Chapter 7. Once again, I'd like to thank everyone for their lovely interviews, and once again I'd also like to say that I don't own anything.

This chapter and/or the next one may be quite boring, but they're necessary for the story. I can't say anything more than that.

Have fun, and tell me what you think!

Oh, and I let Garcia in for a bit, because I was thinking she doesn't get enough "screen" time in here. All the fics stress that she's a good friend of JJ, and though I haven't watched CM in a while I seem to remember something similar. Her part will probably not get much bigger than that, so to all the Garcia fans out there: enjoy it even more! xD

It had been a week since JJ had been abducted, and she found she had made some good progress. She wasn't dreaming about Charles anymore. She had other dreams, but at least they didn't have anything to do with the recent case anymore. In her eyes, it was an improvement.

The team often looked at her with a mix of worry and interest, but she never reacted to it. Opening up to them would be even harder than opening up to anyone else. Besides, she didn't want to be the one to tell them. She thought she wouldn't be able to endure all the looks she'd get from a team of people she spent most of her life with.

Emily, on the other hand, was an entirely different story. JJ trusted her, but she had trusted her mother, too – and look what had come from that.

She was thankful for Emily's support though – the knowledge that someone was there for her comforted her, even though she knew she could never tell her. But the simple thought of someone caring was enough to sooth JJ back to sleep sometimes.

Their relationship had been refrained when they had gotten back – Emily was obviously hurt by the end of their last conversation, and JJ didn't know how to apologize without having to explain.

Thankfully, Garcia, being the person she was, had noticed the tension between the two agents and had invited them both over for a movie night. They hadn't talked about what happened, but chatted about men, food and love: a typical girl's night out. Things had become rather serious when Garcia had started talking about her parents, but it had been a good kind of serious.

The sound of her phone ringing brought her back to reality. "Agent Jareau," she said, picking up the phone.

"Detective Milano here, Detroit PD. Am I speaking with the BAU liaison?" A male voice said at the other end of the line.

"Yes, you are. How can I help you?" JJ asked politely, already knowing how the BAU would be able to help. They would have to go out in the field again.

"Somebody is killing people."

JJ almost rolled her eyes at this obvious news. "Could you give me some details, sir?"

"Seven victims so far, varying in age, race, sex and social status. The only thing they have in common is how they died: first they were suffocated, then their throats were slashed." He sounded like he was reading from a file, and maybe he was. But then, emotional distance was a good thing to keep in this line of work.

JJ decided that seven victims were too much to ignore. "If you could send over the victim's details, I will present the case to my team and we will come over in a few days."

"Please hurry." Detective Milano sounded quite desperate. "I'm not looking forward to telling more families a loved one has died."

"I will do what I can," JJ answered, almost automatically, and she put down the phone.

When the details of the case had arrived, she walked out of her office into the bullpen.

"Hey guys, we have another case, conference room in 10 minutes." Without waiting for an answer, she walked on, trying to locate Hotch and the newly assigned Rossi. She had met him only briefly, and he hadn't disappointed her. Maybe, she thought, we'll get to know him a bit now.

When everyone was in the conference room, she immediately started off.

"Seven victims so far, with no obvious connection: both men and women, varying in age, race and social status. The first victim, Rosa Denzel-" she pointed at the screen, where the image of a dead woman had appeared, "-was found two weeks ago in the woods surrounding Detroit. She was suffocated and her throat was slashed. That is all the victims have in common: the way there were killed. DPD requests our help on this matter, because everything they've tried so far hasn't worked."

She looked around the room and already knew they would be going to Detroit soon.

"Who was his last victim?" Morgan asked JJ. JJ clicked again and a man, half buried under sand, appeared on the screen. "An unidentified black male, found yesterday: police suspects he was homeless. They have been around to ask if anyone has seen him, but so far with no results."

Reid was the next one to ask a question: "How much time between the murders?"

"The second victim, Johan deBoer, was found four days after Rosa Denzel. After that, the time frame has become irregular: sometimes four days, sometimes only a day between the murders."

"He is devolving," Emily muttered, and Rossi nodded his head in agreement.

"We'll take it; wheels up in 30 minutes," Hotch told everyone, and they all left.

JJ headed back to her office to pack her stuff, though there wasn't much need to: she always had a suitcase prepared. But she wanted to bring something to distract with her.

While she was wondering whether to take the book she'd been reading with her, somebody knocked on her door. She spun around to see Hotch. "Hey, Hotch. What can I do for you?" she asked nonchalantly, trying to shake off the uneasy feeling.

"JJ, you don't have to join in on this one. If you want to stay here…" Hotch looked slightly uncomfortable saying this.

"No, I'll come. I'm fine, really," JJ said, looking at her boss confidently. "Besides, I've always wanted to visit Detroit." That was true – something in the city had always attracted her. "I just wished it was under different circumstances." She chuckled and so did he: "Well, if you're sure… See you on the plane." And with that, he left.

JJ sighed, relieved. In truth, she was conflicted: she would have to stay with Emily in one room again, and she knew her nightmares weren't over. On the other hand, getting away from this place might be exactly what she needed. No matter how horrible it sounded, everyone would have something else to focus on instead of her.