Chapter Sixteen: Game. Set. Match.

Persephone did not believe in luck. Nor did she believe in God. In her mind, if God did exist then he was quite clearly an ass. Who would want all the atrocities that happened in the world? Free will aside, there were enough natural disasters to make Persephone conclude that the world was a cruel place. Her job only confirmed that suspicion. Anyway, if she did believe in luck and she did believe in God, it would mean neither was on her side.

When she left the UK five years ago – nearly six now she thought absent absentmindedly, she thought she could leave much of her old life behind. While she would always hold a special place in her heart for Britain, the US was her home now and she had hoped that she wouldn't be reminded of the bad memories of her old home. However, soon after she had got back from Jacksonville, she had begun receiving letters. Letters that could only be from one person.

The first letter appeared on 7th June and a new letter appeared each week, like clockwork. He was taunting her. Persephone knew they could only come from one person and one person alone. Even if the fact that they were letters wasn't unusual (which in this day and age it was) the fact that it was typed on a typewriter certainly was. Persephone remembered that typewriter. A little unknown thing about typewriters is that each one is unique. The text that each one uses varies slightly, if you know these differences you can tell which typewriter wrote. And Persephone could tell. It was written on the typewriter owned by her father. The one that was in his office. The one that when Persephone was young and naïve, she made the mistake of touching – never again.

By the time the third letter came, Persephone knew that she needed help. The fear that grew inside her chest was almost paralysing.

My Dear Persephone

Really Persephone? I thought I had raised you better than that. Didn't I teach you that ignoring someone is extremely rude? I must say that angers me. I thought that you would know by now that angering me is not a good idea. I guess you weren't as smart as I thought you were. You always were an insolent little brat. Do not worry. I am coming. I will fix that my girl.

SEE YOU SOON

Of course, she remembered what it was like to anger her father. She spent her childhood trying to avoid it but sometimes there were days where he'd get angry at a quiet wind. Making her father angry was not conclusive to good health, particularly after her mother died.

The typewriter had always interested her. There weren't many people that had them these days after all. When she had gone to the history museum with the school to learn about the Victorians, they'd been taught about the typewriter. In those days many rich people had them and authors like Dickins would have used it to type out their novels. After that Persephone had spent many days in the library looking up information about the typewriter in books and on the internet.

The one in her father's office was apparently an antique passed down through the generations of their family. Persephone knew she wasn't supposed to be in here with it much less touching her father's prized possession. But her father was busy wasn't he? He wouldn't notice if she slipped and looked at it for a while. She only wanted to see how the mechanism worked and maybe even type out her name or something. She just couldn't resist.

"What are you doing girl?"

Nine-year-old Persephone stood in the office of their Eastbourne home. Her hands touched the typewriter that was on her father's desk. She had always been intrigued by it because it was vintage. Most people had computers, but her father didn't.

"The concept of the typewriter dates back to as early as 1718 though the date it was first invented is itself, hotly debated."

In two long strides, her father walked across the office. When she was near him, he grabbed her arm harshly with one hand and slapped her face with the other.

"That wasn't what I asked you, girl." He growled.

"I was interested so I came in here to look and touch it. I wanted to see how it works." Persephone explained.

"Did I tell you to come in here?"

"No sir," Persephone admitted, "I'm sorry."

Her father smirked. It sent a shiver down her spine. "Oh, believe me, you will be."

Deciding that it would be in her best interests to tell someone what was going on, Persephone made up her mind. She collected the letters and drove straight to Spencer's house. She hoped that he would be there. Maybe it would have been a better idea to phone first.

Thankfully Spencer was at home. When he appeared at the door he quickly noticed the urgency and distress in her demeanour. Soon she was ushering her inside and placing a cup of hot tea made just how she liked in her hands. Persephone took several breaths and allowed Spencer to calm her down. She needed to tell Reid everything and that scared her, but it was time. She was coming up to a year now at the BAU. Persephone and Spencer had grown close much closer than any of the other members. If she could trust anyone with the information around her childhood Spen was that person. So, she opened her mouth and told him her story.

Persephone had been born in Hastings and moved to Eastbourne shortly after. When she was three the two dearest people in her life had been born. Her brother and sister. Twins. She loved them so much and so wholly the minute they'd come home from the hospital. Her two little, perfect siblings that with the same fairy hair as she had and the same emerald green eyes – the same as her dear mother's. Then four years later, tragedy struck. Her mother had died quite suddenly. A brain aneurysm the doctors had said. One minute she was there the next she was gone and Persephone, nearly 8 and the time had lost her sweet, intelligent mother. After that, her life had changed like a switch had been flicked.

Before her mother died her father had been cold. He wasn't the warm and snuggly type but when his wife died it was like the single human part of him had vanished. Where'd been distant and cold he was now angry and cruel. Sometimes Persephone couldn't go a day without being hit. She'd never let him hurt her brother and sister though. Whenever she could she tried to take on any punishment their father might inflict on Cassiopeia or Ignatius.

As the years went by, Persephone learnt to look after her brother and sister. She couldn't remember the last time she had truly been a kid. It was a lot easier to look after them when they both attended the same primary school, but everyone has to get older and soon she left primary to attend secondary school. It seemed that not many people found it odd that an 11 nearly 12-year-old was responsible for picking up their younger siblings. Then one day she'd been held back for a frankly ridiculous reason. Persephone had raced to the school to pick up her siblings only to be told her father had picked them up. Fear filling her, she remembered running home only to find her brother and sister lying in the hallway by the stairs, unresponsive and not moving.

"Ignatius? Cassiopeia?" Persephone shouted as she ran into the house, throwing her blazer and hat on the counter as she passed it.

No answer. That was worrying. Normally they'd come to meet her. Her father had picked them up and taken them home. Maybe they were trying to keep out of his way. She had told them to do that as much as possible and their father hated shouting in the house. So maybe they were alright, and her instincts were off-

Oh god no! Persephone saw her little brother and sister on the floor, blooding seeping from their heads. This was really not good!

"Iggy? Opie? Nay? Cassie? Please!" Persephone begged. She tried shaking them awake but they weren't moving, weren't breathing and a quick check told her there was no pulse either. She looked up to see her father glaring down at her.

"What did you do?!"

"They were being too loud." He answered calmly.

"So, you threw them down the stairs?" Persephone demanded. Then she charged for the phone on the cradle and dialled 999.

"I got home as soon as I could, but it was too late. I was 12. They were 9." Persephone explained crying into the tissue that Spencer had given her.

"I'm sorry Persephone." Spencer apologised.

What else could he say? He knew her childhood had been bad, but he never really realised how bad it had been. It explained a lot about her. Like, for example, how she was so good with children. The way she was with Henry and Jack suggested that he was extremely maternal – like had children. In her own way, she did. When the mother died she had taken that role on for her brother and sister. She had practically raised them.

"After that, my father was arrested," Persephone told him "And after all that, do you know what happened? He got five years. Five years for murdering the sweetest two kids you'd ever meet. He got away with an actual murder charge. Apparently, they couldn't prove it. So, he got sent to prison for reckless enlargement resulting in the death of a minor. I got sent into the system after that."

Reid pulled Persephone into a hug. It was by no means the first time he'd heard about that kind of thing happening. Sometimes the justice system was very unjust and favoured the ones who didn't deserve to be favoured. Money was the root of all evil and then it allowed them to get away with it.

"When they were scared, I'd wriggle in between them and cuddle them close. I'd tell them stories about cottages on little farms with a dog and homemade pie. I'd tell them the adventures the people that lived there had until they fell asleep."

Persephone wiped a tear from her eye. This was very painful for her to talk about. After that fateful day, she never stopped thinking of her brother and sister. She wasn't their mother- not officially. Their own mother was sweet and kind. She had Ignatius' laugh and Cassiopeia's smile. Every time she looked at their picture she could see bits of their mother in them. They had not inherited much of their father and Persephone was thankful for that. Still, the twins had been so young when their mother died that it had been left to Persephone to fill that void. It had been left to her to teach them about their dear mother. To care for them and to love them. So, while technically she had been their big sister, she had felt more like a mother than anything else.

"What they didn't know is that I was saving for a little house in a country or something similar. A place where'd they have plenty of space to run and play. They'd go to school and come home to homemade pie and cuddles. They didn't know that as soon as I turned 18 I'd get my inheritance and take them away. I'd sue for custody and they would never have to see him again."

Persephone paused briefly letting the tears fall freely. There was no point in trying to stop the flow that had started. It was true. Her mother had been quite well off herself and when she died Persephone had stood to inherit a great fortune. All she would have to do was wait until she was 18 and then she could access it. Until then it was held tightly away for her where no one could open it. Now, she still had that money but found that she had little need for it.

Reid was silent. He gave neither verbal nor physical cue that she could continue, deciding to let Persephone choose when she was done talking. So, instead, he took hold of Persephone's hands. She did not flinch at the touch although his hands were slightly cold but welcomed it allowing the physical contact to comfort her.

"But that never happened." Persephone continued softly. She was telling him a lot more than she had first expected but it just seemed the right thing to do at the moment. "I never got the chance to save them. They never got the chance to run around and scream in excitement rather than fear. They never got to climb trees and do things normal kids do. And that was my fault because if I had been there that night, I could have protected them, and they'd have that house on the hill with the swing and the dog. And I'd still have my baby brother and sister. But I don't. And that's my fault and something I will never forgive myself for."

The guilt in her voice was overriding. It may have been nearly 20 years since that fateful day, but she had never stopped feeling guilty about what happened. Then she'd been taking into foster care had been moved so often that she didn't really have time to process what had happened. Back then she was an angry, traumatised child who no one seemed to care about. It made everything worse. She left that she had lost a purpose after Ignatius and Cassiopeia had died. If she had been taken into care with them, maybe it would have been bearable. Maybe.

Spencer knew how Persephone was feeling. Ok so his circumstances were not exactly the same and they certainly weren't as bad but that didn't change the fact that he did at least understand. He knew that deep-rooted guilt Persephone was feeling from his own experience.

When he'd had his mom committed when he was 18, it was the best option. She needed help, the kind he couldn't provide but that didn't stop him from feeling guilty years after. It had taken him a long time to get over that guilt, to forgive himself. If it hadn't been for Gideon he would have torn himself apart. He'd be racked with guilt to this day if he hadn't been for his mentor. He wasn't going to let that happen to Persephone. He was going to help her just like he had been helped.

"I never want to hear you say that again," Reid stated once she'd finished. He spoke with such authority and certainly that Persephone blinked.

"What?"

"It wasn't your fault Percy. You were just a kid yourself. You never got to do those things either. It wasn't your job to protect them and it wasn't your fault they died. Don't allow yourself to take the blame for that sperm donor's actions. He's the one who killed your brother and sister. Not you."

She needed to hear that. Reid knew better than anyone that hearing someone absolve you even when you hadn't done anything wrong went a long way to fixing that hurt. He also knew that it wouldn't be a quick process- healing never was. It would take years for Persephone to fully accept that she wasn't at fault especially when it was obvious Persephone hadn't really processed what had happened after all these years. He would be there for that though. Reid would make sure she had someone to help her work through her guilt and that she had someone to talk to. If she could be persuaded, Reid would get her to a professional.

Persephone gave Reid and hug. They stayed like that for a while before Reid spoke.

"What were their names?" He asked. It would give him a chance to talk about her brother and sister. The love Persephone felt for them was obvious and Reid was interested to find more about the children she so deeply cared about. She had been profiled as having no family- she had never spoken about them after all. Yet, she had never seemed like an only child. Hearing anything extra about her family was something he wanted to encourage.

"My brother was called Ignatius Oberon and my sister was called Cassiopeia Amalthea. He was Iggy. She was Opie. I was Sephy."

Ah. Persephone's reaction at her birthday a few months ago made sense. When she had been called Sephy by Garcia she had practically bitten the tech's head off. She had apologised profusely for that and Morgan and told her to keep a cooler head in future. After that, no one dared call her that name.

"Is that why you reacted the way you did about being called Sephy? It reminded of them?"

"And my failure to-"

"Stop. You did not fail. He failed. It was not your fault."

Reid enveloped her in another hug. Persephone let herself be held by him. After all these years it was nice to get it off her chest, to finally tell someone about her guilt and trauma that had followed her around for years like a shadow. She didn't want the whole team to know, not yet, but telling Reid someone she lov- cared about deeply was a big step for her. Persephone felt better for having made it.

While Spencer comforted Persephone he thought about how far she'd come in the past year. She'd gone from being extremely formal with all of them as a way of distancing herself, to developing a relationship with him that meant she trusted him enough to tell him her story. She called him by a nickname and spoke it fondly. He cared about her deeply as well. There was nothing he wouldn't do to help and protect her and that was what she needed right now. Thinking about that now, he reached over and picked up the latest latter.

"These are from him?" He questioned.

Persephone nodded. "He had a typewriter. It's the same one that he used; you can tell by looking at the letters. Do you see the thickening on the 'g's and how the 'm's are slightly smudged? That's unique to his typewriter."

"Your father had a typewriter?" Spencer asked humorously.

"He was old school," Persephone answered, "In more ways than one."

Spencer sighed. Clearly, the letters had Persephone extremely rattled. After hearing the story, he didn't blame her. One thing was for certain, he wasn't going to let anything happen to her. If he had his way, he'd be calling the rest of the team for back-up right now. However, he had a feeling that Persephone wouldn't go for that.

"You can stay here tonight. Percy, I think the best idea would be to tell the team about this. If you are in real danger then having more of us watching your back would be the best way to combat that."

"No." Persephone refused adamantly. She shook her head and crossed her arms as if she thought it would make her decision clear to Spencer. However, Spencer wasn't done trying to pursue her.

"Percy." Reid began but he didn't get a chance to put forward his argument.

"I'm not going to tell them, and neither are you. Please Spen." Persephone begged. Her eyes were wide and as she pleaded with him. Damn. Reid couldn't resist that.

"Persephone they wouldn't think any less of you. They would only want to help you." Reid assured. Maybe, if she was sure that they wouldn't treat her differently she'd be more confident in sharing the details of the threat facing her.

"I'll tell them, eventually but for now can't we keep this between ourselves?"

"Alright Percy, whatever you want." Spencer agreed "But the minute this gets too dangerous we're telling them everything."

"Deal." Persephone conceded. It was better than nothing. She'd come to Reid for help after all. He'd been good enough to promise he'd not tell the team yet, so she felt like she owed it to him to agree to his terms.

Over the next few weeks, Persephone spent the odd day at Reid's place. Then something happened. The letters just- stopped. Reid had wanted to get Garcia to look into Persephone's father on the down low, but she hadn't let him approach the technical analyst. As far as she was concerned she didn't want anyone else to know. It had meant that Reid was restricted in how he could help Persephone. Then just as he was trying to figure of how to track her father down, the letters stopped coming.

Morgan had apparently spotted that the two of them had been spending a lot of time together and that Persephone had stayed at Reid's place a few times. He kept throwing hints and jokes about it, determined to 'uncover' their 'secret relationship'. The two of them were getting very impatient with him and more than once during the coming weeks did they threaten him with bodily harm if he didn't quit it.

"Do you suppose he's stopped now?" Reid asked one morning before the rest of the team arrived.

"I don't know for certain," Persephone responded "But something tells me that it isn't. Father isn't one to just give up."

Reid nodded. He supposed that Persephone knew the guy better than he did, but he hadn't shown any sign of progressing, not yet at any rate. It didn't matter though. He would be there until Persephone felt that everything was alright again.

That moment had happened a few days later. After a whole month without hearing anything from her father, she decided that it was time to go back to normal. Maybe he had gotten bored or maybe something else had distracted him. So, while there was still a niggling feeling that something was not all fine and dandy, she ignored it. She couldn't trust her instincts when it came to her father.

Persephone thought about this as she left the BAU one evening. She left the same time Hotch did, which wasn't unusual for the Brit. Spen had offered to stay late with her a drive her back to his place, but she had made him leave with Morgan. She couldn't keep staying at Reid's place especially when Morgan and now Garcia were getting suspicious.

She waved goodbye to Hotch as he entered his car and drove off. She was now alone in the car park which was dimly lit by a few streetlamps. One of the bulbs must have been broken because it kept flickering on and off, adding extra light to the dim car park every so often.

Just as she was getting near her car and before she unlocked her car she felt a rush of movement. Her instincts kicked in and she went to fight her attacker, but she was quickly overpowered. A cloth was shoved into her mouth and she tried hard to get her airway away from it. But it was no use. She breathed the gas in and soon the dim, poorly lit carpark was getting a lot darker. Spots appeared, her limbs got heavy and there was nothing she could do.

When he'd noticed Persephone hanging around that other agent more he knew he would have to back off. Things were getting too hot for him and if he wasn't careful he would be caught before he could have his fun. So, while it bugged him more than he knew, it was something that he needed to do. Patience was a virtue after all.

"See you later Ambrose."

His daughter's boss, Aaron Hotchner, if he had his facts right, waved goodbye to Persephone and headed to his SUV. Persephone waved back and started walking to her own car. She was alone in the carpark, so now was the perfect time to put his plan into action. It had been a month since his last contact, and she was finally starting to trust that the danger had passed. The fool.

He knew how to be stealthy. So, it wasn't a surprise that he managed to sneak up on her. He was strong too, so it didn't take much for him to overpower her and place the cloth to her throat. After a few thrashing moments, she was unconscious. He smiled and placed her in the car. He took the keys from Persephone's hand and drove her to his selected location. Game. Set. Match.