She never liked the cases with kids in it.

She had been working in law enforcement for seven years. Any time kids were involved, she felt gutted. It never felt right. She knew that was a common shared trait in humans, that none of them could really handle dead children. Ones killed long before their time, in such brutal ways.

In some ways, it was most disturbing to Megan who was in many ways still a child herself. Her powers had only made her look 25. She still felt 10 years old, more days than not. She walked around her apartment, feeling like a child playing house. She finished reports on the most recent murders, feeling like a child who was writing an English assignment that would get some very concerned questions from the teacher to the parents.

She felt like she was looking at kids her age. If she was her true age, there was a chance they would've been friends.

It made Megan feel sick. It made her understand why her mother never liked her watching shows like this.

She could never understand the kind of people that hurt kids like that. The unsubs that tore apart young children, many of them younger than five.

The Fox had been an episode that kept Megan up for many nights.

Megan had tried to stop it. She worked hard to search up cases matching that description, like how the Fox killed his targets. She didn't get anywhere. She tried to report him, looking for a way to do it that wouldn't get it traced back to her.

There had been no chance.

So when she walked into the conference room to see Gideon standing in front of a whiteboard with a dead family, she wasn't surprised. She was heartbroken.

I'm sorry.

You just wanted a trip to Disney World.

Everyone deserves to see it at least once.

You shouldn't have gone through this.

Megan hated the child cases. She suspected they hated her too.

"Crawford family. Butchered in their homes." Gideon

"They look like murder/suicides." Megan commented.

Gideon hummed. "That's what we have to find out."

==BAP==

They had reviewed the case. Once everyone was up to speed, the case began. Megan was going over the autopsies in Hotch's office.

She was staring at the pictures. Megan was trying to make it look like it was to gather a profile, not instead watching with a disquieted horror at dead children.

"Sam Crawford. White male. Age 5. Multiple stab wounds. Laceration to the left ventricle. No defensive wounds present."

Megan saw a tiny boy, chasing after his sister and laughing. They were both so excited for their trip. She saw the silhouette of a body against a wall, a sobbing father watching helpless.

She saw her younger brother, Terrence. A tiny blond twig of a boy at age 6. Megan saw her memories of their trips to Disney, chasing after her brothers in the exciting crowd. She saw him laughing at the characters, at the fast rides, at water being shot in his face. There was only a happy boy

Now there was a corpse. A corpse of a different boy, but Megan couldn't ignore the differences any easier than she could ignore the sun in her eye.

"Allison Crawford. White female. 32. Multiple stab wounds. COD- Exsanguination."

Megan could only see her own mother. The age was the same, last Megan checked. They were almost the same, physically. Megan saw her mother planning the vacation. Megan had based her own planning of things by how her mother had planned that trip. Megan may not like her mother much, but what daughter was close to their mother? Wasn't it normal to want to spend as little time with them as possible?

But this was not her mother. Megan's mother- Morgan Spencer's mother- was hidden away in a completely different reality. Safe, and ignorant on what her daughter was up to.

"Emily Crawford. White female. 8. Multiple stab wounds. COD- Exsanguination."

This time, the parallel was easier to ignore. The girl may be close to Megan's age but that was it. The dark hair was the same, but Megan's had more curl at that age. The eyes were the same color of brown, but a different brighter shade. She ignored picturing her own body in the picture.

That didn't stop Megan's traitorous brain. It made up images of little Morgan Spencer, curled in a basement corner to die. More images came- of a thousand different ways Morgan was dead or dying.

She hated how much easier that was. So she ignored it.

"Christopher Crawford. White male. 36. Point-blank single 9 millimeter gunshot wound to the temporal lobe."

The father of the family...the traditional head of house...killed last by the Fox. Megan was disgusted at the Fox. Her stomach continued to swirl and clench, making her sick.

She was looking at a whole family, slaughtered. Nothing could've prepared her for that.

"Where's his wedding ring?" Hotch prompted, pulling her from her thoughts.

"It's not listed in his personal effects." Megan answered.

"He obviously wore one, so where is it?" Hotch insisted.

Megan knew exactly where that ring was, and just couldn't tell without explaining how.

==BAP==

A second family had been found dead, a week before the Crawfords. The Millers were a family of four; two parents, two kids. The mother had recently come out of a bad marriage. Her ex-husband was the best bet they had.

Reid walked out from the interrogation room. It had been tense, with Eric Miller ranting and shouting at Reid for a lot of implications Reid had let slip. Including that Eric was a suspect as he had been abused as a child, and he may have continued the cycle. Eric has ended the interview with loud yells in Reid's face.

"That worked, right?" Megan prompted, eyeing Mr Miller through the mirror. Her heart went out to the poor man.

"Well, he was closed off, defensive, hostile. I needed a way in." Reid explained. "He's suffered a breakdown but I don't think he killed his family and I know he still loved his wife."

"Why do you say that?" Hotch asked.

"Even though they were divorced he still wore the wedding ring." Reid answered.

Megan smiled at Reid, proud. If she'd been in that room, she might've screamed. Or punched Mr Miller. It was a coin flip.

==BAP==

The case had been long. They had been searching for anything to tie the two families together outside of having a nuclear family setup. Their financials had revealed that Allison Crawford had spent more money than the family could afford, which led them to a second home that Allison was funding.

That was another dead end. The second home just held her brother, who needed the financial support. He couldn't have done all of this. They learned that the killer was a small red haired man, from an eyewitness report from Allison's brother.

So, they continued the search for something to tie the two families together. Because there was a definite chance that their unsub had found another family by now.

She watched Gideon, staring at the pictures pinned up on a board. She knew where the answers were- it was just so annoying!

Derek ended a phone all with another dead end.

"He's been looking at those pictures all morning." Megan noted.

"Well, I sure hope he sees a connection 'cause I've checked doctors, lawyers, travel agents, tutors contract workers. I got nothin'." Derek remarked.

"Why target those families?" Megan wondered.

"Well, to know that, we have to know how." Hotch pointed out to the group at large.

"We know organized killers are often skilled workers with above-average intelligence." Derek began. He stood up, beginning to pace. He worked/thought better on his feet. "High birth status. And in most cases...male. In the workplace, he's socially confident. And with women...sexually confident. Every offense...is preplanned. Targeting the victim is almost as pleasurable as the actual kill. These guys, they're...they're meticulous. It's a compulsion. Everything has to have its proper place. They do exhaustive amounts of research on their victims. They watch their every move every last detail is observed. Everything has to be written ever so neatly in a book or possibly a journal. When the kids are comin' home from school. When daddy'll be home. Playtime. Suppertime. Bath time. Bedtime. Plan the work...work the plan. This is the way that he maintains control. It's also how he personalizes his target... So nothing's left to chance. Absolutely nothing...is left out of place, ever. So he plans the work... And when he's good and ready, he works that plan. He takes great pride in his job. I think the workplace has to be the connection."

Gideon marched over, holding two handmade paintings in his hands. "Both are by Emily, painted months apart. This one...is full of color, life. The one I found at Emily's house has lines, dimensions. No color. I believe Emily was coerced to make this." Gideon explained. "It's a point of view. It is his point of view. This is where the killer stood, just watched the family."

"Each of the dead husbands was missing his wedding ring. This is the unsub's trophy. He targets a family because he lost his own. For a few days, he gets to play daddy." Hotch realized.

"And he can do whatever he wants because no one's gonna come lookin' because they're supposed to be on vacation." Derek reasoned.

"Let's get forensics to check the inside of Chris Crawford's clothing. The suspect may have worn the father's clothes to... Whew! Complete the fantasy." Gideon huffed, shaking his head in dismay.

"So, why kill them?" Megan asked the group. She still couldn't understand it. She could

"'Cause the fantasy can't last." Gideon reasoned.

"Hold on." Megan reached for some documents on her desk. "Chris Crawford worked for the IRS, and Reese Miller at the GAO." She informed them. All the men turned to her, their eyes widening in realization. "That makes them both government employees."

"Let's check out Chris Crawford and Reese Miller." Derek decided.

Megan let out a small relieved breath. Finally, some actual progress.

==BAP==

Megan had gone with Hotch to visit Reese Miller's former place of work. Reese Miller's supervisor, a woman named Mrs Raleigh, was still in stages of shock from the deaths.

"We're all still in shock. Reese was a quiet woman." Mrs Raleigh rambled. "She kept pretty much to herself, bell to bell. Brought in her own lunch, and she had 2 kids but then you knew that."

"Mrs Raleigh-" Megan tried.

"It's just so terrible. I still can't believe it." Mrs Raleigh shook her head, her eyes looking at the agents but clearly only seeing memories of her dead coworker.

Hotch's phone rang. He went to check it. That left Megan alone with Mrs Raleigh.

"She was covering for one of my women who was on maternity leave." Megan just nodded, listening along. "And she was always tired, you know? But then any woman married to Eric Miller would be. He was a mean drunk."

The phone call ended. "Mrs. Raleigh-" Hotch tried.

"He hit her, you know? She tried to cover it up but concealer can only do so much magic. I should know." Mrs Raleigh remarked.

"Mrs Raleigh." Megan insisted, giving the woman a kind but stern request to please listen.

"I'm tired. I'm talking too much." Mrs Raleigh apologized.

"Do you know if Mrs. Miller was seeing a marriage counselor?" Hotch asked.

"Reese kept pretty much to herself." Mrs Raleigh lied.

"You're not betraying any confidence. We need to know everything about her life." Megan assured her.

The woman let out a small sigh. "Every Thursday, I covered for her so she could take off early to see a therapist. Thought it worked. She kicked the bastard out, got remarried. Look what that got her."

==BAP==

The two families had the same therapist center. When Hotch, Gideon, and Derek went to that place, it turned out they even had the same therapist.

Karl Arnold.

They found him in the basement of a third family. Arnold had the youngest child in his arms, ready for that final kill.

The baby was only a few months old.

Megan was shocked Gideon hadn't just shot the man on the spot.

==BAP==

Karl Arnold was brought into the BAU in chains. Not just simple handcuffs, he was wearing handcuffs and ankle cuffs, all connected together to let the agents leading him like a deranged dog on a leash.

He gave a flirty smile to every woman he walked past. Megan was happy to have switched the photos, just to get under Arnold's skin.

She couldn't shoot him. This was the next best thing.

Gideon was sitting with Arnold in an interrogation room. They have moved the two information cork boards into the room as well, positioned behind Gideon so Arnold had a front row seat to his crimes. Hotch and Derek were behind Arnold, waiting to act if needed. Megan stayed to the side, behind the boards, with JJ.

"Emily Crawford was a very talented and gifted girl." Gideon began. He pulled out a picture of the Crawford family. Arnold glanced to the boards, seemingly like any person would when showing photos like this. "Her brother Sam, a bright, energetic child. You watched them from the yard for days, maybe even weeks. You learned everything about them, studied their every move and then you wrote it all down."

Arnold's neck twitched. "May I have a glass of water?" He requested.

"Something wrong?" Gideon asked.

"No, I'm just thirsty." Arnold excused.

"Water, please." Gideon told Hotch. The agent got the cup.

"Could you remove my shackles? I'm clearly no threat to you." Arnold asked Derek.

"They stay on." Derek insisted. He took the water from Hotch, putting it at Arnold's side.

The small redhead accepted the drink.

"You chose families that reminded you of the one you lost." Gideon continued on. "You stalked them, you bound them, you terrorized them then you killed them...one by one. We have your journals, Karl."

"It's my job...to write everything down, to get to know them." Arnold insisted. He glanced behind Gideon's head again. His neck twitched, jerking like something was stuck in his throat. He held it back. "I can't help them solve their problems without knowing their background. And I make home visits...sometimes without their knowledge because people lie." Arnold insisted. "You, of all people, should know that. Eric Miller was an awful husband and father. Allison Crawford hemorrhaged money her husband didn't have. It can strain any marriage."

Gideon held up the picture. A picture taken from Arnold's desk of his family before the divorce. "On the surface, this looks like any family, USA. Two parent household, two kids, boy and a girl." Arnold seemed proud of this...until Gideon opened his mouth again. "If you look a little closer you'll see their body language tells a different story."

Now Arnold seemed to be doing everything in his power not to sneer.

"The woman and children are distant from the man. Their smiles are stiff. Their eyes are frightened. Every hair is in place, wearing their Sunday best." Gideon listed. "Their own private hell being memorialized on film."

Arnold breathed a heavy sigh through his jaw, his jaw tight in a clench. He glanced at the boards again, pulling a hard twitch.

"Are you okay?" Gideon asked.

"It isn't right." Arnold shook his head.

"What isn't?" Gideon asked.

"You've got the pictures mixed up!" Arnolds shouted. "The one in the middle, that is Sam Crawford's. It should be Ty Miller's! You need...to swap them. You need to make it right." Arnold ranted, more relaxed now that he'd said his peace.

Gideon rose from his seat. He pointed to a picture of a pale boy's foot on the Miller's board. "This one here?" Gideon asked.

"What the hell have I been trying to tell you?" Arnold scoffed, tiredly.

"You're right. They're switched." Gideon turned to Arnold, not moving the pictures back. "That is Sam Crawford's foot with the Miller family but how did you know that, Karl?"

Arnold's expression fell into blankness. He knew he'd been caught. He could bullshit excuses all day, but he couldn't get out of identifying a dead boy's foot as the wrong dead body.

==BAP==

The case was wrapping up. Hotch went to search for the trophies, or anything else incriminating in Arnold's office. Megan and JJ cleaned up the corkboards, tucking all the pictures in boxes. They could all be needed in court.

Derek gave a final interview with Arnold. This time, a confession on camera.

Megan watched it later.

"And I watched them for a number of days, always at night. Saw how they lived. How they loved. I would keep them apart...until the last night, till the last supper. Then I would bring them, one by one...down to the basement. The youngest first. The father last."

"Why, Karl?" Derek asked.

"So he could see...what happens to families when the head of household...isn't strong. Wives wither. Children perish. But me? I'm an excellent father."

Megan wanted to go home, just for a minute. She wanted to run out to her mother, give the blonde woman an uncharacteristic hug. She wanted to hug her father. She even wanted to hug her two younger brothers. Just anything to stop this feeling of disquiet in her chest.

She wondered what the rest of the team did after cases like this. Ones with dead children, ones where the unsub left such a deep impression in them. Did they reach out to their families, did they remind themselves of the people they saved?

All Megan had to cope was the future. All the people she'd yet to save, all the ones where she could work out her best plans to save them.

Cause there was one more thing left to do before this case could be closed.

==BAP==

The little jewelry box had eight wedding rings inside it.

Megan spent the next two weeks searching for the remaining six murdered families.

If she couldn't save them, then by God she would give their families peace.

==BAP==

AN: Hey everybody! How's everyone doing? I've loved the reviews coming in- I'm happy everyone loves the story and wants to see more! Please leave more reviews. They help me write!

Thanks to itsolive, haruka4, Rangiku9815, caelestii.e, DarkRain4Eternity, amalie987654321, Bluegirl-334, and SnapeFan777, for favoriting

Thanks to Iluvkovumiki, LunaCeleste18, caelestii.e, alliesmiley2, A Soul's Wish, LunaCeleste18, Bluegirl-334, DarkRain4Eternity, and SkyLion27, for following