A/N: Hello again! So I actually lied and I am able to upload today, but I'm not sure when the next one will be SO I'm uploading two chapters tonight (because the next one is pretty short). Once again, if you are sticking with this story, thank you so much, and I immensely appreciate those of who who are favoriting/following this story. As always, reviews are appreciated but never expected (though they make my day better!). I hope you guys enjoy!
Joey gingerly stepped off the elevator. She squeezed her eyes shut at the bright lights. With what felt like an extreme amount of energy, she pushed the glass doors to the bullpen open. She felt funny. Her head felt foggy and all the usual sounds of the office seemed as if they were coming from underwater. She couldn't remember if the last time she'd actually eaten anything. Vaguely, she thought she heard someone say her name.
As she reached her desk, Joey shook her head a little to clear it. Instantly she realized her mistake as the room began to tilt. She put a hand on her desk to steady herself and felt someone grab her arm.
"Joey." Joey peered up to see Spencer's concerned face staring back at her. He eased her into her chair. "Here, sit down. Are you alright?"
Morgan looked up from his desk. Reid looked at her cheek and temple, his expression darkening. "What happened?"
"It's nothing." Joey mumbled, turning to face her desk and the large stack of papers that waited there. In her peripherals, she saw Morgan stand and approach them.
"No, hey." Reid grabbed her arm again to turn her back to him. She pulled her arm away as he touched the bruised part. Joey rubbed her brow exasperatedly. There was a slight ringing in her ears and she wished Reid would just leave her alone.
"Ryan, what's going on?" Moran asked as he stopped on the other side of her. "You've been acting weird and distant for the last couple of weeks. We know something's up."
"I said it's nothing." Joey repeated, opening the top file on her stack. She willed her eyes to focus.
"Uh uh, don't lie to us." Morgan said as he crossed his arms and leaned on her desk. "You're hiding something."
"Come on, Joey." Reid pleaded softly.
Joey sighed and turned to him, struggling to hide her annoyance. But before she could say a word, Chief Pearce entered the bullpen. He locked eyes with Joey and raised an eyebrow threateningly.
Joey dropped her gaze and swallowed the lump in her throat. She quickly turned back to her desk. "I can't…I can't tell you." She whispered.
She felt Reid and Morgan exchange a look behind her. "Okay…" Reid scooted closer to her desk. "You can't tell us here, or—?"
"I just can't tell you." Joey repeated, harsher this time.
Reid leaned back, glancing up at Morgan again.
"Alright." Morgan said quietly. He paused for a moment before pushing himself off Joey's desk and returning to his own.
Joey took a deep breath and grabbed a pen, watching Pearce enter Hotch's office out of the corner of her eye.
Joey was careful to be busy with work when Pearce finally emerged from Hotch's office. She kept her eyes trained on her computer screen as he descended the steps and made his way to the elevator. She felt her shoulders sag a bit when she knew that he was gone.
Throughout the rest of the morning as she worked, Joey could feel Reid's eyes on her as she flipped back and forth between the computer screen and the files on her desk. Occasionally, she thought she could feel Morgan watching her, too, but she didn't dare look as she didn't want to seem paranoid or suspicious.
When Joey's eyes started to get fuzzy looking at all the paperwork, she stood. Reid looked up as she did, but Joey deliberately ignored him as she walked to the break room. She was looking at the floor, so determined to make it without stumbling, that Joey almost ran straight into JJ by the fridge.
"Oh! Sorry, Joey." JJ chuckled a little, but her face fell as she looked up at Joey. "Hey… did something happen to your face?" She asked, her eyebrows scrunched together.
"Oh, no, it's nothing. I just bumped my head on a cabinet." Joey gave a quick laugh and grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge. "You know me, I'm such a klutz." She turned on her heel and walked back out to her desk, not giving JJ the chance to respond, as she had opened her mouth and looked like she wanted to.
Joey sighed and sat heavily in her chair, taking a much-needed drink when she heard her name.
"Ryan." She looked up to see Hotch standing at the railing just above her desk. "Can I see you in my office please?"
"Yah, of course." Joey replied. She took a deep breath. Surely Pearce wouldn't have said anything to him. She anxiously straitened her shirt as she entered after Hotch. As he pulled the door shut behind him, Joey stood in the center of his office, staring down at her shoes. Her hands started to shake and she balled them into fists. A throbbing had started behind her eyes.
Hotchner paused before speaking. "Morgan thinks there's something going on that you're not telling us about."
Joey snapped her head up, irritated. "Morgan can—."
"And I think he's right." Hotch finished quietly. Joey felt anxious under his piercing stare and quickly looked back down at the floor. "Joey…if you're struggling with something…we want to help you."
Joey took a shaky breath. "I'm not struggling with anything. It's…it's nothing. Morgan's just…overprotective." She met his gaze defiantly.
But Hotch's eyes were only kind. He stared at her for a moment, as if he were making a mental assessment. "Roll up your sleeves." He said finally.
Joey blinked. "What?"
"Roll up your sleeves." Hotch repeated. "If you really have nothing to hide from us, roll up your sleeves."
Joey let out a breath. She felt tears sting behind her eyes and angrily blinked them away. She would not cry in front of her boss. Slowly, she rolled up each of her shirtsleeves.
Purple and yellow bruises covered each of her forearms and some disappeared upward toward her bicep. Joey stared at the rug, humiliated and anxious of Hotch's reaction.
But Hotch merely looked at her arms, his gentle expression never changing, and motioned toward one of the chairs in front of his desk. "Sit."
Joey sat obediently and slowly rolled her sleeves back down. Hotch sat at his desk and folded his hands. "Joey, you need to tell me what's happening. Is your partner doing this?"
Joey shook her head. "No…no, I'm not in a relationship."
Hotch hesitated, furrowing his brows. "Morgan isn't the only one who's said something to me." Joey met his eyes. "Prentiss asked me if I thought you were being blackmailed." Joey began to subconsciously pull at her thumb in her lap. "And Morgan thinks it's Pearce."
Joey felt sick. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. "I can't…I can't tell you." She mumbled to Hotch's nameplate.
"I've asked Garcia to temporarily disable the camera outside of my office." Hotch said. Joey looked up into his eyes. He gave her a knowing look. "What has he done?"
Joey took a shaky breath. She couldn't believe she was telling Hotch. For so long she had kept all of Pearce's errands and jobs to herself. She felt as if she were pulling the words from herself.
"Pearce…has information. Information about me…that-that he's using to force me to work for him." Joey clenched her hands into fists.
"Work for you how?" Hotch inquired.
"He's been having me do jobs…errands for him for the past six months." Joey chewed her lip as pensive lines appeared in Hotch's forehead. "And he just likes to keep tabs on me…to know that he can use me whenever he wants. I just—."
Joey's phone buzzed in her pocket and she felt her blood run cold. Her eyes widened as she pulled it out of her pocket. It was a text from Pearce. Where are you? Why is one of the camera's out in the bullpen?
Joey felt her heart rate pick up. It felt hard to breathe. "He knows the camera is out." She whispered.
"Come on." Hotch stood and Joey followed him out to where the rest of the team was sitting at their desks. "Grab your wallet and jacket." Hotch muttered to Joey and she nodded, moving to obey.
"Everyone." Hotch called. The team looked up at his voice. "We're going to lunch."
"But I thought—." Reid began, but Hotch cut him off.
"We're all going to lunch."
Prentiss and JJ exchanged confused looks. Morgan quickly looked to Joey, but no one said a word as they gathered their things and headed toward the elevator. Joey pulled out her phone and replied to Pearce. I'll ask Garcia about the camera, but we're all going to lunch.
As the team filed onto the elevator, Joey sighed and closed her eyes, leaning against the back wall. "Hey, you okay?" Joey opened her eyes as Prentiss gently laid a hand on her arm. Joey stiffened. She looked up to see Hotch giving her a silently concerned look. Giving Prentiss a tight grin, she nodded as JJ punched the button for the parking garage and the elevator doors slid shut.