Thanks for the support!
Chapter Seven:
Rossi, Lewis, Prentiss, and Alvez were waiting for J.J. and Garcia to come in after seeing Reid. Only two people were being allowed in at a time every two hours. The team had just eaten lunch when they returned looking grim.
"How is he?" Rossi asked.
"Happy to have a sister who is sweet and friendly," Garcia said.
"I sense a 'but' coming though," Rossi said.
"He still seems really down," J.J. said. "He's also a little groggy and kept muttering about Shaw getting to him."
"He hates jello," Garcia said. "They offered him a small square and he shoved it away."
"Reid probably got enough of that in prison," Alvez said.
"How is he health-wise?" Lewis asked.
"His body is accepting the kidney extremely well," J.J. said. "He should only be here for another week. Sloane, should be out in a couple days."
"Yes, let's discuss Reid's long-lost sister who happens to work for the FBI, shall we?" Rossi said. "How completely crazy is that?"
"I tried to do some digging while you guys were sleeping and found nothing," Garcia said. "Whatever program this is, it is locked up so well that even my powers are useless."
"Veronica Sterling seemed nice when she dropped by," Prentiss said. "Very by the books. Almost Hotch-like."
"But the girl with her, Lia," Rossi said. "She looked at us as if we were lab specimens she wanted to take a magnifying glass to."
"There is an interesting story to her," Lewis said. "She seems likes she had to grow up fast and plays mind games as a distraction from her problems."
"The same can be said of Cassie and Sloane," J.J. said. "Cassie seemed overly protective of Sloane and Sloane seemed very eager to please us."
"I did research the Shaw family," Garcia said. "The person she thought was her half-brother was killed by serial killer. The details are scarce after that other than the fact that the UNSUB is dead and Sterling and the director led the case. I haven't seen so much black on a case file since I tried researching you, Emily."
"The director seems to be the key to this 'program for naturals'" Prentiss said. "He seems to trust us all of with information about the program now and respects our concerns."
"He's letting us in the loop now because he must need us for something," Alvez said. "That other ring of serial killers, could they be related to Scratch?"
"That is one possibility," J.J. said.
Prentiss stood up.
"Guys, we've all been through a lot in the last twenty-four hours and no one more than Reid. I say we all go home to get some proper rest. I hate how often I've said this recently, but we need to be at our best in order to help him the most."
Rossi got up and stretched.
"I'm not going to fight you on that. Where do you want us to meet?"
"In the office tomorrow morning," Prentiss said. "We haven't had many leads as to who did this to Reid and Shaw isn't talking. Maybe after some real sleep, we'll find new insight."
J.J. slowly stood up.
"I don't want to leave him, but I think I need to."
"Good call, J.J." Prentiss said and gave her hug. "See you later."
Alvez stood up also.
"Roxy must be getting lonely," he said.
Lewis followed Alvez. "Bye."
Garcia stared at Prentiss.
"You're going to make me leave, aren't you?"
She nodded sadly. "I think it is the best thing for Spencer."
Garcia groaned and then left.
Prentiss looked around the empty room. She technically didn't have follow her own order. But she sensed that if they figured out she hadn't left a feeling of betrayal would develop in the team. There really didn't need to be any more forces dividing the team. She glanced at Reid's room for a second before leaving the hospital.
…
J.J. arrived home to an empty home. Henry was still at school, Michael was in daycare, and Will wouldn't be home until five. She didn't like the quiet.
She flipped through the mail she had remembered to grab before coming in. The water bill felt lumpy. Using a letter opener, she carefully opened it. What spilled out made her scream.
Kidney beans fell onto the floor and scattered everywhere.
