Hotch's Niece | Criminal Minds

Rose

I don't know why I woke up. Really, I have no idea. As soon as my eyes opened I listened for some noise, but there was nothing. I was thirsty, so blindly I stumbled into the guest bathroom for a drink, rubbing my eyes. 

When I came back, glass in hand, eyes bleary but open, I stop dead in my tracks. My half-asleep brain takes me a minute to process what I'm seeing, but when I do, the glass falls to the floor, shattering, and I scream. I dive for my phone and dial the first number on my speed dial. The line clicks on and before Derek can even say "Hello" I've whimpered a desperate "help" into the phone.

He doesn't say anything, but about four seconds later I hear what sounds like the slamming of a door, perhaps Derek's front door. 

Hotch runs into the room, panic on his face. He flicks on a light and immediately smacks a hand over his mouth to cover his own shout of shock. On the foot of my bed is a rose and bloody shredded... meat? of some kind. 

Hotch rushes past the bed to check on me. 

"Avery, Avery are you okay?" he asks. I force myself to look away from the blood and rose and look at him. I manage a nod, and then I think of something else.

"Jack. Is Jack okay?" I ask. Hotch nods. 

"I checked on him on the way to your room. He's okay." Hotch tells me. I nod absentmindedly. 

Hotch pulls me to his chest and I can't help it, I start to sob. I cry. But as I soak the front of Hotch's tshirt, I make a promise to myself. As soon as Derek gets here, no more tears. None. I just have to pull those feelings into a jar and keep them there until we catch this son of a bitch. I don't know how long it is, but it can't have been more than four or five minutes before I hear the lock click, the door creak open and then slam shut. I pull back from Hotch and wipe the tears from my eyes just as Morgan pounds into the room, panic written all over his face. 

"Avery, are you okay?" Those are the first words out of his mouth, and he's too focused on me and Hotch to even look at the bed. 

I nod, and I still haven't found my voice so I lift a slightly shaky hand and point. He looks down and sucks in a breath at all the blood and the rose. 

I shake my head with my eyes shut tight and when I open them, I force myself to snap into my newfound role of FBI Avery and not Terrified Teenager Orphan Avery. It helps, surprisingly.

"So, whats the plan?" I ask. Morgan looks up at me, surprised, probably that I would ask that specific question. I know Morgan, I know that he most definitely set up a plan with the team.

He clears his throat. "JJ and Emily will be here in ten minutes, Spencer in 15, and Rossi and Garcia are headed to the office to start assembling the evidence that we'll send them."

"Ok, so we've got like 15 minutes before we start analyzing the scene, I'd like to do this as a team. Do we have time to get changed into work clothes?" I ask. Hotch nods. 

"Yes, I think that's a good idea. And did JJ-" Hotch asks, and Derek nods and cuts him off.