A/N: So here comes the hard part. I want them to be caring and protective towards each other, but I also don't want to go OOC. Along with that, I have no idea how buildings work, especially bombed buildings and specifically large bombed buildings so I'm kind of winging it. If you have any ideas on how to make it more realistic with both of those things, please do. For now, I'm just going to say, as far as characters go, traumatic events change people.
The BAU doors had shattered. Desks toppled, papers and reports scattered across the dirty bullpen floor.
Italian shoes could be seen from under one of the desks, looking uncannily close to the image of the wicked witch pinned under a house.
The FBI seal once printed proudly on the wall was now in pieces on the ground, cutting the oxygen off for the only mother on the team.
Up on the balcony hallway, the glass was barely intact. The unit chief had almost made it up the stairs.
Blonde hair, matted down with blood, was spread on the ground in the far corner of the room. A man with the tip of the tattoo snaking down his arm visible below his shirt sleeve lay in front of her, his back arched like he'd been trying to shield her from what was coming.
It was a cliche, the flag falling from the wall and draping over the young government agent just so. His messenger bags contents were scattered next to him, a worn book pressed under a bleeding, boney hand.
A pole pinned her down, one shoe off, one shoe missing its tall black heel. The dark haired woman still clutching her weapon, even as the enemy had gone from sight.
No one spoke. No one shifted. The only noise was the off tone beeping of a watch, damaged in the fall.
The aftermath.
The eye of the hurricane.
The calm after the storm.
A hand started to shake, tapping against the stair it rested on. Nerve endings firing, spasming. The shaking turned to clenching, white knuckles clashing with red blood.
Hotch groaned.
It's an odd thing, will. The will to live, the will to choose, the will to protect those who mean everything to you. It drives you to the far reaches of your mind, memories flooding, tears pooling, and then the sensation of drowning overcomes you and you swim, you fight.
Sometimes you lose.
And sometimes you win.
Hotch managed to get an eye open, groaning again at his headache and the raw pain in his right foot.
"Get up"
It wasn't his voice, it wasn't his teams. It was Haley's. Hotch closed his other fist, pulling himself up to his knees.
"Aaron, get up" a soft hand on his cheek forced a breath out of Hotch's lungs he hadn't known he couldn't take. He looked around for her, it didn't take him long to realize she had never been there.
Slowly, ever so painfully slowly, Hotch pulled himself up to stand, steadying himself on the railings that had miraculously stayed sturdy.
His foot gave out beneath him and he bit back a yelp, he looked down at his foot and winced at the blood, it must've hit something when the explosion went off.
"... Explosion" he had to find his team.
As if on cue, a strangled cry rang out from a few feet away and a hand, fingers bleeding, pushed its way out from under rubble and drywall.
Hotch made his way towards it, running, crawling, falling until he made it. A sudden burst of adrenaline ripped through him and he started to dig, not caring when the broken pieces of the wall cut into his palms and forearms. Finally, he dug far enough to see a torso, he held firmly onto the arms of his teammate and pulled.
JJ's gasp turned into a choked sob as she was lifted from the rubble. Her breathing was short, a gash in her head bled into her eye. She clutched onto Hotch as she hyperventilated.
"JJ, breath, you have to breath" he repeated it again and again as he rubbed her shoulders, giving her time they didn't have to calm down. When she did she fell back, pressing a hand to her head. Hotch pulled off his tie and handed it to her. She nodded in thanks and pressed it to her forehead,
"What happened?" she looked around, "Where's everyone else?"
Hotch stood, putting most of his weight on his left foot, and offered her a hand, "That's what we need to find out"
As JJ stood her eyes widened, "Oh god Hotch! Your ears! Are you okay?"
Hotch lifted a cautious hand to the side of his head, coming away with blood. Two explosions within six months of each other probably wasn't good, "I'm fine"
Before she could argue he turned and spotted the two bodies in the corner, "JJ"
JJ followed his line of sight and immediately moved towards them, tripping a few times as her breathing began to quicken again.
The two made it to the other side of the room and knelt, JJ's hand shook as she felt for a pulse. She nodded at Hotch and he turned Morgan onto his back,
"Morgan, can you hear me?"
He groaned and JJ let out a breath of relief, "Derek, wake up"
On command, his hand lifted to his face. Hotch turned to Garcia and slowly lifted her into a sitting position, "Garcia, Penelope, look at me"
Garcia moaned a noise that sounded a lot like 'no'. Hotch subconsciously brushed her hair away from her face, grimacing at the bruise forming on it, "Penelope it's Hotch"
"Sir?"
Hotch almost smiled, "Yeah, it's me, can you open your eyes?"
Garcia opened them just a slit and managed a half smile, "Look at you, my knight in shining armour"
"Can you stand?" Hotch asked, taking her hands. Garcia nodded and let him help pull her up, he put an arm around her shoulder, letting her lean into him for support.
Next to them, Morgan and JJ stood, Morgan looked relatively unharmed. When he saw Garcia his eyes widened, Hotch watched as they filled with guilt, "Don't"
"Hotch-" he started. Hotch didn't let him finish,
"It isn't your fault"
Garcia looked between the two, "What's not his fault?"
Morgan stepped up to her and rubbed his thumb across her cheek before replacing Hotch's arm with his own, "Nothing Momma, don't worry about it" he looked at Hotch, "Reid, Emily, Rossi?"
JJ put a hand on his arm and pointed at one of the desks, Reid's, by the look of it. Without explanation, she ran over and started to push, her breathing was raspy, when the rest of them joined her, Morgan pulled her away,
"We've got it, you need to take it easy"
"Take it easy?" JJ started to argue when a fit of coughing took over, she double over and hacked. Morgan put a hand on her back and crouched to meet her level. When she looked at him, blood dripped down her chin.
"You might not be injured on the outside JJ, but you're still hurt" Morgan said as he put his hands on her shoulders, lowering her down next to Garcia.
"Morgan!" Hotch shouted, suddenly realizing what JJ had been doing. Morgan rushed to him as he bent to lift the desk, "Help me get it off of him"
"Off of-" Morgan stopped when he saw Rossi's shoes, "Oh my god" he moved to the other side of the desk and heaved along with Hotch.
They managed to move the desk a few feet away from the man. Hotch lowered himself down next to him, "Dave?"
Rossi didn't say anything, just held up his hand and waved Hotch away.
"Dave, you're in shock, you need to get up" Hotch said, taking his best friends hand.
"Aaron, I'm not in shock" he did sit up though, despite his complaint, "I'm just too damn old for this"
Hotch let out a breath and Rossi smiled, "You can't get rid of me that easy old friend"
Morgan joined them on the floor, "Are you okay?"
"I think my shins are bruised" Rossi answered, "Other than that, I'm okay"
"-what happened?"
The group turned to the new voice to see Prentiss staggering towards them. Morgan stood and met her, catching her when she tripped, "Hey, hey Emily"
Prentiss shook her head, "He has a bomb"
JJ stood and put a hand on her friends elbow, "We know Em, he set it off"
"I- is everyone okay?" she asked, focusing on JJ.
"Spencer" Garcia said suddenly, "Where's Spencer?"
"Shit" Morgan looked around the room, "I don't see him"
Hotch and Rossi stood and joined the rest of them in digging through rubble and other debris. Rossi grabbed Hotch's arm and pulled him with him, towards the corner of the room, the flag once hanging on the bullpen wall lay on the floor. Reid's messenger bag next to it.
Hotch yelled to the others and they moved their focus to that area. Rossi moved the flag,
"Hotch!"
Everyone turned at the shout, Morgan made it to him first. He ran his hand over his head and closed his eyes for a split second before kneeling next to Reid's unmoving form, "Reid?"
When he didn't get a reply, he checked for a pulse, "No" he whispered and crossed his hands over the young agents chest.
"Spence?" JJ's voice broke as she sunk down and took Reid's hand. Her eyes shone with tears.
Morgan started CPR, "C'mon kid"
The team watched in horror as their youngest member lay still on the floor.