Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, I just make them live between the real episodes...

The door slammed dramatically behind them. The only light in the small space came from the cracks around the slim door. Hood and Rachel were crammed into the tiny closet, blindfolded, with their hands tied behind their backs and their bodies unusually close. The sound of their attacker's receding footsteps echoed down the high school hallway outside.

"We have to get these blindfolds off," Rachel said urgently.

"I have an idea," Hood said softly.

"Why does that scare me," Rachel asked. She felt Hood grin.

"I'll use my teeth to pull your blindfold off. Just stay still. I'll come to you."

Rachel did as instructed. Seconds later, their foreheads cracked together painfully.

"Ow," they said in unison and jumped back. Rachel squinted in pain behind the blindfold.

"Geez, Hood!"

"Sorry."

"Slowly this time," Rachel said and waited… And waited. "Hood?"

"I'm going slowly," he explained. Rachel sighed in exasperation.

"Not that slow!"

"Okay, okay… I'm coming."

Hood cautiously moved his face down to Rachel's. His forehead touched her left cheek, gently this time.

"Now what," Rachel asked.

"Just, hold on," Hood instructed. Rachel didn't move. Hood's hot breath brushed her jaw. She held hers within her lungs. Their lips were so close. Hood hesitated, sensing the proximity.

"Hood," Rachel warned. "Up."

"Right."

Keeping his face in contact with her skin, Hood trailed his lips lightly up her cheekbone. Rachel squeezed her eyes shut. He smelled so good. Like musky spices and clean male. His lips were soft as he used them to guide his way to the blindfold. Hood's nose bumped the cloth.

"Got it," he said triumphantly. He gingerly took the blindfold between his teeth and tugged it up. Slowly, it slipped over Rachel's forehead. Hood kept pulling until he freed it from her head. He stood back up to his full height. There were still only a few inches of room between them.

"Good," he asked.

"Yeah," Rachel replied looking at their miniscule surroundings. "Seriously," Rachel exclaimed, "A janitor's closet?"

"Well, it's better than a freezer," Hood reasoned. It took every ounce of self control not to shiver as his warm breath tickled the tiny hairs on the top curve of her ear.

"No, it's not," she said. "It's smaller."

"True. Speaking of that," he said softly.

"Yes," Rachel encouraged. Hood's proximity was unnerving. His body heat was so inviting. She wanted more than anything just to lean against his hard chest. Rachel suddenly remembered the day he had held her tightly in that horrible old pancake house. There was a surprising amount of strength in the heedless scientist she was sworn to protect.

"Oh, um, well… You're standing on my foot."

"Oh, sorry."

Rachel moved as far backward as she could. She did shiver then, at the sudden lack of contact. The gap between their bodies felt icy cold in comparison.

"You okay," he asked.

Damn, Rachel thought, of course he noticed that.

"No, Hood, I'm not. I'm pissed. I can't believe those punks got the drop on me!" Her boiling anger equalized the air around her body once again.

"Well, you know high-schoolers, Rachel… Impulsive. Manipulative."

"Dead meat when I catch up with them," she added. Rachel could hear the smile on Hood's lips rather than see it.

"I can just picture you in high school; proud, cool, still trying to out-throw the boys."

"I did out-throw them… At least until my sophomore year." Rachel worked her wrist, trying to loosen the rough gym rope the sneaky teenage boys had tied their hands with. She was rubbing her delicate skin raw but there was no help for it at the moment.

"Well, they're definitely hiding something," Hood noted.

"Ya think," Rachel asked, her words dripping with sarcasm.

"Take it easy, Rachel, we'll catch up with them."

"If we get out of here."

"Can you turn around," Hood asked.

"I think so, why?"

"We could try untying each other," He suggested.

Why not, Rachel thought. They had to try something. Their body heat was rising the temperature in the closet. Sweat trickled down Rachel's neck and fell between her breasts, torturing her with the ticklish trail it was making on her skin.

They managed to turn their backs on one another. Hood's fingers fumbled against hers, searching for the rope. Rachel tried to keep her breathing even. The groping was reminding her of teenage boyfriends trying to hold her hand in many a dark theatre.

"If we sweat enough, maybe the ropes will just fall off," Hood attempted to joke. Rachel shook her head.

"This is ridiculous. We have to try something else before we roast in here."

"Agreed," Hood said and turned back around. He sucked in a quick breath as Rachel's bound fingers inadvertently brushed against the front of his jeans.

Oh, God, Rachel thought, insult to injury.

"Sorry," she said out loud and inched back again. Rachel could almost hear Hood grinding his teeth together, willing his body not to react to her touch. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought that she might have that kind of power over him. Rachel shook the thought out of her head and tried to focus on the situation at hand.

"You really think its steroids," she asked, endeavoring to help him center his attention.

"We won't know until we test."

"Great, those guys took our sample."

"We'll just have to gather more," he said with a slight shrug.

"That won't be easy."

"Why?"

"Cause we might have to do it with my foot up those twerps a-"

"Rachel," Hood interrupted quickly. "They're just kids."

"Whatever." Rachel let her hands go limp behind her. The friction of the ropes on her skin was beginning to itch. She suddenly had an idea.

"Hood, bear with me, okay," she asked.

"Why?"

"I'm going to try something."

"What," Hood asked.

"Well, I'm really flexible…"

Hood sighed heavily. "I was afraid you were going to say something like that." Rachel grinned in the darkness despite herself.

"Deep breaths, doctor. It'll be over before you know it."

"Easy for you to say," Hood groaned. She felt his muscles stiffen, steeling himself. Rachel had to remind herself quickly that she must remain professional about this. She turned her back on Hood and slowly, so as not to lose her balance, bent at the waist. There was absolutely no avoiding the contact her behind made with Hood's front. No matter what he thought, this was anything but easy for her. She was sweating profusely, and not just from the temperature in the small space. She was completely bent in half when Hood spoke in a strained whisper above her.

"Rachel," he said.

"Yeah?"

"Is it at all possible for you to hurry?"

Rachel bit her lip, trying not to let the amusement show in her response. "Steady, Hood. I'm almost there." She heard him take a deep breath. This was a battle Doctor Hood was going to lose.

"It's just," he started," if this takes any longer, um, it's going to get embarrassing… For both of us."

"I understand." Rachel's shoulder joints were strained to their maximum. She felt them pop, not quite leaving the socket, but close. She set her jaw and pushed just a bit farther.

"I'm gonna strangle those kids," Hood said through gritted teeth behind her. Rachel laughed then and almost lost her balance. Her head hit the opposite wall and her neck muscles strained hard as she used them to keep herself from crumpling into a ball at Hood's feet.

"Dammit, Hood!"

"Sorry." Unfortunately, Hood's apology wasn't just for the comment. His most uncooperative body part was straining against the zipper of his pants and pressing embarrassingly against Rachel's backside. A moan escaped Rachel's throat before she could suppress it.

"Rachel…" Hood whispered in warning.

"I'm almost there," she replied, trying like crazy to regain her composure. Her face was beet red as the blood rushed to her head. She gingerly lifted one foot, which awkwardly rocked her back into Hood, making things worst.

As if they could get any worse, she thought.

Her heel scraped the rope and the foot was finally on the correct side of her bound hands. One more foot to go. She eased it up and over. Free at last.

Rachel put her tied hands against the wall and pushed until she was standing upright once more. The combination of Hood's heavy breathing just over her shoulder and the blood draining suddenly from her head made Rachel dizzy.

"You okay," she managed to ask Hood. He nodded.

"Nothing wounded but my pride."

Rachel giggled. She couldn't help it.

"I'm glad you find that amusing, Rachel," Hood said. She couldn't see it, but she knew he smiled when he said it. Rachel turned around to face Hood and swooned, falling against him. His lips were near her ear again.

"How about you, Agent Young." he whispered. Rachel made the mistake of putting her palms against his chest. She looked up and in the dim light coming from the cracks around the door, saw him grinning.

Damn him, she thought.

"Just a little light headed," she answered. "You want that blindfold off?"

"Please." Rachel reached up and pulled the cloth free of Hood's head. His hazel eyes twinkled down at her. Hood looked around, letting his eyes adjust.

"This brings back memories," he said breathlessly.

"Brought a lot of girls to the janitor's closet, did you?"

"What makes you think I brought them? The man's not always the aggressor, Rachel," he mentioned.

"No, you're right. Especially not in your case, I'm sure. It's more likely you wandered absently into the open closet and some joker closed it on you."

Hood laughed softly. Rachel rolled her eyes. She turned slightly and wrapped her fingers around the door knob. Turning the knob didn't work, neither did any amount of pulling or pushing on it. The door was locked from the outside.

"Hell," she said, giving up.

"We could yell for help."

"School was out an hour ago. There's no one out there to hear us."

"Well," he said, "the janitor's bound to need some supplies, sooner or later."

"Probably later. We have to get out of here," Rachel said, shifting her weight from her right leg.

"Are you claustrophobic, Rachel?"

"No," she replied. Rachel wouldn't have admitted it to anyone but Hood, and she didn't want to even do that, but he asked. "It's my leg. It's starting to ache."

"Oh, right, "Hood said. "Here, can you untie me?"

He shuffled around to present his hands to her. Hood's face was shoved into the wall of cleaning supplies. Rachel worked on the knots as best she could with her own two hands still bound tightly. It took her a few frustrating minutes, but the rope finally loosened. She slipped them off of Hoods' wrists. He turned to face her again, rubbing the rope burns.

"Here," he said, motioning to her bindings. She brought her hands up between them so Hood could work the rope free. Her eyes couldn't help but take in his long fingers, working meticulously at the knots. He had strong hands. Rachel's heart hammered in her chest as she remembered those hands rubbing her arm and holding her tightly as she lay in his arms bleeding to death. Hood bent his knees to bring his face even with Rachel's, garnering her attention. He continued to work on the knot.

"You still with me?"

Rachel shook her head, coming back to the present. She nodded in response to Hood's question and blinked away the tears that were threatening to form. Thinking of how close she came to death that day made her ill.

"Rachel," he said softly, "if it was brighter in here, I would swear you were about to fall down."

"I'm okay, Hood, really."

Hood slipped the rope free of Rachel's wrists at last, but didn't release them. Instead, he started to massage the blood back into her fingers. It felt exquisite. Rachel's eyes began to close as Hood's ministrations soothed her pain.

"Feel good," he asked. Hood's only answer was a nod from Rachel. Her eyes were completely closed now. She swayed slightly on her feet.

"It's been a long day," he noted.

"It's been a long couple of days," Rachel corrected quietly.

"True and neither of us has gotten much sleep."

Reluctantly, Rachel opened her eyes. She gently removed her hands from Hood's talented fingers. He raised a questioning eyebrow at her.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

"How're your shouldering skills," Rachel asked, catching Hood off guard with the sudden change of subject. He shrugged.

"I guess you'll just have to find out. You're the muscle around here, remember?"

Rachel smiled and turned to the door.

"On three, okay?" Hood nodded.

"One. Two. Three!"

Together, Hood and Rachel threw their shoulders into the slim closet door. It rattled on its hinges but didn't budge otherwise. They gave it three more tries before quitting. Hood rubbed his shoulder. Rachel caught herself before doing the same. She's showed enough weakness today.

"Well, that was useless," she huffed. "There isn't even enough room in this box to sit down!" If she had the room to pace, Rachel would have been doing it just then. Her leg was cramping and her nerves were beyond frayed.

"Isn't there some special FBI lock pick guy you could call?" Hood asked.

"Sure there is… but I'll be damned if I call in a specialist for this!"

"Easy, Rachel, it was just a thought."

"Sorry, Hood," Rachel said, "I just don't like being trapped."

"I understand."

"Aren't there chemicals in here that you could mix together and burn the doorknob off or, something," Rachel asked in desperation. "I know you said you're not MacGyver, but, there are chemicals, you are a scientist." Hood chuckled softly.

"I'm glad you noticed that."

"C'mon, Hood. There has to be something you can do…"

"You are claustrophobic," he said. Rachel sighed heavily in exasperation.

"Fine. If I admit it, will you stop saying it?"

Hoods hands were suddenly on her arms, rubbing up and down in an effort to calm her once again. She took another deep breath, willing her heart to stop racing.

"That's it," Hood encouraged, "We're fine. We're safe. We'll figure this out. I promise."

Rachel nodded, trying her best to believe him.

"While I must admit," Hood said as he reached into his back pocket, "I don't know have the slightest clue about the finer points of duct tape," his long slender fingers produced his wallet, holding it up between them. "I have seen quite a few movies. A credit card might be in order?"

Rachel actually laughed. Hood dipped into his wallet and produced his Visa card, holding it out to her.

"Care to give it a try?"

"With that," Rachel asked.

"Don't tell me you didn't take locking picking 101 at Quantico?"

"Of course I did, but it was with a lock pick set," Rachel pointed out.

"Well," Hood shrugged, still holding the Visa card, "this is all I've got."

"What the hell," she said, mostly to herself. Rachel took the card from Hood and turned to the door. She slipped the credit card in between the door and the jam. She concentrated on trying to lift the lock. Hood was quiet behind her. She knew that he was just trying to distract her. Part of her was thankful. Mostly, she wanted to scream at having to reveal yet another weakness to her charge. It was her job to worry about him, not the other way around, damn it!

It wasn't working. She knew it wouldn't. This wasn't a movie. This was real. This was a small space and Rachel felt like a caged animal. She growled with sudden rage and spun around, right into Hood's chest. His arms came around her protectively and held on.

"Shhh," he said soothingly. "Just relax, Rachel. You can do this."

When he said it, Rachel believed it. Especially after that fateful day. He'd said those very words to her while she sat in that dusty old pick-up truck bleeding and fighting unconsciousness. Rachel nodded against him. She ignored the professional feelings that were screaming for her to back away from Hood. Instead, she let her arms come up and circle his waist. Rachel melted into him, taking the strength he willingly gave. She took note of his deep breathing and tried to match it. They were both lulled into silence.

"Thank you," Rachel finally whispered into his shirt.

"It's the least I could do," Hood answered.

"No," Rachel said as she pushed away from him and looked up into his intense hazel gaze. "You shouldn't have to."

"Why do you think you've lasted longer than the rest? Besides being stubborn as hell," Hood grinned. Rachel shrugged.

"I thought that was the only reason."

"I think it's because you care."

"Hood…"

"Not that your colleagues didn't, but to them, I was just an assignment. They cared enough to watch over me, but I was an obstacle in their path to success. I recognized that, and admittedly, exploited it until they caved in and requested a transfer. You're different, Rachel," Hood noted, "and on your very own, you realized that what we do is important. You and Felix, you're important… We're a team, Rachel."

"I know…" Rachel whispered. Hood brought his hand up to cup Rachel's left cheek. His thumb absently caressed her cheekbone.

"So it's not just you being the hammer anymore," Hood said quietly. "We take care of each other… Whatever it takes."

Rachel nodded. Hood's eyes were riveting. She couldn't look away. He was so sincere. Rachel knew without a doubt that he would lay down his life for her. The stark difference was that he didn't need to be ordered to do it. Rachel's heart skipped a beat and her chest heaved with a sudden intake of breath. In that moment, Rachel realized that she felt the same. She wasn't aware of when she'd stopped thinking of Hood as an assignment, she just knew, whether she was paid to or not, she would protect this man with her very life.

Hood saw the realization in her eyes. Almost unconsciously, his head dipped toward her. Their lips were centimeters apart. Rachel's eyelids fluttered and she saw Hood's do the same as they committed to the inevitable kiss. Their lips brushed together. Rachel moved her hand up Hood's chest and behind his neck. She began to lace her fingers into his curly black hair. Hood moved in closer. Rachel opened her mouth to him. Their tongues touched lightly, sending heat down to Rachel's toes.

A blinding light suddenly filled the small space as the door was thrown open. Rachel and Hood stood there, clinging to each other and blinking in the unwelcome light. The school janitor stared back at them, wide-eyed.

Rachel cleared her throat and pulled away from Hood's embrace. She stepped out into the hallway, brushing passed the little man. Hood followed her out.

"Thanks," he said to the janitor, "you, um, you have a great selection of cleaning supplies. Keep up the good work." He chucked the shorter man on the shoulder and hurried to catch up with Rachel who was half way down the hall. She held out his credit card. Hood lifted it from her fingers.

"We need to talk to the principal," Rachel said, suddenly all business.

"Right. Mischievous teenage boys who need your foot inserted up their-"

"You have no idea how much I'm going to enjoy this." Rachel's grin was slightly unnerving as she interrupted. Hood just shook his head and smiled as Rachel lead the way.