PART ONE: The Party

"I prefer to characterize rape simply as a form of torture. Like the torturer, the rapist is motivated by the urge to dominate, humiliate, and destroy his victim. Like a torturer, he does so by using the most intimate acts available to humans - sexual ones."

~ Helen Benedict

SSA Kathleen Davis finished up the last of her paperwork and placed the folder in the "complete" pile. Brushing a loose strand of her long brown hair behind her left ear, she gave a sideways glance at her watch. The time was seven o'clock—an hour before what was sure to be an incredible night. It was a get-together hosted by her old high school friend, Kira Po, to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of their graduating class. Checking her phone, she saw that her ride was there; her twin sister Megan was driving her.

She grabbed her bag and pulled out a change of clothes—a pretty v-neck dress to replace her collared dress shirt and slacks, and elegant dress shoes to swap with her plain black flats. In the restroom she redressed herself and applied more make-up. Checking herself in the mirror, she smiled at her nighttime transformation.

Back in the bullpen she gathered her belongings and prepared to leave. Only two of her teammates were still at the office—Reid, who was completing Morgan's paperwork (as he always was forced to do), and Hotch. The latter stepped outside of his office and caught Kathleen's attention and motioned for her to join him. Upstairs in his office, he told her to have a seat.

"Nothing's wrong," Hotchner assured her. "I just am performing a mandatory questionnaire. I realize you're in a hurry, and I promise it won't take too long."

Kathleen nodded, slightly annoyed about the interruption in her schedule but not willing to show it. "What do I need to tell you?"

He clicked an expensive-looking pen. "How have your first five weeks of working with this team been?"

"Oh, they've been great. Or, fine, rather. I mean, it's not great that people have died, obviously, but overall it's been a very informative and interesting to be officially working in the field."

"And the teammates? Have you gotten along with them?"

Kathleen inwardly giggled at his question. Being her teammate, he should know how she felt about them. Of course, her opinions where the ones that mattered and Hotch was only doing his job.

"They've all been wonderful to work with. Everyone on this team has something to offer, so I guess I'm still trying to find my niche."

Although Hotchner's head was down, Kathleen noticed his eyebrows rise when he heard her last statement. It clearly surprised him that she felt a bit out of place, but Kathleen knew that she'd find her specialty eventually.

Only three questions were left until they were done. Hotchner closed the folder and thanked Kathleen for her cooperation. Saying goodbye to Hotch and Reid, Kathleen finally exited the bullpen and got to her sister's car.

The drive to Kira's house was about half an hour from work, and was overall uneventful. Megan and Kathleen had light conversation on the way there. Since they lived so close to each other, there wasn't much news to share with one another. When they arrived at the party, Kathleen noted that dance music boomed from the house. Dozens of cars were outside, and she saw a bunch of her former classmates entering the house.

Inside Kathleen was greeted by a smiling Kira. Her friend had her hair curled and was wearing a dark green dress with a slit down the leg.

"Kathleen!" Kira pulled her into a hug. "I haven't seen you in forever! Well, I mean, I've seen your Facebook pictures and we've texted, but we haven't met up since college. How have you been? Are you really an FBI agent?"

"Yeah, I've been hired officially," Kathleen replied. "Keep it on the down-low, though. We don't want anyone listening in… You know, security issues."

"Oh absolutely," Kira didn't seem to understand exactly what Kathleen meant, but the agent knew her friend wouldn't start screaming about an FBI agent's presence to the partygoers.

"I'm gonna grab a beer. I'll catch up with you later, okay?" Kathleen waved as she abandoned the host. On her way to the bar, she exchanged "hellos" with many familiar faces. She was struggling to open her bottle when a large hand reached over.

"I'll help you out," a deep voice told her. She glanced up and saw a messy bush of blonde hair, hiding the identity of the mystery man. His head was down as he attempted to pry off the lid with his huge palms. It came off with a satisfying "pop."

"Here you are—whoa, this is a blast from the past."

Their eyes locked, and Kathleen nearly dropped the beer he'd handed back to her. The unkempt blonde hair, the light blue eyes, the wide smile, they all belonged to her high school sweetheart.

"I—Zeke…" she gasped. "How have you been?"

"Well, and yourself?" He rested his arm over her shoulders and steered her into the kitchen so they could talk with less noise. Their conversation consisted of their lives after high school. Zeke had, apparently, become a child psychologist in Boston. He claimed that he was following in his parents' psychology-related careers. As the night dragged on, Kathleen and Zeke continued to drink and talk.

"Y'wanna know a secret?" Kathleen asked.

"Hm?"

"Ever since we were partners in art class in eighth grade, I've had a huge crush on you." She leaned on his shoulder. "When high school ended, I was worried I'd never see you again. That feeling has lasted until tonight."

Zeke stared straight at her, his expression soft. "Let's spend a bit of time alone, just us two. Is that okay with you?"

Kathleen set down her third bottle on the counter and grabbed Zeke's arm, letting him lead her to the front door. They ended up tripping over dancing couples and carelessly dropped bottles.

"Where're we going?" Kathleen slurred. She didn't feel drunk, despite how much alcohol she'd consumed. Rather, she felt her eyelids getting heavier. It felt like someone was adding weights to them, one pound every minute.

"Whoa there," Zeke laughed when Kathleen tripped in the grass. He picked her up, and the last thing she saw before falling asleep was Zeke's face, glowing under the pale moonlight.

Birds were chirping when Kathleen woke up. She opened her eyes to a vivid light shining down upon her. As her pupils adjusted, she noticed that she was lying in a wooded area behind a familiar looking house. Then she remembered—the party.

"Must've gotten crazy last night," Kathleen shook her head, which pounded in protest. She winced at the pain. But that wasn't the only pain she felt. For some odd reason, her legs felt numb and scratchy, like sandpaper had been rubbed against them. She sat up to examine her legs, and was shocked to see that she was bleeding. Dozens of tiny scratches had formed on her calves and thighs, and they stung with an electric intensity. Kathleen was sure that they hadn't existed until the previous night, so where had they come from? It took a minute, but Kathleen also noticed that she was completely naked. Her dress, bra, and underwear had been tossed aside. Panic flooded her thoughts. What had happened to her?

Suddenly, her mind flashed back to the previous night, just after she'd fallen asleep in Zeke's arms.

Kathleen slowly let her eyelids lift as her senses returned to her. Zeke had brought her just beyond the line of trees and was lying down next to her. He began to caress her cheek with his finger, his breathing heavy and elongated. She tried to turn her face towards him, but found herself unable to move. Zeke then wiggled closer and started to kiss her on the lips. His hands rubbed her shoulders as he climbed on top of her.

"Whah…" Kathleen's mouth felt as if it had been filled with thick glue. She could do nothing but make high-pitched whining noises. Zeke didn't seem to notice, though. Instead, he unzipped his pants and took off his shirt. He then proceeded to remove Kathleen's dress. The FBI agent didn't react—she still was paralyzed. Though her body was still asleep, her mind was waking up.

Without her dress on, the cool air of autumn chilled her bones. Zeke's body warmth helped to shield her against some of the cold, but it didn't feel right to her. The man's hands began to rub down her body, at first gently and seductively and then with unnecessary ferocity. He was almost frantic in his body motions as he continued to kiss and touch her. When his hands reached below her waist, Kathleen started to panic on the inside. She felt something pressing against her nether regions forcefully, and she whimpered in response. Zeke pushed himself inside of her and began to kiss her madly. Kathleen shook violently, both from the cold and Zeke's actions. By the time it was over, her mind was completely numb. Zeke rose up, grabbed his clothes, and stumbled away from her towards the cars parked near the house. Left to herself, Kathleen felt her mind slipping again as she fell into darkness.

She sat shock-still for a while. Had that really happened? No, it couldn't have. It was a strange hallucination brought upon by her foolish drinking the previous night. But when she tried to stand up and noticed the pool of blood where she had been lying, she was forced to believe in what she had seen. With shaking hands she dressed herself and grabbed her clutch. She pulled out her phone to make a call.