Blinded by Hate | a.hotchner

Chapter 7

At the station in Des Plaines, you were working on the geo-profile with Spencer. So far, you hadn't said a word to Hotch since you slapped him in is office. He tried a few times on the plane to corner you, but you ignored him and went to go talk to Emily or Morgan. The mental image of you slapping him played over in your mind like a terrible movie. You didn't mean to slap him, you didn't want to. Yet, the clip played over and over. Your small hand connecting with his hard face. You could still feel his rough stubble under your finger tips and the feeling of his hot breath fanning across your face as his large hand encompassed your neck.

Stop thinking about his breath on your face, y/n. Pull it together. You hate him.

While lost in your thoughts, you hadn't realized that Spencer was talking to you. His hand waving in your face pulled you back to reality. "Y/n? You in there?" he asked with a worried expression.

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry I was just thinking, must have spaced off." You replied with a shrug.

"Oh, okay. Well, I think I have the geographical profile done. I'll call Hotch, and let him know we're done." He told you, pulling out his ancient phone. Your shoulders tensed and your breath hitched when he mentioned Hotch, which Reid immediately noticed.

Of course he would notice, he's a profiler. Duh.

"That's the second time you've had a reaction to his name like that. It's different than how you normally react. What happened? Did he do something last night in his office?" He questioned you.

Your breath hitched again, the events of last night flashing through you head. You could still feel his arms around your waist and his hot breath on your neck. Shaking the images from your mind, you took a breath to respond. "Oh, uh. No, he just said that if I did something reckless like that again, he would have to suspend me from the team and I'd have to get evaluated." You told him with a quick shrug, hoping that he takes the answer you give. 

"Okay..." He trailed off, dialing Hotch.

-

Hotch and Reid went to the hospital that all the victims were taken to. The profile led the team to believe that the unsub worked at the hospital, saving the victims he shot. While they were at the hospital, the rest of the team helped Garcia go through employment records. The unsub would have had military training and moved from hospital to hospital, not being able to hold down a job for long.

"Here's one, Phillip Dowd. He was in the Army, which he left with a dishonorable discharge. He joined the Arlington Police, but he was fired after 9 months because he lied about his dismissal from the army. He's employed at the Arlington Hospital Emergency Room." You read out his file to the rest of the team

"He matches the profile." Rossi agrees with you, calling Hotch.

"Hotch, our potential unsub is Phillip Dowd. He's a nurse in the Arlington Emergency Room, and he's scheduled to be working now." Rossi told Hotch.

-

Hotch's POV

"Okay, Rossi." You told Rossi, "Go find Phillip Dowd, he's a nurse." you told Spencer.

Spencer turned on his heel and started to quickly walk away. You watched him scurry down the narrow hallway, before the but of a gun hit his temple. Reid fell to the ground, clutching his head. The man carrying the gun started to point his gun at you, your heartbeat spiking slightly. Instinctually, you moved your hands to grab the pistol sitting on your hip. You pointed the gun at the man you presumed was Phillip Dowd. Rossi was still on the other end of the cell phone call, trying get get answer from you. They must have heard the commotion in the ER through the phone. Phillip fired a few rounds into a surge protector, the lights in the ER going out. You saw the call end, know that the team was on their way to you.