No-one had seen Annabel Bradey in a decade, that was until she resurfaced in SSA Aaron Hotchner's office in Quantico. She was carrying scars both physical and mental, but wouldn't share her story. Or at least not until everyone she loved was in dang...
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Aaron Hotchner placed his arm around Annie as she smiled at the newly united family, the woman's eyes swelling with tears as she watched the mother pull both of her children into her arms. There was a warmth in Aaron's chest as she leaned into his embrace, still looking through the glass window at the family. There was a sadness to her smile that had been caused by the knowledge that they hadn't won that day. The man who had caused the family to become separated was still free, and they had no way of tracking him. The Unit Chief knew that this knowledge would dance across Annie's mind for hours, but for that moment the joy of the Brooks reunion was the only thing she was concentrating on.
He could feel the longing radiating off of her as she watched the parents telling their children over and over how much they loved them. In the last few months, he had witnessed her break down completely very few times, and every time the cause had been her daughter. Then, when she had remembered twin's birthday the few days earlier, he had seen the look of loss cross her face as she realised that they were no longer a constant in her mind. She was beginning to move on and that was causing her more pain than missing them had.
Minutes had passed before Annie pulled her eyes away, turning her back to the glass door as she faced Aaron. He met her with a sad smile, the woman knowing in that moment that her relationship with the profiler meant that she would rarely be able to keep secrets for herself again. Yet, somehow that didn't bother her, or at least now while she could only think of her children. They both stood in silence, taking in the micro-expressions on the others face, before either of them brought themselves to speak.
"You want that moment, don't you?" Aaron whispered, holding her hands in his as the team began to pack up their bags. She nodded her head, letting out a sharp breath as she became amused by her own agreement. "You can have it; you just need to tell us what happened. The you can have that moment with Eden."
She shook her head, her tears threatening to overflow as she muttered, "There are too many people that he had hurt during the raid. He won't hurt Eden, not now that he thinks I'm dead, but he will hurt the other members if he feels threatened. I can't risk that, not for my own selfish reasons."
"It wouldn't be selfish," Aaron declared, his voice shaking with the pain that he felt for Annie as she missed her family. "It would be smart, what happens if there are years until we can guarantee that no one will be hurt? Could you live with the fact that you had missed years of your daughter's life, that she had thought that you were dead for that long."
Biting the inside of her cheek, Annie wanted to run away from the man as he spoke the logic she had been ignoring for as long as she had been free. She may have guaranteed her daughters physical safety when she had left, but she had caused her the emotional pain that came with losing a mother. The woman was all too familiar with that pain, the way that it sat on a person's chest slowly suffocating them every time they thought of the woman they had lost. The moments they had lost. There were days that had been in the making that Annie had never got to experience with her mother; thinking about those unfulfilled promises is what hurt most about the loss. Then, Annie thought about the way that she was putting Eden through the same.
"Can we talk about this when we aren't in the middle of a ranger station?" Annie asked, pulling her hands away from his and wiping the tears away from her eyes. "On the jet, maybe?"
Aaron nodded, wrapping his arms around the woman as she hugged him whispering her thanks into his ear. It was at this moment, that he noticed the movement in the other room, becoming slightly confused by Ana entering the room where the agents were all packing up their things. Before the girl had entered, Annie had begun placing her things in her bag, pulling the messenger bag over she shoulder as she prepared to leave.
However, Aaron cleared his throat as the young girl looked hopefully at her holding a small scrap of paper to her chest. Knowing that any interaction from Ana would cause Annie to become less troubled by their previous conversation, and the knowledge that Shane Wyland was still free, the Unit Chief guided the rest of the team out of the room leaving Annie and Ana alone.
"Miss Annie," the ginger turned to look at the young girl, putting the bag back on the seat as she knelt before the blonde girl with a reassuring smile on her face, "thank you. I was really scared, but you made me feel better."
Nodding her head, Annie whispered, "You're very welcome."
"Can you keep this?" She asked, passing her the photograph that she had been given by the Brooks parents during the search. "To remember us."
"Okay," Annie replied, holding out her hand to take the photograph before pulling the card with her email and number from her pocket. "But I want you to give this to your parents for me just in case you or Robert ever need anymore help. Can you do that for me?"
The young girl nodded her head quickly, taking the card from the support officer's hand. She went to walk away the woman still smiling at the interaction, as well as the knowledge that she had been given an important job. However, the girl turned quickly, flinging herself at the support office, gripping her tightly as the woman copied her action and wrapped the girl in a tight embrace.
The ginger was well aware that this was not how the bureau intended for their employees to act, but this girl had grown to trust her. The fact that she had even spoken to them when Aaron had asked her the questioned was reliant on the rapport that had been built between the agent and the child during the walk back to the camp. Annie had put her at ease by asking her questions that had nothing to do with her brother or the man who had taken her, while still being careful not to promote any memories or say anything that could alter what she remembered about her experience. That and the fact that they had managed to bring the two children home had been more rewarding than Annie would ever be able to explain.
It wasn't until Ana had pulled away that the woman realised that she had begun crying, the girl looked confused at her reaction, her face filling slightly with worry. Forcing a smile to her face, Annie reassured her, "It's happy tears, Ana. I'm glad that you and Robert are safe; that you are back with your parents."
"I want to be like you when I'm older," Ana stated, almost as if she had made the decision in the moment. "I want to help people."
Annie took Ana's hands, meeting Ana's gaze as she explained, "Well, if you work hard enough, you can do anything. Now, I think you should probably go back to your mom and dad."
The girl nodded, walked away from Annie and back to her mother who pulled her into an even tighter embrace than before. It was clear that the parents were still unready to let their children go, the fact that they had been returned to them being a near miracle to the parents. Mrs Brooks looked up at Annie, nodding her head as she took the card from her daughter. The small sign of recognition caused Annie smile again before returning the nod towards her and turning around to get her bag before joining the rest of the team outside the room.
Emily motioned towards Annie, her expression showing a nonverbal support for the woman. She had noticed the way that the ginger had become lighter during her conversation with Ana, and when the young girl had hugged her the tension that Emily had become used to seeing in the woman as she sat at the table for breakfast. The agent assumed that Annie had seen her daughter in the girl, which explained the pain in her eyes as she saw the team.
The ginger let out a sigh, her attention turning to Aaron – who had taken his regular side beside her – as she said, "I need the number of Officer Adrian Miles, and then I am getting my daughter back."
