A/N: For those wondering why I chose Arsenal as Emily's team, my Mum's brother, my late Uncle Frank was a big fan of Arsenal. That was just a little salute to him. He was a heck of a guy. :o)


Emily has just stepped out of the shower when JJ walks into their bathroom. Emily's shoulder's slump.

"Another one?"

"Yep. Outside of 'Chicago' this time."

Emily raises an eyebrow. "Definitely another message to us."

"Exactly."

Emily hurriedly dresses. Less than 30 minutes after JJ got the call from Hotch the team is on the scene with Talib and Elliot.

Emily and Hotch approach the body. Emily slides the tarp back and reads the words.

One of them has style, sets the world alight.
The other makes me smile so who gets the part?
Make up my mind make up my heart.
So who gets the part?
Make up my mind, Make up my heart.

She closes her eyes, running them through her mind. It is familiar. Recently familiar. It is…

"Starlight Express," she says as she opens her eyes. "Henry fell in love with the train set in the vineyard nursery. I was thinking he'd love this musical."

"What's it about?" Hotch asks her.

"It's all a child's imagination bringing his trains to life. Each car has its own personality. The main cars are Rusty and Pearl, who are in love until the new electric train engine, Electra, shows up and turns Pearl's head." She turns back to the body. "This lyric is from 'Make Up My Heart' where Pearl is trying to decide who she loves more."

Hotch sighs. "What do you want to bet this woman was trying to decide between two men?"

Emily shakes her head. "Not going to take that bet. And who better to talk to than a bartender or…or a priest."

Hotch nods. "It lends more credence to your theory."

Emily lifts one of the woman's hands. "There's a club stamp here. I can't read what it says but maybe Talib or Elliot will recognize it."

Hotch nods and gestures to the detectives. Emily carefully cleans a bit of the words off.

"She flinched so we're back to the original signature. Where did he meet you?" she asks the dead woman.

Elliot squats down beside Emily. "What's up?"

Emily holds up the hand. "Do you recognize this stamp?"

Elliot stares at it a second then shakes her head. "No. Maybe someone in Vice will. They are the ones watching the clubs the most."

Emily nods, laying the hand back down. She stands, looking around the alley. "Do we know yet when they were done here?"

Elliot stands and shakes her head. "Not yet. We're waiting to hear back from building security."

"Well, let's get out of the way and let the M.E. start on her. I've taken a picture and emailed it to Garcia to see if she can get us an i.d. sooner," Hotch says.

The group heads to the precinct. Once there Emily runs down the newest musical murder tribute.

"This guy has extensive knowledge of Andrew Lloyd Webber and he's able to get women to trust him. Any chance he could be gay?" JJ suggests.

Rossi shakes his head. "Then why would Branch trust him. From what I've seen his church wasn't exactly open to homosexuals."

"Branch could have been thinking he was saving the unsub," Reid suggests.

"He killed Lynch before carving into him. Do we know if he was gay?" Emily asks.

Talib shakes his head. "No, he was straight according to his family."

"But he was a young guy across the ocean from his parents," Elliot points out. "Could be something he hid from them."

"But Molly would have said something," JJ states. "They had been friends a long time and she only mentioned girls he'd dated. Never men."

Emily is pinching the bridge of her nose. JJ lays a hand on her leg and asks softly. "Em, you okay?"

Emily smiles at her. "Yes, just thinking. Trying to predict his next move. So far not working."

JJ grins and turns back to the others. A man walks in and speaks to Talib.

"I found that club stamp. It's for a place called Maestro's. Never have any complaints there because it tends to be an older, calmer crowd."

Talib thanks him and turns to the others. "So, who gets to go chase that lead down, Hotch?"

Hotch nods to Talib. "You, Rossi and JJ. We probably have time before anyone shows up. Let's get into the financials and see if Maestro's shows up anywhere else."

"Or any other bar," Emily says. "He could have several haunts he frequents looking for victims."

Hotch nods. "And we need to put his face out in the news. If you can get a better picture off their security camera's get it to us quickly. Otherwise we run with what we have. He's hunting too many random people for us not to put out a general warning."


Two hours later Morgan and Emily are meeting Bo Sheldon at the morgue where he has just identified his fiancé. Emily takes the lead.

"Mr. Sheldon, we are so sorry for your loss. Can we ask you a few questions that can help us find the person that did this to Lyndsey?"

The man nods, understandably still in shock. The agents lead him to a small office Dr. Howard had offered them. Once they are seated, Emily continues.

"How long have you and Lyndsey been together?"

"Five years. And engaged for 1."

Emily nods. "That's wonderful. I hate to ask this, but it is necessary. Was there a chance she was seeing anyone on the sly?"

Bo's head snaps up. Blame it on still getting back into the swing things but Emily never sees the slap coming until she is holding her cheek and Morgan has grabbed the man they are interviewing.

"HOW DARE YOU PEOPLE SAY SHE WAS CHEATING! HOW DARE YOU!" Bo is screaming.

"CALM DOWN!" Morgan yells.

Emily grabs Morgan's arm. "Easy, Morgan. He's just upset."

The man seems to be calm so Morgan carefully releases him. "You cool?"

Bo nods. "Yeah…yeah…sorry. I just…she's…we were…"

"You were having problems?" Emily finishes for him.

Bo sighs. "I was pressing her about setting a date. She…she said she was having doubts. I think…I think someone caught her eye but I don't know for sure. Maybe I'm wrong. I don't know."

"Is there someone who would know?"

"Maybe her best friend, Lena Gretel. They work together."

"Okay, we have a couple of agents there now. Mr. Sheldon, is there anyone we can call for you?"

He sighs. "No. I'll…I'll go see my parents. They can help me tell Lyndsey's that she is…is…"

He bursts into tears. Emily pulls him close offering him comfort. After a few minutes he pulls away. He looks into Emily's eyes.

"I'm sorry, Agent Prentiss."

Emily smiles kindly at him. "It's okay. We are so sorry for your loss."

She and Morgan head out to the SUV. Emily pulls down the visor and looks in the mirror. Her cheek is bright red. "Shit. Jen's going to kill you, Morgan."

"Me? Why me? You're the one that got bitch slapped!"

"And you're the one that didn't protect me."

Morgan starts to argue but stops. "Shit…JJ's going to kill me."

Emily nods as he drives them back to the precinct to see what Garcia and the M.E. had reported about the latest victim and the club where she was last seen.


JJ is going over the security video with the bar owner as Rossi and Talib talk to the bartender, who had been called in due to the circumstances.

"Man…that really sucks. She was so…so upset when she got here but by the time she left the reverend really had her feeling better."

Rossi raises an eyebrow. "Reverend?"

The man nods. "Yeah. He comes in sometimes. Usually sits alone. Sometimes he joins someone, most times that person looks down. He's really good at making them feel better."

"Had he ever left with anyone before?" Talib asks.

"Not that I remember. Last night I heard him offer her a ride because it was late. He didn't push her but it still took her a second to agree. I was actually happy to see it since it was kind of late and she'd been so upset." He rubs his eyes. "Fuck."

Rossi nods. "That about says it all, kid. Is there anything else you remember about him?"

He shakes his head. "No. He was just…wait…he was British or something. Does that mean anything?"

"Means another agent is 2 for 2 with her theories," Rossi replies. He hands him his card. "If you think of anything else, please give me a call."

The bartender nods, obviously still in shock. Rossi and Talib head back to the owner's office. They see JJ manipulating through several camera angles…as the owner leers at her from behind. Rossi grins and whispers to Talib.

"If she sees him looking at her like that she'll smack him. If Prentiss saw it, he'd be a eunuch."

Talib laughs. "Yeah, I can believe both of those things."

Rossi pats JJ on the shoulder. "Any good views?"

"Not from here. But when he first walks in his hat is sitting higher on his head. After he scans the room he lowers it and approaches the bar." She spins and looks at Rossi. "Let's get the businesses around here and have Garcia check their security cams. We may get a look at him before he enters."

Rossi nods. "Good idea. Let's get on it." He looks at the bar owner. "Thank you very much for your time."

JJ stands and nods to him. "And next time you want to undress a woman with your eyes make sure she can't see you in the screen. And, even smarter, make sure she can't legally shoot you."

The man blushes as JJ walks out of the door, Rossi and Talib's chuckles following her.


When JJ, Rossi and Talib walk into the conference room they see Morgan and Emily updating one of the boards.

"Hey, guys, we think- -Holy crap! What happened to your face?" JJ exclaims as Emily turns around.

"Schneider's fiancé was upset and smacked me. I'm fine, Jen. Promise."

"No headache?" she asks, her hand worriedly stroking her wife's bright red cheek.

"Nope. Perfectly fine except for it stinging a bit." JJ is studying her wife's eyes. Emily rolls her brown orbs and drops her voice to a whisper. "If you don't trust me I'm going to kiss you so passionately you'll know I'm okay."

JJ steps back. "Fine you're okay. Do that here and Hotch will kill you…and I'll have to drag you off to a broom closet."

Emily chuckles as JJ walks off. Hotch steps up to Emily and hands her a printout.

"Oh, joy. Financial records. Just what I've always wanted," Emily drones.

She pulls out her glasses and starts to pick through Lyndsey Schneider's life. JJ meanwhile calls Garcia and tells her what she's hoping to find from businesses around Maestro's.

For the next four hours the team pours over reports from Garcia as well as tips filtering from the tip lines after the release of the unsub's photo. Finally just after 2 p.m. JJ throws down the file she'd been reading.

"We know so fucking much about the victims but not a damn bit about the unsub. This is fucked."

She storms out of the room to get another cup of coffee. Everyone turns and looks at Emily. The brunette shrugs.

"Hey, she's right," she says and goes back to the report she'd been reading.

Later, Hotch sits back in his chair and tosses his papers on the table. "Okay, it's 4:30. We've got 4 bars to scout tonight. Talib, Reid you take Full Stop. Morgan, Emily Kate's. Elliot, Rossi Maestro's. JJ, you and I will be at Nouveau."

JJ opens her mouth to say something but closes it quickly. Her eyes dart from Hotch to Emily and back again. Hotch sighs. "JJ, ride with me to the hotel so we can discuss how we're going to approach the bar."

JJ nods. "Yes, sir," she says stiffly.

Ten minutes later she slams the door, sitting straight as a board in the passenger seat. Hotch sighs.

"JJ, I don't like putting her out there any more than you do. I know what the doctor cautioned about her head injuries but Morgan is with her. If she manages to attract the unsubs attention he'll have her back. Plus there will be uniforms stationed outside each bar strictly to be our back-up."

"And you and I both know if something goes down outside the back-up will respond to that leaving us hanging in the wind. She fucking got smacked today, Hotch. What if that bastard had hit her in the head? What if he had knocked her over and she'd slammed her head into the ground? What if- -"

"ENOUGH! JJ, she has been cleared back to full duty with just a caution about her head. All those things could happen and she could be fine. You know as well as I do that if we coddle her or try to put her in a bubble it will kill her spirit quicker than anything else. Is that what you want?"

JJ bites her lip. "No! Of course not! But…but…"

"Either show her you have faith in her or request a transfer. I won't have anyone on this team that doubts another member."

JJ's head had whipped around at the blunt statement. "I don't DOUBT her! I'm just fucking scared for her!" She turns and stares out the window. "For nearly a month I prepared myself for her to…to be…fuck… But now I have her back. And it scares the crap out of me that I can't guarantee she'll never end up back in the hospital again." She takes a deep breath. "Maybe…maybe we were wrong. Maybe we can't be okay on the same team after all. Suddenly I can't separate the personal."

Hotch reaches over and pats her on the shoulder. "This is her first case back on the road with us; her first time back on the front line. Give yourself time, JJ. Give her some time. I believe you will find that place inside where your fear isn't overpowering."

JJ stares down at her wedding ring. "I hope you're right. I'm not sure the Pentagon still wants me."

Hotch grins. "Trust me, JJ, they do. But I don't plan to give you up without a fight, even if it's you I'm fighting."

JJ manages a small smile. She turns to her boss. "Thanks, Hotch."

He nods. "Anytime. Especially since you have my back tonight."


When JJ walks into the hotel room, Emily is already waiting.

"Jennifer, I- -"

JJ holds up her hand. "Stop. I'm sorry for the way I reacted." She takes her wife's hands in her own. "I love you, Em. I trust you to do the job. And I trust Morgan to have your back. I'm sorry I acted like I didn't."

Emily sighs in relief. "You don't know how glad I am to hear you say that. I promise you, Jen, I know what the doctor said and I am taking his warning very seriously. I have too much to live for not to."

JJ pulls her wife into a sweet kiss. "I love you, Emily. Thank you for understanding my fear."

"I love you, too, Jen. Come on, let's get our dinner ordered and call Francesca and Will so we can chat with the two cutest kids in the world."

JJ smiles. "Perfect plan, baby. Absolutely perfect."