#dadhotch

line of sight

|| The bau receives a hint as to someone special to Agent Hotchner is at risk.

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ made up cases, inaccuracy. reader is in college, set in around season 2-3

w.c 1.1k

warnings: stalking

fluff and angst?

~~~~~

The BAU bullpen felt off before anyone even spoke. They'd been on a case that specifically targeted hotch.

Last December the BAU was assigned on a case, Jason Hayes, 43. He had kidnapped 4 teenage girls and made them play house. in an actual human size dollhouse he built. Luckily the team found the location of the house quickly.

But they were still too late.

4 girls laid dead on the couch in the living room when the team arrived.

They looked almost posed in the way they were all sitting.

Hotch was the one who saw him out the corner of his eye leaving the house, he quickly called it and ran after him. After he was caught. He was detained by Aaron, he also testified against him in court.

He got life in prison.

Forwarding to now.

The bullpen was quiet.

The kind of quiet that means something has already gone wrong.

Hotch stood at the center of it, envelope in hand, that had been addressed to him with one last name.

Hayes.

He knew what that meant.

He had his jaw locked in that controlled way that meant his emotions had already been filed away somewhere no one else could reach. Morgan watched him peel it open, and Prentiss had already moved closer without realizing it.

Inside the envelope were polaroids.

The photos weren’t anything crime related.

Not victims.

His daughter.

Caught in fragments of everyday life that were never meant to be seen like this—walking across campus with her bag slung over one shoulder, hair half-tucked behind her ear.

Sitting outside a lecture hall scrolling her phone. Laughing at something off-frame, completely unaware.

Walking to class with her friends, all looked like they were in a serious debate on where to get pizza for lunch but the frame was zoomed in on her.

And then a closer one.

Standing in front of her dorm room. Coffee in phonend, ruffling for something in her bag with the other. Then another, same place taken seconds later with her hands grasping the keys twisting them in the door.

Too close.

Hotch didn’t move for a second too long.

JJ’s voice dropped. “Oh my god”

He didn’t answer. He had already grabbed his phone from his back pocket and was already dialing.

——————-

your phone rang while you were sitting on the grass near the library steps reading, sunlight too bright, noise all around you in soft layers—students passing, someone laughing nearby, the distant scrape of chairs.

You picked up your phone where it sat disregarded on the ground, youlooked at the screen.

Dad.

That alone made you sit up straighter. He normally didn’t call when he knew you had class, something about being distracted on the phone and not paying attention to your surroundings.

“Hey dad,” you answered, light at first. “What’s up?”

Hotch’s voice came through tight. Controlled, but only barely.

“Where are you?”

you blinked. “Uh… campus. Why?”

A pause.

Too long.

Your smile faded slightly after seconds of silence only hearing the shuffling of papers around him and people talking “Dad?”

“Don’t move,” he said immediately, sharper now. “Stay where you are. Stay in crowds. Do you understand me?”

Your stomach dropped.

“What—why, what’s going on?”

Behind him you could make out some voices. Faint, urgent.

Reid, maybe.

Garcia.

your grip tightened on the phone.

“Just listen to me,” Hotch said, and now there was something in his voice you weren't used to hearing. Not panic exactly—but something dangerously close. “Are you alone?”

“I’m on the main quad,” you said quickly, looking around now, suddenly aware of everything. “There’s people everywhere. Dad, what happened?”

A beat.

“We were given something.” he hesitated

“What do you mean? What were you given dad?” slowly starting to feel the panic rising in your chest.

Hotch exhaled slowly through his nose like he was forcing himself to stay steady. “Derek and Emily are coming to get you. Stay visible. Don’t go inside anywhere alone. Don’t leave the crowd.”

“Dad, you’re scaring me.”

“I know,” he said immediately, softer for half a second—just enough to land. “I know baby, but I need you to do exactly what I say.”

you nodded even though he couldn’t see you.

“Okay,” you whispered. “Okay, I’m here.”

“Good,” he said. “Stay on the phone with me.”

———————-

Across the country, Hotch didn’t look away from the photos.

Each one felt like a violation of something deeper than privacy. It wasn’t just surveillance—it was access. Someone had been close enough to map her life without her ever noticing.

Morgan was already moving. “We’ll get her.”

Prentiss nodded. “Campus security?”

Hotch’s voice was low. “Already called.”

But his eyes stayed on the image of her smiling, unaware.

And for the first time in a long time, Aaron Hotchner wasn’t thinking like an agent first.

He was thinking like a father who had just realized someone had been watching his daughter breathe.

—————

Back on campus, you stayed exactly where you were told.

Even when your instincts screamed at you to move.

Even when every passing shadow felt suddenly too intentional.

And then you saw them.

Derek first—moving fast but scanning carefully. Prentiss just behind him.

And something in your chest loosened so suddenly it almost hurt.

Derek caught your eye and gave a small, steady nod.

“You’re okay,” he said as they reached you. “We’ve got you.”

Emily put one arm around your shoulder and started walking alongside you with Derek on your other side so you were between them.

your voice cracked a little when you spoke. “What is this? What's going on?”

Emily didn’t sugarcoat it. “Someone’s been watching you y/n.”

your phone was still in your hand.

Still connected.

Hotch’s voice came through, immediately sharper now that he heard his colleagues' voices, signaling you were longer alone.

“Are they with you?”

“Yeah,” you said quickly, exhaling hard. “They’re here.”

And then, finally, his voice shifted—just slightly.

Relief. Controlled, but real.

“Good,” he said. “Stay with them.”

You swallowed. “Dad… someone’s been watching me?”

“Yes, sweetheart, they’ve been taking pictures of you from afar and its been sent to us” he said.

That was the worst part.

He already knew.

And you could hear it now—the difference in him. Not just an agent, not just a unit chief.

But your dad.

The one who let you step on his brand new shoes to dance when you were only 4 because you had just finished watching Cinderella, who held you tight at 9 when your mom left, who always told you to wipe your face for wearing too much makeup at 12, who scared away every guy-friend you had when you were 16. But also the one who helped you throughout your entire life, who was your best friend.

“Theyll bring you back here, alright honey?” he added “Dont leave their sight even for a second”

And for once, you didn't argue.

introducing hotch!daughter reader

hotch!daughter reader who has the best taste in fashion and jewelry, even garcia is impressed.

hotch!daughter reader whos mom left her and her dad when she was only in the third grade.

hotch!daughter reader who grew up to resent her mother.

hotch!daughter reader whos best friend is her dad.

hotch!daughter reader whos extremely bright for her age.

hotch!daughter reader who has a tinnnyyy crush on a certain dr who works for her dad.

hotch!daughter reader who looks exactly like the perfect mix of her parents. she hates that she resembles her mother.

hotch!daughter reader who sees the bau team as her family.

hotch!daughter reader whos in college majoring in law, following in her fathers footsteps.

Observation

|| After your dad brings you back to the BAU, weird things start happening.

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ this ones kinda short! kinda ghostface’y not really

w.c 0.9k

warnings: none

fluff and angst? idk this is all still kinda backroundy

~~~~~

The BAU briefing room had never felt this small before.

Too much silence.

Too many eyes flicking toward you every few seconds like looking away for too long would somehow make you disappear.

It irritated you to say the least. People treating you like you were made of glass, but you understood where they were coming from.

Your dad had refused to let you out of his sight after Prentiss and Morgan brought you in.

So now you sat at the round table wrapped in one of Rossi’s FBI hoodies because the building air conditioning was freezing, trying to pretend you weren't painfully aware of every profiler in the room being on edge around you. It even made you feel uneasy.

Morgan leaned against a desk nearby, arms crossed.

Prentiss was pretending to work but hadn’t looked away from the the board with your pictures once.

Garcia sat with her computer muttering to herself while running searches nonstop.

And Hotch—

Hotch stood in front of the evidence board, watching everything.

Watching you.

Like if he blinked, something terrible would happen.

Your laptop buzzed once on your lap and you nearly jumped out of your skin.

Everyone noticed.

Even Garcia's demeanor dimmed.

You swallowed hard before looking down.

“Its just my dean”

God.

Morgan exhaled quietly. “This guy’s getting in everyone’s heads.”

“He wants control,” Reid said softly. “Fear creates routine disruption. Hypervigilance. Isolation.”

He glanced up from the file, expression tightening slightly.

“If the unsub’s been watching y/n consistently, then her disappearance from campus changes everything.”

Morgan frowned. “Meaning?”

“The unsub built rituals around accessibility,” Reid explained. “People like him rely heavily on predictability. Same routes, same schedules, same visual contact. Removing her suddenly—especially without warning—interrupts the behavioral reinforcement he’s been depending on.”

Prentiss crossed her arms. “So he panics.”

Reid nodded once. “Or escalates. The loss of control becomes personal.” His eyes flicked toward her for a second before landing back on the board. “If observing her was part of his daily routine, then taking her out of reach may force him to act sooner than he intended.”

The room went quieter after that.

Because everyone knew exactly what “act sooner” meant.

“Thank you, Doctor Sunshine,” Morgan muttered.

“And can we stop calling him unsub? we already know who he is” you declared.

“Technically we don't, the envelope was only signed Hayes. And we know its not Jason since we already checked that he's in prison.” Spencer answered

“Okay…so brother sister mother father family i dunno…?” you sighed

“Also no, according to his records he doesn't have any siblings and his parents are deceased and no further family”

“dang it” you whispered to yourself pulling your focus back on your laptop.

Then Hotch’s phone rang.

Every head turned instantly.

“Its an unknown number, Garcia trace it” hotch barked. “Already on it sir”

The room went still.

Hotch answered immediately and put it on speaker “Hotchner.”

Nothing at first.

Just static.

Then a voice.

Distorted. Mechanical. Wrong.

“Tick… tock, Hotch.” you could almost hear how he was grinning ear to ear

Garcia was already moving, fingers flying across her keyboard. “Okay, okay, c’mon you creepy Walmart Ghostface—” she whispered. You almost laughed at that. Almost.

Hotch’s expression didn’t change, but his shoulders went rigid.

“What do you want?”

A crackling laugh came through the speaker.

“You took something precious from me Aaron,”

“You really thought you were getting away with it so soon?”

The room listened in dead silence.

“I say we make a deal, well, you have no say since you already played your turn and made your move..”

“Whats lost must be mirrored agent”

“an eye for an eye” JJ whispered.

Morgan was already moving closer to you without making it obvious.

Hotch’s voice lowered dangerously. “If you touch my daughter—”

“Oh, I already have.”

The line cut.

Garcia swore loudly. “No, no, no— he bounced the signal three times. I almost had him.”

The bullpen suddenly felt colder.

Nobody spoke for a second.

Then a tone spoke for them.

A ringtone.

Everyone snapped toward you.

Your heart nearly stopped.

Your phone lit up in your hand.

Collin.

She blinked. Relief filling her body.

“Oh,” she said weakly, trying to laugh off the tension even though every pair of eyes in the room was locked onto her now. “It’s just Collin.”

Nobody relaxed.

Hotch stepped out of his office immediately. “Who’s Collin?”

“My friend from college, hes in most of my classes” she was stopped from answering by a rasied hand of Aaron signaling her to wait. “Dad, seriously—”

The phone kept ringing.

Prentiss exchanged a look with Morgan.

Reid spoke carefully. “Does he know you're here?”

“No? I dont think so? Unless he saw me leaving with emily and derek which i doubt because he had class”

“He knows us?” Emily questioned

“yeah-no kinda? Not exactly know know but hes seen our pictures together on the bulletin board in my dorm”

“Hes been inside your dorm?” Morgan pressed

“Guys seriousl-“

The ringtone stopped.

Then immediately started again.

The entire room stiffened.

Hotch stepped closer. “Put it on speaker. Garcia”

“Dad come on-“ you tried

“y/n. Dont” he stated

Your thumb clicked the green button on your phone then the speaker one.

“y/n? Are you there?” a male voice started talking, based on his pitch they could tell he was in his early 20s.

“Hey Collin what's up? Do you need anything?”

“I- uh no i dont i was just worried about you, you didnt show up for corporate law and professor Carter marked you absent” he uttered

You looked at your dad for confirmation on what to say, he mouthed the word lie to you.

You took your phone off speaker and put it up to your ear”Yeah i know i didn’t really feel well, mustve been something from the food we ordered last night” you groaned

“Oh shit I'm sorry, Do you need me to bring anything? I can ask kacy to let me in the girls dorms”

“Uh no its okay Im actually not there Im at my dads”

“Ah gotcha, well I'm gonna go now. Don't be hesitate asking for anything ok? I hope you feel better soon”

You let out a quiet laugh before answering “I'll tell you if anything. Thanks for checking in on me collin, bye bye”

And then you hung up.