AURBRY'S POV:

Within three days, we caught the unsub. He had been watching the women for weeks before abducting them. Unfortunately, he had killed once more before we caught him. I wouldn't lie; the case had disturbed me terribly and I couldn't wait to get home, finish my paperwork, and then grab a few drinks at my favorite bar. Sadly, my wish wasn't going to get granted.

We were about to leave Salt Lake City when Hotch, as most of the team called him and I was beginning to, received a phone call. We were being a sent to a town in Mississippi where a serial killer was brutally murdering interracially married couples. The case files would be waiting when we arrived at the airport.

"No rest for the weary," Rossi remarked, sighing at the thought of not getting back to his place for the weekend.

"Guess I'll have to cancel my plans," Emily complained quietly. "I had a date for the first time in a few months," she told me.

When she mentioned the word 'date', it wasn't lost on me that Hotch's head snapped around sharply to look at her. I wasn't positive, but I sensed that there were unspoken and unacted-upon feelings between the two of them.

Not too long after the jet took off and headed southeast, everyone was sound asleep. Except for Derek and me. He was on the opposite end of the jet, listening to his Ipod and I was curled up on one end of the sofa, staring out at the clouds, trying to think of a way to forget what I'd just seen. Somehow, I didn't think it was going to be very easy. Even as a child, I had been an emotional person—always crying when animals died, or someone got hurt. Now, I was trying not to let my tears fall, though they were threatening. I couldn't allow myself to give in to this, but it was a struggle.

"You okay?" Derek asked softly, sitting down beside me suddenly, surprising me.

"Of course!" I replied too quickly.

Derek was quiet for a few minutes, just sitting by my side. His silence told me a lot about him. Finally, he spoke again. "You know, it's never easy, Aubry. Not for any of us. You just…have to learn how to compartmentalize.," he told me.

"That sounds so heartless," I said bitterly. "If we'd said that to the victims' families, I'd have gotten slapped again." Laughing sadly, I allowed one tear to roll down my cheek.

To my surprise, Derek reached up and wiped the tear away with his thumb. "It will get better, Aubry. I know that you had a rough first case and I know that Hotch was pretty harsh with you, but it will get better. I promise. Do you think I'd still be here if it didn't?"

"But the cases—they'll get worse, won't they?" I looked up at him earnestly, wanting the truth and not a sugar-coated lie.

"Yeah, some of them will be," he told me honestly. "But we're all here for one another. I'm here for you, if you need me to be."

I gave him a faint, weary smile. "Thank you, Derek. You've been sweet. And I'm sorry that I snapped at you on Monday. I guess I do have a fiery temper." With that, I leaned close and kissed his cheek, surprising him. "Now, I'd say we both had better get some rest before we land."

"Good idea," he replied. Then, he proceeded to go to sleep right next to me. As I drifted off, I couldn't help but feel that there was something truly special about Derek Morgan. Something special that I wasn't going to be able to ignore forever.

DEREK'S POV:

When Derek woke up, the pilot had just announced that they would be landing in fifteen minutes. It took the handsome profiler a second to remember where he was and another second to figure out what that pressure on his shoulder was. He glanced over and saw that Aubry Edwards was sound asleep with her head propped on his shoulder. Her long lashes were gracefully brushing the tops of her cheeks and she had snuggled close to Derek, apparently seeking warmth in the cool temperature of the jet.

Very gently, he eased her down onto the arm of the sofa. She stirred slightly and yawned, but never opened her eyes. Derek watched her carefully, unable to quiet the stirring deep inside. He'd only known her for four days and yet he already felt as if she was someone he had the honor of protecting—a duty he didn't want to shirk.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" Rossi commented from across the airplane.

Derek jumped at the sound of his voice, having been unaware that anyone else was awake. "Yeah, she is," he responded before thinking. "Oh man, Rossi! I've got it bad!"

The older Italian man chuckled to himself. "Yeah, I can tell. She's attracted to you, too."

Shaking his head, Derek moved away from Aubry a little. "I can't do this, Rossi. We work together. Hell, she just started this week!"

"You can't help who you're attracted to, Morgan. It happens just like this sometimes." Rossi spoke from experience.

Derek looked up at the senior agent as if he was crazy. "You're saying that there's such as a thing as 'love at first sight?' Isn't that just in the movies?"

Rossi smiled brightly. "Not always, Derek. Not always."

AUBRY'S POV:

When I woke up, I was lying on the sofa and I could feel the plane beginning to descend. Still drowsy, I sat up and yawned widely. Derek had moved from his spot beside me and I found myself somewhat relieved. Being close to him was difficult because of how attracted I was to him.

"Better buckle up," Emily advised me. "We're getting ready to land."

Stiff from the position I'd been sleeping in, I got up slowly and took a seat beside Agent Rossi who smiled pleasantly at me. "Sleep well?" he wanted to know.

I shrugged. "I've had comfortable beds, but I'll make do with whatever I'm given," I replied.

"What time is it?" Reid wondered aloud as he woke up. "Where are we?"

"We're about to land in to land, kid," Morgan informed him, putting away his Ipod and headphones.

"It's about time. This seat is really uncomfortable," he complained.

"What time is it?" I asked, digging through my bag for my cell phone.

"About four in the morning," Rossi spoke up. "A little early for me."

I yawned again. "You got that right." Honestly, I was exhausted. The case had been grueling and emotionally draining and although my talk with Derek earlier had made me feel some better, I felt like a hot bath and a glass of wine would do wonders right now.

"We'll go straight to the hotel when we land," Hotch informed everyone. "But we need to be in the lobby by eight. Garcia said this one was bad. He's killing two at a time."

"Why don't we just go ahead and get to work?" I suggested. "We're all awake and it's not like we'd get that much sleep before eight anyway."

"She's got a point," Derek agreed. " Three hours, at the most, is all we'd get. I'm up for going right to work."

Agent Hotchner looked around the jet at all of us, gauging everyone's reaction. "If that's good with everyone, then we will. That way, we'll be able to present a preliminary profile to the local L.E.O.'s a little sooner."

So, immediately upon landing, Derek received the files from the officers picking us up and we split up into groups to go investigate the crime scenes. This time, I went with Rossi and he drove, which was good as I was barely able to keep my eyes awake. In the back of my mind, I wondered why I'd suggested we keep going instead of getting a little rest.

"You can sleep while I drive," he offered kindly. "I don't mind."

"Nah. If I doze off, it'll just make me want more. It's best just to stay awake till my second wind hits me."

He looked at me strangely for a second and then smiled warmly. "You don't have to prove yourself to me, Aubry. I'm not Aaron. I'm not going to yell at you."

I smiled wearily. "Thanks, Agent Rossi. Maybe I will nap for a little while."

For twenty minutes, I slept while Rossi drove through to the first crime scene, located in a nice neighborhood in Rosewood, Mississippi. When I got out, I stretched and rubbed my eyes, no longer worried about how my eye makeup looked. It was 0430 AM—nobody looked good.

A police officer was parked outside the house, keeping an eye on the crime scene. He got out as we did and walked towards us, blinding us with his flashlight.

"State your business!" he called loudly.

"He could have just said 'who goes there? Friend or foe?'" I pointed out. "It would have meant the same thing."

Rossi and I pulled our badges our to show him and he finally put the flashlight down. "I heard you were coming," he said. "Didn't know you'd be here at this time of the night."

"We're here to get the job done and that means getting to work right away." I told him.

The cop nodded. "Probably a good idea. C'mon, I'll show you around. It's a brutal sight."

As we entered the house, Rossi and I pulled on latex gloves in order to keep the crime scene clean of our prints.

"From the looks of it, the killer entered through the back door. It was the furthest from the bedroom," the officer announced. "There were obvious signs of forced entry."

"But he left no prints on the door?" Rossi asked, thumbing through the file that Hotch had given him.

"No, sir. He knew better than that."

I glanced around the house. It was handsomely furnished telling me that the owners had undoubtedly been somewhat wealthy. Rossi handed me the case file and I thumbed through it quickly, glancing at the gruesome photos with disgust.

"It looks like we should take a look at the bedroom," I remarked. "That's where he murdered them."

Upstairs, in the bedroom, there were plenty of signs that the couple had been preparing for a night of romance. Half-burned candles were scattered around the room and a wine bottle sat on top of the dresser. Two half-consumed glasses of the beverage were still on the bedside table.

The sheets were covered in dried blood—more than I'd ever seen before.

"He murdered them brutally," Rossi remarked. "We're dealing with a sick person. A very, very sick person."

COMING UP NEXT: while attempting to catch their unsub, Aubry and Derek will have to go undercover as a married couple. What will happen between the two? Will they catch their killer?