Chapter Text
Three days. You’ve been in the hospital three days.
And so has Mary. She’s watched over you from the small plastic seat in the corner, prayer beads in her hands. It’s all she’s done, prayed fo you. She refused to go home, so the hospital set up a temporary bed for her. She hasn’t used it, though.
They’re to be cleansed the moment we get out of here, she thinks. Thinking they can run off like that.
Mary doesn’t like the man that visits. She doesn’t like the way he asks her questions, how he knows so much about your past, and how he questions her as a mother. His name’s Dave, or Mr Rossi as the hospital staff greet him.
It’s Thursday when you finally wake. Your vision’s blurry, your head’s pounding, and the stench is killing you. Bleach? Fuck, why’s the light so bright? And that beeping. You don’t have an alarm clock…
As you come to, you lift your head slightly. Recognition sets in your brain; hospital. You’re in the hospital. You didn’t die.
A figure in the corner sits up. “Y/N? Oh Y/N, thank the lord you’re okay! I knew that he’d save you, my dear.”
Oh shit. It’s her. I have to leave.
The beeping picks up in the background as you sit up, ignoring the stinging over your body. You can’t be here with her. You have to get away. She’s going to kill you. Luckily for you, a nurse is walking by your room. He opens the door and walks in, calling for his partner. He appears at your side, shooing the mother away.
“Ma'am, please stand back,” he asks. Mary scoffs.
“Why? My child needs me,” she retorts. The nurse sighs.
“Ma'am, I’m just going to give a quick examination and make them more comfortable. We ask to do this without you here. If you don’t leave, I’ll ask security to escort you out.”
Mary huffs, gives you one last withering look, and stalks off. You let out a breath, looking up at the nurse, who’s tending to your bandages.
“Th-Thank you,” you mumble. The nurse gives you a look of sympathy.
“That’s okay, kid. My name’s nurse Finn. The truth is she hasn’t left in about three days.” Your jaw drops. “Yeah, she and this other guy don’t get along either.”
Confusion fills your head. “Guy? Which guy?”
“Mr Rossi,” Finn replies as though it’s the most obvious thing in the world. That triggers something in you, and you take a sudden intake of breath and become overwhelmed by emotion. Dave. Dave from the BAU. The one who helped you when your parents were arrested. The one who gave you his number.
The one who found you in the park.
“C-Can I ask you something?” You ask the nurse. Finn looks up from a bandage on your leg and gives a small nod with a smile.
“Sure. What’s up? Do you need me to get you anything?”
You quickly shake you head. “No, no. But, erm, can I choose who…who visits?”
Finn gives a quick nod. “Absolutely. If you don’t want someone in here, we can get them to leave. And vice versa. If you want someone here, we can call and request them,” he explains. “Though no promises they’ll come until later.”
“What time is it?”
Finn looks at his watch. “Half-five in the morning.”
You nod and play with your hands. The nurse looks up and lets out a sigh, moving to take a seat next to you. “Do you want us to call anyone?” You look over to the window into your room, where Mary’s standing, watching intently. You shift in your stiff cot and Finn seems to catch on. “The door’s closed. She can’t hear anything.”
You nod. “Can…can you call Mr Rossi, please? He, he was the one who found me,” you ask quietly. Finn gives a smile and nods, standing and heading to the door. Before he can open it, however, you stop him. “And…c-can you make sure n-no one else comes in? Unless Rossi brings someone.”
Finn nods. “Sure thing kid. Don’t worry.”
You nod, let out a sigh of relief, and lie back in the bed. Staring up at the ceiling, you try to drift off, but to no avail. Mary’s shrill voice pierces your ears just outside the room.
“They’re my child! I have a right to see them!”
You sigh. You can’t get away from her.
—•—
“Y/N? Topolino? Thank God.”
You look up to see Dave in the door, a bright smile on his face and a bag in hand. You return the smile as the man walks over, taking a seat next to you. He opens his arms for a gentle hug and you happily oblige. You lean and as you settle back to a sitting position, Rossi pulls out a container and a fork for you.
An Italian breakfast.
There’s a variety of pastries, and you go for a crostata. You give a glance to Rossi, almost asking permission, and Rossi nods, gesturing and grabbing one himself.
“So, how’s life?” You start, trying to make a joke. Dave chuckles and nods.
“Alright. We’re working with the police and looking for your attacker,” he explains. You nod. “How’re you feeling?”
“Erm, sore,” you say and nod. “I…don’t know. It’s kind of hard to explain.”
Rossi nods and puts a hand on your knee. “It’s alright to not know how to feel. You looked like you’d been through hell when I saw you.” He looks around. “Where’s your mum?”
Damn the heart rate monitor. It only betrays you as you try to mask the anxiety she brings. You shrug. “I, erm…I dunno.” Dave raises an eyebrow. “She didn’t come back in after the nurse came to check in on me.”
Dave nods. “Okay.” A silence falls over you two. “Is there anything you need to tell us? Anything? And you don’t have to tell me, either. I can call Spencer or-”
“It’s okay,” you cut him off. “I just…I don’t know. I mess up a lot and God wants to punish me.” You finish picking at your pastry, eating it in a bite. Rossi’s eyebrows furrow.
“What do you mean?” He asks. He doesn’t like where this is going. “Kiddo, God isn’t going to punish you for anything. You haven’t done anything wrong, unless you’ve murdered someone.” He lets out a light laugh, “and I doubt you’ve done that.”
You two share a small laugh before you go back to playing with your hands. “Well…M-Mary says th-that I need to-”
Everything hits you in the face. The beatings, the ‘blood-letting’, the constant torture. Your breathing picks up and your heart starts racing, complimented by the fast beeping of the monitor. Rossi’s eyes widen as he realises what’s happening; a panic attack.
Quickly, he pulls his phone out and calls his unit chief.
“Hotch, search Mary Powell. Find out where she lives and search the house. I think she’s the one that hurt Y/N,” he orders.
“Do you have any evidence?” Hotch asks. However much he’d love to just trust Dave’s instinct, that won’t fly in court.
“Well, considering Y/N just told me and they’re currently having a panic attack, I’d say that’s sufficient.”
Hotch agrees and hangs up, leaving Dave with you. Slowly, he places a hand on your leg. “Kiddo? Hey, it’s okay. I’m here, she’s not. She isn’t coming near you anymore. You’re safe. You’re okay.” Your breathing is still ragged, checking out of reality. “Topolino, I need you to breathe. You’re okay, you’re safe. I’m here. Everything’s okay.”
Slowly but surely, your breathing clams and you ground yourself in the present with Rossi’s help.
“Get some rest, N/N,” he says, “I’ll be here when you wake up.”
—•—
It’s a few hours later when you wake again. This time, you’re greeted with Rossi and another man. He looks stern and in a nice suit. Hotch, you presume. You close your eyes again as you hear the two men talk.
“What are we going to do, Aaron? This is now two homes that have let them down,” Dave mutters with a sigh. Aaron nods.
“I…I don’t know, Dave. I don’t know.”
“Did we get her?”
“Yeah. She’s in custody now, and we’ve got enough so the DA can charge her,” Aaron explains. “We’ve got some of Y/N’s belongings, mainly their backpack and some of their clothes. I’ll leave so you can tell them when they wake up.”
Tell me what? You think.
You open your eyes as the door closes and look over at Dave. He notices you moving and smiles, sitting more alert and helping you sit up. Nurse Finn’s been in a few more times since they first time you met, changing your bandages and making sure you heal well. So far, everything’s on track for you to be discharged.
However, the doctor’s advised against a group home. You need to be alone and with someone who’s going to help you.
“Hey N/N, how you feeling?” He asks, handing you a cup of water. You nod.
“Okay. I don’t hurt as much, but that’s just the meds I’m on,” you reply. Dave nods and an awkward silence fills the air. Dave knows what he’s got to say. He has to tell you something.
“Hey Y/N?” He starts. You give him your full attention. “Do you know where you’re going to go? When you’re allowed out tomorrow?” You shake your head with a sigh.
“No. No one’s saying anything.”
“Well, I have an idea,” Rossi starts and takes a breath. “You can come and stay with me.”
Your eyes widen. “W-What?”
“I’m an approved foster parent, I’ve got the room, and I sure as hell don’t want you going to another shitty home,” he explains. “We can enrol you in the local high school, if you like, and if you want to go to college…well, we can cross that bridge when it comes.”
Your face brightens as tears pool in your eyes. You’re going to have a guardian. Someone who cares about you. Someone who’s going to look out for you and look after you.
“Y-You’re not a religious nut, are you? L-Like Mary?” You ask in a small voice. Rossi smiles and shakes his head.
“I’m religious, but no, I’m no nut. I’m not going to force you to go to church or anything. If you want to go, you can. If you don’t, I don’t mind. So, what do you say?”
He’s cut off by you leaning over and giving him the tightest hug you can manage.
“Thank you,” you cry. “Thank you.”
You’ve got a family. Sure, it’s not conventional, but nothing in your life is. And that’s okay.