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'Which one is the FBI Agent?' Cyrus shouted at Reid, pointing his gun at his head.
'I am.' You spoke quietly. 'It's me.'
Cyrus turned around and grabbed your hair, throwing you into the next room. He hit you: once; twice. You yelped as he threw you against a mirror, the shards of glass cutting into your arm. I mustn't fight back. I mustn't fight back.
You began to shout as he hit you, goading Cyrus. 'I can take it. I can take it.' You just hoped the team could hear you. You hoped he could hear you.
Cyrus threw you on the floor, backing away as you sat bruised, a drop of blood falling from your forehead into your eye. 'My team leader is going to want to come in here. But he shouldn't. He shouldn't.' You gasped as you took one last breath, Cyrus hitting you across the cheek one last time.
Black.
Hotch jumped to his feet, his face pale and heart pounding. 'We have to go in there.' Morgan was repeating, the sounds of Y/N being beaten echoeing through their headphones. 'I can take it.' Y/N spoke through the wire, repeating the phrase again and again as Hotch stood frozen.
'She's goading him.' Morgan was saying, his voice fuzzy in Hotch's ear.
'She's speaking to us, Hotch. She's speaking to you.' Rossi spoke to him, his words fuzzy. All he could hear was the cries of the person he loved.
'My team leader is going to want to come in here. But he shouldn't. He shouldn't.' Y/N spoke through the wire, Hotch returning to Earth and hearing Rossi for the first time. He simply nodded. 'We can't go in there.'
Hotch's head was still spinning, his heart still pounding as he felt the blood flow through his head. He shouldn't. Your words kept repeating in his head.
He knew he needed to be level-headed, but that didn't mean he could be.
— — —
'It's Y/N, Aaron. She's speaking to us.' Rossi held the phone out to Hotch as he took it, hand shaking slightly.
'I know you're coming. I think I can get the women and children to the tunnel, but I need to know what time you're coming.' Y/N was repeating over and over, tapping your leg to the glass of the window you lay by to move the blinds out of the way.
Hotch nodded at Dave. 'Go Morgan, go.' Dave spoke to the man who didn't need to be asked twice, running to the door and presumably all the way to where you could see him.
A red light shone on the wall. The light of a sniper's gun, you thought as Morgan sat outside, communicating with you as the light bobbed up and down. He shone the light three times. 'Three am? You're coming at three am?' The light bobbed up and down. You sighed with relief.
A second later, you breathed heavily before saying what you wanted to say; needed to say, Hotch glued to your words as he listened down the phone line, Morgan and Rossi tapping in to what you were saying.
'I love you Aaron. I love you. I love you, and after I get out of here you better buy me a ring.' You laughed through bated breaths, tears filling Hotch's eyes. 'Hey, Dave. Don't let him do anything stupid, okay? Don't let him do anything stupid.' Hotch's tears turned to a faint hearted smile as he looked to Rossi who was nodding back at him. Silent but sure, Hotch whispered into the phone 'I love you too.' You couldn't hear him- he knew that. But he just needed to say it. He needed to know that you knew. It didn't matter how many times he had said it before; this- this time he meant it more than any other. You both did. I love you.
The doors flung open as the women and children left the building, Y/N following behind them to usher them out. They ran towards the police, some of women carrying the younger children as they did so. Minutes later, the church exploded as Morgan and Reid ran out, barely clearing the blast as they stumbled to safety.
'Go.' A simple word from Rossi to Hotch as he ran from the room and into the open, seeking the women he loved.
'Aaron.' You spoke as he scooped you up in his arms, your voice frail as he held you. You melted into him, your chin on his shoulder and his mouth by your ear. He held you for what felt like forever, the sound of police movement behind you silenced as you stood there.
'I bought you a ring two months ago.' He whispered into your ear as he leant back to look into your eyes, one dark and bloodied from the trauma. You just smiled up at him, placing your foreheads together before taking his face in your hands as you placed one, lingering kiss to his lips.
