Hola! It's been a while! Between work and a short sojourn to Portugal and then several crises at work I have not had the time to write anything considered semi decent. Not even sure this is any good, but I felt I'd left it long enough. I am hoping to get into a routine of updating frequently again. The story is now all planned out – expect it to be 40/41 chapters long- and I will try to update next on Wednesday, that's if there is still enough interest in the story to warrant me pursuing it! I'm aware that readers may have forgotten about it!

Here's hoping you still like it!

No beta, as putting this chapter up pretty much as soon as I've finished it, so all mistakes as well and truly mine. Do let me know that you still want this story to be continued...

Thank you to everyone who has been reviewing. I am aware that I promised an extra chapter, and one will be coming very soon as the plot bunny has just bitten... it will be something based on the crossover ep with the new team as that episode aired in Britain last week.

"Where the Blue of the Night

"It's similar to the way you feel cuddling an infant or a kitten, when you want to squeeze it so hard you'd kill it..."

- Zoe Heller

Chapter Twenty Two

November 7th

It was lunchtime when JJ and Reid arrived at the school, a mass of children playing out in the yard wrapped up in thick coats and scarves. A few flakes of snow had started to slowly fall, causing much excitement and glee; contagious laughter rippling through the crowds making the faces of the teachers on duty look even more sullen in comparison.

The man who came to the gates to let them in was clearly the principal. It wasn't so much his suit or his age or stature, but the grim apprehension that sat in his eyes. He sighed as he unlocked the gates, nodding at their badges as he let them into the school premises, their identity proven. "It's lunchtime for another half hour," he said. "I've let staff know that you're here and you may want to speak with them, but I didn't say with regards what, mainly because I'm not really sure myself." He looked at them again, a challenge written in his expression.

"We'll explain as much as we can when we are somewhere more private," JJ said, following him into the school building, Reid's frown catching her eye. They'd decided on an approach that would give away as little information as possible, and to try and get information about the Moores without drawing suspicion on Martha. Any suggestion that she had been involved with the disappearance of a child could be enough to ruin her career, even if she'd had nothing to do with Alfie Fletcher's disappearance.

The principal took them into his office; a small but neat room littered with the drawings and stories that the children he oversaw had given to him. He sat behind his desk, and invited them with a gesture to take the two seats facing him. "I have to ask immediately – is there any reason why I should not allow Martha Moore back onto these premises once she has returned from her lunch?" he said, his fingers automatically picking up a pen and tapping it lightly.

JJ shook her head. "We have no proof that Mrs Moore has been involved in anything suspicious." The words had already been chosen carefully.

The principal nodded. "Then what can I do for you?"

He seemed more comfortable now some reassurance had been had been given. "We're looking for some background information on Martha Moore," Reid said. "Just general details."

"Can I ask why?" the principal said. "This isn't routine – there must be reason behind it."

"We can't divulge any further details, I'm afraid," JJ said, watching for the principal's reaction.

He looked concerned for a moment, clearly thinking before speaking. "I'll try and help you as best I can," he said. "All I can give you is the truth."

"That's all we're in need of, sir," Reid said. "Mrs Moore has worked here for how long?"

JJ saw Reid frown. She knew that Reid had the details imprinted on his brain, but this was a good way to gauge the principal's baseline for telling the truth.

"Fifteen years," he said. "Before I started here. When my predecessor left she told me of Martha's dedication to the job. Part of it she put down to her inability to have children herself – something nasty happened in her past, I believe – and the rest is sheer devotion to the children she teaches. If all of my teachers could be like Martha I would be out of a job." He gave them a smile that suggested this would be a good situation.

JJ smiled back, if a little weakly.

"When did she meet her husband?" Reid said, taking control of the questioning like they had agreed.

"About eighteen months ago – maybe a little more. I was surprised. I thought Martha was destined to be Mrs Johnston, divorcee for eternity. When she announced she was remarrying I was completely taken aback, as was most of the staff room." The principal sat back. "When she married John she had the school choir sing at the church and one of her ex-pupils gave a reading. I can't believe she would be mixed up in anything illegal." He shook his head.

"We don't know yet if she is," JJ said. "We need you to treat her no differently than what you would do normally. If there is any reason to believe she is putting people in danger at your school we will be here immediately. But for now, we just need to know as much as possible about her." The principal seemed a reasonable man. He gave JJ a look that told he felt uncomfortable doing this, but would anyway as he would never not help the authorities.

He swallowed, looking from JJ to Reid. "She's always been different," he said. "Never socialised like the rest of the staff and she came across as being a bit prim and prudish. Her husband left her for another man some fifteen or sixteen years ago – they hadn't been married long – and according to my secretary, who's been here since the school was built, she never accepted what he'd done and refused to speak of it.

"Martha has always been excellent with the children, although I have had complaints in the past from the parents about her tendency to judge them. She's made comments at parents' evenings about marital situations, or non-attendance at church and on two occasions I've had to speak with her, both in the past twelve months," the principal stopped speaking and sat quietly, waiting for one of them to speak. JJ left it to Reid, who was looking thoughtful, his hair tucked behind his ears and sticking out slightly.

"What did you think of her new husband?" Reid said. JJ was surprised he didn't pursue the complaints that had been made.

The principal shrugged. "I haven't really gotten to know him. He seems a nice enough guy, and dotes on Martha. Someone mentioned that he'd come out of a bad marriage where his wife had been abusive towards him. I imagine that Martha's goodness and maybe her old fashioned ways attracted him."

"Was there much of a courtship?" Reid said, unsurprisingly choosing an outdated word.

"Not that I know of, but I suppose Martha wouldn't be the type to go discussing her affairs." A bell sounded loudly, making JJ jump a little. The principal sat up a little straighter and inhaled deeply. "And that is the alarm for me to go. DO you need to speak with anyone else? If so, I'll have to arrange someone to look after classes if you wish to talk to one of Martha's teacher colleagues."

Reid stood up, looking gangly and thin next to the principal. "I think it may be best if we take details for the person who has known her the longest and visit them after school," he said.

The principal nodded, looking relieved. "I'll have my secretary sort that for you," he said, a knock at the door punctuating his sentence and a small boy anxiously stepped into the room.

JJ caught sight of Martha Moore as they left the building, having gone through the procedures of signing out. It was still a cold day, yet the sky was cloudless, but she doubted that the shiver that ran through her had anything to do with the temperature.

Rossi found his way to Geoff Thompson's cabin much more easily the second time round, taking the corners at a speed his companion was not used to. He didn't care too much for traffic laws, knowing that he was more than competent driving a vehicle and time was of the essence. Agent Llewellyn however, looked a little car sick, at which Rossi had advised him to open a window and stick his head outside, taking note of the direction of the wind. The agent was from Boyd's team, an extra addition made privy to the goings on, and had so far not shown himself to be of any particular worth other than a minder of sorts. Rossi had quit trying to get him up to date on the cases after thirty minutes of non-committal responses and longing gazes out of the window. He figured there was a new girl on the scene and Llewellyn was engrossed in replaying the previous night's action. Either that, or he had some form of serious mental deficiency.

"His car's on the driveway," Rossi said, aware that his words were probably falling on deaf ears. "I wouldn't be sure that it had moved since I was last here." It felt like a life time ago since his previous conversation with Thompson, a time when Rossi felt he should have paid more attention to his instincts than he had done.

"Are we just going to go straight in there?" Llewellyn said, his feature now at their most animated. "You know, do you want to look around or anything first?"

Rossi made a mental note to speak with Boyd about the quality of the agents he was taking into his team. "If we park up around here, we can take a look round. I never had the chance before." He pulled over into a lay by, giving Llewellyn a brief glance. He was beginning to seem a little more alert.

"So what is this place? What's the terrain like?" Llewellyn said, getting out of the vehicle.

Rossi shrugged. "Just your typical rich man's holiday lodge, I guess. Somewhere to come for a few beers, and a spot of fishing, maybe hunting in the right season. Shall we?" he gestured towards the cabin in the distance, thinking momentarily of Agent Mansfield's cabin and how he should have been there right now.

"If we walk along the side of the water, we should be able to get a good view of the forestry and the surrounding area," Llewellyn said, looking about him. "I grew up in a place like this. Part of the reason Boydy recruited me for his team; my background was different."

"Oh," Rossi said. "So there was a particular reason." He tried to keep the sarcasm out of his tone, but didn't think he'd succeeded very well.

Llewellyn nodded. "That, and I'm a mean shot, both distance and close range." It was said with no conceit, plain, matter of fact. Rossi wondered if a diagnosis of autism had ever been made.

They began to walk around the side of the lake, leaves piling at the sides, bobbing up and down tirelessly. Two rowing boats were tied up to a jetty, a soft creaking audible through the gentle silence. Rossi stood still for a moment, causing Llewellyn to pause too, although he seemed unperturbed by the rest. "You hear that?" Rossi said, keeping his voice low.

Llewellyn nodded. "Quiet," he said. "No sound of traffic, no other house. The guy must own a couple of hundred acres of land round here if he's managed to stop any other building from shooting up round here. This lake would be perfect for fishing." He stepped closer to the water, tall reeds that were now dying off bent over like soldiers in a gas attack at the sides. "Guess this lake would be perfect for a lot of things."

Rossi stepped towards him as Llewellyn looked up, his eyebrows raised, the eyes having the look of someone who had seen this before.

"I guess this lake is just about as perfect as it can be for a lot of things."

Rossi took out his cell. The afternoon was going to require a lot of a fast talking. If they could get cell phone reception.

She tried again, but it didn't work. There was no way she could connect to the internet. He had a wireless network, of course, but it was password protected, and she had no way of hacking into it.

Sophie closed the laptop, the click signifying the end to a frustrating few hours. He'd not been near her since taking her down into the basement, which looked as if it had been designed to be a suite of rooms for a lodger. She'd tried to get out, of course, but there was no way he would be as stupid to leave a door unlocked. There was food, a bathroom, hot water, lots of books and a play station with some retro games. The bed linen was clean and the rooms had been heated well enough to make sure she was comfortable. The kitchenette had a microwave and a stove, plus a selection of tins and food in the fridge that was all in date. She'd pretty quickly come to the conclusion that she was going to be looked after. And he'd not seemed aggressive when he'd explained that he didn't want to harm her, but she was a way of getting back at the team, the BAU, for what they had done to him. How they had collectively ruined his future.

The blankets now wrapped around her were warm and snug, and Sophie could feel herself falling to sleep. She knew he'd be back at some point to check on her, to make sure she was still there, but her instincts told her that was all his visit would be for.

She wasn't his type, she knew. He'd already explained all that. To be his type she had to be blonde and blue eyed, like in the song he'd sang; "When the blue of the night meets the gold of the day, someone waits for me. And the gold of her hair crowns the blue of her eyes, like a halo, tenderly..." And she was none of those things. But Jennifer Jareau was. And as far as Sophie could make out, she had no idea she had such a fan.

No idea at all.