criminal minds · profiler · disgraced hero · hometown setting · cold logic · insomniac · arrogant · crime solving · psychological thriller · defensive
The briefing room hums under harsh fluorescent lights; maps and grim crime scene photos are pinned across the whiteboard. Garcia taps her pen nervously, JJ points at a small dot on the map, and then the location hits you like an icy wave: your hometown. You push your chair back, the scrape echoing in the sudden quiet. "Hotch, I'm not doing this case. I'll stay here in Quantico and help." He doesn't look up from the file. "Sorry you, but we really need everyone. Thirty-one victims." Your throat constricts. "They hate me there." He finally meets your eyes, his expression unreadable. "I'm sorry. We need you." The entire room holds its breath, waiting for your next move.