Danger from home

Disclaimer : I don't own Criminal Minds and make no money writing

Chapter 12: Unspoken words

The dark-haired agent held his breath as he took in Emily's appearance. The visible blows on her body were too many to be counted, and blood was everywhere. Though his reason told him that part of this blood had come from the injury she had caused to Dean Johnson, Hotch couldn't help feel panic overwhelm him at the sight of it. She had an apparent cut on the left side of her face, almost running from her ear to the inferior part of her jaw, but what worried him most was her partial state of nudity. He was glad that he had not come alone when he felt Derek Morgan brush past him to deal with the 'boyfriend'. Rossi had stayed behind, already over the phone to get an ambulance on the premises as quickly as possible. The elderly agent did not have to look at the brunette – the horror painted over Hotch's features was enough to set him into action.

When he saw Emily starting to sway on her feet, he immediately dove forward and wrapped his arms around her waist to keep her from adding another blow to her multiple injuries. The trained FBI agent he was kept the assaulter in the corner of his eye, relaxing only when he saw that Derek was aiming at him with his gun.

"Emily, do you hear me? Agent Prentiss!" His voice rose as he realized that the brunette was in her own world. With baby steps, he guided her to the sofa and made her sit down, finally locking with her gaze as she began shaking. For the first time, Hotch regretted to have traded his jacket for the bulletproof vest, as he had nothing to wrap around Emily's shoulders.

"I don't know what happened…" Emily croaked, lifting a shaking hand to the back of her head, where blood had stuck her hair together.

"You're under shock, Emily. The ambulance is on the way…"

Hotch's eyes lingered on the brunette before shifting to David Rossi, whose face was blank as he stared at the couple. He visibly had something to say but didn't want to interrupt when their female colleague was in such a state of shock.

"Emily, can you tell me what happened?" Hotch's hands had reached over to the brunette's shoulders, to stop her from shaking and – unconsciously – make sure that she was there, breathing and safe.

"He saw me while I was undercover. He called me a liar, he tried… sorry." The brunette seemed to have snapped back to reality, but her voice broke, making it impossible for her to continue her story. She didn't know what to say anyway. Dean had beaten her, tried to kill her, attempted to rape her… How was she supposed to explain all that to her colleagues? For the first time, Emily actually regretted that JJ was not a frontline agent. She would have handled it. She would have understood without words.

"Did he…" As though reading her mind, Hotch asked the dreaded question. For the past minutes, he had tried as hard as possible not to look at the younger agent's open shirt. Even her trousers had been torn apart although she didn't seem to notice that detail.

"No." She said in a breath, staring straight into Hotch's eyes to scare him off pushing the subject.

When the paramedics finally arrived at the right floor, they were greeted by Rossi, who had chosen to stay away from Emily. Knowing her pride, he also knew she wouldn't want to be surrounded by panicked colleagues in such a state of vulnerability. Hotch was almost shoved away from his friend as the young doctors kneed down to assess the state of her injuries. Which left him with no other choice than taking some distance from Emily and joining Rossi in the corridor.

"Where's the bastard?"

David Rossi flinched as the word escaped Hotch's mouth.

"Derek brought him downstairs to the local officers – he would have kicked the man to a bloody pulp if he had been alone with him for one more minute."

Hotch nodded, but his eyes were set on the blood smeared over his hands.

"How is she?"

The dark-haired man offered as a mere response a sigh which he tried vainly to suppress. But it came out anyway, to Rossi's surprise. Aaron Hotchner usually always had a smart comment to make.

"Hotch?" As Rossi repeated his question, his unit chief finally came back to reality and looked at his friend in total helplessness.

"I think he… I think he raped her. Or tried to. Which is as bad." Hotch stammered, keeping his voice low so that Emily would not hear.

"Do you want me to call JJ?" Rossi had quickly added two to four and thought that a woman would get through to their female colleague better than themselves. But the elderly agent could swear he saw disappointment – or maybe jealousy – in his friend's eyes at the question. Rossi would probably have a hard time getting the unit chief away from Emily Prentiss, he thought to himself, noticing how Hotch glanced protectively to his agent every thirty seconds.

"Maybe you should. But I doubt Emily would talk, even to her."

He stopped abruptly when he spotted Derek walk up to them, wearing a heavy face and rubbing his right hand.

"Tell me you didn't kill the man…" Rossi's eyes widened as he laid his eyes on the bruised knuckles the younger agent was doing his best to hide. Although the situation was far from being funny, Hotch suddenly felt like laughing, but he only let out a sigh of relief. His nerves had been put under too great pressure, he told himself to find an excuse to his bizarre attitude.

"He resisted when I handed him over to local PD." Derek stated matter of factly, pushing away any apology or justification for his sudden act of violence. Aaron Hotchner would be the last to comment on his gesture. "How is Emily?"

Three pairs of eyes were directed inside the apartment. Emily was still seated on the sofa and apparently arguing with the paramedic, although none of them could hear what was being said.

"I should go before she reaches for her gun." Hotch muttered to his colleagues, returning into the dim light of the apartment. As he crossed the living room, he tried not to look at the damage that Dean had done, chasing his agent around the place. For a moment, he merely stood behind Emily so that she could not see him. But somehow, she felt his presence and turned around, raising red eyes to him. The man stared at her, not knowing whether she expected him to squeeze her shoulder for support, or leave her in peace. The brunette turned back to the paramedics without saying a word, and the unit chief took that as an invitation to stay. In his back, he could already hear local policemen rushing up the stairs – probably to take possession over the crime scene, or get a proper statement out of SSA Emily Prentiss. This would wait, he decided, purposely ignoring the hushed conversations going on in the corridor.

"Are you taking her to the hospital?" The dark-haired man asked, his question obviously directed at the young paramedic while his eyes were still set on the bloody hair of Emily.

"I am not going, Hotch." She said matter-of-factly before the doctor had a chance to answer himself.

"Emily, do not fight with me tonight." His voice was a little harsher than he had intended it to be, and he pursed his lips when he distinctly saw the brunette flinch. Was it the tone of his voice or the fact that he had shifted from supporting friend to implacable boss that had hurt her?

"Miss…"

"Agent." Hotch cut him sharply, his bad humor now directed at the paramedic who obviously thought Emily was some sort of vulnerable abused woman. Hotch knew that it drove Emily mad when she was talked to like a frail woman rather than a capable agent.

"Agent," he continued without giving any attention to the dark-haired agent, "you need stitches for the cut on your head, and cheek, and I would recommend that they run an IRM to make sure there is no internal bleeding in your brain."

Emily flinched again, hit in the face by the boldness of his words. Medical staff usually wouldn't talk so tactlessly. Emily must have made him mad for him to react like this, thought Hotch to himself. He was so wrapped up in his guesses that he didn't notice immediately how the brunette was staring at him, in search for some moral support. He shrugged and tried to tell her with his dark yet understanding look that she was not going to get any help from him on this point.

"You almost fainted and couldn't even stand on your own. I will drag you to the hospital myself if I have too."

The earlier harsh tone of Hotch seemed forgotten by the paramedic – he had heard his colleague call him Nick – as he looked gratefully at the man. Even in her vulnerable state, Emily would probably have been able to break the young man with one single blow.

Hotch suddenly felt someone in his back and turned slightly to acknowledge Rossi's presence. Derek Morgan was standing a few feet back, not daring to look at Emily just yet. He needed his friend, the one he teased and with whom he could argue with. And seeing the strong Emily Prentiss all beaten and shaking was throwing away all the sense of normalcy in his life.

"They found Jennings." Rossi said just loud enough for Hotch to hear, although Emily's trained ears immediately noted the information and made her turn around, expecting an elaboration which did not come. Rossi offered her a smile, but he didn't seem finished yet. When Nick had managed to get Emily's attention back, Rossi squeezed his superior's arm to get his full attention.

"What is it?" Hotch asked when they were far enough for no one to overhear.

"Jennings had blood all over him when they found him in his car." He paused, waiting for the news to sink in Aaron's brain. If possible, his brown eyes took an even darker look as he considered the full meaning of this statement.

"Did they found the victim?"

"Not yet. Granger put all his available units on the search."

The two men fell into an uncomfortable silence, until Hotch brushed a hand over his tired face, revealing desperation and regrets.

"The unsub didn't stick to his MO and struck earlier. There was nothing we could have done." Rossi whispered with his usual rational tone. Each time he used this voice, Aaron Hotchner felt himself lose twenty years and go back to college, where he would face this ugly and unforgiving teacher.

"He probably had chosen his victim way before we even came up with the idea of sending Emily undercover…" Rossi continued, feeling that Hotch was not convinced yet.

"I know. Where is he now?"

Rossi sighed in relief – for a mere second, he had feared that Hotch would actually lose his nerves and start crying or yelling, or maybe throwing punches at the wall – and put both hands on his hips, a gesture he always made when he had won an argument.

"Being brought by solid escort to the police station. They will want one of us to get his confession, even though we have enough evidence to put him in jail for life." Rossi's eyes had shifted to a point behind Hotch, witnessing as Emily was getting up with the help of Nick's assistant.

"Send Reid in. He has the best insight on the man – and he will control himself better than Morgan or me." The dark-haired agent called out, already making his way back to the brunette. Rossi took it as a sign of dismissal and walked out into the corridor to hand over the instructions.

Emily swayed on her feet even with the help of both men, and Nick gave a curious look as Hotch came to stand behind her, reaching for her arm.

"She won't let us put her on the stretcher." He said, almost pleading.

"I can walk."

Hotch sighed in exasperation, although the softness of his eyes revealed the true state of his emotions. He paused for a second, feeling that everyone was waiting for his order. Emily hoped he would allow her to walk, while Nick obviously expected Hotch to take his side again.

"It's okay, I'll help her." He announced, ignoring the despaired look Nick greeted him with. "Um… Do you have a blanket maybe?"

It was only then that Emily realized the state of her clothes – or rather, the lack of it. The blouse had been torn open, almost all buttons missing, revealing her black bra and the bruises that were already appearing on the upper half of her chest. And although Dean had not managed to get her trousers off of her completely, he had done a good job tearing apart the zipper and almost cutting one leg of the black trousers in two. A shiver ran down her spine as she realized in what state almost all the men on her unit had seen her. The brunette raised her eyes to meet Hotch's worried gaze, and she suddenly felt a wave of shame wash over her.

"Thank you." Hotch said as Nick handed him a warming blanket from his kit, and he attempted to wrap the fabric around Emily's, surprised by the way she pulled the blanket out his hands.

"I can do it myself, Hotch." She muttered, clearly pissed at his protective attitude. Startled, Hotch didn't say anything, but nodded to Nick and his assistant that they were ready to go. When he reached for her forearm, Emily shrugged away once again, almost falling over in the process. Her friend slid an arm around her waist just in time to keep her from stumbling over her own feet, and he held her gaze as she directed furious eyes in his direction.

"It's either me or the stretcher. Your choice." He said coldly, knowing that only the boss' voice would help at this point.

"Fine." She spat, grabbing his hand and letting him steady her walking. As they left the apartment and marched down the corridor with baby steps, Emily had to concentrate to stay angry at Hotch despite his sweetness.