JJ, Emily and Reid are all working on the various cases on their desks as the clock ticks towards noon. Reid's geographic profile had given Rossi and Hotch another bargaining chip to use in an effort to get called in by the Minnesota police. All they could hope for now is that Garcia finds a series of like crimes to prove this killer was at work year round every year not just every 3 winters in Minnesota.

As she reads over a case, Emily frowns at something she sees. She looks up at the agent whose desk abuts hers.

"Reid, Chloroseptic."

Reid looks up, his frown mirroring Emily's. "Counter measure."

"Prior acts."

"Incarceration."

"Serial."

"Spree."

"Definite discombobulation."

"Mental illness."

"Chronic fatigue."

Emily perks up. "YES! Thanks, Reid."

He nods and gets back to work.

Across the way, JJ had watched the exchange. She starts to giggle. "God, I have missed that so much, my nerdlings!"

Emily and Reid just look confused as the amused blonde goes back to the case in front of her.

Rossi is pacing as Hotch is speaking to the chief of police in St. Paul. "Sir, I understand you hesitate to have someone come in and try to take over the case. I assure you we will simply be there to help. By now you have to agree you have a serial killer with his own m.o. and his own schedule. Let us try to help you, the other city, and the families bring this man to justice. Worst case scenario is we find nothing, can't help at all, and you've lost nothing. Even the FBI is paying for the failure. Best case scenario, we help you home in on an unsub and you can make an arrest to put people's minds at ease."

He listens for several minutes as the chief lays out his concerns his men will get lazy in the future and just assume the Feds will come in and do their work for them. Hotch pinches the bridge of his nose.

"I assure you, Chief, no force has experienced that issue once we are gone. Honestly, a lot of officers learn new ways to approach these sorts of cases when they come across them again. We're a tool to help, not a poacher looking for glory." He listens a few more minutes then nods. "I understand. I look forward to your call."

Hotch hangs up and blows out a breath. Rossi shakes his head in irritation. "He doesn't want us to come up there."

"He didn't say no," Hotch replies. "He wants to talk to the local detectives involved since we are working with 2 lakes and 2 detectives so far. He wants to make sure they won't feel like we're stepping on toes."

"And in the meantime this fuck could be out hunting again," Rossi states with disgust.

"Yes, Dave, he probably is. All we can do right now is wait for the chief to call back and hope he sees reason to invite us in."

"And if he doesn't?"

"Then Garcia will keep Minnesota and the surrounding states flagged for like crimes. It's all we can do, Dave. I'm sorry," Hotch finishes.

Rossi mutters a couple of Italian curses under his breath and storms out of the room. He goes into his office, slamming the door behind himself.

The agents down in the bullpen exchange uneasy looks. Looks like unless Garcia can find something that gets them an invite they would not be heading to Minnesota.

Garcia spends most of the morning on the phone with an analyst in Canada she had worked with when the team investigated missing persons in Detroit who ended up being killed on a hog farm across the border and again when they were closing in on Doyle's hideaway when he had Emily.

"Okay, so we've covered all the major provinces. Time to look at the smaller ones," Garcia says. "Thanks so much for helping me with this, Dez."

"No problem, Pen. If some sick fuck is at work up here we'll want them found, too. If he is moving country to country it is best we work together so all the families get a chance at closure."

"True. Okay, so where should we go next?"

"Let's start with the Yukon Territory."

"Oh, Princess will so kill me if I have to send her there."

Dez chuckles. "I don't blame her. The Yukon in winter is not a fun thought."

Garcia raises an eyebrow. "Of course, Yukon winters probably make Minnesota winters not seem so bad. Not good for Princess but the others will be happy."

Soon the analysts have cleared all the open and closed crimes in the Yukon as not being connected in any obvious way to the dismemberments. Next they try the newest province of Nunavut.

"Interesting thing about Nunavut," Dez says as he types, "is it includes the magnetic North Pole. And it…oh…"

Garcia sighs as her computer shows her what Dez is seeing. "Yep, I see them, too."

Garcia shakes her head. "The population of Baffin Island is what, like 9,000?"

"Around 11,000 actually," Dez replies. "Still, there are so many who go up that way to get back to nature or get away from the civilized world their deaths may not be noticed."

The analysts are culling dismemberments over the last 4 summers. Much like in the U.S. the first year there were legs and hands, followed by feet and arms, then finally torsos and heads before the process repeated again starting this past summer.

"And it doesn't look like anyone has a clue who is doing it," Garcia mutters.

"Nope. Plenty of places to not only hide the parts but to do the killings, too. Add in predators mangling the remains and it's surprising enough of them were found to even realize it was murder," Dez points out as he keeps typing. "Looks like the bodies identified were all men, a few were runaways thought to be in the bigger cities until they were found. Two are still unidentified. The rest are all men who were off to 'find themselves' and were never seen alive again."

"Guess they found themselves dead," Garcia mutters as she starts to download the information Dez is sending to her.

"Well, I'll talk to my boss and show him what's going on. He can contact the police up in Nunavut and let them know you all have most likely the same killer working in the States. Who should they call?"

"Uh, for now have them call Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner," Garcia says and emails him Hotch's contact info. "Most likely SSA Emily Prentiss will be the one heading up there to compare notes unless her wife terrifies Hotch enough that he changes his mind."

Dez starts to laugh. "Okay. Think you can send me your preliminaries for Minnesota so I can show the correlation?"

"Already on their way to you, sweet cheeks."

"Excellent. I'll talk to you later, Pen."

"See you, Dez. Tell that hunk of burning love Freddie I send him kisses from afar."

Dez chuckles, thinking about his husband. "I'll tell him. But you better share some kisses with me."

"Oh, always, sugar!" she promises. "Tootles!"

"See ya, Pen."

Garcia hangs up and finishes downloading the info to a shared file. She then hustles down to Hotch's office to let him know about the Canadian killings. She smiles at him as she walks into his office.

"You love me, right?"

Hotch raises an eyebrow. "As long as this confession doesn't end up with me in HR, yes, Garcia, I do."

"Good. Then you'll protect me from Emily when you see where the Canadian murders are occurring."

Hotch sits up. "So there were killings there, too?"

"Yes, sir. On Baffin Island in Nunavut. You know, right near the magnetic North Pole."

"Oh, shit," he mutters, realizing it will be below freezing up there daily.

"Yep. They occur in the Canadian summer. Then our killer travels south to Minnesota for slightly milder winters."

"Damn. Okay, give me time to read everything over. And, uh, don't break it to Prentiss just yet. I'd rather do it when I have my Kevlar on."

Garcia chuckles. "Deal, sir. And you might want to watch out for JJ, too."

Hotch rolls his eyes. "No kidding. Good work, Garcia."

"Thanks, sir."

Garcia heads back to her lair, thankfully able to avoid JJ and Emily, who had already left for lunch.

When Emily and JJ get back from lunch, Hotch calls for Emily to come see him. She walks in with a pad of paper and immediately sees how tense he is. She sighs and sits down.

"I'm going to hate this, aren't I?"

"Most likely. We've contacted the police in Iqaluit and they have agreed to meet with you to compare notes with the Minnesota case and show you where the body parts were found. It is quite spread out so you will probably be traveling by small plane like in Alaska."

Emily groans, gets pale, and grabs her stomach as it rolls. "Oh, fuck."

"Yeah, I figured you would say that."

"Um, so, uh, dare I ask where exactly is Iqaluit and how do I get there?"

"It's on Baffin Island in…Nunavut."

Emily's eyes widen. "Nunavut? As in magnetic north pole Nunavut?"

"One and the same," he confirms.

"Oh. Shit," she says, getting paler. "I'm going to hate how I get there, aren't I?"

"Commercial flight to Montreal. Regional airline into Iqaluit."

"How, um, regional?"

Hotch hands her a print out showing the old-fashioned looking dual prop plane she'll fly in on. He would have not thought it possible but she does, indeed, get even paler.

"Oh, I think I'm going to be sick."

Hotch raises his eyebrow, believing her. She takes a few deep breaths. He reaches into the cabinet behind him and grabs a bottle of water out of the small fridge he keeps there. He quickly opens it.

"Here," he says handing it to her.

Emily grabs it and takes a slow drink. When she finishes she takes a couple of deep breaths.

"So, is that the worst of the bad news?" she asks him.

"Mostly. Truth is Baffin Island is huge with places that still haven't been explored by humans. Add in predators such as polar bears and wolves and there could be bodies we don't know about."

"That's a given," Emily agrees. "Maybe this guy was killing up there a while. He may be older and have to go south to slightly warmer climates for his health now."

"That's what I am thinking. Or he's a seasonal worker and comes south for a job. All we know is he's been doing this a while and has a compulsion to keep the body parts for a long time before dumping them."

"That is just too weird."

"To put it mildly." Hotch lifts up one more piece of paper. "To help you with packing, Garcia printed this out for you. It's the 5 day forecast."

Emily takes it and reads the numbers, her eyes bugging out. "Please, oh, PLEASE tell me that's in Celsius."

"I'm afraid not."

Emily looks at the report. The next three days the high was expected to be -1, the low -14. The two days after would be an even 0 high with a -14 low. Emily slowly shakes her head.

"Fahrenheit? You're sure it's Fahrenheit?"

"Yes," Hotch confirms.

Emily slowly looks up. "Bossman, you soooo fucking owe me for this. I hate politics in good weather."

Hotch chuckles. "Trust me I know I owe you for doing this, Emily. Does it help to know you're making the world safer for your kids?"

"Hell no! I'll never take my kids someplace so freakin' cold!"

Hotch laughs. "Right. Good point. So do you have warm enough clothes for this or do you need to go make some purchases?"

"Honestly, I need to make some purchases. Long johns being number one on my list."

Hotch nods. "Understood. Go ahead and go. Garcia can take JJ home. We have the official invite to go to Minnesota so we're heading there tomorrow. We're going to meet to start going over information the detectives in charge are sending us. We plan to hit the ground running tomorrow with visits to the dump sites. If we discover anything that can be useful to you I'll let you know."

Emily nods. "Okay. I do have one last question."

"Shoot," he tells her.

"Why the hell can't this bastard be summering in Hawaii and wintering in the Bahamas? I mean, really, would it be so bad to send us someplace nice and warm?"

Hotch starts to chuckle. "Florida was warm."

"Florida had snakes," Emily points out as she stands. "Giant snakes. Now I get cold and polar bears." She sighs. "Maybe it's time to start living off the trust funds."

Hotch laughs as Emily walks to the door. She pauses a moment and glances back over her shoulder.

"Hotch? Sending me to Ice Station Zebra…is this revenge for me investigating alone in Miami?"

Hotch gives her a sly grin. "Oh, Prentiss, do you really think I'm the type to go for revenge?"

Emily grunts. "My job means too much for me to answer that honestly, sir."

Hotch chuckles as Emily shakes her head and walks out. As she gets to her desk, JJ glances up at her.

"So, what's the call?"

"You all are going to Minnesota tomorrow. I am going to the part of Hell that is actually frozen over."

JJ raises an eyebrow. "Where exactly?"

Emily tells her about the Baffin Island connection. And the temperatures. JJ winces.

"Ugh. Better you than me."

Emily stiffens and raises an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

JJ grins. "Oops. Did I say that out loud?"

"Yes, you did."

JJ rubs her stomach. "It would be bad for the nesters, baby. That's all I meant. Really."

"Right, Agent Jareau. I'll remember you were glad I was sent up there when I'm freezing and running from the wolves or polar bears." Emily packs up her stuff. "I have to go buy some clothes for extreme weather conditions. I'll see you at the house."

JJ nods. "Okay. And, Em? I really wish none of us had to go."

"Me, too."

"Just promise me one thing?"

"Not to bring home a baby polar bear?" Emily jokes.

JJ chuckles. "That, too. But also promise me you won't go for a swim like you did in Alaska."

Emily rolls her eyes. "You are so not funny, woman. I'll see you at the house."

"Okay. Love you."

"Love you, too. Most of the time," Emily adds with a wink.

JJ just chuckles as her wife heads out the door.

At 3 the team meets in the conference room that Hotch and Rossi had set up with the information from Minnesota and Canada.

"So any major differences in m.o.?" Morgan asks as he walks in.

"One," Rossi notes. "In Canada he salts the body parts to preserve them. In the States he just freezes them."

JJ frowns. "Why the change?"

Reid considers this. "In that area of Canada a lot of the native people use salt as a preservative. It would not seem unusual for the unsub to be buying lots of salt. In the U.S. purchasing enough salt to preserve so many body parts would throw up a red flag to someone somewhere."

"Ah, good point. And the fact that if salted body parts had been found that same someone may have called the cops," JJ concludes. "Of course that means the unsub has a place he can store the body parts year after year without fear of them being found. Is Garcia running land and tax records for both areas?"

Hotch nods. "Yes. An analyst in Canada she's worked with before is helping her to keep things official even though we know she could get the information with no problem."

"What about Minnesota?" JJ asks.

"St Paul isn't fully on board with us. But the detective in White Bear Lake is," Rossi answers. "If nothing else we can work with him as he figures he's got a few more body part dumps coming whether he likes it or not."

Reid is still frowning. "Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes. Why just use those 2 lakes?"

The team contemplates that for a minute. Finally JJ shrugs.

"White Bear Lake could be a way of honoring or remembering polar bears if we assume he is from Baffin Island."

Hotch nods. "Good point. What about Pigs Eye Lake?"

"Do they have a hog problem up there like we do down south?" Rossi asks.

"Sounds like a job for our baby girl," Morgan says pulling out his phone.

"Talk dirty to me, stud," Garcia answers.

Everyone chuckles as Morgan blushes.

"You're on speaker with the whole team, Baby Girl."

There is a slight pause. "Oh. Then save the dirty talk for when we're alone."

Morgan chuckles. "Right. Out of curiosity, is there anything or anyplace on Baffin Island that might in some how relate to Pigs Eye Lake in Minnesota?"

Garcia starts to type. "Let's see…nope nothing that I can see."

Morgan looks at the others. "Could it be something as crazy as he probably doesn't get a lot of ham or pork of any sort up there? He's maybe using that lake just because he likes pig meat?"

The others shrug. It's as good a guess as any. Finally Hotch shakes his head.

"Okay, forget the symbolism for now. He looks for lakes with ice around the edges. Could be it was just the first one he found and so he continues to use it. Forget symbolism. Let's look at facts."

And with that, the team gets to work looking over the information gathered by several detectives in two countries. Just before 5 the last case file is put down. They all look around.

"There are more bodies in Canada. Some probably attributed to animal attacks. Some may have also been completely consumed by animals," Reid says, breaking the silence.

Hotch nods. "Most likely." He looks at JJ. "Send a message to Emily that she'll need to look into reports of animal maulings."

JJ nods. "Note on its way," she replies, typing it out. "She'll probably have to check out reports of other missing persons that were filed during the summer up there."

Rossi nods. "There will be a stack waiting for her."

JJ grins. "She'll be thrilled."

Morgan runs his hands over his heads. "So, if this guy has been killing a while, we're looking at someone older. Maybe into his 50's if we speculate that he goes south for milder winters."

"Or someone with an old injury that needs some relief," Reid says. "I know there are times my leg gets to aching if it's cold and rainy. Temperatures at or below 0 would probably cripple me," he admits.

JJ frowns. "Shit. I…I hadn't thought of that." She looks at Hotch. "Her arm and her head, Hotch. The cold could knock her off her feet."

Hotch takes a deep breath. He hadn't considered how the cold would affect Emily's recent arm wound and the head wound that could still give her a headache or migraine in certain circumstances.

"Damn it," he mutters. "You all keep working the profile. I need to call her."

"Thanks, Hotch," JJ says as he heads out of the room. She then looks at the others. "So…in his 50's. Professional hunter or lifelong hunter. He is comfortable with killing and cutting up his prey."

"Definitely a loner. There is no way he could be friends or associates with anyone," Rossi adds. "He would end up wanting to cut them up."

"But there is a degree of remorse here," Reid points out. "He puts the parts where they will be found. He has all of Baffin Island and the wilds of Minnesota to dispose of the parts but he doesn't."

"Could be bragging," JJ counters. "He wants people to see the power he has over his victims and wants to see the families begging for the rest of their loved one to be returned."

"But why keep them at all? Why dump them in such a specific pattern? Why take 3 years between kills?" Morgan puts on the table.

"Are we sure he does?" JJ asks. "What if there are other bodies he makes sure aren't found? Or bodies that…that he keeps for…for some reason. Like trophies or something."

Rossi rubs his hands on his face. "Right now the only thing I know is I have to set this aside for a while. I've been at it too long; years now." He stands. "I'll see you all on the plane tomorrow."

The others nod as Rossi walks out. JJ stands next. "I'll think about it tonight but for now I need to go see Hotch. And if Emily's still going I need to…to just…I need…"

Morgan nods. "We know. Go on."

JJ gives him a smile then leaves to go see Hotch and find out what Emily has decided.