A/N: Hello everyone. I was reminded by one of my wonderful reviewers that Emily spent a lot of her time with the FBI in the Midwest before she joined the BAU. Unfortunately though, I had already planned out my story and so with much gratefulness that I have a freedom in my writing that allows me to change things to suit my needs with disclaimers attached, I have decided to change that for the purposes of this story. Emily's FBI career prior to the BAU has now been spent in LA, with the team I have started to flesh out in the previous chapters of this piece. I will get more into this as I go and there will be a lot of background to come because of the nature of this piece. I know I like to keep things close to how the show portrays it if you take out the storyline after 100, but in this I am changing the rules and I apologise to anyone who may not like this change. I doubt after this piece it will matter all that much because I doubt it will come up again, but I apologise if it interferes with your enjoyment here and now. It isn't my intention at all to make any of my pieces hard to read in any way.

My reviewers continue to warm me with their wonderful words of encourage. Thanks in abundance to miaa29, greengirl82, HGRHfan35, Hazmatt and HPforever-after; you guys truly do make my day/s when I open up my email and see that I've received a review, or two or three.

Additional thanks to greengirl82 for alerting me to the early issue of A/N's spacing; I promise I will be keeping a close eye on the coming chapters. Also thanks to Hazmatt for the pickup about Emily's time in the Midwest; it's definitely changed for a reason and I hope the changes will still be liked.

I would also like to thank anyone who has alerted to me as an author or to any of my stories and to this one in particular. Please feel free to let me know what you think, even if it's just a couple of words. It really only takes a minute or two and it CAN be down from a mobile as I have happily discovered recently and I really do love to know what you think. (I'm also a bit of a hussy, if you hadn't already figured that out, wanting the praise that comes with reviews ;)

Rated M for violence, torture themes, drug use, coarse language and sex scenes. (yes, this is going to have a little bit of everything)

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds at all, although they do own me and I do own Carrie and Toby, Chloe and India, Kelly and Brad and Ben.

Arabian Nights – Chapter 3

Emily caught up to her friends just outside the gate and fell into step with JJ. The younger blonde smiled at her and linked arms.

"What are we talking about today?" Jordan asked from the front of the group as she walked backwards.

Austin turned to walk backwards beside her and replied, "I don't know about anyone else, but I'm really keen to know if everything is alright with Aaron. He looked really pale under the blush when he rushed out before we left."

Emily sighed. "I can't really go into details because I don't really know them, but he seems to be missing social cues."

JJ looked at her in shock. "Aaron Hotchner? Missing social cues? I'm not sure I believe you."

"I'm just as surprised, but it's more like he knew the information but he couldn't remember it until he was reminded of it."

"Surely this happening once isn't…you mean it's happened before?"

"He says its happened a couple of times and once with Strauss, which was apparently alarming but we didn't have time for details. He's promised to explain it in more detail later."

They all fell silent as they contemplated this information. Emily watched a van drive past slowly, the front windows tinted and the back of the van windowless. Probably a delivery van looking for an address, she thought as Austin broke the silence and asked about the upcoming Winter wedding Teresa was planning. She was amused to see the incredibly poised older woman blush.

"Do you know, I'm beginning to feel like a teenager all over again? Giddy and free and totally head-over-heels in love. Dave just laughs at me now when I get this certain smile on my face. He says he almost always knows when I'm thinking about him because I get this mushy look…"

"We know," they all chorused together, causing Teresa's blush to deepen as they all laughed.

She cleared her throat. "Anyway, most of the planning is all done. It'll just be a whole heap of tiny, last minute details that will need to be attended to and so all I'm really doing is waiting for the day to arrive."

"Remind us again how long we have to arrange a frock-buying trip to ensure we all look glamorous, but not so glam that we outshine the bride, for the big day?"

Teresa smiled at Penelope's question and there was no doubt she was thinking about the man she was shortly to marry because her smile was suddenly mushy and soft all over.

"Well, we're mid-October now and the wedding is in the first week of December, so you've got about 7 weeks."

Austin winked at the girls and added, "And judging by the sudden frustration I hear in your voice, that 7 weeks won't be over soon enough."

"You've got that right," Teresa muttered with a short-lived dark look that caused more laughter.

"We should do something every weekend for the next 6, just us girls, as a way to count down to the last of us getting hitched," JJ said with a sudden grin, the gleam in her eyes indicating that they might have to find out what she had in mind before agreeing to anything. Of course, that didn't stop Penelope and Austin from jumping right on board with the idea, the three women moving to the front of the group as they planned what they could do despite not having approval from everyone else.

"Does anyone else feel old when they get together?" Kelly asked dryly.

"That doesn't really work with you though, because I'm the only one here younger than you," Carrie argued as she fell into step with her.

Emily shared an amused smile with Teresa and Jordan as the two younger women began to argue good-naturedly. The ease with which Carrie had settled into life with her husband well and truly out of the way now that he had been jailed for life had eased her own anxiety over not being there when the younger woman needed her. Not that Carrie had ever blamed her, but still. A flash of sunlight bouncing off of something shiny on the road caught her attention. She frowned slightly as a van drove slowly past.

"They must be really lost; that's the third time they've passed us in the last 10 minutes," Teresa said softly.

Jordan shot her a look that clearly said she disagreed with that assessment as Teresa got called to the front of the group to mediate a disagreement.

"Are you as suspicious as I am?" Emily asked softly.

She nodded slowly. "I don't like it, but I doubt we're in any danger. There's too many of us for anyone to try something."

"Hmm. Still, when we get to the park, we need to make sure no one is alone and that they all understand why we have arranged things like this."

"Hmm. Do you know if anyone's got a phone? Cause I didn't bring mine; I don't like to run with it on hand because it's too heavy."

"I think it's the new-mummy gene in me; the phone goes with me everywhere, even if I'm only out for a minute or two. I worry constantly that I'm going to miss something important."

Jordan smiled slightly. "I think I'm only able to leave the phone at home knowing Derek is more than capable to deal with anything that crops up. And then only because he knows exactly where I am."

"Aaron is normally the same but lately I've grown a little concerned; at least now I know why he sometimes seems confused about something I think is pretty clear cut. At any rate, he knows I've got my phone on me, so any of the guys can call if they have a panic attack about something or other."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't I know it; men can be so helpless at times." They giggled and hurried to catch up to the others as they reached the park. An explanation of their concerns later and they split up into two groups. Carrie decided against running and joined JJ, Penelope and Kelly in their meandering walk. Teresa and Austin ran daily in the morning as part of their health routines and were quite content to join Jordan and Emily as they ran the path. So with instructions to scream if they felt threatened in any way, the two groups turned in opposite directions and the workout was on.

New Section

She pushed her aching body up on the bed and looked around. The room was basic, the open window letting in cool air and the open door showing a view of a courtyard outside. The furniture consisted of a bed, chest of draws and a small table with a chair across the room.

She shifted the covers off her body and shivered slightly. She was dressed in a bright blue shift, sparkly bits on the fabric catching her eye as the sun reflected off them. She placed her bare feet on the cool tile and pushed up slowly, giving her body time to adjust to the new position as bruised muscles protested the movement. It took her several minutes to shuffle to the door, all the while wondering what her chances were going to be to escape when she was in so much pain.

Peering out the door, her eyes grew huge as she took in her surroundings and as she gripped the doorframe for support, she wondered what fairy tale nightmare she'd landed in that a place like this even existed.

New Section

"Someone paged me urgently?"

Eric Winterfields pointed towards Phil. "He has a letter fresh from the lab. Cassie's working her magic on it as we speak."

Alex walked towards where Cassie and Phil were leaning over a table in the centre of the room, dread building in his gut. Already this case was far larger than any he'd handled in the past; he'd off-loaded their other cases and stopped all other paperwork he would regularly have to deal with so that they could focus their attention full-time on finding the clue that would break the case of the century open. What he hadn't counted on was not getting any downtime at all.

"What have we got?"

Phil straightened up and stretched out his back. "Marnie Stewart, Caucasian, 29, lives in Glassell Park. She was away for the weekend and was expected to meet with some girlfriends for a morning workout and breakfast when she returned yesterday morning. When she didn't show, they went to her house and used a spare key to let themselves in. With her bag still sitting packed by the front door and the plane tickets clearly not used, they called the police to come and investigate.

"At first they thought it might be gang-related due to some fresh graffiti on the side of the house but everyone said Marnie stayed well away from the gangs and was a street-savvy young woman who had never been in trouble in her life. When the police finally got down to searching her place carefully for clues to her whereabouts, they found a letter and forwarded it on to us when one of the detectives recognised the styling."

He felt excitement begin to bubble in his blood. This might be the break he'd been hoping for and as his exhaustion fell away, for the first time in months he began to feel hope that they were getting closer to what they needed. But it never hurt to be sure.

"So we have a fresh abduction that fits the MO?"

Cassie straightened up and pushed her strawberry-blonde hair off her forehead. "My expert linguistic skills tell me this letter almost exactly matches with the others and the differences are as small as any other found. I am 100% confident that the same unsub that took all the others has taken this woman."

"The processing…"

"Has been taken over by our team. Sampson and Clare are over there now overseeing the techs and Mirkal left with his camera and enough film to sink the Titanic a second time. They aren't intending to miss a thing and will be in contact as soon as they have anything." He turned to his desk and when he turned back, he held out a sticky note. "This is the address for you, since I know you well enough to know you wouldn't just wait around here for information."

Alex grinned at his long-time best friend and co-worker. "Thanks Phil; you're truly a smart man."

"Sure am."

"If you come up with anything else…"

"We'll be straight on the phone to you," Cassie interrupted.

"If they find anyone else missing…"

"The same thing will happen," Phil said with a laugh. "Gee, act like you don't trust us or some such similar action. Shoo; we have everything under control here."

Alex grinned as he turned to retrace his steps back to the parking lot. We will catch you, you sonofabitch, and when we do, you'll wish you'd never been born.

New Section

"Have you decided yet?"

"You sound so impatient with me. Like I'm a burden even after I've been such a great help to you in the past, like…"

"Stop! I'm sorry." He took a deep breath in and sighed. "Look, I'm just tired is all, and missing my bed and my women and my children greatly. That's the only reason I'm trying to rush you through this, so that I can go home. Surely you can understand that."

He sighed too. "I do understand and I'm sorry for holding you up. I don't mean to, it's just that I don't want to make a mistake with this; it's far too important and I don't want to have to add to the Rose Garden with my first one."

"I can understand that. Have you made your decision?"

He grimaced slightly and sighed again. "My decision is that I'll wait a bit longer before making a decision. I just can't choose between them; I want them all. And it really isn't fair when you've all been so patient with me that I make you wait any longer."

Silence may have filled the enclosed space they were in, but they were far from silent as conversation was exchanged with a flurry of hand signals and looks. When a decision was finally made, they were all in agreement.

"Are you absolutely certain that you want all of them?"

"Yes," he said slowly, looking from one man to another to the last of them.

"There are enough of us that we could make this happen if we all work together. Has anyone seen a communications device or a weapon of any kind on them?" When the answer was a negative, he continued slowly, "Then lets figure out how to get our little brother his own personal harem all in one."

End-

A/N: Okay, so maybe you'll have to wait a touch longer for the pace to pick up…hmm. Maybe I shouldn't predict anything…

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