Never Together Nor Apart

[Chapter 71]

Hotch's POV:

I storm out of the room, looking for anyplace private to throw things. I needed to let it out, all my pent-up anger. How the hell could he be alive? I felt his last breath! I made sure he would NEVER hurt anyone again, yet here he is, holding my daughter. His evil grin was something I would never forget.

"Aaron," Dave's voice calls out.

I don't answer, I continue my walk until I reach an empty room. I throw open the door and lock it. I grab a near trash can and throw it to the other side of the room.

"Aaron listen to me. We'll find your daughter, okay? We will find her, I promise," he states through the door.

"No, no, no! You won't, not with him," I slide against the door, falling until my knees are at my chest.

"Emily is asking for you. JJ and Garcia can't get her to stop crying, she needs you," he tries a new tactic.

Luckily for him, I can't leave her alone like that, so I open the door. I make my way back to her room. I see the bed littered with tissues. JJ and Garcia have red eyes as well, they however, knew who this man was, what he had done. Emily, she had never been told, and I didn't know if I'd be able to tell her.

"Aaron, what's going on? What's happening?" She sobs.

Garcia and JJ both give me a look. They were going to make me tell her.

"I—he knows me," I whisper once the door is closed.

"What?" She sniffles.

"He was an unsub I put away about 5 years ago. We put him away after he had stolen Morgan's I.D. badge and he almost killed him. But instead, he let Morgan live. Later, not even 24 hours later, he had escaped. My... my ex wife," I pause, waiting for a reaction.

"Your w-what," she blinks away more tears.

"She was put into witness protection after he came for me in my old apartment. He left me with stab wounds and I almost bled out. Shortly after, he found her, brought her out of hiding—he made me listen to her last words—she was so scared. I—he shot her and dragged her body all the way up to our old bedroom," I feel my eyes begin to sting, "when I finally got there, I was alone and I searched the house. I knew he would still be there, waiting for me... and he was. Eventually, after a shootout and punching each other—I," my voice breaks.

"What Aaron? What happened," she pleads.

"I—I strangled him," I choke out.

"To—to death? How is that possible if he's taken my baby?" She lets out a wail.

I make my way to her side, she snuggles up in the crook of my shoulder.

"How could you not tell me you were married before?" She asks angrily, but her massaging of my hand contradicts her emotion.

"She cheated on me. Right in front of my face," I whisper.

"Was she—" her voice trails off.

"She knew what she was doing. She had the slightest of guilt when I found out. She said I wasn't home enough. She was right, I knew I wasn't home enough and her cheating doesn't change the fact that I loved her," I sigh.

I feel Emily nod against my chest. She lets out a few more sniffs before squeezing me for comfort.

*time skip*

JJ opens the door. Emily had fallen asleep crying, exhausted from labor, let alone having her child abducted.

"We have Garcia on speaker. She went back to the BAU to get Foyet's file," she whispers.

"I'll be there in a second," I answer back.

She leaves again, giving me time to ease out of the small hospital bed. Emily stirs a bit, causing me to freeze, but eventually she settles again. I take a piece of paper, letting her know I had stepped out of the room so she wouldn't worry. I exit the room quietly and shut the door.

"Okay, what do you have Garcia?" My tired voice croaks.

"Okay, George Foyet. He's a 47 year old man, born in 1968. He was abused during his childhood by his father. His mother wasn't able to protect him. Mysteriously both his biological parents died in a car accident and he was adopted by a Mr. and Mrs. Foyet. We know he has killed at least 36 people and attempted to kill 3 more. On file, it shows his medical history of addiction with medications such as OxyContin and Tapazole, and his death was a blow to the head—we however, know that's not true, since we saw the monster ever so clearly on the security tapes," Garcia shutters.

"Okay, now our old profile?" Morgan suggests.

"Right, George Foyet, or The Reaper, is a narcissist. He fits the profile we refer to as an omnivore. Unlike most serial killers, he doesn't have a specific victim type. Although he tends to focus on his younger female victims with his knife, he is essentially a predator who will kill anyone. His kills aren't about his victims though. He likes recognition, he wants people to know what he has done. His symbols, his prior victims possessions, they are always found at the next site. It's all for a show, power, manipulation. He is extremely disciplined, this makes him inflexible. We also thought he was a hebophile, someone how has a strong sexual interest in pubescent children, but that part never went anywhere," Garcia explains.

"Okay, so we know now his target has changed and he's on a mission. While he used to not care about his victims, now that is all he cares about. He still wants the same recognization from us, which is obvious by what he has done. Now, because he has the need to attack Hotch, Haley, and now Emily and Alana, he may become less disciplined. This is how we're gonna catch him. He did something and slipped up. We just need to find out what," Morgan orders.

"I'll go question Emily about his behavior. I know she wouldn't had off Alana to just anybody, so something about him must have seemed safe, and welcoming," JJ walks off.

"I'll check out the security tapes, make sure we've not missed a single thing. I could use a bit of help with that," Morgan gestures towards Garcia.

With a quick nod, they head off, leaving me with Dave.

"We're working quickly Aaron. We know him, that's his weakness. Not to mention the hospital is on lockdown, police are scouring the entire building, if he's still in here they'll find him and that sweet little girl of yours," He gives me a slight smile.

"I just hope you're right about that," I sigh.

Okay, so we've made some progress! That's good, just need to keep looking on the bright side of things!!

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