XXXV

From the backseat of the vehicle I could hear Reid telling Morgan to wait for backup. As I strapped on my kevlar vest I leaned forward in my seat in order to try and hear his response. When I couldn't hear anything, I leaned back and sighed, watching Reid's flat expression contort into something reminiscent of anger. He hung up the phone aggressively, tossing the phone on his lap before running his fingers through his hair and letting out a heavy sigh.


"What's happening?" I asked, even though I didn't really need a response. It was obvious Morgan's hotheadedness had taken over; his ability to be the hero clouding his judgement. I understood where he was coming from; we all did. However, right now we also knew that running into the line of fire alone wasn't necessarily the smartest of moves.


JJ pressed her foot on the gas, telling Reid to turn on the sirens. The second they sounded off the cars in front of us pulled away, giving us room to speed through the busy intersection with ease. As she drove, JJ tapped her fingers against the top of the steering wheel, her eyes still focused on the road as she made a quick right turn and continued on her way.


After JJ informed us we needed to leave she filled us in on what the rest of the team had found out inside the prison. As suspected, Ian Holt was the main source of communication between Tammy and Regan, abusing his power in order to help the girls with their plot. According to him, he and Tammy were in love; a statement that caused me to roll my eyes. In exchange of being their main line of communication, Tammy offered Holt companionship, despite claiming to be in love with Leeman.


I glanced out the window, watching the various houses fly through my vision. The speed at which we were moving caused my stomach to contort uncomfortably. I closed my eyes and leaned back, resting my head against the seat as I took a couple of deep breaths.


"You okay?" Reid turned around in his chair, reaching out to rest his hand on my knee as he gave me a concerned look.


I swallowed hard and nodded, feeling Reid quickly tighten his grip before pulling away again and facing forward.


Not long after, we arrived at the Leeman household. In the driveway sat a couple of unfamiliar cars, along with Morgan's SUV which was parked half way into the road. JJ sighed at the sight and pulled up behind it, immediately dashing out with her gun at the ready.


Reid and I opened our doors immediately after, quietly piling out as we readied our guns and moved towards the door. With each step we took I felt the excitement slowly fade, realizing the potential danger I was in. I hadn't been on the field in a while and my experience storming houses wasn't nearly as vast as the rest of the team's, so suddenly I wasn't so sure of myself.


When we made it to the front door, Reid and I raised our guns, leaning against each side of the door as we gave each other a nod and he entered first. I followed closely behind him, taking a deep breath as I scanned the left side of the room before moving onward.


"Clear," Reid said, glancing in my direction.


I nodded back at him, repeating the call before both of us moved into the kitchen.


"Tammy drop the knife." JJ stated sternly. As we rounded the corner I bit my lip, watching as Tammy gripped the weapon tightly to Morgan's neck.


His eyes darted towards Reid and I, his pleading expression becoming more pronounced with each passing second.


"I'm not gonna say it again, drop the knife."


Tammy laughed and tightened her grip. "I'm not gonna do that, blondie. This asshole ruined everything." She licked her lips and glanced down at Morgan who kept his eyes forward.


"He's not who you're after Tammy. He didn't do anything." JJ's voice was calm as she spoke. Carefully she took a slow step forward, watching as Tammy narrowed her eyes and shook her head. At that point JJ stopped moving, her eyes quickly darting to Reid and I who shared a look of concern.


We stood there for what felt like hours, watching Morgan struggle under the grasp of the sharpened knife against his throat. At this point I knew we had to act fast, with each passing moment she was growing impatient, which meant Morgan's life was on the line.


"Tammy?"


She raised her brow at me, pulling Morgan closer to her torso. "What?"


I moved my hands above my head, licking my lips nervously as I took a small step forward and held my breath. "You remember me, right?"


She rolled her eyes in response. "Of course, I'm not a fucking idiot."


I let out an uncomfortable laugh, shaking my head as I bit the inside of my cheek. "I don't know, you don't seem very bright." As I spoke I made sure she was looking at my hands as I slowly moved them to my side to holster my gun.


"Fuck you, you don't know me!"


I raised my hands again, narrowing my eyes in her direction as I took another step forward. "I do actually. You're an egotistical bitch who believes men are scum and deserve to die. You spent your entire childhood alone without a proper father figure and despite spending the entirety of your life searching for someone to fill that void you know deep down you'll never find it." I cocked my brow, holding back a small smirk as I watched her face contort in anger. "I also know that when Leeman found out your were pregnant he wanted nothing to do with you."


At that point she was visibly irritated. Her grip around Morgan was loosening, while the digits around the knife began to grow shakier with each passing second. It was obvious she was going to make a run for me. The way she glared in my direction was a clear indication that she wanted me to be her next target.


"You think I don't know you, but I know everything about you, Tammy. I know that you manipulated your brother into helping you kill Leeman and that you had Ian Holt help you with contacting Regan. I also know th-"


Without missing a beat she released her grip on Morgan and lunged forward. Before she got anywhere though, he was already grabbing her and twisting her wrist roughly. She cried out in pain and dropped the knife, continuing to struggle as she clawed at the air in front of her. Angrily, Morgan swore under his breath and threw her down, pressing his knee against the base of her back as he put her in a set of cuffs.


When she was finally contained I let out a heavy breath, closing my eyes as I threw back my head and rested my hands on my hips. Despite the stress of the situation I felt weirdly calm.


Reid stepped in front of me not long after, placing his hands on either side of my face. I opened my eyes and stared at him curiously, watching as he furrowed his brows and frowned. "Don't do that."


"Do what?" I asked.


"Scare me like that." He pulled me into his chest, wrapping his hands around my face as he planted a long kiss against the top of my head. I had to laugh at his sudden overbearing nature as I returned the hug and nuzzled my face into his chest.


"Now's definitely not the time to be snuggling up to each other." Both Reid and I turned to face Morgan who was rubbing his neck with one hand and gripping Tammy's arm with the other. He gave us an annoyed look, shaking his head as he groaned and walked towards the door.


JJ followed closely behind him, flashing us a quick smirk as she holstered her gun.


I rolled my eyes and pulled away, feeling Reid's grip loosen as he cleared his throat uncomfortably and glanced over at Morgan. "I told him not to go alone."


"I know." I nodded and gave him a light pat on the back before letting out a heavy sigh and following his gaze. As smart as Morgan was sometimes he could be a real idiot.


When we finally stepped out of the house, a set of police cruisers pulled up alongside the road. With a sigh, I shoved my hands into the pockets of my slacks, watching curiously as Garrelson and another officer exited their vehicle. In unison, they wandered over to Morgan, taking Tammy from his grasp without a single word. Morgan gave them a small head nod as he continued to rub his neck.


I turned to Reid as we made our way down the driveway, bumping his hip with mine. "Hey, serious question."


"Hm?" He raised his brow in my direction.


"On a scale of one to ten how hot did I look negotiating?" I flashed him a small smirk, watching as his face turned red. When he didn't answer I wiggled my brows, giving him a couple of suggestive elbow nudges as we continued our way to the SUVs.


"Ten," he eventually mumbled, averting his gaze.


I cupped my hand over my ear, leaning into his shoulder obnoxiously. "What was that? I'm sorry, but could you speak up?"


He rolled his eyes and quickened his pace, moving to meet JJ and Morgan who stood next to the vehicles, talking amongst themselves. When I caught up to the rest of them, I nudged him again. "You're lucky I heard you the first time," I replied sassily.


Reid gave me unimpressed look before turning his attention to Morgan. "Where's Leeman's wife?"


"At work," Morgan replied. "I got Garcia to call her on my way over to see if she was at the house. Thankfully she wasn't, because I guess Tammy was planning on some sort of surprise attack or something." He rolled his eyes as he spoke, cocking his head to the side with a groan.


"She really did a number on your neck," I pointed out.


"Yeah." He turned to face me, flashing that same annoyed look from earlier. At this point I figured he was probably still pissed at me for being right. Morgan had a habit of occasionally letting his petty side take over.


I stared back at him grumpily, furrowing my brow as we made eye contact. Most of the time I found it pretty easy to brush away his attitude when it surfaced, but for some reason this time was different. It was obvious there was some sort of tension I wasn't aware of.


"Back to the station, I suppose?" I questioned curiously.


JJ nodded her head, while Reid merely stood there silently, his eyes darted between Morgan and me.


"You should probably get that looked at," I pointed to Morgan's throat, giving him a cautious stare. While I didn't necessarily want to piss him off anymore I still wanted to get to the bottom of things.


He let out a heavy sigh and nodded his head before brushing past the rest of us. As he did, I followed closely behind him. When he heard me walking he stopped and turned around, giving me a subtle eye roll before continuing on his way.


"What's up with you today?" I asked. I picked up my pace and moved to his side, watching as he kept staring forward, barely acknowledging my presence. When he didn't respond, I frowned. He was definitely mad at me.


We continued walking in silence towards the end of the driveway; the tension between the two of us thickening with every step. When we finally made it to the medic he let out a heavy sigh and sat on the backing of the vehicle, giving me a tired look as one of the EMTs started asking questions. I stood alongside him and crossed my arms, watching as he got looked after. Him and the EMT exchanged a couple of words; the two of them working together to get a proper diagnosis on his neck. When it was confirmed that the injury was nothing more than just a couple of muscle strains, Morgan thanked the man, giving him a light clap on the back before standing up.


"Are you okay?" I raised my brow in his direction.


"I'm fine," he grumbled. When he started walking back to our original position I let out a sigh and started following him again. While his attitude was somewhat annoying, his lack of communication was definitely worse.


"Yeah okay, broody boy."


He scoffed at my comment, shaking his head as he held back a smile.


At that point I knew I'd gotten to him so instead of letting him continue his angry charade I stepped in front of him, placing my palms against his toned chest. When my hands made contact he looked at me confused, glancing down at his torso for a couple of seconds before looking back at my face. "Why are you so angry all of a sudden?" I asked.


"I'm not angry."


I gave him look that screamed yeah right as I moved my hands away from his chest. "And I'm the president of the United fucking States," I retorted jokingly.


The smile he was holding back grew wider, causing him to look away in hopes I wouldn't notice. When I did, I pointed to his face, narrowing my eyes mischievously. "Gotcha."


He grabbed my finger and threw it aside as he rolled his eyes. "Stop that."


"Stop what?"


"Being annoying."


I fake gasped and slapped his arm. "I am not annoying."


"You are, actually."


"Fine, I'm annoying. Care to tell me why?"


For what felt like the hundredth time in the last five minutes, he rolled his eyes again. "Okay, well, for starters the attitude you had at the station was a little bit uncalled for," he responded.


"You had an attitude too."


"I know, but I'm not the one who's here as a consultant."


I suddenly frowned, feeling hurt. While I partially knew how right he was, I couldn't help, but still feel betrayed somehow. Morgan knew how much this job meant to me and how seriously I took it. I wasn't there to just mess around or have fun, like it seemed like he was insinuating. I was there to make a difference; to help people, just like him.


The other part of me could sympathize though. After everything that happened between the bureau and I, it only made sense why Morgan was wary. My sudden presence on the case was probably kind of a shock, considering how things ended, and most likely caused a lot of confusion. Second chances were pretty unheard of, especially with Strauss at the helm.


When I didn't respond right away, Morgan sighed and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me into his side. "Look Isla, I know you miss this, but sometimes things happen for a reason."


"Are you saying I'm not meant to be here?" I retorted. I tried not to sound angry. Deep inside I wanted to understand where he was coming from, but obviously my voice didn't extend to match my thoughts.


"Maybe. I don't know."


I shrugged away his arm and let out an aggravated sigh before moving forward. As confused and frustrated as I was, at this point I just wanted to get away from him. Thankfully, he understood, because when I started walking he didn't follow. When I made it back to the vehicles I asked JJ for her keys. Without a word she tossed them over, flashing me an apologetic smile as I brushed past her and Reid and hopped in the driver's seat. When the door was shut I closed my eyes, leaning my head against the backing of the seat as I let out a small groan and tried to collect my thoughts.


I couldn't shake the feeling that maybe Morgan was right. In the end, I was the reason I was no longer on the team. I was the one that chose to leave. Sure, Reid played a key part in what had happened, but ultimately the end result was my decision. Maybe I really wasn't meant to come back. As happy as the idea made me I suddenly felt slightly uncomfortable. It was obvious to me that both Reid and Hotch were prepared to take me on again, but what about the rest of the team? Did they even want me to come back?


Reid hopped in the passenger's seat, his eyes laced with concern as he reached across the centre console to grab my hand. As he did, I pulled it away from him, blankly staring at his face, which immediately looked sad. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt his feelings, but at the same time I wasn't in the mood for affection. What I really wanted was some sleep.


I bit my lip and looked away, feeling somehow guilty. "Sorry, I, uh, just..." I wasn't sure what to say at that point so I just opted to remain silent after that. Thankfully, just like JJ, he didn't ask about it.


"It's okay." He smiled warmly as he pulled on his seatbelt. After it clicked he adjusted himself in his seat, his eyes remaining on me as I turned on the SUV.


I gave him a thankful smile and reached to grab his knee. Quickly, I gave it a squeeze before retracted my hand and placing it on top of the steering wheel. "I love you, dummy."


He glanced down at his lap and chuckled. "I love you, too." 

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