"Come on twinkle toes, you're not even a challenge for me today!" Morgan grinned, barely breaking a sweat. They had been training for almost an hour already and he wasn't even tired.

Carter rolled her eyes. "Well then how about I make things interesting for us?"

"And how are you going to do that?"

He watched the brunette prance over to the corner of the room, finger hovering over the light switch. "With a little bit of darkness."

"You really think this is going to help you?"

"Scared Morgan?" she grinned.

Morgan eyed her for a few seconds before giving in and taking a defense position. "Fine, but don't blame me if you get hurt."

"Deal. Same rules, first pinned loses."

As soon as Morgan nodded in agreement Carter flicked the lights off. Complete darkness filled the training room, the lack of windows making it impossible to see anything. They circled each other, each doing the best to catch the other off guard. After a few seconds Morgan swung first only to clip air. His ears strained to follow the smaller girl's movements but to no avail. Suddenly something kicked in the back of his knees. He attempted to retaliate with a kick but something grabbed his ankle and then, with a sharp pull and a twist, he found himself face down on the mat. He struggled beneath the weight holding his arms back, pinning him on his stomach, but it was futile. "We both know you're pinned," Carter grinned. "Derek, that barely took me a minute."

"You got lucky," he muttered as Carter slid off of him, courteously pulling him back to his feet before flipping the lights back on. "It's not going to be that easy next time."

"You say that every time."

"Yeah well, tomorrow at the shooting range it won't be so easy."

"I obliterate you at the shooting range!"

Morgan made to open his mouth but immediately clamped it shut again; she was right. "Whatever. Come on another round, let's go. I'm not going to be so easy on you now."

"Fine, but loser buys lunch deal?"

Just as they took their starting positions a sharp beeping echoed from the corner of the room where their bags were sitting. "Back to work," he sighed at Garcia's text. As they packed up their things, making their way for the elevators, Morgan gently tapped her elbow. "What was the training like when you worked for the big guys?"

"You mean when I worked for the CIA?" she clarified. "It was just like you'd think it'd be. It's harsh, demanding, and there is no room for error. And I mean that literally; a screw up meant a failed job, and a failed job never had good consequences, even in practice."

"Seriously? That sounds brutal."

"Yeah, but to us it was normal. Expected really," she muttered. "I'm just glad to be here at the BAU now. I love it here."

"Well I'm glad we can impress, even a year later," he chuckled, motioning for her to enter the elevator first. When the door closed, the elevator beginning to take them up to the second floor, Morgan cleared his throat. "Carter, when are you going to tell the rest of the team?"

A smile pulled at her lips as she watched the floor numbers light up. "When I think it's the right time I will tell them. Right now though I like the way things are Derek, and I'd like for you and Hotch to keep it that way."

Morgan nodded, gently bumping into her. "You know your secret is safe with us kid."

They joined the rest of the group in the meeting room, Carter taking her usual spot between JJ and Garcia. As soon as Hotch entered the room Garcia flipped her lap top on and stood to her feet, three images of teenage girls flashing across the big screen. "Alright so, this is a weird one. Three teenage girls have been found murdered in the Davis area of California. Taylor Bell was found near Putah Creek, Audrey Walker in Covell Park, and just recently Katie Loomis who was found on the UC Davis campus by her boyfriend. Not only were all three girls strangled, but locks of their hair and their left ring fingers were missing," she explained with a wrinkle of her nose.

"The fourth finger," JJ said, twirling her wedding band in thought. "Do you think this has anything to do with a rejection?"

"Maybe the unsub was denied a marriage proposal," Callahan agreed.

"We won't know until we get there but the Police Chief is waiting for our arrival so wheels up in thirty," Hotch announced.

They loaded up into the plane, Rossi, Hotch, Morgan, and Reid sitting around the table, Callahan and JJ standing across the plane, while Carter stood leaning against the back of Rossi's chair. "Could the boyfriend who found the last victim be our unsub?" Morgan questioned.

"In a recent data collection done 53.8% of murders are done by someone the victim knew, but only 34% of those are done by either a husband or boyfriend," Reid stated.

"Considering this is a serial murder, I doubt the boyfriend has anything to do with this," Hotch said.

"He also has an air tight alibi," Carter read over Rossi's shoulder. "So it has to be someone outside of a personal relationship, but someone who knew all of these girls. I mean, they were all killed within a week and a half of each other."

"When we land Rossi and JJ go to the morgue, Callahan and Morgan go to the last murder site, while Carter, Reid, and I set up at the police station and meet the chief," Hotch ordered.

Morgan and Carter exchanged a glance of confusion. "You don't want me to go to site?" Carter questioned. Carter always went to site; with her background Hotch always sent her where he knew they could use the physical back up. And set up was not that place.

Hotch didn't look up from the file. "I think Morgan and Callahan can handle it on their own this time. Reid will need your help on set up while I talk to the police chief." Carter felt a chill run down her spine, Morgan grinning into his folder. "Is that going to be a problem?"

"N-No sir."

The plane landed in California about five hours later, all of them loading into the waiting vehicles and taking off to their separate destinations. Carter sat anxiously in the back of the Tahoe, eyes staring everywhere but the front windshield. She'd never worked one on one with Doctor Spencer Reid; sure, they were teammates, always working towards the same goal of catching the bad guy, but there was always someone else there when they partnered up making it so she didn't have to communicate with him. There was something different about the young genius that made her feel vulnerable, like all it would take is one look into her eyes and he would know all of her deepest darkest secrets, and that scared her to death. Nobody had ever made her feel exposed before and yet at the same time, he was the one person she was the most protective over. Whenever he was on scene with her he was the one she always kept an eye on. When an asshole cop opened their mouth about the genius she was the one to put them in their place, and when he was asleep on the plane she was in the chair closest to him, almost like a damn guard dog. Never too close, but never far.

As soon as they reached the police station they were approached by a dark-skinned man in a suit who immediately extended his hand to Hotch. "I'm Chief Walker, thank you for coming so soon."

"Of course. I'm Aaron Hotchner, this is Doctor Spencer Reid, and Clara-Grace Carter. The rest of our team will join us shortly. Is there a conference room we can set up in?"

"Yeah just across the building. My office is this way," Walker motioned, Hotch immediately following him while Carter and Reid made their way to the conference room, boxes in hand.

Carter was silent as they entered the conference room, the door clicking shut behind them and almost making her flinch. God, her nerves were already all over the place. She gently set her box onto the large table, unsure of what to do next. After a few minutes of watching Reid work, she cleared her throat. "Um, what-what do you need me to do first?"

"Unload your box. It has the copied files for each team member to look over," he said without turning to her. "If possible can you call Garcia and have her send over all the information she's collected too?"

"Yeah, I can handle that."

Carter quickly set out all of the copied folders, laying them out around the table, before she punched Garcia's number into her phone and immediately bolted from the room. "What's up Wonder Woman?" Garcia questioned.

"Hey Garcia. Could you possibly send us all of the information you've collected on the case so far? I need to print it out for Reid."

"Coming right-wait, you're not on scene? You're always on scene," she pointed out. "And whoa, whoa, whoa, did you just say Reid? You're working solo with Reid? Like alone in the conference room?"

Carter physically winced. "Don't you dare get any ideas Garcia."

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Anyway, I will have all of that information sent to you ASAP. And kitten, play nice with the doctor," she beamed before clicking off.

"Any trouble?" Reid called.

Carter sharply turned around, body going stiff. "Everything's fine!" she squeaked.

"Is it?" Hotch questioned as he exited the chief's office.

Carter felt like she was going to have a heart-attack, immediately taking a deep breath before forcing a smile. "Yes sir, I'm fine."

"Come on, let's finish set up then."

When the team finally returned they all added their information to the board; morgue photos, crime scene snapshots, and autopsy reports. "The removal on the left hand is smooth, not jagged," JJ pointed out, gently tracing the cut.

"They might have used whatever weapon they used to cut the hair."

"But why the hair? I get the ring finger has a reference, but why take the time to take the lock of hair?" Callahan asked.

"Probably a souvenir to remember them by," Carter shrugged.

"Have we found something that connects all the vics?" Morgan questioned, flipping through his files.

Hotch dialed Garcia before placing her on speaker. "The Queen of all that is technical speaking here! How can I be of service?"

"Garcia what is our connection between the three victims?"

"Well sir, as it turns out, all three girls attended Davis Senior High School. Taylor and Audrey were both Juniors and Katie was a Senior."

"Is there anything else?"

"It doesn't look like it no. Katie was a soccer star with a scholarship to Brevard University, Taylor was a mathlete, and Audrey was in the marching band."

"Thank you Garcia," Hotch said, hanging up. "Alright, we need to get to the school and interview everyone who knew these three girls, then we'll go from there."

The interviews however led them in circles. Literally the only thing that connected these teenagers was their school. They looked different, had different groups of friends, and hadn't even shared a class together. "This doesn't make sense," Rossi said, Carter rubbing at her temples. "It's like these girls are picked at random."

"Maybe JJ's theory from earlier is in play here. If their ring fingers are missing than maybe it's because they all turned the same guy down," Callahan suggested.

"Then we're asking the wrong questions," Carter realized. She quickly approached the raven haired girl they had just spoken to, Audrey's best friend. "I just have one more question to ask you. Did Aubrey recently turn someone down? For a date or even to one of the dances."

Almost immediately the girl's eyes lit up as she sharply stood up from her seat. "That goth kid!" she exclaimed.

"Can you give us a little more detail?" Callahan asked.

"I don't remember really; he had a bad black dye job, too much eye liner, and almost white pale skin. He came up to us during lunch last week and made this big scene. Audrey was really uncomfortable."

"Scene?"

"He had this bouquet of roses and even knelt to the ground, took her left hand and everything. It really creeped her out. It creeped all of us out honestly."

"Like a marriage proposal. Bold for a high school student," Rossi chuckled.

"Did he go here?"

She shrugged. "In all honesty, after Audrey turned him down, I never saw him after that. It's like he came out of nowhere."

"Thank you," Carter smiled.

"Well that's interesting. I have a feeling this kid isn't a student here," Callahan said. "In fact I don't think he's a student at all."

"Probably trying to relive his high school days in hopes of finding that high school sweet-heart he never had."

"But every time he's turned down, it brings back those old feelings of rejection he's repressed all these years and he lashes out on them."

"Look at that, we've only been here a day and we've already got our profile," Rossi said proudly.

Hotch had the chief gather his force together in the main office so they could give their profile, the team lining up at the front of the room. "The unsub we're looking for is a white male in what we believe to be in his early to late thirties," JJ started. "He's dyed his hair and even added make up to his skin to make himself seem younger, allowing him to blend in."

"He's suffering from what most people call the 'Glory Day Syndrome'. He wants to relive his high school years in hopes of finding the love that he never got to experience," Reid explained.

"But with each declined proposal, he becomes even more desperate. Only three days separate the deaths of his last two victims."

"Because he targets students from this specific high school, we believe he works there, most likely at night where none of the students would be able to recognize him during the day."

While the group continued with the profile Carter's phone rang. She quickly silenced it before disappearing back into the conference room, Garcia's face lighting up her screen. "What's up Garcia?"

"So I did a little bit of snooping after I was given your profile and I believe I've found something."

"You've always been amazing Garcia," Carter said. "What did you scoop up?"

"Well it turns out there is a nightly security guard who is called out to roam the campus for a few hours every weeknight. His name is Thomas Weebler and well-to put it nicely- he could stand to lessen the eyeliner," she shuddered. "Over the years he's moved all up and down the pacific coast building up his predatory list. He has multiple restraining orders against him for stalking teenage girls, but he's never done anything severe to get himself prosecuted. He's never married, doesn't have any kids, and from what I've researched on him he's never had a girlfriend either. Or boyfriend for that matter. And here I thought you had an empty love life."

"Oh thanks Garcia," Carter rolled her eyes.

"It's out of love Tinkerbell. But I do think I found his button."

"His trigger?"

"Yeah, that. Turns out last month he was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. Stage 4."

"Thank you Garcia, I'll let the team know."

Almost as if on que the door to the conference room opened. "We have our unsub!" she cheered.

"That didn't take long," Reid blinked.

"Garcia did her magic and found Thomas Weebler. Not only does he have a passed with teenage girls, but he also works a night-shirt security job for the school. And the cherry on top of all of this is he was diagnosed with stage four cancer a month ago."

"Which would be his tail spin," Hotch agreed. "Let's move."

Thomas Weeble's shift started at the school an hour ago, giving them the perfect opportunity to catch him off guard. As soon as they pulled onto campus they separated, Morgan, Reid, and Carter going right while the others darted left towards the football field. Guns drawn the trio slowly walked the halls, being sure to keep out of sight. As they made their way towards the quad area something darted out from Reid's right and slammed into him full force. "Reid!" Carter exclaimed, immediately going into attack mode when she saw Reid hit the ground. She holstered her weapon before diving towards the dark figure, grabbing a tree branch and kicking him square in the chest. When he stumbled back Morgan raised his weapon, flashlight revealing a raven haired Weeble. "Thomas Weebler FBI, freeze!" he warned.

Almost immediately Thomas took off, Carter right on his heels. "What is she doing?" Reid asked as Morgan helped him stand again.

"What she's best at kid. Come on!"

Weebler wasn't fast, especially not with the bulky flashlight beating against the back of his thighs, and he knew it too. He sharply came to a stop and turned to fight only to be met with a fist to the face, Carter boosting off of a bench as she punched him directly in the jaw. The surprise forced dazed him, giving her the chance to duck beneath his half-hearted swing, and kick in the back of his knees. He made a desperate dash for the taser in his belt but it was too late. Morgan and Reid had finally caught up and he was out numbered. "You make a move for that tazer and you'll get a bullet," Morgan warned, giving Carter the chance to cuff him. "Thomas Weeble you're under arrest for the murders of Taylor Bell, Audrey Walker, and Katie Loomis."

Not even twenty-four hours later and they were already on the plane back home. It wasn't that abnormal for them to have cases as short as this. The BAU were just able to see things cops couldn't sometimes. Besides, it's always good to have a second pair of eyes on a case. They were just glad to be going back home to their own beds. Reid and Rossi were discussing a book Rossi had just discovered, one Reid had read a million times over. Morgan and Callahan were playing solitaire, Hotch half-watching as he attempted to finish his paperwork, while Carter was half-asleep on the couch with her head pressed against JJ's thigh. "He's not as bad as you think, is he?" JJ suddenly said.

Carter shifted with a long yawn. "What are you talking about?"

"Spence. Today was the first day you've actually worked with him."

"So, you've noticed too huh?" Carter grumbled.

"He's a really good guy Clara."

"I know."

"Then why do you avoid him so much?"

"I don't avoid him JJ."

She could feel the older woman staring down at her. "Morgan and I have both noticed it, and now I think even Hotch has figured it out. It won't be long before Spencer begins to realize it too. I mean, you've barely spoken two words to him the entire year you've worked with us and I just want to know why."

Carter finally opened her eyes, lifting her head to watch Spencer as he energetically continued to describe his favorite books to Rossi. She always thought she was keeping herself under the radar when it came to her paranoia about Reid, but obviously she was failing. Especially if even Hotchner was figuring it out too. They couldn't know though, they wouldn't understand. Spencer Reid was the least lethal member on the team and yet he made Carter, the deadliest member, shake in her boots. Nobody had ever freaked her out so much, not even in her years working at the CIA! But then again, he meant more to her than she'd like to admit. More than she understood herself. "I'll work on it," she muttered before tucking back into herself.

Someday.