Chapter 16: I Won't Back Down

Aria was roughly shoved down onto her knees by the Unsub. She winced slightly as they made contact with the hard ground. Her arms hung loosely at her sides and she kept her gaze on the floor below her.

After her breakdown, Stephany had managed to calm her down before she had another panic attack. She talked to Aria and asked her questions to try and keep her engaged and distracted and told her that she needed to stay strong and not give up. She wasn't sure if she could do that though. She was beyond terrified about what could happen to her.

"What's your name?" She heard the Unsub ask her.

She frowned then looked up at him as he stood in front of her. "What?" She asked, confused.

"Your name. What is it?" He asked again.

She cleared her throat. "Aria. My name's Aria." She told him cautiously, wondering why he was asking her that. She assumed he already knew her name.

His expression went from calm to angry. "Liar!" He screamed as he punched her in the side just below her ribs.

Aria gasped as the blow caught her off guard. She barely managed to stay kneeling before he punched her again on the opposite side. She fell to the ground, clutching her stomach as the pain shot through her.

He kneeled down next to her as she struggled to breathe. "I'm gonna ask you again. What is your name?" He asked softly as he leaned down closer to her.

Aria took a few short breaths before she replied. "I just told you." She said as she tried to push herself up.

"You're lying!" He yelled out then kicked her in the stomach. "Stop lying to me." He said as he kicked her again.

Aria couldn't help the cry of pain she let out when he kicked her for the second time. She curled herself into a ball on the floor, bracing herself for another kick. "I'm telling you the truth." She told him. "My name is Aria. Aria Marano."

He shook his head. "No, it isn't." He said as he leaned down and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Stop lying." He told her as he shoved her back down.

Oh my God. He's delusional. She thought. What am I going to do?

She took a few breaths. "I don't know who you think I am but I'm not her." She told him as she tried to sit up.

He started pacing, shaking his head as he mumbled. "No, no, no. You're lying." He said then kicked her harder in the same spot.

She screamed out in pain. "Please stop." She pleaded as he continued kicking her in the abdomen. "I'm telling you the truth, I swear." She gasped out, curling herself even further into a ball. She tried to focus on her breathing but every breath she took made it feel as if her stomach was on fire.

"Please. I don't know what you want from me." She choked out as she struggled to hold back her tears.

He stopped kicking her then leaned closer. "I want you to tell me the truth." He said softly.

"I am." She whispered.

He shook his head. "No, you're not." He said, then grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her up from the floor.

It took everything that Aria had in her not to scream out in pain as the movement jarred her already sore abdomen. She bit the inside of her cheek hard enough to draw blood.

He slammed her hard against the wall then moved his hands towards her neck.

"No. What, what are you doing?" She asked as she felt him wrap both of his hands around her neck. He held it there as she struggled to free herself from his grip.

"Don't do this. Please." She pleaded.

He ignored her as he tightened his grip around her neck, nearly lifting her off the ground. She brought her hands up and tried to push him away from her, kicking her legs out to help her as it got harder and harder for her to breathe. Her vision became hazy and just as she was about to pass out, he loosened his grip. She slid down the wall, coughing and gasping for air.

He grabbed the back of her head, pulling her hair so she looked up at him. "Next time, I won't stop." He told her then released his grip he had on her, pushing her down onto the ground so she was sprawled out on her stomach. He glanced at her one more time before making his way out the room, leaving her alone.

Aria slowly rolled onto her right side, bringing her knees up to her chest as she curled herself into a ball on the floor, even though it hurt to do so. Her entire body ached and she couldn't stop shaking. Her throat hurt and she was pretty sure there would be a hand shaped bruise around her neck soon. It even hurt to breathe but she knew that if she didn't get enough air into her lungs she would pass out.

She tried to focus on something else. Her mom, her friends, dancing, her favorite movie, basically anything that could distract her from the pain.

Her thoughts wondered back to the Unsub. She couldn't get the look he had on his face out of her head. Her truly believed she was this other person. Whoever she is, he must really hate her. But why did he think that Aria was this mystery person? Did she resemble her in some way? She remembered Aaron telling her that Unsubs often chose their victims as substitutes for the person they really wanted to hurt. Could that be the case? And why was Stephany there? All these questions ran through Aria's head.

With the state Stephany was in, Aria had a feeling that this was just the beginning of what he planned to do to her.

She stared at the silver infinity ring on her right hand finger. It had LA BFF '05 engraved on the inside. Suddenly, she had a really good reason to not give up.

Lilly.

She saved her life. The least Aria could do was fight to keep it._________________________________________

She startled awake, squinting slightly as the sun shone in her face.

"Hey Love." She heard and turned towards the familiar voice.

"Daniel." She whispered, relief filling her veins as she flung herself at him.

He easily caught her in his arms and pulled her close.

"Aria..." She whispered sadly.

"I know." He sighed, kissing the side of her head. "Agent Hotchner filled me in." He told her as they both sat down on the bed.

Aimee ran a hand through her hair. "I can't believe I fell asleep." She huffed in annoyance.

"Love, you worked a fifteen hour night shift. No one blames you for getting some shut eye." He told her as he took her hand in his.

"My daughter is missing, Daniel! I can take a nap once I know that she's okay." She snapped as she let go of his hand and started pacing the floor.

Daniel didn't say anything. He knew that Aimee was just scared and upset but hearing her refer to Aria as her daughter and not theirs hurt a little. Especially since he planned on adopting Aria after they got married.

Aimee stopped pacing and turned back towards him, instantly feeling bad about snapping at him. She walked back towards him. "I'm sorry, babe." She told him as she grabbed his hand, placing a light kiss on his lips then leaned her forehead against his.

He placed his hand on her cheek, stroking the curve of her cheekbone as he entwined their fingers. "It's okay. It will all be okay." He tried to assure her as he pulled her into another hug. "Do you hear me?" He asked. She didn't answer him but he felt her nod against his shoulder.

"I'm really glad you're here." She said softly.

He kissed the top of her head. "There's no place I'd rather be, Amelia."

"You're unusually quiet." Danny told her as they made their way to the Marano Manor.

Izzy kept staring straight ahead. "I'm fine." She told him.

"Izzy..."

"Can we just not talk about it? Please?" She said as she turned to face him.

"Look, I promised Gia I'd look out for you. I'm trying to do that here."

"Well, you don't have to." She snapped.

"God, you're stubborn!" He huffed. "Would it kill you to just accept help from someone? You don't have to act so damn tough all the time." He told her.

Izzy bit the inside of her cheek, trying really hard to keep her tears at bay. She wouldn't admit it to Danny but she was scared.

They drove in silence the rest of the way. It wasn't until Danny pulled into the driveway that she spoke again.

"Danny?" She said softly as he turned off the ignition.

"What?" He asked, clearly still annoyed at her.

She swallowed before speaking. "What... what if they don't find her in time?" She cleared her throat. "What if she dies?" Izzy whispered in a voice that didn't resemble her own.

His face softened as he noticed the worried expression on her face. Izzy was usually really good at hiding her emotions.

"Izzy, you can't think like that." He told her. "The team working this case, they're the best. You know that." He reminded her, knowing how fascinated she was with the BAU, even before she knew that Aria's dad was the unit chief.

"I know, it's just..." She sighed. "This guy, he's a real piece of work, Danny."

"You've been following the case." He stated more than asked.

She bit her lip then nodded.

"I bet you're regretting that now, huh?" He told her.

"You have no idea." She said as they got out of the car. As they made their way to the front door Izzy paused. Danny turned back to face her.

"You ready for this?" He asked her, noticing her hesitation. He felt the strange urge to hug her but she'd probably punch him in the face if he even tried it. Instead, he opted to place his hand on her upper arm.

"Yeah." She nodded as they walked towards the door together, both bracing themselves for what was about to come.

Aimee exited the bathroom, freshly showered and wearing a pair of clean sweats she'd stolen from Aria's closet. It felt ten times better than the hospital scrubs she had been wearing. She pulled her hair into a messy bun as she watched Daniel pace the floor. He had removed his suit jacket and tie, and his sleeves were rolled up till his elbows. His phone was pressed tightly against his ear as spoke to someone. She frowned, trying to figure out who he was talking to.

"Yes. I understand. I'll do so. Alright then. Bye." He ended the call then turned around. "Hey." He said with a tight smile. "You feeling any better?" He asked.

She didn't answer, just shrugged her shoulders. "Who were you talking to?" She asked.

He sighed. "Your dad. He wanted to know what was going on after you left him that cryptic voicemail earlier." He explained.

She winced, remembering how chaotic that phone call was. "You told him about Aria." She assumed.

He nodded. "I had to, Aimee."

She sighed, running a hand over her tired face. "I'm sorry. I should've been the one to do that."

He shook his head. "It's all right. You don't have to apologize." He told her as he pulled her into a hug.

"How did he sound?" She asked him as they moved to sit on the bed.

"Upset. Worried. He and your Mum would probably be on a flight back right now if there wasn't a snow storm in London. But he did say they'd try to be here by morning." He told her. "And he wants you to call him when you have the chance."

She nodded. "I still have to call Matteo, too."

"Hey, why don't I call your brother and then you can call your parents? How does that sound?" He asked her.

"Okay." She agreed then sat up. "Is Aaron still here?" She asked as if she suddenly remembered that he stayed behind after his team left.

"No, he left after I got here. Said he needed to get back to the office but he'd call if they found anything."

"So, they don't have any leads yet?" She asked.

He shook his head. "No. But they will." He told her. "We just have to be patient."

After they each made their respective phone calls, the doorbell rang.

"I got it." Daniel told Aimee, giving her shoulder a squeeze before got up from the couch. He opened the door to see two familiar faces, each wearing a sombre expression.

"Hey Kiddos." He said with a sad smile.

"Hey." They both said as they made their way inside.

Daniel closed the door behind him. "I take it you two know what's going on?" He guessed.

They both nodded.

"Where's Aimee?" Izzy asked softly.

"Living room." Daniel told her. She nodded then took off, leaving the two of them alone in the foyer.

Daniel frowned. "Is she okay?" He asked.

Danny shrugged. "She'll be fine. It's just a lot for her to take in." He explained.

"What about you?" Daniel asked.

"I'm fine, I guess. Feels surreal." He answered honestly.

"I know it does, Lad." He sighed. "But we'll get through this." He said as he placed a comforting hand on Danny's shoulder.

Izzy stood outside the living room entryway, trying to sum up the courage to talk to Aimee. She bit the inside of her cheek, not understanding why she suddenly felt so nervous. She was usually a pretty confident person. Besides this, Aimee was the one person, besides her dad, that she could always confide in.

She could see her sitting on the couch, knees pulled up to her chest as she rested her chin on top of the them. She looked like she was deep in thought. Izzy looked away from her, eyes landing on a nearby picture frame. She stared at it, trying to remember where it was taken. Aria, Danny, Izzy, Gia and their parents all stood closely together, smiling at the camera. Izzy then remembered that it was taken after her and her dad Scott moved out of their crappy little apartment and into a nicely furnished two bedroom house. Everyone got together and had a housewarming party. That picture was taken almost a year ago. She wondered if they'd get to have more of those happy, carefree days.

"Izzy?"

Her head snapped up at the sound of her name.

"How long have you been standing there?" Aimee asked as she tilted her head.

Izzy shook her head. "Not long." She said softly.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, fine." She nodded.

Aimee frowned. "Really? Cause you're standing outside the doorway like you're afraid to come inside."

Izzy didn't say anything. She bit her lip, trying to stop the tears that were pooling at her eyes from falling down.

"Oh, honey. Come here." Aimee told her as she noticed that Izzy was on the verge of tears. She placed her feet on the ground and opened her arms, motioning for Izzy to come closer.

Izzy hesitated for a split second before she made her way into the room and sat down next to Aimee, and who immediately pulled her into a tight hug. Aimee didn't know that Izzy was crying until she felt her shaking in her arms and the crook of her neck became damp with tears. She swallowed the lump in her throat, rubbing up and down Izzy's back in a soothing manner.

"Shh, sweetheart. It's okay." She whispered in her ear, running her fingers through Izzy's dark curls, hoping it would calm her down.

She couldn't comfort Aria like this but she'd make sure that she was there for her daughter's two best friends.

Pain.

That was all Aria felt when she was jostled awake by a loud bang. She blinked a few times, trying to remember where she was. Did I fall asleep? She wondered as she looked around the room she was in. She tried to move but stopped when she realised that she was no longer lying on the ground but tied to a chair, yet again. Her entire body ached, and the sitting position she was in wasn't helping much. She took a few deep breaths, wincing slightly at the sharp pain she felt near her ribs.

"Look who's finally awake."

She froze, knowing exactly who that voice belonged to. She realised then that the bang she heard was him slamming the door to wake her up.

He slowly made his way towards her, a crooked grin adorning his face. "Did you have a nice nap? He asked her.

She stared at him, trying to keep her face as neutral as possible.

He glared at her when she didn't answer him. Bending down in front of her, he grabbed her chin, his fingers digging into her skin. "I asked you a question." He told her.

Don't show him any fear. She remembered Aaron telling her that.

She glared back at him, refusing to answer his question. She was done begging and pleading for him to stop hurting her. He clearly didn't care.

He let go of her, realizing that she wasn't going to answer him. "Hmm." He said as he stood up to his full height. "Looks like you do have some fight in you after all." He said then turned away from her.

Aria barely let out the breath she was holding when the unsub suddenly turned back around and punched her in the stomach. She gasped as the wind got knocked out of her by the unexpected blow.

"That's for not answering my question." He told her then walked towards the table in the room.

Aria clenched her jaw as the pain radiated through her abdomen, nearly causing her to throw up from the wave of nausea that it caused. She closed her eyes as she waited for it to pass, taking slow deep breaths to calm herself down. She opened her eyes to see the unsub standing in front of a table not too far from where she was sitting.

"Time for the real fun to start." He told her.

She watched as he removed the cloth that was covering it. Her eyes widened when she saw what was underneath it.

A set of knives varying in size.

Oh God. What is he going to do to me?

She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart as she watched him pick up a knife, inspect it, then put it back down. He did that three more times before he finally decided on one.

"Perfect." He said with a smile then made his way back towards Aria. She flinched slightly when he ran the tip of the knife across her cheek then leaned in closer. "When I'm done with you, you're gonna wish you were dead." He whispered as he stood behind her, pressing the tip of the knife into the flesh of her upper arm, before he dragged it across, leaving a trail of blood behind.

Aria bit her lip to keep herself from crying out as she felt the sting of the cut on her arm. He did this a few more times and she couldn't help the tears that made their way down her cheeks. It hurt but she refused to let him know that. She didn't make a sound as she felt the knife pierce her skin over and over again. By the time he was done, Aria was barely conscious. She could feel the blood running down her arm, dripping onto the floor below as he stepped away from her, admiring his handiwork.

"You ready to admit the truth yet?" He asked her.

She stared at him with a blank expression, not saying anything.

"No?" He tilted his head as he cleaned the knife. "We'll continue this later then." He told her then placed the knife back on the table before he walked out of the room.

I won't let you win.

That was the last thought she had before she finally passed out from the pain.

"So, when the lights go down, And the sun hits ground, You should know that I won't back down, (I'll be waitin' for you), Knuckles out, And a guard in my mouth, When you're hungry for the next round, (I'll be waitin' on you...)" Demi Lovato - Waitin' On You (Ft. Sirah)