Disclaimer: the usual…..
A/N: Thanks again for all the reviews, they keep me going.
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As the door burst open, Hotch and Morgan entered the room, their weapons leveled at their quarry. "Kullman, drop the knife," Morgan commanded.
Daryl Kullman smiled. He had one arm around Allie's neck in a choke hold. His hand held the knife, ready to draw it across her throat. He backed up, pulling her along with him, "I don't think so."
They could hear Chantal whimpering off to the side. They glanced her way. She sat on a chair, her hair falling from its up do, the flowers seeming to wilt. Tears ran down her cheeks in black streaks from her makeup.
Reid put his weapon down and squeezed past Hotch and Morgan into the room. He raised his hands, facing Daryl and Allie, "I got it Hotch," he said.
Morgan's voice rose, "You got it, man, what do you mean you got it?"
"Just back off, okay," he turned back to Daryl while Hotch and Morgan backed off but continued to have their guns trained on their suspect. The fear in the room was palpable. Reid's eyes met Allie's. "Nobody's gonna shoot, okay." Reid moved further into the room. He could see the fear in Allie's eyes while at the same moment, the scent of her perfume gently gripped his senses. It was the fragrance he associated with love and it seemed almost incomprehensible that he should smell it in this room, full of fear and the threat of violence. "We're just gonna talk here," he continued.
"Why would I want to talk to you?" Daryl's grip on Allie tightened.
Allie tried not to let Daryl feel her fear. She kept her eyes trained on Spencer. She stared at the letters emblazoned on the front of his vest. It suddenly struck her that she'd never seen him in his vest before and she thought how handsome he looked in it. Then she questioned if she was going insane to have such a thought at that moment.
"Because I know what it was like for Darcy. I know what it was like being picked on by the bullies, being laughed at in the locker room and in the bathroom, never being picked for teams, never having any friends, feeling like nothing." He advanced a little further. "Sticks and stones, yada, yada, but words did hurt, didn't they and you had to watch. You had to watch when she'd cry at home. She didn't dare cry at school. The bullies pick on you worse when you cry. You had to watch while she got more depressed. You never said anything at school, did you? You loved your sister but you were well liked and you were afraid of losing that if you stuck up for her. She understood, didn't she and she didn't blame you."
Allie could feel his grip loosen a little. "How do you…"
"But after she killed herself, it haunted you, didn't it, that you'd been more concerned about yourself than sticking up for your sister. You wondered if things might have been different if you had. You hated yourself because of it, so you felt if you went after those who had harmed your sister, you could somehow ease your guilt. It's not working, is it, because your sister's gone and you'll never be able to help her now. No matter how many people you kill Daryl, you'll never feel better."
Tears filled Daryl's eyes as his grip slackened still more. Allie nodded almost imperceptibly at Reid.
"What about Allie? You like Allie. She was nice to your sister. She never bullied her yet here you are with a knife to her throat, ready to kill her. Why? Your parents and her parents are friends. Lloyd Graham is your lawyer and you want to kill his daughter. Andy Reiser was just a kid, he didn't even know you or Darcy, yet he's dead. How many people must you kill Daryl?" He advanced a little further. "It ends tonight, you know that don't you. You're not getting out of here. If you hurt Allie, the people behind me will shoot you dead. Your parents can't handle another dead child. Why don't you let Allie go. We'll see that you get help." He slowly closed the gap between himself and Daryl as Daryl's arm went slack and Reid quickly grabbed Allie, pulling her from his grasp. Daryl fell to his knees and began to weep.
Reid wrapped his arms around Allie as the team moved in to take custody of the killer. Reid watched as Morgan pulled Daryl, none too gently to his feet, shoving him hard against the piano. "Morgan," Hotch admonished.
"What," Morgan replied, "He was resisting." Reid allowed a hint of a smile to come to his lips.
He turned his attention to Allie who had begun to sob uncontrollably in his arms. He tightened his arms around her. She'd been so strong, he understood her need to just break down. He remembered a similar feeling after he'd been rescued in Georgia. "It's okay," he said softly, caressing her hair, "I got ya."
Hotch and Morgan had cuffed Daryl and were leading him out. Hotch motioned to JJ, "The press is out there, I want you to talk to them while we get Daryl processed." Emily was approaching Chantal.
"Mrs. Jeffries, could I help you," she asked the young woman.
"No, no," Chantal started to scream, "Get away, get away."
Reid and Allie turned, "I think maybe she's in shock," Reid said. "It's okay Emily, she knows Allie and me, we'll look after her." Emily nodded and left the room to join the rest of the team.
"Her breathing's been really rapid. I thought she might hyperventilate. She was whimpering and moaning but there wasn't much I could do," Allie whispered to Reid, "I was trying to draw Daryl's attention away from her."
"That was probably wise. She's probably just in a little bit of shock. Who wouldn't be in her condition," Reid replied.
The couple bent down next to Chantal. "Chantal, honey," Allie said, "It's all over, we're safe now. Why don't you let us help you up and we'll go find Mark, he'll be so happy to see you. He's probably a basket case about now."
"Yeah," Reid added, "He was about ready to kill me when he found out you'd been taken right under my nose. I'm really sorry about that."
"Okay Chantal, we're going to help you up, okay, and we'll go to Mark." Allie said as the pair went to either side of her.
"No," Chantal said, "I can't."
"What do you mean, you can't? You don't think you can walk, is that it? Well, I'm sure you're exhausted," Reid remarked.
"It's not that," Chantal said tearfully, running her hands over her expansive abdomen.
"What is it then," Allie asked.
"I think my baby's coming!"