Alex couldn't stand the way all her team members were looking at her, they tried to hide it or at least tried to not look at her with that mix of worry and wariness at the same time, but she saw it anyway. The last thing she needed was this bunch of anti-FBI Cops knowing what had happened. The others knew this as well, so she was relatively safe from them saying anything about it. When she had ended with her presumptions, the others looked at her for a moment, but they knew she was right because it was the only thing that all of them had in common right now.

"Alright I think we need to dig deeper into their lives, why did our UnSub kill them, it can't be only because they have children, I think that it has something to do with that, but there has to be something else," Hotch said.

"Why don't we form Teams?" JJ suggested, not knowing how Detective Rizzoli was feeling about them, as apparently her partner Detective Frost was not against them being here.

"Alright," Captain Cavanaugh said and looked at his squad members. "Frost, why don't you help Agents Rossi and Jereau, Korsak? You're with Hotchner and Morgan and Rizzoli, you'll work with Blake and Reid." when he finished neither of the last three looked happy with the decision.

"Okay, let's do this," Reid said, and Rizzoli sighed.

"Follow me," she said and walked towards the elevators, Spencer waited for a moment so Rizzoli couldn't hear what they said.

"Are you sure you want to work this case? You don't have to, you know?" he said, and Alex shook her head.

"I'm doing okay, I can't sit out cases with children forever, sooner or later I have to deal with it," Alex answered quietly as they followed the Detective. It turned out that Rizzoli leads them in the little cafe in the entrance hall. "Ma, three coffee, please." the black-haired woman said, and the elderly woman Alex had caught watching them this morning looked at them surprised. For a second, Alex wondered if the woman saw Spencer and her in front of the elevator.

"Okay, let's be honest. I don't like you being here, but I will work with you because I want to catch whoever did this."

"I agree with you, but it would be nice if you could lay off the stereotyping, we're sorry if you had a bad experience with the FBI. But we only want to help you, and we also need your help," Alex said contently, not backing away under the piercing glance of the Detective.

"So, could we please leave this behind?"

"Okay... I'll try my best," Rizzoli said after a moment of thinking.

"Thank you." then the mother of Rizzoli came over to their table and brought them their coffee.

"Are you the FBI Agents?" she asked, and Rizzoli looked a little annoyed.

"Yes, Ma. Agents Blake and Reid." she introduced them with a wave of her hand, and for a short moment, the older woman looked surprised.

"Ah, okay, well, I hope you solve the case!" with that, she walked away, but now both Alex and Spencer knew she had seen them, they only hoped that she wouldn't tell her daughter during their stay.

"Okay, so what do we do now?"

"Trying to figure out what made the UnSub kill them, we need to know what triggered them, Hotch is right, that they all had children is not enough," Spencer said, then a cop walked towards them.

"Jane, the husband of your latest victim, is here," he said.

"Thanks, Frankie."

"Oh, Frankie, can you come over for a second, dear?" Rizzoli's mother said aloud.

"Not now, Ma!" the cop answered as he left, and Spencer and Alex shared a look before they followed Jane, who had stood by the door and pinched the bridge of her nose before they walked up to the Offices again.

"Does your whole family work here?" Alex couldn't help but ask, and Jane sighed.

"No, only Frankie and Ma, which is already more than enough." the Detective answered. The three of them walked inside the conference room, where Samuel Schneider was waiting. He was a tall, well-built man with short blonde-haired, his blue eyes were red and puffy from crying when the three of them stepped inside he stood up but seemed to be at a loss of words.

"Mr. Schneider, I'm Detective Rizzoli, and these are FBI Agents Blake and Reid. We're very sorry for your loss and are doing our best to find whoever did this." Rizzoli said as they shook hands.

"Thank you..." he mumbled as they sat down.

"We'd like to ask you some questions, Mr. Schneider." Alex began, and Mr. Schneider nodded.

"Anything I can do to help to find whoever did this to Gabi," he answered and swallowed, his German accent was barely notable.

"I know you already told the Police everything you know, I also know this is very hard, but could you think of anyone who wanted to hurt your wife?" Spencer asked, and the man shook his head.

"No...I'm a-a SAP Consultant and travel a lot, that's how we came to the US we only lived there for a few months, and I was often away. We were just getting to know our neighbors."

"Was anything different the day she was abducted?" Alex asked.

"No, we had breakfast together...I- she told me she had a surprise...we-she-she was pregnant." tears streamed down his face and he was shaking with sobs, they gave him a moment and just when Alex wanted to tell him they could continue this later he spoke again.

"I wanted to call in sick...we were so happy, but she told me to go, that- that there was enough time to-to celebrate when I..." he took a few shaky breaths.

"Mr. Schneider, was it the first time Gabriela was pregnant?" Alex asked, and it took the man a few moments to answer.

"No...almost a year ago she was pregnant for the first time," he paused again to take a deep breath, "Gabi she- she had a drug problem...a few months after we married she was in a car accident. The doctor prescribed her something for her back pain, and..." he sniffled, and Rizzoli handed him a tissue.

"She got addicted to pain medication." Alex finished for him, and Mister Schneider nodded.

"It was a hard time for both of us...and then we learned that she...lost the baby due to an almost overdose. But she tried really hard and got sober! She was clean, and we were so excited about our baby, and some bastard murdered them! He took my wife and baby why? Why!?" he screamed and buried his face in his hands the next moment.

"Mr. Schneider, we're going to do our very best to find the person who murdered them. Thank you very much for coming in again, and if you remember or need anything, don't hesitate to call, okay?" Rizzoli said in a much calmer and softer voice than Alex, and Spencer thought was even possible for the other woman. They all stood up and then called for an Officer who would bring Mr. Schneider back to the home that was once filled with happiness and now only the painful reminder of what was supposed to be the most wonderful time for the young couple.

"Alright, let's go back to the others and see if they found anything new," Alex suggested, and the three of them walked back into the conference room they used as a command center.

"Hey, you got something?" Spencer asked once they walked inside and saw Rossi, JJ, and Detective Korsak already there, with the former of the three writing something on the whiteboard.

"Yeah, Sandra Warren had a little shopping addiction, she almost spent the money as fast as her husband earned it. They were on their way to lose their status, he made her go to therapy, and it seemed like she was getting it back under control." JJ answered as she turned around and looked at the newcomers. "Did you get anything from Gabriela's husband?"

"Yes and no, the only thing new is that his wife was addicted to pain meds after an accident. They caused her to have a miscarriage, and after that, she got clean." Rizzoli said, starting another discussion of possible motives for the UnSub while Alex sat next to JJ. The blonde Agent took a closer look at her friend and noticed how the brunette fumbled with her wristwatch, something she knew the other did when she was deep in thoughts and worried.

"Hey, are you okay?" JJ whispered unobtrusively, and Alex let out a small sigh.

"Yeah, I guess...I admit it hits close to home, but I'll manage," she whispered back, unknown to the two a dark-haired Detective had decided to eavesdrop once she had observed the look JJ threw Alex.

"Okay...If you want to talk or it gets too much, just say the word. We'll have your back Alex, you know that, right?" Alex managed a small smile and nodded at her.

"I know, thanks, JJ."

"No worries."

"Somethings wrong with that old friend of yours," Jane said as she sat down next to Maura on the couch in the home of the medical examiner with a beer in hand.

"Maybe you think that because they constantly have to argue with that stubborn, black-haired, half Italian Detective, that's also on the case," Maura answered, and Jane sent her a glare.

"No, that's not it, it's nothing about the case...not really, but since they came up with the mother theory, I caught them whispering. And most of the time, Blake is involved...so either something is up with her, or they're hiding something about the case from me. Either way, I don't like it!" Jane continued and looked at Maura, who thoughts about her words for a moment.

"I don't think they're hiding something from you, Jane, really, I know you don't like it when outsiders get involved in your cases, but I at least know Alex, and she was never the type to do that. It also seems like the rest don't fall into your Feds category, so why don't you try to work together." the medical examiner told her. Though Jane didn't like it, Maura was right, they seemed to be different from the other FBI Agents she had worked with previously.

"Fine, I'll try. But we're not at the end of this! I'll find out what is going on with them!" Maura only rolled her eyes before taking another sip of her wine.

"You know, I think if you got to know Alex, you

would get along pretty well."

"What?" Jane asked doubtfully, "No way."

"Yes, well apart from the fact that she has children and is more intellectual in the classical sense, she is determent and fierce, she's not an Agent for nothing you know. You would like her."

"Yeah, yeah, let's keep things how they are for now. We can try and form wonderful friendships after we close the case, okay?"

"I'll get back to you about that."

"I can't wait," Jane mumbled sarcastically and the two chink glasses before laughing.

They spent the next two days digging through their victims' lives, talking to the family and friends once more. They found out that the other two also had a dark secret, Melanie Johnson, the middle-class suburban mom, had embezzled money to finance her gambling. Andrea Owen, the single mother, had recently lost one of her jobs, and out of despair, she had prostituted herself, so she could feed her children.

They now had a possible motive for the UnSub as to why he had taken these women, now they had to find out who had abducted and then murdered them.

"Were any of these families on the radar of child protective services?" Alex asked as they walked back to the conference room after a coffee break in the afternoon.

"As far as we know, only Andrea Owen, why?" Rossi asked, and Alex sighed.

"I thought maybe if the UnSub found out about their flaws, then maybe they contacted them, but when CPS didn't do anything, or not enough, they took matters into their own hands," she answered. "They keep records on their cases for a few months even after they found nothing." the others, apart from Hotch and Reid, as well as the Detectives, sent her confused glances.

"When James, my ex-husband, disappeared one of the archconservatives, housewife moms from Kat's school actually reported me," she explained, and not only JJ's mouth dropped.

"What?" the other mother asked, bewildered.

"Yeah, she thought because I had no husband anymore and I was working, I could never be a good mother, so they should be taken away from me. She told them a bunch of lies how I neglected them. It was pretty clear from the beginning none of it was true, and they didn't do anything apart from visiting a few times, but like I said, it took a while until the case was closed and she wasn't happy I still had custody, she told me they didn't look hard enough."

"Okay that's simply crazy, you and JJ are one of the best mothers in the world, you'd both do anything for your kids, and anyone doubting that will have to answer to me," Morgan said to both JJ and Alex who flashed him a thankful smile.

"Alright, back to the case," Hotch said, not angry but firmly, wanting them to focus, "I think there might be something about that theory," he added and dialed Garcia's number.

"Finally, something to do again! I thought you guys forgot about me." this greeting caused everyone in the room to smile.

"Baby girl, could you look something up for us? Did CPS have any records on any of the families apart from Andrea Owen? Or were there any problems?" Morgan asked, and they only had to wait for a few moments until Garcia had their answer.

"Nope, nothing."

"What if...what if somebody else lost their child because of child services?" Frost asked, "What if they felt wronged because their child was taken and our victims got to keep them? Even Andrea Owen?"

"Uhh to whom belongs that sexy voice?" the technical analyst said as she typed away.

"My name is Barry Frost, and thanks for the compliment." the young Detective said with a grin.

"Well, I have quite a few hits anything to narrow it down?" Garcia told them.

"Nothing solid right now, but try to find anything that connects them to the families, maybe the UnSub found them through the husbands or children," Reid said.

"Alright, I'll try my best, I'll call you back," she said before hanging up. They guessed back and forth, trying to come up with theories on what could have happened or who could have a motive.

Half an hour later, Rizzoli's brother burst into the room. "We have a problem, another woman Gloria Walberg was reported missing by her sister, she's a social worker with two kids, but they were currently with their father."

Everyone in the room shared a glance, it couldn't be a coincidence that they were searching in the same direction the latest victim had been working in.

"Alright, Morgan, JJ, go to the crime scene," Hotch said, and the two got up, but were also followed by Frost.

"I'll go with you." With that, the three walked out while Rossi redialed Garcia's number.

"Garcia, we have another victim. Her name is Gloria Walberg, she is a social worker, can you give us anything about her?" Rossi asked, and they only needed to wait a few moments before the bubbly blonde gasped.

"Oh my- I was just getting the results of my search, and all of them, including the latest victim, lead to one person, Monica Shepherd! She was a Social Worker in the same CPS office as Gloria Walberg, who was her supervisor! She was on the case of Andrea Owen, but now it gets freaky. She had two boys but lost custody of them half a year ago when coworkers noticed she had an alcohol and drug problem!"

"She was a neighbor of the Johnson's until she had to sell the house, her son Brandon and Sandra Warren's son George were in the same karate class. And every Monday and Thursday, she took a bus to the same address, namely the building in which she and Gabriela Schneider went to the same NA group! She's the connection to every one of them!"

"Alright, Garcia, give us an address!" Hotch said.

"She works at a small Pub in Roxbury named McLaren's and lives in a small apartment at 465 29th street corner Bauer Road apartment 3B."

"Alright, Rossi, Korsak, and I will drive to the Pub, Reid, Blake, and Rizzoli you go to the apartment." everyone got up and prepared to leave as fast as possible. Now they had to chance to put an end to the murders, and if Monica stuck to her pattern, they could also save Gloria.

"I can't believe a woman did this," Rizzoli said as they walked towards the car and got inside.

"It's unusual that female serial murderers are this violent without a partner, but it can happen. When Garcia digs through Shepherd's life, I bet she'll find that she was always a loner, her family broke apart pretty early and her marriage also failed, she is more comfortable being alone. She couldn't trust anyone, that's why she couldn't have a partner. The stress of her job caused her to turn to alcohol and drugs, and when Gloria fired her, and they took her kids away, possible the only people she cared about, caused her to snap." Reid explained.

"She was so angry that she lost her children while our victims got to keep theirs despite having similar problems, that she had to hurt them. She had to make them feel the same pain." Alex added and looked at Jane in the rearview mirror.

"Let's just hope we get there in time to save Gloria." the black-haired Detective said.

When they finally arrived at the apartment of Monica Shepherd, they all jumped out of the SVU and ran inside the building and quickly up the stairs.

"Monica Shepherd, FBI, open up!" Alex yelled, but there was no answer, and they could hear no movement. Inspecting the old looking door in front of her she hoped only the chain was up, with no further ado she kicked the door down, and they rushed inside with their guns raised. Alex walked through the hallway and looked to her right in the small kitchen, but it was empty, she walked further into the apartment and opened the next door to the right while both Spencer and Jane yelled: "Clear!"

When Alex opened the door, a disgusting wave of vomit, old blood, and feces hit her, nearly causing her to gag and step away from the room. She pushed those feelings aside and switched the light on before she walked inside. Alex almost flinched backward again when she saw the filth, the buckets with feces, the blood and rotting food, and between all of this, she saw a tied up woman. Gloria Walberg.

"In here! Call an ambulance." Alex yelled and hurried towards the woman once she made sure the room was empty except for the victim.

"Oh, fuck." Jane cursed when she walked inside the room and held a hand up to her face.

"Mrs. Walberg, are you hurt? Can you walk?" Reid asked as he quickly helped Alex get the woman free, seemingly unaffected by the smell in the room. They carefully removed the gag, and Gloria threw up bile once it was gone, and then she took deep breaths finally able to breathe properly again.

"Yeah...just some bruises." the woman rasped as they helped her up and out of the room.

"Do you know where Monica Shepherd is?" Reid asked again as they helped her on a chair in the kitchen.

"No...that crazy bitch left some time ago...she always wanted me to confess- but I never did anything wrong...t-there was nothing to confess to her!" Gloria explained in a hoarse voice and looked at two Agents in front of her.

"Alright, just stay calm, okay? The ambulance will be here shortly, and we will get you to safety, okay? She can't do anything to you anymore." Alex told her and handed her a glass of water to drink something and get rid of the taste in her mouth.

"My...children, are they alright?" Gloria asked after she had taken a few sips of water, and Spencer nodded.

"Yes, they are alright. They were at their father's house and can't wait to see their mom again," he answered. In the distance, they could hear the ambulance coming, and two Officers walked inside the apartment at the same time as Jane.

"She wasn't at the bar either, there is a wanted bulletin on her maybe somebody-" just at that moment, the officers' radio clicked, and a female voice could be heard.

"Wanted Person Monica Shepherd sighted by Patrol 6151 on Hill Avenue, approach?" Jane looked at the two Agents.

"That's five minutes from here!"

"Alright, let's go, Mrs. Walberg-" but before Alex could finish, the woman waved her hand at them.

"Go! Catch that crazy bitch!"

"You two stay with her until the ambulance is here, and radio them we take the arrest of Shepherd!" Jane ordered as the three of them hurried out of the apartment and into their car, on their way the also called Hotch and the others who were also on their way to Hill Avenue. Just when they arrived in the street, there was another radio message that Monica went to the Boston Bank, holding beside the Bank so they couldn't be seen the three jumped out the car at the same time as Hotch and the others held across from them.

"Everyone ready?" Hotch asked, and they all gave the nod and pulled their weapons before hurrying into the Bank.

"Monica Shepherd! FBI, you are under arrest!" Hotch barked as they stormed into the Bank. There weren't many people in the Bank, and the few customers quickly ran out, but before they could walk further into the Bank, they heard a scream.

Monica had pulled another woman in front of her and pressed a gun to the crying woman's temple.

"Leave me alone, or I'll blow her brains out!" she screamed at them, and the woman let out a scared wail as tears ran down her face. Behind them, the Bank employees also-ran to the door behind the counters leading to the back room and a side entrance through which they could escape.

"It's over Monica; at this moment, the build is surrounded by cops, nobody as to get hurt anymore, let that woman go, and we can solve this peacefully." Hotch tried again, but after he spoke, another sound reached their ears, the crying of a child, and suddenly, Alex saw a pink shoe half-hidden behind a counter to their right. Monica saw it too and immediately pulled the woman towards their left behind the counter the little girl was hiding.

"If you don't go right now, they're both dead!"

"Monica don't-" in a flash, their UnSub pointed the weapon downwards and fired a shot at the girl. Everyone flinched as they heard the shot and the scream of the child.

"Next time, this girl is dead!"

"Go, please go!" the sobbing woman begged before Monica put the gun back to her temple.

"Alright, we'll go," Hotch said, knowing they needed another strategy, both the innocent woman and the little girl would die. Together they retreated slowly and left the Bank, not letting Monica out of their eyes.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck. What do we do now?!" asked Jane as they positioned themselves behind the Police cars, which parked in front of the Bank and had closed off the street for other vehicles. Just then, Morgan, JJ, and Frost arrived at the scene and walked over to them.

"What happened?" asked JJ.

"She took two hostages and is definitely willing to kill them if necessary. We need a new plan, JJ would you-" but Alex interrupted Hotch before he could continue.

"Wait, Hotch. She is too far gone, she won't listen to anything we tell her."

"What do you suggest?" he asked, already having an idea what Alex was thinking and not sure if he liked it.

"She is searching for mothers who, in her eyes, don't deserve to be one, let's give her that."

"No, absolutely not Alex!" Spencer said realizing that she was going to turn herself in, in exchange for the other woman and the child.

"We have no other way! Their times running up! And if you didn't notice, the snipers can't get a clear shot at her. She doesn't care for them, so maybe if she gets what she really wants, she'll let them go! I can save them!"

"But not in exchange for your own life!" Spencer argued with her, but Alex didn't back away and held his gaze.

"I'm not going in there to get killed, Spencer! I want to save that innocent woman and that little girl before both get traumatized for the rest of their lives! And that's not your decision to make Spencer." she turned towards Hotch, "It's your call, but you know I'm right."

"Would somebody please explain what is going on?" Jane asked, somewhat angry, hating that she had no clue what was going on.

"No, stay out of it." Reid shot her way and then ignored the offended Detective.

"Are you absolutely sure about this, Alex," Hotch said seriously, and Alex nodded.

"Yes, I can do this."

"Alright."

"Hotch!" Reid exclaimed. He couldn't believe he was simply giving her the okay to risk her life. But it was Alex who answered him before Hotch could.

"Spencer, we promised each other that something like this would never happen, and we promised Hotch and our team. Do you trust me?" she asked him, and Spencer ran his hand through his hair.

"Alex, that's not the point! I-"

"Do you trust me?" Alex asked again, and he sighed.

"Of course, I trust you. But I almost lost you, we barely survived that, I can't get through this again!"

"You won't," Alex answered and not caring about the others around them, not even Rizzoli and her colleagues, she kissed him. It was only a short kiss, but it managed to calm him down enough so he could let her go only a moment after they separated.

Taking a deep breath, she calmly made her way back into the Bank, ignoring the voices of the others behind her, especially Rizzoli, who now demanded to be told what was going on.

"I said, stay out of here!" Monica yelled as soon as Alex stepped inside the building.

"I know, but I'm here to talk to you, I can help you, Monica."

"No, you can't! And I don't care what you have to say!" the woman yelled back. Knowing the others could hear what they were saying through her radio, Alex took another deep breath.

"Yes, you should, because I'm your only chance to get out of this alive. I know what you did to those women, and I know why I can give you what you want, Monica, but first, you have to let the two go. You don't want to hurt them, they don't deserve it, and you know it." This time Monica didn't immediately scream back at her.

"Monica, look at them, that's a little girl in front of you, you don't want to hurt her, I know you care about-" before Alex could finish the sentence, the little girl was shoved out behind the counter and stumbled over the ground. Alex quickly took a few steps towards her and then shielded the girl as she ran away into safety outside.

"Thank you."

"You knew why they had to die! They had no right to be a mother!" Monica shouted again.

"Right, they weren't perfect, and they made mistakes. But look at the woman you took as a hostage. I bet she isn't even a mother, you're not a mother, are you?" Alex asked, hoping the woman understood and would say she was no mother even if it might be the case, hoping she'd realize that was her only ticket out of here.

"Y-yes...I don't have c-children...I don't even have a boyfriend." the woman stammered, and Alex's heartbeat slowed down. Now she only had to offer Monica something better than the woman. Herself.

"Why should I let her go even if she is no mother! I bet she also would be a miserable one!"

"Because if you want an example of a bad mother, then take me."

"What?"

"You can take me, let her go, and I'll tell you why you should take me." Alex offered, and to her great relief only a moment later, the woman also stumbled out from behind the counter and ran out of the Bank. At least now it was between the two of them, and the hostages were, if only physical, alright.

"Now tell me! Why should I take you instead of her?" Monica stood and pointed her gun at Alex, who did the same. Both women fixed each other with their eyes, looking out for the slightest movement.

"I have two children and still work for the FBI often risking my life in situations like this, knowing full well that every day I go to work I might not return, leaving them behind as orphans. When my daughter was three, she was abducted, right out of her bed, while I was only twenty feet away, and I only found out by accident. I didn't notice anything was wrong until it was too late.

Instead of divorcing me, my ex-husband faked his own death, leaving me behind as a single mother, and I still continued to work for the FBI caring more about my career than my children, who lost their father. My son was born via an emergency c-section, I missed the first few hours of my son's life because I didn't take care enough while I was pregnant, almost killing him before he was born.

I didn't notice that a monster of a man stalked my daughter for six years until it was too late until she was taken from me again. She was tortured, raped, and almost died because I failed her as a mother, if I had done my job as her mother, she wouldn't need therapy to repair her life. I fell in love with a wonderful man, who loves me and my children, I got pregnant again, and we never felt happier. Even though I was a terrible mother," Alex told her and could see the anger rise in Monica with every word.

It wasn't easy for her to say this at all, even though Alex knew some of these things weren't her fault, that these things hadn't happened because she had failed them. She couldn't help but still feel like it some of it, was her fault, and this feeling would never disappear for her entire life because it was her duty as their mother to protect them.

But it was still not enough to provoke Monica enough, she knew what she had to do. Involuntarily Alex had to swallow a lump in her throat when she thought about her next words because deep inside, she was still blaming herself for the miscarriage, the death of their child, and almost ruining her and Spencer's relationship.

"And I proved myself once more unworthy of that title when the baby died, without me even noticing. For two weeks, I carried our dead child inside of me no even think anything was wrong! I ruined the hopes of my whole family of another family member, pushing everyone away, ignoring their own grief for mine alone. I almost drove the man I love and the man who was the father

of my children, in everything except blood, away. Nearly causing my children to lose their father yet again.

Do you understand? All of the other women you killed made mistakes and were imperfect, but none of them comes even close to how I made my children suffer."

"You were right," Monica said through clenched teeth, her anger towards Alex seemed to almost radiate off of her, "I never regretted what I did with them, but with you...killing you will only make the world a better place and end the suffering of your children! You don't deserve being a mother!" with that, she fired at Alex, who saw it coming and was prepared.

Three shots were fired, and Monica screamed as one bullet grazed her right arm holding the gun, and the other hit her in the upper arm. The gun was wrenched from her hand and flung across the room, landing behind the counter way out of Monica's reach. Lucky for Alex, Monica was a terrible shot and missed her by a few feet.

"I'm okay, send a medic in." Alex quickly told the others as she made her way to Monica and restrained her until the others arrived. She paid no attention to the threats Monica made towards her and simply walked away from Medics treating Monica and the Officers swarming the place. She walked past them all, and once outside she also ignored her team and Rizzoli staring at her, Alex didn't even notice that Maura was also under them, having been near them by accident and wanted to see if she could help.

Alex pulled her vest over her head, finally able to breathe normally again, and made her way to a police car to their right, needing a moment for herself. She closed her eyes, leaning back against the hood of the car and fought against the tears that had dared to well in her eyes. She would never tell one soul that her first thought was that she would've deserved that bullet.

In the next moment, she already felt Spencer's arms wrap around her, and she returned the embrace, burying her face in his chest.

"I love you, Alex. Kathrin and Ethan love you too. You are not a terrible mother, you are a mother you had to face unbelievable things and still managed to raise two wonderful, healthy kids. You have no idea how much we love you, Alex, how much they love you." he said, and at the moment, Alex couldn't even put into words how much these words meant to her.

Hello!

I know long time no see, but I still hope some of you are left out there who want to read this story. I don't even want to start explaining myself, doesn't matter anyway.

Just one thing was that, for me personally, the last two seasons of Criminal Minds, were one big disappointment. So I was in no mood to write anything.

But now I'm slowly getting back, I'm also rewriting a few stories so there might not be new chapters but you still might want to look in from time to time because there might be changes. :)

I also wrote some L&O SVU and recently discovered the Good Wife through the Good Fight (great shows recommend watching them! I added Christine Baranski to my list of actresses I worship! She's amazing) and also wrote something there. I would be happy if you'd check it out.

Hope all of you and your loved ones are doing okay in these crazy times!