General Disclaimer
Any and all content related specifically to Criminal Minds is the property of the creator Jeff Davis, The Mark Gordon Production Company, CBS Television Studios, and ABC Studios. Any and all content related specifically to DC Comics, The DC Universe, and/or The Birds of Prey-TV is the property of DC Entertainment, Warner Bros., and Time Warner. Any and all content related specifically to The X-files is the property of Chris Carter, Ten Thirteen Productions, and 20th Century Fox Television.
Be advised that this is not my Petri dish. I'm just wrecking someone else's experiment. For free. All original characters and plots, however, do belong to me, Nation of Chaos, and may not be reproduced without my permission.
Maximum Chaos
By Nation of Chaos
Chapter Four – Taking Care
"You received a summons, too?" J.J. smirked at Emily when they both arrived at Garcia's Den of Inquisition at the same time.
Emily swallowed a sip of coffee from the extra-large mug in her hand and chuckled. "Of course. She's so hungry for gossip on the 'new guy'," Emily threw her free hand up to make air quotes. "She's probably ready to chew the heads off some of her troll dolls."
J.J. giggled and pushed open the door.
Penelope Garcia spun around and pointed a finger at the two women walking in. "This is what you get for not sharing while you were away!"
Emily arched a brow. "We were working, PG. Give us a break."
"Uh huh. You had to take a break at some point," she eschewed dramatically, leaning back and crossing her arms as she glared.
J.J. smiled a little at Garcia's theatrics and collapsed into the other chair in the room while Emily leaned against the corner of the table. "Ask your questions, my Liege," J.J. teased.
Quickly forgetting her momentary pique, Garcia's eyes widened with anticipation. "What's he like up close and personal? Did he do anything freaky? Is he as awesome at his job as the rumors say he is?"
J.J.'s lips twitched as she met Emily's eyes over her friend's head. "He who, Pen?" she tormented the analyst when, in fact, she knew exactly who Garcia was talking about.
Penelope rolled her eyes. "Assistant Director Dark and Dreamy!"
Emily choked and began coughing up her coffee.
Twenty minutes later, Garcia seemed mostly satisfied with their answers. "So…the consensus is what? He's a good fit?"
With a quick glance at Emily, J.J. nodded. "I think so. He's smart, funny, and really interesting."
"Mmmhmm," Emily agreed. "He has such a different way of looking at things. It's fascinating."
"Different how?" Garcia gave her mouse a wee push and an image of the man appeared on one of her screens.
Emily chuckled lightly as Garcia practically drooled over the image on the wall. "Different in that he sees things from a meta-perspective. I can't really explain it. It's just obvious he comes from a different angle."
"Yeah," J.J. smirked. "Like when Morgan made that crack about the unsub not being able to walk through walls."
Emily snorted. "I thought he was going to come unglued."
"Hey!" Penelope chided. "Some of us weren't there, so…details please." She batted her eyelashes in expectation.
J.J. cleared her throat and tried unsuccessfully to hide her grin at both the memory and Garcia's facial expressions. "Well…the day we got there, you know we went to all the crime scenes. We split up for the first four but came back together as a group at the last. The general consensus was that the victims were letting the unsub into their homes. And at one point, Morgan says something like 'it's not like the guy walked through the damn walls.' The look on Derek's face was priceless when Scotty answered."
"What did he say?"
Emily smiled as she looked up at the ceiling, trying to recall Scotty's exact words. "He said, 'Don't be too sure of that, Agent Morgan. We don't yet have a DNA report on the fellow.' Morgan looked like he'd just sucked on a lemon."
Garcia narrowed her gaze as she focused on the image of Rajin Scott on her wall. "Hmm – well, despite my Love Muffin's issues with the man, A.D. Scotty the Hottie is certainly a fine specimen. At least from the neck up. I'm sure my Derek still has him beat in the muscles department."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Emily murmured.
Both Garcia and J.J. rounded on the brunette. "What?"
"Oh, please." She rolled her eyes. "The man has guns. J.J., you saw him in short-sleeves as often as I did." At J.J.'s nod of agreement, Emily then went on to describe how she got Rajin to calm down enough to get medical treatment. "So, yeah. I had my hands on his chest and abs. There's definitely a six-pack under those shirts, ladies."
All three of the women looked back up at the image of Scotty on Garcia's screen. It took a minute for Emily to turn away from those clear blue eyes. Pretty boy, indeed.
The visit with Penelope and J.J. flashed through Emily's mind as she surreptitiously eyed the topic of their early morning conversation. It appeared to her that although he was obviously paying attention during the meeting, Rajin also seemed distracted. She wondered what was bothering him and hoped it wasn't any lingering embarrassment from the night before last. But like she did for the others, she vowed to just keep her eye on him. If needed, she'd figure out a way to make him see there was no need for him to be self-conscious.
With that thought, Emily snuck a glance over toward Morgan and frowned slightly. Of course, Rajin would feel less self-conscious if Derek would get his head out of his ass. She hated to think badly of him, because she truly did like him, but Derek Morgan was being a hard-headed, first-rate jerk. To make matters worse, there wasn't even any obvious reason for it. Again recalling her morning conversation with her girlfriends, Emily had to wonder about Morgan's recent attitude. When even Garcia couldn't shed any light on it, one had to worry that the problem wasn't going to resolve itself any time soon.
The daily briefing concluded a little over an hour later. Rajin escaped quickly, though certainly not rudely. The man was, however, an assistant director with a division still to run. Unfortunately, he also had an appointment with Scully to discuss the results of his latest tests and brain scans. So after hastily dumping his notes and files off in his office, Rajin headed for the elevator.
Emily watched with concern when Rajin hurried out the door at meeting's end. Her brow furrowed slightly, and her gaze met Hotch's when she turned back to the table to gather her own notes and files. They were the only two left in the room. "Is he ok?" she asked quietly, keeping her eyes on the table.
Hotch debated how to answer her question but then remembered he really didn't want to get involved in Raj's personal business any more than was necessary. Yes, the man was his closest friend, but both Raj and Hotch were incredibly private people. So beyond lending an ear and/or helping out when needed, they tended to respect the personal boundaries each had established years ago. With this in mind, there was really only one answer he could give Prentiss. "He will be."
Prentiss nodded before moving to head back to her desk. Hotch stopped her just as she reached the door.
"There is something you could do for him." Against his better judgment, Hotch decided to step into Raj's business in one very small way. After witnessing Prentiss' interactions with Rajin the other night, he knew Raj was going to have to say something to her about becoming his personal…well…medic, for lack of a better term…when they were on the road. And if he knew anything about the man it was that, in a less-than-professional setting, Raj was painfully insecure about his differences. So Hotch knew the discussion was going to be extremely difficult for him. He had the opportunity right now to make it a little less so, and he would be, perhaps, the world's worst friend – let alone Unit Chief – if he didn't at least make the attempt.
Emily spun around and leaned against the doorframe. "What's that?" she replied. Her expression, while cautious, was also open and willing.
Hotch approached the door, peering out to make sure no one would hear him. "Be open-minded," he murmured softly, "when he finally gets up the nerve to ask you to learn how to suture." With a whispered "excuse me," he quickly slipped by her rather startled form and rushed down to his office.
Rajin stared over at the two flat screens in confusion. "What am I looking at?" he muttered before glancing at Scully with his brows dipped low in frustration.
"That," Scully began, shaking her head in amazement, "is your brain activity now compared to before. And actually, it may be even higher than what we're seeing – after what happened in Savannah." She blinked up at the flashing colors dominating a quarter of his Limbic System, including all of his Hypothalamus, as well as a large portion of his Neocortex – primarily in the Parietal and Temporal Lobes. She gestured to the screen on the left. "That one is pre-E."
Rajin rolled his eyes at the doctor. "Pre-E" meant pre-Emily in terms of his physiology. Scully's sense of humor was often as dry as the Sahara. "Well, it's definitely not as colorful."
Scully chuckled lightly and pointed to two of the brightest areas – the Parietal and Temporal Lobes. "See this? It's one of the areas of your brain affected by the Meta-Gene. It's slightly larger and far more active than the average human." She looked up at Rajin and raised a brow. "It's what's primarily responsible for the TK."
"Ah." Rajin leaned in closer to the screen and nodded.
"That area has always tested at higher activity levels than normal. It isn't, however, the area that's the most altered right now," Scully continued. She watched Rajin's head swivel back and forth as he attempted to figure out where the differences were. She waited.
"Here," Rajin pointed. "It's more active here. What's this do?"
"Yep." The redhead patted her patient on the back. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about." She waited for his attention to turn from the screen back to her before explaining further. "That's your Hypothalamus." She moved around to sit down at her desk and motioned for him to take one of the chairs in front of it. "It controls a ton of bodily functions including, but not limited to, your temperature, hunger, thirst, sleeping patterns, your basic metabolism, mood and behavior, and energy levels. Also, it regulates the pituitary gland which releases some of your body's really important hormones."
"So…" Rajin shrugged. "What does it mean?"
"It's in overdrive," Scully said bluntly. She took her glasses off and tossed them lightly onto her notepad. "It's your basic case of 'cause and effect.' I have concerns that Emily's presence, or lack thereof, will start to impact the function of your Hypothalamus in both predictable and unpredictable ways. It's already ramped up," she pointed out. "Your brain is essentially calling out for her." Scully grimaced in worry. "I'm concerned that while it's waiting for her to answer, your body will start to stage a revolt."
With a groan, Rajin dropped his head back and stared up at the ceiling.
Scully watched him process the information for a few minutes. Eventually, she interrupted his thoughts. "We'll just have to monitor it. I think it's safe to say we'll be running these tests almost weekly for quite some time." When he finally met her gaze, she smiled gently. "It'll be ok. If this were a horrifically difficult process, your genetic line would've died out generations ago."
Rajin sighed. "True." He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "Hotch told you what happened, right?"
"Mmmhmm."
"That's evidence of acceleration?"
"Uh huh," Scully confirmed with a touch of amusement in her voice. "At this point, especially since nothing has come within light years of consummation, I doubt even I'd be able to get near enough to treat you while feral."
"This sucks!" Rajin moaned. "Now I have to figure out how to get her to agree to essentially being my caretaker?"
"Just tell her the truth." At Rajin's expression of sheer disbelief, Scully amended her advice. "I meant just tell her a portion of the truth relevant to your immediate needs. That, for some reason, your body is only allowing her in your personal space while you're feral. You don't have to even let on that you know why." When he visibly relaxed, she made her next suggestion. "And she'll need to come see me for training. The sooner the better."
Rajin growled in reply.
It was nearly nine hours later that Rajin finally got to return to his office. He was mentally fried from an incredibly long day of just being an Assistant Director of a very specialized division and was lamenting the fact that he hadn't gotten to speak with Emily at any point during it. And given that a BAU team never really knew how long they'd be in town, he didn't have much in the way of time if she was to get any training in with Scully – the doctor's earlier words having echoed through his subconscious off and on all day long. Yet to his surprise, he saw a head full of dark curls bent over Emily's desk as he came through the glass doors which housed the BAU. "You're still here," he murmured softly as he approached.
Emily's head jerked up at hearing the low tones behind her. She swiveled around. "Hey, you." Her lips curled slightly in self-deprecation. "Yeah, it's not unusual for me to stay late." She didn't feel like going into any detail as to why she stayed late. He certainly didn't need to know she had no real life outside of work. Emily tipped her head sideways a bit and took in his appearance, giving him a long look of consideration.
"What?" Rajin glanced down at himself quickly, nervously checking to see if he'd left his fly open.
Emily narrowed her gaze. Something was troubling her deep in the recesses of her mind, she just couldn't pin it down. And she knew she was making him nervous by staring at him, but whatever thought was flitting around the back of her head had to do with him. She was certain of it. "Nothing." She finally shook her head in defeat, smiling briefly. "It's just…"
Rajin lifted an eyebrow and smirked. "It's just…what?"
As she took in his tousled hair and overall wiped-out demeanor, Emily suddenly knew what was bothering her. She just didn't have the slightest clue as to why. "You're hungry. You haven't eaten since breakfast," she stated curiously. No idea how, but it's like I know for a fact that he hasn't.
Whoa. Rajin's eyes widened in surprise. That was fast! He had no idea Emily would start to pick things up from him so soon. And there was no other possible explanation for how she knew he was starving. No matter how great a profiler she was, there wasn't any way she could possibly know he hadn't eaten just by him standing there staring at her. "Umm." Rajin rubbed absently at his brow, attempting to hide his momentary shock. "Yeah. Famished actually."
Emily nodded. "Then you should get something to eat now. You did tell us about your metabolism…" she trailed off. Rajin's features turned sheepish as he scrubbed his hand roughly through his thick hair. She was beginning to recognize the move as a nervous habit he displayed when he felt uncomfortable or unsure of himself. She gave him a tiny wave when he bobbed his head and moved toward the stairs, presumably heading to his office.
Rajin got half-way up the stairs and stopped. He turned slightly back toward Emily. "Have you had dinner yet?"
"No," she offered him a wry twist of her lips. "I had my chance earlier when Pen made a sandwich run." Emily rolled her eyes. "I turned her down because I thought I was almost finished."
"Would you like to join me?" he asked hesitantly. "I don't…always…like to eat alone, you know?" At that moment, Rajin really didn't care what that statement revealed about himself. He just needed to move them forward.
Emily blew out a breath. "Yeah," she said softly. "I get that." She looked up at him and cocked a brow. "What were you planning on having? Might determine my answer." Her teasing tone belied her jest.
"House of Memphis," was the man's immediate reply.
Her nose crinkled in distaste. "Isn't that the hole-in-the-wall barbeque place off 5th?"
Rajin grinned. "Yes. And from your tone, I'm guessing you've never tried it."
"Umm…hole-in-the-wall, so…" Emily huffed in amusement.
He chuckled, crossed his arms, and leaned his hip against the rail. "Book and cover, Emily," he chided. "Now you're practically obligated to try it."
"Yeah, yeah." She smiled widely, absurdly pleased at his noticeably improved demeanor.
Rajin pointed behind him. "Let me just get Hotch's order. Do you mind eating here?" His manner was apologetic. "I haven't had a chance to tackle any of my paperwork yet."
Emily just shook her head gently. "No, it's fine. But order me something good."
"You trust me to choose for you?" he asked with some degree of disbelief.
"Yep," she confirmed without hesitation. Then she pointed a finger at him, eyes bright with humor. "Just don't disappoint me!"
Forty minutes later found Emily staring warily down at the coffee table in Rajin's office where the man in question had just set down her dinner. That same man then grabbed one of his visitor's chairs and pulled it over to the table opposite his dinner guest. "I'm surprised that place delivers," Emily drawled as she cautiously opened the Styrofoam container. Her caution was mitigated somewhat by the heavenly aroma wafting up, causing her mouth to water.
Rajin smirked. "Ha ha." He passed a handful of napkins over to the woman on the couch. "You're a very funny woman, Agent Prentiss."
Emily's lips twitched. "Uh-yeah, I get that a lot." Her brows rose as she investigated Rajin's selection for her first meal from House of Memphis. "A man who likes the classics," she murmured, practically salivating at the sight of gooey ribs and seasoned fries.
"Actually," he gestured toward his own enormous dinner filled with a vast variety of BBQ dishes, "I just figured you as someone who'd have an appreciation for simplicity."
"You know there's an unspoken rule about profiling your teammates, right?"
"Oh, please," Rajin laughed. "You could fill a hard-drive with all the stuff you've profiled about me over the last five days."
"Touché, sir." She paused momentarily. "Speaking of the last five days - how's your arm?" Emily eyed his right side intently, as though she could see through the material of his dress shirt.
Rajin ripped open the cellophane package holding a set of plastic-ware and nonchalantly shrugged. "It's fine. Another twenty-four, maybe thirty-six hours, and it'll be good as new. Just a scar to show for it."
Emily's eyes widened in shock. "No way. That took twenty-seven stitches!"
This time, Rajin's shrug was a bit more sheepish. "Meta healing."
"Gotcha," Emily murmured, eyes blinking in wonder. Wow. That's some trade-off!
The two agents spent the next fifteen minutes inhaling food with minimal conversation. Emily because she didn't want to interrupt the alarming pace Rajin was keeping as he steadily tore through his meal. His rather substantial meal, at that. Emily was, quite frankly, amazed at how much he was putting away…and how quickly. That gave her pause for thought, however, as she recalled meals shared with the team in Savannah. His portions were large then, as well, but not the extreme represented tonight. "Is this," Emily spread her hands out to encompass Rajin's half of the coffee table, "because you haven't eaten all day? Now granted, I don't know you all that well, but you didn't eat this much at one sitting while we were in Georgia. Just large regular meals and a lot of snacks and such." She made sure to keep her expression curious. The last thing she wanted was for him to think she was teasing or belittling him in any fashion.
Rajin nodded and hurriedly swiped at his mouth with a napkin. "Yeah," he said softly. "I…uh…was in and out of so many meetings and then a training session with one of the SpecPro teams, I just never had a…uh…chance to…you know…" He shrugged. "Take care of myself."
All Emily addressed in reply was, "SpecPro?"
"Special Projects?" Rajin raised an eyebrow, as though she should've been able to figure that one out on her own.
"Right. Right, sorry. Long day." Emily felt a blush heat her cheeks and quickly ducked her head. She busied herself by collecting her trash and throwing it into the delivery bags.
He graciously let her off the hook by turning the focus back on himself. "Makes me glad I saw Scully early in the day."
Relieved, Emily looked up at him with a half-smile. "Why's that?"
"If she'd gotten a look at me after an entire day of fasting?" He shuddered dramatically. "That woman can peel paint off a wall when she's all riled up. I should know…she's been ridin' my ass, health-wise, since I joined the Bureau."
"I see." Emily chuckled at the look on his face. "Well, I promise not to tell her." She stood up to leave with her trash. "I'm not likely to run into her anyway. Thanks for dinner."
Rajin watched her walk away and quickly stood up. "Emily?"
She turned back from the doorway to see him nervously rub his hand over his chest. She frowned. "Yeah?"
"Do you have another few minutes?" He gestured for her to sit back down couch. "Mentioning Scully reminded me there was something I needed to ask you."
Her frown deepened. Was Hotch actually right earlier? Holy shit, I thought the man was joking! She walked back over and dropped down in her previous seat, watched Rajin collect the detritus of his own meal. Her eyes followed him as he moved to deposit the trash in the receptacle by the door, on top of her own, before heading back to join her at the other end of the couch. "What's up?" she prodded when he just sat there tapping his fingers agitatedly on his knee.
Rajin's teeth dug into his lower lip as he considered how to broach the topic. Startled by Emily's prompt, he glanced over at her. He winced a bit and quietly admitted, "I'm not real sure how to ask something."
"Just ask it," Emily advised softly.
He sighed and turned toward her, placing his elbow along the back of the couch. His entire countenance gave evidence to his level of discomfort when he finally began to speak. "For some reason, right now, you seem to be the only person I'm letting into my personal space. When I'm feral, I mean." He stared down at the cushion, unable to meet Emily's gaze. "And after discussion with Scully this morning, there's no telling how long that'll be the case." He chanced a quick peek at Emily, who sat watching him with an expression of open curiosity and concern on her face.
"What does that mean exactly?" Emily's demeanor non-judgmental, just curious and welcoming.
"It's only safe for you to approach me if I become feral," he admitted. "Scully's not even sure if she'd be able to get close right now."
Emily moved closer and placed a comforting hand on his forearm. "What do you need from me, Rajin? Whatever it is, it'll be ok. Just ask."
She's being so great about this! Why isn't she freaking out? He stared hard at Emily, icy blue eyes meeting dark brown. Without breaking the eye contact, allowing her to see all of the vulnerability and defenselessness he'd previously kept hidden, Rajin hesitantly asked, "Would you be willing to commit to being…well…to taking…um…"
Oh! Wow. Emily saw all of it as she stared back at him. This might be the bravest man I know. And that was saying something considering the fact she worked with the likes of Aaron Hotchner and Derek Morgan. Smiling gently at the struggling man, Emily squeezed his arm where her hand still rested. Remembering Hotch's comment from that morning, she queried, "You need me to learn how to suture?" Her large eyes twinkled with humor. Her willingness evident in her voice.
Rajin closed his own eyes in relief, as a wave of gratitude and something else washed over him. He suspected the 'something else' was affection. And if it was, he needed to take a minute to center himself lest the emotion cause him to augment. He wanted to avoid that if at all possible. But so as not to leave the woman hanging, he nodded and murmured, "Yes, please."
Emily watched the tension leave Rajin's large frame as he sat motionless with his eyes closed. Without knowing why or how she even knew to do so, she released his arm and pulled her hand back. She had the overwhelming feeling that Rajin needed her to let go of him. So she just sat quietly and waited for him to continue.
Though it felt like an eternity to him, Rajin opened his eyes just two minutes later. There was a softness to Emily's face that he didn't understand as he stared at it. But damned if I don't want to. It was obvious to him that this was a woman he could trust with his differences. And whether it was due to the mate-link or just Emily being Emily, Rajin realized he needed to grab hold with both hands. "Thank you," he whispered.
Emily's lips twitched. "Sure." She tipped her head slightly. "Is there a plan to this?"
Rajin huffed in amusement. "Not really. It's just…you should probably get with Scully as soon as possible to get some basic medical training, as well as some meta-training."
"Ok," Emily smiled in reassurance. "I'll call her tomorrow. Is that it?" At his nod, she stood up and moved toward the door. "Goodnight, Rajin."
Rajin stood up and faced the door. "Goodnight, Emily." His smile was a combination of relief, gratitude, and gentleness. "Thank you," he murmured one more time. You made that far easier than I deserve.
Emily offered a small grin in response and walked out the door. "Welcome," she called back without turning around, merely waving a hand carelessly over her shoulder.
'Yep,' Rajin thought. 'Mine.'
Two days later, Emily stood in the morgue making yet another attempt at sewing up a Y-incision on one of Scully's "patients." She chuckled. "Good thing this is a John Doe. Not the prettiest job, that's for sure."
"You're actually doing remarkably well." Scully was very impressed with Agent Emily Prentiss. Here it was, a rare Saturday in town for the BAU agent, and she was at the FBI Training Academy practicing suture skills she'd only learned the day before. It was obvious to the pathologist that Prentiss was taking her new tasks seriously and wanted to learn as much as she could in the time she had available.
"Well..." Emily bit her lip in concentration as she tied off the last suture and clipped the thread. "I don't want to make Rajin's scars any uglier than they need to be if I can help it." She peered up at Rajin's doctor and smiled self-deprecatingly. "Know what I mean?"
Remembering those early days in her own training, Scully laughed. "Yes. It sometimes makes me glad I only have the one living patient."
Emily found herself really liking the Chief Medical Examiner. She was intelligent, informed, and extremely dedicated to Rajin Scott's care. Emily got the feeling that Scully almost viewed the man as family, a younger brother perhaps. Regardless, there was no denying her desire to see Emily as prepared as possible before their next case.
Early yesterday morning, after clearing the time with Hotch, Emily had called Dana Scully and arranged to meet with the doctor. Overall, she'd spent some six hours yesterday getting a refresher course on basic first-aid before moving on to field triage and suturing. Then, after confirming Emily's CPR certification, Scully went on to list some of the differences in Scotty's physiology which Emily would be most likely to encounter. When Emily broached the issue of Rajin's doctor/patient confidentiality, Scully had admitted to her that Rajin had given his permission, allowing Scully to provide a more thorough training.
Emily and Scully had been in the morgue for about two and a half hours when the intercom sounded overhead. "Med-base 1, Med-base 1, this is SpecPro 3. How copy, over?"
Emily's eyes widened and her heart started racing. SpecPro. Without knowing how, Emily was certain something had happened to Rajin. She watched Scully hurry to the wall and slam her hand down on the radio switch.
"SpecPro 3, this is Med-base 1. I copy, over."
"Med-base 1, prepare to receive the King. I repeat, the King is in route to your location. How copy, over?"
Scully frowned. "SpecPro 3, copy that. Please advise method of transport and the King's status. Over."
"Med-base 1, the King is mobile, but is running extremely hot. Repeat, the King is running hot. Only the Eagle has visual. Over."
"SpecPro 3, what was the nature of the incident? Over."
"Med-base 1, an accident with Lightning Rod. Repeat – there was an accident with Lightning Rod. Break. Med-base 1, the King has entered the building. Eagle has lost visual. How copy, over?"
Though worried, Scully couldn't help but smirk. She was relieved by the laughter in the SpecPro agent's voice. It made her think the damage wasn't severe. "SpecPro 3, I copy. Thank you. Med-base 1 out."
"SpecPro 3 out."
Emily was confused and incredibly worried. It didn't take a genius (or a SpecPro agent) to realize that the "King" was Rajin. And she gathered from voice inflection that he was injured and feral.
Scully quickly unlocked the wheels on the gurney holding the body Emily had been working on and pushed it back into the cooler. She would put it away properly later. She motioned for Prentiss to follow her as she ripped off her gown and mask, throwing them in the receptacle by the door. Emily mirrored her actions and chased the redhead out the door and into another room – one with biometric locks.
Emily looked around the new room. It was obviously an exam room of some sort. Glancing at the shelves, she noticed the obvious accoutrements one would expect to find in any ER. But she also saw items one wouldn't typically find in a hospital. Chainmail gloves, heat shields, as well as things Emily couldn't identify. She watched Scully pull down supplies and place them on the counter. A closer look revealed those supplies to be ones Emily recognized as those used to treat burns. Seconds later, she turned toward the door in anticipation.
A growling Rajin burst through and came to a stop when he saw Emily standing in the middle of the room. He was visibly trembling and gasping for breath.
Emily approached him slowly. When she was within an arm's length, she moved her head to catch his gaze. "Hey," she whispered. "Where are you hurt?"
Rajin didn't answer. He looked over Emily's shoulder and saw Scully. He let loose an ominous growl from deep in his chest. Though it wasn't the warning growl Emily had heard him give Hotch the other day, it was quite clear the meta wasn't going to allow Scully to come near enough to treat him. She wondered why she didn't find it weird that she was becoming capable of classifying his different growls after only a week of knowing the man.
Emily reached for one of his hands. "Rajin." He looked back down at her, and she pulled him toward the table. "Where are you hurt? I need to know so I can help you." When he again looked over toward Scully, Emily squeezed his hand gently. "She can't leave. We haven't really covered burns in detail yet, so I'm going to need her help."
Rajin growled at hearing that. He frowned down at Emily who just shook her head.
Patting the table, Emily motioned for the man to sit. "She won't come near you, but she's going to have to tell me what to do." Seeing that Rajin wasn't going to make this any easier in his current condition, Emily began visually inspecting his person. He followed her every move, swiveling his head when she moved around the table. Emily winced when she finally saw his back. Through the tattered fabric of his t-shirt, the skin was scorched between his shoulder blades. "I'm guessing moderate second degree," she murmured to Scully. She really needed Scully to confirm, though. She looked over Rajin's shoulder. "Mirror?"
"Top drawer, end of the counter nearest you," Scully replied quickly.
Emily retrieved the mirror under Rajin's watchful eyes and moved back behind him. She held the mirror up, positioning it so Scully could see Rajin's wound from her spot on the other side of the room.
Scully nodded when she saw the burn. "I agree. You'll need the scissors, tweezers, water, and gel off the counter."
For the next ten minutes, Scully talked Emily through the cleaning and care of Rajin's burn, the man in question growling nearly the entire time. When there was nothing more for Scully to assist with, she prudently left the room so Emily could get Rajin calmed down. Emily moved back around to stand in front of the meta-human.
Emily stared into his altered eyes and smiled softly. She lifted a hand to gently run it through his hair, lightly scratching his scalp along the way. "Come on, big guy." She tipped her head. "No reason for all this fussing now, right?" Rajin's eyes remained augmented, and he continued to growl softly while watching the door. Emily placed her other hand on his belly and jolted at the contact. She'd had to cut off his shirt to treat his back, and the skin to skin contact now was unexpectedly electrifying. Shaking the feeling off, she took a deep breath. "You know how this works. Breathe with me, Rajin."
Emily really couldn't wait to tell J.J. and Penelope that she was right.
Rajin Scott was built.
TBC…
Author's Note: Just in case anyone was wondering, I use the actor Eddie Cahill as a model for Rajin Scott's physical appearance. It's his image I use to create "comics" images at my website. You can get the link to my website by visiting my profile.
Thanks for reading!
