Hotch drops you off after the little party.
You could tell Rossi was devastated by the loss of his vase. After frantic apologies, and a lot of liquor. He got over it.
Maybe.
You have a feeling when he's sober, he won't be as calm.
Dropping onto the bed, you close your eyes. Trying to process everything. The team knows about you now. Not just your father's transgressions, but everything. It almost feels like an illusion.
You reach over, pinching your arm.
"It's real."
Closing your eyes, you release a heavy sigh. All appears calm, but then you feel that shift. The one that is usually followed by an appearance of a certain telepath.
"Your life here is good."
He steps out from your window. For some reason, this time is different. Before your instinct was to attack, or defend. But now when you sit up, you can't show the rage you've always felt when you looked at him.
"Pity is far worse than hate. I much prefer that look you wore before." You stand.
"Why are you here?"
There's that look again, he's holding something back. There is a debate on whether he'll tell you or not.
"You love Aaron Hotchner, don't you." Hearing him say his name always makes you uneasy.
"What does that have to do with you?"
"If you had a chance to make him happy, would you take it?"
You aren't sure of his angle.
"What are you talking about?"
You can never read him. It drives you mad.
"Before, you could barely alter even a fraction of your power. But after that dream, something changed. It triggered something. I can feel it. I'm asking you now, if there was a way to help Hotchner, to bring happiness to both him and his son, would you take it."
"Of course!"
Manchester smiles, almost like he expected the answer.
"Follow me." He turns, and you don't truly understand.
"Hey! Wait, what do you mean!!"
You run towards the window, and you're startled at the light that blinds you. Something grabs your hand, and you're pulled right out. When your feet meet solid ground, the blue area is all you see. You're no longer inside your bedroom. You turn frantically, searching for a door, or an exit. All you can make out is an endless stream of blue. It's like you're underwater.
"I knew you'd be able to cross." Manchester is now standing right in front of you.
"D-Dad!! What is this, where did you take me!" If this was some mind game, he was misled if he thought you wouldn't put up a fight.
"I call it the veil, but I'm sure each traveler has a different name." He doesn't look concerned in the slightest.
"What we're capable of, it isn't just of the mind. We're telepaths, but so much more. After I lost your mother, I kept replaying that moment. How to make it right, what would I do if I had a chance and go back. Change the outcome."
"Do you mean like...time travel?"
It sounds crazy, but with him, it was better not to question.
"In a manner of speaking. How I understand it is we live in these pockets. They each possess a reality. Past, present and future. People like me and you, we're able to tap into the past. Empaths can enter the future. Regular people, they live in the present. "
"So you expect me to believe you can time travel."
He doesn't say anything, just reaches out. His hand is pressed to a wall that you can't see, then there's that flash again. You brace yourself. When your eyes open, the view in front of you leaves you speechless.
"Mom..."
She's right there, it's like you're watching through a screen. All you need to do is reach out. So you do. You touch the barrier, trying to push through, but it doesn't budge.
"Mom! MOM!!! Why can't she hear me!!"
"Because it's a memory. You can't go to her, you can't stop what happened. Believe me I tried." You turn back. This scene, you remember it vividly. You were both in the kitchen. Making dinner for your dad when he comes home.
"Blood relatives can't intercept. No matter how much we want to help, we can't. I've realized it must be some kind of law. It's the only thing keeping this all in balance. With me it's even harder."
When his hand touches this barrier, there's a completely different reaction. The entire scene turns dark, and it crumbles right there in front of you.
"I'm so corrupted that the veil won't even let me connect with the barrier. All of my sins, they came with a price. This is it."
"Why show me this?"
You didn't understand why he would go through the trouble of revealing such a power when it was impossible for you to save the one person who meant the world to the both of you.
"Because the veil prevents us from interfering with the realities of our kin. The bloodlines are what separates us from them. But there isn't a barrier from friends, coworkers..lovers.." You don't fully get what he's hinting at, but then you back track.
This all started when he ranted about Hotch. Your nightmare was a trigger to your power because you were afraid to lose Hotch.
He brought you here because he wanted....
"I can save Hailey..for Hotch.."
Manchester says nothing, and he doesn't need to.
Now you fully understand.
