Isabel Williams tapped her foot impatiently against the well-washed floor of the BAU in Quantico, Virginia. She was far away from home to see someone who was incredibly important to her. Actually, the whole situation was incredibly important. She straightened her blouse and straight dirty blonde hair. The receptionist at the counter handed her a nametag and wished her a good day. Isabel flipped her hair behind her shoulder and walked into the elevator. Exhaustion threatened to wash over her, but she straightened her shoulders and reminded herself she would be okay. She told herself it was only the two hour time loss that was making her exhausted. She had traveled from the town of Riverdale, Arizona, to visit her uncle Aaron Hotchner. She needed his help.

The elevator chimed as it opened to the floor of Aaron's office. The air had an almost antiseptic scent. Men and women in expensive business suits streamed in and out of huge glass doors with the FBI symbol painted across its window pane. Isabel pushed the door open and glanced across the bull pen. Desks littered the wide open space like landmines. A level overlooked the bull pen that held offices surrounding the pen. Isabel felt overwhelmed. She had no idea where Aaron's office is. She looked around for help. That is when she noticed him.

He was leaning into his desk to read his computer screen. His hands typed furiously on his keyboard. He wore khaki pants and a red sweater vest over a gray long-sleeve shirt. She smiled at his socks peaking over his brown loafers. One was a bright green and the other was bright and multicolored. His medium brown hair stuck up like the kid from Stuart Little, but it was a sexier, longer, and less gelled version. He was tall; she could tell that from where she was standing. He looked less intimidating than anyone else in the office. Besides, she thought, he would be a nice guy to talk to.

She walked up to him. Two of his coworkers, a pretty brunette woman with huge brown eyes and a very attractive and muscular African American man, stared at her. When she looked at them, she saw them look away and pretend to look busy. Isabel shrugged them off. Besides, he was cute.

"Excuse me, but will you direct me to Aaron Hotchner's office?" She asked him. She flashed him her best smile, but it stuck when his eyes met hers. He had cute, puppy dog brown eyes that looked shocked to see her. She could see the wheels of his mind working furiously to answer her question. A tendril of panic slid through her mind at the thought that she had gone too far. She had asked him for his help even though she did not even know if he knew who Aaron was.

He seemed to get his voice back. "Um…pardon me?" He asked. His words came out in a slight stutter. It was cute.

She smiled a little bigger at his expression. "Will you direct me to Aaron Hotchner's office?" She asked again. He jumped up from his seat. "Right this way," he said. He almost sounded excited. She just allowed herself to smile as she followed him through the bull pen. He had not said a word to her since she asked for his help. She would not allow this to be awkward.

"I'm Isabel. Isabel Williams," she said.

"I'm Reid. Well, Spencer Reid," he replied quickly. He stopped in front of a door and pointed to it. "This is it."

Her smile filled her face. "Thank you very much, Spencer Reid." She knocked on the door and waited until her uncle's voice invited her in. As she slipped in, she noticed Spencer looking back as he walked back to his desk. She shut the door and turned around. Aaron Hotcher, her uncle by her mother's sister, Hayley, who had been murdered a year ago by George Foyet. She missed her aunt terribly, but she missed her uncle as well. He had distanced himself from them since the divorce though she had never blamed him from their divorce. In her opinion, a marriage takes two to make it work and two to make it fail. They stared at each other for a minute.

"Izzy," he said, a puzzled look crossed his face that was quickly replaced with a smile. "Izzy-Belle, I've missed you!" He opened his arms for her to hug him. Isabel gladly ran into them.

"Uncle Rin-Rin," she laughed at horrified expression at the mention of his nickname she had created when she was two. She hugged him as fiercely as she could. "I haven't seen you in so long. I've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you too, kiddo. How have you been? Aren't you working in Arizona now?"

"Yeah, I've been working in Riverdale. I finished my training at the police academy a little over a year ago."

"How old are you now?"

Isabel laughed. "You forgot how old I am? Man, you have been gone too long! I'm twenty-three."

"Twenty-three and you already graduated from the police academy?" He asked in surprise.

"I graduated from high school at fifteen. I graduated from college at twenty with a bachelor's degree in psychology. I was working on getting my master's degree when I decided to join the police force and go through the academy. I've been working for the Riverdale Police Department ever since." She beamed with pride at her uncle who smiled at his young niece.

"You always were very intelligent. I remember Hayley and your mom always having me keep an eye on you because they said I was the only one smart enough and quick enough to keep up with you."

"You also knew how to make sure I was good," Isabel said with a laugh.

"That I did," Aaron smiled at the memory, "by streamlining you gummy bears."

"It worked! You kept me out of trouble!" She laughed.

"That it did. So what are you doing here, Belle? I have a feeling this isn't a social call," Aaron said, forcing himself to become serious now.

Isabel eyes filled with tears. She looked down as she tried to compose herself. Aaron reached out his hand and rested it on her arm. He hated to see his favorite niece, his only niece, in pain. "We've been having a series of murders in Riverdale. To have one is rare enough, but in the past four months, we've had three murders. They aren't exactly the same. The victims are all women but don't really look alike and the main similarity is that the murderer or murderers used a knife. I keep telling Sherriff Evans that we need help and that we need to look deeper into this, but every time I tell him this, he brushes me off. Calls me a rookie. Uncle Aaron, I know in my gut something is terribly wrong. We're one murder away from technically being able to call this a serial killer, but I don't want it to come to that and Evans is too pigheaded to ask for help. But we need help. There's enough to know that this person is killing women four to six weeks apart with a knife. Isn't that similar enough?" Her voice trembled as she spoke. The tears spilled over her eyes and cascaded down her cheeks.

Aaron's heart was breaking to see her like this. It broke even more when he answered, "I'm afraid we have no jurisdiction unless we get a formal request to join. I want to help, I really do." Isabel looked crestfallen as his answer computed in her brain. She knew he was right.

"But," he added, "I'll see what I can do. I'll make some calls to the state authorities and see if there have been any murders similar to this elsewhere in the state. If there has, they can always request our help. Then we can help you. Until then, I'm bound to do nothing."

She smiled tearfully at him. "Thank you for your help. I really do appreciate this," she said. He handed her a tissue as she wiped away her tears.

"How long do you plan to stay here?" He asked her.

"My flight leaves in two days. I used some vacation time to come here and see you. I would have asked you if I could stay, but I was so focused on getting here, everything else just fell away. I don't really have a hotel, but I can find a Holiday Inn to stay at."

"No way," Aaron said forcefully. "No niece of mine is going to stay in a hotel when my home is available. Stay with me. Besides, Jack hasn't seen his cousin in a very long time."

Aaron offered her the chance to stay with him the rest of the day. After which, he promised to treat her and Jack to dinner and some ice cream. She smiled with the same childlike expression she had even as a toddler at the mention of sugary snacks.

A few minutes later, after Isabel was curled up with a book in a chair in the corner of Hotch's office, a knock came at the door. Aaron invited the person in and in came the famous David Rossi. His strong Italian features brought back all the memories Isabel had of him as a child at picnics in the park with Aaron and Hayley and some of their friends.

Rossi immediately went to Isabel and gave her a strong hug. He smelled faintly of cigars and Old Spice. He wore an expensive Italian suit with a pink undershirt. It was the same Rossi she knew as a child, the one who taught her how to finagle money from her uncle and aunt. He also taught her how to play chess. He was just as much family to her as Aaron was.

"You're quite the talk of some of our team members," he said in his rich baritone.

Isabel laughed, "Oh really? And why is that?"

"Apparently, one of our young men finds you attractive," he said with a wink. "You have grown into a beautiful young lady, Izzy."

She blushed at the compliment. "If it's Derek, I'm going to scare him away with a shotgun," Aaron said good naturedly.

"Which one is Derek?" She asked with a grin. They described him to her and his face clicked in her brain. "He was making a phone call when I arrived. I saw him exchange a look with a dark haired lady."

"That is Emily Prentiss. And no, he's not the one who likes her but good guess." Rossi's eyes twinkled with laughter at the blush that was beginning to burn a bright red. "But since you haven't been here in a long time, I'm guessing this isn't a social call."

As quickly as her face had reddened, it turned as white as a ghost. The stabbing pain of tears in her eyes forced her to look away from the man who was practically her uncle. "No, it is not," she said gravely. She recounted the story she had told Aaron to David. They exchanged a look. David said the same thing that Aaron had already told her. "But I promise," he said, "I will do whatever I can to help you. You are practically my own family, my own niece. I'll do whatever I can."

"Thank you, Rossi. I really do appreciate it. I don't know what I would do without you guys," Isabel replied. Rossi patted her knee then said he had to get back to work. As he left, she picked up her book, A Farewell to Arms by Earnest Hemingway. She always escaped to reading whenever she felt stressed. The day passed quickly and before she knew it, it was time to head home with her favorite uncle.

A bit cheesy, I know. I hope you enjoy it! Please be patient while I work on the upcoming chapters. :)