Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds. The occasional scenes from episodes of Criminal Minds in this story belongs to the writers of Criminal Minds and CBS. No copyright infringement intended.

A/N: Hello again, everyone!

Again, sorry for the delay!

My apologies if I had made any mistakes but do enjoy the chapter!

Also, I would like to credit ahowell1993 for helping me with this chapter.

"Here we are, babe," Reid said to Élise as they stepped off from their first-class flight and made their way to the crowd at LAX.

"I can't believe I'm actually here in Los Angeles," Élise said as they gathered their luggage on a cart.

"Actually, did you know that Los Angeles was originally called the Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels,

"Shh-shh-shh, baby," Élise gently puts her index finger on Reid's lips. "Not until we get to the hotel you can talk more facts to me."

"Why, yes, my sweet lady." Reid gives her a peck on the lips before walking with her, side-by-side, as they held each other's hands. "Now, should we rent a cab?"

"I got that all planned out." Élise points out to a familiar-look gentleman.

"Dr. Spencer Reid."

"Lt. Owen Kim." Reid greeted him. "Great to see you again."

"Who's this lovely lady?" Lt. Kim noticed Élise blushing.

"Federal prosecutor Élise Bastien."

Élise extends her hand and Lt. Kim shakes it. "Pleasure to meet you, Lt. Kim."

"Oh, please. You can call me Owen." Leading them to their car, "Your ride awaits for you both."

"So, what brings you back to LA, Reid?" Lt. Kim questioned the couple as he was driving them to the hotel.

"We're here for Dr. James Fallon's lecture at the University of California in Irvine." Reid wrapped his arm around Élise as she placed her head on his shoulder.

"And I really wanted to see LA, so here we are."

"That's great. Which hotel?"

"The Beverly Wilshire Hotel; we'll be staying at the Ambassador Suite."

"Oh, fancy." Lt. Kim raised his eyebrows.

Élise google-eyes Reid, "I figured we might want to make the best of being here before heading back to DC."

"Great. Any places you'll be visiting? Because I have a few places. There's always the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Hollywood Sign."

"I definitely want to see the mansion MJ rented and hopefully visit Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale." Élise quietly said.

"Oh, you should have seen the media when the news broke out about his death, his memorial service, and private funeral service. To say it was a circus would be an understatement."

"Yeah, I can imagine. We saw his memorial service when we were in London. We had tickets to see him in London for the first and last days."

"You must have been crushed when he died." Lt. Kim figured.

"Yup."

"So, how's the knee doing?" Lt. Kim asked.

"It was a bit stiff before after being on a plane for five hours, but the progress has been good. Who knows; I might be using a cane soon."

"Well, that's great."

A few hours after arriving at their hotel and getting settled into their suite, Reid and Élise decided to head to the lounge poolside. After Reid got changed into his swim trunks, Élise was already by the daybed cabana, clad in a purple and black two-piece bikini.

"Oh." Reid gulped his spit.

Élise puts her hands on her hips, slowly walking over to Reid, "I feel a bit different. But you, babe?" She wolf-whispers, as she runs her hands over Reid's newly developed muscles.

Reid blushes in embarrassment, "Thank you."

"Now, let's have some fun." Élise took Reid by his hand and slowly led him into the Mediterranean-style outdoor pool. "Lots of fun!"

After a couple of hours at the poolside, they headed for the spa for the next few hours. Élise figured Reid could use a massage or two, especially to help him with his healing left knee and a couple of skin and body treatments.

After that, Reid and Élise spent the next ten minutes making out on the bed.

Stopping for a quick moment, "How's your leg, sweet brain?" Élise purred.

"Those massages and body treatments really helped." Reid pecks her lips. "Thank you."

"Anything for you, babe." Élise growly purred.

"I love it when you purr," Reid whispered in her ear.

"Me-ow, baby."

They resume to making out.

By the next morning,

"Dr. Spencer Reid?" An older gentleman approached him and Élise.

"Dr. James Fallon." Reid's face lit up. "It's a pleasure to meet you. And who's this young lady with you?"

"My fiancée, federal prosecutor Élise Bastien."

"Pleasure to meet you, doc." Élise shook his hand. "I actually did some research about you and your work starting when I was at university and law school. Your work fascinates me."

"Why, thank you." Dr. Fallon smiled before noticing Reid shifting his leg. "Are you okay there with your leg?"

"Yeah. I was shot there a few months ago, but the progress has been going great."

"Great. Maybe you want to take your seats?"

"Of course, Dr. F."

After the lecture was over, Dr. Fallon approached the couple, "Did you two enjoy the lecture?" Dr. Fallon approached the couple.

Reid answered, "Yes, we did."

"Thank you very much for the opportunity, Dr. Fallon," Élise said. "Really, it was a great lecture."

Spencer was slowly walking on his one crutch next to Élise as they walked through is former classmate's Parker Dunley's art gallery when Parker Dunley himself walked over to them.

"Even though we saw each other at our high school reunion, what on Earth happened to you, Spencer?" asked Parker.

"Got shot while protecting a target during a case in August," said Spencer.

Élise smiled. "Spencer is making great progress since he just started walking with one crutch yesterday morning and he'll be on a cane hopefully by next week."

"That's great and have you two finalized a date for the wedding at your great-uncle's church yet?" asked Parker.

"We decided to get married in May," said Spencer just as a blonde-haired and blue-eyed woman that he hasn't seen in years approached them.

"Spence!" exclaimed Lila as she took the sight of Reid's crutch, "What happened to you?" asked Lila.

"I got shot nearly two months ago," said Spencer before gesturing to Élise, "Lila, I want you to meet my fiancée Élise Bastien."

"Pleasure to meet you, Lola."

"Lila." She corrected Élise.

Élise was still politely smiling, "My apologies, I thought I said Lila."

"What have you been up to?" Reid asked.

"I just landed a major role in an upcoming movie."

"That's great." Showing off his engagement ring. "We're getting married in the spring, May to be exact."

"That's when the movie will start filming." Patting his shoulder before walking away. "Congrats on the engagement. I hope to find someone like you."

Days later, Reid and Élise were just exiting an airport in DC when both their cells vibrated. Looking at their cell phones,

"I got a text from Hotch, saying we have a case in Hampton, Virginia."

"And I got a case involving a rich heir murdering his parents."

Giving each other a peck on the lips, "Love you."

"Love you more."

Spencer just got out of the taxi car and slowly walked toward a house in Hampton, Virginia, which already had tributes of stuffed animals left by those to honor the wife and kids of a soldier overseas. As he enters the house, he sets his messenger bag in the kitchen before looking at the blood trail in the kitchen. He soon walked towards the fridge and sees photographs of the kids. The next thing Reid knew was that he was staring at the backyard pool before watching a military jet fly.

"Hey," Reid hears Prentiss' voice. "How was your weekend?"

"Uh, scary yet informative. Not to mention filled with surprises but enough of that for now. Was the whole family killed?"

Rossi introduces him, "Hudson, this is Dr. Spencer Reid."

"Field Agent Anne Hudson." Agent Hudson shook his hand. "The, uh, father is serving in Iraq. 3 nights ago, the cops found his family buried over there." She points to the backyard.

"Buried?" Reid asked as he followed Prentiss, Rossi, JJ, and Hudson towards Morgan and Hotch by the mass grave.

"The neighbors heard the dog barking, came over, and he was scratching at the grave. Lucy, their oldest child, she's still in her swimsuit."

Hotch asked, "What does the father know?"

"Some of it," Hudson answered before continuing. "He was on patrol. Took his unit a couple of days to reach him. He arrives today."

"Last year the Williams family was killed and found exactly the same way. They lived in Newport news."

"The father, Dan Williams, was also serving overseas," Rossi added.

"Now, the police are overwhelmed And getting serious heat from the military. We need some answers fast."

"As do the media," JJ said. They're already calling this the work of a serial killer."

"They're right. it is." Hotch agreed.

"But why bury them?" Hudson wondered. "I mean, it can't be to hide the bodies."

Rossi figured. "It's a sign of remorse."

"And when they're done being remorseful, this will happen again." Morgan feared.

Reid observed the crime scene photographs as Morgan, JJ, and Rossi video-chatted with Garcia.

"I'm trolling through the Williams' emails, Satellite phone calls, landline phone calls, Family photos, their life, all of it."

"What about the Downeys?"

JJ asked, "They're up next, and there's a ton to go through."

"Fingerprints, Garcia?" Rossi asked.

"Zip. They're—they—there's nothing here. I'm sorry, folks."

"Garcia, widen the search," Morgan ordered.

"Morgan, I already did. VICAP combines every database in this country. We're as wide as we can go."

Reid starts to think about Dr. Fallon's lecture, "Abuse can have a long-term effect on any child's brain, but for the abused child who has the high-risk gene and the orbital cortex damage, The combination is devastating."

"All right, this air show is military. These fathers are all soldiers fighting a war on foreign soil. We know that none of these graves are a sign of remorse."

"Hey, guys." Reid got the team's attention. "Look at these graves. What are they reminiscent of?"

"Mass graves," JJ replied.

"Exactly. Which would indicate the unsub experienced early pubescent 3-dimensional mirror neurons Reflecting events similar to the one they're creating. I think this unsub was born into conflict."

Rossi questions, "But where was he born into conflict? When was the last time we saw anything like mass graves in the US?"

"We haven't. Not in our lifetimes." Reid said.

"Not within our borders. VICAP is national, not international."

"Garcia, international databases?" JJ asked.

Garcia responded, "Interpol is the biggest. If they did it, they're in it."

"It's pretty obvious that he's done this before, but the question is where and why."

As Morgan concludes a phone call with Hotch, "All right, we'll work it in right now. Prentiss thinks the unsub might be a woman."

"That's why we couldn't find a sexual motive." Rossi figured.

"Wherever she's from, her father's a military man."

"Derek," Garcia said. "I've got a hit. Interpol. 2 hits. 3 hits. 3 crime scenes. 3 different cities. The first—Zagreb, 1998. A woman and her 8-month-old baby are both killed. And then 2 years later, the same prints show up in Modena, Italy, Then 2007, London, England, young couple, both shot."

"You were right. She's killed before." Hudson said.

"Zagreb is the capital city of Croatia," Reid said.

Hudson questioned, "Is that significant?"

"Between 1991 and '95 they fought a bitter battle for independence," Reid explained.

Rossi added, "Serbian forces tried to ethnically cleanse Over 40,000 Bosnian Muslims."

"Then at some point within the last 2 years, she moved to America," Morgan said.

"She's on the run," JJ replies.

"And ran right into a city Filled with military families."

"The only mass graves reminiscent of the ones the unsubs created Were found all over Bosnia after the war, but none of them rival that of Srebrenica."

Garcia add-in, "Dutch UN forces created a safe haven for refugees."

Reid continued, "Then in 1995, Bosnian Serb forces surrounded the town."

"A psychopath born in the middle of that conflict—that's not a good mix," Rossi said.

Reid guessed, "She's exacting her life experiences onto the victims."

"You think this woman was there?" Hudson asked.

Morgan said. "Well, think about it. Langley's filling up with civilians and military vehicles just like Srebrenica."

"Can you determine her age?" Hudson asked.

"Based on victimology, each of these girls is no older than 15. The Balkan War lasted between '93 and '95, So if the girls represent the unsub, she's somewhere in her late 20s."

Hudson asked,

"How did Srebrenica end?"

"It was a massacre," Reid replies.

Élise was in her office, finishing up on some last-minute paperwork about her case dealing with a rich heir who was secretly a when she gets a phone call.

"Élise Bastien."

It was Hotch, "Élise."

"Hotch. I just heard from Reid about the case and…"

"Foyet's back."

TO BE CONTINUED…