A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and alerted! :) It makes me smile and it makes a sequel worth all the effort. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or any of its characters.
Chapter 2 – Reunited
"We can assume that he still has Courtney Piercey and Leona Murphy," Gideon stated solemnly.
The five of them were gathered around the table at the back of the plane with either notepads or case files in their hands. Reid and Burke were actually sat at the table while JJ and Hotch were sitting on the couch across from it and Gideon was comfortable in a spinning chair that was now turned towards them.
Reid nodded in agreement. "Garcia is getting everything that she can on the victims right now."
"Okay, who are we dealing with, JJ?" Gideon asked turning to the blonde.
"I have been talking to the Violent Crimes Unit at the Springfield field office but Chicago is sending down two agents and so is St. Louis. They're creating a task force in order to share information," she explained.
"He's keeping them for a ridiculous amount of time," Burke stated randomly. "Have we seen anything like this before?"
"Gary Heidnik kept women imprisoned in his basement," Reid answered promptly. "He kidnapped prostitute Josefine Rivera on Thanksgiving in 1986 and held her for four months."
"He kept his victims alive by feeding them mostly dog food and water," Hotch added. "They wore only shirts, so Heidnik raped them frequently. They were tortured regularly but the worst came when Heidnik became paranoid that they were plotting against him and stabbed his captives in the ears with a screwdriver."
Burke shuffled through the crime scene photos. "These look like cigarette burns," he said referring to the marks on the bodies of the victims. "And there are ligature marks on the wrists and ankles, they were tied up."
"Cause of death is strangulation," Hotch stated.
"Don't you guys say that that's a very intimate way to kill someone?" JJ inquired, in search of knowledge. She had already learned so much in her six months of work with the BAU.
The Unit Chief nodded. "What's the significance of the drawing of the star on their right hip?" He questioned.
"Stars are symbols for a variety of things in many different cultures," Reid answered.
"We have to figure out what it means to him," Gideon said quietly.
"But it is his signature right?" JJ asked curiously.
Hotch nodded, "Most likely. He kept them for three months so he's controlled and organized."
"There's no sign of track marks, so he didn't drug them, which means he's physically strong," Burke added.
Gideon thought over the sexual component of the case before turning to Reid. "Were you talking to Elle?"
The young genius nodded. "She's getting on the next available flight."
Their conversation was interrupted by Garcia appearing on the laptop computer screen in front of Burke. "Hey crime fighters! I have information on our two victims and our two missing girls."
"Go ahead, Garcia," JJ urged.
"Okay, well, as you guys know, all are between 21 and 25; they are Caucasian, tall and thin with long, dark hair, and brown eyes. They all live in Chicago but in different neighbourhoods throughout the city so there's no connection there. But Piercey and Foster were each last seen at, get this, Wrigley Field, and Murphy and Miller were each last seen at the public city library."
Burke's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "So each time he kidnaps, he stakes out the Cubs game and a library?"
"That's what it looks like."
"Well he's staying in public where there are crowds so he's probably using a ruse," Hotch proposed.
"Oh, and I got you guys one more connection!" Garcia exclaimed, and JJ and Reid immediately smiled, the blonde was obviously hyped up on caffeine. "All four girls are students at the University of Chicago, and Foster and Miller, our victims and first girls kidnapped, had a class together."
The five agents exchanged looks before Reid politely said, "Thanks Garcia."
"No problem baby face, Garcia out." And with that, the screen went black again.
"The University of Chicago is consistently in the top fifteen list of best American universities," Reid stated matter-of-factly as this tidbit of information provided more insight into victimology.
"These girls are intelligent and attractive; he is definitely using a perfected ruse and is most likely attractive himself," Hotch interjected.
"Because these girls wouldn't go off with an ugly guy," JJ stated uneasily.
Gideon nodded, "Exactly."
Burke glanced out the window and said, "Looks like we're getting close."
Gideon turned towards the window and agreed with the younger man. "Let's get a little rest before we land."
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When their plane landed, they headed straight to the Springfield field office. They met with the Springfield agents and the two agents from St. Louis. The agents from Chicago would be joining them tomorrow when they headed to the crime scenes. They had exchanged information and proposed some early ideas and theories but everything was still very rough. Garcia was still digging into the lives of the two victims and the two missing girls to see if there are any other connections and JJ was handling the media in three large cities.
They had decided to call it a day at ten o'clock P.M, so the BAU checked into their hotel and retreated to their rooms to begin forming individual ideas. As had been the routine for the past six months, Hotch and Gideon had separate rooms, Reid and Burke were roommates, and JJ being the lone female got a single room.
Reid placed his suitcase on his bed, grabbed his key card and messenger bag, and left the room in search of a vending machine. He found one in the main lobby and put a bag of chips and a bottle of soda in his bag. He was about to turn and go back to his room when he caught sight of a familiar face at the front desk.
"Can you give me a break? I can't remember the last time that I slept!" The brunette begged the man at the desk. The man shook his head so she pulled her FBI badge out of her pocket and laid it on the desk. "Just let me check in." After seeing her credentials, he turned to his computer and began to search for a room for her.
Reid smiled excitedly as he watched her sigh heavily and lean against the desk. She was just breathtakingly gorgeous. Her long, dark hair was down and she was wearing a pair of blue jeans, a white tank top, and over it a black, zip up, hooded sweater. She had a small duffle bag and a backpack with her.
She gave the man at the desk an annoyed smile as he finally handed her a key card. "Thank you." She put her key card and badge in her pocket and picked up her bags.
"Do you need any help with that?" He asked happily as he saw that she had her head down.
Elle raised her head as she thought that she recognized the male voice. She laughed when she saw just who was in front of her. "Reid!"
He pulled her in for a tight hug. "So happy to see you," he whispered before he kissed her on the cheek.
"I'm happy to see you too," she replied smiling.
He pulled back and took her bags off of her hands. "Let me walk you to your room. Which number?"
"210," she answered as she began to walk alongside of him towards the elevators.
"I'm in 162," he replied.
When they reached her room, she opened the door with her key card and he stepped inside, still carrying her bags. He laid them on the bed. "When you get settled, why don't you come down and we can brief you on the case?"
She nodded and laughed as she watched him walk towards the door. "What, you're not going to kiss me?"
He quickly spun around and ran back towards her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned down for a very intense kiss. "I wasn't sure if you wanted me to with the team being in the hotel and everything," he explained breathlessly.
Reid hadn't exactly been truthful; he and Elle had gotten a lot closer than simply keeping in touch. Three weeks after she had left Washington D.C., she had shown up at his apartment out of the blue and he couldn't have been happier. After that, their visits had gotten more and more frequent and although they hadn't verbally decided that they were going to enter a long distance relationship, it had somehow ended up that way. They had an unbelievable amount of fun with each other and there was a comfort level that neither of them had ever found before. Simply, they were always on each others minds.
His favourite time they had been together was when he had surprised her after she had had a bad day at work.
"Hello, how was your day?" Reid asked pleasantly.
Elle sighed contentedly on the other end of the phone. "Oh Reid, I'm so happy that you called."
He smiled to himself. "Really?"
"Mmm hmm, I had a really tiring day. I wish that you were here," she added.
"Yeah, why?"
"Because I want one of your massages," she laughed.
He smirked uncontrollably to himself. "How else could I make your day better?"
She giggled, "Are you trying to get me going over the phone, doctor?" She asked playfully.
"Not exactly," he laughed lightly.
She sighed in annoyance when she heard a knock on her apartment door. "Oh, hold on a sec, someone is at my door."
She reluctantly got up off of her couch, taking her cordless phone with her, and walked to her door. She pulled the door open and stared in awe at her guest. Reid was standing in front of her wearing a pair of black dress pants and a white dress shirt, black tie, and burgundy sweater vest under his brown, suede jacket and favourite, purple scarf. His hair was slicked back and he had a bright smile on his face. She hadn't seen him in almost three months so she was absolutely thrilled. He had been holding his cell phone between his ear and shoulder because his hands were full. A backpack was over his shoulder, he carried a bag of takeout food in one hand, flowers in the other, and a white, rectangular box under one arm. "You may be the most incredible guy on the face of the planet," she stated before she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. She took his cell phone and closed it for him before placing it in his coat pocket. "When did you get here?"
"This morning," he answered simply before leaning in to kiss her. "I've been waiting two months and 22 days to do that," he smiled.
She smiled brightly before she gestured for them to move into her apartment. "You got me flowers," she stated happily as she closed the door behind them.
He nodded, "Yup, and I got you takeout from your favourite place," he announced as he placed the bag of takeout on her kitchen counter. "And…"
She smiled like a schoolgirl as she walked towards him. "You got me a present."
He also laid the white box down on the counter. "Yeah, it's something that we talked about not that long ago when you asked me what my ultimate fantasy was." She smirked uncontrollably as she lifted the cover off of the box to reveal red, lace lingerie. "Everyone at the store was looking at me really weird…," he started embarrassed but she cut him off by placing a finger over his lips.
She picked up the box and grabbed him by the tie. She began pulling him towards her bedroom. "Come on, I have to share my present with you."
She brought him out of his memory by kissing him. "Are we being secretive?" She smirked.
"Umm…I guess," he answered awkwardly as he ran a hand through her hair. "Well I haven't told anybody that we've been seeing each other." He quickly changed the topic. "You just got off a plane, you should eat and rest and shower. How about instead of the briefing, I'll just give you the case file?" He proposed as he pulled the case file out of his bag. "I think that everyone has turned in anyway so we'll do the team briefing over breakfast."
"Are you going to stay with me?" She asked with a coy smile as she ran her hands over his chest.
He bit down on his bottom lip. "I'm in a room with another agent."
"Oh, that's too bad; you know how I hate to shower alone." She looked him up and down; she was of the opinion that he got cuter every time she saw him. She wanted to rip his brown dress shirt and beige cords off, leaving him standing in front of her in his tan tie and her best guess was plaid boxers.
He let out a low groan. "I'll stay to work but we…can't…in the hotel…"
"Where's my bad boy?" She asked with a mischievous grin.
He laughed lightly and then smirked as he stood up straight. "I can't stay long."
She smiled triumphantly as she sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled him down beside her. "It'll be like when we made out in the safe house."
He placed a hand on the side of her face as he leaned in for a kiss. "Okay." He fell back onto the bed and she climbed on top of him.
A/N: Well I hope that this chapter answered some of your questions regarding what has happened since What If?. More reveals to come!!! Review please! :)