It was only after the first turn around the corner, when you were completely sure you were out of anyone's line of sight, that you realized you had no idea where you were going.
You were in an unfamiliar police station and being forced to walk laps around the space like a child.
Great. Just perfect.
You decided to just walk the lengths of the winding halls, thinking that eventually, you'd probably end up in the same spot.
And down the halls you went, having nothing to stare at but the ugly grey carpet and nothing to think about but your own actions. Maybe that was his plan all along.
You tried to ignore the obvious sideways glances you received from the department. You tried to look pensive, as if you were going for a walk because you wanted to think through the case, not because your boss had ordered you to.
At first, you just stewed over how absolutely pissed off you were. How entirely fucked the whole situation was.
The whole thing gave you whiplash. Not even 10 minutes ago you were comforting him and laughing with him in a police station bathroom, and now you were mad at each other and pacing the perimeter of the precinct.
And anyway, what were those rules? Don't get him riled up? Don't turn your back to him? They were...well, they were unusual.
And it made your brain slow for a minute. They were unusual. And suddenly you were questioning how that hadn't stood out to you when he said it. And for the first time, your head was clear enough to realize something.
He was scared.
At first the idea was almost laughable. Aaron Hotchner, the BAU's most unshakable and stoic agent, nervous around the man sitting cuffed to a chair in an interrogation room.
It was unspoken, maybe, but that perception of him was always there. That Hotch just didn't feel. If you asked anyone directly they would laugh it off, because of course he felt things. He was a person, after all. But everyone just sort of expected him to remain emotionless and keep himself analytical at all times.
God, you hated that everyone expected that of him. And you had unknowingly done the same thing.
He had been choked out by an unsub, out on the pavement, and had almost lost the other girl. And immediately after that rather traumatic experience, he had gone right back to work. Of course he was scared. He would want you to keep your eyes on him at all times. Of course he wouldn't want to rile the unsub up.
And now that you understood, the guilt set in. He clearly wanted you to help, wanted you around for the benefit of the case and himself, and your anger messed it up.
You tried to be careful. You assured yourself that under normal circumstances, it would've been different. This time you could've controlled your anger, followed the orders, and gotten that confession in due time.
But this wasn't a normal circumstance. No, this unsub had threatened Aaron. And no amount of prep work could prepare you for the amount of rage you felt towards him. There was little chance of you bottling that. God, if you could get one got shot to that dumb, cocky fucking face-
"Y/n?" A deep voice breaks you from your thoughts, a hand gently grazing your shoulder.
You spun around instantly, a part of you expecting Aaron to be standing there, ready to take you in his arms and either apologize or accept your apology. You didn't know which you wanted more.
"Oh, Derek, it's you" you said with a small smile. "Missed me already?"
"You know I did" he replied. A hesitant smile was on his face, telling you that your fight wasn't much of a secret.
"So, is my banishment over?"
"No," he shook his head "boss man wanted me to come find you. Figured you might get lost in the station."
'How nice of him to be worried now' you think, holding back a scoff.
"What, you want to take a walk with me?" You reply instead "burn some calories?"
"As much as I'd love to spend the night waltzing around the hallways with you, we've got a case to solve" he grinned "I convinced Hotch to let you come with me back to the house."
"Derek Morgan, I love you" you announced, relieved that you didn't quite have to go back into that room yet. You felt a bit bad leaving, but maybe the talk, or rather, reprimanding you were undoubtedly going to have with Aaron could wait on the backburner for a bit. "Let's get out of here."
"Cole and pretty boy are coming with us, too" he said "we have to wait for Emily to finish talking to Hotch, then we're good to go."
"No JJ or Rossi?" you question.
"I think Hotch needs them here more" Derek said simply. With that, you both turn and take the twists and turns out of the station.
____________
The car ride was awkward, to say the least. Derek in the driver seat, Cole in the passenger, and you sandwiched between Reid and Emily in the backseat.
"So, what's our next move?" You questioned, trying to avoid the awkward silence.
"Hotch told me we should wait for a new call and keep an eye on Cheryll" Emily replied from beside you.
"Good call," Derek says from the front seat "the submissive partner will probably follow in his footsteps."
"He'll call again just because he won't know what to do differently. He'll continue with whatever the dominant's original plan was" Reid spoke up.
"And what about the submissive?" Katie asks.
"Hotch will probably work a confession out of him, and hopefully he'll admit the location of the girl" you explained. And most likely fast too, but you weren't going to mention that.
"And you all trust him with this?" She asks, ever skeptical of his capabilities. But why? You asked yourself.
"Hotch is a lot of things," Derek breathes "he may be a pain at times, and a hardass, but he's a damn good profiler. If anyone is going to get a confession, it's him." His tone left no room for argument and beside you, Emily and Spencer nodded in agreement.
"I'm glad you have confidence in him" was all she said.
"Hey, maybe he'll soften up a bit soon" Emily shrugs, speaking just low enough for you and Reid to hear "after all, he's got a new lady friend helping him out."
You open your mouth to respond but nothing comes out. Technically, you recalled, you weren't supposed to know yet. Rossi had only told the team to spare you and Aaron some grief, which you were grateful for, but you still had to pretend that the idea of Hotch dating again was some sort of foreign concept.
"Technically Rossi didn't say dating" Reid whispers, trying to match Emily's lowered voice "he just said interested."
"Please" Emily scoffs "the man could probably get any girl he wanted. What makes you think she wouldn't reciprocate?"
"If he didn't tell her," Reid says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world "then she wouldn't know. He tends to put work before anything else, why would he invest time into a new relationship?"
"For sex, Spencer." Her words were just a tad louder.
This conversation was not sitting right with you. Your stomach coiled up with some intense emotion that you didn't feel like identifying.
"Come on guys, I don't want to think about Hotch, well, you know" Derek spoke up from the front seat. Clearly the conversation had gotten progressively louder.
"Well, neither of you are wrong" Katie shrugs as if it's an everyday conversation "you know what they say about this job. You've gotta relieve stress somehow."
"No fun fact about that one, Spencer?" You quip, nudging his shoulder.
"Well, um," he mumbles "it releases a plethora of endorphins and other hormones that are essential for stress relief, so yes, I suppose it would be good to have a partner to go home after a job like this."
"It?" Emily laughs "cmon Spencer, you can't say sex?"
"I'd rather not think about what our boss does in his free time" he huffs. "And anyway, it's none of our business. If Hotch wants to do, well, that, in his free time, then he will. I don't see how it affects us."
"I'd say it affects us greatly" Emily argues "maybe he'll stop with the hardass routine and smile more, like how he used to. He's been calmer the past few cases already. I mean really, did you see-"
"This is calmer?" Katie asks.
"Surprisingly, yes" you chuckle. You make eye contact with her in the rearview mirror.
"Didn't the two of you just have a bit of a," she breathes "spat, earlier?" All four of them glance at you as if now, for the first time that the interaction may have bothered you.
"Oh, it's, it's whatever" you shrug "I guess I deserved it. I kinda went off the deep end."
"He can be a bit hard on you, y/n" Emily points out.
"Oh well" your tone is dismissive "I suppose it just makes me a better profiler, in the end.
"Well, maybe" Katie says "but I think-"
"Sorry to interrupt, but we're here" Derek announces as the car stops in a familiar driveway. You almost sigh in relief at being spared from this conversation.
____________
"Cheryll's alright" Derek's voice rings through the living room. It forces you and Spencer to look up from where you're both sitting at the coffee table. You'd spent the time going over the profile again and again in an attempt to feel useful.
"Is she coming back down?" Emily asks from behind you both. She and Katie had been up in her room where the agent had been comforting her and coaxing her to come downstairs and wait for the call.
"Yes, she'll be here in a second" he replies "when she gets down, we should-"
He's cut off again by the sound of the phone ringing. You all quickly realize it's the one connected to the machine. It could only mean one thing.
The unsub was calling.
The next minute was pure chaos. You and Emily grabbed Katie and Cheryll while Derek grabbed Mr. Davenport. While you all situated around the table the setup was at, Spencer put on his headphones and prepared to take notes.
"Ready?" Derek asks, finger hovering over the button as he looked at all of you. When he was met with nods, he clicked the button. You all held your breath.
"Well that was fun, wasn't it?" The voice spoke. It was a different one now, slightly higher pitch and most certainly from a different person "a little running around, getting our pulses racing."
"Are you there, Cherryl?" He asks after a beat of silence. She opened her mouth to speak, but Derek put his hand up to silence her. His voice came again to repeat the question louder.
"Don't tell me you didn't feel a slight tingle" he said after realizing his question wouldn't be answered "a thrill run up your spine? I know I did, and I certainly know the agents you so rudely brought with did."
"Well, rude as they may be, they're quick and clever for FBI agents, aren't they?" He continues "figured out his plan just in time. Before I could snatch you up too. If they weren't so cunning, I could've had you both. The full set."
"Why are you doing this?" Cheryll asks, ignoring Derek's obvious signals to stay quiet.
"Why?" He repeats "because you asked us to, Cheryll. You asked him with your gestures. The way you talk."
Cheryll shook her head frantically and opened her mouth to respond, but Derek leaned out and muted the call before she could speak.
"What are you doing?" She questioned with slight frustration.
"Do not answer this man" Derek ordered.
"You asked for it Cheryll! You asked for it!" The man repeated. Before Morgan had a chance to stop her, she reached out and slammed her hand over the button to unmute the call.
"What do you want?" She demanded angrily, making Derek sigh and shake his head.
"What do I want?" He asks "what do we want? You. It may not be today, it may not be-"
A hand reached out and ended the call. When you looked up, you realize Cole was the one to press the button. Did she just hang up on an unsub?
"What are you doing?!" Davenport demanded angrily, glaring at her.
"He'll call back, trust me," she said, full of confidence in her risky choice.
"All due respect, ma'am, you can't just-" Emily's voice was cut off by the phone ringing again.
She surprised you all yet again by not picking it up, instead just staring at the dialing tone.
"Pick it up!" Davenport urged. Instead, she let it ring. You hung your breath when it ended, but let out a sigh of relief when it rang again. She clicked to answer it.
"Tell me there was a technical issue with the line, because if you just-" she clicked the off button again.
"What are you doing! This is insane!" Davenport's voice raised as the line began ringing again.
Her finger clicked on, and the unsubs voice filled it again: "I'll kill her! If you don't stop, she'll die!"
Off again.
"Answer it!" Davenport let out a string of curses as he lunged for the phone, screaming profanities and orders and Derek grabbed him and pushed him to the floor.
"You're killing my sister!" Cheryll lunged for the phone, but you held her back and kept your arms tightly wrapped around her.
"Please, get a hold of yourselves" Cole requested over their frustrated yells and cries. Eventually, they broke away to quiet sobs. Davenport clenching the carpet material while Cheryll quietly turned inward and sobbed into your shoulder.
She repeated the process once more, letting it ring before hanging up. When she answered again, the voice screamed.
"She is dead!" The voice was frantic and angry "ignore me again and I split her open!"
She hung up.
"You killed my daughter!" Davenport cried "killed her!"
"No, Mr. Davenport" Cole corrected as the phone began ringing again "I'm saving her. Have a little faith." She turned to look at the rest of you at that statement. She clicked to answer.
"Put Cheryll on the phone." His voice quivered with the order.
"No, you're done talking to Cheryll," Katie said calmly.
"Wow, would you listen to that tone of authority?" He said loudly "I suppose it's because you're so used to getting your own way, isn't it, agent Cole? Being the founder of your unit earns you a large amount of that respect. No one would guess that you're just trying to replace agent Hotchner, and with eagerness, may I add?"
"That's an interesting conclusion" is all she says.
"You're a bit too ardent? Perhaps didactic?" He continues.
"It's interesting that you use those words," she says "you're putting on a front of intelligence when we both know that's untrue. You don't know anything about me or agent Hotchner."
"Oh, don't I?" He asks "too bad the ambitious agent Hotchner isn't here to lead his team, isn't it? Perhaps he feels threatened by the constant nagging he receives on your part, Cole. Had to keep agent Rossi and Jareau behind to support him, keep him from breaking down after that attack, didn't you?"
"It doesn't really matter if you take his position, though, does it?" He asks "because he would love nothing more to shake off this unit and make himself director of the FBI, wouldn't he? Too bad his team can barely function without him. You weigh him down, all of you."
Your blood boils at his insults, although you try to seem as uninterested as Cole. He didn't want to leave the team. The team wasn't a burden.
Right?
"The beautiful agent Prentiss, you're still worried about fitting in with the team after all this time" he changed the subject "You're a perfectly fine profiler, maybe, but you're still somehow failing to diagnose the autistic leanings of doctor Spencer Reid. Well, maybe you could both spend your lives counting cards in Las Vegas, because neither of you are appreciated here."
"Token Derek Morgan wants to be taken seriously but he is just a pumped-up side of beef!" His voice raised.
"And oh," his voice dropped "the lovely Y/n Y/l/n, how could I forget you? Suppose it's not hard, the forgettable one. Constantly trying her best but never quite getting the recognition she deserves."
Your face paled as the team turned to look at you. You prayed he would move on, but something about his tone told you that he had much more to say.
"Maybe that drive for recognition is what makes you follow agent Hotchner around like a mindless dog, huh?" He asks "practically screaming for attention that you'll never get. I'll bet you've never disobeyed an order from him in your life, and you probably never will."
You have to stop yourself from laughing. He was so off-kilter that it would almost be funny were it not so hurtful.
"I know who you are, I know how you think, and I know what to do next!" The line clicked dead.
"What does that mean?" Davenport asked after a moment of silence "what is he going to do?"
"He's just bluffing," Morgan explained, "profiling us."
"Why?"
"To show us how smart he is" Emily sighed.
"But now we know a lot more than we did five minutes ago" you add.
"What does that mean?" Cheryll backs up from where her head was previously lulled against your shoulder.
"To know that much about us, and to know the specific details that he did" you breath "there's got to be a bug in the house."
"How do you know it's here?" He asks "the bug could be anywhere. It could be on one of you, for christ's sake."
"It's, it's a bit complicated" you run the back of your neck "the big thing was that he said I would never disobey an order from agent Hotchner," you suppress a smile "and that, well, it's just not true."
"So?" Cheryll asks.
"The point is, there was an argument at the station that he didn't know about. Clearly he didn't have that information. The bug didn't follow us to the station. All the information he had was here."
"And that means as long as we're here, everything we're saying is being monitored," Reid says.
"You're not safe here" Derek deadpans "we need Cheryll at a safe house as soon as possible."
"And let's hope Agent Hotchner can get a confession" Cole muttered.
_________________
Hey guys
So wow... it's been a while since I last posted. Over a month. I really, really owe y'all an apology for how long it's been! From now on I'll be doing my best to keep the chapters regular just like before. The whole book got away from me for a while.
On the plus side, I made some major revisions on previous chapters, so if you wanted to check those out... 👀
The sweet comments have really kept my motivation up so I appreciate you guys so much for that ❤
In regards to this chapter, wow. I got a kick and wrote 2000 works in one night (and of course the chapter I publish immediately after my break doesn't been feature Aaron, go figure)
Anwayssss...
Comments and votes are always so appreciated! Thank you all for sticking around even though my inconsistent posting schedule 💗
Lots of love,
💕