there's a small timeline change !! the team will know abt hotch going into witsec immediately, not after a couple of weeks!! 

SIXTEEN. OUT OF BALANCE

THREE WORDS. Three words was all it took to light the flame that would make her world stop. It was the one night she had gone to bed and had forgotten to plug her phone in, so she missed the notification that came through around three in the morning. She'd been fast asleep in an awkward position that would probably lead to back issues in the future, but she was on her period and had finally found a way to be comfortable, so it didn't really matter. 

It was a night without Spencer, as well. It wasn't unusual for them to sleep at one another's apartments considering the lack of time they got to spend together as it was. With movies and discussions keeping them up late at night, they'd decided that perhaps it wasn't the worst thing to make a habit of. 

Her alarm clock had started screaming in her ear at the usual time, and she reached around blindly, attempting to hit the snooze button. Eventually silence loomed over the room once more, and she fell back against the pillow, refusing to believe that she had to get up. 

Her morning routine was nothing special; she'd roll out of bed as late as possible, shower, brush her teeth, and grab a coffee if she had time, before hurtling out the door for another long day. 

She had almost gotten through it all before she'd seen her dead phone on the kitchen counter. She groaned and hung her head, reaching for it and tucking it in her pocket. She had a charger in the car, and that was good enough for her. Besides, there wasn't anything important she needed from it. 

★☆

Less than two hours later, Rhea was running through the FBI building on the verge of a panic attack. In one hand was her visitor pass and in the other was her phone, and from the way her legs were shaking, she was in desperate need of comfort. By the time she burst into the bullpen of the BAU, her eyes were shiny with unshed tears and her bottom lip was bleeding from how hard she'd been biting it. 

"Rhea?" Anderson jumped to his feet as she made it halfway through the room, only to see that Spencer wasn't there, neither was the rest of the team. Her shoulders began moving up and down even quicker, and she felt sickness rise inside her. Anderson didn't hesitate in leading her over to his desk and sitting her down on the chair, before he went to the conference room, where the team was discussing their newest case. He hesitantly knocked on the door, and drew attention to himself instantly. 

Most assumed the worst, but it was Marnie who peered outside the window leading to the bullpen who noticed Rhea's presence. "Shit, she's probably here about Daisy and Hotch."

Spencer didn't have to follow her gaze to know who she was talking about. He shot up without a word and rushed outside, his colleagues in pursuit. Rossi and Emily Prentiss exchanged a worried look as they followed the doctor, knowing how things were likely to pan out. 

"Rhea? What're you doing here? What's wrong?" Spencer squatted in front of Rhea, placing his hand on her knee softly. He was shocked to see her watery eyes. 

"Where's Daisy?" she blurted out, not looking him in the eye. She feared that if she started crying, she'd never stop. "She's not in her office, and she isn't replying to any of my calls-"

She held her phone out towards the growing group. Spencer took the phone and looked carefully at the screen before him. 

FROM: DAISY

We love you.

His shoulders fell and he showed Emily, who sighed. It had been years since she'd seen Rhea, and it broke her heart that this was how it was going to go. "Why don't you come with me for a minute, Rhea?"

"Has something happened to her?" Rhea choked out as Spencer helped her up, leading her up to Aaron's office. 

She gripped Spencer's hand, her heart thumping at the speed of light. She sat down on the chair in front of the desk, while Emily leaned against it. The older woman was tired, it was clear in her expression. Yet, she maintained her caring nature. "I'm sorry we had to meet again under these circumstances."

Spencer winced slightly as Rhea's hold on him tightened. "What happened? Is she okay? What about the kids? What about Aaron?"

"They're alright," Emily assured the woman softly. Rhea managed a breath, but she knew there was more to be said. "But, as of last night, Daisy, Hotch, Jack and Grace have been put into the Witness Protection Program."

Rhea nearly threw up then and there. 

"Peter Lewis, or Mr. Scratch, was spotted at Jack's school, and later at Grace's kindergarten," Spencer explained. "Neither of them wanted to put the children's lives at risk, so they agreed to go into WITSEC."  

"All we can tell you is that they're safe," Emily eyed Spencer, concerned about his leniency with information. "But, as you have close relationships with members of the BAU, I'd like you to start being more careful. If Daisy had sent this an hour later, she'd have breached protocol."

Rhea wiped her eyes with her sleeve. The roughness of her movements left red marks in her skin. "How long...how long are they gonna be..."

"As long as it takes to catch Scratch," Emily responded. Talking to families and friends who had faced losses was part of her job, but it was a lot harder when it came to those she knew personally. "And we're gonna catch him, you hear me? None of us are going to rest until he's either dead or behind bars."

Rhea nodded once. Then she nodded again, then a few more times. "Okay. Okay. Okay. Is there anything else I can do?"

"Don't do anything stupid," Emily picked up a piece of paper and scribbled something on it. "Make sure you're aware of your surroundings. Just...be careful."

Rhea wished she could swallow her nerves. 

★☆

The days seemed to go slower without Daisy. They turned into weeks, which turned into months, and yet no progress had been made. Rhea still sent the odd message or called to hear her voicemail, but it wasn't the same. 

"I'm worried about you," Spencer said over the phone from where he was working in San Diego, investigating a series of deadly home invasions. "Maybe you should talk to someone."

"And say what, Spencer?" Rhea's phone was tucked between her ear and shoulder. There was hostility in her voice, which was quite unlike her. She irritably stapled worksheets together in the comfort of the empty classroom, a bottle of unopened lemonade waiting to be opened. She hardly gave it a second thought. Her mind was entirely consumed with Daisy. With Mr. Scratch. "It's all a little complicated to be going around telling people what's been going on."

"This kind of thing happens in our line of work, Rhea," Spencer tried to comfort her, but it wasn't working. Usually it was the other way around. "This is Jack's second time in WITSEC."

"And how did it work out the first time?" her eyes were stinging. She didn't want to imagine Daisy ending up with the same fate as Hotch's late ex-wife. "Spencer, I can't...I don't know what to do with myself if I'm not looking out for her and the kids." 

"I know," Spencer sighed. "Maybe you should try something new to distract yourself."

Rhea couldn't help the frustration building inside her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Yeah, maybe."

"Rhea," Spencer knew exactly what she was doing. "It's normal to use anger as a front for concern. But we're trying our best. We're gonna get him."

Maybe it was the anxiety eating her up inside, but she couldn't bring herself to believe him. 

★☆

i'm,,, so,,, tired