Sometimes I wish I could just spend all my time writing because I really want to get these stories written, but it's just so hard sometimes! Hope you'll enjoy this anyway! -J
Chapter 6
"Okay, Rossi, JJ and Morgan take the front of the house," Hotch told the team, all gathered around the corner from a rather beat up looking house. "Me, Prentiss and Reid will cover the back. Wait for us to get into position, we'll enter on my count."
"Wait...what are you talking about?" Emily looked around at the faces of the members of her team. "Hotch I can't go in there. I'm not supposed to be out in the field," she looked to JJ who appeared to be rather angry. "I'm supposed to be back at the precinct. What about the babies?"
"Emily what are you talking about? How can you not want to be here right now?" JJ sounded close to tears. "He has her. We have to get her."
"He has…what are you…" Emily tried to ask but the team was already moving, needing to get into position.
"Remember on my count," Hotch repeated as Reid followed close behind him, Emily going along since she didn't know what else to do.
"Reid what's going on? Did the unsub get another girl?" Emily asked, keeping her voice low as the trio snuck around the dilapidated house.
"Don't worry Em. We're going to get her," Reid replied, not making Emily feel much better as she moved a hand over her stomach, suddenly realizing that she wasn't wearing her vest.
"Wait, Hotch! Reid! I don't have my vest," Emily was panicked; feeling like the other two Agents weren't even listening to her. "Guys we can't…"
"Alright on three," Hotch began his countdown, his voice ringing through everyone's earpieces. "1…2…3," he called before kicking in the door at the same time that Morgan hit down the front door.
"FBI. Freeze!" Multiple voices called out, while Emily tried to get her bearings, afraid of what could happen considering she had no protective gear on.
Looking around the room, Emily saw a man standing in the middle of the room, all the guns trained on him, while he simply stood with a smirk on his face, looking down to the girl who lay at his feet. Slowly stepping closer, Emily was surprised to find that the girl appeared to be young, most likely just a teenager, her familiar dark hair covering her face. It was the hair that made Emily's stomach drop, realizing just who was lying on the floor as she took in the blood surrounding her.
"No!" Emily pushed past Hotch and Reid, no longer caring what happened to her. "Alex! No! Alex!"
"Alex!" Emily bolted up in her bed, struggling to catch her breath as tears poured down her face.
"Emily!" JJ was right next to her, quickly turning on the light before placing her hands on the brunette's shoulders. "Baby it's okay. You're okay. It was just a dream."
Unable to calm herself down Emily felt her stomach flip, bolting out of bed and running towards the hotel bathroom where she immediately leaned over the toilet and emptied her stomach. Not quite sure if it was the morning sickness, or the aftermath of the nightmare, Emily continued throwing up, not even flinching when JJ came up behind her and pulled back her hair.
"Shhh Em. Baby it's okay," JJ rubbed circles on Emily's back, comforting her the only way she could. "Just try and take a deep breath honey. You're okay. Just try and calm down," she soothed, feeling better only when she felt Emily's breathing beginning to even out; the brunette eventually leaning back so she was resting against her knees. "It was just a nightmare Baby," she placed a kiss on the back of her wife's head. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"I…I don't think I can," Emily shook her head, her voice shaky as JJ immediately wrapped her arms around her, shuffling back so they were sitting against the wall. "I don't…can't…"
"Okay. That's okay," JJ nodded, pulling Emily close as she placed another kiss on her head. "You don't have to say anything…I get it," she continued, encouraging the brunette to rest her head on her shoulder. "You were calling for Alex. I'm guessing she intersected with our case?" She questioned, feeling Emily nod against her shoulder. "She's okay gorgeous. She's just fine."
"But what if she's not?" Emily countered, sounding both scared and sad, which broke JJ's heart. "She's okay now, but what if something happens to her? What if these texts aren't just some kid messing with her? Jack and Janice Kenneth lost their daughter just like that. She just went to the library and then she was gone…no warning," she was bordering on rambling now. "We can't protect her from everything Jen. I mean we can try. We can try but we could still lose her. We can't protect her from everything."
"You're right," JJ agreed, her lips against Emily's head, as she held her tightly. "We can't protect her from everything. But we can protect her from this."
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"Garcia please tell me you have found something on this number that is texting Alex," JJ said as soon Garcia picked up her phone later that morning, though it was still early; too early to be calling.
"It's early," Garcia's voice was groggy, having obviously been woken up by the phone. "I stayed at the office running searches and so I barely got any sleep and I still had another 30…"
"Garcia!" JJ interrupted, worried only about Emily, who she had convinced to take a shower. "Pen please I know you're tired and I'm sorry for waking you but Emily is going to lose her mind if we don't find something to identify whoever is sending Alex these texts," the words came out in a rush. "So please tell me you found something? Anything?"
Hearing Garcia sigh, JJ knew right away that her best friend wasn't going to give her the good news she was hoping for. "I'm sorry Jayje; I'm trying," she sounded apologetic. "I'm really trying but it's a disposable cell and those things aren't meant to be tracked," she explained. "And unless whoever it is calls Lex then I can't even really trace the location. I tried to…it just isn't possible Jayje. I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault," JJ tried to hide her disappointment, though she knew her best friend would hear it anyways. "Thank you for trying Pen."
"Don't give up yet my Blonde Beauty," Garcia's cheerful voice brought a smile to JJ's face. "I'm going to keep running searches in the background when I can and Alex is under strict instructions to have one of the girls call me if she receives any phone calls," she told her. "Is Emsters okay?"
"She…it has been a rough morning," JJ replied, not wanting to share details about the brunette's nightmares or the fact that they had to call Alex and wake her in order to calm Emily down enough so they could leave the bathroom floor. "You know how she worries about Lex…well how we both do," she corrected. "I remember being pregnant with Henry and having to meet with families; it hits you harder than normal and it gets in your head…makes you panic. Having to deal with these young girls being killed and someone messing with Alex at the same time is difficult to say the least…for both of us."
"But more so for Em," Garcia understood what her friend was saying. "Our poor Princess! We're going to figure out who's bothering our little Lexie and we're going to get our unsub just like we always do," she reassured the other blonde. "It's all going to be okay."
"Thanks Pen," JJ smiled despite the fact that she still felt pretty lousy about the whole thing. "I just…I really wanted to have good news to give Em," she sighed just as her phone beeped indicating she was getting another call; checking the screen to see that it was Hotch. "Hey Pen I've gotta go, Hotch is calling, which probably means you might want to head back to the office."
"Noted. Talk to you soon Sunshine! Keep your head up," Garcia called before hanging up so JJ could take Hotch's call.
"Hi Hotch," JJ answered the phone, bracing herself for what she knew her boss was going to tell her.
"JJ we've got another missing girl," Hotch replied, not bothering with a greeting. "We're going to need a press conference and we need to interview witnesses and families. Can you and Emily be ready in 10?"
"We'll be ready," JJ nodded, turning towards the bathroom as Emily remerged, her shoulders slumping. "We'll meet you downstairs."
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"Is it okay if I come over after school so we can finish our project?" Spencer asked as they stood at Alex's locker so the shorter brunette could sort out what books she needed. "I know we were supposed to work on it at lunch but I figured Liv would want to tell us about her Mom through most of that. You don't have anything going on do you?"
"No that sounds good," Alex smiled, grabbing what she needed before shutting her locker and turning around so she could face her girlfriend. "I've got to help Jessie out with Henry and dinner and what not but we should be able to get it finished still. Have you seen Liv yet? I kind of expected her to be waiting for us here this morning."
"Maybe she's getting a ride in from her Mom," Spencer shrugged. "I'm sure her and Zoey will be here soon. Did you talk to your Moms last night? How's the case going?"
"Not great," Alex shook her head, feeling bad for her Mom. "I talked to them last night and it all sounded pretty bad," she explained. "Plus they called me early this morning. I guess my Mom's having a pretty hard time."
"Because of the pregnancy? Is she okay?" Spencer asked, sounding immediately worried.
"She's okay but the pregnancy and the case are definitely messing with her head," Alex explained, knowing she could trust her girlfriend to keep the story to herself. "I guess she had a pretty bad nightmare and it kind of threw her for a loop. She needed to call so she could calm down. Mum sounded pretty worried."
"I'm sure everything that's going on here isn't helping matters either. Your poor Mom," Spencer replied, reaching out and taking Alex's hand, which earned her a smile from the other teen. "I hope they get to come home soon."
"Me too," Alex sighed, looking up to find Zoey and Olivia headed their way. "Hey guys how's it…" her smile dropped as she noticed the concerned look on both the girls' faces. "What?"
"You two do realize you're being watched don't you?" Olivia hissed, nodding behind them as both brunettes quickly turned to find the new kid once again watching them from across the hall.
"God, enough is enough," Spencer huffed, dropping Alex's hand and turning on her heel, stomping towards the boy.
"Spencer don't," Alex tried to grab her girlfriend's arm, but Spencer was too quick, dodging Alex and heading across the hall with determination.
"I'm sorry but do you have a problem?" Spencer was instantly shouting, obviously frustrated. "Because you should just take a picture it will last longer!"
"I'm sorry?" The boy feigned innocence, looking like he had no idea what Spencer was talking about.
"Don't try and pretend you don't know what I'm talking about," Spencer continued, ignoring Alex's hand on her shoulder. "We've seen you watching us and it's getting old okay? If you have a problem with our relationship that's just too bad so stop being a creep and leave my girlfriend alone and stop texting her!"
"Spencer, enough!" Alex finally cut the taller brunette off, grabbing her arm and pulling her away towards the bathrooms, though Spencer was still struggling against her. "Just let it go," she said, pushing them both into the bathroom before turning on Spencer. "What the hell are you doing?" She demanded, letting go of Spencer's arm. "Are you nuts? My Moms told me to stay away from the guy not go after him! Are you trying to make things worse?"
"I'm sick of this kid messing with you," Spencer shrugged as if she didn't see what the big deal was. "I'm just so sick of people messing with us. It's always something. I just want us to be able to be happy and not have to worry about all this other crap. I'm sick of it."
"Spence," Alex sighed, stepping forward and taking both of Spencer's hands in hers. "We're going to figure this whole thing out. But not like this," she shook her head. "I promised my Moms I would be careful and I wouldn't try to handle things on my own like I did with Chelsea," she reminded her. "So can we please just figure out what's going on for certain first and then let Dean Hackett and my Moms deal with it? Please?"
"Okay," Spencer nodded, her shoulders slumping. "I'm sorry," she said, leaning her forehead against Alex's.
"It's okay," Alex smiled, placing a kiss on the tip of Spencer's nose. "It was actually kind of hot," she said, making Spencer burst out with laughter.
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"Our unsub is a white male, likely in his mid to late thirties," Hotch began giving the profile to the gathered Austin police officers, the rest of the BAU team by his side.
"He's targeting young, well educated females, all of whom are described by their families and friends as responsible, meaning he most likely appears normal, charming even," Rossi added from where he stood beside Hotch.
"These girls wouldn't have willingly walked off with someone who appeared threatening, and he's targeting them in fairly busy environments," Emily said, looking around to ensure that all the officers were listening closely, knowing how important it was to find their unsub before their newest victim was killed. "It's possible he's using some form of ruse to gain the girls' trust."
"What kind of ruse?" One cop asked, a pad in his hand to take notes.
"It could be anything really," Morgan was the one to reply. "Often in cases like these the unsub will pretend to be in some form of distress to appear less threatening. He could be saying his car broke down or that his phone was stolen; something to get the girls closer to him so he can grab her without drawing attention."
"We need everyone canvassing the areas near the colleges and universities in the city to see if anyone remembers seeing anyone asking for help of some form on the nights that all of our victims went missing," Hotch once again spoke up. "Agent Jareau held a press conference this morning warning all young girls to remain vigilant and to travel in groups if possible, but not everyone will heed our advice. It's important we're on the lookout for any girls on their own, while we continue to look for Becca Arnold," he said, thinking of their latest victim. "If there are any more questions or you find anything please find a member of our team."
"Do you think we'll be able to find Becca Arnold before he kills her?" Reid asked as the team gathered together, the rest of the officers dispersing.
"I think it's likely that someone has seen something and they just don't realize it," Rossi was the one to answer. "We just need to find that person," he added just as Emily's cell phone began to ring.
"It's Alex," Emily checked her screen, looking up to Hotch.
"Go ahead," he nodded, Emily quickly heading for the hallway with JJ following close behind.
"Alex? Is everything okay?" Emily asked as soon as hit the talk button, holding the phone so JJ could hear as well.
"Yeah everything's okay," Alex replied as both her Mothers sighed in relief, hoping the teen didn't hear. "I haven't gotten any more messages or anything today but well…something happened at school today and I figured I better tell you."
"What happened?" JJ asked, reaching down and grabbing Emily's free hand, feeling nervous.
"So that kid was watching me and Spencer in the hall again this morning but we didn't notice," Alex replied, sounding a little nervous herself. "Liv and Zoey came to meet us at my locker and they saw him and told us he was watching us and Spencer kind of flipped."
"Flipped how?" Emily had to ask, unable to imagine Spencer Hastings losing her cool.
"She like stormed up to him before I could stop her and started yelling at him," Alex told them, sounding as if she really didn't want to share this particular information. "She just kept telling him to stop following us and to leave us alone and not to text me anymore."
"Did he say anything?" JJ asked. "Did he admit to sending those texts?"
"He didn't say anything," Alex sounded perplexed. "I mean I sort of panicked when Spencer started yelling so I was just trying to get her out of there. I mean I said we wouldn't try to handle this whole thing on our own so I just wanted to get her away before anything could go down," she explained. "I didn't want it to end in punches and getting suspended again. I just figured I should let you guys know what happened though. I'm really sorry. And so is Spencer. She's really embarrassed about the whole thing."
"It's okay Honey, we get it," Emily told her, giving JJ a small smile to reassure her that she was fine. "And make sure you tell Spencer we're not mad. I'm really glad you told us though Sweetheart. Did you see this boy again at all today?"
"No," Alex replied. "I didn't see him at all the rest of the day."
"Well that's good then," JJ said. "Maybe Spencer scared him away," she shared a glance with Emily, both wondering if it was possible that someone else was sending their daughter those texts if the boy was so easily scared off. "But you should definitely keep being careful and just…well be aware and keep us updated."
"Yes please tell us if anything else goes on," Emily agreed. "And as soon as we're back we're going to come to the school and talk to the Dean about this boy…see if we can at least find out if something is going on. Okay?"
"Okay," Alex was quick to reply. "Do you guys think you'll be home soon?"
"We don't know yet Honey," Emily told her, wishing she could return home now. "But we'll let you know as soon as we do," she said, looking up to find Morgan gesturing that they were needed. "Listen we've got to go, but give your Brother a kiss for us. We'll talk again soon."
"Okay. Love you guys!"
"We love you too," JJ replied, squeezing Emily's hand.
"We love you too."