A/N: I've started and posted chapter one of the AU I mentioned in the previous chapter, about the Crawfords taking Spencer and not Alsie. It's titled They Put Us Far Apart. Please read it about review.

My Life Had Stood

Chapter 58: Answers

"Yes. Of course, I'll be quick, thank you." JJ said as the doctor she was talking to gestured toward a patient room. Her polite smile faded as her eyes fell upon the woman lying in the hospital bed. Linnet's victim, the one who had held Jemma so protectively back at the house. "Hello, I'm agent Jareau from the BAU of the FBI. The doctors are saying you wanted to speak with someone about the case."

The woman gestured for JJ to come closer, though weakly. Her hand was shaking.

JJ flashed a small, sad smile as she glanced over the woman, at the bruises and bandages. "...Linnet's in custody, so we can wait until you recover if that'll be bet..."

The woman shook her head and pointed to the seat beside her bed, doing so fervently until JJ sat down. She then mimed writing something down.

"Yes. I brought something you could write with here." JJ handed the woman a writing pad and pen, having brought it after being told that the woman's tongue had been severed by the unsub. She flashed another sad but grateful smile as she thought about the report about Linnet's arrest and what was found when Hotch and the others apprehended the unsub. "...thank you, by the way. For protecting Jemma, if you hadn't stopped Linnet from grabbing her when my team came to arrest him..."

The woman froze for a moment, her eyes teary, before vehemently shaking her head. She shakily wrote down the word 'no' on the writing pad.

"What do you mean? It wasn't your intent to protect her? Or..." JJ studied the woman confused by the refusal to accept gratitude for helping the three year old. She continued even as the woman started writing some more. "Do you think you should've done more? What...?" She paused as the woman finished writing and showed her the pad. Due to the shaky hands the penmanship wasn't great and it took a few moments to figure out what it was the woman wrote.

'Don't deserve it. I hurt her. I'm sorry.'

"...hurt who? Jemma?" JJ asked cautiously, confused.

'No.' The woman both wrote and shook her head. Her hands and lips were both trembling greatly as she scribbled more down on the notepad. 'I wanted to protect her. He said she was her daughter. I needed...'

JJ read the words quietly, unable to read what came after the word 'needed' due to the woman's shaky handwriting. Her face held confusion and a shadow of slowly forming comprehension.

"...Her daughter...? Are you talking about Jemma's mother? You know her? You know Alsie?" JJ asked, not wanting to jump to conclusions even as she tried approximating the woman's age. Or when she noticed the woman flinch when she mentioned Alsie. "Who...what's your name?"

JJ asked her eyes darting from the woman's heavily bruised face to the writing pad. She inhaled sharply as she read what the woman wrote.

'Leah Crawford.'

"You...you're the one who took the Reid's daughter..." JJ spoke, trying to remain calm even as surprise and anger and repulsion filled her. "You...you took Spencer's sister...took a defenseless baby from her parents."

'I'm sorry. I'm sorry.'

JJ stopped herself from saying her first thought as she read the apology, and took a few calming breaths. This woman before her - even if it was Leah Crawford - was also a victim. The level of brutality this woman had endured at Linnet's hand was enough to halt JJ's anger. At least at the moment.

"So...so you...you say Linnet told you Jemma's mom is Alsie?" JJ asked pacing slightly beside the bed, caught between leaving and asking more questions. "How did he know? That you had a connection to Alsie? She was going by a different name when Linnet took Jemma. How did he..."

'I left her with him when she was eight.'

It felt like a sledgehammer had hit her gut as JJ read that last sentence. Her lips opened as though to speak several times but no words came out. Nothing she could think to say could express the magnitude of horror she felt. Her last shreds of empathy at Leah being a woman who'd been raped and tortured disappeared, replaced by her indignation as a mother.

"You...you left an eight year old child with...with a monster like Linnet? What kind of mother..." JJ took in a breath, steadying herself. "I could almost understand the desperation you must have felt to take Alsie from her parents. But...leaving her with a man like Linnet...at eight years old...that...if you were just going to abandon her, why did you take her in the first place?!"

Leah shook her head, her hands shaking uncontrollably as she wrote.

'It was Vincent's idea. Not mine. Vincent wanted her.'

JJ scoffed the moment she read that, her lips pulled taut. Her face strained. She flashed the woman a scathing glare before shaking her head and turning toward the door.

0

-flashback-

It was quiet. The pacing footsteps had stopped, so too had the buzzing of the television. She held her breath, listening at the bedroom door for a few seconds before peeking out. Her eyes peered into the heavily shadowed hall, and her breathing was as inaudible as she could make it.

Swallowing back a gasp, her heart pounding, she slipped into the hall. In her hands was a small flashlight, but she didn't dare use it. Not now. Not that she needed to, her memory of the corridor layout was exact, and she moved through the darkness with ease. The darkness of the hall was not as scary as the basement, that place was terrifying even when lit fully.

She continued through the house, finding her way into the kitchen. The dinner dishes were still left out despite it being after one in the morning. Her brow furrowed and she clicked on the flashlight. Outside the wind howled, causing the tree closest to the kitchen window to scratch against the glass.

The sound of someone wheezing and gasping for breath made her jump. She immediately turned toward the direction it came from. Her body stiffened as she looked at the collapsed form her flashlight illuminated. The man's piercing eyes glared at her, his hands gesturing toward the phone on the table.

"Call...get..." The man spoke, struggling to breathe. She simply stared at him, her eyes absorbing the sight silently. The next second she clicked off the flashlight and dug her small hand into the man's pocket. She took out a wallet and a keychain. The man growled, or at least tried to, instead gasping for air. "...Leigh."

Without another glance at the man she hurried toward the front door. Her hands shook uncontrollably as she unlocked the first padlock, then the second. She nearly jumped and dropped the keys when she heard a crashing sound from the other room.

Her heart pounding she unlocked the last padlock, the chain dropping from the door handle.

x

"Al...um, Leigh. I've received some good news that Alsie will want to hear." Dr. Freeman approached the petite brunette, Tara Lewis not far behind her. "Could I talk to Alsie?"

The younger woman didn't move, but remained staring out the hospital room window. Her arms crossed protectively in front of her, and her head angled so that her hair obscured her face.

"Please, we need to speak to her." Lewis spoke, having approached just a step or so behind Freeman. The woman agent studied the younger as she spoke, uncertainty in her eyes. "We found her daughter. We found Jemma."

"Wha..." The thirty-three year old whipped around, her widened eyes and posture revealing that she was Alsie again. "Where? You found Jemma?! Where's she? Is she okay? When can I see her?"

"It's okay. Jemma's safe and healthy. Rossi and Reid are planning on bringing her back on the first available flight." Lewis replied, relieved that Alsie was Alsie and not an alter. Though she did wonder when the brunette had shifted back to Alsie from Leigh. "You'll get to meet her soon, all right?"

"..." Alsie's eyes grew moist and she nodded, her lips twitching. "I...I...where was she...? Who..."

Lewis took a moment, motioning toward the chairs and bed once she noticed how Alsie shook. "How about you sit down? In case your earlier vertigo comes back and you fall."

"...tell me, please. Who took her...was it..." Alsie swallowed, her face pale and eyes terrified. "Was it..."

"Jemma was found in Greg Linnet's house." Lewis answered, guiding the brunette to the bed. Something that proved a good action as Alsie stumbled the moment she heard that name. It was only her proximity to the bed and Lewis' quick reaction that stopped the younger woman from falling to the floor.

"No...she was...he did." Alsie started to hyperventilate, her legs too weak to stand. Though she didn't notice, her thoughts too focused on memories over twenty three years old. She barely noticed Lewis grabbing her hand in an attempt to reassure her.

"Alsie. It's okay. It's all right. Jemma's safe, and it doesn't seem that Linnet hurt Jemma."

"Ah, but...he...he took...he had her in that house...he...did he..." Alsie trembled. She looked into Lewis' face, searching her eyes. "Did he have...anyone...in the basement? A..."

Lewis' eyes widened as she realized what the woman meant. "Alsie, did you know Linnet abducted and tortured women?"

"I...I don't...know. I don't..." Alsie cradled her head and clenched her eyes, forcing the tears to drip down her cheeks. "I don't..."

"Just relax, it's all right. Okay? If you don't remember or don't know, it's all right." Lewis soothed the woman who proceeded to curl up on the bed. The way Alsie curled into a fetal position on the bed and shook was enough to make Lewis regret asking her last question. She refrained from asking anything else and simply told the brunette to rest.

It was as she entered back out into the corridor that she caught a glimpse of Dr. Freeman talking with William Reid. Her first thought was relief as she had wondered where the psychiatrist had gone and had expected her to remain to help with Alsie. Her second thought was alarm, especially as she took in their body language.

Neither seemed pleased with the other.

"...No. Just no. Doing such a thing now would be detrimental." Freeman insisted, her glare aimed at the man and body language showing increasing frustration. "I've treated her since she was a teen..."

"I want to transfer her." William Reid insisted, cutting off Dr. Freeman just as Lewis approached close enough to overhear. "As her father and next of kin, I..."

"What's going on here? Mr. Reid?" Lewis asked, interrupting the argument. Though she understood what the two were discussing from the little she overheard, she wasn't sure why the topic was in question.

"Thank god, agent. Maybe you can reason with Mr. Reid. He's insisting on transferring Alsie to another hospital, tonight. Regardless of what harm it could do." Jolene Freeman spoke relieved at Lewis' approach. William Reid scowled at the two of them, though not quite angrily.

Tara Lewis studied the elder Reid's body language and face. The protective gleam she'd noticed earlier was once again in his gaze. "Mr. Reid, maybe we should talk about this. If you're worried about Vincent Crawford returning to hurt your daughter..."

"That's not why." William shook his head, refuting what the agent was saying. He fell silent the next moment as though realizing that it'd have been better not to have denied it. Shaking his head again he started to walk away, down the hospital corridor.

"Then why do you want to transfer Alsie?" Lewis asked, trailing after the man while she heard Dr. Freeman mention about checking on Alsie. She followed the man, refusing to let him just walk off without discussing things. He finally gave up and stopped midway down an under-utilized hall.

"I don't need to tell you my reason. As next of kin, I can make medical decisions for Elsie when she's unable." William Reid rounded on the agent. "With how unstable she's been lately, it's unlikely she's sound enough to make medical decisions for herself."

Lewis' eyebrows rose and she shook her head slightly, disbelieving the man's stubbornness. "Mr. Reid, I agree Alsie isn't stable. According to Dr. Freeman, she's switched alters more frequently these past few days than she had for the past two years. It's not surprising with how much she's had to deal with recently. Which is why it's best to keep her here, at least for the time being. Besides, I got a call from the team earlier, they've found Jemma. And they'll be flying her over as soon as possible."

"Really? They've found her..." William's eyes widened and glanced toward the hall leading to his daughter's room, his stubbornness wavering. He drew in a breath and then exhaled, mulling things over.

"Mr. Reid?" Lewis muttered, confused by the need for the man to mull over whether to transfer Alsie even after hearing they found the woman's daughter.

William Reid nodded his head briefly, conceding the issue. His eyes were moist and he covered his mouth, choked up as he thought about his granddaughter. The thought of meeting his first grandchild - something that he never thought would happen before discovering his daughter was alive - overwhelmed him. He swallowed, keeping his emotions at bay. "I, uh...um. When will they arrive? Have they left yet?"

"I'll call and ask, see when's the soonest they'll get here." Lewis replied.

"All right. I...I'm going to go talk with Dr. Freeman. To apologize and...maybe work something out." William mumbled and hurried back down the hall, not noticing the suspicion in Lewis eyes.

As the man disappeared from her view, Lewis brought her cell out. She paused, considering the change in William Reid's demeanor since after his confrontation with Mr. Crawford. A confrontation that Lewis was positive had happened despite the elder Reid denying it. William Reid had punched something or someone enough to bruise his knuckles...

And Lewis was sure the man was holding something back. Though she hoped he wasn't lying about Crawford getting away, because if William Reid had beaten the other man to death and was trying to cover it up...

Lewis sighed.

0

"You're sure? Leah Crawford is the victim found at Linnet's house?" Hotch asked, pausing while JJ confirmed it. His eyes widened slightly, his jaw becoming more taut when JJ revealed what else she discovered. "All right. Meet up with Morgan and tell him what you found out. I'll join you shortly after Aderhold and I finish up here."

He paused, listening once again. He glanced over toward Aderhold as the woman approached.

"No. We haven't. Linnet's already asked for a lawyer, so we haven't been able to question him. There's been some trouble getting a lawyer willing to represent Linnet. George Alvarez, the guy Linnet attacked just before we apprehended him, is well-known and well-respected among his colleagues at the local law firms." Hotch spoke, staring through the one-way glass at Linnet sitting in the interrogation room. "An attorney from out of state is being called in to avoid any possible conflict of interest. No one wants to risk Linnet going free because his lawyer was biased against him and failed to represent him fairly." He paused briefly and then finished up the conversation, reiterating that JJ should meet up with the others. He then put away his phone.

"Linnet's lawyer won't get here until the morning." Aderhold said without waiting for the other agent to do more than put his phone in his pocket. "We won't be able to question him until then."

Hotch nodded and stared at Linnet through the interrogation room window. His lips and facial muscles were stoic though his eyes glowered angrily at the man. After what JJ had just told him, and after all the secrets and lies the team had uncovered since discovering James, he was fed up. Seeing what Rossi was going through, what with dealing with the aftermath of what James had become - he couldn't imagine if something like that happened with Jack. It was a nightmare, just considering it.

And he had thought about it since they found and arrested James. The idea that some monster would take a federal agent's kid and warp them deliberately into the sort of unsub they hunted...it was mind-boggling and upsetting. It was also nothing short of an attack on them, on his team. Even if it happened long before he joined the BAU, before the BAU really existed, it still felt like an attack.

And now after learning that Connell and Somerfield's scheme had affected another agent on his team, he found it hard not to take it personally. Even though he knew Spencer's sister being taken as a newborn wasn't a deliberate attack on the Bureau - Connell couldn't have known Spencer would eventually join the FBI - it felt just as aggravating.

Though Linnet's connection to the scheme was minimal at most, he needed to be sure. He needed to know there weren't any more horrible surprises waiting for them. And he also needed to know what Linnet did to Alsie and why he had taken Jemma. Even more importantly, Hotch needed to know how Linnet know the name Alsie and James had picked for their daughter.

Jemma hadn't even been born when Linnet kidnapped her, and hadn't been officially named. So how had Linnet known the name her parents had picked for her? It wasn't a coincidence - Jemma wasn't that common of a name - Linnet had to have known it beforehand.

Someone had to have told him the name. Either James or Alsie or someone the two knew. That someone had put Linnet onto Alsie's trail, culminating in his attack on her three years ago to kidnap Jemma. That same someone had to have known what Leah Crawford just told JJ: That Leah had left Alsie with Linnet as a child.

"Agent Hotchner?" Sia Aderhold looked at him, concerned by his silence and the anger in his eyes. "My team can handle the questioning, so you and your team can take Jemma to her mother in the morning."

"Rossi and Reid are already going to do that on the next available flight back. The rest of us can stay and help with the questioning."

"...are you sure that's wise? Two of your agents are connected to the child Linnet had with him. Your team is also close knit. Are you sure it's wise for any of you to question Linnet?"

Hotch quietly glowered at Aderhold, understanding her concern, but not liking her stance one bit. She wasn't part of the BAU, and had never been in the field going after the sort of unsubs they encountered weekly. Aderhold worked white-collar and identity theft type of crimes. The only reason her team got hold of Linnet's case, was because Cam Fitzgerald's first team had handled the original investigation.

"...Hotchner..."

"Fitzgerald can do the questioning. She has more experience with people like Linnet than you or your other agents. She's worked enough cases with the BAU to know how to get someone like Linnet to talk." Hotch replied, noting how taken aback agent Aderhold was by his comment on her deficit in experience. "With all due respect, agent Aderhold, you only ever worked white collar crimes and you're excellent at it. And at managing a team. But agent Fitzgerald does have more experience with violent offenders, both from her time with the BAU and with her original team. Further..." Hotch paused briefly. "She's proven her ability to be unbiased even if she has a personal connection to a case."

"You're referring to her brother and what happened with her old team."

"Yes."

"...fine. Fitzgerald can question Linnet. In the morning, after his lawyer gets here." Aderhold said, her expression and tone allowing no room for dissent.