Fresh Eyes, New Mind (CRIMINAL MINDS FANFICTION)

Chapter 17 : Inner Battles

Third Person POV

Life wasn't easy. This was something Nicoletta has always known her entire life. She was even considering getting it tattooed down her spine, as a subtle reminder that, while Nicki didn't have a way with emotions, she always had her backbone.

She was the definition of tough.

Or, so she thought.

Sitting there, in her lonely apartment, she had all the time in the world to think, with her team, her family, away on a case, her phone sat on in front of her, calls blowing up her cell, without her notice.

No, because while the team was all sat on that jet, turning it around to get to her, calling her, hoping, praying, that she'd pick up, she couldn't.

No, Nicki was left in a mess of her life.

"Mommy?" A six-year-old Nicoletta called, walking into her mother's room after seeing yet another strange and scary man leave her room, then their house.

When her mother didn't answer, she climbed up onto her mother's bed, ready to cheer her up, as she so regularly did every night when the big, scary men leave.

She began to lightly shake the adult's body, thinking she was asleep, how wrong she was. When her mother didn't wake up, she closed her eyes, and, with all the might in the six-year-old's body, she flipped the women onto her back.

Without opening her eyes, she lay her head onto her mother's breast, searching for the only thing that was able to calm her down.

Her mother's heartbeat.

However, her young ears could not pick up the soothing sound of the organ thump thump thumping against her mother's ribcage.

The daughter, unfortunately, had had enough of her mother's silly games. And, she opened her eyes.

Her eyes were met with the once comforting eyes of her mother, but they weren't comforting anymore. No, they were dull.

Yet, though the highly intelligent Nicoletta new what this meant, and if anyone were there they could tell too, by the tears in her eyes, she didn't want to believe it. She couldn't.

With the salty water droplets rolling down her young face, she laughed, trying with all her might not to give in.

"Silly mommy. That's enough now, I know you're just joking. It's a joke, right. Yeah, mommy, it's just a joke, mommy wake up. Wake up, Mommy! Please, please."

With that, her resolve broke and she sobbed for the first time since her mom had told her that the older kids at her big kid school said didn't matter, that they were jealous.

And, with one last murmured 'please', the girl had wept onto her mother's bust, until she had finally fallen to sleep.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

For days passed, Nicki never left her mother's bed, not to eat or bathe or learn or answer the phone. What she didn't know is that the school she attended was getting worried. They had called the house on multiple accounts, but still, the young girl refused to leave her mother's side.

The girl knew her mother was a good and kind person, and a good and kind person does not deserve to be left alone.

So, with no word from the girl's parents, nor the girl herself, the school took matters into their own hands and called the police.

The young girl didn't know that the FBI was in town, investigating a series of murders.

Following to the address given during the call, the precinct dispatched Officer Yates with SSA Hotchner and SSA Rossi.

However, when the three enforcers reached the front step and knocked, they received no answer. Worried about the young girl and her mother, they shared a few worried glances before kicking in the door. 

They immediately split up throughout the two-story house, SSA Rossi being the one to check upstairs. 

As his colleagues both shouted 'clear', Rossi knew this room was anything but. As he peeked around the corner of a doorway, the sight inside broke his heart.

There, right on the bed, was the little girl. But, what was next to her broke his heart. However, before he could call down to the others, they took his silence as a warning and caught up with him, now also seeing the sight displayed on the bed in the room.

Officer Yates gasped, slowly entering the room.

"Nicoletta?" 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

"Nicoletta?!" A yell could be heard, and it finally shook Nicki out of her memorious trance. She got up and ran to the door, which the lady from the front desk was pounding on.

She opened the door, placing a hand gingerly on her head.

"Hello?" Nicki's voice was groggy, helping with the lie she was slowly forming in her over-active mind.

"Oh, sorry Nicoletta, I didn't realize you were asleep."

"It's alright. I just haven't been feeling well today. Is something wrong?"

"Your team? Yeah, they've called the desk saying that you weren't answering your phone and that they were a bit worried."

"Ahh. Well, as you can see, I was asleep, and my phone died beforehand."

"Well, alright. Do you want me to pass on a message?"

"Please. Just tell them that I am fine, that my phone died, and ask them to send over a David Rossi and Aaron Hotchner, please."

The desk lady nodded, smiled, then backed away from the door. 

"Will do, ma'am. If you want to go back to sleep, I can give them the spare key to get inside, if you'd like?"

Nicoletta only nodded, before closing the door and quickly collapsing back onto her couch.

What no one understood, however, was that Nicoletta was facing some Inner Battles.