"𝚂𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐'𝚜 𝙷𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚍"
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ
𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘴' 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵
𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕪 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘
"EM—" Noah says as her mother flies past her.
The teen is sitting at the kitchen counter, eating the breakfast her mother made. Emily's phone had rung upstairs, so she quickly ran to get it. The woman came back in a rush and in a different outfit.
"Hey, I have to go—" Emily says as she runs around.
"How am I supposed to get to school?" Noah asks as she watches her mother's frantic state.
"Garcia's picking you up in a few minutes — I gotta go!" Emily exclaims as she grabs her purse.
"Will you be home tonight?" Noah asks.
"I think so," Emily replies, "I love you." She adds as she walks over to the teen and kisses her cheek.
Emily quickly walks to the front door. The teen hears the door shut and slumps in her spot, frowning to herself.
"Love you too." Noah mumbles.
—
𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘻'𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵
Emily takes a deep breath as she walks into the building. The team has been called into another case, but it is local. Morgan seems to be a little agitated, probably something to do with the little amount of sleep they all got.
Emily is not as bothered, seeing as Noah woke her up this morning, asking her to make breakfast. The mother has learned how to live off of very little sleep recently.
"You guys remember Detective Walker?" JJ says as she sees the team has made it.
"Thanks for being here," The detective says as he shakes Derek, Emily, and Dave's hands. JJ has been at the scene for a bit and Reid joined her quickly after.
"Who's the victim?" Rossi asks as he peers down at the body covered with a yellow tarp.
"His name is Nelson Martinez," Detextice Walker informs them, "From what we can figure, he answered his door, was forced into the apartment at gunpoint, and then shot in the chest. It was all pretty sloppy."
"No disrespect," Morgan starts, "But I don't understand why you need us here."
"Two days ago, a local doctor named Tom Barton found a note addressed to him at the hospital." Detective Walker says, "It said the person was planning to kill his son. If Dr. Barton tried to keep his boy hidden, one person would die every day in his place."
"And you think this is connected?" Emily asks, trying to process the terrible negotiation.
"The note is signed L.C." Reid mentions.
"Yesterday, we had another victim." The detective continues, "Multiple gunshots outside the apartment. The shooter wrote L.C. in white chalk next to the body."
Rossi pulls the yellow tarp up off the victim's face, revealing L.C. written on the floor next to the dead man's head.
"Now, unless Dr. Barton puts his son in harm's way, we're going to keep having a victim a day," Reid mentions.
"Where's Barton now?" Rossi asks.
"He's at home," JJ interjects, "He doesn't know about this victim yet."
"Where's Hotch?" Emily asks as she realizes that their Unit Chief is not in the room or anywhere to be seen, actually.
"He's not answering his cell," JJ replies, "I assume it's on vibrate. He'll get the message when he wakes up."
"Try him again," Rossi says, "He can meet us at Barton's house."
—
𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱 𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺
"Noah!" A voice shouts, making the teen turn around. Noah finds Brittany barreling down the hallway, rushing after the teen.
"Hey!" Noah beams and hugs the blonde.
"I haven't seen you in a while, how've you been?"
"Good," Noah replies.
"Any news on the chess girl?"
"Not anything official, but it's going really good!" Noah answers with a wide smile.
"Aww, yay!" Brittany exclaims, "I'm so happy for you. Have you guys kissed?!"
"No, not yet," Noah says.
"Why not?"
"Because I still haven't worked everything out with Parker. I just don't think it'd be fair." Noah shrugs as she puts her books away and grabs the ones for her next class.
"Do you need me to straighten him out?" Brittany asks, "Because I can do it or I can get Clay on it—"
"You guys have done more than enough for me," Noah giggles, "I think we just need to talk it out on our own."
"I hope it all works out," Brittany says with a hopeful grin.
"Thanks," Noah says as they start walking down the hallway.
"What's up, Prentiss?" Carter, a boy from Clay's parties, says as he passes the girls.
"Hey!" Noah chimes and waves to him in passing.
"Do you think she would go on a double date with me and Clay?" Brittany asks.
"Who, Jess?" Noah questions.
"Yeah!"
"I don't know, maybe," Noah shrugs, "We haven't had a one-on-one date, so I think we'd have to do that first." She adds with a giggle.
"Well, let me know because I'd love that!" Brittany beams as she wraps her arm around Noah's.
"NP!" Brent, a boy Noah also met at a party, says as he sees Noah in the hallway.
"What's up?" Noah replies casually as she daps him up. Brittany watches the interaction between the two with a confused expression.
"Since when are you friends with all these seniors?" The blonde questions.
"Since you introduced me to all of them at the parties," Noah replies in an obvious tone.
"I guess I'm too drunk to remember," Brittany laughs and Noah shakes her head with a smile.
"Hi!"
Noah peers up and sees Jess coming out of one of the classrooms nearby. Noah smiles widely as she waves to Jess and starts walking alongside her, pulling Brittany along with her.
"Hi, I'm Brittany,"
"I'm Jess—"
"Oh my God!" Brittany exclaims, "Chess girl! Oh, you're so pretty!"
"Thank you," Jess beams and looks down noticing the other blonde hanging onto Noah's arm.
"How was class?" Noah says, directing the conversation to a different topic to keep Brittany quiet.
"It was alright," Jess replies, eyeing the blonde's arm around Noah's once more. This time, the raven-haired girl notices and turns to Brittany.
"Hey, can I catch you later?" Noah asks.
"Yeah!" Brittany says, getting the hint that Noah wants to talk to Jess alone. The blonde says her goodbyes, telling Jess it was nice to meet her. As Noah watches Brittany walk away, she walks closer to Jess.
"You okay?" Noah inquires as she grabs Jess' hand, intertwining their fingers. Jess smiles at the contact and is shocked to see Noah allowing them to be touchy while in school.
"Yeah, I'm good," Jess replies sweetly, "Are you?"
"I'm great," Noah giggles and guides them down the hallway where Jess' next class is.
"Is Penelope gonna pick you up today?" Jess asks.
"I don't know, but I'll text you if she does," Noah says, "Or you can let her drive you to the bookstore."
"I don't know—"
"How come you never let her drive you?" Noah asks.
"I like the walk," Jess shrugs.
"Tell me the truth," Noah pleads.
"I don't know..." Jess trails off, "You just talk so highly of her, I just get nervous that she won't like me."
"Are you kidding?!" Noah exclaims, "It's like one ray of sunshine meeting another ray of sunshine! She would love you!"
"Stop," Jess mumbles as she blushes at the compliment, "You talk about her like she's your second Mom or something. I just get nervous."
"Well, my first Mom likes you more than she likes me," Noah notes.
"That's not true," Jess tuts, "Emily doesn't love anyone more than she loves you and I can tell."
"You're a close second, then," Noah laughs.
"How did Brittany know who I am?" Jess asks randomly, "And why did she call me 'chess girl'?"
"I don't know, probably heard it from Parker or something," Noah quickly says, lying through her teeth. Noah has told Brittany everything there is to tell about Jess. For some reason, Brittany is the only person Noah really feels comfortable talking about Jess to.
"Hm," Jess hums as they come up to her classroom, "Text the groupchat where we're meeting for lunch?"
"Yeah," Noah answers and continues walking, letting her hand slip out of Jess' as their distance grows.
—
𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘤𝘩'𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵
Emily walks down the hallway outside of Aaron's apartment, her heels clicking on the stone floor. The team has not been able to get a hold of him and it has been a couple of hours. The team needs more eyes, so Emily took it upon herself to check on him.
Emily knocks on the door, "Hotch?! It's me — Emily."
When there is no response, she pulls out her phone and clicks Aaron's contact. She immediately hears a cell phone ringing inside the apartment as she puts her own phone to her ear.
As a quick reaction, Emily puts her hand on her gun and pushes on the door. The front door was open. At the sight of the unlocked door, she pulls her gun out and kicks the door open.
Her eyes scan the room. Keys, briefcase, a hole in the wall, and a bloodstain on the carpet. Immediately, she fears the worst, not wanting to see her supervisor and friend's body on the ground.
Emily rounds the wall and sees that there is no one in sight, just a broken whiskey glass, and Hotch's abandoned cell phone.
—
𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘶
"What..." Penelope says, "When was that?" She asks as she scrambles for a piece of paper to write on.
"Okay, thank you," She quickly replies to the woman on the phone and hangs up. She immediately calls Emily.
"Talk to me, Garcia," Emily says as she answers the phone, watching the bureau techs working in Hotch's apartment.
"Okay, I — I called hospitals to see if Hotch had gotten himself admitted to an emergency room."
"And?" Emily asks, hopeful.
"But he's not listed as a patient, but someone dropped a John Doe off at St. Sebastian Hospital, and that someone's name was FBI Agent Derek Morgan."
"That doesn't make sense,"
"I know, do you think they got their credentials mixed up?"
Emily stares off as she processes the information. Suddenly, the realization hits her like a bullet train, her heart dropping to her stomach.
"The Reaper," Emily notes, "Foyet took Morgan's creds."
"Why would he drop him off at the E.R.?" Penelope questions.
"What hospital did you say again?!" Emily asks.
"St. Sebastian Hospital," Penelope replies.
"I'll call you with an update when I get there," Emily states and hangs up the phone, running out of the apartment.
Penelope sits in her office in shock. She cannot tell the rest of the team, seeing as they cannot be distracted from the current case they have. The blonde is not sure what to do with herself. All her thoughts are racing and her fear and anxiety rise in her chest.
"Hey," A voice says, making the blonde jump, "You okay?"
"Oh," Penelope sighs as she sees Noah stepping into her office, "It's you, Munchkin."
"How's the case going?" Noah asks.
"Uhm, we're getting there slowly," Penelope replies, still a bit lost in her swirling thoughts.
"You sure you're okay?" The teen says, noticing the daze in Penelope's eyes.
"Yes, I'm fine," Penelope says promptly, making Noah sense that something is off.
The teen decides to let it go, seeing as Penelope is not really allowed to talk about their cases much. Since this one is local, Noah knows it may be in her best interest to be kept out of the dark for once.
—
𝘴𝘵. 𝘴𝘦𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯'𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭
"He was stabbed nine times, but no major arteries were hit," The doctor says as Emily stands in a hospital room, overlooking an unconscious Hotch.
"When will he wake up?" Emily asks.
"The anesthesia should wear off within the hour," The doctor replies, "But he's bound to be out of it."
"Okay," Emily softly says and eyes Aaron, "May I stay here?"
"Of course," The doctor agrees and walks out of the room, giving the woman her space.
Emily pulls a chair in the room closer to Hotch's bed. She stares at the screen that shows his vitals and emits the beeps of his heartbeat. She wonders how it came to this.
They all saw how fidgety Hotch was. They all saw his demeanor change after Foyet's case and how his escape from prison made Aaron's skin crawl. They all saw it, but they assumed it would wear off. Now, she sits before Hotch, nine stab wounds across his chest underneath his hospital gown.
Emily takes a deep breath, the tears daring to come. She holds them in, not wanting to be sad about something that has not happened yet. As of now, he is alive and will wake up. And that is all she can hope for.
After a while of sitting there, Emily leaves the room for a breather. She walks over to the desk across from Hotch's room and sees his chart. She picks it up and notices that 'L.C.' is written beside his name.
"Hey, what does this abbreviation stand for?" Emily asks a passing doctor.
"Living children," The doctor replies and goes back to her work.
Emily pulls out her phone and calls Reid.
𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥
"Yeah?" Reid asks.
"L.C. on the unsub's note," Emily says, "It stands for 'living children." She explains.
"Are you sure?"
"It's administrative. It's when they're afraid a patient's gonna go on life support and they don't have a DNR order." Emily explains and hears radio silence, "Reid?" She asks, making sure he is still there.
"What if the unsub was trying to tell Dr. Barton that he is actually the target and that he's gonna leave his son without a father?" Reid suggests and hears the front door of the house open, "Barton!" He calls out and stands quickly.
Reid comes running out of the house, seeing a man standing on the lawn. Spencer quickly pushes Dr. Barton out of the way, both of them tumbling into the grass.
"Reid?! Answer me! Reid?" Emily's cries can be heard on Reid's phone, which is thrown into the grass.
"Are you hit?" Spencer asks the doctor, who declines. Reid looks down at his leg, holding pressure to the gunshot wound in his thigh.
"Get my gun — my gun," Spencer says quickly.
"Get away from him!" The man who shot at the two shouts, "Get away from him."
"Whatever you do, stay down," Spencer says as he retrieves his gun.
"Don't protect him!"
"Drop the gun!" Reid shouts back as he holds up his own.
"He killed my son!" The man exclaims.
"He did not kill your son. Your son was killed by a car accident." Spencer corrects the man with confidence.
"Stand up!" The man shouts as he walks closer.
"I'm gonna ask you again," Reid states, "I do not want to shoot you. Please drop the gun."
"Stand up, you coward!" The man shouts, clearly having no sense of what is going on. The man is losing his mind out of grief for his son.
"Mr. Meyers, listen to me." Reid pleads, "All right, it's over. Dr. Barton did not kill your son. Your son was killed by a car. And this is not what he would want. Okay?" Reid asks as he notices the man lowering his gun.
"So drop the gun," Reid repeats as he hears sirens coming closer, "Please."
"Don't do it," Spencer mutters as he sees the man's hands shaking. He can sense the distress, the brokenness in the man's eyes.
"I'm sorry," Mr. Meyers croaks and aims the gun back up, forcing Spencer to shoot his revolver, wounding the man's stomach.
"I'm fine!" Reid exclaims as Dr. Barton tries to help him, "Go to him, go to him!"
Spencer helps Dr. Barton on what to do and how to assess the situation. He continues to hold pressure to his own leg, trying not to scream out in pain. Soon, the medics and local police arrive and help Dr. Barton with the man's wound.
As Dr. Barton allows the medics to take over, he rushes back to Spencer. Just as he does, two cars pull up and Rossi, Morgan, and JJ arrive on the scene. They run over to Spencer.
"You okay?" JJ asks with worry laced in her voice.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Reid says bravely. He is in a lot of pain, but he hides it well.
"We'll get you to a hospital," Morgan states as he picks up Reid's gun.
"You need to find Emily," Spencer says, "Call Emily."
"Where is she?" Rossi asks.
"Something's happened to Hotch."
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a/n: happy valentine's day to all of my loves! love you! ❤️