AN/I again would like to assure you that I am not a sociopath. I promise. Thanks for caring ;)

I thought I would try and finish this story before the season starts.

Warnings: I don't own them.

Garcia paced frantically in her small one-bedroom apartment.

She believed in loyalty.

In fact, she had often prided herself on her loyalty-it was after all her best quality.

But this much loyalty?

Her best friend-the mother of her godson-could very well be a sociopathic killer.

Even for her, it was a little much.

She knew JJ had issues, they all did-but psycho serial killer issues? That was something she was completely unprepared for.

Dailing a familiar number, she bit her lip, hoping that she'd have some ability to get good old-fashioned advice from a man she trusted.

"Hey Baby Girl, tell me you've got something." Derek sighed into his phone. Penelope bit her lip, hesitant to add any more worry to her obviously over-stressed friend.

"Garcia?" He prodded.

"Derek, are you alone?"

"No, I'm here with Rossi, Reid, Prentiss, and JJ. Why?"

"It's about JJ." Penelope hedged.

"Hey, just a minute guys..." Derek spoke to the other profilers and she could hear him step out of the room. "Okay, I'm alone, what's up?"

"Derek, I'm just really worried about her, I found a-"

"Hold it right there Mama." Derek stopped her, "This case is hard for all of us, but especially JJ."

"That's what I'm saying, Derek, I don't know how to say this but JJ's not who we think she is. I think-"

"Did you know that her father was brutally murdered in front of her when JJ was only seventeen? I know you probably haven't looked at her file, but her mom disappeared a couple of years later and...Baby Girl, we've all got our issues." Derek informed Penelope with a sigh. "I know she wouldn't want me to tell you this, but JJ overcame a lot."

"What do you mean, Derek?" She asked, her interest piqued.

"If you really want to know, check and see if there is a CPS file. I'll bet there is. It would probably be sealed, but I'd bet you'd find JJ had a pretty horrible childhood."

"How can you know that, have you read it?" Penelope asked doubtfully. Though this in no way changed what she had to tell Derek, she would be lying if she said she wasn't interested to learn more about the friend she now realized she had known almost nothing about.

"I'm a profiler, Baby Girl." Derek sighed sadly, "But trust me, it's pretty obvious when you know what you're looking for."

"Thanks." Garcia poked her pen to the receiver to end the call. Her fingers flew over the keys in a furious attempt to prove her suspicions were false. Maybe it was a coincidence, or just some connection that she had somehow managed to imagine after a bad helping of coleslaw.

After all, this was JJ.

And JJ would never do something wrong.

At least, not this wrong.

It didn't take her long to find a small file in the Child Protective Services database over 25 years old. As she cracked the encryption with ease, she momentarily thought that maybe she should donate her services to the federal government to tighten the security on their files. But now wasn't the time for thoughts of keeping other hackers out of decades old files.

Now, she needed to find information, something that would let her know that her gut feeling was wrong.

Reading along quickly, Penelope's hand flew to her mouth in horror as she read the description of a small malnurished twelve year old who was barely alive. Words struck out at her like a freight train. Lacerations. Brusing. Suspected long term abuse at the hands of her father. Horror turned to disgust at the final words "Investigation underway, information turned over to Chief of Police-Robert Jareau for further followup."

"No way." Penelope shook her head in shock. They turned their suspicions over to JJ's father? But he was her abuser!

Feeling sick to her stomach, she quickly accessed JJ's medical files, only to feel her nasuea grow as she looked over the long list of tests and treatments that suggested JJ's father had indeed taken care of the problem.

Because there was not another entry in JJ's CPS file.

But there were plenty more hospital visits.

"How could someone have missed this?" Penelope murmured in horror. But the more she looked, the more she realized that her first theory may just be correct.

Her very best friend in the entire world might just be a deranged serial killer.

But what was even more terrifying, was that Penelope could sort of understand.

And that thought was even more horrifying than uncovering JJ's secret life.

JJ smiled as she sipped her coffee, pretending not to notice the concerned look Derek cast her as he reentered the room. Last night had been an effective release from the stress she had been feeling, especially since she knew that bitch would never hurt another child again.

Hotch grimaced and stormed into the room of profilers. "We have a new victim, Michelle Richardson. Rossi and Reid I need you at the scene, but we have a problem." Hotch grimly sat down in the chair at the head of the conference table and tossed a file at the group.

"He's devolving." Rossi rubbed his forehead wearily.

"The attacks are getting closer together." Reid agreed.

"Wait a minute." Derek rubbed the back of his head as he looked over the report the police had provided on the woman's identity. "I-JJ and I-we JUST SAW this lady."

"Really? When?" JJ asked oblivioulsy, picking up the file though she already knew what it would say.

"That lady in the diner." Derek shook his head sadly. "Maybe if I had done something-If we could have arrested her..." He trailed off as he looked at the crime scene photos that showed blood splattered along an empty warehouse.

"Oh." JJ tried to make herself sound like she too was horrified at the revelation. If she hadn't been doing this whole "double life" thing for years, it might have been difficult.

Now, it was almost natural.

Almost.

"Get Garcia on the line. Morgan, Prentiss, and I will stay here and work on victimology." Hotch sighed.

"Hotch?" Emily asked, looking up from the file in front of her. "Was there any trace evidence?"

Hotch shook his head. "CSU is still looking, but it looks like every other scene."

"What are you thinking Prentiss?" Derek asked having long ago caught on to the way Emily's brain worked. She'd ask questions in an attempt to discredit her hypothesis until she was left with the only logical conclusion.

"I think we're looking for someone in law enforcement." Emily looked around to gauge her theory's reception. "Think about it, forensics are almost nonexistent. He manages to subdue them without arising suspicion."

Hotch nodded thoughtfully and dropped his voice in a conspiratorial whisper. "For now, everyone outside of this room is a suspect."

JJ had to fight with surprising effort the grin that threatened to explode at Hotch's command.

No one even suspected her.