DISCLAIMER:

I don't own Criminal Minds (sad noise).

This story is not cannon (sad noise).

It only exists here as an unofficial fanfic (sad noise).

However, it is here for your reading pleasure (happy noise) and I hope you enjoy.

If there are any mistakes or oversights, let me know, I'll get them fixed.

Also, if you would like some input or think something should change, leave me a review.

I can take a critical review, so don't bother trying to not hurt my feelings. If you want to say something say it. Reviews are supposed to make the writer better, so if I do a bad, tell me I do a bad.

Final note: Please enjoy!

Hotch crossed his arms, there had been many things that Strauss had put him through over the years. Her drinking, the fiasco at the military academy, even the death and return of Prentiss. Still, none of these things were close to as bad as the mess she was dumping in his lap. Hotch blinked twice before destroying the silence, "You hired a new agent to join the team?"

Strauss acted like nothing was wrong, "Yes, I did."

"You didn't think that I would need to know that?"

"The last opportunity I had to tell you about it, you were busy. Just like you were the time before that and the time before that. Every chance I had to tell you, you were getting on the jet or leaving for home. It's not like you make it a point to talk to me recently, Aaron."

Hotch rubbed his forehead, "Where's his file?"

Strauss held out the file, "Here. He's a good agent."

Hotch opened the file, then looked up at Strauss, "This is a joke."

Stauss shook her head, "It really isn't."

Hotch closed the file, "This had better be a joke. You know better than to make an addition to my team without my approval. Especially in such a controversial case-"

"He is the best agent of all the possible candidates and you've been buried beneath your work and your family, leaving you no time to find another member for your team."

"The team does not need a new member!"

Strauss sighed, "Yes, Aaron, it does."

"... Is there something else you need to tell me?"

"The director is thinking of expanding the B.A.U. due to the increase in efficiency of the department. People are taking this division more seriously and they want an additional team operating. However, they can't do that if there are no trained and field-ready agents available. A team of inexperienced agents is irresponsible, and I know how you would feel if I asked you to split your team apart."

"I would say no."

"Exactly. So I either had to tell them we aren't ready or I had to begin the program by showing them we are taking the initiative to get prospective agents real-world experience. You do your job well, Aaron. If you can focus, you do it better. I decided to handle this, and yes, it does effect you and your team. But look me in the eye and tell me you'd rather I took time away from you and Jack because I dumped this responsibility on you."

"You should have consulted with me first."

"You're right. I should have. I should have made time in our crazy year to do it, but it's too late for excuses. Your new agent arrives today, he called and said he would be a few minutes late because he needed to pick his son up from school. He'll be here any minute."

Hotch swallowed all the anger and frustration he had directed at Strauss, then tried to grasp what other details she'd kept from him, "Who all knows about this?"

"Just you and me right now. Go, your new recruit is about to cause a lot of confusion."

Hotch pointed at Strauss, "This conversation isn't over."

Morgan looked across his desk to see two people walk into the office. The first person he saw was an eighteen year old boy, blue eyes, blonde hair, with a healthy tan, dressed in blue jeans and a 'FOOTBALL FOREVER' t-shirt. Normally, he would have expected to see the boy's mother or father standing beside him, however, that was not the case. Positioned right next to the jock was a five-year old with curly brunette hair, adorable chocolate eyes, wearing what looked like a very small and exceedingly cute business suit, complete with a tiny blue tie. Morgan looked at Prentiss, who was finishing the last of her paperwork, "Hey, Prentiss, look."

Prentiss lifted her sleepy head and lit up at the sight of the very official munchkin, "Oh... he's adorable!"

Reid, who had just finished yet another crossword puzzle, looked up and noticed what they were talking about, "Oh! That's a nice little suit."

JJ walked over to see what all the commotion was about, then felt her heart melt as she gazed at the little boy, "Oh, my god. I have to go get Garcia. I'll be right back."

Rossi looked up from his book, "Hey, that's a cute looking kid. He and his brother lost or something?"

Everyone was about to go ask, but before any of them could get out of their desks, Hotch walked down the stairs and approached the little boy. They wondered what he was saying, then were further dazed as he shook the boy's hand. The little boy nodded, then rubbed the teenager's shoulder before sending him off. The mesmerized group were silent as Hotch and the boy walked over to greet them. Hotch cleared his throat, "Ahem. Everyone, this is Liam Matthews, he'll be our newest addition to the team."

Liam saw their expressions and realized that none of them had any idea what was going on, "Before you ask, no, this is not a prank, yes, this is a real suit, and I am twenty-four years old."

JJ returned with Garcia, who, upon seeing Priam, picked him up by his armpits and smiled very wide, "Oh, look at you! In that suit! You're adorable!"

Liam blinked twice before clearing his throat, "Thank you for the compliment, agent Garcia. Please put me down now."

After convincing Garcia that she had in no way offended him, Liam discussed with the team the obvious questions that they had. Liam started by looking to Hotch, "I was warned that Strauss was bad at relaying information. I assume that you weren't told until very recently?"

Hotch nodded, "I received your file this morning."

Liam sighed, "Of course... well... I'm sure you all want to ask me a question. Might as well get the Q&A out of the way. I'll get the elephant out of the room. No, I don't know why my body stopped aging when I turned five years old, doctors tell me that I'm a lot like Brooke Greenberge, except for the fact that, in my case, my brain has matured... for the most part. If you have any concerns about my mental capacity, feel free to challenge me, most people do. If you're concerned about my physical capabilities, too bad. Anybody you guys can take down, I can. I've taken down people who were, without exaggeration, three times my size. Okay... any questions?"

A million were going on in the minds of the team, but Morgan was the only one willing to ask, "Um, yeah... why are you here?"

"I was offered a position at the B.A.U., I want to work here."

Morgan looked to Hotch. Hotch tried to think of a delicate way to put it, "Strauss didn't inform me. That said, his credentials are impressive. If I had to pick between him and the other agents whose files I've seen pass over my desk, he would have been my first choice."

Liam noticed the file in JJ's hand, "Agent Jareau... that looks like a case file. Do we have a case?"

JJ snapped back to reality, "Oh, uh, yes. Yes, we do have a case."

Liam nodded, "Then let's go. Time's a'wasting."

Everyone followed him and Hotch into the brief room, but Morgan and Rossi couldn't help but let their jokes be heard by each other. Morgan smirked, "If he gives me attitude, I'm buying him one of these big, swirly lollipops."

Rossi snickered at the thought, "And I thought Reid looked young for this job."

A gruesome scene flashed across the monitor as JJ described it, "At around nine A.M. last night, Chicago P.D. found 10 year old Candice Jones. She'd been reported missing by her parents the night before. In that time, someone drugged her with sedatives and snapped her neck. This little girl is the sixth kid this month to go missing the night before and be found dead the next day."

Liam's eyebrow furrowed, "Six victims in one month? Are we sure this is all the same unsub?"

"M.E. confirms that it's the same dose and the same type of sedative; gorilla tranquilizer. They were all found in graveyards on the outskirts of town and... there was something else the M.E. found."

Prentiss was afraid to ask, but the information was vital, "What was it?"

"There was a trace amount of saliva on their foreheads."

Garcia shivered at the thought, "Why? Why would that be there? That's disgusting."

Morgan raised his eyebrow, "Were there signs of sexual assault?"

JJ shook her head, "Nope. None at all."

Liam thought it over, "How were the bodies positioned?"

Reid looked over the pictures, "They're all in the fetal position... and they're well dressed."

Rossi nodded, "Yeah, this guy definitely has remorse, he combed their hair and there isn't a speck of dirt on their clothes that isn't from the ground they were laying on."

Liam frowned, "It's like... a parent kissing their child goodnight."

Hotch agreed, but remained silent on the matter, "His kills keep getting closer and closer together. If he continues like this, he may have another victim by the time we arrive. Wheels up in thirty minutes."

"Mommy, can we bring Sharon inside tonight?"

"Go ahead, Kale. Just call her in from the porch."

The little boy walked out to his porch, then whistled for his dog, "Sharon! Sharon!"

Kale's mother listened for a few minutes as her son called out for the dog. After a while, she heard the door close, but she didn't hear her son talking to the dog. The woman rose from her chair and went to open her door, finding her son wasn't anywhere in sight, "Kale? Kale?!"

As the van came to a stop, Morgan nudged Liam, "Hey, kid. We're there."

Liam rubbed his sleepy eyes and yawned, "I'm up."

"What were you doing on the jet the whole way here that you couldn't take a nap?"

Liam unbuckled himself, "I was looking over the police reports and the interviews of the parents. I've got a couple theories, but I was going to wait until we reached the police station to talk about them. You guys were all asleep, anyway."

Morgan wasn't sure what made Liam look less official, the juice box or the little stripped t-shirt he wore. Either way, when everyone else got out of the vans looking like FBI agents, Liam looked like the kid who decided it was bring your son to work day. Needless to say, when they got inside, everyone was staring at the adorable child the FBI had dragged along. Hotch greeted the chief, "Poole, good to see you again."

Poole shook Hotch's hand, then looked at Liam, "Good to see you too. And who does this little one belong to?"

Liam pulled out his badge, "Myself. I'm agent Liam Matthews. Don't call me 'little one'."

Seeing the seriousness and aggression on his face, Poole backed off, "Um... so yeah, we've got a table for you right this way."

Morgan looked down at Liam, "Could've said that a little nicer, don't ya think?"

Liam looked up at Morgan, "Would you take me seriously if Hotch didn't tell you he did?"

Morgan shrugged, "Don't know. I didn't meet you before Hotch did."

Liam shook his head, "It's fine. I know you wouldn't have, nobody does. It's not your fault, if you told me a puppy could maul a bear to death, I wouldn't believe you either."

Reid looked to Poole, "Do we know if any other kids have been reported missing since last night?"

Poole sighed, "Too many, most have been accounted for, but there are still at least ten we haven't finished checking."

"I think I can help with that. I already started working on the geographical profile."

"That means you can eliminate any sites that don't fit, right?"

"Yeah."

Hotch looked to the team, "Reid, you start eliminating open kidnapping cases. Prentiss, Morgan, you two go start interviewing the families. Rossi, you and I are going to examine the latest crime scene. JJ, you handle the media, I want as few details to the public as possible."

Liam raised his hand so that Hotch could see him, "What do you want me to do, boss?"

Hotch had forgotten about his teeny recruit, "Liam... your resume said that you were good with computers. Any chance you can help Garcia check for any connections between the families?"

Liam reached for his bag and pulled out a tiny laptop, "I'll call Garcia and see what she has, then link up with her from there."

Hotch nodded, "Alright, get to work. We know what the odds are he has another victim."

Rossi sighed, "Of all the scenes with kids, this is probably the mildest scene I've ever laid eyes on."

"No mutilation, no marks on the body, it's as if he's bringing them here for a small funeral." Hotch agreed. His phone rang, so he quickly answered it, "Hotchner."

Prentiss was on the other end, and she sounded exasperated, "Four down, and we still can't find anything. All of these kids were well-behaved, well-liked, and didn't go anywhere without their parents. All of them swear that they only had their backs turned for a second and then their kids were gone. Hotch, some of these families have guard dogs and the dogs didn't even bark. He got in and out without making a sound."

Hotch's brow furrowed, "How is he getting past the dogs?"

"I don't know. You want me to call Garcia and tell her about the dog connection?"

"Yeah, call her. Rossi and I are heading back now."

Rossi frowned, "That didn't sound good."

"We've got enough to build a profile. Let's head back."

Garcia answered her phone, "Hello, you've reached the home of the pixel princess Penelope, how may I help you?"

Liam raised his eyebrow unsure if he'd called the correct number, "... Agent Garcia?"

Garcia recognized the voice, "Agent Liam! Hi! What can I do for you?"

Trying to ignore the initial greeting, "Um... Hotch told me to help you with your cross-referencing. I've worked an FBI search or two before, care to hook me up so that we can get this done?"

Garcia was surprised, "You're a tech?"

"I know my way around a computer."

"Say no more, I'll work my magic."

A few minutes later, Liam put his hands over the specially-made (or in other words, smaller) keys, "Alright, so I'll take the first three victims and look for any connections whatsoever with them and their families. You got the latter half?"

"Is that a question?"

"My, bad, ma'am. I didn't mean to undermine you, I'm just used to sharing the workload and a lot of people complain about that."

Garcia smiled, "You're sweet, but I got this, honey. Let's see... the last three victims all attended the same elementary school. Are we six for six?"

Liam looked at his screen, "That... we are. All six attended Hope Elementary."

"It's nice to talk to someone who can keep up. Rock on, nerd."

Liam smiled, "Nerd power unlimited, my peep."

Garcia felt her dimples showing, "Oh lord, be still, my beating heart, the man has style."

Liam chuckled a bit, "Alright, since you clearly don't need my help, I'm going to follow up on the lead at the school. Sorry to leave you hanging, but I got a sick puppy to chase down."

Garcia had the image of the boy flash through her mind, only he was bleeding and in the fetal position, "C-Could you take someone with you? If you actually find the unsub there..."

"I know what you're thinking. Trust me, I won't let him get me."

"Please? Just don't go alone."

"I carry four guns on my person at all times, Garcia."

"That doesn't make me feel better."

"I'm a master in three forms of martial arts."

"Take Reid! He loves schools!"

"Garcia..."

"Pretty please? C'mon, I have to sit here all day and worry about everyone else! Don't make me worry about you because you look like someone the unsub would want to hurt."

Liam groaned, "Fine. I'll find someone to escort me. Do you feel better now?"

"Much."

"Please let Hotch know I'm going."

"I will. Be safe."

"Goodbye, Garcia."

"Later, gator."

Liam hung up his phone and put it in his pocket as JJ walked in, "Hey, agent Jareau-"

JJ held her hand up, "Just call me JJ."

"Okay, JJ. All the kids went to the same school. Any chance we can go take a look around the school?"

JJ grimaced. Her job was to keep the team looking credible in the public eye, and there was a media disaster right in front of her. All she could think of was the headline 'FBI uses small child as bait to capture child murderer'. That was a BAD idea. A light bulb flashed over her head, "You should run it by Hotch first."

"Garcia is letting him know as we speak."

That meant that if Hotch had a problem, he would make it heard. JJ sighed, "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Worried about the press seeing a child acting like an official FBI agent?"

JJ shrugged, "What am I supposed to do?"

Liam crossed his arms, "I went through high school, college, and the FBI academy. Do you think that I did that without learning how to keeping a low profile? I can get to the school by myself, I just want you to be there because Garcia's worried about me and she'll find out if I go alone."

"Garcia's worried about you?"

"If the unsub was going to abduct or kill one of us, who would his first target be?"

"Got it. So... how are you going to get to the school?"

JJ watched in amazement as the dirt bike sped into the parking lot. Liam got off of it and pulled his helmet off, "Told you I could get here."

JJ looked at the bike, "Is that street-legal?"

"Yes, it is. It also fits in the back of the van."

JJ's eyebrow went up, "Wow..."

Proving his point, Liam loaded the bike into the back, along with his helmet and other protective padding. Then he started walking towards the school, "They know that we're coming?"

"Yes. A Ms. Morris is supposed to meet us inside."

After they walked into the school, Liam looked back to JJ, "I'm going to check the classes the kids were in. You stay here and wait for Ms. Morris."

JJ wanted to argue, but Liam was gone before she could get a word in. JJ looked around the corner she thought he walked through, but she was greeted by a blue-haired woman with a nametag that read 'Ms. Morris.' The old woman had a slow, warm manner of speaking that told JJ she was in for a long talk that was going to go nowhere.

Liam looked around the classrooms easily. If he was spotted by a teacher, he simply claimed that he'd gotten lost while looking for his bag. The advantage of looking like an elementary student was that he could pretend to be one fairly easily. He looked at the drawings of the students and found a common theme; animals. Not regular animals, but zebras, lions, bears, gorillas... and a red butterfly? Liam put two dots together and made himself a line that turned into a new lead.

Making sure that none of the teachers were around to hear him, he picked up his phone and called Garcia. She picked up quickly, "And on this day she said let there be answers, so pass out the question."

"Garcia, I think I have something. Does the school the victims went to take field trips to a nearby zoo?"

"That would be... a yes."

"Do they have gorillas at said zoo?"

"Uh-huh. Main attraction. Doest thou thinkest that this fair land be the unsubiest of unsubs grounds for hunting?"

"Me doth thinkest the clues protest it just enough." Liam noticed a teacher out of the corner of his eye, so he had to play the role he'd shown himself to be, "I pwomise, mommy, I'ww find it. I wove you, too."

Garcia was sure that he was trying to screw with her, "Okay, you went from intellectual buddy to mama's boy with nothing inbetween. I don't know how to play that."

Liam waited until the teacher was gone before he spoke again, "I'm at the school right now. I didn't want to stand around explaining all day, so I'm acting... the age people think I am. A teacher walked by, that's the only reason I said that."

Garcia nodded, "If you say so. I'll update Hotch. You play how you play and I'll get the word out, playa."

"Goodbye, Garcia."

"Catch you on the flip side, baby boy."

Liam made his way back to a very irritated JJ, who barely managed to play along with his crazy antics on the fly. When they finally made it back to the van, Liam frowned, "Sorry, JJ."

"You owe me. You outright abandoned me."

"I got us a lead... I think."

"You think?"

"If I buy you three new pairs of shoes, will you forgive me?"

JJ squinted, "Three new pairs?"

"Okay, four. Any brand you want."

JJ shook her head, "It wasn't that bad. One pair will be enough."

Liam let out a sigh of relief, the dangerous gamble he'd taken had worked in his favor. Luckily, he was a good enough profiler to see that JJ would feel guilty about taking something from someone she had yet to understand... and that had paid off.

Hotch looked at his team as they gathered around the table. He squinted as he noticed the missing person, "Where's JJ?"

JJ walked into the room, carrying a passed out Liam in her arms, "Here I am. Sorry, he passed out in the van."

Morgan's jaw hung open, "Seriously?"

Reid thought about it, "If he has the biological makeup of a five year old, it would actually make sense that he would require more sleep than the average person his age."

JJ put him down in a chair, "He wrote down some notes before he passed out. You guys ready to finish building the profile?"

Rossi nodded, "So this is what we've gathered from the crime scene. This unsub feels an exceeding amount of remorse for all of his victims. They're drugged heavily enough that there's no chance they'll wake up, and their deaths are quick. He takes time to pose them and he's fit enough to carry them around."

Prentiss concurred with his findings, "Same here. He's quick enough to grab them from their homes, smart enough to keep the animals from making noise, and according to the M.E., he knows where to inject them on the first try. One injection mark on their necks apeace. He knows human anatomy well enough to get it done."

JJ looked at the notes, "According to Liam, the kids at the school all went on field trips to a certian zoo. Baron's Forest Zoo."

Reid looked at the map, "It fits the geographical profile."

Morgan rolled the thought over in his mind, "Hey... what if this guy works with animals? That might explain how he gets his hands on the tranquilizer."

Liam groaned in his sleep, "Gorillas..."

Rossi nodded, "The M.E. said it was gorilla tranquilizer, right? If he knew how much to give a primate the size of a child, the anatomy of humans and monkeys aren't more than 2 percent apart, right?"

Reid held up his fingers, "Actually, the precise percent is-"

Liam unconsciously threw an eraser from his pocket at Reid's face, "No numbers... too sleepy..."

Everyone was trying intensely not to laugh, except for Hotch. Hotch let his smile show after he said, "The Reid effect strikes again."

After a quick giggle, Reid grabbed the keys, "I'm going to the zoo."

Morgan got up, "Hold on, I'm coming with you, pretty boy!"

Prentiss looked at the sleeping Liam, "He's so adorable... when he's not being scary good at what he does."

"Can't argue there." JJ agreed.

Hotch couldn't help but peek at the tiny agent, his fatherly instincts making him want to go comfort him. However, Hotch knew the truth, "I wouldn't touch him it I were you."

Prentiss scooted closer to Hotch, "That's interesting... what do you know?"

Hotch grabbed some of the paperwork he would eventually have to fill out to work on while he spoke, "I read his file. Like I said, it's impressive."

JJ's eyes went wide, Hotch? Impressed? There was something about the kid that Hotch wasn't telling, "How impressive are we talking here?"

Hotch didn't bother to look up, "A criminal once broke into his house while he was sleeping, tried to steal a necklace he was wearing. The man didn't make it to the door."

Prentiss didn't believe it, "Really?"

Hotch grabbed a mugshot and a medical report out from beneath his chair, "Here's the doctor's examination of the perpitrator."

Prentiss's jaw fell open, "Oh... my... god..."

JJ was also horrified, "He looks like was beaten with a giant club... made of steel."

Rossi looked at it and let it sink in, "Remind me not to tease him."

Hotch continued to scribble, "Don't worry, the man lived."

Rossi was even more impressed, "Is that supposed to be comforting? I think he'd rather have been put out of his misery."

Liam shot up from his sleep, causing everyone to snap to attention and stare at him as he shouted, "JJ! You forgot to tell them about the darts!"

Reid and Morgan woke up with their hands tied behind their backs. Morgan groaned as his blurry vision made out a concrete room with a single light, "Ugh... kid... Spencer... you there?"

Reid felt a searing hot pain in his forehead and his eyes, but he did his best to keep them both open and alert, "Yeah, I'm here. The tranquilizer's starting to wear off... I think we're underground."

"There was only one guy working at the zoo... he's gotta be the unsub."

Reid nodded, his mind already having grasped the obvious facts, "Yeah, I saw him washing blood off his hands earlier, he must have been disposing of his latest victim. He took our badges and our guns, he's not worried about us calling for help. Odds are the concrete's thick enough that we can't be heard on the other side of it."

"Great. Any idea when he's coming back?"

"No. He didn't talk to me."

"Alright... then what did he do?"

"He held his finger over his mouth, then left up the stairs. The chairs are chained to the floor."

"Crap... what are the odds that they'll find us before he gets back?"

Reid was running the numbers in his head, and they weren't very high. It wasn't until they heard the rusty door creak open that they both were able to actually focus. They heard grunts, the sound of fist against flesh, and then they heard a man shouting in pain. Then, all of a sudden, the man that had caught them came tumbling down the stairs in his tan uniform.

What came next was a shock. It was Liam, wearing a very tiny kevlar vest that had 'SPECIAL AGENT' written as big as they could be and still be legible. He holstered a pistol that resembeled a toy more so than a weapon as he walked over to them, "You guys okay?"

Morgan wasn't sure what was more unbelievable, the existence of the toddler vest or the fact Liam had owned the unsub, who was strong enough to carry Reid and Morgan. Reid was thinking a little more logically about the whole thing, "Where's the rest of the team?"

Liam untied them, "Still on the way. My bike can weave through traffic faster than the vans can. They shouldn't be more than ten minutes behind. Don't worry, I brought my handcuffs."

Garcia couldn't believe her ears, "Shut up! That sweet, innocent, little nerd couldn't harm a fly!"

Prentiss wished that Garcia could see that she was rolling her eyes, "Uh-huh. Yeah, keep telling yourself that. I can't believe that because I had to carry the dirt bag out."

Garcia bit her lip, "How bad was he?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"No... but I'll find out anyway, you might as well brace me for impact."

"Um... several fractures on his arms and legs, one broken arm, and he's covered in bruises."

"Oh my goodness..."

"Liam said that it was mostly because he fell down a flight of stairs, although he did kick the unsub's shin once or twice."

"Can I talk to him?"

"He's sleeping right now. Turns out that he needs more sleep, since his body isn't matured enough, so he's been napping a lot today."

"Oh... I wish I could give him a blanket... does he have a blanket? Can you get a picture of him sleeping? Does that qualify as harassment?"

"I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, you found stuff in Letcher's history that fit the profile?"

"To a capital 'T', little princess Prentiss. David Letcher's father shot an killed his little brother and sister when he was six and made him bury said siblings in the yard. Letcher's mother called 911 before commiting suicide. It says here that their dog mauled the father to death protecting Letcher."

"That would explain his attatchment to animals. Anything happen recently that might be a stressor?"

"Why do I get the feeling that you need this information or a confession very quickly?"

"Because we do. We can tie him to the last victim, sure, but the others? Please just let me know when you get the facts."

"I'm on it like a cowboy on a bull, only I'll last longer than eight seconds."

Prentiss rolled her eyes as she closed her phone. She turned to look at Liam, who had crawled off the couch and was now fisting the sleepiness from his eyes, "Sorry, physical activities are really tiring. Where are we on evidence?"

"Nowhere. Garcia's running background, but he was meticulous. He scrubbed all the evidence of the other kids away. We need a confession."

Liam nodded, "Has Hotch already started interrogating him?"

"I don't think so."

"Come with me, I've got an idea."

Rossi's eye twitched, "You're kidding."

Liam shook his head, "I'm dead serious."

Hotch looked at Prentiss, "What do you think about this?"

Prentiss sighed, "It could work... I don't like it, but it's not a bad plan."

Liam crossed his arms, "It's as good as a confession. He won't be able to help himself."

Rossi looked at Hotch, "What happens if he gets his hands on Liam?"

"Then I'll do what I have to in order to keep myself safe without hurting the unsub. It's your call, Hotch."

Hotch weighed his options, time was running out for them to formally arrest the man he knew was responsible, "We don't have a choice. If anything starts to even look like it's going a little wrong, get out of there."

Rossi sighed as Prentiss and Liam walked to the other side of the glass, "Is this what we have to resort to? An agent that looks like an unsub's type?"

Hotch shook his head, "No. We're giving an agent a chance to get real-world experience. To work the profile and get a signed confession. Let's just hope he can get the job done... and that Letcher didn't get a good look at him before Liam took him down."

Liam rushed into the room, dropping his composure and appearing like a child running about, "No! I wanna play!"

Letcher looked at the boy with his brow furrowed as Prentiss rushed in, a look of fear plastered onto her face, "L-Liam... come back out of this room, okay, sweetie? W-We can play out in the hall, alright?"

Liam shook his head, "No! You said we could play, but you lied!"

Prentiss took a cautious step forward, "Liam... please, I promise. We'll play, just come with me-"

Liam frowned, "R-Really? You won't leave me this time?"

Prentiss nodded, "I promise."

As Liam started walking towards her, Rossi was an inch away from the glass, "So far so good."

Hotch's glare intensified, "Now comes the hard part."

Prentiss grabbed Liam's arms and dragged him out of interrogation, making sure to leave the door open, "What is wrong with you?! Why can't you behave for just a minute?! Do you have any idea how much you made me worry?!"

Letcher's ears perked up as he heard the sound of a belt landing against flesh. He winced with every lash, closed his eyes tightly and tucked his arms in tight. When the final blow had been struck, Letcher's tears had all rolled off his face.

Prentiss made sure she was loud enough to be heard over Liam's false wails of pain, "Now you sit here and be a good boy! And you stay out of that room! Do you understand me?!"

Liam stifled his sniffles and wiped his alligator-like tears, "Yes, mommy..."

Prentiss marched away into the room where Rossi and Hotch were, "So... it look believable?"

Hotch nodded, "You did good. Letcher responded the way we hoped. If Liam can finish this, we'll have all the evidence we need."

Liam peaked around the corner of the door, his little face still wet and his nose a little runny. He looked Letcher in the eye. Letcher met his gaze and the little boy ducked out of sight. Letcher held his hands out, "W-Wait! I won't tell on you, I promise!"

Liam peaked back around the corner, "M-Mommy makes promises, too..."

Letcher shook his head, "I-I'm not mommy, I won't lie. I-I know how mommies can be. They lie and be mean, and they promise they'll play with you, but they don't. You just want to spend time with them... but they keep leaving... they leave you all alone..."

Liam nodded, "Will... will you play with me?"

Letcher nodded, "I'll play with you."

Liam walked into the room and sat on the chair, "What are we gonna play?"

Letcher shrugged, "I dunno... what do you like?"

"I like dragons! They keep the queen in the castle so the knights can go fight bad guys!"

"Dragons, huh? I like dragons. You know... I'm a dragon."

Liam gasped, "Really?!"

Letcher held his index finger over his lips, "Sh... it's a secret."

Liam nodded, "I won't tell anyone. So... do you have a castle? And a princess? And a knight?"

Letcher smirked, "I used to. My princess was beautiful... shyest girl in the world. And the knight was a brave little soldier, never backed down from a fight to protect the princess. I was a fair dragon, I didn't fight much, but I still protected the princess. The king, though... he... he would do bad things... to the princess. And the queen let him. I was too big to get into the castle, I just couldn't do it. But the knight... he wanted to save the princess from her parents. I helped him... because I knew how to open the drawbridge. But then... the king... he ordered his archers... well... in the end... I had to destroy the castle. The king was taken to a dungeon far, far away... and I was all alone... no castle... no princess... no knight."

"What happened to them?"

Letcher smiled warmly as a tear escaped his eye, "I had to fly them up to a better place. A place where the king and queen can't hurt them. They're happy now..."

"You can fly?"

"I can. I let out a few sparks when I do... but I can fly. I only do it to take people to that place in the sky, though. Only the kindest of princesses and the noblest of knights. Ones that deserve better than the kings and queens."

Liam looked at him in wonder, "C-Can you take me there?"

Letcher swallowed, "I um... I don't like flying. M-My wings hurt a lot when I fly. And I miss the knights and princess ever so much."

"Please?! Pretty please?!"

Prentiss stormed into the room, "LIAM! WHAT DID I TELL YOU?!"

Liam ran over and hid behind Letcher, "I'm sorry, mommy!"

Prentiss walked around Letcher, preparing to grab him when Letcher took the gun from her belt and pointed it at her, "Stay away from him!"

Prentiss held her hands up, "Now don't do anything stupid."

Letcher shook his head, "You're a bad queen... he deserves better. He shouldn't have to spend one more second living with your abuse scarring him."

Prentiss shook her head, "Put it down."

Letcher looked at Liam, "You want to fly?"

Liam nodded, "Y-Yes..."

Letcher turned the gun and pulled the trigger.

Back on the jet, Hotch looked at Liam and Prentiss with that semi-smile that wasn't quite a smile, but they both knew they'd done good, "You two performed perfectly. With that video, there's no jury that would believe Letcher is innocent. Good work."

Liam smiled, "Agent Prentiss did the hard part."

"You're the one who decked him and took the gun." Prentiss scoffed.

"It wasn't loaded."

Morgan smiled as he looked at his newest teammate, "Not bad, short stuff."

Liam shook off the nickname, "You know, that's really original of you, you-" Liam was cut off as his phone started ringing. Liam answered it, "Hello? Jake? Yeah, how was your day? Good, good. And you passed your English exam? Great! Hey, I told you that you could do it. Uh-huh. Alright. No, I'm flying home right now. Yeah, I'll be back real soon. See you then, son." Liam hung up and looked around at the people who for some reason were shocked. He couldn't comprehend why his fatherly love was so out of place, but then again, he failed to consider the intensity of his physical ability to beat people up or the contrast of his youthful complexion, "What?"

JJ smiled, "It's just funny... seeing you be a dad after seeing you work."

"And after seeing you be a kid." Prentiss chimed in.

Morgan flashed his pearly whites, "Never mind them, from what I can tell, you'd make a great dad. But you are a little overprotective."

Liam crossed his arms, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Reid held up his fingers as he listed out the reasons, "You took the lead when you thought the unsub might be working in the school, you went ahead of the tactical team when you had information about the unsub's methods of attack, and you let the unsub put a gun to your head to put him away. This behavior is typical of someone with a messiah complex or of victims who are looking to empower themselves by proving to themselves they're still strong because they feel weak."

Liam squinted at them, "Don't profile me."

Rossi agreed, "You guys know the rules, you can only break so many to pick on the new guy."

"Thank you, Agent Rossi."

Rossi nodded, "You're welcome... so which is it?"

Liam crossed his arms, "That's not funny. Agent Hotchner, could you please tell them not to profile me?"

Hotch didn't look up, "You don't want them in your head, don't let them in."

Liam was trying to deal with that as his phone rang again, "Liam Matthews. Dr. Burke? You did? That fast? No, no that's perfectly fine, I was just surprised. Tomorrow?! Yes! That's wonderful! See you then!"

Morgan tried not to smirk, "You get some good news?"

Liam didn't put his phone away, "I am calling Garcia, because she's not trying to profile me."

Garcia answered her phone, "Greetings, my dove, for what purpose is this call?"

Liam was smiling so hard it hurt on the other end of the line, "Garcia, if I tell you something, will you promise to keep it a secret?"

Garcia grimaced, "Depends, no illicits or immorals?"

"That's not my style."

"Alright, then, show me what you got."

"I'm... not going to be little anymore."

"What?"

"I found a doctor who was willing to prescribe me hormone treatment so that I can grow up... physically. I have the next few days off for medical leave, so when I see you guys next week, I'm gonna be a lot bigger. I um... don't really have anyone to celebrate with... and you're one of the best people I've met... ever. So, could you come help me celebrate? I'm not good with parties."

Garcia was flattered that she was his first pick, "O-oh. Okay. Let me see what I can cook up. Is it okay if I invite the rest of the team? They're good party people, for the most part."

"Okay, I trust your judgement. Bye, Garcia."

"Goodbye, my little dove."

Liam walked back over to his seat and sat down. He grabbed his go-bag and pulled out some baby carrots, "You guys want some?"

Prentiss shook her head, "I've seen you violent, that cutesy stuff won't work on me anymore."

"Is that why you think I dress like this and eat little food? It looks cute?"

JJ shrugged, "You're good at keeping up a believable front."

"Okay, you know what, I'm taking a nap. I'm done trying to talk to you people." Liam moved to another part of the jet and crashed on a couch.

Morgan smiled, "I'm surprised he talked to us that long."

Reid nodded, "We did tease him relentlessly."

Prentiss grimaced, "I feel kind of bad now."

JJ crossed her arms, "Me too."

Rossi shook his head, "We were playful. I'll bet he's seen far worse than us."

Prentiss's frown stuck around, "Doesn't mean it's right for us to tease him."

The team rested for nearly two hours and Liam had still failed to make an appearance with the rest of them in the jet. Prentiss started to sweat, "I'm going to check on him."

She made her way to the back to find that Liam was curled up in the fetal position, shivering and clenching his chest. He was muttering something, "No... no... leave them alone... please..."

Prentiss now felt more worried about him, "Liam?"

He shook more as he got louder, "Go away... leave them alone!"

Prentiss put her hand on his shoulder, "Liam, it's just a nightmare, wake up."

He turned and wrapped his arms around her, tears streaking from his face, "No... no... I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry... don't leave me... please... just stay..."

Prentiss didn't know what to do, but she felt her arms slowly wrap around the small boy as she comforted him, "It's okay, Liam. Everything's okay, I'm not going anywhere. Calm down. It's alright."

Liam hugged her tight, "I'm so sorry... I didn't mean it... I had to save Jake... I couldn't let them hurt him, too!"

Prentiss patted his back as he let out more tears, "Sh... sh... it's okay. You're safe, Liam. Jake is safe."

Liam stopped crying and pulled back, from his eyes, Prentiss could tell he was still asleep, "Really?"

Prentiss nodded as she helped him lay back down to sleep, "Really. Come on, you need to sleep. You're gonna be exhausted by the time we get home."

Liam went back to sleep as Prentiss turned to face everyone else, who had rushed to see the what the commotion was about. Needless to say, everyone was confused.

Sorry about the non-spectacular ending... promise I'll follow up on it!

Once again, thank you for reading and comments are welcome!