"tu es mon passé, présent et futur, mon amour."
-aaron hotchner reinstate's one of the best agents the b.a.u had ever seen.
aaron hotchner. indestructible, emotionless, distant.
cascade moreau. flirty, reckless, impenetrable.
how can two individual...
"It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves." -William Shakespeare.
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(MENTIONS OF RAPE, STABBINGS, MURDER AND ABORTION. PLEASE CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN FREE WILL)
"I thought it was paperwork day?" A confused Spencer Reid asked as he obediently sat down.
"It was until I received a very personal call about a case," Cascade replied, in no desperate need of any questions.
"Just hear her out," Hotchner added.
"Chesterbrook, Philadelphia has discovered the murders of three women between the ages of 25-30. They connected the murders by the unsubs M.O. Clear signs of sexual assault, 23 stab wounds each while they were alive and to finish it all off, the unsub slit their throats. Before you ask, Chesterbrook is my home town and all of the victims have long, wavy brown hair with distinctive blue eyes. I received a call from the sheriff, my father, explaining that I am somehow connected to these killings. The unsub's true desire is me."
"This case is important because it involves one of our own, wheels up in 30," Hotchner's voice echoed through the small room, expressing precisely how important it was that the murderer was brought to justice.
Every team member exited the room except a suffering Cascade Moreau and a worried Derek Morgan. He sat noiseless, profiling the woman who stood before him. "Stop profiling me, Derek," was all he heard. Evidently, he obliged, turning the secret power off while he remained to observe. Cascade hadn't openly spoken about her past to anyone, but Derek knew. He was also a survivor. He was a fighter who got the justice he deserved.
"Cade, you don't have to tell me what exactly happened in your childhood. Every single one of us understands something happened, and we respect that you choose not to indulge in a conversation with that certain topic. But I know what happened, and you don't have to confirm anything, because I have been exactly where you are. Confused, ashamed, embarrassed. I know it all too well, and I hate admitting that. I hate admitting that I let it happen, but he wasn't my father," Cascade turned her head, she was furious, but as she stared deep into the eyes of Derek Morgan, the overflowing tenderness and love was what made her respond calmly.
"He ruined me, Der. Every night since I was eight, he would beat and rape me until I couldn't move. Until I couldn't even raise a finger. I don't know how I'm meant to go home, not even home, it's a place I was raised and I grew up. How am I meant to face every nightmare that I chose to forget? That I have fought for years to forget. To-to erase from my mind completely. How am I meant to face him?" Cascade was never one for crying or showing any signs of weakness, but at that very moment, tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. Every vision of the heartbreak and pain she suffered came flooding back like a tsunami. Crushing her heart and soul in the process.
"Our stories are so similar and yet so different. I could never imagine a father do that to me, but I visioned him as one. I thought of him and all I got was a father-figure. Granted, he wasn't my biological father but he wasn't the closest I had to one. You hate yourself because you feel weak, and you hate the thought of everyone knowing the truth. But it isn't the worst thing, Cas. They helped me and they can help you. But you have to let them. You have to be vulnerable for once. You have to be strong not only for yourself but for these girls who are suffering," Derek spoke softly, as though she was a fragile, delicate flower who would break within his grasp at any second.
"I had four abortions. I was sixteen and I had been forced to have four abortions. How does someone live with the guilt? I killed four innocent lives, Derek. Four of them. Four babies, I could have shown what the world had to offer too. I was seventeen when I was pregnant again, and I told him I wasn't going to have another abortion, you know what he did?" Derek shook his head, "He beat me until I bled."
"Cas..."
"He didn't even regret anything. He didn't even feel a hint of guilt. He left the room, went to work and acted as if nothing had happened. How does a human being do that? How does someone become so emotionless?" Tears streamed down her face as she relived every second of that beating. Every second she had spent in a room waiting for the woman to terminate her pregnancy.
"I am so so sorry, Cade. It isn't your fault, nor has it ever been, nor will it ever be. You were placed in an impossible situation, and you did what you had to do to survive. Nobody blames you for that. Nobody. You are perfect, and so unbelievably strong, and kind, and sweet and compassionate, and everything a guy could ever want. You want to know why you're so special, Cascade Moreau?" Cascade simply nodded, "Because no matter what situation is thrown at you, you come out on the other side stronger than how you began."
"You're the first person I've ever told. Not even Hotch knows and I asked him to take this case. God, I was so weak and pitiful and stupid. I should've spoken up, I should've done better," The ache which lived in her heart tugged at her soul tighter with every passing second. The pit in her stomach fell completely, leaving Cascade feeling empty and worthless.
"Cascade Moreau, you were a child who had no sense of true love. You had no idea what normal was, you were raised in that house, you were raised in an environment that was toxic and wrong. You have no right to ever blame yourself for being a child. You looked at the positives, that's what children do. You aren't to blame for that. You are never to blame for that."
Cascade turned her frame to face the warmth she felt from behind, as her body nearly collapsed Derek Morgan caught her in his arms. Holding her body close as she sobbed into his chest, attempting to calm down by listening to his heartbeat, but failing miserably. His one hand resting on her head, and the other wrapped tightly around her shoulder. Swaying back and forth as she broke down. As her walls, as her defences lost the dominance held within them.
"Maybe you should stay back, with Garcia, and we can go from there," Derek offered, knowing she would decline, she was far too stubborn for that.
"No. If I don't go, he wins. And I cannot let him win, Derek. I can't, I won't forgive myself if he ever gets the satisfaction of winning."
Derek laughed, merely for the fact, her demeanour changed in a matter of seconds. "That's my Cascade. That's my girl."
"I'm actually Aaron's girl but whatever," Cascade shrugged.
His eyes grew wide as her sentence rolled off of her lips, "As in the Aaron Hotchner? Our boss Aaron Hotchner?"
As his grip loosened on her, she lifted her head to meet his chocolate eyes. "Yep. He kissed me twice and asked me to dinner. What more could a girl want."
"And you had the audacity to tell me he wasn't interested? Puh-lease," Derek raised his hand into the air, feeling and expressing clearly just his proud of himself her truly was.
"Thank you, Der. For being my best friend, and not complaining when I needed you," Cascade smiled at him as his hands lay around her fragile self.
"You always have me, Cadey, always. And thank you for trusting me. I know it isn't easy," He mirrored her smile, but his smile was filled with adoration and genuineness.
"It is easy for you. And you didn't deserve what happened to you either, you should know that."
"Believe me, I know."
The two stayed locked in each other embrace for a while after, only realising the time when their phones vibrated with messages from various team members. "I swear to Jesus Christ if they believe we slept together, I will murder every single one of them."
Derek's laugh embraced the vacant, desolate room. "I wouldn't doubt you would for a second, Moreau, not even a second."
