Chapter Text
After several hours of negotiating with serial bomber Patrick Hayes, the BAU had yet to make any progress in getting him to release the fifteen hostages he had trapped inside a bank. The unsub had already killed eight people in a series of smaller explosions, and the team was starting to worry that he’d be growing impatient.
The only thing that seemed to capture the unsub’s attention, other than threatening to blow up the entire building, was talking to Agent Rossi. No matter how many times Hotch tried to redirect Hayes’ attention away from his lover, the man seemed completely fixated on the older profiler. If Rossi didn’t enter the building within fifteen minutes, he’d blow the place up.
-
“I’m going in,” Rossi says decisively. The profiler starts to remove his gun from its holster.
“Dave, no,” Hotch protests. He stops him before he can set the firearm down. “I’m not letting you do this.”
“You have to,” Rossi replies. “He’s got more than a dozen civilians in there. If there’s any chance at all I can get Hayes to release them, I have to do it.”
“We can find another way,” Hotch argues, voice rising with desperation. “You can’t put yourself at risk. What if he doesn’t give up the hostages? He could blow the whole place up with the push of a button!”
Rossi reaches out to comfort his boyfriend, but Hotch pushes him away. “Don’t,” he says roughly. The older man flinches. Aaron can see the hurt in his partner’s eyes, but he’s too upset to care. Dave should know better than to offer himself up like that. He’s too important. To the team.
“I want you to go over the profile again with Prentiss and Reid. There has to be something we can use in there. Find it.”
“Aaron-” Dave begins.
“That’s an order, Agent Rossi.”
Dave makes one last attempt to take Hotch’s hand. This time, he’s expecting Hotch to refuse the gesture. But that doesn’t make it sting any less when his fingers are batted away.