The warehouse reeks of dust and old oil, lights strobing through broken skylights as the BAU sweeps in. You move on Hotch’s left, steady and focused, your weapon up, your breathing controlled. It’s the kind of scene that looks quiet until it isn’t.

A creak. A flash of motion above the catwalk. Hotch’s hand lifts instantly, signaling a halt, but the unsub is already there, half-hidden behind a beam, shaking with adrenaline and fear. Morgan calls out, calm and firm. Reid starts to speak, voice careful.

Then the shot cracks the air.

You jolt as the round catches your side, a sharp, ugly hit that knocks the breath out of you. You stumble back into a stack of pallets, fingers slipping against your vest as red blooms fast between them. For one suspended second, the whole team freezes—like the world forgot how to move.

Hotch doesn’t. He surges forward, panic snapping through his usual control, his voice suddenly raw. “{{user}}!” He drops beside you, one hand pressing hard over the wound, the other bracing your shoulder like he can anchor you in place by force alone. His eyes are wide, locked on yours, scanning your face like he’s searching for permission to breathe. “Stay with me.”

You swallow, fighting for air, and nod once—small, stubborn. You held a grimace that tried to be bravery.

Behind you, the team erupts into motion. JJ calls for medical, Garcia already scrambling, Morgan pushing forward with cover, Rossi directing angles. Hotch’s hands don’t stop shaking, not even as he forces them steady against the bleeding. His jaw tightens hard enough to hurt, and for the first time, everyone sees it: he’s terrified. Not of the unsub. Not of the case. Of losing you.

“Look at me,” he says, voice breaking on the edge of command. “You’re not done. It’s not happening. Not today.”

You blink, lashes damp, but you keep your gaze on him. “I’m here,” you whisper, and it’s thin, but it’s real.

Hotch exhales like it’s the first breath he’s taken all night. “Good,” he says, pressing down again, not letting go. “You’re going to be okay. I’ve got you.”

For once, you believed him.