moonstruck//Aaron hotchner

ch.60

It started out as a normal Tuesday. Camilla and Hotch woke up and did a little workout and went to wake up Jack and Juliette and get them ready for school. She fed their pug Mabel after getting dressed, ate a quick breakfast, grabbed the kids and drove them to school. Within twenty minutes she was entering the BAU.

Garcia said hi as she was walking back to her lair, and Camilla greeted Reid when he fell into step with her, coffee mug in hand. She could see Rossi and Emily through the blinds of his office, Morgan arriving a few minutes later and JJ already in her office.

Around lunch time, Garcia begged everyone to go out for food. Morgan agreed right away, and soon the whole team agreed to go as well. Well everyone except Hotch and Rossi, they politely refused.

They were gone forty five minutes, and when they returned Hotch's office was empty. The blinds were drawn and the door was shut. They found out he wasn't in there when Reid knocked on the door.

"Where's Hotch?" He asked.

"What, he's not in there?" Morgan asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"No."

"Maybe he had an emergency meeting with Cruz." Camilla suggested. Reid just shrugged and returned to his desk. Within a minute they were all working silently again.

Minutes ticked by. Camilla became more and more nervous. She kept glancing up at Hotch's office as if he would magically appear in the window. Those thoughts were thrown out the window when Rossi came out and asked where Hotch was.

"You don't know?" Morgan asked, looking a bit worried.

They asked JJ, and she had no clue. On their way to Garcia's office, they passed Cruz, he told them he hadn't seen Hotch since yesterday.

The entire team, minus Hotch gathered in Garcia's office, frowns on all their faces.

"So, he just disappeared?" Garcia asked slowly.

"He didn't disappear, he probably just had to step out for a bit." Rossi answered firmly.

"Maybe something came up with Jack and Juliette." JJ offered.

"No then Camilla would have known as well." Morgan said.

"We're making a much bigger deal out of this than we should. Hotch can take care of himself." Rossi said.

"Still," Camilla said quietly. "It's odd that he didn't tell anyone where he was going."

Even though they all wanted to find Hotch, they needed to work. JJ, Reid, and Garcia remained at the BAU while Morgan, Rossi, Camilla and Emily drove to the crime scene. The victim appeared to have been beaten to death, so much so that their faces was unrecognizable. They would need to rely on finger prints for an ID.

Camilla was walking the perimeter when she found it. Lying on the ground near a bush was a leather square. Picking it up, she quickly figured out what it was.

FBI credentials for one Aaron Hotchner.

Swallowing the bite that rose in her throat, Camilla called out to Rossi, Morgan and Emily. They were as confused as she was.