Labyrinth

III

 Ivy and Hotch stood in Chloe Kelchers bedroom, going over her stuff as they attempted to find who her next victim might've been. Ivy looked as tired as she felt, but she had to pull through since they were very close to finding the woman.

 As she looked around she noticed a big wooden box. "Hotch! Get me some gloves please!" She called out ot her boss, who scrambled to find his agent a pair of gloves.

 "Thank you." She muttered as she put them on, "Did you find anything?" Hotch asked curiously, as Ivy sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "If this is what I think it is." She sighed, opening the lid of the box. She groaned immediately as the most rancid smell evaded her senses.

 "I found Cortland!" Ivy called out to the rest of the team, plus the officers who where there, whom all rushed to Ivy and Hotch. Derek almost passed out at the smell of the rotting body and Emily tried her best not to throw up.

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 One way or the other they found Chloe and it ended with the sheriff shooting her.

 Emily and Rossi ran to her while Ivy just stared, trying to figure out how to help, until she noticed Hotch was gone. She soon saw him a few feet away holding his head and covering his ear.

 "Hotch!" Ivy put her gun in the holster and ran to him, her hand wrapping around his wrist. "Are you okay? Is there anything I can do to help you?" Ivy repeated, trying once again to get a look at his face. The man was in so much pain he practically collapsed in her arms, groaning in pain.

 "Do you want me to get a medic?" She asked more quietly, which Hotch heavily appreciated, as he nodded. "Can you stay here for me? I'll get the medic, okay?" With that, Ivy ran to call for one of the multiple medics, who rushed to Hotch as well.

 "Is he okay?" Emily asked quietly, to which Ivy sighed and shrugged. "The gunshot went off right next to his ear... He looks to be in horrible pain." The blonde sighed, rubbing her eyes.

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 "Yeah, he likes to vibe it." Spencer said with a laugh, as Ivy shook her head and laughed as they all leaned agaisnt the SUV's, waiting for Hotch to join them so they could go to the airport.

 "Okay, you drive, smartass." Derek tossed the keys to Spencer with a laugh, who caught them and threw his fists in the air like a kid, mouthing "Woohoo!" as everyone laughed and got in the cars.

 Ivy walked to Hotch, who was holding a plate full of cookies that a woman had given him as he was talking to the detective. "For the flight." He said and passed them to Ivy, making her stop in her tracks.

 How did he know?

 Ivy was left confused as Rossi and Hotch talked for a few moments. She saw her boss grab his bag from the trunk and get in the spare SUV, getting ready for a road trip.

Hotch ended up driving home instead of flying, taking a couple days off of work to calm down. On the jet, Ivy sat next to Rossi as they both went through paperwork, trying to make Hotch's life easier. "You don't have to do this, you know." Rossi said quietly as everyone else on the jet was dead asleep.

 "I know; I want to. He has too much work to do and he's injured. So, I want to help him get home sooner." Ivy shrugged, not even looking up at Rossi as she spoke. Rossi wore a proud look on his face and continued to work on the reports and multiple files in front of him.

 "Okay, be honest; what do you think of the team?" Rossi asked Ivy with a smirk, making her look up from the files with a confused smile. "What do you mean?" She asked with a giggle, looking around at her teammates - who were all still passed out on their seats.