The Apparition

(based upon the TV Series Criminal Minds)

(I do not own Criminal Minds, all characters are from Criminal Minds or based on character already created on Criminal Minds, I own only my imagination)

Derek watches as they pull Talbot from the car, the front window shattered, and blood covering the car interior, "How did he find her?" Derek asks as he holds back anger at the violence this mad man brings with him.

"I don't know," Aaron says, "You go with her, make sure The Ghost doesn't try anything, and see what you can find out once she regains consciousness. I don't want anything to happen to her." Aaron says and sends Derek with the ambulance, "Prentice," he says to Emily, "You and J.J. take Lilly inside and get her cleaned up, don't leave her alone with anyone. I want one of you with her at all time."

"Got it," Emily says as J.J. sooths Lilly back to sleep. They then turn and head into the station.

Spencer takes out his phone and dials the sanitarium, "Hello, this is Spencer Reid, I would like to check on a patient…" he waits, "no, not Diane, I want to know if a patient by the name of Temperance Parker is there." He says then waits for a response, "Thank you, and please keep me informed. I am with her sister and want to be sure she is safe while we deal with some problems here…Thank you." Spencer says into the phone then looks to Aaron, "Temperance had a reaction to something she ate and is not able to take visitors, and since I am not her sister the administrator cannot give out any more information."

Aaron calls Penelope, "Garcia," he says.

"What can the Goblin Garcia do for you on this spooky Halloween?"

"Hello to you too, will you find me all the information you can on Temperance Parker." Aaron says into the phone.

"Time me." She says into the phone and hangs up.

"Reid, get what information you can from the car while you can, then we will head to Grand Rapids to see the crime scene."

"Aaron, if he has been after her for this long, and seems to always know where she is," David says softly, "Does that mean the Unsub is someone she knows and trusts?"

"That's exactly what I am afraid of." Aaron says, "Reid head over to the hospital to get Morgan when you are done, Rossi and I are heading to Grand Rapids to get in touch with PD there."

Reid looks around at the dark parking lot, "Okay," he says and calls Garcia, as Aaron and David head for their SUV. "Garcia," Reid says.

"Always here when I need to be, what can I do for you?" she asks, "I had planned to watch scary movies about people alone in the dark. I was hoping to catch Halloween and H2O, where Michael just—"

"Garcia, this is all fascinating, but I am right now standing in a nearly deserted parking lot all my myself with a serial killer on the loose, would you want to not talk about the movies that are about people who are alone one Halloween." Reid says as he moves over to the car where the two man forensic team is working.

"Sorry, I just…never mind, what can I do for you?" she asks.

"I want you to hack the Bennington Sanitarium records and find out what has happened to Talbot's sister Temperance Parker. I think something has but I can't get a straight answer from the administration there."

"I was just working on that info, I will get that for you momentarily." She says as she works her magic on the computer. "Uhhh," she breaths sharply, "Reid," she says softly.

"What?" he asks stopping in his place.

"I found something about Temperance and Talbot that isn't in the case file." She says as she types away, "There was another sister," she says, "A Trinity, she drowned at a local pool when she was nine." She looks further into the story, "It looks like it was ruled an accident though the parents continued to pursue the idea that someone killed their daughter. The mother found a napkin that had some writing on it, she claims it read, 'Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive against thy mother aught. Leave her to heaven,' the police shrugged it off as meaningless words that anyone could have written while lounging at the pool. That was in 1993, the girls all nine."

"Call and tell Hotch, there seems to be a one sided dialogue, and he is arranging the lines from Hamlet however he sees fit. He is telling use something, I'm going to look through the car and think on this, I have to double check the text but I think he is telling us something, or rather telling Talbot something."

"On it." Garcia says and hangs up, leaving Reid basically alone in the parking lot.

Mumbling to himself he looks over the car. Finding only more questions as he goes, looking at the angle of the bullet. He calls Hotch, "Hotch," he says as the phone answers, "Yes, the team won't be done for a while they are taking the car to the impound, do you want me to wait till the release it?" he asks.

"No, get to the hospital, have J.J. Emily and Lilly go with you, we need to get together and work a profile." Aaron says, "We will be in Grand Rapids soon, keep me informed." Aaron says and hangs up.

Reid hangs up the phone and returns to the station to get J.J., Emily and Lilly.

"So what is the plan?" J.J. asks.

"We are on the way to Grand Rapids once we stop and check on Parker," Reid says.

"That's it," Emily says taking a drink of her coffee, "we aren't going to check anything else out here?" she asks, "I mean come on."

"We are supposed to go check on Parker," Reid says looking through the file he holds in his hand. "One of you is driving," he says, "I have to work on something." He adds and pulls out a notebook.

J.J. sigh and picks up Lilly, "We need to get her a car seat."

"I have one that will work," an officer says behind J.J. "I have a two year old, but we have an extra seat, you can use it."

"Thank you," J.J. says, "We will get it back to you."

"Are we sure it is safe for her?" Emily asks and takes another drink of her coffee.

J.J. looks at Emily, "The safest she can be is with us right now, but once the Unsub is locked away she will be safer still."

"Then let's go." Emily says and finishes her coffee before following Spencer J.J. and the officer out to the SUV's.

"Reid, either you are driving or ridding with J.J. and Lilly." Emily says to Reid. "Reid?"

"I'll ride, I think I found something, I just need to pick up a copy of Hamlet." He says getting in the SUV.

Emily rollers her eyes and looks at J.J., "You two go straight to the hospital, I will pick up a copy of the play, "Anything specific?" Emily asks Reid.

"No, just make sure it is the full version, not edited, and better if it is not abridged."

"I'll stop at the library." She says and heads to her SUV.

Derek paces the hall waiting for more information on Talbot's condition. Something she had said was making him nervous. He thought she had said he was there, which tells him this Unsub is close. He thought she had said 'He's watching,' he remembers her claim that he had talked to her, that changes things, she heard his voice, but what does it mean? He asks himself as he paces the waiting room. Just then Spencer, Emily, and J.J. enter with Lilly. "Reid," Derek says "What does he mean by 'Mark me Tal, My hour is almost come, When I to sulph'rous and tormenting flames Must render up myself. And you Tal are my salvation, my survival, my solace, you will go with me, the serpent in the garden will sting, and that sting will drown thee dear Ophelia once and for all.'?"

"What?" Spencer asks.

"Talli said that to me before she lost consciousness, do you know what it means?"

Spencer walks over and sits down, "I think," he says, flipping through the play Emily had gotten a hold of. He looked though the file, then the book, "It's like I thought, he is using the lines to tell a story, but they are not in the right order. He is trying to tell us or Parker something. I just don't know what, yet, but I'm working on it. As to what Parker said, I believe this Unsub looks at himself as being Parkers father figure, yet also sees Parker as Ophelia and wishes to drown her as is Ophelia's end, but must get revenge for something he believes she caused. He believes his time is almost up and intends to take Parker with him." Spencer says then goes back to his notebook, file, and play.

Derek looks from Spencer to Emily and J.J.

"Don't even ask," Emily says, "How is she?"

"They don't know yet." Derek says, "Or at least they won't tell me," he says as a doctor walks towards him.

"Are you Agent Morgan?" the doctor asks checking his clipboard.

"Yes," Derek says, "How is she?"

"Resting comfortably right now." The doctor says, "She just got out of surgery, and will need her rest, but she will make a full recovery. You can go see her now if you would like."

"Hear that Lilly, you can go see mommy," J.J. says softly to the little girl in her arms.

"Mommy?" she asks, "where?"

"Right this way," the doctor says and leads them to Talbot's room. Derek slows outside the door with Emily and Reid as J.J. enters with Lilly. "She isn't safe," Derek says.

"I don't think anywhere is safe for them right now." Emily says, "If he can get to her in protective custody then he can get to her in here."

"Guys," Spencer says, looking from his file to the room, then back to his file and at his notebook. "I need to get to Grand Rapids."

Both Emily and Derek look at him, "What?" Derek asks.

"I need to see the crime scene; I think there is more that they aren't seeing. I find the lines he uses strange, and I think there is more to it than just the lines. I need to see this last crime scene. There is something missing…Trinity, Garcia was right…" he mumbles. "Trinity was the first."

"Who is Trinity?" Derek asks.

"Later," Emily says, "Morgan, Parker wishes to talk to you." She adds and motions for him to enter the room.

"How you holding up Talli?" he asks taking her hand.

Talbot takes a breath, "Derek," she whispers, "he's here…I know him…"

"Take your time, there's no rush." He adds.

"He's playing a game, he is telling me something, I just don't know what it is." She says, "he will not stop until he has us both," she says looking at Lilly who now lay next to her on the bed. "Derek, he called me Ophelia, she commits suicide in the play, but he also called me his solace, his salvation, his survival. I don't know how to stop him. He got to me when I didn't think anyone could. I know his voice, Derek. I know him; I have trusted him with Lilly. I just can't put the pieces together." She says softly, "Derek I'm so scared."

"Hey that's not the Talbot I know," Derek says, "What happened to the fighter that won't give up. What happened to the mother that would do anything for her daughter? What happened to the woman who saved my life?" he asks, "I hope I didn't lose her?" Derek says.

"She just got shot by a crazy who has been hunting her since she was 19. Logic and courage seem to have just shot out the window." Talbot bit out.

"That sounds more like her." He says, "I know you are scared, so I will stay here and protect you." He says.

"I'm not worried about me Derek. I'm worried about Lilly; he was going to take Lilly. He will take Lilly." She says putting a hand on her daughter's sleeping head. "I'm afraid I will lose her."

"I know," Derek says, "but I will do all I can to make sure that won't happen."

Talbot smiles at Derek, "I know you will, I just worry that won't be enough," she whispers as her eyelids grow heavy.

"You just get some rest." Derek says I won't be far.

"Prentice," Emily says as she answers her phone, "sure," she adds and puts the phone on speaker. "Don't you ever do that again," Garcia says "I've called you seven times and you haven't answered one of them. I'm here surrounded my the worst things a person could ever look at, things that make the Reaper look like Mother Goose, and you don't answer your phone."

"Baby girl, hospital's don't allow cell phones, even Prentice shouldn't have hers one."

"I don't care, don't you ever do that again. Anyways, I found something that you may want. It is a video with no sound, it is graphic, but it is something I need you to see, I sent it to your phones. Parker," she pauses, "are you going to be okay, or do I have to call back tomorrow?" she asks.

"She just went back to sleep," Derek says, "she will pull through."

"You just be sure you all get back to Virginia alive and in one piece." She says, "Look over the video, and I also sent all the info I could find on the drowning in '93. Can I do anything else to spookify your last few moments of Halloween?"

"No Garcia, that will be enough thank you." Emily says softly with a chuckle as Penelope hangs up the phone, "Is is really almost midnight?"

"Yes," Derek says, as J.J. walks over to the group leaving Lilly sleep by Talbot.

"Reid we have to get moving, Hoch wants us to come to Grand Rapids. We have some work to do there, and I think he wants to work a profile. But we still don't have a comfort zone, so I have to do a press conference before they get wind and turn this into something it isn't."

"Talbot," Derek says, "Talbot is his comfort zone."

"What?" J.J. asks.

"Think about it, none of his kills have been within a thirty mile radius of Talbot's house." Derek says. "He follows her," Derek says and calls Garcia.

"Talk dirty to me," she answers.

"Baby girl, I want you to track all the men whose movements correspond with Talli's. Someone is following her, and I want you to track him. He would have started when she was 19."

"Make it nine." Spencer says.

"Okay Penelope go back to when she was nine and track the movements of men in the area, we think she knows him, so start with people she knows and then go to everyone else."

"Needle in haystacks, anyway to make it a haystack?" Penelope asks.

"Sorry Garcia," Emily says.

"I'm on it."

"Thanks Garcia." Emily says as Garcia hangs up the phone.

"Spence, we need to get going, it is a long drive." J.J. says softly.

"Keep us informed." Derek says, "I'll talk more to Talli in the morning, see if we can get put any more pieces together."

"Sounds like a plan, we will call you if we find out anything." J.J. says and leaves with Spencer.

"Derek, if you are right, then he is in Cloquet." Emily says softly, "Can we protect them?" she asks joining him by her bed side.

"I have a feeling he plans to drag this out, look at how long he has drug it out so far." Derek says pulling up a chair.

"When I was in the wind I feared every move I made. I was scared I would run into Doyle, I was lucky not to, but for her…" she pauses, "I can't imagine being in her place, not knowing who you can trust, especially since you know that you have trusted them before."

"That's why we are here Emily; we have to keep her safe. We have to find him before he can get to her."

"He will try to get to her through Lilly." Emily says.

"We have to make sure he can't." Derek says matter-of-factly as they look at Talbot and Lilly as they lie in the hospital bed.