-MAD WOMAN-
fifteen!

i might regret my promises
but i keep them
- seanan mcguire

then - 5x09!

"I'm going to put the phone on speaker, but try to keep quiet. I don't want him to know I have someone else with me," Agent Hotchner instructed Wren as she drove away from the hospital with no particular destination in mind. She nodded as he dialed the phone number and then held it out slightly so they could both listen to it ring.

The phone rang twice before the man on the other end of the line picked up. "Agent Hotchner," Foyet greeted.

"If you touch her..."

"Be gentle, like I was with you?" the man asked and Wren gulped lightly, noticing that Agent Hotchner was pointing to her right, indicating that she turn, so she did. "What the hell took you so long? I was beginning to think this phone was dead or something." Agent Hotchner didn't reply. "Why so quiet? You usually lash out when you're frustrated."

"I'm not frustrated," Agent Hotchner responded calmly. "You're more predictable than you think."

"Am I?" Foyet questioned as Wren made another turn per Agent Hotchner's silent instructions.

"You didn't know where Haley was, so you made her come to you," he stated.

"You make me sound lazy."

"Just another way to show control."

"Oh, that's terrible," Foyet said.

"Your mother tried to protect you from your father, but she wasn't strong enough," the agent continued. "And you hated her for that, didn't you? You decided that all women were weak."

"Those are your words, not mine."

"What were you, nine when you killed them?" The agent asked.

"It was a car accident," Foyet clarified.

Wren made another turn, her heart pounding as she listened to the conversation.

"That you couldn't take credit for. That had to be hard for you," the man sitting next to her said. "But poor George got another chance. The little orphan was saved by the wealthy, sterile eastside couple, the Foyets. And the story should've ended there."

"I don't believe in fairy tales. Do you?"

"That's the thing, George. This isn't a fairy tale. You don't have to write this story. You don't have to do any of this. I know you're exhausted. Always looking over your shoulder, always wondering when the other shoe is gonna drop. Haven't you gotten what you wanted? You've set yourself apart from anybody we've ever dealt with. You're not just a famous serial killer. You're the Reaper. We're gonna study you and your methods for years and years."

"You know what I've been thinking?" Foyet asked after a few moments. "Haley looks pretty good with dark hair. She's lost some weight. Must be all the stress you caused her."

Agent Hotchner shook his head at the words, tears threatening to spill from his eyes as he moved the phone further from him for just an instant. "Where's the little man?" Foyet continued. "Oh, there he is. Does he like Captain America because of you?"

The FBI agent didn't respond, he only pointed in another direction and Wren made the turn. Another cell line was ringing through the phone and Foyet spoke once more. "That's your wife. Hold, please. Mrs. Hotchner."

"I'm here," Haley said. Though her voice was a bit indistinct, Wren and Agent Hotchner could still hear her.

"Open the gate and I'll drive in," the man told her.

"Okay," she replied and hung up.

"Aaron," Foyet said to the man. "I really gotta go."

And just like that, the phone call between the Reaper and Agent Hotchner ended. Wren glanced over at the man and waited for him to tell her something. Anything would've been better than the paralyzing silence that filled the car. Instead, all he did was bask in that silence as his eyes continued to water.

"Agent Hotchner, where do we need to be?" Wren asked him after a moment. "Tell me where we need to go and I'll get us there as quickly as I physically can."

He didn't respond. He just stared at the road in front of them. Wren couldn't tell if he was trying to figure out where they needed to be or if he was accepting defeat, but she waiting for an answer nonetheless.

"My old house. Do you know where that is?" He spoke.

"No, sir, I don't. I'm sorry," she replied. "Just tell me where to turn."

"Make a left at the next stop sign," he instructed and she nodded.

They continued to drive while Agent Hotchner received a phone call and he answered quickly. The brunette was glad to hear that he was speaking with members of his team, but the phone call didn't last long. And almost immediately after he stopped talking to Morgan, he was getting another call. This time, he put it on speaker and pointed towards the right once more, so Wren steered that way again.

"Foyet," he said.

"Aaron?" The disbelief in Haley's voice on the other end of the line was heartbreaking to Wren. "You're okay?"

"I'm fine," Agent Hotchner told her after catching his breath.

"But... he said that... oh, Aaron," she gasped.

"He can hear us, right?"

"Yes," the woman answered. "I am so sorry."

"Haley, show him no weakness," Agent Hotchner instructed kindly. "No fear."

"I know," Haley breathed out. "Sam told me all about him. Is he, uh -"

"No, Sam is fine," he said quickly.

"Aaron, Aaron, Aaron," Foyet spoke. "Is that why your marriage broke up? Because you're a liar?"

"Don't listen to him, Haley."

"I have Sam's service phone right here," the Reaper continued. "They sent out a mass text about his death. You can take a look if you want."

"He's trying to scare you," Agent Hotchner explained to his ex-wife before pointing Wren in another direction.

"Did you even tell her what this was about?" Foyet asked. "About the deal."

"He's just trying to make you angry."

"Well, she should be. She's gonna... d-i-e because of your inflated ego."

"Ignore him, Haley," the man pleaded.

"I'm sure you don't her to know this part either. You know, all he had to do was stop looking for me and you wouldn't be in this mess," Foyet told the woman.

"Don't react."

"What is he talking about?" Haley asked Agent Hotchner, her voice breaking slightly.

Agent Hotchner hesitated for a moment before speaking again. "Tell Jack I need him working the case."

"What?"

"Tell Jack I need him working the case," the man repeated. 

The woman cleared her throat before calling over to her son, who was surely in the room with them. "Jack, did you hear that?"

A few moments passed before a new voice entered the mix, the light voice of Agent Hotchner's son twisted at Wren's gut and all she could do was hope that they would make it in time. She made another turn per the man's instructions as the boy spoke. "Hi, daddy."

"Hi, buddy," Agent Hotchner sighed, the words quivering as he said them.

"Is George a bad guy?" Jack asked.

"Yes, he is," his father said. "Jack, I need you on this case with me. Do you understand? I need you to work the case with me."

"Okay, daddy."

"Jack, hug your mom for me."

The muffled sound of movement passed through the speaker of the phone as the two agents waited for someone else to speak. Wren continued to drive as fast as she could and turned when Agent Hotchner instructed her to. Her sirens were blaring and all she wanted was to get to that house before anything bad could actually happen, but she could feel it in her gut that they were about to be too late.

Words were exchanged between Jack and Haley before Jack seemingly left the room. 

"Is he gone?" Agent Hotchner asked.

"Yes," Haley answered.

"You're so strong, Haley. You're stronger than I ever was," he told her.

"You'll hurry, right?" 

"I know you didn't sign on for this."

"Neither did you," she said.

"I'm sorry for everything."

"Promise me that you will tell him how we met and how you used to make me laugh," Haley requested as tears continued to fall down Agent Hotchner's face and Wren turned another corner.

"Haley-"

"He needs to know that you weren't always so serious, Aaron. I want him to believe in love because it is the most important thing. But you need to show him. Promise me."

"I promise," he whispered.

Haley's breathing was all they could hear for a few seconds before three gunshots went off and Wren felt her heart shatter into a million pieces. Agent Hotchner threw the phone onto the dashboard before telling Wren where to turn next. She watched from the corner of her eyes as he placed his head in his hands and sobbed.

Finally, Agent Hotchner pointed at a house on the other side of the road and Wren sped towards the building. She had barely shifted the gear to park before both agents got out of the car and ran towards the house. Agent Hotchner instructed that she watch his back as they moved through the house and that's what she did. For every corner they turned, Wren was making sure Foyet didn't appear behind them. 

The silence and darkness inside the Hotchner household were mortifying. Wren knew that in one room they entered, they would find Haley's body and it was possible that in that same room Foyet would be waiting.

Agent Hotchner spotted a trail of blood on the carpet of the living room on the first floor and nudged the woman behind him slightly so she saw it as well. The two agents followed the trail through Jack's bedroom and up the stairs. Once they cleared the office, the pair approached the master bedroom where they could see Haley's body laying on the ground. Agent Hotchner's composure was threatening to break down completely but when Wren noticed a pair of shoes peeking out from under the drapes, she helped redirect his focus to where Foyet was hiding.

After making a few more steps, Agent Hotchner spun quickly and unloaded his clip into the figure behind the drapes. Wren's gun was still drawn and pointed at the man as he fell forward, taking the curtain down to the ground with him. Hotchner turned Foyet's body over to make sure he was dead, but instead, they found the man to be wearing a kevlar vest. Foyet launched at Hotchner and punched him in the face, though he was surprised by Wren's appearance in the house. Agent Hotchner was pushed into Wren and she stumbled for a moment, her aim on Foyet interrupted.

"You weren't supposed to bring a friend," Foyet muttered as he scrambled out of the room while Wren attempted to fire at the man while Agent Hotchner reached for the firearm he kept on his ankle.

Foyet turned around quickly as he pulled a gun out and aimed at Wren. Unfortunately for Wren, the bullet he shot at her hit her right next to the pit of her arm. She yelled in pain as she backed into the wall behind her, but still aimed and fired two shots into Foyet's back, causing him to stumble toward the stairs. 

She watched Agent Hotchner dash after the man while she slid down the wall. After dropping her firearm, Wren clutched onto her wound and let out heavy breaths. She was doing everything in her power to not pass out from the pain. The dampened sounds of a continuous fight came from down the stairs as Wren practically dragged herself out of the room. She needed to help Agent Hotchner. That was her job. But before she could even reach the top of the stairs, she heard the voice of Agent Morgan speaking. The rest of the team had finally arrived. Wren relaxed against the wall of the hallway as she listened to the footsteps of Agent Hotchner bound up the stairs and into the office they had briefly entered earlier. 

No one was paying attention to her as they followed the man into the office where he revealed his son hiding in a chest. The sighs of relief that each FBI agent released at the sight of Jack were loud and clear. After JJ took Jack from Agent Hotchner, Emily turned and saw Wren sitting on the ground, blood starting to seep between her fingers as she put as much pressure on her wound as she could.

"Oh my god, Wren!" The raven-haired woman exclaimed as she knelt down next to her, replacing Wren's hand with her own over the wound. Agent Hotchner stepped over Wren and made his way into the master bedroom again. "Rossi! Get EMTs in here now!"

"No, I'm fine, just help me stand up, I can go to them," Wren stuttered through her words as she started to sweat and shiver at the same time. "Where's Foyet?"

"He's dead," Emily told her. "Are you sure you can walk? You've never been that great with your own blood."

"If you help me, yeah, I'll be fine," the brunette reassured, even though she didn't really believe herself. She just wanted to get out of that house. "If I pass out, then I give you full permission to get an EMT."

Emily nodded and stood up once more before slowly pulling Wren to her feet. Morgan had made his way up the steps and also assisted the woman down the stairs. Once she was out of the house and in the hands of some of the first responders, the two went back inside. 

Spencer was standing by one of the SUVs and the moment he saw Wren walking toward one of the ambulances, he started in her direction. She was doing her best to stay upright as the paramedic applied a temporary gauze until she could get to a hospital, but with every moment, she felt more and more nauseous. She couldn't think straight and her wound hurt more than she'd ever admit.

Before Wren could even comprehend what was happening, she felt Spencer sit next to her. He pulled on her arm a bit and her head lazily fell onto his shoulder.

"I thought you had a thing about germs," Wren muttered as she readjusted, remembering the conversation they had a few days ago.

"You got shot. I think my 'thing about germs' can hold off for a bit," he said. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I just got shot," she replied and he laughed lightly.

"You were lucky, agent. It seems the bullet went clean through," the paramedic told her. "Once I've cleaned it well enough, we'll get you to the hospital for stitches and see if there's anything else needed to be done."

"Thank you," Wren whispered to the person as another shiver ran down her spine. She tilted her head toward the doctor she was seated with. "I feel cold."

"You've probably lost a significant amount of blood," Spencer explained as he looked over at the paramedic's work. "When someone suffers from blood loss, their body temperature drops. From the looks of it, they've stopped the bleeding, so you should start feeling better soon."

"I'm also sweating," she acknowledged the moisture she felt on her forehead.

"Your body is working harder than usual to try to heal your injury for you, so it's burning energy and your body is trying to cool itself down," he continued to talk to her, hoping that she wouldn't pass out before they could get her lying down. 

"Okay, agent, we're ready to head to the hospital. Do you think you're able to stand?" The paramedic asked after a few more minutes of aimless conversation between the two FBI agents.

"As long as I have help, I think so," Wren answered as she pulled her head from Spencer's shoulder. He held onto her good arm to keep her steady and then watched as two EMTs helped her lay down on the gurney in the ambulance.

Spencer stood up to allow them to shut the doors, but before they could, Wren was calling for him once more. 

"Will you stay with me?" The question was barely audible but he heard it. He looked down at his own injured knee and contemplated the difficulty of getting into the vehicle.

It didn't take him long to decide a little pain was worth comforting her in any way he could.

✦✧✦

Wren sat in a conference room with her right arm in a sling as she waited for Chief Strauss to ask her next question. It had been a week and a half since Foyet was killed and only four days since Wren was released from the hospital. The brunette didn't really understand the need for an internal investigation, but she'd been too tired to argue or question the woman she worked for. Wren was just glad that the bureau was paying for her medical expenses and giving her paid time off that she could use whenever she wanted it.

"Why did you not wait for the rest of the team to arrive to enter the house?" Strauss asked her and Wren was tempted to roll her eyes. The woman had heard the accounts of the entire BAU already. She knew exactly what happened and how, she just wanted to find someone to blame that wasn't the man who was already dead. "Did Agent Hotchner tell you not to?"

"We didn't wait because we had already heard gunshots over the phone," Wren explained as she readjusted her arm. "And even if Agent Hotchner had told me that, I was in no position to question or counter him. He and I were in agreement that we needed to get to that house as soon as possible and it would've caused more harm for us to wait until we had backup."

"So you just ran into a house with no safety vests, no knowledge of when backup would be arriving, and no guarantee that more innocent people wouldn't end up hurt?"

"Yes, we did."

"Are you not taking this seriously, Agent Spader?" Strauss scoffed at the brunette's response. "You could've been killed. Agent Hotchner and his son could have been killed."

"Ma'am, I don't know what you want from me," Wren replied. "I stayed with Agent Hotchner the entire time, just like you asked. I provided a level head to his 'irrational decisions,' per your instructions. Whether I was there or not, that day would've ended the same. But we can't go back and change what happened and we can't prevent it from happening again because we don't know what the future holds. The decisions that I made on that day are mine and I will stand by them. I did my job to the best of my ability. We failed to some extent, but we also saved Jack Hotchner's life. I don't think there was any other course of action that would've been better suited for the situation at hand."

Erin Strauss sighed as she looked at the woman in front of her. No question she could ask would get an answer that skewed the blame in any direction that would satisfy the bureau. So instead of continuing to interrogate the agent, she stopped the audio recording. "How's your arm?"

"Still hurts quite a bit, but I'm adjusting," the brunette said. "Once the stitches are healed, I'll have to do some physical therapy but there's nothing I can't handle."

"You've taken on a lot since I hired you," Strauss pointed out and Wren let out a breathless laugh.

"I prefer a heavy workload anyway."

"Well, still, you should take your time off as soon as you can," the section chief stated as she stood up, prompting Wren to do so as well. "You deserve a break just as much as anyone."

Wren simply nodded at the woman before leaving the room. Down the hall, she saw Agent Hotchner sitting on one of the benches, his face bruised still. He was looking down at the ground and it was obvious to Wren that he was still processing his grief. There was only so much she could do for him at this time, but she knew that grief could show itself in many different ways, and she wanted him to find it on his own.

She made her way back over to the BAU, where she was invited to wait with the team until Agent Hotchner's hearing was over. She sat next to Spencer as the group spoke of random topics. Garcia was trying to entertain Jack to the best of her ability while JJ went to get him a snack. The air around the group was solemn and none of them had the right thing to say, so instead of talking about the trauma they had faced, they made an attempt to look forward.

But the future wasn't very appealing either.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

hi!

this is unedited so if there's any issues, please ignore, i'll go back and rewrite this chapter at some point

i don't have much else to say but i wanted to add the second half of 5x09 bc we finally got some insight on what happened to wren that day. eventually i'll have some cute trauma bonding moments between hotch and wren, but next up we get to see how the team reacts to wren hiding the doyle secrets 🤩🤩🤩

also the new gif was made by the incredibly talented parkersfilms and i love it a lot, tysm mercedes !!!!

please remember to vote and comment! i'd love to know what you guys think of the story so far !!!

tysm for reading, i appreciate you <3

with love, robin!