"Put your feelings into a drawing"- Unknown
David Rossi had known Kara since she was little girl, coming over to his house, both of the girls staying up late laughing and talking about the future which seemed so far away. Sometimes when David was home the girls would sneak into his study begging to have a tea party, which he couldn't argue with, so there he would be sitting on the floor wearing pink feathery boa asking for two lumps of sugar in his imaginary tea. When the girls got older, they would just around the kitchen table playing board games, and talking about the different cheers the girls had to do for their football games.
David never imagined he would standing over this woman that he saw as his daughter, a woman that had her own father walk out, so he would try to be there for her if she needed him. A woman that when he heard she was missing, he had went behind Hotch's back to look up any other cases that would be similar to hers. A woman that when she died he had to walk in the jet's bathroom to cry a little bit, because he didn't want to the team to see the effect she had on him. It was like losing his own kid.
"So the main cause of death was starvation, but she had many head wombs," commented Spencer tilting the blonde woman's face to see the bruises imprinted on her cheek bone and many on her shoulders. Her body was just skin and bone, like she hadn't had anything to eat for weeks, but the weird thing is that she did eat...Just not enough to carry out any energy. "I don't see any signature, like the other woman she was starved, but there doesn't seem to be any similar markings," the younger man looked up to see his partner looking down with hurt eyes.
"You don't know this, but when Kara got engaged she asked me to walk her down the isle...I had to say no, because I had an assignment with the BAU, and we had to catch the unsub before he killed another child," he sighed wiping at his face that began to have tears staining his cheeks. "Kori was so mad at me that she didn't to me for a good month," he chuckled sourly before turning his body away from the dead blonde. Before he knew it Reid was placing his on the older man's shoulder making him look at his crooked smile.
"You know even though she died slowly, her brain most likely didn't register any pain when she left," he was really bad at reassuring people when it came to this kind of stuff, but Rossi knew he was trying his best. Shaking their heads in remorse the two men made their way out of the morgue, and back to the office where the rest of the team was being told about Ellie Collings.
Like Father, Like Daughter
Kori Rossi became a cheerleader her senior, and it was the open to the social life. She didn't want to go to the after party, but Kara had been so convincing once again that she couldn't say no. So there she was, her father out with a new girlfriend, and not knowing she was doing shot after shot of Jack Daniels. Her head was spinning, stomach churning, and she couldn't find her best friend anywhere in the two story house.
She felt a strong arm around her, and the smell of sweat as it pulled her closer to the overly hot letterman jacket. It was Jake Something Another, the runner back for their team, and he was trying his best to let his arms roam her body in her overly drunken state. "No," she stated, getting up to only fall on top of him, which he laughed wrapping both of his arms around her this time. "No, Jake stop," she pleaded pulling away once again, only to be pulled back in the never ending tug of war.
"Aw, come on sweet thang, don't want a piece of this," he asked running hang along her thigh all the way to her pants button. Panic racked at her drunken brain, and she began to squirm under his touch, begging her body not to give up on her or she would one of her father's victim cases. "Stop being such a bitch," he hissed pulling at her with all his might, that's when it hit her. Without thinking she turned vomiting that contents on her food and drink on him, letting him push her to the floor where she hit head on the table coffee table and passed with only the word of hate from him and scream of Kara as she came down the stairs of her house.
Kori remembered bits and pieces of light touching her sensitive eyes, and the casual bickering of people talking in the background. It wasn't she felt the soft fabric of her comforter, and gentle movement of something wet on her head. "Papa, sei tu?" she asked blinking as more light made their way covering her vision, the front of her head ached, and she could only moan in pain as the wet rag pat at her skin.
"Yeah, its me Kiddo," David whispered making sure her pillow was fluffed before lying down with her on the bed. "You gave us all a scare, what were you thinking? First of all not telling me about this party, and then drinking under age?" he questioned anger of a concerned parent hidden in his voice, but he was wasn't going to get on to her too much since she was hurt.
"Papa, I'm sorry, I was trying to get Josh off of me, and the next thing I know I was on the ground," tears started to fill her eyes, and her stomach started to turn again. "He was all over me, I couldn't let him hurt me," the more she talked the more tears fell from her swollen red eyes. She felt her father's dark brown eyes on her, and without saying anything he wrapped her in his huge arms letting her cry over and over again his chest until she fell asleep that way. That was the night Kori decided to stop cheering, and the night David decided to teach his daughter how to hold a gun.
Like Father, Like Daughter
The team had been in their office forever, and Kori was left sitting at one of the cubicles sketching out random flowers and faces of people that she knew personally. Sketching had always been her way of letting everything go, every single design and shadowing was made from stressful mind playing at her hand. It wasn't until she felt a presence behind her that she turned around to see the awkward smile of Spencer, she looked up smiling before getting back to her last sketch.
It was a girl, loose curls framing her face, and big round eyes looking up the people that looked at her. The dress she wore was doll like, hugging her frame, and then layering itself at her knee with small ruffles. Bows tied themselves around her hands and ankles, while she stood on her tippy toes as if she was a ballerina. "It's suppose to be my goddaughter," she told smiling gently as she finish her ballet shoes and placed her signature in the corner. "She did a recital once where she was playing a little doll, I was thinking of surprising her at the funeral with this, you know so she can smile about something,"
Spencer bent down taking the worn sketchbook in his hands, and began to flip through the many drawings she had spent almost hours on, sometimes days if her mind felt too flustered. "These are very descriptive," he spoke keeping his eye on a small sketch of a small lamb and a lion protecting the small creature from a wolf that was drawn in the corner. "Like this one, the lamb is most likely representing you, the lion your father and the wolf something from your past," he stated matter of factually, placing the sketchbook down in front of her shocked face.
"How did you know that?" asked looking at the lamb, it's dark lines smudge from age, making it seem more fragile than it really was. "I mean I know you're a genius, but seriously can you read minds?" she joked looking over her shoulder as he sat down next to her, and took the book once more.
"Well most artist draw from experience or a past memory, like you did the picture of your goddaughter, it was a memory. Well you must have sketched this from an experience you had, but it wasn't something you wanted to put in bold, because it was personal and you were hurt. So you let the visualizer imagine was the symbolism means, you let them question the most simple of things," he smirked pointing to the lion. "See most people would think this was some form of God, being as it is a lion, and he is protecting his child from evil. Or some would say it's Joseph protecting the lamb from the wolves that attacked the flock, but you...well you're different," he smiled this time as she looked up with a smirk.
"Really and how is that?" she asked playfully tossing her hair, seeing how he looked deep into her eyes. Both of them getting lost until he cleared his throat.
"Well you've lived with a protector of the law and people for years, never getting involved making you look weaker compared to him. If someone acted you, Kori you would automatically run to your father, because he's always been the one to save the day. Has he not?" he raised an eyebrow challenging to prove him wrong, but she couldn't and she wouldn't lie to him.
"When I was a senior in high school, I was on the cheer leading team," she stopped noticing the almost disgusted look on his face. "I didn't want to do it, but Kara and I agreed to try things the other wanted to do," she laughed before starting off again. "We were at an after party, and there was this guy there trying to grope me because I drunk and vulnerable. I had told myself I was not going to let my father investigate his own daughter's rape case, so I threw up on the jerk," Spencer choked on his laughter, trying to show his respects to the woman, but let it out when she started laughing with him.
"You threw up?" he questioned holding onto his sides, the laughter just spilling out, like unraveling a stitched up doll. Kori rolled her eyes at him, before continuing with little giggles here and there.
"Anyways, yes I threw up on him, and he ended up throwing my against this stupid coffee table. The next thing I know is I'm home, Papa was caring to my head wound, and the next morning the old man is taking me to the shooting range," she chuckled remembering how proud she made the older Rossi when she shot the target spot on.
"What happened to Jerkface?" the agent questioned, this time leaning on the cubical, inches away from young woman's face, making her blush from the closeness.
"Well Mr. David Rossi had some friends that went snooping around, and later that week Jerkface was on trial for attempted rape and also assault charges on another girl," she sighed this time closing the book, and looking at phone for the time. It was also time for dinner, at that her stomach rolled. The taller man looked down at her stomach, a smirk playing on his lips, and his golden brown eyes dancing with amusement.
"Do you wanna go out for dinner?" he asked grabbing his coat, and helping out of her seat the distance between them even closer than before. All Kori knew to do was blush, she never had a man so smart and witty ever want to go out with her. She only found herself having one night stands with men like Jerkface, so the difference between this agent and other man was great,
"I would love to," she smiled grabbing her purse and heading out with curly brown headed man, smiling at her father as they passed by, a curious yet protective glance reaching its way up to Spencer.
"Have her back by ten!" called the older man, making his daughter laugh as the elevators swung open and then close on them. He couldn't complain, Spencer Reid was better than any other man his daughter went out with, but if they were past curfew then there would be Hell to pay for the both of them.