White Lies ✓

26 - Damsel in Distress

You were halfway to the storage unit when you finally gathered your thoughts and pulled out your phone.

"Hotch," you said breathlessly into the phone.

"Y/N? Is everything alright? I'm on my way to the office right now."

"Spencer, trouble," was all you could choke out.

Hotch's voice grew stern. "Where is he, what's going on?"

"I don't know, I need you and the team to meet me at CubeSmart Self Storage, unit 709."

"Is he in danger?"

"I think so," you whispered. "I'm almost there-"

"Y/N, don't go in there without backup," Hotch said.

"I'm sorry Hotch, but I can't wait." You hung up and pulled into the parking lot of the facility.

You could feel your phone vibrating in your pocket, but you didn't answer. Instead, you tossed it into the backseat and pulled out your gun. Your heart beat fast in your chest as you stepped down the first isle of storage containers. The pounding in your head quickened as you neared the seventh row. You neared unit 709 and felt yourself fall apart inside as you heard the noises coming from inside. Spencer was crying out in pain. You reached down and grabbed the handle to the door and tried to yank it open, but it was locked.

"Hello?" You heard a weak voice call from inside. "Julius, please let me go."

"Spencer? It's me, are you alone in there?"

You could hear the relief in his voice as he responded. "Yes, he's not here."

"Okay, give me a second," you examined the heavy padlock on the roll-up door. There was no way the lock was coming off easily, so you stepped back and aimed your gun towards it. "Spencer, I'm gonna shoot the lock off. 3... 2..."

With a loud pop, the padlock exploded, and you rushed to pull open the door. There sat Spencer, bruised and bloody, tied to a chair in the center of the room.

"Spencer!" You rushed forward and dropped to your knees in front of him, struggling to untie his ankles. Tears stung your eyes as you moved up to his wrists. "Are you hurt?"

Spencer shrugged feebly. "I'm not sure, he knocked me out for most of it," he said, wincing as you carefully ran your fingers along the cut on his forehead.

"Okay, it's gonna be okay, lets get you out of here." You hefted him up out of the chair and supported as much of his body weight as possible while you led him out of the unit.

"Y/N, you've gotta- the crime scene- he'll come back and get rid of it all-"

You interrupted Spencer's nervous rambling. "Hey, relax, the team is on the way. I've got to get you to the parking lot, it'll be easier for the paramedics to help you there."

Spencer winced again as you pulled him out into the daylight. You and Spencer were walking down the last row when you heard a commotion from both sides. Looking in front of you, you could see Hotch, Morgan, and Prentiss running towards you. Spencer whimpered and tugged your arm, alerting you to the commotion from behind. There, Julius was running towards you. You and Spencer locked eyes then, both looking like a deer caught in headlights when you heard Hotch yell.

"Get down!"

Spencer used his remaining strength to pull you down, and your head connected hard with the pavement. The two of you stayed collapsed awkwardly while Hotch drew his weapon. Then, everything happened in slow motion. Julius drew his own gun and pointed it in your general direction, Hotch shouted for him to drop it. And when he didn't, Hotch fired two shots towards Julius, hitting him in the chest. Before you could fully register what was going on, Prentiss was kneeling next to you and pulling you out of the way.

"I'm fine," you argued, but Prentiss ignored you. "Prentiss, I'm fine. Spencer's the one who needs help."

"I know," she said quickly. "Morgan's got him, see?"

You looked over her shoulder and saw Morgan leading Spencer in the same direction. Farther in the distance, you could see Hotch, Rossi, and a paramedic standing by Julius's body.

"Is he dead?" You asked Prentiss as she sat you on the boot of the ambulance.

"I think so," she whispered.

Your eyes burned with tears as Morgan sat Spencer next to you, but you swept them away. "I'm fine," you told the paramedic as he walked up to examine you.

"No, she's not," Spencer cut in. "She hit her head."

You scowled at him as the EMT shown his light in your eyes and felt the back of your head.

"I'm sorry, does that hurt?" The paramedic asked as he noticed the tears pooling in your eyes again.

You shook your head. "No, I'm fine."

You ignored Spencer's side-eye as the paramedic finished. "You seem to be fine, no concussion or anything, but if you start to feel dizzy or nauseous, I recommend you go to the RE."

You nodded and thanked him as he turned to Spencer. You felt the tears swell again as the paramedic started to list off Spencer's injuries. Three broken fingers, one on the left and two on the right, a fractured wrist, a sprained ankle, and a concussion.

"I'll be fine," he whispered as the paramedic splinted his fingers.

"I know," you whispered back. "But this was all my fault-"

"Hush," he interrupted. "You didn't lock me in a storage unit, he did."

You looked away from him, and Hotch waved you over.

"Hey," you said as you approached him. "I'm sorry I didn't wait for backup-"

"You could have been killed, Y/N. I understand that you and Spencer are important to each other, but this type of behavior will not be accepted in the field."

You nodded once. "I'm sorry, it won't happen again."

"I'm going to give both you and Spencer a week off. You need time to recover from this, and I assume you two need time to talk about how your relationship may affect your performance in the workplace."

"Yes, sir."

"Oh, and Y/N?" He said as you turned to get back to Spencer. "Congratulations."

You smiled softly. "Thank you, sir."

Looking back at Spencer, you couldn't help but smile again. There he was sitting, covered in bruises, with multiple bodyparts wrapped in gauze, with the biggest grin on his face.

"What's so funny?" You asked as you sat next to him.

"Rossi just gave me your hand in marriage."

"What?" You choked.

"I'm joking! Kind of, Rossi gave me permission to date you, I guess. And he said if I break your heart, he'll get me fired from the FBI, get my doctorates revoked, and put on the no-fly list."

You laughed. "Okay good, you scared me for a second."

"What?" Spencer joked. "You don't want to marry me?"

"Spencer, we haven't even been dating for a full day yet. Let's see how we feel after a week, how about that?"

He smiled. "Sure, one day at a time."

You nodded. "That's right. Now, let's get you to the hospital."

His smile quickly turned to a frown. "But I'm already fixed."

"Nuh-uh, those splints are temporary."

The EMT peeked out from inside the ambulance. "She's right, you'll need a cast for your wrist too."

He groaned. "A cast?"

You laughed. "Come on, Spencer."

He shrugged. "Hey, as long as you're with me, I'm there."