The Telepath's Daughter

Troubled Times

Hotch watched Rossi out of sight.

He stood in the road and surveyed the town's main street. His fingers wandered to the glassy band around his wrist, unaware that they were doing so. After a few minutes, he turned toward the hospital and trailed along after Julio.

Hotch knew the Reid clan would likely be there, clustered around their newest member.

He just wanted to be part of that, even if it was only peripherally, But as he walked, he glanced from side to side, wondering what the real estate situation was for a newcomer in such a peculiar, little village.

And what use would they have for a washed-up law enforcement official anyway? How would I fill my time here?

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Rossi let the whiskey burn all the way down into his stomach and settle there like a seething lump of lava.

He used the pause drinking provided to tamp down the gorgon's knot of emotions that threatened to swamp his innate sense of calm logic when it came to things Hotch-related. It was an almost physical sensation for him to wrench away from his anger and try to see Aaron alone, on his own, without all the people who surrounded and intertwined and depended on him. Rossi wasn't sure he was successful, but after a few minutes he took a deep breath and let his gaze track up to meet the physician's kindly, ancient eyes.

"I still don't think you're completely innocent when it comes to tempting Aaron to move here."

"I know, but I swear to you by everything either of us may hold holy, that all I did was extend an invitation. A very general invitation. All I said was that if he decided a change of venue was right for him, then a place would be waiting. Here. With me. With us...the whole town."

Rossi studied the lined visage before him. Silence stretched between the two men as the FBI profiler brought to bear every ounce of his experience and knowledge when it came to judging character. And he hated that there really wasn't anything to back up his accusations about mind-meddling or any other paranormal tactic that might have been used to hook Hotch into becoming a resident. But he kept that to himself.

Or maybe those feelings weren't so private.

The doctor gave a small nod and dropped his gaze to the crystal tumbler he held between worn, age-spotted hands. When he spoke, there was regret and even sorrow in his resonant voice.

"Each time you have come to visit us, trust has been an issue. Maybe it would help if I told you a little of what I sense when I'm around Aaron. I suppose you'd call him on the road toward becoming 'burned out,' but it's gone quite a bit further than that. The flames consumed him years ago." The doctor glanced up, meeting Rossi's eyes.

Dave thought for a moment and then nodded. "When his ex-wife was murdered, I wasn't sure he'd come through it. But he did. He's done some damn fine work since then; saved a lot of people. Raised his son, too. He's not used up, if that's what you're implying."

"If he keeps on, he'll be, as you put it, 'used up' in a very short time."

"He can't change his entire life without losing so much of it that he'll regret it more bitterly than he can possibly imagine. Or than you can imagine."

The doctor leaned forward, giving his next words added weight. "Aaron needs to believe that change is possible. He desperately needs to believe that escape exists." He paused before continuing, "He needs to prove it to himself. You can't just tell him there's a road out. He has to walk it. And he has to walk it for as long as he needs to walk it. Until he can see there really is a destination and it's not just a path that leads nowhere."