Things got better, and worse, once Rossi found the answer that he’d been seeking for so long. That he was more relaxed, no one could question. He worked more easily with the team on the whole, fitting in without the jagged drive to work his own agenda. Spencer knew that Hotch had been a little surprised that the other agent hadn’t retired again after finally solving that double murder from so long ago. He also knew that Hotch was relieved when Rossi didn’t leave, that he could share the burden of leadership.
The problem that Spencer faced was that without his internal consumption, Rossi seemed to have focused on him, instead. It was nothing overt, nothing that he could point to and say, “Please stop.” But there was a sense of always being watched and it made Spencer nervous, having that dark gaze on him whenever he glanced at the other agent. The most annoying thing was that Spencer still admired Rossi’s work and mind. He couldn’t turn off the need to seek the man’s approval, even though logically, he knew that he didn’t need it.
And then, when Hotch was stuck off-site in meetings with the Bureau Chief, Rossi cornered Spencer in the file room. He was in the back of the room researching for a possible paper on serial rapists when he scented the other man in the room and stiffened. Turning, he found the other man standing by the door with that small, half-smile he used a lot to disarm suspects and victims alike.
It was most definitely not reassuring.
Clearing his throat, Spencer asked, “Ah, do you need to get in here? I can come back later. I was almost done, actually, so I can just take what I’ve found and work on that while you get whatever it is you’re looking for.”
“I was looking for you, Spencer, not files,” Rossi replied easily, walking closer.
The door swung gently shut behind him with no apparent move from the agent.
“I think you’ve got an idea about me,” Rossi told him, stopping about a foot away. “That maybe I’m going to try and take you from Hotch and wanted to set you at ease.”
That half-smile reappeared and Rossi closed the distance between them, putting a hand on Spencer’s shoulder. “Actually, in this case, it’s right.”
Spencer’s eyes widened and he immediately stepped back, away from Rossi. “Um, I th-think you should leave now. Hotch and I are…”
Folding his arms over his chest, feeling defensive and vulnerable at the calm, rational words, Spencer told him, “It’s not like that. I love Hotch and we’re together because we want to be. This is not duty or obligation.”
“No. I’m happy with Hotch.”
Rossi lifted a hand to Spencer’s hair and tucked errant strands behind his ear as the other agent replied, “We’ll see about that,” and then left the file room.
Spencer shivered in reaction to the confrontation that probably wouldn’t be a confrontation in anyone else’s mind. Hugging himself tighter, he left the room and went straight to his desk, which was in full sight of everyone in the office.
“Reid? You okay?” Morgan asked, frowning.
Nodding, Spencer answered, “Fine, yes. Just, I think I caught a chill or something.”
Morgan’s eyebrows rose. “In the last five minutes?”
Spencer hunched down in his chair and started typing blinding on his computer, not even paying attention to what he was doing. All he wanted was to be left alone so he could regain some equilibrium and figure out what to do. Morgan took the hint, thankfully, and didn’t press him for more.
He couldn’t tell Hotch, Spencer knew that with absolute certainty. The way Hotch had reacted to his suspicions of Rossi’s intentions in the car the previous week was enough to tell Spencer that his mate wouldn’t react well to confirmation. Maybe he could ask Morgan for advice. The man certainly knew how to deal with unwelcome advances from both sexes, he’d been a player for so long. But then Spencer thought of how overprotective Morgan was of him and negated that idea.
Spencer ultimately decided to just do nothing, to find out how far Rossi intended to go. It wasn’t like the other man wouldn’t stop when Spencer reiterated that he had no desire to be with anyone except Hotch.
Hotch entered the office while chuckling softly at something the woman had said. Another joke that probably everyone else would get, Spencer thought resentfully. It wasn’t his fault that he hadn’t had a normal childhood and missed out on social applications and rituals as a result.
Hotch glanced his way and, maybe seeing something in his face, murmured something to the woman at his side. She smiled and nodded and even though Spencer could have listened if he’d tried, he didn’t. He looked back at his computer and started reading what he’d so far written on his paper, which wasn’t much. The warm presence at his back moments later caused him to relax slightly.
“Reid, can I see you in my office?” Hotch ordered, more than requested.
Spencer nodded and followed him up the small set of stairs into his office. Hotch held the door open for him and then closed it. The blinds were closed next and then the other man tugged Spencer into his arms, holding tight. Warmth slowly seeped back into him as Spencer clung to his lover, face buried against Hotch’s throat. Strong hands roamed up and down his back and he sighed deeply into the comforting embrace.
“That’s better,” Hotch said softly. “You want to tell me what wound you up so bad?”
“It’s important if you’re this upset,” Hotch gently insisted.
Hotch sighed, but nodded reluctantly. “All right. But come to me if you need to talk, no matter what.”
Hotch kissed him, slow and easy, and then told him, “I have to go out of town for a few days starting tomorrow.”
Leading Spencer to the sofa, Hotch kept his hand as he said, “I know, and I’m sorry, but it can’t be helped. I was informed by Strauss that my administrative skills need polishing and she’s shipping me off to a conference in
New York tomorrow through Saturday.”
Spencer sighed, looking down at their joined hands before he said, “I don’t suppose I could go with you? Everyone knows I could use more training in that kind of thing.”
Hotch chuckled and replied, “Unfortunately no, but thank you for the offer. And the effort. But don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll have plenty to keep you busy. How’s the paper going?”
Spencer shrugged and answered, “I need to get more research done before I really start writing.”
“Well, you can do that the rest of this week if a case doesn’t come up,” Hotch said, smiling. “And look, I don’t want you alone while I’m gone, so why don’t you stay with Morgan and Garcia?”
“Like he would deny Garcia anything?” Spencer scoffed.
Hotch half-smiled and said, “Maybe Morgan will teach the boy to dress better. Not that I’ll hold my breath on that one. And that still doesn’t solve what to do with you.”
Spencer pointed out, “I can live on my own for three nights without you. I was on my own for a lot longer than that before joining this pack.”
Tucking Spencer under his arm, Hotch rested his chin on Spencer’s head as he replied, “I know, and I wish that you’d never had to go through any of that. All right. But I’m going to call you every night and I want you to keep in touch during the day, too. Leave me voicemails if I don’t pick up.”
Hotch greeted, “Dave, good, I’m glad you’re here. Strauss is sending me on an administrative conference. Do you have a few minutes?”
Aaron was a little worried about leaving Spencer alone for the next four days, but he couldn’t do anything about it. He’d made a point to bring it up and his lover had insisted that he would be fine. And not that he didn’t think Spencer couldn’t manage without him, but Aaron did think there was something else going on that the younger man wasn’t talking about. Whatever had gotten him so upset in the office earlier clearly still preyed on his mind, their drive home silent.
He let the silence play out, even at home. Aaron got his suitcase packed and threw in a load of laundry while he was at it. He knew Spencer would probably forget to do it once he got wrapped up in researching his new paper. He’d already spoken with Morgan to make sure Spencer remembered to eat while at the office and knew everyone else would keep an eye on him, too.
They’d all been worried about Spencer when Gideon had disappeared, Aaron included, but there’d so far been no visible problems. Even with the seemingly ‘well-adjusted’ face Spencer presented to the world, everyone was still keeping an eye on him.
After throwing the clothes in the dryer, Aaron went in search of his lover to find Spencer curled up on the sofa with a book, a blanket draped over his lower half. He smiled at the sight and walked over, plucking the book from Spencer’s hands.
Aaron climbed onto the sofa and gripped Spencer under the legs, pulling him down flat on his back. Stretching on top of him, Aaron smiled and said, “And now you’re not.”
In answer, Aaron kissed him slow and deep. Spencer opened to him right away and their tongues tangled before Aaron pushed his inside Spencer’s mouth to taste him for real. He lost himself in the smell, taste, and feel of his mate, rocking unhurriedly between Spencer’s legs. He had to be up and gone unbearably early, so Aaron had every intention of taking the taste of his lover with him.
They spent forever like that before Aaron finally slid down Spencer’s slender body. He unbuttoned the shirt and pressed kisses along the smooth skin, pausing to suck lightly at each nipple and thrilling to the shivers that such a simple act provoked. Spencer’s hands massaged his shoulders restlessly as Aaron trailed further down. Pushing the blanket out of the way, he undid Spencer’s pants and nosed the erection waiting.
Spencer gasped and arched up against him. “Please, Aaron, please.”
Aaron didn’t tease, instead taking the shaft in his mouth to lavish attention on it with mouth, tongue and hands. His fingers caressed the balls hanging under the shaft while he went down on his lover. Strong fingers laced into his short hair as Spencer groaned and thrust into him. Aaron relaxed and took him in deep, swallowing and sending his mate over the edge with a loud cry.
He crawled up the sofa and again stretched out on Spencer, this time their legs twining together as arms wrapped around Aaron’s waist. Spencer sighed deeply and nuzzled at Aaron’s temple as he murmured, “I can’t believe how you do that for me.”
“I’ll do anything for you, Spencer,” Aaron told him, face pressed against the slender throat.
Spencer’s arms tightened around him. “I know.”
Aaron knew he shouldn’t fall asleep there, but he was so drugged by orgasm and comfort that he did anyhow, drifting to the feel of Spencer’s fingers combing through his hair.
Hotch was already gone when Spencer woke up. They’d shifted to bed sometime in the middle of the night, the other man half-carrying Spencer to the bedroom, which he only vaguely remembered. Sighing, Spencer rubbed his eyes and stared at the ceiling, wishing he weren’t alone. He could do alone, had done for many years, but hated it with a passion.
Dragging himself out of bed, Spencer took a shower and got dressed, then headed into work early. He grabbed a bagel and coffee on the way and was deep into reading when JJ arrived first around seven-thirty.
“Spencer? When did you get here?” she asked, surprised.
Nodding, Spencer returned to his research. Prentiss came in not long after JJ, and then, most notably, the new trio showed up, laughing in the elevator as Garcia and Morgan split from Kevin, around nine. It was just barely a respectable time, but Spencer wasn’t about to comment on it.
Smoothing his hair, Spencer gave him an irritated look and said, “I’m perfectly capable of being on my own for a few days. Does everyone think me incompetent?”
There was a chorus of yes’s from around the room and he grimaced before pointedly turning back to his research. The morning passed fairly quickly, engrossed as he was in notations and tabulating statistics. Morgan, Prentiss, and JJ dragged him out for lunch. He protested loudly and didn’t really want to have fun, but did anyhow. They returned to the office and Spencer hid in Hotch’s office to give him a call from his cell, closing the door.
Spencer winced, realizing that his lover wasn’t alone. “It’s me, Hotch. You didn’t have to pick up if you’re busy.”
“Hold on a second,” Hotch said. He mumbled something to someone else and then came back with, “I’m just going outside so we can talk.”
“No, Hotch, you don’t have to,” Spencer protested.
But a few seconds later, Hotch told him, “It’s really good to hear your voice. I didn’t want to leave you this morning.”
“You looked too peaceful,” Hotch explained. “How are you doing?”
“You caught me. Damn. Spencer, I have to go. I’ll call your cell from my room tonight. It might be late.”
Spencer sighed, but answered, “I’ll leave it on. Have a good afternoon.”
Hotch huffed in apparent amusement and said darkly, “I’m in the seventh circle of hell, but I appreciate the sentiment.”
Spencer grinned as he hung up and then left the office. His smile faltered on seeing Rossi standing by his desk, but he continued forward, determined not to show any hesitation. They were right in the middle of the bullpen, after all. What could he do? He greeted calmly, “Do you need something?”
“I need many things, Reid, but right now your assistance would be perfect,” Rossi told him. “Can you proof a presentation for me?”
Spencer waited for more, but nothing seemed forthcoming so he nodded. “Sure. Email it over to me.”
“Thanks,” Rossi replied, leaving.
Confused and wary, but glad nothing else had happened, Spencer returned to his work. The email showed up a few minutes later and he opened it.
Spencer grimaced at the use of his first name. Not that Hotch had a proprietary claim on it, but… Shaking off the thought, he double clicked his mouse on the powerpoint file and went absolutely still at seeing the contents. The first was a picture of him at lunch with Morgan a few days ago. The second was him walking towards the office with a cup of coffee. The third was of him…Spencer’s heart started pounding and sweat broke out at the sight of himself sleeping on the sofa dressed in Hotch’s shirt and nothing else.
He looked over at Rossi’s office, but the door was closed and the man faced his computer, not looking his way at all. Swallowing against a suddenly dry throat, Spencer arrowed down through each of the fifteen pages to see only pictures of himself in different places both in and out of work. One was actually on a case.
Spencer jumped at Morgan’s concerned question and quickly closed and then deleted the email, emptying his trash and temp files automatically. He shook his head and said faintly, “I don’t feel well. I think, I think I need to go home.”
Morgan immediately stood and strode over to him, hand on his shoulder. “Yeah, you don’t look so hot. Need me to drive you home?”
Standing, he picked up his laptop bag and pulled it over his head as he asked, “Could you?”
“Now I know you don’t feel good,” Morgan replied, palming his forehead. “Do you need a doctor? You don’t feel hot.”
Spencer smiled briefly. “I think I just need to lie down. My, my stomach is queasy. Probably what I ate at lunch.”
As they walked to Morgan’s SUV, the black man kept shooting him worried looks, which Spencer ignored. It wasn’t until they reached the house that he suddenly wanted to tell Morgan everything, just because he didn’t want to be alone.
“You want me to stick around?” Morgan offered as he put the truck in park.
Spencer almost said yes, but shook his head. “I’ll be fine. I just need to lie down.”
Morgan’s frown deepened as he countered, “I don’t know, Spence. You’re lookin’ pale again. We can go to the doctors instead, get you checked out.”
“I’ll be fine,” Spencer repeated, opening the door. He looked at Morgan and said, “I’ll call you if it gets worse. I promise.”
Spencer half-smiled at the warning tone and shut the door. Walking to the house, he couldn’t help but feel as though a target was painted on his back, even though he knew, logically, that Rossi was still at work. The moment he was inside, he locked the door and then put the chain on. Biting his lip, he dragged a chair over from the dining area and jammed it under the knob. Then he set about closing every single blind and drape in the entire house on both floors.
That done, Spencer headed for the bedroom. He stripped, leaving his clothes on the floor, and pulled a couple of Hotch’s shirts from the hamper. He pulled one on and brought the other to the bed with him. Curling up around it and Hotch’s pillow, Spencer burrowed under the covers and waited for his lover to call.
Morgan frowned as he walked back into the office. Reid had looked more than ill, he’d looked downright scared of something. It was way more than Hotch being out of town, too. As much as they teased their youngest member, Reid did know how to take care of himself. He looked at Spencer’s empty desk and scowled outright at it, needing to know what was going on with him. Reid was his responsibility with Hotch gone. He was pack beta and it fell to him to make sure the pack was happy and safe while the alpha was away.
Looking over at Rossi’s mild inquiry, Morgan answered, “Reid wasn’t feeling well, so I drove him home.”
“That’s too bad,” Rossi murmured. “Maybe I should look in on him.”
Morgan shook his head. “He’ll be okay. Promised to call me if it got worse, but it’s probably just Montezuma’s Revenge.”
Nodding, Rossi wandered back to his office.
Morgan watched him go through narrowed eyes. He still wasn’t all that sanguine about letting another alpha interact so intimately with the pack. It went completely against the grain and he still had issues taking orders from the shapeshifter, although it wasn’t as bad as it had been at the start. He got that the man was Hotch’s mentor, but that didn’t make it any easier. As a matter of fact, that got in the way more often than not, because sometimes it almost seemed as though Hotch still looked to the man for guidance.
Glancing back at Reid’s empty desk, Morgan stared at the computer. It was locked now, of course, but Kevin could blow passed that no problem. He’d ask Babygirl, but she still felt guilty about all the spying she’d already done on the team. There was no way she’d agree to hack Reid’s computer.
Aaron despised playing politics, even though he was very good at it. He probably despised it because he was so very good at it. He knew exactly how to assess his dinner companion or fellow lecture-goer and know what topics would be acceptable or verboten. He especially hated making nice with pompous assholes whose only true goal in life was amassing power. He smiled thinly at the man next to him as he was harangued about budgets and the pseudo-science of profiling and how funds could be put to better use.
Finally, enough time had passed that Aaron could escape. He made a polite exit and strode from the banquet hall to the elevator, already pulling out his cell to see if Spencer had called. There were no messages as he stepped onto the elevator, but he wasn’t surprised. If Aaron said that he would call, then Spencer would wait until he did. The thought made him smile.
He dialed on the way to the room, too impatient to wait any longer.
Aaron frowned at the shaky voice. “Spencer? What’s wrong?”
The other let out a deep sigh and answered, “Nothing, I’m fine. You just, startled me.”
Something seemed off with that reply. Still frowning, he unlocked his hotel room and pressed, “Are you sure?”
“Positive,” Spencer confirmed, sounding better.
Locking the door behind him, Aaron loosened his tie and asked, “Did I miss anything today?”
There was a pause, apparently the other man had to think over his answer, and then Spencer said, “Not really. Lunch didn’t really agree with me so I went home early. Morgan drove me.”
“Are you all right?” Aaron demanded.
Spencer’s nod was almost visible over the phone as he repeated, “Fine, Hotch. I spent the afternoon curled up in bed in one of your shirts.”
Smiling at that thought, Aaron unbuttoned his current shirt and murmured, “Oh, yeah? Did that make you feel better?”
“Definitely,” Spencer sighed. “I’d be even better with you here, though.”
Aaron held the phone away from his ear for a second to yank his shirt off and tossed it aside. Cradling it against his shoulder and ear again, he pulled off his belt and replied, “I wish I was. I’d curl up with you and hold you while you slept.”
Sighing at being unable to fulfill that want, Aaron unzipped his pants and let them drop. He would pick everything up later, when Spencer wasn’t on the phone. “So you’re lying in our big bed, all alone, wearing my shirt and curled up under the covers…are you feeling good now?”
“Now that you’re talking to me, yeah,” Spencer confirmed.
Aaron smiled and climbed onto the impersonal hotel bed, settling down against the lackluster pillows. “Touch yourself for me, Spencer.”
Spencer’s breath hitched again, but this time Aaron was sure it wasn’t in loneliness.
“Slide those perfect, elegant hands over your chest,” Aaron ordered softly. “Close your eyes and pretend that it’s me touching you. I would caress you and then kiss your smooth skin. My hands would stroke you all over, moving up under the shirt to rub your nipples.”
Aaron told him gently, “It should, love, that’s me touching you, loving you. Picture me licking my way down your body until I come to your navel. What do I do there?”
“Lick and tickle me, just like always,” Spencer half-complained, though his tone was aroused.
Chuckling, Aaron agreed, “Lick and then tickle. And from there?”
Aaron’s hand stroked over his dick as he listened to the softly spoken words, interspersed with groans and gasps.
“You’re stroking my belly, avoiding my dick because you always do when you settle in for the long haul,” Spencer told him. “Then you turn me over and, oh God, your fingers rub over my hole, teasing, just barely there. And, and you say…”
“I say, ‘This is all mine,’” Aaron interrupted, voice deep with lust. “Because it is. And then I’d eat you out until you were begging for me to fuck you.”
Spencer groaned and Aaron listened intently until he heard the slide of hands over skin, the sound slightly damp, as though his lover’s cock already leaked. Which it probably did, Spencer was so responsive.
Aaron’s hand stroked over his own dick, fast and tight, imagining it was Spencer’s hole. “I am, Spencer, I am. My cock in your ass and it’s so tight, feels so damn good, love.”
Spencer gasped and Aaron heard him moving on the bed, probably his hips thrusting up into his hand.
“That’s right, Spencer, stroke yourself, do it for me, love, come for me,” Aaron urged, his own orgasm imminent.
Aaron heard the faint splatter of something wet on skin and knew his lover had come. Imagining the arched back and open-mouthed expression of love and need on Spencer’s face sent him over the edge. It hit hard and fast and he groaned deep as his body shook with release. Panting, Aaron regained his senses slowly and then grinned at the ceiling, loose-limbed and content.
Spencer sighed deeply and mumbled, “Needed that, Aaron. Love you so much.”
His heart melted at those simple words. Even though his heart had been broken twice in recent memory, Aaron knew that Spencer would never abandon him or let himself be pushed away. Clearing his throat, Aaron replied softly, “I love you too, Spencer. Think you can sleep now?”
Because Spencer might have been in bed, but he wouldn’t have been sleeping if he’d felt ill. Aaron had been treated to a sick Spencer before and it wasn’t pretty.
“Go to sleep, love, I’ll call you first thing in the morning,” Aaron promised.
Smiling, Aaron replied, “Night, Spencer,” and hung up.
It only took about thirty seconds for him to grimace at both the mess on himself and the hotel floor. Aaron sighed and climbed out of bed to first take a shower and then tidy up. Then he’d be able to sleep.
Assuming he could get rid of the memory of Spencer’s scared voice answering the phone.
Spencer woke in a much better mood than the previous day. He felt foolish and embarrassed about flaking so completely over what had to be a joke.
“Much,” he replied, smiling in return. “I feel rather, um, silly now, really.”
JJ shook her head and scolded, “Nonsense! If you don’t feel good, going home’s the best thing. You don’t want to get everyone else sick.”
They headed upstairs and reached the empty office suite, splitting up to go to their respective desks. The morning passed quietly and Spencer lost himself in the research of his new paper. One minute it was just almost
eight o’clock and the next, Morgan tapped him on the shoulder, bringing him out of the fog of words. He blinked up at the big man and asked, “Yeah?”
“Lunch, Reid,” Morgan announced. “Feeling good enough to go out?”
Spencer glanced over at Rossi’s office, but the door was closed. He hesitated, but then shook his head and said, “I think I’ll just get some soup from downstairs.”
“All right, but I want to see an empty container when we get back,” Morgan warned.
Making a face at him, Spencer waved him off and saved and then backed up his work. That done, he headed to the cafeteria and bought a soup, but ate it outside in the small patio area. The sun felt good and he yawned, suddenly tired from the last couple of days in a way he hadn’t expected. He grimaced to himself, thinking about how Hotch might have been right to worry about him staying alone.
Spencer stiffened at Rossi’s question, but there was no reason to deny him. Gesturing to the empty seat, Spencer told him shortly, “I don’t appreciate the little gift you sent me.”
“What gift?” Rossi asked mildly. “The one you deleted and erased all trace of?”
Something in the blandness of his tone set Spencer’s ‘danger’ senses tingling.
The older man smiled and leaned back in his seat, turning his face to the sun and closing his eyes as he said, “You know, Spencer, there aren’t many people who interest me the way you have. I can see why Gideon and Hotch both wanted you, but neither of them were right for you.”
“And you are?” Spencer angrily demanded.
Rossi nodded and replied easily, “You and I have a lot in common. Gideon’s book smart and Hotch’s people smart, but I’m both. I know you, Dr. Spencer Reid. I know your fears, and your hopes, and your wants, and your phobias. I know the edge of madness that lingers just outside your mind. The tickle of schizophrenia that paralyzes you with the fear of losing your mind.”
Spencer’s stomach roiled at the piercing words and he stood, shoving the chair back and rushing away from the table. He bumped into someone on the way back into the building, mumbled an apology, and jogged the rest of the way to the office. He took the stairs because he couldn’t wait for the elevator. By the time he got back to his desk, panic had taken full root and he could barely catch his breath, close to hyperventilating.
He put his head between his knees and struggled to keep control. It seemed an eternity before he could sit upright without grayness tingeing his vision, but he at last managed it. Just in time, too, because Prentiss and JJ got back right then. Keeping his eyes trained on the monitor, Spencer simply waved when they teased him about Morgan demanding a receipt to make sure he’d eaten.
Rossi arrived shortly after the women. Spencer was on hyper-alert for him, hackles rising at the other shape shifter’s presence so nearby. If he’d had any less control, he knew that he would have fully Changed then and there for more protection. The other agent didn’t approach, though, instead going to his office after giving Spencer a small, knowing smile.
Startled by Kevin’s approach, Spencer spun and accidentally sliced a claw across the other man’s arm. Blood instantly welled across Kevin’s bicep and he yelped in pain, opposite hand instantly gripping the wound. Horrified, Spencer stammered, “Kevin, I’m so sorry!”
“Sure, of course,” Spencer agreed instantly.
Miserable, Spencer nodded and watched as the two men headed towards the break room and its first aid kit. He sighed and headed for the file room, wanting nothing more than to hide from everything. He’d no more gotten inside when he heard the door reopen and turned to find Rossi blocking the way out. Wary, he said, “Don’t come any closer.”
Rossi held up his hands. “I’m not going to hurt you, Spencer. I just want to talk.”
“Like on the patio? No thanks. Leave.
Me. Alone.”
Rossi’s eyebrows rose, amusement showing in his dark gaze. “Yes? I’m not even what?”
“Alpha,” Spencer whispered. “That’s what this is about, isn’t it? You want to be pack Alpha.”
“And to do that, I need you,” Rossi confirmed, half-smiling.
Spencer snapped, “No! Just forget it! I won’t betray Hotch like that. I don’t want you and I don’t want you as Alpha.”
Rossi ground a hard cock against Spencer’s ass, prominent even through two layers of fabric. “It’s not about being liked, Spencer, it’s about being in charge. Hotch doesn’t have what it takes to lead such an important pack and he knows it, but can’t swallow his pride to admit it. Morgan’s got years to go before being ready to be Alpha for any pack, let alone one of the flagship packs. No, I’m the only one who can lead and to do that, I have to show everyone my strength.”
“Forcing me to submit does that?” Spencer questioned, praying he could just keep the other talking until someone found them.
Rossi unzipped one-handed, the sound abnormally loud in the closeness of the file room. He bit down hard enough on Spencer’s neck to break the skin. Spencer cried out, unable to help himself at the pain, and the claws dug in even tighter.
“Not another sound,” Rossi hissed in warning.
As claws slashed Spencer’s pants and briefs away from him, all he could do was retreat into his mind, lose himself in the safety and comfort of words and numbers. When the blunt tip of Rossi’s dick touched his skin, precome wet against him, Spencer sobbed in humiliation and fear. A split second later, someone roared in pure fury and the door slammed inward, cracking into the wall. Spencer dropped to the ground when Rossi was literally torn from him, leaving trails of blood and fire across his throat.
He watched numbly as Hotch and Rossi fought each other without any sign of humanity. They were evenly matched, youth and speed on Hotch’s side while Rossi held more experience and a penchant for ruthlessness. Claws raked across clothing and into flesh. Teeth grew into fangs, snapping and snarling, each barely holding the other at bay by the other. There was nothing of reason in either man as they tore into one another, finally spilling out, into the greater bullpen.
Spencer crawled after them weakly, knowing he needed to somehow stop them. Everything was about to be exposed because they were fighting over him. Not just him, he knew logically, but over pack leadership.
Shouts from others spurred him into crawling faster and he reached the main office just in time to see Morgan turn the fire hose on the combatants. They were flung away from one another, across the office, and the black man alternated the spray between them until they stopped getting up to go after each other. Spencer ignored the water and pulled himself towards Hotch. He got there just as the water turned off, leaving him with a bloody, wet, and exhausted, but still snarling, lover.
Spencer wrapped his arms around Hotch and held tight, blocking everything else out when his Alpha’s arms returned the embrace. Hotch moved them into a partially upright position, dragging Spencer behind him and biting at anyone who got too close.
“Spencer? Spencer, honey, we have to check you and Hotch out,” a voice finally penetrated. “Can you get him to revert? Can you calm him down? Rossi’s gone. He’s not even in the building anymore, so you’re safe, I promise.”
Blinking against the fog of trauma, Spencer finally came fully back to himself and discovered that Hotch had pulled them into the corner of the office, a massive set of file drawers to either side. It was the most protected place in the office, not counting the actual filing room or Hotch’s personal office.
Spencer drew in a shaky breath and nodded. “Yeah. Okay. Give me a few minutes.”
Pure relief sketched across her pretty face and she smiled tentatively before withdrawing.
“Hotch? Hotch, look at me,” Spencer whispered. “Please, I need you. Please come back to me, take care of me? I need you here, need you to talk to me. Please, Hotch? Please come back.”
Hotch grew still under his soft caresses and softer words, not wanting to share the pleadings with anyone who couldn’t hear on their own. It took a solid five minutes before reason returned, but it happened in a split second. Hotch gasped and then turned to face Spencer, fangs retreating along with the patch of fur just visible under his collar where the tie had been torn off.
Dark eyes widened in worry as Hotch exclaimed, “Spencer, oh God, are you all right? Did he, did he hurt you? Where are you hurt? I can smell the blood.”
Hotch went very still at that and then looked out to find the rest of the team, minus Rossi, standing in a semi-circle around them. There were no others in the office, though how JJ had managed that, Spencer had no idea. Snapping to action, Hotch ordered, “Spencer needs pants. Someone find him a pair of sweats and get an ambulance.”
“You need to be examined,” Hotch interrupted firmly. “Don’t argue with me.”
Submitting willingly to his lover’s concern, Spencer nodded meekly and asked, “Will you let them look at you, too?”
Hotch nodded with a faint smile. “If you want.”
“Yes, please,” Spencer confirmed, not liking the look of the slashes across the other’s chest. “And don’t leave me.”
Taking his hand, Hotch vowed, “Never. Morgan! Where is that son of a bitch? I want him brought up on attempted-rape and assault charges right now!”
Morgan grimaced and said, “Strauss took him to be dealt with, but I doubt it involves assault charges.”
“Find out where she took him and report back to me,” Hotch ordered.
Even with the blankets strapped in over him and Hotch walking beside him, Spencer couldn’t get warm. With his mind flashing back to the feel of Rossi’s dick rubbing over him, Spencer had the feeling that it would be a long time before he felt safe again.
Aaron stayed with Spencer on the ride to the hospital, letting the EMTs look him over on the way. They declared his cuts minor, though the one across his abdomen got a bandage and the promise of stitches. Rossi hadn’t been holding back on any of it. If Aaron hadn’t jumped back in time, he’d have been gutted with that swipe of the claws.
The cuts on Spencer’s throat and the absence of his pants told Aaron that Rossi hadn’t been holding back on the younger man, either. If he hadn’t gotten there just then… Clearing the thought of a violated Spencer from his mind, grateful for the instinct that had pushed him into coming back early regardless of Strauss’ orders, he bent down to kiss Spencer’s forehead again.
Smiling wanly, Spencer whispered just loud enough for Aaron to hear, “I’m glad you came home.”
Aaron nodded and echoed, “Me, too.”
The ambulance stopped just then and they were hustled into the ER, Spencer was transferred to an exam bed and a curtain closed around them. Aaron took his hand and laced their fingers together.
Spencer gave him a worried look and asked, “Are you all right?”
Surprised, Aaron repeated, “Me? I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine,” Spencer pointed out, nodding at the bandage, now seeped with blood.
Aaron shrugged it off and said, “It’ll heal.”
A dark-haired, petite female doctor came in and offered a welcoming smile. Aaron scented Shifter and growled slightly. She held up her hands and greeted, “I come in peace. Not to mention that I’m the only one on duty who won’t ask where the knife is.”
To that, Aaron could only grimace and back down.
“I’m Dr. Gretchen Reese,” she continued. “I hear from the EMTs that you are actually in worse condition than your mate here, so sit.”
Aaron glared at her, but obeyed at the pleading look from Spencer. The cleaning and stitching of so many cuts took longer than he expected. Once she was done with him, Gretchen turned to Spencer and immediately turned to the bite mark. After examining it, she said slowly, “I could excise it, if you wish, but that’ll be painful and, in my opinion, unnecessary.”
“Do it,” Spencer ordered, just as Aaron replied, “Leave it.”
“I’ll leave you two to discuss it.”
Aaron again took Spencer’s hand and said, “It’s not worth causing you more pain.”
“I don’t want his mark on me,” Spencer said shakily. “I’m going to have enough nightmares without it.”
“But this will scar you more.”
“If I’m going to be scarred, I want it to not be from his fangs.”
Aaron sighed, cradling the elegant hand in his and bringing it up to kiss. He finally gave in with, “It’s your decision, love.”
Spencer shot him a grateful look and called, slightly louder, “You can come back.”
Gretchen gave him a local and proceeded to excise the bite, a process that took longer and was more complicated than Aaron would have expected. He kept hold of Spencer’s hand throughout, making sure that he knew that he wasn’t alone.
Finally done with that, she said softly, “I have to examine you for rape now.”
But Spencer shook his head and countered, “He didn’t g-get that far. Aaron stopped him. It w-was close, but, he didn’t.”
Gretchen hesitated, but then nodded. “All right. You’re both okay to be released. I’ll prescribe antibiotics for both of you to ward off infection, but you should be good with a couple days of rest.”
“Thank you, Dr. Reese,” Aaron said, shaking her hand.
She nodded and left them alone.
Aaron gathered Spencer carefully into his arms and held him for a long time. The slender man shook faintly, his breathing hitching a few times until he at last relaxed into the embrace. Aaron finally said, “Let’s go home.”
“Yes,” Spencer murmured.
When they left the ER, though, it was to find Morgan and Agent D’Adamo, a young man from Strauss’ office waiting to transfer into the BAU at first opportunity. Being human and not someone anyone of them really knew, the agent had no idea that it would be a cold day in Hell before he actually got that transfer.
“Aaron, man, I’m sorry, but Strauss insisted,” Morgan said.
Understanding immediately that D’Adamo was to take him into custody, Aaron barely restrained a growl. He opened his mouth to say something, but Spencer beat him to it.
“Go. I’ll be fine. Morgan’ll watch out for me.”
Morgan nodded instantly. “Damn skippy I will. No way he gets out of my sight, except to use the john.”
Since there really was no choice unless he wanted to tender his resignation, Aaron glared at the as-yet-silent D’Adamo and snapped, “Let’s go.”
He left without another look at Spencer because if he did, Aaron knew that he wouldn’t leave unless it was in handcuffs.
* * * *
Spencer looked about ready to drop, so Morgan didn’t jump on him as soon as Aaron left with Strauss’ flunky D’Adamo. He would save the lecture for later. Motioning towards the parking lot, Morgan asked, “Need any help?”
Shaking his head, Spencer simply wrapped his arms around himself and started walking.
“He’s gonna be fine,” Morgan said, falling into step with him. “Aaron always lands on his feet.”
Spencer sighed. “Maybe not this time. You know Strauss has it in for him. This could be what tips the scales and forces him out of the BAU.”
Morgan snorted and countered, “Nothing’s going to force Aaron out of the BAU. Sure as hell not some Gideon wannabe.”
Spencer smiled faintly at that, which Morgan counted as a victory. They reached his car a short minute later and were on the road a couple minutes after that. He headed for Gideon’s place and settled into driving mode before touching the phone remote and saying, “Garcia.”
She picked up on the second ring with, “Are they okay? What’s going on?”
“Relax, baby girl, they’re fine,” Morgan answered. “And you’re on speaker. Say hello, Reid.”
Spencer made a face, but said, “Hello.”
“Spencer! Ohmygodareyouallright?” she exclaimed. “We were so worried! No one’s telling us anything and JJ’s all, keep calm, but how can I keep calm? Are you okay?”
Morgan glanced sidelong to find a real smile on the other man’s face and nodded to himself. Garcia was enough to get anyone out of a funk.
Spencer told her firmly, “I’m fine. Really. Could you do me a favor though?”
“Anything! Name it!” Garcia answered.
“Find out what’s going on with Rossi? I, I don’t think I could sleep tonight not knowing where he is.”
There was a brief silence before Garcia said, “I’m on it. I’ll call you back.”
“Thanks, Gacia.”
Morgan added, “Yeah, thanks baby girl.”
She disconnected.
Morgan did the same to cut off the dial tone and drove in silence for a few minutes. He looked at Spencer and commented, “I can’t smell his mark on you.”
“I had them excise it,” Spencer answered.
He winced at the thought of actually cutting away skin and muscle just to remove something, but could also see the sense in it. An Alpha’s mark took a long time to fade and never actually went away on its own. It would have been an anathema to both Spencer and Aaron. Cutting out the bite mark removed the problem, though the scarring would be more prominent. If Rossi had actually taken Reid physically, done more than bite him, Morgan was sure that either Rossi or Aaron would now be dead.
What he couldn’t figure out was why the man had done it. He had to know that no one would have supported his claim as Alpha of the pack by taking Reid and killing Aaron. Morgan would’ve fought him tooth and claw before letting him have the pack. And Kevin might be new to the pack, but he was a lot more powerful than those ugly, loose clothes let on. And if, somehow, Rossi had killed Aaron, himself, and Kevin, Spencer and the girls would have disbanded rather than let Rossi lead them after such a bloody swath.
So what was the point? Morgan wondered. Why do it? Did he really think that he could just claim Spence and then cow Aaron into letting him take over? Did he misjudge the situation that badly?
Thoughtful, Morgan realized that he could have. Aaron had not only deferred to him a few times and sought his advice on others, but they’d been in opposite roles the last time Rossi had really known Aaron. For all Morgan knew, they’d even been lovers at the time.
Arriving at Gideon’s forestalled further thought on the matter. He parked in the driveway and looked over to find Spencer sound asleep. Smiling fondly at the sight, Morgan gently rested a hand on the other’s shoulder and lightly shook him awake.
Spencer went still and then opened his eyes. “We’re here.”
“Yep,” Morgan confirmed, moving to climb out of the car.
He was out and around the front before Reid had even finished getting to his feet. The other moved slowly, like an old man, and Morgan frowned with worry.
“I’m going to take a shower to get out the stiffness,” Spencer preempted.
Morgan nodded and pulled out his keys, unlocking the door and waiting for Spencer to go inside. Locking the door behind them, he flipped on the lights as Spencer went upstairs without another word. Morgan let him go, knowing that he would need some space to get his head together.
* * * *
It took a while to cover up the bandage on the curve of his throat, but was well worth the hassle. Spencer closed his eyes and turned his face to the spray of hot water. It stung at first, but felt good after a few minutes and then he turned around and let his head drop. The movement hurt, pulling at his stitches, but the hot water felt too good to change position.
He stood like that for a long time before turning his attention to actually cleaning off the rest of Rossi’s scent. It was faint, just barely there and a through washing with Aaron’s and Gideon’s soaps destroyed the remainder of it. He used his own shampoo, knowing that Aaron liked the smell of it, and wound up doing it one handed because lifting his arm on the side of the bite hurt too much.
Finally satisfied that not a trace of Rossi lingered, except perhaps in his imagination, Spencer turned off the water and climbed out of the tub. He dried off and pulled one of Aaron’s shirts from the dirty hamper. Not that Aaron’s clothes were ever really dirty, since the man was obsessive about appearing perfectly pressed and presentable, but the shirt smelled of him and that was all Spencer wanted. He grabbed boxers and sweats from his drawer and then shuffled back downstairs.
Morgan sat on the sofa watching television. The black man glanced his way when Spencer got to the bottom of the stairs and smiled. “Hey. Feel better?”
“Much,” Spencer confirmed. “Did you eat?”
“Thought I’d wait for you. You want to order in?”
“Yeah.”
Spencer sat on the recliner and popped out the footrest, remembering when he and Jason would share it by way of Spencer mostly being on top of the bigger man. He pulled the blanket off the top and tossed it over himself, curling up with a yawn. He listened to Morgan order from a nearby restaurant and half-grinned, assuming the soup was for him.
That done, Morgan told him, “Rossi’s in custody, same as Aaron.”
The news woke Spencer up thoroughly and he looked over at Morgan, demanding, “What do you mean, ‘custody?’”
Morgan sighed. “Strauss has them both in lockdown back at the Bureau while taking statements from everyone. You’re up in the morning.”
“She can’t do that!” Spencer exclaimed, sitting up. “She has no legal right to…”
“Reid, calm down!” Morgan ordered sharply.
Spencer took a breath and slowly let it out. “She has no right to hold Aaron when he did nothing wrong.”
Shrugging, Morgan pointed out, “He attacked Rossi.”
“Because Rossi was about to rape me!” Spencer shouted, jumping up, fury running through him.
Morgan strode over to him and gripped his shoulders firmly. “You want to get into this? Because we can go down to the gym and you can tear things up if you want. If not, take a breath and chill. You won’t do Aaron any good giving yourself a heart attack.”
Spencer thrummed with the need to do something to help his mate, but let his breathing calm. Morgan was right about that part, anyhow.
“That’s better,” the other man approved. “Now come on, man. Relax, okay? Aaron has this down. He’s going to be fine. What’s the worst Strauss can do? Give him a letter of reprimand in his file? Maybe an unpaid leave? She can’t fire him or throw him in jail. Whatever she does to him, she has to do to Rossi after all, and he’s her knight in shining armor. Don’t worry about it so much. Aaron’s been playing the game for a long time.”
Even though he knew that Morgan was right, it was hard not to worry. Spencer gave in with a sigh and a nod. He wouldn’t feel right until Aaron was home, but there was nothing to be done until the next day at the earliest. And since his mate had been seen at the hospital, he wasn’t in any physical danger.
* * * *
Aaron wasn’t surprised when the door opened and Strauss walked inside the small interrogation room. He’d been there for a few hours, cooling his heels and waiting for just this. No water, no food, no chance to relieve his bladder, which was starting to become uncomfortable.
She must be salivating at this whole situation, he thought wryly.
Sitting across the table from him, Strauss smiled unpleasantly and told him, “Disciplinary action is going to be the least of your problems, Agent Hotchner.”
“So I assumed when D’Adamo took me into custody,” Aaron replied, holding up his cuffed hands. At least the other agent had waited until they were out of sight of Spencer. And that might be something to worry about on its own. Did everyone know they were living together? Shaking off the thought to deal with later, he continued, “I presume you have Rossi in similar straits.”
She smirked. “You would presume incorrectly.”
Aaron straightened, alarmed, and demanded, “He’s not out loose, is he?”
“I’m afraid you no longer have clearance for that information,” she said smoothly, a gleam in her eyes.
It was a struggle to remain calm and remember that she didn’t have any clue about the larger scheme of things. All she knew was that he and Rossi had gone at each other in the office. Garcia would have erased the footage as a matter of course to keep the real situation from the humans they worked with and the world at large.
Stiffly, Aaron told her, “Rossi attacked Agent Reid and was about to commit sexual assault when I intervened. I know you have no use for me, but you have to keep Rossi under scrutiny in case he goes after Reid again.”
“I don’t have to do anything except charge you with assault and turn you over to the federal prison system for striking a federal agent and destruction of federal property. I may even throw in a count of armed assault, since you had your gun at the time.”
Aaron opened his mouth to protest, even knowing it would be playing into her hands, when the door opened. Someone he didn’t know entered the interrogation room.
Strauss glared at the interruption and demanded, “This can’t wait?”
The agent said uncomfortably, “I’m sorry, ma’am, but AD Skinner wants to speak with you asap. He’s holding on your line now.”
She frowned, but stood and told Aaron, “We’ll continue this shortly, Agent Hotchner,” before striding out of the room.
Aaron politely asked the agent, “Excuse me, but could you bring me to the men’s room?”
The man hesitated, but then nodded and motioned him up.
Grateful that whoever he was didn’t play for Strauss, Aaron followed him out of the interrogation room. He caused no trouble on the short excursion, simply relieved himself, washed his hands, and then trailed back to the same room. Aaron had no sooner settled back down when the door slammed open and an openly furious Strauss stalked inside.
“I don’t know how you got to AD Skinner, but this isn’t the last of this!” she snarled, doing a good Shifter impression. To the agent still present, she ordered, “Uncuff him. You’re free to go, Agent Hotchner.”
“What about Rossi?” Aaron pressed.
“He’s been released into the custody of the Navy for reasons I, apparently, don’t need to know,” Strauss informed him sharply. “I’m sure that whoever your friend is, will be sure and explain why.”
Aaron took his good fortune and ran with it, leaving the interrogation room with a cool nod her way and questions running through his mind. Chegwidden had obviously intervened, but how? And how had he found out so fast, Skinner?
* * * *
Spencer looked up at hearing footsteps outside the house, recognizing them as Aaron’s. He jumped to his feet and ran to the door just as it opened, throwing his arms around the other’s neck and clinging to him. Strong arms wrapped around him and Aaron walked them deeper into the house, kicking the door shut behind them. He smiled, relaxing for the first time in days and pulled back just enough to kiss his lover hungrily.
“And that’s my cue to leave,” Morgan announced with a chuckle.
Aaron smiled against Spencer’s lips and then turned to look at the black man. “Thanks for looking after him.”
Morgan tipped an imaginary hat. “No problem, boss man. Keep out of trouble now. Both of you.”
Aaron moved them out of the way so Morgan could leave, and then reached out to lock the door. Spencer hooked a leg around the back of Aaron’s thigh and they tumbled down onto the floor. Aaron laughed and rolled them so he was on top before asking, “I don’t suppose you’d care to explain how AD Skinner even learned I was in custody, let alone decided to interfere?”
Spencer was shocked. “He did?”
Frowning, Aaron replied, “He did. So, that wasn’t you?”
“I didn’t think of it,” he confessed, feeling all kinds of stupid. “I should have. From all accounts, he’s always been very approachable for Shifter conflicts. He’s an excellent mediator.”
Cupping his face, Aaron soothed, “You were upset, don’t worry about it.”
“Everyone keeps telling me not to worry about things!” Spencer exclaimed, pushing Aaron off him. He hopped to his feet and said, “I’m not a child! I should be able to handle things like this!”
Aaron remained seated on the floor, though he did move to rest against the sofa. “Spencer, you were attacked only hours ago. Of course we know you’re an adult, but that’s enough to shake anyone, what Rossi was going to do.”
Spencer sighed, crossing his arms over his chest as he said, “It wasn’t about me, not really. He wanted to be Alpha of the pack and thought the best way to do that was through me.”
“Which means, by the way, that your instincts about him two weeks ago were right on the money and you shouldn’t have doubted yourself,” Aaron pointed out firmly.
Spencer had been hoping Aaron wouldn’t remember that.
The other man continued, “The next time you don’t trust yourself on something that important, you could wind up dead. You need to come to me, or Morgan, or anyone, about this kind of thing instead of blowing it off. You’re important to me. If anything were to happen to you…”
Spencer walked back to him and dropped to his knees beside Aaron. Taking his hand, Spencer whispered, “I’m sorry.”
“I can’t lose you too, Spencer,” Aaron whispered back. “I couldn’t take it.”
Moving so he was beside Aaron, Spencer draped his legs over the other’s lap and curled up close to him. Strong arms wrapped around him and Aaron sighed deeply, holding him close. They stayed like that, silent and warm, for a long time. Long enough for Spencer to drowse contentedly before Aaron scooped him into his arms and stood. Nestled securely, he barely even woke as his mate lowered him into bed and, moments later, spooned up behind him.
Surrounded by Aaron’s fresh, clean scent some time later told him that more time had passed than he’d thought, Spencer smiled and fell into a true sleep.
* * * *
Morgan was surprised to find all the lights on when he got home after Aaron’s return. It wasn’t the late hour that precluded the lights being on, but more the circumstances. He knew his girl better than anyone and when things got stressful or upsetting, she went straight for the tub with lots of candles. And while he didn’t know Kevin as well yet, he was sure that if Penelope was naked in a tub, the boy would be right there with her.
Locking the door behind him, Morgan called out, “Anyone home?”
Kevin popped up from the sofa as if electrified and squeaked, “Derek!”
Eyebrows lifting in surprised amusement, Morgan replied, “Last I checked. You okay there, boy?”
Kevin immediately started babbling, “Look, man, I am so sorry! But Penelope was upset, and JJ was upset, and Prentiss, man she is scary when she’s pissed! I know it wasn’t my place, but I had to do something to calm Penelope down and I’m really sorry for stepping on your toes and all, but no one was doing anything and I didn’t think it could hurt, so…”
“Kevin!” Morgan interrupted forcefully.
Kevin blinked at him. “What?”
Morgan asked, “What did you do?”
Biting his lip, Kevin admitted, “I called AD Skinner and told him what happened. At least what I knew. You know. About Rossi and Aaron going at it and something had happened to Reid, though I wasn’t sure what, but I kinda did, and maybe it was a move on the pack, but Strauss was involved and so…yeah. So, I called Skinner.”
Something Morgan hadn’t even thought to do, but should have. Not that Aaron couldn’t have handled Strauss on his own, but it was always better to get the higher ups involved as soon as possible on something as public as this. He walked over to the younger man and gripped his shoulder. He noted the flinch and wished that he knew who’d put it there so he could beat them to death for it. Smiling, Morgan told him, “You did good.”
Surprise lit across Kevin’s face. “I did?”
“You did very good,” Morgan stated firmly. “So good, matter of fact, I think you deserve a little treat.”
Kevin grinned broadly, swelling with pride and his dark eyes sparkling. “Hey, sweet! What do I get?”
Quirking an eyebrow at him, Morgan said, “Get your ass to the bedroom and I’ll show you.”
“Yes!” Kevin exclaimed, instantly running for the bedroom.
Morgan laughed softly and went to collect Penelope for some good lovin.’ Both his mates deserved at least that. More, probably, but that was all he had to give.
* * * *
Aaron woke the following morning to a literal pain in the gut. He rolled back from Spencer and turned on the light to find his bandage soaked with blood, though it had dried. It looked like he’d popped a stitch or two when he lifted Spencer the night before. He was probably lucky not to have lost too much blood. Then again, he healed fast enough that that wasn’t really a serious concern for just a couple of stitches coming undone. Now, if he’d popped all of them, that would’ve been another story.
He looked down to find blood transfer on the shirt Spencer still wore and grimaced, knowing it would worry the other man. Moving carefully, Aaron climbed out of the bed and walked to the bathroom to take a look and clean up. He peeled away the bandage and saw that the first two stitches had popped, but that the scab seemed to be keeping the rest in place. Grimacing, Aaron figured that he should stop by his doctor to fix it so he wouldn’t have to worry about it later.
A short trip downstairs for plastic wrap, and tape from the first aid kit later, Aaron covered the affected area and then stepped into a hot shower. He’d just finished washing up when Spencer stumbled into the bathroom and wrapped his arms around Aaron’s waist, lips pressed to his shoulder. Smiling at the reflection of the nearly somnolent young man, he greeted, “Morning, sleepy.”
“Morning,” Spencer mumbled against him. “You okay?”
Aaron turned and gathered Spencer into his arms. Nuzzling at the uninjured side of his lover’s throat, he murmured, “Fine, love. How are you?”
Spencer heaved a sigh that turned into a yawn and leaned on him. “No nightmares. Think I’ll be okay.”
Aaron breathed a sigh of relief at that announcement. If the attack hadn’t already penetrated Spencer’s subconscious, then it likely wouldn’t. If the rape had actually happened, well, he knew this morning would be playing out very differently. “Into the shower with you. I’ll get breakfast started before the chaos starts.”
Worry rippled over Spencer’s face as he asked, “What do you think’s going to happen?”
“Skinner’s going to want to talk to us both, at the very least,” Aaron posited. “Other than that, I have no idea. Too many people saw Rossi and I fighting for it to get covered up, even were Strauss so inclined.”
“Which she’s not,” Spencer commented wryly.
Aaron agreed, “Which she’s not. So get washed up and we’ll see what’s going on.”
Spencer nodded, kissing him sleepily before reaching in to turn on the water again. When he stepped back, Aaron ripped off some plastic and moved to gently tape it in place. Spencer hummed in pleasure at the contact, not even wincing, and Aaron wondered if maybe somewhere inside that incredible brain of his, Spencer had simply blacked out who’d put the mark there in the first place. It was a legitimate coping mechanism, though one that could bite them later.
Shelving it for later thought, like so many other things, he waited until Spencer was under the shower before leaving to get dressed. He started the coffee and then made a hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast, just finishing the bacon when Spencer came down fully dressed and ready for the day. They ate in a comfortable silence while Aaron read the paper and Spencer did something on his laptop.
Aaron’s cell rang at eight on the nose and he found a blocked ID in place. Giving Spencer a reassuring smile he answered, “Agent Hotchner speaking.”
A woman’s pleasant voice replied, “Agent Hotchner, this is Assistant Director Skinner’s assistant, Cynthia. He would like to see you and Agent Reid this morning at ten, if your injuries allow?”
“We’ll be there,” Aaron answered.
“Thank you, Sir. Good bye.”
Aaron tried not to read anything into the fact that she didn’t let him respond. Instead, he unnecessarily told Spencer, “We’re expected at ten this morning.”
Spencer nodded, swallowing convulsively before saying, “I heard. Um…do you think Rossi will be there?”
Realizing that Spencer probably didn’t know, Aaron shook his head and told him, “He’s in JAG custody right now. I’m still not sure how that came about, but Strauss was particularly virulent about that development.”
Letting out a long breath, Spencer murmured, “Good. Not about Strauss, I mean, but about JAG.”
Aaron smiled to show he understood.
They cleaned up the remains of breakfast and drove to the
Hoover
Building shortly after, knowing that traffic would make it a long drive. It was nine-forty when they pulled into the garage and nine fifty-five by the time they’d finished signing in and gone through security. It was nine fifty-nine that they stepped through the doors of AD Skinner’s office to find a pretty black woman seated behind a desk and a waiting area.
Aaron greeted the woman, “I’m Agent Hotchner and this is Agent Reid.”
She nodded and motioned towards the seats. “Thank you for being so prompt. He’s just finishing another meeting.”
Aaron walked towards the chairs, careful not to touch or guide Spencer in public, as much as he wanted to give the reassuring contact. Even in slacks and dress shirt, the younger man seemed out of place within the austere office. Aaron sat beside him and waited.
It wouldn’t have surprised him if Skinner had just kept them waiting to show his displeasure with the whole situation, but a man actually left the inner office at about ten past. Fox Mulder. Aaron him recognized right away. The man was a genius on par with Gideon and they’d worked together for about a year before the strange obsessions had led the other man to his current work in the X-Files.
The brown-haired man glanced his way and stopped short. “Aaron? Hey, how are you? What are you doing here?”
Aaron stood and shook the other man’s hand warmly. “Had an incident yesterday that AD Skinner asked us to clarify.”
Mulder sniffed and then his gaze narrowed as he commented, “An incident that got you cut somewhere. What happened?”
“Agent Hotchner, AD Skinner will see you now,” Cynthia announced.
Mulder grimaced and told him, “Better not keep him waiting. And I guess you know why he’s pissed more than I do. Good luck.”
“Thanks,” Aaron replied, motioning Spencer up.
But Cynthia stopped them and said, “Just you, Agent Hotchner. He’ll speak with Agent Reid after.”
Aaron only nodded soberly and gave Spencer what reassurance he could with a brief touch to the shoulder. Then he nodded at Mulder and headed for the lion’s den, very much not looking forward to the meeting. He knew AD Skinner, of course, they’d met several times over the years at functions and interdepartmental meetings. That didn’t translate well to this situation, though, and while Mulder might be familiar enough with the man’s temper to treat it lightly, Aaron was not.
The inner office was just as stern as the outer, perhaps more so, and while Aaron knew that it was an affect, it did its job. He was even more subdued than normal by the time he reached the big desk with the big man behind it. This was very much like being called to the Principal’s office.
Even in a suit and tie, Assistant Director Walter Skinner was impressive physically. The tailored fabric accented the broad shoulders without calling undo attention to them while the shirt and tie seemed to say, ‘You’re lucky I’m civilized.’ The glasses topped off the package with a broad hint at reserve.
Standing at attention in front of the desk, Aaron greeted, “Good morning, Sir.”
“Sit.”
That doesn’t bode well, Aaron thought with an inner sigh as he sat down.
“Start at the beginning.”
Leaving it up to Aaron to decide where that was. It was an interrogator’s trick, trying to get the suspect to spill more than they had to, not knowing exactly what the person in charge was after.
He finally settled on backing up a little. “Agent Reid mentioned to me two weeks ago that he was uneasy in Agent Rossi’s presence. He felt as though Agent Rossi took an inappropriate interest in him. When I offered to speak with Agent Rossi, Agent Reid asked me not to do so. I should have, but I hadn’t noticed any…undercurrents. I neglected to take into account just how skilled Agent Rossi is at hiding his personal agendas.
“I was ordered out of town to a seminar in New York, but when I spoke with Agent Reid two nights ago, he seemed upset enough to me…no, he seemed scared. This prompted me to take an early flight home yesterday morning. I arrived at the BAU to find nothing out of order, but no one knew where either Agent Rossi or Reid were. And then I heard…”
Aaron’s words faltered as he remembered Reid’s terrified whimper. It took him a moment to regain his composure, but Skinner didn’t hurry him along. His serious, even stern expression actually encouraged Aaron and he continued, “I heard Agent Reid in distress in the filing room. I reacted instinctively, Sir, which may or may not have been a mistake. Agent Rossi was in position to sexually assault Agent Reid and…I lost control. I partially Shifted as we fought in the office.
“Agent Morgan turned the fire hose on both myself and Agent Rossi to separate us. It took several minutes before I returned to myself and by then, the EMTs had arrived to bring us to the hospital. I don’t know what became of Agent Rossi after the fire hose.”
Skinner looked at him impassively for a long moment before saying, “As a recital of facts, that was very well done. Now tell me what the fuck happened.”
A bit startled by the language and the intense way the big man leaned forward, Aaron hesitated and then replied, “He went after my mate and I was ready to kill the son of a bitch for doing it. He attacked Spencer in public, as if it didn’t matter, as if Spencer didn’t matter, which flouted my authority as Alpha, trying to prove I couldn’t protect him. If Morgan hadn’t separated us, one of us would be dead and it wouldn’t be me.”
Nodding, Skinner told him, “That’s how you deal with threats to your mate and your pack, in that order. Officially, you’ve a letter of reprimand in your file for fighting with a fellow agent. Also officially, Rossi is on unpaid suspension pending a criminal investigation into his attack on Agent Reid.”
“Unofficially?” Aaron prompted.
Skinner sighed and said, “Unofficially, the investigation will go nowhere. We can’t have a real investigation checking into why there is no surveillance at that time, why Rossi attacked Reid, or why JAG is involved. It’ll rubber stamp the whole thing, so unfortunately, Rossi won’t be facing any jail time for what he did. I’m sorry, but there’s no real justice for this situation unless Chegwidden formally sanctions Rossi from the Council.”
“Which isn’t going to happen.”
“It might, I don’t know. He’s a little touchy about mates being attacked, so it could go either way. He did all he could for Agent Gibbs when his mate was taken. Not to mention his own problems in the past.”
Aaron vaguely remembered the Admiral’s lover being snatched by some rogue spook a few years before. It hadn’t had anything to do with Shifters, but would have struck home anyhow. The NCIS agent’s kidnapping from a Hunter was far more vivid. It had put everyone on notice for months until the man had been recovered and was much more recent.
“In either case,” Skinner continued. “You’ve got my full support if you want to go before the Council.”
The ‘if,’ of course, rested on Spencer. And knowing Spencer as he did, Aaron doubted the younger man would want to go before a full Council to ask for redress. His self-esteem issues wouldn’t allow it, which Rossi likely knew and probably counted on. Aaron suddenly realized that that was why he’d attacked in such a public manner. Everything would have to be whitewashed, whereas if he’d attacked Spencer in private, Aaron could very well have killed him without fear of reprisal.
No one ever said that Dave Rossi was stupid, Aaron thought darkly. Aloud, he simply said, “Thank you, Sir. I appreciate the support.”
Skinner stood, prompting Aaron to do the same, and offered his hand. “You can send in Agent Reid now.”
Aaron wanted to protest, but couldn’t. Skinner had to hear directly from the injured party before addressing Chegwidden. He nodded and took the hand before heading out.
Spencer was watching the door when Aaron opened it and stood, hands twisting nervously. He met Aaron with a low, “Everything okay?”
Which meant the room was soundproofed, since Spencer was likely to eavesdrop on such an important conversation, especially if Aaron didn’t tell him not to. Aaron wondered in amusement how that expense justification had gone through. He lightly touched Spencer’s shoulder and said, “Everything’s fine. He wants to see you now. Just relax and tell him everything. And I mean everything, Spencer, understood?”
“Understood,” Spencer sighed, turning to go into the office.
Sitting and waiting for Spencer took a lot more patience and time than Aaron anticipated. He couldn’t help glancing at his watch every few minutes, even though he knew exactly what time it was each time he did. His own talk with Skinner had taken only about fifteen minutes, but Spencer didn’t emerge for a full hour and when he did, there was a redness to his eyes that told Aaron he’d cried.
Instantly on his feet, Aaron rushed over to him and softly asked, “Are you all right?”
“I’ll be fine,” Spencer murmured. “It wasn’t that bad.”
Aaron looked back to find a grave Skinner standing in the doorway. The other man motioned him over and, with a brief touch to Spencer’s back, Aaron went.
Quiet, Skinner told him, “I’ll be speaking with Chegwidden after you leave. You’ll probably hear from JAG within the day. Good luck, Agent Hotchner.”
“Thank you, Sir,” Aaron replied, returning to Spencer’s side.
Spencer gave him a wan smile and said, “We should get to work.”
Aaron shook his head. “No, I’m taking you home.”
“Aaron, please. I’d rather go to the office. And the others will want to see me,” Spencer pointed out.
Torn, Aaron finally gave in to the pleading gaze. “All right. Let’s go.”
Spencer waved briefly at Skinner before they headed out, Aaron as close to his mate as possible, without actually touching.
* * * *
The office was still being put to rights when they got there shortly after one. They’d stopped for lunch on the way, though Spencer didn’t want to linger so it was only drive-thru. Everyone stopped what they were doing as soon as they got to the office and surrounded Spencer. It still astounded him sometimes, how much they all cared about him. Even after all this time, it was hard to use the word ‘love,’ though he knew that was the case.
“Thank God you’re all right!” JJ exclaimed, hugging him tight.
Prentiss gave him a hug as well, though it was a little more awkward, and added, “We were so worried.”
“Spencer!” Garcia shouted.
Spencer turned just in time for her to barrel into him and squeeze him tight enough to make it hard to breathe. He couldn’t help grinning as he coughed for air and returned the hug, assuring them all, “I’m fine, honest. They didn’t even keep me overnight.”
Morgan asked, “So how was Skinner? As much of a hardass as his reputation says?”
Thinking about the kind man who’d literally let Spencer cry on his shoulder, he flushed and answered, “No, no he’s…he’s nice.”
Morgan’s eyebrows lifted skeptically. “Nice?”
“Nice,” Spencer repeated firmly. And then couldn’t help teasing, “Although he might be a hardass to anyone who hosed down his office.”
Morgan snorted and retorted, “Yeah, yeah. Keep it up, string bean.”
Spencer’s cell phone rang before he could respond. He was half afraid it would read Rossi, but instead had a restricted number. Frowning, he turned from the others and answered, “Hello?”
“Agent Reid?” an unfamiliar voice asked.
Spencer confirmed, “This is he.”
“This is Yeoman Tiner at JAG,” the man said. “Admiral Chegwidden was hoping that you and Agent Hotchner could come down this afternoon.”
Spencer looked across the room and found Hotch looking back. The other man nodded so he answered, “Sure, we could do that. We’re at
Quantico right now, so maybe around four?”
“I’ll leave word at the gate, Sir.”
“Okay, um, thanks,” Spencer said.
Tiner told him, “We’ll see you then, Sir,” and hung up.
As a first interaction with the military, it was fairly painless and scrupulously polite.
Hotch walked over to him and said, “We should leave now to avoid traffic.”
Spencer nodded and found himself on the receiving end of more hugs, which put what had to be a stupid smile on his face. When Garcia let go, he spotted Kevin hovering around the edge of the group and made a note to talk to him later. They hadn’t really interacted a lot, but he was pack now and probably felt as out of place as Spencer sometimes still did.
They made it to JAG far earlier than expected due to little traffic and ended up waiting in a conference room. Spencer wandered around the room, taking in the military accents, but really just burning off nervous energy. He’d already gone over everything in detail with AD Skinner; would he have to do it again for the Admiral?
The door opened on a handsome, blue-eyed, dark-haired man in uniform. He smiled warmly and greeted, “I’m Commander Harmon Rabb. Admiral Chegwidden’s on with SecNav right now, but he hopefully won’t be too long. Do either of you need anything?”
Hotch shook his head, but Spencer asked, “Could I have some water?”
“Of course,” the Commander replied, smiling. “I’ll be right back.”
Spencer looked at Hotch curiously when the door closed. “Commander seems a bit of a high rank to be a gopher.”
“But he’s a gopher for an admiral,” Hotch pointed out, smiling faintly.
The Commander returned with a bottle of water, which he held out to Spencer, and told them, “He’s actually ready for you now.”
Spencer would normally be bothered by the hand Hotch kept at his lower back, but the mixed scents of human and Shifter in the office through which they walked were both distracting and a little alarming. They headed for a young man at a desk outside two wooden doors and he jumped up and moved to open the doors for them.
The Admiral’s office was even more austere than AD Skinner’s, and Spencer hadn’t really thought that was possible. It was the overwhelmingly masculine décor, he knew, but the intimidation did its trick. He kept close to Hotch as they walked to the large wooden desk by windows at the far wall.
Spencer had seen Admiral Chegwidden a few times over the years, but always from a distance. Up close and personal, he could see why the man led the Council. There was an aura of authority that just emanated from him, making Spencer want to go to his belly before a single word had been said. Tacked on to his experience the day before, it was a little much for him and he stepped behind Hotch, crowding close.
The Admiral stood and offered his hand to Hotch, who took it after only a split-second hesitation. His voice was warm and strong with the hint of a southern accent as he greeted, “Thank you for coming on such short notice, both of you. I know it’s been a stressful couple of days. Please, have a seat.”
He motioned towards the leather sofa across the room, so Spencer followed Hotch over and they sat. Spencer wanted to leave this powerful man, but knew that wasn’t possible, not just yet, so he pressed against his mate instead.
“I have a problem,” Chegwidden began bluntly. “On the one hand, I can’t condone any action that deliberately harms another. On the other hand, Rossi made a legitimate move to become Alpha of your pack in the most expedient way possible. Having spoken with him at length, I’ve determined that he is being truthful in his statement that he simply seeks dominance in your pack, not to take Agent Reid as his mate. His strategy was both appalling and brilliant.
“I’ve found, over the years, that interfering in pack politics, unless it harms the greater good of our people, is just a bad idea. People get a mite twitchy when I poke my nose in what they consider pack business, and I don’t blame them. That being said, I won’t condone his actions no matter his desired end result. The way I see it, you’ve got two options here. Call for redress and let the Council decide the outcome, or solve this yourselves.”
“And how do you suggest I do that?” Hotch asked stiffly.
Chegwidden glared at him. “Hell if I know, Agent Hotchner, it’s your pack. Meet him in the park at dawn with pistols. Rent a gym and beat the crap out of each other. Just fix this so it doesn’t spill out to endanger the rest of us again.”
And that’s an order, Spencer heard, though the words weren’t spoken.
“I’ve told him that Agent Reid is off-limits, as is the rest of the pack. There is to be no further collateral damage going forward,” Chegwidden continued. “If he attacks again, it is solely to be aimed at you and in private. That goes for you, too. If you decide to eliminate the threat to your pack, I don’t want to hear even a whisper about it until it’s done. Am I clear?”
Hotch stood, pulling Spencer up with him, and replied formally, “Crystal, Sir.”
Chegwidden stood as well. “Good. We won’t have this kind of meeting again.”
Dismissed, and even Spencer understood that. Hotch nodded shortly and walked out of the office, back rigid with anger and humiliation. Spencer didn’t dare touch him, not sure what might break that infamous control.
Commander Rabb waited for them outside and hurried to fall into step with them, asked, “Agent Hotchner, if I could just have a minute?”
Hotch glared at the man, but nodded. “One minute.”
The Commander motioned them back towards the conference room where, belatedly, Spencer realized he still clutched the unopened bottle of water.
“Admiral Chegwidden can’t take sides in pack politics,” Rabb began.
Hotch interrupted angrily, “I know that. Even before getting called on the carpet like a junior agent, I did know that.”
Rabb winced, but continued, “But he wanted me to tell you that unofficially, he’s sorry he can’t rip Rossi to pieces for you.”
Hotch went very still at that, searching the Commander’s gaze for something; what, Spencer didn’t know. Finally, he let out a slow breath and replied, “Thank you, Commander. That’s good to hear.”
Rabb smiled at them as he said, “No problem. I’m just glad you didn’t shoot the messenger.”
“That happen a lot?” Hotch questioned, sounding more himself.
Chuckling, Rabb answered, “Let’s just say that I’ve got ‘duck and cover’ down to a science.”
Spencer relaxed at the exchange and opened his water, drinking it down thirstily.
Rabb’s gaze shifted to him and he asked with seemingly sincere concern, “Are you all right, Agent Reid?”
“I’ll be fine, thank you,” Spencer answered, managing a smile.
Hotch announced, “And on that note, we’re going home.”
Rabb smiled and offered his hand. “I can understand that. I hope things work out. Oh, and we couldn’t hold Rossi, so he is out.”
“Thanks for the heads-up,” Hotch said, taking his hand.
Spencer shook the Commander’s hand as well and then Rabb escorted them out of JAG. All he wanted to do was go home and stop having things jump out at him. Just a nice, quiet, relaxing night with Hotch. Since he doubted that Rossi would be stupid enough to try anything so soon, Spencer was pretty sure he had a good shot at getting his wish.
* * * *
Aaron grimaced at the sight of what would surely be an ugly scar, once the scab peeled away. There hadn’t been time to go to the doctors and by now, he’d healed enough that it wasn’t necessary. As long as Rossi didn’t decide to attack him in the next day or two, though, it wouldn’t matter.
“I knew you were hiding something,” Spencer commented from behind.
Giving the other man a faint grin by way of the mirror, Aaron replied, “I wasn’t trying to. I did mean to get to the doctor’s, but it just didn’t happen.”
“Here. Let me look at it.”
Aaron turned and leaned against the bathroom sink. Spencer stepped in close and lightly trailed his fingers over the sensitive skin around the injury. Aaron shivered in response and slid an arm around Spencer’s slender waist. He nuzzled at the bandage covering the bite mark and then mouthed it, wanting suddenly to erase it with his own mark and scent.
Spencer’s hand tightened on his hip and he gasped, “Oh, God! Aaron, that feels so good!”
Chuckling wickedly, Aaron turned and lifted Spencer onto the sink, shifting between his legs in a single move. He licked underneath his lover’s ear and murmured, “You want to feel even better?”
Spencer pulled him in tight by hooking ankles around his hips. “Yes, please.”
Just as Aaron bent down to take Spencer’s mouth, he heard the front door open and stiffened in alarm. Spencer went still in his arms, turning big eyes on him as Aaron put a finger to his lips. Spencer nodded and Aaron headed for the door, wishing he had his gun at hand. He heard a soft thud, as if someone dropped something, and continued towards the stairs, hackles rising in fury that someone had dared to enter their home unbidden.
Spencer stayed behind him as he descended the stairs, avoiding the areas that made noise. When Aaron got to the bottom, it was to find an unfamiliar suitcase in the middle of the living room. Frowning, most thieves or home invaders didn’t usually bring luggage, Aaron walked cautiously into the room and then stopped short as the intruder returned from the kitchen.
Gideon.
***
Jason stared at Hotch and Spencer in surprise, immediately noting the bandage on Spencer’s throat and Hotch’s protective, hostile stance. It relaxed only slightly on identifying him and Jason mentally winced, knowing he deserved the lack of trust even as he wondered what the hell was going on. He finally broke the silence with, “Thank you for not changing the locks.”
That seemed to startle Hotch out of his silence. “It’s your home. Why would we change the locks?”
“Oh, I can think of a few reasons,” Jason replied wryly. Glancing at Spencer, he asked, “What happened?”
Spencer flushed and looked away as he muttered, “Long story.”
That’s informative, Jason thought as the silence lengthened. He hadn’t exactly anticipated open arms, but this awkward silence hadn’t been expected, either. He suggested slowly, “Should I get a hotel room?”
Hotch shook his head after a brief hesitation and replied, “No, of course not. You just…surprised us. We weren’t expecting you.”
“Who were you expecting?” Jason questioned. “No one you wanted to see, from your postures.”
Letting out a brief sigh, Hotch said, “Why don’t we sit? Or, are you thirsty? You’ve probably had a long trip. Do you want to fix something to eat first?”
Jason motioned towards the sofa and said, “I’m fine, Hotch. Just tell me what happened.”
Spencer and Hotch took the long couch together while Jason sat in the recliner, partially facing them. He shifted it so he could look at them more directly, noting how close Spencer sat to Hotch, resting against him as if for protection. Something bad had gone down and from the careful lack of expression on Hotch’s face, it was personal.
“The short story is that Rossi attacked Spencer to get to me, as a move to become Alpha of the pack,” Hotch said bluntly.
Fury instantly flooded through Jason. It was strong enough that his claws burst forth to dig into the arms of the recliner, though not strong enough to send him into a rage. He took a slow, deep breath, willing himself to calm down enough to ask, “You took care of it?”
“Insofar as I could,” Hotch replied, grimacing. “It was at the office.”
“Where’s Rossi now?”
Hotch admitted, “I don’t know. I thought you might be him, trying to finish the job.”
Jason looked at Spencer and asked, “Are you all right?”
“Hotch stopped him before he could really hurt me,” Spencer replied, not meeting his gaze.
Not a resounding response and it did nothing to reassure Jason. If only Spencer would look at him so he could judge how shaken up or damaged the other man was.
Another awkward silence descended and then Spencer announced, “I’m going to bed,” before climbing off the sofa and practically running up the stairs.
Jason sighed and watched him go.
“It’s going to take time, Gideon,” Hotch said.
Nodding, Jason looked back at Hotch and asked, “And you?”
A faint, wry smile briefly graced Hotch’s face as he repeated, “It’s going to take time. I know why you left, but I’m still mad as hell at you for taking the easy way out instead of letting us help. Spencer…well, even before Rossi attacked him, he was confused and upset with you just taking off on us. I think…I don’t think he understands that it’s okay to be angry with you and still love you.”
“But you do?” Jason lightly pressed.
Hotch shrugged and pointed out, “I know more about anger than Spencer does. I’ve spent most of my life repressing it. Don’t worry about me, Gideon. I’m plenty in tune with my emotions where you’re concerned and trust me. You don’t want to hear about it now while you’re tired and traveled-out.”
Jason huffed in dark amusement. “You’re probably right. I’ll take the guest room.”
Hotch nodded and stood, walking over to him. He gripped Jason’s shoulder and said, “I’m glad you’re back, Jason, but things are different now. We need to be very clear about our status before involving the rest of the pack.”
Knowing that was true, Jason nodded agreement and put his hand on Hotch’s. “I know.”
Hotch stared at him a long moment before following Spencer upstairs.
Jason let out a long sigh of tension and cracked his neck to try and loosen the tight muscles. Definitely not the homecoming he’d hoped for, but it could have been a lot worse. Standing, feeling every hour of travel, he collected his suitcase and headed upstairs to the guest room.
Tomorrow would come soon enough.
* * * *
Spencer paced the bedroom in a small, neat circle once he got there, unable to really believe that Jason stood downstairs. Jason. Was downstairs. On top of everything else that had happened, it seemed… wrong, somehow. As though he hadn’t just spent the last several months wishing for exactly this situation.
“Spencer?”
Turning at Hotch’s call, Spencer stopped pacing and answered, “Yes?”
“Are you all right?” Hotch asked, walking over to him, dark eyes searching.
Spencer silently wrapped his arms around the other man, holding tight. His strength and warmth surrounded Spencer in a solid, reassuring way that he needed far too much. “What’s wrong with me? I want him back, I always have, but…now that he’s here, I don’t know if I do.”
Hotch hugged him and kissed his ear before murmuring, “It’s perfectly understandable. You feel betrayed and abandoned. You’re just protecting yourself.”
“But…”
Pulling back, Hotch stopped his words with a slow, easy kiss. Spencer sighed into it and relaxed against him, opening to the contact with need and pleasure. When it ended, he felt far more grounded and managed a smile at his lover.
Hotch smiled back and told him, “Get changed for bed. We’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”
Biting his lip, Spencer asked, “What about Gideon?”
“You let me worry about Gideon,” Hotch ordered firmly. “All you have to do is what’s right for you. He’s got no expectations here and knows that he deserves whatever you give him.”
Spencer noted the ‘you’ instead of ‘we,’ but didn’t comment. Instead, he went to the bathroom to go through his nightly routine. By the time he finished in there, Hotch lay in the bed, dressed comfortably in his usual sweats and t-shirt while reading a report of some kind. Spencer climbed under the covers and squirmed close to him, happily breathing in the stronger than usual scent.
Hotch chuckled and teased, “Comfortable?”
“Yes, thanks,” Spencer replied, grinning back.
Setting the report on the bedside table, Hotch stretched to turn off the light and slid down.
Spencer moved with him, sliding a leg between his and whispering, “You want him back, don’t you?”
Hotch sighed and then said, “I don’t know what I want yet, Spencer. It’s…too soon.”
But Spencer knew that wasn’t true. He heard the falsehood in his lover’s voice and it saddened him to think the other man couldn’t confide in him, especially about something so big.
“We’ll talk about it tomorrow. For now, just get some sleep, all right?”
Spencer nodded and sighed deeply, forcing himself to relax enough to drift into sleep.
* * * *
Aaron woke first the following morning and left Spencer sleeping in their bed. He lightly brushed the hair from his lover’s face before heading downstairs to find Gideon already up and in the kitchen. Not that that surprised him. He and Gideon generally woke around the same time every day; or they had before, at least.
“Morning,” Gideon greeted. “Coffee?”
Aaron nodded. “Please.”
He sat while Gideon poured a cup and set it on the table in front of him before taking the chair opposite.
“Spencer still asleep?”
Sipping at the hot liquid first, he answered, “Yes. It’s been a stressful month for him.”
Gideon nodded slowly and asked, “Was it all because of Rossi, or is there more going on I should know about?”
Aaron debated being petty and not giving the other man the information he obvious craved. “Rossi’s the majority of it, but there were a couple of cases that hit him hard. Came damn near to getting himself killed because he over-identified with a boy with a gun. I had to officially rep him for that. And there’s a new packmate on top of Rossi, so that’s got him feeling a little insecure.”
Gideon’s eyebrows went up and he prompted, “New packmate?”
Aaron had to smile thinking about Kevin. He explained, “Temporary replacement for Garcia who subsequently wound up getting snared by her and Morgan. He’s a good kid, brilliant, too.”
“What happened to Garcia?” Gideon asked, looking pained.
Frowning at him, Aaron countered, “You really didn’t keep track of anything, wherever you were?”
Gideon shook his head.
Aaron sighed a little, but said, “Garcia was shot by someone she decided to date because Morgan wasn’t paying enough attention to her. Turned out that he was really a serial killer who thought she was keeping in contact with the victim’s family because she was getting close to finding him. Kevin took over for her at the BAU while she was laid up and then just never left. And yes, he’s a Shifter, though we didn’t know that when he was assigned to us. Not until he walked through the door and I got a whiff of him. We haven’t formally accepted him, but it’s a foregone conclusion. Gideon, why are you here? Why now?”
Wincing, Gideon scrubbed finger through his hair and then replied, “I don’t know. Instinct? I was…screwed up, Hotch, and I couldn’t…I had to work through it on my own. I’m sorry, I know that hurt the both of you, but I really had to do it myself. I’d managed a kind of equilibrium the last few months, found a, a kind of peace with myself and what happened. Though it was more than just Frank. A lot more.”
Aaron nodded to show that he understood. And he did. He’d known for a while before the whole situation with Frank that Gideon had been on shaky ground.
“In any case, the last couple of weeks or so, I’ve been…restless…more so than I could remember being in a long time. Not restless, no, agitated is a better word. And since nothing had changed in my immediate world, I thought something might have happened to the pack. As soon as that came across my mind, it was like a compulsion that I had to fulfill in order to make it go away, so I came back,” Gideon finished with a shrug.
As reasons to return went, it was less than desirable. Not a single ‘I missed you,’ or ‘I needed you,’ or even a, ‘I wanted to come home.’ Just that he had to. Aaron was glad that he’d been bracing himself for something along those lines so the hurt and disappointment that clawed at his gut didn’t show.
And then Gideon grimaced and continued, “I put that badly. It wasn’t just a compulsion to make sure the pack was all right. I’d found peace, yes, but also…I was only half alive without you and Spencer. My emotions were in check, my mind in balance, but my heart…it felt emptier than ever. Even before I got the urge to make sure things were okay, I was starting to make plans to return. To come back to you and Spencer.”
Aaron breathed a little easier at the amendment.
“Is that true?” Spencer asked unexpectedly. “Do you mean it, or did you tell Hotch what you know he wanted to hear?”
Aaron had been so engrossed in Jason that he hadn’t even heard the younger man walk down the stairs. Looking over, he found a tight, pinched expression on his lover’s face, the unkempt hair giving him a more fragile air than usual.
Gideon stood and walked over to Spencer, though he didn’t touch him. Instead, he simply said, “It’s true. Spencer, I love you. That’s never changed and it never will. Just as I will always love Hotch. Just sometimes…the voices and demons in my head get too loud and I have to go quiet them. It’s not something anyone can help with, as much as I might want it to be otherwise.”
The suspicion on Spencer’s face didn’t abate as he demanded, “And how long before you leave us again? Can we trust you not to?”
Sighing, Gideon answered, “I don’t know. I can only promise to handle it better next time. I won’t disappear again, that I swear. I won’t just vanish on you. If…when things get difficult, I’ll let you and Hotch both know. I’ll stay in contact. You’ll know where I am. That’s…all I can do, Spencer, I’m sorry. I wish it were more.”
But Aaron knew that it was huge. For Gideon to open up that much, to share that much of himself had to cut deep into the older man. He spoke before Spencer could, not wanting the more impulsive young man to set fire to bridges he didn’t mean to burn down. “For now, that’s all we can ask of you. What about work and the pack?”
Spencer looked like he wanted to argue, but settled for glaring at them both before leaving the kitchen again.
Gideon stared after Spencer a moment and then turned back to walk to the table, saying, “I’ve spoken to Strauss and I’ll resume my teaching duties, but that’s it. I won’t be working with the team again, not even on a consulting basis. I can’t, Hotch.”
Aaron held up a hand and smiled briefly. “I understand. And the pack?”
Offering a wry twist of the lips, “Even if they accept me back, I wouldn’t usurp your power, Aaron. You’re the Alpha now. It’s passed to the one most suited to lead and I have no desire to try and get it back.”
Something that he hadn’t even known about eased deep inside and Aaron relaxed a little more. If Jason had wanted to regain his position as Alpha, Aaron knew he wouldn’t have been able to fight the other man. He wouldn’t have wanted to. His smile was a bit more genuine as he countered, “When they accept you back.”
“I never took you for such an optimist,” Gideon replied dryly.
Chuckling, Aaron told him, “Things change. So. You hungry? I’ll go pick up some groceries and we can have a real breakfast.”
Gideon smiled at him and agreed, “Sounds good, but I’ll go. I’m dressed and Spencer probably needs someone to talk to right about now.”
Aaron stood as Gideon did, pointing out, “You’ll have to be alone with him at some point.”
“Not before he’s ready,” Gideon countered. Then he reached for Hotch, taking his hand and asking, “What about you?”
Are you ready? being the unspoken question.
The warm, solid contact of Gideon’s hand in his sent a shiver through Aaron that made him want to bare his neck and show his belly. Licking at suddenly dry lips, he whispered with some surprise, “I guess so.”
Gideon leaned in while drawing Aaron close, sliding an arm around his waist as their lips touched for the first time in months, almost a year. It was a slow, deep kiss that stole his breath, their tongues sliding together and need coiling hot and tight in his gut. Gideon had lost weight on his hermitage; lost weight and replaced it with muscle, Hotch’s wandering hands discovered. By the time Gideon broke off the kiss, Aaron wanted to do a lot more than just show his belly to the man who would always be his Alpha.
Resting his forehead against Aaron’s, Gideon whispered back, “Thank you.”
It could have been gratitude for any number of things, but Aaron just nodded and hoped it didn’t take Spencer too long to make up his mind. Though what Aaron would do if the younger man didn’t take Gideon back, he had no idea.
* * * *
Spencer knew that he was being unreasonable, and yet, he couldn’t stop. Jason’s explanation was about what he’d expected all along and his promise not to just run away again without telling them was certainly more than good enough. He just wanted more. He wanted Jason to make declarations of passionate attrition. He wanted Jason to beg for forgiveness. He wanted Jason to ignore his protests and take him, show him that he truly was loved.
Glaring at his reflection in the mirror, Spencer drove a brush ruthlessly through his hair, ignoring the knots and tangles and welcoming the sparks of pain. He also ignored Hotch’s presence at the bathroom door behind him, continuing to get ready for the day.
“That was a big deal for him, you know,” Hotch told him.
The tone was neutral, but he felt the words as damning him anyhow. Meeting the other man’s dark gaze in the mirror, Spencer snapped, “Don’t tell me how to feel!”
Hotch walked up behind him, gripping him by the shoulders and replying, “I’m not. I just want to make sure that you know he’s doing the best he can.”
The anger abruptly left and Spencer wilted back against him with a sigh. “I know. I just…I can’t accept him back. Not yet.”
Strong hands massaged the tension from his shoulders as Hotch agreed, “And that’s fine. This is going to take time for everyone.”
“Not for you,” Spencer countered bitterly, smelling the mix of their scents on his lover.
Hotch’s hands didn’t stop. He kissed the back of Spencer’s neck and told him, “I’ve got a little more experience at the relationship thing than you do. I’m a bit more versed in the give and take.”
Turning, Spencer met his lover’s gaze and asked, “Do you really think that’s what this is?”
Hotch seemed to think for a minute before answering slowly, “I think that you’re too hurt to just take his words at face value. I also think that you aren’t sure how to act in this kind of situation, because you’ve never been in it.”
Spencer challenged, “And you have?”
Dry, Hotch confirmed, “Usually in Gideon’s position, yes. Remember how upset Haley was with me? How often it happened?”
Spencer nodded reluctantly. It had been hard for him to turn a blind eye to the constant tension in Hotch regarding Haley. The others hadn’t seemed to have a difficult time with that, but he’d always wanted to take the woman aside and explain to her exactly what Hotch faced, time and again. He hadn’t, of course, but only out of respect for Hotch’s privacy.
“Now you understand a little of what Haley went through,” Hotch continued. He pulled Spencer in close and held him tight, kissing just under his ear. “Everything caught up to Gideon. We’re lucky he didn’t have another breakdown. Very lucky that he recognized his limits and retreated before we lost him altogether.”
Something that Spencer hadn’t thought of, guilt running through him at the mild admonishment. “Hotch, I…”
“It’s okay, Spencer. You don’t have to feel anything except what you feel. I’m not trying to guilt you into anything, just to make sure that you have all the facts and consider all sides.”
Spencer sighed and wrapped his arms around Hotch’s waist as he asked, “What now?”
Hotch pulled back a bit and smiled at him. “Now we go see Dr. Radnoy for your follow-up and then we come back home to rest.”
“Hotch, I’m fine,” Spencer protested.
But the other man shook his head and told him firmly, “We’re going. You had a close call and I want to double check everything’s all right.”
Knowing that stubborn glint to his lover’s eyes, Spencer made a face but nodded, accepting. “I’ll finish getting ready. Where’d Gideon go?”
“To get breakfast. Think you can have a meal with him?”
The question was honest and Spencer answered, “Not without getting an upset stomach.”
“Then I’ll bring you something to eat up here,” Hotch promised, kissing his forehead.
Spencer sighed. “It feels like I’m hiding from him.”
Hotch shrugged as he replied, “He’s not going to hold it against you for not taking him back right away. No one will.”
Uncertain, Spencer prompted, “Not even you?”
“Oh, Spencer,” Hotch sighed. “Of course not. I love you and whatever you need, I’ll give it to you.”
Feeling off-balance and a little scared for no reason at all, Spencer whispered, “Can we just stop and lie down together for a while?”
Hotch immediately pulled Spencer in for another hug, repeating softly, “Whatever you need.”
* * * *
Breakfast didn’t turn out anything like Gideon had hoped. When he got back with groceries, the downstairs echoed with silence so he hesitantly went in search of Spencer and Hotch. He found them stretched out in bed together, Spencer burrowed against Hotch and sound asleep again.
Hotch met his gaze and said softly, “Things caught up to him. We’ll grab something on the way to the doctor’s office.”
Nodding, Gideon replied, “I’ll head into the office to get paperwork started.”
“Gideon, stay away from Rossi,” Hotch warned seriously.
Gideon offered a brief, wolfish smile as he evaded, “I won’t go looking for him,” and left before the other man could pin him down about it.
Leaving the house, he called Morgan first on his cell.
“Gideon?” Morgan demanded, voice filled with shock.
Gideon grinned to himself and unlocked the car door. “It’s me.”
“Where are you?”
“Here. I’m back.”
Silence met his flat statement and lasted a good ten seconds. Morgan at last asked, “Have you seen…”
“Where’s Rossi?” Gideon interrupted.
Satisfaction rife in his voice, Morgan told him, “Chegwidden has him.”
Not surprised, Gideon said, “Good. How is Garcia? I heard…Hotch told me about the shooting.”
“She’s doing great,” Morgan replied warmly, the subject change softening his voice. “Fully recovered physically and only the occasional nightmare.”
Gideon started the engine and smiled into the phone. “I’m glad. And, Kevin is it? You’ve got a third now?”
Morgan chuckled as he confirmed, “We do. Though really, the way they run me ragged, I think I’m the third sometimes.”
“That’s really good, Morgan,” Gideon replied, backing the car down the driveway. “I’m heading into the office to get some paperwork done. What will I find?”
Morgan’s breath huffed over the phone line and he answered, “Strauss is on the warpath, nothing new there. Maintenance is cleaning up the main office still, so we’re on the first floor in the D suite.”
“Still cleaning up? Exactly what happened?”
Morgan paused and then said, “I thought they told you what happened? Hotch must’ve downplayed it, damn it. Gideon, Hotch was going to kill Rossi. They were going to kill each other and destroyed the office in the process. I had to turn the fire hose on them full blast to separate them.”
Gideon could imagine just what two battling Alphas would do to their surroundings, he just hadn’t thought it had been a full-out fight for supremacy. He made a mental note to check Hotch over more thoroughly the next time they had some time alone. He’d smelled the faint after-trace of blood, but had assumed it to come from Spencer.
The urge to find and damage Rossi grew.
“I’ll find you when I get in,” Gideon finally answered. “Is everyone else there?”
“Garcia was a little freaked by everything, so I told her to stay home. And Kevin’s with her, but everyone else is in, yeah.”
“Good. I’ll be there in a couple of hours.”
“Couple of hours?”
Gideon drove through a long yellow light and answered, “I’m going to say hello to Chegwidden.”
“Well, all right then. I’ll see you when you get in,” Morgan replied, voice again rich with satisfaction before hanging up.
Concentrating on not speeding so he didn’t cause an accident or get pulled over, Gideon hit Chegwidden’s speed-dial on his phone.
“Admiral Chegwidden’s office, Yeoman Tiner speaking.”
“Dr. Jason Gideon for the Admiral please.”
There was a pause and then a startled, “Yes, sir! Of course, one moment, please!”
There was no hold music, just a couple of beeps to let him know that the connection hadn’t been lost. It was a good two or three minutes later before Chegwidden’s stern voice demanded, “Gideon, what in hell are you playing at?”
“Nothing,” Gideon answered shortly. “I am on my way to JAG, although if Rossi is being held somewhere else, I’d appreciate knowing where.”
Chegwidden sighed, an aggravated noise, and retorted, “So you can tear him to pieces? I don’t think so. I’m surprised Hotchner called you. Didn’t strike me as the type to run to Daddy.”
“He didn’t. I came back to find all of this going on,” Gideon corrected sharply.
“Well, you’re not going to see Rossi by coming to JAG, I’ve already released him.”
“After not even a day?”
“It’s been two and that’s not your damn call now, is it?” Chegwidden growled.
Actually growled, telling Gideon he was on thin ice. He took a breath and said, “I’m sorry. I’m…this is…difficult, coming into things like this.”
Another brief silence before Chegwidden advised, “Take a breath and put your people together before tearing into Rossi. And don’t forget he had reasons for doing what he did, too. If Hotch can’t hold the pack together, someone else should.”
Gideon bristled at that, but bit his tongue. He’d been gone too long just to blunder into things. He at last just said, “I will.”
“Since you’re back, you should thank A.D. Skinner for stepping in where I couldn’t,” Chegwidden informed him. “Strauss was all set to throw Hotchner in jail for assault.”
He and Skinner had had their share of disagreements over the years, so Gideon was gratified to learn that the man had had the pack’s back. Something Gideon hadn’t ever thought would be needed, not from an internal threat, at least. “Thank you, Admiral. That’s good to know.”
“Come by when things have settled.”
“I will.”
Gideon tossed his cell phone on the passenger’s seat and changed direction for the BAU.
* * * *
The doctor’s visit went better than Aaron expected. Spencer was proclaimed physically fit, though admonished to keep a low stress level, given his still-high blood pressure. And then the tables were turned when Spencer insisted that the doctor look him over as well. Since it would make Spencer feel better, and knowing his own injuries were well on the way to healing, he gave in without too much of a fuss.
As expected, he got a mostly clean bill of health. The doctor warned him away from strenuous activities for another couple of days, but otherwise proclaimed him fit for duty. Aaron blessed their fast healing nature for that and thanked the doctor for seeing them on such short notice.
They stopped for lunch on the way home. Aaron figured it would be easier on Spencer to eat somewhere there was no emotional turmoil. He’d barely touched the fruit salad at breakfast, so Aaron was keeping an eye on him to make sure he didn’t have trouble by not eating enough. They’d run into that before and Aaron had no intention of doing so again.
“What do you think he’s going to do? If, if I can’t take him back, I mean. What will you do? Honestly, Aaron, please.”
The words were quiet, but not uncertain. Sighing, Aaron took a sip of his water while trying to arrange his thoughts. If Spencer couldn’t accept Jason back, then he was screwed. He loved them both and knew them well enough to know that they wouldn’t share, though for different reasons. If Spencer rejected Jason, then he would see the younger man as a rival and become very possessive of Aaron. On the other side of the coin, Spencer would see Aaron’s continued bond to Jason as a betrayal, that Aaron didn’t love him enough to be with just him.
“I don’t know,” Aaron finally said. “I…if you refuse him, Jason will go back to teaching as he said he would and pick up the pieces of the life he left behind. He’s already secured a position as an instructor at Quantico. And I’ll…I will have to choose. Jason won’t tolerate you as a rival and apparently, you won’t tolerate him period.”
Spencer’s eyes were filled with guilt as he said, “And so you’re caught in the middle again. Sometimes…sometimes I wish Jason hadn’t brought you into this so that you wouldn’t be hurting now.”
Swallowing against a tight throat, Aaron observed carefully, “It sounds like you’ve already made your decision.”
Really, Spencer’s expression was answer enough, but the younger man nodded and said, “I can’t do it. Not now, maybe not ever. I just…it hurt too much. I can’t risk that again. He took so much from me when he left like that.”
Aaron’s eyes closed in pain and he tried not to think of how his life was crashing down around him.
“Aaron, please…don’t leave me too,” Spencer whispered, taking his hand.
Letting out a long, slow breath, Aaron opened his eyes again to find Spencer’s gaze openly pleading. He looked so young, so vulnerable and held so much love for him. He would never leave, Aaron knew that, and loved him deeply, but Spencer also didn’t offer the strong, vital support that Jason did. With Jason, he didn’t have to be strong, didn’t have to be in charge, though he could be, if he wanted. Jason was flexible, though a natural alpha. He was whatever Aaron needed him to be.
It occurred to him just then that Rossi didn’t need to do a single thing to tear apart the pack. Jason had done a damn fine job of it just by coming back.
***
The few times in his life that it had been necessary, Dave had figuratively licked his wounds in private. This was the first time ever that he’d been not only forced to do so in a relatively public venue, that of a JAG holding cell, but that he also had to do it literally. Aaron had gotten in some serious slices across his midriff and along his back. If he’d been even a fraction slower in getting out of the way of either blow, Dave knew that he’d be dead. As it was, if the EMTs hadn’t arrived so quickly, he probably would have bled to death.
It was a sobering thought.
Even now, with his stomach and back throbbing angrily in time to his pulse, Dave was trying to figure out how it had gotten so damn out of hand. The whole afternoon was a haze and that scared the daylights out of him. He’d never been in a killing rage in his life, but he knew the symptoms. It was always tricky with more than one Alpha in a pack and everyone knew that the instinctive urges could so easily overcome rational thought.
I just didn’t think I was that far gone, Dave thought, bewildered, staring at his hands. I respect Aaron’s authority. Hell, I like the guy. Why would I just snap like that?
He’d been feeling restless the last couple of months, but had attributed it to too many long hours spent indoors and out of his own territory, what with all the travel the team had been doing. He’d had no inkling that he’d been anywhere near a killing rage. Sure, he thought Aaron’s style of ‘leadership’ was a little more laid-back than it should be; too egalitarian for a pack’s instinctive structure. There was too much that could go wrong without a clear line of authority from the top on down. But even so, he hadn’t actively been thinking about challenging Aaron.
Dave knew he wasn’t being entirely unreasonable with his philosophy on how things should go, most packs ran that way. The BAU pack, though, it didn’t sit right with Dave that Aaron essentially just kept an eye on everyone instead of actively leading them. Not to mention the lax security. He’d tried to show that to Spencer over the last couple of weeks, to demonstrate just how vulnerable he was.
None of that explained how he’d wound up in a fight to the death with Aaron. If Derek hadn’t thought fast enough, hadn’t turned the hose on them, Dave knew one of them would be dead and suspected that it would’ve been himself.
“Rossi.”
Dave looked up at the flat statement of his name to find Admiral Chegwidden standing outside the cell. They’d never met, but there wasn’t a Shifter in the DC area who didn’t know the man on sight. He was tall and broad, imposing in his Navy uniform, even the everyday one, and practically crackled authority like an electrical storm. Pale blue eyes met his and there was no hint of clemency in them.
A chill ran through him as he realized just how much trouble he was in. Aaron would be fine; he’d been defending himself and his pack. As the aggressor, Dave was in the wrong. Standing, he replied cautiously, “Admiral Chgwidden.”
“What happened?” the Admiral questioned bluntly.
Still confused about that himself, Dave decided to throw himself on the other man’s mercy and hope for the best. He admitted, “I don’t know, Admiral. Everything’s…fuzzy.”
That got him a frown and the man questioned, “Fuzzy, how?”
Dave made a vague gesture with his hand and then answered, “Just fuzzy. I know that I challenged Hotch’s dominance, and in public, but…I don’t know why, Admiral. It was a true, killing rage, but with no motivation.”
“Are you devolving?”
The phrase was polite, and the tone neutral, but the question also sent a chill down his spine. Dave swallowed against a suddenly dry throat and replied honestly, “I don’t know.”
There was a long pause and then Chegwidden questioned, “Why did you attack Dr. Reid?”
Dave’s eyes widened in shock and he demanded, “What? I didn’t!”
Chegwidden considered him silently and then said, “You attacked Dr. Reid in the file room and would have raped him, had Agent Hotchner not stopped you. Hotchner went feral protecting him.”
Dave’s mind reeled from the statement and he dropped back onto the cot in shock. There was no equivocation in the other man; he wasn’t trying to get a rise out of him.
“You don’t remember.”
Shaking his head, Dave ran a shaky hand through his hair and said, “No wonder Aaron didn’t hold back. Jesus. After losing Gideon, there’s no way he’d countenance any kind of threat to his remaining mate. What the fuck is going on?”
Chegwidden stared at him a moment longer before saying, “That’s what I intend to find out. I think for now, it’s best if you stay here the night. I’m going to have a medic take a blood sample, if you’ll agree?”
It wasn’t really a question, but Dave nodded anyhow as he guessed, “You think I was drugged.”
“I’m reserving judgment,” Chegwidden corrected. “I’ll put a rush on it, but it could be a couple of days before the results come back. Don’t return to the BAU under any circumstances. Do not approach any of your former teammates, especially not Agent Hotchner or Dr. Reid. Go home and stay there until I say otherwise. Am I understood?”
Dave nodded, still numb from what he’d almost done to Spencer.
Chegwidden left him alone then, to his silent guards and screaming conscience.
The medic showed up about twenty minutes later and performed her duties as silently as the MPs did theirs. He stretched out after she was done and closed his eyes, but his mind raced with the scant information that Chegwidden had given him. Dave did manage to get some sleep that night, but not a lot.
By the time the MPs unlocked the door at some prearranged time the next morning to give him clothes to change into, he felt like hell. His stomach and back hurt like a sonuvabitch, but he refused to ask for painkillers because this was pain that he deserved. His natural healing abilities had already kicked in and he’d be mostly healed within a couple of days. Until then, this would be his own, personal form of penance.
The cab ride home was very painful, thanks to the pressure on his wounded back and the jostling over every pothole. Dave breathed through the pain and tried to ignore it as best he could. When he finally got home and paid the cabbie, the walk to the front door was excruciating. He kept his back straight by will alone and didn’t even bother going upstairs to his bedroom, instead walking to the guest room at the back of the first floor.
He immediately stripped and carefully stretched out onto his sigh, sinking onto the mattress with a groan of pain and relief. The trip had taken a lot out of him and he slept like the dead for several hours, waking partially on his stomach and confused about where he was. The events of the last day returned all too quickly and he sighed in bewildered anger.
Of course, now it was late afternoon and unlikely that he’d sleep that night so he got up and carefully made his way to the kitchen. His entire body was one massive, throbbing ache on top of the actual mauling, no doubt from having the fire hose turned on him. The whole situation was insane and he wanted nothing more than to turn back time to make it never have happened.
Since that wasn’t possible, Dave slowly walked to the laundry room where he dug out some sweats and pulled them on. He returned to the kitchen and heated up a can of soup, knowing that he needed to eat something, even if the thought of food turned his stomach. The stress of rapid healing needed to be supplemented with food and liquids and soup qualified as both in his book.
A knock at his door startled him about a half-hour later. He looked out the window to make sure it wasn’t Morgan or Hotch with a weapon to finish the job, just in case. Not that he would blame either of them for it, but he had no intention of dying to make up for what he’d done.
It was Strauss, though, which made him frown in surprise. Answering the door, he greeted, “Erin? What brings you here?”
She walked by him, apparently taking that as an invitation to come in. He sighed to himself and closed the door, following her deeper into the living room where she paced, clearly agitated.
“Someone is pulling strings,” she snapped, “and in my own department! How did Hotchner contact the military and why? Why would they take you into custody, Dave? They had no authority to do that in a civilian matter, let alone a Federal one.”
He couldn’t explain any of it to her, so Dave just said, “It was a misunderstanding.”
Strauss stopped short and demanded incredulously, “A misunderstanding? Dave, you’d just finished being treated for serious injuries when they took you away!”
Dave nodded and firmly repeated, “A misunderstanding. They had a warrant for a David Rossi when I was brought to JAG and bogus information that had pointed them at me. The MPs were just doing their job, Erin.”
She gave him a deeply suspicious look, which he met steadily, willing her to believe him. After a few seconds, Strauss looked away and said, “I know Hotchner’s behind this, we just have to prove it.”
A little alarmed by her almost manic expression, Dave asked, “Where is he now?”
“I was ordered to release him,” she snapped. “By Assistant Director Skinner, of all people!”
The news surprised Dave, considering how hands-off the man was in regards to packs within the FBI. While technically only an AD, Skinner had amassed a lot of power over the last fifteen years. Most of that came from surviving some kind of dark coup that ‘regular’ agents weren’t supposed to know about. The BAU wasn’t a normal unit, though, and were semi-privy to some of the events that had gone down.
That Skinner had personally intervened told Dave just how very screwed up everything was. It felt a lot like the world was spinning off its axis and he took a slow, deep breath, both to regulate the pain running through him and stave off an overreaction. Strauss’ unusually emotional response was affecting him and he couldn’t let it, not if he wanted to find out what was going on.
“Erin, why don’t you have a seat? Do you want something to drink?” Dave offered.
Strauss looked at him as if he was out of his mind for a few seconds and then seemed to realize how she was coming across. That her behavior was out of character. She took a breath of her own and then forced a smile, turning from hot to cold in the space of an instant.
Dave had the vague thought that she was either an exceptionally good actress or a sociopath.
Nodding, she sat and accepted, “That sounds good, thank you, Dave.”
Dave walked over to the scotch bottle he kept on a small table by the wall and poured them both a healthy portion. Dave handed her one and took his own to the recliner, carefully sitting and slowly relaxing into it, wincing when his back touched the cushion.
Looking concerned, Strauss asked, “How are you feeling? I don’t know where he hid the knife he got you with, but my people ripped apart that office and came up with nothing. I’m sorry, Dave.”
He waved it off and said, “I’ll be fine, thank you, Erin. I’m more concerned with how the rest of the team is doing.”
Strauss took a sip of the scotch and then said, “Agent Morgan is temporarily in charge, until you get back. Garcia didn’t even show up today, nor did Dr. Reid, though Agent Morgan didn’t see fit to tell me why not. Hotchner is, of course, on suspension.”
Dave knew that he had to tread lightly here. Strauss’ vendetta against Aaron was no secret. It was part of why he’d been brought in after Gideon’s defection in the first place. Strauss wanted someone on the team that she thought she could trust, if not outright control. Choosing his words carefully, Dave told her, “If he’s on suspension, then I should be too. I started the fight, Erin.”
She frowned at him. “Excuse me?”
“I started it,” Dave confirmed. “And I got in a few serious blows, myself.”
“He had a knife. You were cut open! That doesn’t even compare.”
“It does if he thought that he was threatened. Granted, it’s all a bit hazy for me right now, whether we escalated from words or there was some other catalyst,” Dave almost closed his eyes in shame as the image of Spencer struggling against him struck without warning. Letting out a sharp breath, he continued, “but the end result is the same. If he’s on suspension, then I should be, too.”
She grimaced, but said, “You always were too fair for your own good. All right. I’ll take him off suspension, but there will be a full investigation as to what exactly happened and punishment will be accorded depending on the severity of the findings. Such as how many stitches you needed.”
The pointed words provoked the ghost of a smile and Dave replied, “Not so many as all that. I’ll be fine in a few days. It will be in my statement, I promise.”
She stood at that and promised in turn, “I’ll get him for this, Dave. He’s unfit to lead anyone, let alone the pride of the FBI. His violent escalation against you proves that.”
Dave bit back the protest he wanted to make, knowing that it would fall on deaf ears. He started to stand as well, but she waved him to stay seated.
“No, don’t get up. You get some rest, all right? I’ll call you tomorrow and check on you.”
“Thank you, Erin,” he replied.
Once the door closed behind her, Dave let out a long, shaky breath. There was definitely something off about Strauss’ behavior, but he couldn’t place what. She’d smelled angry and agitated, which she’d obviously been, but it was more than that, he knew it in his gut. The question, of course, was what?
His phone rang and he hesitated, wary, on seeing Morgan’s name on the ID. Deciding he might as well get it over with, Dave answered, “Hello, Morgan.”
There was a short silence before Derek asked, “What the fuck were you thinking, Rossi?”
“I wasn’t,” Dave answered honestly.
“No shit.”
Dave grimaced, but knew from the other man’s point of view, that he was in the wrong. Sighing, he said, “Derek, I don’t know what happened. I barely remember the entire afternoon. Just flashes really.”
Spencer’s frightened face hit him again and Dave grit his teeth.
“What, you mean like you were drugged?” Derek asked, suspicion plain in his voice.
Dave shifted forward to relieve the pressure on his back as he answered, “Admiral Chegwidden took a blood sample to see if it’s a possibility.”
Still sounding angry, Derek questioned, “What about the stalking?”
Wincing, Dave thought about what to say and then admitted freely, apologetically, “No, that I did. I was…well, I was trying to show Spencer how vulnerable he was. That Hotch didn’t deserve to be Alpha because he couldn’t protect him the way that I could. I was…out of line with him a few times, I’ll admit to that, too. I was even over the harassment line a couple of times and he can bring me up on charges for that, if he wants, I won’t fight it. But I swear to God, Derek, I would never have pushed it further. I would never have tried to rape Spencer in my right mind. On my life, Derek.”
There was a long silence and Dave waited, praying that the other man believed him.
After what seemed like an eternity, Morgan finally said, “Okay. I believe you.”
Dave let out a sigh of relief, not bothering to hold it back. “So what now?”
“Gideon’s back and looking for your blood, so you need to stay home until we figure this thing out,” Derek said bluntly.
Shock of a different kind ran through him at the news. Even without all this insanity, he and Jason Gideon had never been friends. More like barely-cordial rivals thanks to Aaron, both of them interested in him but holding off for different reasons. It was entirely probable that Derek hadn’t been exaggerating, that Gideon really was out for his blood.
Derek continued, “I’m going to call the Admiral and see if there’s any news on the blood test. I’ll also fill the others in on what you told me. For now…just stay away, Rossi.”
It hurt almost worse than his injuries to be told that, to be excluded from the pack. Maybe permanently. All those years without a pack and he’d been fine, he’d been good even, and now that he’d finally found one, he’d fucked it up. Still, he bit back his pain and agreed, “I’ll wait for you to call.”
“Good. Okay…see ya, Rossi.”
Somehow, it felt like more than a simple goodbye.
* * * *
Derek took a few minutes to breathe through the roiling emotions struggling to make it through his control. He had to keep things on an even keel if the pack were to make it through intact and, while the call with Rossi had cleared some things up, he couldn’t say that it had been at all comforting or reassuring. They were fractured right now, the pack structure shattered from the fight for dominance and its resulting injuries plus Gideon’s return.
On the one hand, if drugs had been involved then Rossi was blameless for the violence of his actions. His attack on Spencer and the very public setting were also off the table, if he’d been dosed. If. The jury was still out on that, although Derek couldn’t see any other reason for such a major lapse in character and judgment.
On the other hand, after months spent working together, he could say with a pretty high degree of certainty that Rossi would have moved on Hotch anyhow. It would’ve been done in private and without any threat to Spencer, but it would have happened at some point. It really wasn’t in the man’s nature not to take control of a situation, especially if people he cared about were involved. Derek couldn’t deny that Rossi cared about all of them, including Hotch.
Sighing, Derek scrubbed his nails over his scalp and thought about what to do next. The office was almost back to normal, thanks to JJ having the admin services people wrapped around her dainty little finger. One more day and there would be no official reason for the rest of the team not to return to work, but he knew they weren’t anywhere near ready to do so.
A tentative knock at the door caught his attention and he saw JJ standing outside Hotch’s office, which Derek had temporarily commandeered. It was really the only place left intact in the immediate vicinity. He forced a smile and waved her in, so she pushed the door open and stepped inside. “What can I do for you, JJ?”
“I was just wondering if that was Hotch on the phone.”
Derek shook his head. “It was Rossi.”
She stiffened and then questioned, “What did he have to say for himself?”
The tone was calm, but the fire in her blue eyes that reminded Derek a lot of a mama wolf ready to attack. Not that he was surprised; Spencer was pretty much the pet of every woman in the pack, even Prentiss. He told her, “He might’ve been drugged. Chegwidden’s looking into it now.”
JJ frowned, mulling over his words for a long moment before asking, “When will we know?”
Morgan shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine, but I’d think in the next twenty-four hours. No way does Chegwidden want us to be in limbo for long.”
She nodded slowly and then said, “If he was drugged…I don’t know, Derek. Most drugs loosen inhibitions that are already there, they don’t make you go crazy like that. Unless it was ecstasy or PCP and it didn’t feel like that. He was too focused.”
“You think you won’t be able to take him back? Even if he was drugged?”
JJ sighed and answered honestly, “I don’t know.”
Derek offered her a brief, humorless smile. “Join the club.”
A sharp rap at the door startled him and he looked over to find Gideon outside. A sense of relief flashed through Derek even though it was disloyal to Hotch. Gideon had been his first alpha and would probably always hold that position in Derek’s heart. While he’d never been thrilled with Gideon’s disappearing act, he’d understood it and a lot better than Spencer had. Hell. They all understood better than Spencer did. Sometimes you just had to try and outrun the darkness.
Standing, he smiled for real for what seemed like the first time in days and then motioned the other man in.
JJ was also smiling as Gideon entered the office and she went to hug him, holding on tight for a minute before letting go.
Derek shook his hand and then pulled him into a shorter hug, slapping him on the back and then stepping back to say, “It is damn good to see you again, Gideon.”
Gideon half-smiled in return and replied, “It’s good to be back. How are you, JJ?”
JJ sighed, but continued to smile as she answered, “I’m good. You? Are you staying?”
“Better, thank you,” he replied. “And yes, I am, but not with the team. I have a teaching position at Quantico now. That’s…enough for me at the moment.”
Derek saw surprise and disappointment flash across JJ’s face, but she only nodded in understanding and told them, “I need to get back to work, so I will let you two catch up. I’m glad you’re back, Jason.”
Jason smiled that quick little half-smile he’d always had, though he didn’t respond.
Derek motioned them Gideon to the sofa as the door closed behind JJ and they each took a seat. Once he was comfortable, he said, “Rossi might have been drugged. Chegwidden’s running his blood now.”
Gideon looked away from him for a long moment and then nodded. “That makes more sense than David Rossi attacking Spencer at all and going after Hotch in a challenge for position in public.”
“I told him to stay home until we know for sure,” Derek continued, “but I think he was, Gideon. He’s not stupid. He knows that attacking Spencer would only alienate the rest of us. Even if he defeated Hotch, there’s no way we would stand for him to be Alpha if Spencer were hurt in any way. Not a chance. I’d challenge him myself, if he beat Hotch, and I’d win.”
Gideon nodded again and agreed, “And if you somehow lost, Prentiss would challenge him.”
Derek snorted. “And there’s no way in hell she’d lose. Sometimes I think she’s going to challenge Hotch to be top dog. The woman’s scary ambitious.”
Gideon huffed in amusement, but didn’t disagree. He commented, “She’d be in good company.”
Derek thought about the female alphas he’d known, Brenda Lee Johnson and Teresa Lisbon foremost among them, and nodded. There was a certain type of female shifter who wound up as Alpha; they all had sharp tongues and wicked insight into how to get physically stronger men, and women, to submit to them. Not that they couldn’t hold their own if it came down to a fight, they were just far more likely to use it as a last resort. Of course, they were also a lot more likely to verbally shred anyone they thought was encroaching on their authority.
Bringing his wandering thoughts back to the situation at hand, Derek asked, “So if you’re really not coming back to the team, what about to the pack? We all miss you.”
Gideon’s mouth twisted bitterly before he said, “Spencer doesn’t. And even without all of what went on, Rossi sure as hell doesn’t want me in the pack. Two alphas, like myself and Hotch or Hotch and Rossi, a pack can handle if there’s an understanding in place, but three? And three with our history? That’s stretching it too thin, Morgan.”
“We’d take you back before we take Rossi,” Derek replied flatly.
For a moment, Gideon looked both tempted and gratified, but then that expressionless mask descended again and he simply said, “Thank you.”
There was a brief silence and then his cell rang. Derek pulled it out and found a blocked number on the ID. He frowned, but answered, “Special Agent Derek Morgan.”
“Please hold for Admiral Chegwidden, Agent Morgan,” a young man’s voice requested politely.
“Sure, of course.”
The pause was only about ten seconds and then Chegwidden told him bluntly, “Rossi was drugged. It’s a new drug, a combination of rohypnol and an original chemical compound the lab had never seen. There’s no way to tell for sure until they finish their testing, but it’s probable that the effects are what turned him violent.”
Derek grimaced, not sure whether to be relieved or disappointed by the results. At least if Rossi hadn’t been drugged, things would have been a hell of a lot more clear-cut. He replied evenly, “Thank you, Sir, for the speedy results.”
“I’ve already informed Hotchner, but I’ll tell you what I told him. Get your people straightened out, or I’ll do it for you.”
Derek winced this time, but had no time to respond as the Admiral hung up. The man sounded pissed, as if his own pack had been attacked. Then again, he was in charge of the Council which ultimately decided the fate of Shifters in the States. That was a serious burden and anything that threatened pack structure, threatened their society as a whole. A quick glance at Gideon showed that the other man had heard the Admiral’s news and his ultimatum.
Gideon sighed heavily and said, “I do not envy Hotch.”
Neither did Derek.