{request for !! panic threatened to slip from his lips in a hysterical cry,

but aaron hotchner swallowed it tight and forced himself up from his seat.

"i can't get to her,"

he said under his breath,

pressing the call button to y/n's phone for what felt like the hundredth time.

he waited,

the line ringing so painfully long,

then hearing y/n's sweet, melodic tone.

"hey, it's y/n-"

"y/n, listen-"

"you've caught my voicemail. leave a message and i'll get back to you!"

aaron put his knuckle to his lips and pressed hard enough to draw blood,

trying to regain his composure.

"aaron...are you okay?"

aaron looked to david then nodded his head.

"yeah..have you been able to get morgan or y/l on the phone?"

"no...not since the lockdown began."

"god, i hope she's okay."

y/n was fine,

but she'd never tell you otherwise.

her right arm was painted with irritation from the impact she took on the ground,

and her stomach was beginning to pull blood from the small stab wound.

prisoners surrounded her and she was honestly terrified.

"i like you,"

the grimy man whispered too close to her ear.

she used her elbow to connect with his nose,

causing a commotion throughout the men.

y/n was then shoved to the ground in retaliation,

falling on her already hurt shoulder,

and let out a soft wince.

panic was swallowing her whole.

"just let her go!"

morgan yelled in her defense.

she was so sure these were her last few moments alive;

desolated in the darkness of evil,

though her heart still rapidly beat for aaron hotchner.

she tucked herself away in the corner as the prisoners argued amongst themselves,

slipped her hands out of the zip ties they'd been confined to,

and dialed aaron:

the only person she would use her last breaths talking to.

he picked up on the first ring,

his voice painted with panic.

"y/n. are you alright?"

"i'm-i'm fine...aaron, i don't think i'm making it out-"

"stop. don't even talk like that, y/n."

y/n laughed softly then whispered out a soft,

"i love you more than life itself, aaron. don't ever forget that."

"how could i forget? there's not a moment that goes by where i don't think of you, y/n. you'll always be a piece of me."

y/n could feel the tears brimming in her eyes at the sounds of their melancholy voices,

desperate to feel anything other than this impending fear.

suddenly the line went dead and y/n went cold.

but before the world around her could become no more,

enforcements were rushing in and hauling them out.

y/n's eyes immediately fell to aaron as he rushed in,

nearly toppling people over in an attempt to find his love.

y/n slowly climbed to her feet and collapsed into his arms,

holding onto him for what felt like dear life.

his scent clouded her lungs and lulled her heart to a calm pace,

and aaron was finally warm in the arms of his y/n.

they were home now,

free from fear and full of swelling love.

"i love you,"

he whispered with his lips brushing her ear.

she kissed his cheek and agreed,

"i love you, too."

he pulled back to stare at y/n;

to truly soak in the beauty of her and all that he missed,

and found that her skin was becoming pale and dull.

"are you alright?"

"yeah, fine. you?"

aaron pressed his lips together and scanned her carefully,

his gaze falling upon the pooling blood against her shirt.

aaron looked around to be sure no one was prying,

then used his fingers to carefully lift the fabric of her shirt up.

y/n couldn't figure out of the chills against her skin were from the brushing of his caress or the loss of blood.

aaron felt his stomach roll at the stab wound just right above her hip,

crusted with new and old blood.

"y/n,"

he breathed out,

pulling her shirt back down and staring at her with grave, serious eyes.

"i'm okay."

"you got stabbed."

she went quiet and looked around for something to occupy her attention.

but aaron was still adamant about tending to her wound.

"don't wanna make a scene, do you?"

he asked with a light tone.

y/n looked to see him grinning with a playfulness that seemed too good to be true in this moment.

despite herself,

she let out a soft laugh.

"you wouldn't."

"no?"

he asked,

raising his eyebrows in a taunting way.

y/n rolled her eyes playfully before locking her arm into his and following him to the medic.

as she sat still and got stitched up,

aaron never left her side.

he tried to play it off as best he could,

but his rigid stance and continuous looks to her told everyone everything they needed to know.

"so,"

derek began with a smirk.

"you two, huh?"

y/n sank her teeth into her bottom lip to hold back her laugh while aaron deflected the question with his own.

"you alright?"

"yeah, sure. answer a question with a question."

aaron chuckled and placed a soft hand to y/n's shoulder.

"fine. yes, us two,"

he repeated with a mocking undertone.

y/n was surprised to see him become so playful,

but she knew it had to do with the releasing of his once suffocating nerves.

"good. you two deserve it,"

derek replied with a smile.

everyone was soon filled in on the news,

bringing with it a ton of congratulations and questions.

but y/n and aaron were happy to answer solely because they were happy with each other.

there would be no more hiding,

no more secrets,

and no more spared moments.

aaron vowed to both himself and y/n that from this day forward,

every moment spent together would be spent with the purest form of love, unity, and remembrance that would last them a lifetime.

and it all began with a lockdown.