Chapter 3

Stafford Hospital

Hotch wanted to talk to Emily now more than ever, they had only been together a few days and already he wanted to share everything with her. "Hey," she said a smile breaking out on her face as she noticed him standing in the doorway. "What are you doing here?"

"I needed to talk to you. This case is..."

"What is it Aaron?"

He handed her the case file and told her about the new victim that was killed, then he mentioned what was really bothering him. The idea that the others had brought up earlier about going undercover. "I know you don't want anything to happen to them Hotch but they are agents they were trained for this besides you guys will be monitoring them."

"I know but look what happened to you, I almost lost you on a case."

"But you didn't and you know Derek won't let anything happen to her. She'll be safe and her computer skills would come in handy she can do searches and other computer work while undercover."

He had to agree with her, she did have a point now he just had to let the rest of the team know. He left her with the promise to return later that night before heading home.

Back at Headquarters

"Alright so I thought it over and I realized you guys were right. Maybe we do need someone to go undercover to find out more about the unsub and if we work this right, we may even be able to catch him."

"So who's going undercover?" Reid asked.

"Morgan and Penelope, I agree with what you said about JJ she needs to be with Henry. But you've never done this before and I need to be sure that you can do this," Hotch told her.

"I know I have never done this kind of work before sir but I can assure you that I can do this job."

"I promise I will keep her safe, Hotch. There's no way I'd let my baby girl get hurt." He said reaching for her hand on the table and giving it a squeeze.

They discussed the details of their undercover lives, they were going to say that they had been together for four years and had recently decided to move in together. They just bought a new house which the F.B.I got for them to use while on the case. Penelope would work as a secretary at a doctors office while Derek worked at a clothing store. "Out in public you two need to act like a real couple, like two people who are madly in love." Hotch said as the rest of the team suppressed the urge to snicker.

"We'll be fine won't we baby girl."

"Definitely my chocolate god,"Garcia answered not saying what she was thinking. She was scared, more scared than she ever been in her life. She wasn't sure how this would all play out but she hoped neither one of them got hurt. Tangoing with a killer didn't seem like such a good idea.

The Next Day

They got everything set up inside the home, they added cameras in every room along with bugs to pick up sound. If the killer were to show up here they would be able to move in as soon as possible, they didn't want to take any chances. They had helped them move in all the things they would need to look like a couple who had just moved in together. Boxes were stacked around the room but not with their real things, there were just things fabricated to make them look authentic.

Yesterday they had talked about their cover stories and Penelope had used the F.B.I software to fabricate photos of them to make it look like they were really together. They would be used to decorate their home so that if anyone were to step into it they would believe their story.

"Looks like we need to get used to living together baby girl, get used to each others routines."

"How long do you think we'll need to be undercover?"

"I don't know it could be a while. Why are you scared to be alone with me," he joked.

"No handsome, I'm not scared."