DISCLAIMER: I do not own Criminal Minds, or any other recognisable characters/programs. I am not making any money from this story.

A/N: Thanks everyone for sticking with me! This is it, the end of the line (?). Hope y'all enjoy. All grammar/spelling mistakes are on me, sorry in advance!

Heroes – Chapter Eighteen

Hotch sat up and took a deep breath. His lungs were on fire as if breathing for the first time. His head span for a few moments before memories flooded through his mind. The last thing he could remember was fighting with Buxton. And then, well, nothing. Except darkness and the vivid memory of pain. He turned to his left when he heard a soft chuckle. Reid was slumped up the wall next to him.

"It worked." Reid said, softly before closing his eyes.

"Reid?" Hotch said gently. The kid looked like hell. His pale skin was a stark contrast to the wall behind him, making him look almost like a ghost. "Reid, what happened?" He asked, reaching his hand out to shake the younger man. Where was the rest of the team? He quickly surveyed the room and noticed Buxton sitting against the wall opposite them, beaten and bloody and staring wide eyes.

"No!" Reid shouted, suddenly grabbing Hotch's arm by the cloth of his shirt. He smiled weakly, turning to look at Buxton. "You can't..." his eyes closed briefly before re-opening. "You can't touch me."

Hotch looked back at Reid, startled a little by his reaction. Reid let go of Hotch's arm and Hotch let it fall back into his lap. He turned back to look at Buxton, who was now smiling.

"Is he dead?" He asked, Buxton asked, pointing at Reid.

Hotch turned back to look at his team mate. "Reid!" He called, trying to wake him. Reid's head had fallen forward, his chin resting on his chest. "Reid!" Hotch called again, shaking him by his shoulder. What the hell had happened?

Buxton laughed. "I told him it would take him." He smiled, reviling blood soaked teeth.

"Take him?" Hotch asked, "What?" Before he could finish his question, another memory filled his mind.

"He picked up a few new abilities." JJ said,

"Oh?" Prentiss said, glancing at Reid and Rossi.

"Like what?" Hotch asked.

"Bringing the dead back to life." Morgan answered, ignoring the horrified look Garcia gave him. "Only for a few minutes though. Or some sort of cosmic crap happens." He shrugged, still not really understanding his friend's new abilities.

"I'm sorry, what?" Prentiss asked, looking shocked. "Reviving the dead?"

"Oh my God." Hotch said to himself. He had been dead. The pain he could remember, that had been him dying? Hotch remembered now. Reid could bring the dead back to life, but someone had to take their place. That was why the team had left. Had Reid just sacrificed himself so that he could live? "No." Hotch said, shaking his head. He turned to look at Buxton.

"Tried to warn..." Buxton said, but before he could finish, his eyes widened. He looked at Hotch, worry and confusion written on his face. He tried to speak again but couldn't. He choked slightly before drawing in a shaky, raspy breath. Hotch watched in horror and amazement as he slumped over to his side.

Hotch sat there for a few moments, not really sure what to do. He stood, ignoring the sharp pain that stabbed in his back, and made his way over to Buxton. He noticed as he knelt down that the pain in his back had lessened significantly. He reached out with his hand to check Buxton's pulse, angry with himself when he noticed his hand was shaking slightly. He let out a sigh of relief when he didn't feel one. That meant Reid alive, or so he hoped.

He made his way back over to Reid, noticing that the pain had now gone completely. "Reid?" He tried gently. Nothing. How was he supposed to get them both out of this mess if he couldn't even touch him? Even the smallest amount of contact would mean he'd die right there and then, no coming back, ever. He placed his hand gently on Reid's chest. He was still breathing, but it was very shallow.

"JJ, if you can hear me, I could use a hand!" He thought, hoping she'd pick up on it. He sat there for a few moments before it struck him. "Gloves." He said aloud. Reid had been wearing gloves until Caitlin had altered one of his abilities to allow him to absorb memories at will rather than upon contact. He carefully reached into one of Reid's pockets and smiled a little when he pulled out the black, leather gloves. He pulled them on to his own hands and slowly lifted Reid, changing his mind half way through. He had to be careful about his. Even though he was wearing the gloves, Reid wasn't. He had to make sure there could be no skin contact between the two. Ever.

Dragging Reid would be his best and safest option, but he wasn't sure how far away the others were, or how to even find them. He decided on a fireman's carry. That way Reid's weight would be spread evenly over his shoulders, and there would be no skin contact as Reid's waist would be around Hotch's neck and his head near his elbow. "Sorry, Reid." He said as he pulled the younger man up. "And thank you." He added, making their way out of the still open door.

(((((())))))

"We have to go back." JJ said, stopping and turning to look back down the corridor.

The rest of the team stopped and turned to look at her, all hoping they knew the reason, but not daring to say it. They hadn't made it too far from the room. They had walked in silence, not really sure where they were going. And each hoping that their team members would be ok.

JJ looked around the team and smiled a little, letting a stray tear fall from her eye. "We have to go back." She said again.

(((((())))))

Hotch had never been so happy to see Morgan running towards him.

"Hotch, man. What happened?" Morgan asked, helping the older man lower Reid to the floor.

"Oh My God." Garcia said, seeing the condition Reid was in. She looked at Hotch, and, for the first time she could recall in a long while, was speechless. Hotch was alive, standing before her, when just minutes before she had seen him lifeless.

"Is he alive?" JJ asked, kneeling down next to Morgan, who was crouched over Reid.

"I... I don't know." Hotch said, shaking his head. "I couldn't check for a pulse." He added. "He was breathing, but I..." He trailed off, not sure if he could bear the thought of the team loosing Reid when it should be him. "Buxton's dead."

"You ok?" Prentiss asked him, now standing next to him, concern in her eyes. Hotch nodded.

"He's alive." Morgan said, finding Reid's pulse. He looked up at Hotch. "What happened?" He asked.

"I don't really know." Hotch said, honestly. "I woke up and Reid told me not to touch him before he passed out. Buxton was laughing and then slumped over too. I checked for a pulse and found none. I couldn't check Reid's, so I asked JJ to help us."

JJ nodded and smiled, looking from Reid to Hotch. "I heard you." She said, glad that they were both alive, although looking somewhat worse for wear.

"You sure you're ok?" Rossi asked. Hotch had been dead. And although he knew that he was worried about Reid, he seemed to be taking it all a little to in his stride.

"I'm fine, Dave." Hotch said in a tone that made it clear that was the end of the conversation. "We need to get out of here." He said, looking back down at Reid. If possible, he looked worse than he had before he'd passed out. "Reid need's help." He added. Who knew what damage Buxton had done to Reid? He'd apparently not taken his powers off him completely, or Hotch wouldn't be standing where he was. But he had definitely been weakened. That, plus the exertion of bringing Hotch back had more than taken its toll on him.

"Where do we go?" Garcia asked. "I mean, we can't just pull up at a hospital." If anyone were to find out about this, the whole mutant power super human abilities, they would no doubt all be locked up in a room for the rest of their lives and examined by the same government that had caused all this, that they worked for.

"Sanders." Was Hotch's one word reply.

(((((())))))

The journey back was undertaken is silence, and seemed to take forever. Garcia could remember it being over only too quickly when they had been on their way to Buxton's. Now though it seemed as if Sanders had moved to the other end of the world.

JJ was sitting with Reid's head in her lap, softly stroking his hair. Prentiss sat next to her with Reid's feet on her lap. She held her arm over his legs protectively as if she could stop him slipping away even further.

Garcia was sat next to Hotch. She had tried to talk to the unit chief but he had been dismissive in his answers. She could understand why. He wasn't doing it to be mean or rude. He was worried. And no doubt had a few demons of his own that he needed to battle.

Rossi was driving. Morgan had wanted to drive but the older man had not let him, saying he was in no fit state to. And Rossi was right. The darker skinned man was angry, angry at Buxton, at Sanders, at the whole damn situation. He was relieved. Hotch was alive. He didn't know how he, or the rest of them for that matter, would ever manage to get over the death of one of their own. And he was worried. Worried about Reid, worried about Hotch. Worried about what life would be like for all of them when this was all over.

"We're here." Rossi said simply, turning off the engine.

(((((())))))

Hotch sat drinking his umpteenth cup of coffee. He smiled a little. He'd never really understood why Reid had drank so much of the beverage, but recently he himself couldn't get enough.

They had been at Sanders' for two days now. Reid was still unconscious, but wasn't getting any worse, and Hotch took that as a good sign. For the most part, the team had left Hotch alone. He appreciated it. He could understand why they were a little awkward around him. If he was honest, he himself didn't know how he felt about being back from the dead yet. He looked up when he heard a knock at the door.

"Hey." Rossi said, looking around Hotch's room. Sanders had given them each a room of their own on the same floor. Although it seemed Garcia and JJ were never in their rooms, but either in Reid's or Prentiss'. Morgan always seemed to be working out somewhere in the complex which proved to be a lot more homely that their first visit would had led them to believe.

"Hey." Hotch said, and motioned for Rossi to enter.

"So," Rossi began, sitting on the bed next to Hotch. "How you feeling?"

"Fine." Hotch answered simply, taking another sip of coffee.

"Really?" Rossi questioned. "It's just that you've been sitting in this room for almost two days now, drinking coffee and not speaking to any of us." He raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't scream out 'fine' to me."

"What do you want me to say, Dave?" Hotch asked, not looking at him. "Reid could still die..."

"Sander's said he should be fine." Rossi said. "His body just needs time to recover from what Buxton did to him." He said, trying to reassure his friends. Sander's had explained that the strain put on Reid's body by both Buxton, and the effort required to bring Hotch back, had simply meant he'd run out of battery, so to speak. It was simply a matter of time for him to recuperate. It just wasn't known how much time.

"And me." Hotch added, looking up at the older man. "If Reid hadn't helped me, he'd be fine now. And you guys would all be back in DC with your friends and family and not stuck here."

"That's true." Rossi said, nodding. "But we'd also have lost you. We'd be in DC, but we wouldn't be whole. Any of us would have done what Reid did if we could have, even you." He looked Hotch in the eye before continuing. "Are you telling me, when Reid was trapped during the Brown-Nichols case you wouldn't have traded places with him? Or when Penelope was shot?" he sighed. "You can't be mad at yourself."

"It's not just that." Hotch finally admitted. Rossi looked at him questioningly, but remained silent. "I can never touch him again. Ever. If I do, then that's it for me." he sighed. What was he saying? "I know it's selfish to think that way but..." he shrugged.

"Luckily neither you nor Reid are the hugging each other type." Rossi said, smiling a little. He fully understood Hotch's concern though, just one slip up on either part... "You'll work around it. It'll be fine." He continued. "We'll make it fine."

Hotch nodded, sipping his coffee again.

"At least it isn't Garcia who can't touch him," Rossi said, laughing a little. "She'd be done for the second he walked into a room."

(((((())))))

Hotch was sat on the end of Reid's bed. They had been at Sanders for almost four days. He'd finally built up the courage to see Reid. He'd been told by the others that you younger man had been in an out of consciousness for the last few days, but never really alert enough to know what had happened or where he was.

Hotch was contemplating leaving to get a coffee and smiled to himself. His sudden love of the beverage, according to Garcia, had to do with Reid, as it was the only way she could explain that he had gone from one of two cups a day to drinking practically his own body weight. He turned back to look at Reid and was a little shocked to see him looking back.

"Hey." Reid said. His voice was quiet, but not weak.

"Hey." Was all Hotch could think to say in return.

Reid sat up a little in the bed and looked around the room. "Where are we?" he asked looking confused.

"At Sanders." Hotch replied. "You ok?"

Reid nodded, furrowing his brow a little. "What happened?" He asked. He could remember them travelling to Buxton's. Remember splitting up but that was all. It worried him; he'd never forgotten anything before...

"Buxton's dead." Hotch said. He wasn't really sure how to fill in the blanks. Just casually drop in that part of the reason he'd been in bed for the last for days was because he'd bought his boss back to life? Hotch wasn't really sure how that would work.

Reid cleared his throat a little, brow still creased. Slowly, a look of realisation crept on his face. "Are you ok?" He asked, suddenly remembering what had happened. Hotch had been dead. He unconsciously moved up the bed a little to be further away from Hotch. He could feel himself panicking a little. If he ever touched Hotch he would kill him. Even if it were just for a split second.

"I'm fine." Hotch said, trying to sound reassuring. He smiled a little at Reid's involuntary reaction to being so close to him. "And as Rossi pointed out, neither of us are the 'hugging type', so we should be fine."

Reid relaxed a little. It was true. The only time he could remember having any physical contact with Hotch was when he first met him, and they shook hands, and once a year on his birthday when he'd receive a pat on the shoulder from the older man.

"How you feeling?" Hotch asked, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Honestly?" Reid asked, thinking about it for a second. "Ok, I think." He answered, shrugging. "A little tired, maybe."

Hotch nodded. " I best tell the others you're up, or Garcia will threaten to tie us together for the rest of our lives." He said, happy to see the younger man laugh a little. "And Reid?" Hotch continued, smiling a rare and genuine smile. "Thank you."

(((((())))))

Two days later, the team sat in the departure lounge of Missoula International Airport waiting for their flight back to DC.

"You're kidding me, right?" Morgan said, sighing. "All the stuff we can do, and you're making us take a commercial flight back home?" he shook his head. "We had a private jet before, what happened to that?"

"The FBI thinks we've been on a prolonged assignment, remember?" Hotch answered. "They took the jet back."

"Here you go." Rossi said, returning from the coffee shop the other side of the lounge. "Seven weak and overpriced coffees." He said, handing them out amongst the team. "And one soda." He said, handing the cold beverage to Alex.

"Thanks." Alex said, taking the drink.

"So, what you doing when we get to DC?" JJ asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

Alex shrugged. "I was gonna try and get into George Washington University. I've applied for a scholarship, I just gotta wait to hear back."

"What scholarship did you apply for?" Prentiss asked, also sipping her drink.

"Athletics." Alex answered. "Well, gymnastics." He elaborated slightly.

"What?" Morgan asked, chuckling a little.

"Isn't that kinda cheating?" Garcia asked, smiling. Alex was Feral; he had fantastic gymnastic abilities without even trying. Alex shrugged awkwardly.

"C'mon, Kid." Morgan said, tapping him on the knee, smiling. "You gotta learn to lighten up, we're joking." He smiled. "Good luck, ok?" Alex nodded and smiled in return.

"So were you gonna stay in DC?" Rossi asked, now sat back down next to Hotch.

"Erm..." Alex looked down at the floor, but didn't answer.

"He's staying with me." Reid said, smiling briefly. The team looked at him with raised eyebrows but said nothing. "What?" Reid said, noticing their looks. "I have a spare room and I'm hardly ever there anyway." He said, shrugging.

"And I'll move into the college dorms if I get in." Alex said, finally looking up at the group.

"That's nice." Garcia said, smiling. She knew Alex had no family in Montana, and she knew Reid only had his Mom and the team. She was happy that the two had found each other. Watching them together reminded her of herself and her older brothers.

"Flight AA452 to Washington DC is now boarding at gate G." The voice announced over the loudspeaker.

"That's us." Prentiss said, standing and binning her empty coffee cup.

"Thank God." Hotch said, standing. All he wanted to do was go home and finally see Jack.

Morgan groaned as he stood too. "We really doing this?" He asked. "Going back to work?"

"What do you suggest we do?" JJ asked, standing and picking up her carry on bag. "Don a cape and fight crime to keep the world a safer place?" She asked sarcastically.

Rossi laughed. "We already do that." He said, following Prentiss and JJ.

"Yea," Garcia said, picking up her own small bag. "Except you guys wear suits instead of spandex."

Reid laughed and followed the others, as did Alex. Hotch watched his team go and followed closely behind them. Reid had recovered well, and it seemed so far that he had kept all his abilities. Sanders had given his support to the team regardless of what they chose to do. He had told them that they always knew where he was, and could contact him at anytime.

Hotch looked around the departure lounge at the business men and families scattered throughout and though once more about seeing Jack. Odd as it sounded, even to him, he hadn't realised quite how much he'd missed him.

It was good to be going home.

(((((())))))

THE END.

Finished! There will be a sequel, but I don't know when yet! And it's wasn't all a dream. They are actually now superheroes. And they still work for the FBI. Secret alias' are such a pain to maintain Hope you all enjoyed it. Sorry it took so long to actually finish.

Also, I don't really know hoe scholarships work, or if GWU have on for gymnastics, so I used a little poetic licence. Thanks again everyone for your continued support!