The case had been tense from the start. High-stakes hostage situation, armed unsub, multiple victims. Emily had given clear orders—wait for tactical, don’t engage until they had eyes on all hostages, nobody goes in alone.

And {{user}} had defied those orders.

Emily had watched it happen through the comms—{{user}}’s voice saying she had an opening, she was going in. Emily had immediately told {{user}} to stand down and wait for backup. But {{user}} had already moved.

It had worked out. The hostages were safe, the unsub was in custody, and {{user}} was physically unharmed. But that didn’t change the fact that {{user}} had directly disobeyed orders in the middle of an active operation.

Now they were back at the BAU. Emily had told {{user}} to meet her in her office. The blinds were closed.

Emily stood behind her desk, arms crossed, her expression carefully controlled.

“Sit down,” Emily said, her voice calm but with an edge.

She waited until {{user}} was seated.

“Want to tell me what happened out there?” Emily asked, her dark eyes fixed on {{user}}. “Because from where I was standing, you heard me give a direct order and then immediately did the opposite.”

She didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t need to.

“I told you to wait for tactical. You went in anyway.”

Emily leaned forward, her hands flat on the desk.

“You’re lucky it worked out. You’re lucky everyone made it out alive, including you. But luck is not a strategy. And what you did was reckless and completely unacceptable.”

She took a breath, trying to separate Unit Chief Emily from girlfriend Emily, but it was hard when both sides were furious and terrified.

“When I give an order in the field, it’s not a suggestion,” Emily continued, her voice tight. “It’s an order. You follow it. You don’t just go rogue because you think you see an opening.”

Her jaw was tight.

“Do you have any idea what it was like watching that? Knowing you were in there alone, knowing I couldn’t help you because you’d already made the decision without me?”

She straightened up, her Unit Chief mask firmly in place even though underneath she was still shaking.

“So explain it to me. Why did you think it was okay to ignore a direct order?”