That First Step

Author's Note/Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds. If I did, I would be a much happier woman because there would be a host of sexy men at my call. Though I've been a member of this site for a long time, this is the first story I've posted here, and I would love some feedback! I also will point out that I do not have a Beta reader, so if there are any mistakes they are mine and I take full responsibility for them. So read, enjoy, and please comment and let me know how I'm doing!

Chapter One:

The first night after Haley died, neither of them slept. Jack kept replaying an old video of her and Hotch felt that if Jack was out of his sight for too long, he'd lose him too. So he let Jack curl up in his arms and kept rewinding old videos of Haley for the entire night.

Neither of them slept the night of the funeral either.

Hotch did not get a full night of sleep for about two weeks after Haley's death. Part of this was due to the number of cases he worked, and another part was due to the fact that Jack would wake up every night screaming. When Jack stayed with Jessica when he was gone, she said it took her quite a bit of time to even get him to sleep at all, and he still woke up screaming in the middle of the night.

After a few weeks of this, Hotch knew he needed to get Jack some professional help. One the flight home after a case, instead of sleeping, he started searching for someone, anyone, who could help Jack.

And, since he had access to one of the best computer hackers in the country, he had plenty of information to sort through.

Alfred Rosenblat? His record for bar visits was a little high for his liking. Who knew if he brought that problem with him to work or not?

Flora Caneridge specialized in PTSD, but she was going through what Garcia said was a "nasty" divorce. Jack didn't need someone whose personal problems might supersede his.

Hotch kept flipping through Garcia's files, growing more and more disillusioned with each one. How many alcoholic psychologists could there possibly be in Quantico?

He flipped to the last file and paused. This one looked pretty normal compared to the others.

Nina Connelly… Child psychologist specializing in severe traumas. Graduated first in her class from the University of Kansas with honors and earned her PHD from the University of Minnesota (which Garcia noted was one of the best in the country for psychology). And, despite the rigorous background check that Garcia put these psychologists through, there was only one notation on her record.

Hotch pulled out his phone and hit the speed dial 3.

"You have reached the Goddess of Tech, speak and be heard."

Hotch looked down at the file again. "Garcia, the psychologists you sent me-"

"Oh my god, it is extremely depressing looking into the lives of people we're supposed to spill our secrets to. I wonder if there's some sort of correlation between our depressing stories and their depressing lives?"

Hotch smirked slightly. "I'm sure there is, but I just need your input on one that you sent me, Nina Connelly?"

"Oh her! I liked her!" Hotch heard the clacking of Garcia's keyboard as she pulled up the woman's file. "So she's 38 years old, originally from Des Moines, Iowa, no marital status so far, she's a Virgo, and it looks like she has a pretty clean record."

Hotch looked carefully at the picture. "Define 'pretty clean'."

"It looks like she got a speeding ticket about three years ago, but she promptly paid it off. There's also a note from the officer who wrote the ticket- apparently she was driving her sister to the hospital because the sister was in labor. Kind of a jerk move to ticket her for that, but whatever."

Hotch considered this as he looked at the woman. She certainly seemed qualified. She had a neutral expression in the photo, but her eyes were soft and hinted at a person you could easily speak to. The tilt of her head and relaxed shoulders invited people in, as if she could help you.

"Right, thanks Garcia."

"No problem Boss Man. See you when you get back."

Hotch hung up and paused to look at the picture of Jack on his screen. It had been taken just a few months before Haley's death, she'd sent it to him since he couldn't see either of them. Hotch hadn't seen Jack smile that wide- or at all- in weeks.

He took another look at the woman in the photo and sighed.

'I really hope you're as good as you sound,' Hotch thought to himself.

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After the team had finished all their paperwork and gone home for the night, Hotch pulled up the website for Nina's Connelly's practice. There were only two listed psychologists working there, Connelly and a Miss Lisa Braden who specialized in developmental psychology. There were two listed receptionists, but no other staff members. It seemed as though the women strongly encouraged as much face-to-face time with patients as possible, rather than switching to whichever psychologist was available.

Hotch clicked on Nina's profile, which featured a picture of her in a graduation cap and gown and another list of credentials. She did say that she required a one-on-one meeting with the parents to evaluate the condition of the child before she could accept the child's case. She also specified that she worked weekdays, but was flexible for special cases.

All in all, it seemed like Connelly devoted a great deal of her time and energy to her patients, which Hotch could both respect and sympathize with. He did the same thing with his own cases, after all.

The next day when he picked up Jack from Jessica's house, he took the file and showed her the information. It didn't take much explanation for her to agree- she was worried about her nephew too.

Jack was so tired by another long night of nightmares that he was out by the time they got home. Hotch took advantage of the pause to call Connelly's office. The receptionist was very cheerful and set him up with an appointment the next day, allowing for a sigh of relief. The sooner Hotch could get Jack in, the better.

"Please let this work," he muttered to himself.