The Intelligence Control and Analysis Program

Chapter 7

"Hey." JJ held up a finger. "That's still better than every day, sometimes multiple times a day. Silver lining, guys."

Rossi grabbed his water glass from behind him and raised it. "I'll drink to that."

Hotch smiled faintly, but he wasn't as convinced. Or maybe he was, he just couldn't tell because he was also drowning in feelings of helplessness. He wanted to do something.

"Yes, well..." Hotch cleared his throat. "We are also decreasing the Seroquel, so we'll have to keep an eye on his behavior and take notes. His next appointment is in two weeks."

"Is Genius going to start sleeping here?" JJ asked, and while she glanced at Rossi, her gaze remained on the obvious leader of their mission. "His room is basically finished, and we're going shopping for the finishing touches tomorrow morning. Morgan installed a really nice, high-tech lock to help with the fear of no supervision."

Hotch nodded a few times. "Good. I would like to, at the very least, get him to try it."

Rossi hummed, lips pursed slightly. "Be careful, though. If it's going to cause more anxiety, just let him stay at my place. He can try again when he's stable, after we've got all these drugs figured out."

"I know. I'll be very gentle about it." Hotch scribbled down a few notes and started tapping his pen again. "I don't intend to get him a cubicle. I think the more time he spends in his room, even if he's just doing paperwork, the more it's going to feel familiar and safe."

JJ nodded emphatically. "Agreed. I'll have him look at desks when we go shopping tomorrow." She paused, glancing between. "Is that everything?"

Rossi finished the rest of his water and set the glass down, pushing off the desk and putting his hands on his hips. "We have to decide whether or not he's allowed in the field again."

Hotch pressed his lips together and contemplated the page in front of him. He tapped his pen a few more times and then set it down, leaning back in his chair. "I think we should take him along, barring unforeseen circumstances. If he's feeling exceptionally bad the next time we get a case, then we won't, or if we think the case will be particularly upsetting for him. But I think, at the very least, he trusts us enough for us to keep anything terrible from happening."

Rossi pointed to JJ then. "How's that coming, by the way?"

JJ looked at him and blinked, taking a moment to process the jump in topic before replying. "Oh, you mean the caseload? I was able to divert a couple to Cooper's team, but we aren't going to have much time to recharge; as of right now, we finished one case and solved three in eighteen days."

Hotch rubbed his face. "We normally close about fifteen cases in a year. We're almost a third of the way there in less than a month."

Rossi sighed. "And here I thought this aching back was just me getting too old."

JJ and Hotch both smiled at that, and JJ got to her feet. "Now are we done?"

Hotch nodded and tucked his notepad into one of his drawers, pulling out an overdue report. "If anything changes, let me know."

"Yup." JJ left the office, closing the door behind her.

Rossi looked at Hotch for a moment or two, and then he jerked his head in the direction of the bullpen. "We're still not bringing in Emily and Morgan?"

Hotch shook his head, not looking up from his work. "Genius is very fragile right now, and I want there to be at least one person on this team who is a hundred percent focused on being his friend. Having two people gives us the wiggle room we might need in case of an emergency."