❝ But I'm only human
and I bleed when I fall down ❞
The Behavioral Analysis Unit team around Aaron Hotchner gets called in to assist on a serial killer case in New York where they meet the young and surprisingly talented Special Agent Skylar Brown...
!TW! Graphic talk about rape & torture, rapist victim blaming, angst, Spencer's a little bitch, mentions of war & leg injury
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Whose rape kit?"
"Mine."
A loss of words was something the team hardly ever experienced. For everything, there was a psychological explanation or a way to profile the situation. For the first time though, they found themselves staring at Skylar, shocked, with nothing to say.
Her heartbeat sped up. Confusion, anger, shock, worry — all kinds of emotions presented on her colleague's faces. Spencer, on the other hand, kept his reaction at bay. His face was entirely unreadable.
"I know this must be a shock for all of you," Skylar began. She fiddled with her fingers, pulling at the loose skin around her nails just to have something to hold onto.
Derek looked up from the cover, at Hotch, then back at Penelope. "Did you know?" He asked.
Hotch sighed. "Morgan-"
"I knew," Penelope said. "Even before Strauss granted Sky's transfer to the BAU, I knew."
The tension grew visibly at her words. "I had to know, that's why I asked Garcia to open the file," Hotch explained. "She didn't do it voluntarily."
"And that's supposed to make it better that you kept this-" Derek lifted the file, "from us?"
Skylar raised her hand. "It was my decision," she said. "I didn't want you to know because this is hardly something you go around waving in front of people's faces. If it had been up to Hotch, you all would already know." He nodded. "So before you blame anyone, Morgan, you should read the file. A lot more will become clear then. Just... forgive me if I leave the room while you do."
She didn't lose another glance on her way out. A bit confused, Penelope followed suit. She was worried, couldn't possibly leave her alone. Skylar retracted into the bullpen. Once she was seated, she dropped her head into her hands. This is insane.
"I'm sorry, Derek shouldn't have-"
"It's alright," Skylar cut her off.
"No, it's not," Penelope said. She walked up to her. "This should be about you and he just... he doesn't know when to stop. He takes everything so, so personal sometimes."
"You don't have to apologize for him, Pen. It's fine. I'm fine!"
"You say that you are but you're not, okay? I see you. You believe it's your job to be fine, to prove to everyone that you can do this because you're afraid you might not be able to if you don't show it. But you can admit that you're not fine. Being sad or angry or depressed... It's not a bad thing. Admitting that just proves how strong you really are, baby. Your feelings are not a bad thing, Sky. Not at all."
