for context: this is set during the season eight finale with the replicator aka john curtis/ mark hamill !!

TWELVE. THE STRANGE MAN AT THE HOSPITAL

THE DAY DAISY WENT INTO LABOUR, SHE'D BEEN HOLDING AN ICED CHOCOLATE. She spilled it on the concrete and appeared to be more upset about the five dollar loss than the fact that she had entered the first hour of pure pain. She'd been told to rest by Aaron, her doctor and the team, but as usual, the stubborn woman refused. 

Before all this had happened, however, the two best friends were wandering through the capital city, arm in arm, talking about Rhea's boy troubles. It used to be the other way around, but since Daisy had found Aaron, it seemed that she had taken over responsibilities as the relationship counsellor.

"So, he's only texted you once?" Daisy asked, sipping her drink. 

"Yeah, but he's busy, so I get it," Rhea muttered with a half-hearted shrug. "It's probably because I weirded him out in the elevator."

"It's not your fault you don't like to be grabbed," Daisy assured her. "He didn't know that, but now he does. I think he's just a bit embarrassed, that's all. You guys are still relatively new friends, and you know more about him than he does you."

Rhea hummed, still uncertain. "But with Katie gone, do we really have much to talk about anymore?"

Daisy opened her mouth to respond, before she groaned, doubling over a little. "Oh my God."

 Rhea quickly reached for her hand with wide eyes. Her previous thoughts evaporated as her head filled with every worried thought possible. She barely had time to breathe before she could even comprehend what was happening. 

"What's wrong?" she blurted out, managing to shove her reusable coffee thermos in her bag so that she could take Daisy in both arms. She was panicking far more than her friend, which was quite on brand for the both of them. "What's happening?"

Daisy exhaled, her eyes squeezing shut. "I think my water just broke. Did it? Please say yes, I can't piss myself at thirty-five years old."

Rhea looked down at her crotch, where a small puddle had formed. "Either way, I'm not gonna let you live this down."

Daisy grunted, waddling over to Rhea's car parked kerbside and leaning against it. Rhea, however, ran to the trunk and pulled out a towel for her friend to sit on. When she went to put it on the passenger seat, Daisy sent her an unimpressed glare. "Really? I'm not gonna have my baby in the front seat of a Prius, Rhea."

"Better safe than sorry," Rhea shrugged with an amused smile, returning to the driver's seat. She climbed inside and started the car, her hands trembling with worry and excitement. "Where's the nearest hospital?"

"A mile that way," Daisy gestured behind them, before she tilted her head and pointed east. "Wait, no, that way."

Rhea released a frustrated groan and started driving east, careful to watch out for direction signs so that she wouldn't accidentally drive a state over without realising (her sense of direction was bad enough for that to happen).

★☆

Rhea was probably driving a little faster than she needed to, but she had never been more careful. Her heart was beating out of her chest at the thought of her best friend giving birth, it had all seemed so unreal until now. 

Daisy, however, was mostly fine. She was tapping into her phone keyboard with a slightly confused expression, but otherwise she seemed to be doing okay. A moment passed, and she turned her head to look over at Rhea with a slight grin on her face. "Aaron's gonna freak out."

"Are you serious?!" Rhea stopped at a traffic light and smacked Daisy's shoulder. "Stop dicking around and call him!"

Rolling her eyes, Daisy pressed the button and put it on speaker, her other arm rubbing her swollen belly. They listened to the line ring, before it was quickly picked up. 

"Daisy? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine," Daisy chirped. Rhea sent her a look and snatched the phone from her.

"Aaron, her water broke," she said, stepping on the gas when the light changed. "You're gonna need to pack it up wherever you are and get your ass back here."

"Are you serious!?" Aaron blurted out, and she held the device back out for Daisy to take. The woman reluctantly took it, knowing exactly how her partner was reacting. "When did it break? How long has it been? Are you on your way to the hospital? Does Jack know-"

"I've texted Jess, she's gonna pick up Jack from school today," Daisy looked out the window and straightened up, pointing at a cafe with a funny name. "Have you tried the coffee from Barkin' Bert's Bakery?"

"We'll try it on the way home from the hospital, which is where you're going right now, I assume?" Aaron pressed on, and Rhea snuck another glance at Daisy. 

"Yeah, we're about five minutes away," she called out, hearing Aaron's sigh of relief. "How's your brother doing?"

"We can talk about that later, alright?"

Daisy's shoulders flattered as she realised that she couldn't exactly distract herself from what was happening. "Okay. Just let us know when you land."

"Will do," he muttered. "Daisy?"

Daisy hesitated, before looking down at the device. "Yeah?"

"I love you," he said in the most genuine way Rhea had ever heard. "I love you so much, and I'll be with you as soon as I can."

"I love you too," Daisy replied lightly. Rhea looked over and saw tears in the woman's eyes. She reached over and put her hand on her friend's knee, squeezing a little. Daisy gulped, and wiped her eyes. "I'll try and keep the baby in so you and Jack can be here, okay?"

"Sounds good to me," Aaron chuckled. "Bye, sweetheart."

Daisy hung up and dropped the phone in her lap, bursting into tears. Rhea did a double take, and she signalled before pulling over to the side of the road. She shifted in her seat and grabbed Daisy's hands. "Hey, hey, talk to me."

Daisy hiccupped. "I'm scared, Rhea. It's gonna hurt so bad..."

"Daisy," Rhea cupped her cheek, wiping the drop away with the pad of her thumb. "You catch serial killers for a living. You've been shot and beaten up way more than any other person should. You've gone through enough pain that this'll be a breeze. So, what's really going on?"

Daisy looked out the windscreen and choked out another sob. "What if I'm a bad mom?"

Rhea paused for a second, before she pulling Daisy into a hug. It was awkward with the centre console and the pregnant stomach, but they managed. Daisy's shoulders trembled as she buried her head in her friend's neck, her arms wrapped around her tightly. "You could never be a bad mom, Daisy. You kind of hold the record in being the most caring person in the world."

Daisy choked out a laugh. "That's a lie and we both know it."

"It's not a lie," Rhea rubbed her back. "You are going to be a star parent, and one day I'm gonna teach the kid how to read and add and spell their name."

Daisy pulled back, looking up at her. "Promise?"

Rhea locked their pinkies together and kissed her friend's forehead. "Promise. Now, let's get you to that hospital, cause I've got a godchild who needs to be in my arms as soon as possible."

Daisy nodded, sitting back in her seat and looking down at her stomach. She took a few deep breaths. "Fine. Let's have this baby."

★☆

Rhea wasn't expecting Aaron's call. She'd already been contacted by Penelope, who was already eager to visit with presents for the unborn child, but they'd all been held back by the worst possible kind of event. 

"We're almost back to D.C," Aaron's voice was incredibly strained as he spoke to Rhea. "Does Daisy know anything yet? Is she okay?"

"I haven't told her," Rhea muttered, her fingers tangled in her hair. "Aaron, she can't do this without you-"

"I know, and I'm gonna make it," Aaron insisted. "But you don't understand, Rhea. This was our unit chief. If he managed to kill her, that means any of our loved ones could be next. You have to make sure no one gets in or out of Daisy's room that isn't a doctor. I've got some agents on their way for extra security, and Jack should be there with his aunt in half an hour."

"O-Okay," Rhea looked down the hall and saw a man in a suit walking towards her. In one hand was a present, in the other was an FBI badge. "I think I see one of them now."

"Great, I'll talk to you when we land. Keep me updated, and make sure Daisy doesn't get too stressed out," he instructed carefully. "I want you to take care of yourself too. Please, be careful Rhea, alright?"

"You got it," she ended the call, walking up to the agent and smiling politely. "Hi, did Agent Hotchner send you?"

He paused for a second, before nodding. He was only a little bit taller than her, and probably in his early sixties. He had a scar connecting the bridge of his nose and his upper lip - not really the warm company she'd been expecting. He was holding a small, neatly wrapped gift, with the name tag reading Daisy. "No, actually. It was Penelope Garcia. She's a little held up at the moment, but she asked that I bring this to Agent Alvarez. I hear she's gone into labour?"

"Yeah, she has," there was something off about this man. But, she tried not to let her uncertainty slip onto her face. "I can take that if you'd like. I'm sure you're very busy right now with everything going on."

"Oh yes," he hummed, handing the parcel over. Rhea could see that his eyes were slightly glazed. "Poor Erin, she was such a valuable asset to the FBI."

"It's tragic," she nodded in agreement, holding the present in both hands. Her mind was racing, but she managed to keep her cool. "Would you like me to let Penelope know that you came by? I'm sure she'd be glad to hear it, considering how obsessive she gets about her gifts."

"Oh, that won't be necessary," he waved her off with a forced chuckle. "Now, I should probably be headed off, considering everything happening at work. Give Agent Alvarez all my support."

"Thank you," she trailed off, unsure of his name. 

"Adam Worth," he noted, trying not to peer through the window into Daisy's room. Rhea took a step forward, her hand resting on the doorknob. 

"I'm sure she'll be super grateful for the gift," she insisted. "Thanks again for stopping by."

"Enjoy the rest of your night," he nodded his head once, before turning on his heel and stalking down the hospital corridor. Rhea stood protectively in front of the door, dialling Aaron once more. 

"Rhea, what's wrong?"

"There was a guy here," she replied as quick as she could. "H-He said Penelope sent him, and he brought a gift for Daisy."

"You didn't let him in, did you?" Aaron sounded almost frightened. 

"No, of course not," she tried not to sound defensive considering the situation. "But it looked like he wanted to give it to her himself. Do you want me to open it and see if there's anything bad inside?"

"No, wait for the agents and hand it over to them for testing," he ordered. "Did he give you a name?"

Rhea had to think for a second. "Adam Worth. His name was Adam Worth. I-Is he...?"

"Yes, he is," Aaron's voice tightened. Rhea felt her stomach drop to her toes. She'd just interacted with the very man who'd killed the BAU Unit Chief only hours ago. "Do you know if he's left the hospital?"

"I saw him get into the elevator," she could feel herself on the edge of a panic attack. Her breathing picked up, and she grasped her throat as her chest started to contract. "Oh my God, should I have done something?"

"No, no, Rhea, you did everything right," Hotch assured her. "You need to breathe for me, okay? We're landing in ten minutes."

"Please...just hurry, okay?" she choked out, looking down at the present in her hand. She was going to throw up. She heard Daisy groan from inside the room from another contraction. There wasn't long to go until the baby would be in her arms, and it was only stressing her out further. "We need you here."

Aaron exhaled on the other side of the call. "I'm coming. Just hold on tight."

★☆

damn it be ya own luke skywalker :////// 

also two updates in one day!! yay!! i mean I prewrote a bit of this a while back but now i have some episode context which is nicer so woohoooo!!!!