AN: So here's chapter 8. That is all.

All around me are familiar faces
Worn out places, worn out faces
Bright and early for their daily races
Going nowhere, going nowhere
Their tears are filling up their glasses
No expression, no expression
Hide my head I want to drown my sorrow
No tomorrow, no tomorrow

And I find it kinda funny
I find it kinda sad
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
When people run in circles
It's a very, very mad world mad world

Children waiting for the day they feel good
Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday
And I feel the way that every child should
Sit and listen, sit and listen
Went to school and I was very nervous
No one knew me, no one knew me
Hello teacher tell me what's my lesson
Look right through me, look right through me…

('Mad World' Gary Jules or Tears For Fears, whichever version you like better)

She woke up in the middle of another nightmare; not surprising after what she had seen earlier the night before. She stopped just short of screaming as she came awake, but she was in a cold sweat, a profuse cold sweat. It was almost like she had run track for days but instead of being the hot, sporty sort of sweat this was the kind of sweat that froze you to the bones. Shaking, she got up out of bed and walked out of her room by the porch and walked over to where the outer door to Hotch and Rossi's room was. She opened it and went in. Instead of just shaking Hotch to wake him up, she stood there watching him sleep, trying to decide what she should do. After a few moments of indecision, she went with the one choice that she knew she had. She turned and ran. She ran out of the same door she came through, going back into her own room, and then out again and down the stairs, and then out of the house.

Rossi hadn't been sleeping long, when he went to bed he had decided to read for a bit and had just shut out the little lighted sconce by his bed and turned over to get on his way to sleep.

Hearing the floor just outside the room creaking Rossi turned back over, towards the direction of the sound, keeping his eyes closed. He heard someone enter the room and just stop. In the darkness Rossi risked cracking one eye open just a tiny bit. Alecta was standing there with a terrified look on her face, watching Hotch sleep. It looked to Rossi as if she really wanted to wake Aaron up and ask him or tell him something. Rossi could see her thoughts written on her face. Does she wake him and have the conversation or does she let him sleep and deal with it alone, as always. Rossi got his answer when he saw her spin around on her little feet, hair spinning in the air she had turned so quickly…and then she was gone, racing out of the room. Rossi didn't bother to go after her, he figured she would go back to her room; besides, depending on how upset she was, and what it was about, she wouldn't talk to him anyway.

That was until he heard Alecta making her way rapidly down the stairs and the 'front' door opening and closing.

Upon hearing that, Rossi jumped up out of bed and raced downstairs himself. By the time he got to the door and could open it to look out she was making her way to the stables. Opening the door to the coat closet just to his left, Rossi slipped on some shoes that he had placed there when he came back from the party. He began making his way to the stables to see what Alecta was up to.

As Rossi opened the door to the stables he was nearly mowed down by Alecta riding on the back of Bubba. The horse came tearing out of the stables, Alecta not even looking back to see who she almost ran over. Rossi had managed to notice the tears streaming down her face.

Where the hell is she going at nearly 3 a.m.? That was just one of the thoughts racing through David Rossi's head as he quickly as possible made his way back to the house to wake up Kevin and Aaron.

Hotch was the first person that Rossi woke up, next he went to Kevin's door, knocking gently but yet loud enough to rouse the man from his sleep; in the meantime, Mr. Dan'el had been woken up, causing him to come out into the hall to find out what the disturbance was.

"Agent Rossi, what's going on? Why are you waking up the neighborhood?"

"Get dressed and come to the living room. I have something that needs to be dealt with."

Mr. Dan'el, Kevin, and Hotch all got dressed, Rossi as well and they all made their way into the living room as Rossi had requested. Mrs. 'Ouisa, Mrs. King, Rachel, and Penelope came downstairs not far behind them, following them into the living room. Derek came down the stairs only a few short minutes later, probably realizing that Pen was no longer in the bed with him when he moved.

Once they were all gathered, Mr. Dan'el was getting rather irritated at having been awakened just a shade past 3 a.m. And, just where in the hell was Alecta? She was usually in the thick of things.

"What have you drug us all out of bed for at 3 a.m. Agent Rossi?"

"Alecta is gone."

Kevin snapped more fully awake, 'What the hell are you talking about?"

Rossi began to explain what had happened and what exactly he knew. When he was done, Mr. Dan'el got up, going upstairs, and about five minutes later coming down fully dressed, grabbing gun belt with two pistols and full ammo.

"Where are you going?" Mrs. King asked nervously.

"I know where she went. I'm going to go talk to her." Seeing Kevin and Hotch act as though they were about to race up stairs and go get dressed and join him, 'ALONE. Ya'll stay here, we'll be back soon."

After he left Kevin took to pacing. After his dad mentioned that he knew where Alecta had gone, Kevin figured it out, too. He didn't like the fact that Alecta had gone out on her own. Jake was a psycho. His friends are psychos. And now his dad was out there alone tracking her down with only two guns and some ammo to take care of business.

"I don't care for this at all." Kevin stated as he paced back and forth.

"Boy sit down, you're wearing a hole in the floor. Park it now."

Hearing the tone in his mother's voice, Kevin stopped and took a seat in a chair nearby where he had been standing, raking his hands through his hair and down his face.

"Momma, I have to go after them."

"You heard him. Now leave him be. He knows where she is, and you know how close she is to your father. You know how long it took her to come around after everything. Leave them be."

Kevin growled under his breath. "Boy, you heard your mother; now…go back to bed."

"Yes ma'am." Kevin turned and walked away from Mrs. King without grumbling under his breath for once. Anyone could see he still wasn't happy about it at all.

Rossi could see the look on Hotch's face and merely arched an eyebrow at him, at which time Hotch turned back to the stairs, making his way back up them as well and to his room. But before going all the way down the hall to his room, Hotch stopped by Kevin's room and knocked on the door.

Upon Kevin coming to answer the door, 'What did your mom mean by how long it took Alecta to come around to your dad?" Hotch barged right in.

"I'm so glad I didn't have any intentions of going right back to sleep. Do come in." Kevin was scrubbing his face again.

"Look, around the time of the trial…before they sent Lex into the foster care system…she lived with us for a time. Mom and dad took her in; she had nowhere else to go. The Gatlings had died years before; I think we were 10 or 12. The aunts and uncles she might have had, I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. Several of her uncles are still doing time for stupid shit; one grandfather was a lawyer, and the other one basically owned between 1/4 – 1/2 of this town…but her uncles were always doing something crazy to wind up in trouble with the law. Armed robbery, assault with deadly weapons; you name it, they have likely tried it. And her aunts…I've only met, maybe three of them, out of the whole bunch that's worth a damn. Most of them spent a large part of the 70's and 80's under the influence.

It's no surprise. Lex's grandfathers were no saints. They both beat their wives and children. So the fact that so many of them grew up to have criminal records and/or problems with drugs or alcohol doesn't shock me at all. Factor that in with the fact that 'MawMaw' King shot and killed her husband and then killed herself as a result of years of abuse…and the only thing that is a surprise is that those kids didn't have more issues than they did….

But the point is, even though they were blood related, they weren't safe options. Mom and dad couldn't send her to any of them. If they sent her to live with one of the few uncles she had that were still walking around free it's just as likely one of them would have just raped her again, just like her father.

When she came to live with us…it was pretty bad. At dinner time, you couldn't get her to come downstairs. Momma would leave a plate of food fixed for her wrapped up on the cabinet. Lex would go downstairs late at night, after everyone else was in bed and have her meal. She would sit in the floor in the corner of the kitchen, curled up in front of the cabinet. Since it wasn't her home she didn't want to sit on our furniture, she didn't want to leave a mark on our lives more than she had to. There were a quite a few nights that mom would creep back downstairs later and find her. She would have finished most of her food, except for anything with onions in it; she always has hated onions. After she finished eating she would put her plate back on the cabinet and sack out in the kitchen floor, too tired to move. Mom would get daddy to carry her upstairs and put her to bed.

During waking hours Lex didn't want to be in the same room with daddy, that's why she never ate with us. She didn't want to sit across the table from him; she didn't trust him. Her own father had done so many horrible things to her that she didn't trust mine.

There was one time that he and I were picking out in the yard. She had been hanging out in the kitchen with momma. And I guess she thought dad was hurting me, we were just wrestling around…you know how fathers and sons are….and she came running out of the house at top speed, barreling straight for daddy. She came down into the yard and managed to spear him hard enough that she knocked him off his feet and started kicking him. I had to pull her off, and for such a tiny girl, that was not easy. She was furious and quite powerful due to that anger. I was finally able to get through to her that he and I had only been playing and that I was alright.

She got so embarrassed that she took off running and ran inside and hid for the rest of the day."

"What was the turning point?"

"We had to go to the grocery store. After weeks of working on this with Lex, mom had finally gotten her to the point where she would go with the rest of us. Mom and dad didn't think it was safe to leave her home alone. It was after the actual trial; Jake and the guys were out on bond while they awaited the sentencing phase. Lex had already pulled her stunt of throwing herself down the stairs….mom and dad were worried that if Jake and the others didn't come after her, then she might do something bad to herself again.

I sat in the back seat with her, holding her hand. She was shaking. Lex didn't argue with mom about going with us, she knew mom and dad had been right, so she just came with us. But she was terrified of being in such a small space with daddy. Her hands were cold and clammy, and she shook so badly.

We got to the store, and she stuck by my side nearly the entire time; mom and dad were walking ahead of us. We were on the isle that had the packages of pasta and the sauces, etc. As we made our way down the aisle, Lex stopped in her tracks and wouldn't budge. At first we didn't notice anything; she hadn't spoken a word since we left the house. But, then we noticed that she wasn't beside of me anymore and we turned around. She had stopped because up ahead on the aisle was 'Lucky', one of Jake's friends. As scared of Jake as Lex was, Lucky petrified her. She stood there staring at him, and he was glaring at her.

I'm pretty sure if the three of us hadn't been close by Lucky would have tried something stupid. And Lex was too scared to even move. All she could do was stand there; and even then she just pissed herself…in the middle of the store. Daddy saw how terrified she was, and saw that she had started wetting herself, and he ran up and scooped her up in his arms and carried her out of the store.

Mom and I left the buggy sitting there and followed him out to the car; we could hear Lucky laughing as we went past. Mom slapped him hard enough across the face that it rocked him on his feet, but he never stopped laughing. By the time we got to the car, dad was sitting in the back seat, with Lex on his lap and she was bawling her eyes out into the front of his shirt. Mom and I just got in and drove home.

After that, Lex was different with daddy. She finally started letting him be like a dad to her. He would take her fishing with him, and she wasn't afraid to go with him. Sometimes when he'd go into town she'd ride along. It was sort of neat to see. She went from being so scared of daddy that she wouldn't even be in the same room, to becoming completely inseparable from him. Daddy adores her and she worships the ground he walks on.

Momma and daddy always wanted to have a little girl after they had me…just to have one of each, ya know. And momma did get pregnant after me, I think when I was like five, but she lost the baby; and the doctor told her that she wouldn't be able to have anymore, it was physically impossible. So, Lex was the closest thing they had to their own daughter."

Kevin and Hotch spent the better part of another hour or so just talking more about Alecta and her relationship with Kevin's parents. Meanwhile, Mr. Dan'el had tracked down where Alecta took off to. It was a small brick church, it was quite old; the original parts of it were from the late 1700-early 1800's. You could see the age of the brick, it was worn and weathered. And the building was small, it probably wouldn't have held more than 100 people; compared with today's larger church buildings, that was tiny. It was in a state of near ruins, weeds and trees had grown up around it over the centuries and practically covered the dirt path that lead to the building; only someone who knew it was there would ever be able to find it. Most of the roof was ragged; it was a slate tile roof, and some of the tiles were missing in large patches. There were lovely stained glassed windows on the church, some of them had been broken out; whether it was from the elements or from people, it would be hard to tell. But the missing windows made you appreciate the windows that were still intact.

Mr. Dan'el made his way inside the building; the creeky old wooden door was already slightly ajar and he just side stepped his way in, so he wouldn't have to move it. Luckily he had brought an old lantern with him that was lit up so he had at least some dim light to see by; he noticed Alecta laying down on one of the pews, curled up asleep. She was lying on her left side, facing outward from the pew, her knees were pulled to her chest and her arms were wrapped around her legs. Part of her long hair tumbled over the side of the pew; the rest of it was resting spread out over her shoulder and down her side. She was shivering from being cold. Mr. Dan'el took off his jacket and put it over her; she didn't even open her eyes. She kept right on sleeping. He swept the strands of hair out of her face. She still looked like that little girl that he and 'Ouisa had known all those years ago.

When they found out that they wouldn't be able to have more of their own children, it was hard on them at first. But then they thought about Lex. Her mother had been killed, so they thought, and she had nobody to care for her at all. Kevin and Lex were in kindergarten when he and 'Ouisa found out about their inability to have any other children. That was also the time frame when Kevin came home talking about the 'smelly girl' in his class that had holes in her clothes and didn't talk. And then there was the day that 'Ouisa had gone to pick Kevin up from school and he pointed Lex out to her. Lex was sitting there on the steps of the school crying her eyes out because she had to go back home. Kevin had asked 'Ouisa if they could keep her, like she was some sort of pet.

'Ouisa had made up her mind then and there that she was going to do everything in her power to help this girl, and she came home telling Dan'el that he was going to help her or else. She didn't have to twist his arm. He had been there as the town sheriff the day they got the call for her mother's attack, the one that left everyone thinking that she was dead. He had carried her out of the house, she was covered in her mother's blood, crying and screaming. He would have been on board to help the child regardless of what 'Ouisa had said.

And now, over 30 years later, here she was. That same little girl, that's what she would always be to him; that crying little toddler girl, no older than Sofie and Emma. And he could remember the first time she asked to ride along with him when he went into town; it was after the fiasco at the grocery store. You could have knocked him over with a feather. Up to that point Lex had never wanted to be anywhere near him; she wouldn't even be in the same room as him while, even if other people were in the same room. And then she wanted to ride with him into town. And he couldn't have denied her if he tried. From then on out, they were pretty much inseparable; that is until that damned judge sent her into foster care. Dan'el could have strangled the man with his own bare hands.

Now was not the time for him to get steamed about that. He didn't have time to hunt down all of her foster fathers; and he was sure taking out a judge would get him life. That damned case….Must calm down, she doesn't want to see me angry, it'll scare her.

Meanwhile Kevin and Hotch had been talking back at the house and the two of them decided, damned the difference, they were following the old man. So, that's just what they did. Heading in the direction that Kevin knew Dan'el had gone, they arrived at the old church.

When they had gotten pretty close to the church Kevin had decided that they should park a few yards away so his dad wouldn't hear the engine of the car; not to mention the fact that Kevin wasn't sure of what the terrain might be like closer to the church, he didn't want to risk blowing a tire or wrecking something under the car in the meantime.

"Are you serious?"

"Agent Hotchner, I haven't been to this church in 25 years, since she left. We used to come here all the time. We played here. Most of the older generations in this town were married here. They stopped using it in the…1920's I think. Lex could tell you what Sunday was the last service that was held here. She would know nearly every brick in this town on a first name basis. We started playing here when we were about 7 or 8. Daphne brought us here. It's the last place she really has that she can go and feel any sense of safety. I think she's crazy going anywhere around here alone, knowing her daddy is on the loose. But her argument is that not even her daddy is stupid enough to do something evil in a house of God, even if it's an abandoned house of God. And if he was to try, well you've met her back up.

That Native American fellow that you met in the woods that day coming back from Dead Water Marsh, he's the one you really have to watch out for. His name is Raging Creek; we have always just called him Creek. He's the one that made the trees fall across the path of Jake and his friends that day.

Revolutionary Daniel and Dorian are good as afar as sensing when some form of danger is close by, as is Daphne. But Creek is the one that can really cause the most havoc."

Creeping up closer to the church itself, Kevin began to speak in a quieter tone, 'Follow me, we can take positions over here. We'll be able to look in through this window."

Hotch followed Kevin where he was told to go. They were standing on either side of the window that Kevin had directed that they go to. Once they were able to find out if there was any noise coming from inside the church, they moved around to where they could actually see through the window.

That was when they saw Mr. Dan'el sitting on a pew with Alecta laying under his jacket asleep. When she went to turn over to face the back of the pew she finally realized that someone was there with her.

Sitting up she rubbed her eyes, 'Pops?"

"You've scared the shit out of everybody taking off like that."

"I'm sorry. I just…I had to think a bit."

"You don't say. What could you possibly have to think about that you couldn't have done it at the house?"

"There are just so many people there. And it's so close to the old place. And…."

"Is this about Agent Hotchner telling you he was in love with you?"

"N-n-no. W-w-why would y-y-you think that?"

"Well for one, you stutter really badly when you get upset."

"It doesn't have anything to do with that."

"Lex…." He was using that tone of voice that said he knew she was lying and he wasn't going to let it drop. It was a gentle tone, but he seemed to draw her name out longer than necessary.

Alecta got up and began pacing, she walked over to the window that Kevin and Hotch were standing outside of, causing them to spring to either side of the window and hunker down low to the ground to not be caught.

"Pops, he doesn't really want me. He only thinks he does because, well we work together. We've been around each other almost non-stop since I first joined the unit. That's all it is. I've seen a picture of his first wife. She was so pretty, tall and blonde; slim and trim. I know they split up over his commitment to the job. But still he loved her in spite of everything.

Who am I? Nobody. Ask anyone in this town and they can tell you. Ask people in the greater Los Angeles area….Vegas….they will all tell you the same thing. I'm nobody."

"How can you say that?"

"Did you miss the 80's and early 90's? I was able to go to school every day here covered in bruises and smelling to high hell. In Las Vegas I was able to sleep on a train station bench for 3 days before there was even one person to ask me if I was ok. And in Los Angeles…I lost everything I had protecting and serving others… I was banned from Women's shelters and had nowhere to go. Do you know how hard I had to fight to get a restraining order against Fletcher?"

Sniffling harder and with her voice choked with even more tears, 'Nobody knows the pain I have seen."

"Tell them then."

"Are you crazy? I don't even want to have these memories playing on loop in my head. Do you really think I want to unload all of this on someone else? I wouldn't do that to my worst enemy's dog.

It's just…I've never had much of anything that was worth a shit. And I'm losing everything and everybody that ever mattered to me. It's all going downhill so damned fast. The latest thing is this mess with Yuri.

The nightmares are even worse now."

"Are they the same ones as before?"

"Trying to reach someone or something that I've been looking for and the drowning feeling?" Seeing him nod, 'Yeah. That's part of it."

"What's the rest of it."

"No, ya don't old man." Outside, as soon as Kevin heard Alecta say this, he knew the conversation was coming to a close, and got Hotch's attention and lead him back to the car, to be back on their way.

"What? I want to know what's going on in that head of yours."

"I….can we go home now?"

Sensing that he wouldn't get any closer to the truth, Dan'el ran his hands through his graying blonde hair, nodding that he would help her get home. As they headed outside, Dan'el walked over to Bubba and told the horse he needed to head home on his own. The horse seemed to understand because he turned in the direction of the house and started trotting along.

Alecta got in the passenger side of Dan'el's old faded blue and white pick-up truck; it was a late 70's model, only had room for two people in the cab. She had always loved this old raggedy truck.

Alecta and Dan'el rode back to the house in peace and quiet. Alecta was trying to get things straight in her head. Dan'el was trying to figure out a way to get her to talk. She was a hard headed woman.

Kevin and Hotch had made it back to the house just in the nick of time. They went in through the back door, quietly, and then up the back stairs. They had decided in the car, on the way back to the house, that they would go on to their own separate rooms so as not to arouse suspicion about their activities.

This was just fine by Hotch, he had a lot of thinking to do anyway. And Kevin didn't really want to hear the third degree from his mother about being too damned nosy for his own good.

Alecta came into the house, followed closely by Dan'el and went on up to her room to go back to bed. Upon seeing 'Ouisa's face, her eyes asking him the questions, Dan'el shook his head negatively.

"I didn't get much of anything useful out of her. She won't talk about it. I'm going back to bed. We have the early shift at the dinner tomorrow, remember."

"Yeah, I'm coming."

Mrs. 'Ouisa made her way over to the main stair case and waited for everyone else to make their ways up before cutting the lights out and heading up herself.

The next morning, around 9a.m., Alecta got up and got a shower and got dressed. She had every intention of going to the jail to see Whitney as she had planned. All she had to do was stop by Chaz's desk at the police station and pick the file that would be waiting on her when she got there.

Alecta arrived at the police station around 10a.m. She swept past Chaz's desk, chatting with her momentarily and listening her tell her for the hundredth time about how she thought it was all a bad idea; grabbing the file she needed, she made her way to one of the interview rooms that Chaz had requisitioned for her. She sat there and waited for five minutes, and then the door was opened by one of the guards, and Whitney walked in.

"What could you possibly have to say to me, whore?"

"Please. Have a seat and make yourself comfortable."

Alecta waited for Whitney to seat herself and watched the uncomfortable look pass her face.

"I only came to bring you something. You see, for eons you have been hell bent on persecuting me as a whore, and yet you have never really had all of your facts straight."

"And what makes you think I would believe a word out of your mouth over the word of my own father?"

"Oh no love, you don't have to believe me. No, I would never dream of trying to brainwash you like I have all the rest of the nice 'normal' people. No, no, no. I brought the case file on my life with me. I'm going to let the doctors and the detectives do the talking for me. Surely, you'll believe a doctor or a cop over me."

First, Alecta grabbed the file that contained the information and the photos about what happened the night that she thought her mother was murdered. She showed Whitney the photos that 'Ouisa had taking as the attending pediatric nurse in the emergency room that night; Alecta, covered in her mother's blood. Her own lip split from a punch thrown on a different day. Her hair matted with the blood. Bruises everywhere. Her little clothes all dirty and tattered.

At first Whitney seemed unaffected, even shrugging her shoulders. Then, Alecta whipped out all the arbitrary medical photos and notes about all the other trips to the hospital or the doctor's.

She could see that it was starting to work on Whitney, her eyes were changing, her posture changed a bit as well.

What Alecta could not have known was that Chaz had called Aaron and told him that if he wanted to get near any of the truth, that he better find a way to get his ass down to the station. And he did just that. Kevin drove, knowing a back way, he made it there in roughly 10 minutes instead of the regular 20.

Hotch was on the other side of the two-way glass that was part of the décor of the interview room. He watched as Alecta cooly propped her feet up on the table, leaned back in a chair and filed her nails while this woman read about the darkest hours of her life.

Alecta knew when she struck a nerve. Whitney looked at her with tears in her eyes. She had gotten to the bit about what had happened around the time that Alecta had…cured herself of Jake's baby.

Leaning forward, 'So you see, darlin', I never really stood a chance. Not against my daddy, and not against yours."

"Why are you showing me this?"

"Well it's simple really. I don't mind you calling me the town whore. I was bought and sold more times than a used car. It is what it is. But if you're going to continue to call me the town whore, I wanted you to have the benefit of having all of the facts presented to you…not just your father's biased opinion of me.

But, like with Chaz…I hope that we can put all of this silly non-sense away and be friends from here on out. I don't intend to actually press assault charges. I will have them dropped, and you will be released. I never had any intentions of pressing charges. I merely wanted to give you time to cool off, and to think of exactly what I wanted to say to you as well as prepare myself for anything you might say in retaliation.

I know most of the reason that you were always so shitty to me was because you were a scared kid who was so willing to believe what her parents told her. I was that way once, too. Daddy told me that momma was dead. I have believed him all of my life. And just recently I have learned the truth. She was locked away somewhere, being kept from me, and like-wise, because she tried to take me away from him.

Now, we can either bury the hatchet and move forward as friends from here on out, or you can still resent me as the town whore. It's your choice. And I will continue to move on with my life either way, with or without you.

When you make your choice you can call me at this number."

Alecta pushed business card with her cell number on it toward Whitney, and got up to leave.

"Wait. I don't need your number. I already know what I'm going to be choosing."

Post AN: So that was Chapter 8, per the usual, let me know what you think. Chapter 9 I hope to be moving into what might happen if Jake and his friends get their hands on Alecta and Pen; but we will see how that rolls out.