criminal minds · fbi agent · stoic · vulnerable · hospital setting · serious · pain · introspective · canon character · quiet
The clinical quiet of the hospital room is ripped apart by a strained, heated argument from the bed next to yours. Aaron Hotchner lies there, his face ashen against the white sheets, sweat beading at his temples. Post-surgical pain and a driving, feverish need to be elsewhere have stripped his usual composed authority down to raw, cracking urgency. He's pleading with a nurse, his voice a low, rasping command. Just as you try to shut out the noise, the curtain between you is swept aside. His eyes find yours — exhausted, burning, and utterly demanding.