"The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed. "
Carl Jung

Had the night not been so dark, he could have seen it coming. Had the stars not shined so bright, he could have noticed. Had the weather not been so thick and warm, he could have felt the shivers. Had she not talked and laughed so beautifully, he could have prevented it. Could have.

Looking back and 'could have's' never got you any further, he knew that. But in his state of mind right now, he couldn't care.

He sat in the radiant morning, barely noticeably shivering on a stone wall, staring absently minded at the red stains on the road. His friends and colleague's tried talking to him, trying to figure out what happened, but no word got through to him. He was just sitting there and staring at the dirty taint surrounded by people, covered by a white blanket.

Senior Special Agent Aaron Hotchner stood from a distance, observing his colleague. He was a profiler, but he could not tell you anything about the man he was watching. He was not broken, nor was he the strong man he usually was. He was not crying, but his expression wasn't without sadness. He wasn't grieving or mourning, yet he looked deeply upset. He was almost emotionless, as his eyes never left the scene. He never stopped watching.

Describing a man that was once a steady rock and now a fading figure was not something Hotch ever wanted to do. He didn't even want to think about it, let alone having to witness it. It nearly broke his heart, just watching Derek Morgan sitting on that stone wall with empty eyes and morbid memories.

The sound of clicking heals rapidly approaching him reached his good ear and he turned around. Emily Prentiss and Jennifer Jareau hurried towards his side as they tucked their ID's and badges away. Their expressions were much easier to describe; just pure, plain shock.

"Please don't tell me it's true."

Emily's voice was scared and weak, tension ran through it like an invisible poison. Hotch could only look away, at the white sheet covered in a few, wide, red circles. JJ gasped for air and her hand covered her mouth in horror as she saw the scenery. Emily's hands turned into fists until her knuckles were white and she fought the urge to scream.

"Oh my God."

JJ had finally found her voice, only to break it right there again. Tears flooded her eyes and she let them glide down her cheek. Her supervisor noticed and grabbed her shoulder, turning her away from the image, comforting her.

"What happened?"

Aaron shook his head and tried to avoid Prentiss' furious eyes.

"I don't know yet. I haven't talked to Morgan yet."

Deep, dark brown eyes suddenly absorbed the handsome man and her enraged expression fell immediately.

"He was with her?"

JJ looked up, able to control herself and her emotions. She nodded.

"Morgan promised to take her home."

"That was two hours ago."

The silence that fell between the colleagues and friends was one of the doomed and fitted perfectly with the rest of their surroundings.

Doctor Spencer Reid was unfortunate enough to approach the scene from the other side and froze on his spot as he spotted the white blanket. He dropped his phone and his eyes widened in disbelieve. A patrol officer at the scene must have recognized him because a minute after he arrived, Hotch approached him, guiding JJ past the morbid cover, holding her elbow strongly and firmly. Prentiss looked to the other side as she also walked past it.

At first, Reid didn't hear his boss call out to him. Only when he reached out and touched his arm, Reid's focus shifted and still widened eyes met concerned brown ones and he was finally brought back to earth.

"It's true."

The doctor's words were as broken and defeated as that of his colleagues. Aaron looked around himself and saw nothing more but depressed chaos. Morgan still hadn't moved and he stood here with three shocked colleagues around him. As if he was called, David Rossi's car stopped near where they stood and he stepped out.

David jogged towards his friends while his mind processed the doomed blanket. One look at Aaron told him everything he needed to know.

"We know what happened yet?"

"No. Morgan was with her,"

The eldest agent saw the colored man sitting on the short wall.

"But I haven't talk to him yet. I think he may be in a severe shock."

"The paramedics took a look at him?"

Aaron shook his head again, "No, he refuses."

JJ, Emily and Reid stood there, motionless on their spot and listened to the senior man taking charge. JJ's mind had still trouble with processing the fact that one of her best friends was dead, and she wasn't thinking about catching the killer. Yet.

"Emily. Emily!"

Rossi turned to the black haired female and blocked her vision at the scene. Dazed, she looked at him.

"I need you."

Rossi almost asked if she could do it, but his eyes said enough. Prentiss looked over his shoulder once more, before clearing her throat and pulling herself together. She grabbed both JJ's and Reid's elbows.

"Come on, let's get a cup of coffee."

Aaron nodded meaningful at the agent when she guided the younger team members to the coffee shop across the street. Rossi took a few steps closer, put his hands in his sides and watched the confused and disordered mass.

"What where they doing here?"

Hotch sighed, "I have no idea, he won't talk to me. I just wanted to call Garcia to ask her to come when JJ and Emily arrived."

Nodding, Rossi sighed as well and ran a hand over his face.

"Do we have any idea of what happened?"

"All we know so far is that Morgan and Scott where he around six AM. There's a witness that saw it all from her room and she says that a large black car drove by and shot several times. She couldn't recall how many times. Scott was hit in her upper leg, twice in her chest and once in her neck."

Finally, Aaron's eyes met Rossi's and the look they gave the experienced agent sent chills down his back. Almost afraid of what he might say, Rossi waited till he spoke again.

"She bled out. It took the ambulance almost an hour to get here. By then, she was already dead. Morgan was with her the entire time. Apparently, he was bringing her to the hotel."

"The hotel is on the other side of town."

Hotch shrugged slightly, "There's a small path down there from where you can watch the harbor."

"Where's the blood from?"

Both dark haired detectives looked at Hotchner's once white shirt and be blooded sleeve of his jacket. He closed his eyes when he remembered.

"We had to pull Morgan off her. She was laying his arms, I wanted him out of there. It took three men to drag him seven feet away from her."

They knew time was of the essence, they had to know what happened and start helping Morgan before he tumbled too deep down.

Hence Rossi impatiently paced around, one hand in his pocket, his other around the phone pressed against his ear.

A loud groan welcomed him on the other side.

"It's way too early for this."

"Garcia. It's Rossi."

"Yeah, I know."

"Listen, we need you down at Eastern Solidarity Drive, just past the Shedd Aquarium."

"Oh, more fieldwork, I knew I was going to like Chicago."

"Garcia."

Rossi's solemn voice must have told Penelope enough for she remained quiet and waited till he spoke again.

"It's Abby. She's dead."

Ten minutes later, Rossi noticed the black SUV pull to an abrupt stop and the sound of screeching tires filled the coffee shop. Prentiss, whom still sat with Reid and JJ, looked up at Rossi. He nodded to confirm her thoughts as he stood up and headed for the exit.

He had no idea what he was approaching.

Penelope looked horrible and horrified. Mascara smears ran down her cheeks and her eyes were red and bloodshot. When she saw Rossi, she halted in her search for someone she knew and tears welled up in her eyes again.

"What happened?"

Rossi placed his hands on the sides of arms to keep her attention to him and not let her see the scenery yet.

"I need you to listen to me. Very carefully."

Garcia grabbed a tissue and whipped some tears away. Then she focused and nodded with a determined and almost stern expression on her face.

"We don't know what happened yet. Morgan was with her-"

Garcia almost broke down again and squealed softly. She immediately pulled herself back together and looked at Rossi again.

"He's probably in a shock, he's pretty unresponsive and absent minded. We need you to talk to him, we need to know what happened as soon as possible so we can catch whoever did this. Can you do that?"

The blond had a small trace of hesitation in her eyes, but she nodded in confidence and turned her head to look at the mess someone had made. That someone they needed to catch.

Rossi guided her to Derek and Hotch. She gasped when she saw the red stained blanket and halted for a moment, but when she saw Derek Morgan, she almost broke again and continued her walk to him.

Instead of sitting down next to him, like Hotchner had done, she lowered herself right before him, blocking his stare and awakening him from his thoughts. Hotch had stood up and he and Rossi stood a few mere feet away.

So far, ever since Abby Scott had died in his arms, everything had gone right past Morgan. He had let everything go and just stayed behind with his friend. When a blond woman lowered herself in front of him and blocked his sight at his best friend, he felt angry at first. But then he met piercing, concerned and red eyes and broke again.

Garcia sniffled as she looked deep into Morgan's eyes. Her once so cheery face was covered in sorrow and sadness. Carefully, she reached out and touched Derek's cheek, whom obviously recognized her.

"I'm so sorry."

Derek nodded and looked down. But he did nothing more. He just sat there, leaning on his elbows that rested on his legs, hands folded nicely into each other and his head bowed.

Aaron Hotchner realized his first thought of the man had been wrong. He was not watching a broken man. It was far worse. Derek Morgan was on his knees, bleeding and aching, shattered apart.

"To love deeply in one direction makes us more loving in all others."

Anne-Sophie Swetchine