Gideon sat down at the desk in his room and began to rifle through the crime scene photos and the other documents related to the case. He refused to sleep until he caught this maniac. He knew the value of a clear head, fueled by a good nights sleep, but he couldn't let this go.

He's confident in his ability…. …he's taunting the police…. …they were left on the side of Route 190.… ….not afraid of getting caught…. …help me… …promise I won't tell please…. ….mommy help me!

He closed his eyes with a snap, and tried in vain to shut out the voices of the children that had drowned out the voices of his coworkers, and his own inner voice. That voice rarely steered him wrong, and he wanted to hear it speak to him again. Why was it so silent this time? What was he missing?

He couldn't see the crimes this time, what was blocking him? There was something about this man that scared him badly. We won't catch him unless he makes a mistake!

Bundy, Dahmer, Jack the Ripper… on and on it goes, when does it end? When will we learn to stop hurting each other?

His eyes popped open, and he pulled off his glasses, and then dropped them on the table. He rubbed his hand over his face and eyes. His head was pounding so hard, it was as though someone were trying to break out of his skull from the inside.

He needed to stay on top of this; he stood and began to pace back and forth rubbing the thumb of one hand over the fleshy part of the other hand, and over the basal joint of the opposite thumb. It was a nervous reaction that most of the time he didn't know he was doing, but something stopped him that early morning, and he looked down at them as if he'd never seen them before.

H turned sat on the bed and removed his shoes. In spite of his vow not to sleep, he lay down on top of the bedspread, and was asleep in seconds.

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Aaron Hotchner shut the door to his hotel room, and dropped his suit coat over a chair next to the small desk in his room. Thank God they hadn't needed to share rooms this time around. Gideon was a good friend, but sharing a room with him was sometimes very trying.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket, and listened to the message his wife left, including a few babbling words from Jack, who'd just turned one. The boy was so cute and smart. He wanted to pick up the phone, and call Haley, but it was late, and he didn't want to wake her.

God he wished she were with him, he missed her so much on these trips, and there were times when he could use a shoulder to lean on. Then he would tell himself that she was apart from this, he would never want her to see, or deal with the terrible things he saw everyday.

His team thought he was cold, well it was his only defense against the brutality of all the horrible things people did to each other on a daily basis. It had served him well in the courtroom, and it helped him in this job as well. Besides, this wasn't a popularity contest, it was a hard, monstrous job, and someone had to do it, or there would be more pain in the world.

He taken off his shoes and socks and laid down on the bed. He'd bullied everyone into getting some rest, and strangely enough when it came down to it, he was the only one besides Agent Abbott that didn't go right to sleep.

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Agent Karen Abbott was relieved that she'd been given her own room; she didn't want to share a room with Agent Jareau, and endure her looks of dislike, which in her opinion were underserved. She'd started her first day and - ok maybe she was showing off a little, but she couldn't help it. She wanted desperately to fit in, and Agent Gideon did ask her opinion. What was wrong with that?

She had worked so hard to get to where she was; no one had any idea what she'd gone through to get there. She wasn't a genius like Dr Reid, but she'd been picked on all the same. She was always top of her class because learning came easily to her, and she was in the choir too.

Now she was different, she still liked to sing, but the braces and the dull brown hair was gone, she'd made herself over, and if there had been some serious detours on the way, well it had just made her stronger. She was so close to her goal, she just needed a little more time.

Dr Reid… he wasn't what she'd expected, he was very kind and he was so handsome, too. In spite of those awful glasses he wore. She'd not only memorized their old cases, but she read everything she could find about the team that wasn't classified.

She didn't know what to make of Derek Morgan, except that he reminded her of the football players in high school, she could ignore him just as she had ignored them, and their taunts, and teasing.

Jason Gideon was exactly how she'd pictured him. He was dedicated to the job, perhaps too much so. He also reminded her of… No don't think about that!

Agent Hotchner was a cold fish, at least to his team, she'd seen the ring on his hand, and he must be a lot different at home. His eyes worried her; he seemed to be able to read your soul with those eyes, what if he saw what she tried so hard to hide from everyone else.

The one she had to be careful of was Agent Jareau. She'd seen how the other woman had looked at her, and she'd seen how she looked at Reid. The other woman was in love with him, but she didn't know it, or didn't want to admit it. Well that was her problem, if she wanted to dance around the issue; she had no right to be upset if he noticed someone else. She hoped the person he noticed was her. He was sweet, and gentle, and she was drawn to him in away that she'd never felt before.

She pulled off her clothes, and picked up a white hotel robe. A shower was just the thing she needed. She didn't get it though, a knock sounded at her door. Damn who could that be? She opened the door without asking who it was because she assumed it was one of her co workers. It wasn't, and the face on the other side of the door wasn't a friendly one.

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Reid's phone rang shrilly, yanking him out of his dreams of Karen. He punched the pillow with his fist, imagining it to be Hotch, or Gideon's face he hit. It could only be one of them at that time of the morning.

"Reid!" He didn't bother to hide the irritation in his voice. He didn't care if nuclear war heads were about to hit, he wanted his sleep

"Reid, we have a rather sticky problem."

"What is it Hotch?"

"Detective Lange was killed tonight, he was shot, and it looks like Agent Abbott pulled the trigger."

"What!" He hadn't meant to scream but –

"Just get down to Mercy General Hospital, I'll explain later."

He was gone before Reid could ask him any of the questions barging through his head, like how the hell had this happened? Why had she killed the Detective? Why was she in the hospital? Had the Detective hurt her? He got moving, throwing the covers off, and grabbing the same clothes he'd worn earlier that day.

So many emotions swept through him. Fear for the new agent that she been in enough distress that she felt it necessary to kill a man. He was angry as well, actually he was furious, and he wanted to raise the detective from the dead so he could have the pleasure of killing him. It didn't occur to him then that his feelings were a bit over the top for someone he'd just met less than a day ago.

He tied his shoes, and grabbed his holster and satchel. Doubt was beginning to get through the fog of sleep in his brain. What it this weren't self defense? What if it was – no he wouldn't think that way. He didn't stop to think why his belief in her was so important. He only knew that it was. He stepped out of his room, and nearly knocked JJ to the ground. She looked absolutely incensed, and he couldn't figure out why.

"Damn it Reid… can't you watch where you walk for a change." Sometimes Reid's inability to coordinate his lanky body really got on her nerves, then she saw his face and she softened. He looked as exhausted as she felt.

"I'm sorry JJ I-"

"It's okay Spence; I'm the one who should apologize. I guess I'm just irritated at being yanked out of bed at this hour, all though God knows we should be used to it by know, right. She smiled up at him, and he melted. After all he was attracted to Agent Abbott, but that didn't mean he didn't care about JJ, too. He'd never felt drawn to two women at the same time. It was so confusing!

"So what do you think happened, JJ," He asked her tentatively. He didn't want her mad at him. Something told him she would be angry if he mentioned Karen's name to her.

Instead of lashing out at him, she sighed and said, "I don't know, but if any woman feels they have to kill a man, it must be for a good reason."

They reached the elevator, and JJ pressed the button to call it. In spite of the late hour, her blond hair was perfect, and he was again swept away by her beauty. Damn, how could he go back a forth between a woman he believed himself to be in love with, and a new face that seemed to be someone he could relate to. That was the problem, could she really relate to him? Just because he wanted it, didn't make it possible. She probably thought he was a silly nerd just like all the other women he'd found attractive.

JJ watched him out of the corner of her eye. He looked genuinely upset, and her heart went into her throat. Was it too late? Had she waited too long to speak to him, it looked like it she had. She moved closer to him, and slipped a hand into his, only wanting it to be a gesture of comfort. He looked at her, startled by this development. She smiled wanly at him, and he felt something settle in his stomach that had been churning since the call about Agent Abbot had come in.

He squeezed her hand tight, and when the elevator doors opened, they walked out into the parking garage together. He'd never held a woman's hand before, and he hadn't known what to expect, but he one thing he hadn't expected was to feel so comfortable. Maybe something was different; he thought for a moment when she looked up at him, that something had changed in her eyes. How could he know, he was an expert at reading un-subs but JJ baffled him. He felt like he should flip a coin, heads for JJ, and tails for Karen.

Gideon stood in the shadows of the parking garage, and watched them approach the SUV they borrowed from the locals. Hotch was still in Agent Abbott's room, trying to determine what happened, he'd convinced Morgan to stay and help Hotch. He knew that Reid was still angry with his partner, but now wasn't the time to deal with that.

He stepped out into the light, and nearly smiled when she dropped Reid's hand like she been burned. Good, it appeared that they still cared about each other. He didn't know why, but he didn't quite trust Karen Abbott. Maybe it was that she was brand new, and had killed another law enforcement officer on her first day. It was Elle all over again, and they'd hardly put that behind them.

"Ah - Gideon… we were just -"

Gideon chose to deal with an embarrassed Reid, by ignoring what he'd seen. "JJ, what can we do to minimize the media crush on this."

"I don't know boss, they're going to be circling like sharks with blood in the water. I'll set up a press conference for the early morning news, but before I can do that, I need to know what happened."

Gideon put the truck in gear. "I hope that's what we're going to find out.