Clueless

Hostage Situations

"I just want sleep." Rowan yawned into the palm of her hand: it was around ten o' clock in the morning and no one on the team had gotten any shut-eye. "I don't even have a place to sleep." She groaned.
"You could stay at my place. If you want. You don't have to or anything- it's just an idea." Spencer offered. "I won't charge rent."
Rowan turned to look at him. "Are you being serious?" She questioned.
"Aren't I always? I mean, it's just an apartment. It's nothing special-"

"That would be amazing." She shook her head slightly like she couldn't believe him. "I could kiss you right now. But I'm not going to. Because-" Rowan was suddenly at a loss for words.
Somehow her and Reid had managed to stand face to face, only inches apart.
"I'm scared, Spence." Rowan admitted.
Not sure of how to proceed, Reid wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. She rested her head on his shoulder, hugging him back.
•
"Are you sure you want me to move in with you? I can find somewhere else-" Rowan was flustered. Spencer wouldn't let her pay for anything when they went to buy her new clothes.
"Rowan," he said calmly. "I said it was fine. I meant it."
He opened the door for her, allowing her in. "You can have my bed. I'll sleep on the futon." He offered.
"No, Spence, I don't want to kick you out of your own bed. You've already done enough."
"I actually find the almost nonexistent cushion quite comforting." He cut her off.
"Spence, I'm a profiler. I can read you better than that. I'll sleep on the futon." She laid her clothes by the couch.
"Why don't- what if we, uh, both stayed in the bed? It's big enough. It's just a thought." Spencer rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
Rowan looked away.
"You wouldn't mind me?" She pressed.
"No. I actually slept better last night than I have in a long time." He admitted. She started to smile, a ghost of a smile.
"Okay. Can I borrow a shirt again?"
•
Rowan wasn't awake, but Spencer was. Her terrified screams woke him out of a deep sleep.
"Rowan!" He shouted.
Rowan had successfully managed to throw the sheets and blankets off of her. There was a thin layer of cold sweat on her face and the back of her hairline.
Her pulse was visible in her throat.
"No! Stop it!" She screamed, writhing.
Spencer tried to pin her down, her arms flailing.
"Rowan, it's me! It's me, Spencer. You're safe." He gently coaxed her out of the panic induced nightmare.
Her eyes fluttered open, filled with tears. For a moment, she cried. She curled into Spencer, who held her gently.
"I'm sorry." She managed. "I didn't mean to wake you up. Or to keep you awake."
"You can't help it." He was running circles in the small of her back, a repetitive motion that didn't require thought, although it was all he could focus on. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"No." She shook her head. "I can't. I've tried. I just need to find him." Reid assumed she meant her father's hunting partner.
The one that had almost managed to kill her. Thrice.
Both of them fell asleep like that: Rowan curled into Spencer and his arms around her.
When Morgan's clapping woke them up, they scrambled away from each other.
"Dude, it's like, five in the morning." Rowan covered her head with a pillow.
"It's eleven in the afternoon, pretty girl." He informed her.
"How did you get in here?" Reid questioned.
"I told the doorman I was a concerned friend that was worried about the girl that came up with you last night." Morgan joked. "Anyway, Hotch sent me to pick you two up. Something's come up."
"Did you find him?" Rowan was automatically awake, her mess of blond hair framing her pale face.
In Reid's opinion, it looked like a mane. A very sexy mane.
"Not exactly. He died three years ago."
•
"This is impossible." Rowan muttered, pacing back and forth. The team watched her.
"I know you're scared, Rowan-" Rossi started.
"Scared? No, scared isn't the half of it. And I don't mean to snap but you have no idea what this man is capable of. He makes some of our unsubs' torture look like child's work. Do you see this?" Rowan pulled up her shirt to expose a deep gash that was pale with age. "He knows exactly where to cut so you sit there, strapped down to a table, and bleed and bleed and bleed. You can hear your brother upstairs talking to your sister. You can hear the animals outside but you're stuck, crying out for help and no one can hear you. No one. I've been the victim. I've been the ones that we find dead on the side of the road. I've been beaten, bruised, assaulted, raped, cut, burned, and paralyzed. Scared isn't scratching the surface of how I feel."
The room was quiet for several moments and Rowan continued to pace.
She was talking quickly under her breath. Emily realized she was reciting the Bible.
"I didn't know you were religious." Emily tried to distract the blond.
"There's gotta be something more than this. If God's not real, I don't want to live." She continued pacing, not even looking up.
"Your magical and favorite technical analyst just saved all of your lives. I took the picture that Rowan found and ran it through Vicap. There was a match to a Gary Vurto, who just so happened to move to DC a month ago. I've got two addresses."
Penelope waved them around before laying them on the table.
"Prentiss, Morgan, take the warehouse. David, JJ, and I will take his apartment." Hotch instructed.
"What about us?" Reid questioned.
"Go home. And I mean it, Rowan, go home. We'll call you with any news."
•
"Relax, Rowan. You know the team has your back." Reid said softly. He held the door open for her and she walked inside.
"I know. I'm just scared-"
"Scared that I'll find you?" The gun to Reid's head was incentive enough. "Close the door." Rowan obeyed as Gary dragged Reid away from the door and from Rowan, keeping the revolver shoved into his temple.
"Let him go. You don't like messes. Or collateral damages. I'm the real reason you're here." Rowan was talking quickly, breaths short.
"Let's see, how long till your team gets to the warehouse? How long till my bombs detonate?" He questioned.
Rowan's eyes widened.
"You wouldn't." She gasped.
"The most painful torture I can put you through is watching your friends die. And their deaths are because of you." He taunted.
"Let him go. Your fight has always been with me. Look: daddy can't stop you anymore. I'm free, no strings attached. Nothing can stop you." Rowan bargained.
"What do you think you're-" Reid started.
"Not a word or I blow your brains out!" He shouted.
"Let Spencer go." Rowan's voice was forceful but her hands were shaking.
She knew sadists like him had no control over themselves. She knew he would drop everything for her.
Slowly, she unbuttoned her shirt till it was loose. Her black bra was visible, along with the pale skin of her stomach and chest.
"Didn't you miss me?" Now her voice shook. Her hands fumbled for her belt and it hit the floor.
Gary pushed Spencer aside and advanced towards Rowan when a very familiar voice yelled, "FBI! Freeze!"
"Morgan?" Rowan let out a loud breath of relief as the door opened. She didn't care about the gun being aimed at her.
"You shoot me and I'll shoot her. Is it worth it, Agent Morgan?" Gary questioned.
"Putting a bullet between the eyes of someone who scarred my little sister? It sure is." Rowan almost smiled at the title of her being Morgan's little sister.
"Touching story, really, but-" he cocked his gun. "I'm more of an action guy."
"Do you really want action? Sci-fi is the way to go." Spencer knocked him out from behind with a vase that shattered on impact.
"The cheap one liner?" Morgan questioned.
"It worked." Reid shrugged.
Rowan launched herself at Reid, wrapping her arms and legs around him. Her head rested in the crook in his neck.
He supported her, holding her tightly.
She pulled back, dropped her legs to the ground, and kissed him.
She didn't expect there to be as much passion as she received. Spencer switched the dominance, hands sliding up her waist and pulling her to him. Their lips moved in sync.
"It's about time." They broke apart to see the team standing in the entrance, grinning.
"I thought they'd applaud." Rowan commented. She didn't care, she just kissed Spencer again.