Isabel looked down the darkened corridor, knowing that the prize was at the other end. She looked at the boy beside her, who was also on the secret mission with her. They both wanted the prize at the end of the corridor. Suddenly, lasers crisscrossed the corridor, and Isabel could swear she was able to see some other traps at the very end of the corridor. The two looked at each other, nodded, and began to traverse through the lasers. They were both experts and easily made it all the way through the lasers. The other traps were more of a challenge, but they both made it through them, as well. They came to the end of the corridor, and Isabel put in the code she knew would open the case. They both looked at the contents inside and smiled. The mission was a success.
************************
Ciara knew she had to get food right after Hotch and Jack for their secret mission to be a success, and she had to trust Jack to be behind Hotch, not in front of him. If it was the other way around, it would never work. Thankfully, Jack understood this and was indeed behind his father. Behind Ciara was Garcia, and Ciara knew that Garcia wouldn't say anything if Ciara asked her not to. Ciara, of course, grabbed some saleeg and some of her own chili but didn't take a cinnamon roll. She had saved some at home for her to eat later, which had worked out because she had made her batches into a baker's dozen. She took the one in the center that she could get to because she had seen Jack eyeing it just a moment before. With as much secrecy as she could manage, she placed the roll on Jack's plate and waited a moment to make sure that Hotch didn't notice. He didn't. She took a moment to whisper in Jack's ear.
"Mission accomplished, agent," she joked, and she could see Jack smile. He didn't laugh, because that would give it away. As soon as everyone had sat down and the blessing had been said (which was extremely awkward for Akilah), Hotch finally noticed the cinnamon roll on Jack's plate.
"Where did that come from?" he asked, and everyone looked over at them. Jack smiled and began to laugh.
"It's a secret, Daddy," he said, and everyone else began to laugh, except for Ciara. She hadn't laughed again since that day at the music store. As she ate and talked with the rest of her team and a few extras, Ciara recalled a memory that involved each of them, and most of them were good. Her eyes fell on Garcia, the bright ball of energy in the group.
"Hey, Garcia, can I ask ye..." Ciara forgot her question when she saw the little figurine on Garcia's desk. "Is that the Tardis?"
"Why, yes it is. You like Doctor Who?" Garcia asked, and Ciara nodded, gingerly picking up the Tardis figurine.
"I watch it every chance I get. The Tenth Doctor is my favorite character," Ciara said, and Garcia laughed.
"And let me guess, in a different fandom, Luna Lovegood is your favorite," she guessed.
"Actually, Molly Weasley is my favorite. Don't ask why," she said, and Garcia nodded. Ciara knew exactly why Molly was her favorite, but she wasn't ready to share that with anyone, because answering that question would only lead to more questions that Ciara really didn't want to answer.
"What's your favorite movie? You and I should totally get together sometime and have a movie night and geek out," Garcia suggested.
"The Matrix. The special effects and soundtrack for that movie are absolutely amazing. And wouldn't we have to invite Reid if we were going to geek out?" Ciara asked, and Garcia smiled and laughed.
"No. If we were going to nerd out, we'd have to invite Reid. Not to geek out. There's a difference. Besides, do you really think he'd want to watch The Matrix with us? He'd probably laugh at whatever science mistakes are in it, or in his words, improbabilities," Garcia noted, and Ciara nodded, agreeing with her.
"Let's do it."
They had yet to actually pick a day when they were going to have a movie night, but Garcia kept mentioning that they were going to do it. Her eyes traveled around the table and eventually landed on Prentiss.
"You really know Russian and Arabic?" Prentiss asked her one day, taking her by surprise.
"Um, yeah, I do. Hal fajayik dhilka? [Does that surprise you?]," Ciara asked in Arabic, and Prentiss smiled.
"La, lays kadhalik. [No, it does not.]" Prentiss responded, and Ciara looked down, knowing that she was about to shake things up with Prentiss, and hoped she could keep up.
"Kak naschet etogo? Vas eto udivlyayet? [How about this? Does this surprise you?]" Ciara asked, and Prentiss sighed.
"You had to crack out Russian? I'm passable in Russian, that's it. Definitely not fluent like I'm sure you are," Prentiss sighed, and Ciara decided to confuse her a little bit more.
"Ik wed dat je dit niet had verwacht, als je het kunt identificeren. [I bet you did not expect this, if you can identify it.]" she said, and the look of confusion on Prentiss's face was exactly what she had been going for.
"Are you even human? How do you know all of these languages? What even was that?" Prentiss asked, exasperated.
"That was Dutch. And let's just say... I had a lot of time on my hands as a child," Ciara answered simply.
"Hey, Prentiss, weet je al wat ik zeg? [Do you know what I'm saying?]" Ciara asked, and even she could feel Prentiss's glare.
"That's not funny. Just because I can talk to you in Arabic and somewhat in Russian, that does not give you permission to bring up some language that I can't identify. Is it still Dutch? Because if it is..." Prentiss drifted off.
"It is."
"Goddammit. Don't do that to me!" Prentiss exclaimed, and Jack gasped at the swear word.
"Daddy, she swore! She's not supposed to do that, is she?" Jack asked, and Ciara heard Akilah snorting and struggling to hold back her laughter beside her.
"No, buddy, she is not supposed to swear," Hotch said, and that was when Ciara noticed that Jack had the frosting from the cinnamon roll all over his face. Children were messy. There were only two people left that she hadn't recalled a memory of, and she didn't want to recall the one with Hotch. She knew what her mind was going to bring back, so she instead brought her attention to Rossi, someone she had something in common with: they were both writers, and had some of the same problems.
"Stuck?" Rossi asked, and Ciara brought her head back up from where she had slammed it onto her notebook, her pencil still in hand.
"Writer's block is a bitch," she said, and Rossi slid into the seat across from her, asking her what her book was about.
"Sometimes talking about the plot jumpstarts creativity. Not like I would know all that much, since I'm focused on the nonfiction side of writing. But you write fiction, correct?" Rossi asked.
"Yeah?"
"What kind of fiction do you find best suits you? Or are you still trying to figure that out for yourself?" Rossi wondered, and Ciara thought for a moment.
"I guess I'm still trying to figure that out. I mean, the first four were all thrillers, but this new one I'm working on is fantasy, and then I have one I've been meaning to write that's historical fiction, and another one after that that's realistic fiction, so yeah, I'm trying to figure it out," she shrugged.
"Fantasy? Really? Well, ask yourself this. Where are you now, and where do you want to plot to go? Is there anything else you need to add at this moment? A plot twist, maybe?" Rossi suggested, and Ciara looked down at her notebook.
"No, I'm not ready for the plot twist yet, I still have to... oh my gosh, I know what I need to do with the story! Thanks, Rossi!" she exclaimed, and began to write. "Oh, and I'm not ready to reveal the plot yet, but it's called Avery. Thanks for helping me!"
"It was no problem, kiddo. Oh, and if you ever have a row with a publisher or editor, and you need a new one, I can help you there," he offered, but she was already only half-paying attention, her creative spark going again.
"Hopefully I won't need to take ye up on that offer."
Ciara knew she had no choice left now. As Hotch helped Jack wipe the frosting off of his face, Ciara remembered what she didn't want to remember. She remembered how she had helped Hotch catch George Foyet, A.K.A. The Reaper, and the pain that she had gone through to help him. It was nothing compared to the pain that he had gone through in losing Haley, but Ciara still wished she had never agreed to do what she had done.
"Ciara Byrne, do you remember what happened after..." Erin Strauss started, but Ciara cut her off.
"What's the point in all of this? My part in this will only confuse ye, and honestly, who needs that kind of aggravation?" Ciara asked, and Strauss sighed.
"It is necessary, Agent Byrne, to determine if Agent Hotchner is at fault here," Strauss told her, and Ciara scoffed.
"At fault? I really don't think so. But, if ye really must know, my part in this case was reaching out and trying to connect with the mind of Foyet," Ciara answered.
"You mean, like telepathy? Can you actually...?"
"No, not telepathy. Telepathy is the supposed communication between minds. There was no communication between our minds. In fact, I doubt that Foyet knew I was in his mind at all. But I won't waste time trying to explain it to ye. Someone as closed-minded as ye would never be able to understand," Ciara retorted.
"Excuse me? Did you just call me closed-minded?" Strauss asked, and Ciara nodded.
"I did. Ye would have to be closed-minded to think that Hotch is at fault for any of this. Yer not opening yer mind to the possibility that he was only doing what was necessary. But anyway, I won't try to explain my mind. As someone who could have been an author, I have to have an open mind, and sometimes I barely understand it. I'm not communicating with or reading the minds of others: I just... know what's going through their mind. I can feel their feelings if I let the connection get too deep, but when that happens, there's a good chance I can't sever the connection," Ciara explained.
"I'm afraid I don't understand," Strauss said, and Ciara sighed. Perhaps if she explained what she had done that day, it might make it easier for her to understand. She let herself fall into the memory.
"Hold on, Ciara, I remember you got into Errol Alvin's mind way back when. Can you do the same now? Can you get into Foyet's mind?" Hotch asked, and everyone looked at her.
"Yeah, I... I can, but, I really don't like to do that..." Ciara stammered, but Hotch had other plans.
"Ciara, I need you to! I need you to get into his mind and tell me what he's planning, where he is, everything you can!" Hotch told her, and Ciara looked around the room. There was only her and Akilah here, the rest having gone to help Hotch. She sighed, and let her mind reach out, looking for Foyet's mind. It would be easy to find, she knew, but that didn't mean it would be easy or pleasant to make a connection. But she did it. She did it for Hotch. She made the connection, and all of his thoughts, every single one, immediately filled her. She automatically knew what he was thinking, and it made her want to cry.
"Please don't make me keep doing this..." she whimpered, but Hotch told her that he needed her to. He asked what she knew, and she sucked in a breath, digging through the thoughts to try and find something she could use.
"Where is he, Ciara? Where did he take my family?" Hotch asked, desperation in his voice. But Ciara was still sifting through. She came across the memory of what he did to Sam Kassmeyer, and the tears finally fell. She had seen things like this, but to actually see it through the criminal's eyes, to know what was going through their minds was too much for her. But finally, she came across it.
"Yer house! They're at yer old house!" she exclaimed. She listened in on Foyet and Hotch's conversation and knew the minute that Foyet put the gun to Haley's head. "No, don't!" And then she heard it. Three gunshots. Ciara shut up, tears still going down her face. Then she felt something, something vile. Pleasure. She knew what he was doing, and she was starting to feel his feelings, too. She needed to get out of this.
"Please, Hotch, let me be done..."
"No, Ciara, I still need you." Ciara nodded, and kept the connection going. And as she felt everything that George Foyet felt when he was killing Haley Hotchner, she began to fully cry, not able to handle it. She needed to stop, but she had orders not to stop. Then she heard the door open, and she knew that Hotch was in the house. She felt George hide behind the curtain, adjusting his bullet-proof vest. As soon as Hotch entered the room, she felt a spark of something that surprised her. Worry.
"Hotch... the curtain... but he's...!" Ciara was going to warn him about the vest, but Hotch shot before she could. She felt the bullets hit Foyet's vest and felt him fall. But he wasn't dead. Far from it. He had never felt more alive. He sprang for Hotch, and the fight began. But the problem was obvious. Ciara was feeling what Foyet was feeling, including Hotch's attacks. She felt him falling down the stairs, and at that moment, she couldn't stand on her own feet. Akilah cried her name as she fell to the ground. Every kick, punch, and shove was felt by Ciara, who began to shake.
"Hotch! Hotch, you have to tell her to quit! She can't take it! Hotch!" Akilah cried, but Ciara knew that Hotch was no longer listening to them. He was focused on Foyet, on her... no, on Foyet! Not on her!
"Okay... you got... you got me! I surrender!" Foyet said, but Ciara knew he was lying. He just wanted to get into prison, which he could easily escape from. But then, Hotch also knew he was lying. Ciara began to convulse as Hotch beat George Foyet to death, and she struggled to let the connection go, but she knew that she had to. If she didn't, she would lose herself the minute that Foyet's soul left Earth. She felt every bit of pain that Foyet did, and it brought her back to a time in her past that she wanted to forget. Her body was screaming at her. Finally, with every ounce of strength she had, she cut the connection, just before it would have been too late. She continued to convulse as the pain that racked her body didn't go away, and finally, it was too much for her. As she convulsed, she began to scream with the sensory overload, and Hotch had no clue of the pain he was causing her. Her phone began to ring, and she barely heard Akilah answer it.
"Hotch, don't you ever make Ciara do that again! If you do, I will kill you!" Akilah screamed over Ciara's. Ciara somehow heard Hotch's answer.
"Where is she? I need to thank her for doing a great job. I would never have..."
"You want to know where she is? Do you really want to know where she is? Here you go!" Akilah yelled, and put the phone on speaker. There was no way that Hotch couldn't hear Ciara's screams. "She felt every bit of pain that you inflicted on George Foyet, and it was too much for her, Hotch! You should have let her quit or take a break when she told you she needed it! She's convulsing and screaming because of the sensory overload!"
"I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to go that far."
"Well, it did." Finally, Ciara stopped screaming, and her convulsions stopped, but the tears silently ran down her face. She kept her eyes closed, not thinking she could stand the light yet.
"Hotch..."
"Ciara, you have to know how sorry I am. If I knew what it would do to you, I wouldn't have made you hang on like you did. You are incredibly strong for putting up with that, and you are one of the strongest people I've met. I hope you find it in you to forgive me," Hotch said, and Ciara stayed silent for a moment.
"Hotch, never, ever make me do that again."
"I won't."
Ciara looked around the table once more, shaking off that memory. She didn't want that infecting her mind anymore. Everyone was laughing and trading stories, and Jack asked Hotch if he could have another cinnamon roll. Despite everything, she knew that the pain she went through that day was worth it if it meant saving that little boy's life. She would do it all again just to make sure that a child's life wasn't taken from the world too soon. She waited for Hotch's response, which was a no. Jack pleaded with Hotch, but he still said no. Jack thought for a moment, before looking at Ciara, smiling brightly. Ciara knew what he was thinking before he said it.
"Ciara, I think we need to go on another secret mission."
I wonder if that one worked out. The first one did so well, didn't it? So, Avery is actually now published on Wattpad if you didn't see, so if you want to know what Ciara was having a tough time writing, you can go ahead and read it. So, now we know a little bit of what Ciara and the gang have been up to during the time skip. What about what Ciara went through for Hotch's sake? Yeah, she's a trooper, isn't she? So, what could possibly happen next? What will the next case be? Guess you'll just have to wait until the next chapter to find out. BYE!
"Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us." -Oscar Wilde