a/n: just wanna clarify that any potential romances will take forever to blossom. Because i love stories like that. And you will too. Btw imagine this is happening before the terrible seasons 11-15 plotlines.

7:12 am

FIO Bell pulled Derek aside into Prentiss's office after dismissing the rest of the team.

"Agent Morgan, I know you really should be Unit Chief right now. So, even though it's not SOP, are you willing to take on that role for now?" Bell asked, hoping he'd take it.

Morgan had known this was coming somehow. He wasn't about to let Bell get off that easily. Emily's plan was genius and he intended to see it through to the finish. "Sorry, Bell. I'm not trying to get Cruz on my butt about violating protocol," he chuckled. "It's your job." He full well knew he was lying about it being protocol, and that Cruz would be on him even if he was.

"But, sir-"

"No buts about it. This is your team to lead," Morgan said, leaving.

Bell sighed. He had to lead a team he'd tried to stay away from. And he was aware that this could be the straw that broke the camel's back. His defenses against getting too close had always been strong, yet this team-no, family-was able to crack it beyond repair. He only hoped he would be transferred before he got too attached.

7:25 am | BAU Jet

The team boarded the BAU Jet and as usual, Bell was the last one on. He stepped to take his usual seat near the edge of the plane, far away from the team when he realized it was occupied by a smug-looking Rossi.

Damn. The oldest agent had figured out his plan to avoid talking to the rest of team. He looked around noticed there was an open space on the sofa next to where Dr. Reid was sitting. It was unusual. Bell felt oddly comfortable being near, and talking to, Reid. He never felt like that when talking to anyone else on the team. He zeroed in on the spot and vowed to take it after the plane had taken off.

He did not notice that JJ had seen him decide upon the spot.

Reluctantly, Bell took a seat next to the aisle, where the 2x2 seats were. The other three seats were taken by JJ, Morgan, and since they were an agent down, Garcia. He was obviously uncomfortable with his proximity to the rest of the team but kept silent until the jet had reached cruising altitude. He started to unbuckle himself to move to his desired spot next to Reid when suddenly the blonde sitting across from him dashed across to the same spot.

The Officer was rather confused. As JJ took a seat next to Reid, much, much closer to him than anyone else on the plane would have, something clicked. The longing glances, the lingering touches, the proximity that JJ seemed adamant on shrinking.

Jennifer Jareau-well, technically Jennifer LaMontagne, but she hadn't wanted to change her maiden name-was in love with the Good Doctor. Bell cracked a rare, genuine smile. Oh, were they perfect for each other.

However, while Bell was smirking at a budding romance, the rest of the team was smirking at his joy. They were oblivious to the source of it, lest Garcia break out into a shrill scream at half past 7 in the morning. They all thought to themselves, the plan is working.

And it was.

Bell broke a comfortable silence by saying, "Let's brief now, I guess-I mean, if you want to, of course." His smile faded.

The team all gathered closer to the center of the plane and Bell started. "So here's what we know. Three Jane Does…" and so the discussion started. And they all focused on the case.

Well, all but one. JJ, sitting next to an oblivious Spence, was lost in her thoughts. Am I being too obvious? I can't be. They'll just think this is us being best friends like usual. She was right, except for Bell, no one on the plane blinked at how JJ was inches away from straight up straddling Reid.JJ didn't want to wreck her family but Reid's closeness made her insides churn in a way she'd never felt before.

Not with Will.

Not with anyone.

10:21 am | St. Petersburg, Florida

The BAU team had to solve this case quickly. If the media got wind of a serial killer as brutal as the one they were dealing with now, the community would be set into such a panic, the serial killer would go dormant.

They couldn't afford that, so Bell had to make some on-the-fly decisions. "Alright, we've only got a day before he strikes again. Agent Jareau, you and Dr. Reid head to the homes of the victims to interview them." Bell smirked internally at that.

Before he could continue speaking, though, Rossi interjected, "Bell, you're dropping the formalities now. You're Unit Chief, meaning you call us what you want. As your superior, I am formally ordering you to stop being so damn polite."

Bell sighed. "Fine. But I'm dropping them as soon as Unit Chief Pre-sorry, Emily, returns." Part of why he'd avoided using their names so far was the fact that he would get attached. He couldn't do that. He couldn't afford to. He restarted. "Jennifer, you and the Doc head to the victims' families houses to interview them. Rossi, you and Derek pay a visit to the M.E. There's something missing from the autopsy report and I don't like it. Examine the bodies carefully." The two men nodded. "Penelope, you're with me at the precinct. Then I'll go visit the latest crime scene."

The team disembarked the plane after getting their orders. JJ and Reid took one SUV, but before they left, they turned to face each other and say the things on their minds in unison.

"Jennifer?"

"The Doc?"

The duo burst out laughing and in between gasps, JJ said, "You know, I've always hated being called that but I think since it took so much convincing for us to get him to drop the titles, it seems sweet!"

"Well, speak for yourself, JJ," Reid said, still guffawing. "He called me The Doc. I quite like it though."

"I guess Emily's plan is working."

"Yeah, and quick thinking on your part, by the way," complimented Reid. "Forcing him to stay at the center of the conversation by moving next to me."

That's not why I did it, Spence. "Yeah! You know, you're not the only genius on the team."

St. Petersburg Medical Examiner's

"We've got another genius on the team!" exclaimed Rossi, looking at the bodies on the M.E.'s table.

"I have no idea how I missed this, I'm really sorry," apologized the M.E. "I don't know how I missed that puncture wound."

"Don't worry, the guy who noticed this-he's better than CSU techs at their jobs and he never took forensics. That's the type of guy he is."

SPPD Headquarters

Garcia struggled to keep up with FIO-well, Unit Chief, Bell's brisk pace as they entered the modern, elegant police headquarters of St. Pete. A detective walked into the lobby to direct them.

"Hello, you must be the BAU?" The woman asked, eyeing Bell.

"Yeah, that's us." All traces of the stutter Bell had had on the plane had vanished. "I'm Acting Unit Chief Bell. This is our Technical Analyst, Penelope Garcia." As he confidently introduced himself and Garcia, the perky woman waved.

"No first name, huh? In that case, I'm Detective Jorgensen. Welcome to St. Pete, although I wish you were here under better circumstances. We're not equipped to deal with...well whatever this sicko is."

"Let's get to work then, Detective."

11:32pm

A long day of work had led to a successful deliverance of a profile, and a dismissal of the team to their hotel rooms by Bell.

The FIO, however, remained at the precinct, hours after the rest of the team left. He would never admit it to anyone, but he was scared of going to sleep. It wasn't like he'd slept in a bed recently anyway, and he definitely hadn't slept for more than three hours, so his body was used to the insomnia.

So he stood, unmoving, just staring at the evidence board, trying to do as a single man what had proven too tiresome for an entire team; figuring out which poor woman would be brutalized tomorrow. His neurons were firing a mile a minute.

So his brain did what it could to keep itself from going insane. To rest, without sleep. He slipped into a dissociative state. Bell hadn't noticed. He stood there, in a white button down, black tie, and corduroys, for hours, unmoving, trying to make sense of the victimology. His thoughts swirled around his head, unintelligible and never being completed before he made the next logical leap.

White woman, 30s-

61% non-Hispanic whites-

Karen Mc-

Foster child-

Adopt-

Abusiv-

Hairline fractu-

Greenville Hosp-

Dr. Rich-

Just as the sun began to rise, he figured out the common thread connecting all the women. He snapped alert, still not realizing how he'd been in his own brain for nearly eight straight hours. FIO Bell sprinted out of the precinct to his car.

He had to confirm his theory with the team. However, he'd forgotten to do one very important thing.

8:01 am

The team was converging in the hotel cafeteria, just starting to wonder where their AUC was, when he burst in.

"I figured it out. What connects all the victims. The-everything-just-precinct, now!" he said, panting.

The team hurriedly followed him to the evidence board in the station where he clearly laid out his thinking and the evidence.

"Look, all of these women were white, and in their 30s, right? And we couldn't find anything connecting their pasts. It as because their past was hidden."

He frantically explained how all of the women spent some time at a certain hospital after being fostered in the same home very briefly, and how they'd all had the same injury that was never reported in the electronic system. Only in the files.

The team watched in amazement as it all clicked into place, and Garcia rushed to find another woman who'd also experienced the same abuse. Only one living woman remained.

"Okay-now I know you guys want to rush in and save the woman, but she's safe for now, right?" Bell addressed the police force gathered before him. "So here's what we'll do-"

Bell outlined a plan for a discreet stakeout of Mrs. Cromartie's house.

After everyone had been assigned their jobs, Bell exhaled strongly and nearly collapsed. This was not unnoticed by the members of the BAU, and neither was the fact that he wore the same clothes as yesterday, and that his hair was a mess.

"Kid," Rossi called. "Just how long did you spend figuring this out? Did you even come to the hotel?"

As Bell strained to remember how long he'd spent here last night, his brain decided it'd had enough. His eyes rolled up in his head and he fell to the floor.