Hello lovelys!

I was getting so impatient with some of the Fics I was following, because none of them had updated in like a week! And then I realised the hypocrisy, so here I am with an update!

Made up the road. If it's an actual road, it is mere coincidence.

Please review!


Rydal Street, San Diego

In four different cars, all of which had their sirens blazing, the BAU team and three of the SDPD made their way to a little house not even five minutes away. The first car – the Pascale brother's car – screeched to a halt in front of it, barely having enough time to apply the hand break before the occupants ran out, the engine of the car still running. Chief Vick, in his squad car, was closely behind, engine still running as well. The two unmarked SUV cars arrived last, just as the brothers had made it to the front door of the house. The team exited their car and ran up to join the locals.

Daniel had the decency to knock on the door first, hoping in vain that there would be an answer. It was Jared who pushed his brother aside and kicked down the door, consequences be damned. The two brothers ran inside the house, and the sight before them made their heart skip a beat. Leia was lying on the floor, blood running down from her forehead, motionless. Not even the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed greeted the brothers.

"Leia!" Daniel cried, in a hoarse and desperate voice that Chief Vick would never forget for as long as he lived. The two brothers collapsed by their sister's side, immediately fearing the worst. This was too similar, too God damned similar for their liking, and it wasn't fair.

Jared reached a shaking hand toward his sister's wrist, desperate to find a pulse. In his frantic state, no pulse was found, but Jared was far too stubborn to believe he lost her, concluding that his fears had got the best of him and he simply couldn't find it. Jared cupped his sister's face, feeling the tears that had been threatening to fall for a while now.

"Leia, please," he started to beg. "Please, just answer me." She lay on the floor, just as motionless as she had before.

Daniel didn't dare touch her, afraid he'd be greeted by cold skin. He just sat back and watched as his younger brother reached to pull Leia up to a sitting position. He watched as Leia's head flopped back, no force keeping her head upright and propped. He watched as Jared wrapped his arms around his sister and hugged her still body, crying as he did so.

This was the sight that the BAU finally walked in on. Both brothers at their breaking point, the Chief of police to shocked and scared to even take a step closer than the front door. It only took one look for JJ to step back outside, cell phone in hand, and she called an ambulance.

It was Reid who ran forward to the Pascale's, not only knowing what to do, but also too stubborn to believe that they were too late. They couldn't be, this wasn't their UnSub's MO. He wouldn't dare leave a victim dead before he even got them, it wouldn't be enough of a distraction. Above all that, he never attacked his victims. Never. Of all his victims, the only injury they sustained was a puncture wound of which they were killed with. No, it just didn't make sense. The logic behind the case just didn't add up to what they were seeing before them, so Reid simply couldn't believe it.

Reid kneeled down next to Jared, springing into work mode, "Lay her back down," he said calmly. Jared simply looked at him, as if he were asking for some impossible task. "Lay her back down, I'm trying to help," the young genius said again, more urgently this time. Carefully and gently, Jared did as told. He lay his sister back down on the floor and took a step back for Reid to help.

The young agent quickly felt her neck for a pulse. It took him a couple tries, but finally he was greeted with a slow and steady pump.

"I got a pulse," Reid announced. "It's weak, but it's there." With those few words, the young genius could feel all the grief vanish from the Pascale brothers. They all exhaled in relief and happiness. "I'm going to try to make the bleeding stop, that seems to be our biggest concern," he said out loud.

He brushed Leia's hair out of the way, hoping to get a better look at the cut that was causing the bleeding. As he did, however, he noticed something much more important. On her neck was a puncture mark. Reid checked the cut on her forehead, making sure he was right, before turning to face the brothers again.

"She's been drugged," he told them. "I don't know with what, but if I had to guess, it'd be barbiturates. I don't know with how much she's been given, though. She could be overdosing right now for all I know."

"We need to get her to a hospital," Daniel managed to croak out.

"JJ's calling an ambulance," Hotch announced.

"Screw that, they'll never get here on time," Jared protested. "I'll take her myself – "

"No," Reid intervened, placing a hand on Jared's arm and holding him back. "In your state, you'd do more harm than good driving now. The ambulance will be here soon." He stared at Jared for a moment longer, before turning back to Leia.

Reid reached a hand down to Leia's face, slapping lightly trying to get a response. If it was barbiturates that she was injected with – which Reid suspected it was – it would have very similar affects as alcohol. Slurred words, extreme tiredness and anxiety, and being unresponsive was a never a good sign. If he could get even the tiniest response from the light slapping, the worst would already be over. Even if it were just a groan or a twitch, any response would do.

"Leia, come one, give me something to work with here," Reid muttered, more to himself than to anyone in particular. It took another moment or two, but to everyone's amazement and extreme relief, Leia's eyes started to flutter open. "That's it," Reid encouraged. "Leia, open your eyes if you can." It took a while, but there it was. Her eyes finally opened. It took an enormous amount of energy and will power, and she could keep them open for more than a second or two, but at least they were opening.

"Paramedics are on their way," JJ announced, the phone still pressed on to her ear.

Reid looked up, nodded and thanked her. As he looked back down to Leia, he noticed her lips were moving. "Don't speak," Reid told her, "Save your energy, just keep your eyes open." But Leia didn't listen to him. Her lips kept moving, desperate to get some sort of message to him. Reid leaned close to Leia, knowing she wouldn't be able to get her voice louder than a whisper. It took a lot of concentration, but Reid was finally able to make it out.

"Window," she whispered. "The window."

"The window?" Reid muttered in response. He noticed her eyes flicker to the window to her left. Reid stared straight ahead and out the window, and almost jumped when he noticed a figure looking into the house. He didn't seem to notice Reid's gaze, the figure was staring directly at Leia.

"Hotch," Reid called out as calmly as he could, not wanting to scare away their intruder. Hotch made eye contact with their resident genius. "The window," Reid repeated, his own eyes flickering to the window Leia had pointed out. Hotch arched an eyebrow, but glanced over just as Reid had. He immediately noticed the figure staring in as well.

"Rossi, Morgan, Prentiss," Hotch tapped their shoulders and gestured to the window. They all stared at the window and quickly noticed it too. Without even communicating further, they made their way out the front door, making their way to form a perimeter around the house and corner this guy.

Reid watch from the inside. He saw the four of them split up and make their way around the house. He wasn't sure what had tipped the figure out the window off, but suddenly, his head jerked up and made eye contact with Reid. The figure then turned and ran in the opposite direction, the four agents quickly following him.

It was then that the ambulance came. The paramedics came in and took over from Reid, taking care of Leia as she lied motionless on the floor again. Her eyes would still occasionally open, but she was quickly losing her will to stay awake. Daniel rode in the ambulance with Leia, while Jared drove their car, trailing right behind the ambulance. Chief Vick took his own car, while JJ and Reid shared one of the BAU's black SUV, JJ behind the wheel.

JJ was silent for most of the way there, her mind clearly preoccupied.

"You want to tell me what's up?" Reid asked.

"What?" she said, quickly snapping out of her daze.

"You haven't said a word. What's going on?"

"Oh, just something the woman on the phone said," JJ responded. "When I called to ask for an ambulance, she had told me one was already on the way. Someone had called for an ambulance before we got there."

"A neighbour, maybe?" Reid suggested.

"No. She said it was the same number that called."

"Our UnSub."

"Yeah."

"Why would our UnSub call an ambulance for his victim?"

"I'm not sure, but I have an idea," JJ said. "I'm not all too fond of it, though."

Reid quickly caught on. "Leia's his original target. She's the one all those other women are surrogates for."

"Exactly."


San Diego General Hospital

A half hourlater found everyone in the waiting room of the hospital. Daniel, Jared, and Chief Vick were impatiently waiting news about Leia. They just wanted some reassurance that she was okay. Hotch, Rossi, Morgan, and Prentiss had finally come in, each looking extremely frustrated and more than ready to punch anyone who even slightly got on their nerves. Reid and JJ sighed, knowing what that meant. Their UnSub got away.

"He knew the area well," Morgan commented.

"Which is weird, considering the road doesn't lie in his comfort zone," Reid commented, earning death glares from his four fellow agents.

"There's quite a few weird things we noticed about this crime scene, actually," JJ commented. "and Reid and I… we think we know why."

"What do you mean?" Hotch asked.

"Well, I mean, for starter there's the location," Reid attempted again, earning another round of glares. "He wouldn't attack someone outside his comfort zone, he just wouldn't."

"And he never actually attacked anyone," JJ jumped in. "there were not markings on the victims when we found them. He was never violent with them, even when kidnapping them."

"And there's the drugs," Reid continued. "He never drugged any of his victims until it was time to kill them. With Leia, he started right from the beginning."

"There's only one reason why he'd change his MO so quickly and all at once," JJ said.

"He's getting rushed," Prentiss suggested. "Worried we're catching on to him."

"Which would like make him go for his original obsession, instead of his surrogates," Rossi concluded. "He wouldn't risk it, not unless it was for the real thing this time."

Reid and JJ nodded their heads, content in knowing they had come to the same conclusion.

"Wait, hold on," Daniel cut in, having listened to the whole conversation. "Are you saying that… Leia is that sick bastards original target?"

"It looks that way, yes," Hotch answered. He then watched as Daniel started pacing the room even more anxiously, his anger clearly starting to boil over and get out of control. "Chief Vick, a word, please."

The chief nodded and followed Hotch out of the room.

"What can I do for you agent?" He asked.

"As much as I hate to call ranks, I'm going to need Detectives Daniel and Jared off this case," Hotch said as professionally as he could. "It's getting far too personal for them, and I think they'd end up causing more harm than good. I think they're good detectives, but even the best struggle when a case becomes personal, and I know that from experience."

"Look, Agent Hotchner, I can appreciate what you're saying, and any other detectives and I would agree with you. But… when it comes to Daniel and Jared, I'm afraid there's not much I can do. Even if I do take them off the case, they're not going to stop investigating," the chief argued. "And I know that from experience. They're just like their father. They won't stop simply because they've been taken off a case, and believe me, that will cause more problems than it will fix."

"So you're suggesting we keep them on."

"Yes, I am."

"I cannot stress enough how problematic that would be."

"Believe me, it will be far worse if I take them off."

Hotch hesitated for a moment, before finally sighing and nodding his head. He understood that Pascale brothers, he really did. "They're your responsibility. They mess up, we will be having words."

"Agreed."

"And they follow my direction, to the letter. they don't, and they're off."

"Understood."

Hotch hesitated again, staring fiercely at Chief Vick. "When Leia gets discharged, take her to the station. I want to get a statement and protective detail on her."

"Will do."

They both nodded in a mutual understanding and made their way back into the waiting room. Chief Vick joined Daniel and Jared and had a private word with them. Hotch nodded at his team, and they all stood up and made their way to the exit. They would make their way to the station, sort out a protective detail at the hospital, and then they would go back to the hotel for some much needed rest. There wasn't much they could do tonight anyways.