Keeping Her Safe

Late Night Calls.

Buzzing and flashing lights brought Hotch back into his bedroom. Jack was tucked against his side, and a small head of hair sat on his chest. But before the young boy could wake up, the ringing phone was grabbed. 'Hotchner,' he grumbled.

He hadn't checked the name, but if it was a cold caller, he was going to resort to violence. 'Hey, Hotch,' Garcia's voice hummed down the phone.

She was anxious. Something sat on her mind, and he heard how she scrambled to do something while on the other side of the phone. 'What is it?' Hotch asked as he shifted, waking up a little more as he saw the light peak from behind his curtains. The sun was only just rising.

'You know how a few years ago no one could get hold of you and then it turned out that you were hurt, and none of us even knew until Emily went over,' Penelope rambled, sharply reminding Hotch of the horrors that Foyet brought as he threw the knife into his chest.

'Garcia, what is it?' Hotch interrupted before she could remind him of the dark corner anymore.

After a long drawn out sigh, Garcia sniffed as she stopped trying to fight work clothes onto her body. 'Well, I may have done a thing and put an alert out on you guys. I would have noticed sooner but I was...busy...and then tired. But I just woke up, it's been three hours, and no police have gone. They have all been called away for other cases. And the line went dead. I've sent a few police over to the house now and they should-'

'Garcia,' Hotch interrupted again as his heart began to thrum in his chest. Someone was hurt, or in danger. An alert, police, something happened and three hours had gone without response.

'Right, sorry. It's Vilein. She called police, and I listened to the call. It was only a few seconds, but she whispered something about someone breaking in, she was cuffed, but managed to get a hand out. She wasn't injured yet, but he was a serial killer. Some yelling ensued, and then the line died. Responders thought it was a prank,' Garcia finally squeezed out.

As calmly as he could, Hotch moved Jack off of him and sighed. 'Call the team, get them to meet at her house. I'll be there when I can,' he responded.

'Already on it. And I'm researching the name Vilein said on the phone,' Garcia promised. 'PG out.' And then the line died.

Fortunately, since work had ended at nine, Jessica was still at his house, so as he slid out of the comfortable bed, he pulled a shirt on and failed to button it up before he pulled his jacket on. The white top he wore below his shirt had tricked his mind into thinking he had buttoned the shirt as he frantically pulled trousers on.

Unbuttoned, Hotch shoved his shirt into his trousers as he rammed his foot into his shoes. 'Aaron?' A woman asked, groggily stepping out of the bedroom she had been sleeping in. She was stood at the top of the stairs while he was at the front door.

'Someone on my team has been attacked. I'm sorry,' Hotch called.

'Be safe,' Jessica demanded sleepily. 'I'll bring Jack into my bed,' she offered.

Hotch smiled and thanked Jessica before he swung the door open and carefully closed it so that Jack could get a few more hours of sleep.

Disregarding traffic laws, Hotch turned his makeshift lights on and raced towards Sera's house. He was less than ten minutes away in the car. But he made it in four as the almost empty roads were crossed quickly and vehicles moved out of his way.

Images of Sera laying dead in her house flashed over his mind. He wondered if she had met the man's eye as he strangled her. He wondered if Sera had been enough of a challenge to make him evolve and finally start assaulting. Was she scared or did she laugh?