had similar stories, taken months before. Only used sir or ma’am. They talked about another kid, one who had run out days before. But they had no idea of who he was or where he had been going. One hinted to him being there the longest. But not having a story attached to him. It was an interesting case. A kid escaping his captor, but if he ran off days ago, he probably left for the woods near the chapel. Unable to cling with the grief of where his life had gone.
“It looks as if the kids are keeping whoever killed him as a secret.” Rossi brought up. Spencer chiming in with his own commentary
“Well usually bonding in a traumatic situation is visible. These kids would feel as if it's the responsible thing to do to keep them safe, just as our unsub probably kept these kids safe. Each one additionally has rope burns on the wrist and circulation issues on the face. So whatever happened, these kids were all tied up pretty hefty. So being released would place them in debt of whoever killed their captor.” as Spencer went to open his mouth to finish his statement, he was interrupted by someone speaking on a staticky walkie talky. ‘we found another victim! She’s alive but barely holding on” which had the agents and the officers running out in the opposite direction, landing at one of the construction sights. The woman laid in the center of a tarp. Breathing hitched. She had been buried alive after being almost killed in the same manner the others had been killed.
"Ma'am, stay with me. What's your name."
"Jess... my name is Jess Newson..." she hitched out between shallow breaths.
"Hi Jess. I'm Kate. I'm staying with you until the cops get here." she said holding the ashy blonde haired girls hand. Something Aaron appreciated about Kate was her ability to always make the victims feel like they were still humans and worthy of love. She would talk to them and get their minds off of whatever had been happening. This could be scary, but Kate? She knew exactly how to help. It was a magical little charm, and Kate was a lucky star.
The paramedics did arrive a few minutes later. Putting the girl on a gurney before driving off. Assessing her in the ambulance. They needed to interview her once she was in a stable condition. So far it seemed as if they didn't have a pattern. As Kate stood there, Hotch watched as one of the detectives approach the woman. He tried to read either's lips but instead sat there, confused. He could hear Kate laugh and place a hand on the man's shoulder. A usually calm Hotch instead found himself seeing red. But Kate had called it off, so it wasn't like he had a place to be jealous. But at the same time he wanted to grab her, and say "mine." He couldn't do that though, he wouldn't. Instead all he could say was "we need to go meet Jess at the hospital." grumbling it.
Hotch had found himself in these types of rooms way too many times. Hospital rooms filled with bad lighting and nice nurses who wanted to make the best of a bad deal. While he just wanted to sit there and pretend it wasn’t real, like nothing had happened. Each patient had their own story, from orange bottles with white caps. To their ending of their book closing. A cold reminder of all that had happened. He sat outside the hospital room where Jess had been getting testing. Just getting out of surgery moments before.
“Man. You alright. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Derek wearily stated.
Hotch instead of answering glared up where Kate and the detective before had still been talking. It seemed like not it was about a case. He swore he heard Derek say something about ‘damn it I owe JJ $50.’
Hotch took a deep breath, exhaling before stating, “Morgan. Any updates.”
“Jess was riding her bike home from work. Said that she was hit from behind from one of the metal pipes from the construction site.” Derek stated, holding a file in his hand. “She said that she didn’t get a look at his face but he had a slim and malnourished build. JJ and Rossi are speaking to her husband right now.”
“Call Penelope and ask if she can find us anything for Jess Newson.”
“Hey chocolate thunder. Talk dirty to me.”
“Baby girl, you're on speaker. Mind looking up the records of Jess Newson. Our latest victim?”
“I’m on it. Jess is married and has a daughter named Kenzie. She's been the town babysitter for almost a decade, up until the disappearance of a boy she babysat. Being filled with grief she quit and vowed to never do it again. Feeling she was responsible.” She finished, “is that enough?”
“Plenty. Do you have the information of the boy who disappeared?”
“Give me ten minutes and I’ll have that.”
The group huddled around a table inside the hotel, leaning back against their chairs. “It seemed as if this kid completely vanished. There's no death records, no news that he was found. It’s empty.” Penelope said looking through them.
“Garcia, continue looking in the morning… we‘ll pick this up in the morning” Hotch made sure to say. He ran a hand through his hair as he watched each walk up to their rooms of the inn. As he had found himself multiple times before, he found himself standing outside of Kate’s room. And he found himself knocking. He took a deep breath before doing so again. Kate opened it, wearing a gray army shirt and green sweatpants. She might of been dressed for bed but she looked stunning.
She looked down to her feet, “I thought we talked about not doing this anymore…” she said looking up.
“We did…well you did. I’m here to talk about the case.”
“What about the case?”
Okay so he lied. ”Kate please just let me explain.” She sighed before letting him in, opening the door. Truthfully she never knew how to speak properly when he was right in front of her. What was she supposed to explain? how she never wanted sympathy from him, right now instead she just wanted herself back, how she was exhausted of being his secret time after time. She knew it wasn't the case, but it sure felt like it. She sat there, waiting for him to speak, when he wouldn't speak she shook her head.
"Goodbye Aaron." she softly said, escorting him out.
The next morning was spent at the police station, around a circle table again, “I’m looking into the town records. A boy of the name of Troy Holland disappeared at age eleven when walking home from a sleepover for football camp. The same camp two of the victims John Luzinsky and Mack Brighton were coaches at—.”
“If he was eleven that was five years ago.” Reid offered. Looking at the group around the table.
Kate looked around the group as well, “Pen, would you mind seeing if any of the other victims had a connection to Troy?” She asked into the phone.
“Sweet Kate, I’ve already done that. One of them was a pastor at family his church. The Pastor who went by Paul Miller — had been killed in the basement of the chapel where … three kids had been found all alive with the remains of others in the church graveyard, but you geniuses knew that part. Jess Newson our surviving victim was Troy’s babysitter at the time he disappeared. I’m still looking into a few. But that’s what I have so far."
It looked like whoever Troy was… he got out of his captors hands and decided he was his first victim. But right now what the team needed to know was where Troy intended on going next.
"Garcia, do you have Troy's parents information?"
"addresses and files are sent to your tablets. Boy wonder, read off of someone else." she said knowing the distaste the young man had for electronics.
When they arrived to the house of the Holland family, Mom Madison, dad Edgar and their daughters Kelly and Melissa. Kelly was born two years after Troy had been born, and Melissa had been born two years after he disappeared. It seemed as if there was a lot to unpack here. Madison worked as an elementary school teacher and Edgar as a state attorney. They had the perfect life on the outside. White picket fence and red doored home. When they pulled up, it seemed as if they were too late. Troy pounding on the front door...
Derek saw the situation and immediately dialed the phone number on the sheet that had been sent to them. "Madison? This is SSA Derek Morgan. We're contacting you about your son. He seems to be targeting those he feels is responsible for his kidnapping."
"you found Troy? can , can i see him?" she asked.
"no. He seems to be outside waiting to harm those in the house. Mrs. Holland we need you to not approach your son. Stay inside speak to him through the window..” Derek spoke into the phone.
The agents could hear the woman panic, but they could hear her shuffle to her feet, standing up. As she walked to the window.
The kid seemed mad, like he was about to blow. And all Hotchner could do was sit there and look at the situation. “You gave up on me!” The kid screamed. According to Penelope he had been kidnapped as a child, and had escaped the reach of his kidnapped once he was fully confident in leaving. Once he left he vowed revenge on everyone who had hurt him. His parents seemed to be the final target.
“Aaron, you gave up on me.” Kate said softly. “You gave up on the idea of us… and I don’t know what to do anymore.” And he had to sit there and watch her walk away. Putting on the same brave face he had seen every day since then. “So please… let’s keep this professional for now on…ignore the idea of me you had.
His mom, tears in her eyes said “We never once gave up on you. We tried to find you. Four years, even when they said you were dead.” She stated as she looked at her son. “Please don’t — put the gun down and we can talk about it…” she shook as she spoke. Trying her best to get the entire situation under control. Kate looked at Hotch. He knew the woman had always been good with situations like these. So she looked ready to get it worked out.
“Aaron I’m going in.”
“Kate you and I both know I can’t let you do that.”
“Agent Hotchner. I don’t care what you won’t let me do. I'm going to save this family. There’s a little girl inside that house!” She screamed as they sat inside the car. Derek and JJ who both sat in the back seat looked at the two. He swore he could hear Derek say something along the lines of ‘mom and dad are fighting again…’
Derek looked at the older man, sighing “if Kate’s going in. I am too.” The other members of the team had known for a while that Hotch and Kate had been seeing each other. It was obvious by the way they interacted. He couldn’t let Kate do this alone. The brunette woman was a peacemaker by trade, and he knew she wouldn’t stop until it was figured out.
“If you’re trying to talk me out of this. It’s too damn late. I’m going to get you. Then the kid you replaced me wi—.” Before he could finish Derek tackled him to the ground. Kicking the gun in the opposite direction of Kate who ran over to grab it. She looked at the gun.
Hotch held his breath as he watched the two wrestle with the angry young man. The man who had spent years locked in a room as his captor told him about the new family his parents had formed. He had listened to the words “they gave up.” So many times he started to believe it was true. Instead of the ages from eleven to sixteen being filled with the normal teen angst. It was a new level of angst. And he was shocked and saddened he had survived this long. A normal kidnapping victim under those standards don’t last years, barely months, weeks even.
Troy broke loose, throwing Kate to the ground as the two rustled. Derek tried to step in, getting kicked as he fell. The kid could fight. All his strength being placed here.
Finally the trio went silent and still, “Troy Holland, you have the right to remain silent.” Kate said as she stood up, a black eye forming on her face from being elbowed. Placing handcuffs on the nearly seventeen year old who looked like he was hit by a bus. Handing him over to the officers and detectives that had been waiting.
“Go get your girl Hotch.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Kate. Go get her.”
“Please Morgan, I don’t think she’ll have me anymore.”
Aaron watched as Kate consoled the family, Joining with Reid, Rossi and JJ all who stood ready to go home. This case had truthfully taken a lot out of the entire group. And it was time to head back.
He kept reaching to talk to her, get everything worked out but every single time he tried. His chest told him no as he sat back down. It’s not that he lacked confidence. He had the full confidence to talk to her — he didn’t know how. How to talk to the woman who thought he didn’t care.
“You know if you ask her on a real date it might show you care.” Rossi said to his friend and team member as he sat down next to him.
“How did you know?”
“I’ve been married a few times. I know a few things. Plus I have eyes. You’ve been looking at her for hours.”
Aaron went silent for a moment, trying to find words for what he wanted to say. “I have a better idea. You might know a few things but I know kate.” He said standing up, walking to the small jet kitchen and grabbing an ice pack.
“You got pretty banged up out there…” he said handing it to her.
“Oh thanks… guess I can’t take photos for the dating apps for a little bit…”
“Kate…” he sighed as she shook her head.
“Aaron what are we? I mean — what were we when we broke it off? Or I guess I broke it off.” She sighed
The disagreement they had shared, had felt like it left them a million worlds apart. And he didn’t know how to even start explaining. “I know what I wanted us to be.” He said offering the woman his hand. Kate looked around the jet. They were in a public setting. Nothing like the back rooms of bars and other places they had been before. Was he being serious? Or again we’re they stuck a million worlds apart?
She held the ice to her face before allowing herself to ask, “what did you want us to be?” Her voice came off weary.
“Whatever you’ll have me as.” He said leaning in to meet her in a kiss, but wanting her to finish up the distance. She grabbed him by the back of his head to her. Ignoring the hoots and calls that came from the team. And also ignoring the handing of $50 that Rossi and Morgan both gave to JJ and Reid. The younger male saying something about “told you so.”