Criminal Minds One Shots

Nightmares (Hotch x Reader)

Warnings: Kidnapping, violence

A/N: Second part coming soon!

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"M-my team..." You mumbled drowsily as the man paced back and forth nervously in front of you.

"Your team," he shouted. "isn't coming!" He ran a hand through his hair as he quickened his pace.

Your thoughts were starting to go places you had been trying so hard to avoid, but you were too weak to control it anymore. Where the hell are they?! You thought. Do they even know I'm gone?

You were furious with yourself for letting this happen. Your vision started going sideways, and yet again, you fell out of consciousness.

For the past week, you and the team had been working tirelessly to catch an unsub in the metro Detroit area. You had been up for 36 hours straight and still hadn't caught the slightest break. The profile was still too generic to get any major leads, and with no progress, Hotch had sent you back to the hospital to get some shut eye.

It had all happened in the blink of an eye; you reached out to open the driver's side door of the SUV. All you can remember was the reflection of a tall man in the car window, a sharp shock in your lower back, and the ground speeding towards you as you crumbled to the pavement.

You had no way of telling how much time had passed since the man had taken you. All you knew was that you had blacked out for the fourth time.

You woke up to a sharp stinging pain. Your head knocked to the side as the second blow followed.

"Wake up! I said wake up!" The man screamed. The man. You had no idea what his name was; that could only mean the team wasn't very close to finding your captor.

"What do you want?" You asked, your words slurred. You were slumped on the floor, your hands chained above you. You could feel blood caked to your forehead and pain radiated throughout your body.

"Shut up." He spat angrily as he started yanking off your chains.

"W-what are you doing?" You asked, terror obvious in your voice.

"I said, shut. Up!" The man yelled as he pulled you to your feet. You cried out in pain, but the man clamped a hand over your mouth to muffle you. You weren't sure if it was the sound of your pounding headache, but you could've sworn you heard a faint creaking coming from above. Before you could process what was going on, you were being dragged to the corner. You felt a sharp, cold object pressing against your jaw.

"Make a sound," your captor whispered angrily. "and you'll never get to see your team again." He shifted the knife so it grazed your neck, not enough to cut, but just enough to let you know it was there.

"Ralph Tucker!" A familiar voice warned from just outside the rusty metal door.

"Hotch..." You muttered weakly. Suddenly, the door flung open.

"Drop the knife, Tucker!" Morgan commanded. He rushed into the room, followed by Hotch and Emily. Derek yanked Tucker away from you and slapped some handcuffs on him. Hotch helped you up, but as soon as you were on your feet, the world started to spin and your vision went black.

You woke up to the sound of a steady beeping.

"(Y/N)?" Aaron asked as he shifted in his seat. His voice sounded sleepy and his hair was disheveled.

"Where... what happened?" You wondered.

"You blacked out after we found you..." Hotch answered. He looked at you with glossy, tired eyes and you could've sworn you saw a hint of guilt shimmering back at you.

You nodded and tried to sit up, only to be met with a wall of pain and a throbbing headache.

"You need to rest, (Y/N)." Aaron sighed and looked at down at his hands. "And I don't want you coming in to work for at least a month." His tone was soft and caring; he wasn't talking to you as your boss, but as someone who was deeply concerned about a loved one.

"A month? Hotch, that's ridiculous. I'm fine." You argued.

"You're not fine, (Y/N). You've been through a trauma, you need time. I'm not going to argue with you about this. My decision's final." You shook your head, but before you could say anything else, you were drifting off to sleep.

"(Y/N), I need to see you in my office." Hotch called before slipping back behind his door. You followed him inside.

"The case file you gave me was incomplete." He said, his voice monotone.

"What? I handed you everything I had-" You started, but Hotch interrupted you.

"But that's not why I wanted to talk to you." Aaron broke his professional facade and motioned for you to take a seat. You looked at him, confused, as you sat down. "I want to know how you're doing." His voice was light and careful.

"I'm fine." You said, perhaps a bit too passionately.

"No you're not. You should know better than to lie to a profiler, (Y/N)." Hotch said with a slight smile. You sighed and bit your lip, knowing that if you talked about it, you wouldn't be able to hold up the strong demeanor you had been showing your team.

"I, um... I can't sleep, Hotch." You admitted quietly. You looked down at the ground, hoping that your boss wouldn't notice the tears in your eyes.

"(Y/N)..." Hotch sighed. He looked at you, worry filling his gaze.

"I keep having these nightmares..." you continued, your voice beginning to fill with anger. "I keep dreaming that something happens to me, and none of you even notice. I spent four days with him, Hotch. Four entire days before you came. You have no idea what it was like!" You spat. Your eyes widened in shock. You had no clue where all that came from. You looked up at Aaron. For a split second, you thought you saw a hurt look on his face. You opened your mouth to say something, but you couldn't find any words. You rushed out of his office, tears streaming down your face as you grabbed your jacket and rushed out of the building.