You were sitting on your couch with a hot cup of tea in your hand, when the doorbell rang. You felt your hands start to shake and you quietly placed your cup down before tip toeing to the window. You pulled a little corner of the curtain to the side and saw a woman with long black hair and a tall well built man standing at the door. You slowly lowered the curtain and unlocked the door. "H-hello?" "Are you Sydney?" The man asked and you nodded your head. "My name is Special Agent Derek Morgan and this is Special Agent Emily Prentiss. May we come in?" You looked them both up and down but your eyes froze on the gun resting on his hip. "Umm may I ask what for?" He took off his sunglasses and looked at you softly. "You witnessed a murder the other night and we would like to talk to you about it, if that's alright." You looked up into his eyes and felt your heart skip a beat. "Um yeah, sure. You opened the door wider and let them both in before closing the door and leading them into the living room. "Can I get you anything to drink?" "No thank you. You have a lovely home. Do you mind if I look around?" "Thank you ma'am. And I don't mind at all if you think it'll help with the investigation." She smiled and walked over to the dining room. "Can you walk me through what happened that night?" You sighed and took a sip of your tea. "I was walking home from work and I took a short cut through the park because I wanted to get home quicker." You took another sip of tea and took a deep breath. "We can stop if you need to." You looked and him and offered a small smile. "I'm okay. I was halfway through the park, when I heard arguing. I walked over to see what was going on and I saw two guys yelling at each other. And the next thing I know, one of them pulled a gun and shot the other man. I took a step back and I guess he heard me because he turned around and I ran. When I got home I called the cops." You took a deep breath and he placed his hand on your knee. "I know this is hard, but you're doing great. Did you see him clear enough to get a good look?" You nodded your head. "Y-yeah and I even drew him for you." You got up and pulled your drawing pad out of your bag before walking back and sitting next to him. You opened the book to his face and tore the page out before handing it to him. "This is incredible. You drew this?" He asked while looking at the picture in awe. "Yeah I'm an artist. I work at the art gallery across the park and give lessons. I also drew some of the other tattoos that I could see on the side of the page. Will that help?" He looked between you and the drawing before settling on you. "This will definitely help. Thank you." You smiled and stood up. "Can I ask you something?" He looked at you expectantly. "Do you think he'll come after me now?" His gaze hardened and he stood up. "He might." You took in a deep breath and felt your hands start to shake. "Hey, hey, it's okay." He gently took your hands in his and began stroking the top with his thumb. "I won't let anything happen to you. One of us will be with you at all times now for your protection until we solve this, okay?" "Okay. Thank you so much." He smiled and tucked a piece of hair behind your ear. "Anytime." "Hey Morgan! Look at this." You both walked to where Emily was and saw that she was looking at a photo of you as a kid at the park. They both stared at it intently before looking at each other. "May I ask what's so interesting about that picture?" Derek picked up the picture and showed you. "Does anything look familiar?" You look closely and see nothing out of the ordinary. "I don't see anything." He points to a figure in the background and you gasp. It's the man with the gun from the park. You quickly look around at the other pictures and see him in almost every picture of you at the park. "Oh god... I think I'm gonna be sick." You run to the kitchen and pour a glass of water before downing it in one go. You placed your hands on the sink and place your weight on the counter. You heard footsteps come up behind you before you felt a hand on your shoulder. "Sydney, are you okay?" You took a few deep breaths before standing up and looking out the window above the sink. "Y-yeah. Just creeped out." You turned around and wrapped your arms around him. He froze and you were about to pull away when you felt his arms wrap around you. "I'm sorry this is probably really weird but I just needed a hug." He chuckled and rubbed your back. "It's okay." The shrill sound of Emily's phone broke through the house and you jumped a little before pulling away. "Hey Morgan, Hotch needs us. I'll be at the car." You heard Emily walk away and the sound of the door opening and closing was the only noise in the house. "I should go." "Yeah. I'll walk you out." You opened the door and he stepped out. "Thank for your time, Sydney. We'll send over an agent and a patrol car soon. Don't open the doors for anybody unless it's us." "Okay." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card. "Here's my number if you ever want to talk or grab coffee or something." You took the card and felt your face turn red. "I will have to take you up on that offer. I'll see you later, Derek." "You too, Sydney." You watched him get into the car and drive away before closing the door and making sure they were all locked before walking back to your chair, for the first time in days, with a small smile on your face.
