Here's the next one! Do leave a review!

[Vivian's POV]

When we reached the coroner's office, Dr. Denson led us to the morgue. The dead bodies of the two women lay a few feet apart. My eyes darted from one to the other as we walked towards Emma, our first victim.

"As told before she was shot in the abdomen. COD, excessive bleeding due to multiple shots. I would put the time of death between 11 and 12 PM. With the other woman it would be between 10 and 11 PM," she said.

"There isn't a single scratch apart from the bullet wounds. No signs of struggle, no signs of poisoning. Either the victim knew the Unsub or the Unsub sedated her. Any sedatives in her blood?" I inquired. "No, not really. But, I did find valium in Alicia's body. Though it's not enough to affect her in any way. It was a normal prescription dose. The weird part was that the whole round of bullets was emptied into her," she said handing Morgan a yellow folder, which probably contained the autopsy reports. "Ballistics reveal that it was a .38 caliber automatic revolver."

"The Unsub was aggressive and the MO indicates overkill. Is it the same with Emma too?" Reid asked, "I mean the whole round, from the same revolver?"

The doctor answered that in affirmative. "Is there anything else that is common between the both of them?" Reid asked the doctor.

"Well, there were signs of abortion. That's the only thing common," Dr. Denson said. My goodness, I could've been right. Morgan and Reid looked right at me with frowns on their faces. "Looks like you might be right," Morgan said and dialled.. Hotch?

It was Garcia. "Hey baby girl. I need you to check all the three victims' medical records. Look for abortion. And .38 caliber automatic revolver owners."

"I know I am a genius at what I do, but that doesn't mean I'd allow any abuse of my skill set.. Do you have any idea how many registered owners would be.." she was being so loud that the Dr. Denson suppressed a giggle.

Reid took the phone from Morgan, "Garcia narrow it down to the people from the victims' workplaces and family. Also check the ones living in the victims' locality. That should do for now. You can widen it later when we form definite profile of the Unsub."

Morgan took the phone back, "You okay with that mama?"

"Oh yeah! Right on it sweetness," Garcia said, "That was some intuition princess, targeting their motherhood." "We can't be sure unless you find something about Amanda that supports this theory," I said in return. "I'll dig in," Garcia cut the call. The next call was to Hotch.

"Previous trauma caused by his wife or a girlfriend aborting a child while he desperately wanted kids. Or.. It could be a woman.." Reid said, completely changing our idea of the Unsub, "There is no mutilation of the victims' genitals." "Which is generally a characteristic feature of an Unsub with mommy issues," I pointed out.

"A woman who has lost a child. Forced abortion or a termination of pregnancy?" Morgan weighed the possibilities. It was more likely that our Unsub is a woman as killing with a gun was a more of a feminine choice. Aggression in males is usually characterized by stabbing and bludgeoning rather than shooting. When I pointed this out and both Morgan and Reid agreed with me.

"So Amanda might have gotten an abortion too? If it is so, how does our Unsub have access to that kind of information?" Hotch wondered over the phone. "May be she is a doctor? Or a nurse who worked at the same hospital they had their abortion done," JJ said.

"Or someone who knew them both," I pointed out a simpler answer.

"I'll have Garcia look into that. There is drug store just opposite to the grocery store, which closes at around 10 o clock every night. The owner says that Alicia comes once a week to this drug store after the grocery store closes buys something from there leaves," Hotch was about to say something else when I interrupted, "Traces of Valium were found in Alicia's system. I'm sure it was Valium that she was buying. Maybe there was some sort of illegal dealing going on."

"Perhaps there was. The drug store never opened yesterday and Alicia didn't show up. Looks like she was late. I have already asked the local P.D to trace that guy. We better talk to Amanda's family and friends before we conclude anything," Hotch said, keeping his mind open for another M.O. There might even be another one.

My gut feeling, however, told me otherwise. The loss of a child can be traumatic. Studies show that some women tend to be psychologically affected by inability to have children often destroying their married life, which worsens their psyche. It is worse in the case of successive termination of pregnancies, or in the case of a stillborn. There are several reason as to why the Unsub resorted to killing innocent women. Only, they weren't innocent in her eyes.

"Vivian?" I heard a distant voice calling out my name, followed by a jerk of my shoulder. My monologue came to an abrupt stop, when I turned to see Reid waving his hand in front of my eyes. "Vivian, you okay?" Morgan looked concerned.

"Oh.. I am.. I'm fine," I said pressing my fingers to my temples. It was the beginning of a horrible head ache, "I was just thinking, about the unsub.. What would be the reason to kill these women?"

"How about craziness? We can work with that," Morgan said walking towards the exit.

"I guess we can."

"You look tired," Reid surprised me as we exited the morgue. I blinked at him once, "Is it that evident?"

When Reid nodded, I sighed. "All the traveling and moving into a new apartment is taking a toll on me. I've hardly had any sleep," I said turned to look at him, a smile playing on my lips, "But you would know that, wouldn't you?"

"Excuse me?" Reid feigned innocence.

"Mrs. O'Neil said that a certain Spencer Reid was my neighbour. What are the chances that he is the same as Dr. Spencer Reid?"

"One hundred percent," Reid admitted.

"You didn't see me yesterday.. Then how did you figure it out?"

"Your hair, your voice. I have a knack for remembering things. But I wasn't sure. I guess my staring gave it away?" Reid said as we got into the SUV.

"How could I possibly miss that recognition in your face? That was really impressive!"

I took the back seat while he sat the front, Morgan at the wheel. Morgan who was obviously listening to us needed a clarity, "So you're neighbours?" he asked, starting the vehicle.

"Yes," Reid answered. Morgan turned to look at me an eyebrow raised, "So kid, our new agent is also your new neighbour?" He didn't say it aloud, but I was pretty sure I heard something that sounded like, "Good for you."

Amanda's house

The sight at the young girl's place was worse than expected. Amanda's mother was distraught. Her eyes looked puffed and red from all the crying and lack of sleep.

"She hasn't slept a wink since last night," Mr. Tate said, "Amanda's our only child. Do anything you have to, but find our daughter. Please."

"We will Mr. Tate," Morgan assured him. He went on to ask them some questions about Amanda and last night's party. We'd decided that we would talk to her BFF about a possible pregnancy, rather than her parents as it was highly unlikely that they would know anything about it. I scanned the photographs on the walls while Reid carefully went through the envelopes and papers on a nearby shelf. He shook his head when I asked him if he found anything suspicious. I beckoned him to join me and when he did I pointed at the picture of a blonde girl posing along with Amanda. From the looks of it she was the girl we would have to speak to.

"Mr. Tate, did Amanda have any best friends?" Reid asked.

"Of course she did. She was well liked. She was particularly close to Lizzie. That's her in the photograph," Mr. Tate answered pointing at the photograph we just had a look at.

"Where does she live?" Morgan asked the father, "It is important we talk to her."

"She lives next door."

Morgan nodded at us. Reid and I left for Lizzie's house, while Morgan stayed behind with the Tates.

I sat Lizzie down on her bed and sat down beside her. Her hands were trembling; she definitely knew something.

"Do you want us to get you some water?" I asked, squeezing her trembling hand. We wanted to talk to her in private and since she wasn't a minor, the parents couldn't refuse. Moreover, Lizzie too wanted it that way.

"No, I'm fine," she said wiping the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand, "Do you think she is alive?"

"Yes, we do believe she is still alive," I said and looked up at Reid. He was observing Lizzie for any facial cues and reactions that would tell us if she was telling us the truth or not. I turned my attention back to her, "Do you have a reason to believe otherwise?"

Silence.

"Lizzie, if you know something, please tell us. Trust us. We need to save your best friend. She needs you," I tried to persuade her to talk.

"What if they hurt me too?" she burst into tears, clutching my blazer's sleeve. That did take me by surprise.

"No one's going to hurt you Lizzie. I promise no one's gonna hurt you. Just tell us who it is."

"Whatever you tell us, however insignificant it may seem to you, it will help us save Amanda," Reid came to my help. And then it looked like all our efforts were paying off. She started talking, finally.

"But you can't tell her parents," her pale face betrayed all her fear. There you go! Looks like Amanda did have a dirty little secret.

Before I could make her any false promises, Reid told her it will have to come out eventually and we had no choice. Anything she'd tell us would be evidence.

Lizzie sighed and a little courage came to her, "Then you didn't hear it from me," she sounded more confident.

"Alright, fair enough," I said.

"There's this gang.. Rick, he's the leader. Amanda met him at a local club. It was just hanging out in the beginning, then they hooked up. I tried to warn her.. You know to stay away from guys like him. They are not the relationship type and Amanda was just the opposite. She thought this was some sort of a movie, where the bad guy ends up falling in love with the good girl. And then.. And then.." she said between the sobs.

"She got pregnant?" I completed her sentence.

"Yes!" she escalated to walling. I signalled Reid to get some water for the girl before her parents came running into her room. He headed downstairs to get some water and assure her parents that everything was fine.

"What happened then?"

"She wanted to have the child.. God! What was she thinking?" Lizzie snapped, "Her parents would've killed her," she said, but quickly realised her wrong choice of words, "Oh no I don't mean to implicate anything! They love her, absolutely. But, Rick? I don't think he loved her enough not to hurt her. I don't think he loved her at all! Somehow he managed to convince her and she even made an appointment."

"Where?"

"I don't know. She wouldn't tell me," Lizzie said, "I guess she was angry with me for siding with Rick on this. But, she said something weird while getting ready for the party... That she must do what is right and not what's best. I'm not sure but I think she was talking about her baby."

A dangerous boyfriend, but she was listening to him. Or pretending to. Still, he is a possible suspect.

"Lizzie? Was Rick at the party last night? Did you see Amanda leaving the party last night?" I asked. Reid was back with a bottle of water. Lizzie took it, taking a sip from it.

"No, he wasn't there. This was a private gathering, just us friends. We were having a lot of fun. Then she was texting somebody.. She went out.. Never came back," she said wiping her tears. After further questioning we left for the P.D along with Morgan.

Detective Morrison worked with us, giving us any information we needed. When we assembled in conference room, JJ summed up the case.

"The Unsub uses a .38 caliber revolver to shoot the victims in the abdominal region, killing them. That looks like the Unsub's M.O as of now," Morgan said.

"There were no signs of forced entry at Emma's house," Rossi said, recollecting the crime scene he had visited, "Nor were any sedatives found in the victims' bodies. That must mean that they knew our Unsub. Or.. The Unsub scared them enough to not scream for help."

"Emma and Alicia have had abortions recently while Amanda might still be pregnant. So is that the reason that we haven't found her body yet? The Unsub is keeping her alive?" Emily posed an important question.

"Garcia do we have the call logs of the victims? Who were the last people to talk to them?" Hotch turned to the best available option to find a lead.

"This woman Emma. She makes me jealous. She just keeps talking and talking. Her last call was to a guy named David Wagner. He..was...in D.C..." Garcia said, "He was here. And then there's Alicia. Her last call was to her mother. Amanda however texted to an unknown number at around 11PM. I cannot retrieve those messages. They've been deleted. And the phone is switched off."

"Who did that number belong to? Rick?" I asked.

"No it belongs to.. Whao, Alan Saunders.." Garcia kept blinking at screen.

"Garcia, what is it?" Hotch leaned forward.

"He's dead. He died..like a year ago," she couldn't believe her eyes, "He died in an accident, drunken driving. And you're gonna love this.. December 24th was the day he died. That makes last week, the week of his death anniversary."

"Was his mobile found at the site of the accident?" Rossi asked.

"Nope."

"What about a wife or a girlfriend who would still have access to his phone?" Reid asked.

"Just a sec..yes. A wife, Annie Saunders..wait wait wait the best part is yet to come.. Saunders is the maiden name of Amanda's mother. That makes Alan her brother and Annie Amanda's aunt.."

"Why would an aunt text to her niece so late in the night and why did Amanda delete them?" another question from JJ. Emily had the answer, "I don't think they were new year wishes because it was before 12 and those messages don't have to be deleted. Unless, you have something to hide."

"Wait a minute," I said remembering something Lizzie told me, "Lizzie said Amanda was saying something like I must do what's right and not what's best. What if her aunt Annie was helping her have the baby?"

"So Amanda's disappearance had nothing to do with our Unsub?" Emily wondered aloud.

"What if Annie is our Unsub?" JJ said. Though her conclusion was farfetched, it couldn't be ruled out.

"Garcia what does Annie do for a living?" Rossi asked amidst all our deductions.

"She is a computer technician in Martel Technologies. They have a long list of clients local hospitals, firms..." Garcia went on about Annie, but my mind was elsewhere. Martel Technologies, where have I heard this name? Eureka! That's it..!

"Emma!" Reid and I exclaimed at the same time. He was sitting opposite to me and one look at him, I knew we had the same thing on our mind. He let me continue, "Emma worked for Martel Technologies until a week ago. Annie knows Emma! Garcia dig deeper, check Emma's older call logs, you're bound to find Annie's number somewhere."

"Checking..." Garcia said, "You're a genius! Found it Annie Saunders. Emma received at least two calls a day from Annie the week before she died. And it happens to be the same week she got her abortion done. I found their medical records. And I am checking Annie's records as of now. But, I can't put a trace on her. Mobile's switched off. She hasn't turned up for work since three days."

"Okay we've established connection between Emma and Annie. What about Alicia?" Morgan asked.

"Before that, Morgan, Emily and Vivian head to Annie's house. If we are on the right track, Amanda might be there, though the chances are low," Hotch said. Good thinking Hotch! Morgan's phone buzzed as he received Annie's address and we headed out. "Guys wait," Hotch stopped us for some reason, "One more thing Garcia. The .38 caliber revolver? Did Alan own one?"

"Yes boss! He did," Garcia confirmed his suspicion. He then turned to us, "Go."

[Third person POV]

"JJ, talk to Amanda's mother. Find out if Annie has suffered any trauma apart from her husband's death. Specifically related to child birth," Hotch instructed JJ, when Garcia found a new lead, "This just keeps getting better and better! Annie made a maintenance check at one of her the company's clients, a hospital when some of their systems crashed. And guess what?"

"Alicia had her abortion there?" Reid asked, the sound of triumph evident in his voice.

"Wow," Garcia said, "Let me savour this moment. These are so rare.." That's when Reid knew something was wrong. He was wrong!

"Wrong! She worked there. She was a nurse right? So, how does it feel to be wrong not - actually - perfect Dr. Reid?" Garcia taunted him, taking full advantage of the opportunity.

Reid quirked his eyebrows and said, "New."

"Oh yeah?" Garcia arched an eyebrow but before they went further with their taunts Rossi spoke up, "So a friendly banter turned out to be deadly for Alicia. Annie made regular maintenance checks there. It means she must have met Alicia before and known her well enough to talk about something so personal like an abortion."

"You don't really have to be so close. Sometimes you just need to strike a chord," Hotch pointed out, "Perhaps Annie said something that elicited that response from Alicia."

JJ returned after calling Amanda's mother to confirm that she had a termination of pregnancy once and gave birth to still born the second time. After that she couldn't conceive again even though the couple tried everything. "Last year when Alan was killed in an accident, she went into a depression from which she never recovered. She refused help. She continued to work but she completely isolated herself. The only person she ever interacted with was Amanda. Alan loved Amanda like his own daughter and so did Annie. I informed Emily and the others about this. They are almost there."

"Perhaps Alan's death anniversary was the trigger. She couldn't have a child and then her husband, her only emotional support died. She sees the victims throwing away something she could never have. According to her they were fortunate, but they didn't value it. Instead they just abort the baby," Reid explained, "She believes, blinded by rage, that they don't deserve to live..because they've killed their own off springs. They've literally taken another life."

"But doesn't that make her a hypocrite? She is taking lives too.." JJ said, a frown set on her face.

"Yes, perhaps. But, it is her rage and sense of justice that drives her. She finds nothing wrong in what she does. I think we have our killer," Hotch closed the file in front of him, when Detective Morrison entered the room, "Are you guys ready with the profile?"

"Even better," Hotch said, "I think we know who our Unsub is."

I can really use some encouragement here.. and suggestions too! Like I already said this might seem to you like a routine ReidXOC romance. But it is certainly not!

Anyways, looking forward to the reviews. I'll post the third chapter based on how they turn out to be!

Thanks!