A hero is somebody who voluntarily walks into the unknown.

Tom Hanks

Erin smelled it before she felt it, flesh. Burning meat. Oh God. Her stomach dropped to the floor. She was the meat. Forcing her eyes open she shoved her hands forward, colliding with Blake's face. Knocking Blake off balance and sending the lit cigarette to the floor. If she needed another reason to stop smoking, that was it.

"You shot Richard!" Blake hissed, coming nose to nose with Erin again.

Erin clawed at her attacker, digging her nails into her face; until blood dripped down her arm. "Get off me!"

"Argh!" Blake screamed, stumbling backwards, covering her face with her hands.

"Blake!" Stephen's voice filled the room. His gun was trained on Alex from his corner of the room. "Leave her alone. You know this wasn't part of the plan."

Blake jerked back, covering her face with her hands. She retreated to the opposite side of the room and slid down the wall, closed her burning eyes and let her head rest against the wall.

Just then, another voice boomed through the space.

"Stephen Gideon!" Dave yelled, his shoulder collided with the door. He busted into the room, with Hotch on his heels. Paramedics were on their way. Hotch called them when they heard the shots go off. Dave kept his gun aimed squarely at Stephen, who dove into the corner when Erin's gun went off. Richard sprawled in the middle of the floor, whimpering and cradling his junk. His gun lay on the floor, several feet away from him, largely forgotten about.

"You first," Stephen hissed. Locking his arm around Blake's neck and pressing the gun firmly to the unconscious woman's temple. "If anyone should want her dead, it's you!"

"You don't want to kill Alex, Stephen, she's incapacitated. You're better than that-"

"I don't want to kill anyone." Stephen said, swiping the back of his hand across his face, smearing the dirt across his cheek.

"I know that," Dave kept his voice soft and placating. As he slid his weapon into the holster on his hip and showed Stephen the palms of his hands. "Let's get out of here."

"Is my-" Stephen cleared his throat and dropped his gun. "Is my dad still outside?" He asked, raising his hands above his head. Several local cops converged into the room.

"He is." Dave scanned the room, grabbed the walkie-talkie from his side, "I need medics. Stephen, you need to go with these officers-"

"But… I'll see my dad first, right?"

"Yeah, Kid." Dave encouraged, snapping the cuffs on him, then passing him off to the local cops. "You'll see him."

"You need to go over there," Stephen nodded across the room as the officers hauled him away. "Hurry up and get her out of here. There's a side door, it'll take you to the back of the building-"

The door closed and Stephen disappeared with the local cops.

Hotch went to Blake, kicking the gun away. "She's alive," he pressed two fingers to her neck to confirm it. "We need EMTs," Hotch demanded into his walkie talkie, while Dave started towards Erin.

Hotch stood up, prepared to lead the EMTs inside. A second later, he felt a strange weight leave his body before he could stop it. "Dave! Gun!"

"Don't move!" Blake demanded angling the gun from Hotch's holster at Dave's chest.

"Leave him alone!" Erin screamed, yanking against the tape that held her in place, but it wouldn't budge. "He has nothing to do with this!"

"Nobody moves!" Blake demanded, angling the gun at Dave, then Hotch, then Erin. Before repeating the rotation.

"Drop the gun, Alex." Hotch left no room for argument. "I know you don't want to do this-"

"You don't know what I want!"

Hotch kept his tone flat and emotionless, "I know you wanted revenge on Erin for tanking your career."

"She doesn't give a shit about her career, Aaron." Erin called out, if she could get the attention back on her, then Dave could take Blake down. "I'm considering this whole day as your exit interview from The Bureau-"

"There's three of us and one of you," Dave called out. "This room is about to be flooded with EMTs and cops. At best, you've got 17 bullets in the chamber. How many cops do you think are going to show up here?"

"Think about it, Blake-" Hotch warned. Blake kept her eyes trained on him, with the muzzle aimed in the middle of his forehead. "You're a really shitty supervisor-"

"Why do you say that?" Genuine curiosity lit Hotch's tone. As Dave's hand twitched towards his holster.

"You're jaded-" Blake bit out, a smirk spread across her face.

"I'm jaded?" Hotch repeated, with a smirk, just to buy time. "Alex, you're holding a gun to your team-"

"The irony doesn't escape me-"

Bang!

Richard glanced up from his place on the floor, eyes locked with Dave's. "Don't say I never did anything for you."

Blake crumbled to the floor, dropping her gun when the bullet entered her shoulder. Hotch kicked the gun across the room and cuffed her hands behind her back.

Dave's footsteps slowed as he approached Blake, with the weapon in hand. He raised the gun, putting her forehead in his sights. Blood pulsed in his ears, this was the moment, his only chance for revenge. He could kill her right now and get away with it. With barely a twitch of his trigger finger, Blake would never be able to hurt anyone again.

"Dave!" Hotch yelled, but Dave couldn't hear him. All he saw was the prospects of Blake's blood spattered on the wall.

"David Rossi! Don't kill her!" Erin ordered, as authoritative as she could muster. "This is an order from your Section Chief, don't kill her."

"Erin's right, Dave!" Hotch called out, "Don't do it."

"Why?" Dave asked, lifting his head, without moving the gun. "You did."

Hotch kept his tone flat, in full hostage negotiation mode, "because I didn't have anything to lose. You do."

Dave turned slightly, just enough to catch sight of Erin. Fear swept through his gut, she was still tied up and covered in blood.

"Let this end here," Erin called out. "Don't kill her."

"Do it!" Blake hissed, with a smirk. A maniacal laugh bounced off the walls, "be a man."

"Be Carlo's dad," Erin called out. "He needs you, David." She prayed he was paying attention. Blake was cuffed and no longer a threat. If Dave pulled that trigger, then he became a murderer. "Killing Alex won't make this better. You know that." Her vision went blurry, she tried to keep Dave's face in focus.

He looked back, locking eyes with Erin, something inside him broke. Seeing her covered in blood and bruises when he could have prevented it. If he'd driven her home or gotten there sooner- he shoved the gun back in the holster.

"Erin-" Dave jogged across the room, kneeling beside her. She was huddled in the corner, unconscious. "Erin," He yelled, forcing his temper back.

He pressed two fingers to her carotid. A strong, steady pulse beat against his fingers. "Babe," he pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the handcuffs, with his heart in his throat. She was too still… "Cara, can you hear me?" He resisted the urge to take her in his arms and carry her out of there. He would have, if he knew it wouldn't cause her any more pain.

Erin groaned, forcing her eyes open against the pounding in her head. Panic and fear cut through her tone. She'd hit her daily quota for being brave. "David," she sobbed, letting her tears mix with the dirt and dust on her face. "Alex had the knife-"

"Shh…" he slowly peeled the tape off her leg. "It's over, Cara. Blake's going to jail."

"Did I hit him?" She glanced wildly over Dave's shoulder. "I shot at Richard-he was going to shoot Stephen when he tried to help me."

"You hit him," Dave assured her. "You hit in the groin. It's a reminder for me to never piss you off again."

"Oh good. It's about time you showed up." Erin groaned, trying to stand up. As Hotch paused beside them, Erin blinked back the spots floating in front of her eyes. "You and Captain America sure know how to take your sweet time," she tried to stand but a sudden searing pain across her abdomen caused her knees to buckle.

"I gotcha," Dave reached out, catching her in his arms. He knelt down beside her, positioning himself so she was resting across his lap.

Hotch turned to Dave, averting his eyes away from Erin, he didn't need to see her that way. "Stay with her, I'll lead the paramedics inside."

"Good," Dave bit out, barely holding back his temper. "Help me get her out of here."

Hotch raced across the room, searching for the side door that Stephen mentioned. "I found it!" He called out, ripping the door open and bolting outside.

"I tried- I thought—if I didn't fight then she wouldn't hurt me." Erin choked out. Her whole body shook with the effort it took to speak. "I was wrong. I fought back. David, I couldn't let her win-"

"Shh… It's okay." Dave tried to comfort her, but it wasn't working. "You're safe, and you don't have to be brave anymore, today."

"Don't," Erin bit her lip to keep her voice from shaking. "David, I don't want the kids to see me like this." The stench of liquor drying on her clothes, the dirt that covered every exposed inch of her skin and the tattered clothes hanging off her body. That wasn't how she wanted to be remembered.

"They won't," Dave shrugged off his jacket and laid it across her. It wasn't much, but it would protect her dignity. He locked his hand around hers and she winced in pain as he applied firm pressure to the wounds across her thigh.

"I didn't kiss you goodbye this afternoon," a single tear slipped down her temple, into the dirt floor underneath her. "I should have-"

"It's okay, Erin." His voice turned husky. He wanted to be strong, the way she needed him to be; but his voice shook anyway. "Don't worry-"

"I-" more tears clogged her throat. "I knew I would see you again…. I knew you would find me." She burned his expression into her memory, she would carry the look of tender pride in his eyes with her forever.

"Richard threw my phone, he made me think he was on our side. I didn't know-"

"Hey!" He demanded, slapping her cheek as her eyes drifted closed. "Erin, fight it! Let me see your eyes, Baby." He stroked her cheek with the pad of his thumb. "Show me your eyes."

Erin dragged her eyes open, they were too heavy. "David-this-" her voice trembled, her teeth dug into her bottom lip. "This has to be the worst Monday on record." A half-ass smile tugged at her lips.

"Yeah," he dragged out the word, "especially when we had such a great weekend." He locked his hand around hers. "Help is coming," Sirens in the distance confirmed it. "Just hang on, Erin."

"Next," she pulled in a breath. "You're going to tell me that we're going home to clean out the DVR-" She should have stayed home. If she had, none of this would have happened.

"That sounds nice," He'd give anything to skip this part and go straight home. Straight to the safety and security of his house. "We did it, Erin." He squeezed her hand and waited for her to squeeze back. "We solved the case." Another surge of pride flooded through him, "you're strong." He said it like a prayer. "You're strong, Erin. You can do this." He believed in her, but he didn't know if it would be enough. She was growing weaker by the minute.

"Carlo." Their son's name passed her lips in a harsh whisper. "They have to save him. There's a hunting knife across the room-" She'd been drugged, beaten and butchered, if she didn't make it; she had to know that her son would.

"Erin-" More tears clogged his voice. "Don't talk like that-"

"Make sure they get him out," she demanded, her voice rising. "He has to come first."

"You're both going to be fine-" It came out like a prayer. He squeezed her hand and silently begged any deity that would listen for some assurance that the cornerstone of his family would live.

"Tell me," she pulled in another shaky breath. "Come on, David, I know you've thought about it- tell me about the first thing you plan to do with your son."

His breath hitched in his chest, he couldn't wait to take Carlo to a baseball game, as soon as he could face forward. His lips twitched upwards at the thought. "I'll tell you later-"

"I'm pulling rank on you," she countered, rolling her eyes heavenward. "This isn't over-" she squeezed her eyes shut against a fresh wave of tears. It felt like goodbye, but it couldn't be. She wasn't dying. She couldn't be. "Till the fat lady sings and I-" she pulled in another painful breath. One of her ribs must be broken. "I can't carry a tune in a bucket."

"Sir?" He didn't hear the ambulance pull up outside, the paramedics sidled up beside them with a stretcher and a bag of supplies. "Let us help."

Erin yelped in pain as Dave lifted her into his arms. "Sorry, Babe." His legs ate the short distance between them and the stretcher.

"Don't leave me, David-" She clutched his shirt like her life depended on it and it did. Her life, or at the very least, her sanity, hung in that small space, between her fingers and his shirt.

"I'm not leaving-" he held her wrists, untangling her fingers from his shirt. "I have to get out of the way, so the EMTs can help you."

She nodded and he stepped out of the way, keeping his focus on her. "I'm right here," he called out. Rushing towards her as the medics started out the door.

"Go with her," Hotch directed, shining his flashlight across the room, leading the medics back outside. "We'll meet you at the hospital."

Dave jogged to keep up the pace beside the medics as they prepared to load her into the back of the ambulance. They'd come so far, he wasn't about to leave her now.

"Sir, we have to go." The lead EMT demanded as he strapped the blood pressure cuff around Erin's arm and wrote down the results, while another EMT inserted an IV into Erin's arm. "Pressure's low. She's lost a lot of blood."

"Ma'am," the EMT barked, yanking the straps tight on the gurney. "How far along are you?"

"What?" She blinked, his words didn't make a lot of sense. "Can you-uh-rephrase the question."

"You're pregnant," the EMT insisted. "How far along are you?"

"Um-uh." She knew the answer, but the words wouldn't leave her head. "He's-uh-" She blinked quickly, trying to force the words out, but they weren't making sense, the app says he's a pineapple."

The EMT flashed a blank look, fastening an oxygen mask to her face. "Uh…Ma'am?"

"David-" she turned her head, weakly. "I can't-"

"She's 32 weeks," Dave said from his spot beside the gurney. "Her doctor has privileges at Mary Washington."

"Then it's a good thing that's where we're going." The EMT loaded the gurney into the ambulance. Dave didn't hesitate to jump in the back, he grabbed Erin's hand; the doors slammed and the sirens blared as they raced down the dirt road.

"Kiss me," Erin rasped, pulling the oxygen mask away from her face. As the ambulance jolted over potholes and dodged the local wildlife. "Just in case."

"No!" Dave forced the mask back against her face with a shaky hand. "Erin, I'm not kissing you goodbye."

An eternity later the ambulance halted in front of the hospital and the doors swung open. Dave kept his hand locked around hers as the EMTs unloaded the gurney and careened down the hospital corridor. Doctors and medical staff swarmed them, the orders they shouted went right over Dave's head. He locked eyes with Erin, burning her face into his memory.

"David-"

"I'm right here, Babe." His hand squeezed hers, intertwining their fingers.

The gurney paused at the doorway then careened into an empty room. "Sir, you can't be in here!" Strong hands tried to shove him out of the way.

"Why?" He dug in his heels as the door closed in his face. "That woman is the victim of a crime. She needs emotional support-"

"David!" Erin's terrified scream cut through his response, she'd lost sight of him as more and more people swarmed around her. Someone moved her shirt and ran an ultrasound probe over her abdomen. "Stop!" She demanded, pulling away as more strange hands grabbed at her, shoving her against the mattress. "Please stop, let me go!"

Another nurse barked orders for a sedative and restraints.

"Don't restrain her!" Dave argued, pushing his way towards the closed door. "She's traumatized enough, already. Let me sit with her-"He could try to calm her down and if he couldn't, he could minimize the damage done. "Please?" He begged, staring up at the nurse, praying she would understand where he was coming from. "Don't make this worse than it already is."

A beat of silence passed, Erin's screams spilled out into the hallway and Dave would have given anything to get into that room.

"Fine," the nurse nodded and pushed open the door. "But stay out of the way."

Dave jogged across the room, mindful of the hoard of medical staff surrounding the bed. "I'm here, Babe." He called out, yearning to take her hand and tell her that everything was going to be okay. "I'm here."

"There's too many of them-" She cried, wild-eyed with fear, a sheen of sweat covered her face, mixing with the dirt and grime. Erin thrashed against the mattress, trying to catch a glimpse of him. "David!"

"You're at the hospital, let them help you-"

Another nurse demanded an order for a sedative. The needle seemed to glimmer against the too-bright LED lights. "Don't tie her down!" Dave barked, his temper bubbled under the surface.

"David!" His name tore from Erin's throat like a lifeline.

"This is for everyone's safety-" Another firm, gloved hand shoved him in the chest, forcing him backwards. Drawers on the wall were ripped open and fabric straps were tied to the rails of the bed.

"Dammit!" He stepped in front of the nurse, blocking her pathway. "Don't tie her up. Look at her arms-" Was it too much to ask for the medical staff to take the patient's mental state into consideration? "She was a hostage, they tied her to a chair-"

"Sir-" The nurse argued, standing her ground. "I can't treat her like this."

"Just hold on a damn minute!" He barked, letting his temper seep out just a little. "Let me talk to her."

The crowd around the bed parted, just enough for him to get through. "Erin, listen to me-"

"Shh…" he met her eyes, grabbing both of her hands in his. "I'm right here-"

"Don't leave me here!" She begged, staring up at him, frantically clutching his sleeves. "Please, David!"

"Shh.." He squatted down beside her to look her in the eyes. "You're safe. We're at the hospital." He would have crawled through broken glass, with a coke and a smile, to never have to see that look of complete devastation in her eyes again. "You're safe." He assured her, tucking a stray lock of her hair behind her ear. "You have to hold still and let the doctors examine you. They just want to make sure you and Carlo are okay."

The nurse walked over, into Erin's eyeline. "This is going to help you relax." Erin nodded, slowly becoming aware of her surroundings. She wasn't in that warehouse anymore. The bright LED lights made her skin prickle, suddenly she was on display like a show pony or a pig headed for the slaughter.

"David?" She squeezed her eyes closed as the nurse injected the needle into her upper thigh.

"I'm not going anywhere," He kissed her hair, inhaling the smell of her shampoo mixed with booze and sweat. Like a hangover gone horribly wrong. "I promise. Wild horses couldn't drag me away." His palm covered her cheek, wiping her tears with the pad of his thumb as her eyes drifted closed and her breathing evened out. "Rest for now and let us take care of you."

He planted himself in the chair beside the bed, visiting hours didn't apply to him. At that point, nobody bothered to question him as the clock on the wall ticked on and on. Nurses and doctors flitted in and out of the room, drawing blood, cleaning her wounds and checking her vital signs. The only time she was out of his sight was when he had to step out of the room during the portable x-ray. The monitors, tracking her and Carlo's heartbeats, were a comforting sight. He didn't want to be comforted, he wanted revenge. He wanted to curl his hand around Alex's windpipe and squeeze until he felt her heart stop.

The sudden vibrating against his leg halted his fantasy. He found his phone and answered the call. "Yeah, Hotch?" He barked, then forced his temper back.

"How's Erin?"

Dave stood up and walked to the far side of the room, plugging one ear with his index finger to listen closer. "She's…" he paused, mentally cataloging her injuries. Bruises all over her body, cigarette burns on her thighs, shallow cuts across her legs and across her stomach. "She's… hanging in." He exhaled, letting his shoulders sag. "Her ribs are bruised, she needed a blood transfusion."

"I talked to a nurse at the front desk and apparently they're understaffed. Blake and Richard are here too. They're in custody and being treated for their injuries-"

"It was self-defense, Aaron."

"Of course it was, but, Dave-" There was no easy way to say it. "Blake's saying otherwise."

Dave's right hand clenched around his phone, ready for another rendezvous with the men's room wall. "She won't get away with this-"

"No," Hotch bit out. "We're not going to let that happen-"

A soft moan from the bed caught his attention."Gotta go, Hotch." He ended the call, shoving the phone back in his pocket.

"Hey…"

She forced her eyes open, just enough to catch a glimpse of his face and tried to prop herself up on her right arm, the searing pain from her ribs changed her mind. "Ow!" Her eyes slammed closed against the waves of pain washing over her. Never again. She was never leaving home again. The next time Dave suggested she stay home and sack out on the sofa for 12 hours, she would do it. Come hell or high water.

"Easy, Erin! Easy!" He slid his hand under her shoulders, guiding her back against the mattress. "You're okay-"

"I'm not okay. I had my ass handed to me-" she complained, scrubbing one hand over her face.

"How do you feel?" He pulled up the chair beside her and sat down.

"Sore." She blew out a breath, her mouth was drier than a bone, "Can I have some water?"

"Honey," he stood and lifted the plastic pitcher off the table, filling a plastic cup with melting ice. "After the day you've had, you can have anything you want." He meant it. All she had to do was ask.

"A shower?" She croaked, glancing down at the dirt and dried blood under her fingernails.

"Not yet." He handed her the cup, and helped her to sit up higher on the bed. "Someone still has to document-" He let his voice trail off and gestured toward her body with his hand.

"Sure." She nodded her head and squeezed her eyes shut against the pounding sensation brewing behind her eyes. "I just want to go home." She could take Tylenol and sleep in her own bed.

He pushed to his feet, "I'm going to light a fire under someone." The sooner someone documented this, the closer they got to discharge.

"Dave," She called out, her trembling fingers closed around his sleeve, stopping him in his tracks. "Please?" She asked, blinking back fresh tears. "Listen, I know I'm not the best patient and the hospital is boring as hell- I get it and you don't have to-" Damn it if she didn't want him there, beside her.

"I'll stay." He said quickly, sitting back down, blowing out a breath. He curled his fingers in his hair, letting his head drop towards his knees. Wishing for the right word to say. They didn't have to be perfect, just something to give her comfort, something that would appease the guilt rotting in the pit of his stomach; they wouldn't come. "Erin-"

His head snapped up at the hollow knock on the door and the nurse walked in. "My name is Pam and I'm here to collect the evidence and document your injuries."

Erin nodded, summoning the last of her energy. Her voice was tight like a vice when she spoke. She knew the process, but nothing prepared her to be the person in the file instead of reading it. "What now?"

"Change into a gown and I'll come back with a camera."

Dave dug in his heels, "she can have someone with her, right?" It wasn't a request.

"Of course." Then the door swung closed, leaving them alone again.

"Do you…" he paused, glancing around the room. "Erin, do you want me to call your mom for this part?"

"No!" The word slipped out before she could stop it. "Don't call my mother."

"Okay," he said quickly, holding up his hands. "I thought you'd feel more comfortable-"

"I most definitely would not." She'd do it on her own, rather than have Vera hovering over her. "Let her stay with the kids. You don't have to stay for this part-" It was the right thing to say. She hoped he would see right through her and call her bluff.

"Not a chance," Dave went to the cabinet and pulled out a clean hospital gown. "I'm in this, with you, every step of the way."

He didn't disappoint her as he helped her into the gown and bagged her clothes for evidence. "I liked these pants-" Erin said, shoving the tattered fabric into a bag.

"I liked that bra," Dave quipped, reaching behind her with gloved hands. He unhooked it and Erin pulled it off under her sleeve. "You have my full permission to max out my credit card on new clothes-"

"Palms down," Pam directed, adjusting Erin's hands against the mattress, clipping her bloody fingernails and sliding the clippings into an evidence collection bag.

Erin squeezed her eyes shut, wishing to be anywhere other than under those fluorescent lights. Exposed, sprawled out for display, under the high res. flash of an evidence camera.

"Shift to your side." The nurse's voice was under water, Erin tried to pay attention but her skin prickled under the lights and scrutiny of strangers. She was a Section Chief of the FBI, she ran the BAU. This wasn't supposed to happen to her. She read the files, she wasn't a victim to be contained in one. She wanted to yell and scream and remind them exactly who they were dealing with; but the words wouldn't come; and no amount of accolades would help her.

"Honey," Pam called out, gentler this time. "I need a picture of your back."

~~~0~~~

"It's over, Babe." Dave squeezed Erin's hand as she lay back on the bed and the nurse lowered the stirrups after cleaning the burns on her thighs.

"Is it?" Erin's voice went hollow as she stared into the white lights on the ceiling, counting the tiles. She didn't even notice the nurse walk out of the room.

"The people who hurt you are in custody," Dave reminded her as he helped her sit up. "They're not getting out-" He would do everything in his power to keep Blake, Richard and Stephen under the jail, if at all possible. His hands curled at his sides, frustration and anger blazed through his bloodstream. None of this should have happened. He should have gotten to her sooner, maybe he could have prevented some of the brutality they inflicted on her? Those were answers he would never have. His voice turned husky with emotion, "I promise, Erin."

She nodded, blinking quickly. "I believe you." Erin ran her hand through her hair, glancing down at the sheet underneath her and the gown that hung limply off her body. "Everything's filthy."

"Listen," Dave pushed to his feet, grateful for something to do. "Let me run down to the gift shop-I-I could get you something to wear, some soap-"

"A shower sounds lovely," she glanced down at the paper gown covering her body and the goosebumps that pricked her skin, but she wasn't cold.

"I'll be right back," he said, with his hand on the doorknob.

"Thank you," her voice was soft and resigned.

"Hey," he turned to face her, with a look of genuine affection in his eye. "I love you."

"I love you," she repeated as the door swung closed behind him.

Dave stepped out of the room, with one hand curled in his hair. He huffed out a breath letting his chest relax. Finding his phone, he sent a quick text to Hotch. They needed clothes, everything in the room was covered in a thin layer of dirt. Even if he wanted to go home and pack a bag, he wasn't even sure where his car was parked.

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