Summary: This is a crossover between CM and Higher Ground. For those who are not familiar with HG here is a bit of back ground. MT. Horizon High School is located in the mountains of Washington state near Seattle. It is a School for troubled teens. Some go there willingly as an alternative to Juvenile hall and some are sent there by their parents a last resort. It is not just a school in the academic sense. The 'students' cook, clean and are essentially the support staff for the school to teach them responsibility. Also they use Hiking, rock climbing campouts ect. As a way to learn life lessons and gain a sense of accomplishment. Students are not allowed to leave campus without express permission once they have gained certain privileges and when any rules are broken they are punished in various ways. From manual labor to 'shunning' which means they are to attend all classes and activities but are not allowed to interact with the others.
AJ Cook (JJ) was on this show as one of the students with a troubled past. For the purpose of this story I am going to ignore certain things from CM such as Will and the baby. JJ is not married and is not a mother. Her full name is Jennifer Shelby Jereau. She attended Mt. Horizon during her sophomore year and although she did not want to leave Mt. Horizon she chose to move when her mother got remarried and moved to Pittsburgh, eventually changing her last name from Merrick to Jeareau (after her new step father). It was her time at Mt. Horizon that gave her the strength and ability to move forward eventually leading to her scholarship and her position in the FBI.
It has been 3 months since she was forced to transfer from her position in the BAU. Upon her transfer she was promised a 2 week vacation along with her new position. She is still unhappy with the fact she was not given a choice in taking this new position and struggling with the separation from her team (her family). In an attempt to refocus and remind herself of what is important she decides to go back to Mt. Horizon for 2 weeks to help out. Being in the outdoors and helping the students there was sure to remind her that this transfer was not the end of the world and she could deal with anything.
What she did not expect was to find some of her old cliffhanger friends working at the school. She also didn't think she would need to call the BAU for help when 2 victims are found and The school director, Peter needs to keep his staff and students safe from both a killer and possible accusations.
I do not own Higher ground or Criminal minds
Chapter 1:
The plane touched down at SeaTac airport and JJ could feel herself relax. It was funny to her that when she was first brought to Mt. Horizon she was resentful and hated the idea of being there. Back then she believed that no one could understand what she had gone through. She was ashamed of what had been done to her and ashamed of the things she had done to herself. Mt. Horizon had taught her so much and had truly been her salvation. It was not the punishment that she had originally believed. It was the place she found her first true father figure. Peter Scarboro, the director and now owner of the school had live through his own demons. He had fought addictions and devoted his life to helping kids. Peter had such a bad alcohol and drug addiction that he had lost his career, his first marriage and nearly his life but Frank the founder of the school saved him. Now Peter was giving second chances to others.
She remembered her time at Mt. Horizon with a mixture of fondness and sadness. It was a place that she had found true friends that understood her. Daisy, the death obsessed goth who was the daughter of alcoholics. She had suffered abuse and neglect from her parents. This led to the desire to shock others around her with her morbid attitude and dark attire. Surprisingly Daisy had become her closest friend at Mt. Horizon. This was probably because Daisy did not push, she simply listened when needed and allowed JJ to be her closed of cynical self.
There were the other cliffhangers. At Mt. Horizon the students were separated into groups like summer camp. They went to class together, worked together, bunked together, and did their outdoor events together. Peter believed this would teach them that it was ok to rely on others and to show them that they could trust. JJ had to admit that by the time she had left Mt. Horizon this method had truly worked.
She and the other cliffhangers had their differences but in reality they truly were like a family. The only family any of them truly had at the time. In addition to Daisy there was Auggie, who had been brought into the world of gangs and drugs by his brother. Ezira, who used his chemistry skills to make his own drugs when his home life fell apart. His parents had adopted him but instead of gaining a loving stable him he was brought into a volatile situation where it became obvious that he had been adopted as a tool to help heal an already broken marriage. Kat who was plagued with such guilt over not being able to save her little sister from drowning she had turned to picking fights and finding ways to cause herself pain. These people all became her family in a way. Even the one person she never seemed to be able to get along with, Juliet.
JJ smiled to herself as she thought of the old nickname she had given the girl, Queeny. Juliet was a bulimic and a cutter. Now JJ couldn't help but feel sympathy for the girl. She had been so messed up by her mother. Her mother's five failed marriages were, obviously, Juliets fault. The fact Juliet did not become head cheerleader was, no doubt, because she was overweight (at her whopping 110 pounds). JJ had never gotten along with Juliet because back then she was resentful of the fact that Juliet had chosen to hurt herself. She knew better now. She understood so much more now how all of them were products of their environment and how much worse they could have turned out. The things she saw with the BAU sometimes came so close to what she had once known.
As she thought about this she realized just how bad things could have been for any of the people she knew at Mt. Horizon. If she was being honest with herself she knew there were two people that could have easily fit some of the profiles the team had developed. One of those people had crossed her mind often over the years.
Mt. Horizon had not only given her a second chance and a sense of family but it had given her a first love. Scott was angry and closed off when he first arrived at Mt. Horizon. When he was first assigned to the cliffhangers almost all of them had wondered what could possibly have been so bad in his life. He was tall blond good looking. He was the popular star football player who even as a sophomore had colleges scouting him. Yet he was throwing it all away with fights, partying, drinking, and drugs.
As he and JJ got closer to one another he finally confided in her. His step mother had been molesting him. The real problem was that she had started seducing him making him feel like the advances were something he honestly desired. She actually had him convinced that they were in love. It wasn't until his own guilt and disgust at himself became too much that he tried to put a stop to it, but stopping was something his step mother would not do. She convinced him it was his fault and that he truly wanted it, he was the guy after all, if he really didn't want it he could force her to stop. She had truly done a number on Scott. Then when Scott finally told his father and CPS, his step mother manipulated the situation to make herself seem like the victim. The only people that believed him were the others at Mt. Horizon.
Sometimes JJ felt as if their bond was because their situations were so similar. Yes JJ was the other person who could have turned out to fit the many BAU profiles. Her mother's second husband her first step dad had molested her. He had come into her room every night. This abuse caused her to runaway and each time she was brought home she would run again. She still hated what she had been at the age of fifteen. She was thankful that the others in her BAU family had never known about her past. Hotch knew because these things had been in her personnel files but he had thankfully never told the others. It wasn't that she did not trust them. No, she knew they would not judge her but the things she had done to survive were not things she liked to revisit.
The last time she had runaway she lived on the streets, done drugs, and used anything she could to get money. Anything had included selling herself. It was when she saw a friend od and her mother found her on the streets that she was sent to Mt. Horizon.
Yes, JJ thought again. Mt. Horizon had truly saved her. It had given her the strength to stand up to her mother about ignoring the abuse. It had given her the strength to turn her step father in. It had helped her to be there for her little sister Jess when she found out she had also suffered at the hands of that awful man. It had given her the confidence to move forward with her life, go to college and join the FBI.
Her life was not perfect by any means. She had thought that Jess had dealt with what had happened only to find out that she had been too scared mentally. JJ wished that her little sister had been able to move on as she had and that suicide would not have been the only answer. She missed Jess everyday and hated the fact that she wasn't able to save her sister the way the people at Mt. Horizon had saved her. Unfortunately she had learned that life was never perfect and sometimes there are simply things you cannot control.
When JJ chose to leave Mt. Horizon to move with her mother, sister, and new step dad to Pennsylvania she had promised to keep in touch with everyone. At first she had kept that promise but as the years passed it became harder and harder to stay in contact. It was surprising when she made the decision to leave. Before the end of the school year Scott had the chance to go home and start his life over. His dad had divorced his step mom and told Scott that he did not blame him for what Elaine had done. They hadn't even left town before Scott realized that his dad did not truly stop blaming him. He had come back to Mt. Horizon and JJ couldn't have been happier.
Before the new school year started the two of them were faced with separation again. JJ left to try to start her life over and Scott finished school at Mt. Horizon. They tried to maintain their relationship but the distance and circumstances proved to be too much. JJ was fixing the problems within her family while Scott was unable to reconnect with his father. The last time they had spoken was bitter sweet. They knew that things had changed between them but that they both had to continue to move on separately. That conversation had happened six months after her departure from Mt. Horizon. And was one of the last times she had spoken to any of the cliffhangers.
Over the last few years she had reconnected with Peter. The BAU was on a case in Seattle a few years back and she had decided to give her old mentor a call. They did not have a lot of time to catch up but were able to meet for a quick lunch. He was so pleased to see how much she had done with her life. Since then they had shared emails and the occasional phone call. All of these things are the reasons she had decided to spend her vacation in the mountains of Washington.
JJ was brought out of her thoughts and memories as she pulled up to the main lodge. She put her rental car in park and jumped out. It was so good to feel and smell the clean mountain air. She closed her eyes and breathed deep. The quiet was disturbed when she heard someone move to stand next to her. "Welcome home." Said a kind deep voice. JJ turned her head to the right to find Peter standing next to her.
She smiled before wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. "it's good to be back."
Peter returned her hug as he responded. "We'll see if you're still saying that after you join us on tomorrows hike."
JJ pulled away and smiled. "Bring it on. I'm not that whiney little teen anymore remember?"
"That is very true. Here let's get your things. I have a room ready for you in the guest lodge."
"Guest lodge?" JJ asked surprised.
"Oh yeah, over the years the success of the school has gotten around which has led to more funding. We've been able to expand a bit. We built a guest lodge which is mostly used during parent's weekend." Peter answered.
JJ was thrilled to hear that the school was finally able to do things like expand. In the past it had been a struggle to fund the school and its programs.
"Yeah, it's been great because we've been able to take on more students." Another voice said from behind her.
JJ whirled around to see Sophie, one of her old counselors and Peter's second wife standing there. "Soph!" JJ exclaimed hugging the woman who had done so much for her even as JJ continually gave her a hard time.
Sophie returned her hug, excited to see her former student. She pulled away before saying "It's good to see you Shelby."
JJ grimaced at the name. It had been so many years since anyone had called her that. When she was younger and the abuse began he would call her Jenny kitten. After that she had asked everyone to call her by her middle name. It took a long time before she started using her first name again, and then her BAU family started calling her JJ. Suddenly she realized how different the two parts of her life truly were.
"Sophie, I know I mentioned to you that she goes by Jennifer of JJ now… Didn't I?" Peter asked.
"I know but I guess she'll always be Shelby to me." Sophie said as they all began walking toward the guest lodge.
JJ rolled her eyes. "It's fine Shelby, Shel, Jennifer, JJ, Agent Jereau. I'll answer to any of them."
They all laughed at her response. As they walked toward the lodge Peter and Sophie pointed out all of the improvements that had been made to the school. They had added four new student cabins. Horse stables had also been added. This made JJ smile as she remembered the horse that the cliffhangers had found abused and abandoned. The poor animal could have died. It took a liking to her and followed her almost everywhere. When the vet told them that it needed to be constantly walked because of colic she and her fellow cliffhangers stayed up all night taking turns walking the horse. Thankfully she survived and was now apparently living in Mt. Horizons new stable.
Peter also told her that they had been able to upgrade the kitchen and all of the safety equipment. They were able to purchase new kayaks and rafts. JJ absolutely loved knowing how well things seemed to be going for the school.
Peter and Sophie left JJ to get settled in after making her promise to meet them at five for dinner. She was looking forward to catching up with them more as well as enjoying a relaxing evening. Peter had told her that they would be taking two groups out on a day hike in the morning. She was excited but she knew it would be an exhausting day.
JJ unpacked her clothes hanging them all in the closet. She then pulled out the heavy lockbox that held her gun placing it safely in the very back of the nightstand drawer. She had already told Peter she had it with her but promised to keep it hidden and locked safely away at all times. It felt odd to change out of her usual professional attire and hip holster to jeans and a long sleeve t shirt without the usual weight of her gun on her hip.
It may have seemed strange to others but after all her years with the BAU she had gotten into the habit of keeping her gun with her at all times. She knew, as did the rest of her old team, that they could get a call and need to be prepared to leave at any moment. This habit wasn't necessary in her new position but it was something that she had not been able to stop doing.
By the time she had finished unpacking and changing clothes it was almost five o'clock. She pulled on a pair of boots and grabbed her brown leather messenger bag before heading to the main lodge to meet Peter and Sophie.
JJ was standing on the steps of the main lodge waiting for Peter and Sophie when someone came out the front door. "Hi, can I help you?"
JJ turned to look at the person who spoke. She was a tall woman with long brown hair pulled back into a pony tail. She looked familiar to JJ but it wasn't until she caught a glimpse of the girls upper arm that she realized who it was she was looking at. On her upper right arm was a long scar that was from one of the many times she had cut herself. It was a shock for JJ to see this woman so different yet so similar to the girl she once knew.
Obviously she did not recognize JJ. "Actually I'm just waiting for Peter and Sophie we're going to dinner."
"Oh well I just saw Peter in his office he should be out in a few moments, would you like me to show you where it is?" The girl asked.
"No it's fine I don't mind waiting out here." JJ replied and then decided to shake the girl up a bit. "Thanks anyway Juliet."
Juliet started at her words before responding. "I'm sorry but how do you know my name, do I know you?" she looked at JJ more closely.
JJ smile. "Come on queeny I know I've changed but I don't look that different do I?"
Juliet's mouth dropped open "Shelby? Shelby Merrick?"
JJ shrugged "Actually its Jereau now, I took my new step dad's name after we moved and well most people call me Jennifer of JJ now but yeah it's me."
"Oh my god!" Juliet shrieked and launched herself at JJ. She hugged her tightly "What are you doing here?"
JJ pulled away and smiled "I have a few weeks of vacation. I talked to Peter and asked him if he minded some extra help for a few weeks."
"That's great! So do you know exactly what you'll be doing while you're here?" Juliet asked.
"Not actually. I told Peter I would help out with anything I could. What about you? I didn't realize you were still involved with the school."
"Yeah after I graduated I got my teaching degree with a minor in Psychology. I contacted Peter and told him I couldn't see myself doing anything but working at Mt. Horizon. I've been here for four years now."
JJ smiled "Good for you. I hadn't realized just how much I missed this place until I got here. It's really nice to be back."
"Yeah it's amazing how many good memories can come from such a crappy time in life right?" Juliet said.
"I know what you mean." JJ paused. "Hey Juliet, you know I just want to say… I know I really horrible to you back then… and I well… I'm sorry about all of that."
Juliet waved away her apology. "Thanks Shelby but really there's no need. We were kids, really messed up kids. Believe me it's water under the bridge."
Just as they finished talking Peter and Sophie came out of the lodge. "Ah, I see we have a bit of a reunion going on." Peter said.
"Peter I can't believe you didn't tell us Shelby would be here!" Juliet exclaimed. "I mean I can't wait until…"
Sophie interrupted her "We wanted it to be a surprise. And It seems as if it was a good surprise. Actually Shel is going to take your place on the hike tomorrow since you have to meet with Andrew's parents."
JJ merely looked confused so Juliet explained. "I teach here but I am also in charge of the cliffhangers. One of the kids, has been here for about two months now and his parents want a personal update." She rolled her eyes. "It is unusual but since they flew in from Texas someone has to meet with them. I spend the most time with Andrew since he is a cliffhanger so Peter thought I should meet with them."
JJ nodded in understanding. It was unusual for parents to want updates like that but maybe this kid hadn't burned too many bridges with his family. Maybe they hadn't lost complete faith in him yet.
Peter, Sophie and JJ all said goodbye to Juliet and headed into town. They decided to go to the diner. They found a table near a window. JJ noticed that the menu had not really changed over the years. She ordered a burger, fries and a coke. When the waitress came back over with their drinks she looked at JJ as if she wanted to say something but thought better of it. JJ wasn't sure what to make of that reaction.
While they waited for their food Sophie and Peter asked her about her life since leaving Mt. Horizon. They were sad to hear about Jess. Peter had tried to convince both JJ and her mother that Jess would benefit from attending Mt. Horizon just as JJ had, but they had wanted to put everything behind them and move forward.
They were thrilled to hear her stories of college and her success both academically and athletically. She told them how she focused on soccer and gaining a scholarship so that she would be able to get a good education. They were also interested to hear how she went from having a degree in communications to joining the FBI. JJ was just explaining to them what had made her want to join the agency when the waitress brought over their food.
"I'm sorry Peter, Sophie, I don't mean to interrupt but…" she looked to JJ " you look familiar to me."
JJ looked at the girl who was obviously of Asian heritage. She was about to respond when Peter spoke.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't even think . JJ this is Gracie Yao, Annie's daughter." He looked at Gracie "Gracie this is Agent Jennifer Jareau, you may remember her is Shelby though."
Gracie's eyes widened. "Shelby, you're the one who found me on the cliff when I was little."
Peter looked confused "What? No Ezra found you that dad not Shelby."
JJ now remembered the girl. She had grown into a beautiful young woman. She remembered when Peter had asked the cliffhangers to help search for a little girl who had wandered away from her mother when they were camping. Gracie was maybe four or five back then.
"No I remember Shelby found me but she gave me to that boy to carry back." Gracie said.
JJ looked a bit embarrassed. "I don't know why I didn't want anyone to know I helped her. Back then it was easier to let people believe it didn't care about anything."
Peter shook his head with a fond smile. He remembered how closed off JJ had been back then. It was no surprise she would let someone else take the credit for helping the little girl.
Gracie thanked JJ again and told her she would love to see her before her vacation was over. She then went back to work waiting tables in her mother's diner leaving the three to enjoy their dinner.
"It's good to see the town is still as welcoming as ever." JJ said.
Sophie shook her head. "Most of the town is but a few years ago some developers came in the opened a resort a few miles south of town. They had tried to buy the school from Peter but we refused. Then when we started expanding and taking on more kids some of the newer residents started to question how safe it was to have MT. Horizon here."
JJ furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"
"Well some of the people who moved in to work for the resort started saying it wasn't safe to have so many delinquent kids free to do whatever they like." Peter shook his head. "They don't understand what Mt. Horizon is all about. I don't think they really ever will."
"I don't think that's the problem Peter." JJ said "The problem is they want your property."
Peter nodded "Most likely but most of the people who have seen how much good the school does will not listen to anything said against it."
As they ate JJ continued to fill them in on her life. Peter and Sophie noticed that most of her stories revolved around her team members at the BAU. She talked about these people as if they were family and it made them smile to know she had people she truly trusted.
She told them everything she had learned from working with these incredibly intelligent people. It had always amazed her how such different personalities could work like a well oiled machine. They fed off each other. All of them brining something different to the table. Hotch with his constantly level head. Rossi and his experience and extensive knowledge of criminal behavior. Morgan who was an expert in obsessive behavior but had grown to so much more of a well rounded agent. Emily, who had surprised all of them when she joined the team with her knowledge of languages and observation skills. Spencer who was just amazing with the extent of things he knew and understood. And Garcia, JJ's favorite hacker. That woman could do almost anything with a computer but her quirks and odd humor were what she loved best about Garcia. With everything the team had seen and been through it was good to have someone who could keep you smiling.
Peter and Sophie were amazed at the stories JJ told them. They had a hard time understanding how anyone could deal with seeing the kind of things JJ and her friends had seen. They noticed she seemed almost wistful as she spoke of her fellow agents from the BAU.
"You miss working with them don't you?" Sophie asked.
"More than I thought possible. I know it seems odd. I mean the things we deal with in the BAU are horrific but… if we didn't deal with these things who would? I mean I'm not a profiler but after so many years you start to pick things up and damn it I was good at my job!" JJ's voice got louder as she spoke. "Sorry, it's just that I wasn't given the choice. I turned down the position three times. Eventually the director forced me into the transfer."
"I'm sure your team misses you just as much as you miss them." Sophie said.
JJ nodded. "I know and I know it isn't like I can never speak to them but it's so different. I know how crazy the BAU can get in terms of a schedule. In the last few months I think I've talked to Garcia maybe twice and the only other person I've been able to talk to is Spencer and that was for all of two minutes. I accepted I wouldn't be working with them anymore but I feel like I've lost them completely."
They talked a little longer before leaving the diner. Once they arrived back at the school Peter and Sophie left JJ. She walked back to the guest lodge while they went to do bed checks before turning in themselves.
Sherriff Curtis Swann was working the night shift. He pulled out of the station and began his first of four nightly patrols. Bakerville was a small town and even with the kids who attended Mt. Horizon there was very little crime in his town. This meant that his shift would consist of a thirty minuet patrol every two hours. It was routine but it was his job. Other than the occasional runner from the school the most action the saw as sheriff was a search and rescue or animal attack. Even in those cases he typically let the rangers or animal control take over.
He had almost finished his circuit around town and was ready to head back to the station when dispatch came over his radio. Apparently the Dawson family had call into the station. Jack Dawson eighteen, recent high school graduate had not returned home from his weekend training. He had joined the Army Reserves when he graduated. It seemed that he should have arrived home early in the evening but no one had seen nor heard from him.
Granted he could not be considered missing as of yet however it was a good possibility that he had simply had car trouble somewhere on his way home. Sherriff Swann would go to his parents' house and reassure them that everything was fine but that he would also drive out toward the highway to see if his car had simply broken down somewhere. He would also put a call in to the state police notifying them of Jack's plate number in case he hadn't made it closer to town.
Mr. and Mrs. Dawson thanked the Sherriff and explained that they were simply worried. I was not like Jack to be late without calling. What concerned them even more was that it was his younger sister's birthday and he had promised that he would be back in time to have dinner and watch a movie with her. Jack would never break a promise like that.
The Sherriff assured them that he understood their concern and that he would do everything he could to make sure they had word of Jack's whereabouts as soon as possible.
After leaving the Dawson home Sherriff Swann drove out the main road toward the Highway. While he drove he notified dispatch that they should contact the state police about the situation and ask them to keep an eye out for Jack's car. He drove slower than normal along the main road keeping an eye out for any stranded motorist. He was certain this was the route Jack would have driven on his way back home.
About seven miles outside of town the Sherriff saw a car pulled alongside the road. The hazard lights were flashing. Car trouble like I said. The Sherriff thought. He pulled his truck over facing the car. He did not see anyone inside the car but the trunk was open. He got out of his vehicle and walked around to the back of the car expecting to find Jack getting out a spare tire. What he did not expect to find was the young man on the ground with his throat slashed.
