Hotch half expected Mycroft to stay completely indifferent, as he had since the time of his daughters kidnapping. To his pleasant surprise the moment they arrived on the scene Marissa broke away from her attending officer and launched herself at the man.
Mycroft responded immediately, wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. Caring may not be an advantage, but it sure as hell didn't hurt in this case.
"Are you harmed?" Mycroft asked, forcing his voice to remain calm and professional.
"No sir, I'm fine." She smiled, only a small lie, as he held her at arm's length noting every scuff and bruise on her body with a murderous gaze in his eyes, a silent promise to destroy all those responsible for his daughter's current condition. "I'm fine daddy." Marissa repeated with a smiled. And for a second Mycroft over looked what would soon be a black eye, and the obvious rope burns to her wrist, and allowed himself to just be grateful she was alive. But that oversight would be short lived when he found Karen.
"Good to see you in one piece." Sherlock said casually, hands in his pockets, while the end of his black trench coat flared out behind him with dramatic flair, as he strolled over to the two of them, memorising the same injuries as he did so.
"Uncle Sherlock, did you miss me?" Marissa teased.
"Not in the slightest." Sherlock answered instantly, sounding rather bored now that the case was solved. For once he did a better job at hiding his emotions then his brother did, who had kept a hand on Marissa's shoulder in case she was suddenly going to be taken from him again.
"Sherlock." John snapped, but his voice lacked its usual protest. He knew Sherlock was happy to have his niece back safe, and he knew that she knew it as well.
"It's okay John." Marissa laughed.
"Come now, let's get you home." Mycroft interrupted as he guided her to the black suv he had arrived in. It took conscious effort to keep his voice serious, but a properly trained ear could still hear the underling tenderness.
"The police officer said he had some questions for me." Marissa paused.
"I will deal with it." Mycroft answered.
"I did shoot a man." She reminded him causally looking over her shoulder to judge his reaction to that fact, but Mycroft remained composed by the statement.
"Twice, and pushed another down the stairs." Sherlock piped in.
"He tripped." Marisa said defensively.
"Of course he did." Sherlock replied, his smirk slowly morphing into a small smile.
"I said I will deal with it, get in the car." Mycroft said firmly, he could already feel the headache starting and if he didn't get the two of them to stop bickering he would never get a moments peace.
Before he had got into the car Mycroft paused long enough to collect his thought and turn to the FBI agent standing nearby. "Agent Hotchner, thank you for everything you've done today." It wasn't much of a thank you, but Aaron had been a profiler long enough to realised that a statement like that, from a man like Mycroft, was equivalent to a teary and heartfelt appreciation as any grateful parent before him.
...
...
Elsewhere, a woman watched the tender moment from a distance. While her expression remained relatively calm, her nostrils flared, and the cords in her neck became more pronounced as her jaw clenched.
Silently singling to her driver she offered the teenage Holmes one last cold stare before leaving the area. No doubt her ex would be mobilizing all his resources to capture her.
It was best she left for the time being.
...
okay, end of story.
originally I had more written but after rereading it I thought it was a bit repetitive, besides a reunion between Mycroft and his daughter wouldn't have much of a heartfelt feel to it- so i thought short and sweet would be best
yes i left it open to a sequel (as I often do in my stories), but that does not mean I'll post one. I have a basic idea as to what would happen next but currently lack the motivation to write it.
thank you for reading, I appreciate it