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Chapter 4

The next day Mia was stuck in that cold concrete interrogation room again. She glared at the mirror, hopefully making the agents behind it to hurry up and come in already.

"But sir-"Reid's begging was cut off by Hotch.

"No Reid, you can't interview her. You're already too emotionally attached right now. I'm letting Morgan take this one." Hotch said to the genius sternly. Reid huffed then sat down in a chair, pouting. He ran his hands through his shorter hair. He should have never cut it.

The door opened and Mia sat up immediately. She watched the muscular agent stride into the room.

"Hey I'm Agent Morgan," he greeted, sitting across from Mia. She nodded, trying to think where she heard his name before. Probably from Reid. "I need you to make a list of all the males in your life. Any teachers, employee's at your favorite hang outs. Anything could help us catch him" Morgan instructed, sliding a piece of paper and a pen over to her.

"Well there's Mr. Jenns my math teacher, Mr. Gaining my science teacher, Mr. Wilder my English teacher, my assistant principle Mr. Nickels," Mia listed, scribbling down names furiously. "I go to the amusement park a lot. There's a lot of guys there," Mia concluded. "Other than that I wouldn't know."

"Thanks kid" Morgan took the list and started skimming it.

"That's who you are!" Mia shouted surprising the agent.

"What?"

"Yeah! You always call Spencer kid!" Mia said excitedly.

"Did you just call Dr. Reid Spencer?" Morgan laughed, looking at the glass window, picturing Reid blushing furiously.

"That's his name, isn't it?" Mia rolled her eyes at Morgan

"Yeah but he's so young, that's why he's kid," Morgan challenged.

"I think if anyone was a kid here it would be me," Mia pointed out, raising her eyebrows.

"Whatever kid," Morgan rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"See? You called me kid!" Mia pointed out.

"Ok, you got me. But I'm still calling Reid kid" Morgan chuckled. Mia smiled at Morgan then at the mirrored windowed and wagged her eyebrows.

On the other side of the glass Reid was trying not to laugh at Morgan and Mia's banter. When Mia wagged her eyebrows in his direction he cracked up. Hotch gave him a questioning glance so Reid cleared his throat, struggling not to smile.

"Let's go talk to the men on her list," Hotch instructed. Reid sprung up and Hotch knocked on the glass.

"That's my signal to leave" Morgan informed Mia. "Someone will bring you to school soon"

"School?" Mia visibly gulped.

"Yeah, sorry. I think you can ride with us though we're probably heading there to talk to your teachers anyways." Morgan stood up and grabbed her list. They both left the room and met up with Hotch and Reid outside the interview room.

The ride in the SUV was pretty quiet. Mia stared out the window, trying to picture how the other students would react when she got to school. Would they pity her? Would they glare? The more she thought the scarier going to school became. She started rubbing the bandages on her wrist nervously.

"Does it hurt?" Reid asked, looking at her with concern.

"Hm? No I'm fine" Mia muttered, still distracted. The car lapsed back into silence. Finally they pulled p to the Bayton High School. It was big, the outside made of tan bricks. A flagpole waved the American flag in the courtyard. They entered the Main Office to find it decorated like they were in the 90's. They talked to the plump woman behind the desk. She handed the agents a map of the school and all of the male teachers' classes. Then she handed Mia a late pass, avoiding eye contact. Mia took it and stared at the woman curiously. She's the friendliest woman in the office. Usually when you walk in she'll say hello and run her mouth on about anything she wants. One time she even droned on about the plastic fern in the corner. Now she wouldn't even look at her and jerked her hand away from her like she was shocked.

"Mia what class do you have right now?" Reid asked.

"I have…" She thought for a second. "Child Development."

"I can walk you there," Reid suggested. "Mr. Jenns is right next door." Mia nodded and tried to smile, but her nerves wiped away any other emotion. The pair left the office and walked down the hall. They passed posters for homecoming and club sign ups and Mia made sure to look at them all so she doesn't have to talk to Reid. She didn't need him to know how nervous she was. He had enough to worry about. They stopped outside of Mia's class in what seemed too fast to Mia.

"Listen; I know this is hard for you. I'll be right in the building and if you need to, text me on your cell phone. If you have any trouble with the teachers just tell them you're talking to an FBI agent." Reid instructed. Mia nodded and Reid patted her on the head then left. Mia slammed her eyes shut, took a deep breath then entered the classroom.

Reid entered Mr. Jenns' classroom. Mr. Jenns was a small man with a balding head and a beaky nose. His square glasses kept sliding down which caused him to push them up constantly.

"Hello Mr. Jenns I'm with the FBI." Reid introduced.

"Oh, please, sit down" The flustered man stuttered in a nasally voice. Reid stayed standing. "I'm here to talk to you about one of your students, Mia Gardener."

"Oh, Miss Gardener. She's in my Geometry class. Not the best with math," Mr. Jenns explained. "She usually sits in the back with her nose buried in a book. She does all her homework though."

"Mr. Jenns do you have any family?"

"I have a fiancée. We're getting married in January." Mr. Jenns smiled and grabbed a picture of the woman from his desk. "Isn't 'she beautiful?"

"Yes, lovely" Reid said politely. "Thank you for your time"

Reid left the classroom and crossed Mr. Jenns off of the list. He was too small and weak to murder all of those victims. He also wasn't very interested in Mia. Plus, he was in a happy relationship. He had no need to stalk anyone.

Morgan and Hotch entered the office of the assistant principle.

"Hello Mr. Nickels I'm Agent Hotchner and this is Agent Morgan. We're here to ask you some questions about a student of yours," Hotch asked the man. He was very old, probably past the age of retirement.

"Which student, Agent? I have over a thousand." Mr. Nickels asked in a gravelly voice.

"Mia Gardener." He answered.

"Mia Gardener, Mia Gardener, I'm sorry I'm not familiar with her. Was Lily her mother? I had her in my advisory class. Bright young girl, that Lily. How is she?" Nickels rambled.

"Mr. Nickels Lily and her son were killed a few days ago. That's what we're here to investigate. It appears Mia has a stalker." Morgan explained.

"Oh no," Nickels said glumly. "I'll send the family my regards." The agents said goodbye and left the office. Hotch crossed his name off of the list. Definitely not him. He didn't even know the victim.

"Two more to go," Morgan sighed. The agents then left to find Mr. Gaining.

When Reid entered the English room he knew Mr. Wilder could be the unsub right away. The man was large in size, between thirty and forty and was familiar with Mia.

"Hello Mr. Wilder I'm Dr. Reid with the FBI." I'm here to talk with you about Mia Gardener," Reid greeted.

"Oh yes, I heard about that in the news. What a shame. Mia is one of my best students. I think she knows Shakespeare better than I do" Wilder joked. "She's a very bright girl. She loves English class and drama club. She's been in all of the school plays and musicals which I direct"

"So you know Mia well?" Reid prodded. This guy could definitely be the unsub.

"Well I have to Dr. Reid. I'm her advisor. She comes to talk with me and a group of other students every other day to see how they're doing" Wilder explained. "I don't know her too personally but she's very smart and passionate about this class. That's all I can really say though."

"Do you have a family, Mr. Wilder?"

"I have a girlfriend. It's getting pretty serious" Wilder answered and smiled. Reid's shoulders sagged a little. This man was very normal. There were too many details that didn't fit the profile.

"Thank you for our time" Reid left the room. Next to Wilder's name he put a question mark.

"Hello Mr. Gaining I'm Agent Hotchner and this is Agent Morgan." Hotch introduced again.

"Ah, welcome to my lab Agents," Mr. Gaining bellowed. He was another big man, with a large mustache and gelled back hair.

"We're here to talk about a student of yours; Mia Gardener" Hotch droned.

"Oh, Mia! She's a wonderful student! She loves chemistry! Doesn't get great grades in it, but I can tell she likes it" Gaining enthused.

"So you know Mia personally?" Morgan asked.

"She comes in everyday and smiles at me. Even waves in the halls when I pass her" Gaining smiled proudly.

"One more question for you; do you have a wife, girlfriend, or kids?" Morgan questioned.

"Nope. This old man is a bachelor at the moment" Gaining smiled and pointed his thumbs at himself. The agents thanked him then left the room. He could most definitely be there unsub. Hotch whipped out his cell phone.

"BAU's finest speaking, how can I help you?" Garcia's cheery voice sounded from the cell phone.

"Garcia can you pull up everything you can on a Robert Gaining?" Hotch asked.

"As you wish sir" Hotch heard Garcia typing furiously before he snapped his phone shut.

"Let's meet up with Reid and head back to the police department" Hotch suggested.

Mia's day sucked. It was even worse then she had pictured in the car ride here. Everyone avoided her like she had the Black Plague. In class the kids scooted their desks away from hers. Teacher's completely ignored her. When she walked down the hallway, the kids parted to give her room. The worst part was the whispering. All the students talked about was the murders.

"….I heard that twenty people were killed…"

"Yeah, stabbed her right in the stomach I swear!..."

"I think she's making it all up… I don't know how do I look like a police officer?"

"… that the FBI, CIA and the CSI where here! No joke!"

Finally Mia couldn't take it anymore. When science ended Mia sprinted towards the bathroom. She opened it to find it completely clear. She sat down on the lid of one of the toilets and broke down sobbing. It wasn't her fault she was being stalked. Who would want to stalk her anyways? She was just an average girl. Nothing really special about her. She got mostly B's in classes, except English. She lived in a three person household before the murders. She had friends and a life. But this bastard took it all. He just swooped in with his knife and creepy smile and tore her life to shreds. Mia sat on the toilet for the rest of the day. When she heard the bell ring she left the stall and glanced at herself in the mirror. There was nothing she could do about her red eyes but she wiped off the smeared make up. After a few deep breathes and practiced smiles she exited the bathroom. When she got outside a black SUV was waiting for her. She walked as casually as she could manage towards it and opened the front door. The SUV was empty except for a smiling Reid sitting in the driver side.

"Hey Mia how was school?" Reid asked politely as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"It sucked," Mia groaned. "Can I just never go again?"

"Sorry Mia but education is good for you. People who graduate high school make about $10,000-$20,000 more a year then someone who drops out." Reid chided. Mia sighed and tried to hold back tears.

"It's just hard" Mia gulped. It was hard to keep her voice level but she was an actress.

"You're strong Mia, you can handle it. Your teachers all think you are a very bright, confident girl" Reid comforted. He kept his gaze locked on the rode so Mia didn't see how nervous Reid was. He was never good with comforting people. Mia just nodded then stared out the window. She was rubbing at her bandages again.

"If you want the doctor said you could take those off today" Reid told her. She eagerly tore the bandage off to see what her wrist looked like. The crude heart was angry, a dark purple that seemed to beat with her pulse. It was pretty gruesome. Mia traced it with her fingers, picturing her stalker doing this to her. She continued tracing it while staring out the window again.

"Do you mind coming to the police department with me? I feel bad thinking about leaving you in the hotel room alone" Reid asked.

"Oh, sure…" Mia answered faintly. Her head was a million miles from the SUV.

Prentiss watched Reid and Mia enter the department together. Reid acted a little different when he was with the girl. He walked with more confidence and always looked over his shoulder to see if she was still behind him. Mia was always there, sneaking glances at Reid and listening intently to whatever he said.

"Isn't it weird how Reid acts around Mia?" JJ asked Prentiss, handing her a cup of coffee.

"I was just thinking about that" Emily replied, sipping it the coffee gratefully.

"It's like he knows he's not the kid anymore" JJ commented. Reid was staring at the bulletin board set up in the corner, making comments to Morgan. Mia pretended to be doing her homework but JJ noticed her peaking at Reid and listening intently.

"I think it's cute" Emily stated. "It's good for him to be looked up to. He's a little underappreciated at the BAU since he's so young. I hate to admit it though." JJ nodded and continued chatting.

"So you think Gaining could be our unsub?" Reid asked Morgan.

"Definitely, hey fits the profile. He's socially awkward, a big guy, knew Mia personally and was single" Morgan answered.

"That does sound like our unsub…" Reid mused.

"I just spoke with Garcia" Hotch entered the room. "She says Gaining has a restraining order taken out on him by an ex-girlfriend."

"Let's go bring him in" Morgan grabbed his jacket. The three agents headed for the door and Prentiss and JJ followed behind.

"Oh… ok leave me here. That's cool" Mia muttered to herself. She sighed then broke open a book, kicked up her feet and delved in.

I think that was a good chapter Who do you think is the unsub? Review with your answer!