sect bound . aaron hotchner

1.1

Penelope Garcia was enjoying her tea that morning, sat in the comfort of her office and was surrounded by the trinkets she had collected to help her forget about the horrors she saw on her screens. She had spent the previous two hours completing the paperwork that had been remaining from their previous case and as such she had begun to feel the darkness infringe on her thoughts.

Pushing herself back from the desk, Penelope glanced out the door of her office. Her attention was caught by a woman standing at the security desk, frantically turning over her shoulder and towards each of the doors on the floor. There was a familiarity about the woman, Penelope was sure she had seen her somewhere before, but she couldn't work out where the recognition stemmed from.

The agent she had been speaking with pointed her in the direction of Aaron Hotchner's office and the woman seemed to mutter a quick gratitude before she crossed the bullpen. Even as she crossed the federal building the woman continued to look around herself, there was never more than a couple of seconds before she checked the space behind her. It was clear even to her that the woman was overcome with paranoia, it didn't take a profiler to understand the behaviour.

Overwhelmed by curiosity, Penelope left the confines of her office and joined her colleagues. Taking Jennifer's seat, she continued to look into Aaron's office; the woman had closed the external blinds and taken the man's phone off the hook, lending the analyst to confirm her early theory of the woman's paranoia. However, having moved closer, the familiarity in the face of the mystery guest had grown stronger and Penelope was adamant she would successfully identify her.

Beside her, Derek and Spencer were in the middle of a discussion that she was ignoring. Occasionally, the woman would glance out and Penelope would get a better look at her face. Perhaps it had simply been a woman from a previous case who had kept in contact with them, the architecture of her face was what she recognised, and she wondered if it had been a younger photo she had seen. As people grew older so much stayed the same, but without having a clear connection those around them would often not recognise old colleagues after years. However, as she caught a glimpse at the woman's eyes – one blue, one green – Penelope knew she knew this woman. She simply couldn't place the face.

Moments later, she saw their boss exit the elevator. He was greeted by the same agent that the woman had been speaking to moments prior. The agents pointed to the man's office as he spoke and Aaron left without hesitation. His pace quickened the closer he got to his office, ignoring the calls from the agents around her, and Penelope was finally able to make the connection.

She hadn't been able to remember where she knew the woman from because she didn't know her, Penelope only knew of her. There were countless times she had tried to locate even a scrap of evidence the woman in the office was alive and she had spent hours staring at her college graduation photo. The woman in the office had aged much more than the decade since that photo had been taken and Penelope supposed it had been that which had made it so difficult for her to make the connection.

Turning back to the agents beside her, Penelope asked, "Is that Annabel Bradey?"

"I don't know who that is, Mama." Derek responded, following Penelope's gaze towards the room where Aaron was embracing the shaking woman. "But Hotch seems to know the girl."

Having heard the slight laughter in Derek's voice, Spencer joined the two of them in the observation of their boss. Taking in the sight – the red-haired woman having taken a step back from Aaron and holding her hands up protectively – the youngest member of the team stated, "She seems nervous, maybe she doesn't know him that well."

"If it's who I think it is, she doesn't know anyone very well." Penelope muttered, catching the attention of the boys beside her. Both her colleagues looked at her with a newfound curiosity, they waited for her to elaborate, "I shouldn't tell you anything."

Both agents knew it wouldn't be long before Penelope ended her silence. They could see the struggle as she tried to keep what she knew to herself; she wasn't even sure that what she knew was relevant. The woman in the office could be someone else, simply because she had the right hair colour and eye colour didn't mean it was her. Even as she tried to convince herself, Penelope knew that it was more of a long shot that the woman now behind closed curtains with Aaron wasn't Annabel Bradey.

"I only know what was on the file." Penelope blurted to those beside her. "And that wasn't a lot."

"What file, Babygirl?"

"Annabel Bradey's missing person's file." She explained. "She went missing over a decade ago, and – when we got the new national system – he asked me to search for her. After everything that happened with Foyet and Haley, he's been asking me almost monthly."

"Over a decade ago?" Derek asked, causing the analyst to nod her head. "That was before Jack was born, maybe even before he married Haley."

"Hotch reported her missing after she failed to turn up to his and Haley's wedding." Penelope explained causing Spencer to look confused. "The police didn't take it seriously until at least two weeks later when no-one had heard from her."

Leaning towards his friends, Spencer asked, "Did they not trust Hotch's judgement?"

"There was no evidence of foul play, they thought she had just picked up her life and left." Penelope took a sip from her tea, "The reaper case had just gone cold as well."

"That must be why he's asked more since Foyet's death, he associated him with her." Spencer thought aloud causing his colleagues to nod in agreement. "But if it's been a decade, why hasn't she ever gotten in contact with him?"

Behind the trio, Jennifer and Emily had walked in, the latter holding a box of pastries that she placed on the centre desk, "Who's not gotten in touch?"

"Annabel Bradey." Spencer stated earning a glare from Penelope who was aware that she shouldn't have shared her knowledge. "We think that's the girl who is in Hotch's office."

Jennifer shook her head, stating, "I asked at the desk where Hotch was earlier and they said he wasn't in yet, but that Mabel Stanley was waiting for him in his office."

"Mabel Stanley is a character in the Pirates of Penzance." Spencer explained, looking at the group having put the pieces together.

Looking from Spencer to the office and back again, Emily took in a breath before asking, "Wasn't that the play he and Haley met in?"

Penelope nodded, suddenly being hit with the sheer connection between Annabel and Aaron. When the man had asked her to take a look into the case, she had assumed it had been an old family friend, but now she wasn't so sure. There were too many elements arguing otherwise for Penelope to believe they were all coincidences: he had reported her missing; she had given an assumed name relating to his past with Haley; he had run to his office without hesitation.

Jennifer's voice caught in her throat as she asked, "Who is that girl hiding from?"