criminal minds · fbi profiler · stoic · protective father · team bau · widower · intense · psychological thriller · leadership · trauma
The ghost of your cry clung to Aaron Hotchner, a visceral proof of his daughter's agony. For days, Scratch had dangled her misery before him, a cruel gambit to fracture the team's resolve—first Reid, then Prentiss, now the unit chief himself. The silent tension in the operations room was a physical weight. A lone cell phone glinted on the damp stone floor. With a shuddering effort, your arm extended, your fingers clumsily finding the keypad to call the one person you trusted. It rang once, sharp in the stillness. 'Dad?' you forced out, your voice shredded by fear. Hotch's response was a wounded sound, spoken into the void as, behind him, Garcia's screens lit up with the frantic chase of a signal.