SSA Aaron Hotchner is stepping down from his Unit Chief position for a 6-month period due to an assignment in overseas. To his temporary replacement comes SSA Alexandra Barnes, Chief of the Child Abductions Unit. Both Hotchner and Barnes have their...
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Her POV I can't really feel my body but I think that I'm laying down. There are faded sounds in the room. Two voices. Maybe three. And a constant beeping.
As I regain the sense of my face, I can feel something like a strip under and slightly in my nose.
My mind starts working again. Strip = Nasal cannula. Beeping = Heart monitor Those two + Bed = Hospital.
The voices have stopped when the door opened and closed. Now I think there is only one more person here, because I can hear them pasing back and forth. It was getting really annoying.
I manage to groan a bit and they stop. Finally, I'm exhausted.
"Lexie?". Aaron. "Lexie, can you hear me?" he asks. I groan and I move my head to the side a bit. He lets out a huge breath and takes my hand in his.
"It's ok. Take your time. It's just good to know you're here" he says as he caresses my head softly.
"Aaron..." I breathe out
"Yes, love. I'm here" he confirms. "Can you open those beautiful green eyes of yours for me?" he asks.
It takes me a few seconds but I make it. "Good morning sunshine" he laughs relieved and kisses my hand
"Wh... What..." I try to speak but it's too tiring and my chest hurts really bad
"What happened? You collapsed" he answers.
"Why?"
"After toxicology tests they found a large amount of ketamine in your blood. 6.3 milligrams per kilogram of blood" he explains softly
"But 5..."
"Yes, 5 mg/kg is the max you should have in your weight. Reid explained that already. That's why you went into cardiac arrest, and you've been out for 2 days; heavily sedated during the first hours".
"I didn't take it" I say
"After searching your office intensely, we found traces of ketamine in your empty coffee cup".
Does he think I did that to myself?
"No, it can't. I made that. I didn't put anything... I didn't do that. It's Welker, I'm sure" I insist
"Then tell me how it got there. I'm not blaming you, but we're looking for answers. Did you leave it in the open even for a second?" he asks.
I try to think. "I stopped at the gas station before work. I left the cup in the car while I went inside to pay" I remember. "Oh God... It's him. He was probably following me... It's his message. He wants me to know that even if I'm super careful, he can still get me"
"I'll send Morgan to check it out"
"Isn't he busy already? You must have other things to take care of" I wonder
"You're priority and everyone agrees on that" he says as he grabs his phone.
When the phone call is over, he returns close to me. "They're on it. And I was informed that Evelyn is still in her post, safely. The Agents with her reported no suspicious activity" he informs me
"That's good" I relax a bit more now.
Aaron takes my hand "We'll get him, ok? We will" he says and kisses my hand.
"It's not your job to do that. We knew this would happen. They put me in this position so I'd be the target" I remind him
"I don't care. I'm not going to lose you. I can't..." he admits which brings tears to my eyes.
"Oh no, you're not going to get rid of me that easily, Hotchner" I say in order to lighten the mood, which works.
He laughs. "You're stuck with me" I add
"I wouldn't have it any other way" he replies and kisses my lips. "I love you so much"
"I love you too".
They checked the security footage from the gas station and confirmed that it was Dominic Welker.
I saw the video too. He was right behind me and he was waiting for me. He had his back to me and was pretending to fill his car from another pump. He lost weight and gained muscles since last time I saw him, which makes him a bit scarier.
As soon as I went in to pay, he unlocked my car, and was done in a matter of seconds. Then as he closed the door, he looked straight into the security camera and smiled. After that he got into his car and drove away.
He always used ketamine to drug his victims. He knows his poison, just 50 mg more would have killed me but he didn't want to. He's clearly doing this to scare me. But I don't want to give him that satisfaction. I can't let him destroy my life or my relationships.
