Change My Mind ~ Criminal Minds (Aaron Hotchner x OC)

8.0: Another Case

A/N: The next chapters will be about Mosley Lane, Directed by the fine man Matthew Gray Gubler himself, Season 5 Episode 16 so these might be a bit lengthy (Will not be changing anything major in the case because it is already perfect and beautiful)

"Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change."
― Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley 

For the past two weeks there wasn't a new case, just in the office with paperwork. Crystal's family went home last Saturday, not without her mother telling her to visit soon, and she was enjoying her time at the office without having to catch any murderers. 

They did help consult on some cases, but none of these consultants required the team to go out into the field. The office was plenty eventful though, from learning Garcia's and Morgan's many different nicknames for each other, "Well hello there my tall, handsome, chocolate sculpted goodness", to staying after hours to help Hotch with paperwork. Crystal did bring it up one time about the team saying it was rare for him to accept help, especially from a stranger none the less.

"I wouldn't say I'm opposed to receiving help, but usually when the team offers help they expect me to open up about things that are possibly troubling me. I appreciate their concern, but there's nothing to talk about. I didn't feel that when you first offered to help me, maybe that's why I allow you to do some of the paperwork." Hotch had stated while looking at some files and Crystal didn't push the subject further.

"Of course if you did the paperwork wrong I wouldn't let you help anymore." Hotch said with a shrug and this made her laugh, he had looked up and gave her a small smile. The team still suspected that something more happened when she stayed late to help with paperwork, but she would always answer the same thing.

"We sit there in silence while finishing up on files, nothing more and nothing less."

Needless to say, Crystal greatly enjoyed the two weeks in the office with the team. Nothing lasts forever though, this morning was different. Crystal was at her desk when Hotch and Rossi came hurrying down the catwalk, "We have an abduction of an eight year old girl, Aimee Lynch, Dave and I are heading down to the abduction site where the family is currently at. The rest of you split up to head down to the house and see what Garcia can come up with a list of suspects."

As soon as Hotch was done talking the team stood up and headed to the conference room, JJ was already there and held up a picture of a young girl. "Aimee Lynch was taken an hour ago from the winter festival in Ashburn." Emily took the picture, "Any witnesses?"

JJ nodded, "Her mother Barbra Lynch was next to her when she vanished, she didn't see anything." Emily looked shocked, "There must have been hundreds of people at that festival, no witnesses? No one saw anything?"

"It's a temporary gathering with little to no security, someone could have saw something and not even realize what was happening." Reid stated and Crystal nodded, "The abductor could have been right next to them the whole time waiting for the right moment to grab her."

"We need to get moving, Reid and I will head to the family's house. The three of you are going to stay and help Garcia, we need to look at every local abduction or attempted one in the last year to see if there is any overlaps in some other cases." Morgan looked at the rest of the team and they gave him a nod, "Good news is that we're barely into the second hour." JJ said as she picked back up the picture of Aimee.

"Yeah, odds are we've only got 22 hours left to find her alive. Let's make them count." Morgan turned around to head out and Reid followed him, Crystal took the photo of Aimee. "Let's do this." Crystal put the photo onto the board and then followed Emily and JJ to Garcia's lair.