Reckless

Chapter 13

Hermione watched as Teddy wrapped his small arms around a kneeling Harry's neck. Today was the day they were to go back to America. Even though she hated leaving Teddy, she longed for Spencer's brown eyes and warm arms. Teddy changed his appearance to resemble a young Harry as he let go of his godfather. Hermione smiled lightly as the young child wandered over to her. She knelt down like Harry had. Teddy placed a wet kiss on her cheek. She laughed lightly and rubbed her cheek against his. He squealed in delight and jerked away from her. Small, elated laughs escaped his lips as he stumbled back.

"Bye, kiddo," Hermione whispered as she reached forward and ruffled his hair.

"See you next month," Andromeda said softly from her position at the door. Harry looked over at the older woman as he stood from his kneeling position. Hermione rose slowly.

"We wouldn't miss it for the world," Harry promised. Teddy beamed. With a heavy heart, Harry turned away from that beaming smile. Hermione took his hand and with a quick pop they were gone from the house and in their own apartment. They stood there in the living room for a moment. "You wanna watch comedies and eat popcorn for the rest of the night?" He asked. Hermione blinked away the tears that had threatened to gather in her eyes again. The past few days had been fun with Teddy, but the ache was still there. It had felt wrong that the Weasleys weren't there to share in the laughter.

"Sure," Hermione agreed. Spencer could wait another night. Right now, she needed Harry. So as Harry picked out the DVDs they would watch tonight, Hermione turned toward the kitchen to start a bag of popcorn.

XRECKLESSX

Spencer suppressed the urge to wait around the doors of the BAU for Hermione. He had to force himself to put one foot in front of the other. His head snapped up as he heard a familiar voice coming from the ground floor. He instantly spotted Hermione's curls. As if feeling his gaze on her, she looked up. She smiled widely at him and waved. He forced himself not to run to her. Instead, he studied the people around her on his walk down. Harry was leaving her desk; he shot a small smile in Spencer's direction as he returned to his seat. Spencer waved slightly with his coffee. He could see the visit to England had taken its toll on them both.

"Hey," he greeted her as he reached her desk. Hermione rested her head on her hand and smiled. She could practically hear the love he felt for her in his tone. Warmth for him bloomed in her chest.

"Hey yourself," Hermione said. The greeting was warm; the love in her tone was evident. He smiled softly.

"Alright, you two lovebirds, Hotch wants us for debriefing. You can stare at one another time," Derek said teasingly as he tapped Hermione's desk with his fingers. Hermione and Spencer looked away from one another; a small blush stained Hermione's cheeks. Spencer only smiled and looked over at her again.

"Come on," he said. He walked alongside her; he longed to take her hand but the memory of the rules kept him from it. She was making it difficult. Her fingers would brush the back of his hand occasionally as if tempting him to take her hand. He was both thankful and disappointed when they reached the debriefing room.

Harry tilted his head at the quick glance Aaron sent him. It was a look that was both suspicious and wary. He furrowed his eyebrows. 'Did something happen while we were gone?' He wondered as everyone else took their seats. He suppressed a small smile as he caught Hermione taking Spencer's hand underneath the table. The boy genius smiled softly. His thumb roamed over Hermione's knuckles.

"There's been a string of mass murders in Houston, Texas." The pictures of the victims flashed onto the screen. A small blonde woman was the first victim. Her lifeless blue eyes were open wide. Harry shuddered as his mind replaced the girl with Luna Lovegood. "Andrea Galliano. " The second victim was another blonde, but this time a boy. His eyes were closed as if he had been asleep when he died. Colin Creevey flashed into his mind. "Daniel Galliano," Hotch's introduction of the second victim sounded as though it was under water. The visit to England had brought back demons he had long buried. Survivor's guilt, Hermione had called it. The third victim was, like the other two, blonde with deep green eyes. "Rena Galliano…" Harry tried to shake the demon, but he couldn't. "Three siblings. The last place they were spotted was on Hawker's Street," Harry couldn't pay attention. He heard what he was supposed to do, but it didn't register. He was supposed to go with JJ to the home of the Galliano family and interrogate them. "Wheels up in thirty," Aaron dismissed them. Harry blinked; his surprise was carefully hidden.

'Come on, Harry. Get your mind on the case…' He scolded himself as he moved to stand from the chair.

"Harry," Aaron called suddenly. Harry stopped as mid-rise from the chair. "I need to talk to you for a moment." Aaron saw a brief flash of worry go through the young man's green eyes. He eased himself back into the chair. Now that Harry was here in front of him, Aaron wasn't sure how to continue. "Haley is my ex-wife," he said bluntly. Aaron watched those green eyes widen in shock. A small flash of hurt went through him as he realized why it was there: Haley had never told Harry of him. He pushed past it. "If you are playing with her, stringing her along, I will make your life very miserable, understand?"

"With all due respect, sir, do I really seem the kind of man to do such a thing?" Aaron didn't say anything, but he could sense the change in the young man. The air seemed to be charged with tension. "Believe me when I say I am completely serious about your ex-wife and I intend to pursue a relationship with her whether I have your blessing or not." Hotch leaned forward. His brown eyes flashed slightly. "But," Harry's tone was softer, "I would feel more comfortable if I had it. You are, after all, her ex-husband." Harry tried not to let his discomfort over this moment show as he and Hotch stared at one another. He could see the thoughts running through his boss' head. Finally, Hotch just nodded and rose from his chair.

"Don't hurt her, Harry…" Hotch warned.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Harry said as he began to follow Hotch toward the door.

"And Harry?" Hotch turned around before he walked out the door. "Don't wait too long." Harry blinked and waited for the words to sink in. He smiled slightly. Hotch gave a small smile, nodded, and turned toward the door.

Once they were seated on the place, Harry slipped into the seat next to Hermione. Spencer raised his eyebrows at the action, but slipped into the seat across from them without protest. Harry smiled apologetically at the other agent, who simply waved it off with a flick of his hand.

"Catch me up to speed on the case?" Harry requested of Hermione. She looked over at him; her eyes wide in incredulity. He smiled sheepishly and what he hoped to be endearingly. She rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, it's like school all over again. Were you asleep this time too?" Spencer snorted. Harry ignored him and shook his head.

"No…I just…had a lot on my mind," he admitted awkwardly, shrugging one shoulder. The knowing look Hermione gave him unnerved him, but—as always—Hermione simply let the moment slide. He knew she would confront him once the case was closed and they were at home. For the moment, his problems would lie and he could form a response to the arguments he knew were coming. He listened now as Hermione briefed him on the case.

XRECKLESSX

JJ killed the engine and unclicked her seatbelt, prepared to leave the vehicle when she realized that Harry wasn't following suit. She looked over at him. His green eyes were fixed on the house and were filled with a bone-chilling amount of pain. She bit into her bottom lip and reached for him.

"Harry?" She called softly as she rested her hand on his shoulder, "are you alright?" He blinked. The pain cleared quickly from his eyes, but that haunted look remained. He swallowed.

"I just…" He whispered. "It's hard to lose one child…but all three?" He shook his head. "I can't imagine that kind of pain…At least I had Hermione to keep me going…" Chills rushed down JJ's spine; she rolled her lips together and leaned forward.

"Harry…" She breathed sympathetically, "Did you…lose a child?" Harry shook his head; his hands balled into tight fists.

"No." 'But I still remember Mrs. Weasley's tortured screams as she spotted each of her children's bodies. Fred, George…Percy, Bill, Charlie…Ron and Ginny…Mr. Weasley hadn't been able to support her…and himself.' He could still see them crumbled on the floor of the Great Hall. He closed his eyes. His throat was impossibly tight. He felt like he couldn't swallow. He could hardly breathe.

"Harry!" JJ called worriedly. He had turned very pale even though he was breathing strongly. Harry focused on the sound of JJ's voice and breathing evenly, trying to calm down. JJ's brown eyes darted around his face worriedly. She could tell the signs of a panic/anxiety attack; and Harry Potter was trapped in one, but she could see that he was trying to calm down. So, she just rubbed his shoulder and waited, confident that he would find his way back. When he did, he didn't look at her. His eyes stayed locked in front of him. "Are you alright now?" JJ asked quietly.

"Yeah," Harry said quickly, too quickly. JJ furrowed her brows, but didn't speak. She understood his deference to the moment. It was clear to her that Harry and Hermione both had PTSD, but now wasn't the time to ask. So, she simply followed the rushing Harry out of the SUV.

XRECKLESSX

Hermione and Derek circled the crime scene, trying to see it from the UNSUB's point of view.

"Okay, so, the UNSUB sees these kids, just walking down the street. What would motivate him to shoot them?"

"Maybe they somehow aggravated him," Hermione suggested stepped close to the first marker—the place were the first victim had laid. She tried not to be affected by the small pool of blood. She kept her eyes on Derek. "The older sister was shot first because she was more than likely the biggest threat to the UNSUB. She would have fought back to protect her siblings. It takes a few seconds for the body to react when something like that goes off beside them. The younger siblings turned at the sound as they saw their sister fall."

"Daniel was the second victim and closest to his sister. He more than likely tried to help her," Hermione bit into her lip at Derek's assessment; he pointed his index finger down at the marker. "The UNSUB shoots him."

"Rena tried to run at seeing her siblings gunned down," Hermione stated, matter-of-factly—her default tone when everything got too much. Together, they walked toward the last marker. The crime scene photos haunted her. She could see ten year old Rena lying face down on the concrete. Her dead, deep green eyes were staring into the camera lens; the tear tracks were visible even hours after her death. Hermione shivered. Hermione licked her lips and looked to Derek. "We know how they died, but the way Andrea's body was facing tells us that she was shot in the back. They hadn't done anything to antagonize him or her, so why them? Out of all of the people on the street, why these kids?" Derek sighed heavily and looked out at the crime scene. He took in the grave markers; he took in the cars passing by on the street before he looked back to Hermione.

"Maybe," he said, "Harry and JJ can find something with the family that will help us."

"Yeah," Hermione whispered as they started to walk toward the SUV.

(A/N: As I promised I Offer To You My Soul In Ink, I am still here. I'm not giving up on this story, no matter how long the pauses are between updates.)