Home of Obie White –

Obie closed the door locking it. He rushed back to Penelope who sat terrified on the bed. Carefully he approached her overwhelmed with guilt; how could he do this; how could Earl ruin his reunion...how could he force him to believe what was true all along.

"I'm so sorry." He began tearfully.

Penelope allowed the elderly man to pull her into a warm embrace. She could feel his body trembling as he wept. After several seconds, she pulled away and looked softly into his eyes.

"Obie, we need to talk."

"I know, I know." He interrupted her. "You're not Emma; you're not my wife."

"No, I'm not." Penelope began to cry. "I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. I'm just a foolish brokenhearted old man..."

"No, no you're not. You saved my life, and you took care of me, protected me."

"But I held you here..."

"Shhh...you kept me safe, and you took care of me. If you hadn't found me in the snow, I'd be dead now."

Obie nodded even though he knew that wasn't the truth. She was amazing, just like his dear Emma but he had to let her go and her friends were coming to take her away.

"Am I going to jail?" He asked. "I deserve to go to jail."

The door burst open interrupting them. Hotch, Dave, Reid, and JJ, followed by several uniformed officers stormed the room. Two of the officers grabbed Obie roughly pulling him to his feet and toward the door.

"No, NO, don't hurt him! Please, he's not the bad guy!"

JJ rushed over to Penelope and gently wrapped her arm around her friend's shoulders.

"It's okay, they just want to question him that's all."

"You have to find his son; he knows where Derek is." Penelope insisted.

Hotch rushed from the room to stop the officers from taking Obie. If what Penelope said was true, the old man could lead them to Morgan.

"You guys, that old man saved my life! He found me wandering around in the snow and if he hadn't brought me here, I'd be dead!"

Penelope spent the next several minutes sharing what had happened starting with the accident.

Unknown location –

He killed his captor, but he was still captive. Derek opened his eyes to see the blurry stiff body of Cody Madden. His father had killed his father and now Derek had killed him. There still was no justice and the loss of life seemed growing; would he be next?

It hurt to move; to even think about moving. He couldn't ignore the fact that he was bleeding to death, and no one knew where he was...then there was the matter of his wife and unborn child, it didn't seem fair but when was life fair and what made him think that things would change now.

"I'm sorry Penelope for not being there for you and our child. Please know that I tried to get home, to get back to you...like I promised..."

Rossi Cabin –

Dave had decided to go back to the cabin and talk to Fran; he'd promised to call but she needed to hear the news in person. As he walked up the long driveway to the steps of the oversized cabin, he didn't know how to tell a mother that her son may be dead. He had promised her that he would find him and bring him home so how was he going to explain to the woman whom he loved more than life, that he had failed at the one job that mattered the most.

Fran opened the door just before his hand reached the knob, she saw the look in his eyes, the tears that had already been shed and she knew...she knew. He pulled her against his body and closed the door behind him and let her cry against his body and for the next few minutes that was all he could offer her.

Fran had finally cried herself to sleep, and Dave gently scooped her up and carried her to the couch, laying her down and covering her with a comforter. There was nothing left to do but keep looking for his stepson; he wasn't ready to believe he was dead.

Dave picked up his tablet and began combing through the names of property owners in the area; people who were listed as the legal owners of the seventy or more cabins within a ten-mile area. Most of the cabins were either empty or occupied by vacationers, a needle in an ever-growing stack of needles.

He felt her arms snake around his waist; she hadn't slept long, and he wasn't surprised. Just as he was about to put the tablet down, she stopped him.

"No, keep looking; it's okay."

She watched over his shoulder as he scanned the names and addresses. A familiar name scrolled by that stopped her heart.

"Wait, go back! Go back!"

"What's wrong, Bella?"

"Go back, please...Madden, Cody Madden!"

Fran released her husband and began pacing the floor in disbelief. She never expected to see that name again; a ghost from her family's past...a demon that had changed everything.

"What about Cody Madden? Talk to me Fran."

Fran took a seat at the kitchen island before beginning.

"Bert Madden killed my first husband. He shot him right in front of Derek. He had a son Derek's age, Cody and he sat in that courtroom everyday while his father was tried for my Hank's murder. Derek was the prosecution's star witness, and everyone believes that his testimony sealed that beast's fate; he was sentenced to life without parole."

Fran wiped the tears from her eyes as she remembered the worst times of her life.

"So, the son of Hank's murderer has been planning revenge and just like we thought, the accident was no accident, and neither was the attack on the cabin."

Dave pulled his phone from his pocket and called Hotch.

The Cabin of Cody Madden –

Penelope had been taken to the hospital; Reid rode with her while the rest of the team met Dave at the small, secluded cabin. The location was perfect for what Madden had planned for Morgan. It was also on the farthest edge of their geographic profile, nine miles from the Rossi cabin.

There were no lights on and an old worn white van was parked outside. Hotch sent Dave and JJ around the back while he made entrance through the front door; he was surprised that the door was unlocked. Room by room was searched and it was obvious that the cabin had been outfitted for the purpose for which it had been used. The computer room with state-of-the-art systems had been gutted and trashed and the other rooms had been left abandoned except the one at the far end of the dark hallway. Nodding, Hotch slowly opened the door with his gun drawn. The scene stopped them all in their tracks.

"Oh my god!" JJ gasped.

"Morgan!" Hotch yelled.

The three ran toward their friend, JJ stopping briefly to confirm that Cody Madden was deceased. Then the three dropped next to Derek, Dave calling for help and Hotch checking for a pulse.

"Hold on Morgan, help is coming; hold on."