Chapter Text
If there was one consistent truth that came with your line of work: nothing good ever comes as a result of a 4 AM call to a briefing.
The team was currently stationed in the quiet, residential branch of Hazelwood Oregon, roughly 15 minutes outside of Portland. The small town had recently fallen prey to one of the most twisted serial killers the county had ever seen. Some sick bastard was filleting teenage girls in the middle of the woods, stringing them up like trophies for all to see with their insides on the outside. The latest victim was 17-year-old Annemarie Davies, you and Reid were sent to tell her parents when the body was recovered yesterday. Seeing the grief and rage wash over the family as you told them that they’d lost their only child was something that you swore you’d never forget, her mother crumbling in on herself while her father put a fist sized dent in the wall of the station. Hopefully, today would be the day that the team got to give the families the closure that came with putting the bastard away for life.
It had only been two hours since Hotch had sent you back to the inn to get some rest. Twenty-eight hours analyzing case files on two hours of sleep rarely did the body well but that’s what you signed on for when you took the job. As you made your way out to the SUV, your in-ear monitor chimed with an incoming call. The moment you answered you were met with the smooth, soothing voice of your favorite genius.
“Y/N, are you awake? Are you on the road yet?” Spencer’s voice chimed as you climbed in and set your bag on the passenger seat and flipped the radio on.
“Yes, mom.” You teased in a mock droning, smiling as you heard his laugh on the other end. He knew how much you coveted your time to sleep and often acted as your alarm clock when you shared a hotel room on a case. “I should be there in-“ You inhaled sharply as you felt the cool metal of the barrel of a gun press to the back of your neck. The sound of Spencer’s panicked whisper in your ear told you that he’d instantly caught on that something wasn’t right. Typical.
“Drive.” A deep voice hissed from the seat behind you, recognition dawning as you pulled out of the lot. Stealing a glance at the rear view mirror confirmed your hunch.
“Who is it? Y/N, who’s there with you?” The urgency in Spencer’s tone was hushed, and you picked up the whispers of the team, alerting you to the fact that you were on speakerphone.
“M-Mr. Davies, we can help you through this-“ The butt of the gun connected with the side of your head, the force of the blow causing your eyes to momentarily go out of focus.
“Shut up!” He screamed. “You gonna help me like you helped my daughter!?” His voice broke on the last word and for a moment your fear turned to sympathy for the man. “Like you helped my Annemarie?” You reached up to touch the place where the gun had cut your temple, using this as an opportunity to tap a short SOS signal on the surface of your monitor, Morse code that you knew Spencer would understand.
“Got it. Y/N, Garcia just sent us your location. He’s leading you towards the woods.” Your heart dropped as you made the connection that he was taking you to where his daughter was murdered and wasn’t bothering to hide his identity. He wanted revenge.
“No, you let her die.” He mumbled under his breath, “You let her suffer! N-now it’s your turn to suffer.” You would have thought, considering his volume, that he was talking to himself had it not been for his tightening grip on the gun now at your temple. The sharp revving of an engine could be heard on Spencer’s end.
“We’re gonna block off the road about three miles up and get you out of there. You’re going to be fine and I promise you can nap on my shoulder the whole plane ride back. You’re going to be okay.” You almost cracked a smile, momentarily forgetting the looming threat of death in the back seat. There was nothing you wanted more in the world than to be curled up with Reid. You could almost feel the cotton of his sweater under your cheek and the smell of old books, vanilla and something that was just purely him.
“Mr. Davies you can still walk away from this.” You slowed the car significantly, giving yourself time to try to get through to him. Talk him down now, possibly save a few injuries later. “You’re grieving, you want someone to suffer like you’re suffering… like she suffered.” You were skating on thin ice and the clock was rapidly running out. “K-killing me isn’t going to bring her back or take away the pain you’re feeling right now.”
“You don’t understand shit about how I feel!” His rage made you jump. ”You and that fucking know-it-all were completely unfeeling. My daughter is brutalized and that asshole was cold as ice while you just sat there! Don’t act like you understand how I’m feeling.”
“It wasn’t his intention to come off that way, I promise you. He can’t help it that’s just how he is.” The sound of the gun cocking had a cold sweat breaking across your forehead. “P-please, just l-leave him out of this.”
“Do I sense an Achilles Heel, Agent Y/L/N?” The gruff voice spit a moment before the SUV came around the final bend. Instantly the wall of police lights came into view at the end of a narrow steel bridge. “I see. Let’s go.” You felt the gun press into your neck and you instinctively accelerated in an attempt to close the distance between the truck and your salvation. Your eyes settled on Spencer on the front line, the start of the morning’s sunrise illuminating the deep worry lines in the creases of his features.
“I love him, Mr. Davies.” The words left your lips without any other thought. You knew full well Reid could hear every breath but you couldn’t care less. You had to get the words out just in case you didn’t get another chance. “God, do I love him.” For the first time in this entire ordeal, your eyes brimmed with tears.
“Then a shame he’s going to have to witness this.” The crack of a gunshot echoed a fraction of a second before a searing pain registered in your right thigh. The shriek that made its way out of your throat was almost inhuman as the gas pedal was floored and Davies used the distraction of your pain to take the wheel. It was almost like a nightmare you couldn’t wake up from as you felt the car jerk to the side and the metal guardrail of the bridge growing closer. Your head hit the windshield, successfully creating spider web cracks as the water got closer. The car hit the water a tenth of a second before your head connected with the steering wheel and your vision faded.
Even when the car hit the water,
even when the water came rushing in,
even when the darkness closed in on your vision,
one thought in your head was replaying over and over: This is going to kill Reid.