~ Ugh I thought this would have turned out a lot better than it did. Hopefully, it's not too bad of an ending. Xoxo ~
"No, I am dead serious!" you say as you, JJ, Reid, Luke, and Tara walk out of the elevator together.
"There's no way," JJ says with a shake of her head.
"The probability of that happening more than once is astounding," Reid says.
"I know, but I was there ok. And I am telling you it was crazy."
As the five of you round the corner and walk into the bullpen, Garcia comes rushing up to you in a panic.
"Thank God, you guys are here. What do you know?" she asks, as her eyes dart between you.
"Uh, nothing," you say, a confused look on all of your faces.
"Ok, Rossi got here crazy early, and right when Prentiss came in, he pulled her in there," Garcia motions up to Rossi's office, and through the blinds, you can see Emily and Rossi talking to each other.
"We need to talk," Rossi says, and he and Emily walk over to the roundtable room. You all share a look of apprehension before following after them.
"Ok, ok. What's going on?" Garcia asks before you could all even get into the room and get settled.
"It's Hotch," Rossi says. You hear Garcia gasp.
"Oh my God. Is he ok?" She asks, panicked, and you place your hand on her back to try and comfort her.
"He's ok," Emily says, and you can feel everybody breathe a sigh of relief.
"But he hasn't been away on special assignment. That's something we had to say as a cover for the investigation," Rossi says.
"What investigation?" Luke questions.
"Hotch saw Peter Lewis watching one of Jack's soccer games. By the time Hotch reacted, Lewis had taken off. The Bureau searched the area, but he disappeared."
"When was this?" JJ asks.
"Days after Mr. Scratch resurfaced in Arizona," Emily says.
"One of the victims was chanting his name when we found her. She had "Hotch" Carved into her forehead. It really got to him," Tara says more to you than to the rest of the team.
You hadn't been a part of the team when they first encountered Mr. Scratch, but you had definitely heard about him and knew that he was not the person to mess with.
"Why didn't he tell us," Garcia asks, tears starting to form in her eyes, "We could've focused on finding Mr. Scratch."
"So what now?" you ask, looking at Emily and Rossi, "They have around-the-clock surveillance?"
"Initially yes," Emily says with a nod, "Agents were assigned to watch Jack 24/7. But when we were all in L.A., Scratch surfaced again, this time at Jack's school."
"Which is why Hotch and Jack have now entered the program," Rossi adds.
"Witness protection?" Reid asks, and Rossi nods.
"He went away thinking that eventually, he could come back, but things have changed. He's now decided he can't put Jack in danger again. He just sent in his resignation."
Everybody in the room is taken by surprise and it takes your brain a minute to realize what Rossi is saying.
"So what are we gonna do? We can't possibly find a replacement for Hotch," you say.
"Hotch spoke with the director about who should replace him," Rossi says. "Hotch's final request was that Emily becomes the BAU's new bureau chief."
