"Just because something isn't a lie does not mean that it isn't deceptive. A liar knows that he is a liar, but one who speaks mere portions of truth in order to deceive is a craftsman of destruction."

-Criss Jamie

Two hours had passed since Aaron Hotchner had taken River to the hospital. Though he had encouraged Beth and Jack to go home, they had opted to stay with him as he paced the waiting room impatiently. Two hours, and all he had been told was that the girl's adoptive father had been contacted and would be there shortly. He found himself constantly looking over at the door, watching everyone who entered, almost hoping that it was the man. He couldn't help but match similarities with the scenario to that of a case that had been brought to the attention of the BAU.

Over the course of three weeks, three teenage girls, between ages 15 and 17 had been found dead. All had been brutally sexually assaulted, all had been injected with amounts of heroin that would easily kill a man Morgan's size, and all had been adopted around the age of five. Finding out that River had been adopted sent up further red flags in the agent's mind. He suspected sexual assault due to the girl's behavior, which was part of the reason why he had offered to take her to the hospital. All he needed was proof, and the hope that she would comply and give information.

Of course he would have gotten her to a safe location anyway. It wouldn't do to leave her in the middle of the streets alone. He would also make sure she remained safe. And if she was in danger, which was a high possibility given the circumstances, he would step up further.

"Aaron," Beth said softly as she placed a gentle hand on the man's shoulder. "Her doctor wants to talk to you."

Hotch nodded and followed the doctor back into the hallway. "We just got a call from her father stating that he won't be able to get in today," he said. Hotch sighed in annoyance. He desperately wanted to question the man. In their line of work, any time a minor was harmed, the parents were usually the first suspects that came to mind. "But he did give me permission to speak with the ones that brought her here."

"Alright then," Hotch said as he motioned for the doctor to continue. He wanted to know what they had found. While they were doing a routine check-up on River, they had found some things to lead them to do other tests, one of them being a rape kit that she had reluctantly, and almost fearfully, agreed to. "What did you find?"

"She was definitely raped," the doctor said slowly. "Multiple times over the past day alone. We're running DNA tests now, and we also had her take the morning after pill just in case anything happened." Hotch took a deep breath to keep from lashing out. He had to remind himself that none of this was the doctor's fault, nor was it River's, it was whoever had done it to her. "We also found severe bruising around her lower abdomen and back."

"I need to make a few calls," Hotch said before walking back out to the waiting room. Beth looked up at him curiously, and he shook his head as he walked outside and pulled out his phone in order to contact the team. He had a strong feeling they'd found just the person they needed to catch the son of a bitch responsible for the murders. After making the calls he walked back into the waiting room.

"What happened, Aaron?" Beth asked. Jack had long since fallen asleep on a few of the chairs.

"If something ever happened to Jack, God forbid, where would I be?" Hotch asked without answering the question.

Beth frowned at that. "What do you mean?"

"Just answer the question, Beth," Hotch said. "If anything were to happen to Jack, where would I be?"

"Right beside him," Beth answered. "Why? How is this relevant?"

"So where is this girl's father, then?" Hotch questioned. "Why isn't he here? That's what I want to know…"

"I think you're overanalyzing this," Beth sighed.

"I'm not willing to risk that," Hotch responded. "Especially with all of the connections she has to the case we're currently working. She screams potential victim, if not the next one." He looked over at his sleeping son and handed Beth his keys. Beth opened her mouth to protest, but Hotch stopped her. "There's no sense in you two staying here. I'll be fine. The others are on their way."

Beth nodded eventually. "Okay then," she said. She gently woke Jack before the two left the hospital, crossing paths with Prentiss and Morgan as they walked.

"You'd better have a damn good reason for getting me up in the middle of the night, Hotch," Morgan said almost threateningly. "You said you'd explain when we got here. Now explain."

"I stopped a crime in progress," Hotch said coolly. "The girl, River, has been sexually assaulted numerous times in just these past few days alone. She's also adopted," he added.

"So you think she has a connection to the case?" Prentiss asked.

"I'm not entirely sure. Prentiss, I need you to interview her, she's much more likely to answer you than she would be to answer me or Morgan. Morgan, come with me," Hotch commanded.

"Got it," Prentiss said before finding the room number from the receptionist.

"River?" Prentiss asked gently as she walked into the room. She looked the girl over discreetly. She noted that River was a pretty young woman, with pale white skin offsetting raven black hair and dark grey, almost black eyes. "My name is Emily Prentiss. I'm going to ask you a few questions, alright?" she asked as she sat down beside the bed. "You don't have to answer anything you don't feel comfortable with."

"Okay," River responded flatly. Prentiss couldn't help but notice that her voice was completely flat, void of any emotion.

"Can you tell me a little bit about your birth family?" Prentiss asked. She wanted to start with potentially lighter topics before moving to the issue at hand.

"I only know what the people at the orphanage told me," River answered.

"Can you tell me what they said?" Prentiss asked.

"They don't know who my father is or was, my mother died having me, and I have three older siblings. My older sister apparently killed over 15 people, the older of my twin older brothers was kidnapped when he was eight, and the younger twin killed three people," River responded without batting an eyelash. It was as if she didn't care.

"And your adoptive family?" Prentiss asked.

"I don't want to talk about them," River answered.

Prentiss frowned. She most certainly had not been expecting that answer, but it did send off warning bells. "The hospital contacted your adoptive father," she said. River tensed at that. A flash of what seemed like fear went across her features before she regained her neutral expression. "Are you sure you can't tell me about him?"

"I told you I don't want to talk about him," River repeated coldly.

"Do you know anything about the recent murders that have been occurring in the area?" Prentiss asked gently.

River nodded. "Three girls were found dead, right? Police didn't think anything about it until they noticed similar things?"

"Do you know anything about the girls?" Prentiss asked.

"Lena Jones, Madison Kennedy, and Elizabeth Anderson," River listed off without any sort of hesitation whatsoever.

"And how did you find out their names?" Prentiss asked, knowing that the names hadn't been released to the media.

"I read it somewhere," River lied. Her composure faded for a fraction of a second, flashing from fear to sadness back to neutrality.

"River, if you know something, we need you to tell us," Prentiss pushed. "Anything you have can help us get a name and put the one responsible away for good."

"It doesn't matter if I tell you anything or not," River argued, finally looking over at the agent. "Because you won't find him unless he wants to get caught."

"You know the man, then?" Prentiss asked.

"Like I said, it doesn't matter. He'll get away. He always does," she was starting to panic.

"River, calm down, nothing is going to happen to you while we're involved, alright? Just please… Give me the name."

River took several shaky breaths before speaking again; seeming to realize it was in her best interest to comply. "Ciaran McGee," she said softly.

"And how do you know him?"

"He's the one that adopted me."

"To cheapen the lives of any group of men, cheapens the lives of all men, even our own. This is a law of human psychology, or human nature. And it will not be repealed by our wishes, nor will it be merciful to our blindness."

-William Pickens