CHAPTER 10

He could hear cooing. And the soft sound of a woman humming. Rossi carefully eased open the bedroom door, and got his first real good look at Sophia Johnson. The woman who had looked so harried in the newspaper article about her family's death, to his surprise, looked fairly composed. She held Jenni Landsdown in her arms, gently rocking her to sleep.

"Sophia?" Rossi said, but the woman shook her head.

"Shhh," she whispered, never taking her eyes off the little girl. "The baby is trying to sleep."

"Sophia, you need to put the baby down," Rossi said. "She needs to go home to her mother and father."

Something seemed to click in her head. Tears welled in her eyes. "I can't let her go," she said haltingly. "Not again."

"Sophia, your family is gone," Rossi said, keeping his voice steady. Behind him, Mac set his gun down and stepped up beside him. "That little girl is not yours."

"We know you're hurting, Sophia," Mac put in. "But you've caused four more families grief by taking their children." He took another step forward.

"Careful," Stella whispered from behind him, and Mac nodded. "What you've gone through…no one should have to go through that. We know you're hurt-"

"It hurts," Sophia cried, and the baby was jolted just enough to wake up and start crying. "It hurts so much!" She rocked the baby, trying to get Jenni to go back to sleep.

"I know," Rossi said. "I know."

"I have a family again. I lost them all, but now I have them again," she said. "Shhhh, baby girl, it's all right, Leah."

"That's not your family, Sophia, and you know that."

"They are my family."

"No," Mac said. "No they're not. They belong to someone else. We're here to help you, Sophia," he said, taking a few more steps toward the distraught woman. "We can help make the pain go away. This isn't going to make your grief stop." He held out his arms. "Give me the baby, Sophia."

"Easy, Mac," Rossi muttered, and the detective took a small step forward.

"It's going to get better," Rossi said. "You're going to get better. We're going to get you help."

"Will it make the pain go away?" Sophia asked, in a voice barely above a whisper. She was looking at Jenni.

"No," Rossi admitted. "But it's going to get easier."

She considered that.

Then she handed the baby to Mac. And collapsed, crying, to the floor. Mac hustled Jenni Landsdown out to Stella, who took the little girl and started comforting her. Rossi took Mac's cuffs and secured Sophia's hands behind her.

Flack and Reid were waiting downstairs when the group came down. Both had heard the exchange from the foot of the stairs, and both were mildly surprised there were no shots fired. The group was solemn. The case had ended well. Reality wasn't so kind. Red and blue lights from squad cars and the ambulance ricocheted off the interior walls through the window.

Not so much a silent night. Yet at least for some, peace on earth.

December 23

Danny set the baby carrier down inside the door as he helped Lindsay out of her jacket and scarf. He tossed his own jacket on the back of the chair and went to work unbundling his daughter from her carrier. Lucy was out like a light. He carefully picked her up and handed her to her mother. He looked around the living room. They'd left the TV on silent when they'd left earlier, and now it was playing a silent version of A Christmas Story. They'd left the tree plugged in as well, and the white lights cast a glow over the room.

"Well, she's gone for the night, I think," Lindsay said in a whisper as she came out from the bedroom. She'd changed into a pair of sweats and an oversized NYPD T-shirt she'd cut the sleeves off. Danny peeled off his shirt and tossed it in a corner.

"You have lousy housekeeping skills," Lindsay chided as she sat down on the couch. Danny pushed her forward as he sat down behind her and then pulled her back against his chest as they sat there for a few moments in silence, processing the night.

"With everything that's happened tonight," Danny mused, kneading Lindsay's shoulders, "makes me realize how thankful I am to have a family."

Lindsay leaned back and tilted her head, kissing him under the chin. "Have I told you I love you lately?"

"More than a few times in the past 36 hours," Danny replied. "So. What'd you get me for Christmas?" he asked.

Lindsay frowned. "That was sort of a mood killer."

He wiggled his eyebrows. "How 'bout I give you a taste of what I got you?"

She shook her head. "No." He leaned in and kissed her neck, then moved past her shoulders. "Danny, no," she said. "We'll wake up Lucy."

He moved past her shoulders. "Not if we're quiet."

Flack, Hawkes, Reid and Adam stood outside the precinct on the sidewalk. Snow was falling, in heavier flakes now. "I'm glad that one's over," Flack said. His eyes wandered somewhere, and Hawkes caught it. Don Flack did not need to be alone right now. There'd be time for that later.

"Hey. I think Sullivan's is open late tonight," Hawkes said. "You wanna go grab a beer?"

Flack looked over at the CSI, and nodded, grateful. "Yeah. Sounds good." He looked over at Adam and Reid, deep in a conversation about Vulcans and tribbles. "Hey. Geek Squad."

Reid and Adam both looked up sheepishly. "Guys wanna come to Sullivan's, shoot some pool, drink a few?" He looked pointedly at Reid. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you're sober enough for a tour of the city tomorrow."

"Yeah? Yeah, sure!" And then just like that, he returned to his conversation with Adam, lost in a world of statistics that Flack thought would maybe make more sense if he was drunk.

But probably not. He shoved his hands in his pocket, looking up into the snow and starry sky. He smiled sadly. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. Hawkes gave him a pat on the back as they ran to catch up with the two younger men.

Mac, Rossi and Stella left Sophia Johnson to be booked and processed by the officers downstairs and rode the elevator in silence to the 35th floor. When they stepped out, Stella said, "I'm gonna go grab my purse, and I think Hawkes said something about going to Sullivan's." She moved past them toward her office.

Rossi watched her for a moment. "Your partner's a hell of a woman," he noted, when she was well out of earshot.

Mac raised an eyebrow. "Don't even think about it. I know there's a reason there's fraternization rules at the FBI..."

Rossi grinned. "Nah, wouldn't dream of it. I can tell she's outta my league." He headed to the conference room to grab his things. "I wouldn't make a move on a woman spoken for, anyway."

"What?" Mac asked, confused.

The profiler chuckled. All in a day's work.

Author's Note: I just want to say THANK YOU to everybody that's read and reviewed this story. You'll have to let me know how I did. I'm hoping my plot bunny will return to "Wildcats" now, but as he's discovered a love of coffee with a ton of sugar and a penchant for statistics...you may see me in the realm of Criminal Minds next. But that's neither here nor there-thanks for reading!