D(r)own on the Lake
Aaron Hotchner x Reader
Summary: The BAU takes to the waters to investigate a recent string of water-side deaths. But it’s not just the water that is unpredictable.
WC: 2.2k
Warnings: water, drowning (drowning scene is bracketed by ***), mention of murder, brief weapons mentions (knife & gun references)
A/N: my first ever criminal minds fic! whoop whoop! and y’all know I’m like the queen of slow burn so here ya go 😉
*****
“Y/L/N! Are you ready?” Agent Morgan shouted across the boat dock to catch your attention.
Did you tell him the truth? That you were most definitely not ready for this day? You had faced murderers from the end of a gun barrel, been held at knifepoint and narrowly escaped death countless times. But boarding the boat in front of you took every ounce of courage. Water just wasn’t your thing.
“Yeah, I’m here,” you responded as you put one foot in front of the other until you took the first wary step onto the boat. “Just taking it all in.” But if the glazed-over look on your face said anything, everyone would soon know of the one weakness that plagued the unbeatable Y/N Y/L/N.
As you transferred your weight over to stand on the boat, you felt a hand on your elbow and a gentle voice behind you saying, “Steady, I’d prefer if I didn’t have to jump in to save one of my agents this soon.” You turned your head to see Aaron’s subtle smile as he waited for you to move forward.
“Oh I’d hate to inconvenience you like that.” You retorted, feeling a sort of calm wash over you at the typical banter between you and Hotch.
Taking the next few steps forward, you took your place among your team along the railing on the side of the federal water vehicle. When the final head count was made, the motor began to hum and the boat moved away from the dock. Slowly and slowly, the safety of land slipped out of reach.
“Okay, so here’s what we know,” Hotch began his debrief on the way to your destination, all eyes were on him. “Our unsub has been using the publicity of the lake to hide his activity. But he doesn’t know that we can use the publicity of the lake to our advantage. We have patrols stationed throughout the area looking for any solo drivers. We will find him.” He looked around to ensure everyone was understanding. “We will be going between these smaller islands as we believe he may retreat to the more hidden areas. We will divide and search for anything suspicious. We believe he will be acting again today and we need to be ready.”
*
As the boat approached the target island, momentum slowed and everyone gathered their wits and their weapons before preparing to take to the land.
As soon as your feet hit the ground, you let out a breath you hadn’t realized you were holding. With your mind cleared you were ready for action. You spotted Hotchner and Reid heading off toward the trees lining the edge of the island and hurried to catch up. You took one last glimpse back at the boat as it pulled away to move to the next island where the rest of your team would begin their search.
As far as you knew, no one on your team knew the depth of your discomfort with the water that you could feel pressing in around you despite the space you continually put between you and the blue-green monster just waiting to swallow you whole.
“Y/L/N-“ Agent Hotchner’s voice cut through your thoughts “-keep heading to the north side of the island, Reid take the East, I’ll head West. Stay vigilant. There’s a reason this unsub hasn’t been found. He’s likely to be adept at hiding in places you might not expect.”
“Sometimes,” you thought, “I’d like to have a normal job that doesn't involve me running head first into imminent danger.” But what would life be without a little excitement.
Instead of speaking your mind, you simply replied, “Sounds like a plan. Let’s get this bastard.”
*
“Put your hands in the air where I can see them.” Your voice remained steady despite the frantic beating of your heart. On any normal case, you would be cool as a cucumber, but your proximity to moving water was knocking your nerves off balance.
The unsub stood not ten feet from you, his feet inches from the edge of a nearly invisible dock that had been hidden on the northern tip of the small island. His rickety escape boat bumped rhythmically against the wooden dock. But what troubled you the most was the young woman he held firmly to his chest. A helpless young woman who would never have imagined her life in this scenario, but now faced terror at the hands of a cunning madman.
“You don’t have to do this. You know that.” You attempted to talk the man down, encouraging him to see this logically. “Just let her go, we can all get out of this right now. No one else needs to die.” You could almost feel the girl’s labored breathing from across the tantalizing gap between you and them.
“No. Someone needs to die today.”
Like a knife to the gut, the reality of your situation sunk in. Someone. But it didn’t have to be her. Maybe you could still get out of this.
Summoning all of the courage left in you, you shouted, much louder than necessary in hopes of someone else hearing, “then take me instead. She’s done nothing to you. But I-“ you gulped deeply, were you really doing this? “I’ve been chasing after you all this time. It’s me you want to get rid of.” Anything to get this innocent woman to safety. And maybe buy yourself a little more time.
The man considered your proposal for a moment before nodding his agreement. You raised your hands and tossed your gun to the ground. You could manage without it. Then you slowly made your way across the uneven ground until you were within arms reach, halfway down the dock already. In one swift motion, the girl was released and your legs were swept out from beneath you, your body crashing to the ground and knocking the air clean out of your lungs. Stunned, you just barely caught a glimpse of the girl running off through the trees. Good.
But this wasn’t over. You were practically dragged across the gap between the dock and the boat and panic swept over you as your body swayed with the toss of the water crashing against the shore. You could have sworn you heard shouting in the distance. Aaron? Spence? But your mind was already reeling with escape plans.
The unsub had already acted unpredictably. No one had anticipated such strength and boldness. Your team believed he hadn’t resorted to brute strength or hand to hand techniques, choosing instead to use stealth as his primary attack. But he had surprised you by sweeping your legs from under you and now you could feel the boat pushing away quicker than you had hoped. Hope of survival dwindled in your mind as fast as the water lapped at the side of the pathetic excuse for a getaway boat.
Once your insides untwisted from the impossible knot conjured by the feel of the lake beneath you, you began to take stock in the situation. Any other agent would never have let this happen. It was the water that put you at a disadvantage and allowed this to happen. If you survived, you were determined to conquer this fear.
Face down in the boat, your hands were tied behind you and you felt a sudden rush of air fan across your face when you were wrenched upward. You were now staring out at the expanse of water separating you from precious shore. You attempted to calculate the distance. Maybe fifteen meters. But you could already see the drop off. He only needed those fifteen meters because the lake dropped deeper after about ten.
It took you mere seconds to calculate all of this, and you were already beginning to put up a fight. Your bound arms were swinging around, but with little room to maneuver. The unsteady rocking of the boat sent you toppling and your instincts kicked in, allowing your feet to carry the fight. But the man was bigger than you anticipated. He had your feet bound before you could stop him. Then with nothing left to fight with, he had you on your feet and pulled to the edge of the boat. The last thing you saw was a swift movement and a flash of something bright. The last thing you heard was the distinct sound of a gunshot. Then water was the only thing on your mind.
***warning: drowning scene/description ahead. you may skip to the next ** if you wish to skip this brief scene***
You knew instantly that you were sinking. Water filled all of your senses. You couldn’t breath, you couldn’t speak. You could hear only the garbled swishing of the liquid around you. Then you heard the splash and something else sank beside you. A body. The unsub.
You gave your best effort at moving your body to stay up as long as possible but it was hopeless. You sank. The light dwindled from the surface. Was this what death felt like?
Another flash of movement crossed your vision before everything went black.
*** end of drowning scene
Sputtering to life, you ejected the remaining water from your lungs, from your mouth. Your eyes fluttered open slowly.
You felt the sway of the water but felt solid ground beneath your body instead. You shivered in the breeze that swept along the shoreline. As you let your gaze float heavenward, you caught a glimpse of your angel. But he had an oddly familiar face.
You coughed again and had help in turning over onto your side. A hand reached to your face and held it up without craning your neck. When you were finished and rolled back over, you moved to sit up and your mysterious savior helped you to do so.
“Easy there.”
You looked to confirm your suspicion. “Hotch? How did you-“ you couldn’t even finish the question. How had he managed to get to you so quickly?
“I heard you shouting. And when I saw he had you in the boat I didn’t wait before jumping in.”
You shook your head to try to understand. But the gunshot?
“So who shot him? I saw him sink past me.”
“Reid. He got to shore first. But he didn’t know-“ now it was Hotch who looked flustered.
“You knew I didn’t like the water, didn’t you?” You should have known, honestly. He seemed to know everything about his team. But somehow you still thought you could hide that one nearly fatal flaw.
“Of course I did. You thought I wouldn’t pick up on it when you froze up just stepping onto the boat earlier? Or the way you iron-gripped the railing on the ride here. Or the way your entire body swayed - even on land - as if you were haunted by the rocking of the waves. Or the-“
“Okay, okay. So you noticed.” Should you care? No, it was his job to notice those things. But still, his attention to those minor details stuck with you.
“Thank you. Someone else might have made it out okay alone but I- you’re right. Water isn’t my thing and I simply couldn’t think straight.”
Now that you were sitting up and he had begun to stand and stretch, you got a better look at the man who hadn’t even hesitated in leaping to the rescue. Was it wrong to be so fascinated by the way his shirt clung to his skin? Or the way his wet hair matted to his head somehow stirred something in you? Even more so than normal. But then he turned away from you. Was that disappointment you felt?
But it didn’t last long. As if it was the smoothest motion in the world, Aaron peeled the soaked garment from him and tossed it aside. Once again, you would be scolded if anyone knew the thoughts filling your head as you stared at his bare back, the muscles standing out as he moved.
Turning back toward you, he tipped his head in your direction. “We need to get you out of those wet clothes before you get sick. The others should be back any minute and then we can get you some fresh clothes.” He offered his hand to help you up. “Let’s get over to the dock.”
As you walked, you attempted to keep your mind clear, but all that filled your thoughts was the sight of the shirtless agent beside you. Distracting yourself, you spoke up. “At least we got the guy. And saved the girl. And you know I like to keep things interesting.”
Shaking his head and laughing, he responded “I thought I explicitly told you not to drown today, Y/L/N?
“You did.” You nodded. Should you go for it? Yes. “But maybe I just wanted to see you shirtless.” You replied with a wink. And for once your fearless leader was left completely speechless.
*****
since this was my first cm fic, I don’t have a taglist for it yet BUT I do have a generic taglist signup and I added cm to it! so
cm taglist (aka my bau baddies, residents of agent 187’s apartment): @doctcr-reid @hufflepuffhaze @breadqueen95 @g0lden-cth @shemarmooresfedora @spookydrreid @writingintheroses @samuel-de-champagne-problems @sparklinspence @spideygenius @reidsacademia @meganskane
plus my general taglist for everything: @makebank @wonderwoman292 @dusk-darlina-demonic @lumos-barnes @miraclesoflove