A/N: Hey everyone, sorry it's taken me so long to update. I've been trying to keep several sections ahead of my updates, but with this post that gap is gone, but I didn't want to put off update much longer. Thanks for being so patient! On a positive note, I'm done with classes, so hopefully I'll be able to get into writing more. Anyway, just wanted to say thanks, the reviews have been awesome! And they're helping bust the writer's block I've got. But anyway, enjoy guys!

A/N #2: I really don't know much/anything about police procedures and things, just so you know, I'm pretty much making this all up as a go. And thanks for reading and being awesome!

Disclaimer: Still not mine. (But Christmas is coming up?)

XIX.

As much as they felt the immediate need to get back to working on the case there had been an acknowledgment of certain things that had to be done first. The team had been driven to the nearest shopping center to pick up new clothes, toiletries, and other things that needed replaced. Even in their smoke hazed state of mind the BAU members had been able to grab their firearms, badges, cell phones and laptops as they darted out of the building. But the less important things were left behind.

So it was that several hours later the team was gathered around the table they'd been using at the police department, all looking a little more haggard and a little less put together than normal. Cups of coffee were making their way around the table to each agent when Sam walked through the door, a bulky file under her arm and a half finished Mountain Dew in her hand. Without ever looking at the individuals gathered in the room, she sank into her seat and began opening up the file. Had she looked up she would have realized that a room full of people was watching her with concern and two sets of eyes with deeper concern than the others.

Sam sighed, drinking the last of her caffeine before pulling a photo out of the file, "Mr. and Mrs. LeSalle didn't make it out. Their bodies were found in their bedroom, still in their bed. It's likely that they succumbed to the smoke, depending on where the fire began. The fire chief, Jake Castone, is still over their. He'll give me a call when they figure out the cause of the fire and where it started." Finally looking up, Sam looked around the room, never catching anyone's eye, just briefly giving them the impression she was focused on them, before moving on.

The detective's actions were speaking a world of information to the profilers, even though she was purposefully trying to avoid that. Morgan was the first one to break the silence, "What aren't you telling us Sam?"

"We've got another scene. It's been secured, but we didn't find out about it until about half an hour ago. It's far enough from the public eye that we don't have to worry about anyone seeing it. The chief will be heading over with you as soon as you're ready to go."

"Stewart," Hotchner spoke up, "you're not going with us?"

"I can't," she paused, fighting back the pain she'd been holding for the past hour, "I found the scene," biting her lip, Sam finally looked up at Emily and JJ before looking back down at the photos in front of her, "it's on my property. And I know the victim."

Silence filled the room, and the two female agents exchanged worried looks before focusing again on their blonde detective. Emily spoke first, "Who is it?"

"An ex-girlfriend. I haven't seen her in a year and a half. Her name is… was, Ashley Graham."

JJ looked at the detective, doing her best to keep her personal feelings from showing, "The one that hit you with the bottle?"

Sam looked up, trying her best to avoid JJ's eyes, "One and the same."

Catching the confusion and concern on the faces of the men in the room, Emily told the story to the rest of the team. The men sat in silence and absorbed the story, occasionally glancing over at the once more stoic detective.

Hotch was the first to speak to her, "Sam, we'd like to have you with us out there. You more than anyone else would know if something were out of place or not as it should be. But I understand if you need to step back from this for now."

"I want nothing more than to catch the bastard that did this. As long as you don't think there will be a conflict of interest, I'm with you."

XX.

A short while later the vehicles carrying the Detective and the members of the BAU pulled up at Sam's home. Sam turned and looked at her passengers as she parked, "I'm telling you now, this isn't going to be pretty." Morgan and Reid just nodded at her, the two men were still trying to figure out why they were riding with the detective instead of the other women, but figured it had something to do with how off balance Stewart was feeling at the moment.

Climbing from the car, Sam led the men towards the back of the house, striding purposefully towards the edge of the nearby woods, where yellow tape could be seen in the breeze and a small number of officers were gathered to process the scene. Despite the horrors they had seen, even Morgan had to pause at this scene.

The body lay in a pile at the foot of a six foot tall stake. The body itself had been broken into five pieces, four of which lay at the foot of the stake. The fifth, the head, was impaled on the stake itself. Painted across the forehead, in the tell tale red of blood, was the world "TRAITOR."

Reid was the first to speak, "Well this is mostly definitely a message. More direct then anything else we've had from this Unsub. Was the victim from this area originally?"

Sam stood back, watching the others move through the scene. "No, she lived in Kentucky originally. Only came to Ohio for college, only came to the village to look for me."

Morgan circled the stake slowly, taking in the carnage before him. "So there is no obvious reason for her to be labeled a traitor."

The detective shook her head, "None that I can think of."

Stepping closer to Sam, Emily finally said what they'd all been thinking, "It looks more as if it were meant as a direct message for you Sam."

The blonde woman nodded again, "But is he taunting me? Or is he targeting me? Or something completely different?" She stepped away from the agents when her phone began to ring, answering the call with her back to them, "Stewart," she listened for several minutes, before sighing loudly and ending the call. Sam looked up at the profilers, before filling them in on her phone call, "That was the Jake Castone. They've confirmed that the fire at the Bed and Breakfast was indeed arson. More so, the LeSalles were tied to their bed. And the fire was set in the basement, where they slept." Sam stopped talking, looking down at the ground thoughtfully, before looking back up and meeting Emily's eyes, "I'm not the only one he's sending messages to then. When we get back we need to figure out where you all will be staying, and I'm going to suggest that we split you up to stay with members of the department. Just for safety's sake. If this guy is taking such an immediate interest in those of us working the case, I don't want anyone left alone."

"That's a good idea, and it makes sense. I don't want my people put at any more risk then they already are," Hotch couldn't help but agree with the plan the detective had suggested, but there was a problem with it, "But where will you stay Stewart?"

"I'm not letting that bastard chase me out of my home Agent Hotchner. The scene is far enough back on my property that there should be no problems with me staying in my home."

"I understand that," the dark haired man looked at his team, his gaze focusing briefly on Prentiss and Jareau, "but if we don't stay alone, you don't either. He's got an interest in you, and we're vested in keeping you safe as well."

Sam could practically feel the weight of Emily and JJ on her as they watched her, waiting for her response to Hotchner. As it was, Sam resisted the urge to growl at Hotchner for trapping her in her own argument, but she reluctantly agreed with him,

With the matter of Sam not being allowed to stay on her own settled, the team went back to gaining everything they could from the body in front of them. It was Reid himself that noticed just how specific a message they were dealing with, "This Unsub wanted to make it very clear that he was dealing with a case of treason. Look at how the body is divided, right down the middle horizontally and vertically… she was literally quartered. I'm guessing if we can get much back from an autopsy we'll find strangulation played a major part in her death, or right before her death, and it's likely that the organs were removed prior to death."

"What's your point Reid?" Morgan couldn't help the mixture of curiosity and annoyance that crept into his voice.

"I'm saying she was quartered. In England from around 1200 to 1800 the punishment for treason was to be hanged, drawn and quartered. The convicted would be drawn through the streets by horse, hanged until they almost died, then taken down, they would be disemboweled, before being decapitated. After the decapitation the body would be cut into quarters, then usually sent to the corners of the city, kingdom, et cetera, to serve as a warning. In London, the head would usually go on a stake on the London Bridge." The youngest profiler stopped to think for a few moments, "Though this is a historically inaccurate use of the punishment. Women as a rule were burnt at the stake instead, to maintain a sense of modesty. Apparently our Unsub has no such concerns."

Morgan frowned, "There's not much more we're going to be able to get from here. There's no sign of tire tracks, no sign of foot prints, no blood trails, no way to track the Unsub. There was no sign of any disturbances around the barn or house, so this is all we've got."

"Alright then," Hotch turned to walk back towards the vehicles, "let's head back. Morgan, when we get back I want you to take a look at the photos from the fire, see what you can figure out from how the place was set to burn. Reid focus on this one, see what you can find out about the victim, her past, and her connections to the village, she's the one that doesn't fit into the scenario. Prentiss, I want you to go back and look at the first three nights, go over everything we've got. Gideon, take the two nights after that. There have to be some connections we're missing, and we need to find any little detail we can. JJ, I need you to get things set up for a press conference, we're going to have to issue a warning to the community, have Stewart with you on that. Make the statement together if necessary; just do your best to avoid riots." With that, the profilers and their media liaison began climbing into vehicles to get back to the grindstone, and solving their case.

Hotchner pulled Sam aside right before climbing into their vehicles, "Stewart – I know PR isn't your usual thing, but you know these people, and they know you, you'll know hot to reach them, and they'll trust you."

The blonde smiled reluctantly, "I get it Hotch. Not to mention it'll give you time to get time of death on Ashley and confirm that it wasn't me." Hotchner just arched an eyebrow, before nodding. "I didn't cross the tape at the scene for a reason, I know that despite how aware we all are of my innocence, it needs to be proven, just to protect our asses in the end. Besides, I don't mind working with JJ." The stoic agent clapped her on the shoulder before moving into his own vehicle. And like that, they were on their way back to the police department to catch their Unsub.

Thanks for reading.