JJ and Emily stand in the police station, the former clenching her fists in agitation. None of the mothers have admitted to having any surgery. They all deny everything despite the photo evidence of their scars. JJ squeezes her fists as tightly as she can manage, her veins popping out and her knuckles turning red.
"I know it's frustrating, but we'll find him, JJ." Emily whispers, and places a hand over hers. JJ jerks her hand back immediately. "Sorry," Emily says, and steps back.
"I just don't get it," JJ says. "Why are they denying it? Do they not care about who killed their children?"
Suddenly, as if on cue, one of the victim's fathers walks into the police station. His face is puffy from crying. He crosses to JJ quickly, avoiding eye contact with those he passes. JJ gestures to a conference room behind her, and the two enter, alone.
"How can I help you, Mr. Gellar?"
He paces back and forth, then takes the time to shut the blinds on all the windows. JJ stands up straighter, her hand on her hip. She frowns, suspicious. He walks back to her and takes a shuddering breath. He runs his hands over his hair.
"My wife. My wife, she lied to you. I couldn't take it anymore, I need you to find this killer so Daisy, my- my other daughter. She's only eleven. I need you to make sure my other daughter is safe."
JJ steps forward. "Mr. Gellar, what did your wife neglect to tell me?"
Mr. Gellar gulps. "My wife and I, we've always wanted kids. Even when we were dating, we were talking about it. We loved our nieces and nephews, I volunteered with kids, everything." He inhales and turns away from JJ, arms crossed. "When we finally started trying, we found out we couldn't have kids naturally. My wife, Bea, she had what's called a hostile uterus."
JJ narrows her eyes. "Had?"
Mr. Gellar turns around again, making teary eye contact. "We found out about this underground medical procedure. A woman who doesn't want kids sells her uterus, and they transplant it. You get it until you have your baby, then someone else buys it. They pass it around because they're so scarce. That's how we got Georgia. Eighteen years ago. And what you were saying, about the scars- I just thought that had to be important."
JJ shifts her eyes, putting it together. "And your daughter Daisy, she-"
"Adopted. Is she safe?"
JJ nods. "Yes, she'll be fine. But I'll send officers home with you just in case."
JJ leaves, gathering her team as soon as Mr. Gellar exits.
The team stares at JJ, sitting around the table. Emily sits atop the table, leaving her chair empty. JJ smiles at her for a moment, then returns to her focus. It's been days of agony looking over this case. She fought with Reid and came out to him. She's ready to put this stressful case behind her. She puts Garcia on speaker and begins to speak.
"Mr. Gellar told me what the surgery was. It was a uterus transplant. Underground. The same uterus has been passed between multiple women, sold over and over again. Every victim came from the same uterus, and I think the unsub is the child of the woman whose uterus it originally was." She raises her voice. "Garcia, I need you to find the original woman and her child."
Garcia searches, quickly finding the hidden website on the dark web that sells uteruses. She finds out that multiple people have died during the surgery, as the doctor had his medical license revoked. The woman who originally had the uterus died just before the killings started. That was the trigger. The unsub's mom was abusive, and he likely felt that was because of "her" other children.
The team heads out to the unsub's home, and JJ runs around the side, the rest of the team taking other sides of the huge house. JJ criss crosses her legs as she walks, her gun resting on her flashlight-wielding wrist. Her heart slams against the backs of her ribs. Even though she's done this for years, she can never quell the fear. Morgan says it's a good thing, that she needs the fear to survive, but she hates it. JJ despises fear. It's been the catalyst of everything wrong in her life.
JJ keeps looking for the unsub, breathless. Thoughts of fear plague her mind. Her parents couldn't save Roslyn because they didn't want to deal with their problems. She spent years of her life unhappy because she was afraid of being herself.
JJ hears the sound of the gun just as the wind from the bullet flies less than an inch behind her back. She ducks behind the fence and holds her gun up. She hears the footsteps of her team racing to her side, and soon the unsub is surrounded. He stands in the middle of a circle of guns pointed at him, his dirty hair falling over his eyes. He points his gun wildly, changing the target every second.
After no more than a minute of convincing, the unsub caves and drops the gun. Caught. But even after she watches him ride away in handcuffs, her heart won't stop pumping.
JJ's heart continues to scream all the way back to the hotel. It jumps to her throat, and she tries to swallow it down. Her hands shake on the steering wheel, and she feels Emily watching her in the passenger side. She takes shallow, shuddering breaths as she walks into her room, and she sinks to the floor just behind the door. She grasps her own throat as if she can push the stone inside away. Her breaths quickly turn into gasps, and she starts scratching at her chest.
"Get it out, get it out," JJ cries, and tears begin to fall down her cheeks. Emily, I need Emily. The one solid, coherent thought speaks to her. Emily. That's who she needs. She grabs the door handle and pulls herself up, her knees shaking. She exhales as hard as she can, and inhales deeply. She opens the door, turns down the hall to Emily's room, and knocks.
"JJ? God, what's wrong? Get inside," Emily says, bringing JJ inside with a hand on her back. "What's going on?" She looks at JJ with concern, her eyes shifting between JJ's.
"That girl. The little one," JJ gasps out. "Daisy. You know how old she is, Em?" Emily just stares. "She's eleven. Her sister, the one the unsub killed? Seventeen. She lost her sister, and it's just going to ruin her life, I know it, I know it!" JJ hides her face in her hands. She gasps as Emily waits for her to continue. She feels Emily's soft hands on her shoulders. Even in crisis, she still feels the sparks. The warmth radiating from Emily's hands. It calms her. The rock in her throat subsides.
"Emily," she says, raising her head again. "That little girl is going through the hardest thing she'll ever have to go through. And she's so little, Emily, she's so little. I-I was so little."
Emily nods. "I know, JJ." She pulls JJ toward her, letting her face rest on her shoulder, and places her cheek on JJ's head. "But you got through it. You lost your sister when you were eleven years old, and you got through it. She will, too."
JJ sobs and wraps her hands tighter around Emily's waist. "What if I didn't? What if that's why all of this is happening? I'm finally ready to be who I am, and I just want to tell Ros." JJ cries out again, feeling the wetness of her tears on Emily's shoulder. "I used to tell her everything. I would've told her first. I want to tell her."
Emily releases JJ and looks into her eyes. "You still can, JJ," she whispers. "Didn't you tell me the two of you would look up the moon? If you were separated?"
JJ nods and wipes her eyes.
"So tell her. Tell the sky. She'll hear you."
JJ walks to the open window, staring straight into the full moon. She takes a deep breath and thinks of Roslyn. Her big sister. Her best friend, always.
"I'm gay, Roslyn."
JJ suddenly feels an overwhelming sense of safety. A feeling of love washes over her body, and she knows. Roslyn loves her. Roslyn supports her. And everything will be okay.
JJ turns back to Emily and smiles, and Emily returns the expression. The two walk towards each other and meet in the middle for a hug. And JJ feels the sparks again, throughout her entire body.