Classified light- a criminal minds fan fiction

Protection

"Cam, wait- where are you going?" Morgan ran through the street after the angry figure who was furiously tugging her coat on over her pyjamas impatiently against the strong winds after storming out of the station.

She didn't respond.

"Cameron-" he caught up to her, stopping when he heard the sobs escaping from her lips before he moved around, standing in front of her to stop her from barging past.

"Hey, hey, hey- what's going on?" He placed two gentle hands on her shoulders as she stared down at the ground, head in hands to stop him seeing her crying.

"P-please just leave me be-"

"Cameron look at me" he hooked his finger under her chin and tilted her head up to him, pausing at the pure emotion plaguing her face before she shook her head from his hand and stepped back.

"S-stop looking at me like Hotchner does, stop looking at me like I'm weak."

"I don't think you're weak Cameron" he assured.

"Yes you do! You all do, you all think of me like that. You all laugh at me, you mock me and that's fine but don't pretend that you don't. Don't pretend that you don't think I'm weak, don't tell me the lies you tell to the people you comfort, I have no time for lies- lies are cruel, lies are what tears people apart."

He stood in front of her as she continued to talk with such pain, such unbottled, raw hurt.

He couldn't say anything, he couldn't comfort her, he just wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug.

"Let go of me" she mumbled but found herself hugging him back desperately.

"I don't think you're weak Cameron, and I'm telling the truth."

She cried against him, unable to hold back her sobs anymore.

"It's going to be okay" he gently rubbed her back.

"No it's not" she whispered knowingly, letting her head rest on his chest, "there's no way that it can be, I know that now."

"What do you mean? What did you mean earlier when you said you would die? What aren't you telling us?" He pulled back slightly and looked down at her, his arms still around her to comfort her.

"Just take what I say as fact, I don't want to have to lie to you and say it's nothing" she gave a small smile and stepped forward into the embrace again.

He paused before hugging back once again, the two standing alone in the silence of the dark street.

Except they weren't alone.

A few yards away, Hotch stood watching them. 

He had exited the far exit of the station and walked around to check on Cameron and apologise- to explain himself, pausing when he saw Morgan hug her, pausing when he saw her let him, pausing when he saw her break into a sob that found its way into his chest as soon as it left her mouth.

He turned around, unable to fight the feeling in his stomach from watching them as he walked back to the station, forcing himself to go back to his usual demeanour, to not think about the urge to talk to her, to not let the feeling in his stomach cloud his judgement.

"C-can I please at least get changed out of my pyjamas?" Cameron shifted awkwardly in the interview room of the station, wrapping her coat around her silk pyjama short set that she felt strange being in front of the team in for the last 5 hours of questioning.