#4 Even little ones grow up

“I don’t know what to do,” the young girl said as she walked around, not knowing what to do. “She’s been kicking all day long, I still have schoolwork to do and my teachers won’t let me hand it in later. They tell me that getting pregnant was my own fault and I don’t have to complain.” Tears ran over her face. The mascara she had applied that morning was smeared all over her face. “Going to school is extremely tiring, but I can’t go to the doctor’s and stay home, because dad doesn’t know. I can’t ask my dad to help me, I can’t even tell him about her. Of course, I can talk to you, but that’s not the same. You can’t help me, since you haven’t told your father either.” Her boyfriend, Jack Hotchner, looked at her, eyes filled with the same sadness he knew she felt.
“You could have taken her away,” he whispered softly and wiped a tear from her cheeks. “I wouldn’t have forced you to keep her. You could have just told me you didn’t want to get through with this.”
“I know, the problem is, I do want to get through with it, just not right now,” she said softly and sat down at her father’s sofa. Her father was a policeman, so he wasn’t home for at least a month, and when he got to be home, he didn’t pay enough attention. Jack sat down next to her and putted his arms around her.
“It’ll be fine, you know. I will tell my dad you are pregnant, he’s just having a rough time at the moment and I don’t want to give him any more trouble than he already has. Their chief want him to retire, but he loves his job too much. You know how that goes with profilers.”
“Yeah, I’m just so scared to tell him you know. I’ve only known him for a year and he’s been absent most of it, he’ll just be angry with me because I got pregnant and our fathers knowing each other won’t help.” He didn’t know how to react to this, so he just took her and in his and squeezed in gently.
“Amelia, why don’t you just try and get some sleep? We’ll go to the shop later to pick up some supplies for the baby, some clothes. You’re almost eight months pregnant and we don’t even have stuff for her.”
“I can’t sleep, she’s been kicking like crazy, I think she hit my rib this night, it hurts a bit. Hey, I know I haven’t asked you this in the three months that she’s been kicking, but, do you want to feel her kick?” she asked and smiled again. A little bit scared, he nodded Gently, he laid his hands on her belly. A smile appeared on his face as he felt her little, tiny foot kick against his hand. Amelia shuttered. Jack’s hands were quite cold and their baby didn’t really like that, but that was normal. It didn’t make her kick more than normal.
“I don’t think she likes me,” he said laughing and pressed a soft kiss on her belly. “Hi there little one.” As if she wanted to reply, she kicked softly, turning around in her mother’s belly. As if she wanted to tell her she wanted to get out and go to daddy.
“Oh, she does,’ Amelia said and laughed. “She just doesn’t like your cold hands.” He laughed and took his hands away from her belly. ‘If you won’t sleep, why won’t we go to the shop then? We can buy clothes and everything for her. We’ll need two cribs, one for when she’s staying at my place, one for when she’s staying here. Actually, we need everything double.”
“Accept for the stroller, it can move along with her.” Jack nodded and took his car keys.
“Come, let’s go shopping.”

They arrived at the shop after an hour. When they walked in and started to look through clothing, the staff looked at the like they were apes that had just ran in the shop, screaming. Amelia and Jack didn’t mind though, they were used to the glances everybody gave them. Jack’s mobile phone started ringing when they had arrived at the crib section. Dad the display said.
“Hey, Amelia, my father’s calling, I have to pick up,” he said and walked over to a section in the shop were te music wasn’t as loud. “Hello?”
“Hi Jack,” his father said. “The case we were working on is over. I’ll be home in two hours, if I’m lucky.”
“Okay dad, I’ll be home when you are.”
“I’ll be home when you are? Where are you?” his father asked. “I thought I asked you to stay home most of the time.”
“I know, but I’m at Elli’s,” he lied.
“Elli?” Aaron Hotchner asked his son confused. He knew most of his son’s friends, or they had been mentioned at least, and this name was new for him. “Who’s that?”
“Elli Prentiss? You’ve worked together with her mother if I’m not mistaken,” Jack said, doing is best to lie. He knew Elli and she was one of his good friends. Yes, she was quite a lot younger, seven years to be exact, but he liked babysitting. And of course Emily had also a son his age. It wasn’t her biological son though. When she married Andy, she got another present that would come by every two weeks, his son. Jack had been friends with that boy during both middle and high school and he still was friends with him. No, he didn’t see him that much, considering he had a pregnant girlfriend to take care of and school work, a lot of school work.
“Oh! Okay, just be home in time, okay?” his father said and hung up the phone. He putted his phone back in his pocket and walked over to Amelia who was stand in front of two cribs.
“What do you think Jack? I really like these two and they cost about the same, but I don’t know if they fit in my room. I can’t pick, they are both beautiful,” she said as she saw him getting closer to her. “Do you want to help me with picking one?”
“Sure, but let’s say we both pick one of them. We buy the both of them, and later on, we pick which one fits the best in our rooms.” Jack looked at her with a smile on his face.
“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea,” she said and kissed him on his lips. “You know I love you, right?”
“Yeah, and I love you, to the moon and back,” he said and laid his hands on her belly. “Let’s go and pick up some clothes for her.”

They didn’t get the opportunity to go to the clothing isle, or they weren’t there for long. Suddenly, a man came in. He was fully dressed in black and held a gun in his hands. From the back of the shop, they couldn’t hear what he was saying, but they did as them – everybody in the shop – to come to the front and sit down. He held the gun to their heads as he told them not to move a muscle. If anybody tried to call, they would get shot. When a woman tried to reach her husband, he made sure everybody knew that he meant it. The blood splattered on everybody. Some screamed, some only cried. Amelia laid her head on Jack’s shoulder and cried.

The BAU had only just landed when Aaron received the phone call that a man was keeping people hostage in a shop. The strange thing was that he kept them hostage in an environment where woman should feel save, a place where they were surrounded by baby stuff and possibly even babies.
“Morgan, Reid,” he yelled as he saw they were already heading to their cars to enjoy a day off. “Don’t be too fast. We got to go again. Somebody is keeping people hostage in a baby shop, Baby Baby Nursery. It isn’t a long drive, so they wanted us to go there.” Spencer slammed the door closed.
“There goes my day off for Camilla and Andy,” he said sighing. “Let’s get this over with before my baby boy doesn’t recognizes his dad.”
“How old is he, Spence?” Derek asked him, thinking about his own girl, who had turned fifteen last week.
“He’ll be three in a month,” he said, smiling. “They grow so fast at that age.”
“Yeah,” Morgan said, recalling how his days were filled when his little girl was young,”just wait until she drops by, telling you he’s got a girlfriend and he wants to stay over at her place.”
“That’ll take some time, Derek, he’s only two,” Spencer said with a smile on his face as he stepped into the BAU cars. It wasn’t a long drive to the shop, but when they got there, they saw the blood splatters to the glass and knew that they had to get the woman, babies and men out of that shop, now.

Amelia lifted her head up from Jack’s shoulder when she saw the vehicles and the people stepping outside. The first she saw was her father.
“Jack,” she whispered softly. “Dad’s here. I don’t want him to see, I don’t want him to know it this soon! I’m not ready for it yet.” Jack took a look outside. His eyes met his father’s, but he knew that his father didn’t see him. Not through the blood on the glass.
“They’ll get us out and I’m not ready to tell him either, but I’ll guess we’ll have to do it now. There is no other way,” he whispered and laid his hand on her belly. “I’m going to do something and yes, I know it’s dangerous, but you have to trust me in this. I know how to do it. Dad told me the basics.” Then, he pressed a kiss on her belly and whispered that he loved their little princess.
“Promise me to stay alive, okay?” she asked him, tears falling down her cheeks.
“I promise. If I get them to go out, will you please tell my father that I’m sorry for not telling him about your pregnancy? And that I love him?”
“Of course,” she whispered,”but I’d rather have you telling him yourself.” He squeezed her hand softly. As suddenly as he had decided to do this, he stood up, pulling all attention to him.
“Get down!” the man screamed at him, pointing the gun to his head.
“Hi man.” The words sounded calm to everyone. “I don’t know why you’re here, but I’m sure we can help you out. You don’t want to do this again? Do you?” He pointed at the girl laying in a pool of blood. “If you only let me help you, I guarantee you, the court will be good for you. I promise, but you have to let the woman and children go, I’ll make sure my father tells them you were willing to give up your gun and let us go.”
“I won’t let them go,” he screamed at him. “Now get down!” The gun moved down to his leg. “If you don’t sit down again, I’ll make you sit down.”
“Think about it. Let the pregnant women go, the babies. Please. Don’t you think it’s a little early to be traumatized by something like this? I don’t know why you are doing this, but if you had an awful childhood and this is why you chose this shop, you don’t want to make these children pay for what people have done wrong to you. It won’t help you. It may bring some relieve, but how long? How long before you have to do this again? And again?” This made the Unsub think. He forced the pregnant women to stand up. The only ones standing up were Amelia and another woman. They had to pick up the children and the babies and walk out. Most of them cried, cried their eyes out because they wanted to stay with their mothers, but couldn’t. Amelia picked up a toddler and pushed the stroller in which laid two baby boys, twins. She tried to keep her head down as she got out, but her father had already recognized her. He seemed to be angry, but tried to contain it. It wouldn’t help the people in there get out.
“We need to talk when we get home,” he said. “But right now, you have to go over to that man over there and tell him everything you know about this man, his behavior, thing we’ve missed in the time we weren’t here.” She nodded.
“I’ll go and talk to Reid, but I need to talk to Hotch first. Please? Jack asked me to tell him something and I would like to make sure I don’t forget.” Rossi nodded and pointed at the man in the suit they all knew as Hotch, freaking out because of the danger his son was in. She walked over to him and looked at him with the most regret pumping through her body she had ever felt.
“Hotch?” she asked him softly. “I have something to tell you. Right before Jack did what he did, he asked me to tell you that he is very sorry he didn’t tell you earlier. He didn’t want to tell you because you were already having trouble emotionally with deciding whether you should accept the retirement or not. He also asked me to tell you that he loves you.” He nodded and watched her walk over to Spencer, who was the one who would ask her about the UnSub.

Jack was relieved Amelia had gotten out safely, without getting hurt or shot. His job was almost done, he should be able to push the UnSub a little bit further. That’s all he had to do and they would all be safe.
“Now, you’ve got what you wanted, sit down,” the UnSub said, forcing him to sit down. He did sit down now. He had already seen his father dialing the number and knew that they would contact the UnSub soon. They would contact him and all would be good, all would be over. And indeed, a phone rang. Angry, but also surprised the UnSub answered. He could understand everything he said, nor what his father said, but trusted him. It would be a matter of minutes before they would be free to go wherever they wanted to be. Of course, he would get a lecture from his father because he hadn’t told him that he was a) having a girlfriend and b) having a baby, but that was okay compared to this. Maybe, Hotch would even be glad, but that was a best case scenario.

It took the BAU over an hour before they had gotten the UnSub far enough to give himself up. Firstly, he forced everybody to go out.
“Boy!” he called right before Jack walked through the doors. “I have a present for you. Congrats on the baby.” The gun was pointed at him. The bullet pierced through his leg, having Jack to be unable to walk. He could hear Amelia screaming. From the corners of his eyes, he could see that Derek Morgan was stopping her from running over. Hotch ran towards him and helped him up as other agents made sure the UnSub made its way to the police station safely and he could only be glad it was his leg the man had aimed for, not his heart.
“Jack!” Amelia yelled. She sat next to Spencer, who was trying to calm her down. Jack could easily see she was hurting, only by the way she sat, one arm to her back, one to her belly, but he couldn’t do anything when he sat in the ambulance. He would see her at the hospital, when the bullet was removed and everything would be okay.