Thanks to DeviousRobynno, kdzl, and for reviewing the last chapter!
And because I forgot to put it in the first chapter (and the second, and the third! lol) -
I don't own Criminal Minds, but it would be nice if I did!
From Darkness to Light
A CM fanfic
Chapter 4
"This is Mackenzie Hughes." J.J. said while pointing to a picture of a little girl with long blonde hair and bright, blue eyes on the screen in the conference room.
Spencer Reid, Aaron Hotchner, Derek Morgan, and Emily Prentiss were all assembled around the table in the center of the room and J.J. looked at them each individually just for a second before continuing. She knew this one was going to be bad, even more so than most of the other cases they had dealing with children. Finally, she continued, trying not to think about the victims or how she could have ended up in a similar state. She pushed her thoughts to the back of her mind, focusing on the case as she said "Mackenzie was abducted from her front yard in Springfield, IL about a month and a half ago." The picture on the screen changed to one of what they all assumed to be the same little girl, her small body bloody and bruised, barely recognizable. "Her body was found about two weeks later by the side of a local highway. Around the same time Samantha Weber disappeared. Her body was found a week later. And last week another girl disappeared. She fit's the description of the other two girls and local PD finally decided that they might have a serial offender."
"Two girls go missing and are found dead and they wait a week after the third one disappears to contact us?!" Morgan said, disgust and amazement in his voice and on his face.
It was then that J.J. thought maybe, just maybe if they were all so wrapped up in the new case they wouldn't notice how she did her best not to look at the crime scene photos, or how she seemed to space out, her mind going back to that night every time someone mentioned the dogs and what they had done to those little girls who had so much to live for. And she hoped to God that she wouldn't have to share a room with Emily this time, knowing that if she shared a room with her there would be no way she could hide the nightmares or the sleepless nights. Then a voice pulled her from her thoughts.
"J.J.!" Morgan said for the third time, more forcefully than before.
J.J. shook her head slightly, clearing her mind from her thoughts. "Sorry, what did you say?"
"I asked if they found any evidence on either of the bodies and you haven't told us what their cause of death was yet." Morgan said before looking her in the eye and asking "Are you ok? I said your name at least three times before you finally answered."
J.J. could feel the rest of the team's eyes on her and she knew they were all wondering the same thing. "I'm fine." she said. "I was just thinking about the case."
Her friends looked at each other, each coming to realize that J.J. might not be as 'fine' as she said she was.