A/N: I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry. This was killing me. Someone gave the idea that there should be Reid angst and I wanted there to be a lot of it and I went brain dead and than freakin' CHRISTMAS came around and....

I'm sorry. Please Enjoy?

Maple suddenly woke up and opened her eyes. She wasn't sure where she was for no more than a second before she realized that everything she saw and heard meant that she was in a hospital.

Maple looked at her arm and her stomach did a flip flop. An IV: Also known as a needle. She wasn't to found of those. She looked over and saw that David and Aaron where talking somewhat close to the door. She sat up a little only to gasp from the pain in her back. Suddenly Panda's head shot out of nowhere and she cried out in shook. Both of the men looked at her and almost ran to her.

"Are you ok?" David asked.

"Panda startled me, that's all. Where's Spencer?" Her head felt like it was on a bit of an overload, but she figured that was from the adrenaline that Panda had caused to shot threw her.

"He had to go to the bathroom; he's been sitting here since you got a room." Aaron said, looking worried.

Maple nodded, which reminded her that her back hurt, which made her wonder why her back hurt, which made her remember more clearly the fight that she had had. She had not forgotten it; the thought had simply been like a person standing in a room, waiting to be notice, though part of her had always seen the person.

She looked at them. "Can you guys help me sit up?"

Wordlessly, each grabbed an arm and put a hand on her shoulders before pulling her up. She bit back a whimper that wanted to come out, but knew that it would do no good. Better to keep it to herself.

Once she was settled, she looked up to see Spencer with a cup of coffee in his hands, looking sad.

"Sorry I wasn't here when you woke up Maple."

"It's alright. You can make it up to me by getting extra cheesy pizza when we get home." She flashed a smile, trying to get him to not look so… glum.

Like she wanted to see him look worried.

"Look, Maple, I'm sorry. This was my fault. He's gotten other girls and if I hate warned you-" Ah, the good old blame game. Maple cut him off.

"Actually he's kidnapped and killed 11 girls now, 4 before I even got here, but 6 before they brought in the BAU. The dump sits aren't really important, but he likes to pretend that he's getting a girl who is simple tired from playing with him all day, so he drugs them, also making it easier to catch them. The drug also makes it hard to talk. That's how he found that one girl who was so close to Quantico: She had hidden behind a dumpster and I guess she couldn't stay awake anymore. I knew already Spencer. Besides, I knew to be prepared. I mean, come on, I'm an FBI kid. I'm smart. And apparently I'm not too bad looking to pedophiles, as this is actually about the second time something like this has happened."

"Maple, why did you tell me all this? It would have worked with the profile."

"Actually, I only just found out about the drugs myself, and I didn't think the rest was really important, seeing as you don't seem to like me being on my own all around town."

"You went around town?!" There we go, she thought. Protector mode coming in. His voice was braking a little.

"I had Panda." She shrugged. No biggie.

"…I wish I had told you though." Reid said, looking sad… again.

"I wish so too, but it wouldn't have mattered. It wouldn't have helped. I still would have been in trouble."

It was like two alpha males staring each other down for a minute there. Have you ever seen two dogs trying to see who was the strongest? Well, these to where trying to see who was right. Not the strongest, not the smartest, but right. Reid dropped his eyes first.

Maple squeezed his hand and he pushed back her hair.

"You're not going to let me feel sorry, are you?"

"Nope. Get used to it. So… what do I have to do now?"

He was saved from answering when Emily walked in. "Hey Maple, how are you feeling?"

"Fine Em. I'm good. I was… I was actually just asking Spencer what I have to do now." She looked at her, dark eyes meeting dark eyes, and Emily sat down on the bed, keeping the contact.

"Well, if Reid doesn't mind…?" She looked at him for a moment, and he seemed a little more relaxed. "Go ahead." He said, backing off to the other guys.

Maple looked at Emily. "So?"

"Well, when you're reading, we're going to need a statement. Strauss has requested that she be present when you give it as well, but I'm sure that I can get her to let it just be the two of us or you and Reid or whomever you want it to be on the team. Just say the word."

Maple nodded a little, placing her hand on Panda's head. Part of her was thinking about being asked about what had happened, while another part of her wondered how they convinced them to let the dog in. There was also a new invention idea going on in the back of her head, but it was never quiet up there anyway.

Finally she spoke up without looking at anyone. "Actually, I want it to just be Strauss and I, if that's alright."

No one said anything for a moment before Hotch came over. "Maple, are you sure? I'm sure that it would be a little easier if one of us was with you."

"No, I'm sure. I've…" She put a smile on her face and looked up at him. "I'm sure Aaron."

Morgan walked in, followed by JJ, Garcia, and Will, who was holding Henry. "Hey Cheri. How you doing?"

Maple rolled her eyes and took Henry in her arms, muttering something about repeat questions as far as anyone could tell. Henry laughed when Panda put her went nose on the babe.

Morgan pulled the team aside. "Deliti has refused a lawyer."

"Good" Hotch said. As long as no one tried to prove that he was insane, than this might end quickly.

"He says that there are more girls that we don't know about. He only wants to tell Maple about them."

Everyone within earshot looked at him like he had grown a second head. Morgan nodded with a bitter smile. "That's what I said. I was thinking maybe Prentiss could take him on, since you look like his type."

"That's fine with me." She replied.

"What if she can't? Will we try to have Maple talk to him?" Rossi asked.

Reid looked ready to kill. "No. She didn't sign up for this. She's too young."

"She could do it Reid." Emily said.

He just looked at the floor.

Hotch stepped in. "Look, we can't do anything until we get him into an interrogation room anyway. When we get there, Prentiss will take him on first. We'll figure everything else out after."

"Agent Hotchner? There is a call for you and your team from a Section Chief Strauss. You can take it in one of our doctor's offices if you like. He's out for the day.

JJ, Emily and Reid looked at Maple. "Do I need to go?" JJ asked.

"No, but Reid, Prentiss, I do need you two." After a moment, they sighed and left, knowing they wouldn't be long. All she wanted was an update, and they all knew it.

Maple looked up when they left, and once they were gone she looked at Henry, not really wanting to look Will or JJ in the eye. "So he's in the hospital too."

They both knew it wasn't a question, but he nodded anyway. "Yeah. Don't worry though, he's stuck in his room. He can't go anywhere without at least one officer watching him. Not to mention all the doctors and nurses. You're safe."

"I know I am. I've got you guys and Panda here. How come Derek looked so mad for a minute there?"

JJ smiled a little. "Just the unsub. He's making us look at hard choices that no one wants to make."

"Does anyone know why Deliti chose me?"

"Cheir, it's not your fault. It's just… there's no easy way to say this, but… you where his type." Will said, remembering all of the cases he had to work, and almost shuddered.

"But why? Why can't he be like everyone else? Why can't he want people his own age?"

They were silent as she looked at them, trying to will them to give her a good answer, to know the answers to her questions. But JJ just shook her head. "I don't know kiddo. I really don't know. All I do know though is that it's nobody fault but his… and that you got hurt because of him."

Henry didn't seem to really notice that she squeezed him a little tighter, for whatever reason neither of the adults really knew other than if was for comfort. How where they to know that that was only part of it? How where they to know that she were making a promise that every big sister made? How where they to know that she was promising to protect him from everything?

Henry grabbed a hand full of hair with one hand and a handful of fur with the other. She smiled and gave him a kiss, and if he were older he might have noticed that her eyes looked a little glossy. But he wasn't, so he didn't.

They came back soon after, and after another hour of people running in and out to take care of god knows what, everyone decided that it was time to get something to eat. Maple asked if Henry could stay with her since he was asleep next to her anyway.

Will and JJ looked at each other. "A moment together? Without the baby?" Will asked.

"To good to be true." JJ nodded.

Maple laughed a little.

"Alright, let's go before this moment can be taken away from us." Will said.

JJ nodded and they both slowly walked out, making both Reid and Maple laugh.

After a few minutes of them being gone though, Maple repeated her question from earlier, again looking only at Henry. "Why did Deliti choose me?"

"There are a lot of theories on that Maple."

"Tell me what you think."

He watched her. He watched her as she moved some of Henry's hair, as she grabbed his hand, and she put a hand on his back, making sure he was breathing it seemed, and than repeat.

"I think that it's everything. I think that it has a little to do with how he might have been raised, what he may have seen when he was younger. I think that there might be something in the genes to go along with it. I think that something recently happened- his stressor-that just made him feel like he should or could do this. And I think… I think that when this happened, I think that either than or soon after, he saw a little girl who looked a little like you, who was the same height, the same look in her eyes, who he thought was bright… I think that everything and anything helped to turn him into the monster who hurt all toughs girls. Or at least, helped bring it out."

"You think it might have been in him the whole time?"

"Honestly Maple… I'm not sure. I just don't know. I can tell you what other people think word for word, but I don't know if they're right."

Maple nodded, and did something she didn't do before: She started crying, and crying hard. And he held her as he had once seen a mother holding her child in the story after it had fallen and hit it's head on a shelf. He gathered her up, taking care to not bother Henry in and way, and let her cry.

A/N: Please review what you think. I have an idea of what is going to come up next, though at this point I'm just the hands that write the story. And Reid is trying to make himself better known threw Maple, which is throwing me, so blame him. lol.

Also, any and all ideas are welcomed. Even if I don't use them, it keeps me from-again- going brain dead. I can't wait for your reviews!! :)