Disclaimer: I do not own anything that already exists within the world of Criminal Minds.

Author's Note: This has been my first fic after a very extended hiatus, so please be nice and leave reviews :D If same-sex relationships offend you, then go away…kthanksbai!!!

Reciprocity

By: None The Wiser

Around the wee hours of a very early Saturday morning in Madison, Wisconsin, two women chat as they walk from the parking lot to their apartment complex. One Caucasian woman has blonde, curly hair, pale green eyes and an adorable personality about her. Her friend is a cute Latina, with long, dark brown hair, brown eyes, with exceedingly tough characteristics. They have just returned from a night on the town and they're making their way back home to reality.

"Ai, Dios Mio, chika, did you not notice him hitting on you the whole night?" the Latina woman asked of her friend.

The other woman chuckled, embarrassed that her friend would continue to rant about a guy with whom she had been conversing for the better part of the evening. "Come on, Gabi, we were just talking. Why would think he had any interest in me?"

Gabi gasped. "Ai, chika, don't say things like that! You're smart, nice, incredibly sexy…why wouldn't a guy want somebody like you?"

"Oh, shut up. You know, one day you're gonna get in trouble for sweet-talking someone," the woman pointed out to her friend.

"Sal, baby, I don't get into trouble, I make it with my bare hands," Gabi told her as she pressed the button for the third and fourth floor.

"Yeah, well, you just better be careful before your hand-made trouble sculpture starts laughing manically and attacks you," Sally warned Gabi, who began to giggle.

"Hey, you know what they say about those laughing sculptures?"

"Nuh uh, what's that?"

" 'When your art comes to life, it's a good thing.' "

"Honey, when your art comes to life, it's the apocalypse. Therefore, I think they would say 'flee.'"

"Ouch! Girl, you know just how to hurt me, don't cha?"

"Every time, my dear. I'll see you in the morning, Gab" she waved to her as she stepped off of the elevator.

"G'night, sweetie. Sleep well."

Sally turned the corner and walked down the hallway towards apartment 3F. Upon reaching the door to her home, she noticed that it was slightly ajar. But, because of fear and therefore was not thinking rationally, Sally did not reach for her cell phone to dial 9-1-1; instead, she pushed the door open and looked inside to discover that her home had been ransacked.

Panicking and beginning to breathe heavily, she ran around her apartment searching for her house phone. Finally arriving in her room, she found it on her bedside table. However, she did not go lift it from the receiver and dial for the authorities; most likely due to the fact that on the wall above the headboard of her bed the word 'payback' was written in black spray paint.

And it was only after she saw that when she felt something cover her nose and mouth. She struggled for a bit, but it was all for naught when she felt herself falling into darkness, and finally landing there.

*****

Monday morning in Quantico, Virginia, and Special Agents Derek Morgan and Dr. Spencer Reid of the Behavioral Analysis Unit in the Federal Bureau of Investigation were playing a very intriguing round of word association while Special Agents Emily Prentiss, Jennifer Jareau, and Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia were watching and listening, exceedingly interested.

"Nothing," Morgan continued.

"Nirvana," Reid responded.

"Grunge."

"Laundry."

"Clean."

"House."

"Doctor."

"Kevorkian."

"Mercy."

"Hospital."

"Red."

"Underwear," and that was the straw that broke the camel's back, because after Reid's very undignified response, everyone burst into laughter.

"Seriously, that's what you think of when you hear 'red?'" Morgan asked.

"Yes," Reid said.

"Dude…underwear?"

"Yes. Statistically, red is one of the most purchased colors of underwear, along with black, white, rainbow and several forms of pink."

"Several forms of pink? What kind of underwear are you talking about?" Agent Prentiss demanded to know. "I don't think that many men like to wear pink briefs."

"Oh, on the contrary, my dear Emily, I think you'd be surprised by what some men wear," Garcia commented.

"Really?" Emily asked, an eyebrow raised. "Would you care to share your particular insight?"

Garcia gasped. "Why, Agent Prentiss, surely you know a girl would never kiss and tell."

"Thank God," Morgan said, while the others laughed.

It was at this particular moment that Agent Morgan noticed a woman, in her late 20s to her early 30s, enter the office. She was about 5'6", quite attractive looking, with long, strawberry brown hair, pale complexion and golden brown eyes. She appeared to be a civilian, due to the fact that she was wearing tight jeans and a long-sleeved green sweater. She seemed tense, afraid even, and looked as if she were searching for someone.

"Who's that?" Morgan wondered aloud.

The rest of the team responded by looking in the direction in which Morgan was observing the young woman. Most of the team answered with shrugging shoulders and raised eyebrows, having no idea who this woman was, where she came from or why she was in FBI headquarters.

Emily Prentiss, however, had quite a different reaction. Her smile lit up her face like a Christmas tree on the eve of December 24th, and her whole demeanor seemed to glow. Even knowing the reason why the woman was here could not possibly be good, did not mean that it was never a bad thing to see her. She rose from her desk chair and proceeded to make her way towards the new person.

"Aviva!" she called, getting the other woman's attention. Aviva looked towards her and sighed in relief; just knowing that Emily was in her presence made her feel a whole world of better. She felt herself being embraced, lifted, and spun in circles before returning to the ground as well as Emily's hug.

The team looked on in shock; never had they ever witnessed Agent Prentiss act in such a manner, and they wondered what it was about this woman that made her do so. Also their hug had lasted longer than a normal greeting hug, which made the other agents raise their eyebrows in confusion.

Meanwhile, Emily and Aviva continued their hug, content to just be there. Though, after a while, Prentiss could sense the tension and distress return to Aviva, and released her from the hug to cup her chin and look at her face.

"Sweetie, what are you doing here?" Emily asked, both happy and worried.

"What, I can't come and visit on occasion?" Aviva questioned, shrugging her shoulders.

"Well, of course you can, unless I'm not here. Though, we both know you don't and that's not the reason why you're here," Emily pointed out.

Aviva sighed. "Touché," she said, and her entire attitude changed. Just a moment ago she was excited, relived and happy; now, however, she was stressed and anxious, and Emily could tell that she hadn't slept very well.

Emily lowered her voice, so that people surrounding wouldn't intrude on their conversation. "Baby, what's going on?"

Aviva paused for a moment before speaking. "I need your help."

As if she wasn't already worried, Emily began to do so even more. "Honey…talk to me, tell me what you need. What's happening?"

Aviva took a deep breath. "Someone's gonna kill me."