THIRTY FOUR

unedited


also idk if i've use this gif before but i also don't ~care~



THIRTY FOUR. A PLACE TO STAY


"ARE YOU GONNA BE OKAY TONIGHT?" Spencer asked as he packed his shoulder bag. He was wearing his glasses due to his fatigue, and his curls fell into his eyes as he looked up at Daisy. After the news that Foyet had escaped, the team had been kicked off their pedestal, leaving them all more exhausted than usual. "Do you want to stay at mine?"


"I'll be fine," Daisy managed a smile, hiding her shaking hands. She wasn't really planning on going home just yet; she didn't feel comfortable there at the moment, not with Harry possibly watching her. 


Spencer didn't believe her, and he reached into his drawer, pulling out a new file. He slid it over to her desk and swallowed nervously. "I, uh, got Garcia to find anything she could on Harrison."


"You told her?" Daisy's eyes widened a fraction and her voice lowered into a harsh whisper. "Spencer, why did you-"


"Emily knows, too," he muttered, and she gripped her pen so hard it snapped. She swore as ink splattered over her fingers and onto her paperwork. She jumped up, causing her bad arm to swing and hit her chest. Spencer rushed forward to help her, but she backed away, forcing the heat behind her eyes to go away. "Daisy, I couldn't keep quiet about this, not after what he did to you."


Daisy let him gather some tissues and clean her workspace. He took her messy hand in his and wiped the black ink away, leaving a significant stain on her skin. Daisy sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. "What if it's nothing?"


"What if it isn't?" Spencer was quick to retort, tossing the tissue in the direction of the bin and missing. He pulled a face, but shifted his attention back to his friend. There was hardly anyone left in the BAU besides Hotch and a few other agents, as the others had called it a night. "You're not in any state to be fighting this guy off by yourself."


Daisy went to protest, but at the constant shooting pains in her arm, she kept quiet. 


Spencer took a step back, but his hand still hovered on her good arm. "Are you sure you're gonna be okay?"


Daisy nodded. Her eyes flickered down to the file, and she struggled to maintain her upturned lips. "Did Penelope find much?"


Spencer hesitated, before he picked up the file and put it in his bag. "We can talk about that in the morning, alright?" 


"Is it bad?" Daisy asked, her brows furrowing in concern. Spencer shook his head quicker than she'd like to admit, and he stepped around her to pick up the tissue that missed the bin. "Spencer-"


"Don't worry," he assured her, though he wasn't really the best at doing that kind of thing, unless it was with a victim he didn't know all too well. He looked up at Hotch's office, seeing the silhouette of their boss. It wasn't unusual that he stayed later than everyone else, and now that he knew Foyet wasn't in custody, he'd probably be there until the sun came up. "Just...please call me when you get home, and when you wake up, and when you leave, and-"


"Bye, Spencer," Daisy gave him a light shove towards the door, and he reluctantly walked out, but not without more worried remarks. She waved as he went through the glass doors, and shakily exhaled once he was out of sight. 


★☆


"Alvarez?" Hotch leaned against the doorframe of his office half an hour later, looking down at the bullpen where Daisy was busying herself with all the paperwork she could find. One arm in a sling seemed to only be fuelling her determination to do something, and she was working harder than she had in a long time. "What're you still doing here?"


"I'm, uh," her pen paused in midair, and she glanced up to meet her boss's eyes. His expression bordered on worried, though he was mostly confused. She wasn't the type to stay late unless she had something important to do. They both knew this, yet she forced a smile, trying to ignore the nerves that bubbled in her stomach. "I'm not ready to go home yet. You?"


Hotch managed to smile back. He walked further out of his office and leaned against the small rail that separated the bullpen from the upper walkway. He'd removed his blazer, his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He needed to sleep, but it was unlikely at this point.  "Me neither. But you should be getting as much rest as you can."


"I'll go when you go," Daisy's eyes fell back to her paperwork, proceeding to scribble information relevant to the case she was finishing up. Hotch's gaze lingered on her for a few seconds, and he cleared his throat to get her attention once more. Daisy quirked an eyebrow, catching the gesture. "Yes?"


"Something's wrong," he said softly, but she still managed to catch it. They were the last two left in the BAU, the only other sounds being the soft whirring of the air conditioner. At his words, she paused for the slightest of seconds, then continued her writing. 


Hotch noticed how her shoulders tensed a little; how she tried to pretend like she didn't hear him. He'd seen her change in behaviour since they'd left for Boston, but he hadn't had time to start the conversation with her. He exhaled and walked down the steps, crossing the bullpen. Once he reached her desk, he leaned against it, crossing his arms over his chest. Daisy's eyes didn't stray from her work.


"Alvarez," it was only when he put his hand on her shoulder did she stop and give him the attention that he wanted. Dropping her pen, she made a point to turn in her chair and stare at him. She looked so...sad. There was clearly a lot on her mind, but she didn't have many outlets. He was willing too be one. He desperately wanted to reach out and touch her face, but he held back.  "What's going on with you?"


Daisy wasn't sure what to say. With the current events that were going on, she (understandably) wasn't full of sunshine and rainbows. She shrugged one shoulder, then pointed at the other one. She attempted to revert to her usual joking tone, though the energy was missing. "I mean, I did get shot in the arm."


Hotch clearly wasn't convinced. He was in close proximity, but he still felt so far away. Was he the only one who was plagued with this sensation? Probably. "You know that's not what I mean."


Daisy pursed her lips, feeling the churning feeling in her stomach return. She thought about what Spencer had said. She couldn't handle this all herself, that was a fact. It wouldn't hurt to tell the people that could help her, right?


Hotch tilted his head, his brows knitted in thought. He recalled the question he'd wanted to ask for the past few days. It was a good distraction from his thoughts of Foyet. "Why did you call me the other night?"


Daisy scoffed quietly and shook her head. "It's nothing."


"You can tell me," he gently insisted, noticing how her fingers were scratching at the skin of her neck. "I know it's important; I've seen Prentiss and Reid keeping an eye on you."


Daisy ran a hand through her hair, hesitantly giving in. She opened her desk drawer and pulled out the letter and patch, tossing them on her tabletop for Hotch to see. She averted her eyes as he looked over the items, his expression quickly hardening. "Hotch-"


"How did you get this?" he asked, his voice sharp. It was a sudden, yet expected change in tone. Daisy felt goosebumps rise on the back of her neck, guilt soaking through her body. The man could be damn intimidating when he wanted to be.


She didn't want to look at him. "It was in my postbox."


"Without an address on the envelope?" Hotch couldn't seem to stop rereading the contents of the letter. It was only a line, yet he'd been staring at it for what felt like years. Daisy nodded silently. He scrunched the top half of the bag holding the patch in his hand, feeling nothing but pure anger. He stood up straight, and reached into his pocket for his phone. "Does anyone else know about this?"


"Spencer," she muttered. "He told Emily and Penelope. She gave Spencer a file, but he didn't want me to read it just yet."


Hotch nodded once, before punching in a number and holding the mobile up to his ear. "Garcia, do you have a copy of the file you gave Reid? About Liberty Ranch?"


There was a soft murmur from the other line as Garcia spoke, probably half-asleep seeing as it was nearly midnight. Daisy struggled to figure out what to do with her hands, her entire body feeling hot with shame. This whole chaos probably wasn't that big a deal, and now she'd burdened Hotch with it. She felt awful. 


"Alright, thank you," he muttered, before hanging up and turning back towards his office. He didn't look back, stomping up the steps and entering the small room above the pen. "Alvarez, you're staying with me tonight."


"What?" Daisy spluttered, blinking a few times in surprise. She spun in her chair and watched Hotch through the blinds of his office as he cleaned up and grabbed his things. Her voice raised a little so that the could hear her, though it was strained from the intense stress she was feeling. "That's really not necessary-"


"Don't bother arguing," he cut her off as he shut his door and walked back over, picking up her go-bag and coat without hesitation. He hung them over his shoulder so that he still had his hands free to clean up. There was no changing his mind, but Daisy was more than willing to make a case for herself. She opened her mouth to do just that, but he held his hand up to silence her. "What did I just say?"


Daisy's eyes narrowed into a glare, her jaw slacking a little. She'd so far lost her privacy and her sanity; she'd be damned if she lost her pride too. "You're not the boss of me."


"Right now, I am," he retorted, picking up all her files and putting them to one side. Daisy protested and started sorting them out to her liking. "I'm not letting you out of my sight until we find this man. He's not going to get his filthy hands on you ever again if I can help it."


Daisy closed her eyes for a moment and realised that there was absolutely no chance she was going to win this one. She had to ask herself, what was so bad about having coworkers that cared about her? What was so annoying about being offered refuge when she couldn't go back to her own apartment?


Hotch put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed. "Daisy, I know what you're thinking."


Daisy didn't reply. 


Hotch then moved to grab her hand, helping her to her feet. He took her coat and hung it over her shoulders, doing up the first button so it didn't fall off. Before he could stop himself, he leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "You're not burdening anyone, alright?"


Daisy subconsciously leaned in, and she sighed softly. "But I feel like-"


"I'm blocking out everything you say from now on," Hotch muttered, taking her hand once more and leading her out of the BAU. She groaned, continuing to make comments, but Hotch was now completely ignoring her. 


One night with Hotch. Where they were both sober. 


How bad could it be?


★☆


(   ͡° ͜ʖ   ͡°)


stinky stonk bonk bonk bonk


guess what!!! i FINALLY got five stars on my animal crossing island!!!!!! holy shit!!!!!!!!!


also if anyone has spare peaches or apples/fish/bugs I have jackshit cause the southern hemisphere doesn't have much this time of year :( happy to trade for bells!!!!!!!!!!!!


okay anyway now that that's over with


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