Disclaimer: I don't own criminal minds or anything to do with it.
Thank you to ArwenLalaith for being my beta reader and fixing my grammar and spelling mistakes, and improving my story.
"None but a coward dares to boast that he has never known fear. - Marshall Ferdinand Foch
*****
"I'm going to try to get some sleep," said Olivia awkwardly to Morgan; it felt odd that she had to announce her every movement to a person she barely knew. It was only nine, but she was exhausted; it had been a very long day and she had gotten very little sleep the night before.
"Do you need me to read you a bedtime story?" joked Morgan.
"No thanks, I'm good," said Olivia smiling.
"Okay. If you need me, me and Quince here will be watching the Alfred Hitchcock marathon," said Morgan turning back to the TV, Quincy curled beside him, his head resting on Morgan's lap.
Olivia made her up the spiral steps exhausted and collapsed into bed and fell asleep instantly. She dreamed of that day in the pool, she saw Emily dive in to save her. Suddenly Emily turned into the one victim after another and a man with a blank face got closer and closer she saw him raise the knife. She tried to scream, but she couldn't because she was under water, her lungs devoid of air.
"Liv! Olivia!" cried a voice. Olivia bolted up and just managed to avoid head-butting Morgan.
"What is it? What's the matter?" she asked, still half asleep, glancing around her room, her heart racing.
"Everything is fine," said Morgan soothingly, "You were screaming in your sleep."
"Sorry," said Olivia, wiping the beads of sweat off her forehead.
"Are you okay?" he asked worried.
"Fine, just a bad dream," mumbled Olivia, looking at the clock. Seeing that it was a little after five, she decided to get up. "How about I make pancakes?" she suggested, leaving the room before Morgan could ask any more questions.
*****
"These blueberry pancakes are great," Morgan enthused as they sat at the table eating breakfast.
"Thank you," said Olivia, forcing herself to eat some even though she felt like throwing up.
"So, you want to tell me about the nightmare?" asked Morgan.
"It was just about the other victims… I just feel guilty, all of this is my fault," she said, laying her fork down on the table.
"No, it's not," said Morgan, giving her hand a quick squeeze. "I know you feel that way, but with this unsub, if he didn't fixate on you he would just find someone else." Just then the doorbell rang, Olivia glanced at the clock. It wasn't even seven, it couldn't be Spencer... "Stay here," said Morgan seriously as he went to the door, weapon in hand.
He looked out the peep-hole and opened the door warily. His jaw clenched when he saw an all too familiar envelope lying on the front step.
"Morgan?" called Olivia nervously from the kitchen.
"Coming," he called through gritted teeth as he snatched the envelope off the ground.
"Oh God," moaned Olivia when she saw the envelope. "Is that –"
"Yes," said Morgan, cutting her off.
"Let me see them," she insisted.
"Liv –" he started.
"I want to see them," she demanded. Morgan dumped the pictures on the table and Olivia let out a shaky breath, there had to be over a hundred photos of her. She picked up one and gasped; it was taken through her living room window, it was of her and Spencer playing chess the other night, she was laughing. She couldn't believe she had able to laugh in the last couple of days.
"I thought maybe he got scared off…" she said, trembling. "He hadn't sent any pictures in the last couple of days."
"I know," answered Morgan, "He's changed his pattern. He left them in the morning and there's more here than he usually leaves." Olivia let out a groan and dropped into the kitchen chair. "Wait a minute," Morgan said suddenly, making Olivia jump. "Quincy," he said.
"What about Quincy?" she asked.
"He didn't bark," he noted.
"You're right… He always barks when a stranger comes near the house," she said, realizing what he meant.
"That means the unsub is definitely someone you know."
"This can't be happening," groaned Olivia collapsing into a kitchen chair.
*****
A few hours later Olivia was sitting on the couch ready to go, she fidgeted anxiously, unable to sit still. Even with the FBI guarding her, she didn't feel safe in her own home. Finally the doorbell rang and, after checking through the peep hole, Morgan let Spencer into the house.
"It's about time," Olivia sighed. "Can we go?" she asked, eager to leave the house.
"What's going on?" asked Spencer, noticing how anxious Olivia was to leave her house.
"This…" said Morgan, gesturing towards the pictures on the table.
Spencer suddenly became very serious. "He's escalating," he said quietly, hoping that Olivia wouldn't hear.
"So if he's escalating, what is he going to do to me next?" asked Olivia overhearing every word, she looked like she was just hanging on by a thread.
"It's hard to say…" started Spencer.
"Take a guess," Olivia demanded.
"Most likely he'll find a way into your life, show up here or at your work," answered Spencer.
"Then he'll kill me?" asked Olivia in a whisper.
"No, he'll want to gain your trust, have you comfortable around himself, and then he'll escalate from there," finished Spencer.
"So then he'll kill me?"
"We won't let that happen," said Morgan soothingly.
"You haven't stopped him so far!" snapped Olivia. She buried her head in her hands and took several calming breaths. "I'm sorry," she said to both of them.
"It's understandable," said Spencer, brushing past it as if nothing had happened.
"I'm going to call the team, we'll get together to go over the photos. I'm also going to have police patrol your block and in front of your house more often," said Morgan.
"I'll still escort you to work, if you're still up to it?" asked Spencer.
"I'm going to try," said Olivia, determined not to let this man interfere with her life anymore.
*****
"Are you sure that kid is old enough to be a doctor?" asked one of Olivia's elderly patients, Mrs. Labner.
"He's just an intern right now, but yes he's old enough. Twenty-seven, same as me," said Olivia using her stethoscope to listen to her heartbeat.
"If you say so."
"Mrs. Labner, have you been taking your blood pressure medicine as I prescribed?" asked Olivia seriously.
"I only take half the dose a day so it lasts longer, refills are fifty dollars!" cried Mrs. Labner.
"Did you tell them you're a patient of the free clinic?" asked Olivia skeptically.
"I think I did," she said, trying to remember.
"Here's a new prescription," Olivia said, handing her the paper. "Just let them know you're a patient of the free clinic. If they still try to charge you, call the office and let me know, I'll set them straight."
"You're such a good girl," said Mrs. Labner patting Olivia's cheek.
"I'll see you next month for you check up," said Olivia smiling as she held the door open.
"They would really try to charge her?" asked Spencer horrified.
"They might have or she might have forgotten to tell them she was a patient of the free clinic. But if they try to charge her again, I'll give them an earful, trying to charge a sweet old lady like that," said Olivia shaking her head. Spencer couldn't help but smile at her, she was really passionate about her work. "What?" asked Olivia.
Giving her a smile and shaking his head, he answered, "You really care about these people."
"Is that a bad thing?" asked Olivia skeptically.
"No, it's just that most doctors think they're God or they're in it for the money. But not you…" She smiled broadly at his admiration. "Do you need to do anything before I escort you home?" he asked, hoping she did so he could spend some more time with her.
"Yes actually, I need to get groceries or we'll be eating bread and mustard for dinner," she said smiling.
*****
"So. . ." said Olivia as they walked down the grocery store aisle, uncomfortable with the overwhelming silence. "Want to tell life stories? I'll start," she babbled nervously. "I was nine when my parents got divorced, Emily was already in college. Unfortunately, my mom got custody of me. I only saw my dad out West one weekend a month, every other holiday, and four weeks in the summer. I loved visiting my dad, he didn't make me study or practice the cello, he let me be a kid. He practically had to drag me on the plane to go back to my mother. He was killed in a car accident a little over five years ago," she sighed, "I miss him so much… I'm sure Emily does too." She took a breath and stopped her babbling when she saw Spencer staring at her. "Sorry, I tend to babble to end awkward silences," she confessed, grabbing some cereal off the shelf.
"Don't worry, I do the same thing." Olivia smiled, feeling a little less self conscious. "I had a similar childhood, my dad left when I was young because he couldn't deal with my mother's schizophrenia," he said honestly.
"So your dad left you to take care of her all by yourself?" she asked shocked.
"Yes, I had to have her institutionalized when I was eighteen."
"I'm sorry. That must have been really hard for you."
"It was, but my mom has been doing better and I reconnected with my father last year. We're working on our relationship," he finished, wondering how he could feel this comfortable with someone.
"That's great, I'm happy for you," she said. He smiled warmly at her and she felt her heart do a flip-flop. She mentally scolded herself, she couldn't be having these feelings.
*****
"Agent Hotchner will be staying with you tonight," said Spencer trying not to sound disappointed that he had to leave.
"Okay," said Olivia with a small smile, disappointed herself, wishing the car ride could last a little longer. "What's Quincy doing outside?" she asked as they pulled into her driveway. Quincy was outside in the front yard, barking his head off.
"Stay by the car," he ordered, unholstering his gun, going to investigate.
"Here Quincy," Olivia called, her voice faltering as the dog ran to her.
Spencer went to the front of the house, tense, noting the open door. He carefully made his way into the town house. The place was trashed, book shelves pulled over, books strewn all over the floor, the television smashed. All the kitchen cabinets were opened, dishes smashed and thrown about. Upstairs, her pillows were slashed, her drawers emptied, the shower curtain yanked down, and the items in her medical cabinets tossed on the floor.
"Spencer?" called Olivia from outside, trying not to let her hysteria edge its way into her voice.
"Coming," he called, going back outside. Olivia was clutching Quincy's dog collar so tight her knuckles were white. "The burglar is long gone," he said, trying to comfort her.
"It was him, the unsub," she cried, half sobbing.
"Most likely," he said. Olivia just shook. "I'm going to call Hotch, have him send some cops out here to check out the scene. It'll be alright," he said, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder. Olivia let go of Quincy's collar and flung herself into Spencer's arms and broke down crying. Spencer wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back trying to comfort her. "It will be okay, we'll get him" he said, hoping with all his might he was right.