Chapter 23

Emily drove into the round table room with some apprehension as this was her first case back since she tried to commit suicide. She worried her suicide attempt would turn her friends against her, she knew her BAU family wouldn't desert her, but she was only human.

"We have a case, and we are going to Fenwick Island, Delaware. They have had a spate of suicides over the past two…Erm…. months 4 in total. That has just quadrupled the total amount of suicides that have ever had on the island since record-keeping started.

Timothy Sutton had Motor Neurone disease. He walked directly over the edge of some cliffs witnessed by a member…Erm… of the public. His suicide note was found under a rock at the top of the cliffs. It has been confirmed he had written the note.

Debbie Tull suffered from Manic Depression. She drove her car at speed into a large oak tree. She removed…Erm… her safety belt and was ejected through the windshield. Her suicide note was found on her car seat. It was confirmed she had written the note.

Alan Mundy Iraq veteran who has PTSD, blew himself up, disconnecting his gas pipe from the cooker. A suicide note was found, they think but was far too fire damaged.

Trudy Brunch suffocated herself with a plastic bag. A suicide note found she restrained her hands uniquely using…Erm… magnetic handcuffs. Her handwriting has been confirmed.

Her father is the detective that brought this case to my attention….." Emily was interrupted by Morgan mid-presentation.

"This isn't a case Emily, your letting your emotions run your decision making. They are just suicides. Look at what problems they have a manic depressive a PTSD sufferer. Come on, Emily, you should know this isn't a BAU case." Morgan chastised the media liaison.

Emily was furious at her old partner just dismissing her case choice without even listening to her full case briefing

"If you let me finish…..[brain fog]…..before …Erm…" JJ steps in and continues to calm her wife down. Emily nods her thanks while glaring at Morgan. Standing behind her wife's power chair, JJ just glared at Morgan, silently communicating just how much trouble he had gotten himself into.

"The witness to Timothy Sutton…Erm…indicated he was staggering …Erm…like he was drunk as he walked towards the edge of the….." Emily stopped struggling with her words

"Cliff. His autopsy found his blood-alcohol level was 0, and he had no illegal drugs in his system, and his prescription drug level was following his doctor's instructions." JJ continued

Hotch signalled for JJ to continue and asked Emily to come to his office.

EJ

Hotch sat down on his office's settee and waited for Emily to park nearby. He looked at Emily for a few moments

"Hotch …" Hotch raised his hand to stop Emily

"I agree with you, Emily remember? I am concerned about you, especially with this being your first case back after your suicide attempt. Can you handle this emotionally?" He asked politely

"Hotch, I'm not feeling suicidal. The families need to know their loved ones didn't kill themselves. If it takes an FBI agent who has tried to kill herself to believe they were murdered, so be it. I am not making this into a case, Hotch." A very emotional Emily told Hotch

He looked at Emily, knowing he had to ask her a question, he hated himself, but it was a requirement of her return to the BAU.

"Emily, are you feeling suicidal at the moment?" He asked her

Emily sighed, knowing when she took this case to Hotch, and he accepted it, she would hear that question on a very regular basis. She had promised herself she wouldn't get mad; her team were only concerned about her well-being. "No, not at the moment. I promised Jenifer I would ask for help if I did. I have never lied to her, Hotch. I know how much I hurt her when I took all those tablets. She said she watched the CCTV feed in horror. The disappointment and anger in her eyes were like a bullet to my heart." Emily truthfully answered him

Hotch was breaking the BAU rule of not profiling each other. He never wanted to watch Emily swallowing handfuls of tablets ever again. If he had to profile her to check if she was being truthful, so be it, he cared about her too much.

"Ok, Wheels up once your all loaded." Hotch smiled, standing up grabbing his go-bag.

EJ

Wendy Michaels fell as she was pushed up the step into the panel van by Rose Duncan, a paramedic. Wendy had severe arthritis in her hips and knees, preventing her from working due to her severe pain. The headstrong woman had tried walking to her local store three blocks away. She had managed to walk a block before she collapsed in excruciating pain.

"Wendy, my name is Rose. I will be the paramedic looking after you. I will get you in the back of my ambulance and give you something for the pain. Come on, let's get you up" Rose smiled as she helped the fallen woman stand.

Wendy laid down on the ambulance stretcher and felt the oxygen mask being placed over her head. She took some deep breaths and started to feel woozy. The oxygen smelt strange, a little metallic. She tried pulling the mask off her face, but Rose stopped her. Her arms felt so weak. She couldn't fight her off.

Wendy, now totally compliant, just sat unrestrained on her chair sat in her living room writing her suicide note. The note was being dictated to her by Lee Duncan, Roses father.

Rose watched her father working with Wendy as she breathed in the nitrous oxide gas. The gas made their victims compliant and so easily tricked because they couldn't think straight. The 'laughing gas' was used recreationally without harm, but in high doses, it caused hallucinations and paranoia. Rose and Lee only used the gas on people they deemed unfit to live.

"Wendy, these purple tablets are a new cure for your arthritis. It would be best if you took the whole bag, and your pain will vanish forever, never to come back. Just imagine being able actually to run to the store and start to work again." Lee told the high woman

"R-Really?" Wendy squeaked in a high voice due to the gas

Rose handed her a cereal bowl full of her Diazepam and OxyContin tablets. Wendy started taking what she thought were the purple miracle tablets. Rose and Lee watched as she finished every single tablet and started to drift off to sleep.

"Let's go, pop. She will be dead in 40 mins." Rose coldly told her father

Lee just nodded at his daughter as he checked the area for anything out of place.

EJ

Wendy opened her eyes about 2 hours after Lee and Rose had left her house. She felt beyond tired and strange; remembering what happened, she managed to pull out her cell phone

"911, What is your emergency?"

"Help me. I-I need help too many tablets." Wendy managed before drifting off to sleep again

"Ambulance is 4 minutes out, Ma'am," the dispatcher told the sleeping woman

"Ma'am?!" The dispatcher asked

"This is Rig 35 on scene." The non-serial killing paramedic told dispatch

The paramedics rushed the semi-conscious woman into the hospital. The doctors pumped her stomach on her arrival and administered the drugs she required to counteract her prescription medication.

EJ

Emily walked up the stairs of the jet with the help of Hotch. Walking into the cabin of jet, you could feel the explosive atmosphere between JJ and Morgan. JJ glared at Morgan while he glared back just as menacingly; heated words had been exchanged between the pair.

"Prentiss," Emily answered her cell phone

Emily listened to the call and then hung up without another word.

"There has been a further….." Morgan interrupted her again.

"A further Suicide, Eh," interrupted Morgan

"If you rudely interrupt…Erm…. me again Derek Moran, I will kick your rude…Erm… ass all the away around this jet." Emily paused "suicide attempt. The victim, yes, victim Derek, dialled 911. The victim Mrs Wendy….Erm… Michaels had early-onset arthritis. She told police they put a mask over her mouth and nose and…. and….Kate said they administered a gas that smelt and tasted metallic. It made her feel strange…Erm…. and euphoric. She wrote her suicide note as it was dictated to her. She thought she was taking a purple tablet that was a miracle cure. Things are still a little confusing for her at the moment. The doctors tested her stomach contents and found her diazepam and OxyContin…[yawn]…..tablets didn't contain the correct drug dose. She purchased the medication from Mexico on the internet. The knock….[yawn],… off medication saved her life. If they were the proper strength, she would be dead." A very emotional and fatigued Emily finished

Emily sat down and looked around " I know this case will be difficult for me…. I will reiterate my promise to you, Jennifer and the other members of the team… I will ask for help if I start feeling suicidal again. I will need your support Derek, and please believe in me. I will earn your trust again. I promise." A tearful Emily told her friend. "Let's get on with the case, please."

Hotch smiled "why stage the murder as a suicide? Is it to test themselves against the police?" He asked

Reid finished thinking things over "perhaps they want to limit the hurt to the families by euthanising them and making it look like a suicide, to help them cope with their death. They think they are helping the victims family by ending their suffering." He told the group

"How did they pick their victim? There is nothing consistent, different sex, age and no consistent medical condition. We need to check medical professionals." Morgan added

Hotch sighed " Morgan, get Garcia searching. When we land, Morgan and JJ go to the hospital and speak to Wendy Michaels and walk her through a cognitive interview. Rossi, you are with me. We will talk to the families. Reid, you go with Emily to the Morgue and then set up at the police station.

They all return to their seats to rest before they land. Morgan walks over to Emily and kneels to talk to his friend.

"I am so sorry, I implied….." Moran stops noticing Emily is fast asleep. He looks over at JJ, a little concerned.

"She's getting worse, Derek…she is considering trying stem cell therapy." She emotionally tells her partner

"What? What exactly does that entail?" He asked

"They collect her stem cells after a little medical help with moving them from her bone marrow into her bloodstream. They then freeze her stem cells, ready to return to her later. She then has a course of…[sniff]…. Chemotherapy to fully wipe out her bone marrow and immune system. She then gets her stem cells back via a drip. The idea is her stem cells reboot her immune system and stop it from attacking her nerve cells and repairing the damage already caused. If she does try this experimental treatment, it means she will have to leave the BAU as it's a long and difficult path for her. Derek, she can put herself through all this, and it not work, or what good it does will only last for a limited period. There are no guarantees." A very emotional JJ tells Morgan

Morgan was speechless and just had so many questions for JJ.

"What are stem cells ?" He asked

"They are part of the body's repair system. They don't have an initial function and can turn into any cell needed, like a nerve cell. They specifically use the Haematopoietic cells to help in their study. Once Emily's bone marrow has been wiped out, they send in the new repairmen. Go, Derek! …" JJ grabbed Morgan and pulled him into her, and started crying.

Rossi looked across at JJ and Morgan with concern in his eyes. Morgan shook his head, indicating he had her and didn't need help.