She's Back

Haunted

*Note - this is a trigger warning for panic-induced emotions and actions. Please understand that this is just the way I picture the scene happening, and may not reflect real life signs at all. Thank you for understanding:)

The car ride to town went by fast. Derek and Emily had driven together in 1 car, while JJ and Hotch took another. Everyone was pretty quiet on the way over; they were all thinking about the case. Aaron pulled into the last open parking spot on the town's main street. It seemed like everyone in town was out today; there were lots of people talking to each other on the sidewalks, heading into stores, and sitting down at restaurants to eat lunch. Although the town was small, it had lots of cute boutiques and family-run businesses. There was a giant water fountain with benches around it in the small grassy area Aaron parked next to. It reminded JJ of the town she grew up in, but without all the memories attached.

Everyone got out of the car. "Ok, I think it's best if we split up. JJ, you and Emily head to The Bar - it looks like it should be right down the street. Derek, you go check out the Bullseye and I'll head to the Piggly Wig. It's 1:00 now; let's plan to meet here by 3:30 at the latest. Is everyone okay with that?" Aaron asked. Even though he was technically in charge, he liked to delegate responsibilities to the others so that they felt like a true team. That was one of the many reasons why the BAU was so well-respected by other departments and agencies.

No one had any disagreements, so they all went their respective ways; JJ and Emily headed to the end of the street, Derek walking back towards the police station, and Aaron going the opposite way of him.

The next 2 hours flew by. For all the sweet talking JJ and Emily made with The Bar employees and patrons, they were unable to find someone who matched the description of their profile. Derek also was out of luck at the Bullseye; he even tried working a little bit of his magic on the girls who were there, but they hadn't seen anyone suspicious or matched the profile.

The 3 of them met back at the water fountain at exactly 3:30 pm. It was a hot day, and all of them were sweating by the time they got back there, unused to the dry heat of Arizona. The 3 sat down at a bench as they waited for Hotch to get back.

"Anything?" Morgan asked as he sat back. JJ shook her head. "What about you?" she asked. Derek shook his head too. They were all frustrated that they hadn't been able to find anything or anyone that would help them get closer to catching their unsub.

"Well, let's hope Hotch was more successful than us," Emily said. She leaned back and closed her eyes for a few minutes while they waited for Hotch to show up. JJ did the same and Derek just sat back, watching and waiting for Aaron.

Five minutes passed, then ten, and then it was 4:00 and there was still no sign of Aaron. The three of them were wide awake now. They had all tried calling Hotch's phone multiple times, but every time it went straight to voicemail. "This isn't like Hotch, man. He would've called us back by now. Something must have happened," Derek said as he paced in front of the bench. JJ nodded her head and said something back to Derek, but Emily didn't hear her. Over the last 30 minutes, Emily had been trying her best to not freak out in front of her colleagues. She was sitting perfectly straight on the bench, hands on her knees, taking deep breaths and acting as calmly as she could. This was not something she ever expected to happen when she returned to the BAU, and could not deal with the possibility of what could've happened to Aaron to make him this late to their meeting.

"That's a good idea, JJ. You call Sabrina at the station to see if they've heard from Aaron, and I'll call Garcia to get her tracking Aaron's phone," Derek said and pulled out his phone. He and JJ were so wrapped up in Aaron's disappearance that they had yet to notice that Emily hadn't said anything in 30 minutes.