Mabel was a sucker for the dramatic. She knew she'd scared the shit out of the young agent threatening the lives of his friends. It was obvious that they all meant the world to him, why else would he risk his life and walk into a known trap to save them. Noble, but not enough to save them now. She held the power and held him trapped in her basement.

She had to admit that she was going to enjoy taking his life and knowing that she had done something for the two boys who she had given birth to but did not raise. Funny, she thought to herself, she'd brought them into the world and she had in the end been responsible for arranging for their final goodbye to the world.

She was planning to terrorize him convince him that his worst nightmare had come true and then she'd take his life. No one would suspect a middle-aged woman, petite and innocent; she'd be long gone out of the country sunning herself and living out her senior years in bliss proving once and for all that she loved her sons, making up for not being the mother she should have been.

The basement door swung open. He hoped beyond hope that it was help. She'd only be gone for a few short minutes; maybe she'd decided to kill him first before going after his team. He watched her descend the steps, spry defying the old woman she had convinced him she was.

"I know you think I'm an evil, heartless shrew."

How'd she know, he thought to himself.

"Because I am actually a nice person, I thought I'd give you a chance to save your friends' lives…for a little longer anyway."

She ripped the tape from his mouth and eased herself down into the chair in front of him.

"What do you want?" He groaned.

"Since you and I are going to be spending some time together. We wouldn't want your friends to worry about you, right?"

"Can we just stop playing games, Mabel? If that's really your name."

"Yes, my name is really Mabel and Agent, this is not a game. I'm very serious about making sure you pay for what you've done."

Morgan's head was still spinning and he was in no mood to entertain this maniac.

"I need you to make a phone call to your boss. Let him know that you're taking a few days off, you know to clear your head."

Morgan felt a glimmer of hope trickle through his body. Mable had no idea that Hotch had suspended him indefinitely; he wasn't expecting him at work. A call from him now would alert Hotch that he was in trouble.

"Yeah, okay, I'll make the call."

Smiling, she pulled his phone from her dress pocket. She'd taken it from him while he was unconscious. She searched his contact list and pressed Agent Hotchner's number.

BAU Headquarters – Conference Room

Hotch and the team had settled in and were ready to discuss the new development in the Kirkwood case. Hotch hadn't told any of them except Rossi that Morgan had been suspended. He knew they wouldn't be happy with him for his decision.

"Okay, this is what we know…" Hotch began.

"Wait, where's Morgan?" Reid asked.

Hotch and Rossi shot troubled glances at each other. JJ and Garcia looked at each other puzzled as well.

"Morgan won't be…"

Hotch's phone rang interrupting his explanation. For a brief moment he was relieved. Morgan's name flashed on his screen and hoped that the agent had reconsidered his decision and was ready to rejoin the team.

"Hotch."

"Hotch. Morgan. Hey, I think I'm going to take a few days off."

"What are you talking about?"

"I know, I know we're buried right now in cases but I've got to get my head together."

Hotch's heart dropped. Morgan was in trouble. He'd never make a call like this especially after their last heated conversation resulting in his indefinite suspension. So he played along in hopes to learn as much as he could about Morgan's whereabouts.

"Are you okay?"

"No but I will be. I just need some time to shake this last case."

"Okay. I guess we'll have to manage without you for a few days. Take all the time you need."

"Thanks for understanding, Hotch."

"Take care of yourself. We'll see you soon."

Hotch heard the call end. Flooded with guilt he knew that if anything happened to Morgan, there was no way he or his team would forgive him.

Hotch turned to face the others and they saw the look of horror on his face. His stubborn, narrow-mindedness had endangered the life of a good friend and he didn't have any idea how to tell the others what he'd done.

"Hotch. What's wrong? Garcia asked.

"Morgan's in trouble."

"Oh, my God! What happened? I knew something was wrong I've been trying to reach him for the last few hours."

"You better start from the beginning, my friend." Rossi added.

Home of Mabel Henry –

"Very good. See that wasn't so bad now, was it?"

Morgan looked at her with pure rage and again she was happy that he couldn't reach her. It was that look in his eyes that renewed her comittment to kill him. He'd taken everything that meant anything to her and he had to pay.

"This isn't going to bring them back."

Now the rage was in her eyes. He saw it and he hoped it would cause her to make a mistake. He had to distract her. If she really planned to keep him alive for a few days he had to make sure she was focused on him and not going after his team. If it meant more pain, torture he'd take it to keep them safe. It would also give them time to find him.

"Shut up!"

"Mabel, this is wrong what you're doing!"

"Shut your mouth!"

"Antoine and Andrew were cold blooded, psychopathic killers!"

"Don't talk about my sons like that! You hear me!"

Mabel stood and grabbed the chair she'd been sitting in and swung it at him with all of her strength. Morgan tried the best he could to dodge the attack. He felt the chair land solidly on the side of his head and shoulder. Pain shot through his shoulder blade and he felt blood trickle down the side of his face.

Derek knew this was only the beginning of what the next few hours and days would be like. His vision was blurry but he wasn't going to let up.

"Your sons? They didn't even know you were their mother. Good thing too. They might have really turned out bad!"

He'd crossed the line and he knew it as soon as he saw the blurry outline of the chair coming down on him again. She started screaming obscenities and swinging the chair landing against his body over and over until she was too exhausted to go on. Then, breathing hard and struggling to catch her breath she dropped the now damaged chair and looked down on his bloody body.

He wasn't moving his eyes closed he lay motionless on the floor. As he slipped into the darkness again, he prayed that his friends would realize that he needed them and they would find him soon.

This was just the beginning of what Mabel Henry had planned for Agent Derek Morgan. He would pay dearly for what he'd done. She took one final look at her captive and then climbed the balcony steps and out locking the door behind her.