Before I say anything else: TRIGGER WARNING - there is some talk of sexual abuse and the effects it can have on people, so please proceed with caution if this is a trigger for you. I tried not to make light of it and to handle it with sensitivity and I truly hope I did it well enough.

Thanks for the continued support! The reviews, follows, faves and just reading is appreciated!

DISCLAIMER: Not mine. Except for Nina & Isabella. Hope you enjoy!

CHAPTER 5

"Would you like a cup of tea?"

Cassie's voice was friendly, but Hotch shook his head in refusal.

"No, thank you."

"Water?"

He shook his head again and the girl sat down across from him, fiddling with a Kleenex on her lap.

"I just… They were always so nice to me. I can't believe they are really gone."

She sighed deeply and dabbed at the corners of her eyes.

"I still remember talking to Uncle Ralph last week, he asked about my school work and…"

A shaky sigh escaped her lips and she shook her head.

"Who would do something like that? Who would just… stab someone that nice and harmless? It is cruel, don't you think?"

Hotch nodded simply, his eyes darting over her face. Her chin was trembling, her bottom lip quivering… but there were no tears in her eyes. Her regular sniffs were dry and her hands were steady. Something was wrong… something was very wrong.

"How could we have missed this?"

Spencer sounded frustrated and Morgan shook his head, his fingers gripping the steering wheel tightly.

"She was smart – she used her vulnerability to avoid suspicion."

Nina bit down on her lower lip worriedly.

"Hotch will realize it, right? He won't… nothing will happen to him."

Her question was met with silence – Hotch fit the victimology to the tee and even if his own life was in danger, he would not hurt a girl. It was Rossi who answered – sounding more confident than he felt.

"He'll be fine. He's the best – he'll realize it's her and by the time we get there, she'll probably be in cuffs. He'll be fine. Reid, keep calling him."

Reid nodded, his phone already pressed against his ear.

"It's not ringing… I'm calling JJ, maybe his phone just died – they're probably with each other anyway."

He dialed the number quickly, breathing a sigh of relief when JJ answered her phone.

"JJ, it's Reid! Is Hotch with you?"

Her worried voice crackled slightly over the speaker.

"No… I'm with the PR team, we're working on a statement. He's interviewing employees, what's going on?"

"We know who the unsub is. It's Cassie O'Brien!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! Have you seen her?"

JJ's hesitation was obvious and everyone shared worried looks.

"Yeah, we stopped by Mr. O'Brien's office first. Listen guys… I'll call you back."

The car accelerated, weaving through the traffic effortlessly and the agents jumped out when they stopped in front of the building, all heading to O'Brien's office at the speed of light.

The profile was wrong. The unsub was sitting in front of him with a mad glint in her eyes and his hand subtly moved to his gun. Yet… she was just a girl, he knew full well that he would never be able to shoot her. He watched closely as she circled her father's desk, opening the drawer to search for something.

"There's a letter in here somewhere… It might give you a clue, if I can only find it…"

Hotch pursed his lips, watching her carefully for any traces of a weapon but finding none. She finally took an envelope out of the drawer and approached him slowly, holding it out to him.

"There it is! It was about Uncle Ralph… it was his resignation letter, my dad was furious with him. You don't think… you don't think my dad would have done it, right?"

Hotch took the letter from her carefully – still she made no move towards him and he opened the envelope. It happened in less than a second – a solid piece of stone crashing against the side of his head with a blinding pain. He sunk to the floor, clutching his head and the girl moved closer – an ugly scowl on her face.

"They were all so unsuspecting… but you knew, didn't you? I saw the way you watched me… you knew it was me, so I had to change my plan. You wouldn't let me get close; you're too smart for that. He looked at her with narrowed eyes, his movements delayed slightly and she sank to her knees – the letter opener glinting in her hand.

"I knew you wouldn't shoot me… I'm sorry for this. But I can't go to jail. I've been through enough…"

She was on her knees next to him, talking – they could not make out the words and Nina turned to Morgan impatiently.

"We can't just stand here and wait for her to kill him… We have to do something."

Despite his calm appearance, Morgan's voice was tense.

"If we do something now, she's going to snap. We have to wait for a chance to go in."

"If we don't do something now, Hotch is dead!"

Morgan looked at the girl irritably.

"If we do something now, Hotch is dead! How do you think an unhinged killer is going to react if we storm in there, guns blazing?"

"Fine!"

A gun dropped to the floor and Nina removed the bullet proof vest with an adamant frown.

"What do you think you're doing?"

She looked at the men confidently as she dropped the vest on the floor too.

"Give me a chance to talk to her. I understand her. Let me just try, okay?"

"Nina, you can't…"

She didn't listen – simply moved forward, slowly opening the door and stepping inside.

"Cassie, wait!"

The girl turned with wide eyes, the turning the sharp object in Nina's direction.

"Stay back! I'll kill both of you… I can!"

Nina shook her head gently, taking a subtle step forward.

"I'm not armed. Look at me. You can trust me."

"I can't trust anyone. I can't."

Nina took another step closer, using the girls frantically darting eyes to her advantage.

"You can trust me. I promise."

"Why? Why should I trust you?"

Another step closer. Nina could feel the rest of the team hovering in the door behind her, but she ignored them – shuffling closer, step by step.

"Because I am you. I know what you're going through, I know how you feel."

"No. You don't."

Cassie spat out the words furiously and Nina took another step forward.

"You feel lost. You feel like you're standing on the edge of a cliff and you're screaming, but no one is listening. Every time he beats you, you want nothing more than for him to stop. But every time he crawls into your room at night when it's dark, you wish he would beat you to death – you wish you would finally die and get this over with. I know you didn't really want to hurt anyone. You just wanted him to stop and the men you killed… they knew, didn't they? They knew what he did to you and they didn't stop him. They didn't rescue you, no one did. And you just wanted some power – you just wanted to feel better, but this is not going to help. The pain is not going to go away, no matter what you do. It's always going to be there, but you can learn to live with it. And this man… His name is Aaron Hotchner. He has a son. He's a good man, Cassie… And if you give him a chance, I promise – he will help you."

Tears had formed in Nina's eyes and were streaming over Cassie's cheeks. The letter opener in her hand was shaking and Nina took another step closer, carefully wrapping her hand around Cassie's and taking the letter opener from her.

"It is not your fault. What he did to you… it's not your fault. You were just a kid."

Cassie took a step closer, falling into Nina's embrace and the older woman stroked over her back gently, allowing her to cry. She shook her head when Morgan stepped closer with handcuffs, her eyes pleading with him.

"Don't. Please, just… let me. She's been hurt enough."

Cassie looked down at Hotch, her eyes hopeful.

"You'll really stop him?"

Hotch moved to his feet with difficulty, the splitting pain in his head causing him to wince.

"I promise."

As if on cue, Jonathan O'Brien stormed into the office his eyes darting from the officers to his daughter, who by now had cuffs around her wrists and stood close to Nina.

"What in the hell is going on here? Why is my daughter in handcuffs? Cassandra, what have you done?"

It was Morgan who stepped closer quickly, pushing the man against the wall with brute force and his voice was thick with fury when forced the man's hands behind his back.

"Do you know what they do to guys like you in prison? Guys who force themselves on children?"

Hotch took a step closer to clip the handcuffs around the man's wrists and his own voice was laced with anger.

"Jonathan O'Brien… you are under arrest for the rape, molestation and assault of Cassandra O'Brien. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to have a lawyer of your choice. If you cannot afford a lawyer the state will provide one…"

The plane ride home was quiet – each team member busy with his or her own thoughts. It was Spence who finally moved to sit next to Nina, who was staring out of the window blankly. Her head turned slightly when he sat down next to her, but she looked out of the window again almost instantly, biting down on her lower lip.

"Those things you said…"
Spence's voice was hesitant and Nina sighed deeply.

"He died. That's why I came back to the States. He had a heart attack… and a part of me was relieved, but the other part… I wanted to be the one to do it. I wanted to be the one to kill him. Does that make me a horrible person?"

Spence shook his head instantly, his hand hesitantly covering hers.

"No. It makes you human. Understanding an unsub doesn't mean we are like them – I had to learn that too. We make different choices in life. That's what makes us who we are. You made the choice to help people, not kill them."

Nina's mouth turned down and she shook her head.

"I just… she was just a kid. Is it really justice to send her to prison?"

"She'll probably go to an institution until she's eighteen, then the state will review her case… She has a chance, you know. She just has to take it. Like you did."

She glanced at Hotch who was pretending very hard to be engrossed in the book on his lap.

"Do you think he's going to be okay?"

Spence nodded with a small smile.

"He's probably going to have a headache for a few days, but he'll be fine. Are you going to be okay?"

Nina simply nodded and she turned her palm upwards, closing her fingers around his palm.

"I will. Thank you… for asking. For… everything."

"You're welcome."

He reluctantly pulled his hand away and she turned her head to stare out the window again.

"Would you… I'm going to the movies tonight. Do you want to join me? Rossi, Garcia and Morgan will probably come too…"

Nina turned to face him, and a smile formed on her face.

"I'd like that. Thanks."

"Great. We'll pick you up at eight."

The doorbell rang at quarter to seven and Nina rushed to open the door, a towel wrapped around her wet hair.

"You're early, I thought…"

Her words trailed off when she recognized Hotch and she stepped aside, gesturing for him to enter. He walked in reluctantly, glancing at the apartment before looking back at her.

"What you did today was dangerous. You put your life and mine in danger, you ignored an order and stormed into an explosive situation without a weapon."

She nodded silently and he sighed, moving a hand to cover her shoulder.

"Nevertheless… you saved my life. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

He took a step towards the door, but stopped himself and his hand wrapped around her wrist.

"Nina… I'm sorry I wasn't there to save you. I'm sorry I… If I had known, if I had any idea that he would…. You were my baby sister and I failed you. I didn't protect you. I'm sorry."

She nodded silently, a small smile forming around her lips and he gestured to the towel covering her hair.

"Are you going somewhere?"

"To the movies. Reid invited me."

Hotch lifted an eyebrow and she laughed spontaneously.

"Don't even think about going all big brother on me. We're going with Rossi, Garcia and Morgan."

"I'm glad they invited you."

She nodded and smiled.

"Do you… are you joining us?"

Hotch shook his head, a small smile on his face.

"No. I have somewhere else to be."

It took two glances at the address on his phone – just to make sure it was the right one – and three deep breaths for Hotch to get out of the car and knock on the door. It opened almost instantly, and he smiled down at the woman in front of him. Her eyes widened slightly and she gestured to his head.

"You're hurt?"

"Just a little bump against the head."

"A little bump against the head that's bleeding."

He touched his fingers to his head and grunted irritably when his fingertips came back, stained with blood.

"I didn't realize it started bleeding again. It's fine."

"Maybe I should clean it up for you before we wake Jack?"

Hotch nodded and stepped inside uncomfortably, following her to the bathroom where he sat down on the edge of the tub. His eyes followed her as she stood on her tiptoes to reach a first-aid kit that she placed on the floor before moving closer to stand between his legs with a piece of anti-septic soaked cotton. He winced when she pressed the cotton against the cut and she bit down on her lower lip.

"Sorry. So… what happened?"

"An unsub almost got the best of me."

His eyes flickered up to her face and she frowned slightly.

"Unsub?"

"Unknown subject… it's how we refer to serial killers and… I really shouldn't be telling you this."

She shrugged and reached over his right leg to search for a plaster and he took a shuddering breath as her soft body gently brushed against his. Her fingertips lingered against his temple as she pasted the plaster to his skin, impulsively trailing down his strong jawline before she took a step back to put some space between them. Perhaps it was the trauma of the day, perhaps it was the loss of her warm body against his, perhaps his loneliness finally got the better of him, but he reached forward impulsively, hands grasping at her hips, pulling her forward before his lips gently pressed against hers. Her lips were soft under his and he moved a hand up her body to tangle in her silky hair. He sighed against her lips when her hands moved to rest on his shoulders and his free arm moved to circle her waist. Reality seemed to hit both at once and she took a step backwards, Hotch nearly stumbling into the bathtub in his attempt to step away from her. Her eyes were wide, hands clapped over her mouth and she shook her head dazedly.

"I'm sorry… I shouldn't have…"

He reached for her shoulder, but pulled back at the last second.

"No, don't… I'm the one who kissed you, I'm sorry; I don't know what I was thinking…"

"It's just… I'm your son's teacher, it's completely inappropriate."

"It is... This shouldn't have happened, I'm sorry. You were just trying to help me, and I lost control. This never happens to me."

She forced herself to smile and thrust her hands into her pockets.

"Don't worry about it."

"I should probably go…"

"Yeah… Jack is in the living room, I'll show you the way."

Jack was groggy when Hotch woke him up, but greeted his teacher with a sleepy smile that was much less awkward than that of his father. Neither Isabella, nor Hotch knew where to look when he reached the front door and he rubbed over his neck, looking at a fixed spot on the wall.

"So… have a nice night."

Isabella suddenly seemed to find her shoes very interesting and she nodded swiftly with a mumbled goodbye before closing the door. Hotch lingered for a second before walking down the steps, his hand wrapped warmly around that of his son and his lips tingling with the memory of her mouth against his.