Amy had been tossing back and forth in her California king bed for a solid hour before her alarm finally went off at precisely 5:30 AM, notifying her that it was time she got up and started her daily routine. The now 26 year old lived in Quantico, Virginia, working as an FBI agent in the BAU and loving every bit of it. Sure she missed her family but her mom made it a point to call the blonde every night even if it was just to say good night or ask about her day and Lauren and her now one year old baby girl Brittany, Amy's godchild, had visited her quite a few times over the past couple of months. Lauren lived in New York with her little family, making spontaneous 4 hour road trips to Virginia rather easy for her. She had taken an extended maternity leave and seeing as Anthony, formally Theo, was constantly working, the new mom felt the need to visit her step-sister every chance she got. Not that Amy worked any less. If anything, she worked more than Anthony and in addition to the long hours she spent at the BAU headquarters, the blonde often found herself working on cases out of town, making her cherish her time with her niece that much more.

Amy rubbed her semi-sleepy eyes and yawned before getting out of bed and making her way to the kitchen where she filled the kettle and turned it on before walking towards to bathroom to shower up, dragging her feet across the hardwood floor as she did so. Mondays were always the hardest for her.

The shower was quick. It lasted just long enough for her to wash her hair and body underneath the somewhat cold water in hopes it would help her wake up a little more. She had stayed up late last night looking over case files and finishing up a report that was due first thing this morning.

Amy's hair was wrapped in a towel, and as she stepped back into her kitchen to finally get herself a fresh cup of coffee and make some breakfast, she tied her robe shut. It was now just a little after 6, leaving Amy about an hour to get ready and get to work which was more than enough time considering 'getting ready' consisted of applying the smallest amount of mascara and foundation. Her hair would dry itself and would end up being the perfect mix of half wavy slash half curly, effortlessly.

Amy hadn't even stepped out of the elevator, let alone into the bullpen before her co-worker and best friend Reagan set what would be her second cup of coffee for the day on her desk.

"Just how you like it, babe." The raven-haired girl shouted as Amy walked towards her and set her briefcase down on the floor.

"What would you know about how I like it?" Amy teased, a huge grin plastered on her face. Their relationship was nearly identical to that of Derek and Penelope from Criminal Minds. It was almost as if they were straight out of the show.

The two had toyed with the idea of being something more and although they were undoubtedly attracted to one another, they agreed to keep things platonic for the sake of their friendship and jobs. Not to mention they were far too much alike.

"Oh you have no idea." Reagan replied before quickly changing the subject as she watched Amy lean back in her chair. "Don't get too comfortable, blondie. Wagner wants us in the conference room in — 15 minutes?" Because she was unsure herself, it came out sounding like much more of a question.

Amy rolled her eyes. "Of course he does." Dean Wagner was their unit chief, an uptight and serious unit chief at that. "Where are we going?"

"I have no clue." Reagan shrugged her shoulders and sipped on her coffee. "Hopefully somewhere warm. Like Florida, or Arizona." She paused. "Or Texas so I can finally meet momma Raudenfeld." The brunette winked.

Reagan had met Amy 4 years ago when the blonde first joined the BAU, just a year after Reagan had joined herself. She got the chance to meet Lauren, Anthony and Brittany and while she had been at Amy's place while the latter was FaceTiming her mother, Reagan had yet to officially meet the meteorologist.

"You talk to her more than I do when we FaceTime, you practically already have." The two girls chuckled but were quickly interrupted by Wagner, as was the rest of the close-knit team.

"Everyone in the conference room. Now." He demanded with a stern look on his face before entering said room as everyone quickly followed suit, not wanting to piss him off.

Meanwhile in Los Angeles, Karma had just been woken up by her 4 year old daughter Kailani, who was jumping up and down on the bed, giggling loudly. "Mommy, wake up!" She screamed excitedly.

Karma smiled before pulling the duvet up over her head, not opening her eyes the slightest bit. "Ugh, Kai.. Can mommy get 5 more minutes, angel?" She fully knew the answer to that but figured it couldn't hurt to try.

"Okay.." The little one said as she sat next to her mother and began counting." 1, 2, 3, 4, 5! Time's up, you have to wake up now!"

"Alright, alright. I'm up." The redhead resurfaced from under the sheets and reached for her daughter, pulling her into a tight hug and kissing her cheek as she did so.

Kailani still hadn't stopped giggling. She was trying to break from her mom's loving albeit tight grip. "Mommy, you're squishing me!" She said, sounding even more energetic than she did mere moments ago.

Upon loosening her grip, Karma told her daughter to go wait in the living room and watch cartoons and that she would be out soon. Once Kailani was out of her bedroom, the redhead got out of bed and walked straight to the adjoining bathroom where she washed her face, brushed her teeth and took a long hard look at herself in the mirror, wearing a blank and tired expression. She turned slightly to her right and then to her left, finally having a clear view of the new bruises Liam had left with the angry and hard grip he had on her only a few hours ago. They blended in almost perfectly with the others.

The physical abuse started about two years ago. Granted, it only happened when he was drunk which although was quite often, Karma had convinced herself that he didn't mean any of it. He loved her, she thought.

She had thought about packing her things and moving out various times, but she had nowhere to go. No place, no money of her own.. At least not enough to support herself and her daughter. Liam and Karma had been living in LA for over 5 years now. Liam had given up on his whole becoming an artist dream pretty quickly and instead took care of all Squirkle matters on the west coast. Karma however, the dreamer she was, had high hopes of becoming a singer but she soon realized that it was a lot easier said than done. She used to have a couple of gigs every month, nothing big, but other than that, she worked as Liam's secretary. Mainly because she felt that was the least she owed him for everything he had done for her. So the redhead worked for her boyfriend, up until she fell pregnant that was. Karma felt nowhere near ready but Liam on the other hand wanted nothing more. Naturally, she gave in, fear of losing him.. Losing him like she had lost Amy.

It had been 6 years since she had spoken to Amy. Although they had different plans upon graduating high school, the two former best friends promised each other the night of that they'd keep in touch, always. That promise was however broken by Amy a few months short of a year after making it. Without a warning it was like she had disappeared. She stopped returning Karma's calls, texts, hell even Karma's emails. The redhead tried and tried again. The very least she wanted was answers but after being ignored for so long, Karma gave up trying. She had lost all hope and she knew that the only thing left to do was to try and move on but she couldn't and so she kept in touch with Lauren. Not much, but just enough to know that Amy was okay. That Amy was happy. That's all she ever wanted after causing her so much pain in high school.

Pulling a hoodie on over her head, she finally joined her daughter. "You're watching Phineas and Ferb without me?" She said, acting as if she were shocked.

"Well you was taking too long!" Kailani replied.

"Were.."

"What?" The child asked confused.

"It's you were taking too long, not was.. Oh whatever." Karma said with a laugh. There was no use in explaining any of it considering she had already lost her daughter's attention. "Do you want pancakes or cereal?"

"Pancakes with lots and lots of chocolate!" Kailani responded enthusiastically, not taking her eyes off of the television.

Sure Karma endured a lot of shit and had taken more than a few beatings from Liam but she would forever be grateful for him for he had given her the absolute greatest gift of all. She wouldn't trade her daughter for the world, Kailani gave her a reason to wake up every day and although she spent her teenage years seeking everyone's love, as long as she had Kai's, that's all she needed.. Maybe a little bit of Amy's but that possibility was long gone. The redhead swallowed hard at the thought.

"Okay, chocolate chip pancakes.." She mumbled quietly with a sigh as she tried to gather her thoughts and the necessary ingredients all at once..

Thank you all for taking the time to read the first chapter, I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm new to this whole writing fanfiction thing so reviews, comments and constructive criticism are all very welcome! I'm already working on the second chapter, it should be up tomorrow. Let me know if there's anything y'all would like to see in the future!

Also, yes, I'm insanely obsessed with Criminal Minds so, apologies in advance.