His grip on his drink was impossibly tight. It was a wonder the glass didn't shatter.

He knew you were just playing a part. That the team needed you to play the part. You fit the unsub's type. That's what set his every nerve on edge.

He had begged Hotch not to do it, not to send you in. Hell, he even begged Hotch not to let you go on the case in the first place. From the moment JJ put those victim's pictures up on the screen in the briefing he knew bringing you would be a bad idea. Every similarity between them matched up with you: from your gorgeous Y/C eyes to your beautiful Y/C hair, all the way down to your physical shape and even your age. Surely anyone with a brain could see that using you as bait was far, far to risky.

But Hotch left the decision up to you. If you were truly to uncomfortable with it, he wouldn't make you. He promised everyone would be placed strategically around the bar, that you would be covered at all times. Hotch made sure to give you a signal and you had your gun strategically hidden on you. You felt as safe as you possibly could be, approaching a serial killer.

The only thing that made you hesitate even for a moment before going in was the look on Morgan's face when you told him you were going in, no matter what he said.

Morgan was standing no more than 10 feet away at the bar, drink in one hand, the other hovering over his holster as non-suspiciously as possible. He swore to himself that if the man so much as laid a finger on you he would be over there, gun drawn, ready to take him out.

Which was why Hotch was stationed with a clear view of Morgan. He was hesitant to let Morgan go in at all, knowing his relationship with you might cause him to react rashly and prematurely. They needed this guy alive, if possible. So if Morgan were to get out of hand, Hotch was close enough to intervene.

Prentiss and JJ were dancing in the crowd near you, and would both be ready to swoop in as well. You were covered. Morgan just knew that even in the most prepared for situations, anything could happen. And the thought of that man getting his nasty hands on you made him sick to his stomach.

Several girls made advances on Morgan, as expected. He brushed them off gruffly with a grunt of, "I have a girlfriend." His eyes never left your frame.

You fake-flirted with the man you had managed to get by himself at one of the tall, standing tables in between the bar and the dance floor. It made you feel icky all over, knowing exactly what atrocities this man had done to women just like yourself. You reminded yourself to stay calm, that this was all for the greater good. You would catch this son of a gun and then get to snuggle your lover on the jet ride home. All would be well.

Until the unsub grabbed your arm roughly, shocking you.

You gasped as he pulled you close, and you felt the barrel of a gun being pressed into your stomach. He leaned into your ear and whispered, "I know who you are."

Your eyes went wide and you were scared to move. Out of the corner of your eye you could see Morgan making his way towards you at record speed, shoving bystanders out of the way recklessly. His gun was up and in an instant he was within feet of you. You wanted to scream at Morgan to stop, petrified that he would startle the unsub into killing you, or worse, turning the gun on him.

"Let go of her!" Morgan yelled, finger poised over the trigger of his gun.

Hotch was now right behind Morgan, while Prentiss, JJ, Reid, and Rossi were surrounding you on all sides, all with their guns drawn. That gave you some sense of security. The police officers were called in and ushering people out of the building.

When the unsub didn't move, Morgan yelled again, "I said, let go of her!"

"Ah, this must be your boyfriend," the unsub chuckled, grabbing you by your hair and turning you so your back was against his front and you were looking directly at Morgan. The unsub then pressed his gun into your side, "you know what happens to girls who cheat on their boyfriends, right?"

"I swear if you even try hurt her you son of a-"

"That's why you killed all of those other women, isn't it?" Reid countered, always the calm, logical negotiator, "Because you believe that women wrong men with their sins?"

The unsub jabbed you in the side further with the gun and you winced, "Women sin and cause men to sin with them. They deserve to die."

Morgan jaw twitched, his finger dangerously close to shooting the guy square in the chest.

"Is that what your father taught you? After he cheated on your mother? That the other woman made him do it?" Spencer continued to distract, inching closer.

"She did make him do it," the unsub replied gruffly, his grip tightening on his gun, "and she got what she deserved. Just like this little whore is about to-"

Shots fired and at first you couldn't tell who was on the receiving end. The unsub slumped against you and before falling to the ground.

You stepped back in shock, his blood splattered all over you, staining both your skin and your dress. Everything was a blur from then, and suddenly someone was at your side, moving you towards the doors as Prentiss announced that the unsub was dead.

You sat outside at the back of the ambulance with a blanket wrapped around you, a paramedic cleaning off the blood that had splattered across your face and arms. That's when you saw him, a look of instant relief on his face as he approached.

"Der, we needed him to be-"

"No, you listen to me," he said, sitting on the edge next to you, making sure you were looking at him, "don't do that. We'll get whatever we need, I promise. You being alive was way more important than the possibility of getting more information out of him."

"You know why I had to do that, right?" You asked meekly, looking away from him.

"As ticked off as I am that Hotch even considered letting you go in like that," he sighed, "I do understand why. I would've done the same thing if the roles were reversed."

"Exactly. You know I wouldn't have if I didn't believe it was the only effective option," you explained.

"Yeah, I know," Morgan scooted closer, wrapping an arm around you, "but just so we're clear, you're never doing that again. I'll put on a wig and go in myself if I have to."

That got a giggle out of you, and he was glad to see you relax again, "Now how about we get you back to the hotel, get those nasty clothes off of you, and get you in a nice, warm bath, hm?"

"Derek Morgan," you feigned shock, "are you offering me a relaxing bath just to get me naked?"

"That's just one of the many perks, babygirl," he winked, grinning charmingly.

He scooped you up in his strong arms, causing you to laugh and drape your arms around the back of his neck for stability. The others watched as he sweetly carried you to the SUV, putting a smile on all their faces even after such a rough case.

You knew that as long as you had this man, you could never truly be in danger.