Hey guys, what's up? I was on a two week vacation with practically no electronics, so I wrote this! Aren't you all happy it didn't take three months again? Sorry it's a bit short, but hey, what can I say? I wrote what fit. So this is mostly Hotch POV, with a bit of Gibbs thrown in there. Enjoy!

I walked into the office with a tired sigh and sat down at my desk. Morgan was still in the hospital, still in a coma. It had put a damper on all our moods. I could see it in my team. Garcia no longer smiled, at all, and she was far too professional for Garcia. J.J only ever discussed cases with the rest of us, and spent the rest of the time in her office. Prentiss would snap at random moments and later apologise. Rossi was … different. I'm not sure exactly how, just different.

Reid was the worst. He buried himself in work and only spoke when necessary. He no longer cited off random facts statistics, no longer became excited when we caught a break in a case. He was emotionless, lifeless … a shell.

The team was on the verge of breaking. We have had one bad case after another. First everything with Foyet and changing team leaders, and now this with Morgan. Hopefully if- when he wakes up, we won't be too far beyond repair.

Strauss has been on my case about finding a temporary replacement, but I don't have the heart to. That more than anything would be the teams' breaking point.

Two and a half weeks. I can't put it off much longer. Strauss is demanding that I find a replacement, but I can't. She just doesn't see it. She doesn't see that it's the one thing that will make this truly real for all of us.

My phone rings and I answer wearily, "Hotchner."

"From the BAU?" The voice on the other end clarifies.

"Yes. Who is this?"

"Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS. I have a case that I think might require the attention of your team. How soon can you get to Washington D.C?"

I sighted, "It doesn't work like that Special Agent Gibbs; we have to review the case file and determine if there is an imminent threat to the people in the area. Is it a kidnapping?"

"No, a murder."

"Send us over a case file and I'll see what we can do."

"That could take weeks!" I could hear the rage and frustration in his voice. But what was I going to do, break protocol? I'm already on thin ice with Strauss as it is.

"That's procedure. If you don't like it, take it up with your director." I hung up and sighed. I may have been a little impolite, but I really couldn't deal with pushy, over-confident junior agents right now.

I stormed up to Vance's office. How dare that bastard hang up on me? There would be hell to pay; I'll make sure of that.

I walked past the secretary without a glance, ignored her protest, marched into the director's office and froze. Vance wasn't alone. Dinozzo was sitting in the chair across from the directors, and for a moment my mind flashed back to when Jenny sat at that desk.

"Agent Gibbs, have a seat. Agent Dinozzo and I were finished anyway." He shot my subordinate a look that I couldn't read and Tony got up and left. I refused the seat that Vance offered and glared at him. He simply sat back in his chair and asked, "Which agency is it this time?" Damn. Does he know me that well?

"The FBI. Specifically, the BAU. They refused to assist us in one of our cases." I would have pouted, had I not had a reputation to maintain.

"Did you send them the file?"

"Not at first. I called and talked to an agent," bastard, I thought to myself, "who told me to send a file over. Then I sent the file."

"When was this?"

I looked at my watch, "10 minutes ago."

Vance sighed, "Give it time, Gibbs. They'll look over the file and come running, no doubt. It's not everyday you ask for help on a case, especially form the FBI. This one must be bad."

"It is.'' I replied, thinking or the multiple victims and lack of evidence. "Can't you talk to their Section Chief?"

"Strauss and I aren't exactly on the best of terms. I have a feeling that my involvement would actually hurt your chances." I nodded. "Anything else?" I shook my head and left. Damn politics.

J.J poked her head into my office, "Conference room, 5 minutes." And left, presumably to tell the others.

We sat around our table, one short, as J.J went through slides on the screen. "DCPD just sent us this. They've had six victims in the past three weeks, the time between the murders going down by half each time. It's the same MO for all of them."

"He attacks couples." Rossi observed.

J.J nodded, "All of the murders have been at night, in empty yet open areas. Easy access and no witnesses."

I nodded, "Wheels up in 10."

We reviewed the case more on the plane. There were 5 unidentified civilian victims and one Seaman Petty Officer. His name was Bradley Trumpman.

J.J got a call just before we landed. She clicked her phone shut a looked at us, "DCPD just found another two victims in Rock Creek Park that match our unsub's MO.

Well shit.

The crime scene was … unique. It was in a small corner of Rock Creek Park, in a small grove of trees. The John Doe was leaning up against a tree, face black and blue with multiple stab wounds in his chest. The Jane Doe lay a few yards away, eyes wide and glassy, a bullet hole in the middle of her forehead.

"I told you to inform me as soon as you any more evidence in the case. I'm pretty sure this constitutes as evidence!" Someone yelled. I knew that voice…

"This isn't an NCIS case."

"Like hell it isn't! A Petty Officer was murdered by the same killer that made this crime scene, so don't you tell me it's not my case!"

"Agent Gibbs, we don't know for sure yet if it was in fact the same killer." I cut in, hoping to end the argument, but knowing that it was probably futile. I'll admit I was surprised by Agent Gibbs. He was older than I was expecting, for one thing. But he also hadn't struck me as the type to worry about the victims, just the case and the job. It was good to know that he realized the severity of the situation.

Gibbs spun around with a look of surprise on his face. "What are you doing here?"

"DCPD presented a formal request for BAU assistance in a case they're working on. Evidently it was the case you had mentioned on the phone."

"Oh, so you'll come running when local LEO's beckon, but not when a fully certified government agency asks for assistance?" This definitely wasn't going as planned.

"This has nothing to do with inter-agency turf wars. DCPD followed protocol. It irrelevant regardless, seeing as we're both here now." He continued to glare at me. Damn it, was he always this difficult? "Look, can we just focus on solving the case?"

"Humph. Fine. What have you figured out so far?" I felt a fresh surge of irritation at the impatient arrogance in his voice. He clearly didn't believe me, and held little respect for the FBI. Arg. I really hate dealing with people like him.

"Well, seeing as my team just got here, we haven't had a chance to go through the crime scene. It would go faster if all the team could be working on the case." OK, so maybe I was being rude, and perhaps a bit childish, but Gibbs got on my nerves. I know I preach about cooperating with local authorities, but it was DCPD who invited us, so……

He glared at me one last time before leaving to talk to his team. I pity those people, I really do. I sighed and walked over to my own team to see what sort of preliminary profile they had established from the scene.

End Chapter 3

IMPORTANT!!! So like I said at the top, I was away for two weeks. When I got back, I checked my email and I was shocked by the number of story alerts I got. You guys are amazing! But I did notice that only three people have reviewed. Now, I don't want to be one of those naggy authors who always say "reviewreviewreview!" but it does help me write better stories if I get you're feedback on it. I've mentioned before that not all of the parings are fixed, so if you want a specific one, ask. I might not do it, but I'll try to take what you guys say into consideration, OK? Good. Now, my rant is done, I love you all, and see ya next time! ;)