Sorry about the wait. College is really kicking my ass this year. I hope you're all still with me. Please drop a review and let me know what you're thinking!

Chapter 7

"There she is." Leila pointed subtly towards one of the many coffee shop windows. JJ turned and saw her mother sitting at a rounded table picking at her cuticles and waiting for her daughters to arrive. She sighed. It had been a long time since either of them had seen Sandy Jareau and JJ had to admit- she missed the times when her mother would come around more often. Whether it was to babysit Henry so she and Will could have a night to themselves or simply to have dinner, her mother had always been present at the snap of her fingers. Now, it was like the two lived on separate planets. Pushing thoughts of Parilla away, JJ placed a warm hand on her sister's shoulder as they crossed the street. Sandy saw them coming and rose from her seat as they entered the café. There was no denying that the woman had been crying. Sniffling, she took a step forward and enveloped both daughters in an alarmingly tight embrace. JJ exhaled slowly, forgetting what her mother's hugs felt like, but Leila stiffened in response. The woman had never spoken, let alone touched her before and she still wasn't exactly keen on physical contact. Sandy released the two of them and motioned towards the table with a teary smile.

"Please, sit." she said softly. JJ slid in first, knowing that Leila didn't like feeling cornered, and folding her hands in front of her. Leila mirrored her sister, staring at the tight fist she had made instead of looking at her biological mother. A minute or two passed in silence until their waitress approached and asked for their orders. Sandy said she had yet to finish hers and JJ and Leila stuck with water. Finally, JJ had enough of the silence and spoke.

"How's dad?" she raised her head and finally looked ignited a conversation. Sandy didn't miss a beat, taking the bait with gratitude.

"Not too bad. He's just getting over a nasty cold we both had though." she paused for a moment. "He wanted to come but couldn't find anyone to cover the store for him." JJ nodded her understanding.

"Store?" Leila asked, almost in a whisper. Sandy was eager to answer.

"Yes, we own a small sports shop in East Allegheny. It's the only one around so it gets pretty busy, especially around this time of year." Sandy offered her youngest daughter a smile which Leila tried to return. There was no mistaking how uncomfortable the youngest Jareau felt. JJ reached over and took her sister's hand in hers. Sandy watched the gesture and smiled.

"How are you liking D.C, Leila?" she asked. Leila nodded.

"I like it." she said. "It's easy to get around and I really like my school and obviously, living with JJ."

"What school did you chose?" Sandy asked, genuinely interesting.

"George Washington."

"That's a very good school, Leila! Congratulations." Sandy almost reached out to squeeze her daughter's hand when she caught JJ shaking her head. "Studying anything specific?"

"Not yet but I've been thinking about it recently." Leila said, seemingly getting more comfortable as the conversation progressed.

"Have you now?" JJ raised an eyebrow, having never heard the teen discuss the topic of a major. Leila smiled.

"Mhmm." Leila saw their waiting expressions and was momentarily startled at how similar the two looked. She supposed that being dark-haired, she was the odd one out in the entire family. "Well I really like archaeology but I've also been looking into marine biology."

"Those are both excellent options." Sandy approved immediately and JJ had a small flashback to when she told her parents what she wanted to study. At least Leila's interests could be accepted. "Have you always had an interest in animals?" The conversation continued smoothly, transitioning from school to sports and even to Leila's adopted family. Although strange at first, Leila eventually relinquished information quite easily about her family. Sandy knew well enough to ask questions about their accident or anything related to their deaths- JJ had schooled her enough to know by now. Before long, the three were smiling and giggling together as if they had done this before. Sandy's heart felt like it would burst the first time she heard Leila laugh and when JJ was finally able to look her in the eyes. They had a lot of growing and learning to do, but as the three Jareau women sat in at that table, they knew that everything that had happened between them could be fixed. They were, after all, family. As they stood to leave, having spent over four hours together, Sandy hugged JJ first and whispered her thanks in the younger woman's ear. JJ simply smiled in return. When she stopped in front of Leila, she was surprised when the teenager was the one to step forward and wrap her arms around her mother. Leila sighed, taking in the scent of her for the first time as she buried her face into the crook of her neck. Sandy placed a gentle kiss to the top of her head before allowing several more tears to streak down her cheeks. The two parted and Sandy reached over to cup the brunette's jaw.

"You look so much like her." she said with a sad smile. Shaking her head as if dismissing the thought, the three parted ways in the parking lot where Leila asked her sister what she had meant. JJ sighed as she reached into her wallet and pulled out a photo. It was old and folded but Leila could easily tell what it was of. There stood a small JJ- no more than ten years old- and a taller brunette beside her. JJ had her arms wrapped around the girl, a wide smile on her face revealing a missing tooth. The other girl was looking down at her, a grin on her lips that didn't seem to reach her eyes. She was in the process of pushing back a handful of hair when the photo was taken but Leila was able to take in her characteristics.

"Andrea." JJ told her. "I was nine, she was fifteen. I had just scored my first goal." Leila noticed the soccer garb young JJ was wearing and the goal post in the background of the photo. Smiling, she handed it back to her sister.

"She looks really proud of you." Leila watched as JJ handled the photo with care and placed it back into the save confines of her wallet. The blonde mumbled a 'yea' before putting the car in park.

"Jareau." JJ answered the phone call quickly, closing and locking the front door behind her. Henry and Will appeared, the toddler squirming out of his father's hands to welcome his mother and aunt back home. Leila picked the boy up and rasberried his neck causing him to squeal loudly.

"JJ, it's Hotch."

"Yea, Hotch. What's up?" she replied, throwing her bag and keys on the table and scooping up the running toddler.

"We've got it. The case. Strauss agreed to let us help."

"Are you serious?" JJ asked, surprised at how quickly Rossi had worked his magic over the woman. "That's great!"

"Not exactly." Hotch sighed. "JJ, they've got two more bodies." At the news, the blonde put down her son and ran a hand through her hair in frustration.

"Where?" she asked, her tone change already telling Will and Leila where she was headed.

"West Potomac Park."

"I'll meet you there." JJ hung up before her boss could tell her that her presence wasn't necessary. One look to her family and they nodded, knowing that there was nothing they could do to keep her away. She kissed Henry on the cheek and quickly got back into her car, speeding towards the popular tourist attraction.

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Kira was startled awake when the door to their prison slammed shut. She jumped, awakening Cara as well. The blonde's eyes darted around the room as her breathing became slightly erratic. Kira reached over and gently placed her hand over the older woman's who squeezed hard in return.

"He's coming." Cara practically whimpered, her eyes shutting tightly at the thought of Jeremy Parilla. Despite her fear, she placed a protective hand around Kira's shoulders and the younger woman couldn't deny the slightly comfort it gave her knowing that she cared. "Don't be afraid." Kira simply nodded, finding that her voice was caught in her throat. The two watched as the knob turned and Parilla peeked his head in. Seeing that the two were awake, he smiled and strolled in. The women saw the second door behind him and took in the chain and lock with defeated eyes. Jeremy rolled a bottle of water towards them and leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Well, drink it." he said exasperatedly. Wary of the man, Cara eased herself forward, ignoring her body as it screamed at it, and took the unopened bottle. She opened it, took a small sip and turned to offer it to Kira when Jeremy tsked at her.

"That's not for her." he pointed at the brunette but refused to look at her. Pushing himself off the wall, he knelt in front of Cara and gently took the bottle from her hands. The blonde frowned.

"We've been down here for days. She's thirsty." Cara tried to reason with him. Jeremy simply stared. "Please, she's just a kid."

"I said, that's not for her." Jeremy's pale eyes widened and Cara couldn't help but shrink further into the wall behind her. Kira squeezed the woman's hand and opened her mouth to tell her that it wasn't worth it when Cara continued.

"Please Jeremy." she begged. "She can't hurt you, she's just-"

"Did I stutter?" Jeremy's voice rose slightly and both women flinched. Kira continued to claw at the blonde's hand, begging her to stop. Cara never got the chance to respond before Jeremy repeated the question, this time screaming directly in her face.

"N-No." Cara trembled as his rancid breath made contact with her nostrils. His smell, his voice, his very presence brought flashbacks of what he had done to her merely hours ago. Cara's eyes were downcast until Jeremy's hand grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. The blonde held back a whimper if only for the sake of the teenager at her side. Kira, on the other hand, was afraid to look away. Her eyes bore into Jeremy's hand around the woman's thin face, silently begging whoever was listening to spare her what they knew was coming. She didn't fail to notice how much tighter the blonde's grip had gotten the closer Jeremy was to them.

"Look at me." Jeremy emphasized every word, his nose less than an inch away from Cara's as the woman brought her teary eyes to his hard ones. "Why do you care? Hm? Why do you care about what I do to her?"

"B-Because she's…she's just a kid." Cara fought to keep her voice from cracking and failed as she clawed for the correct response. If only she knew that no matter what she said, Jeremy's reaction would be the same. "She doesn't deserve this, she-"

"She deserves all of this!" He cried and Cara whimpered in surprise. His grip on her tightened as he tossed the bottle of water to the side. Using his free hand to forcefully separate the two, he raised Cara to a standing position and held her against the wall. "You both do."

"No!" Kira's shrill voice echoed in the small room as she launched herself forward, barreling into the mountain of a man. Jeremy practically snarled as he dropped Cara and turned to backhand the younger woman across the face. Kira fell from the force, unable to cradle her injured face, and simply glared menacingly back up at him. "Leave her alone!"

"I will do," Jeremy watched as a small trickle of blood dripped down the girl's lip, "whatever I want to her." With a solid kick to the chest, he silenced her, ignoring Cara's cries as she implored him to stop. Kira curled into a ball, desperately trying to ease the pain for just a second, as she watch Jeremy pin the blonde to the wall. She was crying now, tossing her head from side to side as she chanted 'no' over and over again.

"Don't-Don't do this. Please, don't." Cara's sobs shook her entire body as Jeremy ripped off her only remaining article of clothing- her shirt- and tossed it behind him. It landed an inch away from where Kira lay and the girl immediately began to cry as she took in the scene in front of her. Never in her worst nightmares could she believe what she was about to witness. Cara continued to cry as Jeremy held the back of her head in place and began to remove his jeans. His body was more than heavy enough to hold her relatively still after the beating she had taken during their previous confrontation and he used that to his advantage- fondling her chest as his knees forced hers apart once more. Kira closed her eyes, refusing to watch, but it did little to keep her from imaging what was happening. The teen did something she had not done in a long time- she prayed. She prayed for Cara to be alright- or as alright as possible. She prayed for their safe return home, but most of all, she prayed for Jeremy Parilla to die a slow and painful death- preferably one that arrived relatively soon. By the time her praying was done, so was Jeremy and Kira opened her eyes to see Cara laying naked on the dirty floor and Jeremy bending down to place a sweet kiss to her lips. The blonde had stopped crying and merely hugged herself as she shook, the pain from the assault finally catching up to her. Jeremy tilted his head in curiosity and observed her expressionless face. With a shake of his head, he moved hers to the side. Cara's eyes were blank- as if there was no one actually inside her body anymore. Jeremy continued to shake his head as the azure eyes gazed through him. He stood abruptly and slapped his hand against the wall.

"No, no, no!" he began to pace, coming dangerously close to Kira. The girl continued to look over the blonde woman, waiting for her to snap out of her trance and react. She didn't. "That's not right. Not right. You're not right!" Jeremy yelled at her but still, Cara remained motionless. Kira's eyes began forming tears once more, terrified of being left alone with a silent Cara. Suddenly, she realized that that was no longer an option. Jeremy cried out in anger and lowered himself back down to Cara's level. He placed a knee on either side of her and turned the woman on her back. He shook her violently but still, nothing happened. Only stray tears strolled down the woman's dirtied cheek. The longer she remained unresponsive, the angrier Jeremy became and soon, Kira feared for more than Cara's sanity. Eventually, Jeremy's hands managed to find their way around Cara's neck, seemingly begging her to react. As his anger increased, his grip tightened and soon Kira realized what he was doing.

"You're killing her!" she cried, all of her own pain suddenly forgotten. Crawling forward, Kira managed to wrap her bound hands around the man's neck and began to tug backwards but it was like she wasn't even there. Jeremy's face was beet red, his veins ready to burst from the effort he was exerting to 'wake Cara up'. Kira managed to look over the man's shoulder at Cara's blank, red face. Tears continued to flow down the woman's cheeks and Kira continued to try to pry the man off of her but without success. Before long, Cara's body stopped twitching and seemed to relax as her head lolled to the side. Eyes still open, they managed to stare directly at Kira. The girl began to sob loudly as she realized that the woman was dead. She knelt beside her and reached out, stroking several blonde hairs away from the opened eyes before finally closing them forever. Kira rocked herself to and fro, sobbing uncontrollably at the thought of being left alone with the man. She could only image what he would do to her after killing someone he claimed to 'love' in such a brutal way. Words escaped her as she watched Jeremy rise and wipe his nose with his sleeve. Silently, the man walked over the first door, unlocked it and took something from a table. Kira's cries turned hysterical when she saw the large hunting knife in his hand. She turned away from him, much preferring to look at Cara's peaceful face than the man who would kill her. She wouldn't beg or plead for her life when she knew there was no point. Kira accepted her fate as Jeremy took her by the collar and dragged her to the other side of the room. She couldn't help but think of her mother, her friends, her school, all the things that she wouldn't get to do as his face finally came into focus. Forcing the sobs to stop, Kira stared directly at him and noticed a few tears staining the man's cheeks. Perhaps he did have feelings after all. Her sapphire eyes looked up at him and through the unshed tears, saw the knife begin its decent before she felt it make contact with her flesh. The last thing Kira felt was her body tip over directly parallel to Cara's. The last thing she saw was the blonde's serene demeanor as she waited for hers to mimic it.