The Protector

A Criminal Minds Fan Fic

Disclaimer: I own no names or places from Criminal Minds. Only the story is mine.

Chapter two

Quantico Virginia. Present day

"The farther back you look, the farther forward you will see." Winston Churchill

It was a beautiful, sunny Monday morning as Supervisory Special Agen Derek Morgan stepped into the bullpen area in the FBI academy training center.

However, Derek's mood was anything but cheerful. His weekend had taken it's toll on him. His yearly trip to Chicago was always deppresing. His girlfriend of two years, Vannessa, had dumped him. It was one of those days were he wanted to stay in bed.

He walked to where the coffee pot was set up. He had to get some coffee in his system. He had to get him mind focused on whatever today's case was and were in the states he'd be going.

He took a sip of the coffee and grimaced. This coffee was weaker that his grandmother. He looked over at the man standing next to him. This kid looked like his college roomate forced him to dress in the dark, and his grandfather's old clothing.

"Hey Kid, who made this weak ass coffee?"

"I made that weak ass coffee! are you okay, Morgan?"

"Yeah, Reid. I'm fine. Sorry I snapped your head off. When are we briefing?"

In about fourty five minutes. Hey did you hear about Garcia?"

"What about Garcia?"

"She's no longer our communications liason."

"Why?"

"Not sure."

Morgan dumped the coffee into the sink and walked to his office.

He sat down at his desk. He suddenly felt older than his thirty four years. He opened a desk drawer and pulled out a picture. It was a family portrait of him, his ex wife Jessi, and their three year old son, Caleb.

Caleb had been the light of his life and the apple of his mother's eye. Caleb had been killed in a drive by shooting, a common accurence in the Chicago suburbs. After his death, He and Jessi had grieved seperatly. In the end, as with most couples who'd had to bury a child, they divorced.

Derek ran his hand over Caleb's face. His son would have been nine today. It was why his trips back home were a bit of a downer.

"Oh, Caleb," he whispered to the picture, "I miss you, Son."

A knock at the door jerked him back to the present.

"Come in."

A blonde woman who could only be described as colorful entered.

"Hey Baby Girl."

"Hello my god sculpted from dark chocolate. How was your trip to the windy city?"

Derek smiled. If anyone could lift his spirits, it was Penelope Garcia.

"It was okay. I hear thru the BAU grapevine that you're no longer our liason."

"You heard correct."

"May I ask why?"

"Well, you know that Kevin and I got back together a few months ago, right?"

"Yeah."

"So, I'm pregnant. I just found out yesterday."

Derek looked at her blankly. He then smiled and stood up and smiled. "That's great to hear, Penelope. Congradulations! So who is our new liason?"

"An agent from your neck of the woods. Her name is Jessi Clark. She's deaf. Her interpeter's name is..."

"Melinda Underwood. Is she here?"

"Yeah..uh she's in the round room."

Derek excused himself and walked to the round room, leaving Penelope wandering how Derek was connected to Jessi.

Derek walked into the round room and caught a glimpse of Jessi's backside. Her long raven black hair, now shoulder length, was pulled back in a pony tail. Derek noticed that she had a tattoo on the back of her neck. It was a teddy bear lying on a cresent moon with the name 'Caleb'.

Derek nearly busted out laughing. The first tattoo he'd ever got made Jessi squemish. In fact she'd thrown up in the lap of the tattoo artist.

Jessi turned around and startled. "Derek," she signed, "I keep forgeting you're part of the BAU."

He smiled. "Hey pretty lady," he signed back, "When did you enter the FBI?"

"Two years after Caleb died. You were already a profiler. I needed something to keep myself occupied."

"Mom said you went off the grid for six months after Caleb's death. I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you."

"I pushed you away, Derek. You were grieving just as I was. How is your mom? She enjoy her birthday?"

"Yes. She's always asking about you."

"Did you visit Caleb?"

"Yes and I saw that you did as well. The blue roses were lovely."

Before Jessi could respond, the rest of the Behavior Analysis Unit entered the round room. Derek pointed to his watch and mouthed the word, "Later"

Jessi shook her head and walked to the monitor hanging on the wall, where Supervisory Special Agent Aaron 'Hotch' Hotchner was standing.

The no non-sense agent addressed the group. "Before we get started, I'd like to introduce our new liason, as Garcia is being taken out of the field and staying here as our technical analyst." He looked to Garcia, "Congradulations by the way. This is Agent Jessi Clark. She came very highly recomended by communications. The Agent behind you is Clark's interpreter, Agent Melinda Underwood."

He handed Jessi a small remote. "The floor's all yours."

Jessi pressed a button on the remote and turned around to face the group.

"This case comes out of Birmingham, Alabama. Captain Stephen Hendrick asked for our help involving three ritualistic murders involving six victims. the first two were Ricky and Ashley Hogan. They were found on the side of Interstate ten. The second couple was Andy and Debbie Vaughn. They were found in a dumpster on Staton Avenue. The third couple was Thomas and Kelly Smith. They were found on Wallas Drive."

"What was the MO on the victims," asked Jennifer 'JJ' Jareau, the pretty blonde, who'd started out in the same position that Jessi now held.

"All were found nude. The medical examiner found signs of forced sexual activity."

"The women were raped," asked Dr. Spencer Reid.

"Not exactly. The ME's report found traces of Viagra in the sysyem of all the men. The report also indicated that the couples were forced to engage in sex. All the victims were died of strangulation."

Emily Prentiss, a black haired beauty, who could have passed for a Bond girl, asked, "How did the UNSUB find these couples?"

"That something else they all had in common," Jessi replied, "Kelly Smith was an instructor at the Wallas school for the Deaf and Hearing impaired. Ricky Hogan was a mataince man there. And the Vaughn's daughter, Taylor is a student there. You should also know that the roads the victims were found on, are used as exits off of I ten to the school."

Davis Rossi, One of the pioneers of the BAU replied, "So the school is the common denomitator. The UNSUB could be a student or a teacher there."

Hotch said, "We're to meet Captain Hendrick once we land in Birmingham. Wheels up in thirty."

Melinda had pulled Derek aside.

"What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Did you pull strings to get Jess transfered to the BAU?"

"Melinda, what the hell are you talking about? I didn't have anything with Jessi's transfer. You and her family, My God!"

"What? Because we treat her like she's breakable?"

"Yes! You treat her like she's handicapped. I've seen her do great things despite her inability to hear."

"Yes. But she has limitations."

"Jesus, Melinda! You sound like her sister Melissa!"

"Who may I add, is planning to make chocolate covered peanut butter balls with yours."

"Just take care of my girl."

"Seems to me like she's not been your girl for almost eight years."

Jessi had seen the exchange of words and was able to read lips. She wasn't sure how to take being called 'Derek's girl' again.

As the team headed for the plane, Penelope sighed. She blamed her hormones for what she was about to do. She was going to do some snooping and find out how Jessi and Derek were connected.

Meanwhile, mid flight, Jessi was staring out of the window of the plane, her thoughts were a tornado. Some one tapped her on the arm. It was Melinda, who sat across from her.

"JJ's talking to you, Jess."

She turned to JJ, who was sitting next to her and across from Derek. "I'm sorry. What were you saying?"

"I was asking about your tattoo. What does it represent?"

"Oh. Do you have any children, JJ?"

"Yeah. I've a son. His name is Henry."

"I had a son. His name was Caleb. From the moment he was born he was the love of my life and the pride of my heart. His father doted on him constantly."

"What happened?"

"One cool evening, right before dusk, we walked to the local park with two year old Caleb in tow. There was a drug deal gone bad in that area that had ended in gunfire. Caleb was killed by a stray bullet."

"And your husband?"

"We grieved seperalty and alone. We blamed each other. I blamed him for not knowing about the hoodlums dealing in the park, he blamed me for choosing the park. A few months later we divorced and went our own ways. I sometimes wonder if he knew how much I loved him. He'd always treated like a queen despite me not being able to hear."

She turned her head and focused her attention back to the window, her thoughts on the landscape below.

Derek had seen the conversation, and because he was fluent in American Sign Language, was able to follow it. He regretted not treating Jessi with more respect than he did after Caleb's death. Her being the team's new liason was bringing old emotions up to the surface.

Meanwhile in Birmingham:

The woman walked quietly down to the underground room. She walked to a man who was shackled, naked to a bed next to a frightened naked woman.

"Are you ready," the woman asked in American Sign Language.

"Again," the man asked, also in sign language.

"You know the drill, If I see a good performance, You live another day. If not, you die."

Later that night, the woman dumped two large bundles wrapped in plastic into the water fountain at the deaf school.