A/N: Hello everyone! I'm very sorry for the wait; I was unexpectedly sent away from home to stay with a relative for a few days. Also, I'm sorry for the lack of action in this chapter. Gotta have some boring case details in here somewhere, right? Anyway, hope you guys like this. Thank you so much for reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing. Enjoy! :)
Emily used her short time alone to start preparing herself for the upcoming case. She stepped into her shower, hoping that the hot water would relax her a bit. She knew that the case would be difficult for her no matter what. She still felt so vulnerable, and she knew that it was going to hit her hard – and this time she couldn't run to Reid for comfort. She was just going to have to hold her head high and deal with it. She had to prove that she was strong, that she could still handle her job. She also had to pretend that she and Reid were no more than coworkers, and now that seemed like it was going to be much harder than she ever imagined.
Emily was determined to make it appear as if nothing was going on between her and Reid, even if the team wasn't aware of their blossoming romance. She silently reminded herself that it was only at work where they had to pretend – what went on between them in their personal lives was their business, and no one else's.
She stepped out of her shower feeling more ready than she had a few minutes ago. Yes, it would be difficult for her to disguise her feelings towards Reid, especially after all that had happened, but they could make up for lost time when they returned home. She also knew that despite her plans of hiding their relationship, the team would end up weaseling it out of them at some point or another. There were hardly any secrets with a team of closely knitted profilers... but whenever the team would find out; neither Reid or Emily would feel any shame. Although they were coworkers, after all the years of working together, they treated each other more like family than anything.
Emily dried herself off and dressed in clothes suitable for work that were comfortable enough to travel in. She added some last-minute items to her already pre-packed go bag and scanned her apartment for anything else that she thought she might need. Once she was sure that she had everything, she shut off all of the lights, locked her apartment securely, and set off for the BAU.
The silver elevator doors opened before her, revealing the semi-bustling but never overcrowded bullpen. She approached her desk, noticing that she had arrived before Reid. Good, she thought. Hotch knew that they had been with each other that morning, but it would look suspicious to everyone else if they showed up at the same time. Dropping her go bag by her desk and removing her jacket, Emily walked over to the stairs and began to climb them to the upper level. There was someone who she needed to see – privately – before they left for the case. She reached the office and gingerly knocked on the open door.
Penelope Garcia swung around in her swivel chair, her face lighting up at the sight of her. "Emily!" she exclaimed, sounding a bit surprised. She rose from her seat and hurried over to her, engulfing her in an enormous hug. She leaned back after a moment, putting her hands firmly onto her shoulders.
"How are you feeling, my dear?" she asked her quietly, hoping that she wasn't being too intrusive.
"I've been alright, thanks," she said, managing a small smile.
Penelope returned her smile. "Dr. Reid's being good to you, then?"
Emily bit her lip, staring at the floor, smiling a bit to herself. So much for pretending, she thought. In her defence it was Garcia. Yes, she was a co-worker, but more importantly, she was one of Emily's closest friends and confidants. She also knew everything, and if there was something she didn't know, she would figure it out soon enough. There was no point in trying to hide anything from her, anyway.
"Yeah," she said, looking up at her with a bright smile, her eyes twinkling. "He is."
Slowly, Penelope took in her smile and the gleam in her eyes, smiling to herself. "You really love him, don't you?"
Emily felt her cheeks flush. She paused for a moment before answering. "...I don't think I would've been able to get through this without him."
Penelope smiled again. "You two are perfect for each other. I'm so happy you've found each other, despite everything that's happened."
"You think so?" she asked her, blushing again.
"Definitely," she said, giving her shoulder a pat. "I didn't expect you to be coming in for this case. Are you going with the team?"
She nodded. "Yeah, I am."
Penelope raised her eyebrows. "Are you sure you're ready?"
"I think so. I don't really think that I should take any time off, because it'll be even more difficult for me to get readjusted if I fall out of my schedule... I know it'll be hard, but... I think it's best if I go on this case."
She grinned at her. "Good for you, Em. I'm proud of you."
Emily returned her smile. "Thanks, Pen."
"Anytime," she replied, walking over to her desk and picking up a small stack of what Emily presumed to be their case files. "Shall we?"
The two agents made their way to the round table room for the briefing. Inside waiting were the rest of the team: Hotch, Reid, Morgan, Rossi, and Todd.
"You're back," said Rossi, a hint of surprise in his voice.
"So you've decided that you're ready to go on this case?" asked Hotch.
Emily nodded. "Yes, sir."
"Are you sure? There's no turning back once we board that plane," he said carefully.
She nodded again, holding her head high and trying to look determined. "Yes, I'm sure."
"Alright. Have a seat and we'll get started," he said as Emily took a seat next to Rossi. Garcia began to hand out their case files while Todd started the briefing.
"Over the past three weeks, three teenage girls have been abducted and found murdered: Allison Hitchens, 15; Rebecca Wells, 18; and Megan Antworth, 17," she said as she flipped through their photos. "All three girls were found in dumpsters near their homes; all three were kidnapped, held for two days, raped, and stabbed to death."
"The murders are identical. The un-sub is most likely trying to relive a certain past experience," Rossi commented.
"The girls also have physical similarities. They all have brown hair and an athletic build," Morgan added.
"The un-sub stabbed them all in the abdomen area, which could represent something out of a past experience like Rossi mentioned, or possibly hatred towards women," Reid stated.
"Garcia, I need you to pull up all of the information that you can find on the three victims, and see if you can find any connections," Hotch instructed the technical analyst. "We'll discuss this more on the flight. Wheels up in twenty."
The team all got up and headed to the door. Emily simmered over the case in her mind: teenage girls. It was still awful, but at least the case didn't involve young children. Garcia stopped her on her way out of the briefing room.
"Hey," she said quietly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Good luck on the case."
"Thanks, Pen," she said, giving her a quick hug. "Same to you."
The two women left the room and went their separate ways – Garcia in the direction of her office, Emily in the direction of the bullpen. She walked over to her desk, noticing that Reid was hanging around his desk for longer than he needed to be. She could tell this by the way he was shuffling papers and pretending to write things down. She sat down in her chair.
"Whatcha doing?" she asked him, sounding slightly amused.
He looked up abruptly, shoving the papers into a file folder. "Waiting for you," he said sheepishly. Emily could swear that his cheeks were tinged pink.
"Oh, really?" she said, grinning and raising her eyebrows at him, but inside her heart was pounding.
He smiled, and his expression softened slightly, his eyes full of concern. "Are you feeling okay?"
"I'm fine, Spencer," she told him earnestly. "Thank you for asking, though."
"How do you feel about the case?" he asked her.
"I'll be okay... I'm going to miss you, though," she added quietly.
"I'll still be with you," he said.
"You know what I mean," she looked up at him, a pointed look in her eyes.
"I know," he whispered gently, and paused for a minute. "I love you."
Emily's heart gave a painful tug. She wanted to kiss him so badly. "I love you, too," she whispered back. "You'd better get going."
Reid grabbed his bag. "See you on the plane," he said, and walked off. She waited a couple of seconds to give him a head start before grabbing her own bag and heading to the airstrip.
About an hour and a half later, the team arrived in Rochester, New York. The team was collaborating with the Rochester Police Department on the case. After everyone was introduced, they set to work.
"Garcia, did you find any connections between the three victims?" Hotch asked the technical analyst over the phone.
"Zero, zip, zilch," she proclaimed with a small sigh. "These girls all lived in different areas of the city. Allison and Megan both went to public schools, and Rebecca went to a private school. As far as I can tell, these girls probably wouldn't have crossed paths."
Hotch furrowed his eyebrows. So far they had narrowed it down to a male, young adult in his early to mid-twenties. They figured that since his victims all shared physical characteristics and age group, the un-sub was trying to re-enact or relive a possibly traumatic past experience. He most likely lived within or around the city, and he knew it well. He probably grew up in Rochester. It was also likely that the un-sub stalked his victims before kidnapping them, that way he could become accustomed to their schedules before deciding on the right moment to kidnap them.
"Pull up the names and addresses of the victims' parents," he told Garcia, and turned to the rest of the team. "Let's all split up into pairs to interview the families. Morgan and Rossi will interview the Hitchens family, Reid and Prentiss will visit the Wells family, and Todd and I will go to the Antworth household."
Emily let out an internal sigh of relief. Interviewing the victims' parents was one of the most difficult tasks, but thankfully she was going to have Reid with her for support. After Garcia had listed off the addresses, the team split up into their pairs and headed out into the parking lot, climbing into the SUVs.
"Do you think he did that on purpose?" asked Reid when they had gotten into the car.
She thought for a moment. "Well, he must've done it so that we could have each other for support," she said. "He probably thought that if things went bad in the interview, you would know the right thing to say to me if I... broke down."
He pressed his lips into a tight line. "You're going to be fine, Emily," he said as he reached over and squeezed her hand gently.
She nodded. "I'm just glad that you're here with me," she said, squeezing his hand in return.
"Me, too," he said with a tiny smile. "Let's get going."
Although Emily preferred to use the GPS, Reid insisted on them using a map to navigate. Once she knew roughly where they were going, Emily pulled out of the parking lot, listening to Reid's directions to the Wells residence. About twenty minutes later, they reached a residential area of large mansions.
"Rebecca Wells was the only one out of the three victims who attended private school," said Reid. "I predicted that her family would live in this type of neighbourhood."
"Yeah," Emily agreed, absentmindedly chewing on her lip and remembering how much she hated her old neighbours when she was a child. "Let's just hope that they don't fit the snobby stereotype."
They pulled into one of the many extravagant mansions on the street. The pair climbed up the winding walkway and reached the door. Reid rang the doorbell. A few seconds later, a petite woman opened the door. She had wavy brown hair that fell just past her shoulders. She was wearing a light grey tweed pencil skirt, black pumps, a dark grey blouse, and a white pearl necklace.
"Who are you?" she asked them, sounding a bit distressed.
"Mrs. Wells?" Emily asked her. The woman nodded slowly. "I'm Agent Prentiss, this is Dr. Reid," she said as they held out their badges. "We'd like to ask you a few questions about your daughter's abduction."
Mrs. Wells hesitated, looking back and forth between them before opening the door wider. "Come in," she said, turning around and leading them to a very large living room. Just as they were entering the room, a man walked in. He was about six feet tall, with short brown hair and piercing blue eyes. He wore light grey dress pants, black dress shoes, and a lilac dress shirt. The two agents assumed him to be Mr. Wells.
"Did I hear the doorbell ring?" he asked his wife. Reid and Prentiss stepped into his view. "Who are these people?"
"They're FBI agents," she told him.
"FBI agents?" he said, looking alarmed.
They held out their badges again. "I'm Dr. Reid, this is Agent Prentiss," he said. "We've come to ask you a few questions about your daughter, Rebecca."
His expression softened, and he became noticeably paler. "Are you working on her investigation?"
"Yes," Reid said with a nod.
Mr. Wells nodded slowly and swallowed. "Please, sit down," he said gesturing to a few couches and chairs. Mr. and Mrs. Wells sat down on one of the couches and Reid and Prentiss sat on the one across from them.
"Can you tell us about the night that your daughter was kidnapped?" Emily asked them.
"I was supposed to pick her up from volleyball practice on my way home from work," began Mrs. Wells, sounding pained from the memory. "But I was stuck in traffic. Richard was working late that night, so I texted her to see if she could get a ride home. She texted me back a few minutes later saying she got a ride. I asked her from whom, but she didn't answer. I started calling her, but it kept going straight to voicemail. By the time I got to the gym where her practice was, everyone had left. I went home and she wasn't there, so I called the police."
"Did you notice anything unusual about her text messages?" asked Reid.
She looked slightly confused. "What do you mean?"
"Did they seem like they were genuinely from Rebecca," he explained.
Mrs. Wells thought for a moment. "Well, I couldn't really tell you for sure, since they were texts... but yes, they did seem genuine."
"Did Rebecca ever mention anything about someone following her?" Emily asked.
The married couple looked at each other, seeming a bit alarmed. "No, she didn't," said Mrs. Wells. "Do you think that she was stalked?"
"It's possible, yes," she answered. Tears sprung to the older woman's eyes. Her husband frowned, and put a comforting hand on her back. Emily and Spencer exchanged glances. This situation was always uncomfortable. Mrs. Wells straightened herself up, fanning her eyes with her hands.
"I'm sorry," she apologized. "It's just very hard to talk about Rebecca in this light."
"We understand," Emily said consolingly. "We appreciate your cooperation. Any information that you can tell us may contribute to us finding whoever did this to your daughter."
She sniffed, and nodded. "Alright. Go ahead."
"Did either of you notice anything peculiar around your neighbourhood? For example, an unfamiliar car that you've seen drive by more than once?" asked Reid. Both of them shook their heads.
"Can you tell us more about Rebecca?" Emily asked them.
"What does that have to do with the investigation?" asked Mr. Wells.
"We're profilers, we observe human interaction," she explained. "If we know more about Rebecca's life, we may be able to find a connection that could've linked her to the killer. Like I said before, any information helps."
Mr. Wells paused for a moment before speaking. "Becca was always a good girl. She got good grades, she had lots of friends, and she never broke the rules. She was always nice to everyone," he said, seeming a bit distant.
"She was supposed to start university next year," Mrs. Wells sniffed. "She was going to study to become a doctor... and she loved volleyball. She played it ever since she was a little girl."
Mrs. Wells seemed to be on the verge of tears again. Her husband stroked her back, trying to comfort her. Reid and Prentiss were both frowning, knowing all too well what the couple was going through.
"Is there anything else that you'd like to know?" asked Mr. Wells.
Emily shook her head. "No, that's everything," she said quietly as they both rose from the couch. "Thank you for your time."
Mr. Wells got up to escort them to the door. Emily handed him one of her business cards. "If you think of any other information that may be useful, give us a call," she told him.
He nodded. "I will. Have a good night," he said, and shut the door. Emily let out a huge sigh of relief. She felt like the interview had sucked the life out of her.
"That wasn't as bad as I expected," Reid said as he guided her to the SUV.
Emily shrugged. "I'm just glad it's over," she said tiredly.
"Me too," he agreed. "They seemed like nice people."
"Yeah," she said with a frown. "They did."
They reached the car. Reid turned to look at her, and saw that she was upset. He pulled her into his embrace, stroking her back. She wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face into his shoulders. Neither of them cared if anyone saw them, both were enjoying the brief time they had alone together. They pulled away after a moment.
"I'll drive, okay?" he said, his eyes filled with concern. She nodded, and they both got into the car. Reid held her hand all the way back to the police station.
That night, Emily lay in her hotel room bed, wide awake. She had been tossing and turning for about an hour, and she just couldn't sleep. It was just one of those nights where her mind refused to shut off. She thought about everything: the case, her miscarriage, Reid... Frustrated, she gave up. She turned on her bedside lamp and grabbed her phone.
"Hey, are you still up? " she texted Reid.
"Yeah. What's up?" he replied a few seconds later.
"Can't sleep :(" she replied. Five minutes later, she heard a soft knock on her door. She jumped out of her bed and ran on her tiptoes to the door. She opened it to find a pajama-clad Dr. Reid standing in front of her. She grabbed his hand and pulled him inside, shutting the door carefully.
"You didn't have to come here," she said, half scolding him, half relieved that he had come.
"I know," he said, sliding his arms around her waist. "But I missed you too much."
Emily threw her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply. They hadn't kissed since that morning, but even that felt like too long for her. She couldn't get over the searing passion that they had together. She found herself craving his touch more and more ever since they had first kissed two days ago. They broke away after a minute, both breathless. Emily took his hand and led him over to the bed. They got in, curling up close to each other under the blankets.
"How do you think you did today?" Reid asked her.
"I'm not really sure. I just want to catch this bastard, I can't wait to get home," she said with a sigh.
"Yeah, I think we all do. On the plus side, I think the team is getting a couple of days off once we get back," he told her.
"Really? That would be wonderful... a whole few days to ourselves," she said, grinning a bit deviously.
"I was thinking the same thing," he said, leaning in to kiss her again.
She accepted his kiss gratefully. "Mmmm," she murmured her heart racing. She could get used to this.
"We should get to sleep. Tomorrow's going to be a long day," he said after they broke away.
"Can't wait," Emily grumbled sarcastically. She reached over to turn off the bedside lamp and cuddled up next to him, giving him one last peck on the lips.
"I love you, Spencer."
"I love you, too, Emily. Sweet dreams."