From Victim To Hero: A Criminal Minds Multi-Fandom FanFic

Nightmares

"I can't live like this, slowly deteriorating, never knowing which breath will be my last."

I watch as the gun rises to her head.

"Erica? Wake up. It's okay, it was only a dream. You're here, with me."

I open my eyes to find Morgan next to me.

Quickly everything from the last hour came back. We had gotten Mark home only to find a storm had made it impossible to fly back today, forcing us to stay the day and possibly night in a hotel/casino. It was not the way any of us had planned to spend our Friday night.

I look at the clock. Ten o'clock pm.

Only? I thought it would've been morning already with how exhausted I'd been after Jessica-

I shudder, not even wanting to continue that train of thought.

"Are you okay?" Morgan asks, his brown eyes filled with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I say, already on my feet.

We had decided to double up with rooms. Hotch with Rossi, Spence with JJ, and Morgan with me. Hotch had wanted JJ and I to room together but it didn't take much for Morgan to convince him, although I had no idea what he'd actually said.

"You're getting up?"

"Might as well. I doubt I'm getting any sleep anytime soon."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

I walk quickly out of the room and down the stairs into the casino area.

"Would you like to purchase some chips for our slot machines?" a girl in some kind of company uniform asks.

"No thanks."

I had no intention of doing any gambling.

"A pepsi please." I say to the man at the bar, handing him a five dollar bill "Keep the change."

I feel like I zone out for a while because the next thing I know the drink is in front of me. I look around for a moment, searching for a clock. When I find one I see I've been daydreaming for a little over five minutes already.

I suddenly feel tired though so I grab my drink and walk back up to the room.

"You think you can sleep now?"

"Physically, yes, I feel tired enough to sleep for quite a while, but emotionally" I shake my head "I'm not so sure."

"Is it dreams?"

I nod.

"Everyone gets those, hell, it seems like just yesterday Reid was getting his first himself."

I don't respond.

He walks across the room and grabs his bag before coming back to sit on my bed.

"Here," he says, rumaging around in his bag until he finds something "All you have to do is think about all the people you've saved instead of the ones you've lost. We all keep pictures of different people we've helped. This is one of my personal favourites."

I place my drink on the floor and look over to see a picture of a younger me.

"You kept that?"

"Yep. Everyone kept the one you gave them, even Seaver."

"I'm not sure if that's sweet or creepy."

He chuckles "Just remember that today, you saved Mark's life. You probably saved a lot more too, she would've just kept going."

"I guess."

"You know. Now, see if you can get some more sleep."

"Okay." I climb back into bed, leaning my head on his chest.

"Are you gonna let me up?"

"Can you just stay until I'm asleep, I don't like feeling alone."

"Sure."

"What did you say to get Hotch to let us share a room?" I ask before I drift off again.

"I told him you were going to have trouble sleeping and I knew a way to help."

"What?" JJ exclaims.

"We've been called to help with another case right here in Sacremento. It may take a few days."

"I was planning on spending the day with Henry and Will." she groans.

"Plans change."

"What's the case?" she asks, wanting to get through it sooner rather than later.

"We're supposed to go to the CBI headquarters, they'll fill us in."

"The CBI? Last I heard they weren't that keen on working with the FBI." Rossi points out, slightly confused.

"I'm as surprised as you that they called us in, especially since they asked for us specifically. By name."

"They knew our names? How?" I ask.

"They knew your name." Hotch says, looking staight at me "Is there anything you're not telling us?"

"No. I've never met anyone from the CBI. At least, not that I know of." I say uncertainly.

"Well lets see what they've got for us." Morgan says to cut the sudden tension.

"Kids are a great analogy. You want your kids to grow up, and you don't want your kids to grow up. You want your kids to become independent of you, but it's also a parent's worst nightmare: That they won't need you. It's like the real tragedy of parenting."

Jonathan Safran Foer