Ghosts • Aaron Hotchner

Chapter Eleven

The first thing Fallon noticed when she regained her bearings was the terrible ringing in her ears. She groaned in pain and forced her eyes open, but when she did everything was blurry. Fallon blinked several times, trying to clear her vision, and when it finally did clear, it took her a minute to realize that Hotch was kneeling over her with bloody cuts all over his face. He also had blood coming out of his right ear which couldn't mean anything good.

"Fallon," he said, as he gently helped the brunette sit up. She did a mental check on herself. She could still feel everything so she determined that she hadn't lost any limbs or severed anything too serious. There was some blood on her hands and she most definitely hit her head, but it was most likely only a concussion considering the fact that she was able to think clearly just at a slower pace than usual. "Fallon can you hear me?"

It still sounded like she was swimming underwater, but as Fallon clung onto Hotch's arms for support, the sound gradually came back. She could hear all of the car alarms going off, and she could feel the heat of the fire from where she and Hotch were standing. "Fallon?"

"Yeah, yeah I can hear you," she finally responded, her voice cracking half way through her sentence. He nodded and then gently took her hands and carefully helped her stand up. Fallon wobbled a little and Hotch pulled her into him to keep her steady. Fallon cleared her dry throat, and then scanned his face. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he assured her after a second. He turned to face the now exploded car, but kept one arm tightly wrapped around Fallon to make sure she didn't fall.

"Where's Kate?" Fallon asked, but it didn't look like Hotch had heard her. She squinted as she looked around for the blonde Brit, but suddenly a brown haired stranger appeared in front of the two profilers, blocking her view.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked them, but neither answered him, both still trying to comprehend what had happened, and where Kate was. The thought of Caroline's murder was completely forgotten at that point, and Fallon glanced down to see that her phone had been shattered when she dropped it.

"What's your name?" Hotch asked the stranger in front of them.

"What?" The man asked, like it was the weirdest question he had ever received.

"What's your name?" Hotch asked again.

"Uh, Sam," he responded after a moment of hesitation.

"Call 911," Hotch told him.

"Yeah, yeah I did," Sam said. Fallon could hear him perfectly fine, but it seemed as if Hotch was having a little bit of trouble. He leaned into Fallon and she grimaced as she attempted to support him and keep herself upright, while her entire body was in pain and shaking.

"Call 911, tell them there's been an explosion," Hotch repeated. His grip on Fallon's waist was so tight that it was probably going to leave red marks, but Fallon let it go, knowing full well that if he let go, both of them would fall. 

"Sir, are you okay?" Sam asked again.

"He's fine," Fallon assured Sam, before she glanced at Hotch. "At least at the moment he is."

"Are you guys cops?" Sam asked when he caught sight of their guns, which were somehow still attached to their belts. Neither of them answered, as the question didn't seem relevant in that moment.

"Call 911, tell them...that a federal agent..." Hotch trailed off as he ran off. The second he moved, Fallon followed after him, not liking the cold that took over her body with his body heat absent. She glanced down at her tattered blazer sadly, it was offering much warmth either.