By nightfall, they had a warrant to arrest the shooter and one to search his house, but the unsub didn't go quietly. He started shooting from the front windows of the house the minute they pulled up and both Morgan and Hotchner motioned for Caroline to flank him, which she did like a pro and felt the familiar adrenaline rush when she lowered her long rifle on the unsub's ear. She took a controlled breath, squeezed the trigger, and watched as the unsub fell to the floor, a bullet hole precisely placed in his brain, just as she watched him train his rifle on Morgan who was positioned behind the door to their SUV.

"I guess I owe you again."

"If you had had the shot, you would have taken it."

"If I had had the same rifle you had, I would have taken it." He smiled as he placed his arm around her shoulders. "You did good, CJ."

"Thank you for your help, Caroline." Hotchner smiled at her. "You can go take a look at the hardware he had if you want. Maybe you can find me the ammo he used so we can wrap this case up?"

"You got it." She smiled and jogged into the small clapboard cabin in the middle of the wide open field and began digging into the stockpiles of weapons and ammunition their unsub had amassed, actually impressed with the wide range of his cache. Finally, in the master bedroom, she found the container of liquid nitrogen and the bullet mold and she was amazed the lunatic hadn't frozen his hand off given the way he was storing his supplies, but her smile quickly faded and she drew her weapon when she heard the familiar sound of a gun cocking behind her.

Morgan had been in the other room and heard a door slam. Quickly drawing his gun, he slid along the wall until he found the master bedroom door. Listening, he heard two women, one being Caroline and she didn't sound like she was carrying on a casual conversation. Looking in the keyhole, he noticed another woman had Caroline's gun and he waited until he saw her turn around before kicking in the door. "FBI! Get on the ground!"

Taking the opportunity Derek had given her, Caroline reached into her ankle holster and pulled out her second weapon. "Do it or I will blow you away the same way I did your boyfriend." The woman dropped her gun and she holstered hers before pulling out her handcuffs. "I think we're even." She gestured at the other agent and he nodded before pushing her prisoner out the door.

"I thought you said that place was clear!" Morgan screamed at the local sheriff as they came out of the house. "You almost got an agent killed!"

"Derek." Hotchner pulled him from his tirade. "What happened?"

"Caroline was searching the master bedroom when the unsub's girlfriend came out of the closet. I heard the door slam and that was they only reason she's not dead yet. Your men were supposed to clear the house!" He screamed at the sheriff again.

"I'll take care of this. Go process the second suspect."

"I've got her." Caroline saw the look of concern in Derek's eyes as he came up to the car.

"Hotch asked me to process her."

"In other words, you damn near hit that local cop."

She knew him, even now after they hadn't been together in a year and a half, but he wasn't in the mood to admit it. "He almost got you shot, CJ." She didn't say anything, just gave him a look of understanding when she nodded and he took her hand as they drove.

"Garcia is going to be jealous if she ever finds out." She smiled as she looked over at him.

"There's nothing going on between Garcia and me."

"Oh." That was not the answer she was expecting. She'd seen the conversations between the two of them, the way they worked together, and the way he looked at her. She could have sworn that Penelope Garcia, their technology expert, was his newest conquest and now that he said she wasn't, the way he was holding her hand scared her. He was being over protective again. That was the main reason behind their breakup. She felt that he didn't trust her with the way that he always tried to protect her, not wanting her to go into the field, and acting like the typical macho agent. Between that and the constant distance that his assignments generated, it didn't work.

He caressed her hand with his thumb. "This is as a friend, CJ." He smiled. "Believe me, I learned my lesson." She laughed easily and finally relaxed.

A week later, that laugh was being stifled as she watched Dr. Reid at her range. "OK, it's obvious that Hotch has tried, but failed. Holster your weapon and we'll start from the beginning."

For the next hour, she fixed the way his gun was holstered, taught him how to clean it, and then finally took him back into the range to teach him to use it, which was almost comical because it appeared that he was afraid of his service weapon. She had to remind herself that not everyone grew up with a Colt in their hand.

"Spence," she smiled again as she put a hand on his shoulder, "close your eyes. Just hold the gun in your hand, don't try and fire it, just hold it. Get used to the weight, the feel, and then we'll go from there." After a minute, his grip eased and she was knew it was time to continue. "Good, now, drop the clip. I want you to get comfortable just pulling the trigger."

"How is this going to improve my shooting?"

"By making sure you don't flinch every time you pull the trigger because you are only as good as your next shot. Spence," she leaned against the ledge and looked him in the eye, "you'd be surprised how many agents anticipate the noise and have their shots go wild. This is how I walk them through it as well." She smiled. "There's nothing wrong."

Spencer looked away. "This isn't the way that Hotch was doing it."

"No, his style is different from mine, but he's always been comfortable with a weapon. It's foreign to him to see someone unable to lock and load. Now," standing up, she drew her weapon and ejected the magazine, "drop the clip and let's continue."

After another half-hour, she told him to reload. "I don't know what's changed."

"Except that you've now become much more comfortable with the trigger pull and now we're going to work on controlling your breathing. Spence, it's a three-step process and, unfortunately, there's no 'Shooting for Dummies' book out there." She got him to smile. "Look, if you want to take a break, we can pick this up next week."

Reid shook his head. "No, I want to learn this."

Caroline nodded. "OK, then just watch for a second." Reloading her Glock, she took aim, and proceeded to take three shots. "Did you see what I did?" He gave her a confused look. "I controlled my breathing and focused on the target, aimed using the front sight, and was able to come right back to the sweet spot after each shot. Give it a try." She watched as he took his time aiming, his face contorting as he tried to focus, and she placed her hand on his shoulder again. "Spencer, remember how you aimed when you shot the L.D.S.K.? Remember how it felt just like second nature? That's how it needs to be because you aren't going to have time to stand there and make sure you have the perfect shot." Grabbing her Glock again, she lined up her shot and then nodded to him to mimic her. "Both eyes open and just focus on the front sight. Pretty soon your eyes are going to adjust and be able to focus on both the target and the sight at the same time." She watched as he attempted to do what she had just said with a smile. "Good, now pull the trigger."

The shot rang out and, for the first time, he didn't jump. "How was that?"

"Good, but next time, don't stop after one. Empty the clip. You have to get used to returning to the sweet spot." He nodded and she placed a hand on his shoulder again. "Come on, that's enough for today. Let's clean and reload."

Morgan silently entered the firearms range at the end of the day and watched as Caroline swept the floor, clearing the brass from behind the ledge, clothed beautifully in a pair of blue jeans and a button down white silk blouse. "I can't believe they allow you to work with live ammo and look like that. It's amazing this whole place hasn't gone up yet." He smiled as she looked up and gave him a smile in return. "So, how'd it go with Reid?"

"I can't tell you that. You'll give him a rash."

"No I won't. I'm happy he's willing to learn since I have to trust that he has my back."

She walked up to him and smirked. "He's improving so now I can worry about you having his back." Drawing his weapon, he emptied the clip into the target at the end of the range. "Impressive. Nice groupings and a nice stance."

"I had a good teacher." Taking the broom, he swept up his casings. "So, I actually came down here to see if you wanted to grab some dinner."

"You don't have a case?"

"Not right now." She laughed and he smiled again. "What do you say? Dinner on me?" She nodded and locked up.