JJ, Emily, and Rossi stood in the bull pen not saying much. They would each like to pretend this wasn't intriguing and get back to work, but no one could. The blinds to Hotch's office were open. They could see them moving around, but could tell nothing else. Even if the entire unit were silent, they would be in the dark.

Reid and Morgan returned from the break room. Reid held two cups of coffee, walking over to JJ. "Hey," he said, handing her the cup. "I spoke to Will after I landed, thank you so much."

"No problem," she replied, taking the cup. She held the warmth in her hands but didn't drink. "Did he give you anything useful?"

"New Orleans PD is going to fax over the case files as soon as possible, probably tomorrow. I'll find out then." He explained, taking a careful sip.

"Why are you back so soon?" JJ asked, casually. At least Reid was a nice distraction while they waited.

He, however, did not respond. Without a word, he walked over to his desk to sit down. "Come on, Reid," Morgan pushed. "You've got to tell us what happened."

"No, I don't Morgan." Reid replied, searching his desk for something to read over. It was clean and clear, though. The one time he needed it to be a mess.

Even Rossi was curious as to his sudden return. "Reid, people don't give up long weekends with their girlfriends for no reason, even geniuses."

"You know what, you guys, its okay." Emily chimed in. She leaned on Reid's desk, looking over him with a superior smile. "He doesn't have to tell us. Because Riley is just going to tell me anyway and that'll be more fun-"

"We had a fight." Reid cried to the group. "We had a… stupid fight and she didn't want to stay… now she's not talking to me."

The hilarity of the situation faded a bit. Reid looked away again in his misery. No one said anything about it, the silence interrupted by the awaited door opening. Everyone turned, not bothering to hide their interest.

Hotch had opened the door and allowed Elle to step out first. He muttered something to her that no one could hear. She nodded lightly and stepped out. Hotch closed the door. Elle didn't give the group a second look. To their surprise, she hurried over to the conference room and disappeared.

Thankfully, Hotch came down to the team. Everyone gathered waiting with baited breath for an explanation.

"Everything okay, Hotch?" Morgan asked.

Reid stood up, seeing his boss take a quick glance in his direction. No doubt also curious to his sudden return. "Well… Elle claims there is a case she needs our help on."

"Case?" Reid wondered. "She's not still working with law enforcement, is she?"

Taking a glance toward the conference room, he continued. "Elle's been working as a secretary in Fairfax. She's been staying out of law and order as much as possible. She's… she claims, through no searching of her own, that she came across a suspicious case and has asked for us to look at it."

"Why?" Emily inquired.

Hotch could hardly believe he was indulging this, let alone bringing his team in, but continued. "After a few girls she knew were killed, she looked into their cases and found a few murders that… could be connected to them."

The news seemed to pass over them like a chill. No one, old and new alike, could even look at each other. "Hotch…" JJ finally managed to voice into the unsettling quiet. "You cannot seriously be considering listening to her? She's sick. She needs help before she can even believe we can take her seriously."

"I know." Hotch said. He had thought this through. "Any other person I would have sent away, but Elle… we've seen what happens when she takes things into her own hands-"

"We don't actually know what happened that night." Morgan said.

"I know," Hotch repeated, more urgently this time; an effort to make the group listen. "I told her we would look over the case to reassure her… only after she had a psychological interview."

Though he wasn't acquainted as JJ and Morgan, Rossi spoke up, "That sounds like good thinking, Hotch."

"I thought so, too." Hotch agreed. "She was reluctant, but she complied. She's waiting in the conference room. I called Riley, she should be here in about a half hour."

Reid could hardly get his throat to work at first. "You… asked… Riley to come?"

Hotch looked Reid with question. "Why shouldn't I, Reid? She's my friend, she's an excellent psychiatrist. Don't you think so?"

"She's one of the best." Reid replied. "I just… don't you think it's a conflict of interest-"

"Reid, unless you want to explain to us why you're back already, I suggest you leave it at that." Hotch stated plainly. He looked to Rossi. "I'll show you the files she brought."

And with that, the two men left the bull pen, disappearing into Hotch's office once more.

Everyone except Reid was thinking the same thing. Morgan, his attention on the conference room, spoke first, "I'm going to go talk to her."

"Me too," JJ said, "We should all go say hello."

Morgan placed his hand on her arm. "I think it would be best if… we went one at a time. We don't want to overwhelm her."

JJ agreed that was best, and Emily wasn't in any hurry. With a glance on the nervous genius's back, Morgan headed up to the conference room.

Reid reclaimed his seat, his eyes continuing to glance at the elevators. They opened and he sat expectantly, but no one familiar stepped out. Emily and JJ both took a glance at each other and sat around him.

"I really don't want to talk about it." He confirmed.

"You don't have to." JJ agreed, patting his arm. "I'm sure it's not as bad as you think."

Reid nodded, staring into the grayish blue carpet. His hand slipped into the pocket of his pants. His fingers once again wrapped around the tiny red box.

On the threshold, Morgan stood for a moment. Elle sat at the table, leaning back in her chair and her arms folded, giving the impression it was four years prior. Morgan knocked on the open door, pulling her attention.

"How long have you been standing there?" Elle asked, seeing who it was.

"Less than a minute," He replied, stepping inside. She took one glance at him and turned away. Her demeanor gave the notion she was being forced to be here. It seemed like she wanted him to leave, but Morgan couldn't be shaken that easily.

As he took a seat, her eyes traveled to him. "If you're supposed to be my shrink, I think I'll just go home."

Morgan leaned back, taking in her appearance. He gave a smirk, trying to lighten the mood. "This is just some excuse to see all your old friends, isn't it?"

"Shut up, Morgan," Elle muttered. There was little feeling in her voice. "Do you think I want to be here?"

"No one forced you." He informed.

With a huff a roll of her eyes, Elle retorted. "I left this job to protect myself. The only reason I'm back is because I'm out of options. No one else will listen, I'm surprised Hotch decided to give me the time of day." Her eyes finally traveled to his, with a curious expression. "You think I'm crazy for coming here, don't you?"

"Well, I don't know. I haven't read the case yet. But honestly, I think you're just dying at another chance with your boy, Derek Morgan." He gave her his signature smile, the kind he saved for conversations with intriguing women.

And that did it. Elle finally smiled. "The only thing I regret, Morgan, is not taking the time to kick your ass."

They laughed for a few moments, and Elle suddenly felt better. Her smile faded a bit, looking over at the door. Morgan followed her gaze and found a Emily standing there.

Feeling a little out of place. "I don't mean to interrupt."

"It's okay," Morgan said, standing up. "Elle, this is Agent Emily Prentiss, one of our teammates."

"You mean my replacement." She said. Emily looked a little nervous, but Elle stood up to shake her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Agent Prentiss."

"Emily, please, and it's nice to meet you, too." She looked to Morgan. "Riley just called me; she'll be here in a few minutes."

"Oh, so you guys know Dr. Parker?" Elle asked.

Emily gave no response. She turned and walked out; rather quickly, Morgan noticed. He flashed a smile at Elle, "Some of us more than others. I'll see you later."

Morgan walked out of the room and caught up with Emily in the bull pen, which was empty. His eyes traveled to the hall in front of the elevators and noticed Reid pacing in front of them. Morgan hurried over to Emily. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah," she said, sincerely. "Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"You just… you left in kind of a hurry back there." He pointed out.

Emily shook her head, putting a smile on her face. "I was just… a little embarrassed. I didn't mean to interrupt you're flirting."

The words came out before she realized, and her tone much sharper than intended. Morgan was confused. "That's what you're upset about?"

"I'm not upset." She said, shrugging. "I don't even care."

"Oh, really, because you sound like you care." Morgan was trying not to laugh. "You don't seem too concerned when I'm flirting with you, however."

"I've seen you flirt with girls every day, why would it bother me?"

"I never pegged you for the jealous type, Emily." He said with a smile.

Rolling her eyes, she picked up several folders from her desk. "You wish I were jealous, Morgan, and I have to get these filed."

"Sure thing, Princess." He said with a smile. Morgan watched her while she walked away, his eyes landing on her backside as usual.

Unaware of the scene going on in the bull pen, Reid waited. They opened four times. Each time they did, Reid looked over expectantly only to be disappointed and continued pacing.

At the fifth time, the doors opened and Reid waited. At last, with her bag slung over her shoulder, Riley walked hurriedly out and into the unit. She never gave a glance in Reid's direction.

He chased after her through the doors. "You're not even going to say hi to me?"

No answer. Unfortunately, the group had gathered again and watched the scene eagerly. Riley stopped at Emily's desk, dropping her jacket and bag aside. She extracted her supplies, slamming things on top as she searched through the contents.

"So what, you're not speaking to me at all?" Reid pressed.

"Well, that was my initial plan." Riley had her items in hand, setting her bag on the floor. She headed towards the steps quickly.

In pursuit, Reid called after her, "I take it you're still pretty mad."

With a whip of her dangerous curls, she turned around. "You figured that out all by yourself. You really are a genius, aren't you?" She turned and tried to hurry away.

"Riley, will you please listen to me? You have no idea how sorry I am."

For the third time in this fight, they had a rapt audience. The team was gathered around the steps listening. Neither one cared. Riley was too angry to care and all Reid was concerned with was calming her down.

"Sorry doesn't change the fact of the matter." She yelled. "Do you have any idea how awful that was for me?"

"Riley…" He lowered his voice, "Please calm down, you're shouting."

That did nothing for her anger. "I know I'm shouting, Spencer! I like to shout! I tend to become a little hysterical when I'm upset and hurt and humiliated! How could you do that? Not once in thirteen months did you mention me. I thought I was a significant part of your life, but I guess I don't mean that much to you!"

Now it was Reid's turn to yell. She wasn't listening and that was frustrating him. "Riley, have you ever considered that maybe this wasn't because of you? My mother is not healthy, dealing with her is difficult under normal circumstances and I've never been in a serious relationship before. I didn't know how she would react, therefore, I didn't know how to deal with it. Yes, I handled this badly and I'm sorry, but maybe you should consider how delicate this is. You act like I did this to hurt you; if you truthfully think that, than maybe you're the one with insincere feelings."

Her eyes glistened; Riley took a deep breath as if she were going to respond. Instead, before she let her tears escape, Riley turned and stormed into the conference room.