Aaron Hotchner X OC

Finding Frisky.

Steadying herself, Cecile bent her knee while training her gun on the door in front of her before lunging herself forward and launching her foot at the door, breaking the lock and sending the door open. Stepping to the side for her safety, a moment passed when everyone was signalled to quickly enter. Scanning the room with their torches trained, a whimpering woman lay on the floor and she looked around to make sure they were safe before holstering her gun and running her hands to the material tied around her head and stuffed into her mouth. 'It's okay, we're going to get you out of here,' she comforted while cutting the rope behind her back, releasing her feet and hands.

As soon as the victim, Lucy Mildew, was free, her arms swung around Cecile's neck as she hugged her, sobbing while the rest of the team looked for Richard Wild. 'Thank you,' Lucy sobbed out. Dirt, blood and sweat covered her skin while her nails had practically disappeared from her attempts to escape.

'Let's get you on your feet. Can you stand for me?' Cecile asked quietly as she heard Morgan call that they had caught him in the next room over.

Helping Lucy leverage herself to her feet, Cecile caught sight of bruising between Lucy's legs as well as the unmistakable indent of teeth. At the sight, the agent's chest crumpled as her eyes quickly closed until they were both on their feet. Biting the inside of her lips, Cecile felt blood swell in her mouth as she tried not to react to the woman who slouched on her.

After a few steps, JJ sent a reassuring smile to the pair, but neither of them even tried to return one as they walked outside towards the ambulance. Siting her down, Cecile refused to look down as Lucy's dress rode up and bruising became visible. 'Sallow, I will take over from here,' Rossi reassured, only Lucy's hands sprung out and grabbed Cecile, silently pleading for her not to go.

'It's fine, Mrs and Mr Mildew are on their way. I will stay with her until they do,' Cecile declared with a smile as she found a blanket in the back of the ambulance and draped it over Lucy's shoulders and then pulled it over her legs to keep her warm. 'You're safe now, okay? He's not going to hurt you again,' she hushed while tightly embracing the trembling woman who was staring off into the distance and holding a cup of water that she had no intention of drinking.

An ambulance worker soon emerged with their pack and they tried to look approachable as they silently warned Lucy that they would need to clean her cuts. Cries only grew louder as she buried her head into Cecile's neck. 'Please, no,' she sobbed aloud.

'Lucy, we can wait until your parents are here. They won't be too long now. And they can go to the hospital with you, okay?' Cecile asked. Ashamed of herself, Cecile closed her eyes and kissed the top of Lucy's head. She felt like if she was strong enough, if she had the courage, Cecile herself could do the preliminary cleaning, but she couldn't. She chickened out because she was too scared to face the marks again, scared that she might lose her composure.

After a few more moments together, car doors loudly opened and closed as a couple sprinted towards the ambulance. 'My baby, come here,' her father remarked while embracing Lucy in a hug. Cecile took that as her chance to escape from the ambulance.

Staring between the cars, Hotch was stood beside one with Rossi, meanwhile, Prentiss was stood with a set of keys and Reid paced beside her. Opting to go with Prentiss, the team watched curiously as she took the back seat. Distracted by the file in his hands, Reid hadn't noticed as he pulled open the same rear door and nearly sat down before he noticed her. 'You normally sit in the front with Hotch,' he remarked but didn't wait for an explanation when he saw her head hung low and her fingers fidgeting.

Returning to the hotel, Prentiss glanced through the rear view mirror frequently while Reid awkwardly looked around as if he had been caught in a spider's web. 'Hey, Sallow, you okay? You've been off since we started the case,' she mentioned, trying to sound casual.