The Lake House Chapter 1, a criminal minds fanfic

My first Criminal Minds fic. Those reading my Twilight fic Fuil 'o mo chuislean, never fear, I am working on the next chapter after being stuck for so long. This is just a short bit of fluff with my main man Hotch while I continue with my Twilight fic and get started on a more serious, longer Criminal Minds story. I'm hoping this one will give me a feel for how well received that one may be, as although I may write a Hotch/Garcia fic at some point, I am almost solely invested in Hotch/OC. I would ~love~ some constructive criticism, so please go nuts in the review section. As my Twilight readers will tell you, I am simply horrible at updating, so try to keep the death threats to a minimum, they excite me too much. Lol. I've called this story The Lake House because the movie of that same title, with Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves, is my most loved and cherished romantic film, of which I like few. That and it's set in a house by a lake. I know, original huh? No Jack in this story, and probably any other story I write.

Criminal Minds characters and universe are not mine, but the original characters, storyline and wording are mine.

The Lake House

Chapter 01

It was official, civilisation was snowed in for at least the next week, if not longer. For SSA Aaron Hotchner, that meant being stuck in his winter cabin with plenty of food and a wood fire. Which was the plan before the snow settled twelve feet deep across four counties, only now it would just be quieter, if that were possible. The lake outside the cabin was completely frozen over and some of the snow laden trees bent towards its edges. The track to and from the cabin was nowhere to be seen and would reappear in its own sweet time.

His task for now was getting logs in from the huge woodpile to stack beside the fireplace so they could dry. Once he had half a ton stacked inside the cabin he placed two of the remaining dry logs on the blazing fire and stood, brushing the wood dust off his hands against his jeans and leaned against the mantle. The picture of his BAU family stood there, their happy faces a bittersweet reminder of the work and people to whom he dedicated his life. The face of his late ex-wife, Hayley, sat in a separate frame next to them, kept more out of guilt and duty, although lingering affection that never seemed to fully leave him swirled not unpleasantly through him at the sight of her. It had been two years now since Foyet had taken her from him, and he found that he could think about her without feeling like he was ripping in two. He had kept busy since then, but still hadn't been on a date. At first everything had been too raw. That had lasted the better part of three years. After that, it hadn't occurred to him that anyone would want to take him on at his age or with his emotional baggage.

He crossed the cabin and closed the door, propping the enormous axe beside it, before getting himself something from the kitchen to eat in the comfortable armchair near the fire. The book he was reading was propped open on the table next to his chair and he picked it up as soon as he'd finished eating, putting his feet up on a stool and stretching a little all over before settling down to read. The snow was starting up again outside and the wind, while not howling, was gusting strongly through the trees and around the cabin. It only served to increase the comfort he took in the fire and the book, comfort enough that he found his eyes drift closed repeatedly.

Some time later he awoke with a jerk, not entirely sure why. He put another log on the fire before starting some coffee brewing in the kitchen. He stopped, one hand in midair, when he heard a faint sound. He wondered if that was what had woken him just now. It came again and he couldn't help but think that it sounded a little like a voice. It seemed to come from the other side of the cabin, so he turned off the lights and crossed over to the large window overlooking the frozen lake. He heard the cry again just a little louder, then nothing for a few seconds. Suddenly, illuminated darkly by the moon, he saw a figure come stumbling out of the trees at the edge of the lake. It was running fast and stumbling a little, and ran straight out onto the frozen lake without hesitation. The figure kept looking back over their shoulder. Aaron's spine tingled with cold. Whoever it was, he was pretty sure they were being chased, or at least thought they were.

Another ten feet and one opportune angle of moonlight illuminated their face and form a little better, but only for a second. It was enough. It was a woman, a beautiful one, her mouth stretched over her teeth in fear, hair plastered to her head as she ran. She wasn't wearing as much as she should have been in this weather, and he had a horrible feeling that she might be barefoot from the way she was running. She was about a third of the way across the lake now, heading almost straight in the direction of his cabin. She fell with another sharp cry but scrambled to her feet again quickly. As his eyes followed her as she regained her feet they caught sight of what she was running from. Another figure, bigger and darker, definitely male, came stumbling out of the forest near the spot that she had exited the trees. It also headed straight out onto the ice of the lake, making a beeline for the woman who had just passed the halfway point.

"Oh hell no." He could feel anger bubbling to the surface and he pulled his boots on smoothly and quickly. He threw the cabin door open and grabbed the axe as he left the cabin. He missed out the steps completely, instead leaping over the wooden pole of the porch straight into the snow and turned to race around to the lake side of the cabin. He could hear her cries of fear as he got nearer and saw her glance over her shoulder again. Her pursuer was still following her across the ice, gaining a little but not much as he kind of lolloped like a big gangly dog. She whipped her head back round again and lowered it to add a little speed to her escape. But she looked up.

It hadn't occurred to him that she might not realise he was trying to help her and he could only watch in horror as her eyes rose to his. A desperate mewl of terror escaped her and she stumbled, falling forward onto the ice. She broke her fall with her hands but he heard the horrendous crack as the ice started to give way under her.

"Wait." He called. "I'm not going to hurt you."

He couldn't tell if she had heard him or, if she had, if she believed him. She tried to get up and move to her right but at that point the ice did give way and she fell through it into the icy water below. Seconds later she re-emerged from the water with a gasp, her hands clawing at the ice, trying to get purchase on it. She was thoroughly terrified now, turning her head, trying to see the man who had been pursuing her.

The man had slowed his pursuit and was only taking slow steps toward her. Seeing this turning out very badly if he didn't act quickly, Aaron took a few careful steps out onto the ice toward where the woman was still trying to drag herself out of the water onto the ice. He looked at the man pursuing her who had, for the first time, acknowledged his presence. He seemed to be trying to calculate whether or not he could reach the woman before Aaron did.

Aaron looked him dead in the eye and shook his head in a slow threat. The man cocked his head to one side thoughtfully. He had to see that Aaron was not only bigger built than he but also half a foot taller and carrying a four foot axe. That should have been enough to dissuade him from his course of action. Unfortunately, perhaps for him, he didn't pay this information as much heed as he should. With a small smirk he suddenly lunged toward the woman, trying to cover the thirty feet between them before he could be intercepted.

Aaron did the only thing he could think of. He slung the axe overhand with all his strength at the patch of ice the man was about to reach. It flew through the air, turning end over end until it hit the ice, the blade biting in with a singing crack. It did the trick. The ice cracked with a deep grumble and as the man's foot came down on it, even though by now he had seen what had happened and started to slow, it went through the ice and his leg disappeared down into the freezing waters. He had turned as this happened and was now sprawled face down, facing away from him and the woman, with his leg still dangling through the ice. He clawed his way forward until his soaking wet leg was free and he was able to stumble upright and start back across the ice away from Aaron and, more importantly, away from his quarry.

Aaron ignored the man and turned his attention back to the woman. She had stopped struggling, which worried him immensely, instead clinging to the side of the ice. He could see that she was breathing but her breath wasn't misting in the air which meant hypothermia. He had to get her out and he had to get her out now. Her eyes followed him warily but she seemed aware that he had dealt with the man following her and looked a little less afraid than she had. As he approached, cautiously as he knew he weighed a great deal more than she did, he could see the pool of black water around her chest. It was still apart from her shallow breathing, which meant that she wasn't shivering. He figured he had less than five minutes to get her out of there. He crouched down as he drew close to her and talked to her softly.

"Honey I need to get you out of there before you freeze. I'm not going to hurt you, I promise; I just want to get you safe and out of that water. Will you let me?" All the while he was inching closer to her, one hand held out low to the ice. She looked at him for a few long, long moments, before nodding slightly, her eyes a little hooded and sleepy looking. He reached his hand forward, palm up, the last few inches and waited for her to take it.

She seemed to struggle a little, making two failed attempts before managing to put her hand in his, but she had very little strength and couldn't grip it very well.

"OK," he said to her "it's going to be hard for you, but I'm going to pull you forward a little and I want you to try and hang onto my coat here while I get a grip on you to pull you out. Can you do that?" He pulled her arm forward enough to put her hand next to the collar of his coat. She nodded at him, her eyes looking a bit more focused. She was less afraid of him now, he was happy to see, and more of her predicament. He knew her mental functions must be starting to fade pretty fast, but she was holding onto what she could in order to help him get her out.

He felt her fingers grasp his coat and lowered himself to the ice, belly first.

"Hold tight. As tight as you can. I'm going to grab you with one hand and pull. If you can kick your feet to give extra lift that's great, but I'm guessing you don't have much feeling left." She tried to smile in agreement but she didn't seem to have much feeling left in her face either so she nodded again. He found himself seeing getting her warm enough to talk as the first goal once she was out of the water.

With a deep breath he inched forward and plunged one arm into the icy water almost up to his shoulder.

"Fuck!" he exclaimed as the cold bit into his flesh.

With iron determination he grabbed a handful of the woman's clothing and heaved. Her upper body came out of the water onto the ice, followed by her legs. He swivelled his body and pulled again, bringing her feet, bare as he'd thought, onto the ice with the rest of her. He lay there for a few seconds, breathing and trying to work the bitter cold out of his arm and hand. But he couldn't stay there. He pushed himself to his knees and then to his feet, stooping to check if she was still conscious. She was, but only just. Her body was completely still and her eyes were only open a fraction, their movement sluggish. She didn't have the strength to hold her head up.

He squatted and slid his arms under her, cradling her soaking wet form to his chest as he stood. Even soaked to the skin she didn't weigh a great deal and he carefully made his way back across the ice to the shore. They were at the cabin and up the steps in moments and he kicked the door closed against the cold as he took them inside and turned the lights back on. He pushed his chair away from the fire with one foot and laid her on it briefly before reaching into a large wooden chest and bringing out half a dozen thick blankets. He spread two of them on the floor in front of the fire and added another log to the flames before turning back to her to see to her clothes.

She seemed to be wearing stolen clothes. Outermost was a man's large winter coat. He stripped it off her as quickly as he could without hurting her, although he was fairly sure she still couldn't feel much. Underneath were a pair of men's jeans and an XXL t-shirt with some kind of beer ad on the front, faded and stained. He didn't want to frighten her so he tapped the side of her cheek gently with his open palm to try to rouse her enough to explain to her what he had to do. Her eyes opened and focused on his face slowly, as if drunk. They were a lovely shade of green, dark like moss, and he wanted to see what they looked like when they were open fully and her mind was her own. Her head wobbled with the effort.

"Can you understand me?"

"Yuh-yes." The tiniest whisper accompanied by a small nod of her head.

"You have hypothermia, honey. I need to get you warm. But I have to take off your clothes to do that." He smiled at her encouragingly but didn't ask if she was OK with it, because he was going to do it whether she protested or not. But if telling her what he was doing and why could help prevent a struggle or any further trauma to her then he would take the time to do so. Her answer surprised him.

She looked at him for a few seconds, her eyes meeting his briefly, then travelled slowly over his face to his shoulders and chest, then back up to his eyes. He thought he saw the corners of her mouth twitch upward ever so slightly.

"Handsome, tall, lovely smile…I can live with that." She whispered. He looked at her, stunned, as she lost her battle to remain conscious and relaxed back into the chair. He grinned and chuckled to himself as he scooped her up and took her to the blankets he had laid out on the floor. But his laughter was cut off short as he peeled the t-shirt off and saw what had been done to her.

Sooooo small cliffhanger but nothing to worry about; I will post the next chapter soon enough. It's already written but I'll take a week or two to see what you guys think of the story so far before I decide to post it either with or without further revision. And to produce something worthy for my Twilight readers so they don't sacrifice me to Justin Bieber. Until then, don't do anything I wouldn't do :D

~Sin~