Blood and Battle | Criminal Minds (gxg)

Chapter 13

TW: brief mention of violence/t0rture

At 7:00 I'm sitting in an armchair in the lobby of the hotel. My first (second?) cup of coffee is in my hand. Hotch throws an apple at me. I catch it with one hand without looking up from the spot on the far wall I'm staring at.

"Eat." He's not asking.

"Yes, sir," I say sarcastically as I take a bite.

"You look tired," Reid says as he stands next to me.

JJ hits him lightly in the arm. "Spence."

"Thanks, Reid." I glare up at him, failing to hide a small smile.

To be honest, I'm exhausted. I got maybe three hours of sleep last night, and they weren't exactly great.

Something about me—I don't remember my dreams. Even when I was a kid, I'd only remember the really bad ones, and even then just bits and pieces.

But as soon as Elle walks into the lobby it all comes rushing back.

Her arms around my waist, her lips on mine, her vanilla lavender scent mixing with the smell of sweat on our skin. I clench my left fist, the pain of my healing injury pulling me back to reality. Snap out of it.

I realize Reid's still talking to me. "What?" I look up at him.

"I said, the amount of time we sleep doesn't actually matter as much. When we wake up in our sleep cycles is what really affects how tired we feel."

"Thanks, Kid Genius, but I'm pretty sure you have to sleep to have sleep cycles," I say with a smirk.

"Yeah, good point."

I'm still staring at the wall opposite me but I'm watching Elle out of the corner of my eye. She's wearing a dark red v-neck t shirt with a brown leather jacket, formal black pants, and boots. Damn, she looks good in red.

I focus my attention on her fully as she approaches me, Reid, and JJ. I take a bite out of my apple to avoid having to talk.

"You get any sleep?" she asks.

Reid answers for me. "No."

I glare at him again as he shrugs.

Morgan walks over laughing. "Carli tends to do this thing where she works herself to death and pretends she's completely fine."

Elle looks down at me and raises her eyebrows. "Sounds healthy."

"It's too early for this shit," I mutter.

"Language," Reid says next to me.

I finally break into a smile as Morgan, JJ, and Elle laugh.

"You guys ready to go?" Hotch asks from the door.

"Yeah, coming." I stand up, the four of them surrounding me.

Morgan is right in front of me, his eyes a good half foot above mine. I look up at him with a small smile. "Time to go play firefighter," I say.

"Yeah, I'd bet you look great in that uniform." He gives me a cocky grin. "Or maybe just part of it."

I smirk as I roll my eyes. "You're right," I say stepping around him, purposely brushing my arm against his chest and side. "I would."

────

Twelve hours later and we have our unsub in custody. She was laying low but had to set another fire to ease her compulsions. When she did, we got her. Thankfully, no one else got hurt.

The jet landed about an hour ago, but I'm sitting at my desk in the BAU.

Hotch told me to go home but I wanted to get started on the cases JJ gave me at the beginning of the week. She's in her office right now, the only other person here besides me and Elle, who sits at her desk.

It's late, the moon shining through the windows. The only other light comes from the two desk lamps we're using.

Another hour passes when I shut the file in front of me, resting my head in my hands.

JJ warned me it was a bad one.

I'm used to the violence. Broken bodies, blood, and gore often fill my cases. Horrible weapons and methods of hurting other people. But this...

They were ripped apart. Literally ripped apart.

I massage my temples, trying to ease the tension headache behind my eyes.

"Carli?" Elle notices me hunched over.

I look up to meet her eyes across the room, concern etched into her beautiful features.

Silently, I get up from my chair and walk over to her. I sit on her desk, looking down into her face. She doesn't say a word as she moves to sit beside me. Our shoulders are pressed together, legs mere inches apart.

"It's just..." My voice trails off as I try to find the words. "It's a bad one," I say quietly.

"Do you want a second opinion?"

I shake my head. She shouldn't see it. I don't want her to see it.

"No, I got it, I just... needed a break."

She nods in understanding as her hand finds mine in the dark. That feeling returns to my stomach. I think I'm starting to get used to it. We sit there quietly, her fingers interlaced with mine.

Some time passes. It may have been just a few minutes or half an hour. I don't know. I don't care.

JJ walks around the corner into the office. "Hey guys, I'm heading out."

I jump at the sound of her voice, dropping off the desk as my right hand moves instinctively to my sidearm.

"Woah, sorry," JJ says quickly, "Didn't mean to startle you."

I force a smile. "No, my bad. Just a long day."

She returns the smile. "Maybe you should go home, get some sleep."

Why is everyone so concerned with me sleeping?

"Yeah, that's a good idea," I say passive aggressively.

"Alright, well, goodnight guys."

We say goodbye as she leaves the office.

I feel Elle's hand on my shoulder. "She's right. You should go."

I turn and smile at her, real this time. "You first."

She grins. "Why don't we both get out of here?"

I nod and walk back to my desk to grab my things, deciding whether or not to take the file home with me. I reach for it but Elle's voice stops me.

"Leave it."

I do.

---

We say goodbye in the parking garage.

"Before you go..." I reach into my pocket, pulling out her sunglasses.

"Was wondering if I'd see these again," she says as she takes them from my hand.

I smile. "I couldn't possibly deprive the world of Elle Greenaway in a suit and sunglasses."

She laughs, the sound echoing in the empty garage. "I'll see you tomorrow?" She says it like a question.

I smile. "What, you're already tired of me?"

"Never."

I laugh. "Goodnight, Greenaway."

"Goodnight."