Part 18

The outside of Lila's home is coloured with red and blue as the beacon from police cars spin their illuminating glow. Elle and Derek arrive on the scene. Hotchner and Owen are already standing on the street. Reid and Gideon are on their way.

"We just got the call. So the unsub has been apprehended?" questions Elle.

"That's right. They're bringing her out right now," Hotch tells them.

"Who is it?" asks Derek.

He looks up as officers lead Maggie with her hands cuffed behind her back down the walkway. "She was there the whole time and we didn't even suspect her," remarks Owen. "This was not how you guys told me it would end."

"She deviated so much from the profile, is it any surprise the conclusion would be different?" replies Elle.

"What exactly happened?" wonders Derek again.

"According to Lila, she broke down and confessed to the murders," answers Hotch. "Eventually she was convinced to turn herself in."

"Was there anyone else there?" asks Elle.

"JJ was there to make the arrest," informs Hotch. "She confirms Lila's story."

Jennifer and Lila follow down the footpath as they watch Maggie being hauled towards the cop car. The team looks at Maggie as she's led past the metal gates of the property and onto the street. The other two blondes stop just shy of the metal gates. Maggie turns around and takes one final look at the two of them before being placed inside the cruiser.

About a month has passed since her arrest, and Maggie sits on her bed inside an institution for the criminally insane. Inside her room a small table sits in one of the corners with letters stacked on top. Some she wrote, some she received. On the table, near the edge, facing towards her bed is a picture frame with the college photograph of her and Lila. Beside her bed is another photo, this one taped to the wall. It's a developed photograph of the snapshot Lila took of Maggie and Jennifer during the night they went dancing; looking happy together. The only picture ever taken of the two of them together. Both pictures angled so Maggie can stare at them when she goes to bed.

As of now she's waiting. Maggie hears someone knocking on her door. One of the institution workers steps inside, "Maggie, you have visitors."

The worker leaves the room. Maggie is overjoyed when she sees who it is. After a month, Jennifer and Lila were finally able to get close to Maggie.

Both women are happy to see their friend. Jennifer is holding a large box in her hands. "Miss us?" Lila says with a smile on her face and her arms opened up for a hug. Maggie rushes over to Lila, tightly wrapping her arms around her friend. Lila returns a not so tight hug. The actress can feel her feet being lifted off the floor. "Happy to see you too," the actress says in a voice that's having some difficulties breathing. Lila gives it a while before she has to break the moment, "Okay Mags you're kind of crushing me now." Maggie loosens her grip and plants Lila's feet back on the floor.

"Sorry Lila. Got excited there," Maggie gives her a gentle hug this time.

Jennifer places the box on the ground as she watches the interaction. "Do I get a hug too?" Jennifer asks humourously.

All of a sudden Jennifer finds herself getting pinned to the wall as Maggie goes in for a fierce kiss. The sudden burst kind of caught the blond agent by surprise. Maggie takes it a bit slower, allowing Jennifer to catch her breath. Jennifer breathes in deeply through her nose as she starts to run her hands over her girlfriend's body. This time it is Lila's turn to watch.

Then in about the same time her hug with Lila lasted, Maggie breaks up the kiss. Jennifer looks at Maggie with a sweet smile as she catches her breath. "It's been too long since I had one of those," remarks Maggie.

Maggie moves back a bit to stare at both women, "Great to see you guys."

"Staff told us you're the best behaved patient here," says Lila.

"Get on the staff's good side enough and you could be out of here sooner than you think," Jennifer remarks.

"Well I've been following everything you told me to do here Jennifer, but I know I still have a long way to go," comments Maggie.

"By the way, Detective Owen Kim, the officer you shot, wants to meet you soon," informs Jennifer. "He's a bit bummed out that he wasn't the one to solve the case, so he asked me to try and get the first interview with you."

"Tell him he's getting the first interview," Maggie replies. "Also when you see him again, tell him I'm sorry for shooting him too."

"You can tell him yourself," Jennifer pats Maggie on the arm. "You'll be happy to know that I've talked to the warden, and maybe in about a month or two, the two of us will be able to spend some private time together," Jennifer gives Maggie her trademark smirk and raised eyebrow.

Maggie smiles at the news. "Well enough about me," Maggie takes a seat on her bed again. "Let's hear about you two."

Jennifer and Lila sit down beside their friend. They chat just like old times.

Soon Jennifer and Lila's time runs out, and Maggie finds herself alone again. She opens up the package they left for her. She takes out the fairly big object inside. It's a portable TV with a built in video cassette player. Looking back inside the box, she finds a video inside a protective plastic case. Maggie turns on the TV and inserts the tape.

On the screen she sees Jennifer and Lila looking into the camera. "Hey there," says Jennifer. "We figured you'll get lonely most of the time, so we decided to make video journals for you, sweetie." Maggie lets out a smile.

The tape goes on for several hours before it nears its end. "I think that's everything that happened to us in the last month," says Lila. "This tape is about to run out soon, so with the final minutes we want you to know Mags, that we both love you, we miss you and we want you to stay strong in there."

"And if you get tired of our video journals overtime, we'll gladly record a show or movie you like instead," Jennifer adds jokingly. Maggie can't help but giggle a bit at that last part. Jennifer smiles into the camera one last time and kisses the lens before the tape finally goes blank.

Afterwards Maggie rewinds the tape and watches it again. She goes well into the night until all the lights in the area are out, and the monitor is the only light that can be seen in the darkness. She stares silently at the screen, watching, waiting.

Maggie finds herself in the storm again. Having to take another life journey, this one longer than any other journey she can ever imagine. So once again she treks that storm with no end in sight; a storm that's going to be harder and at times unbearable. Still she reminds herself to keep going, keep searching for the end of the journey. It's a strength she's going to have to dig in deep to find. However she journeys down that path with a new found determination. This time she travels that storm with the knowledge that one day, one day when things start to clear up and the storm is about to finally come to an end, that down that road... are two women that means the world to her... waiting for her.

The End