I don't own Criminal Minds. I wish I did, though; it'd help pay for college.

….

"Tell me, Pretty Boy, how was your weekend?" Morgan jabbed as Reid walked toward his desk.

"I'm sincerely sorry, Morgan," Reid replied in a very un-sincere way. "But a gentleman never reveals the events of a weekend getaway to his friends."

Prentiss chuckled. "And it appears you're not getting anything out of him, Derek Morgan," she retorted, setting down a steaming mug of coffee as she sat at her desk. "If Reid says he isn't telling, he's never going to tell you. Period."

"Besides," Reid added. "Nothing happened like that!"

"I bet your credit card history says otherwise," Morgan said, and hurried out of the bullpen, no doubt heading for Garcia's lair. Prentiss shook her head.

"He's desperate, that's for sure," she replied. "Do you think Garcia will say anything?"

"She gave me her word that she wouldn't tell a soul," Reid said; he was now looking at a file he had discovered in his inbox, and was giving it his almost undivided attention. "Not even Morgan."

"And that was?"

"Last night, when she picked me up at the airport."

Prentiss nodded. "Yep, he's never going to find out," she concluded, also opening up a file folder. "If I know PG, she'll reveal about as much as a locked wrought-iron fence."

No sooner had she spoken than Morgan and Garcia came walking into the bullpen, JJ trailing behind them, with Morgan begging Garcia for some information.

"Come on, Mama."

"No."

"Please?"

"Not happening, Derek."

"Garcia…"

"Sorry, Sugar," the sparkly, self-proclaimed tech goddess turned to her chocolate-y hunk. "But I promised that it would be a quiet, under-the-radar, restful vacation; that means, Derek Morgan, that I will not reveal the details of anything that transpired during that weekend. Not even the contents of the meals they ate."

"But Baby Girl…"

"Don't Baby Girl me! I said no!" Garcia wailed, turning away. JJ chuckled as she watched them before walking through the bullpen herself.

"Hey, Spence," she said. "You look restful."

"Thanks," Reid replied. "So do you."

"I slept in all weekend long," JJ supplied, shifting the folders in her hand to reveal a single one. Another case.

Reid seemed to read her mind. "Where are we going?"

"New York," she replied. "Is Hotch in?"

Reid glanced up at the two offices on the catwalk. "He appears to be," Reid said. Both offices had light coming from within, and both occupants appeared to be at their desks, hard at work.

"Good. I'll see you in the conference room," she said, turning and heading up the stairs toward Hotch's office. He was sitting at his desk, a stack of files in front of him. But he paid them no mind; instead, he looked at a photograph of himself and a smiling young boy wearing a Little League jersey. Tucked into the corner of the frame was a still of a young blonde woman wearing a jersey for a professional league team, complete with a hat and glove.

"Hotch," she called, worried. The man glanced up, meeting her eyes.

"New case?" He asked.

"Yeah, and it's a bad one." She walked into the office and sat down. "But that's not all I wanted to say."

"What is it?" he asked. "Is it…?"

"No, Will and Henry are fine," JJ quickly disbanded the obvious fears in the Unit Chief's mind. "It's just… I've been offered a transfer to the New York offices. It came up after we got in from Los Angeles; I got a call from a Special Agent Peter Burke; I'd be working mainly with his team, but I'd be a spokesperson for the entire New York branch of the FBI. I'd have my office in the White Collar division, as a liaison, but I'd represent the entire Bureau office there."

"If this is Strauss' idea, let me talk to her; I can let you here if you don't want it," he begged.

JJ shook her head. "This past weekend, and the Billy Flynn case, made me realize that life is short and precious. I realized that I hardly see Will and Henry anymore, and I'm worried that I'll miss out on Henry's childhood… I don't want to be an absent mother, Hotch. I'm scared that one day, I'll come home to find that my own son doesn't recognize me… My worst nightmare… And I don't want that."

Hotch nodded. "I understand," he whispered.

"And I won't be that far off," she added. "It's only a short plane ride between here and the city. We found a nice house in a nice neighborhood. You're all more than welcome to visit, and we'll make time to come see all of you."

"When does your transfer go through?"

"It passed this morning," JJ confirmed. "This'll be my last case with the BAU. Will is already in New York, setting up the house. We have lots of empty rooms, so there'll be no need to get a hotel if you're ever in the city."

"So you'll just stay in New York when this case is over?" Hotch asked, and JJ nodded. "Have you thought about telling the others? Garcia and Reid especially."

"Garcia already knows," JJ whispered. "I spoke to her this morning; she's not happy about it, but there's nothing she can do about it. I told her that if she messes with the transfer, I'll have Kevin's friend in our White Collar Unit change all her passwords."

"Niko Zissou?"

She nodded. "She didn't believe it, and I know Niko would rather jump off a cliff than do something like that to her; he thinks of her as an older sister, according to Kevin, but it was the best I could do."

With that, she looked at the clock on Hotch's desk and stood up. "I'll tell the team before we brief," she reported as she walked toward the door. "I'll see you in a bit."

He nodded.

….

The team reacted differently upon hearing of JJ's departure. Garcia had already been crying when the briefing started, and the tears began anew when she repeated the announcement. Morgan closed his eyes and sighed heavily, shaking his head. Prentiss kept a cool head, but you could see the surprise and sadness in her eyes.

Rossi jumped to his feet. "Give me five minutes with Strauss. I won't stand for this," he growled.

"It's too late to do anything," Garcia replied softly. Rossi sat down, fuming.

Reid's wide brown eyes seemed to get wider, and a moment later a small gold coin came from his pocket, and he began fingering it. Hanging from another pocket, next to the pocket watch he sometimes wore, was an inexpensive silver locket with tiny false diamonds sparkling from it. The chain was broken and the picture inside had gotten so wet that it was unrecognizable, but to the young man, it was special. While he fingered the coin, a one-year medallion from the Beltway Clean Cops Association, his hand also wandered toward the locket.

Only Hotch and JJ seemed unaffected by the announcement. When everyone had finished digesting the news, JJ continued with the briefing as if nothing had happened.

"Ariel Westin, age 20, a native of New York, was found three weeks ago in Central Park on Literacy Way, under the statue of Robert Burns. Her hair was greasy and there were some indications that she was slightly malnourished, but it appears that she was fed through an IV. Four days earlier, she had disappeared from Times Square; she was supposed to be selling flyers for the play Rock of Ages." With that, she clicked the remote, exposing the rest of the pictures. "Shortly after Ariel was found, Janie Cossetta disappeared. Janie had just started school at NYU, and she was also found a few days after her disappearance in Central Park, but she was found by the Alice in Wonderland statue. She was 18."

"And everything was consistent with the last victim?" Prentiss asked.

"Yes; there were also markings that showed that Janie was also fed through an IV."

"Where was Janie from?" Reid questioned.

"Butler, New Jersey," JJ answered. "It's a small town; actually, Janie was from neighboring Bloomingdale; I talked to an officer DePascal, and he said Janie had always dreamed of going to New York. Janie was last seen at St. Paul's Cathedral."

"But why these two women?" Rossi asked.

"They look alike." Prentiss supplied.

"True, but notice their hair," Rossi pointed out. "Ariel had long, straight dark brown hair. Janie had shoulder-length, curly black hair."

"And the most recent victim?" Hotch asked.

JJ turned back to the screen. "Melanie Summers, 19, she was from Chicago, Illinois. She disappeared from a meat and cheese shop in Little Italy. NYPD officials expect to find her today."

"Why didn't they call us sooner?" Morgan asked, confused. "Three girls, all in their late teens and early twenties, disappear in broad daylight and turn up four days later in Central Park."

"The reason they didn't call us in until now is because the UnSub's MO changed with Melanie Summers." JJ answered, clicking the remote to show another picture. "Audrey Summers, Melanie's mother, was found dead in an alley off Canal Street. Her throat was slashed with a kitchen knife."

"He's evolved," Reid pointed out. "He appears to have snuck up behind her and slit her throat. Were there defensive marks on Audrey?"

"No, you're right, Reid, he slit her throat from behind." JJ replied.

"Alright," Hotch said, closing his folder. "Wheels up in twenty."

….

Two women and a teenage girl turned the corner outside the Tenement Museum, talking amongst themselves. None of them noticed a hooded man standing by the Subway station, watching them. His eyes were fixed on the girl, who looked about 18 or 19, with short brownish-blonde hair, but the way the sun caught it, it reminded the man of…

This one had to be her; the others hadn't been right, but she was so perfect; she even looked like her…

At this point, the other two women had entered the Gift Shop, clearly on their way to get something, a trinket, or tickets.

Perfect timing.

The girl, meanwhile, was paying no attention to him; instead, she was playing with a small string on her t-shirt. She didn't see him, not until he plunged the needle into her neck. She looked… surprised. Then there was terror. A second later, she slumped to the ground. He caught her, laying her out on the ground and dragging her to a small alley next to the museum shop. As he left, he heard her mutter "Spenner… Hel'me…"

As he walked out to the store, he saw one of the women walk out, confused. "Aislinn," she called. "Aislinn, where are yo-" A second later, the man stabbed her in the stomach with a kitchen knife. Over and over. Then he whipped it off on her shirt, went to the alley and half carried, half dragged the girl down the street. He smiled.

Aislinn. What a pretty name.

….

**Queue Criminal Minds Theme**

This is the first chapter. Please be sure to review!I hope you're enjoying it so far!

And did anyone catch the White Collar reference?

*~N_CBAU~*