A/N: Have I ever mentioned how much I love you guys? Cause I do. A lot. Loving everyone's theories regarding the case! Enjoy :)

Chapter Fourteen

Mia gazed at her ringing phone grumpily for a moment before tossing it aside and returning to her half-finished cookie dough. Spencer had called her nine times in the last half hour, second only to Aaron's eleven calls and Penelope's fifteen. She knew Penelope was calling on behalf of the other two, and that both men were calling to berate her for not telling them the moment she heard about the break in at the shop, and she didn't feel like dealing with either of them. In the forty minutes since Alice had left for home, where she planned on sleeping off the hellish morning she'd had, Mia had realized that she'd overreacted by calling Andy and that there was a slim to none chance that the culprit was the team's current unsub. She'd also decided that, despite his promises, Andy had notified Aaron and Spencer the first chance he'd got.

After briefly considering following Alice's lead and spending the rest of the day in bed, she'd decided that chocolate was a much better route and had dove headfirst into baking. Her first batch of chocolate chip cookies was already in the oven, and she was nearly finished whipping up a batch of Spencer's favourite snickerdoodle cookies—she knew she'd need to appease his anger somehow, and the cookies seemed like a good start. Next on her list was a double batch of triple chocolate cookies to give to Aaron and the rest of the team.

Just as Mia was about to take the first tray from the oven, there was a loud knock at the door. She sighed, knowing it was either Aaron or Spencer—or both—coming to scold her face to face, and continued with the task at hand. As she set the warm, gooey cookies atop the cooling rack, there was another, louder, longer knock. Rolling her eyes—clearly they forgot they both had keys—Mia tossed her oven mitts aside and went to deal with the over reacting men in her life.

Without checking the peephole she unlocked the door and opened it wide, smiling when she found David Rossi waiting for her expectantly. "Dave," she greeted warmly, "To what do I owe the surprise?"

"Why haven't you been answering your phone?" Dave demanded, pushing past her and glancing up the hall. "Are you alone? Is everything alright?"

"Uh, I'm fine," Mia said slowly, "And alone, yes. What's going on?"

Dave turned to her as she shut the door. "You didn't answer the phone."

"No," she agreed, "I know Aaron just wants to flip out on me because I didn't call when I found out about the store."

"What?" Dave frowned at her, finally removing his dark sunglasses. "What about the store?"

"Uh, it was broken into. Did they not tell you?"

"Do they even know?!"

Mia crossed her arms over her chest. "If this isn't about the store, then what's going on? Why are you here? Are they okay?"

"They're fine," Dave nodded. "Worried about you, though. You should probably pick up next time someone calls you ten times in a row."

"I figured I was going to get yelled at," Mia told him quietly. "What's wrong? If they didn't know about the store then why are they freaking out?"

Dave ran a hand through his dark hair, heaving a sigh. "You should probably just come with me."

"Why?"

"We, uh…" Dave seemed uncomfortable. "We think you might be in danger."

"Yeah, I know," Mia nodded. "I look like the victims in your case. Spencer told me."

"There's more to it than that now, Mia."

"What do you mean?"

Dave shrugged noncommittally. "We'll explain at the office," he said quickly. "Aaron said you have a go bag?"

Suddenly nervous, Mia motioned to the closet. "Top shelf," she said simply. "I have cookies on the go…let me just tidy everything up a bit."

Dave nodded and moved towards the closet to get the go bag Aaron had insisted she have ready at all times, just in case. Mia returned to the kitchen and quickly covered the uncooked cookie dough with plastic wrap and stuck it in the fridge to be cooked later. She tidied up the mess and deposited the dirty dishes into the sink, put the still warm cookies into a plastic container to bring to Quantico, and quickly untied her apron, tossing it haphazardly over a kitchen chair before hurrying back out to Dave.

"Ready?"

Mia nodded silently, grabbing her handbag and digging for her keys. Dave gave her a comforting smile, put his sunglasses back on, and led the way out into the hallway. After pausing briefly so Mia could lock the door, he motioned for her to go ahead, one hand on his holstered gun. Mia gulped, not liking his tense body language one bit. The drive to Quantico was quick and quiet, interrupted only by Dave calling to let Aaron know he had Mia. When he told Aaron that Mia would explain why she ignored his phone calls—and apologize—in person, she felt like she was five again, and Sean had caught her running away from home when Aaron was babysitting. Neither said much the rest of the way, and before she knew it Mia was being ushered into an elevator.

"Dave," she said softly, suddenly feeling like she was going to cry, "Please tell me the truth."

Dave frowned, though he seemed to have visibly relaxed since they reached the Bureau. "What do you mean?"

"Spencer," she said, searching his face for any trace of dishonesty, "You swear he's alright? You're not bringing me here to claim a body, or to sit me down and explain how gruesomely he died?"

"Mia, I swear he's fine," he assured her, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Reid is on his way back from interviewing some family members of our most recent victim. Hotch is here, upstairs, waiting for us. I was just closest to you, so they sent me to pick you up."

Mia wasn't quite sure if she believed him, but she waited quietly for the elevator to reach the floor of the BAU. Not until she saw Spencer with her own eyes would she relax. If he was alright, though, and Dave was telling the truth, then that meant she was in more danger than she'd initially believed. And that wasn't a thought she wanted to entertain, either.

The moment she stepped off the elevator, Dave close behind, Penelope appeared and drew Mia into a tight embrace. Mia hugged her friend for a moment before pulling away, handing her the container of cookies, and entering the bullpen, searching for Aaron. He emerged from his office, his anger obvious even from across the room, and motioned for her to join him. Mia took a deep breath and hurried towards him, throwing her arms around his neck as she reached him.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled into the front of his suit, "Please don't yell."

Aaron sighed, wrapping his arms around her tightly. "Don't ever ignore my calls like that again, understand?"

Mia nodded. "Did you talk to Andy?"

"He just called," Aaron told her, leading her into his office. "What were you thinking? You should have called me. Immediately, Amelia."

"I know. I just…I didn't want everyone to panic."

"I would have preferred panicking over that rather than panicking because no one could reach you!"

Mia ducked her head guiltily. "I'm sorry."

"I'm just glad you're okay, Mia," Aaron said softly, pulling her into another hug. "I was very worried."

Mia murmured another apology, hugging her brother tightly for a few moments before taking a small step back. "So what's this all about?" She asked curiously. "Why am I here? Is it all because of the shop?"

Aaron scrubbed a hand over his face. "Not exactly, no," he replied after a moment. "Why don't we go to the conference room, and we'll explain everything."

"We?"

"The team," Aaron clarified. "Come on. Morgan and Reid should be back any minute now."

Mia followed him out quietly, digging through her bag for her phone. Just as she was typing out a message to Spencer, the door to the BAU burst open and he appeared, looking frantic. Mia dropped her phone back into her bag and hurried down the steps towards the bullpen. Spencer spotted her and crossed the room, wordlessly pulling her into a bone crushing hug as he reached her.

"I was so worried," he said into her hair. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she assured him softly. "I'm sorry."

Spencer took a step back, his hands on her shoulders, and gazed into her eyes. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Mia shrugged. "Clearly there's something going on that I don't know," she said with a weak smile. "Makes me kind of nervous. I'm okay, though. Really."

Spencer sighed, brushing a curl out of her eyes before kissing her gently. "I think they're all waiting for us," he told her, taking her hand and starting towards the conference room. "Let's get this over with."

No one said a word as Mia and Spencer entered the room and took their seats, Mia sitting with Spencer to her left and Dave to her right. Aaron stood behind a chair across the table, the grim look Mia knew meant nothing good on his face. For a few moments everyone was quiet, Mia gripping Spencer's hand tightly, her eyes on her dark purple nails. She felt certain she knew what was coming, and she knew she wasn't going to like it.

Finally Aaron sighed. "You've probably already figured this out, Mia," he said slowly, "But we have reason to believe our unsub has targeted you as his next…victim."

Mia took a deep, calming breath, her suspicions confirmed. Beside her, Spencer tensed. Mia said nothing while the team took turns filling her in on the details of the case, explaining why they believed her to be in real danger. As they spoke, each one using a calm, soothing tone, a sick feeling of dread grew in the pit of her stomach. She was aware of Aaron watching her closely, waiting for some form of panic, and Spencer holding her hand between both of his comfortingly.

"Mia?" Aaron said gently when everyone had finished. "Do you have any questions?"

Glancing up at him, Mia took a shaky breath. "Why me?" She asked weakly. "I mean, I get that I look the part…and I went out of the country. But I'm sure plenty of dark haired women have travelled recently. Why is he after me?"

"There is a possibility that we're mistaken," Aaron admitted, "And I hope we are. But I'm not about to take that risk."

Mia nodded. "So…I am being targeted by a man who likes to rape, torture, and kill women," she said. "What do I do?"

"What do we do," Penelope corrected her. "We're in this together, sweets."

Mia gave her a grateful look.

"We find this guy and put him away," Aaron told her. "And we keep you safe until then."

"How are you going to find him?"

"We know Dulles is where he's finding his victims," Dave explained. "We've started combing through employee records, but it's a slow process."

"Can you think of anybody you may have spoken to when you came back from Europe?" Aaron asked. "We've profiled him as confident and sociable. Probably seemed like somebody you could trust."

"Paul," Mia said immediately. "The customs agent."

"Customs agents scan passports," JJ said quickly. "He'd have access to all the information he'd need to find the women he wants."

Aaron frowned at Mia. "You're sure?"

"Absolutely," she nodded. "He's the only employee I had any real interaction with. He was...I liked him! He was very nice. But it's got to be him."

"Is there anything else you can tell us about him? His last name?"

Mia shook her head. "I don't know his last name," she said. "He's a customs agent. He likes Browning. He—"

Spencer stopped her. "How do you know he likes Browning?"

"We discussed my shop," Mia explained. "He was looking for a specific volume. He stopped by the store a few days ago."

"He was in your store?!"

"Yeah, he came by just as I was leaving. We chatted for a bit and then I left."

Aaron ran a hand through his hair, his eyes flashing angrily. "Garcia, find Paul. Get all the information you can. Get us an address."

"Yes sir."

Mia sat quietly as Aaron continued to bark out orders and the team jumped into action. Spencer got to his feet, but stayed by Mia's chair rather than following the others out of the room. Aaron waited until only the three of them remained before giving Mia a dark look.

"You never thought to mention this man?"

"Of course not," Mia replied. "Why would I? He seemed like a regular guy looking for a rare book. I deal with those people all the time. How was I to know who he was?"

Aaron sighed. "Anderson is going to take you to a hotel until we—"

"A hotel? I can't go home?"

"No, Mia," Aaron said shortly. "This guy is stalking you. He knows where you live. Where Reid lives. Probably where I live. He knows where you get your morning coffee, where you go for your morning run, where your favourite grocery store is and your favourite sushi restaurant—"

"I get it, Aaron."

"Anderson will take you to a hotel. There will be a team of agents watching the building. He will stay with you until we've caught this guy."

"Anderson won't need to," Spencer said suddenly, laying a hand on Mia's shoulder. "I'll go with her."

Aaron frowned. "Reid—"

"Hotch, please," Spencer cut him off. "You know who we're looking for. You don't need me. Mia needs me."

For a moment both men stared at each other, neither speaking. Mia braced herself for Aaron's angry response, but instead he surprised her by nodding. "You're right," he said. "Go. Both of you. Call me when you're safe."

While Spencer waited patiently by the door, Mia walked around the table and threw her arms around her brother's neck. He returned the embrace with such unspoken emotion that Mia suddenly felt close to tears. He'd kept a neutral expression and calm tone throughout the entire conversation, but now, with most of the team gone, it was obvious to her how distraught he was.

"You'll get him," Mia assured him with a small smile. "You always do."

Aaron sighed. "Go. Please stay safe."

Mia pressed a quick kiss to her brother's cheek. "Love you."

Aaron managed a small smile. "Love you more Little One."

A/N: Review review review! It keeps me posting! :)