unedited

EIGHT. CHLOE KELCHER

CHLOE KELCHER WASN'T AT HER HOUSE, BUT THE CORPSE OF CORTLAND RYAN WAS. Daisy decided that she didn't need to see it, and instead hung back to figure out where their Unsub was headed next.

Their search led them to the home of Faye Landreaux, who fit the victimology perfectly. Daisy walked over to the red car in the driveway and placed her hand on the engine. The Sheriff followed closely behind. "That's it. Eighty-five Volkswagen. Chloe's here."

"The car's still warm," Daisy quietly jogged back, pulling at her FBI vest uncomfortably.

"We've got to be right behind her," Morgan mentioned.

Hotch looked up at the house. "Her windows are closed. That's a good sign."

"Well, my team's ready. Let's get in there," the Sheriff insisted.

"Sheriff, we didn't recover a gun at Chloe's house," Hotch said, his voice low. "We have to assume she's armed."

"Well, so are we."

"If you storm in now, she'll shoot," Daisy added. "And chances are she'll start with Faye Landreaux."

That shut the man up.

Morgan looked at their boss. "What do you think, Hotch?"

"I think you should look for an open window," Hotch replied. "Sheriff, I need you to bring all your vehicles around to the front, facing forward with the lights off, and I need a megaphone. Alvarez, come with me. We're gonna need that therapy license of yours."

Daisy perked up a little, and nodded quickly, following him, the Sheriff and Rossi while Morgan went around the back.

The rest of the team were at the front, preparing for whatever was going to happen next. Hotch grabbed the megaphone from one of the passing officers and began fiddling with it.

"Hotch, I don't think you can get through to her," Emily said, seeming rather unsure.

"No, but maybe Alvarez can," Hotch handed the megaphone over to the newest member, and Daisy hesitated before taking it.

"Profile's clear," Spencer spoke up. "You can't talk this woman down."

"No, but just to occupy her," Hotch muttered. "If we're right about the M.O, she's left a window open somewhere. Morgan will find a way in. We just need to buy him some time."

"Are you ready for this, Alvarez?" Emily placed a hand on Daisy's back, and she scoffed in response.

"I don't really have a choice, do I?"

Hotch pointed to the Sheriff. "Hit the lights."

A short siren went off, alerting Chloe Kelcher that they were present.

Daisy cleared her throat and pressed the button. "Chloe, this is the FBI. We know you're in there, and we know what you're trying to do. I know you think that finishing what Cortland started will bring you closer to him, but first you should know who he really was. I know you thought you were special, but the truth is, the same things he wrote to you, he wrote to many other women. I've read all the letters, multiple times."

She glanced over at Hotch and he nodded for her to continue.

Spencer nudged her shoulder and showed her some quotes from the letters between Chloe and Ryan. "They all read the same thing, Chloe. 'Without the flesh, there is only the soul. You don't need to touch me to feel the love I have for you. Does that sound familiar?"

Nothing happened, and Daisy felt her heart starting to pound. What if Faye was already dead? What if Morgan hadn't reached them?

Emily placed a hand on her shoulder. Daisy swallowed, before continuing. "Cortland wasn't who you thought he was. He was a narcissist. He wasn't capable of loving anyone but himself. He wrote to Carla Kettinger: ever since your visit I am crazed with thoughts of you. Already you have entered my dreams. Each time you appear to me I am embraced by a feeling of trust and belief, as if I've known you all my life. It's clear to me now that you are my fate. We are destined to be together. And when I am gone, that will not change. I will live on in you. In death, our union will be eternal. All appeals are lost. The guards celebrated my defeat by clearing out my cell. Possessions matter little to a condemned man, but I cannot leave this world without seeing your face one last time."

"Keep it going, Alvarez," Hotch muttered, though his eyes were still trained on the house.

Daisy nodded, trying to think of what to say on the spot. What would she say to a client in a toxic situation? "It isn't your fault that he made you feel these things. It isn't your fault that your baby died."

"No!" Chloe screamed from inside, just as Morgan ran through the front garden with Faye in his arms.

Daisy breathed a sigh of relief as she watched the almost-victim move into the care of the officers. She clicked the megaphone button once more. "It's over, Chloe. We have Faye. You have nowhere to go."

Crashes were heard from inside, then everything went quiet. Daisy gripped the tool in her hand ever so tightly. She looked back over at Hotch for his instruction.

"I think we Gott some tear gas, I'm assuming it's still good," the Sheriff stepped up.

Daisy glared at him. "Tear gas is far too extreme, Sheriff."

"We're not gonna need it," Hotch interrupted before things could get heated. "She doesn't have any place to go."

"Well, maybe she'll do us all a favour and put herself down," the Sheriff grumbled. Daisy resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"She's not gonna do that, either," she replied, quite frustrated. She didn't see why everything always had to end in more death. Chloe needed to face justice and serve time as a consequence for her unforgivable actions. She couldn't do that if she was dead.

"She's not done," Hotch said sullenly.

As if on cue, the front door opened, and a slim, dishevelled woman walked out with a gun in her right hand. Daisy stepped forward, her hand on her holster and the other around the speaker. "Chloe, drop the gun."

The woman kept walking forward.

Daisy didn't want to see her die. She clamped her hand around the megaphone once more. "Chloe, please, drop the gun. You don't want this."

"Damn it, lady, drop it!" the Sheriff yelled irritably, and Daisy gritted her teeth.

"Chloe!" she yelled as the woman raised her gun directly at her. The Sheriff didn't hesitate in firing, knocking her down in two shots.

Hotch groaned at the loud noise and covered his ears, clearly overwhelmed. He stumbled back, and Daisy didn't know if she should go and check on Chloe or stay with him.

Emily and the Sheriff moved forward, so she dropped the megaphone and rushed over to Hotch, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "Agent Hotchner?"

Rossi came up behind her and helped pull the man to his feet, but he was in so much pain he hardly noticed. He cried out and buried his head in Daisy's shoulder to support his head, and she fell back a little, but quickly regained her balance. She stared at Rossi with wide eyes as if to say 'what the hell do I do?!', but he just shrugged and rubbed comforting circles on Hotch's back.

A few moments passed, and Hotch started to stabilise. He grunted, swaying back and forth before finally lifting his head. He met Daisy's eyes, and his jaw slacked in surprise. "I thought you were-"

"Me," Rossi patted his shoulder. "Buy me dinner first, Hotch."

★☆

The next morning, Daisy gripped her energy drink like her life depended on it.

"Those are terrible for you," Derek snatched it from her, and she gasped loudly as he held it out of her reach. She jumped up to try and get it from him, but he just laughed in her face.

"It's sugar free!" she groaned, quickly giving up and hanging her head. She saw Hotch walking towards them, and she stood still, trying not to seem like a terrible employee, again.

"Anyone get directions back to the airstrip?" JJ asked hopefully as she joined them.

"Town's only got one road, we'll find it," Derek replied, taking a sip from Daisy's drink and pulling a face. "That's disgusting. It takes like candy."

"Then don't drink it," she retorted, taking it back and sticking her tongue out. "Besides, you have three cups of dirt a day, you don't get an opinion."

"Morgan doesn't like to follow directions," Emily tucked her hands in her pockets, referencing the airstrip comments. "You didn't know about that?"

"Yeah," Spencer snickered. "He likes to 'vibe it'."

Derek rolled his eyes and threw his keys at the genius. "Okay, smart ass. You drive."

"Sweet!"

JJ and Emily groaned. "Oh, great."

Daisy chuckled, lifting her free hand to shield her face from the sun. She then turned and saw Hotch in front of her. "Agent Hotchner."

"Please," he cleared his throat. "Call me Hotch."

Daisy smiled. "Hotch. No problem."

Her boss handed over a plate of homemade cookies he'd been given by Sela, the mother from before. "For the flight."

"Oh?" she tilted her head in confusion.

Rossi stepped up behind her. "You're not coming?"

Hotch shifted from foot to foot. "I, uh, think I'm gonna drive."

"It's over seven hours back to Quantico," Daisy wrapped her cardigan around herself. "Are you sure?"

"I really shouldn't be flying," Hotch muttered. He looked between them. "And thank you, by the way. For...taking care of me."

"It's not a problem, sir," Daisy replied.

"Hey, I've done the drive before," Rossi spoke up, tucking his hands in his pockets. "You'll see a lot of pretty country along the byways. You might consider...stretching it out a day or two."

"I'd offer my company, but I'm pretty sure we'd kill each other," Daisy muttered, though she quickly regretted it. By not having watched her mouth, she realised that she had put herself into a situation she probably wasn't wanted in.

Hotch looked at her. Was that...a smile threatening at his lips? Daisy told herself that she was just seeing things.

"Maybe that's not such a bad idea," Rossi gave his (unnecessary) input. He did, however, have a smile on his face, which only widened when the two agents stared at him in disbelief. He shrugged and opened the car door. "It's just a suggestion. If you're gonna be working together, you might as well not hate each other so damn much."

With that, he climbed inside and shut the door, poking his hand through the crack in the window to give a pathetic wave. Daisy resisted the scoff that rose in her throat. She watched as Spencer pulled the car out, and drove away without even considering whether she wanted to get in or not.

Hotch turned to her and scratched the back of his head. "Well...shall we get this over with?"

Daisy downed the rest of her energy drink, then sent him a tight-lipped smile.

"Good luck, Hotch. I'm a real pain in the ass."

★☆

ROAD TRIP!!! ROAD TRIP!!!! ROAD TRIP!!!!!

also the end of the episode!!!!!! thank fuCK but also good for me cause i updated like three times today?? very sexy of me can't lie

ALSO DAISY STOLE LINES IN THIS EPISODE AND I'M SORRY BUT IT'S IMPORTANT FOR HER RELATIONSHIPS WITH PEOPLE AND TO ESTABLISH HER CHARACTER SO THAT'S MY EXCUSE AND HER LINES DON'T TAKE AWAY FROM ANYONE ELSE'S STORYLINES IN TTHIS EPISODE SO ITS FINE RIGHT??

anyway

yes I reckon this is still gonna be a hotch fic

though I do ship daisy with a lot of the bau

mainly emily and kind of spencer

but lmk what your thoughts are!!