Chapter 1: Crash

"I'll be home soon honey," JJ spoke on the phone to her young son, her heart clutching as she heard a trace of sadness in his voice as he told her how much he missed her. The profilers were returning from a particularly grueling case in Oregon that had kept them away for over a week. The unsub had been a man living in the wild choosing to be isolated from society, except for one small problem, if anyone encroached onto his territory he took it upon himself to murder them and leave their bodies on display to serve as a warning to others. A few missing hikers had first drawn the attention of the authorities to the case however it was when a family of five, including three young children, were found in a gruesome display that the FBI was called in. It had been a gut wrenching case as well as physically exhausting as they and local law enforcement had hiked through miles of forest to catch their prey. Luckily for him Rossi had taken a few days off to catch up on book signings to finally appease his publicist, so was spared the strain the others had experienced.

"Yes, put Jack on the phone," JJ said in closing as she handed her phone to Hotch who was in the seat next to her, waiting his turn to talk to his son as both boys were now staying with his former sister in law when the team left on a case.

It had been only a few short months ago that Will had left suddenly, tiring of his role as an FBI spouse and deciding to return to his life in Louisiana. While feeling almost relieved in terms of their relationship, JJ had been left in the lurch on childcare. She had not had time to find a suitable sitter for Henry before the BAU had been called on another case. Her mother was on a cruise and she wasn't sure where to turn before she had to reluctantly present her dilemma to her boss as she requested to stay back from a case. It was then that he had presented the solution that Jessica was looking for some extra income and would likely be willing to take both boys, calling Jessica while she was still in his office after obtaining her agreement.

Though Hotch began telling her of Jessica's qualifications, JJ didn't need further endorsement beyond knowing that he trusted her with Jack. Over the past few months it had indeed worked well for all involved, Jessica was appreciative of the extra income and the two boys seemed to enjoy having the other to play with, bonding over the fact that they were both left while their parents were off fighting the bad guys.

"See you soon buddy," Hotch said in farewell as he handed the phone back to JJ, sharing in the brief mood lift that both received in hearing the bright voices of the children, the needed distraction helping for just a few moments to overcome the horrific images still lingering in their minds as the jet continued on its path back towards Quantico.

"We sure are close to the mountains," Reid observed, looking out the window of the jet in the evening twilight.

"They're beautiful," Blake agreed from her seat across from him, sharing the view of the majestic pines and general forest below them that according to the map was a protected wildlife reserve.

"I wish the pilot could fly a little higher," Derek voiced his opinion as he too looked out the window, feeling as if they went much lower they would have the tops of the trees brushing against the bottom of the plane, but just as he anticipated hearing this sound the view opened as the plane went over the mountain and suddenly there was the view of a valley and stream which caused him to gradually exhale in relief.

"City boy," Blake teased, feeling at ease with the changing scenery and putting her trust in the pilots who had often delivered them safely to a variety of locations.

Turning their attention back from the gathering darkness the team began to settle into various positions to nap before their landing at the airport which would get them home close to midnight. They had gotten even less sleep than usual on the last case in their rush to find the unsub before another family fell victim so sleep came quickly.

"Haley, no don't go with him, run!" Hotch yelled as he ran behind his ex-wife and son, his attempts to reach them futile as he tried to stop them from getting in the car with George Foyett. Even in the dream he knew he was in the clutches of a familiar nightmare, though was as unable to stop it this time as he had been several times before, always waking up in a cold sweat at the moment he was opening the chest to find Jack, his heart pounding as he knew he was going to find his son cold and still as he had done in every nightmare before. In his nightmares Foyett had found Jack and as a final cruel joke had killed the boy and left him lying in the box for his father to find.

As the dream continued and Hotch maintained the hopeless pursuit against the murderer he could tell something was different but wasn't sure what as he felt as if this time he was lurching as he ran towards the house to yet again live out the horror of the dream but this time it was interrupted with a loud and unfamiliar CRASH. At the unfamiliar course of events he struggled to free himself from the darkness that had now replaced the dream, his senses detecting a burning smell as he struggled to open his eyes, finding it harder than usual to bring himself awake.

"Hotch, wake up man, wake up!" Morgan's frantic voice in his ear and the feel of his body being shaken helping rouse him as he finally opened his eyes, looking stupefied at his surroundings as he tried to comprehend what he was seeing, suddenly feeling a jolt of adrenaline as he realized that he was wide awake and that what he was seeing was not their usual comfortable jet cabin, but twisted metal and a gaping hole in the side of the jet.