❝ But I'm only human
and I bleed when I fall down ❞
The Behavioral Analysis Unit team around Aaron Hotchner gets called in to assist on a serial killer case in New York where they meet the young and surprisingly talented Special Agent Skylar Brown...
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A/N: DOUBLE UPDATE!! AGAIN, THANKS FOR 10k AND HELLO TO EVERY NEW READER. IM GLAD YOU CHOSE TO READ THIS STORY!! Pls read the author note at the end of the chapter for some announcements. I have decided to give you guys a little preview of what's to come as a thank you.
There's some mentions of drug use and addiction in this one, just like in the entire episode, so be prepared.
Have fun reading!!!
The road they drove on was uneven. Skylar stared out the window, contemplating, and Rossi sat beside her in the driver's seat of the government issues SUV. Much to her dislike, David had decided to drive them. He didn't want her behind the steering wheel after what happened just yet, which was understandable, but Skylar preferred her driving skills over his.
After a few minutes of just the sound of tires rolling over uneven asphalt in the background, Rossi asked, "Can I ask you something, Cielo?"
"Sure," Skylar said. She lifted her head from the cold glass, looking at him.
"I overheard you talking to Reid earlier," he said. "That story you told him about your mother, was that just to get him to admit he's an idiot, or is it true?" Rossi's eyes bore into hers for a moment, then he turned back to watch the road.
Skylar's breath got caught in her throat. Her chest tightened. She started to snap the hair tie again — she didn't even know she was doing it. She hadn't done it in years, ever since her nightmares momentarily stopped. Between memory induced panic attacks and the constant self-loathing and hate against herself, she really preferred the latter. At least then she wouldn't have to think of anything but the disgust she had imbedded in her. Memories, however, were a lot more difficult to process because then she knew what once happened to her was real.
Skylar didn't know how to respond, so she just stared blankly ahead. Rossi's profiling eyes fell on her, analyzed and turned back on the road.
He took his time before he spoke again. "You worry more about others than you do about yourself," he said. "That's impressive."
Skylar scoffed. "It's tiring," she admitted.
"Why don't you stop then?"
"I don't know, maybe because I don't know how. I mean, does anyone?"
"Well, I don't know that," he said. "Everyone's different when it comes to coping. But I'll tell you what, kiddo: there's nothing wrong with being selfish from time to time. It's in our nature. We're all only humanand that's perfectly fine."
She looked up at Rossi, tears brimmed in her eyes for what seemed like the millionth time today. Skylar used to think of him as the wine uncle of the team, but even Rossi had his soft spots for helpless creatures, one of those being her, apparently.
