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𝑬 𝑽 𝑬 𝑹 𝑮 𝑹 𝑬 𝑬 𝑵
❝ 𝚒'𝚖 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚢 ❞

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ㅤ"𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐊𝐀𝐘?"

Derek shook his head regrettably at Gideon who pursed his lips and nodded. "Not much she can do when her mind's all jumbled up with worry."

"This happen often?" Elle asked curiously. Though they were still looking for a way to get to Hotch and Spencer, there's not much they could do with an unsub who's carrying a full-automatic in a room filled with civilians.

Gideon tilted his head, crossing his arms. "Rarely. Usually, she's the most level-headed out of all of us. But it's not just her. The second she's in danger, Spencer's breaking down. It's a dangerous thing, but admirable."

"You think she'll be okay alone in the other room for now?" JJ wondered. "I mean...I don't know, I don't want to keep her out of the loop. Why don't I stay with her for now?"

"You can keep her company in a bit," Gideon stated after a moment's pause, "after we've debriefed, let her know we've got something." He turned to Derek. "You do have something, right?"

Derek nodded. Right before he rushed back to the hospital—in time to witness the earlier chaos and the shift in May's disposition—he'd received new information about their unsub and had it printed. "Right. He joined the army at eighteen, went to ranger school. Did six years before being dishonorably discharged in '95 for conduct unbecoming. Obviously lied about it, joined Arlington PD."

"You were right," JJ pointed out, looking towards Gideon. "He was a cop."

"For nine months," Elle continued, having read the file after Derek handed it to her after he rushed to May's side. "When they found out he lied about the discharge, they kicked him out. Soon thereafter, Dowd got his nursing license. He's been bouncing from hospital to hospital ever since."

JJ nodded at this information and glanced at Gideon. "I'll let May know."

The blonde quickly turned away from the group and rushed towards where May holed herself in. It was a random, empty operating room, and since the hospital staff evacuated—everyone but the ones taken hostage—it wasn't really that big of a deal. But as she watched the usually laid-back, I-don't-care-about-anyone vibe-exuding Quileute sitting on the clean operating table hunched over and turned away from the door, the communications liaison couldn't help but frown.

"What is it?" May asked, her voice uncharacteristically stoic. Though she did have a rather deadpan tone most of the time, JJ could always tell it was done satirically. This time, it was just...empty.

JJ cleared her throat. "We've got some new info on Dowd."

"Hm?"

"Just that he was in the army, was a ranger but was dishonorably discharged. Tried to live his days out as a cop at Arlington PD but they found out he lied in his resumé. Eventually, he got a nursing license but couldn't stay in one place for long."

May chuckled darkly. "Sounds like your typical loner who's projecting his loneliness by putting the blame on everyone else but himself. Believes he's better than everyone by 'secretly' outsmarting them. Great. That all?"

JJ sighed and walked over to her. She pushed herself up and sat next to the brunette, fiddling with her fingers before saying, "You know they're gonna be okay, right?"

The brunette scoffed. "How can you be so sure?"

"Spencer uses his brain as a shield, and you know how brilliant Hotch is at toying with unsubs," JJ pointed out. "They'll be fine."

May sighed and looked towards her. "I wish I could do something."

JJ pursed her lips. "Well, SWAT's here, and I'm sure they'd try and make the situation worse somehow. You wanna help deter them?"

"Yeah," she chuckled. "I'd love to. But I'm not feeling too well."

"What?"

May slowly lifted a hand up, and JJ saw just how much it shook. The blonde gasped and quickly placed the back of her hand to May's forehead, hissing when her skin touched it.

"You're burning up!" She exclaimed.

"I don't even feel it," May dismissed. "It's just annoying me."

"You literally showed me your shaking hand," JJ deadpanned. "You definitely feel it."

"Fine, yeah, I feel it, but not enough to be worried about it."

"Not enough to be worried? Are you crazy?"

"JJ, stop," May frowned. "I'm dealing with it. It's just a fever. I can take some medicine for it. If it doesn't work, I'll go to a doctor, or I'll take a few days off. Just...let me be. It's nothing."

JJ held her tongue then, but anyone would be able to see the apprehension in her eyes. She's a genuinely caring person and wasn't someone who'd let people deal with stuff on their own if she's able to help. But May was a tough nut to crack; stubborn and independent to her core. So, knowing her, JJ didn't push.

The two were plunged into a comfortable silence, waiting for some sort of news on the situation. Elle was the one to deliver it, huffing as she went, and quickly crossing her arms as she let the door swing close.

"SWAT won't wait," she complained, clenching her jaw. "Gideon told them that Hotch can handle it, but they only gave 'em three minutes. Now, they're rushing in. It could put all of them in harms' way."

Shakily getting back on her feet, May grumbled. "Let me talk to them."

But before any of them can make a move, another shot resonated throughout the building that had them all rushing towards the source. While JJ and Elle stopped as they reached the other members of the BAU, May continued on and was about to dive head-first into danger when Derek caught her in his arms.

"Wait," he whispered into her ear.

"But Spencer--"

"Federal agents! Federal agents, hold your fire!" Hotch's voice echoed.

May let out a breath as her knees nearly buckled. But Derek held her close and kept her upright.

"We gotta check on them," he told her.

"Yeah," she nodded as she agreed, a little breathless. "Yeah, let's go."

Spencer frowned as his eyes trailed over May's sleeping form, shaking like a leaf on the jet's couch. She was fast asleep, but her eyebrows were furrowed and she curled into herself, hugging the blanket she always carried with her tightly. He would've scolded Derek for sitting next to her and having her head on his lap, but he couldn't muster up anything, worry bubbling in his stomach.

"What happened?" He asked.

Derek and Gideon—the only two who were awake apart from him—exchanged a look. It was the latter who spoke.

"After she found out you were in danger, well..." Gideon trailed off.

"It's not uncommon for her to act like that, it's not uncommon for either of us to act like that when one's in danger," Spencer stated. "But she's...she doesn't look okay."

Derek clenched his jaw. "We don't know what's going on either. It just happened. All of a sudden, she was physically weak. Now she has a fever and she's got chills."

"She refused any help from the medics earlier," Gideon explained. "Now she's like this."

Spencer sighed. "I'll call Billy when we get back. He's the only one who can get her to talk to a doctor."

Once the jet landed, Spencer was quick to assist May, whose breath hitched at the sight of his bruises. But she didn't say anything, only allowed him to accompany her in silence; a move that unnerved him so greatly, because May Black never asks for help, nor allows people to help her.

This was alarming.

Spencer drove them back home in silence, glancing back at her from time to time as she stared out the window. As soon as they arrived, May immediately just slumped into the couch.

He sighed. "You know I'm gonna have to tell Billy, right?"

"Don't you dare," she mumbled into her arm that she used to cover her face.

Rolling his eyes, he closed to door behind him. "Well, no matter how much you whine and complain, I will tell him. Because you don't get sick, May. You never get sick. I've known you for years, and this is the first time I've ever seen you like this. Something's wrong."

"Yeah, and I can handle it, alright? On my own."

He huffed. "I'm still telling Billy."

"UGH!"

May would've attempted to get up and wrestle his phone away from him, but her entire body ached. All she could do was lie face first on the couch and hope that she'll suffocate to death.

"If you're attempting to kill yourself, that's the lousiest method you could've possibly chosen."

"Fuck off!"

"Oooh, moody."

"I swear to G--"

"You're sick?"

"Yes."

"You're burning up?"

"Yes!"

"And you're aching all over?"

"YES! Dad, I know what being sick's like."

"No, you don't," Billy stated, his voice firm through the phone despite his clear disbelief. "You never get sick. Not even when you were little. You siblings would get hit with the flu yet you never caught it."

"Yeah, I know, Spencer pointed that out too," May sighed, picking at her fingernails. She was in her room, basking in the darkness of the night, wearing an oversized Nirvana shirt and a pair of workout shorts. It was a full twenty-four hours after the whole thing, and she was genuinely feeling better. But her raised temperature was still an issue, as well as her mood swings that startled even Hotch.

Billy hummed. He thought for a moment, and glanced towards Old Quil who was sitting beside him. He forgot to mention to his daughter that he'd put her on speaker phone. But she didn't need to know that. All she had to know is that:

"You know, your symptoms are exactly the same as the symptoms listed that indicates a wolf shift."

May groaned. "And you know as well as I do that women don't shift. Next."

"I'm just saying," Billy chuckled. "I don't think you're shifting, either. How about you just rest for a while, let the sickness pass. You'll feel better in no time. Once you're good, you could visit home."

"Mhmm, what's in it for me?"

"Well, you could actually see your old man for once, instead of calling him and listening to his voice."

"Not convincing enough," she joked.

"You could reacquaint yourself with Bella?"

"Who?"

"Swan. Bella Swan."

"Yeah, no, I never liked her."

Billy couldn't hold back a snort. "You wouldn't like her now, either. She's dating one of the Cullens."

"NO WAY! Is she insane?!"

"You tell me. Your brother's still infatuated."

"See, that's why he was never the smart one," she scoffed. "Anyway, yeah, I'll visit as soon as I can. If I don't get better, I'll take a sick leave."

"Good," Billy grinned. "I'll hopefully see you then."

"So, you want me to get sick just so you can see me?"

"That is not what I said."

"Mhmm."

They continued on with their banter—Billy eventually taking her off speaker and pressing the phone onto his ear—all while switching topics every now and then to keep it interesting. May had always been a daddy's girl, but she had gotten her mom's stubborn streak. So, while she was close to her dad, she never hesitated to speak her mind and put her foot down if needed. Case in point, moving halfway across the country the second she could.

It put an obvious strain to their relationship that took years to mend. Back when she was in college, she'd call, ask how they're doing, and end up dropping the call the second her dad asks about her coming to visit. Then, when she landed a spot in the BAU, there was immediate disapproval.

"BAU? What's the BAU?" Billy asked through the phone, frowning.

"Behavioral Analysis Unit, dad," May answered.

"Unit? Unit in what?"

"The FBI."

"THE FBI?!"

When she finally visited for the first time after moving out, it was awkward. Jacob was thirteen with a killer temper that rivalled a woman going through PMS as he experienced puberty, the twins were in their junior year and had matching plans to leave La Push. They'd been quite vocal about it, and no one was angrier than the youngest Black.

It was dinner. The time when family was supposed to all sit together, have a proper meal as they talked about their day. But unlike most families, the dinner at the Black household didn't exactly feel...comfortable.

Rachel and Rebecca were, of course, thrilled to have their older sister back, welcoming her with arms even more open than their father's. Of course, Billy was the same, though a little more reserved given how he was now confined to a wheelchair due to his complications with his diabetes. But Jacob was the complete opposite.

Arms crossed, eyebrows so deeply furrowed that he appeared to have a unibrow. It would've made May laugh if Jacob hadn't rolled his eyes at her when she asked him how he was.

"Fine," he'd answered stiffly. And he never spoke for the rest of the meal, not until the twins started talking.

"Well," Rebecca began, "I've met someone. His name's Solomon, and I think...I think I wanna marry him."

"Woah, hold your horses," May chuckled. "You're serious about this guy?"

"Dead serious," it was Billy who answered. "They're attached at the hip."

May narrowed her eyes. "How old is he?"

"He's only a year older," Rebecca reassured. "And, if you must know, we've not done anything...bad. I'm waiting for marriage."

"Hm, good to know," May nodded. "Still have to make sure he's not a bad dude, or I swear I'll personally escort him to the nearest prison." She turned to Rachel, ignoring Rebecca's huff and Billy's laughter. "You?"

"Not dating anyone," Rachel chuckled, elbowing her twin lightly. "And I'm not really...doing anything interesting. Just doing my best in school and hope my grade will be enough for a scholarship once the time comes."

"Yeah, and then leave us too, is that it?" Jacob suddenly spat, silencing everyone. "I don't understand how none of you can just stay here! Why is it that all of you have to leave, huh? It's not like dad and I didn't love mom--"

"--Jacob--" Billy tried to interject.

"--I mean, you don't see us packing up and leaving, right?" He scoffed and pointed a finger at May. "You started this. You're the reason everything's wrong!"

"JACOB!"

But the young boy had none of it, and rushed out of the room. His loud stomps could be heard, and everyone flinched when his bedroom door violently slammed shut.

Billy close his eyes and sighed, before opening them again to look at his daughters. "If I'm gonna be really honest, I didn't like the idea of any of you leaving. But, because of May, I knew that I was gonna have to accept it. Accept that you're growing up, accept that you might wanna leave. It hurts," he admitted, "but as your parent, I cannot get in the way of your happiness."

A year later, Rebecca left the nest and got married to Solomon and now lives in Hawaii. Rachel got the scholarship she wanted and moved to Pullman to attend Washington State University. Jacob—being the dumb teenager he is—is still bitter about the whole thing and has vowed to his father never to live too far away from the reservation.

May found it quite admirable when Billy told her of this, but she was still sad that the boy couldn't understand her and the twins' reasons for leaving. At least they were kind of friendly now, enough to make casual conversation, but May doubts that their relationship could go back to the way it was, not unless some life-altering event happens.

Billy sighed. "Well, I do sincerely hope you get better. Spencer did the right thing by telling me."

"Yeah, yeah," May rolled her eyes. "Take his side."

"Honestly, Spencer's like another you. Except he's more rational."

"He's more rational?" She scoffed. "Yeah, that's what his mom says about me. Now, which one of you is lying?"

author's note: literally starting college in two days, so i tried my best to put this one out. it's especially difficult since i don't have a desk in my room anymore (in my parents' house), and i don't yet have internet in my apartment. so i was like, y'know, pick a struggle.

i'll fully be moved out by tomorrow and will be officially living alone soon. for the whole week, it'll mostly be orientation so i suppose i'll have some time to write more chapters. BUT, like i said, no internet. so...i'll figure something out!

hope you guys enjoyed this, and i'll see you soon!!!