AN: Thanks for all the reviews and story alerts! Here is chapter 2. Reid will admit something unexpected in this chapter, so if you get to that part and don't like it, don't read on.
No one POV
As soon as Reid and Emily walked into the precinct, they were bombarded with questions from reporters.
"Sir, is it true that the murderer is killing following the cardinal directions?" A woman reporter asked Reid.
"Uh, we will not be answering any questions for the time being." He replied and pushed through the throng of people. They made their way to the back room where all their stuff was set up. Hotch was waiting for them.
"Have you figured out the geographical profiling yet?" He asked the two profilers.
"Yes, but we have no way of knowing where he will be going next. He was following the cardinal directions." Reid answered.
"I think I do," Emily pointed out. "Is it possible that he could follow the intermediate directions next?" She made her way over to the map.
"It's a long shot. He would be going northeast. Is there a hospital anywhere close by?" Hotch asked Emily.
"Yes, Methodist hospital. It's a town over." She answered. They were interrupted with Reid's cell phone ringing.
"Hey Garcia, got anything?" He asked.
"Well, no. None of the women have family members who have been institutionalized." Garcia remarked.
Meanwhile, Emily was looking over the cases of the deceased women. They all had a striking resemblance to herself, but much younger. It made her feel uneasy.
"Hey, I see something in these women that overlap." Emily called to Hotch.
"What is it?" He asked as he made his way over to her.
"All of their husbands are deceased, and they only have older brothers alive. All in the 30-35 year old range." Emily informed.
"We're ready to give the profile." He insisted.
Chapter 2~Chapter 2~Chapter 2~
"The UnSub that we are looking for is a white male in his early thirties. He has had a younger sister die recently, most likely in a hospital." Hotch started.
"We're having our technical analyst back in Quantico do background checks to find this UnSub." Reid added.
"This UnSub is out to kill. In his mind, he is the superior. He is killing these women because they look similar to his sibling." Morgan said.
"We think we know where he is headed next. We don't know why, but he has been following the Cardinal Directions. We have an idea that he will be following the Intermediate directions next." Emily added.
"Our team will split up at Methodist hospital for the next few days. That hospital is directly in between the first two murders. Thank you for your time." Hotch concluded.
The team got together in the back room and started planning.
"Emily, you and Reid cover the first floor. JJ and Morgan cover the second and Dave and I will cover the third. We will be undercover. He cannot know we are FBI agents! We will be pretending to be patients. Emily, you resemble the women most out of everyone else. This will be dangerous for you. Reid, you will be undercover as a family member or a spouse, it doesn't matter as long as you stay with Emily at all times. He is escalating, with no cooling off period. Alright, let's head out." Hotch demanded.
Emily POV
"Are you nervous?" Reid asked me on the ride to the hospital.
"Why would I be nervous? It's no different than any other case." I persisted.
"Well you're biting your fingernails. At this exact moment." Reid profiled.
"It's just, I look so much like the victims. I have a bad feeling." I lied. There was something else. Reid couldn't know about it yet. No one could. I looked over at Reid, and noticed something on his wrist.
"Hey, what happened? Looks like you cut yourself pretty bad." The sleeve of his shirt was rolled up to his elbows. He quickly pulled them down covering his arms again. Wait...cut himself?
"Um yeah, I got a package in the mail from my mom. She sent me another Edgar Allen Poe classic. I cut myself with my pocket knife trying to open it." He mumbled. I could tell he wasn't telling me the truth.
"You're lying." I told him.
"No I'm not."
"Yes you are."
"No I'm not!" He yelled.
"Reid it's obvious you are. Tell me the truth!" I demanded. He was quiet.
"Like I said earlier. I'll tell you about it later." He said. I could tell it was making him anxious talking about it.
"We'll talk about it when I get in my hospital room." I said. We were quiet for the rest of the ride.
Chapter 2~Chapter 2~Chapter 2~
Reid and I walked into the hospital hand in hand, undercover as a couple. I have to admit, I think I like Reid. More than a friend. We walked up to the receptionist.
"We're with the FBI." I told her and she seemed to understand.
"Emily Prentiss?" She asked and I nodded.
"Follow me to your room. You are undercover correct?"
"Yes. If I was told correct, another agent informed you about this. What's my cover story?" I asked.
"You are in here for a couple days for a minor head injury. We will have to do some MRI's, so it seems realistic." I can't have an MRI. The doctors will find out what's wrong, and then Reid will find out...I can't have him find out like this.
"Alright thanks." We stopped at an empty room at the very end of a long hallway. The receptionist handed me a hospital gown.
"You will have to wear this. Another agent will come by, undercover as a nurse. Please, get settled. And catch this bastard." She begged and walked away.
"I need to tell you something." I confessed to Reid. He looked confused.
"What?" He asked.
"Uh, I'll tell you after I get settled in. I'll be right back." I took my hospital gown and went to the bathroom.
How am I going to tell Reid? He'll be devastated. I already died once; I can't imagine what will come of it if I die again.
*5 mins later*
I walked out of the bathroom and saw Reid sitting in one of the plastic chairs staring at the wall.
I walked over to him and sat in the chair next to him.
"What do you need to tell me?" He asked.
"Well, I think it's time we have that talk we talked about earlier. What's up with this?" I asked. I grabbed his arm and yanked his sleeve up showing cuts and scars. He jerked his arm out of my hand, pulling down the sleeves once again.
"Please don't do that. I'll tell you. But will you promise me something?" He asked me.
"Anything."
"Don't tell everyone else. And please, do not judge me for this." He begged.
"I won't. I promise." I said sincerely.
"Where to start...a few weeks ago, I got a call from my mom's doctor. She had to be put in the hospital. Since she's schizophrenic, she sometimes doesn't know what she's doing. One night, for some reason, she just started cutting her wrists. Where she got the blade, I haven't a clue. She lost a lot of blood. When I got the news, I threw a fit. We were on that child abduction case. 10 children missing, sexually assaulted, and murdered. That was rough so I couldn't wait to get home. But that news ruined it. I sat on my bed wondering what it felt like. Does it really take the pain away? Does it actually help? It does." He looked at me, ashamed. He had started crying.
"Oh Reid, come here." I grabbed him in a hug, and just let him cry.
"I'm so sorry Emily." He kept repeating in between sobs.
"You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm going to help you through this Reid." I told him truthfully. He let go of me and wiped his eyes.
"It really does help Emily. I can't explain it. But that right there just helped me realize that I'm doing a terrible thing." He told me. He smiled a little and wiped his eyes.
"Your turn. Something is wrong, I can tell." He once again profiled.
"I hate to tell you this, I really do. It'll make you have the urge even more..." I trailed off, my own eyes threatening to spill tears.
"Emily if it's something serious you need to tell me." Reid said in a demanding tone. I looked at him.
"I have a brain tumor. A rare type of meningioma. It's cancerous." I admitted.
"What? When did you find out?" He asked in exasperation.
"The same night you found out about your mom. About a month ago, I went to my doctor. I had been having a lot of odd headaches so I got an MRI. Then a CT. That's when they found the tumors. About a week and a half later they notified me about them. They were quite large so I went to the hospital to have an emergency surgery done. They identified the type, if they were malignant or not, and decided to try and remove them. They managed to remove 30% of them. But it's not enough." I explained. I realized I had also started crying.
"Emily, how long?" He whispered to me after five minutes of silence.
"Not completely sure yet. There are more tests, but the surgeon gave me 8-12 months." He looked extremely disconsolate when he heard that.
"A year at the most? That's all?" He asked in disbelief.
"Reid, I need a favor from you. Don't tell the team yet. We've been so busy on cases lately that I just couldn't tell them."
"I won't. Tell them when you're ready. In the meantime, I have to tell you something else." He said to me.
"What is it?" I asked confused. He just sat there for a moment, contemplating what to do. He nodded his head, as if he had made a decision. Before I know what was happening, I felt his lips against mine.
He completely took me by surprise. But as soon as that wore off, I kissed him back. It was loving, and affectionate. It was amazing.
"Wow." Is all I could say.
"I've wanted to do that since I first met you Emily. I can honestly say, I love you."
"Reid, you have no idea. I have dreamt about this moment for quite some years, but never thought it'd happen. I love you."
AN: There, a happy ending to this chapter. Things get more extreme. Don't forget to review :)