#I drove Emily's car home from the airport

[trivialbob]

This morning I brought one of my sisters to the airport. I live not far from MSP so family and friends sometimes park here. I will drop off and pick up. It's easy enough, and I would rather they not pay to park in a ramp. I don't even accept tips!

Emily doesn't fly often. She was a little nervous today--just about getting there, through security, and to the gate, not about actual flying. As we stopped in the departures traffic lane early this morning we could see a long line of people up on the security level.

That should not be a problem for Em though Everyone in my family is usually early for everything. We like a nice time cushion for any unforeseen circumstances. The last time I got a flat car tire was 40 years ago. But generally I could work another one into my schedule.

Emily and I both know people who have the opposite approach to being early, being ready, and basically being where they should be at the proper time.

I know a guy who, if his flight was at 8:00 AM, would arrive at the airport at 7:53 AM. In his mind those seven minutes give him time to stop at Starbucks for a complicated beverage and maybe pick up a magazine before boarding.

You might think someone like that learns a lesson quickly, being caught in a security line then missing a flight.

Nope. Either his flight gets delayed by precisely the amount of time it takes him to get through security and walk to the gate with is fourteen syllable coffee beverage, or someone comes by in a golf cart and says "I need to bring one passenger directly to a first class seat ASAP! Buddy, I'm looking at you, let's go!" This guy likely has never planted his butt in a waiting area seat. Never had a need to.

It always works out for him.

[lunajay33]

The One🐾

Summary: Life always felt like something was missing and falling into a funk you go to move to forks to live with your best friend Jacob and everything seems to fall into place when he introduces you to his friends

Pairing: Paul Lahote x f!reader

•Masterlist•

Every since I was little I felt like something was missing, like no matter how happy and whole my life felt it was never enough and when I grew into my teen years it just got worse, so my mom thought it be best to send me to live with our family friends in Forks Washington where we use to live before we moved

Getting out of the cab seeing the familiar red house feeling the fresh coastal air breeze across me something clicked in me, like everything was gonna somehow be better here

I got my suitcase out of the car waving goodbye to the man that drove me all this way from the airport

“Y/N!!! YOURE HERE!” I turned seeing Jacob running out the door to me with wide open arms

Dropping my bags I jumped into his arms as he swung me around holding me tight then setting me gently on the ground again

“I can’t believe you’re back, I missed you so much”

“Jake we call almost every day” I laugh as he picks up my bags leading me back to the house

“I know but it’s not the same as actually having you here, plus I think it’ll be good for you, I have a bunch of friends now and we do stuff all the time and they’ll love you!” He was as excited as a little kid in a candy shop and it warmed my heart, finally being back in the town I was born in, the place I only ever felt right before moving

He dropped my bags in a little room, seemingly nervous at what I’ll think of it

“I love it, thank you and Billy agains for letting me stay”

“Anytime! Now I planned a little welcome home fire tonight for you, food, music and you’ll get to meet the whole pack!”

“Pack?”

“Oh umm yeah like….i mean my friends, our whole group, my friend Bella from town and some of the elders, I remember how you loved those stories they’d tell us as kids”

“You did all that for me?!”

“Of course, you’re back home where you belong, it’s only right we celebrate”

The night came and Jake was driving us to the go to spot they had fires and gatherings, we pulled up to a big open field by a little house, a big fire already roaring bright, hearing the cheerful voices from my open window as Jake shut off the engine

“Come on what’re you waiting for?” Jake asked from my now open door, my nerves taking hold of me not even noticing he got out and was now waiting for me on my side of the truck

“I’m a little nervous what if….what if they don’t like me?”

“They’re nothing to be worried about, just think of them just like me, and you’re always relaxed around me now come on let’s get some food before Paul eats it all” his words soothed me finally coursing me out of the truck

“Oh I remember Paul, he use to play with us sometimes at the beach right?”

“Yeah he’s become a bit of a hot head but he means well, he’s pretty protective of things that are important” he said handing me a plate as we got to the tables filled with food

“Hey!! Jake come over here got a spot for you!” I heard a girl by the fire say waving him over

“That’s Bella, I’m gonna go talk with her, mingle around these people will be in your life as long as you live with me” he smiled soothing my worries as he walked off

I picked up a chocolate chip muffin and placed it on the plate when someone spoke next to me

“Hey you must be the girl of the hour, I’m Emily Jake hasn’t stopped talking about you since he found out you were moving here, I’m glad to finally meet you!” She smiled giving me a warm motherly vibe

“It’s nice to meet you too! Thank you for coming I can’t believe everyone came just for me, I’m excited to reconnect and meet everyone!”

“Come on I’ll introduce you around” she brought me around, I met Seth Clearwater who wasn’t even born before I left but I remembered his sister Leah as well as Embry, I talked to Billy and the elders a bit before we moved on to the next

“Hey Paul! Remember y/n and few of the others do already!”

“How could I forget that little rascal” he laughed as he looked up at me from his plate, his smile dropping as we made eye contact, his plate crumbling to the ground

Everything felt still, this connection and pull I felt to him like he’s the only thing the matters, that no matter what happens or where I go I’ll be safe and loved, he drops to his knees as I place me hands on his shoulders, admiring his features he’s changed so much, so tall so muscular so handsome, the chatter around us stopped feeling everyone’s eyes on us but I don’t care all I care about is this moment

“No no no no NO, Paul really? Out of everyone it had to be my best friend?” Jake fumed snapping us out of this strange trance

“Like I can help it, but I’m not complaining she’s beautiful” he said making my heart thump

“Ummm what just happened?” The confusing starting to set in

“Right, I wouldn’t expect you to remember, come on we’ll tell you everything” Jake grabbed my hand and sat me next to him at the fire, Paul quick to sit on my other side, his body heat relaxing me

The “pack” went on to tell me everything, that the legends were true and most of the people including my best friend was a shifter, a wolf, it was hard to believe I mean wolves? But it wasn’t until they told me about imprints and that I was now Paul’s, but it didn’t feel wrong it felt completely right, like magically I was whole again

Everyone looked at me expectantly, anxious and waiting expression on everyone

“I know it’s a lot and we understand if you need time honey” Billy said comfortingly

“No……I’m fine really, I actually feel the best I have in a long time” I smile sheepishly as my cheeks rush with heat

“That makes sense, it’s said that if you’re separated from your soulmate even if not imprinted yet it drains you and now that you’re back, you’re where you’re suppose to be” Sam stated as he squeezed Emily’s hand

I look next to be to Paul who’s rough exterior I always remembered was gone now replaced with adoration as he looked at me like I hung the moon in the sky

“Would you like to go talk…..privately?” I asked

“I’d loved to Angel” he took my hand and led me away from the fire to the house, it was cozy just like Jake’s home, well mine now too

“Soooo I guess I’m your soulmate”

“I’ve been waiting for you, I always did have a crush on you when we were younger, always got jealous when Jake would talk about you” he smirked as he brushed back my hair

“Really? You had a crush on me?”

“Always, missed you a lot when you left, tried to forget about you but I never could get you out of my head, felt like something was missing with you gone and now I know why”

“So what are we now?” My heart thumping fast

“Anything you want Angel” he said squeezing my thigh

“Can we start with a date?” I ask placing my hand ontop of his that rested on my thigh

“I’d love that, how about I pick you up tomorrow at 5 I’ll plan something special!”

The clock showed 4:30 and I was a nervous wreck, this is my first date ever and it’s with a guy who’s my soulmate and a wolf, how did my life change so drastically

I combed down my hair for the millionth time hearing Jake laugh behind me as he was sat on the bed

“And what are you laughing at?”

“You, you’re fidgeting like crazy”

“Jake stop…I’ve never done this before what if we go out and he realizes he doesn’t wanna be with me, then I’m alone again”

“Y/n/n he’s gonna love you, hell I see how jealous he’d get everytime I’d bring you up”

There was a knock at the door and my heart jumped, I got up and flattened down my ivory dress

“Okay how do I look?”

“You look great now go on don’t keep him waiting!” I rush to the door taking a deep breath and opening it to see Paul standing with a pair of jeans and a tight black short sleeve and a bouquet of wild flowers in his hands

“You look beautiful wow” he said in a daze as his eyes roamed over every inch of me

“You don’t look to bad yourself handsome”

“Here these are for you, but they can’t compare to how pretty you are” he said handing them over

“Paul stop you’re gonna make me blush” I smiled placing the flowers in a little vase

“That’s the goal, now let’s go I’ve got everything ready” he gently took my hand leading me to the open field infront of the house

“Where’s your truck?”

“We’re going on foot” it’s just up the hill

We walked hand in hand for a while till we reached the cliff side with a beautiful view, there was string lights across the trees hanging over a comfy blanket with a picnic basket

“Wow you did all this for me?”

“Of course and I got all your favourites! Had to get a few tips from Jake” he laughed as we sat down

“This is so sweet, so far this is an amazing first date” I said taking a bite of a strawberry

“First? You’ve never been on a date before?”

“No….ive never been interested in anyone before….well before now” I looked at him a bit embarrassed but being around him felt like he’d never judge me

“I get that, no one ever compared to how I feel for you, you’re the one, my only one”

Part 2?

[veeluvss]

You didn't give up on me after my miscarriage

JJ miscarries and runs to the one place she feels safe 1.4k words read part one here

“There’s something else,” Mateo said. JJ lay in the hospital bed, mid-warzone. Her IV flushed her fluids and the injury on her chin throbbed in pain. Her ears rang with after-effects from the explosion. She looked at Cruz. He didn’t even have to say the words. 

Bile rose in her throat and her heart dropped out of her chest. She clutched her stomach through the blanket, unable to process his words properly. She wanted to feel her baby, her little girl, but nothing was there. 

It hit her like a tidal wave. Crashing into her, knocking the air from her lungs. If she was standing, she would have fallen from the force. The tears came suddenly, uncontrollably. She grabbed the blanket and pulled her knees to her chest, moving away from Cruz to cry alone. The pain - it was like no other - an emptiness yet she was so full of every emotion. It was unbearable. 

JJ took time off after the miscarriage but she didn’t go home. No one knew, not even her husband. Instead of DC, she flew to London. The phone call on the way was a quick one. “JJ,” Emily answered after three rings, almost as if she couldn’t believe it. “I need you,” JJ said. They were the only words she could say. “Okay, I can come to you…” “No. It’s not safe where I am. I have time off.” “I’m in London currently. I’ll pick you up from the airport tomorrow morning,” Emily said, her voice full of concern. “Thank you.” 

After collecting her bags, JJ headed out of the airport. Emily stood by the coffee shop with two coffees in her hands. JJ, rolling her small suitcase behind her, smiled warmly. She’d missed her face. They made eye contact from across the large space and all the other people and voices in the room disappeared. JJ headed over, not taking her eyes off her Emily. Then she stood in front of the raven-haired woman who was just slightly taller. “For you,” Emily said and held out the coffee. “Is it-” “A vanilla oat milk latte, yes, JJ. Your favourite,” Emily chuckled and took a deep breath of relief. JJ smiled a small smile, she was too devoid of emotion to smile too much. But she was back with her Emily, the one person she needed more than anyone. Emily looked at her and then tilted her head. “What happened?” 

JJ looked around and shook her head, “Not here.” Emily nodded, understanding from their plane journey to Paris. With JJ’s backstop, it had to be something important. She’d been given time off. Emily wrapped one arm around JJ’s shoulder and walked them out of the airport to her car. 

They drove off through London and JJ sat back in the sports car Emily owned. It was comfortable and red, but not something you’d expect Emily to drive. JJ looked over at her and Emily looked back. She reached a hand over and took JJ’s in hers. JJ smiled softly again and closed her eyes, for the first time in months she felt completely safe, safe with Emily. “It’s only a few minutes to the hotel,” Emily said. JJ’s eyes flashed open. “Don’t you have your own place?” “I do but we’re staying in a hotel,” Emily replied. She really didn’t want this conversation. “Why?” “Because my house is a mess,” Emily deflected. “And? I want to stay at yours. Let me see the Prentiss Den,” JJ teased with the same term Derek used for Emily’s house. “I can’t,” Emily said as they pulled into the hotel car park. “Why? I’d feel safer-” “JJ, you can’t stay with me,” Emily interrupted and JJ’s heart dropped. She turned away and looked out the window, assessing the hotel. She just wanted to feel safe and she’d feel safest with Emily. Was Emily even staying at the hotel with her? Emily squeezed JJ’s hand but JJ pulled it away, she didn’t want the physical touch if she couldn't keep it. “Jay-” Emily whispered and took off her seatbelt. She turned to face JJ. “I just wanted to feel safe with you,” JJ whispered, on the brink of tears. She didn’t want to cry, she was stronger than that but with all her crazy hormones and finally feeling safe then for it to go away, she felt overwhelmed. “I’ll make you feel safe Jay, just not at my house.” “Why, though?” JJ turned back to Emily. Emily sighed and fiddled with her fingers, picking at her nails. 

“I have a boyfriend, he’s staying with me until he finds his own place,” Emily explained. JJ felt the bile rise in her throat again. Suddenly she felt less safe, less special. She turned to leave and pulled at the door but Emily grabbed her hand. “Don’t go,” she said, desperately. “I shouldn’t have come,” JJ whispered, unable to trust the strength of her voice. “You need me,” Emily said. “I missed you.” “I can manage,” JJ replied but didn’t move. She felt weak with emotional pain. She couldn’t manage. Not at all. She just wanted to be held. “You should be with him.” “I’d rather be with you than him any day,” Emily said. “This is different JJ. You have to understand.” “Understand what, Emily? That you just move on and forget about me?” “JJ this is nothing like that! You have Will, you move on, forget about me!” Emily clapped back. JJ went red, that wasn’t all true. “I accepted years ago that you were with Will - that what we have is different, we’re each other’s escapes, true loves who just can't always have each other but you can’t hold it against me that I find someone to fill the gap you can’t fill.”

JJ nodded. Emily was right. “I’m sorry,” JJ whispered. Emily sighed and ran her hand through her hair, “It’s okay. Let’s head inside and get settled then we can talk.” “Are you staying with me?” JJ asked, looking up at Emily with her eyes full of oceans. “Of course, my sunshine,” Emily smiled. She leaned down and planted the softest kiss on JJ’s forehead, “Always.” 

JJ sat on the edge of the bed and watched Emily move graciously around the hotel room. JJ had no words to speak, she felt weak. She slid off her shoes, using her feet and moved up the bed. She sat in the middle, letting the sides surround her. She felt small in the middle of a white cloud. Her knees were pulled up to her chest, protecting her stomach from any more pain and she put her head on her knees and let the tears fall. For the first time in weeks, she felt safe enough to cry. All the pain left in her tears. 

Emily stood at the side of the bed and watched her girl break down. She didn't even bother taking off her shoes. She launched onto the bed beside JJ and pulled her into her arms. JJ clung to her girl, crying heavily. “It’s okay, I’ve got you now,” Emily said, stroking her hair. “I’ve got you,” she repeated. JJ sobbed and curled herself up, getting as close to Emily as she possibly could. “You’re safe.” JJ shook her head, howling with tears. “They took her,” she cried, through tears. “Took who, darling?” “Her. They took her away from me,” JJ sobbed. “My baby.” She whispered and clutched her stomach. 

Cradled in Emily’s arms she leaned back and looked up at her with her wet eyes. Emily looked down at her stomach, JJ’s knuckles were white from her grip. Emily brushed her hand over her hand and took it in hers. “You were pregnant?” Emily asked. She could barely get her words out. “They took my baby, Em,” JJ cried. “My baby.” A whole new wave of cries came over her and she curled into Emily. Emily held her tighter, as close as she could to her body. “It’s okay, get it all out. You’re safe here,” Emily said. 

An hour later they were cuddled under the covers. Emily’s top, soaked in tears had been thrown on the floor and JJ had her head curled in her chest. She fiddled with the cover that came up to her chin. Emily had her hand up the back of JJ’s top which sat on her shoulders, she drew patterns with her fingertips and JJ’s eyes fluttered closed. With her other hand, Emily ran her fingers down JJ’s cheek, wiping away her occasional tears. 

“I was going to call her Maggie,” JJ whispered. “That’s a beautiful name,” Emily replied. “A beautiful girl with a beautiful mother.” 

JJ sighed and looked up at Emily. “Kiss me.” Emily was hesitant, “are you sure?” “Please. I just want to forget.” 

Their lips brushed one another and their eyes fluttered closed. It was soft and so full of love. JJ moved herself further up to deepen the kiss and rolled on top of Emily. Emily held her, running her hands up and down her back, caressing and feeling every curve and contour on her body. Soft touches and gentle breaths floated between them and they were stuck in a haze of love and lust for no one but each other. The men in their lives evaporated like distant memories as their kisses deepened. JJ explored Emily’s body and boobs with her hands and Emily smiled through the kisses. “Be gentle,” Emily warned her, still sensitive from her near death. “Always, with you,” JJ replied and kissed her softly and clothes were removed. 

This time, Emily lay awake with JJ sleeping soundly on her chest. Their breathing was in time with one another and Emily played with JJ’s long, blonde hair. She kissed the top of her head and ran her fingers down her back. The room was silent, away from the hustle and bustle of the London city. No one interrupted them, it was their time. And this time, no one had to leave. They could stay like that for as long as they liked, laying in each other’s arms, feeling each other’s heart beating for them. They could love and be loved: together. 

[mrs-weasley-reid]

I love 'Cases and Candie'! Could you perhaps write one about the first time the reader does this with the team all confused? If not that's cool. ❤️

STARTING A TRADITION•••

bau team x bau!reader Cases and Candies prequel

Sypnosis: you have a lot of sweets up in your sleeves. WARNING: nothing. all fluff. A/N: OMG YESSSSS! This has been sitting in my drafts for 2 months but I've been so busy to post it! Sorry for the long wait and I hope you enjoy! <3

To say that the case was tiring is an understatement. The BAU team is shattered. Dozing off. Sore necks. Two weeks of an exhausting case rendered everyone overdue for an uninterrupted forty-eight hours of slumber.

Granted, the next few days were reserved for catching up on paperwork. A little slack off the weight of the recent case. Nonetheless, it didn't make any BAU agents feel better.

Your eyes barely managed to stay open while you got off the jet, almost causing a domino effect if it wasn't for Hotch's alert reflexes. You tripped on a step and were about to lay your weight on poor lanky Spencer Reid when Hotch caught the back of your collar, choking you awake.

The drive back to Quantico wasn't any restful than you'd hoped, either. Emily drove on the verge of dozing off, freestyling on the traffic lane. You, JJ, and Spencer were bombarded with honking cars and a few patrons cursing, all while praying for your lives to be spared. Surprisingly, you all managed to get to the parking lot in one piece.

In the elevator, it felt like someone had died. The silence was deafening, yet none of you disrupted it, submerging yourselves with little peace. In fact, none of you realized that the elevator doors had slid open until it lost patience and closed the doors.

Emily exclaimed, "The doors! Push! Push!"

Spencer absentmindedly jammed the button for the doors to open.

"That's enough, Reid." Derek placed a hand on Spencer's shoulder as he exited the elevator.

Everyone emerged from the small lift, sluggishly dragging their feet on the linoleum floor.

"Good evening," Strauss greeted with an apologetic look.

Rossi was the first to express his immediate opposition to whatever the section chief was about to say. "I told you," He turned to Hotch, "We should've just gone straight home."

Strauss sighed with a tight lip, "I'm sorry, everyone, but I need your brief action reports about your recent case by tonight." She would've turned a blind eye if she could, but the higher-ups were on her neck, too. She could only offer a pitiful, awkward smile.

Simultaneously, all of you groaned like children. But something caught your attention when you hoisted your go-bag under your arm.

You felt small pebbles poke on your side the tighter you held your bag close. And soon, it clicked. You remembered the small pouch of candies you bought on your way to the airport.

You had the habit of rewarding yourself with sweets, no matter how huge or small your deed was. So, when you saw the adorable packaging at the souvenir shop in the hotel lobby, you didn't think twice.

You planned to indulge in it when you got home, but your colleagues seemed to need the tiny reward as well. And as a kind and thoughtful human being—looking over the part where Derek stole your last chocolate bar—you decided to share your little source of dopamine.

Everyone slugged to their respective cubicles or offices.

Spencer's head dove into his desk, eyes blown wide and red. He was shaking like he was about to explode. It made sense for someone who downed three mugs of coffee, and yet his body couldn't cooperate with anything he wanted to do.

Emily repeatedly smacked the thin manila folder atop her head, "Absorb it. Absorb my brain. I don't wanna write!" She whined childishly.

Derek laughed at the two of them, unaware of him writing with a pen that ran out of ink. His grin dropped as soon as his eyes looked down on his paper.

Hotch finally entered the bullpen, returning from a short conversation with Strauss. His face no longer held his stoic expression but instead masked with exhaustion and frustration.

Before Hotch retreated inside his office, he leaned against the railing, looking over the three agents and you. "Just write as much as you can in an hour, then you may go." He announced and shut his door.

You quickly stood up, catching the other three agents' attention. You held a smile on your face, which left them confused and annoyed at the same time.

"No offense, but I really want to punch that smile off your face right now," Emily grumbled, fanning the folder on her face to keep herself awake.

"Yeah, I hate it too." Spencer agreed, rubbing his eyes frustratedly.

You rolled your eyes at Spencer, "Weren't you the one to say that smiling can trick your brain into happiness?" You reasoned, taming your excitement over a small piece of candy.

Spencer blinked slowly. You didn't need 187 IQ to know that he was planning your murder in detail in his head while he glared at you in silence.

"What about sweets?" You waved your small pouch in front of them. "This one was kind of expensive. I was going to share it with everyone, but I guess everyone is too tired for a piece of candy." You shrugged, slowly putting your hand down.

"Hold on!" Emily rolled her seat to peek over your cubicle, "Are those liquor-filled candies?"

Derek's ears rang, lifting his gaze up. "A what-what candy?"

"Each candy has alcohol. Well, most of them. I bought assorted candies." You said, drawing the boy genius in.

"D-did you know that eating s-sweets quickly goes from the stomach to the bloodstream and then to the brain, where it causes a surge in dopamine?" Spencer almost drooled as he followed the sway of your pouch.

You grinned teasingly, "Is that so?"

He nodded vigorously, licking the bottom of his lip as his eyes sparkled.

"Shoot," Derek winced, clutching his leg. "Kicking doors for two weeks makes you sad. I think a piece of candy that has brandy would help."

Emily glared at Derek, "I..." She craned her neck, pointing at the to-go cup on her desk. "I think the coffee burned my tongue! I need something to test if my taste buds are ruined. Say a candy or something." She glanced at your pouch.

"Halloween is a month from now," Spencer announced as if it was enough reason for you to give him a piece of candy.

You scoffed a laugh, shaking your head. "Fine," You opened the pouch and faced it to them, "But only one for each. I'm going to share it with the others."

The three of them simultaneously grinned, racing on who gets to pick first.

"I wanted that one!" Emily hissed at Derek, who swiftly unwrapped the packaging and shoved it in his mouth.

"Hmm?" Derek jazzed his hands, smirking at Emily.

Spencer meticulously decided as if he was making a chess move. In the end, he chose a truffle.

"Ooo, what do we have here?" JJ chimed in as she walked in the bullpen, carrying a few folders.

You smiled and extended your arm towards her, "Have some sweets, Ms. Gorgeous."

JJ chuckled and raised a brow, "I am definitely taking your offer. This is rare." She quickly rummaged through the small pouch. After a few seconds, JJ grabbed another candy, a plain caramel-filled chocolate. "For Henry."

"Nah, that's for Henry's mom too," Derek interjected, pointing accusingly at JJ.

"If she's getting more, then I should too. Halloween candies are supposed to be more than one." Spencer's hand quickly dove inside your little pouch as if it was deeper than the ocean.

"Geez," You laughed after they were all satisfied to acquire another piece. "You guys can pass as scammers." You shake your head, closing the pouch in case another hand attempts to get a piece.

You then headed to Rossi's office, knocking softly. "Want some liquor-filled candy?" You peeked through the door.

Rossi lifted his gaze and was met with your wiggling pouch. He smiled and motioned for you to come in. "And when do you ever share your treasured sweets?" He said, putting his pen down to give you his full attention.

You snorted, "What do you mean? I always share." You giddily snickered, walking closer to his desk.

"I guess we don't have to talk about Spencer's one-week bruise during that one case..." Rossi shrugged and grabbed one candy from your pouch.

"He ate my last candy, Rossi! Not because it was in the jet's kitchenette doesn't mean he can eat it." You defended, grinning at his raised brow.

Rossi hummed in response, knowing not to press further.

You left his office not long after he thanked you for a nice red wine-flavored candy. So, your feet quickly brought you to Hotch's office.

"Come in." He said from behind the door. Hotch gazed at you with tired eyes, furrowing his brows when he saw your playful grin, "Can I help you with something?"

"Nope," You shook your head and softly smiled, standing before his desk. You placed a whiskey-flavored candy in front of his nameplate, "Great job on the case, boss." You put your thumbs up, then skipped out of his office like a toddler who's given permission to stay up past her bedtime.

He watched as you exited his door and almost tripped on the stairs down the bullpen. Hotch shook his head and flashed his rare smile, reaching for the candy. He popped it in his mouth, widening his grin when the bittersweet taste of whiskey spread on his palette. The next sentences on his action reports were written with less weight.

Down the bullpen, Penelope begrudgingly poured coffee in her mug, mumbling curses and how she would hack into the higher-ups' computers and spam them with ads. Action reports were not on her task, but if the team stays, she stays.

"Hey, beautiful lady," You nudged her.

"I love you with all my heart, but I am in no condition to be all happy, happy. I might choke someone who breathes next to me." Penelope sipped her coffee, tasting every single drop.

Your palm served as a platform for the little sweet, advertising the red-wrapped candy between Penelope's eyes. "I just wanted to offer the prettiest tech analyst a token of my gratitude in a form of candy. Will you accept?"

Penelope's eyes twinkled, her lips twitching into a smile. She carefully took the sweet from your hand and offered you a kiss on the cheek. "I'm sorry I doubted your intentions, my liege."

"You're forgiven," You giggled and gave her a side hug.

After having a little chat with Penelope, distracting her mind off the fact that you still had to write paperwork, you went back to your cubicle.

A small sticky note on top of your pile of manila folders greeted you.

I don't mind doing extra action reports in exchange for chocolate truffles — S.R

And who were you to decline such an offer?

[hotchners-wifey]

Save Her

Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader, Platonic!BAU x Reader, Morgan!Sister Reader

Summary: Y/N has a past she's never told anyone about, she was involved in some heavy things when she lived in England with her Aunt and Uncle. Things she thought were murdered along with her best friend, things she thought went missing with her boyfriend. Things that followed her to Quantico, Virginia. Previous Chapter~ Next Chapter Chapter Warnings: Cursing, Sicknesses, death A/N: I didn't want the character to get confused with Morgan so I put Y/L/N so just pretend your last name is the name you took when you moved with your aunt and uncle.

________________________________________ I got out and gave the keys to Benny and helped Penny get out of the car and into the building. I thanked George for holding the door up and we walked into the building. Still holding onto Penny I walked to the elevator and pressed the button. Emily groaned, "Ugh I just want to get into bed and sleep for thirty years." I laughed, the elevator doors opened and we loaded into the elevator. Penny leaned onto my shoulder and started to nod off. "Hey Penny try to stay awake, we still have to get you to my apartment and out of these clothes." She sighed and nodded slightly, the doors opened and we walked down to my apartment. I opened the door and we piled into my apartment. We all helped Penny change into her pink unicorn pajamas, before getting ready for bed ourselves. I decided to sleep in the living room with the girls, I pulled out the blowup mattress for JJ and Emily. Me and Penny got the futon, after getting ready for bed I laid next to Penny and wished the girls goodnight. I laid awake for a while before drifting off to sleep. ________________________________________ 10 years ago ________________________________________ Looking out the window of the airplane I couldn't help but miss home, I told my Aunt about what had happened and she demanded me to move back to America. And to bribe me she used the BAU, she knew I was interested in joining the FBI so she helped me get settled into an apartment in Quantico, Virginia. She also helped me get into a class for the BAU. I didn't want to leave my aunt alone but she always said the same thing, "I'm not alone, your uncle will be here to keep me company." My uncle who died three years ago from cancer and I always respond with "He'll always keep you company." and she would smile and give me a long hug. When the plane landed I arrived at the gate and spotted my brother and some bubbly broad next to him. I rushed towards him and gave him a massive hug. "Derek! I missed you so much!" I exclaimed and pulled away, "How's my older brother been." He smirks "I've been good, oh this is Penelope Garcia. Babygirl this is Y/N Y/L/N. Since you're starting training at the BAU you'll be seeing her a lot." I looked over at her and smiled shaking her hand. "I've heard so much about you, all good things I promise." She exclaims, I laugh, "He better be telling you good things." She giggles. "I don't need my soon to be team thinking badly of me." I say looking directly at Derek, he chuckles nervously and nods. We walk to grab my bags and leave the airport, "So I heard that Aunty set you up with an apartment. Is that true?" I nodded, "She wouldn't tell me how much the place cost because from the pictures she showed me the place seems pretty pricey." Derek shakes his head with a slight smile and grabs my bags. "Now you and I both know how stubborn that woman is." I laughed as we walked out the airport and headed to his black SUV. "Damn Der, where did you get this beauty?" He smirked, "Perks of the job sweetie. You'll get there one day." He placed my bags in the trunk and we got in the car, "Alright lets get you to your new home." He started the SUV and we drove to the building and when we arrived my jaw dropped. "Wow I didn't expect her to go this far with my new apartment." I got out of the car when a chauffeur came up to us, "Hello my name is Benny, I'm one of this fine establishments chauffeurs and this is Chris he will be taking your bags up to your apartment Miss Y/L/N." I looked at him shocked, "You know who I am?" He nodded "Your Aunt sent us an image of you so we knew to give you the right room." Derek gave my bags to Chris and he put them on the cart and entered the hotel. My aunt really outdid herself this time. I couldn't believe she would blow off this much money for me, I turned to the chauffeur, "Just out of curiosity, how much did my aunt spend on my apartment?" He smiled "She didn't spend anything on your apartment, she owns the place." ________________________________________ Taglist~ @sebastiansstanswhore

[hockeylvr59]

I Got You || Nathan Mackinnon

Authors Note: This is my entry for @antoineroussel‘s winter fic exchange 2k23. I wrote for @raysofcrosby​ who requested an OC fic and left most things open to my creative process after we agreed that it would be Nate. This was a concept that I dug out of my ‘someday I’ll write’ pile and I’m so glad I did. Song inspiration is I got you by Leona Lewis but the overall concept comes from season 8 of SYTYCD with Marko and Melanie’s lyrical hip hop (linked under the tag 047 on my page). This one got a little away from me and even changed a bit as I was writing it but I really hope you enjoy it.

Warnings: angst, minor cursing  // Word Count: 4,747 + song lyrics

~~~~~~~

A place to crash

I got you

No need to ask

I got you

Just get on the phone

I got you

Come and pick you up if I have to

Emily Bowers learned one thing a long time ago. She would do anything for Nathan MacKinnon. And she was fairly confident that he knew it. Their meeting had felt inconsequential at the time and yet somehow they’d managed to become friends. 

But friends were all they’d ever be because when they’d met he’d already had a serious girlfriend. Alexandra was fine, Emily had met her and had absolutely nothing against her, she was easy to like. She seemingly adored Nate and put up with him even when he was being difficult, often providing Emily the chance to be the one to call him out and tell him when he was seriously being a moron. And Nate adored Alexandra. Emily could only hope one day to find someone who looked at her like that. 

Of course the couple had their fights like all couples do, but lately those fights seemed to be occurring more frequently and didn’t blow over as easily. 

So when Nate called her around 2am one night Emily already knew what had happened before she picked up the phone. 

“Hey Em…” He mumbled, “Sorry for calling so late…” 

Before he could even finish she was replying with a sigh. 

“Where are you? The airport?” 

Nate’s soft ‘yeah’ filled her ears and though Emily was worried, she didn’t hesitate, staying on the phone with him as he grumbled softly about how cold it was while she threw on sweats, a hoodie, and boots and grabbed her wallet and keys to head to her car. 

Following Nate’s directions to the private charter side of the airport, it wasn’t long before she pulled onto the empty lot where Nate was standing talking quietly to someone who appeared to be part of security. Unlocking her doors, Nate approached her vehicle and opened the backdoor, tossing his bag inside before opening the passenger door and folding himself into the seat. 

“Hey.” He whispered gruffly and tiredly. “You’re the best.” 

“And don’t you forget it.” She couldn’t help but tease softly, feeling proud when that drew the slightest smile onto Nate’s face. “I take it you want my couch?” 

Nate’s nod as he turned to lean against the window answered her question and so Emily drove home with her unexpected overnight guest. She didn’t need to know what had happened to know that this had been a rough fight but like always she was sure that after a night of space (though she could never understand how they needed more space after Nate had just been on the road) things would settle. 

Arriving home, Emily pulled out extra pillows and blankets from a closet and as she sat them beside where he was sitting on the couch he reached for her hand, his palm warm against her own. 

“Thanks Em.” 

“I got you. You know that.” 

What's weird about it

Is we're right at the end

And mad about it

Just figured it out in my head

I'm proud to say

I got you

Go ahead and say goodbye

I'll be alright

Go ahead and make me cry

I'll be alright

Emily knew that Nate was planning on marrying Alexandra. After all, he’d been sending her pictures of rings for the past two months soliciting her opinion on what she thought Alex would like since she was a girl and all. Still, knowing it was coming didn’t make it sting any less when her phone dinged with a photo of Nate kissing Alex as she showed off that brand new extravagant engagement ring Emily knew Nate had spent a small fortune on. 

I’m so happy for you. Enjoy the moment. 

Though she sent the words, Emily knew the meaning behind them was hollow if not a lie and she couldn’t help but wonder if Nate did too somewhere deep down. 

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be happy for him, because she did, he deserved to be happy. It was just that in a way, that picture signaled a further shift in their friendship, one that she wasn’t sure was sustainable looking forward. 

After all, do friends ever last long when one has their heart broken by the other? 

Grateful that she was at least at home alone and not out in public, Emily pulled her knees to her chest and sobbed softly letting the past three years of emotions finally wash over her after being bottled and shoved deep down for so long.

It wasn’t fair for her to feel like this. She knew that. She knew that Nate had done nothing but stay within the boundaries that had been set back when they first met. This wasn’t his fault. 

It had been her fault that she’d fallen a little bit in love with him knowing that those feelings would never be returned. It was her fault that she continued to let him use her as an emotional backstop when things had gotten hard in his relationship. It was her fault for hoping that someday maybe things would be different. It was her fault for wanting more than he could ever offer. 

But knowing it was her fault and not his didn’t make it hurt any less. 

So today, today she’d let herself cry and mourn what was never to be. And tomorrow, tomorrow she would get up, rebury all of those feelings, and support Nate through the craziness of wedding planning with his bride to be. 

And it might not happen quickly but someday, someday she’d be alright. 

And when you need a place to run to

For better for worse

I got you

I got you

Ain't falling apart, or bitter

Let's be bigger than that and remember

The cooling outdoor when you're all alone

We'll go on surviving

No drama, no need for a show

The sun was shining, it was warm but not overly hot, it was a perfect day for a wedding. Entering the church that Alexandra had picked, Emily felt a swirl of emotions. Today was the day that Nate would officially be married. Dipping off towards the groom’s room, Emily knocked on the door before smiling as Gabe opened it, waving her into the room. 

“He’s a little anxious. Maybe seeing you will settle him down.” Gabe whispered, motioning to where Nate was standing looking out a window, the tension visible in his body. Nodding, Emily moved across the room toward her best friend. When Nate noticed her he opened his arms and Emily stepped into them wrapping her arms around him in a hug. 

“Big day.” She whispered. “And it’s beautiful out, which is perfect.” 

“Yeah.” Nate agreed, squeezing her tight. “You look pretty.” 

“Thanks.” Though she knew it was just an offhanded polite comment, Emily banked it in her mind nonetheless. “You look dapper, and you’re still sober, which I suppose are both good signs.” She could feel him roll his eyes at her even without looking up at him and after a moment he pulled away ruffling his hair until she had to reach up and fix it. 

“I should go get to my seat but I just wanted to check in first.” She added. “Next time I see you, you’ll be a married man.” There was a twinkle of excitement in Nate’s eyes but also an undercurrent of nerves which she assumed were only to be expected at this point. 

***

It wasn’t long after she settled into her seat that Nate and his groomsmen appeared at the front of the church for the ceremony to begin. As he stood there, Emily could see how uncomfortable he was at the venue and she bit her lip remembering how contentious that decision had been. She hoped Alex was happy to have gotten her way. 

Emily had figured that it would only be a few minutes after Nate took his place before the bridesmaids would start filtering down the aisle followed by Alex. But she couldn’t help but peek at her phone in her purse noting that the wedding was supposed to have started already. Seeing Nate fidget, Emily quickly slipped out of her seat and out the back of the church going in search of the missing bride. Instead, she found the bridal room completely empty. There was scattered trash signaling that people had been here but there were no people and no bags of personal belongings. Stepping further into the room Emily saw a ring box sitting on a table with a note tucked under it and keys beside it. 

Peeking at the ring box revealed Emily’s worst fear as it contained the ring that had been on Alex’s hand for the last year. She had left. Just up and left him standing at the end of the aisle. Grabbing the items, Emily raced back to the side entrance of the church the groomsmen had come through. Once there she cracked the door open trying not to draw the attention of the entire guest list. 

“Gabe.” She whispered quietly drawing the groomsman’s attention. “You gotta get him out of there.” 

Seeing the panic on her face, Gabe nodded and announced that there must be a dress mishap or something and that they’d be right back. 

Leading the group out of the church Gabe mouthed to her asking what was going on and Emily glanced around before mouthing back ‘she left’. With wide eyes, Gabe looked at Nate who was completely befuddled but still relatively calm as he followed the rest of the groomsmen back to the room. 

“She left?!” Gabe whisper yelled, his face turning angry. 

“Left her engagement ring, house keys, and a note.” Emily whispered, waving the items in her hand. “It’s not our place to read the note but considering there is literally no one and nothing else over there I think it’s safe to say she’s gone.” 

“Fuck that.” Gabe murmured, snatching the note and unfolding the simple piece of paper. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. This wasn’t what she expected, my ass.” He continued, rubbing at his face before handing the note back. “Fuck. What’s the plan?” 

Swallowing hard, Emily rubbed her sweaty palms on her dress. This was not how today was supposed to go and while a part of her thought maybe she’d be relieved, she wasn’t. Nate didn’t deserve this. 

“Get him out of here. I don’t care where you take him so long as it isn’t here or home. Get him drunk if need be.” Emily started. “And turn his phone off.” 

“I’ll take care of that I guess.” She continued, tipping her head toward the still full church. “And then I’ll go pack up all of her things at the house, he’s not going to want to see that. And I’ll text you when that’s done.” 

After ensuring that she had his cell number and he had hers, Gabe disappeared into the groom’s room upon her direction to just hurry and get Nate out of there. 

Emily knew that Nate was going to be confused and hurt and she hated that but all she could think about right now was doing as much damage control as possible. With Gabe texting her that Nate was reluctantly out of the building, Emily took a deep breath and stepped back through the church’s doors. 

“May I have everyone’s attention?” She said with as loud and strong of a voice as she could. “I know Nate and Alex appreciate everyone coming today. However I regretfully inform you that the bride has decided there will not be a wedding today.” Gasps went up throughout the church and she let her eyes meet those of Alex’s family who seemed just as surprised by that news as everyone else. 

“I cannot speak any further on behalf of the bride, but Nate requests that everyone please give him the time and space to process these developments. He also requests that you please feel free to proceed to the reception venue as the food and drink has already been paid for. Again thank you all for coming.” 

Stepping down from the front of the church, Emily took a few deep breaths trying to calm and focus herself. A moment later Nate’s parents and sister raced through the doors she had just exited and she approached them with a sad smile. 

“He’s with Gabe and the groomsmen. I told them to take him anywhere that wasn’t here and feel free to get him drunk.” She murmured softly. “I’m going to head over to the house now and pack up all of her things.” 

“What the hell happened?” His mom Kathy questioned, already close to breaking down herself. 

“I didn’t read the note because it’s not my place but Gabe did and murmured something about ‘this not being what she expected.’ So I don’t know.” 

After talking between themselves for a moment, Graham murmured that he was going to text Gabe about where they’d gone and Kathy asked if she could come to the house. Nodding because a second pair of hands would make things go faster, Emily asked Sarah if she could go pick up some boxes and packing tape and bring them to the house. 

****

It was dark by the time everything that screamed Alex in Nate’s house had been packed up and loaded into Sarah’s rental car to take over to a storage unit for Alex to pick up whenever she was ready. 

With Sarah and Kathy gone, Emily moved to change Nate’s sheets after texting Gabe that if Nate wanted to come home he could. With Gabe replying that they were on their way only a few minutes later, Emily sent a thumbs up and settled down at the island with a bottle of water, again breathing deeply to keep all the bubbling emotions under control. 

Though Nate was drunk when he walked through the door, he wasn’t quite as drunk as Emily had been expecting. Still, Gabe urged him up to bed and as he did so, she got water and pain meds ready to be at his bedside when he awoke. Heading upstairs, Emily watched as Gabe settled Nate into bed and frowned as mumbles of ‘I don’t understand why she did this?’ filled the room. 

“No one does.” Gabe murmured back softly. “But get some sleep man you’ve had a hell of a day.” 

With Nate seemingly on his way to sleep, the two stepped out of the room and closed the door. 

“I’m gonna stay with him if you want to head home.” Gabe declared with a yawn. 

“Gabe, you have a wife and kids. Go home. I’ll stay with him.” Emily insisted. Eyeing her for a moment, Gabe nodded and murmured softly that she was a good friend and Nate was lucky to have her. 

“I could say the same for you.” She replied. “Now go.” 

With the house finally quiet, Emily sunk into Nate’s couch tugging a throw blanket she had gotten him over her legs as she tried to settle down to sleep for a few hours. 

When she awoke she was a little surprised to hear Nate in the kitchen, the smell of eggs filling the air. 

“Hey…” She whispered cautiously, not sure how he was going to be feeling this morning. Though he looked tired and a little worse for wear, he also seemed relatively stable considering. 

“Eggs?” He asked, voice a little gruffer than usual. 

“Sure.” Emily replied, honestly starving as she had been so focused on doing whatever she could for Nate last night she hadn’t eaten since lunch the previous day. Sitting up at the island counter, she just let Nate cook not wanting to interrupt him. 

“Was thinking…” Nate started out of nowhere making Emily jump a little. “You don’t start your new job for a couple more weeks right?” 

That was not a topic that Emily was expecting Nate to bring up but it was true that she was off for a few weeks between jobs. 

“Want to come to Fiji with me?” 

Nate had glanced over his shoulder with the question and Emily could only meet him with a blank look. 

“I mean the honeymoon was already booked and paid for and I’m not going to not go…” Nate mumbled. “Thought maybe you’d want to come…drink, eat, tan, swim, just chill.” 

Though it seemed a bit taboo to go on someone else’s honeymoon, Emily could tell that Nate really didn’t want to go alone and when else would she get a chance to go to a beautiful resort in Fiji. 

“You know what…sure. I’m in.” She declared. The way Nate’s whole body relaxed told Emily it was the right decision and as he slid a plate of eggs across the island to her there was even the smallest trace of a smile on his face. 

“Awesome. Eat up and go pack. Flight leaves at 3 so I’ll swing by at noon to get you.” Blinking a few times, Emily tampered her surprise because of course the flight was leaving today. She definitely needed to rush to get ready though because she certainly hadn’t planned on going anywhere. 

But now, now she was just going to go with the flow. 

****

Three things popped into Emily’s head when they arrived at their villa on Royal Davui Island in Fiji. First…the travel had been a complete bitch and she was exhausted. Second, she had never seen a view this beautiful in her entire life. And third, though she should have expected it, there was only one bed. At least the couch looked comfortable enough. 

“Nate…this is stunning.” She declared immediately opening patio doors to step outside onto the balcony. It was truly paradise in every way. She could literally just spend the next week sitting here and staring at the view. 

First though she needed a shower, a change of clothes, and possibly a nap. 

Checking the first two off the list, Emily saw Nate sitting in a chair off on the living room patio and she moved over to him, surprised to see drinks and food waiting there already. 

“Figured it had been awhile since we ate.” Nate declared motioning for her to sit. Everything looked absolutely delicious and Emily couldn’t wait to dig in. But Nate was holding up his drink in toast and she wasn’t going to leave him hanging. “To new chapters.” He murmured softly. 

“To friendship.” Emily echoed clinking her glass against his before taking a sip. If the drinks were this good she was about to spend this whole trip more than a little buzzed. 

Enjoying their lunch, Emily just gazed out at the view once again amazed at how stunning this place was. There was a certain peace that came from being here, to finally be still after all the chaos. 

Deciding that that nap sounded like a great idea, Emily moved to lounge on the couch under the cool ceiling fans and though the room was bright, sleep came easy. 

Her nap was followed by a trip down to the white sand beach with Nate and exploring the rest of the amenities on the island before they settled back at their villa for a private dinner. 

When it came time for bed, Emily moved to settle on the couch once again and though Nate looked like he wanted to say something, he kept his mouth shut. 

Overall the next few days were similar, Emily and Nate dined together but they didn’t always spend the whole day attached to each other’s sides. Nate used the fitness center on the island while Emily curled up on a lounger tanning and reading. Nate went hiking while Emily enjoyed the plunge pool at their villa. 

They did go on a scuba excursion together and there were the couples’ massages Nate had arranged which had been slightly awkward but for the most part they just relaxed whether they were together or off on their own. 

On the fourth morning, with Emily having awoken while Nate chose to sleep in, she sunk into the plunge pool just relaxing and looking out at the ocean as the sun rose. After about twenty minutes she heard footsteps before Nate’s voice softly asked if he could join her. Nodding, Emily shifted along the edge and Nate approached her, sinking down beside her. 

Neither said anything, just watching the new day start. Shifting, Nate’s leg brushed against hers under the water and Emily startled a bit not expecting the skin to skin contact. It wasn’t unpleasant, just unexpected. And though he apologized, Nate’s energy felt like it had shifted. Over the course of the past few days he’d been pensive which made sense given the way his life had just been upended and Emily couldn’t help but wonder a bit what he’d been thinking. 

“Are you sleeping okay on the couch?” He eventually asked. “Because it’s a king sized bed. It wouldn’t be that awkward to share it. You know if you wanted to…” 

Emily had known Nate long enough to know that while he may have phrased it in a way that put the ball entirely in her court, he wouldn’t have said anything if it wasn’t something he wanted at least a little. 

“I mean I guess I could be sleeping better.” She admitted leaving it at that and knowing that he’d draw the rest of the conclusions for himself. 

Sharing Nate’s bed that night after spending the day paddle boarding and snorkeling once again had been surprisingly comfortable and it wasn’t a surprise to Emily when she ended up tucked under Nate’s arm with his chest pressed against her back. It likely wasn’t a surprise to Nate either and if it was he played it off easily getting up to go get a morning workout in. 

While he did that, Emily soaked in the jacuzzi tub before settling down with another book. She was 100 or so pages in when Nate flopped down beside her on the other lounger.

“So Alex texted asking if I had gotten the ring, keys, and her note.” Nate stated. 

“They’re uh on your dining room table.” Emily murmured, peeking over at him. 

“I know.” Nate sighed softly. “I saw them.”  He paused. “I told her I didn’t understand why she had walked away. Or why she had waited until we were literally getting married. She hasn’t responded yet. And I don’t know what to expect if she does or if she even will. Was it my fault Em? Was it something I did? Something I didn’t do?” 

Closing her book, Emily sighed and twisted to sit up and look at Nate. It was clear that this had been bugging him for more than this morning but that he had finally worked his way through it enough to talk about it. 

“I can’t answer that Nate. I’m not Alex so I don’t know what it was that she was expecting or why she waited so long if she wasn’t happy and didn’t say something first. But regardless of her reasons, the way she went about it was shitty. I know that and I know you know that. You deserved better than to be stood up at the altar with just a flimsy note of excuse and no warning.” 

Nate mused over that for a second before murmuring that Alex had also inquired about getting her things. 

���Your sister already sent her the info for the storage locker.” Emily replied. “So you can just ignore all of that, it's been taken care of.” 

Looking lost in thought, Nate sat there for another fifteen minutes before murmuring that he was going to go take a nap. Knowing that he needed as much space as he wanted to sort through it all, Emily returned to her book just basking in the backdrop knowing that they were leaving in the morning and not wanting to waste a second of the view. 

Just wanna say

I got you

After spending most of the day sitting and reading, Emily decided to go for a walk and when she returned another private dinner was set up. 

“God I’m going to miss this food.” She declared calling out to where Nate was leaning against the balcony. 

“Yeah.” He agreed though it was clear that he was as lost in his thoughts now as he had been earlier. 

It was another quiet meal with her not pressing him to talk about whatever it was on his mind. While he took the dishes outside for the staff to retrieve, Emily leaned against the balcony as the sun started to creep lower in the sky. 

And though she heard Nate’s steps return, she expected him to lean against the railing beside her. Instead, he stepped behind her, sliding his arm around her waist in a reverse hug. 

“You’re gonna be okay Nate.” Emily whispered. “I know it’s hard now but you’re going to get through this.” 

“Did you read it?” Nate asked, his voice low in her ear. 

“Read what?” 

“Alex’s note.” 

“No Nate. That wasn’t my place.” Emily insisted. “That was a note meant for you.” 

“Except it had your name on it.” 

Before she could insist that no it hadn’t, Nate had placed a crinkled piece of paper into her hand. There plain as day in Alex’s handwriting was Emily, not Nate written on the front. How had she not noticed that? Unfolding the paper Emily started to read the message that had been intended for her eyes not Nate’s.

So that was where Gabe had gotten his mutterings and he’d stopped reading right there. Continuing on, Emily found herself biting her lip.

By the time she had finished, Emily had practically stopped breathing. That was…a lot. Her brain was spinning and her legs felt weak. Thankfully Nate’s arm secure around her waist held her up. He’d obviously read the letter a few times even if it was never met for him and Emily couldn’t help but feel guilty. Alex had left because of her. This was her fault. 

With her legs collapsing completely, Nate’s grip tightened even more and he shifted them back to the couch, pulling her onto his lap. 

“I got you.” His words were muffled by the press of his mouth against her bare shoulder but she heard them loud as day. How many times had she said those same three words to him in the past four years? And yet coming from his mouth they felt completely different. 

They sat there with his nose just teasing against the skin of her shoulder until the sun had sunken fully in the sky and her breathing had regulated. 

“Em…” He started softly, his voice vulnerable. “I know it might not be time just yet but when it is….I think I want to take that chance. Will you take it with me?” Her nod was instinctual, there was no other explanation for it, but it was enough for Nate’s shoulder’s to relax. “Yeah?” He questioned. 

The kiss that followed could barely even be called a kiss but it held a promise. As Nate cupped both her cheeks, his lips grazed against hers faintly before his forehead pressed against her own communicating without words. 

I got you. 

[joannaliceevans-fanficblog]

This came to me while I was at work. This has NOTHING to do with these real world events. So don't come to me and complain.

Warnings: Just angst. No happy ending here, nor a second part.

Ps: This isn't proofed, there for mistakes are on me.

**

You stood in your shared walk-in closet, pulling all the clothes you had. Your 6 month old Aria sat next to you, playing with her toys and Dodger babysitting. Her clothes already packed as well.

For the past 3 months you and Chris have been fighting. What started of with a silly argument, turned into something more personal. He's hasn't been home much, in which you can understand. He's a hot shot and you were the lucky one. Or so you thought.

It got to the point, where your heart and your mind can't take it anymore. Chris left the house the other day, without a word. He left for Atlanta, to finish off the filming with Emily Blunt.

You knew he would be home in few hours, and it's the day that you needed to leave. The weeks of planning and having your friend Simu and Diana to drive your car to San Francisco, from Los Angeles. Your original plan was to leave from Boston to LAX and the drive to your home retreat in Lake Taho.

You knew also, that taking the one thing that kept you and Chris together, would kill him. But you don't have any other choice. A busy man, with a 6 month old?

It hurts, it really does hurt when you thought about it. But couldn't stay another day, with fighting? Ever since he left for Atlanta, he barely called. A text would come in, asking how's his little munchkin is.

You sighed, as you looked over the final preparations. You had Aria's clothes ready, and yours. Dodger knew what's up, and that too hurt as well. Scott would be coming by, in a few to take you to the airport.

He's he only one that knows.

The front door opened and you knew it was Scott. Dodger jumped off and sat at the front of doorway. You looked over to see Scott standing there.

**

You sat in the back seat, as Scott drove down the long winding driveway of your home. Aria fell a sleep, as you placed her down. The moment Scott made a left turn, a familiar black Escalade came driving the opposite way. You knew it was him, but you didn't bother to look.

You gave Chris a few hours, or even 30 minutes to figure it out. Until then, you sat back and closed your eyes.

By the time you got into the plane, your phone was ringing. He was 3 hrs late, but you ignored it. The ringing stopped and your message tone came through.

Babe,

Where are you? Half of your closet is gone? Aria is with you? Please call me back, if this is about everything? I'm sorry, I want to talk about it, I just want to work this out.

I know I was a jerk to just leave without a word. That's not like me.

I love you.

You sighed, as you looked at the screen in front of you. You can tell he's upset, but so you really think, its going to change over night? Sighing once more.

You switched Aria to your other shoulder, the pressing firmly onto the buttons, and letting the screen go black.

[sasuhinasno1fan]

Wish come true - Adrien AUGreste Day 14+15

A bit late, but I was smart in asking EtherealGenie for help betaing, so there shouldn't be any spelling errors, at least not before the social media part, that I just added, so that was up to my spellcheck so fingers crossed. Also, it would actually take 6 hours for them to get to Saint Vincent Beach from Paris but for the sake of the story, we’re gonna say it takes less time. Anyway, enjoy! Passion

“No! Let me go, you can’t do this! I’m your daughter! I’m Lila Agreste!”

“Honestly Gabriel, you should have nipped this in the bud earlier. It’ll be difficult, but she’ll be disciplined and a different child by the time she comes home for break.” Tomoe said as they watched Gorilla carry the squirming girl to the red car. “My family will keep you updated. It’s laughable, how she doesn’t seem to realize how a name can’t get you far. You have to work for the respect you want.”

The designer could feel the judgment from the famed fencer. He still couldn’t understand how his daughter turned out like this. He thought back and realized times where she was caught, usually by her mother. Eventually she just got better at not getting caught and because he was so preoccupied with work or Emile’s health, he didn’t notice. Then she wanted to go to school and try her luck out there. She was quickly found out but it didn’t stop her. She kept trying to gain some attention, like something was supposed to change and nothing. And now it left her as this, a known bully who attacked a student with no motive. It took all his skills to keep the Rossi’s from suing, from having Lila removed to paying the hospital bills, and sending a check that was near 1 million euro. If he wanted any chance at saving his business, getting a new face for the company was critical. There were only so much his apologies could do. Honestly, after he got the Miraculous and got Emilie back, the business wouldn’t matter but until then, he had to focus on this, even if it meant turning his back on his daughter.

“I’ll fly with her to Japan and make sure she’s dropped off. Our security is going to meet us at the airport so your guard can stay here.” Good, Gorilla was not made for flying. “I should hope when I return that our business dealings won’t be putting my family at risk anymore.”

“Of course. Thank you again for doing this.”

Tomoe hummed before heading to the car, climbing into the passenger seat. Lila was still protesting as the car drove off.

“Master?” Nooroo asked once Gorilla had gone back inside leaving him and Nathalie on the front steps.

“Would I really not have been able to control her as an akuma? She would have been perfect.”

“But she wouldn’t want to give the wish over, even if she did know. She would be selfish. Even if she would have been your most useful or most powerful, she would have been the one you could never control.”

“Not to mention she still wouldn’t admit she stole the Peacock Miraculous.” Nathalie said.

“She didn’t have it. I couldn’t find it in any of her stuff. She might have given it away to keep it from you.” Nooroo said.

“To who? No one liked her.”

“Maybe she slipped it into a classmate’s bag. Unless Duusu came out, they wouldn’t know what it is.”

Gabriel thought of where Lila could have slipped it. one seemed the most obvious. “She must have slipped it into Rossi’s bag.”

“A-Adrien? M-Master, you can’t actually think…?”

“It makes the most sense.” Nathalie said. “She hated him and was constantly trying to get him into trouble. She left the book in the garden, no doubt because it was too big to hide away, the Peacock wasn’t. And it’s the one you want back the most. To hide it with someone who would be in bigger trouble than she’d been in would be the perfect place.”

“Um, uh, Master, I don’t think…you can’t go near him now.” Nooroo stuttered out. “Lila hurt him and his parents, they don’t want you around him. Even if he does have it, I’m sure he would have mentioned it.”

“He’s popular on Instagram, isn’t he?”

“His personal account is private, but he has a cosplay and food blog one.”

“Keep an eye on them. It might turn up.”

“But he might not even have it.” Nooroo said.

“Where else could it be? Do you know?” he ordered.

Nooroo stiffened as his ability to follow orders was triggered. “I don’t know.”

“Then we keep an eye on him. Now, what about Juleka’s contract?” he asked, heading back inside.

“Her mother has been going over it. Sir, she’s been checking everything from pay, to breaks, making sure it doesn’t interfere with her schooling and also making sure she isn’t working over a certain number of hours. You have to admit, the original contract violated a few child labour laws and she’s been spotting them like it’s nothing. In fact, she’s figured out how to get her daughter paid more.”

“Her mother? I suppose getting in trouble with the police makes it their job to drop by.”

“Actually sir…she graduated from law school.” At Gabriel’s stunned look, she continued, “Top of her class, was given the most offers after graduating but she didn’t accept any of them. Students in her class knew she had a deal with her parents to go to law school and she was allowed to do whatever she wanted after. Became a guitar player for Jagged Stone early in his career, got certified to be a ship captain, worked as a captain on a yacht for a while before becoming a freelance captain and had two kids. She knows how to get away with things because she knows the law. She’s making sure Juleka gets whatever she wants and that we legally have to give her.”

Gabriel sighed, looking to the ceiling. “The messes never end. Take care of it. If I want to fix this company, I need her.”

                                               _____________

Adrien watched his boyfriend and Rose go over lyrics. The two were focused, Luka coming up with a melody that fit the words Rose came up with. He felt like he was watching Marc and Nath work on the newest issue. The couple had a rough start as comic partners, even after the effort of stopping Marinette from going with her idea and acting as a middle man until Marc felt confident enough, but now they were a well-oiled machine, with Nath talking Marc through his drawings and then listening intently to the script Marc came up with from that. He looked over at Marinette who was using Juleka as a model for new outfits for Kitty Section. She worked tirelessly with ease, attaching the pieces until they became a cohesive look. She was the same when sketching designs, rarely able to be disturbed. Even Ivan has his private passion with poetry. He wasn’t attempting to sing it anymore, but Mylene swore that his words had a deep meaning. He seemed calmer working on it, even when Mylene wasn’t there to read his work after. Watching everyone work on something they were passionate about made Adrien realise something. He hadn’t been doing that. Food blogging was easy but getting lost and exploring and even cosplaying had taken a back seat. He hadn’t actually worked on anything since his Queen Serenity cosplay and the feather disaster. He had a few that he wanted to work on but another thing he realized was he was bored of doing it on his own. Sometimes he was able to get his mom involved and his dad loved doing it but he had to rush off after staying in Paris while he recovered from his concussion. Very few times had he gotten friends involved. For the most part now, Nino took his photos and Marinette helped him with the more difficult outfit builds, and of course Max helped with any tech stuff like the wings. He even brightened at the challenge of making a bow and arrow for his BOTW Link, lights and all.

He wanted to do a simple cosplay and just get lost to find a place for pictures. But with his mom busy with her own job, it wasn’t like they could take a train and be back before her next meeting. He could do it by himself, but it was so much more fun getting lost with someone.

“You ok?” noticing Luka was standing in front of him, he looked and realized the others were setting up to start practicing, though Marinette was taking the time to fit everyone into their costumes in case of issues.

“Yeah, just…seeing everyone so focused on working on their favourite thing I realized I haven't been able to cosplay in a while. I just want to get lost and take pictures and fall in love with it all over again.”

“Who would you be?”

“I don’t know. I have a few thoughts but I kinda want to do a pair cosplay. Getting lost with someone is so much more fun than going by yourself.”

“Guys!”

“Let me know a few of your choices after practise, ok?” Luka asked, leaving Adrien slightly confused. Why did he want to know that?

Practice ended with them going to Marinette’s to get the last pick of the day – and get extras – before Luka walked him home. They did stop by Andre’s ice cream cart to people watch.

“So, couples cosplays. What were your choices?”

“Couple?” Adrien looked at Luka. “Where did this come from?”

“I don’t actually think I’ve seen you in cosplay, I always see the pictures after. With everything you dealt with, with Lila, you kinda deserve to get lost. Maman has so many offers to borrow a vacation house out near the Rivera. So why not take a train and get lost?”

“I don’t think our mothers will be ok with us staying the night by ourselves.” Adrien felt like pointing out, if only to distract himself. He wasn’t upset with the suggestion, not at all. He just wasn’t expecting it.

“So, we go there to change into costume and back before we head home. Look, I’ve had those times where I feel like life is pulling me away from the thing, I’m passionate the most and having the time to do those things make your life so much better and less stressful. You’ve been through a lot recently and I want to do something to help you feel better. So, what couples cosplay do you want to do?”

“You’d really do that for me?” Adrien asked. He couldn’t remember any relationship where his partner wanted to participate.

“Yes, so come on.”

“Well, it’s a tossup between Ikuto and Amu and any of the main Mermaid Melody girls and their boyfriends. You know, with your hair, you’d do a pretty good Hanon, even though your personality is a bit more like Lina’s boyfriend.”

“Think we could do two outfits?”

How did he end up with this guy? Seriously, how was he real.

“If it’s closet cosplay, sure. I really wanna dress you up as an idol though. How do you feel about ruffles? And hair pins? Can I please put hair pins in your hair? Oh wait, I need to get you to listen to all the songs, even the openings and closings, I think you might like them. Is this, ok?”

Luka couldn’t help but laugh at him. “I don’t think I’ve seen you this excited in a while. You’re cute. I’m up for whatever, promise.”

Adrien couldn’t help but bounce a little. “You’re going to be the best mermaid prince idol ever. We need to stop at the cosmetic store. Hanon’s boyfriend has blue hair. I need to get temporary spray.”

“I think you’d rock blue hair.”

“In case I forget to in my excitement, thank you. really, you could have just come with me, but I’m glad you're interested in trying. I promise, I’ll make the experience awesome.”

“I can’t wait.”

                                       _________________

@lukarockstar

A story with a selfie of Adrien and Luka, sitting in train seats. A typewriter font in the corner with ‘Heading out for shoot day!’

Another story, a video focused on Adrien sewing the last of the light blue ruffles to the cuff of a sky-blue tailcoat. ‘Look at him go’ is cantered at the bottom of the video in the same font.

@adrigatto

A post with a picture of Luka, headphones on, focused on his phone propped up by a pop socket on the table. ‘@rosieheart, I think I got @lukarockstar hooked! He’s halfway through and calling Kaito stupid for not realizing.’

Another post with several pictures and a video. The video is from Adrien’s point of view as he follows Luka off the train, panning to take in the people exiting with them and heading for the station's exit. The next is a picture of the ocean and the one after that is a selfie of Adrien and Luka, Luka’s arms wrapped around Adrien who’s holding the phone. ‘@lukarockstar and I have arrived for our Hanon and Nagisa shoot!’

@lukarockstar

A reel with Luka filming himself. With his other hand he’s holding a piece of bread. “Just a piece of advice if you ever go to a new restaurant with Adrien. If they offer to bring chips or anything like that to the table, tell them to bring it with your orders, or else you have to watch this and starve.” Luka flips the camera to focus on Adrien, who’s standing and taking overhead shots of their food. Seeing his boyfriend filming, he refocuses with a smile on his face. “Leave me alone.” the camera flips back to Luka. “You’ll be happier, trust me.”

A post with pictures of Adrien opening the door to their temporary accommodation, a small Disney princess trunk themed carry on standing next to him, the cosplays hanging up on the door and a mirror selfie of Luka as Adrien does his makeup.

A story of a reposted TikTok with Luka and Adrien, Adrien leaning on Luka with his hands on his shoulder while Luka films. He shakes his phone and when the picture settles, they’re in costume, still in the same pose. Luka has star hairpins clipped into his bangs and the sky-blue tailcoat with ruffled cuffs match the pale blue shirt and white cravat which has a Shell Locket pinned to it. Adrien’s hair is now a pale blue, not true to Nagisa’s near black hair, but in a long sleeved white striped shirt and black short sleeved shirt over it and grey eyes.

@scarcatblog

A blurry picture of the Parisan skyline with a spot of red and black in the distance. ‘Spotted today was a new spotted hero with Catseye. Caught name was Ladybird, blonde hair and spandex suit. Witnesses claim this isn’t her first time out on the streets but second, but where has Scarlet Bug gone?’

@gattocosplay

A post with pictures, first with Luka on a dock. You could see his whole outfit now, including the dark blue bow attached to the tailcoat and the white slacks tucked into pale blue Doc Martens. An E-Pitch microphone is in hand as well. The first 3 photos are of Luka on the dock, either looking at the camera or of a profile of him. The next two are of him and Adrien by a rock wall. First is Luka sitting on it, looking down at Adrien who stood staring up at him between his legs. The next is Adrien dipping Luka as the two stare at each other. The one after that is on the sand, both holding ice creams, which are pressed against each other as the two share a kiss. The last two are close ups, one with Luka pressing a kiss to Adrien’s cheek and the last of them sharing the microphone, as if singing together. There’s a video at the end of Adrien and Luka by the rock wall. Adrien is trying to dip Luka, but Luka leans back too far and both go falling to the sandy ground, laughing when their attempts to stop fail. ‘Our Mermaid Melody shoot was a success! This was @lukarockstar ‘s first time cosplaying and I think we can agree he did amazing. Close up shots of the finished cosplay and more pictures and BTS coming soon!’

@hungrygatto

Pictures of their food from La Treille Tapas and a perfect shot of the ice cream used in the shoot, and a selfie of Luka and Adrien eating their ice cream. ‘A trip to Saint Vincent Beach means food fit for the seaside. Shared a traditional plate with jamon, cheeses and pain con tomate and 2 drinks. Altogether, no more than 25 euro. The ice cream was from a nearby passing cart, 3 euro each. I got passion fruit and @lukarockstar got mint chocolate chip. Very good, but melts very quickly. Already want to come back for a deeper dive.’

@lukarockstar

Story with a picture of Adrien, back on the train, asleep on Luka’s lap. The added gif of a cat sleeping tells all it needs. The next picture of the story is of Adrien as Nagisa sitting on the stairs, looking off camera. ‘He’s amazing’ is written in the corner in the same typewriter font.

[gayforbauladies]

Nothing To Everything

Ch. 4 Three Little Dots

Word Count: 6743

We walked into the round room and sat down. Emily was the first to talk before any of the guys could.

"We were supposed to be off, do not judge. We had to initiate Izzy into girls night." 

JJ then added, “Also didn't hurt that Izzy is friends with the owners of Mike's bar so we got all of our drink for half price all night. I don't even remember how we got to Penelope's." 

"Wait... does anyone remember how we got to Penelope's? Because I do not either." I chimed in, but then my phone buzzed from a text. 

Mike: I have all of the car keys for whoever drove to the bar. I put you all in an Uber to the colorful girl's house since you all insisted you didn't want girls night to end. You had four of those alcohol bowls all different flavors so I can only imagine how you guys are feeling. Drink lots of water. Will return all of  the keys and cars the next time you all come here and are fit to drive home. It was a blast seeing you drunk. 

"Mike got us an Uber apparently, and has all of our car keys." With that all the males started laughing, even Hotch let a smile slip onto his face before banishing it quickly. Hotch started presenting the case as JJ wasn't able to look it over beforehand. 

"We are heading to Montana. A small town in the woods have seen multiple abductions. The unsub takes the person from the center of town, keeps them for three days, then returns them right outside of the police precinct. When they are returned they do not remember what has happened to them, cannot describe the unsub and has a tattoo that they can't remember how they got. The wifi and service is spotty at best so Garcia you are coming with. Wheels up in 30." 

Thankfully I do not recognize any part of this case, but it does seem familiar. I head to my desk and grab my go bag to change my clothes. Apparently all of us had the same idea because when I opened the women's bathroom door everyone else was already in there getting changed. 

"I think we should get an award for being this hungover and still being able to work." JJ said with a chuckle as she finished getting dressed. We all laughed and nodded our heads. 

"Does anyone remember what happened? I'm too afraid to text Mike back and ask if I did or said anything embarrassing." I asked in hopes that no one else remembered. They all shook their heads which made me calm down a little. "Is every girls night that crazy?" I asked curiously. 

"Not in the slightest." Tara replied with a laugh. At this point we all looked like professional women again so we headed out to the SUVs to go to the airstrip. The men had already left so we all piled in to one SUV and headed out. JJ drove while Penelope was in the passenger seat leaving Tara, Emily and me in the backseat. All I could focus on was how close Emily was to me. She had caught me staring at her way too often since starting so I forced myself to look out the window. Still though, her scent filled my nose and it was so comforting. She smells like wood smoke and a touch of perfume. She smells like perfection. 

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We arrived in Montana and everyone piled into SUVs to head into the town. It was a two hour drive from the airport, thankfully all of the women took naps on the plane. Somehow it ended up that all the women were in one SUV again driving to the town in the same positions as before. I was getting motion sick so I lead my head against the car door and tried to sleep to pass the time. 

I woke up when JJ was pulling the car into the precinct parking lot. I had shifted in my sleep and was laying on Emily's shoulder cuddling her arm. I released her and lifted my head with a blush. I looked at Emily and she was smiling at me. We got out of the car and it felt nice to stretch my legs. I looked around and it was as if the town was only two blocks big each direction and shaped like one big square with a park in the middle. It was a beautiful town. 

We entered the police precinct and it was tiny. I counted 5 desks and one office labeled "sheriff." Small town crimes like this are bittersweet. There is less places to hide, but the unsub most likely has lived here majority of their life meaning they know everywhere in town and the surrounding woods to hide. 

"You guys must be the FBI. I am Sheriff Smith." We all shook hands with the Sheriff and introduced ourselves. "Clearly, there is not much space in here for you to set up everything, but the mayor has allowed us to use a meeting room in the town hall as your base for however long you need to catch this person." He shuffled to the door and led us to the building next to the precinct. He walked in and then brought us into a meeting room with everything we said we needed. Based on his cycle he should be releasing someone tomorrow and we were going to be set up around the precinct to try and catch them. 

The sheriff left and Hotch turned to everyone. "Everyone group or pair off and start exploring the town. If we are going to catch this unsub we are going to need to be familiar with the town layout. Also go out around the woods while it is still daylight but make sure you are ensuring you know your way back. Penelope, start setting up your gear." Everyone nodded and headed outside. JJ, Tara, Emily and I joined together. 

"We should start in the woods since that is most likely where he is keeping them for the three days." JJ said then started walking towards the woods.

"Wait, stay right here a minute." I ran off into the closest convenience store and quickly came back with alphabet stickers and tape. The three of them looked at me like I was insane for buying them. "You put the alphabet stickers on the trees and tape them to ensure they stay on the tree. This way we can go where we want and don't have to worry about getting lost. It's like Hansel and Gretal using breadcrumbs, but these will stay where we put them and then on the way back we can take them off the trees so we don't give away were we have been. Also, the cardinal rule of exploring nature, leave it as good or better than you found it." They accepted that answer and we started walking. 

After a few minutes Emily started hanging back with me when I was marking the trees with the stickers. 

"Where'd you learn this?" She sounded impressed. 

"When I was a girl, an older man named Frank took me and my mom under his wing and acted like my grandpa when he saw how we lived. He was well off and had woods behind his house. He made me my own hideout cabin that I had complete control of. I was able to decide who could come in and when, he let me design and decorate it, it is one of my prized possessions. Even when he moved into a bigger house, he paid for the cabin to be moved to his new property and I still use it since I live with my mom still. It's very deep in the woods so he made signs on trees with a knife and taught me how to read them so I could always find my hideout, but it wasn't obvious. I was also known to just run away to the woods when I wanted to be alone so instead of yelling at me, he gave me rules when I had to come back and made sure I had ways to know how to get back." I smiled at all the memories and mentally noted to text Frank to see when he would be in his Virginia house next. He had houses all over the world which has been a dream of mine and he made me hideouts in each and every one of them. When I looked at Emily she was smiling at me and we just kept walking. Gosh, I could look at her smile all day and not get bored. 

After a few hours we turned around to go back into town. Penelope had finished setting her gear up and wanted to join us when we did our town adventure. Something felt odd when we got closer to the town, like someone was watching us. 

"Does anyone else feel that?" I whispered to the others in case the person was close. They all shook their heads no. I subtly looked around and found the person. They were hiding in between trees, but very much so watching us. It was a young adult, I would guess male and wearing all black. I looked at their face trying to imprint it to my memory and remembered their location markers. We don't have reliable communication with the rest of the team so I can't do anything now. 

"Walk faster. We are being watched in the woods with no reliable communication." With that everyone subtly increased their pace and we headed straight to find Hotch once we reached the town. 

We found Hotch in the meeting room setting up the board. Spencer was setting up his geographical profile of the town and surrounding woods. I grabbed a pen and shoved him aside. 

"Move before I forget this location." I marked the place on the map where I saw the person and turned to Hotch. "While we were walking back I saw a person watching us. They were trying to hide between trees and were wearing all black. It might have been nothing but I don't know, they gave off a bad vibe, like they were making sure we weren't going to walk that way." 

Hotch nodded while Spencer went back to the map pouting. 

"Sorry, Spencer, I needed to make sure I didn't forget the location. I'm not as used to these woods as I am back in Virginia." I did what I could do put everything back to how it was before I barged in. 

"Izzy is really knowledgeable at tracking in the woods. She bought stickers and tape so we could mark our path on trees so we wouldn't get lost coming back into town, but also not destroy the trees. It was pretty cool. She even put the alphabet in order so we knew how far we were." Emily seemed truly impressed with my skills which made me blush. I headed outside to try and hide it, plus it was hot in the meeting room. JJ and Tara were using the bathroom so we were waiting for them to come out. Penelope sat down beside me on the bench that I had decided to sit on. 

She handed me the cell phone hooked up to her signal. "Are you straight?" Penelope asked looking at me and my jaw visibly dropped. "I figure we are good enough friends now that I can just come out and ask." 

I tried to hide my laughter. "No, I am not straight. I am bisexual. Maybe next time ease into that question thought, Pen." I lost it and started cackling. "What made that come to your mind?"

"The way you sometimes act with Emily. I can't tell if you two are flirting or if you would act the same way with friends." 

"I'll be honest with you Penelope, sometimes I don't know with Emily either. The way I act with her and how she acts with me. Let's drop this conversation in case she comes out though, until we are alone with no way she can hear ok?" 

Penelope nodded and I laid my head on her shoulder while both of us just watched the sun set and the people walking in town. Just by watching the town you never would of thought that an unsub was lurking somewhere picking out who they were going to take tomorrow. We stayed like that until the others came out. 

"We have decided we are walking around to find food." JJ announced when they came out of the building. 

"I've seen a lot of locals go into that diner across the square. It seems like the popular place to get food. We can tell the others we are getting dinner there." 

"I just sent them a message, let's go!" Penelope jumped up and dragged me up with her. I laughed as we started walking towards the diner. I think I've laughed more since meeting Penelope than I have in a while. We got to the diner and one of the waitresses said to seat ourselves. I pulled them to the corner booth that would fit all of us, it also gave us a good view of everyone else in the diner. Soon the rest of the crew came and sat down with us. It was almost like a family meal. We ate, talked and just enjoyed each other's company. 

"Ok, we have a big day tomorrow. The sheriff said we have rooms at the inn in town. There isn't enough for everyone to have their own though. They all have two queen sized beds and a pullout." Hotch said and dropped keys on the table. 

I looked at the females, "we all slept in the living room of Penelope's apartment so we can all share one room, we would most likely all end up in one room anyway." The girls nodded and all the men took their own key with a shrug. 

Hotch looked at us with his stern face, "you are all adults, but let me remind you we have work to do so don't stay up too late." He made a point of looking at all the females. We all bursted in laughter. 

"Come on ladies, let's go explore the town." JJ said while getting up and the rest of us followed her. 

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After a few hours of going into every store of the town and talking to the people we headed to the inn. The room was a decent size, but not by any means big. We all put our bags down and claimed a bed. Penelope and JJ one bed, Tara and Emily took the other bed and I claimed the pullout couch. I flopped on the couch and just stared at the ceiling. I couldn't get that person watching us out of my mind, something didn't feel right. It was like my subconscious knew who they were, but my conscious didn't. Was this a town Frank brought me to? I don't remember, but he did take me along to some business trips that were one time things. I might as well text him to try and see. 

Me: Long time no talk, I miss you. I haven't seen you since I told you I got the BAU job. When will you be in Virginia next?

Me: Question, did you ever take me to a small town in Montana when I was a teenager?

I don't know if he would get those since I sent them on my normal phone, but it was worth a try. I decide to get changed into my pjs. 

"Izzy, I thought you said none of the case was familiar!?" Emily startled me, but they all were staring at my lower back.

"None of it is, what are talking about?" I was beyond confused now. 

"Izzy... you have the tattoo the unsub gives..." Emily said softly and brought me to the mirror. There it was, the three dots in shape of a triangle. If you didn't look closely, it would look like freckles. 

Frank: I did, once, when you were seventeen. We went for an extended weekend. You hung out with a boy for the first day, even slept at his house that night. I tried to get you to come back into town, but you said you had been drinking so I just let you stay there since he lived deep in the woods. That's all I know, though. You did send a picture of you both, I'll send it once I find it.

Frank: *one attachment* 

My face went white. I was the unsub's first victim and I had no clue. 

"Izzy... are you ok?" Emily came closer to me and put her hand on my shoulder. 

"I have to go talk to Hotch." I walked out of the room and down the hall to Hotch's room and banged on the door. 

"Izzy, what are you doing out in the hallway, banging on my door in your underwear?" I had completely forgotten I was getting changed when this information came to light. 

I turned around and pointed to where the tattoo was, "I was patient zero and didn't now until Emily pointed out the tattoo when I was changing. He tattooed me a place I wouldn't see and any other person thought it was freckles. I don't remember it, how don't I remember it?" I started sobbing in the hallway. Emily came out of the girls's room and covered me with a robe from the inn. In between sobs I told them what Frank had told me and showed them the picture. 

"There's nothing we can do tonight." Hotch looked at Emily. "Get her to bed and make sure all the windows are locked. If Ricci was his first victim, he probably was watching her earlier, not all of you." Emily nodded and led me to the room again. 

"Why do all of the cases involve me?" I didn't mean to say it out loud, but I did. When I imagined being in the BAU, I imagined hunting other people's demons, not my own. 

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I woke up and could tell I was crying all night. I saw Tara on the pullout couch and realized I had slept in one of the beds last night. Emily had one arm wrapped around me like she fell asleep comforting me. JJ and Penelope were in the other bed still fast asleep. I looked at the clock and it showed 7:08am. I might as well get up and get ready before everyone is trying to use the bathroom. I know it is going to take a while to cover up the evidence of me crying all night. I check my phone and see a message from Frank.

Frank: I just saw the news on the Montana abductions... and that the FBI is there. I'm guessing that includes you? 

I grabbed my phone and headed into the empty lobby of the inn. I clicked on Frank's number to call him. 

"How are you holding up, Little G?" I smiled at Frank's nickname for me. Little G, as in Little Gideon. 

"I cried all night, but now I gotta boss up and catch this little bitch. He was watching me yesterday when I was exploring the woods with the rest of the BAU ladies. He seemed familiar, but I didn't know why, that was the reason I texted you to ask." 

"You're the best person to be catching that son of a bitch. How are you liking the job?" Just hearing his voice made me feel stronger.

"I would love for the cases to stop involving my past, but other than that I love it. I'm just waiting for a case where I am at the starting line with the rest of my team." I chuckled a little. "Well, I got to get ready for the day, thanks for answering my call."

"I will always answer your call, night or day. Go catch the bad guy." We hung up and I headed back to the room to get ready. If Frank saw the case on the news then we have to work fast. 

I got out of the shower and got dressed. I started doing my makeup at the desk vanity when I heard Emily wake up with a gasp and it sounded like she was hitting the bed. Oh my god. She was looking for me.

"I'm right here Em. I'm right here." I turned around so she could see my face. Once she realized I was ok I could see the panic start to leave her face. 

"Don't do that to me. I thought the unsub took you!" She relaxed on the bed and looked at the time. It was now 8:15am and we had to meet at the precinct at 9am. "Oh my god, Everyone wake up! We have to be at the precinct in 45 minutes!" Emily jumped out of bed and into the bathroom. I laughed at how everyone else groaned like a zombie, realized what Emily said and also jumped out of bed to start getting ready. At 8:45am everyone was dressed and was now doing makeup and hair in various locations. I was sitting on the couch that was now a couch again waiting. All of the phones that Penelope gave us buzzed with a message. 

Hotch: Under no circumstances is Izzy to be alone. Preferably two other people are with her at all times. 

I read it out loud to everyone and sighed. I closed my eyes and tried to remember what happened that night. Nothing came to mind so I opened my eyes to find Emily looking at me. 

"It'll be ok. We'll give you a cognitive interview to try and pull the memories out." She gave me a reassuring smile as the rest of the crew filed together to start walking to the precinct. In the inn lobby we found Spencer, Derek and Luke waiting for us. Penelope grabbed my hand as we headed out of the inn. 

"If they want to get to you, they gotta get through all of us before one of us handcuffs them." I smiled at Penelope while everyone else let out a chuckle. We entered the precinct to find Hotch, my dad and Rossi waiting for us. My dad came over and gave me a hug which shocked me. 

"I called your mom to get advice on how to handle this situation as a father and she said you like hugs." He said it with no emotion somehow and I realized where I got my emotional detachment from. Everything my mom says has emotions. Penelope squealed and before I knew it I was getting a bear hug from her. I let out a small laugh and turned in her arms to give her a proper hug. 

"Let's head over to the meeting room." Hotch returned our attention to the task at hand. Once we stepped outside, I felt eyes on me. I grabbed the closest hand I could. I just needed to know that if I was about to be taken there would be a fight by more than just me. I didn't realize I had grabbed Hotch's hand until he whispered to me. 

"Do you see him?" His voice was so soft, it was like when he told me he was coming to check on me my first day.

"I can sense his eyes on me." My voice was so quiet I wasn't even sure Hotch had heard me. He didn't let go of my hand until we were in the meeting room. 

"Rossi, Gideon, Morgan go look in the town for the guy. He was just watching Ricci. Go to the coffee stand outside so it looks like we aren't on to him. Penelope, start running the face recognition on the photo."  Hotch was back to his normal boss personality. 

The three dots on my lower back felt like they were burning, I was hyperaware of their permanent fixture on my body now. I looked at the whiteboard and saw the photo Frank sent me wasn't hanging up. I went around to the other side of the board and found the picture with some notes. I sat down and stared at the picture willing any memory to come to me. My thoughts kept going back to the fact that this was my second case in the BAU and so far I had ties to both of them. Pretty soon it is going to raise some red flags. I mentally blocked those thoughts and stared at the photo. I focused on the white noise of the heating and cooling system and the rest of the team talking. Soon I felt a lull fall over myself and I was transported to what I thought was a dream I had had when I was younger. 

 -Flashback-

"C'mon smile for the camera!"  I couldn't feel my body. I couldn't move. I saw a flash that must have been the camera and then the picture printing. It must have been a polaroid camera. I couldn't move my head to look at him. I felt the breeze on every piece of my body, I was naked. My view was as if I was standing, but I couldn't feel the floor. I went to go talk, but nothing came out. 

-Present- 

"RILEY!" I was pulled out of the memory and everyone was looking at me. "His name is Riley. He paralyzed me. He strapped me to some kind of contraption that held me upright, but he could get to anywhere on my body. I was naked, I felt the cold in every part of my body. I would say I was underground, but I'm not a hundred percent sure. He takes pictures with a polaroid, or at least he did to me. My mind was intact, it was as if I was just a floating head. I must've been strapped in to make sure I didn't fall or get away. I couldn't even turn my head." I said that so fast to make sure I didn't forget anything. "I thought it was a nightmare, a recurring nightmare I had for years afterwards. I would wake up screaming, not remembering what I was afraid of." They all looked at me like I hate being looked at. Like I was fragile, like I was going to break at any point. "All of you stop lookin at me like that. Now." To my disbelief, everyone besides Penelope did stop, they put their profiler mask back on. Penelope, however, came running to me and brought me in to a big hug, almost knocking over the chair I was sitting in. 

"We are going to catch this monster so no one else has to go through that. We also know his name!" Penelope was of course optimistic as always, but it did make me smile. She hurried back to her computer to put the name in the parameters. The team was taking turns patrolling the town to try and see when he abducts someone. 

I walked over to Hotch who was sitting at one end of the room by himself. I sat down next to him and spoke quietly, "he may not take someone else. He may be waiting to take me again." It was a terrifying thought, but it was probably correct. "He knows I am in town, he knows I'm FBI. He still thinks I don't remember. I am the ultimate challenge for him." Hotch stayed quiet for a second before stopping what he was doing and turning to look at me. 

"I know what you're thinking and no, we are not using you as bait, not until we exhaust every other single strategy. I am not putting you through that again if we don't have to. You don't remember everything and I am hoping you never have to, but if we use you as bait it may come back." He went back to work as if he didn't just display an emotion. I may be new, but I know that is rare. 

"I should at least go pretend to patrol with the others. He won't show himself if I don't go out and he'll start to suspect my memory coming back if I'm not acting normally. I am the only one except Penelope who has gone patrolling." 

Hotch nodded in agreement, "ok, you have a point. You'll go out after lunch." I got up and went to go sit by Penelope. I laid my head on her shoulder and she patted my head. Soon the rest of the team rolled back into the meeting room. None of them saw anything, as I expected. Everyone was hungry so as a group we went to the diner for lunch. Since we were in public we couldn't talk about the case as much. It was a nice break. 

After we ordered I felt his eyes on me. I felt my body start to tense before I willed myself to relax. I was sitting next to Emily and quickly grabbed her hand, tightly. She looked at our hands for a split second, then to my face. I pretended nothing had changed so I wouldn't tip him off. After multiple tries I caught Hotch's eye. I let the panic show in my eyes for a split second then masked it again. I caught movement in my peripheral vision and scooted closer to Emily. My heart was going a mile a minute as if it remembered everything he once did to me. Emily squeezed my hand and I looked at her to see her already looking at me. I vaguely heard Hotch say he would be back and get up. Before I knew it I was sucked into another memory

-Flashback-

"What can I get started for you two?" I sat opposite of Riley at the local diner. I smiled at the waitress, "I'll have a water and a cheeseburger with fries please." The waitress was pretty, I looked at her name plate, Heather. Riley ordered, but didn't look up or say please. Once we ordered Riley excused himself to the bathroom. Heather brought us our drinks and  bent down to my ear, "he is not someone you should be alone with. If you ever want one of us to intervene and say the guy you came to town with said you had to meet with him now look at us then put your hair up in a pony tail."  She left just as fast as she came. Why would she say I shouldn't be alone with Riley? 

-Present-

I snapped back to reality and looked around the diner. Emily is watching me and nods understanding I was remembering a memory. Heather was young when I first came to town, she might still work at the diner. Hotch is still looking for Riley as he slowly comes back from wherever he went. I look at each waitress's name tag until I see one go behind the counter. There's no mistaking it is Heather. She sees me as I see her. She smiles then walks to our waitress and says something then starts walking over to our table. I take my phone out and open the notes app. I type out "we know he is watching me, but don't know where he is" and wait for Heather to come over.  

"Hi, can I get you anything?" Heather smiles at me. I push the phone so she can view it. 

"A refill would be amazing, diet coke please. And can all of our meals be changed for to go?" She nods and takes my cup while I lock my phone. I make eye contact with Hotch and then nod towards Heather slightly hoping he gets my message. I watch her walk to another table on the opposite side of the diner with a pitcher of water. She starts filling the cup of a white man, probably in his mid 30s. Suddenly she tips over the glass onto his lap and he jumps up. 

"Fuck! You can't even fucking pour water you low life!" I know that voice, my subconscious knows that scream. I pull Emily up by the hand and motion for Derek to come with me and speed walk out of the diner with my dad behind us. I don't stop until we are in the meeting room. 

"My subconscious knows that voice. He yells when he tortures." I sat down and started looking at what Penelope had found on him. We needed concrete evidence to be able to arrest him. I don't think we would get what we needed until we found his torture location. I hope he wont try and take Heather. I turn to my dad, "we need to protect Heather, the waitress. He may go after her for spilling the water on him. In my memory I had at the diner Heather tried to warn me about him and gave me an escape plan." He nodded and messaged Hotch I'm guessing. I turned back to Penelope's work. We have his home address, but it is one on the outskirt of town he shares with his parents. 

I turn to Penelope's computer and start doing my own research. 

Rossi walks in and sees what I'm doing. "Penelope is not going to like you messing around on her computer." 

"She'll have to forgive me if I find stuff on the unsub." I don't lift my eyes from the computer. He's smart, he wouldn't send torture supplies to a house his parents live in. He must send them to the torture location since there's no PO boxes in the town. I code so I can find the sites no one else can, the ones where if you have enough money you can get anything. I am so focused in what I'm doing I don't even notice the others return from the diner. 

"I found it! I found his torture location! It is near where I saw him." They all looked at me like I was insane. Penelope came over to see as if she didn't believe me.

"I have been working on finding this address the whole time since we learned his name, how did you find it in less than an hour?" I can't tell if she was annoyed or in awe, maybe a mixture of both. She hadn't looked up from my computer work either.

"I was done with us not having a lead that could get us an arrest now that we know what he looked like. I have decent computer skills so I decided I would take a look. I figured he wouldn't want his parents asking questions about shipments, so he would have to ship his supplies right to the torture cabin since there are also no local PO boxes. I then decided to focus on the tattoo stuff. Ink needs to be new to be used so I figured when he started up again he would need new ink and maybe some other supplies. So I went on typical sites you buy those tools. I hacked into their cloud and searched through orders until I found one sent to around here with some type of Riley alias." Penelope was still looking over my work muttering to herself while everyone else was looking at me like I had three heads. 

"Looks like you have some competition PG!" Derek said through a laugh. 

"So... are we gonna go over to the address or...?" I nudged them a little to get this case over with. I started to move where we had put our FBI vests and the others followed. Soon we were in the SUVs driving to the location. We got to the location and saw a small cabin that looked run down. Vines were growing on the cabin, bushes were overgrown and there was a broken down truck parked outside. We heard music coming from inside the cabin, loud music. Hotch gave us directions and we started entering the cabin from all angles. Once we got in the smell of cigarettes, beer and stale blood filled my nose. The music stopped and we looked around. Hotch asked in the ear pieces if that was any of us. I heard all the groups say no and all of us tensed. He was here, with us. 

"Welcome back Isabella!" I somehow tensed even more. "Here's how this is going to go, Isabella is going to come downstairs, alone. We'll talk then we'll see how it goes from there. You have the place surrounded and there is only one exit/entry to the basement so I can't escape." Hotch looked at me and I made sure I had my bravest face on. He nodded and I started towards the door still death gripping my gun. I left the door open while I headed down the steps. I heard Hotch moving people to make sure we had eyes on every single location around the cabin. I stepped down and saw the place of my nightmares. I saw the contraption that held me upright, I saw the straps, I even saw the tattoo gun. Riley was sitting in a chair facing the stairs to the right of the contraption. 

"Hello, Isabella." He had such a darkness to his tone. I kept my gun pointed at his chest. 

"What do you want?" I was over his games. 

"I want you to scream my name like you did when you were seventeen." I kept my face neutral despite how much I wanted to throw up. 

"I'm never going to scream your name again. I'm happy I don't remember doing it in the first place." He stood up while looking at me up and down. 

"Stop right there, come any closer and I'll shoot." I didn't want to be in arms reach of him. 

"You know, the high I got when I knew I got away with what I did to you was the best. I started abducting more people to chase that high. I didn't realize I got away with it until you woke up and smiled at me with that seductive smile of yours. Damn, I almost never let you leave my bed that morning. Especially when I got a glimpse of the three dots I tattooed on you." 

"Is there a point to this story, or are you just stalling? Because I do not need a trip down memory lane." It was so hard not to throw up and keep a neutral face. I recognized he was pulling out a gun a second before it was too late. I fired my gun and felt something hit me. I got propelled back and heard my team running down the stairs. I was on the floor to the right of the steps and my vision was starting to blur either from tears or pain. I reached for my arm and felt blood. His bullet grazed my arm, my bullet went through his heart. 

Emily was in front of me, "Are you ok? Oh my god you got shot."

"I'm ok, it just grazed me." I got up to my feet. "Please take me out of this basement and cabin." She led me upstairs and out towards the SUV. Before she could lead me to the ambulance I quickly made a turn towards an overgrown bush and threw up. I threw up all of my stomach contents and some more. Emily pulled my hair back out of my face and rubbed my back. Once I felt like I wasn't going to vomit anymore I let her lead me to the ambulance. The paramedic looked at my arm and decided I just needed to get it bandaged and didn't have to go to the hospital since the closest one was an hour away. My arm got bandaged and I was told to see my doctor for follow up care when we got back to Virginia. Emily brought me to one of the SUVs and climbed in behind me. I laid my head on her shoulder just needing to know she was there. We stayed like that until it was time to go to the airstrip. 

[fkinavocado]

In which you’ve got textbook daddy issues and when your tool of a younger brother brings a sweet doe eyed girlfriend home for Thanksgiving and you end up offering her a ride home, you meet just the man to fix them.

Daddy issues- Masterlist, Author’s Note & Warnings

Chapter 19 / alternatively, read on wattpad

Chapter 20 (Word count: 5.1k)

You got into your car and started the engine, blasting the heat up. Gosh, it was cold. You’d gotten used to that Californian weather and forgotten just how brutal February was back home. While you waited for the car to warm up, thanking your lucky stars that you had been the one to drive the two of you to the airport when you’d left, you fished out your phone, your fingers hovering over the screen hesitantly. Eventually you typed in <<landed safely. i know you've got more important matters on your mind right now... but please call me when you can, i'm worried. and i miss you.>>

You hadn’t heard from Harry in almost 2 days. He drove home using the rental and it was unspokenly agreed upon that you’d get back on the flight you’d already booked for Friday. You had to travel next to an empty seat, no one to hold your hand while you were freaking out during take off or landing, but that was the least of your concerns right then.

You finally drove off when he didn’t reply and before you knew it, you realised you were driving home. You could’ve just gone to your actual home, and driven for 2 hours into the next town, but something made you drive to your parents’.

You were totally in the dark about everything. All you knew was that Emily had gotten in some sort of trouble that required the help of a lawyer, at least that much you’d heard Harry say over the phone to his daughter that Wednesday night. And then he told you that he’d better not get his hands on Derek- meaning your brother had some involvement. But that was the extent of it, you knew nothing else, and it was driving you crazy.

You’d refrained from asking Harry anything about it, and when he announced he’d be driving home that night using the rental because he couldn’t find any flights that would get him there sooner than the 11 hour drive, you didn’t question it, you didn’t try and fight it or tag along.

You just got out of the way.

But then, you stayed up all night worried about him driving home alone for such a long stretch, and when he didn’t even let you know whether he’d made it safely you couldn’t help but feel hurt- not to mention you were worried out of your mind. Surely he’d had to stop for gas at some point. And surely he’d stopped to sleep for at least a 2 hour power nap, right?

Right?

And then Thursday rolled out with no word from him, and you had to refrain from texting or calling so many times. You were worried, but he needed space to deal with whatever was happening. And you felt guilty; your brother was involved, and knowing Derek, it was probably really bad. You felt like hiding under a rock out of pure shame, solely for being his sister. You couldn’t help but feel indirectly responsible for whatever he had done.

You killed the engine as you parked in your parents’ driveway and reluctantly dragged your body out of the car, leaving your luggage in the trunk in case you’d need to make a run for it. You never knew what would be awaiting you when it came to your family and you weren’t planning on hanging around, you’d probably be gone come morning.

“Look what the cat dragged in!” your mother chimed sticking her head out of the kitchen. Not quite the warm welcome you’d hoped for, but then again, you remembered they were probably resentful for the way you’d “skipped” Christmas.

“Hey, mom” you hugged your torso in lieu of hugging her. Your family didn’t do hugs. “What’s up?”

She sighed dramatically and you braced yourself as she was wiping dishes dry and putting them away into the cupboard “A whole lot of trouble, that’s what’s up. Remember that girl Derek brought home for Thanksgiving?”

“...Yeah?”

“Oh right, didn’t you drive her home that night? And ended up sleeping over after they stalled you? Brian!” she shouted after your father

“Stalled me? They asked me to stay for dinner. It was Thanksgiving, they were being hospitable” you deadpanned but your father made his way to the kitchen sooner than you’d finished your sentence

“Well, well, well” he gave you a once over “Remembered you had a family, did you? Not even a card for Christmas- your mother cried, the house empty for the holidays, Y/N Y/MN”

“Derek didn’t come either… and you didn’t even tell me he wasn’t going to come, and--”

“She knows her father” your mother interrupted “She met him when she drove the girl home”

“That’s right!” your father’s eyes widened “You’ve met the prick, then”

You furrowed your brows “...What? Emily’s father? Why is he a prick?”

“Your brother’s in trouble with these people” your mother grimaced “We were nothing but welcoming to her, how could we not… she seemed so sweet. But as they always say… never judge a book by its cover. Turns out she was dealing drugs” your mother near whispers, averting her eyes and your jaw effectively drops

“She what?!”

“She’s a junkie and bad news, that’s what she is! Little bitch had us all fooled with that coy show she put on! She and your brother were driving home Wednesday when police pulled them over and she got busted, they found pot on her and quite a bit of it too!”

“Imagine your brother’s shock! Imagine our shock!”

Nothing matched your own shock, of course. This was absolutely insane.

“What?! Wait, wait. Driving home? With whom?”

“Your brother got a car, and he’s still getting used to it of course, went a little above the speed limit, he pulled over thinking he was going to get his first ticket and ended up watching his girlfriend being taken into custody”

You just stared at them, dumbstruck. What could you even say to that? Not to mention, Derek got a car? … Just like that, huh?

“And now her father is trying to pin it all on Derek!” your mom’s voice cracked towards the end, and she left the kitchen, visibly distraught. You looked at your father who was opening the fridge and picking up a beer bottle, pointing it at you

“Go comfort your mother, she’s been through enough these days. Make yourself useful for a change”

Instead of letting it sting like it usually did, you snapped out of your own thoughts enough to ask “Where’s Derek?”

“He’s out with friends, trying to get his mind off of how that bitch is trying to double cross him”

Of course.

You made your way to your own room, where you plopped on your bed and just stared at the ceiling for God knows how long.

What the fuck was even happening?

You needed to talk to your brother, you couldn’t sit by and let Emily take the fall for it alone. He had to come clean, it was only fair. You’d suspected he was into some shady stuff ever since you found out he’d lied about that money he borrowed from you (and never returned, of course). But if Emily got busted, then clearly they were in over their heads with this. Poor girl surely was dragged into this by your no good idiot brother, ever the bad influence, and you could only imagine how upset Harry must’ve been over this.

You first noticed the ceiling lightning up as you sat in your now dark room, then heard the ringtone. You hadn’t even realised it’d gotten this late. You squinted your eyes looking at the caller ID “Harry?”

“Did you make it home safely? Waited for two hours so I wouldn’t call you while you’re driving” his voice sounded so strange, almost as if it wasn’t even his. He sounded so distant and tired… you wanted to scream.

“No, I mean. I’m at my parents’. I… I needed to try and make some sense of what happened, and you weren’t talking to me and… Harry. I’m so sorry”

He sighed audibly and there was a long pause before he cleared his throat “I’m sorry if I worried you. My mind’s all over the place. I miss you too, baby. So much. I hate that our trip had to end like that and I hate that I had to leave like that, and I’ve just been… trying to solve this round the clock ever since I’ve bailed Emily out, I guess”

Your heart fluttered at his words and for the first time in two days you felt like you could breathe again. Maybe he wasn’t terribly upset with you for being part of this god awful family, after all “Don’t worry about all that… it’s fine, I get it. I knew you needed your space. I was just… extremely worried. Didn’t even know if you’d made it home alright. But I’m so happy to hear your voice, you have no idea. Harry… I think it’s really brave of Emily to take all the blame for it, but I’ll talk to Derek. She shouldn’t be the one to take the fall, he’s responsible too. Hell, he’s the one who probably talked her into this, knowing him. He shouldn’t walk away from this unscathed, it’s not fair”

There was a long pause before Harry cleared his throat “What do you mean?”

“I’ll talk to him, have him go in and give a statement that he was in on it too. That’ll lower the severity of it, right? What did she get, community service? That should humble him. And they’ll split the fine”

“Y/N” Harry interrupted you incredulously “I don’t know what you think happened here, but Emily was obviously framed”

You stammered after repeating his words in your head a couple times making sure you’d heard him right “Framed?”

“He obviously freaked out when they got pulled over and planted the drugs on her, in her hoodie’s pocket. Thankfully only a little bit over what is usually overlooked as just possession. They couldn’t really prove that it was going to be distributed and seeing as she’s only 18 they went easy on her and I could bail her out. And she spent a whole night in custody for it, which is something she never should’ve gone through and I’ll never forgive myself for not making it home sooner. Her mother didn’t have that kind of money and there was no way to wire it to her as late as it was. She’s not paying any fine and she’s sure as hell not doing any community service for something she’s entirely innocent of!” he’d gotten so worked up by the end, that he was downright shouting by the time he finished

You could hear him try and regulate his breathing trying to calm himself down and you found yourself asking before you could even process it completely “Did she tell you that’s what happened?”

“Of course that’s what happened!” he snapped

“But did she tell you as much? Harry... my brother is a piece of shit and god knows I’ve tried to keep the extent of it to myself but… he wouldn’t do that! He wouldn’t just blame it all on her like that--”

“Are you fucking kidding me right now, Y/N?!”

“Answer the question, did she tell you Derek did it and that she had no involvement in it?!”

“Of course not, because she’s a fucking saint and she thinks she loves him and wants to protect the bloody idiot! She doesn’t realise this is going on her permanent record and she’s just throwing so much away for someone who doesn’t even deserve to look her way!”

“Harry! Slow down! Take a step back and try and be realistic about this. They’re a bunch of kids, right? Kids make mistakes. Yours as much as any other, I can assure you she’s no saint as much as you want to believe that--”

“Y/N, stop right there. Just stop. I’ll not have you throwing around accusations about Emily like that. You don’t know her. But you know your brother. And I know your brother. And I’ve known things about him that you don’t for a while now!”

“What-- what things?!”

You could hear him pacing the room he was in and could even imagine him running his hand through his dishevelled hair “When Emily called me on New Year’s to go pick her up after he just left her at those cabins, I knew your brother was up to no good. I could just fucking feel it. But I didn’t wanna jump to any conclusions, right? I gave him a fair chance. I hired a PI”

Your mouth fell agape and now you were the one pacing frantically “You what?!”

“Good thing I did, too. Not only was I right about him but it’s actually so much worse than I’d suspected. Honestly I was expecting to find out he was cheating on her. Only to find out he was dealing. And the pot they found on Emily? That’s child’s play compared to what he’s been involved with. Don’t even wanna think about where we’d be now had he planted cocaine on her, or worse”

“Jesus fuck, Harry” you nearly whispered “Why didn’t you say anything, then?! Why did you let it go this far?! You’ve been sitting on this for how long, now?!”

After a long pause he finally replied “I’ve had Emily promise me she’d break up with him. I didn’t tell her why, didn’t wanna break her heart. Let me be the bad guy, I’d have rathered her be upset with me than find out the guy she’d fallen for was this stranger she didn’t even know. And she did… she promised… and I believed her” he trailed off seemingly talking to himself more than you and you just stared incredulously into space waiting for him to go on explaining himself but he never did

“Harry! You knew my brother was involved with this shit and you never told me! And now you’re, what? Threatening to use all this dirt you got on him if he doesn’t take the blame!? When were you even going to tell me all of this?!”

“... I can only imagine what you’d thought about me hiring an investigator on a hunch. I want you out of that house and as far away from all of them as possible, Y/N. This should’ve never affected you”

“Yet it is! Look at me now, Harry! I can’t believe you never told me! He’s… God fucking damnit, he’s my brother! I would’ve done something… maybe would’ve prevented all of this from happening”

“Do you really believe that?”

“I…” you felt tears roll down your face and then your voice finally cracked “I don’t know. But at least I could’ve tried. At least…”

“Baby--”

“Don’t baby me! Don’t, Harry! This is on you, too! You could’ve said something sooner and maybe this whole mess could’ve been avoided! I can’t believe you knew this about my own brother and decided to just keep it to yourself like that. I can’t believe you’d do such a thing! He’s a kid! He’s throwing his life away getting involved in stuff like this, I could’ve done something!”

“Nothing is going to happen, alright? This can all just be a wakeup call for him. He just needs to come clean, and I’ll never use any of it against him!”

“...Is that a threat?” you asked incredulously

“Of course it’s a threat! My lawyer tried reasoning with your father and he won’t listen, he’s adamant your brother is innocent, kept throwing around slur words about Emily which, let me tell you, I will not stand for! My lawyer will reach out again this evening, this is his final chance to get his act together. Derek needs to go give a statement tonight or I’m taking him to court. And that’s final”

Before you could even make sense of what you were doing you found yourself hanging up. You just couldn’t take any more. It was just too much to process.

But if you knew one thing about Harry it was that he was a man of his word, and he wasn’t just throwing idle threats around. He was absolutely going to take Derek to trial if he didn’t fix this while he still could.

All he would be looking at now was a fine and community service. But if Harry took him to court with the evidence that he had on him, he’d end up serving a serious sentence.

You made your way out of your room, and could hear your brother’s voice right away. Good, so he was home. You had to talk some sense into him, and fast.

“Fucking cunt... I knew I should’ve never gotten involved with her. To think that she’s trying to pin this all on me, dad”

“That’s women for you, son. Let this be a lesson to you” your father chuckled to himself, taking a swig of his beer and you watched it all from afar, the way they just sat there in denial like that.

“Hey, you didn’t say you were coming home” Derek caught you staring. His voice was slurred and you could tell he’d been drinking with his friends more than the usual amount

“Yeah, your sister decided to make a guest appearance”

“Hey, Derek? Can I have a word?”

He stared at you and cackled “I’m not getting off this couch, so you better speak up”

You crossed your arms over your chest “Fine. Uhm. Did that lawyer call?”

He focused his hazy gaze on you “What are you now, psychic? Yeah. He did. Fucker…”

“What did he say?”

“What did he say, dad?”

You turned towards your father expectantly “Doesn’t matter what he said. Dunno why he thinks his bluff is gonna work with us. We’re not splitting the fine with that little bitch, much less pay it ourselves so he can shove his threats up his ass”

“Bluff? Can you just… what did he say?” you asked again impatiently

“He says he’s not at liberty to divulge matters that will constitute as evidence in court against Derek but that they have proof that the girl is innocent and that he can assure me it will not fair out well for my son if he doesn’t change his statement before the day is over”

You stared at the both of them as they looked at eachother and feigned concern before clicking their beer bottles together amusedly “What makes you think he’s bluffing? Huh?” before you could make sense of what you were doing you were snatching your brother’s bottle out of his hand “Derek, for fuck’s sake! Did you ever consider that maybe this guy really does have some dirt on you? How can you just sit there when you know you’re guilty?”

“Excuse you?” the humour died in his throat as he sat up abruptly, losing his balance for a split second and then snatching his beer back “What exactly are you accusing me of, Y/N?”

“You know you’re not innocent, far from it. Are you really willing to risk your freedom to prove a point? Grow the fuck up! Just admit you planted that pot on her and move on!”

Your father stepped in “What’s this, now? Whose side are you on? That’s no way to talk to your brother!”

From your peripheral vision you could see your mom lurking in the hallway watching this play out with concern

“I’m on his side, and you would be too if you would stop for a second and see how serious this really is and how badly it could escalate! Just get your fucking pride out of the way for once--”

And there it was. It hadn’t happened in a while, but he slapped you right across the face with enough force to turn your head to the side, and straight towards your mom’s line of vision. Of course she just sat there, though, like she always did. Never stepping up to come to your aid. You never really blamed her, knowing she would most of the time be on the receiving end of his wrath just as badly. Hell, she probably blamed you in turn for the beatings she took throughout the years- after he’d warm up on you, he’d turn to her.

But you managed to summon what little dignity you had left and pushing your hair out of your face, you inhaled shakily trying to hold back your tears while looking your father dead in the eyes, your voice small yet steady “You know what? Fuck it. Fuck this family. I don’t care anymore” then turning towards your brother you added “Go to jail for all I care. I know you’re dealing, and not just pot, and it’s just a matter of time until the police figures it out too and you’ll wish you’d listened to me for once”

Derek’s brows furrowed and he visibly stammered to say something while your father turned his full attention to him, and you extricated yourself from the living room, walking right past your mother in the hallway and out the front door while your father began questioning your brother for once in his life.

You were never stepping foot into that house again.

Struggling to see through your tears that were running down your cheeks without you even registering you were crying, you sat in your car staring into space for god knows how long before you finally drove off and although you knew it was probably really dumb to try and drive home in your condition, you wanted to get as far away from there as possible.

Even on autopilot though, you noticed Harry’s lights were on when you drove by his house and even though you fought the urge for several blocks, you found yourself fumbling with your phone, eventually calling him.

“Y/N…” he sighed in relief “Listen… Let’s not fight, alright? I’m sorry I raised my voice at you earlier--”

“Do you… do you think you could step out for a minute? I’m sorry--” you stammered, trying to calm down “I’m not trying to pry you away, I just need to see you, even if it’s just for a minute. Please…”

“Baby, what’s happening? Where are you? Are you driving?!”

“Yeah… I was heading back home, but I drove by your place on the way and I just couldn’t help myself. Please, Harry, I know Emily’s there and I don’t wanna make this difficult for you, I just need to see you a minute, that’s all, then I’ll be back on my way home” your voice cracked towards the end

“Turn around. Emily’s not even here, she’s with her mum-- Y/N, turn around, baby. C’mon. Eyes on the road, ok?” his voice was calm yet serious and you knew he was worried as much as he tried to hide it

“Just for a minute, okay?”

“C’mon baby, I’ll be waiting right outside. Eyes on the road for me, alright?”

You tried your best to turn the car around safely, double checking just because he asked, and you were pulling into his driveway in no time. Just finally seeing him felt like such a huge relief, you couldn’t even believe he was really there.

He opened the door to the car before you could even kill the engine and pulled you into his arms, hugging you tightly “What happened?” his voice was stern but his body was soft, and warm and reassuring

“Nothing…”

“Y/N” he pulled away a bit searching your eyes but obviously your face must’ve told a different story, his eyes widening and his hand gently caressing your still sore cheek “Was this him? Or your father?” he asked in a low voice and you closed your eyes tightly, a fresh set of tears breaking free from in between your lashes

“I just wanted to reason with them… make them see how serious this really was…”

Harry hushed you and pulled you back into his arms, cradling your head and holding you tight, letting you cry into the nook of his shoulder “You’ll never have to see them again. This I promise you. Ok? Never. I’ll never let them look at you much less lay a hand on you. Never again”

You clung onto his shoulder blades crying in earnest now. This wasn’t just about this one slap, it felt like you were crying for everything your father had ever done to you “I’m sorry, Harry. This is the last thing you need right now…” you mumbled into his neck “I’m sorry. For my brother, for what he did. For ever even thinking Emily could do something like that… I didn’t know how serious it was. I’m sorry”

“Hush now. You’ve got nothing to feel sorry for. Let’s get you inside, hm?” he kissed the top of your head “C’mon, sweetheart”

You heard the tires screech before your brother’s voice and the passenger door slam “Un-fucking-real! You dumb fucking bitch!” he almost sounded amused and it took you a moment to realise what was happening as you were pulling yourself out of Harry’s arms and looking back to see your father’s car pulled over, and your brother walking towards the two of you while your parents were staring at you and Harry in shock from inside.

“Really thought you got me into trouble huh? Well, you’re never getting out of this one, Y/N! Tough luck ‘cause dad is gonna have a field day with this new revelation” Derek laughed approaching the two of you “And what about you, not so tough now, huh, old man? Caught you right in the act, your dirty little secret is out!” he got really close, right up in Harry’s face

“Go inside” Harry glanced at you

“What?-- No!” you whisper-yelled as though Derek wasn’t right there, up close and personal

“She’s not going anywhere” your brother chuckled, grabbing your arm and pulling you away from Harry “She’s coming home, where she belongs, and where we’re heading. See, we were driving to the station. Sounded like a good idea to give a statement after all, but now I’m thinking that won’t be necessary anymore- unless you ever want your sweet little Emily to find our her dad is fucking someone her own age”

“Get your fucking hands off her, right this instant” Harry took a step closer, their chests nearly touching and his voice low and more menacing than you’d ever heard it “I’m not gonna tell you again”

“Oh yeah? What are you gonna do about it?” your brother tilted his chin upwards looking down on Harry and you just couldn’t believe what was happening. But when you saw your father get out of the car you forcefully pulled yourself out of Derek’s hold and scurried behind Harry

“Get inside, Y’N” Harry reiterated, gritting his teeth

Derek then pushed Harry, hard. And he almost didn’t even budge, so he pushed again, harder, almost knocking you out had you not stepped to the side when he lost his footing this time “C’mon, old man. Fight for your little fucktoy. If she’s even worth it. What, thought you were all high and mighty, threatening to take me to trial. At least fight for your daughter, then. Would’ve thought you’d like a swing at me after all I’ve put her through. Broke her little heart” he leaned in closer, right in Harry’s face, whispering amusedly “... and her little pussy”

You shrieked at that. Expecting Harry to finally cave in and absolutely tear Derek limb for limb, yet he was still standing his ground, although visibly tense- you could sense the tension roll off him in waves “Derek, stop! What the fuck is wrong with you?!”

Your brother grimaced in disdain “What do you even see in this loser, he won’t even stand up for his own daughter- all talk, no game. Is that how he is in the sack too?” he laughed “That’s sad even for you, Y/N”

But before you could even say anything, your father finally reached you and grabbed your arm, pulling you away from Harry’s side “Enough! Y/N, I’ll not have you turn us into the laughing stock of this town! Have some god damn decency!”

“Decency?!” Harry snapped, turning fully towards your father, towering over him and disregarding your brother completely “Decency?! Look at her! Look at what you did to her! Look at your son! Look at what he’s yelling to my face” he gritted his teeth “But he’s just a kid and doesn’t know any better especially with a shit father like you for a role model, and unlike you I’m not in the business of beating children. So where do you get the nerve to talk about decency?!”

“How fucking dare you-- who the hell do you think you are, anyway?! Mind your own god damn business. Maybe if you disciplined your daughter she wouldn’t be in this situation. A girl’s gotta know her place. And clearly this one forgot what that was, huh?” he turned his attention to you, and when you looked away from him he grabbed your chin, turning your face to look at him forcefully “Whoring out with a man fit to be your father, gonna beat some sense right back into you when you get home, just you wait--”

The force of the impact nearly pulled you in as well, as your father didn’t let go of your face completely by the time he took the fall. Harry knocked him straight out on his back before he even got to finish that sentence. In the distance, you could hear your mother scream from inside the car, and you half expected your brother to do something but all you could hear was Harry’s laboured breathing as he clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to compose himself, visibly holding back from doing more.

There was no need to, though, as you all watched your father lay unconscious splayed on the pavement, and when you heard a frightful “Dad?” you glanced at your brother, but realised he hadn’t been the one to utter the word, as he was still visibly in shock over what had just happened.

Looking past him though, your eyes widened watching a very distraught looking Emily take this whole scene in, with who you recognized to be her mother to her side. Looking back at Harry, your heart sank reading on his face a myriad of emotions run through him upon hearing his daughter witness all of that.

...How long had she been standing there?

Chapter 21

A/N: been building up to this moment ever since i started writing this. damn. feels surreal that we're finally here! I TOLD Y'ALL YOU WEREN'T READY 💀 also it's freakin 4:30am once again fmllllll

💕 like & reblog if you enjoyed this, lovelies, and most importantly, please come share your thoughts on it here 💌

🦋follow me on wattpad to get notified whenever i post something new/update!🦋

[bechloeislegit]

Bechloe Week 2021 - Day 5

"You Don't Know Who I Am, Do You?

Beca's Assistant, Dani, rushed into the studio, causing Theo to glare at her.

"What?" Theo snarled, hating to be interrupted when he had an artist in the booth.

"Um, I need to speak with Beca," Dani said. "It's an emergency."

"Fine," Theo said, pushing the intercom button to get Beca's attention. "Dani needs to talk to you."

Beca furrowed her brow as she took off her headphones. She stepped out of the booth and walked over to Dani.

Theo watched as Dani animatedly waved her arms around while whispering something to Beca. Beca's eyes widened and she ran out of the studio.

"Beca!" Theo yelled out, jumping up as the door slammed closed behind Beca. He turned to Dani. "We weren't done. She'd better have a damned good reason for leaving."

Dani smiled at Theo as she excitedly blurted out, "Chloe's having the baby."

A smile came to Theo's face as he plopped back down in his chair. "I'd say that's a pretty damned good reason for her to leave."

~~ BeChloe Week 2021 - Day 5 ~~

Beca made it just in time to be in the delivery room when her daughter was born. She looked down in awe at the red-headed newborn laying in her wife's arms.

"She's beautiful, Chlo," Beca whispered. "Just like her mother."

Chloe looked up at Beca with tears in her eyes. Beca leaned down and kissed Chloe; she then kissed her daughter's forehead and pulled back, wiping tears from Chloe's cheeks.

"Welcome to the world Sarah Angelique Beale," Chloe whispered as she stared down at her daughter.

"I'd better go tell everyone she's here," Beca said. "I'm sure her namesakes are chomping at the bit to see her."

Beca leaned down and kissed Chloe. With a mumbled "I'll be right back," Beca left the room.

Chloe continued to stare down in awe at her new baby girl.

"Your mama went to get all your family members who have been waiting for you to get here," she whispered. "You don't know it yet, but you are already so loved."

Five minutes later, Beca popped her head in the door. "Ready for some company?"

"Bring them in," Chloe said, sitting a little straighter up in the bed.

Beca held the door as both her and Chloe's mothers and grandmothers entered the room. They all hurried over to the bed and looked down at Sarah.

"She's got the Beale's hair," Chloe's grandmother, Sarah, said.

"She's beautiful," Beca's grandmother, Angelique, said.

"Grandmas and great-grandmas," Beca said, taking Sarah from Chloe. "I'd like to introduce you all to the newest addition to the Beale family. This is Sarah Angelique Beale."

The two new great-grandmothers gasped.

"You named her after us?" Angelique asked.

"Well, yeah," Beca said. "You are two of the most important people in the world to me and Chloe."

"May I hold her?" Sarah asked.

"Of course," Beca said, handing baby Sarah over to Great-Grandmother Sarah.

~~ BeChloe Week 2021 - Day 5 ~~

Sarah was two months old, and Beca was preparing to leave on her world tour.

"I don't want to leave her," Beca told Chloe as she moved her packed suitcases over to the door. "Or you."

Chloe came up behind Beca and put her arms around Beca's waist. "We'll miss you."

Beca turned and put her arms around Chloe and kissed her.

"I'm going to miss so much in the next 6 months," Beca said. "I hope I can get home some time to see my girls."

"Your schedule is jam-packed," Chloe said. "I'd love to have you come home, but I know you've got a job to do. Besides, Brey has all the Bellas scheduled to be here to help out while you're gone."

"Of course Aubrey made a schedule," Beca said, chuckling.

"Plus, our mothers and grandmothers will be visiting," Chloe said. "So, don't worry, Sarah and I will be fine."

"But, it won't be the same as having her mama with her," Beca said, pouting. "I wish I could just cancel it all."

Tears came to Beca's eyes as she looked over to the bassinet where Sarah was sleeping.

"Babe," Chloe said, getting Beca to look at her. "This tour has been in the works since before we found out we were pregnant. You can't disappoint your fans by canceling at the last minute."

Beca sighed. "I know. But, it doesn't make me feel any better about leaving."

"We can FaceTime or Skype whenever you're scheduled allows," Chloe said. "And I'll make sure to take videos of anything new Sarah does. It will be like you were here the whole time."

"I don't want it to be like I was here," Beca mumbled. "I want to actually be here."

Chloe pulled Beca to her and kissed her. "Come on," she said. "Theo will be here any minute."

"I want to say goodbye to Sarah," Beca said, pulling away from Chloe.

Beca picked up Sarah and held her close to her chest. She kissed the top of Sarah's head and rocked her from side to side.

"I'll miss you, baby girl," Beca whispered. "Now listen closely while I give you some sage motherly advice about your Aunts. Don't believe anything your Aunt Amy tells you; she'll only get you into trouble. And I wouldn't be too upset if you puked on your Aunt Aubrey once or twice."

"Beca!" Chloe said, chuckling.

"I'm just saying," Beca said with a shrug. "Now leave me be, woman. I have about three minutes to give six months' worth of motherly advice to our daughter."

"Sorry," Chloe said, smiling and raising her hands in defeat. "Please continue."

"Okay, where was I?" Beca said. "Oh, you'll find that your Aunt Emily is more of a kid than you are. She's also tall, but don't let her scare you; she could be your best friend if you let her. Your Aunt CR is the coolest person I know. Mommy and I are cool, too, but your Aunt CR takes being cool to a whole new level. Your Aunt Stacie is a saint in devil's clothing. She has to be; she's married to your Aunt Aubrey."

"Brey," Chloe said.

"What?"

"She'll want to be called Aunt Brey."

Sarah started moving her arms like she was stretching, and Beca looked down at her. "Did you hear that, Sarah? Your Aunt Aubrey wants to be called Aunt Brey."

Just then, the doorbell rang throughout the house. Beca looked at Chloe.

"That's probably Theo," Chloe said, walking over to Beca. "I'll take Sarah, and we'll walk you out."

Beca kissed Sarah's forehead and handed her off to Chloe. Beca then grabbed her bags and followed Chloe downstairs.

There were more kisses and a few more tears as Beca said goodbye to Chloe and Sarah.

~~ BeChloe Week 2021 - Day 5 ~~

Chloe was feeling ecstatic because Beca was coming home in two days. Along with the excitement, she was also feeling sad because Beca had missed so many of Sarah's milestones during the six months she's been on tour. Chloe sent videos, but whenever they wanted to Skype or FaceTime, they couldn't make it work with Beca's schedule and the time differences.

Beca was smiling as she stared out at the scenery as the car drove her home from the airport. She was getting home earlier than she had told Chloe so she could surprise her girls.

Beca's smile grew bigger as she thought of Sarah. God, she missed her. She also missed sex. It's been long enough since Chloe gave birth so they can have welcome home sex, and Beca was looking forward to that.

"I wonder if Aubrey and Stacie would take Sarah for the night so Chloe and I can have some alone time," Beca thought.

Beca shook her head. "No. I want to spend as much time with Sarah as I can."

The driver pulled into the driveway of Beca's home. She thanked him and grabbed her luggage. She opened the door and set her suitcases down as she called out for Chloe.

"Chloe? Babe, I'm home," Beca called out.

"Beca!" Stacie cried out as she came out of the kitchen, carrying Sarah. "You're home early. Chloe said she wasn't expecting you until tomorrow."

"Got an earlier flight," Beca said, walking over to Stacie and reaching for Sarah. "There's my baby girl."

Sarah pulled away from Beca and clung to Stacie, shaking her head.

"Come on, Sarah," Stacie said. "Go to your mama. She missed you."

Beca reached for Sarah again, and Stacie leaned toward Beca; Sarah pulled away and shook her head again. Her eyes teared up, and her lower lip started to tremble.

Beca felt tears sting her eyes. "Oh, my God. You don't know who I am, do you?"

Sarah began to cry; her wails were like a knife to Beca's heart

"Where is Chloe?" Beca asked as a lone tear rolled down her cheek.

"Brey took her for a spa day," Stacie said, trying to comfort Sarah. "They should be back soon."

"Okay," Beca said. "I'm going to go upstairs and start unpacking. Can you keep an eye on Sarah for me?"

"Sure," Stacie said.

Stacie watched as Beca's shoulders dropped, and she slowly shuffled to the stairs. She gave Beca a small smile when Beca looked back at Sarah with a sad look in her eyes.

~~ BeChloe Week 2021 - Day 5 ~~

About thirty minutes later, Chloe and Aubrey came through the door. Chloe immediately went to pick up Sarah. Sarah leaned in for Chloe to take her, giggling and wiggling in Chloe's arms.

"Beca's home," Stacie said.

"She is?" Chloe asked with a huge smile on her face. "Where is she?"

"She, um, went upstairs to unpack," Stacie said.

"What's wrong?" Aubrey asked, sensing Stacie had something else to say.

"She's upset," Stacie said, taking a deep breath and telling Chloe what happened between Beca and Sarah.

Chloe frowned and handed Sarah to Aubrey.

"Watch her for me?" Chloe said. "I'm going to go talk to Beca."

"Take your time," Stacie said, moving to stand next to Aubrey. "We got Sarah. You go take care of Beca."

Chloe nodded and rushed upstairs. She slowly entered their bedroom only to find that Beca wasn't there. She frowned and looked across the hall to Sarah's room; the door was slightly open. She sighed and walked over, pushing the door open as she did.

Chloe's heart broke seeing Beca sitting in the rocking chair hugging Sarah's favorite stuffed elephant close to her chest.

"My daughter doesn't know me," Beca said, looking over at Chloe with tears rolling down her face.

"Oh, baby," Chloe said, rushing over to pull Beca up and into her arms.

Beca let out a small sob, and Chloe felt tears stinging her own eyes.

"I love you," Chloe whispered. "And so does Sarah."

Beca scoffed as she pulled away from Chloe. Beca hugged the elephant to her chest and sat back down in the rocking chair.

"I've missed so much because of the stupid tour," Beca mumbled. "I counted down the days until I could come home and see and cuddle Sarah. And she doesn't even know who I am."

Beca let out another sob and started to gently rock back and forth.

Chloe knelt by the chair and put her hands on Beca's arm.

"You just have to give her a little time," Chloe said. "She's a little shy with people she doesn't know. You just have to let her get to know you again."

Chloe raised herself up onto her knees and kissed Beca's temple. She then rested her forehead on the top of Beca's head while wrapping her arms around Beca.

Chloe comforted Beca and Beca let herself be comforted. They were so engrossed in each other they didn't hear when Stacie and Aubrey entered the room.

"Mama."

Beca and Chloe's heads shot up; they looked over to the door to see Aubrey holding Sarah.

"Mama."

Beca let out a sob as she jumped up, nearly knocking Chloe over.

"Mama."

"Hey, baby girl," Beca said. "Mama's right here."

Sarah reached out her arms toward Beca, and Beca took her and pulled her to her. Sarah laid her head on Beca's shoulder.

"Mama."

Chloe wiped the tears from her eyes and put her arms around her wife and daughter.

"I love you, baby girl," Beca whispered, kissing the top of Sarah's head.

"We're sorry for intruding," Stacie said softly. "But when Sarah said mama and started looking around as if she was looking for Beca, we didn't think you'd mind."

"Thank you," Beca whispered as the tears ran down her cheeks.

"We'll call you later," Aubrey said as she and Stacie quietly left the little family.

Beca and Chloe stood in the middle of Sarah's room. Beca laid her cheek against the top of Sarah's head; Chloe laid her forehead against Beca's temple.

"I love you both so much," Beca said quietly.

"We love you so much, too," Chloe said.

"Mama," Sarah said, snuggling closer into Beca.

[prentissinred]

Life in Pink

Rated T (mild suggestive content) Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Emily Prentiss Word Count: 2.5k AO3

Hi friends! Guess what? This past weekend marked one year since I posted my first story! How crazy is that?!

I’m so utterly grateful to this community for being such a bright spot in a difficult year. To everyone who’s taken the time to read something I’ve written, thank you for being so kind and supportive. It means more to me than I can express in words. To the brilliant, lovely, talented people I now get to call my friends, I love you all so very much.

To commemorate the occasion, I wrote a little something. This is set in the world of The Wonder of You, which was the first story I’ve ever written – but you don't need to have read that to understand this :)

I hope you like it <3

--

“I mean it, JJ. Whatever happens, do not call us.”

“Yes, Emily. For the hundredth time, I promise not to call you.”

Aaron slipped his free hand into his wife’s and squeezed. “Sweetheart, it’ll be fine. Strauss knows we’re away, and our backlog is miraculously clear. We’ll be okay.”

He returned to packing up his things on his desk while Emily huffed and quietly muttered something unflattering about their superior under her breath. JJ chuckled and embraced her friend. “Go. Have a fabulous time and make us all incredibly jealous. We’ll see you in a week.”

After another round of goodbyes and poorly-veiled suggestive comments from Morgan and Dave, Aaron and Emily were in their car and on their way to Dulles, suitcases already packed and in the trunk.

It had been her idea. A holiday in Greece to commemorate their first wedding anniversary. There hadn’t been time to plan a honeymoon, their wedding in Dave’s backyard coming together with relative expediency. They had spent the weekend after the ceremony in a hotel, indulging in champagne and room service for 48 hours before returning to work the following Monday.

Neither of them thought much of it after that, swept up in both work and newlywed life. They moved into a new home, a classic Colonial in Arlington with extra bedrooms and a white wrap-around porch, and adopted a dog at Jack’s insistence.

And before either of them had realized it, it had been a year. Aaron had remembered the upcoming date over Saturday breakfast as he cut bacon into little pieces for Jack, which were then promptly fed to Boo who waited patiently under the table next to Jack’s chair. Emily and Aaron shared a look of bemused surprise as they came to the realization that neither of them had planned anything to celebrate the occasion.

“We could take a trip,” Emily suggested casually. “We haven’t been away before, just the two of us.”

He’d been doubtful at first, unsure if they could really manage to get the time away with such short notice. But it was clear how enthused Emily was by the prospect, though she hid it well under masked nonchalance. Though she always insisted she was more than happy to spend her time at home, appreciative of the roots they had cultivated after all the travel and displacement of her past, Aaron knew there was still a part of her that missed that heady thrill of exploring an unfamiliar place for the first time. And truthfully, he could think of little else that he would enjoy more than having his wife all to himself for a few days.

So they settled on Greece, a place new to them both, and, with some luck, managed to clear a full week on both of their calendars.

They had nearly reached the parking lot at Dulles — having already checked in with Jessica, Jack and Boo over the phone — when Emily’s phone pinged with a text message from JJ, “I’m so sorry.”

“Shit,” she muttered under her breath.

Before Aaron could question her, his phone rang, Chief Strauss’s number on the front screen. Panic flashed across both their faces before he reluctantly answered. Emily could hear brief snippets of the conversation as the pit in her stomach steadily widened.

“...apologize...New York...fourth suicide bomber in three weeks...escalating...need everyone…”

Once he hung up the phone, Aaron took the next exit off the highway, pulling up to the curb once it was safe to do so. They both sat in silence for an extended minute, disappointment heavy in the air. Finally, Emily attempted to break the tension, “Aren’t you glad I convinced you to get the refundable tickets?”

Aaron let out a weak, sad chuckle and leaned over the center console to kiss her, “I’ll make it up to you, I promise,” before starting the car up again to head to the airstrip.

When they walked onto the plane, the team was uncharacteristically silent, looking on at their boss and colleague with poorly concealed apology, as though they were personally at fault for this unfortunate turn of events.

It took five days for the case to come to an end, the team finding the next bomber with minutes to spare, leading them to the ringleader of the group orchestrating the attacks. The date of their anniversary came and went, with nothing to mark the day except a quickie in the shower before they left their shared room. Objectively, both Aaron and Emily knew they had made the right decision, compulsory or not. Lives were saved, and the team functioned at their best when they were a complete set.

Still, while Aaron wrapped things up at the precinct after sending Emily back to the hotel, he couldn’t help but feel sorry that the first year of his marriage had passed in such a benign manner. As he drove back to the hotel, watching people shuffle and hustle about their weekend, an inkling of a plan formed and he picked up the phone to call JJ.

He found Emily in their room, her back turned to him as she hunched over the bed in the final stages of packing. He leaned against the wall, taking a moment to admire her before asking, "What are you doing, sweetheart?"

She jumped a little, the close of the door too quiet for her to hear him walk in, then raised a brow at him. "Packing? Don't we have to be at the airport in an hour?"

"Change of plans." Aaron sauntered up to his wife, pulling her in by the waist so he could kiss her. "We're leaving tomorrow."

“Since when?”

"Since I decided that you and I deserve a night to ourselves." He chuckled softly at her confused expression, tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ears. "I'm sorry we couldn't get our time away. I thought we could spend the night out here instead. Celebrate the best year of my life with my beautiful wife."

She softened in his arms, molding herself to him as she pushed up on her toes and threaded her hands in his hair, kissing him breathless. “What about everyone else?” she asked, mouthing along his jaw, nosing the length of his neck.

The blood promptly rushed south from his head, a familiar occurrence anytime Emily’s hands ran over him as they were doing now. He swallowed, breathing in deeply to ensure he retained some semblance of control. "I told them to leave tonight; we could fly on our own tomorrow. But they offered to stay the night.”

She laughed against his throat, hot and ticklish on his skin, feeling almost giddy by this unforeseen development, “Okay then.” The hands on her hips tightened as she began kissing down to his chest, and she grinned up at him, lightly palming the front of his black slacks. “Are you sure you want to go out? We could just lock ourselves in here for the night.”

He narrowed his eyes, playfully pinching her cheek, “Cheeky, Mrs. Hotchner. But I have a plan and, tempting as you are, you will not sway me from it.” Knowing her go-bag always contained a nicer dress in case their work called for it, he added, “Now, get dressed,” swatting her ass lightly for good measure.

“Aaron, it’s Saturday night in New York City. You realize we’re not getting in anywhere halfway decent,” Emily pointed out while she unbuttoned her blouse.

“Ye of little faith, my dear wife. I told you, I have a plan.” Aaron also rid himself of his jacket and tie, replacing his shirt with a fresh white button-down and rolling up the sleeves. He went to clean himself up in the bathroom, and when he returned, he found his magnificent wife attempting to zip up a one-shoulder red dress. The same dress he’d slid off her shoulders in his bedroom after dinner on their first date. “Is that…”

"Would you believe I didn't plan this?" she grinned, turning her back to him. "Help me?"

Instead of doing as she asked, Aaron nudged the zipper, skating a knuckle up the length of her bare back and planting a kiss at the top of her spine.

“Aaron..." she breathed, tilting her head back against his, "if you don't cut that out, we're not leaving this room." He groaned into her neck, reluctantly admitting she was right, finally zipping her up and smoothing her hair back over her shoulder.

When they emerged outside their hotel ten minutes later onto the bustling streets of Midtown Manhattan, they walked the few blocks to Grand Central Station, just barely catching the subway headed downtown. Despite her initial doubts, Emily’s smile hadn’t left her, cheeks flushed with excitement.

Aaron led her by hand out of the subway when they reached their destination, climbing the stairs onto the southwest corner of Washington Square Park. The air was hot and muggy, New York in August, even as the last rays of the sun dipped below the horizon. Music filtered through from the park, mixing with the din of the crowds enjoying the first stage of their evening.

“Do I get to know what we’re doing now?”

“Not yet. Come on, this way.”

They crossed the street, turned the corner, and Aaron finally stopped outside a red awning.

“Pizza?” Emily looked up at him, eyes wide with surprise as she took in the pizzeria.

“Or hot dogs, or Indian, or Greek, Italian, Vietnamese...We can go anywhere you want in the world in the next 10 blocks.”

She beamed up at him, catching onto his plan, and her grin was infectious. “Can we do them all?”

He laughed, “Lead the way.”

They started with pizza at Joe’s — a pepperoni slice for him and a Sicilian slice for her. Then a stuffed pita filled to the brim with fresh falafel, tomatoes, and hummus. A chicken tikka kati roll. And finally a shared plate of chicken and rice drizzled in white sauce from the halal food cart next to the park.

Their hands never strayed far from the other, the blissful anonymity of the city prompting more affectionate displays from both of them. Aaron stood behind her, hands on her hips or around her waist, as they waited in line. Emily ran her fingers through his hair as they sat on barstools, so smushed together from the crowd that she was practically sitting in his lap. They stood on the sidewalk waiting for their food to be prepared, their arms wrapped around each other and their lips moving together in languid kisses as if they had all the time in the world. To any stranger who could be bothered to look their way, they looked like any other couple smitten and blissfully in love, hiding every scar, hurdle, and hardship they had overcome to reach this point. Two figures floating amongst a sea of millions.

“I’m so full,” Emily moaned, clutching her stomach dramatically as they wandered hand-in-hand down Houston St. “I think you’ve killed me.”

“Not yet, sweetheart. We haven’t gotten to dessert.”

Two spoons and one cup of salted chocolate ice cream later, they made it back to the park, still lively as if the night had only just started. The marble archway was lit up, the Empire State Building in the distance peeking through the gap. People sat around the edge of the fountain, dipping their feet into the cool water.

Aaron and Emily walked through the students and artists and skateboarders and tourists, dipping intermittently into their shared dessert absorbing the infectious energy. They reached the other end of the park, stopping for a moment to watch a street performer, and turned down a new street, neither of them wanting the evening to come to an end.

The unmistakable sound of a piano floated out of a bar as two patrons exited, catching Emily by surprise as they walked past. She jerked to a stop, captivated, then tugged Aaron's hand to the door. He followed her lead, descending down a narrow flight of stairs that led into a darkened lounge. Tufted couches and armchairs in jewel-toned velvets lined the walls, dimly lit by rounded art deco sconces. Two bartenders seamlessly crafted elegant cocktails behind a lavish bar that took up the back wall. And in the center, a jazz quartet illuminated by a spotlight as couples swayed around them on a dance floor. Even in the dark, Aaron could see the way Emily's eyes lit up, entranced by this unexpected discovery, and he discreetly asked a waitress if they could be seated.

They nestled into the corner of an empty couch, Aaron's hand resting on Emily's knee as they both sipped their respective cocktails. Truthfully, he spent very little time watching the band, his eyes trained on his wife. He took in every secret smile, every small part of her lips when the melody soared to a peak. She was breathtaking, and she was his, and not for the first time in his life did he wonder how he had ever gotten quite so lucky.

The song shifted into something he recognized, a string of notes from the saxophone eliciting an audible gasp from Emily. He grasped her hand and tugged her up from the chair, smiling at the delight on her face. He pulled her in close, one hand low on her back, his cheek resting against hers, as they began to gently shift amongst the other couples.

After a minute, Emily’s voice came in whispers in his ear, her tongue curling beautifully over the French he couldn’t understand.

Quand il me prend dans ses bras Qu'il me parle tout bas Je vois la vie en rose

Il me dit des mots d'amour Des mots de tous les jours Et ça m'fait quelque chose

Il est entré dans mon cœur Une part de bonheur Dont je connais la cause C'est lui pour moi, moi pour lui dans la vie Il me l'a dit, l'a juré, pour la vie

She pulled back in his arms, her gaze locking on his. A droplet tipped over her lash and onto her cheek. Her love for the man who held her — her husband, hers — bubbled and popped and diffused in her chest, filling her until she felt like she was floating. Aaron brought his hand up from her waist to her cheek, his thumb wiping away the errant drop on her skin with enough tenderness and adoration to warrant a fresh bout of tears.

Emily shakily rose to press her lips to his, tightening her hold of him, just as the song trailed to its conclusion. Applause erupted, but at that moment, the world around them didn’t exist.

“I love you, Aaron Hotchner.”

“And I love you.”

--

Song: La Vie en Rose by Edith Piaf

Translation (thank you Google):

When he holds me in his arms He speaks to me softly I see life through rose-colored glasses

He speaks words of love to me Everyday words And that does something to me

He has entered into my heart A piece of happiness The cause of which I know It’s only him for me, and me for him, for life He said that to me, swore it forever

[scandinavian-girl]

December 5th: “It’s snowing!”

Pairing: Spencer Reid x fem!reader (she/they pronounces)

Trigger warnings: mentions of knifes, killing and murder.

Word count: 696

It was 7 am. The team had gotten an anonymous call about their unsub being on his way to Greenville. Spencer and the team then headed to Greenville as fast as they could in their black SUV. 

They had profiled that he was going to get some kind of revenge on his mother, who they knew lived in Greenville, so when the call got to them, they knew they had to go to her place as fast as possible.

And they were right, because when they landed at her house, they saw the unsub, whose name was Liam Roberts.

“Liam Roberts!” Derek called through the house. “FBI!”

Spencer walked upstairs and into the large master bedroom with some swat agents.

“Liam! Put that knife down. You don’t wanna do that.” Spencer said to Liam who was holding his mother by the hair and a large knife by her throat.

“Don’t kill her. She has done nothing wrong. So I need you to put down that knife so you don’t hurt her.” Spencer pleaded.

Liam put the knife closer to his mothers throat being really close to killing her.

“You don’t know what she has done! She deserves this!” Liam yelled at Spencer as he watched more agents coming into the bedroom.

But then something clicked in him.

Liam broke down in tears, realizing what he was about to do, so he dropped the knife and let go of his mother. Spencer quickly went over to him to put him in handcuffs.

Spencer and Derek took Liam and followed him down to a police car so he could arrested and convicted for at least 3 murderers and for attempted murder on his mother.

—

Spencer and the team were in the jet on their way home from the rather disturbed case.

Derek was sitting with his headphones on, Emily and JJ were talking about girls stuff like always, Aaron was looking over the case to his report and Rossi was looking out at the sunset.

Spencer however was sitting all by himself reading one of his many books he had brought along. He really wished he was with you. He missed you, your soft touch and just the way you gave him so much love.

Luckily he didn’t know you would pick him up from the airport. Normally the team drove back to headquarters together but when you asked Aaron if you could drive Spencer, he said yes.

Once the team had landed, they took their luggage and headed out where the cars were parked. 

Outside you were leaning against your blue sedan sized car, waiting for the team. You didn’t wait long before you noticed a familiar body. It was Spencer. The best looking nerd on the planet.

“Hey hot stuff.” you smiled once he had reached a fitting distance to talk.

“Hey sugar plum. I didn’t think you would drive me back to headquarters.” Spencer smiled and gave you a big ‘I missed you’ hug.

“You have a great boss who would let me.” you smiled and gave him a soft kiss.

--

When you and Spencer finally arrived at home, you saw another bouquet of flowers at your doorstep. There was pink, purple and red in between, it wasn’t as large as the others but just as pretty as the other two.

“I swear, you are too good for me.” you giggled and took the bouquet and the small card inside.

“What does the card say?” Spencer smiled as he slowly undressed himself from his winter clothes.

“It says; On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.” you chuckled and put the card on the fridge beside the other two.

When you walked towards your living room you noticed how light it looked, considering how late in the day it was.

It was snowing.

“Look, Spencer! It’s snowing!” you almost yelled in excitement.

He giggled at your action. “I’m right behind you. you don’t have to yell.” he wrapped his arms around your waist and hugged you from behind.

Man it felt good being in his arms again.

[aderiex]

Last minute ~ Aaron Hotchner x Reader

Pairing: Reader x Aaron hotcher

Summary: Y/N goes into labour while Aaron is working a case

Warnings: Idk, no smut, just soft hotch and pregnancy 

You had been witch Aaron Hotchner, for a little over 4 years now. You had gotten married just last year and now you both worked in the BAU. Aaron was unit chief, and you were one of his agents, around 8 months ago you and Aaron had found out you were expecting. You were in your third trimester, wearing loose clothing and trying your best to still attend work. Aaron had gotten very protective over you and the baby, making sure no one hurt you. He was still trying to convince you to take mat leave, but you refused, wanting to be in the office with everyone. But finally, there came a time where you couldn’t work, you were too big and tired. Aaron took that time to take you home and tell you to get some rest, you now sat at home. It was quite boring. When Jack was at school and Aaron was at work, you had nothing to do, you cleaned the house, packed your hospital bag, and made lunches and dinner. But you mostly slept, every day, small naps around the house.

Every day Aaron called you to check in around lunch, made sure you had your hospital bag packed and knew what the plan was. But you never expected it when it actually happened.

It was around 1am, Aaron was across the country for a case when you felt your water brake. You were still groggy from your sleep but when you felt the water underneath you and running down your leg, you knew. You immediately picked up the phone and called your neighbour, he was the one that was going to drive you to the hospital if Aaron couldn’t, that had been the plan. You called three times but no answer, he was asleep, it was the middle of the night after all. You felt a sharp, sore pain in your abdomen and knew you needed to get to the hospital now. You had no time to wait for someone to drive you, so you ran downstairs, grabbed your keys with your bag, and got in the car. The pain was getting worse as you drove, but the hospital wasn’t far, as you sped up. You were able to pull into the parking lot and barely put the car in park before rushing into the emergency rom. “Ma’am, is everything alright?” The woman at the desk asked you, your breathing was heavy, “I-I think I’m going into labour.” You said, panicked. The woman shot up from her chair and directed you into the maternity ward, paging doctors and nurses to your room. “Please, I- I need to call my husband.” You begged out; the nurse looked at you with pity. “Lay down ma’am, we can call him. What is his name?” You panted, “Aaron Hotchner, he’s with the FBI. Please…” You breathed, the nurse nodded and went off.

Aaron was sleeping when he got the call, he woke up, his voice groggy. “Hotchner.” He answered the phone, “What?” he asked, finally able to wake up. “How long ago?” he sat up, pulling on a pair of pants, “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He hung up and rushed around the room, packing all of his things, and throwing on a jacket as he rushed down the hall to Rossi’s room. He knocked frantically and Rossi answered, squinting. “Hotch?” he asked sleepily. “Y/n is in labour; I need to go back to Quantico now.” He said, panic in his eyes, Rossi nodded. “Go, we’ll be okay.” Aaron nodded and rushed out of the hotel, making it to the airport in under 20 minutes. The plane was there waiting thanks to a call from Rossi, and they were off the ground in minutes. The flight back seemed to take forever; Aaron sat anxiously as the pilot flew them back. Aaron kept checking his phone for a text from you but nothing yet. He bounced his leg anxiously and put his head in his hands.

You lay in your room, it was now 4am, the doctor was telling you, you need to get ready to push. “No, I won’t do it without him here, please just get my husband.” You begged; the doctor frowned. “We can wait another hour maybe but not any longer, it can affect the baby’s health.” He said, you nodded, “Thank you.”

50 minutes went by, the doctor was waiting by the end of your bed. “Ma’am, we need to get ready.” The doctor said sadly, you felt tears prick at the sides of your eyes from the pain and emotion. You nodded sadly and he sat you up, preparing to put the epidural in. “My wife, my wife she’s going into labour!” you heard Aaron’s voice from down the hallway, you smiled slightly. He burst through the door, panting and grabbed your hand, kissing your forehead. “I’m so sorry love, I got here as fast as I could.” He breathed out, “Just in time, please pull up a chair, we are just putting the epidural in and then we’ll get started.” The doctor said.

It had been 3 hours, the pain was unbearable, you could feel sweat dripping down your face as you winced in pain. Aaron was holding your hand, letting you squeeze his hand to ease your discomfort. “You’re doing great babe, come on keep pushing.” He was encouraging you, wiping the sweat off your eyebrow. You were biting your lip to hold in the screams of pain, shallow breaths escaped you as the pain ripped through you, you could feel Aaron’s hand in your as you squeezed until your knuckles turned white.

“C’mon momma, one more big push, he’s almost here.” The doctor encouraged. You winced as you made that final push. You heard the baby’s cries, it brought tears to your eyes. “You did it.” The nurse said, grabbing your hand. “Dad, would you like to cut the cord?” The nurse asked, Aaron took the scissors, hands steady and helped cut the umbilical cord. Before you knew it your warm, pink baby was being placed in your arms. You looked down at him, slight cries escaped his lips for the first few seconds before you held him close, and he quieted down. You couldn’t take your eyes off of him, his small face, and cute little hands. Aaron rested a hand on your shoulder and smiled down at you, “That’s our baby.” He laughed out nervously. You looked up at him and he leaned down for a kiss.

It was a few hours later, Aaron was asleep on the couch across from your bed, laying peacefully. You lay feeding your baby, all was quiet.

A slight knock at your door caught your attention, it was the team. Garcia was the first by your side, grinning and cooing down at the baby. Morgan and Rossi joined up on the other side and JJ and Emily were the last to come into the room. JJ looked down at you and smiled, “It’s a hell of a time, isn’t it?” She asked with a laugh, you smiled and nodded. You put your finger up to your lips to signal everyone to stay quiet as to not wake up Hotch as he continued sleeping peacefully. Morgan wanted to hold him right away, he was swaddled in a blanket, and you gently handed him to Morgan, making sure he supported his head properly. The whole team had a chance to hold the baby before it came to Reid. He took the baby so hesitantly, he looked down, as if he weren’t sure what to do before he slowly started rocking the baby, the baby cooed and gurgled happily in his arms.

Hotch opened his eyes at the noise of his baby boy, he saw the team and stood up with a small nod toward Rossi, “Thank you for letting me come back.” He smiled; Rossi smiled back “I wouldn’t let you miss this.” They both turned and watch you and the team laughing and joking around as Reid cradled the baby.

Word Count: 1.3k

[brian-in-finance]

A roadblock in Belfast in September 1969 GETTY IMAGES

On the night of August 14, 1969 — 24 hours before the start of the tale told in Kenneth Branagh’s new movie — I saw in Belfast a nine-year-old boy, the same age as the adorable Protestant celluloid “Buddy”. The significant difference between the two was that my Patrick Rooney was a Catholic who lacked half his head, which had just been removed by a police machinegun bullet.

A few minutes earlier I was standing under the Divis Flats tower block after two exhausting, terrifying days reporting the sectarian violence that had exploded out of control in Londonderry and Belfast. A police armoured car suddenly stopped in front of me. The turret traversed and its gun began to stammer, hosing the building.

Idiotically I thought it must be firing blanks, because since the Troubles began nobody had hitherto done much shooting — petrol-filled milk bottles and paving stones were weapons of choice. The Provisional IRA did not exist. Then the armoured car drove away and I heard screaming. I ran upstairs and found myself in a room where a man was cradling in his arms the terribly injured boy. I helped carry him across the road to the police lines, where, of course, no good could be done. He was extremely dead.

Patrick Rooney, who was nine years old when he was shot dead by RUC machinegun fire in his home in west Belfast in August 1969

Kenneth Branagh’s loosely autobiographical Belfast is an enchanting rite-of-passage movie that brought back to me a host of memories, not all of them bloody. I met many good people while reporting there, including a family in the Protestant Shankill Road who lived in a house like that of Buddy’s parents: no prettiness; an oppressive sense of confinement in a ghetto physically indistinguishable from the Catholic ones.

I once took the ten-year-old son of my Shankill friends to England for a week, to escape the violence. I meant well, but with hindsight I doubt that it was a great idea: afterwards little Nigel had to go back. Buddy in the movie, wonderfully played by Jude Hill, experiences the fear I remember so well.

A few months earlier, when the first English reporters went to Ulster to report the campaign for Catholic civil rights, we found ourselves precipitated into a lost valley isolated for centuries from the world as we knew it. We arrived ignorant of the province’s history and briefly deceived by externals.

The shops, scenery, white goods, even inner-city streets were not much different from those across the Irish Sea. But the people stunned us. The craic was coined early: “You are now landing at Belfast Aldergrove airport. Put back your watches three hundred years.”

Patrick Rooney’s funeral MIRRORPIX

As we learnt what was being done by the Unionist Stormont government in the name of the crown, we felt ashamed that we had lived so close, oblivious of Ulster’s injustices. We heard the story of Emily Beatty, an unmarried 19-year-old policeman’s daughter, granted a house in Caledon by the local council in order to deny this to a family of homeless Catholic squatters, because she was a “Proddie”.

We watched the Royal Ulster Constabulary, paramilitary arm of the Unionist Party, ruthlessly crush civil rights protests or, more sinister, hold the ring while Paisleyite thugs did the job. In 1969 the UK government-appointed Cameron Commission reported that Ulster’s disorders had broken out because of “on the one hand, a widespread sense of political and social grievances for long unadmitted and therefore unredressed by successive governments, and on the other sentiments of [Protestant] fear and apprehension . . . of risks to the continued existence of the state”.

Throughout history most British people have switched channels when Ireland is mentioned. This revulsion afflicted politicians who briefly visited Ulster. The home secretary Reginald Maudling remarked on his plane after a 1970 trip: “For God’s sake bring me a large Scotch. What a bloody awful country.”

Many journalists, including me, were hated by Ian Paisley and his murderous supporters as Catholic partisans, which we were, insofar as we passionately supported civil rights. A retired army officer wrote to me recently, recalling that as a 20 year-old subaltern on the night of August 15, 1969, he rescued me from a Protestant mob amid the flames of Catholic Bombay Street, which they had just set afire.

Soldiers patrolling the streets of Belfast in October 1969 GETTY IMAGES

That was the night the army was first committed to Belfast, welcomed by Catholics as deliverers and hated by Protestants for denying them their prey. Later, when I made films there for the BBC, a caller telephoned Broadcasting House to warn that unless I apologised on screen for being a Catholic-lover, they would burn my family’s house in Hampshire, of which the address was given. My poor father had to spend the ensuing month surrounded by policemen with an insatiable thirst for tea.

It was the vicious hatred that most shocked English visitors — and which is almost entirely missing from Branagh’s film. Paisley in later life was admitted to the House of Lords. Some British politicians found him an amusing eccentric, with whom they enjoyed sharing a joke. When we encountered him, however, he was a satanic hellfire preacher, denouncing “the scarlet woman of Rome” and rousing his Protestant following to deeds for which it seemed deplorable that he was never imprisoned. He makes a bit-part appearance in the movie, but the scope of his evildoing is not explored.

The escalation of the Troubles began on August 12, 1969. Catholics threw stones at the tribal Protestant Apprentice Boys’ march, drumming its triumphalist way past Derry’s Catholic Bogside. That episode erupted into wholesale rioting, which after two days and many petrol bombs caused the British government to commit troops. Two nights later disorder spread to the tribal interfaces of Belfast.

We saw Protestants standing among their police allies on the Shankill side, clutching sticks and dustbin lid shields, singing their tribal songs, such as The Sash My Father Wore.

In the days, weeks and years that followed, Ulster’s glaziers got rich as endless glass was broken, replaced, broken again. I met families like Buddy’s, who wanted no part of the violence and refused to enlist with the paramilitaries. I also saw the “peace walls” that eventually had to be erected between Catholic and Protestant streets, creating a zoo to keep the factions from tearing each other’s throats. I have beside me now my tattered copy of the army’s “tribal map”, issued to illuminate the respective orange and green zones for those required to patrol them, at mortal risk.

Jude Hill as Buddy and Jamie Dornan as his father in Kenneth Branagh's Belfast ROB YOUNGSON/FOCUS FEATURES

The weakness of Branagh’s film is that between its spasms of violence it is too nice. In all my years — as they became — of walking ghetto streets, I never saw a woman as impeccably groomed and made up as is Buddy’s mother, played by the lovely Caitríona Balfe. On camera almost nobody holds a cigarette, whereas every real-life interior scene was wreathed in smoke, just as half the population seemed to spend half their lives half-cut, as maybe they had to be, to endure that existence.

Belfast reminds me of the deal the makers of The Magnificent Seven struck with the Mexican government, before being allowed to film that great western in its country: no dirty peasants were allowed to be shown, so that even after the gunfights everybody remained Omo white.

Max Hastings in 1970 GETTY IMAGES

Don’t get me wrong — Belfast is a charming movie with a big heart. But for me it addresses almost none of the really dirty stuff. Today, everybody except those who witnessed them has forgotten the horrors. English Tories have climbed deep into bed with the Unionists, people little less grotesque than they were in my day. The United Ireland that should have happened years ago is indefinitely postponed. The Northern Irish economy is a basket case, kept afloat only by English taxpayers.

I had a letter recently from Patrick Rooney’s brother, asking if I can remember any further details about the boy’s death, but no, after 53 years I can offer nothing fresh. I have also heard from little Nigel, whom I took to England from the Shankill; he married and has a son, seems to be doing OK, if not quite as well as Kenneth Branagh.

That is no dig: Branagh is a brilliant film-maker. I am not for a moment suggesting that his Belfast represents a falsehood — only that it is a lot less ugly than the city I knew. And back in 1969 his tribe bestrode the dunghill, while Catholics suffered terribly at Protestant hands.

Max Hastings is the author of Ulster 1969: The Fight for Civil Rights in Northern Ireland, published by Gollancz in 1970

Remember… when the first English reporters went to Ulster to report the campaign for Catholic civil rights, we found ourselves precipitated into a lost valley isolated for centuries from the world as we knew it. — The Times

[hotchnersbiitch]

Silent Treatment

A/N: I’m not sure how I feel about this one, I hope you all liked it. Anon I hope this is what you wanted, I tried my best haha. 

Request: anonymous

Paring: Spencer Reid x reader 

Category: fluff 

Warning: None really 

Word count: 1,500 ~ 5min 59sec 

-

There was a serial killer that was killing sex workers in downtown Miami and you and your team were in charge of catching him. It was a Saturday night and the team knew the unsub would be on the prowl, they also knew they had to send one of the girls on the team undercover to catch him. Hotchner wanted to have you go undercover since you looked the most like the victims, of course you agreed, it was your job. But your boyfriend on the other hand wasn't very happy about the decision.

“Y/N, you cant do this. This guy is dangerous you could get hurt.” Spencer says to you as you did the final touches on your make up. You were wearing a purple tight-fitting mid-thigh dress with black heels, you felt very exposed but you knew you had to get this guy off the streets so it was worth it to you. 

“Spence, baby, I know but this is our job. I can't just let this guy go on killing these girls. We are in this job to catch the bad guys and if this is what I have to do to get that done then its fine with me. It's not ideal but so are most things in our job.” You say as made your way over to JJ and Emily to get you all wired up. Spencer just sighs and shakes his head deciding to drop the topic. Once you were wired up and ready to go you and the team drove over to the main street where sex work was popular. You'd be lying if you said you weren't nervous, you've never gone undercover before, you didn't want to mess it up and risk losing the unsub. You got out of the SUV with the rest of the team, Hotch gave you a rundown on what to say, you took a deep breath and turned to your not so happy boyfriend. 

“I love you okay? I’m going to be fine,” you say kissing his cheek before walking across the street to the sidewalk waiting for the man to pull up in the car that Garcia gave you a description of. About 10 minutes later sure enough he pulled up right beside you. 

“That's him, remember what I told you,” Hotch said into the earpiece you were wearing. You take in a deep breath before walking to his driver's side window and leaned in just a bit making sure to show your self off, it felt wrong but you knew what you had to do. 

“Hey baby, you looking for a date?” You said in a flirtatious tone, the unsub smirked evilly at you. 

“Perhaps, tell me what you had in mind.” He said in a monotone voice, it sent shivers down your spine. You didn't know what to say before you herd Rossi coming in through your earpiece. 

“Play along Y/L/N, flirt with him, make him feel powerful.” 

“I don’t know, how about you find out for your self.” You say biting your lip suggestively, the man let out a satisfied groan. 

“Get in the car, we can go to my place.” you felt your heart starting to speed up. 

“No can do sexy, I got to know how much you're gonna pay me, then maybe I’ll consider it.” The words spilled out of your mouth in a sexy tone. Your unsub did not like that answer because he gripped your wrist, hard. 

“I said get. in. the car.” He said in a harsh tone, you gulped not knowing what to do but it didn't matter because you heard your team behind you. 

“FBI! Don’t move!” Derek yelled, quickly you pulled away from the man's grip and moved out of the way to let the team do the rest of the work. You made your way back to the SUV as Derek ripped the man out of the car handcuffing him, Rossi nodded at you when you arrived back. 

“Good work agent. I know that was tough.” He says in his warm fatherly voice before patting your back. You thanked him and started removing your wires with the help of JJ. You looked over at Spencer and shot him an apologetic smile but he just shook his head and walked away, you sighed sadly. 

“Spencer is mad at me.” You said, JJ chuckled. 

“He will get over it, he’s just jealous and worried. For being a genius he isn't the brightest when it comes to girls.” She said removing the final wires and you nodded. She was right, you were doing your job, ugh, boys are so confusing sometimes. The car ride back was silent between you and Spencer, you didn't even sit with him like you usually did, you sat with Derek and Prentiss and chatted quietly with them on the way back to the hotel to get your stuff and catch the plane back to headquarters.

After stopping at the hotel and changing into leggings and a blouse for the plane ride back home, you walked out to the car to wait for everyone else. Spencer was there, perfect this gave you a chance to talk to him. 

“Spencer I don't understand why you're mad at me, I was doing my job.” You say but Spencer just ignores you. 

“Really, you're going to ignore me? You're acting childish.” You say in an annoyed tone but Spencer kept at it. 

“Oh my god.” you huffed out before getting in the car climbing into the back seat waiting for the rest of the team so you could just get back to your apartment with Spencer, that was going to be a fun ride. Soon enough everyone was in the car and you were at the airport. You got into the plane after Spencer sitting next to him hoping to break his silence, Derek chuckled at your guy's lovers quarrel. The plane took off and Spencer pulled out a book he’s read millions of times before in an attempt to block you out, you just sighed and scooted closer to him. 

“Spencerrrrrr.” You whine quietly trying to distract him. 

“Babe stops ignoring me, please, I love you. Don't be mad at me.” You say making him look at you but only to have him look back at his book. Spencer knew his girlfriend did nothing wrong, he was just jealous, as weird as that may sound he was. 

“Pretty boy, give your girl some lovin’. She caught the unsub” Morgan says with an amused smile on his face as his friends' actions. 

“You know she was only doing her job, Reid.” Emily joined in and you smiled at your friends' support. But Spencer remained steadfast in his silence. You smirked when you get a brilliant idea. You pulled the book out of Spencer's hands, he let out a huff, before he could do anything you climbed into his lap sitting so your legs were still on the couch you two were sharing. 

“Spencer,” you mumble kissing his face everywhere except his lips, you could tell he was already getting flustered, he wasn't much for PDA, especially in front of the team. 

“Y/N...stop.” He mumbled and you chuckled. 

“There's that handsome voice, are you gonna stop ignoring me now?” You say in a teasing tone, Spencer just huffs and you chuckle placing a kiss on his lips, Spencer had to the resist the urge to kiss you back. You let out a pout and crossed your arms over your chest. 

“Okay fine, I'll just sit here until you decide to love me again.” You said your arms still crossed as you sit in his lap. JJ and Emily were giggling at your antics. After a few minutes of him not budging you started poking his face, but that still didn't do anything. So with you on his lap still you just wrapped your arms around him in a hug, you knew Spencer could never resist your hugs. Spencer sighed starting to feel bad and a few moments later he wrapped his arms around you too. You smiled into his neck, glad you finally broke him. Derek playfully cheered in the background. 

“I’m sorry for being selfish, I know you were only doing your job. I just... I just got jealous.” He whispers in your ear so only you can hear, you pulled away only a little but staying in the embrace. 

“You were jealous? Of me fake flirting with a serial killer?” You say softly trying not to laugh and Spencer grumbled embarrassedly, you just smiled and shook your head. 

“You have nothing to worry about I'm all yours forever and always.” You mumbled before placing your lips on his, he gratefully kissed back. Happy with the outcome you climb off Spencer's lap but still stayed next to him handing him his book back. 

“Are the lovebirds all better now?” JJ teased, Spencer just blushed and you nodded. Happy your silly boyfriend was over his unnecessary jealousy.