Criminal Minds Fanfic

Chapter 5

Lauren wakes the next morning in cold sweats once again. Her hair is plastered to her face and her eyes sting as the first light of the day pokes over the buildings across the street. Swinging her legs off the mattress, she begins her normal routine. After pouring her morning tea, she glances over at the piano. "Not today," she proclaims and goes back to her bathroom to get ready.

After finishing her makeup and reading her favorite columns of the Daily Quantico, she packs her belongings in her bag. She checks her phone to finds three missed calls from her great aunt Mallory.

After leaving the condo and locking her door, she take out her phone and calls Mallory.

"Hello?" Mallory yells in the receiver. "Lauren? Is that you?" Lauren holds the phone away from her ear.

"Mallory," she remarks. "You're shouting."

"Oh," Mallory says, quietly. "Sorry dear."

"So, what's so important that you had to call me three times?" Lauren asks, walking down the street in the direction of the train station.

Lauren's aunt Mallory lives in a small town in Maine where everyone knows everyone. Ever since Lauren's mother died, Mallory has felt obligated to call Lauren everyday to check up on her but recently it has become Mallory's time to complain about neighbors or talk about the latest drama in her knitting club.

"I heard from Mrs. Evans, across the street, that Stacy O'Brien, Wendy's daughter, and Hanson Braun, Mary's son, are together and..." Mallory continues to talk about other things and Lauren listens half-heartedly as she rides on the train adding in an 'uh huh' and 'oh my' every once and a while. "... so how's the new job?" Lauren snaps out of her daze when she realizes her aunt is addressing her now.

"Fine," she replies, catching the gaze of a woman sitting on the bench beside her. Lauren switches her phone into the hand that gripped the strap and turns to look at the other side of the train.

"That's it?" she asks, clearly annoyed. "Fine?!"

"Not everyone's life is as packed with drama as your's Mallory," she snaps, realizing how rude it sounded as she says it.

"Well," Mallory remarks, offended.

"I'm sorry, Mallory, I just haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately," Lauren whispers into the phone, hoping no one around her can hear.

"You having those nightmares again?" Mallory yells into the phone.

"Mallory, you're shouting again," Lauren mutters.

"Oh, sorry," she pauses. "Have you been drinking the tea I got you?"

"Yes, I have."

"That worked for you when you were fourteen!"

"Was that what made them stop?" Lauren whispered again.

"I think so."

The train jolted to a stop and Lauren fell forward. Regaining her balance, she waited for the door to open. "Mallory, I have to go. I will call you after work today, okay?"

Mallory pauses for a few seconds. "Okay," she hangs up.

***

After checking through security, Lauren looks at her watch: 5:04 AM.

"You're early," Hotch calls from behind her.

"I didn't realize until I got here," she remarks, looking up from her watch.

"I'm normally the first one here," he remarks, pressing the button on the elevator.

"It was a long night," she offers, keeping her gaze on the elevator.