Chapter Eight:
A/N: I hope you like this chapter I think it's a good sort of filler and set up for the next few chapters. Let me know what you're thinking… please respond!!!
P.S. I decided to add that Reid was going after another Doctorate in Psychology because he's too smart and in tune with peoples minds not too.
On The Highway Two Hours North of Seattle, Washington
For the past two hours J.J. and Reid had sat in almost complete silence with the exception of J.J. giving occasional directions. Once J.J. had calmed down the silence had been comfortable for both in the beginning but with two hours left in their journey Reid was starting to get antsy.
"I'm not used to being this quite," He said honestly looking over at his friend who was currently starring at her necklace again.
"I know," J.J. said softly, unsure of who she was supposed to be anymore.
"So are we not going to talk about this?" Reid asked unable to take the silence any longer.
"I'd rather not," J.J. said looking over at him for the first time in a couple hours.
"Fair enough I suppose," Reid smiled before looking back to the road, "So tell me about Mount Horizon and Peter and Sophie."
J.J. began to stare out of the window silently watching as the trees flew by and the small communities got farther and farther apart.
Reid sat for twenty minutes in silence waiting J.J. out. He knew her better than anyone at the BAU and knew she was hard headed but would eventually get tired of the silence.
"It's a sanctuary," She said as if she could read his mind.
"From what?" Reid asked genuinely curious.
"Life," J.J. laughed for the first time all day.
"What's so funny?" He asked looking over at his friend hoping to get a glimpse of her smile.
"I sound like Peter" J.J. laughed again out of both tiredness and truth.
"So it's a sanctuary what else?" Reid continued glad that she was talking.
"How do I break this down?" J.J. asked out loud though she was talking to herself.
They both sat in silence for a moment as J.J. figured out how to explain her time at Horizon without giving her secrets away.
"You get sent to Horizon when you mess up in the real world," She started before stopping to think of how to tell him about the closet thing she had to normal in her childhood. "It's a wilderness therapy school, so it's really safe there, Peter is like a human lie detector and can find drugs no matter where they're hidden," J.J. laughed remembering the numerous times she tried to get contraband into the school and got caught by Peter, "The man is secretly a bloodhound."
"So you and Peter were close?" Reid asked trying to get inside her head, now that he new she had kept a large part of herself hidden for so many years he couldn't help but be curious.
"Not like that," J.J. said firmly not wanting him to get the wrong idea about the people she cared about, "When you're a student at Horizon you get separated into small groups, my group was Peter's favorite even though he always tried to act like he didn't have favorites, him and Sophie we're the closest thing to good parents I had."
"And Sophie is?" Reid smiled glad to get to see J.J. remembering something good from what he assumed was an unhappy adolescents.
"Sophie was my group counselor," J.J. smiled thinking about the strong motherly blonde she had learned to love, even if it had taken awhile, "She and Peter fell in love and got married the summer before my senior year. They are so perfect for each other it's scary."
"That's amazing," Reid smiled, though inside he was scared he might never find someone who was so perfect for him it was scary, "So what group were you in? What sort of things did you do?"
"I was a proud member of the Cliffhangers group," She laughed looking over at the odd face Reid was making, "Hey at least I wasn't a Ridge Runner or Sun Dog," J.J. thought for a moment suddenly filled with guilt, "Jess was a Wind Dancer."
Reid returned his focus to driving wondering how he could keep J.J. talking, "So what kind of things do you do at a wilderness therapy school, I mean I've read tons of research on the subject, and statistically they do seem to be valid, and have a high success rate, though that is subjective and it could be argued…"
"Reid!" J.J. interrupted his typical drawn out speech on one of the many things he's done research on.
"Sorry," Reid blushed slightly realizing he was rambling again, "You were saying."
"I learned so much," J.J. said unsure of if he would let her tell him only the good and leave out the bad and hard lessons from her past.
"Such as?" Reid pushed slightly hoping he wasn't making J.J. more uncomfortable than she already had to be.
"Well I learned self respect, and how to take care of myself… I also know how to ride a horse, repel down a mountain, rock climb, I learned how to canoe and kayak," She paused for a moment pulling her long blonde hair into a ponytail, smiling briefly at all the things she had been able to learn, "I learned how to trust people, how to build a fire, how to chop wood, how to express myself, and take pride in my abilities."
"So you learned alot," Reid turned his head in time to catch a fleeting look in her eyes which he could only assume was pride at all the things she had accomplished as Shelby.
"Says the man with six different degrees and three soon to be four doctorates," J.J. joked forgetting about the hole in her heart for a little while, "I wouldn't be the person I am today if it weren't for Horizon… J.J. wouldn't be possible."
"I think J.J is great, you know that," Reid said hesitantly.
"But?" J.J. asked hearing the implied but in his voice.
"But unless you reconnect with Shelby and Silver and work through whatever it is you don't want to tell us J.J. might fall apart and believe me when I say that would be a shame," Reid said sincerely looking over at her for just a brief moment glad she was looking away so she couldn't see him blush.
"So I take it you had Garcia pull my rap sheet," J.J. stated solemnly looking back into the backseat at Reid's messenger bag, sure that her file was in there, "I may not be a profiler but…" She trailed off before reality smacked her in the face, "Have you read it?"
"I'm not sure it's my place, I was just, r-really curious after we talked to Mama, J.J. I know you'll talk when you're ready, it's just…" Reid fumbled hoping J.J. wouldn't think he didn't trust her, even with everything that had happened since they arrived in Seattle, he trusted her with his life.
"Spence I just, I just really don't want you to see that part of my life, any of… Oh God! Garcia!" J.J. shouted realizing she needed to get a hold of her best friend before she talked to the team, "Pull over!"
Meanwhile in Seattle, Washington
"Wonderful Wizard of Tech how can I help you?" Garcia asked in her typical cheeky tone.
"You're on speaker Baby Girl," Morgan chuckled as he pressed the small button on the side of his phone.
"What can I do for you hot stuff?" She asked cracking her fingers getting ready to look up whatever they needed.
"I need anything you can give me on a Jessica Merrick," Morgan asked looking up from the phone to the rest of the team, they were tired and had been busy all day trying to figure out what else the girls had in common.
"You know when you don't call all day it hurts a girls feelings, but I'll see what I can find," She said as the team heard her fingers go to work, "That's odd."
"What is?" Hotch asked curious to what the tech had found on one if not both he Merrick sisters.
"Well I've got several things here, including a police report, apparently Jess and her older sister Shelby had filed claims against their stepfather which were later dropped. Also a mention of her in an article praising a wilderness therapy school by the name of Mount Horizon, then nothing until her rap sheet begins. Numerous busts for drug possession and prostitution, Her street name was Sapphire," Garcia said still staring at the picture on her computer screen back at Quantico.
"So what's the odd thing," Morgan asked suddenly wondering if Garcia knew what was really going on, "Wait baby girl have you talked to J.J. today?"
"Not yet but that is part of what's odd," Garcia said pulling up the file Reid had asked for earlier, "Is she not with you?"
"No, she and Reid went to take care of a personal matter," Hotch said realizing that J.J. would probably want Garcia at the service as well, "So what did you find that was odd Garcia?"
"Reid asked me to look up the rap sheet for a Silver Merrick earlier and though this Jess a.k.a Sapphire looks a lot like J.J. this Silver chick is a dead ringer, except the eyes look way sadder than our J.J."
The team stood quietly each looking around wondering what they should say knowing how close J.J. and Garcia were.
"Garcia, send over all the files you have on the Merrick sisters including addresses, and then I need you to get here as quickly as possible," Hotch said looking up at the team hoping he was doing the right thing.
"Is this is about J.J.?" Garcia asked hating the idea of J.J. and Silver being the same person.
"We'll explain when you get here Baby Girl," Morgan said in a less playful tone than usual, as he thought about how down right mean he'd been with J.J. that morning.
"Garcia out," Garcia said hanging up the phone as she continued to stare at the photos on her screen, wishing for once that she hadn't answered her phone.