Only Human
Summary: Ashley Seaver's life changes dramatically one night, when she gets raped on her way home from work. The story is written through the eyes of the whole team.
A/N – For this story, Seaver has been on the team for about a year. "Lauren" and the Emily story-line never happened. No pairing, only friendship.
Aaron Hotchner
You are about to leave the office to go pick up your son from his aunt's when the call from the hospital comes in and every thought you had about him disappears. A Dr. Ryan Michaels is asking you to come, because a couple of hours earlier a young blond woman had been brought in. There had not been an ID in her purse, but in one of the side pockets they had found one of your business cards. They want you to ID her; they hope that you can ID her so her family can be notified. As you drive to the hospital, you keep going over in your head, wondering who the woman could be, but you can't remember giving your business card to anyone, not even a date. You park the car and walk quickly to the nurses' station and ask for Dr. Michaels. Luckily you only have to wait a moment for him to approach you. He shows you to the young woman's room and walks in with you. He pulls the curtain to the side and that is when you see that you know the girl.
The blond woman in the hospital bed is Ashley Seaver. She lies on her back with her eyes closed. She is asleep which gives you a chance to really look at her. You don't know what you had expected when you got the call, but this wasn't it. She has bruises around her wrists and throat and you are sure that there are more hidden under the covers.
"What happened to her?" you ask looking at the doctor as you walk out of the room.
"You know her?"
"I'm her boss," you say. "Her name is Ashley Seaver. She works for the FBI."
Dr. Michaels nods. "Do you know how to contact her family?"
You know Seaver hasn't talked with her mother or brother in a long time and that she probably doesn't want them to come. She doesn't really have anyone. You and the team are her only family. You clear your throat. "We are the only family she has gotten – the team and I." Dr. Michaels nods again slowly. "Please tell me what happened to her."
"I can only tell you about the physical things, because she hasn't said anything herself."
You swallow hard and look towards her room. "She was raped, wasn't she?"
"Yes she was and I would say she was lucky, because she has got nothing other than a few bruises, but…" he shrugs his shoulders, "That will never make her feel lucky."
"Has she talked with the police yet?"
"Yes, they came and talked with her when she was still in the ER. They took the rape kit with them and are having it processed."
"Okay, thank you," you say to Dr. Michaels and walk back to the door. You look through the small window and can see that she is now awake. You stare at her in an unsure manner. It's not the first time you have ever dealt with someone who's been raped. You have actually done it many times before on the job, but it's the first time that you have to deal with it happening to someone that you know.
"Seaver," you say her name softly so as not to startle her as you enter the room. She is sitting up in the bed now, but she isn't looking at you and you feel at a loss for words. She looks like a mess. Her hair is covering her face, but you can still see the tears running down her cheeks. "Ashley," you try her first name. It sounds right under the circumstances and that gets her attention. For a moment her eyes shift your way. She glances at you with a shameful look then she pulls her legs to her chest and hides her face. You sit down on the side of the bed and just keep looking at her in silence. You don't know what to do or what would be right to say. This isn't like when you are working on a case. The things you say then just don't seem right now.
You are just about to ask her if she needs anything when you hear her mumble something. "I'm sorry, what?" you ask hoping you don't sound rude.
"I didn't get a good look at him," she says a bit louder now and you know straight away what she is talking about. "He came up behind me as I was about to get out of my car. He had a mask on, so I couldn't see his face." She sniffles loudly and quickly wipes a few tears off her cheeks with both hands before hiding her face in her knees again. "He didn't wear gloves so he might have left some fingerprints in my car and I scratched him so there could be DNA under my fingernails, but… there… there wasn't any in me." She says
the last part in a whisper and wraps her arms tightly around her legs and presses her head further down to her knees, so her hair hides her face completely.
You feel uncomfortable. You doubt you would be the person she chose to tell this to if she had a choice. She would probably have liked it better, if it was Emily sitting there on her bedside instead of you.
She starts crying more now and sobs are shaking her through her body. You place a hand on her shoulder in attempt to comfort her. You expect her to shove you away or scream at you for touching her, instead she leans into your touch. You rub her shoulder gently for a moment then move it down to her back. "It's okay," you assure her when she flinches. You know it isn't 'okay', but you can't think of anything else to say. You sit there rubbing her back like this for a long time just waiting for her sobs to die out.
"Do you want me to call someone for you?" you ask her.
She lifts her head from her knees and looks at you for the first time since you came into the room. "I just want to go home," she says with a sniffle and more tears run down her cheeks. "Did the doctor say when I can leave?"
"No, but I also think it's best if you stay here a little longer." You lay a hand on her knee.
"I WANNA GO HOME NOW!" She smacks your hand away and then appears as shocked by her sudden outburst as you feel. She moves away from you and runs her fingers through her hair. It's like she is hiding from you, but then she looks directly at you, breathing heavily. Then in a matter of seconds her face changes from angry to sad and it's a struggle for her to hold back the tears that is filling up her eyes again. "I'm sorry," she mumbles, wrapping her arms tightly around her knees and hides her face. "Will you ask the doctor when I can go home? Please?"
You nod even though you know she can't see it and get up from the bed. When you come out of the room you look for Dr. Michaels. You didn't expect him to still be there. "She wants to know, when she can leave," you say as you walk up to him.
"There is no medical reason for her to stay, but I would like to keep her here overnight unless you know someone she can stay with," he says and you know he is hoping that you will take her. And you would – she is a part of the team, a part of your family – but you know that would make her feel really uncomfortable staying with you, not only because you're her boss, but because you're a man.
"I'll figure something out," you say and walk back into the room. A part of you hopes that Ashley has fallen asleep while you were out, giving you a little more time to figure out what to do. But she isn't lying down on the bed sleeping, no she sitting in the same position, with her head buried in her knees, as she did when you left.
"What did he say?" she asks you without lifting her head.
You sit down in the same spot on the bed as before. "He said you can go home tonight," her head snaps up and she stares at you with a hopeful expression, "if you stay with someone." The hopeful look on her face changes to fear. You knew she would react like that, so you quickly clarify that you do not mean yourself. "Do you want me to call and ask Emily or Garcia if you can stay with one of them?"
"Emily. You can call Emily. I don't want Garcia to know what happened," she sighs, "at least not yet."
"Okay." You lift your hand making sure that she sees it and then lays it on her shoulder. "I will go call her now," you say rubbing her shoulder a few times and then you leave the room again.
