Work Text:
WEATHER WARNING
Using your sleeve to wipe the sweat that had begun to bead on your brow, you let out an exasperated sigh. You turned around on the spot, slowly taking in the vastness of the scenery before you.
You were currently in Texas, after having received word that a serial killer had been targeting blondes between 20 and 40. After discovering the seventh body, the BAU was called in. It had been a difficult four days, the humidity in the air tiring you all out quicker than you were used to, but you had eventually found a lead and both you and Reid were currently waiting for the witness you needed to interview to open the door.
You studied the sky with an apprehensive expression, fiddling with the charm on your necklace, “I don’t like the look of that sky, Spence.” A thick layer of graphite coloured clouds were hanging low in the sky. “It looks like rain and I didn’t bring a jacket, did you?”
“No, but the rain would help out the heating problem.” reasoned Spencer, shuffling from one foot to another.
“True.” You leant forward and rapped on the door again. “Mr Howell, FBI, we just need to ask a few questions.” you announced.
“This is the third time we’ve knocked, maybe he’s somewhere else?” suggested Spencer.
“Yeah, take a look around back?”
Spencer nodded and you both left the porch to make your way to the back of the property, your fingers still toying with the charm on your necklace. It was a habit you had developed recently, any time you felt worried, anxious, scared or sad, your fingertips would automatically find the charm around your neck and fiddle with it, like it was a lucky talisman.
Of course, it wasn’t. It was a beautiful silver chain with the constellation of your star sign adorned with both yours and your boyfriend’s birthstones. You had teared up when Aaron had appeared with it one day. Standing behind you as you stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom as you were brushing your hair. You watched his reflection clasp it around your neck before he pressed a kiss to that spot behind your ear that made your knees wobble. When you asked why, your boss had shrugged simply stating that he saw it, thought it was pretty and thought of you.
You adored it and the man who got it for you, not because he had paid attention to your star sign or your birth stone, but because it felt like you had a piece of Aaron with you. It was a great source of comfort to you.
Your team mates had noticed your new jewellery and the girls, especially, had gushed over it. What you couldn’t tell them, however, was that it was Aaron that had bought it for you. When you had finally figured out that you both had feelings for the other, you had agreed to keep it out of the office just for simplicity’s sake, that and to protect you and the others from Stauss.
“Oh, there’s a barn.” reported Spencer, moving towards it.
You looked up at the structure and could just make out an older gentleman in overalls, tinkering with a truck. The barn appeared weather worn and in a state of disrepair. Paint was peeling, tiles were loose on the roof and the shutters hung precariously. A familiar smell of must and damp hit your senses.
“Mr Howell? Hi, my name is Doctor Reid and this is Agent Y/L/N. We have a few questions about what you saw last weekend.”
The man looked up, surprised to see you both. His cerulean eyes darted between you with an air of suspicion.
You pulled out your credentials and held them up. “Sorry, we did knock at the front. We didn’t mean to scare you.”
Mr Howell eyed you with disinterest. “Girly, you don’t scare me.” He said with a Southern drawl. He reached over to his workbench to pick up an oil stained towel to wipe his hands. “How can I help you?”
“We were wondering if you could talk us through what you saw at the bar,” prompted Spencer. “We know you made a statement to the Sheriff, but hearing your account from you will help us a lot with the investigation.”
Mr Howell gave a non-committal nod. “Alright.”
Hotch stared at the team’s pinboard, taking in the geographical profile and the photos of the victims. He tried to ignore the bustle of the police station behind him, but when he heard raised voices, he pivoted on the spot. His brow furrowed in confusion when he saw two police officers carrying crates of water bottles.
“Morgan, what’s going on?” the Unit Chief asked softly, not taking his eyes from the movement in front of him.
“Not sure.” said Morgan, pushing himself up from the desk he was sat at. “I can find out?” His phone rang, making him stop. He pulled his phone out. “Hey, baby girl.”
Hotch rolled his eyes before turning back to the board. It wasn’t until he heard Morgan’s tone go from a jovial one to a concerned one that he turned around again.
“Hang on, what do you mean there’s a weather warning? It’s just a bunch of cloud, right?”
Hotch’s frown deepened, creating a trench of worry on his forehead. He could hear the urgency in Garcia’s voice from where he stood.
“Okay, thanks mama, I’ll call you later, okay? Don’t worry.” Morgan hung up on Garcia and regarded the Unit Chief with a worried look. “Garcia said there’s an extreme weather warning in place in Hutchinson County. Potential tornado.”
Hotch momentarily forgot how to breathe. “Where?”
“Here,” called Emily, carrying a laptop with her. She placed it on the desk in front of Hotch. “Pen just sent me the forecast simulation. It looks like it’s going to hit here.” said the brunette pointing scarily close to the police station they were currently stood in.
“Isn’t that where Y/N and Spence were headed?” asked JJ, a fearful look in her eyes.
“Is this current, like is it right now?”
“Pen says this is within a minute.”
Hotch had heard enough. He reached into his pocket to try and call you. He pressed the phone to his ear, eyes closed as a hundred thoughts flew through his head. He exhaled sharply when your phone went straight to voicemail. “Morgan, try Reid.” ordered Hotch, picking up the SUV keys from the desk.
“Sure... wait, Hotch!”
“Where are you going?”
“You can’t-”
Hotch rounded on the other members of the BAU. He took a steadying breath, willing his voice to remain as calm as he hoped his face looked. “Y/N and Reid are out there.”
“True,” began Rossi, “But they’re a twenty five minute drive away, Hotch. Even if you ignored every traffic law in the country, you wouldn’t get there in time. Not to mention the danger you’d be putting yourself in.”
“The point is I’d be there.” ground out Hotch as evenly as he could. He looked at Morgan. “You manage to get Reid?”
Morgan shook his head. “No, can’t get through.”
That was all Hotch needed to hear. “I need to be there.”
“Aaron-”
“Dave, I’m going.” retorted Hotch, turning to move towards the door.
“Woah, buddy, you can’t leave.” said a police officer, looking at Hotch like he’d grown two heads. “There’s a severe weather warning in place, protocol says you need to hunker down in here.”
Hotch raised an eyebrow, continuing his path. “Fuck protocol.” he muttered as he exited the police station.
Rossi shook his head before sharing a look of exasperation with the dark skinned agent. “Morgan.”
“Yeah, yeah,” said Morgan, grabbing his jacket and moving to stalk after Hotch, “I’ll make sure he doesn’t kill himself. Prentiss, you in?”
“Yeah!”
Emily and Morgan caught up with Hotch just as he turned the ignition on. “Hotch! Wait!”
“Go back inside.” He ordered sternly. “I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“But it’s okay for you to barrel in headfirst into a tornado?” deadpanned Emily as she got into the back of the SUV. “Forget it, we’re coming with.”
“Thank you, Mr Howell, you’ve been a great help.” You said, moving towards the entrance of the barn. You wrapped your arms around your body, a shiver running down your spin as the wind seemed to have picked up outside.
You stepped out of the barn, grateful to be away from the smell of damp, when something caught your eye. “Um, Spence?”
Reid fell into step next to you, confused as to why you stopped. He followed your line of sight and immediately balked when he saw what you had seen.
“Tell me that’s not what I think it is.” You whispered, your voice almost hidden by the growing howls of wind around you.
“That would be a tornado.” confirmed Reid, his voice small.
You both watched, transfixed by the whirling vortex growing closer to you. If you squinted, you could see debris orbiting the tornado.
“Oh my God, what do we do?” You ask, panic settling heavily on your chest.
“Get in here!” yelled Mr Howell, grabbing you both by an elbow and pulling you back in. You stumbled backwards, watching as Mr Howell grabbed the barn doors and tried to pull them to close. Reid snapped out of his stupor and ran to help.
You took another step backwards, anxiety crushing your chest. You began to hyperventilate as you backed yourself into a corner, your hand clutching your necklace like a lifeline. You closed your eyes, willing yourself not to cry.
“Y/N? Y/N!” Spencer’s voice sounded far away, barely audible above the wind. You felt him grab your shoulders and your eyes shot open, holding barely contained tears. “We need to move, can you do that?”
You felt yourself nod and you let Spencer steer you, following Mr Howell deeper into the barn and into a corner.
Spencer set you down on the floor before kneeling next to you. He kept a hand on your shoulder as he looked up at Mr Howell, who was moving to crouch next to you. “Are we safe here?”
“As can be. Safer than being out there anyway.”
“Don’t you have a bunker or something?”
“Yeah, but I’ll take my chances here. We wouldn’t make it, you saw how close it was!” Mr Howell’s voice had raised to be heard over the weather outside.
You flinched as you heard the barn doors rattling. You whimpered when you heard debris falling on the roof of the barn and you drew in on yourself when the wind whistled through the cracks of the barn walls. A sharp gust of wind moved some of Mr Howell’s tools and some of the hay on the floor flew in the air around you. The wooden structure of the barn groaned and shook, prompting the hand that wasn’t around your necklace to reach out for Spencer.
“It’s alright,” soothed Spencer, holding your hand tightly in his, his own hand trembling, “You know, statistically, most times, tornadoes only last a few minutes and only 1% of tornadoes are above 165 mph. Here in Tornado Alley, they happen because of cold air from the Pacific and over Rockies meet warm air from Gulf of Mexico and pressure is created to form tornadoes-”
A loud bang sounded and you barely suppressed a whimper. “Spencer, please, that’s not helping.”
Spencer winced as you squeezed his hand particularly tight as a shutter was ripped from the barn, the whistling even louder. “Right, um,” He looked at you, brow furrowed, “Your necklace, it has your birthday constellation on it, right? Well, most of the constellation names we know came from the ancient Middle Eastern, Greek, and Roman cultures. They identified clusters of stars as gods, goddesses, animals, and objects of their stories. And you have birthstones too. Did you know that according to scholars, the tradition of month specific birthstones began in Poland?”
An unearthly sound came from the barn around them, the walls wobbled violent, moving in the extreme winds around them.
You huddled into Spencer more and he wrapped his arms around you. Had you been focusing on him, you would have felt him shaking as much as you were.
“I know your birth stone. The other one, I figure must belong to someone special to you, possibly the person who got you that necklace. That’s topaz, right? The birth stone for November?”
You looked up at Reid, your expression half in fear for your current surroundings, half in admiration for him, his knowledge and the fact he was trying to distract you despite being afraid himself. “You know?”
“How could I not?” He smiled kindly. “I see the way he looks at you. I’m happy for you both and when this is over, I’m going to tell him how happy I am for you both. You deserve one another.”
“Spence-”
A large groan sounded before a snap, as loud as a gunshot echoed around you. You heard a long creaking sound before a large bang, then everything went silent.
Hotch’s SUV skidded on the dirt track that led to Mr Howell’s home. He drove fast, over debris, fallen branches and cracked tiles. He came to a halt next to the SUV that you and Reid had taken and promptly got out of the car.
Hotch eyed the SUV, moving quickly to check to see if you were in there, grateful to see you weren’t once he saw the cracked windscreen.
“That looks like the bunker there.” said Emily, pointing to a white door a few metres away from Mr Howell’s porch, the door a stark contrast to the almost orange dusty ground around them.
They navigated their way around broken tiles, a shutter door and splintered wood. Morgan got to the door first and pulled a branch off of the door. As he bent down and opened the door, Hotch held his breath.
“Y/N? Spencer?”
No reply sounded, prompting Morgan to descend the steps to take a closer look, his hand on his weapon holster as a precaution.
“They could be in the house.” said Emily gently, reading Hotch’s silent distress through the way his shoulders were. His thumb and forefinger were tapping together, another tell tale sign he was anxious.
Hotch nodded. He looked at the house, some tiles had fallen from the roof and a window had cracked, but all in all, it looked stable. “Alright.”
They looked back at the shelter to see Morgan emerge, shaking his head. “They aren’t there. I don’t think they had time to get there.”
“The house looks okay, we’re looking there next.” said Emily, sharing a worried glance with Morgan. Both of their eyes fell onto their normally stoic leader, waves of anxiety radiating from him.
“Sounds good.” agreed Morgan.
The three traipsed towards the house and once they reached the door, they knocked and waited for a moment before Morgan got impatient and broke the door down with a shoulder. They entered the home cautiously.
“Spencer!” called Emily, moving towards the stairs and going up, “Y/N!” She disappeared, leaving the men alone.
Morgan, stood to the right of the Unit Chief, regarding him with a concerned look. “Hotch, you okay?”
“We need to find them.” said Hotch, almost robotically. Almost. He moved to the left of Morgan, disappearing towards the living room.
If anyone had only just started working with Hotch, they would have called his demeanour professional, focused, driven even. However, Morgan had known Hotch for a long time. The man seemed almost shellshocked, he could see the worry and the stress in the way he carried himself and while anyone would argue that Hotch cared deeply for his team, because he did, Morgan couldn’t help but feel this was different.
“Guys!”
Morgan’s gaze shot to the stairs that Emily was descending. She had a pained and urgent expression on her face.
“What? What is it?” questioned Hotch, moving quickly over to her.
“Outside.”
The men followed Emily outside and around to the back of the house.
Morgan’s heart sunk. “Oh no.”
Hotch took off, running towards the pile of rubble where a barn had once stood.
“You… you don’t think-” began Emily, her eyes had a misty sheen to them.
“No time to think, Em.” said Morgan, his voice shaken. He pulled at her wrist and they both fell into a run, running after Hotch.
They reached the barn to see Hotch pulling at wooden beams and shifting them. “Y/N!” He moved another one, tossing it to the side with a grunt. “Reid!”
“Call for an ambulance, then call Rossi, then get your ass over there so you can help.” Morgan squeezed Emily’s arm before jogging over to Hotch.
The two worked together, moving wooden planks, tiles, shutter doors and as every piece of debris was moved with no sight of you or Reid, Hotch was beginning to lose his grip on his emotions.
Morgan reached over, brow sweaty with exertion. “We’ll find them, Hotch.”
“I should’ve been quicker.” Hotch wiped his eyes under the guise of wiping his brow. “I should’ve been here.”
“Hotch-”
“Shut up.” commanded Hotch sternly, holding a hand up.
Morgan frowned and opened his mouth to argue back when he heard what Hotch heard. “It came from there!” he said, pointing to what would have been the corner of the barn.
Morgan and Hotch rushed over towards a muffled voice. As they came closer to it, they could hear it was Reid.
“Spencer?!”
They heard a shuffle. “Guys? Morgan, is that you?”
“Yeah!” cried Morgan, relief evident in his voice. “Hang tight, we need to move some stuff!”
“You got them?” asked Emily, running over, the phone pressed to her ear.
“Yeah,” answered Morgan, following Hotch’s lead and moving planks. “Hey kid, is Y/N in there with you?”
“Yeah, I think she’s hurt.”
The men moved planks, grunting and panting and just as the ambulance they had requested began driving down the dirt path that they had earlier, the small hole they had created revealed a pale Spencer.
Morgan reached forward to pull another plank. “Alright Reid, we’ve got you.”
Hotch moved closer and pulled at the planks, revealing more of Spencer and his heart came close to bursting when he saw Y/N curled into the lithe doctor’s side. “Y/N?”
At your lack of response, Hotch moved faster, tearing down the shelter around you at a frenzied pace. As the barn had collapsed, once of the support beams had fallen against a bale of hay and as the wood and tiles fell on top, it had created a little safety pocket, protecting the three of you against the elements, but effectively trapping you beneath the rest of the barn.
Morgan began pulling at the wood and tiles just as ferociously as Hotch, tossing them carelessly over his shoulder.
As the EMTs were rushing towards you, Hotch and Morgan had managed to create a hole big enough for you all to get out.
Able to move unaided, Mr Howell crawled out first, covered in oil, hay and dust.
Sensing Hotch was about to jump into the hole to get to you, he grabbed his arm and pulled him back before lowering himself down. “Hey kid.” greeting Morgan, running his eyes over Reid’s shaking frame. “You okay?”
“Well, this experience hasn’t helped my fear of the dark.”
Morgan chuckled. “You hurt?”
Reid shook his head. “No, I’m okay.”
Morgan ruffled Reid’s unruly curls. “You okay to get out? Hotch is up there to give you a hand.”
Reid looked up and felt a sense of calm wash over him as the Unit Chief peered down at him. “Hotch!” The resident genius’ voice cracked as the reality of almost being buried alive hit him.
“It’s alright, Reid, come on.” beckoned Hotch, bending down to offer the doctor his hand.
Sniffing, Reid took it as Morgan all but scooped you up into his arms. With a groan, Reid was half pulled as he climbed out of their makeshift shelter. With the momentum, he wrapped his arms around Hotch tight. “Thank you.”
Hotch quickly returned the hug, before holding Reid at arm’s length, running eyes over him to check for injuries. “Go to the EMTs, alright? Emily should be there.”
Reid nodded, his normally pale features marred with dust and God knows what else. “Hotch, Y/N, she’ll be alright.” He affirmed, whether it was for Hotch’s sake or his own, he didn’t know.
Hotch frowned, searching Reid’s face. His eyes widened for a moment when he found what he was looking for. He nodded and gave Reid a squeeze, unable to voice what he wanted to say.
Reid left, leaving Hotch to focus on you. “Is she okay?”
“She’s breathing, if that’s what you’re asking.” said Morgan, “I’ll pass her out to you, you rea-” Morgan’s voice cut off suddenly, causing a spike of fear to course through Hotch.
“Morgan?!”
“Hey baby girl, you with me?” sounded Morgan’s voice, it was quiet and Hotch had to strain to hear it.
“Morgan?”
And like magic, solace washed over Hotch like a tsunami at the sound of your voice. It was muffled and a little slurred, but it was yours and it was the most beautiful thing that Hotch had heard.
“Y/N?” called Hotch.
Morgan watch as your eyes lit up in recognition as you registered who was calling for you. And like that, the mystery was solved, a knowing smile graced his features as he watched you look up.
“Aaron?”
“Y/N, I’m here.” Hotch reached down, his hands just out of reach of yours. “Come on, Sweetheart.”
Morgan placed his hands on your waist. “I’m sorry if this hurts, pretty girl.” he said gently, before lifting you.
A gasp escaped your lips as pain shot through you, but you fought through it and reached for Hotch. His hands caught you beneath your armpits and he hauled you out of the hole. Rather than letting your feet touch the floor, Hotch manipulated you in his arms so he was holding you bridal style.
He felt a wave of nausea wash over him when he saw a lump the size of an egg and a cut on your forehead. “Is that the only place you’re hurt?”
“Um… not sure.” Your head lolled before coming to rest on Hotch’s shoulder.
“Well, hang on for me, okay? Don’t go to sleep. The EMTs need to check you out.” Hotch heard a grunt and a creak where Morgan had jumped and pulled himself out of the hole.
They quickly delivered you to the waiting EMTs, and despite not wanting to let you go, Hotch left you in their capable hands.
He paced next to the ambulance, his thumb and forefinger rubbing together as he waited. He felt eyes on him and when he turned around, he saw Reid watching him. “What happened?” asked Hotch, not sure he wanted to know.
“We interviewed Mr Howell in his barn, when we tried to leave the tornado was pretty much on top of us, we didn't notice anything before we went in. He pulled us in and I pulled Y/N into the corner. She was scared, Hotch.” Upon seeing Hotch’s nod, he continued. “I distracted her, we spoke about her necklace and the fact that I noticed it had topaz on it. That’s your birth stone, isn’t it?”
Hotch stopped pacing. “Reid.”
“No, it’s okay!” Reid raised his hands in a placating gesture, “I’m happy for you both. You deserve each other – I told Y/N that, too. She was happy to hear it. I get the impression she was worried about us knowing.”
Hotch ran a hand through his raven locks. “Yeah, Strauss can be difficult at the best of times. I can’t imagine what she’d do if she found out.”
Reid frowned, the injustice of the system and the she-devil they worked for hurting him. He took a step forward and for the second time that day, he threw his arms around Hotch. “We would never tell her, Hotch. You’re family. After everything you’ve been through, you deserve to be happy.”
Hotch felt a bubble of emotion in his chest, one that had been threatening to escape all day, rise. “Thanks, Spencer.”
“Agent Hotchner?”
Hotch pulled away from Spencer and turned to face the EMT that called his name. “Yeah, is Y/N okay?”
“She’ll be okay. She definitely has a concussion and we’ve closed her head wound. Just keep an eye on her, any sickness, prolonged headache or loss of consciousness, take her to a doctor.”
“Thank you.”
The EMT nodded and stepped away, allowing Hotch and you privacy.
You sat on the gurney, legs swinging over the side. A dressing had been applied to the cut on your wound and you were holding an ice pack to it. Feeling a familiar set of dark eyes on you, you turned to face them with a smile. “Hey, you.”
Hotch smiled at your greeting. “Hey, yourself.” He climbed into the back of the ambulance and moved to stand in between your legs. He covered your hand holding the ice pack with his and pressed a kiss to the corner of your mouth. “You alright?”
“I will be when we get out of tornado country.” You deadpanned, “I’m glad you found us.” You whispered.
Mindful of your injury, Hotch pressed a kiss to your forehead. “Always. I’m sorry I wasn’t there quicker.”
You frowned. “If I know you, Aaron Hotchner, I have a feeling that you were here before you should have been.” At Hotch’s slight raise of his eyebrow, coupled with a small smirk, you chuckled. “Therefore, your apology is unwarranted. Honestly, what idiot drives through a tornado?”
“This one does.” retorted Hotch, pressing a chaste kiss to your lips. “I knew you needed me.”
You sat in silence for a moment, almost as if you were conversing with your eyes. Adoration, relief and love messages being passed between you.
“I’d do it again.” whispered Hotch, his lips pressed against yours as he spoke. “I love you, Y/N. I couldn’t imagine you not being here.”
“I love you too, Aaron.”
“You might have the concussion, baby girl, but if I have to watch anymore of this I’ll be sick.”
Your eyes shot open in surprise as Hotch let out a defeated sigh.
“Morgan…” warned Hotch, turning to see the rest of the team looking in the ambulance at you.
“I don’t know, it’s kind of cute.” smiled JJ.
Emily nodded and quickly pulled out her phone to snap a picture of them. “Pen is going to lose her mind.”
“Guys, knock it off.” You said, rolling your eyes.
“You should have seen him, Y/N. He was so determined to drive through the storm to get to you.” teased Rossi, “What was it you said when the police officer told you you couldn’t go?”
“Fuck protocol, I heard him.” said Emily, mirth glittering her eyes.
You turned to look at Hotch with an eyebrow raised, you smiled when you saw the light blush that had settled on his cheeks. You pressed a kiss to his brow, prompting ‘awws’ from JJ, Emily and Reid, while Morgan wolf whistled.
“You’re crazy.” You whispered.
Hotch shrugged. “Only for you.”