Disclaimer: I own nothing but the storyline and Brennan's character. This chapter is short but the next few ones will be longer.

A year ago:

Brennan Rossi absentmindedly twirled the ring on her finger as she listened to the team on the other end of the com. They were heading to what they believed to be the address of a serial killer. They hadn't announced it to the public but there was actually two killers. They didn't yet know the who the second participant was.

She was sitting the in the county sheriff's office. The small town had only two police officers, the sheriff and a deputy. The town itself had less than 1000 people and had 8 people killed within a two week time spread.

Brennan heard Morgan yelling through the com for someone to put their hands up. She smiled, one down. She wanted to be out there with her team, things were harder with Hotch gone, but at the moment she was restricted from doing field work. The only reason she had been allowed to come was to serve as a means of communication between Garcia and the team in the field.

"Is Sheriff Jenkins here?"

Brennan turned to face the newcomer looking away from the computer in front of her. She had been asking Garcia to look up a picture of Carl Rutledge, a man who had only lived in the town for a few months before the murders started.

"No, I'm sorry, he's out." Brennan examined the man intently. He was tall and thick and seemed like he was trying hard to hide something.

"You're one of those FBI agents here to catch that killer, aren't you?"

Brennan didn't answer right away. He gave the appearance of being nice and quizzical but the profiler in her was screaming. There was definitely something off with the man. She just wasn't sure what that was. A lot of people revered killers and wanted to put themselves into investigations where they didn't belong. She reached up and made a show of tucking her hair behind her ear, simultaneously turning on her end of the com.

"Yes, I'm an SSA agent with the FBI."

"They let you guys work out of the office in your condition?"

Brennan pursed her lips slightly, her hand automatically resting on her overextended eight month pregnant belly. "I'm strictly here as a liaison, not as an active agent."

"Do you know who has been committing these disgusting crimes?"

Something was off. Most of the time people didn't use words like disgusting to talk about murders. "He's being arrested."

'Brennan, are you okay?' Emily asked over the comlink.

"Is he going to go to prison for a long time?" The man asked at the same time.

"Not sure," Brennan answered to both of them. "Sheriff Jenkins will probably be back soon if you want to come back later."

"I kind of have a problem I need help with now."

"Is there anything I can do to help with the problem?" Her hand was slowly moving to where her gun was situated on her hip.

The computer beeped and suddenly the man's face was on the screen looking back at her.

"You knew who I was before I got here." Carl Rutledge stood before her, now pointing a gun at her chest. "Thought you said you got the guy."

"We suspected there were two killers," Brennan answered as she held her hands up. "That information just didn't go to the media, Carl."

'We're on our way, Brennan,' Spencer said in her ear.

"Put the gun down, Carl. This isn't smart."

"Keep your hands up and keep your mouth shut." Carl walked forward and pulled her to her feet grabbing her gun from the holster and tossing it across the room.

"They're on their way back here now. Run now and you can still get away."

"They won't make it in time." The nice façade was gone and was replaced with the monster that had helped murder eight people.

"In time for what, Carl?" Brennan could hear the father of her baby in her ear begging the driver of the car to go faster.

"To save your life."

She hears two consecutive shots ring out, one connecting with her stomach and the second going into her chest. She was on the ground, looking at the blood pooling around her. Her baby was going to die. She held her hands protectively over her stomach trying to do what she could to save her daughter's life.

The last thing she heard was the door being thrown open and Spencer yelling her name before she blacked out.

Emily watched Reid walk into the office and go straight to his desk. He had become much more withdrawn since he and Brennan had lost the baby a year ago. That loss made her leave him and the department because she couldn't keep working around him. She now worked in the domestic terrorism department of Quantico but last Emily heard she was taking a vacation.

JJ walked into the bull pen and immediately started over to Emily. "We need to talk," she said as soon as she was within earshot.

"What's going on?" Emily asked as she closed the door behind them.

"I tried to talk her out of it," JJ began. "Brennan. She was looking for Carl Rutledge. She got a tip that he was in Washington, she never told me who she was communicating with to find out his location. I begged her to talk to you or Rossi, but she wouldn't. I made her promise to call every day so that I knew she was safe. I stopped hearing from her, but wasn't too concerned until she hit the 48 hour mark. She told me she was meeting up with an old friend so I thought she just lost track of time. I was coming in to talk to you today about everything because like I said it's been 48 hours. On my way in I got this text from Brennan's phone."

Emily took the phone from JJ. The message definitely wasn't from Brennan.

Agents at the BAU. I think you've lost a piece of yourself here in Washington, or at least that's where I found it. Can't guarantee that's where it still is. I had thought it had been destroyed by my hand but was pleased to see it still breathing. I'm going to keep it unless you want it back in which case you better catch me if you can. Tick Tock BAU.

Emily ran a hand over her face. "He won't keep her alive. That's why he wrote tick tock at the end. Does Counter Terrorism know?"

"I came straight to you."

"I'll call and inform them what is going on with their agent. Tell everyone to meet in the conference room in five. We have a case." Emily sighed. "Don't let on to Reid that it's anything involving Brennan. Send Dave in here please."

JJ nodded as she left the office. Emily picked up her phone and dialed counter terrorism, leaving a message for the team lead to call her back when he was in.

"Come in," Emily said as there was a knock on the door and Rossi came in. "Have a seat."

Rossi raised his eyebrows but said nothing as he sat down in front of her desk.

"When's the last time you spoke with Brennan?"

"A week ago. She came over for dinner and told me she was headed to Washington to meet up with some old friends for some time off."

"She went to Washington to look for Rutledge."

Rossi swore. His daughter didn't always use her best judgement in situations. "Is she okay?"

"Rutledge has her, Dave."

Rossi let out a violent string of curses before visibly calming. "Does the kid know yet?"

Emily shook her head. "JJ knows because she kept in contact with Brennan. And now I've told you. I don't know how to tell Spencer."

Rossi pursed his lips. "Let me tell him before we tell the rest of the team. Is this our case?"

Emily stood and walked out of the room with Rossi. "It is now."