Comments | babylonwood: The world's not falling apart because of me... [OTA; multiple threads welcome]

savesherself in babylonwood

The world's not falling apart because of me... [OTA; multiple threads welcome]

Apr 24, 2011 22:53

[Sort of wibbly-dated to whenever the rescue groups got back. ...wibbly-dated is totally a valid term.]

With most of the rescue parties in the barracks and probably on their way to a well-deserved rest, the Doctor has managed to get the stream to himself... and he's glad for that. Cross-legged by the edge of the water, he's trying to clean the ( Read more... )

aaron hotchner, conan edogawa, the tenth doctor, karrin murphy, major motoko kusanagi, emily prentiss, peter burke, jj jareau, spencer reid

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didntblink April 25 2011, 03:06:34 UTC

Hotch still felt unease at having given the old woman his blood. Anyone who wanted blood for services most definitely was not to be trusted. There hadn't been enough time to organize people, to make it so only a few people had to give blood, and that was a failure on his part. But JJ hadn't needed to give blood. That much made him feel better.

This place, these barracks, hadn't made him feel any better about being in this wood, which according to some at least was as much an...individual, entity or some such thing. It was a lot to take in and process. But Hotch knew that time was against them. It always was. So instead of resting, though he probably needed it, Aaron was walking around, and he was considering leaving the barracks again. And this time his feet led him right to the gate, and Aaron looked out.

savesherself April 25 2011, 03:21:55 UTC

Lost in quiet thought, Emily only notices the man by the gate in a vague, peripheral sort of way at first. He's already inside the walls, which means at least for the moment, he's safe, and not really anything she has to worry about.

But then something about his profile, his body language, his clothes, who knows what catches her attention, and she actually focuses on the person standing there. She freezes for a second, her breath catching in her throat. After a moment, she blinks and shakes her head, half-expecting him to be someone else entirely at a second glance. But no, it's still him - still looks like him, anyway. The fae play tricks, and people here can look just like friends even when they're not, and she can't quite bring herself to believe another member of the team is actually here.

Emily lurches to her feet and half-stumbles down the stairs toward him, a little bit clumsy with equal parts weariness and shock. "...Hotch?" she asks, quiet and uncertain.

didntblink April 25 2011, 03:31:02 UTC

He had been considering the outside so much that he hadn't truly seen anyone, and that more than anything told him how exhausted he was. Aaron needed sleep - hadn't slept yet, hadn't even tried. But it was the recognition, not the movement, which struck him speechless for a moment.

Staring openly in shock, Hotch crossed the distance between them as quickly as possible. And when he reached her, he did something particularly out of character: Hotch hugged Emily close, too close, and he held on a bit too tight. "Emily," Aaron whispered, his eyes closing as he bites back the painful memories. He couldn't believe it.

savesherself April 25 2011, 03:40:40 UTC

And that was the last reaction she'd expected, even on the slim chance that it was Hotch.

She wraps her arms around him instinctively, holding almost as tight out of sheer relief, but she can't ignore the stab of sudden fear that comes on the heels of that relief. Hotch isn't exactly the most demonstrative person in the world, and she can't imagine what might have prompted this. Even the weirdness of the Wood doesn't seem like it would be enough to shake him, and yet...

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you," she gasps softly, pulling back a little so she can look at him. "Are you okay?" She's not going to point out the strangeness of the fact that he hugged her, but it's obvious from her expression that she's thinking it.

didntblink April 25 2011, 03:46:45 UTC

It was Emily, actually Emily. Honestly, Hotch had expected her to be dressed a bit...differently, but he supposed he didn't know what to expect of the witness protection they had put her under. As long as it was better than- Hotch pushed that thought away and gripped her a little tighter.

Mentally, he had some reluctance to letting her go, as if Prentiss might have vanished if she weren't kept close. That had been the case, in more ways than one. But Aaron pulled back as well, suddenly aware of the fact that yes, he had, actually hugged her, hugged Emily Prentiss. "I am at least as glad to see you," Hotch replied, barely keeping his regular even tone, "I'm just glad to see you again, alive." Certainly she had to be able to understand that, considering everything with Doyle.

savesherself April 25 2011, 04:05:06 UTC

"...alive," she echoes, uneasy and obviously confused. "Why wouldn't I..."

Emily frowns, and searches his face for some clue to what he's talking about. She's been here for months, at least. The team doesn't give up easily, but she wouldn't blame them for assuming that she might have been dead if it had been that long without any leads.

Except Reid had thought it had been months since the Shrader case when he got here, and he hadn't even known she was gone. The world carried on without her, somehow, and no one was looking for them because no one knew to bother - she figured that out a while ago. But there's something wrong here that she can't put her finger on - more wrong than just some missing time between the two of them.

"Hotch, what's going on?"

didntblink April 25 2011, 04:13:13 UTC

Hotch saw the look on Emily's face, and it was the second time he had seen such confusion on a team member's face since arriving here. And she was the second team member he had seen. That was alarming in and of itself. Prentiss looked exhausted and not in the best shape, but he hadn't expected her too. It was still so soon, so fresh, so raw. But she didn't look injured, not like they had found her.

He didn't like it. Hotch didn't like this place, and he didn't like whatever it was doing to his agents. She had to have known they would have figured it out, her out, her history with Doyle, including his son. They had even figured out what she did to help his son. But she was acting like...none of it was going on.

"Ian Doyle," Hotch replied slowly, watching her face.

savesherself April 25 2011, 04:31:02 UTC

The reaction's immediate, if subtle and quickly suppressed - a spark of alarm and very real fear in her eyes, her entire body tensing, and then a sudden, careful blankness in her expression. She shifts back just a little, unthinkingly, putting that little bit more distance between herself and Hotch.

"...what?" she asks, struggling to keep her voice even and calm and falling just a little short - the question comes out slightly strangled, like she had to force it out.

The last thing she wants to do is lie to him, but she can't tell him either. She's not sure where that leaves her, but she's sure it's going to depend on where he learned that name. How much he already knows.

didntblink April 25 2011, 04:37:50 UTC

He expected as much after everything she did - after everything Doyle did to her. And he was still alive, out there, somewhere. He had gotten past the road blocks in DC, and Hotch had little doubt he was already on his way out of Boston. He wasn't there, with them now, as far as Hotch knew. Honestly with everyone that had been taken, he would not have been surprised if the UnSubs had managed to get a drop on Doyle as well, especially if he had been vulnerable ( ... )

savesherself April 25 2011, 05:19:47 UTC

Emily draws in a long, slow breath at that, and lets it out a little shakily. She swallows hard, and then nods firmly without meeting his eyes.

"Why?" The earlier careful neutrality is slipping away - if he already knows, there's nothing to hide. She's still tense, still nervous, and still trying not to show how much the mention of Doyle set her off balance, but not quite so guarded about it.

The thing is, she's still not any less confused either.

"What does he have to do with anything?"

didntblink April 25 2011, 05:39:13 UTC

Hotch was confused now. Why? That was what had brought so many government agencies together. Doyle had been coming after Emily, and they had all known that. She had known that. She had known they knew that. And it was...it was like with JJ, except that forgetting this was even a bigger deal with Emily.

So he was staring at her a bit, as confused as she was though in a different way. "Ian Doyle came to DC," Aaron spoke slowly, "He tried to kill you." Had her injuries been so extensive she had forgotten?

savesherself April 25 2011, 06:12:59 UTC

"...oh," she says softly, surprised as if this is the first time she's hearing it. Which... it is.

She wraps her arms around herself, jaw clenched tight for a moment while she considers this information. Reid telling her how the team moved on without her - and somehow with her, at the same time - was bad enough. This is...

"I don't remember any of that. None of that ever... happened to me. I was..." She bites her lip for a second, and then changes tacks abruptly. "Do you remember the Dale Shrader case?"

didntblink April 25 2011, 16:14:38 UTC

It was seeing her face that made him think about what was going on - or possibly going on. There was no explanation for why, but Prentiss truly hadn't heard about it before, didn't know that it had happened. And JJ...she too hadn't known about changing jobs. There hadn't been any signs of a concussion or other medical causes of amnesia. And Prentiss...there wasn't any reason for that, that he knew of. Either something here stole some memory or, in a more frightening thought, perhaps it really had never happened to her ( ... )

savesherself April 25 2011, 22:58:03 UTC

She nods, glad she's getting it, if a little disturbed by the fact that the conversation's happening at all. Fairies. Magic. She'd started to sort of accept it, but when it crashes into her real life, back in the real world ( ... )

didntblink April 26 2011, 00:33:56 UTC

Hotch liked to believe he had a firm grip on reality, at least when it came to regular reliable aspects. Time was supposed to be one of those aspects. Aaron had read and heard some about physics, but he didn't know anything like these experiences, not on an experimental basis that had actually happened. Of course, if no one knew it had happened, it was hard to report the results. But this...it seemed less and less like amnesia. And Hotch followed logic, what the behavior told him ( ... )

savesherself April 27 2011, 01:54:55 UTC

"Trust me, I don't understand it either. Even Reid hasn't come up with a good explanation for it, not that I'd understand most if it if he did..."

Prentiss isn't really invested in understanding the Wood at this point, just in figuring out the rules and the way things work here so she can keep everyone alive long enough for them to make it home.

She smiles slowly again - tired and tense, but full of relief nevertheless. "Honestly, I wouldn't wish this place on anyone, especially not a friend, but... it is really good to see you too."

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