CHAPTER 10: Damaged (Season 3, episode 14)

Character(s): Rossi. And a brief appearance from Kevin Lynch!

A/N: I LOVE Rossi in this episode. That is all.

"One need not be a chamber to be haunted; one need not be a house;

The brain has corridors surpassing material place." - Emily Dickinson, Time and Eternity

Twenty years. Time really did fly, didn't it?

And yet Dave Rossi could still remember that warm spring morning. The sun shining, the sky a brilliant blue, any traces of snow and slush having disappeared weeks ago. The kind of day that coaxed the cooped up to start venturing outside.

It was one of those days where Mother Nature clearly did not get the memo about the weather she was supposed to provide. Can't you hear them screaming? Don't you know what happened in there?

He remembered neighbors poking their heads out their windows, wandering down the sidewalk, gazing at the scene before them. Two men, clearly official-looking, walking across the yard to the front door of the house. Fretting and discussing theories as to who was doing the screaming, and why.

Rossi wanted to turn around and tell every last one of the gawkers just where they could all go and what they could all do right at that moment. Instead, he chose to trudge towards the home, towards the frightened children, towards the sights and sounds that would haunt his dreams for years to come.

He'd just finished up dealing with a serial rapist. A crime as horrific as they come. When the detective had asked him to stop by this place, he agreed. He could handle the last case, after all, this wouldn't be any different.

But then Rossi entered the home.

Two young girls headed into the living room. The older one's pajamas were covered in blood, and she was crying and screaming. The little (very little - couldn't have been more than three, four years old) girl was crying, too, but in her case, it was only because everyone else was upset. She was - thankfully, Rossi couldn't help but think - too young to truly understand what was going on. Somewhere, a little boy shouted for help. The detective immediately took over, trying to collect all the children together, setting the girls on the couch and searching for the boy.

It was then that Rossi excused himself to the kitchen. He leaned against the wall, closed his eyes, and tried to collect himself, tried to control the increasingly sick feeling building in his stomach. Normally in situations like this he would've sent a prayer up to God for all involved, but at that moment, he didn't feel God really deserved...well, anything.

The rest of the day proceeded in typical fashion. Crime scene investigators poked around the home, the bodies were inspected and soon removed, the bloody (so, so much blood) bedsheets were wrapped up and taken in for evidence. Next of kin were notified and the children were ushered away from the nightmare scene.

Rossi watched and wandered through it all like a zombie. The hours seemed to drag. The investigators either were controlling their own emotions extremely well or had detached themselves from everything hours ago, and their matter-of-fact attitude was driving him insane. He kept wanting to try and contact the grandmother who'd taken the children in, wanted to be with them when the police would inevitably start asking questions. "What did you see?" "What did you do when you woke up?" "Did you hear anything?"

Rossi had long been…"fascinated" would be a poor choice of word, perhaps "curious" fit better…about criminals. What drove them? Why did they choose the specific crimes they committed? Why did they throw in the odd little things like signatures or unique killing methods or strange messages? The moment he was involved in a crime scene, he jumped right into that side of the equation. The situations were tragic for the victims and families, of course, and he felt for them, no question. But the crimes, the behaviors, he was obsessed with wanting to learn more. And if he could stop the sickos in the process, all the better.

This case, though, was a nice, hard slap in the face. A reminder that focusing on those criminals led one dangerously close to glorifying them, and all the while the victims fell by the wayside. This case, Rossi knew, had kickstarted the internal debate that he still wrestled with to this very day. It was what he thought about anytime he went to write a book. It was hidden in the advice he gave his team members during some of their tougher cases, so they didn't make the same foolish mistakes he had.

It was the main reason he'd returned to the BAU.

Strange to think it was all over now, just like that. The case was officially solved. Rossi had to keep reminding himself of that fact the whole way home, it seemed so unreal. But he couldn't have asked for a better, more hopeful ending, and he was excited at the thought of hearing from the kids (they would always be kids in his mind) again.

Rossi then looked over at the three people who'd crashed his investigation. Derek Morgan, listening to his music, as usual. Jennifer Jareau, skimming papers, writing down random notes. Emily Prentiss, leaning back against her seat, eyes closed.

He couldn't believe they'd come down. He couldn't believe Garcia had told them about the case!

Well, actually, come to think of it, he could. Rossi may not have been with the team very long, but he really should have known better. Garcia tended to ramble. A lot. It didn't take a profiler to realize that she probably wasn't the first person you'd turn to in order to keep a secret.

The poor thing had meant well, though. As had his team. They'd only done what they did out of concern for him. He knew that now.

Hotch's words from when Rossi first returned were proven right. Things really had changed since he'd last been in the FBI.

"You want something, Rossi?"

Rossi's eyes finally connected with those of Morgan, who had pulled away one side of his headphones, an expectant look on his face. Emily and JJ now also looked on, their faces curious.

"…I was just…thinking. About today." His gaze traveled back and forth between the other three, his mouth slowly curling up into a small smile. "Thanks."

Morgan gave a slight shrug. "Anytime, Rossi," he said simply. Emily and JJ merely sent slight nods and smiles in response.

With that, everyone resumed their typical activities. Rossi decided to copy Emily, relishing the fact that this time, he could actually possibly sleep peacefully.

Rossi found himself sitting in his office listening to the ramblings of Kevin Lynch.

"It's her apartment, Agent Rossi, and you can't just – just barge in there unexpected. We were spending time together outside the office. That's perfectly legal. We are adults, and we like each other, and we want to date each other. And if that's a problem for the brass, then…then…"

"Kevin."

The analyst stopped his pacing and turned to stare at Rossi, who hesitated slightly before continuing.

"I'd be throwing stones if I were to complain about you two. Believe me. I won't say anything to Strauss. Or the director." He stood up. "And you're right about coming to Garcia's place. I should've announced I was stopping by."

Kevin let out a huge sigh of relief. "Thank you, sir." He held his hand out, Rossi accepting it in a firm handshake.

"I appreciate you being honest with me."

"Anytime, sir." The two men bowed slightly towards each other, before Kevin turned to head out the door.

Rossi smiled and shook his head. Garcia would pick someone like Kevin. But they seemed right together. He liked the guy.

Before leaving, Rossi made a mental note to buy some flowers, with an apology note attached, for Garcia.

"The family is a haven in a heartless world." - Attributed to Christopher Lasch

Reviews/critiques welcome and appreciated, as always!