WITH THE NEW YEAR CAME A WHOLE NEW SCHEDULE. Instead of the BAU, Katharine and Spencer were spending the day at Georgetown University giving guest speeches and even holding their own lectures. While Spencer talked about criminal profiling, Katharine gave detail about actually being in the field and providing video of the team in the field.

Thanks to Garcia, she actually had an entire twenty-minute reel of the team apprehending various unsubs. Each clip was different, whether it was her teammates talking the bad guys down or even herself fighting with a particularly strong-willed unsub, every minute was carefully picked and curated by the technical genius herself.

Somehow she had managed to get a clip of her taking down a team of HYDRA agents, which Katharine figured was thanks to Nina.

At midday, Katharine found herself with a free hour while Spencer was stuck giving a lecture to a roomful of mainly women. She had laughed and wished him good luck before leaving him with a kiss. She'd wait in the library while he lectured, saying that she'd meet up with him before their last joint class of the day.

What she didn't expect was for their joint class to turn into a hands-on experience. Thirty-minutes into sitting in the library and pursuing through the stock, a man had barricaded the front door of the library and proclaimed that he rigged the building to explode.

Of course, Katharine thought bitterly. The one day they didn't have a case, one just happened to pop straight into her life.

So, as she sat against the countertop trying to get a college student to stop crying, her mind couldn't help but wonder what she had done to deserve to die. The worst thing she'd done in life was fake her own death, but even then that was only half true.

There was a theory that if an unsub's psychosis was far enough along, they could resist her ability so long as they truly believed what they were doing was right. Usually, the FBI showing up was enough to provide a little guilt which allowed ehr to manipulate their wills, but this time... something was different.

She'd managed to text Spencer an update on the situation when the unsub went to scope out the other floors. He'd told them that the bombs were motion-activated, so if anyone tried to leave, they'd all go off.

Katharine hoped no one would try to enter the building before they were deactivated. She really didn't feel like dying again today.

"Oh, my God," one of the students whimpered. "We're actually going to die. This psycho is going to kill us."

"Calm down," Katharine was quick to provide damage control. "No one's going to die. I'm an FBI agent." She took out her credentials to show the students surrounding her. Once it seemed like they were calming down, she tucked the badge back into her pocket. "We'll be fine. I texted my husband and I'm sure he's gone to get the rest of our team by now."

"Well your husband better hurry up," another student said. "This guy is insane. What does he even want?"

Katharine shrugged, putting a finger to her lips as she heard footsteps approach them. The unsub rounded the corner with two students at gunpoint. He motioned for them to sit against the wall, keeping his gun out in front of him.

"You phones," he demanded, his tone very monotone despite the obvious anger behind the words. Katharine drew her device along with the rest of the students, sliding it to the unsub's feet. He bent over, eye on them carefully as he picked up one of them. He turned it on, frowning at the screen.

"Passcode!"

"Zero-nine-five-two," replied the trembling voice of a teenager sitting not too far from Katharine. He had shaggy brown hair that reminded her of Spencers, though his eyes were brown and he was a bit smaller than her husband. His lip trembled in fear as the unsub unlocked his device, scrolling through it a bit before discarding it.

When he turned his head, that's when Katharine saw it. Hidden just under the black beanie was a hearing aid, which explained the monotone voice and why she couldn't order him to let them go.

She let out a shaky breath, sending a prayer that Spencer and the rest of the team would get there soon. The unsub picked up another phone just as the blue and red flashing lights appeared behind him, illuminating the room.

He turned around before throwing the device at a wall in a rage, wheeling around with his gun out in front of him.

"Who called the cops?" he demanded angrily, pointing his gun at each of them. By some stroke of bad luck, he pointed the weapon directly at Katharine. There was a deadly look in his eye as he wheeled on her, scowling as he approached. "You."

Katharine swallowed harshly, gently pushing the student she was consoling away from her body.

"Me."

WHEN SPENCER GOT THE TEXT FROM KATHARINE, his first instinct was to drop everything and call Hotch. Despite being in the middle of a lecture, he figured that there were more important things in life than providing those students an education, seeing as more than half of them were only auditing the class. 

He read her text again. Even with an eidetic memory, he found himself forgetting what the words said out of pure fear.

Bomber in library, entrances rigged.

And then she wrote nothing else. Spencer quickly dismissed the class before getting on the phone with Hotch. The older man assured Spencer that they'd be there soon, telling him to get in contact with the staff.

What didn't make sense, however, was why Katharine hadn't already talked the situation down. She had the ability to persuade anybody to do anything she wanted. Why hadn't she dealt with the situation already?

Spencer's mind immediately jumped to the worst-case scenario. She'd been killed, or otherwise injured. Images of Katharine dead and bleeding flashed through his mind, memories from when Erika Manning had shot her all those months ago surfacing into the forefront of his mind.

He didn't think he'd be able to handle seeing Katharine hurt again. There was so much blood... he didn't think she'd ever wake up from that. Knowing that she did made him feel a little better, knowing she'd survived death twice was a comforting thought.

When Hotch and the rest of the team arrived, Spencer was quick in letting them know what he knew. There was a bomber in the library and based on the video surveillance, everyone had been brought into the lobby. There was no sign of Katharine, which was either a really good or a really bad sign.

They also couldn't approach the building as the doorways were rigged, per Katharine's text, which explained why no one was trying to make a break for it while they were left unsupervised.

"It's weird," Morgan spoke up, watching the video feed over Garcia's shoulder. "Where's the library staff? Aren't there usually non-student personnel working as well? And don't professors have offices in the building?"

Garcia pulled up another screen. "It seems that no non-student personnel were on duty and most of the professors were out for lunch. There are two professors in the surprisingly small crowd of students, Dr. Chris Hughes and Professor Linda McElroy."

"The unsub definitely knew this schedule," Prentiss said. "He knew he needed the least amount of people to be inside so he could control the crowd easier."

"But I don't think he expected an FBI agent to be in their midst," JJ pointed out. "He's separated Katharine from the rest of the group."

"Do you have visuals on Katharine?" Hotch asked, hand already on his weapon.

Garcia shook her head, flipping through the different security cameras. "Sir, I think he dragged her into a bathroom. That's the only place they don't have cameras."

Spencer stepped away from the situation. Due to the fact that it was Katharine inside, he had been asked to step back along with Morgan. He played with the bottom of his Kevlar vest as Morgan looked at the building angrily.

It put Spencer's nerves at ease to know that Katharine was most likely alive, seeing as there were no reported gunshots as of yet. He watched as the unsub came back into view without Katharine, his gun pointed at the crowd.

He seemed to say something to one of the students before they got up. The boy moved toward the front door while the unsub messed with a solid black device in his hand. The unsub nodded at the boy and then they were leaving the building a moment later with his hands up.

Rossi ran to meet the boy, rushing him back toward the tent behind the barricade of black SUVs.

"Is there a Dr. Spencer Reid here?" the boy asked shakily. Spencer immediately perked up, moving through the mass of agents to come forward.

"That's me," he said, worry painted across his features.

"Uh," the boy looked around, almost as if he were scared of the words he'd say next. He licked his lips before reconnecting his eyes with Spencer's. "He said that she deserved everything she got."

Spencer's blood ran cold and everything went numb as Rossi pulled the boy away, most likely to question him about what was happening inside the building. She deserved everything she got...

There was no doubt in his mind that Katharine was hurt now. Thoughts of her current state of being rampaged through his mind, wreaking havoc on his nerves.

"Hotch," he said desperately, pushing past JJ. "You gotta let me work this case with you guys. If something else happened to her... I can't lose her."

"Reid," Hotch looked around before settling his gaze on the genius in front of him. "I'm sorry, but you're too close to the situation. We're already on thin ice because we're her friends. We can't risk the situation being handed over to another team. I'm sorry, but you and Morgan are going to have to stay out of this one."

KATHARINE REALLY HATED HERSELF. As she laid on the bathroom floor, handcuffed to the bottom of a stall, she wondered why she hadn't tried to fight against this unsub. The voice at the back of her head told her it was because underneath the fact that they wanted to blow up the library with everyone inside, she still had several other lives to worry about.

If this had been a HYDRA operative, she would have fought back with no problem. HYDRA agents usually didn't blow up buildings unless given the word. However, the unsub wasn't HYDRA and had no qualms with blowing the library up without any orders. One slip up and they'd all be on a one-way trip six-feet under.

So as she laid on the bathroom floor, she couldn't help but think herself worthless. After all, what good was an ex-spy, current government agent that couldn't even talk themselves out of a dangerous situation?

To make matters worse, she had decided to forego the metal bands that she affectionately nicknamed Bert and Ernie. They were sitting in her bedside drawer, having the most relaxing vacation of their life.

She ran a hand through her hair, sighing as she tried to think of ways to get out of the restraints. She could try dislocating her wrist, though it had been a long time since she'd last done that.

Katharine swore when she couldn't find a bobby pin buried in her hair. It seemed the universe had aligned perfectly so that every instance of bad luck would fall on her today. She got up as far as she could, crouching on the balls of her feet as she tried to force yourself to think.

This wasn't the first time she'd been in a situation like this and if Natasha were here, she would have been yelling at Katharine for forgetting all her training. The FBI made you soft, she could almost hear her say.

Katharine mocked Natasha though she wasn't here and wiped under her nose, pulling her hand back to see the blood that now stained her hand.

"Great," she huffed, wiping her hand on the side of her jeans. There was another outfit ruined. She looked down at the cuffs, tugging at them slightly to see if they had any leeway.

They jangled slightly but otherwise remained unstretched, returning to their previous state. She exhaled deeply, looking around to see if there was anything around her that could help.

Katharine scoured the floor, almost letting out a sound of excitement as she spotted a bobby pin roughly six feet away. She tried to reach for it, straining the handcuffs before realizing she wouldn't be able to reach it that way.

She turned so that she was sitting, facing the bobby pin, and scooted down until she was far enough out. With her foot, she stepped on the pin before dragging it in closer, grinning when it came to her easily. She pulled it apart, making a face before biting off the plastic end of the pin. She bent the metal end forward before sticking it into the keyhole, jiggling it around a bit before she felt the pressure release from around her wrist.

She sighed in relief, tossing the bobby pin before sitting against the bathroom wall, hiding her hand and the cuffs behind her back.

Katharine heard muffled footsteps approach before the door swung open. She tried her best to look worn down, putting her acting skills to use. She looked up lazily, squinting up at the unsub.

"Tell them that I will release the students if they promise not to shoot." He handed her the phone, which she accepted. "But Dr. Chris Hughes stays."

Hesitantly, Katharine put the phone to her ear.

"Hello?" she said tentatively, unsure of who was on the other side.

"Katharine?" she heard Hotch's voice filter in through the speaker. She had never been happier to hear her boss's voice.

"Hotch," she said in relief. "He says he'll release the students as long as Dr. Chris Hughes stays in the building." She felt the cold muzzle of a gun press to her forehead, her eyes widening as the safety clicked off. She looked up at him, eyes wide. "Please don't shoot."

She watched as the unsub twitched slightly, showing her that his resolve was breaking. He reached up to his ear, most likely turning up his hearing aid.

"What do you want?" Katharine took the chance. "Besides Dr. Chris Hughes. Do you want a--a helicopter? A car? If you negotiate you can get out--"

"Shut up!" he raised his voice at her, pushing the gun further into her head. She gulped, nodding slightly.

"I-I want..." the unsub pulled out the detonator with his other hand, pressing a few buttons on the device. "I want you to come with me."

Katharine's eyes widened as he put the detonator away and drew the keys to the handcuffs. She had totally forgotten that she had been handcuffed just moment's prior. If he found out she got out, there was no telling what he'd do. She dropped the phone, Hotch's voice falling away from her ear as the unsub got distracted and the gun fell away from her ear.

She grabbed the unsub's hand, flinching as the weapon went off.

Katharine managed to wrestle the gun from his grasp and pistol-whipped the guy over the head, scrambling away as he fell like a log. She handcuffed him to the stall before digging through his pockets for the detonator, heart dropping into her stomach as she saw the thirty-minute countdown.

She looked at the passed out unsub with disbelief, realizing he knew she had managed to get out of the cuffs. She took the keys from him as well, shoving them into her pocket before picking the phone back up.

"Hotch!" she said frantically. "The unsub's knocked out but there's a timer on the detonator. This place is going up in thirty minutes."

"Are you hurt?"

Katharine shook her head though he couldn't see her. "No. The unsub fired a shot but hit nothing."

"Can you disarm the bomb?"

"The one thing I couldn't do in the Academy was disarm a bomb," she admitted. "Nina always did that for me."

"Okay," it was silent for a moment. "Let's worry about getting the civilians out first. The unsub said the doors were activated but said nothing about the windows."

"Are you sure?" Katharine asked. If they were wrong about that, they would be dead in an instant.

"Yes."

That was the only answer she needed. Katharine emerged from the bathroom to face roughly thirty students and two staff members. She leaned over and grabbed a chair, throwing it at the nearest window. When it cracked, she heaved the wooden chair back up, throwing it at the window twice more before it finally broke. The glass flew everywhere, Katharine covering her face as it rained down on her.

Immediately the building's alarms started going off. She winced at the sudden sound, gently brushing the bits of glass off before waving the group of people over.

"Everyone," she called, pulling off her jacket and laying it down on the window sill. "Through the window."

Instantly, everyone rushed to grab their devices off the floor before running for the window and climbing out. The student she had been comforting, Amanda, thanked her with a hug before climbing through herself.

She raised the phone to her ear. "That's everyone."

"What about you?" she heard her boss ask. Katharine looked over her shoulder, remembering the unsub in the bathroom.

"The unsub," she said, moving away from the window and back toward the bathroom.

She shoved the gun into the back of her waistband, pulling the handcuff key out before unlocking the cuffs. She threw one of the unsub's arms over her shoulders before dragging him out.

They didn't get really far before an explosion rocked the building, the power going out at Katharine lost her balance. The unsub was still unconscious, which made Katharine panic.

"I think he's got a partner," Katharine said into the phone. She struggled to stand again, still feeling weak from when the man she was carrying smacked her around.

"You need to get out of there," Hotch ordered.

Katharine pulled the unsub up, continuing her stumble toward the broken window as another explosion shook the building.

"I can't leave this guy here!" she said. He might have been a bad person but Katharine wasn't. There was no way she was leaving this guy to die. She coughed as the fumes from the explosion caught up to her. It must have been closer than she thought.

She pulled her shirt over her nose as another explosion rocked the building, sounding much closer than the previous two.

Finally, she made it to the window. Katharine heaved the man over the window sill, using all her energy to get him up and out of the building. She climbed through herself as another explosion rocked the building. She could see a figure running toward her as she heaved the unsub back up.

Katharine coughed as she dragged the man closer to the line of black SUVs, nearly collapsing once the unsub had been taken from her. Her ears were ringing from the explosions still, the adrenaline from the situation wearing off as she faintly saw another man get wrestled to the ground.

She watched as a device fell from his hands, Hotch stepping on it a moment later. She laid on the concrete as she coughed up what seemed to be a lung, the smoke inhalation getting to her.

And then, everything went black.

KATHARINE DECIDED THAT THE ONLY REASON WHY SHE CAME BACK TO LIFE THOSE PAST TWO TIMES WAS BECAUSE THE HOSPITAL SMELT SO STRONGLY OF BLEACH THAT THE SCENT ALONE BROUGHT HER BACK TO THE LAND OF THE LIVING.

She wasn't lying either. The first thing she noticed when she woke back up was the strong scent of hospital and cleaning supplies. She swore up and down that a person would wake up from a faint but just smelling it.

The second thing she noticed was her husband folded up uncomfortably in a hospital chair next to her bed. His hand was holding hers as his hair fell into his face. She reached over to brush the hair out of his face, smiling softly as he stirred from his slumber.

"Hey," she rasped out, her throat feeling like hell. She figured smoke inhalation wasn't good for anyone.

Spencer blinked the sleepiness out of his eyes. "You're awake," he observed, still waking up. "How do you feel?"

Katharine shrugged. She pointed at her throat, not wanting to speak anymore. Spencer stood from his seat and stretched before reaching over and pouring her a cup of water.

She shakily accepted it, wincing at the pain in her shoulder. Had she somehow managed to dislocate it? It wasn't in a sling so she figured it was fine.

"You scared me," he mumbled, running his thumb over her cheekbone. "When you just collapsed onto the pavement in front of us, I thought you were dead."

Katharine laughed, wincing yet again as her throat scraped against itself. She took another sip of water, relaxing as the liquid soothed her throat.

"It'd take a lot more than a beating and a little smoke for you to get rid of me," she joked, finishing the water. Spencer took the cup and refilled it before handing it back to her. "How long was I out for?"

"Twelve hours," he said. "We thought you only fainted, so when you didn't wake up after a few seconds we got really concerned and rushed you to the hospital."

Twelve hours meant that it was around two in the morning. Had Spencer really stayed in the hospital that long? She would have thought Hotch or even JJ would have forced him home.

She looked over at him, concern written across her features. "Why didn't you go home?"

"I didn't want you to wake up alone," he admitted. "Derek was going to come around seven if you were still out so I could go home to shower and get you a change of clothes."

Katharine looked at him with adoration in her eyes. She observed his face, reaching out to caress his jaw.

"I love you," she said, brushing her thumb along his bottom lip. He pressed his hand against hers, turning his head so that he could press a kiss to the inside of her palm.

"I love you too," he replied, lips stretched into a content smile. "I love you too."