Chapter 4

"I thought we agreed. No work while you're on medical leave." Will's voice surprised her, making her jump slightly in her seat as she closed the file she had been reading.

"I know, I know." JJ pushed the pile of folders away and continued to sip her morning coffee until Will bent down for a kiss. As usual, Leila was the last to awaken and slowly made her way down the steps. If there was one thing the sisters didn't have in common it was that Leila hated mornings. JJ, on the other hand, sometimes couldn't tell the difference between night and day.

"Morning." Leila mumbled as she tied her hair up in a crooked ponytail before plopping down next to her sister. JJ chuckled at the brunette, her eyes still closed and legs crossed as she tried to wake up fully.

"Morning, Sunshine." JJ reached out and ruffled the younger woman's hair only to get slapped away.

"Morning Leila!" Henry squealed as he crawled into his aunt's lap. Leila was barely able to sustain his weight as she continued to rub her eyes with a frown. Will smiled at the girl as he placed a cup of coffee and two waffles in front of her. Henry hurriedly scarfed his down and hopped off of the teen before speeding into the bathroom to get ready for school.

"How are we related?" JJ heard the brunette mumble to herself as her forehead hit the tabletop.

"Maybe if you weren't up until 4 AM, you'd actually have some energy." JJ shrugged and winced as her ribs protested- again. She heard Leila scoff.

"Yes, Mom." The teen sighed before chugging her coffee and following Henry into the bathroom.

"So what were you working on, cher?" Will drawled as he came up behind his wife and placed his hands on her shoulders. JJ leaned back into his chest.

"Trying to figure out where we're going next." She told him. Will frowned.

"Isn't that Hotch's job now?"

"Technically, yes but a second opinion doesn't hurt." JJ admitted with a smile.

"And what's the verdict?"

"I'm not sure yet." The blonde reached out and picked the first of a pile of two. "There's a case in Boston that sounds a lot like a group of teenagers but they're escalating in violence. So far they've just sent people to the hospital but I'm worried that it'll get worse."

"And the other?" Will tilted his head towards the last file. JJ sighed before opening it.

"This one's local." She knew Will would like that. "But it's…strange."

"What's strange about it?"

"It looks like D.C's got a serial killer but I can't help feeling like there's more to it."

"A serial?" Will raised an eyebrow as he massaged JJ's already-tense shoulders. "Doesn't that take precedent over a gang of teenagers?"

"Well, yes." JJ admitted. "I just have a really weird feeling about it."

"What's the case?"

"Metro PD's found four bodies, two pairs of women, with the same MO but they're from opposite sides of the city with no visible connection between them."

"So he's picking them at random?"

"Maybe but there's got to be more to it." JJ frowned as she picked up the file once more. "It's always a blonde and brunette with blue eyes."

"I'm so excited!" Penelope squealed as she hugged Emily for the fourth time in ten minutes. The brunette swayed side to side as her friend bounced with glee. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

"Pen, I don't know." Emily chuckled. "It's been less than three months."

"But you'll get to know soon, right?" Penelope asked with wide eyes as she held onto Emily's forearms.

"I don't know if I want to." The brunette admitted, much to her friend's horror. "I don't really care to be honest. I just want them to be healthy."

"Well of course they'll be healthy!" Penelope cried as if it were obvious. "Look at their momma- badass, crime fighting, Morgan-beating machine!" Emily chuckled.

"It was one time." They heard the man in question announce from behind them, his arms thrown into the air in annoyance.

"Give it a year and it'll be two." Emily called back.

"You think I'm gonna take you on after you've had a baby?" Emily was momentarily surprised at her partner's concern. "Have you seen mothers go on their crazy maternal rampages?! No thanks." And just like that, it was gone.

"It's true actually." Reid seemed to appear out of nowhere. "Because of the significant increase in hormone levels as well as the added pain tolerance after giving birth, mothers typically show an increase in strength and aggression especially during the child's first two years of life. Although it has been suggested that the pain of child birth is so extreme that the mother actually goes into physical shock and can't remember exactly how much it hurt."

"Thanks, Reid." Emily offered him a thin smile as she lowered her eyes back to her paperwork.

"Way to scare her, Reid." Hotch said causing all eyes to turn to him as he overlooked the group from the balcony outside his office.

"I'm not scared!" Emily cried, an automated response leaving her lips before the truth could slip out. Hotch waved a hand in dismissal.

"Of course." He dismissed the very idea before continuing. "Everyone in the conference room in 5."

"We've got a case?" Morgan asked and their boss shook their head.

"Not exactly." The dark-haired man responded ominously before turning his back to the team and entering the conference room. The rest didn't wait for 1 minute, let alone 5, before following.

"What's going on, Aaron?" Rossi raised an eyebrow as he took his usual seat, surrounded by the others who all had equally confused looks on their faces.

"I just received a call from Metro PD. They've asked for our help on a case of theirs." Hotch stated. His team waited for the rest. "I told them we can't help them."

"What, why not?" Emily frowned, having never heard of her team turning down a case.

"I believe it's a conflict of interest." He continued in the same mysterious tone.

"Hotch, man what are you talking about?" Morgan rolled his wrist, eager to understand what was going on. Instead of telling them, their boss decided to show them.

"Four women- two blondes, two brunettes." Hotch clicked on the remote towards the screen and Penelope had to shield her eyes from the images that popped up. Wide, blue eyes stared at the group of six from beyond the grave. "All blue-eyed and found in pairs in abandoned areas."

"Alright, so DC's got a serial." Morgan concluded. "What's the conflict of interest?"

"He takes them separately and holds them for a few days in someplace well-below room temperature." Hotch continued as if the other man hadn't spoken. "ME reports multiple stab wounds to the chest, neck and legs of the brunettes along with bruises consistent of a beating over the days they were held. Both blondes were repeatedly raped before they were strangled to death." Hotch watched as looks of recognition passed over his team.

"You don't think-"

"He's back." Hotch nodded at their youngest member, confirming his thoughts immediately. "And he wants us to know it."

"Damnit." Emily groaned and placed her head in her hands as she shook her head. Before anyone could ask, she raised her head. "A few nights ago, when we got back from Texas, someone left something on my doorstep. I thought it was just someone trying to be funny."

"What?" Morgan cried, outraged at the thought that someone like Parilla could have gotten so close to his partner.

"What did he leave?" Hotch raised his head with a frown. Emily sighed.

"A pacifier with a note."

"Do you still have the note?" Rossi asked and Emily nodded, standing and making her way back to the bullpen and into her purse. She returned holding an index sized piece of paper with a tissue and placed it on the table for everyone to read.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BAU FAMILY ON THEIR 13TH MEMBER! PRAY IT STAYS THAT WAY.

"Thirteenth member?" Morgan questioned with a frown.

"He could mean the six of us, JJ, Will, Henry, Leila, Jack, Chris and Emily's baby." Reid thought aloud.

"'Pray it stays that way'?!" Penelope cried. "What does that mean?"

"It's a threat." Emily explained as she subconsciously placed a hand over her stomach. "He's saying that there won't be thirteen of us for long."