A/n: This chapter has been rewritten.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything!


Ten minutes later, Tara looked around the bullpen and noticed that everyone was off doing their own thing, and not paying her any attention, so she picked up her go-bag and quickly made her way out of the department. First making a stop at the ladies room to change her clothing, because it would be tough catching an Unsub in a tight dress and four inch heels, before making her way to Penelope's lair. Still wanting to talk to her before they left for San Francisco.

Knocking on the door, she entered the office without waiting for an answer, ''Hey, babe'' Tara greeted the blonde, who was already busy typing away on her computers, which was an impressive sight to see if you didn't know anything technology related.

''M'Lady'' Penelope said, as she immediately twirled her chair around the moment she heard the voice of her favorirte person on the planet earth, a happy smile automatically forming on her lips by just hearing her, ''I thought you guys were already gone'' she said, as she stood up to meet Tara halfway.

''No, we're still here'' Tara replied, as she put her go-bag down on the desk beside her, ''Besides, I couldn't just leave without a proper goodbye and kiss, could I?'' she smiled, as she took a hold on Penelope's waist, pulling her closer.

''No, you definitely couldn't'' Penelope's smile turned gentle, as she looked into the dark brown eyes of her girlfriend, ''I would get pissed if you did that'' she teased.

''I know'' Tara chuckled softly, as she stared back at the blonde, silence falling between them.

''Are you gonna be all right?'' Penelope asked concerned after the sudden silence, looking worried from one eye to the other and back, as she put a hand on the brunette's cheek for comfort, stroking the soft skin with her thumb.

She knew cases like these, involving children, were some of the hardest to do. And the last time they had one Tara had been on edge for at least a week or two after they had closed the case. So now that they had another one, and this one being even more cruel than any other children's cases they have had before, she was worried it was going to be too much for her girlfriend.

''Yeah, I'll be fine'' Tara reassured her, ''I just need to try to distance myself from it. Not get too attached like last time'' she said, ''How about you? Are you going to be fine? Because you sounded like you wanted to cry back there in the conference-room''.

''It's just so cruel, you know'' Garcia sighed sadly, as she let her hand, that was still on Tara's cheek, drop to the brunette's upperarm, taking a hold there, ''I just can't believe someone is evil enough to do something like that to these innocent children'' she said, ''It's not right''.

''No it's not'' Tara agreed, ''But that is why we exist, why these kind of jobs exist, so we can hunt them down and lock them up for the rest of their lives''.

''I know'' Penelope nodded, ''But still...'' she said with a shrug.

''I understand'' Tara said softly, as she looked down at her, ''You're going to be all right, though?''.

''Yes, I'll be fine. I always am in the end'' Penelope told her, ''Besides, I've got you, that's all I need to be fine'' she smiled up to the brunette.

''You will always have me'' Tara smiled back.

''Good'' Penelope said just above a whisper, as she leaned up to kiss Tara, Tara meeting her halfway.

After a minute they pulled apart, both being reminded that time was ticking away. Tara looked at the time on her watch, and immediately knew that she had to leave, ''As much as I love to stay here, doing this all night, I don't think the team will appreciate that'' Tara sighed, letting go of Penelope, before picking up her go-bag again.

''Yeah, I don't think so either'' Garcia said, ''Come on, I'll walk you to the elevators'' she told her, as she picked up a file from her desk, before linking her fingers with Tara's, ''There's some new information I need to give to Hotch, anyway''.

''Sounds good, Peaches'' Tara said, as they left the office hand-in-hand.

As they neared the elevators they quickly un-linked their fingers, and let their hands fall to their sides, both still not wanting to let the team in on their secret relationship. Although, after almost ten months, it was becoming harder and harder to keep things on the down-low. But they were managing.

Eventually reaching the team, they mingled with them and made conversation, as they all had to wait for Rossi and Hotch to join them before they could leave.

''Eveyone ready to go?'' Hotch asked, when he and Rossi finally approached them after five minutes, getting a round of nods back from his teammembers, ''Good, lets go than'' he said.

''Hotch, wait'' Garcia stopped her boss before he could enter the elevator, ''I was able to find some new information, and gather some new things. It's not much, but I still put it all in here'' she said, handing over the file she had in her hands to him.

''Thank you, Garcia'' Hotch nodded, appreciating the speed of the blonde's magic on her computers.

''No problem" she smiled, as she watched the team all disappear into the elevator now.

Tara lingered behind a bit, mouthing a quick and silent 'I love you' to Penelope, which the quirky blonde replied with a grin, before she made her way into the elevator too. Garcia watched until the elevator doors closed completely, before making a move to head back to her lair, her mind set on solving this case as soon as possible.


''Garcia, do you have something? Anything?'' Emily questioned through the phone, as she looked at the table where Hotch and the parents of the latest missing girl, Lucy Jenkins, sat talking to the Unsub. The rest of the team surrounding them, as they looked and listened on intently to the conversation.

This morning, for some reason, the Unsub had left a note on the doorstep of the Jenkins' house, the note reading that he would be contacting them at two o'clock, and give them an option that could safe their little girl. The team couldn't understand why though, why the Unsub decided to contact the family of the girl he held captive, because he certainly hadn't done that before.

He wasn't the kind of Unsub who got off on being the sympathetic one. He was the kind of Unsub who got off on physically and sexually abusing little girls. He's not a killer who showed remorse, or gave away options so his victims could survive. He's a sadist, and a pedophile. But it didn't matter if they profiled him right or wrong, the important thing now was that this was an opportunity to find out his location, and hopefully safe the little girl he had kidnapped.

''Give me another minute'' Garcia said, desperately trying to find a tower the phone might be pinging off of, but finding none.

''We might not have another minute'' Prentiss said, as she heard the conversation between the Unsub, Hotch and the parents turn south.

''I'm trying my best, but this bastard might be using a burner phone'' Penelope said, her voice getting harsher with each word, as she felt angry at the Unsub and herself for not getting what she usually could get within seconds.

''Or he might not be anywhere near here'' Prentiss sighed, her head turning sharply as the sound of a painful cry filled the room, the sound coming from Mrs. Jenkins, as desperate screams followed by choking noises could be heard coming through the speaker of the phone, making Emily's eyes widen and tear up.

''Oh my God'' JJ covered her mouth with her hand.

''Penelope, please tell me you got a location'' Emily said, her throat feeling constricted by the lump that was forming in there.

''I'm so, so sorry, but I've got nothing'' Penelope told her, her voice laced with tears. She had heard the hysterical screams and choking sounds in the background noise, and she's been long enough on the job to know what that meant. She was too late.

''We got nothing'' Prentiss announced to the room, looking dejected, ''The phone doesn't register anywhere near here'' she told them.

''Ask Garcia to check again, and make her widen her search'' Rossi immediately replied to Prentiss, not wanting to give up yet, ''We still got the Unsub on the line, so there might still be a chance on getting a location or something''.

''Okay'' Emily nodded, before turning back to her conversation with the tech, ''Garcia, widen your search and try again''.

''All right, I'm going to try my best'' Penelope replied, immediately working on adjusting her radius from 20 miles to a wider one.

''Well, well, well agents, it seems like you've got a little girl's murder on your conscience now'' the Unsub maliciously said, taunting them, ''If only you had listened to me, than she could've been walking out of here alive''.

''You sick son of a bitch'' Tara jumped up from her seat, the chair toppling over behind her, ''Now you're going to listen me. And you're going to listen to me good'' she growled, ''It doesn't matter if we listened to you or not, because you would've killed that little girl anyway. You're only sadist enough to involve the parents this time and let them hear their little girl's murder, let them hear her take her last breath, without even giving them a chance to say goodbye first''.

''But let me tell you this...'' Tara's voice getting scarily low now, even scaring the agents around her, who've never seen her react like this before, ''When you finally stand infront of me, don't you ever think for one second that I will hesitate shooting you, because I can't wait to put a bullet between your eyes''.

''Lewis, that's enough'' Hotch told her sternly, eyeing her down.

''Whatever'' Tara scoffed as she walked away, out of the house, being desperately in need for some fresh air.

''It sounds like one of your agents got some serious anger management issues'' the Unsub said, enjoying every moment of their mental torture, like any sadist would.

''Only because of your taunting'' Hotch said, having had enough of the sick mental torture the Unsub has been inflicting on not only them, but on Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins too, ''But let me tell you something'' he said, ''Eventually we will find you, and when we do, I'm not sure if I will hold agent Lewis back from shooting you'' Hotch told the Unsub harshly, before clicking the button to disconnect the sound so the Unsub couldn't hear them anymore.

''Put Garcia on speakerphone'' Hotch ordered Prentiss, who immediately did what her boss told her, ''Garcia, do you have something?'' he asked the blonde.

''I'm sorry, Sir'' Garcia answered sorrowful, ''I've got nothing''.

''It's okay, Penelope'' Hotch said, knowing he couldn't blame her for the dead-end, after all the blonde did everything she could to help them. He just really thought they were at least close to finding out the area the Unsub might be located, but apparently he was wrong.

''Guys, it's not like he left us with nothing'' Reid spoke up.

''What are you talking about?'' Hotch frowned.

''In the background'' Reid said, ''I heard something that sounded like it shook the foundation of the house, or cabin, or wherever he's at'' he elaborated his thoughts.

''You mean something like a train? Or heavy traffic?'' JJ quickly caught on with what Reid meant.

''Yes, that's exactly what I mean'' Reid nodded.

''I don't think he'll be close to a highway, or a busy street, though'' Rossi said.

''Why not?'' Prentiss questioned.

''Because he said something about no one being able to hear any of the screams anyway'' Rossi told them, ''So, I'm guessing, he's got somewhere private. Something farther away from civilization''.

''I hear you, my favorite Italian'' Garcia said sounding a little more optimistic now, as she adjusted her parameters, ''I'm going to widen my search, and search for location's in San Francisco that are close to train-tracks, but far enough from civilization that he's got privacy'' she told them, ''Garcie out'' she added.

''Wait'' Prentiss called out, stopping the quirky blonde from hanging up, as she put her phone off of speakerphone and brought it up to her ear, ''Can I talk to you for a minute?'' she asked her friend.

''Yes, of course'' Penelope replied with a slight frown, having heard the urge in her voice.

Prentiss, who didn't want this to become a public conversation, walked away and into the kitchen of the Jenkins house, the team following her with their eyes, as they all wondered what the woman was up to.

After being certain no one could overhear her, she leaned against the kitchen-counter and crossed an arm over her stomach, ''Pen, I think you should call Tara in a minute'' she eventually said.

''What...why?'' Penelope asked concerned, ''What happened to my Chocolate Angel?''.

''She kind of lost it when the Unsub started taunting us'' Emily answered with a sigh, ''And honestly I've never seen her like this before, and I think you're the only one who can make her feel better at this moment''.

''What do you mean?'' Penelope asked cautiously, biting the inside of her cheek.

''Oh, come on'' Prentiss rolled her eyes, ''I've known about you two way before you were even a thing, so don't go all nonchalant and innocent on me, because I know''.

''Okay, fine'' Garcia gave in. There was no need in keeping up the facade when her friend already knew, ''We actually kinda figured that you'd know, anyway''.

''That's because I notice everything'' Prentiss chuckled, ''Took you long enough to admit to it, though''.

''That's because we wanted to keep things on the down-low for now'' Penelope said, ''We want it to just be us for a while''.

''I understand'' Emily said, a smile on her lips now, ''And I'm happy for you''.

''Thank you'' Garcia's lips turned up into a smile too, glad to hear that her good friend was happy for her, ''I'm going to hang up now though'' Penelope said, ''Because I heard something about my girlfriend needing me''.

''Yes, of course'' Prentiss nodded, ''I'll talk to you later, Penelope'' she said.

''Bye, Sweetums'' Penelope replied before hanging up.


Tara stood on the front-porch of the Jenkins house with her hands gripping the railing, and her head hanging down between her shoulders, as she slowly breathed in- and out, trying to get control over her anger. She was definitely close to snapping and just finding the Unsub on her own and kill the bastard with her gun. It scared her to death that she felt no hesitation, whatsoever, to just kill him. She literally had no feelings except for pure hatred towards him, and it wasn't doing her any good, her outburst was one great indication of that. She really needed to calm down, and start looking at the case more objectively, because she couldn't let her personal feelings get in the way. It wouldn't do anything good for her professional status.

Breathing out, she let her shoulders sag down. She actually had no idea why she even reacted so heavily to it. Of course, hearing someone being killed, especially a child, on the phone has a huge impact on someone, but she has never lost it before. So why now all of a sudden? She didn't have any children of her own, she never went through anything traumatizing as a child, except for her mother passing away from cancer, so what made her act out like that.

Her train of thoughts were interrupted though by the sound of her phone. Sighing, she stood up straight again and took her phone out, her lips instantly turning up into a faint smile when she saw the caller-id.

''Hey, you'' she said, answering her phone.

''Hiya'' Penelope's soft voice came through the receiver, ''How are you holding up?'' the blonde asked, ''Because Emily told me you kind of lost it back there'' she said, worry clear as day in her voice.

Tara turned around and leaned against the porch, letting out another sigh, ''Yeah, something like that'' she murmured.

''What happened?''.

''The Unsub was acting so cruel and I just snapped. I just couldn't sit there and not say nothing'' Tara told her, anger bubbling up again, ''You heard what he did to that little girl, you should've seen the looks on her parent's face's, it was heartbreaking to say the least''.

''I know, baby'' Garcia said, her words laced with sadness. Tara not being the only one who was deeply affected by what the Unsub had done.

''I just...I don't know'' Tara let her head fall down, not sure how to feel, or what to feel, ''Penelope, did I do the wrong thing by yelling at the Unsub like that?''.

''Listen to me'' Penelope said sternly, ''You did what you thought was right at that moment, because you were deeply hurt by what he did. There's nothing wrong with that'' Penelope told her, hoping to get through to her girlfriend, ''Could you have dealt with your anger differently, definitely, but we all have our breaking points, we all have our limits, and you reached yours. No one can blame you for that. We're still human, remember''.

''Thank you for saying that'' Tara sniffled, as she wiped a stray tear away from her cheek, ''I really needed to hear that''.

''Hey, don't cry'' Penelope said softly, her heart always starting to ache when her girlfriend cried.

''I'm not crying'' Tara lied.

''Tara, don't lie to me'' Penelope said sharply, using her given name, which let the brunette know that the woman was serious, ''Because, first of all, I can see right through your lies, and second of all, I'm your girlfriend, you need to confide in me, not lie to me''.

''I know'' Tara nodded, knowing that Penelope was right. They after all had made a promise at the beginning of their relationship to not lie, or keep secrets from each other. And she shouldn't be hiding her emotions from her girlfriend anyways, that's never a good foundation for a relationship.

''Good'' Penelope said, her voice now softer, ''Are you feeling better now?'' she asked.

''Yeah, I'm feeling better'' Tara replied softly, her stomach feeling lighter, as she felt the anger slowly seep away from her body, ''How about you? How are you feeling? Because I know this wasn't just nothing to you, too''.

''I'm fine'' Penelope replied curtly, something she wasn't used to from the blonde.

''You know how you told me you could see through my lies, like a second ago'' Tara said, reminding her lover of what she just told her, herself, ''Well, I can see right through your lies too'' she told her, ''So...honestly...how are you doing?''.

Penelope bit her lip, not knowing how to express how she was feeling at the moment, because there weren't any words she could think of that could describe the way she felt inside, ''I don't know'' she said with a small shrug, ''I can't help but feel guilty''.

''Sweetheart, you realize that, that was nowhere near your fault, right?'' Tara said softly.

''But that's the thing, it is my fault'' Garcia said, her eyes starting to water, as she thought back to what she could've done differently, which might could've saved Lucy, ''If I had widened my search from the beginning, and thought about using the right parameters from the start, I might would've been able to pin point the Unsub's location. And that little girl might've still been alive''.

''Do you hear yourself?'' Tara told Penelope, after the blonde was done venting her frustrations, ''Yes, perhaps if you did that from the start we might've had a bigger chance, but like you said, might've'' she said, ''But you couldn't have known that, because killers don't play by our rules, they play by their own, just like us. So please, don't beat yourself up over this, you know it won't do you any good. We were wrong, yes, but that was nowhere near your fault, you understand''.

''I do understand. I really do'' Penelope said, ''But it still got an eight year old killed'' she choked out.

''It did'' Tara bowed her head in sorrow, feeling bad for not being there to comfort Penelope properly, and to wipe away the tears she knew were trickling down her cheeks, ''But we're trying our best, and that's all we can do''.

''I know'' Garcia said, wiping her tears away, ''It really sucks that you're all the way in San Francisco'' the blonde sniffled, ''I miss you like crazy''.

''I miss you, too'' Tara told her, her heart yearning to be back home again too, ''Hopefully we'll be back soon'' she said.

''I hope so, too'' Penelope said, ''Because I miss our late night cuddles in bed'' she pouted.

''Me too'' Tara's lips turned up into a tender smile, missing the same thing too, ''I promise you, that when I get home, I'm going to hold you until you literally have to push me off of you. How does that sound?''.

''That sounds like a really good idea'' Penelope said, a smile forming on her lips, ''Though you have to consider that I might never let you go''.

''I don't expect anything less'' Tara said with a laugh, ''How did you actually know that I needed you?'' Tara asked.

''Emily'' Penelope stated, ''She told me that you kinda lost it, and that I should probably call you because you needed me''.

''I should've known'' Tara chuckled, ''I'm glad she told you, though'' she said, as she made a mental note to thank her friend for that.

''Yeah, me too'' Penelope told her, ''But Love bug, I have to go now'' she said, as her eyes caught the time on her computer.

''I know, me too'' Tara sighed, feeling reluctant to hang up, but knowing she didn't have any other choice, ''I'll call you tonight, okay''.

''I'm already looking forward to it'' Penelope smiled, ''I love you''.

''I love you too, Peaches'' Tara replied softly before hanging up.

After they hung up Tara let out a happy sigh, feeling much better now that Penelope had called her, and comforted her. But that happy feeling soon fade away, when she realized that she had to go back inside again. Something she was dreading, but she knew she couldn't avoid. So gathering herself the best she could, she put her phone back into her pocket, and eventually made her way back into the house again. Ready to find the evil jerk that made her end up out there in the first place.

''Hey, you all right again?'' Reid asked, when he saw Tara walk into the house again, her outburst having worried him quite a bit.

''Yeah, I'm all right'' Tara said, giving them the best smile she could muster at the moment.

''That's good to hear'' Emily said softly.

''Yeah, and thank you for...you know'' Tara said appreciative.

''Always'' Emily replied with a smile.