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FORTY. THE INTERROGATION, PART ONE

"HOW COMFORTABLE ARE YOU WITH BEING PRESENT DURING THE INTERROGATION?" Rossi lightly touched Daisy's shoulder as she sat with JJ in the P.D conference room. She had changed out of her torn dress and into an FBI jacket and sweatpants, now a little more secure presenting herself to the officers wandering around the precinct. 

"Let me guess, he's not gonna talk to anyone else?" Daisy looked up at the older man with exhausted eyes. She hadn't slept for over twenty four hours now, and she knew it would be a while before she could finally hit the hay. She'd gone over every single gruelling detail for post-case reports and been given every single kind of advice from medical professionals, yet the night still wasn't over. 

Rossi's lips pressed together in a sympathetic smile and nodded once. Daisy sighed softly and let him pull her to her feet. JJ stood up as well, crossing her arms skeptically. "Are we sure that's the wisest decision?"

"Not at all," Rossi responded without missing a beat. He led the two women to the interrogation room, both he and JJ keeping an eye on their coworker. Spencer and Morgan stood in the small office on the unseen side of the one-way glass, while Emily and Hotch were inside executing a good-cop-bad-cop routine. Harrison was clearly not going to break, his eyes only revealing amusement as Hotch smacked his hands against the steel table and shouted in his face. 

Derek turned around at the sound of the door opening and he walked over to the trio, instinctively looking over Daisy's injuries. Now that the blood had been cleaned up, she didn't look so bad, but there was no excusing the bruising and unhealed arm. She remained in great pain every time she moved, but it was crucial she was present. "You don't have to do this."

"I don't have a choice," brushing past him, Daisy patted her pockets to ensure she had her badge and phone. She stepped up to the door and looked back at her coworkers. All of them shared the same worry, though Spencer was slightly distracted, concentrating on Harrison's body language. "So, how am I playing this?"

"Submissive," Spencer brows furrowed as Harrison adjusted himself in his seat. The doctor briefly glanced at Daisy as he spoke, straightening up a little. He walked over and reached for the back of her head, taking out her loose bun so that her dark locks fell into loose curls around her shoulders (she and JJ had washed her hair in the locker room so that she wasn't waiting for hours with dried blood in her scalp). He then pulled down the sleeves of her jacket and adjusted her sling. "He's not going to tell you anything if you act like the alpha. Ask him questions instead of demanding, and let him speak without interruptions. We already have his confession from your phone call a few days ago, but we need to see if there's anything else we don't know about."

Daisy nodded and swallowed her anxiety, before she reached for the doorknob and twisted, revealing herself to the three people in the smaller room. They all looked up at the sound of her entrance, and immediately they all reacted differently. Harrison perked up instantly, a smile creeping onto his face and his shoulders rolling back to appear more presentable. 

Emily seemed a little surprised, though she didn't let it slip. 

Hotch looked like he wanted to grab her and pull her back out of the room. 

Daisy looked between her two colleagues with a polite smile. "Can Harrison and I have the room, please?"

"Absolutely not-" Hotch began, but was cut off by Emily raising her hand. 

"Hotch," she warned softly. Hotch's jaw clenched and without another word, he stormed out and slammed the door behind him. Emily rose from her chair and left it out for Daisy to sit down, following the unit chief outside. 

Daisy lowered herself onto the cold seat, her heart racing as she once again found herself in the company of the man who had brought her so much pain. Out of habit, she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and slid the file on the tabletop in front of her, looking up to meet his eyes. They were just as deadly as they had been when they first met. "Hello, Harrison."

"C'mon Agent Alvarez," the fluorescent lights reflected off of his teeth as his smile broadened. "It's Harry. We know each other well enough, don't you think?"

"You know a lot about me," she replied, making sure she didn't raise her voice or change her tone. She averted her eyes to the file, which she opened and pretended to read through. The loss of eye contact made Harrison's ego grow a little more. "But I don't know much about you, Harry."

"Atta girl. Well, I grew up in La Plata County and left after Ben blew up the church," he said, leaning forward a little. Daisy looked up once more, unintimidated by his actions. It wasn't in her nature to act submissive, especially towards criminals who were getting on her nerves. "After that, I knew you were the only thing that would ever make me happy."

"I'm sorry, but I can't make you happy," she shook her head slightly, her finger brushing against the corner of the manila folder. She wanted nothing more than to yell at him and hurt him the way he'd hurt her, but she had to remain calm and composed. She could do that. 

"Yes, you can!" Harrison would have grabbed her if he wasn't cuffed to the table. Daisy didn't react to his outburst, instead continuing to watch him. "You and I can still have the life I planned, Daisy Alvarez."

"I thought you didn't want me any more?" Daisy inquired, leaving Harrison to narrow his eyes in confusion. She relaxed her shoulders as she reminded him of his own harsh words. "You told me I was an adulterer, that I was a sinner. How could you still love someone like me?"

"You are...burdened," he explained, his breathing heavy enough for her to hear. He was completely delusional, though she already knew that. He genuinely thought they were connected; meant for each other. "I can show you to the light, I will show you to the light."

"And how are you going to do that?" Daisy pressed on, maintaining a false passiveness that made him think he was in control. "I know you've been practising on those other women."

His eyes glinted. "I did it for you."

"I know you did," she lowered her voice, reaching out and lightly touching his hand. Before he could react, she pulled away once more. It made her sick to her stomach to be stuck with him again, but it was her job. "How many were there before you perfected your method?"

Harrison curled his index finger to urge her to come closer. Daisy hesitated, before leaning in so he could whisper in her ear. "Thirty-two."

Daisy's heart dropped to her toes. She swallowed and sat back down, holding her hand behind her back and miming the number to the others on the other side of the window. "Wow. That's...impressive, Harry."

Harrison brightened at her compliment. "You think so? I knew you'd be pleased with me. And they were all just like you."

"I noticed that," she smiled, glancing down at the file and picking out the pictures of the known eight victims. Her stomach was churning and her legs felt like jelly, but she didn't break. "They look like me, don't they?"

"Not just that," he hummed, shaking his head. Daisy quirked an eyebrow. "They were all just...like...you."

He went silent, staring at her with a twisted adoration. Daisy thought on his words for a moment, and stood up slowly. Harrison's eyes widened in concern. She managed a reassuring expression and held up her hand. "Don't worry, I'll be back. In the meantime, can I get you anything? Water? Something to eat?"

"Get me some Butterfingers!" he sent her a sickly grin, lacing his hands together as he watched her walk back towards the door. With the knowledge that she'd be back, he wasn't so worried about a loss of dominance."Thanks, baby!"

Once the door was shut, Daisy leaned against it and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and tried to compose herself, though all she wanted to do was vomit. Her head pounded so loud she could barely hear her own thoughts, but she had to snap out of it as soon as possible. 

"Everything okay?" Emily reached out and touched the woman's arm. Her worry increased when she didn't get a response. 

Forcing a quick nod, Daisy reached into her pocket and grabbed her phone, dialling Penelope's number. She held the device up to her ear and listening to the line ring. 

"Daisy?! Oh my God-"

"Penelope, I need you to see if the victims had family members with physical disabilities," Daisy said quickly, cutting the analyst off. The team around her exchanged glances, intrigued by the demand. 

"One second," Penelope tapped away at her keyboard. "Gosh, you've hit the nail on the head, Little Miss Sunshine. Of the eight victims, six had a relative with a form of paralysis. And...wow...three of those relatives died in the days before the abductions. They all committed suicide."

"The first murder," Daisy sorted through the file and found the profile of the woman and her body. "There was a window of two weeks between that and the Liberty Church explosion?"

"Correct again!"

Daisy hummed softly, ignoring the team behind her. Spencer had appeared at her side, now starting to follow along. "Penelope, what's the first thing that comes up when you google my name?"

"An article about..." she trailed off. "Beatrice Alvarez, the victim who led law enforcement to the Virginia State Stalker."

Daisy looked up at Spencer. "Did they find anything in Harrison's van?" 

"Three handguns and eight different I.D cards," he replied, taking her phone from her so he could speak into it. "Garcia, were these relatives in care facilities?"

"The remaining three were," Penelope replied. "However, Madison Ginstop, Cam Liston and Lucy Worth lived at home with their families."

"He wouldn't have been able to get past the reception without suspicion, and each patient would have a nurse constantly checking on them," Daisy noted. "What method of suicide is written in the report?"

"Overdose on opioids." 

"It's not uncommon for patients with spinal injuries to use opioids as a form of relief, particularly in cases of chronic pain syndrome," Spencer explained. 

"Beanie was given morphine for the first few months," Daisy muttered. "But she came off it once all of her surgeries had finished. It would have been accessible in all of the homes, and if the victims weren't tetraplegic..."

"Two were paraplegic," Penelope confirmed. "Cameron and Lucy had access to wheelchairs, while Madison was paralysed from the neck down. Her death was ruled as suspicious, but because her sister was the only family she had, they couldn't pin it on anyone else."

"He probably assumed that she lived with me since I'm her last living relative," Daisy said, remembering the article written about Morton's death. "But when he found out she was in a care home, he crept around but never found a way in. He couldn't kill her beforehand, so he didn't have the extra leverage when he confronted me."

"He said that he's killed thirty-two people," Hotch finally piped up, his tone still stiff and irritated. "The eight we know of and the three family members...that's only eleven."

Daisy lifted her head to look through the window, seeing Harrison watching the door, awaiting her return. She exhaled, trying to figure out her next move. Then she turned around, reaching out to Derek. "Come on, lover-boy. It looks like we're not done with our charade just yet."

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Hotch stepped forward, but Daisy wasn't having any of it. 

"So what should we do then, Hotch?" she snapped, catching him off guard. She had been quite hostile since they left the club, and wasn't prepared to tolerate any more of his bullshit. "I'm all ears. But right now, keeping him thinking Morgan and I are romantically involved can make him more vulnerable. I can bargain with him, and we might be able to get the names and locations of the other twenty one victims."

"She's right," Rossi chimed in, while the others hummed in agreement. 

The unit chief hesitated while Daisy stared at him coldly. She resisted the urge to poke him in the chest as she backed away, knowing it was probably an immature move. "Keep your personal feelings out of this case, Hotch."

His jaw tightened. "Fine. But we will be having a conversation once this is all over, do you understand me?"

Daisy didn't answer as she pulled Derek back into the interrogation room. The team fell silent, until Spencer glanced back at Hotch with a confused expression. 

"What does she mean by personal feelings?"

★☆

me? avoiding writing fluff and domestic shit? i have no idea what ur talking about!! 

!!! can't believe we hit 110k??? what the fawk??????

also ugh okay so about the smut (again)

i've decided that I'm going to do a steamy make out session and then end the chapter once the dick comes out  cause i don't really feel comfortable putting dick in my story 

BUT there will be lots of smooching and touchy feely so we're a bit more balanced and it caters to those who don't feel comfortable with a sex scene !! but!! hopefully it'll still be hot!!!! i've just decided i'm personally not comfortable with writing a full on sex scene (but also let it be known that i would still love to have sexual relations to several members of the cm cast) and that's that on that! pls lmk what ur thoughts are but be kind xoxo