Strength of the Pack - Section Five

[welfycat]

Back to the Master Post





Section Five

It was early in the afternoon when the team made their way to the hotel where they were staying. They'd been working the case for four days and the lack of sleep was starting to get to all of them. When JJ had knocked her cup of coffee off the table because she'd fallen asleep and slumped against it, Hotch had declared that it was time for them to take a real break and sleep in shifts until nighttime. Their unsub was active at night and so far they had plenty of leads but nothing that was particularly outstanding.

Derek and Hotch had already swept their rooms, as they did every time they returned to the hotel. They were in New York City and the sheer number of packs and shifters running around put everyone on edge. Spencer had barely been able to focus for the first day that they were at the police department. The next morning, Gideon had pulled him aside and worked with him on muting the presence of other shifters in his mind. Spencer could still feel them now, lurking just outside his awareness of the team, but they were less distinct and distracting now.

"JJ, Jason, and Spencer can sleep first. Four hours, then we'll switch. We should be back on the streets by ten tonight." Hotch looked over the team, his eyes pausing on where JJ was slumped against the wall.

"I don't think I can sleep right now. I'd rather keep going through case files and narrowing our suspect pool," Spencer said. He was tired but his brain was still running through the dozens of case files he'd read over the past few days. If he tried to sleep he would wind up just staring at the ceiling and thinking.

Hotch looked at Spencer, assessing him just as he would an unsub he was questioning. "Alright. When I tell you to rest, you go. Don't push yourself "

"Okay," Spencer said, already digging through the file box he'd carried up with him. There was a specific set he wanted to look through again.

Derek walked back in the kitchen, examining the leftovers they had dropped in the fridge the first time they'd been to the hotel suite. "I'm good to stay up for a bit too. I want to look at the explosives schematics again."

Hotch nodded. "Four hours," he said again and walked briskly into the room he was sharing with Derek.

"Goodnight," JJ said, following Gideon into the second bedroom. Gideon closed the door behind them, looking equally exhausted.

Spencer scanned through the files he'd pulled out, not looking up until he felt the couch cushion sink beside him.

"You're looking at the gang stuff again?" Derek asked as he picked up one of the files Spencer had set aside.

"It doesn't make sense," Spencer said. "Well, it does, because the various factions in the city have every reason to want to take out members of the police. But blowing up their homes and killing their families as well? That doesn't fit any MO I've come across."

Derek flipped through the files, looking more at the crime scene photos than the reports. "The Tenth Ave Killers are notorious for their use of explosives to take out rival gang members and the South End Blues have launched incendiary devices at police officers before."

"Car bombs and small IEDs planted in doorways aren't the same as bombs that are activated remotely and are designed to kill an entire family," Spencer said as he flipped the next file closed. "This unsub is doing everything they can to avoid confrontation with his victims."

"Alright, but that doesn't mean a member of either of those gangs, or one of these," Derek nudged the rest of the stack with his knee, "couldn't be acting alone without the knowledge of the rest of his gang."

"Maybe," Spencer said. "The group cohesiveness we encountered today would suggest otherwise. Not a single member even looked away until their leader gave them the signal to run."

Derek looked down at his pants, the bottoms of which were still grimy from his chase through the wintery streets. "Speaking of which, I'm going to take a quick shower and change. Keep working on that angle though. If not one of the gang members, maybe someone affiliated with a gang?"

Spencer nodded and started searching for the files that contained the information about the evidence gathered from the crime scenes. They had concentrated the majority of their attention on a few of the local gangs. Threats that had been made specifically to two of the police officers who had been killed had made the connection seem reasonable. The very reason that this case was putting everyone on edge, from the local officers to Hotch and Gideon, was the reason it didn't make sense to Spencer that it was a gang affiliated killing spree. Killing police officers sent a message. Killing their families was personal.

The bottom of the file box was empty and Spencer frowned as he searched the small space of the living room. They must have left the second box in one of the cars. Spencer closed his eyes and pictured them leaving the cars; he had carried one of the file boxes and the other had been left in the trunk of the car Hotch had drove. The schematics for the bombs would be in that box as well.

The hotel suite was quiet, everyone except Derek was probably already asleep. If he concentrated he could hear the sound of water hitting the tiles in the shower and Derek quietly humming. Spencer's eyes fell on where the keycards the for the hotel and the keys to the car were sitting on the table. It would take him less than five minutes to go down to the parking lot and grab the box. Spencer thought about grabbing his coat, he'd already learned that just because it wasn't snowing didn't mean it wasn't very cold, but the car was only in the second row of the parking lot. He grabbed the keys and slipped out of the suite, careful to ease the heavy door closed so it wouldn't wake the team.

He didn't bother with the elevator, instead taking the stairs down to the front lobby and out into the parking lot. The mid-January wind hit him immediately and Spencer shivered grimly. At least the sidewalks and the parking lot had been cleared of snow.

Spencer unlocked the trunk and placed both sets of keys on top of the box. Everyone must have been tired if they'd all forgotten to bring in the case files. Yawning, Spencer reached for the box. The sound of a van door sliding open right behind him caught his attention.

Before Spencer could turn around, his vision went dark as a piece of fabric was pulled down over his face. He turned his body, like Derek had taught him, but there was more than one person surrounding him. "Derek! Hotch!" Spencer shouted, his voice muffled through the fabric. Despite struggling valiantly Spencer felt himself being dragged into vehicle and then the vehicle moving. His arms were restrained behind him and he yelped as he was pushed down the the floor.

"Go," the man to the left of him said, and Spencer slid a little on the floor as the vehicle roughly rounded a corner. Spencer shivered and managed to sit up, drawing his knees up to his chest so he presented a smaller and less vulnerable target. Derek would be out of the shower soon and then the team would come find him. He just had to survive until then.

*****

Derek felt moderately refreshed by the time he was out of the shower and dressed in clean and dry clothes. The warm water had nearly lulled him to sleep more than once, but he had stayed awake through force of will and by rethinking the designs of the bombs. Explosives were about as effective as caffeine for keeping his attention, though Aaron and the rest of the team never seemed to believe him.

He walked out into the bedroom, intending on sneaking through while Aaron was sleeping, but stopped short when he saw Aaron standing in the middle of the room in his boxers and undershirt looking alert and intense.

"Where's Spencer?" Aaron asked without turning away from the section of wall he was staring at.

"Looking at files in the living room," Derek said. He reached out with his senses and feeling his stomach drop when he couldn't hear paper being rustled or scent Spencer. He pushed open the door and quickly scanned the room, his eyes confirming what he already knew. "I left him here, not even ten minutes ago."

"He's getting further away," Aaron said.

Derek stepped back in the bedroom and watched as Aaron fumbled for his clothes. Aaron's eyes were still focused on the far wall, his sense of pack fighting to keep track of Spencer's location.

"Wake the rest of the pack," Aaron instructed as he buttoned his shirt.

Derek fought back the swell of panic and hurried the short distance to the door of the other bedroom. He knocked once before opening the door.

Gideon was already dressed and was checking the holster on his belt. "We need to move quickly. If Hotch can keep a hold on his direction we have a better chance of finding him."

"We'll find him." Derek's voice sounded foreign to his own ears.

"I'm calling Garcia. I'll have her track his cellphone," JJ said. She was brushing her hair out of her eyes and reaching for her cellphone.

"Don't bother." Aaron entered the room carrying Spencer's coat in one hand and his cellphone in the other. "He took a hotel room key and keys to one of the cars, but he didn't expect to be gone long."

JJ faltered, her hand resting on the phone.

"Call Garcia. Have her get started on traffic footage from the intersections near the hotel. The local PD should be able to give her access. We can do all of this on the road. Let's go," Aaron said. He was dressed now, looking as dangerous as Derek had ever seen him.

They left the hotel suite less than a minute later, Derek feeling a little more uncoordinated than usual. Their line of work sometimes required them to be able to be ready to run and shoot and fight at a moment's notice, but the change from being half asleep to being terrified for one of their own was a rough transition. The cold air was like being hit in the chest and Derek realized they'd gone down the stairs and through the lobby without conscious awareness of their surroundings other than the threat assessment that was instinctual for all of them.

The back of the car was open, Derek could see that from the sidewalk, and he drew his gun as he approached. He could see the keys to the car sitting on top of the box of case files and he grimaced as he realized why Spencer had left the hotel room.

"There are skid marks on the road. Whoever took Spencer left in a hurry. They're professional and it was no accident that they took Spencer," Gideon said from where he was examining the asphalt. "You've still got a fix on him?"

Aaron nodded, staring unerringly to the south. "I don't know how far."

Derek picked up the car keys and the hotel key card from where they were resting on the box and closed the trunk with what was probably excessive force. "Let's go."

"Garcia's working through the footage as quickly as she can. She's staying on the line with me," JJ said. She was turning slowly where she stood, as if trying to get a fix on Spencer's location as well.

"Let's go, now." Derek moved to get in the driver's seat but was stopped by Gideon.

"You and Aaron have the strongest connection to Spencer. I need you to focus on finding him and navigating, not on city traffic," Gideon said. He pressed Spencer's coat and cellphone into Derek's hands.

Derek shoved the keys at Gideon, not willing to waste time arguing. "This isn't the unsub who is planting bombs. We don't know why they want him." He left off the part about not knowing how long they'd keep Spencer alive.

"He's with shifters," Aaron said as Derek urged him into the passenger seat.

Derek nodded as he and JJ climbed in the back seat. They could do something about shifters. There would be no repercussions, legal or otherwise, for a pack doing everything necessary to get one of their cubs back when they'd been taken by another pack. He held Spencer's coat tightly and inhaled his scent as Gideon drove them through the parking lot and turned in the direction where Aaron was focused. If Spencer stayed close enough, they should be able to use Aaron like a compass until they could all sense him.

"We're coming," Derek whispered, squeezing JJ's hand when she reached for him.

*****

Spencer's captors were silent for the first few minutes, allowing Spencer to listen and learn as much about his surroundings as possible. Not being able to see was disorienting and he frequently reminded himself that while the cloth over his head was pressed against his nose and mouth he could still breathe quite easily. There were three people in the van with him, one driving and two in the back. It took him a moment to figure out how he knew this, but he realized that he was sensing their presence as shifters. They didn't feel like his pack, or even like Miller's pack in Chicago, and Spencer tentatively decided that they weren't wolves.

The ambient noise in the van changed and Spencer slid a little way along the floor as the van sped up. They were getting on one of the highways he realized with a jolt of fear. Spencer had only been working with the FBI for a little over three months but he already knew that all bets were off when the person being abducted was moved to a prepared location. He tried to work the statistics for chances of survival based on how far away an abductee was taken, but his mind kept reaching out for the pack. It was strangely disorienting to not be able to feel them and determine their locations. He wished he knew how much time had actually passed, because he was certain that it hadn't been more than a few minutes but it felt like far longer. Derek had to have realized he was gone by now and they would be looking for him.

Spencer reached for the hook inside of him that would let him shift. He would still be vulnerable if he shifted, but maybe he would stand a better chance of slipping away when they removed him from the van. Unless his captors had planned for the possibility of him shifting and had a cage or something waiting in the van. Spencer wasn't exactly sure what would happen if he shifted back to his human form in a space that was smaller than he was, but he didn't want to find out. It didn't make much of a difference because each time Spencer attempted to shift into his form he found it harder and harder to grasp the hook until he couldn't find it at all. He gasped for air and slumped back against the wall of the van, unaware until that moment how much physical effort he'd been putting into trying to shift.

"Are you done?" One of his captors spoke, his voice deep and his tone amused.

Spencer resisted the urge to kick out. He was getting better at physically handling himself, but not so much that he stood a chance while blindfolded and with his hands bound behind him. His best chance at this point was to stall and try to stay alive long enough for the team to find him. "Yes," he answered. It was interesting to Spencer that they could feel that he'd been trying to shift and he vowed to pay more attention to the sensation when members of the pack shifted.

Hands wrapped tightly around Spencer's upper arms and lifted him onto a seat. Spencer swayed slightly, his balance thrown off as the van changed lanes. "Why did you take me?" he asked. He didn't expect a real answer, but he would take any information they were willing to give.

"We need you to deliver a message to your pack." A different voice spoke this time, slightly higher pitched and with a different accent.

Spencer turned to his left, where the voice had come from, and stared despite not being able to see anything except for patches of light from the front window. "You couldn't have sent a letter?" He was hopeful that this meant he would be returned alive, and in one piece, but he wasn't going to stop looking for a way out.

Both of the men laughed, apparently genuinely amused.

"A letter wouldn't have had quite the same effect. This is a warning as well as a message. Your pack is to stop investigating the local gangs. In return, we will tell you where to find your killer and your pack will leave as soon as the case is solved." The first man spoke again.

"Why?" Spencer asked. He shifted against the seat, trying to lean forward and take the pressure off of his bounds wrists.

"The man you are looking for is not affiliated with the local gangs," the first man said.

"No, we know that. But why do you care? None of the gang members we've seen are shifters," Spencer said, moderately confused. "And if you know who the killer is, why didn't you tell the local police?"

There was a long silence and Spencer wondered if he was going to get an answer at all.

The second man, to Spencer's left, sighed. "We would have taken care of the situation ourselves, but we are not willing to start a war over one rogue shifter. As for the gangs, they have their uses."

Spencer nearly fell out of his seat as the van abruptly slowed down and veered to the right.

One of the men moved closer and steadied Spencer. "You aren't in a position to make a binding pack agreement, but you will deliver this message to your pack leader. Tell him that the next time one of his cubs roams he will be lucky to get them back and it's fortunate that you were found by a pride as forgiving as ours."

"What do you mean?" Spencer asked, but there was no response.

A few minutes later, after several turns and brief stops, the van came to a complete stop and the side door was rolled open.

Two sets of hands lifted Spencer up and he shivered as he felt the cold wind through his shirt. The next time he went outside, even if it was supposed to only be for a few minutes, he was going to wear his coat.

"This goes to your pack leader. No one else," the man with the deeper voice said as he pulled open Spencer's fingers and pressed what felt like a piece of paper into his hand.

Spencer struggled briefly as they lowered him to the cold cement and then tied his ankles together.

"Your pack is about ten minutes behind us. You should be safe here until they find you." The second man tugged on Spencer's bindings to make sure they were secure. "Just stay here."

"Wait!" Spencer shouted as the footsteps moved away from him. The van door closed and he listened as the vehicle pulled away. It wasn't long before Spencer could only hear the wind blowing against whatever building he was leaning against and the sound of leaves and other debris rustling down the nearby road. He shivered and reached for the team again, but they were still too far away for him to find. Trying to remind himself of all the ways he could be in a worse situation at the moment, Spencer attempted to flex his slightly swollen hands and pulled his legs as close to his chest as he could manage. He cast out with his senses, hoping that he would hear Hotch's voice or feel Derek's presence before long.

*****

Derek moved restlessly as he stared out at the passing city. He still couldn't feel Spencer and Aaron had gone very still. Derek knew this meant he was doing his best to keep whatever sense of Spencer he had left.

"Garcia has the van stopped at a traffic light on exit 12, ten miles from here," JJ said. She kept her phone pressed to her ear. "She says to get on I-90 northbound on Seneca Street."

Gideon veered the car across two lanes of traffic and made an abrupt left turn. "Tell her to keep track of them and not to worry about guiding us," he snapped.

Derek grimaced but held on tight as Gideon slammed to a stop at a red light. There was no way around the traffic surrounding them and they hadn't gotten on the highway for fear of missing a sudden turnoff that they wouldn't be able to follow. He looked down at his watch and swallowed hard. It had been a full twenty minutes since he stepped out of the shower to find Aaron staring blankly at the wall and Spencer missing. He wasn't going to think about what could have happened to Spencer in that time; he knew from experience that wouldn't help.

"Are you sure?" JJ asked, leaning to look out the window as the car started forward again. She frowned as she listened. "Keep looking."

"What?" Derek asked, his stomach clenching.

JJ looked at him, her expression tight. "They drove into an industrial storage area. There aren't cameras along every street. She's keeping an eye on all the exits. If they leave, we'll know."

Derek swallowed as he thought of the number of human slaughter houses he'd seen in warehouses. They were isolated, far from where anyone would search or hear someone screaming for help, and the unsubs could unload their victims directly into the storage bays. He felt a small tug from Aaron and leaned forward when he realized Aaron was resisting the temptation to shift.

"I'd be able to scent him better if I was in my wolf form," Aaron said quietly.

Derek wanted to reach forward and touch Aaron's arm, but he knew better than to disrupt Aaron's concentration.

At last, Gideon pulled onto the highway and they began to move quickly through the traffic.

Derek leaned his head against the cool glass of the window and searched for Spencer. "Come on, pretty boy," Derek whispered as he closed his eyes. He could feel shifters nearby in the city, a small wolf pack to the east and a lone cheetah driving by on the opposite side of the highway. His eyes opened suddenly and he leaned back, trying to make certain before he said anything.

"I've got him. He's stationary, to the north-west of our present location," Derek said as he turned to look at where he could feel Spencer. He could tell that Spencer was alive and not badly hurt, but that was all.

"Yes," Aaron agreed, looking in the exact same direction as Derek.

"Exit the highway in two miles," JJ instructed after repeating Spencer's direction to Garcia and listening for her response.

Gideon drove through the slightly congested highway with little regard for the cars around them. Derek barely noticed as another car honked at them when Gideon cut them off and they were soon sailing down the exit ramp.

"The shifters left him alone," Aaron said as they slowed down marginally on the narrower roads.

Derek cast out, confirming that they were the only shifters in the vicinity. "Two streets east," he said, quickly calculating the distance now that they were closer. He watched out the window, impatiently scanning for where he knew Spencer to be.

"I'll call you back as soon as we've found him," JJ whispered into her cellphone before closing it and putting it away.

"Here," Aaron instructed, and Gideon stopped the car.

Derek was out the door before the car had completely stopped and his glock was already in his hands. Within seconds, Aaron, Gideon and JJ were at his side, all of them scanning the area for signs of danger.

"Spencer?" Aaron called.

"Hotch! Derek!" Spencer shouted back, his voice coming from one of the alleys.

"We're coming to you," Aaron called back. The team moved together as easily as if they'd been a single person. They quickly and carefully cleared the alley closest to them and moved deeper into a narrow space between two of the buildings.

"Spencer," Derek said as soon as he saw Spencer's sneakers sticking out from behind a metal container. He and Aaron raced forward and rounded the corner.

Derek was flooded with relief as soon as he saw Spencer, curled up and shivering on the ground, but alive. He knelt down immediately, trusting that Gideon and JJ were covering them from anyone still in the area.

"It's just us," Aaron said when Spencer jolted at his touch.

Spencer gasped through the rough cloth bag that was over his head and tied around his neck. "I know."

Derek pulled out his pocket knife and handed it to Aaron. "Hold still, we're cutting you loose." He held onto Spencer's shoulders to try and ease some of the shaking while Aaron cut the ties on the bag and carefully pulled it up over Spencer's face.

"My hands," Spencer said, shaking his head to get his hair away from his eyes.

"We've got you," Derek repeated, smoothing away Spencer's hair for him and helping him lean forward so Aaron could cut the plastic ties that were restraining Spencer's wrists.

Spencer whimpered as he pulled his hands back in front of him, his hands slightly swollen and red from having the circulation partially cut off. "The note, for you," he said, shoving his right hand to Aaron.

Derek looked up from where he was untying Spencer's ankles and watched as Aaron carefully took the piece of paper from where it had been clenched in Spencer's hand.

"Can you stand up?" Aaron asked.

When Spencer nodded, Derek and Aaron helped him to his feet. Unable to stop himself, Derek wrapped his arms around Spencer and held him tight, breathing a sigh of relief as Spencer rested his head on Derek's shoulder. He looked up in time to watch Aaron open the note and read it with a tense frown before showing it to Gideon.

"We need to go," Aaron said. He placed his hand on the back of Spencer's neck and leaned in. "Are you going to be alright for the time being?"

Spencer turned to look at Aaron, his expression fearful. "The note told you who the unsub is, right?"

"No. It's a list of names of police officers. Three of them have already been killed, which makes the last name on the list the unsub's next target," Aaron said. He handed the piece of paper to JJ. "Call Garcia from the car, get us an address."

Derek holstered his gun and slipped out of his jacket, placing it over Spencer's shoulders. He kept one arm wrapped around Spencer as they walked back to the car.

"They were a pride," Spencer said as he shivered under the jacket. "They want us to not investigate the local gangs. I still don't understand why."

"Okay. It's okay," Derek said. They reached the car and Derek got Spencer in the back seat and covered his lap with Spencer's coat. He turned briefly to Aaron as they stood outside the car. "What are we doing?"

"We're going to go stop the unsub from blowing up a police officer and his family," Aaron said tersely, looking at Spencer and then turning to look around the area.

Derek nodded even though he could see his desire to confront the pride who took Spencer reflected in Aaron's eyes. Derek couldn't feel the pride in the area at all and while it was possible Garcia was still tracking the van, it would likely take them more time than they had to follow it to its destination.

"I've got the address," JJ said as she climbed into the backseat next to Spencer and relaying the information to Gideon.

Derek touched Aaron's hand now that he could without distracting him, and relaxed when Aaron briefly squeezed his fingers.

"Let's go," Aaron instructed as he got into the front passenger seat.

Derek sat next to Spencer and closed the door, putting on his seat belt and helping Spencer's with his. "How do your hands feel?" he asked, noticing Spencer's swollen fingers twitching intermittently.

"Uncomfortable," Spencer admitted quietly.

"May I?" Derek asked. When Spencer nodded, Derek took Spencer's right hand and began to gently warm and massage it. "We'll soak them when we get back to the hotel."

JJ turned to Spencer, her expression slightly grim. "Garcia wants to see how you're doing." She held the phone up to Spencer's ear before he had a chance to object.

Spencer waited for a moment, listening to whatever Garcia was saying. "I'm really fine," he said.

Derek smiled as he heard the pitch from the cellphone increase and Spencer leaned away from the auditory onslaught. It might have only been coincidental that Spencer leaned towards him, but Derek was glad to feel Spencer pressed against him.

After letting Garcia express herself for a minute, Derek reached over and took the phone from JJ's hand. "He's alright, baby girl. Just take a deep breath and focus. Did you ever find the van?"

"No, I didn't," Garcia said, her frustration obvious even over the phone. "I have a unit coming to search the area, because it hasn't left."

"They probably switched vehicles," Derek said. "Keep looking, but make sure we have backup in place on the target. Bomb squad and everyone."

"On it. Give me back to JJ. And tell Spencer that this conversation isn't over," Garcia instructed.

Derek smiled and handed the phone back across the car. He was exhausted, and from the way Spencer was still slumping against him, he wasn't the only one. They could only hope that this went down quickly and that the pride's information was accurate.

*****

Derek walked back into the hotel bedroom carrying the antibiotic ointment from his first aid kit. Their job tended to get them scraped up on occasion and resting in their forms to promote faster healing wasn't always an option. He paused in the doorway, looking at where Spencer was sprawled out in the middle of the king sized bed. His hands were resting on a pillow, elevated to help reduce the mild swelling, and his hair was spread out on the pillow beneath his head. If it wasn't for the way his entire body jolted every so often, Derek could have believed that he was asleep.

"I'm gonna put some ointment on your wrists," Derek said, making sure he had Spencer's attention before he climbed on the bed.

Spencer nodded, watching as Derek pushed up Spencer's sleeves and applied the ointment to the places where the plastic straps had cut into his skin.

"How are your hands feeling now?" Derek asked when he'd finished, gently touching where his hands were still barely discolored.

"Better," Spencer said as he experimentally clenched his hands and released them.

"Good." Derek got back up and returned the ointment to his bag and washed his hands before returning to the bed.

Spencer was still nestled in Derek's jacket as he lay on top of the covers and Derek decided that this was as good of time as any for them both to get some rest. If Aaron and the rest of the team didn't catch the unsub now, they'd all be back out tonight. Aaron had dropped them both off at the hotel, saying that Spencer wasn't in any condition to help them confront an unsub. Derek had got the message that Aaron wasn't comfortable leaving Spencer by himself at the moment and he agreed wholeheartedly. He had felt torn; he wanted to be at Aaron's side and keeping his team safe, but leaving Spencer in that moment felt almost impossible. He knew that Aaron was fighting a similar battle, caught between his job and wanting to keep his pack safe, and he was doing what he thought was the best compromise for the moment.

Derek reached for Spencer's shoes, untying the laces and pulling them off to reveal Spencer's mismatched socks; the left sock was a pale lavender and the right was black with gray and white stripes around the ankle. Derek set aside Spencer's shoes and kicked off his own before pulling back the covers.

"Come on, pretty boy. Move yourself for just a minute," Derek said, managing to slide the covers out from under Spencer and rescue his jacket in the same movement.

Spencer shivered and turned his head to follow where Derek set the jacket down over the back of a chair. "I'm still cold," he said, sounding exhausted.

"I think I'm a better source of warmth than my jacket." Derek settled the covers over Spencer and climbed into bed. He wrapped his arms around Spencer and settled his face against Spencer's shoulder. It took nearly a full minute, as Spencer made himself comfortable, for Derek to realize this was very close to the way he situated himself with Aaron. Not quite the same, because Aaron was usually the one sheltering him, but close enough for Derek to feel vaguely unsettled. "Try to get some rest."

"I don't think I can sleep right now," Spencer said. He moved so that he was on his side, his shoulder blades and elbows briefly digging into Derek's chest before he settled.

Derek breathed in Spencer's scent from his hair, blocking out the strong scent of the ointment and the faintest hint of blood, and rested his head on the same pillow Spencer was using. "That's okay. Just let your body relax." It wasn't long before Derek felt Spencer's chest hitch and Spencer ducked his head to the side to wipe his face against the sleeve of his shirt.

"It's just a stress reaction," Spencer mumbled. "It's not uncommon after an intensely stressful situation for the body to release chemicals that sometimes necessitate increased lacrimation."

"Increased what?" Derek asked, bemused but gently rubbing his hand up and down Spencer's shoulder.

"Lacrimation, the production of tears," Spencer clarified. "Did you know that different types of tears are composed of different chemicals, and those chemicals can relay chemical messages to others?"

Derek shook his head and moved closer to Spencer. "I did not know that. I do know that that happens to just about everyone on a case at some point or another."

Spencer nodded and took a shaky breath. "You won't tell anyone?"

"Not a word," Derek promised, though he doubted he'd have to say anything for any of the others to guess.

They rested in silence for a while, Derek resting his hand on his cellphone and concentrating on the rhythm of Spencer's breathing.

"Is Hotch angry with me? I know I wasn't supposed to go anywhere without letting him know and being in the company of one of the team, but I didn't think he included the hotel parking lot in that stipulation." Spencer turned so that he could see Derek.

Derek shook his head. "He's not mad at you, and I'm sure he agrees that it should be perfectly reasonable for you to be able to walk in the hotel parking lot alone without being abducted. However, I do wish you'd waited until I was out of the shower."

"Me too." Spencer nodded but he was still frowning with his brow furrowed. "One of the pride said that Hotch was lucky to be getting me back."

"We are," Derek agreed. "They know the territory here and if they'd brought you back to their pride's territory we would have had a hell of a fight getting you back.

Spencer rolled over and rested his tender hands on Derek's side. They both readjusted their feet and legs until they were comfortably intertwined and Spencer tucked his head down so he was resting his forehead against Derek's shoulder. "I couldn't sense you or the pack and I couldn't shift. I kept reaching but after a while I couldn't even find the hook anymore."

Derek had never heard the imperative to shift called a hook before, but it made a certain amount of sense. "That's okay, we'll keep working on it." They hadn't had a down weekend since Christmas in order to spend time together as a pack and practice shifting with Spencer, but Derek would remind Aaron that they weren't the only team in the BAU and did need to spend some time not actively working cases.

"I thought I could do it though, now that I could find the trigger." Spencer yawned and nestled closer to Derek.

"You will." Derek moved his hand so that he could feel his cellphone again. He wanted to call Aaron and check that he and the team were alright, but wouldn't in case they were hiding inside the house for the unsub to show up. He wouldn't fall asleep as long as the team was possibly in danger, and even through his exhaustion he still felt the edge of adrenaline from losing Spencer. Derek rested as Spencer drifted in and out of sleep, watching as Spencer checked that Derek was there every time after startling himself awake.

*****

Aaron walked into the hotel suite with Jason and JJ right behind him. He knew Derek would have already checked the rooms but he felt unsettled enough today that he accompanied JJ and Jason as they checked the vacant bedroom and attached bathroom before he eased his hand away from his holster.

"We'll join you in a few minutes," Jason said as he shrugged out of his jacket.

Aaron nodded and looked over his exhausted pack mates before leaving them and walking to the bedroom where he could feel Derek and Spencer resting together. The room was mostly dark when he stepped inside, the sunlight through half drawn curtains fading slowly as the sun went down behind the nearby buildings. Derek and Spencer were curled up together in the middle of the bed, and Aaron marveled at how easily they fit together. It wasn't unlike him and Derek, and Aaron realized that they had never found the time to have the conversation they'd agreed to have. Aaron hung up his suit jacket and took off his shoes. He was just about to go into the bathroom to clean up when he saw that Derek's eyes were open and watching him.

"How did it go?" Derek asked, his voice quiet so he wouldn't wake Spencer.

Aaron sat down on the edge of the bed nearest Derek. "The unsub was setting the IED when we arrived. Jason talked him down, kept him from blowing it and himself up. No one was hurt."

Derek dug in his pocket and handed over his cellphone and then latched onto Aaron's hand. "I was waiting for you to call," he said without any trace of accusation.

"I didn't want to wake Spencer," Aaron said, not bothering to say that he didn't want to disturb Derek's rest either. "How is he?"

"He'll be alright," Derek said. He took his hand back and smoothed Spencer's hair away from his face. "Come join us."

Aaron nodded and stood up. He had originally planned on showering after he'd woken up from his nap, but he hadn't actually had much of a nap either. He went into the bathroom and settled for getting out of his suit pants, brushing his teeth, and washing his face and hands. Satisfied that he was as clean as he could get without showering, Aaron went back into the bedroom and walked towards the lamp he'd turned on.

"Hotch?" Spencer asked, struggling to free himself from Derek and the blankets.

"Right here," Aaron said.

"Can you leave the light on?" Spencer asked. He was sitting up and squinting in Aaron's direction.

Aaron dropped his hand from and went to the bed. "Of course."

Spencer turned to watch him, still looking disoriented and half asleep. "Did the note help?"

"Yes, we got the unsub." Aaron said, not without a twinge of guilt. The chances that they would have found the unsub before he'd blown up Officer McNeil and his family were exceedingly slim. He was grateful that they had been there in time to stop the IED from being planted, but the means were far from perfect.

"Good." Spencer blinked at Aaron and then looked at where Derek was still laying next to him. "I'll go to the other bedroom, or the couch if JJ wants that bed."

Aaron was saved from answering by JJ opening the door and letting herself and Jason in. Jason was in his form and eased himself up onto the bed, sniffing at Spencer before settling down on his legs.

"I think we're all in here tonight, if that's alright with you?" Aaron asked. Spencer was far better about letting people come close to him than he had been when he'd first joined the team, though Derek was the only one he really seemed comfortable with touching.

Spencer nodded and averted his eyes from where JJ was in a long t-shirt and not much else.

Derek just laughed and tugged Spencer back down under the blankets. Spencer moved his legs so that Jason was next to him instead of on top of him and rested one of his hands briefly in Jason's fur. JJ climbed in on the other side of Derek and Aaron took the last space next to Spencer.

Once everyone was settled, Aaron reached and placed his hand on Spencer's shoulder.

Spencer turned so that he was facing Aaron, his eyes mostly closed. "Thank you for coming for me."

Aaron assessed Spencer for a moment and decided he seemed comfortable enough with the pack to allow the contact. "May I?" he asked.

Spencer's eyes opened all the way and he peered at Aaron. He was obviously confused about what Aaron was requesting but nodded anyway.

Leaning in, Aaron pressed the side of his face to Spencer's and wrapped one of his arms around him so that they were huddled together. It felt natural to shelter one of his pack, especially one of his cubs, but there was more than that. Aaron lightly brushed his lips against Spencer's pulse point. Spencer didn't respond except to settle his head closer to Aaron's shoulder.

Aaron felt another hand on his arm and glanced up to find that Derek had moved closer and was resting just behind Spencer. They met each other's eyes, Derek smiling sleepily before he set his head back down. Aaron was definitely going to have to have that talk with Derek, though the contents of what he'd been planning on suggesting had changed a little bit.

JJ, who was already asleep, moved closer to Derek and Aaron felt himself relax a little further. With Jason in his wolf form resting against his legs they were almost a whole pack and Aaron once again considered the possibility of bringing Garcia on more cases with them. It was a complicated problem, but he always felt better knowing that all of his pack was safe with him in spite of the risks.

Derek's hand squeezed Aaron's arm again and Aaron recognized that as his unspoken signal to stop worrying and go to sleep. Aaron closed his eyes, his mind casting out over the city nearby for the presence of the pride who had taken Spencer. Eventually the slow breathing of his pack surrounding him lulled Aaron to sleep.

*****

Aaron woke up in his own bed, in his own home, late on Sunday morning. It had been Saturday afternoon when they'd flown back into Quantico and his pack was still so tired they were barely on their feet, despite the fitful sleep they'd had in the hotel the previous night. He'd sent them all home for the rest of the weekend and told them not to worry about their case reports until Monday.

He had felt Derek get up an hour earlier and had sleepily tracked him as he shifted and ran around in the area just outside of the backyard. The sound of the animal door opening and closing downstairs and Derek racing up the steps in his form woke Aaron fully. He sat up and watched as Derek bounded into the room, clumps of snow still caught in his darker fur and along his underbelly.

"Don't even think about it," Aaron said when Derek looked like he wanted to leap up onto the bed.

Derek obediently laid down on the rug for all of thirty seconds before getting up going racing through the house again.

Aaron shook his his head as he heard Derek clatter down the steps and laid back down. They had hardly done anything after getting home yesterday except for order take out for dinner and throw in a load of laundry. He hadn't realized he was tired enough to sleep straight through the night and well into the morning, but he did feel quite a bit better now that he'd rested.

"What are you thinking about?" Derek asked as he walked back in the bedroom, on two feet this time instead of four paws.

Aaron opened his eyes and watched as Derek toweled himself dry. "Have a good run?" he asked when Derek tossed aside the towel and climbed under the covers. He wrapped his arms around his mate's chilled body and nudged his feet away when Derek tried to warm them on his legs.

"There's almost six inches of fresh snow out there," Derek said with a content smile.

"And you had to run through all of it," Aaron added, amused even though he wound up with Derek freezing and clinging to him every time they had new snow in the morning.

Derek placed his head on Aaron's shoulder. "It's part of understanding my form better."

"Of course." Aaron smiled and kissed Derek's cheek, pulling him in closer even though it meant Derek snuck his cold feet back against his leg. "We should talk."

"Now?" Derek asked, not looking up at Aaron.

Aaron nodded and reminded himself that this wasn't the end of anything, just the start of something different. "We've been putting it off since Christmas. Longer, really."

"Classic avoidance. If we don't talk about the problem or acknowledge it, it doesn't exist. At least not until the situation escalates." Derek sat up, the blankets falling down from his bare shoulders. "You want to set limits about how much time I can spend with Spencer and under what circumstances?"

"Not at all." Aaron frowned and sat up. "Do you want me not to spend time with Spencer?"

Derek furrowed his brow and stared at Aaron. "Of course not. You're his pack leader."

"And you're my mate," Aaron countered. "You have just as much say in our relationship as I do."

"This is not the conversation I thought we were going to be having," Derek said. He pulled the sheets up so that he was mostly covered and frowned at Aaron. "You're saying you don't care if Spencer and I are closer than just team members and members of the same pack. You don't care that I feel something for him?"

"I do care, I just don't think that has to be a bad thing." Aaron placed his hand next to Derek, wanting to reassure him without overwhelming him. "I realize that you care about Spencer, in more than just a friendly way, and it's clear from the way he looks at you that he feels similarly. I want both you and Spencer to be happy."

"What about you?" Derek asked. He was watching Aaron's hand, but hadn't reached for it.

"And me," Aaron said. "But I don't think this is mutually exclusive."

Derek stared, intently looking at Aaron's expression.

Aaron let the last of his emotional reserve fall away. It was second nature to keep his expression neutral, had been long before he started working with profilers, and he found it difficult to reveal himself in such a way even to his mate and his pack.

"You love him too," Derek said quietly, his hand finding Aaron's in the sheets.

"It's not the same as it is with you, but I do care for Spencer very much," Aaron admitted, remembering how right it felt to lay with Spencer and Derek in the hotel bed. He had nearly shifted when they were looking for Spencer, and while he would have been livid if any one of his pack had been taken, the feeling was somehow different with Spencer.

Derek slid closer to Aaron and rested his free hand on Aaron's chest. "You, me, and our pretty boy, huh?"

Aaron laughed. "If he agrees."

"And you're over worrying about Spencer leaving the pack?" Derek asked.

"Not over, but if that happens, we'll deal with it. A stronger tie with us might make him less likely to leave the pack when he's grown," Aaron said. "And you're not concerned about his form still being a cub?"

Derek paused and then shook his head. "It's like you said, Spencer's an adult. He knows what he's doing if he decides to join our relationship. We'll take things slow."

Aaron knew that meant Derek was still concerned, but that was alright. He was perfectly content taking things as slowly as Derek and Spencer were comfortable with. "Of course, all of this is contingent on Spencer even being interested in both of us."

Derek smiled, his body relaxing more than he had the entire conversation. "I don't think that's a problem. You don't get to see the way he watches you when you're running around right before we go looking for an unsub. I think he has a thing for your bullet proof vest."

Aaron laughed and pulled Derek over so they could kiss. "Go shower. You smell like you've been rolling in the mud."

"Only if you come with me." Derek got out of bed and disappeared into the bathroom with what was supposed to be an alluring grin.

The idea of a hot shower with Derek was enough motivation for Aaron to get out of bed. He followed Derek into master bathroom feeling like a weight had been removed from his chest. He had been fairly certain of his plan before he'd suggested it to Derek, he actually felt more comfortable with this plan than just suggesting that Derek and Spencer could do what they wanted with each other, but it was still a relief that Derek hadn't been bothered by the idea.

Aaron pushed the shower curtain aside just enough to slide inside and under the hot water with Derek. He smiled as he felt Derek's arms wrap tightly around him and they stood together for a moment.

"Thank you," Derek said quietly, resting his chin on Aaron's shoulder.

Aaron closed his eyes and leaned into Derek. "Thank you."

*****

Spencer looked up from where he was going over his report for the third time. He was trying to make sure he had included every detail about his abduction, not that he hadn't already been over it a dozen times in the New York police station, but it was hard to focus on anything when Hotch and Strauss were arguing in Hotch's office.

"Looks like a bad one," Derek said.

Spencer turned and saw that Derek was watching the closed blinds of Hotch's office with his shoulders squared defensively.

"I can't quite make out what they're saying. Neither of them are yelling," Spencer admitted.

"That's where your all-seeing, all-knowing, and most importantly, all-hearing goddess of everything knowable comes in handy," Garcia said as she approached them with JJ following closely.

JJ shrugged when Derek raised his eyebrows. "Sometimes it's more important to know than it is to respect their privacy. If Hotch didn't want us to hear he would have gone to Strauss's office."

Derek vacated his chair for Garcia and walked over to lean against Spencer's desk. "Well?"

Garcia tipped her head to the side so that she was angled toward Hotch's window. "She's saying that he should have let the local police officers do their job and not interfered. Hotch says that the locals invited them on the scene and that he was the most senior agent in the field at the time."

"What did he do?" Spencer asked, sparing a glance for Hotch's window and straining to be able to hear more than the indistinct rises and falls of their voices.

"Shh." Garcia waved one of her hands in Spencer's direction. "Strauss says that being a shifter does not mean that he can allow his allegiance to become compromised, and oh, that she'll relieve him of duty if he doesn't remember where his priorities are."

JJ placed both of her hands on Garcia's shoulders and Garcia leaned her head back against JJ's side. "She doesn't mean that, does she?" Garcia asked, looking to Derek.

Derek shrugged. "She means it, but she won't suspend him without cause. The director will side with Aaron when it comes down to it."

"Now she's asking him if he even considered the source of his information, whether or not the pride who took Spencer could have been setting the team up." Garcia winced. "Hotch says that they did take precautions and believed the note to be a valid source of information after analyzing it. Which is-"

"An exaggeration, but the truth," JJ interjected quickly.

"And now she's..." Garcia trailed off, her eyes flashing to Spencer and then looking down at her hands.

Derek stood up and paced a few steps. "What, baby girl?"

Garcia shook her head. "She's talking about Spencer, and that's all I'm going to say. Lips sealed, translation is off, no way."

Spencer grimaced and looked down at his report. Hotch had assured him that he didn't blame him for being abducted, and had even said that some seasoned field agents for the FBI tended to have a high abduction and recovery rate. "What's she saying about me?"

Garcia stood up and walked to where Spencer was sitting. "Don't worry about it. Hotch is your knight in shining armor and I promise you that he is thoroughly defending your honor. Now, if I am no longer needed, which I'm not, I am rewriting a program and have things to do." She bent down and kissed the top of Spencer's forehead before hurrying away.

"I tried," JJ said with a shrug and walked off in the direction of her own office.

Spencer willed himself to stop blushing and stared down at the words he had written. Maybe he should redraft his report so it sounded less like he'd been an passive abductee and more like he'd been gathering information.

Strauss left Hotch's office about a minute later, walking away smoothly but slightly faster than she would have if she wasn't at least a little upset.

Spencer glanced over and saw Derek watching as well. They both smiled as soon as Strauss had left the room. If Strauss was ruffled as she left then Hotch had come out on top. Hotch would never let Strauss see if she had hit a nerve.

"Spencer," Hotch called from the edge of the balcony that overlooked the bullpen. He continued when Spencer looked up. "We're training on the firing range this afternoon. Two o'clock."

"I'll be there," Spencer replied.

Hotch nodded, his eyes sweeping the area like he knew that Garcia and JJ had been there only moments before, and walked back into his office.

"Well, this will be fun," Derek said. His previous smile was now a grin.

"You'll be there, right?" Spencer asked, suddenly realizing what he'd just agreed to do.

Derek shook his head. "Nope. Aaron is the best shooter we've got. I'll come and mock you after you've got the basics down. It's too easy otherwise."

Spencer frowned at Derek, not quite sure if he was joking or not. "Do you think Strauss ordered him to teach me? So I'd be a better agent?"

"No. Aaron doesn't take orders from Strauss when it comes to the team. He might make it look like he is, but he doesn't do anything he doesn't think is in the best interests of the pack. He's teaching you because he thinks it's important for you to know how, even if you don't carry a weapon in the field. What if one of the people who abducted you had a gun and you managed to grab it while you were trying to escape, but you didn't know how to shoot properly?" Derek asked.

"That makes sense," Spencer agreed, even though he still wondered a little bit about what Strauss had said to make Hotch want to teach him now.

*****

"Make sure your hearing protection is in place before I fire," Hotch instructed. "Watch closely."

Spencer quickly set his mufflers over his ears and made sure his protective glasses were still resting securely over his regular glasses. They'd been down on the range for nearly an hour and so far Spencer hadn't managed to even clip the sheet he was supposed to be aiming at. It should have been simple; it was just physics, but he had never really been good at using his body to perform things that physics dictated should be relatively easy. He pressed his hands down over the mufflers and watched as Hotch steadily drew from his hip holster, aimed at the target, and sent three shots into the chest of the paper figure.

Hotch pulled his mufflers down around his neck and motioned for Spencer to do the same. "Three steps. Front sight, trigger press, follow through. Now you try."

Spencer did his best not to show his reluctance as he traded places with Hotch and put his mufflers back on. It wasn't the possibility of shooting someone that bothered him, he had seen it happen on enough cases now that it was still a horrible sight and he knew that they never shot unless they had to, but the thought that he'd be in a situation where he had to and wouldn't be able to haunted him.

He unholstered the gun Hotch had loaned him for the session from the holster that felt uncomfortable on his hip and steadied himself. Felt recoil with a glock 17 wasn't a lot when compared to most handguns, from what Spencer had read, but it had still caught him by surprise the first time he'd fired the weapon. He looked at the target and aimed at the central mass, just as Hotch had explained. He knew that if the paper figure had a gun in his hands and was preparing to fire back he would be spending a ridiculous amount of time preparing himself, but that couldn't be helped at the moment.

Spencer pulled the trigger and sighed heavily when his shot disappeared into the range without coming close to the paper. He had no idea how was he supposed to be able to shoot in the field if he was more likely to hit one of his team than he was the unsub.

"Holster your weapon," Hotch said, loud enough to be heard through the mufflers.

"Sorry," Spencer said as he did so and tugged off the mufflers instead of letting them rest around his neck.

Hotch shook his head. "Don't worry about it. It's a skill that takes practice. Take a few minutes to clear your thoughts and we'll try again."

Spencer winced and wiped his damp hands on his pants. "Just like shifting?"

"Just like shifting," Hotch agreed.

"What's going to happen to Charles Yander?" Spencer asked suddenly, referring to the unsub the team had caught in New York. He hadn't learned his name until after, when they were going through everything at the police station the next day.

Hotch pulled off his safety glasses and set them on the counter. "There will be a hearing and he'll be released into the local pack for sentencing. It's likely he'll be executed before the end of the month, if they even wait that long."

Spencer shivered. "I know that he killed people, families, but they'll just let the pack execute him without a trial?"

"It will be a mercy killing," Hotch said quietly. "The cruelest thing they could do would be to leave him in the justice system and let him die in jail after his form had completely faded."

"All because he lost his mate. Does that happen often" Spencer asked. Yander's pregnant mate had been killed in a police shoot out nearly a year ago, something they had only learned when Hotch had questioned the man.

"Typically only when the shifter's form mates for life. Yander's form was a coyote, and when he lost his ability to shift after his mate's death in addition to witnessing the trauma, he didn't think he had a reason to live." Hotch looked down at the target. "It might have been better for him if we'd allowed the police to shoot him, but then we would have never known why."

Spencer frowned as he traced the grip of the glock. "Is that why Strauss is mad at you, because you wouldn't let them shoot him?"

Hotch didn't look surprised that Spencer knew about Strauss. "She would be right, if we hadn't realized that Yander couldn't shift. Never forget that an unarmed shifter is more dangerous than an unsub who is armed with a gun or a knife. You'll only have seconds of warning when a shifter changes form, and they are far more difficult to shoot when they are in their animal form. That's why it's policy that shifters are shot from a distance during confrontations unless there is a trained group of shifters who are able to temporarily suppress the ability to shift. Even then, federal policy recommends shooting them on sight." Hotch looked down at the gun on Spencer's holster. "You don't have to carry a gun to be on the team, not if you don't want to, but I would feel better about your safety if you knew how to shoot."

"I wasn't trying to get out of learning how. I think it's important," Spencer said hastily. "I just hate the idea that people are killing shifters for no other reason than the fact that they can shift."

Hotch nodded. "That's one of the reasons why many shifters don't disclose their ability to anyone other than their packs and mates. The government came to the consensus a long time ago that since it was deemed impossible to eradicate shifters, or even to heavily police them, that whatever passes for justice is deemed legal, both within shifter communities and government law enforcement."

"It's still awful," Spencer said, unable to stop himself from thinking of Derek's former pack and their version of justice.

"Sometimes, but we do our best to make certain no shifter is killed without cause in the investigation of our cases. That's all we can do." Hotch patted Spencer on the shoulder. "Are you ready to try again?"

Spencer didn't feel particularly ready, but nodded anyway.

"Don't worry about accuracy right now, just get the feel for firing the weapon. Empty the entire round this time. I'm going to guide your stance." Hotch picked up his safety glasses and put on his mufflers.

Spencer followed suit and aimed the glock towards the target again. He felt a little bit better with Hotch's hands on his shoulders, and more so when his arms come forward to hold his aim steady. He leaned back into Hotch's chest and focused on memorizing the sensation as he fired.

*****

Section Six