the girl who i love(d)

preparing for the worst

|chapter tws: none aside from singular gun mention|

"We don't have a lot of time." Gideon spoke from the front of the table, beside the board JJ had made with all of their current information laid out on it, which wasn't a lot. The BAU team had separated from where everybody else was and decided to discuss what they, personally, would do, alone. "My people, into the office. Everyone else, keep your minds focused on the task at hand. Gather any other information that you can," Jason had told all of the agents before splitting off with the others.

"Hotch, what do we need?" 

"Uh- probably two groups of three, the rest of us there as backup, just not entering the homes unless required." Aaron replied.

JJ was one of the two seated at the table, and she looked up from her spot to add onto the conversation. "Actually, sir, I think we should stand by here in case we get a call in. Some of the information was leaked."

Hotch nodded, "The rest stay put, then."

Gideon's mind quickly raced to split up the group, with the most capable and resourceful people going in, but also with some of the necessary minds hanging back. Once he got the idea, he gave the order to the team.

"Morgan, Elle, check out, uh, Laci Chamberlain's house. Go armed, and we'll send two of their best agents with you as backup. Be gentle, she's 19, still living with her family. They'll know where she should be. Reid, you and me are going to see if Natalie Hughes showed up at work today. It's like her second home. Everybody knows your places. Stay safe. That's an order."

With that coming to a close, the team split off into their groups and prepared to leave. The team going to see Laci Chamberlain got suited up in their routined FBI vests and made sure that they had a fully loaded gun in their holsters at all times, because nobody knew what they would be seeing at the house. While they did that, the other team prepared by making sure that they were armed, and mentally prepared for the news they may receive. Not only that, but they had gear ready in case they would have to rush to go find the girl. 

As they were exiting the building and dividing into the vehicles, one thing caught everyone's eye; the red timer. They officially had about nine hours to find the girls. They were all prepared. Now, all they could do was hope for the best, and keep a piece of their mind ready for the worst.

---

The drive was about 40 minutes long, and the building was a good 33.7 miles away. Thanks to the help of the police sirens blaring and alarming nearby drivers, the drive was cut a few minutes. But with the 5 o'clock traffic that always occurred -- something that everyone knew with the title 'rush hour' -- time wasn't necessarily on their side.

At some point, they did end up getting to their destination. It was located at 5906 Old Centreville Road, but locals just knew it as a Burger King. One of the most popular spots there, everyone in the neighborhood across the street could be found hanging out either in or around the Burger King on any day. Luckily for them, this particular day only held about 13 people in the entire place. A reasonable number. 

When they reached the front, there were two cashiers there; a man and a woman. The man looked around the age of 17, no older. He must've been a new recruit aswell. The woman, on the other hand, had to be older than 21. She was short enough to pass for that age, but just barely. Instead, they assumed she was around 24 or 25. Out of the age range. Couldn't be her.

Because their helpful agent, Penelope Garcia, was back at home, they didn't have any references to work with. All they knew was that the girl's name was Natalie Hughes, she was 20, and she was working because she hadn't been accepted into any colleges just yet. That didn't mean she gave up any hope, though.

Reid and Gideon entered the building looking like regular old customers. They walked up to the man at the register and while Spencer gave a warm smile as his greeting, his boss had another idea. "Jason Gideon, Dr. Spencer Reid, FBI. We're with the Behavioral Analysis Unit." He held up his badge and signaled to Reid, who kept his badge in his pocket and instead nodded to verify.

The man looked alarmed, but he was able to calm himself down quickly. Any other police officer wouldn't have noticed his momentary stress, although the profilers could. It looked as though he had been trained to know exactly what to do in the situation. "My name's Liam Wilson, and that over there is my good friend Sophia." Liam's eyes glared at the other woman for a second, who smiled in their direction once she heard her name get called. Then, she proceeded to head towards the kitchen, seemingly to give the next order to the chef. "What can we do for ya?"

Liam's way of conversation was chill, and they could tell that he was a good man. Not their unsub, who'd crack under pressure. And who has to be way older than this.

"We're looking for a woman named Natalie Hughes, um-, you guys may not have the same shift schedule, but this place is like her second home. She takes extra shifts, takes time out of her day to be nice to her co-workers, and she visits here for family meals since they're cheaper."

"Oh, Natalie. I've heard of her, but we only worked together once and she was on drive-through so we really never talked." Liam explained to them, taking quick glances at the kitchen, his eyes saying something that the profilers just couldn't quite catch.

"Do either of you know where she is?" Gideon got to the point, watching Sophia walk closer to them to assist. 

"She should be at home," Sophia said, a slightly Southern accent escaping her lips. "I work as the shift manager most of the time. She said she needed to take off for personal reasons. It was one of her actual days, too."

Gideon looked over at Reid, "How many days has she been out?"

"Three, counting today."

"We'll check out her house. Thank you."

Just like that, the two left, rushing back into their car to return to the police station and pulling out their phones to call Hotch on the way.

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A/N: hii! thank you guys SO much for hanging in with me! this fic has been in my mind for so long and i am so so glad to be reviving it :) ive been super busy so expect this to ACTUALLY get updated once i'm out of school.

still, i hope you enjoyed not only this chapter but the slight edits i made to all the previous chapters (no need to go back and read, plot is the exact same + scene order is the same, but my writing style is now updated to my usual one for the most part). 

comment your thoughts, ideas for the future of this fic, anything!! i need it bad so fuel me haha <3 love u angels, stay awesomeee