HERO
AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER
Futuristic coda to "Mosley Lane" from Aimee's POV. Criminal Minds belongs to CBS and whoever else is affiliated with the show.
Hero. That's the word that comes to mind when I think of him. He slept in front of me, tried to protect me. He died for me. I was only eight years old. I'm sixteen now. I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for him. He's a hero, and I make sure to never forget that. It's because of him that I'm enjoying life-going out on dates, hanging out with friends, worrying about my makeup…but I'm not fooled. I know what's out there. I've lived in the darkness, but he kept me safe. I'll never forget him. He had long, stringy, brown hair and brown eyes. Sometimes I wonder what it'd be like if he was still alive. Would he be dating? Would he be fighting with his parents, or would he still be clinging tight to them remembering what it was like in that house with that couple? Those two scared me. Especially the woman, the way she'd sing "Hush Little Baby" and what she did to the other children. I'm so grateful to him. I just wish it hadn't cost him his life. I feel so bad for his parents. They had come so close to having him home again. Instead, they were told that he had died. Sure, he had died a hero, but he still died. But his memory lives in. I remember him every day. Every day I remember and say a prayer for his family. They'll never see him again, and even knowing how he brave he was giving his life for us, for me, that probably doesn't dull the pain. He was a hero and I'm going to remember him every day for the rest of my life. He was a hero. He's my hero. My friends-they don't understand when I say that-they can't. They didn't feel my terror, and I wouldn't want them to. But it won't change my mind. I'll never forget him. Never. He was a hero. He had been a prisoner like us for eight years and he still fought. How could I not think he was a hero? Someday I'm going to get married and if I have a little boy, I know what I'm going to name him: Stephen. And when he asks where the name came from, I'll tell him that he was named for a hero. A hero that saved me. It will be my way of continuing his legacy. Because he was a hero. He's my hero. And I'm going to make sure the whole world knows it. Because that's what the world needs: heroes. Everyone thinks heroes are long gone because there's so much evil in this world, but they're not. Heroes are still alive. Stephen's proof of that. He was my hero. He protected me, kept me safe, died for me…I'll never forget him. I'm lucky. So incredibly lucky. I'm alive because of a hero. A hero named Stephen.
THE END