A/N: Hello again, everyone!

A shout-out to AHowell1993 and Summer21Rose for either reviewing Chapter 67, favoring, and/or following the story. The occasional scenes from episodes of Criminal Minds in this story belong to the writers of Criminal Minds and CBS. No copyright infringement intended.

My apologies for the lack of Opal and if I had made any mistakes but do enjoy the chapter!

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


BUZZ!

"Mmm…" Groaning, Reid wakes up to the sound of his cell phone vibrating on the bedside. Answering it without even looking at the caller ID, "Dr. Reid here."

"Reid."

Reid groggily asked, "Hotch?" Rubbing his eyes, "Wha…?"

Unintentionally interrupting Reid, "Sorry to wake up so early, but I need you in Quantico in less than 90 minutes."

Reid groans again before looking at his silver watch on the bedside and it was 4:17.

"Okay," He promises as he forces himself out of bed.


After brushing his teeth, washed his face took a four-minute-and-three-second shower, styled his short hair, and changed into a soft blue dress shirt, dark dress pants and a tie with two stripes and Converses. Reid smiled when he sees Élise still sleeping. Walking over to her bedside, he kisses her forehead, which causes her to wake up. Fluttering her eyes before covering her mouth for a yawn,

"Hi…" Élise yawns again. "Work this early?"

"Surprisingly, yeah," Reid answers as he puts on his silver watch and it was now 4:31. "Hotch called."

"Ah." Élise understood now. "Must be urgent."

"Yup." Reid agrees before giving Élise a kiss on the lips. "Love you."

Élise smiled back, "I love you, too."


Reid was in the roundtable room, along with Morgan, Rossi, and Seaver, reading Lord of the Flies, as Garcia came in. Looking at the four of them, she asked,

"Where's Hotch?"

"Any minute," Rossi answered as he was looking at his tablet; Seaver was looking at his over his shoulder.

"I didn't get a file sent to me." Garcia replied as she sat down, "Did a case go directly to him?"

Rossi truthfully answers, "Don't know."

"When's the last time he called a meeting this early?" Seaver asked.

Reid answers, "Three years, eight months ago."

"And what happened?" Seaver asked again.

Reid sadly answers, "Gideon left."

With widen eyes looking at everyone, Garcia shakingly asked, "Who's leaving?"

Morgan eyed Reid before eyeing Garcia, answering to her, assuring her, "Nobody's leaving."

About less than a minute later, Hotch enters the room, looking down at his cell phone,

"I appreciate everyone coming in early." He said before sitting down.

Rossi wonders, "What's going on?"

Hotch announces, "The Director called a meeting last night to discuss budgets."

"They skipped over Strauss?" Rossi asked.

"She's away." Hotch said before continuing, "The Bureau is facing a lot of changes and this unit is no exception. Over the next few weeks, each of you is going to be asked if you'd like to stay with the unit."

"Why wouldn't we?" Reid asked.

"There are other options for you out there," Hotch replied. "And while I want the unit to stay together, I understand completely if you want to see what the alternatives are. Morgan, there's renewed interest in you from the New York office."

"Nobody's called me," Morgan said.

"They will," Hotch assures him.

Morgan self-assumingly said, "That doesn't mean I'm gonna go."

"Oh, I know," Hotch responded.

"Are you staying here?" Seaver asked.

"It's my intention," Hotch answers back. "All I ask is if you are contacted by another division that you let me know." Hotch's cell phone rang. "Hotchner. Yes. Right. We can be there in 20 minutes." Hotch sighed after he hung up. "Virginia State police believe they've uncovered a serial killer. They need us at Zacha Road and Route 7 as soon as possible. Morgan, you and Dave get out there."

Rossi questions, "What about this?"

"We can talk about it later." Hotch wanted to put that aside as there were more pressing matters to attend to.


Reid knocked on Hotch's office door before hearing Hotch say,

"Come in."

Reid walks in, seeing Hotch work on late-minute paperwork. Hotch looked up and noticed Reid's body language. Reid had his hands in his pockets, bit down on his bottom lip, prompting Hotch to ask,

"Are you okay?"

Reid sighs before confessing, "I've thought about the other options we could be doing for the next few weeks as the Bureau faces changes."

Hotch guesses, "You want to be doing something else?"

"Be there for my family." Reid answers. "Plus, Élise's maternity leave is ending soon, so…I figure I let her go back to work while I stay home with Séraphine for the time being."

Hotch clarifies, "You want to take a sabbatical?"

Reid nods his head, "More than anything."

Hotch understandingly nods his head, "Okay. On one condition."

Reid wondered, "What's that?"

"Send some pictures of my gorgeous goddaughter." Hotch ends that sentence with a rare smile.

Reid chuckled before leaving his office to focus on the case.


The team soon began working with SSA Andi Swann, head of the Domestic Trafficking Task Force, who's been investigating the group for about three years. They began profiling how this group needs space and solitude, especially if they're holding multiple victims. While the two victims the team found lived thousands of miles apart, came from good families, stressed-out, vulnerable from academic burnout, they were still targeted. Scouts were sent to campuses, malls, clubs and the victims are the group's assets. These clients are extremely deprived. When the act of sex isn't enough for them anymore, they may be demanding more extreme forms of release.

Now the case really became personal for Swann as one of her U.C.s who had infiltrated the ring goes missing.


Reid had just returned to the roundtable room, where he sees Seaver and Garcia talking about the case and judging by the stack of files next to Seaver, it must be about the missing coeds since 2009. Reid asked after licking his lips, "What are Morgan and Rossi finding?"

"Uh, a lot of mud on the car and the victims," Garcia answered.

"Mud? Did it rain here?" Reid asked again.

"No, not here," Garcia responded before continuing. "South. Morgan has a theory that based on the gas mileage, they must have filled up within 70 miles of the accident."

"Gotcha. How many gas stations you find?"

Garcia quickly answers, "42."

"How'd you narrow that down?" Reid asked again.

"I didn't." Garcia truthfully answers.

Reid wonders, "Why not?"

"I didn't have any more parameters." Garcia reasons.

"Never stopped you before." Reid retorts.

With newfound encouragement, Garcia said, "I'll be right back."

She leaves the room, leaving him and Seaver alone, who caught the few folders that almost landed off from the table and gives them to Reid.

"Thanks, Reid."

Sitting a chair away from her, Reid was just about to open his file stack when Seaver said,

"So…about this morning with…Gideon. I take it he was important to all of you."

Reid bit on his inner right cheek. Even though it's been three years and eight months, just the thought of Gideon and/or any of the cases related to him was still a bit too painful.

"He was." Reid quietly answers before suggesting, "Let's focus more on this case, and maybe perhaps we can talk about Gideon at another time or maybe after this case."

Seaver shakes her head in agreement. "Yeah, let's do that."


The team managed to find the group's secular rural Virginia location after connecting two businessmen to a now-abandoned factory in the middle of nowhere—with a lot of acreage and mud and arrested and/or kill the unsubs involved in the sex trafficking ring, including the leader, who turned out to be a female and rescue the victims including Swann's U.C.—Renee.

Reid was taking down the clear board and Seaver was reviewing the files when Garcia and Morgan walked in; Morgan was massaging his right waist. Reid wonders,

"What happened to you?"

"That guy was huge." An exhausted Morgan said. "Seriously."

Reid jokes, "You should start working out."

Garcia lets out a giggle.

"Oh, you got jokes now?" Morgan asked as Reid chuckled.

Rossi noticed Seaver was looking upset, "What is it, kid?"

"We only rescued 7 victims today." Seaver mourningly said as she looked down at the files in her hands, "What about the rest of these?"

"It never ends," Rossi admits.

Morgan mentions, "But today I think we did good."

"Yeah, we did." Rossi agrees.

"Yeah, if we weren't so exhausted, I would toast us."

"Good work, everybody," Hotch said as he was standing in the doorway. "Go home and get some rest." Shaking his head. "Nobody needs to come in till 9:00." Hotch corrects himself, ":30." He soon leaves.

"We were supposed to talk ab—" Garcia was baffled. "Has he ever left before us?"

"Baby girl, I don't blame him," Morgan replied. "It's been a long-ass day."

"Well, you heard the man. Rossi takes Hotch's advice to heart. "Go home."

Morgan quickly agrees, "You don't have to tell me twice."

"I don't know about you all but I'm so ready to go home to my loving wife, my good doggy, and my little girl. But on the way home, I'm craving for some food at this super good Indian restaurant called the Tiger Temple. It's a little ways away, but it's open 24 hours and they have amazing chicken tandoori."

"Now that you mention food, I'm starving," Seaver said. "And I can't wait to try this chicken tandoori."

"I have an announcement to make," Reid knew he had to get this out.

"Oh, God, I knew it," Garcia feared the worst; her eyes almost looked misty. "Someone is leaving and that someone is you."

Reid denied, "I'm not; I'm just taking a sabbatical."

"For how long?" Garcia upsettingly asked again. "I mean, why? Wha…?"

Reid shrugs his shoulders, "I just want to spend more time with my family."

Garcia pleads, "We're your family, too."

"I know, but now that Élise's maternity leave is coming to an end next week, I…just want to spend more time with my girls."

"And we're all going to respect that, aren't we?" Rossi said, looking to Morgan, Seaver, and Garcia, and gave them a Hotch-stare, hoping no one would try to even challenge Reid's decision.

"Mm-hmm," Morgan nods his head. "I respect that."

"As do I." Seaver smiled.

Garcia purses her lips and crosses her arms, "And I...guess I'll respect it, but I still don't like it. And to prove I can be a good sport; may we come with you and have a late-night dinner with you before you go home to your girls?" Garcia bats her eyes.

Reid smirks, "Okay."

"I'd love to join you, but I have other businesses to attend to," Rossi said before giving Reid a quick man-hug and leaves the room.

Soon Reid, Seaver, Morgan, and Garcia left and had a quick late-night dinner at the Tiger Temple.


Another day has passed, and it was now Friday night. Reid was just putting Séraphine down to bed.

"Are you ready, little girl?" Reid whispers in Séraphine's ear, gently rocking her in his arms. "Are you ready for beddy-bed, little Fifi?"

Séraphine responded with coos and a screech before she let out a yawn. Fluttering her eyelids, she soon became sucking on her fingers, which made Reid smile. Stroking her hair, "I know I already told you this but I'm taking some time off to be with you some more. I love you so much and I want to be there for you, mommy, and Opal." Reid kisses Séraphine's forehead, "Sweet dreams, Fifi."

Reid waves to her before leaving her nursery and bumps into Élise, who was already in her sleepwear. Élise took a quick peck inside Séraphine's room and her heart melted.

"Aww," Élise gushed. "I'm going to miss this when I go back to work on Monday."

Reid took Élise's hand and kisses it, "At least I get to spend my sabbatical with you, Fifi, and Opal."

"I know your sabbatical doesn't officially start until Monday but, uh…do you want to start a little bit earlier?"

Knowing what Élise truly meant, Reid raised his eyebrows before leading her to the bedroom.


A/N: Sorry to say this but this is the end of The Profiler and The Prosecutor Book 1 and I will move on to The Profiler and The Prosecutor Book 2.

Another A/N: Sorry to do this again, but I'm planning on taking another sabbatical from writing, due to having a really bad morning this morning-(I rather not talk about it due to the fact that I might end up crying again, even though I've been told to stop crying and to start praying and ask God to help me, give me strength, etc.). Honestly, I was so upset that I didn't even want to post the chapters, and now...after post the chapters that I want to write again. At least for now. I know I always tell people to not give up, keep on going and keep fighting, but at times, there are days where you don't want to fight or keep on going, or even do anything. My apologies if I'm venting. I'll be back when I have the strength again. You haven't seen or heard the last of me.