the great war, spencer reid [ 2 ]

032. elliott's pond

"I'm dead serious." Luke says.

"There's no way." JJ argues.

"The probability of that happening to you more than once is astounding." Spencer says.

"I know. I know." Luke laughs. "But I was there, okay, and I'm telling you, it was crazy."

"Thank God you guys are here. What do you know?" Penelope asks, walking over.

"Nothing." JJ shrugs.

"Okay. Rossi got here crazy early, and then right when Prentiss came in he pulled her in there." Penelope says, pointing to the two in Rossi's office. They walk out of Rossi's office, looking at the group.

"We need to talk." Rossi tells them, heading to the round table room.

"Are we in trouble? Did we do something?" Bedelia questions as they go to the room.

"Okay, okay." Penelope whispers to herself. "What's going on?"

"It's Hotch." Rossi states.

"Oh, my God. Is he okay?" Penelope asks.

"He's okay." Rossi assures making Bedelia let out a quiet sigh of relief. "But he has not been away on special assignment. That's something we had to say as a cover for the investigation."

"What investigation?" Penelope asks.

"Hotch saw Peter Lewis watching one of Jack's soccer games." Rossi says.

"By the time Hotch reacted, Lewis had taken off." Emily says. "The bureau searched the area, but he disappeared."

"When was this?" JJ asks.

"Days after Mr. Scratch resurfaced in Arizona." Rossi says.

"One of the victims was chanting his name when we found her." Tara says. "She had "Hotch" carved into her forehead. It really got to him."

"Why didn't he tell us? We could have focused on finding Mr. Scratch." Spencer says.

"He knows we can't drop everything. Also, he didn't want to worry everyone." Rossi says.

"So now what? They have around the clock surveillance?" Luke asks.

"Initially, yes, agents were assigned to watch Jack 24/7." Rossi says. "But when we were all in L.A. on the John David Bates case, Scratch surfaced again, this time at Jack's school."

"Going after Jack takes this to a whole new level." JJ says.

"Peter Lewis is not going to stop." Rossi says. "Which is why Hotch and Jack have now entered the program."

"Witness protection. Oh, okay, uh, wow." Tara says.

"But now that this happened, we can drop everything and focus on catching Mr. Scratch, and then Hotch can come back, right?" Penelope asks.

"He went away believing that could happen. But things have changed." Rossi says. "He's now decided he can't put himself and Jack in danger again. He just sent in his resignation."

Bedelia's eyes widen for a moment, her jaw falling slack as she processes the information.

"I know this is a lot to process." Rossi says.

"I mean, yeah, he's a great dad, and this is an impossible job, and we know how much tragedy he's had." Penelope says. "He's had enough tragedy, but... does this mean we're never going to be able to talk to him again?"

"We don't have a choice." Rossi says. "It's not ideal, obviously. But as his friends, we have to support his decision."

"The only way for Hotch to guarantee Jack's safety is if they both stay off the grid." Emily says.