SECT BOUND . aaron hotchner

3.13

Annabel Bradey knew better than to underestimate Gabriel Martyr, she had spent a decade doing just that and it had caused her to lose everything she loved. Aaron was kidding himself if he believed that she would be safe if she hid her eyes and wore a wig, no disguise would be enough to fool him. Even if she were lucky enough that he didn't recognise her face, he would surely recognise her voice. In a decade he had mapped every tiny vibration that crossed her lips - from her breathless delight when the darkness was all that surrounded them to the way she sang to their children. Gabriel knew how the pitch rose when she was deceiving him, it was the reason she had suffered so much towards the end of her time at the church. If she spoke to the crowds, he would know it was her.

He may even recognise her before she opened her mouth. Despite the blonde wig that barely fell past her jawline, Annabel was still recognisable to anyone who knew her well enough. They had covered the tell tale markers - a pair of blue contacts covering the miss match broken glass and pale powder that blurred the scar above her lip - but she still looked like Annie. Despite the change in colour, her eyes still held the contradicting levels of brightness and pain. They still widened as she was asked questions she didn't expect.

No matter what they did to change her physically, Annabel was sure that Gabriel could still recognise her. However, whenever she tried to voice that opinion she was shut down by the Unit Chief. Profilers surrounded her, and - somehow - they hadn't realised how much her mannerisms gave away. Or they did and simply underestimated Gabriel's knowledge of her. They couldn't underestimate him, if they underestimated him she was dead. And so was her daughter.

Her eyes were now fixed on her reflection, frantically trying to imitate the makeup of the women in the paper. Even without her past, Aaron was painting a target on her back by asking her to do this press conference. The point of her look was to give the UnSub something he would recognise, something he desired. She was moulding herself into the object of his fantasy; she was moulding herself into the perfect victim.

Behind her, Emily had noticed the way she continued to twist the wig, trying to get it to sit the most realistically. So, in an attempt to ease Annabel's panic, she made her way towards her and helped to centre the wig, "Morgan will be right next to you the entire time."

"I know." There was no delusion in Annabel's mind, she knew that as she spoke to the crowds she was safe. She worried about afterwards, when the conference had been aired and she was constantly looking over her shoulder. "I've always hated cameras."

"Yet, you were fine on the stage." The friend was right, Annabel has always felt safe on stage. Playing a character had been a release from everything that happened in her own life, for a moment she was someone else and every twist could be anticipated. Emily seemed to understand this, taking a moment before she added, "Maybe pretend this is that? Play a part, as close or far from you."

Annabel nodded, "Do you know what the worst part of life is? The what-ifs." There was a silence, the shaking woman patting more powder to her face, "And it's not even just the ones you ask yourself after the fact - 'what if I'd told him how I really felt?' or 'what if I'd never run away?' - but the ones you ask yourself as you think about the future. Overthinking is so easy when you have so many possible outcomes, the what ifs come naturally."

"And right now?"

"I'm thinking: what if he sees this?" She responded, taking a breath before she continued, "But I'm also thinking: what if Aaron meant everything he said?"

Emily took Annie's hand, resting her head against her shoulder slightly, "He's just stressed and tired and worried; so were you. Go and speak to him again now - since you've calmed down - and then maybe he will make more sense to you."

"I love you, Em." Annabel announced, the words shocking her friend. The ginger was rarely open about her feelings towards other people, especially to their faces. However, the words had been effortless in that moment and Emily couldn't not have been more content.

Instead of repeating the statement, the woman squeezed her friends hand before letting go and leaving her to speak to Spencer. That was Annie's cue to approach Aaron, muttering her apologies as she asked David for a moment. He complied, resting his hand on her shoulder as if the contact could effortlessly removed her worry.

Aaron waited a moment, ensuring that David was out of earshot before he spoke, "I need you to be able to trust me."

"I do." She wasn't lying, she did trust Aaron with every fibre of her being. It was odd, having the desire to share every dark detail with another person, let alone one who was so close to her. Yet, Annabel's rational side knew that Aaron wouldn't leave her because of the skeletons in her closet. Unfortunately, that was not often the side of her that was in control.

"Give me something more then, something to understand."

"I want to, but I don't want you to see me the way I see myself." There was her signature arms length of space, for every step he took towards her she took one back. He could never catch up with her, it had been like that since they were teenagers. It was why he had fallen for Haley, he hasn't been able to get close enough for Annie to catch him.

His hand rested on the side of her face, a slight, sad smile on his face, "I love you, Annie, nothing you can say will change that." There was a silence, Aaron working out how to share one of his most buried truths, "When you didn't show up at the wedding, I didn't know because you were my best man. I knew because - had you have been there - I couldn't have married Haley."

"What?"

"It's always been you." He whispered, watching her face fill with shock. "From the moment I found you stood with the injured bird, trying to nurse it back to health in a shoe box."

Annabel was shaking, pulling away from Aaron's touch, "Why are you telling me this now?"

"Because, as of tomorrow your case is the BAUs top priority." Eyes widening, Annabel didn't have the mental capacity to form words in response to him. "We will have to interview you and learn everything that happened in the compound, how he enticed you and the exact things he preached. We will also have to know the importance you had in the operation, and involvement you had in Gabriel's actions."

"I told you that I didn't know."

Aaron let out a breath, "And I believed you, we just need to have that conversation on the record and with the rest of the context."

Before Aaron could continue, Annabel had closed the gap, "Tonight."

"I'm sorry?"

"I will tell you everything tonight." She clarified. "I want you to know it, but not because I had to answer you from across that metal table."

She took a moment, holding his hands firmly in hers, "I just need you to promise me that you will not forget that bird in the shoe box or these months that we've been happy."

"I wouldn't-"

"Aaron, I can't handle another heartbreak." She whispered. "There's barely enough left to keep me alive. I lost everyone I've ever loved, and you - for some unknown reason - held onto me. So, please, just promise me."

"I promise."