For some members of the BAU, two weeks was not long enough for a break. For other members of the BAU, all they could think about was returning back to work. Cassidy was one of them. Everyone was right to go back to work. Spencer obviously had to do a physical and psychological exam, but he passed both, allowing him to go back to work. As for Cassidy, she wasn't so lucky.
She had spent the past week trying to convince Hotch to let her return for work. She explained that she was more than ready to get back in the field. He agreed, to some extent, mainly that she was physically ready. Her bruises had mostly gone and the doctors said that she wouldn't need to be cautious due to any existing injuries. She thought she had won her case, until he asked her how she was doing mentally and emotionally. She put on a fake smile and nodded, insisting that she was okay. Hotch could see right through her façade and rejected her.
This is how it went for a week. She even insisted that she be allowed back to work, but on desk duty, similar to Penelope, but once again, Hotch said no. But, after copious amounts of begging and pleading, Hotch agreed, but only if she passed her physical and psychological evaluation. If she passed one of them, she'd be allowed back to work, but she wouldn't be allowed to travel with the team - at least, not for a while. But, if she didn't pass either of them, she'd be forced to spend another 2 weeks on paid leave. Cassidy was excited for the challenge, especially when she found out that Morgan was going to be in charge of her physical exam, or so she thought.
Cassidy walked into the BAU bullpen and walked over to Morgan.
"Morning, Morgan. When are you planning to test me on my physical exam?" Cassidy asked as she sat next to Morgan, a confused look on her face.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Cassidy." Morgan shrugged his shoulders.
"I was told that you were in charge of monitoring the physical exam within the BAU." Cassidy furrowed her eyebrows, Morgan exhaling.
"Sorry pretty girl, but I stopped monitoring the physical exam within the BAU ages ago. Something about Strauss not liking the fact that our team can be bias when it comes to protocol." Morgan shook his head, watching as Cassidy's face dropped. Maybe passing the physical exam was going to be harder than she thought.
2 days later, Cassidy anxiously waited for the results of her physical exam. Everyone could see the anxiety on her face, and Spencer was careful enough to help her. He knew that once her anxiety got bad, she'd unintentionally bring herself back to that place, to that horrible place with Tobias Hankel. The last thing he knew she wanted was for the team to witness one of her anxiety attacks.
So, when an envelope with her name on it was handed to her within the BAU bullpen, Spencer sat with her, his hand on her leg as she shakily opened it up, her eyes gazing down the paper.
"Talk to me, Cassie. Did you pass?" Spencer asked, worried.
"I passed!" She jumped up and down with joy, each member of the team giving her big hugs as she tried not to cry with happiness. This meant that she was allowed to go back to work, but the psychological exam would determine whether or not she'd be allowed to return to the field or not.
"Can anyone tell me who exactly is in charge of monitoring the psychological exam?" Cassidy asked, a concerned look on her face.
"If you're planning on passing your psychological exam, especially when you've been experiencing nightmares and daydreams, you're not going to be happy when you find out who's in charge of monitoring it." Hotch exhaled as he walked out of his office.
"Strauss is in charge of monitoring all psychological exams within the BAU. It was Hotch's job once, but like Morgan being in charge of monitoring the physical exam, Strauss wasn't happy with the bias when it came to protocol within the team." JJ shook her head.
Cassidy groaned when she heard Strauss' name. She leaned back in her chair, rolling her eyes. Without warning, Strauss walked into the BAU bullpen, a file in her hands.
"Agent Marlow. I'd like to see you for your psychological exam." Strauss announced.
"Wish me luck." Cassidy whispered as she followed Strauss through the building, leading her to a small office with a long brown table that had 4 chairs on either side. She locked the door behind her sitting opposite Cassidy. She pressed a button on her recorder before leaning back, clasping her hands together.
"Please say your name and rank for the record." She spoke. Cassidy could feel the anxiety eating away at her as Strauss stared at her blankly.
"Supervisory Special Agent Cassidy Marlow with the Behavioural Analysis Unit in Quantico, Virginia." Cassidy spoke, trying to remain calm.
"You wish, Ms. Marlow, to return to the field. Is that correct?" Strauss asked, Cassidy nodding.
"Yes. That is correct." Cassidy spoke.
"It says here that you did pass your physical examination. What injuries did you sustain in order to be required to take the physical exam?" Strauss asked. Cassidy kept looking at her, trying not to think - in detail - about what happened to her.
"I sustained significant bruising on my feet, as well as a large gash on my head." Cassidy took a few deep breaths in and out.
"You sustained those injuries while you were kidnapped during the Tobias Hankel case, correct?" Strauss asked, starting to freak Cassidy out. She knew this was coming, but it didn't make the subject any easier.
"Yes. I did." Cassidy nodded.
"The profile that was given to the unsub - Tobias Hankel - is a white male in his late 20s to early 30s whose killings are clinically efficient, having the earmarks of the slaughtering or sacrifice of an animal. One or two of the unsub's personalities believe they are killing in the name of God, suggesting a psychopathy that should display extreme levels of disorganization, and yet, there are forensic counter-measures and somebody in control enough to do complicated computer work. One personality is organized while another is disorganized. What is strange is that the one that is to be considered to be most in control is the one that cannot seem to prevent the other one from killing. Usually, the frenzied personality takes direction from the cooler head. While in captivity, Agent Marlow deduced the unsub to be a sadist suffering from some sort of a psychotic break. Based on his M.O. and the motivations for his crimes, Hankel can be classified as an organized visionary-type serial killer. Do you believe that this profile is correct?" Strauss read from the file.
"Yes. That profile is correct." Cassidy nodded, trying to ignore the anxiety.
"Can you please give me a detailed description of what exactly happened before, during and after being kidnapped?" Strauss asked.
"With all due respect, I gave both the police and SSA Aaron Hotchner a detailed description of what happened before, during and after being kidnapped." Cassidy shook her head, trying to avoid recounting exactly what happened.
"I understand that, Ms. Marlow, but I want to hear it myself." Strauss explained.
Closing her eyes, Cassidy tried to remain calm as she started explaining what happened to her. She pretended like she was talking to her therapist, someone who wouldn't judge her. She spent the next 25 minutes explaining what happened. She could feel her heart race as she talked.
"I didn't want to kill Tobias Hankel, but I knew that if I didn't, he would have killed me and buried me in the grave that he had forced me to dig. After I shot him, I could barely stand up. I heard my name being called. I looked up to see SSA Dr. Spencer Reid and SSA Aaron Hotchner. We embraced. I hugged Aaron Hotchner, knowing that he'd understand why I did what I did when I was kidnapped. While we hugged, I was glad that I was being hugged by my family. While I would've rather been hugged by my dad, I didn't care that I was being hugged by my uncle." Cassidy recounted, her eyes still closed.
"Hold on." Strauss stopped the interview, pressing the stop button. Cassidy opened her eyes, confused, until she realised what she had said. Her eyes widened and her heart dropped. She hit the rewind button, stopping a few seconds before the recording was stopped.
"While we hugged, I was glad that I was being hugged by my family. While I would've rather been hugged by my dad, I didn't care that I was being hugged by my uncle."
"Did I hear that correctly? Did you say that while you were being hugged by Aaron Hotchner, you were happy that you were being hugged by your uncle?" Strauss crossed her arms, her neutral facial expression turning into a face of anger.
"Y- Yes. My uncle is SSA Aaron Hotchner. His brother is my father." Cassidy admitted.
"We will discuss this later." Strauss growled as the interview kept going. The moment the interview was over, Cassidy nodded and left the office, basically running back to the BAU bullpen.
"I think I just screwed up, like majorly!" Cassidy panicked.
"What? What did you do?" Spencer asked, confused.
"I accidentally revealed to Strauss that Hotch was my uncle." Cassidy groaned, earning a gasp from Morgan. Cassidy spent the next 15 minutes explaining her familial relationship with Hotch to Morgan, who was definitely shocked.