𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 ⇝ 𝑪. 𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒔

𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍. 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒏

After my session, I headed to the team to see what they were up to before talking to Hotchner. I walk out of the elevator and see them all hanging out, not doing any work. I shake my head and walk through the doors and straight to them.

"Hey, guys."

"Hey, Del." They all say.

"How was your session?" Prentiss asked from her desk.

I shrug, "It was good. And like any other session."

I walked to Spencer's desk and sat on it, "Alright, Spency tell me something?"

"Did you know flamingoes aren't actually pink?" He said.

"Really?"

"Yeah, they only appear pink because of a chemical called carotenoids in the algae and fish they eat. Their feathers are actually a grayish-white color when they are born." He told me.

"Wow. Well, thanks for the daily fact, Dr. Reid." I say, hoping down from his desk.

"Your welcome Del." He said with a smile.

"Alright, losers. I need to talk to the boss man. I'll talk to y'all later." I say, walking towards Hotchner's office.

"What do you need to talk to Hotch for?" Derek asks.

I turn and look at him, "Business."

"You sure it's not about that boy you were talking to and ogling at the festival." Derek teased me with a smile.

"A boy?" Prentiss says.

"Shut up, Morgan." I say, then turn and continue to the office.

I hear Derek laughing behind me, "I saw you blushing that day. No need to be embarrassed." He said.

I didn't even turn around; I just stuck my hand up and flipped him off. I just walked into Hotchner's office, not even bothering to knock. At this point, Hotchner knew it was me because I never knocked anymore whenever I came to talk to him.

"Hi, Del." He said, not even looking up at me.

"Hi."

He looked up from his paperwork as soon as I sat in the chair across from him and sighed. The sigh was mainly to get his attention.

"What do you want?" He asked, also letting out a sigh.

"Wow, harsh much?" I say, giving him a look.

He gave me a look back, saying he didn't have time for this. I dropped my gaze, knowing I wouldn't win.

"I wanted to talk to you."

He went back to his work, "About?"

"Everything." I say.

Hotchner stopped writing and looked at me. I gave him a tight smile trying to show him I was serious. He put his pen down and pushed his paperwork aside.

"Everything?" He asked.

"Everything." I confirmed.

He doesn't say anything at first, then he stands and closes the blinds to his office. I was confused about why he did that but realized he thought I would like privacy as we talked.

"Alright. Go ahead. Tell me everything." He said once he sat back down.

I sighed and began to explain. I told him everything. Starting from the beginning when I had that first nightmare at his house, then ended with the nightmare I had last night. I told him just how scared I was.

How Homewood was stuck in my head. I felt tears run down my face as I explained just how I felt about everything. I explained how I was so conflicted about my friends and them not knowing what was happening to me.

By the end of my explanation, I let out a deep breath as I felt some weight lift off my shoulders. I felt amazing telling him everything. I actually felt like I was healing from everything.

I wiped my tears after I finished. I look at Hotchner, and I can't tell the emotion on his face, which I was scared of as I didn't know what he thought about this.

He sighed, "Del, I know you're pretty closed off, but why did you think you couldn't tell me all this?"

"I was scared. I didn't know if you would care even to hear all this. I mean, why would you? I'm just a burden who's living in your house." I said.

"Your not a burden Del."

"I just thought that I was just a case. A case that you would solve at some point and send me off to another foster family." I said, looking down.

"Del, I don't know if you've noticed, but you have become a part of this family." He said, and I looked at him with a surprised look.

"I mean, you've become close with all of the team. JJ and Prentiss love talking with you and seeing you as a little sister. Reid won't admit it, but he loves that you find his facts interesting even though you and I both know you always forget them by the end of the day." I smiled.

"Morgan treats you as a little sister. He gets to tease and make fun of a lot. Garcia loves going shopping with you and buying you things. And she does that because she knows that you don't have much. Rossi as well. He treats you as if he owes you the whole world. And don't even get me started on Jack. He loves you and sees you as a big sister that will always be there for him. Do you really think you can get rid of them that easily?" He finished.

I chuckled, "What about you? You mentioned everyone else. What do you think of me? How do you see me?"

He just looked at me. He didn't say anything, and it scared me. Thinking maybe he really didn't care about me.

"Del, despite your constant sarcastic remarks and witty jokes, I do care about you. You're the daughter I never asked for but got anyway."

My jaw dropped, "Did you just compliment me and diss me at the same time?"

I put my hand over my heart and wiped my tears, "I've taught you well."

He rolled his eyes, laughed, and shook his head, "Del know that this whole team does care about you, and we'll do everything we can to protect you."

I smiled at him, "Thank you. I'll let you get back to work and start my homework."

I stand, grabbing my bag, and before I can walk out the door, "Also, Del, who was that boy Derek saw you with at the festival?"

I turned to him and let out a nervous chuckle, "About that." With that, I ran out of the room and to the conference room, not before shooting Derek a look and flipping him off again. Which caused him to laugh and shake his head before going back to his work.

A/N:
i really like this chapter showing the growing relationship between Del and Hotch.
also got the idea of Spencer telling Del random facts from a book call Counting Stars by theilliterateironman. this is one of my favorite books that i reread a lot despite it being discontinued and it is a criminal minds book.
hope you enjoy.
bye!!!!!