Author: Ren Kayashima

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds; I do not plan to own Criminal Minds. Rori, Natalie, Kyle are mine.

Warning: Discussions of sexual assault. Any questions or concerns about the following plotline should be directed to my inbox.

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Chapter Ten:

March 10, 2012

Dave stepped into his home and dropped his bag by the closet before marching into the living room, startling a studying Kyle. "What happened?" he asked, rounding the couch so that he could get a good look at Kyle. "Natalie was raped?"

Kyle put a finger to his lips. "Rori had her in the kitchen right now. Keep it down," he said. He gathered up the papers he had been looking at and put them on the coffee table. "They're cooking dinner right now."

"How did this happen?" Rossi asked. He sat down on the couch on scratched his cheek contemplatively. "Natalie is a good kid, she doesn't go to dangerous places."

"Kyle shook his head and gave a shrug. "She was walking back from the library to her dorm and was ambushed. I don't know the rest of the details, she won't talk to anyone about it."

Dave turned and stared blankly at his dark television, his profiler brain kicking into high gear. Psychopathology, statistics, vicitmology… Every single part of his brain was thinking about a case he knew mothering about. He had only just come back from his own case. He didn't have details. All Garcia had told him was that he needed to go straight home as soon as the case was over. He would have left sooner, but he had been working on a serious case. They seemed to be popping up everywhere and he didn't like it. He was away from home too much. He turned back to Kyle. "Do the police have anything? Any leads?"

Kyle bit his lip as his eyes darted towards the paperwork he had put on the coffee table. "They don't have a lot. A rape kit, a statement from Natalie…" an unspoken "but" hung in the air and Rossi raised an eyebrow in an effort to get more from Kyle.

"What?" Rossi prompted.

"It's probably nothing," Kyle said, adjusting himself on the couch. He grabbed the papers and began shuffling through them. "Rori picked up on it, but we can't contact the others to confirm anything." He pulled out a printed newspaper article and handed it to Dave with a grim look. "There are five more cases like that article all over the East Coast."

Dave took the article and grew pale at the headline. Baltimore College Student Brutally Raped and Left in Dumpster. He scanned the article, searching for more information. It was free of any gruesome details, thank God. Taking a deep breath, he fell back and rubbed some of the jetlag from his face. Five more cases like this? He thought ominously. A serial case?

He paused slightly and blinked a couple times. He couldn't be jumping to conclusions like this. There were things to consider, modus operandi, victim type, geography, unknown details in the assaults. He had to look at all of them, all seven cases, before he could even consider classifying the attacks as one in a series. He could call Hotch and see if they could inquire. They would have to tread lightly. They can't just hump into an investigation, let alone seven.

But seven gang rapes all along the East Coast? That wasn't a thought that sat well with him.

"Hey, Dad," Rori's voice pulled Dave out of his thoughts.

Dave shifted to look at Rori smiling bleakly. She was dressed in pajama bottoms and a tank top. She jabbed a thumb behind her. "Dinner's ready. It's penne alfredo with prosciutto."

Dave felt himself smile for a glimmer of a moment. "Sounds great!" he said standing up. "How is Natalie?"

"Quiet," Rori answered somberly. Almost as if she was struck with an idea, she spoke. "I may have moved her into our home." She walked over and gave her father a tight hug, one that he happily welcomed.

"Has anybody called her parents?" Dave asked.

Rori nodded. "Nat told them not to come," she said. "They don't make a lot of money, hotels and airfare, even gas money, is a struggle to round up. But, she has an aunt driving in form Providence. She'll be here tomorrow."

"Good," Dave said. "Penelope said her roommate didn't report her missing?" he asked, almost in a state of incredulity. How could you not report someone missing after a week of seeing an empty bed?

"They don't like each other very much," Rori answered. She turned to make her way to the kitchen. "Nat can't go back there, Dad. I don't want her going back there."

Dave nodded in understanding. Natalie needed support, not some apathetic roommate that only served to remind her that she had hardly anyone to rely on in D.C. He had to scold himself. Rori cared and Rori had been aware of Natalie's absence. So there was someone. "She can stay as long as she likes," he said, mentally considering the possibility that his home would be overrun with college students before Rori graduated.

Dave entered the kitchen and found Natalie seated at the nook. She wore a baggy Georgetown hoodie and checkered pajama bottoms. She had a closed textbook in front of her, and she didn't make any moves to acknowledge that she was no longer alone in the kitchen. Dave moved to sit across from her and she finally looked up.

"Hello, Mr. Rossi," she greeted with a small whisper.

"Hi, Natalie. Thank you for making dinner," Dave said grabbing a napkin from under his fork.

"Rori was the one who made it," Natalie corrected. "Thank you for letting me stay here."

"You're more than welcome to stay as long as you need to," Dave smiled. He glanced towards Rori who was dishing out dinner onto two plates that Kyle held. Rori smiled at him and ushered Kyle towards the nook as she picked up two plates herself.

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Dave sat in his office looking over the five gang rapes. He looked up when he heard a soft know at his door. Rori stood there with Mudgie by her legs. She leaned against the doorjamb and crossed her arms. "The articles don't tell you every thing, of course."

"Do you mean to tell me you know more?" Dave asked dropping the articles on his desk.

Rori shook her head. "No. But I am somewhat adept at making connections, and I have a knack for research. Us college students are good for that kind of thing. Not just drinking and partying," Rori smiled sardonically. She turned slightly so that she could walk into the office and close the door. Mudgie followed close by before finding his dog bed and plopping down for a well-deserved nap. Once the door was closed, Rori dropped her joking manner and bit her lip. "I'm not an expert like you, but the connections I found, I didn't like."

"Have you told Garcia about these connections?" Dave asked, leaning back in his seat.

Rori shook her head, giving Dave the impression that she had been saving her thought for a small discussion with him first. She curled up in Dave's reading chair and looked at him. "I don't like what I found, but I needed to talk to you," she started. She held up one finger. "All seven victims were university sophomores, female." A second finger popped up. "All seven were kidnapping, a week long, and all were gang rapes," she popped her thumb out for her third point. "Prior to their abductions, all seven victims were highlighted in local paper for some sort of success or Honor. I wrote up Natalie's because she had a short story that won an award in the English department."

Dave picked up the articles again and started searching through them. He didn't see anything on Rori's last point. He glanced up questioningly. "I don't have copies of those."

"They're in my backpack," Rori answered. "Dad, it's traveling gang, I know it."

"How though?" he asked Rori. "I know that you're bright and that you make connections, but-"

"Dad!" Rori groaned. "I write crime columns! I follow crimes up and down the East Coast, and I like to focus on Universities. Do you honestly think I wouldn't know about these gang rapes? Seven rapes, Dad! One in Connecticut at UConn, another at Virginia Tech, Boston U, Baltimore, Chapel Hill, D.C., NYU. Call me a skeptic, but I don't like chance or coincidence. You know the statistics, Dad. This is an odd grouping and you know it!"

Rossi let out a sigh. He knew rough stats. Reid would know the exact numbers. "Rori, I can't look into this unless-"

"The BAU is invited in," Rori growled unpleasantly. "Your rules suck, and when did they ever stop you before? Can't you inquire? Ask the detectives on the cases, do something, Dad!" she was pleading with him, and it made Dave's heart wrench.

"Rori, it's not that simple and you know it!" Dave countered. "I know that you want justice for Natalie and I know that this is a sore spot for you given what you went through in-"

"This isn't about Scotland, Dad," Rori yelled, startling Mudgie. "There are monsters out there, raping college student. They beat them, hold them captive, they made Nat feel worthless, like she would never see her family; they made her feel-" Rori stopped suddenly and blinked away some tears that had sprung up. She wiped them away and stood up. "I'm going to bed," she said, rushing to the door.

Rossi stood up and braced his hands at the edge of his desk. "Rori, stop!" he ordered.

Rori paused for a moment and looked at the ground. "All you have to do is ask some questions," she said. She opened the office door and left, leaving Dave to his thoughts.

Dave swore in Italian and sat back down. Rori denied that her feelings towards these cases were connected to the horror she faced in Scotland, but he knew differently. Rori could deal with it until she was faced with it head on. A friend had just gone through something that Rori was all too familiar with and old wounds had opened back up. He thought that they had gotten through this a year ago, but maybe she had never healed. Maybe she had just kept it locked away.

Something told Dave that solving this case was going to be important for not only the victims, but for Rori. He mentally made a note to call Hotch the next morning to discuss the possibility of asking a few questions.

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Author's Note: Hey Everyone!

I feel like I should give you all an explanation for my extended absence from this site. It's in no way an excuse. I don't like excuses, and I've been making them a lot lately. I'm not sorry for making you wait. I wish I was, but maybe once I explain this all to you you'll see why it took so long.

Certain things come first in my life, and my happiness is one of them. While writing makes me happy, week after week I found that I wasn't happy, and my writing was affected by it. I wasn't making a chapter that was of the quality or the caliber that I wanted it at, so I took a break. I read some really great books, I went on safari in northern California, and I hung out with my friends. It was a nice break.

Another thing that comes first is my schooling. I don't know how many of you are aware of this, but I've been in the middle of an extensive process to arrange a college transfer to the University of California system. I had to focus on deadlines, scholarship applications, and my grades. So school became a top priority.

The good news is that I got into UC Berkeley and with three weeks left in the semester, I've managed to secure my grades in all of my classes (barring some minor issues). School is almost out for the summer and I'll be free to do a lot of writing.

Also, for anyone who was following me on my Facebook, it's actually been deleted. If you were in contact with me over there, I'm going to ask that you message me here if you have any questions or concerns. Or you can look at my tumblr and send me messages there. I'm on that every day.

Bottom line: I'm back, and I'm sorry it took so long.

Ren