~.~.~.
As they walk carefully down another hall, Hotch can't hold back the words. They had been sitting on his tongue for quite some time. His heart is pounding loud within his chest, his ears thundering with the sound. The slick, sticky feeling along his fingers was yet another unneeded reminder that Emily was next to him, bleeding. He tells himself he should have used more than just a portion of his shirt. There's no way the small bit of fabric was helping. His mind was racing at the time though and the only thought was to put pressure on the gaping wound.
He can see her out of the corner of his eye, matching his pace. Her complexion was entirely too pale and he could tell she was forcing herself to stay alert. The strands of dark, shiny hair were swept off to the other side of her face and Hotch turns his head, watching as her tongue flicks out to wet her dry lips. Her breath was coming out in soft but harsh puffs; she was straining to breathe. He curses this case and what that bastard did to her. And with that anger swirling in his mind, his words finally are released, laced much harsher than he would have preferred.
"Why is it always you? Why is it you that always gets hurt?"
Emily's steps falter for a split second. He always manages to catch her off guard, more so as of late, too. She quickly glances over at him, her vision spinning with the movement. His profile is just like it always is. Strong, chiseled, and focused ahead with stern, unreadable eyes. She closes her own eyes briefly then looks forward again, unsure of what to do.
She doesn't know whether he is accusing or just expressing a sort of concern. Either way, his tone is rough. Not like earlier. Not like the soft, worrying whispers that floated around her, caressing her neck. And this tone rattling her ears rubs her the wrong way.
She tries like hell to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. But alas, the attempt was futile.
"Well…" Scoffing, she looks down at their feet swiftly moving in the same direction. "I guess I'm just a lucky woman who is prone to pain. Terribly sorry I can't afford you a better explanation at the moment."
Hotch grits his teeth, already knowing her reply was going to be something of that nature. She didn't understand the frustration behind his words and Hotch knew she would take what he says out of context. They round the corner and enter a room, taking them closer to the heart of the building. And yet his words continue in spite of himself, still spiked with anger. "I can count on more than one hand the different instances with the same outcome…you being hurt. Bleeding, bruised, broken…it's all blended together in my mind. And this keeps happening, over and over again."
Emily takes a deep breath, his words cutting into her sore ears. To her, he needn't say more. It was clear to her that he believed her weak. He always had. Never trusting her to handle a situation on her own and this was, in his words, a confirmation. He couldn't count on her to get the job done without messing up. She might as well have a glowing neon sign attached to her back, telling the psychopaths to come get her. Was she this cursed? Or was she just too hard on herself?
They are getting very near the others and the focus needed to be steered in the same direction.
She swallows thickly, that bile rising yet again. She flexes the muscles in her left arm and quickly realizes the mistake in doing so. That sharp pain shoots up and down her arm and she bites hard upon her bottom lip to stop from cussing aloud. She had given up keeping her left hand at the butt of her gun. She held the slack arm close to her side at an angle, as if that would protect the mangled limb. The blood was smearing; her blue Kevlar had streaks running down the side.
Rossi's voice is heard and their visual of the women is getting closer with each step they both take.
Emily sets her mind to the task at hand, completely ignoring Hotch and his words. She was not weak and she intended to prove that. Despite the roughness behind his words, she couldn't let them get to her. She couldn't let them put her down. She was done overcompensating but she sure as hell wasn't going to lay low and play dead. Many years ago, she was told that you can't please everyone. As much as she wanted his good attention and his good faith, Emily knew there wasn't much she could do now to change how he felt. She knew she could always do a good job out on the field but shit happens. It just so seemed to happen a lot to her.
What she didn't know was that his words were meant in a completely different fashion. That difficult, determined wall of hers kept her blind to these simple, yet complicated facts. His worry was still very much in play. He cared and was trying to put that out on the table. He was expressing the smallest amount of emotion and it's automatically taken in the wrong sense. Damn, why did they both have to struggle? Thanks to their encounters when she first joined the BAU, probably. That was a hurdle they had already passed though. Or so she thought. He had hoped so.
So what was really going on?
A big, center lit room is now in front of them. The ceiling is high and there are boxes and crates sitting everywhere. Hotch motions for them to move along the dark outer edge of the room and take cover behind a large crate. There was no way he was going to have her away from his side any time soon.
JJ and Rossi noticed them enter. They continue to talk to the men, distracting them from the women. Morgan has yet to join them.
Before appearing, guns poised, Hotch looks over at Emily. Her breathing is labored and she seems to teeter in her spot, slightly crouched. He wants to reach over to steady her again. He feels the need to hold her, a need that was becoming stronger by each passing moment. The ache in his chest grew at seeing her hurt. Hotch could kick himself for letting her go this far. He needed her in that ambulance, away from all this torture. She meets his eye and he knows she wouldn't have it any other way than to be right where she was. They were much alike in this sense. They nod at each other, an unspoken agreement being said between them. Despite any words traded, when the job was right there in front of them, both Hotch and Emily worked together miraculously. Their communication and tactical skill was spot on with one another.
Together they show themselves to the rest of the class. Emily's eyes immediately go to the three women. They were sitting in an uncomfortable position, chained to a large rusty pole lying on the ground that ran almost the length of the room. Their ratted clothes are torn and stained with blood. They all are shivering terribly and have awful looking bruises along their faces and arms. Emily could see the stab wounds in about ten to fifteen different places and her stomach lurches at the sight. With inner strength, she managed to keep her line of fire on one of the men and took a step forward with Hotch. His deep voice makes their presence known, the three men turning surprised eyes towards them.
"You are surrounded. Place your weapons down on the ground slowly and put your hands up. This has to end tonight and I can assure you that it will."
Two of the men could see their odds; resolve playing along their dirty, ugly features. The other, more than likely the leader of the pack wasn't giving in that easily. He slued and slurred nasty words in all of their directions.
Morgan finally appears from across the room, his focus on the men as he neared the poor women on the floor. They whimper, unable to sit still, desperate to be out of this nightmare.
The leader turned quickly, seeing Morgan closing in on him. All of them send out another warning but he heeded none of it. Letting out a foul snarl, he raises both of his long, sharp knives, his decision made. Making a move towards the women, he is immediately taken down by two shots fired from Morgan.
Everyone slightly jumps. The women shriek, crying knowing that they were being saved. Emily cringes, fighting against the urge to drop her gun and cover her ringing ears.
"Stupid bastard…" Rossi mumbles only loud enough for JJ to hear. She looks over at him, eyes wide. He shrugs. "What? Everyone is thinking it."
The other two knew that they were caught, outnumbered and in complete trouble. They drop their weapons, shaky hands going in the air. Morgan and Rossi restrain them, cuffing their wrists without any problems.
Emily, JJ and Hotch run over to the women. The tracks of tears could be seen running down their frightened faces. What they had endured was going to haunt them, no doubt. All three were very weak and the team had to get them to treatment quick. The rust from the large pipe was more than likely mixing with their bloody wounds. That outcome would not be pleasant. That thought alone drove the agents to hurry.
Rossi was talking to Garcia and Reid, telling them they were ok. Dispatch was sent to whatever police assistance that could be provided to get the remaining two men behind bars and take care of the dead.
Emily couldn't do much to untie anything but once the women were free, she attempted to help one get to the nearest exit.
She didn't make it very far.
"Emily!"
She registers his voice. She opens her eyes; she didn't even know she had closed them, and finds the ground much closer than she remembered. Her knees had taken the blow; landing on them so hard was not on her agenda but here she was, on the ground. A splatter of fresh blood could be seen just to the left of her. Her right arm was still wrapped around the young woman's shoulders. She was clearly drained and fell with Emily. Before any other hands could reach them, Emily quickly pushes herself up, breathing through the pain and bringing the woman with her.
Emily whispers to her apologetically, comforting her, "I'm sorry sweetie, lost my footing. Let's get you out of here, huh?"
The battered woman nods, holding on to Emily's Kevlar. She couldn't be much older than twenty-one. The silent tears continue to make their way down her stained, dirt streaked face. Emily's heart went out to the woman, feeling her own tears well up in her eyes. Partly from the pain coursing through her body as well as knowing what this woman just went through.
Extremely worried inquiries are made by the team but Emily just says calmly without turning around, "I'm fine. We need to get to the ambulance." She silently thanks her adrenaline for kicking in and keeping her up for this long. That inner drive that she has had since a child keeps her going.
"You're, you're bleeding…" The poor woman's voice trembled as she caught a glance at Emily's other arm.
Blinking hard, the front doors in her blurry view, Emily could only nod and whisper, "I know. I know. Everything's going to be alright."
Hotch follows behind her, one woman encased in his arms. She looked to be the worst of them all. Infection seemed to be already making its way into her body, causing all basic function to shut down. She was going in and out of consciousness and was incapable of standing on her own.
JJ had the other under her arm, walking her slowly out of the room. She didn't see Emily fall but she had seen the blood. They had all heard the fear in Hotch's voice, though. When he had radioed Garcia to get an ambulance sent earlier, they heard him say Emily was injured. No one knew how serious or minor and there hasn't been time to see for themselves. Morgan and Rossi brought up the end, dragging the two men still alive with them.
This was about as clean as they were going to get.
Emily felt and heard her own relief at seeing the flashing lights and the helping hands reaching for them as they exit the warehouse. She gently hands off the woman to one of the paramedics. Her situation was more serious than Emily's anyways. The other women are handed over, stretchers and medical IV bags welcoming the exhausted bodies.
Before she could step away to let them get better access to the others, another hand stops Emily at her back. She looks up to see Hotch staring down at her with pained anxiety. The blood had stopped flowing freely down her arm; now just slight movements brought the sticky substance to lightly pour over the surface of skin. The makeshift bandage Hotch had provided was completely soaked. Her entire arm was numb, though, just like she thought it would be.
Without words, he guides her over to one of their SUVs parked next to the ambulance. Opening the back up and pulling the tailgate down, Hotch has Emily sit gingerly on its' surface. He then proceeds to call over a paramedic not working on one of the others.
She tries to protest. Every ounce of fight left in her was standing at the ready. "I'm ok; those women are what you need to worry about."
Her face is pale and her eyes are heavy lidded. She looks past Hotch and towards the paramedic making his way over with supplies. She shakes her head, despite the pounding protest going on inside. "All of that really isn't necessary. Please, the women are what are important…"
Hotch rests a hand on her good shoulder as the paramedic sets his supplies down on the tailgate and gets what he needs out. The simple touch brings Emily's attention towards Hotch. "Prentiss, look at me." Her eyes meet his and she struggles to keep focus. His voice is urgent and yet that soft tone is back. "Please let them check out your arm. You are important and that arm of yours is going to need medical attention. Please, Emily. Please let them help."
Emily wasn't used to a soft approach from him. She was actually surprised he didn't bark out an order to her. That soothing whisper of breath caresses her face; he was very close to her and she found she liked that he was.
She keeps her sight in line with his. The dark pools seem to pierce right into her, much like a knife but there was no pain in letting him stare. The paramedic gets to work, removing the bloody scrap of shirt around the wound and carefully cutting Emily's sleeve all the way up to her shoulder. He apologizes but Emily could care less about the shirt and pays him no attention.
Her eyes and focus are still on Hotch.
His words float around in her mind. She can't be imagining the deep concern she had heard.
The hand at her shoulder makes its way slowly down to her own hand lying atop her thigh. Hotch latches onto her fingers, his thumb rubbing softly against the skin of her knuckles. Both of their hands are smeared with dried blood. And the knowledge that that blood was Emily's made everything extremely real and that much more important.
The rest of the team is worried. They begin to come up closer, demanding to know if she was ok. Hotch steps back, eye contact lost, letting the others look over Emily. She smiles at them, putting on a brave face and securing that wall. She tries to explain what happened but Hotch beats her to it. He calmly tells them what she endured. When they all are reassured, the paramedic says he's going to need some room and that she'll want the space. Just as they are stepping away, sirens are heard, indicating their help arriving. Two police cars and another ambulance appear down the road, their flashing lights bright in the dim evening.
Emily turns her head away, gasping as the sound rips straight through her ringing ears. Hotch notices and turns to tell the team to go deal with the police and get packed up.
His hand doesn't leave hers though. She was going to need something to grasp onto. The paramedic working on her arm was about to drop the ball and rip the ground out from under her. This was going to be a painful procedure.
Once again the paramedic apologizes as he begins to clean and sanitize the open cut. They'll be leaving soon and Hotch knows an argument will be coming from Emily once she is told she needs to go to the hospital. The paramedic can only do so much and proper supplies and a clean atmosphere were in order.
The paramedic touches a certain spot and the pain comes back full blown. The burning travels the entire length of her arm and Emily tenses at the sensation. So much for numbing and blocking out the pain, she thinks as she squeezes her eyes firmly shut, the image of Hotch still flashing in her mind.
"Son of a bitch…." The words are mumbled as she tries to clench down her teeth, the ache excruciating. Her fingers unconsciously tighten around Hotch's. He moves closer to her; his thigh brushing against her knee. Having some kind of physical connection to her helped him to settle the apprehension he felt.
"Emily."
He again wants to say more but only her name leaves his lips.
She acknowledges his voice; the sound of her name coming from him eased her mind. She allows her eyes to peek open, raising her lashes to his face. Though there was pain in her eyes, Emily managed a small smile. Her willpower was coming back and she knew she was going to get past this. The look in Hotch's eyes only channeled that feeling ever more. Maybe she was just being too hard on herself before.
Suddenly, Hotch speaks, as if unable to contain himself anymore. Paramedic or no, he was going to speak.
"You have nothing to prove to me, Emily. I already know how incredibly strong of a woman you are. I'm…I'm sorry for the way I sounded earlier. The fear for your safety got the better of me and I expressed my anger for what happened to you." He pauses, watching the EMT quickly wrap new gauze around her cleaned arm. "I hate seeing you in pain…"
He drops off, letting the words settle.
Emily swallows, feeling her body slump. He had been scared for her health. He wasn't yelling at her for getting herself into another dangerous situation. Staring at Hotch, her heart starts to beat to a quicker tune. His hand is still wrapped around hers.
The EMT interrupts their moment. "Agent, we're going to have to get you to the hospital quickly. You are going to need IV fluids and pain medication as soon as possible. You've lost a large amount of blood." He checks her pupils with a small flashlight.
Emily blinks, lightly shaking her head as she keeps her vision on Hotch. "I don't want to go to the hospital. Those women are going to need more serious attention. Please, can't…can't you do what needs to be done inside the ambulance so they can go?"
"You are in dire need of stiches and a closer examination of how deep your cut is. An ER is more equipped with what you require. I've done what I can to sterilize for now." The man looks to Hotch. "You are more than welcome to accompany her. I've got the proper medication to at least help with the pain and a small IV until we get to the hospital." He starts to pack up his supplies, motioning them to the closest ambulance; letting them know they'll be leaving quickly.
The other women are being carried into both ambulances. Everyone is ready to go. Hotch squeezes her hand.
Emily sighs, already knowing that she wasn't going to win this. She looks at Hotch apologetically. "I'm sorry…everyone sees that I hate hospitals. It's just a natural reaction." She rolls her lips together, feeling her arm tingle in the most annoying, unpleasant way. "But I'll…I'll go."
"Good." Hotch nods, helping her to stand on her feet. Her head swims and she leans into him, the action unfamiliar and unexpected. All the same, his arm automatically wraps around her middle. Unconsciously Emily blushes as she feels the warmth he exudes. He keeps a hold on her as he closes up the back of the SUV. He can't help himself, that ache in his chest is too strong. Touching her eased the worry and was a reminder that she was alive; that she was going to be ok. He didn't want to let her go.
Before getting into the ambulance, they both look at the rundown warehouse one last time. A chill runs down Emily's spine and Hotch can only scowl at the horrors that took place there.
Never once looking back, they begin to think forward, restless to get home. But not before heading begrudgingly, in Emily's own thoughts, to the hospital.
Once inside the vehicle, Emily blinks slowly, feeling nauseous. Then everything goes completely black.
.~.~.~.~.
Thank you for your reviews/follows! I know I know…I left you hanging again, right?
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Love
Lilylynn.
