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Derek sat alone in his office, scowling at the Replicator file. He grunted in frustration at the lack of concrete material apart from the pictures. He’d never forget the sight of all of those pictures tacked up on the walls of him and the team. It was shocking, frightening, and almost overwhelming to think of how long this unsub had been watching them and how close he managed to get.
“No matter how much you want to, you can’t stare that file into submission,” a voice said dryly.
Derek blinked and rubbed at his tired, gritty eyes. He sat back and glared at Dave standing in the doorway. “This is hardly the time for jokes.”
One end of Dave’s mouth quirked up. “I know…” he allowed and waved an arm, “…but this isn’t helping.”
Derek grunted in response.
“You’ve hardly said a word to anyone,” Dave continued reasonably. “You were quiet on the jet.”
“We were all quiet on the jet,” Derek retorted. “We were all in shock.”
“You’ve shut yourself up in here since we debriefed with Strauss.”
“I’ve been working,” Derek hissed.
“And so have the rest of us.” Dave paused and smiled wryly. “You wouldn’t even come out for Garcia. You scared her. She said you snarled at her.”
“I did not.” Derek folded his arms across his chest. He stuck his chin out. “Did you see the same thing I did? This isn’t just some unsub. He’s made this personal and the fucker is serious.”
Dave stepped inside and pulled the door shut behind him. “We all know how serious this is and we’ll only catch him by working together. But it’s three AM. Even Aaron is gone now.”
“So the sweeps of all our residences were clear?”
Dave went to perch on the front edge of the desk next to Derek. He nodded. “Yeah and agents are going to be posted until further notice. But Garcia still went home with Blake and Reid went with JJ.”
Derek’s shoulders suddenly slumped as he deflated in his seat. “I don’t want to close my eyes and see that room again.”
Dave stood behind Derek and started rubbing his shoulders. “If you have a nightmare, I’ll be right there.”
Derek resisted giving in that warm, strong touch. His voice dropped to a horrified whisper. “He had pictures of not just the team individually, but us, Dave. Us. He’s bringing what we have into this.”
Dave didn’t stop the motion of his hands. He leaned in close to Derek’s ear. “We’ll get him and neither of us is going anywhere.”
Derek jumped to his feet, shoved the chair to the side, and pulled Dave into a fierce hug. “God, David,” he ground out, something in between an angry sigh and a sob.
Dave returned the embrace. “I’m right here.”
“If the fucker comes anywhere near you or the rest of the team, I’ll kill him,” Derek vowed, low and earnest.
Dave rubbed the back of Derek’s neck and rested his forehead against Derek’s. “Even Superman needs to sleep. Let’s go and we’ll tackle this fresh in the morning.”
Derek shut his eyes and listened to Dave breathe for a long moment. His heartbeat slowed to a more normal rhythm in his chest. “How are you so calm with all of this?”
“Believe me, I’m just as angry as you are, but this isn’t the time or the place.”
“I know. I just…” Derek trailed off in frustration. He tried again. “I…”
Dave stopped Derek by kissing him. “It’s okay. I get it, but can we please go now?”
Derek reluctantly pulled away. He closed the file and put it in his desk. He followed Dave out. He found himself smiling as he pulled the door shut behind them. The hall was dark and deserted so he could put an arm around Dave’s shoulders. “Did you really ask Detective Rizzo if he needed a hug?”
Dave snickered. “Yeah, I thought it might help his disposition.”
The only thing Derek could do was laugh.