Plausible Deniability **EDITED**

Part Fifteen

     I sighed as I pushed the button for her floor and waited for the doors to close. I leaned back against the wall and counted the floors, wondering just how bad she was.

     Last night, she was worn out and half-asleep before we even got back to the plane. She slept the short flight back and I kept my eyes on her the entire time. I didn't care if anyone was watching me watch her. I could see the small wrinkles of pain in her brow and even over the dull hum of the plane turbines, I could hear her shallow breathing.

     "Is the gonna be okay," Reid had asked me after a few minutes of me not blinking. "She really should go to a hospital, Hotch."

     I looked to him, breaking my concentration, and gave him a half nod. "She's stubborn."

     I looked back over his shoulder to her and saw him make that worried look out of the corner of my eye, his attention going back into the book that he was currently flipping though.

     Once we landed, I let Morgan wake her up and practically carry her to my car. I grabbed her bags and followed them to the parking garage and threw her things in my backseat.

     "Take it easy, kiddo," he said when he buckled her in my front seat. I was given another worried look and carefully closed her door. "Hotch," he walked around to the driver's side, "make her go to a hospital. I'll even carry her, again, if I have to."

     I forced a smile, "I'll let you know."

    I took every turn slowly and tried to avoid every bump in the road on the way to her place. She seemed to be okay, until I tried to get her out of the car and up the elevator.

     "Miss James?" the custodian that I recognized from the first time there asked as I drug her though the foyer. "What happened?"

     "She's okay," I assured him but dropped one of her bags on the floor.

     "Let me," he ran to my side and grabbed her bag and jacket from the floor, "I'll bring them up to her in a bit." His eyes looked over her with that same look of worry that I had been getting all night, "work?"

     I nodded, thankful that I didn't have to explain why she had a black eye and dried blood in the corner of her mouth.

     "That looks bad this time," he flung her jacket over his elbow, "she been to a hospital?"

     "How well do you know her?" I asked as the elevator doors opened.

     He nodded, "I'm actually an old family friend. That's how I got her into this place, as a favor for her father." He shook his head, "stubborn girl."

      I gave him a quick smile and pushed her floor on the elevator wall, "thank you."

     He smiled in a nod and the doors closed.

     I managed to get her down the hallway and inside her door before I could tell that she was hurting too much to move anymore.

      "Just put me down," she begged and fell into the couch with a moan. I ran to her room and grabbed the blanket off of her bed and wrapped her up.

      "You need to go to a hospital, Evan," I tucked her into her couch with so much concern in my face, I was afraid it was going to get stuck that way.

      "Maybe in the morning," she sighed and closed her eyes. "I'm just really tired."

    "Evan, please," I begged and sat on the edge of the couch.

    "I'm fine, I'm just exhausted." She curled up and fell asleep before I could continue arguing with her. I watched her sleep for about an hour before I decided to head home.