So much for having a simple case, Aitana thought as she stepped onto the sandy beach. The wind was particularly strong which made it hard to keep one's hair out of the face. And for this case, they needed to have keen eyes. It wasn't every day that dozens of human remains were dumped out from the ocean pumps.

Aitana headed for the set up the local precinct had placed a short distance from the shoreline. She had done her due diligence with the media and found that this was one case she wouldn't be able to push them away from. The beach was big and reporters were relentless.

"They won't be leaving," she told Hotch on their way to meet the main detective on the case. Already there were several news reporters lining up outside the cautionary tape. She was sure at least one of them would sneak in sooner or later.

"It's fine for now," he told her. He was aware that it being her first case back she was doing everything to be one step ahead of the others, basically exerting herself more than she should. Her evaluation was up soon too, as well as a pending talk about her status at the BAU. She had every reason to take things one step extra.

"Agent Hotchner," the main detective greeted first when the pair arrived, "I'm assuming Agent Serrano?"

Aitana nodded. "We spoke on the phone. Detective Foreman?"

"Yes ma'am. Call me JT. Not the most cushy arrangement," he made a feature to their set up, "But it'll keep your team close to the crime scene for now."

"Well, thank you for setting it up," Hotch said. "This will help us preserve what we can. Excuse us." He walked away with Aitana.

"Has Garcia found any potential leads on who we found so far?" she asked curiously.

"Cold leads but they might not be that if we keep studying the remains," Hotch said, stopping by another tent where Spencer was currently examining the pieces of bones.

"You know, based on the parasites on the most recent kill, the unsub killed as recently as a month ago, which means he's still active," he told the pair as soon as he felt them coming in.

Aitana blinked at his quick-pace. "How did you establish a timeline so quickly?"

"By reverse engineering mother nature. Each year, sand and sediment cover up the remains, creating layers on the ocean floor. The deeper the pump dug, the older the remains. Nine victims in 9 years means that he's in control of his urges."

"Any sense of the victimology?" asked Hotch. He and Aitana gazed over the different bones. Some definitely appeared older than others, some even grimy.

"Only that he likes variety. Pelvic bone width indicates that he kills both men and women, and skull structure says he crosses racial lines as well."

"Agent Hotchner, excuse me?" Foreman peered into the tent. "We found 3 more remains."

That would make the count go up to 15 at least. Aitana lowered her gaze to the bones on the tables. "If he's been dumping this long, it's not just out of convenience," she murmured. The mere conformation of her words laid with the bones themselves. "There's got to be an emotional tie as well."

"He'll change his M. O. because he has to, but he won't be happy about it," Spencer added, "And he'll have the entire Atlantic to choose from."

~0~

"They keep growing!" Aitana exclaimed with heavy annoyance when she found Morgan and Seaver near the lucky pump that gave them all their bones.

Seaver looked up first to set what Aitana was so irritated at and when she saw the heavy load of news reporters outside the perimeter, she understood Aitana's frustration. "That is quite a lot."

"They're not leaving," Aitana said through gritted teeth. "In fact, they're probably calling each other like the glorified gossipers that they are." Seaver managed a chuckle but when there wasn't any type of response from Morgan, Aitana stopped. "You okay over there?" she called. Seaver seemed like she had already been down that road.

"Yeah, case is tough, that's all," Morgan said simply before moving off to the side.

Aitana raised an eyebrow at him. "He never says that," she said.

Seaver agreed. "Struck me strange too."

The only sensible reason for that behavior is when the case struck too close to home. Aitana would never be brave enough to directly as Morgan what happened...but she was sure that a little blonde birdy behind the computers would end up telling her anyway. After half an hour, Aitana decided the news reporters would have to be dealt with directly.

She found Hotch back in the tent with Spencer going over the bones. "Hey, busy?" she asked.

"Going over the victimology," Hotch said. "Is it important?"

"Sort of, yeah, but so is this." Aitana noticed the new additional bones had been laid on the table. "Do we have anything conclusive about it?"

"I found a unique evolution, actually," Spencer said, "The earliest victims appear to be high-risk." He moved around the tables for a specific set of bones. "These lesions are consistent with syphilis, most likely a prostitute. This one has severely ground and missing teeth, commonly seen in excessive methamphetamine abuse. And then all of a sudden out of nowhere, a sea change…" He moved to a whole new table and gestured to the series of bones. "Healthier and stronger victims all the way through to number 12."

"What do we know about the first victim?" asked Hotch.

"You know, that one's tough. He or she has been in the water so long, they're mostly bone fragments. I can attempt to reconstruct—"

"You've got 3 hours," Hotch cut him off and apparently it was rather offensive by the look on Spencer's face.

"I can do it in 2!"

Aitana rolled her eyes at him. "Great deal you're making—Hotch, can we talk now?" She was a little jittery and though it was unusual for her, Hotch knew why it would suddenly happen.

He walked out of the tent with her and listened to her story about the troubling amount of media around them. "How much has gotten out?" He asked her.

"It's hard to tell," she admitted. "Some of these news crews are national. If the unsub doesn't know we found his graveyard yet, he will soon. Then we'll hear from everyone who's ever filed a missing persons report. Plus, I'm worried somebody's going to sneak through and leak things."

Hotch would agree. The media was getting antsy as the hours went by without anything being revealed. "Maybe we can use this to our advantage. We could talk to them. It might feed the unsub's ego, take the sting out of him losing his site. It could keep him in the area."

"If you're sure," Atiana said, throwing a reluctant look at the ocean and the media.

"What?" Hotch tilted his head at her.

"Well, it's the ocean," she said with a weak gesture towards the waters, "He could already be there and without a way to see the broadcast."

Hotch understood her and partially agreed with her. They were assuming the unsub wasn't already at sea because it's all they had. "We have to move with the pieces that we have."

"I know," Aitana nodded. "I'll go get everything started." She had an easier time gathering up the news reporters in one spot than she had when she tried to amicably get them to leave. Everybody was all nicer when they were allowed closer to the scene.

"Nervous?" Rossi asked her while they waited for the last of the details to be sorted around them. Most of the team was going to be there with her except for Spencer who would be devoting himself to the bones.

"You would think," Aitana said with eyebrows raised, "But...not really, no."

"Attagirl. But you do know that you don't have to overwork yourself just because it's your first case back."

Aitana paused to meet the man's look. "Am I that obvious?" Rossi wouldn't say it but his smile did. She sighed. "Oh God. I gotta work on my expressions around you people." Rossi patted her shoulder.

Shortly after, they were given the 'go' sign to start the broadcast.

Aitana originally thought she had trouble with the beach's strong winds but now she had the flashing lights of the cameras too. "At...at this moment it would be premature to comment on the details of the case. Our goal is to identify the recovered remains as quickly as possible for the families involved." She could hear the bumbling questions beginning to tumble out from a few reporters so she picked up her pace. "In order to expedite that, we're asking that the families or friends of people who went missing on the east coast of the United States since the year 2000 come forward. We'll be matching DNA to the remains, and it will be helpful for us to have a personal item from each of the missing persons. An article of clothing, a hairbrush, a blanket, a pillowcase, photographs or medical or dental records if you have them." She thought she heard someone's cellphone ring nearby them. "Um...we're also looking for items of significance to help us determine the last known whereabouts of each of the victims. Correspondence like letters or emails will be helpful." She would've stepped down as soon as she was done had it not been for the torpedo of questions thrown her way. It was hard to differentiate which question was coming from who but there were distinctive ones that soon stood out.

"Miss Serrano!"

"Agent Serrano," she corrected with a sharp look at the older reporter. "And I will not be taking any questions. None of the victims have been identified and that is where we will be focusing on until further notice. Thank you." She finally stepped down and left the officers deal with getting the group back behind the cautionary tape. She stopped by Hotch to make sure she'd done everything right. "What if he didn't see it?" she asked with decent concern.

"It's a risk we had to take," he said. "You did everything you were supposed to. Now we have to go back to the precinct to start dealing with the calls."

Aitana nodded. "Okay. I'll start gathering people for that too." She moved around to meet the others but noticed Morgan had gone off to the side again. "Oh, so it was his phone I heard," she said, unable to completely hide her annoyance.

"Be easy," Rossi said suddenly, gaining both her and Seaver's attention. "What?"

Aitana raised an eyebrow. "You know something us newbies don't."

Seaver agreed. " Morgan was telling me how difficult these cases can be. Who did he lose?"

Rossi shrugged. Why did things like this fall in his arms? With a sigh, he motioned the two agents to come closer. "Some years back, Morgan's cousin fled a stalker. She made it to South Carolina. She was never seen or heard from again."

"Was it the stalker?" asked Aitana.

"He killed himself 2 weeks later, so we never found out for sure. But Morgan's profile led straight to him. So whenever unidentified female remains turn up…"

"He gets that call," Seaver concluded much like Aitana had.

"Parents will do anything to believe their child is alive and well," Aitana said, "My parents tried to do that multiple times while I was in WPP. I can't imagine what his cousin's parents must feel, especially if they just saw this whole thing."

"Oh, I'm sure Morgan is getting to know that," Rossi said, eyes drifting over to the man still on the phone.

~0~

In a matter of hours, people had lined up at the precinct to discover if their lost loved ones were one of the victims they currently had as bones on tables. There was a long list. It was heartbreaking seeing so many missing people and yet it wasn't surprising. Aitana stepped into the bullpen to see the heavy crowd waiting anxiously to be called for an interview. As the liaison on the field, she had already talked to most of them and each story tugged more and more at her heart. She was glad to have reinforcements towards the end because she might not have made it.

"Alex Cottle, Beth Riley, Louise Jones," she called the trio of names and looked up to see three similar grim faces move forwards. "I'm Agent Serrano, I'll be talking to one of you while 2 of my colleagues take the other pair. Follow me please." She led the trio out of the bullpen, leaving one of the women with Seaver and the man with Morgan.

She sat down with the last woman, Louise, in one of the last family rooms. Just like she had with all the previous people, Aitana reintroduced what they were attempting to do. She went over the few public details of the case and the victims they had lined up to see if one of them could be whoever Louise was thinking of.

The woman seemed pretty sure of it. "We were working on a gene therapy project at Johns Hopkins when Samantha got the news. Parkinson's." She handed Aitana a photograph of a blonde woman.

"That must have been pretty rough on her," Aitana said. Samantha seemed happy in the picture ahe held.

"I was her best friend, and all I ever got was this postcard." Louise presented the postcard to Aitana who immediately took it to study. It was a simple card with no more than four lines as a message.

"'Weze, I'm not going back to school. There's nothing there for me. I need to find myself. Love, Sammy,'" Louise recited by memory.

Aitana had to wonder how many times Louise had reread the postcard since she'd received it. "Does this sound like her to you?"

"Not really, no," Louise shook her head. "She would have written a 12-page letter. But she addressed it to "Weze." She's the only one who called me that."

That was very specific. At first glance, if Samantha was a victim, the letter could've perhaps been forced by the Unsub. Gunpoint or any other sort of threat could've made it happened. Either way, the postcard could be a potential clue. "Can we keep this for further analysis?" She saw the clear hesitance in Louise's eyes. Of course she wouldn't want to part from the last thing Samantha supposedly sent her. "Please, you'll get it back, I promise."

Louise eventually agreed. "Okay."

"Did you happen to bring anything of hers that we could get DNA from?"

"Well, everyone on the project mapped their DNA into the database…"

"Great, I'll need that information." Aitana grabbed her clipboard and flipped to the last pages. She was making another list of each potential victim's information. So many lists, so many victims…

Later on when she walked Louise back to the bullpen, Aitana caught sight of Rossi doing the same interrogation but with Morgan. That could not be easy.

~0~

A few hours later Aitana would bring the picture of Samantha to their evidence board. It was bittersweet learning she was one of the victims. "Meet our first confirmed victim, Dr. Samantha Cormick." She turned away from the board to meet the team's gazes. "Since her DNA profile was already developed, we were able to save a couple of days. Based on where Samantha disappeared, we can start assuming that the unsub dumps here and hunts in Charleston."

"It's a tourist spot. Larger victim pool," Seaver reasoned.

"It's a 250-mile trip back here. It's a lot of exposure," Morgan said, leading Spencer to think ahead with his own findings from the bones.

"Torture takes time and privacy, and disarticulation is a mess. You know, he could have a mobile torture chamber in his truck or trailer," he said. He found in the first victim, a terrible disarticulation had been done to great extent. That kind of thing needed a lot of space.

"We've seen that before," Hotch agreed with him.

"Or maybe he doesn't drive at all," Rossi suggested. "He could do it all from his boat."

Morgan liked the idea. "Well, if he gets them on board in Charleston and sails them out here, he would have time for both. And nobody would even notice a fisherman tossing chum into the water."

"Well, let's see if our dear Garcia can help us." Aitana moved for the landline on the table. Poor Penelope had been going crazy trying to narrow down her search for the Unsub. Maybe now they could finally give her some useful details.

"Yello!" Penelope answered after the first ring.

"Hey Garcia, we've got more information about the unsub's boat," Aitana said, eyes flickering to Spencer. No doubt he already had the exact numbers for the dimensions of the torture room the unsub would need. "It might help you narrow your list."

"Ok. Bring it!"

Spencer moved around the table until he was closer to the phone. "Can you give us boats with cabins large enough to hide a torture chamber?"

"Torture chamber?" Penelope paused. The others could just imagine her shuddering. "'Cause that would, yeah, totally be listed in the manufacturer's specs of amenities."

"Try cabin dimensions. Start at 10 by 10 feet and cap it at 30!"

"That is totally gonna take forever 'cause I gotta go record by record. You are lucky I love you!" Penelope huffed. "Bye!"

"We need to go back to the families and see who else got a postcard," Hotch said as soon as the line went dead. "This might finally be a link to victimology."

Aitana went to grab her clipboard to go over the list with them again.

"Sending goodbye postcards as a ruse is a gamble," Seaver spoke up, "Even if written under duress, the victim could sneak their own message into it."

Spencer glanced at the post card on the evidence board. "I don't think this was written under duress." He walked up to the board to take the postcard off and really look at it up close. "You said Dr. Cormick wasn't taking medication for Parkinson's, right?"

"That's what Louise said," Aitana nodded.

"Yeah, but look at her handwriting." He turned around to show the team the postcard. The handwriting was perfectly neat. "No indication of tremors or shaking. There's a drug called trilamide. In minute doses it treats Parkinson's, but its main use is for seasickness."

"Something a fisherman would have access to," Morgan realized.

Spencer agreed and added, "And criminals in South America. Intel reports say they figured out a high dose makes the victim totally compliant. They slip it in your drink or blow the powder in your face and nasodermal absorption's almost immediate. You're instantaneously susceptible to any suggestion. There have been reports of locals letting thugs into their apartments to rob them, even helping them load the getaway trucks."

"So writing a four line postcard is child's play with that drug," Aitana's gaze fell over the postcard. Louise had been right all along. The postcard had something that only Samantha would say but the overall feel to it was like it didn't even belong to Samantha at all.

~ 0 ~

Within a day, the team had gathered up four more postcards confirming the same amount of victims. They were going through the unfortunate four victims' family extensively. When Aitana finished with her round, she felt herself mentally exhausted like she never had before.

"Hey," Seaver found her on her way to the conference room. "You guys done?"

Aitana nodded. "Rossi's talking to Morgan. I thought it was better that way. What about you?"

Seaver had gone off to talk to the local fishermen about the Unsub. She unfortunately had nothing to report. "They haven't seen anybody like our Unsub."

"Great," Aitana mumbled. She pulled the conference room door open and led Seaver inside. "How's the linguistic profile?" She asked of Spencer who was deep in work by the table.

"Nothing truly significant," he said, "And you?"

Both Aitana and Seaver shook their heads.

"No fishermen saw anything," Seaver said.

"And nobody was suspicious about a postcard written in the victims' handwriting," Aitana added. "Why would they?" She sank down into an empty chair. "I swear, why did this have to happen by the beach again? Beaches are supposed to be fun. Dipping your feet into the water, having sweet coconuts, building sand castles—"

"You do realize that beaches are magnets for bacteria, right?" Spencer interrupted her.

She deadpanned him. "Don't ruin my beaches, Dr. Reid."

"I'm just saying," he raised his hands quickly. "Beach sand contains more fecal bacteria than the seawater. In fact, sand itself is just more dirty than the waters."

"Didn't I just say not to ruin it? I'm pretty sure I just said that."

Spencer scrunched his face. "Sorry."

"Have you ever gone to the beach?"

"I feel like you already know the answer…"

Seaver couldn't help her fit of laughter. "Oh, Reid…"

Aitana was, of course, not surprised at all that he never went to the beach. "You need to go to the beach," she declared.

The idea seemed to horrify Spencer, judging by his wide eyes. "Do you know how many pathogens there are on a beach?"

"Do you know how much fun it is going to the beach? Volleyball, sand castles, swimming — need I go on?" Aitana thought she made a pretty good argument.

"Sand everywhere, salty water and sunburns?" Spencer shook his head. "I'll pass."

Aitana could not believe her ears and yet at the same time, because it was him, she did. "You haven't been to the right ones."

"All beaches are the same, Aitana."

"No they're not. You have to visit a fun one. These American ones…" she made a weak gesture, crinkling her nose, "They're not it. You want fun beaches? Go to Mexico."

"Cancun?" Seaver made the presumption with curiosity. It grew when Aitana shook her head.

"That's a popular tourist spot that is deserving of its reputation but I'm talking about slightly lesser known ones. I get the best, and biggest, coconuts, temporary tattoos, my hair braided, and so much more!"

"But it's still just a beach," Spencer remarked, earning another deadpan from Aitana.

"If you say that one more time, I'm going to hit you."

For some reason, Spencer found himself smiling against the threat.

The only thing that saved him was Hotch's and Morgan's hasty entry into the room. They may have figured out a new angle for their profile which solidified their overall profile.

~0~

While the team delivered the profile, Aitana set herself aside to handle any lingering victim's family wanting to know more information. Now that more victims had been confirmed, it was harder to contain their questions. Aitana didn't want anyone listening in on the profile. There was just one person who managed to grab her attention and mostly because she refused to step out.

"Ma'am, I'm really sorry but you need to follow the others to the family room," Aitana tried gesturing her towards the group, even wanting to lead her there, but the woman refused.

"I know one of your agents," she said much too certain to be a lie.

Aitana paused and studied the woman. "I'm sorry? Who—"

"Derek Morgan — he's my nephew and I really need to speak with him!"

It all clicked for Aitana at that moment. The woman had to be the mother of Morgan's missing cousin. "Oh."

"Please, I really need to talk to him," the woman said.

Aitana knew there was no way the woman would leave on her own. "Yes, okay," she sighed. "But my team is in the middle of a...presentation…" She supposed that would be the simplest explanation for a civilian. "You'll have to wait until Agent Morgan can come speak to you."

The woman dutifully nodded. "Yes, I understand."

"Okay, follow me." Aitana turned to lead her back to the bullpen. She really hoped they were done with the profile but, unfortunately, they were not.

"...until he finds another spot in the ocean to replace this one…" Morgan trailed off when he spotted his aunt beside Aitana.

Aitana could only apologetically smile for bringing his aunt at a time like this. She walked a few steps forwards to meet Morgan because there was no way he was going to continue with the profile with his aunt around.

"I am so sorry," Aitana spoke hushed and quick when Morgan met her. "She said she was with your aunt and she didn't want to leave—"

"It's fine," he told her. He knew exactly how his aunt could be. "I should've expected it. I'll handle it."

"Sorry," Aitana still felt the urge to apologize to him when he walked off to meet his aunt.

~0~

Talking to his aunt seemed like the right thing to happen because it gave the team a whole new angle to look the case from. If Morgan's cousin was really their last victim, it changed the entire way the unsub was abducting the victims. His cousin wouldn't willingly go on a boat which left the land transit as the only other way.

"You know, if the unsub's abducting in transit, how can he cover it up?" Aitana asked the group. "Everything leaves a trace. Buses, trains, whatever."

"I felt like we were close with the charter idea," Rossi said, exchanging glances with Seaver who'd helped pitch the idea earlier. "Maybe he doesn't abduct them off a boat."

"What means of transportation doesn't issue a ticket in advance?" Seaver then asked.

"Passenger trains," Hotch answered with his first thought. "A conductor can hand-write a ticket once you're already on board."

"Actually, most of the smaller stations aren't even manned," Seaver said, "You have to buy tickets on board.

"You know, the train is a concept that attracts people who are trying to start over," Spencer said, "The appeal of escape, of romance."

"So if he's a conductor, he's in a target-rich environment," Aitana said with a horrified face. It was basically a free for all for that guy.

Foreman knocked lightly before coming into the room. "Agent Hotchner, my men pulled a body out of the water. Agent Morgan's at the autopsy now."

The unsub was accelerating the time between victims—what's more is that it appeared he was indeed in the ocean like Aitana had originally feared.

~ 0 ~

With the new victim, Morgan and Spencer were able to deduce that the victim had been a father. It meant that now the unsub was left with the man's child. Time was of true essence! Luckily, Penelope came through quickly.

"I'm getting it now, baby girl." Morgan was right in front of the fax machine watching said paper slide out agonizingly slow. The others watched him yank it off the machine to see the photograph of a man. "That's our victim." It was a direct match to the body he and Spencer had seen earlier.

"My beautiful SSA Derek Morgan, you deserve a raise," Penelope hummed. "Gary Rhymer of Virginia just got full custody after his wife failed drug test number 3."

"So who's the child?" Hotch asked. They had nothing on the child and it was concerning.

"His name is James. He's 15. Enrolled to start school next week in Mount Pleasant, which is east of Charleston," Penelope explained. "Looks like Gary has a sister there."

"How about how their way of traveling?" Spencer curiously asked. They had yet to confirm any specific way their victims had travelled.

" No. Sorry, babe, there's no record of that."

"Just like the others," Seaver said.

Aitana walked into the room looking weary. She had just done another round through the families for the new details they were discovering. "None of the family members could confirm a train line for us. What do we do now? Rule it out?"

"No…" Rossi seemed to be thinking of something the others had not yet caught up with. "There's one person we haven't asked."

"Who?" asked Morgan.

"Your aunt."

As quick as Morgan wanted to shut the idea down, the logical side of him knew it was a fair idea. He would have to talk to her again.

~0~

In half an hour, Penelope had the lucky train line to help narrow down the search even more. "James took the train 3 summers in a row during his parents' divorce. His aunt from South Carolina bought the tickets, filled out the unaccompanied minor paperwork, which is why it didn't show up in my search!"

"And the train line?" Morgan asked, fingers tapping against his side while he waited for the answer.

"Surf Rider," Penelope answered fast. "It makes stops in Jacksonville, Charleston, and Miami."

"Cross-reference your list of boat owners with railroad employees," instructed Hotch.

"Okay!" Penelope would have results in a short minute. "I got a hit on a last name. Chuck Wells, local fisherman, son Blake, conductor on the line. And there it is. He didn't show up for work this week."

"Is there a current address?"

"No. Only a boat in the dad's name, which moved to Norfolk in 2000 when the mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. She died a few months later."

That helped put more puzzle pieces together.

"Dad walked out and the unsub had to punish him for that," Rossi said.

"James doesn't fit the victimology," Spencer cut in, "It doesn't make sense the unsub would take him."

"He picked up on a father-son relationship that reminded him of his own," Morgan reasoned logically given what they had just learned. "What he didn't count on was Gary fighting for James' life."

"How do we know the unsub hasn't already killed James?" Seaver regretted to ask but it was something that had been gnawing at her head for a while now.

"So far he's only punished people who've abandoned their responsibilities. But that's exactly what James is to him now, a responsibility," Rossi explained.

"The unsub's gonna get angrier and angrier at that kid, and when he does, he's gonna become more like his father." Morgan had to wonder if the kid had already figured that out based on what happened earlier.

"Maybe we should start manning the shoreline again…" Aitana felt sick to her stomach saying those words. Even her old wound may have taken an extra jab. It was how they had found the father after all.

Unfortunately, given the new unique situation the unsub now found himself in, Hotch thought it a good idea. As repulsive as it was, they needed to be ready for anything that could happen.

~ 0 ~

"Garcia narrowed the unsub's history with his dad down to two locations," Morgan came back to the group after a long, one-on-one conversation with Penelope. "Seaside pier, which is where Chuck Wells used to dock his boat."

Foreman had joined the group after they disclosed their recent findings. "All the locals do. It's the cheapest spot to tie off," he said.

"She also mentioned a cannery on St. John's River."

"That place went out of business last year. It's abandoned."

That seemed like a ringer already.

"According to Garcia, the dad brought his catch there while the unsub worked the floor. Started at 16, which is roughly the same age as James."

"All right, we'll split up," Hotch decided. "Morgan, you take one SWAT team and go to the cannery. Detective Foreman and I will take the other and we'll go to the docks."

"We can be in both locations in 5 minutes," Foreman told the pair. His gaze then fell on the remaining agents not forming part of their plan.

"We'll man the station, don't worry," said Rossi when he caught on. Foreman offered him a small smile before taking off to gather the other needed officers.

"I'll head to the beach again," Aitana said. "Seaver can stay with the families...if that's alright?"

Seaver nodded. "Of course."

"You want some back up too?" Spencer thought to ask but Aitana shook her head at him.

"Don't worry, Spencer, I wouldn't want you to have to go back to the sandy pathogens," she said with a bemused smile.

He scrunched his face when he concluded that he didn't really have a way to make a comeback for that one. She hadn't even said it rudely and it was for that same reason that he was out of words. He was used to having to defend himself that the one time someone didn't go down that route, he had no idea how to respond.

Aitana laughed to herself and turned to leave. At least she would have something funny to remember while she was out by the ocean waiting for a child's corpse that may or may not appear. A shuddering reality.

~ 0 ~

Morgan and his side of the team would be the ones to find Blake at the dock. It took every part of Morgan not to fire at the man for holding the fifteen year old boy with a knife at his throat. "He's just a kid, Blake. And you don't hurt kids." Whether it was true or not, they had yet to find any evidence against it in their investigation so Morgan would use it as an advantage.

Blake was twitchy, no doubt disoriented from his recent killing spree. "You have no idea who I am."

"I know that you're a smart man. You had a long run at killing under the radar. But I also know that we can learn a lot from a man like you. See, studying men like you is my responsibility. And I'm telling you, if you let James go, we can be a part of your life. We won't abandon you, Blake." And that was essentially was Blake was summed down to.

"What makes you think I want to teach you?" sneered Blake.

"Look at your alternative, man. My guys are ready." Morgan had a full flock of armed men and women ready to take aim as soon as he gave the sign. Blake wasn't stupid at all. He would get the idea. "They will take the shot and they will kill you. What happens after that, Blake? Do you really think you're gonna get to see your mom again? Or maybe it'll just be cold...dark, empty. Like the water where you put your dad. It's your choice, man."

Blake deliberated for a couple minutes. Morgan paid attention to the man's white knuckles gripping the knife against the teenager's neck. Any sudden movement and he would give the 'go' sign.

Luckily, Blake gave in.

The only step afterwards was to finally give the victims' families closure. For Morgan, it was a lot more personal given the unconfirmed fifth victim. He played it entirely like an agent would and even though Blake saw through it for one second, he still fell for the trap. It just left Morgan with the same questions as before. He would probably never find out what happened to his cousin. But just because he would never know didn't mean his aunt would have to live with the same burden.

~ 0 ~

Aitana wanted to make sure that the beach was clear of any evidence of what happened. It was the least she could do for the neighborhood and the victims themselves. They deserve proper burials. She started as many procedures for each of the victims to be returned to the families.

"Serrano?" Hotch startled her in the tent where most of the victims bones were in the process of being bagged.

She turned around and came a few steps away from the fifth victim's remains. "Do we still know who this last one is?"

Hotch shook his head. "No."

So it wasn't Morgan's cousin, Aitana felt for Morgan and his aunt. It had to be rattling not knowing what happened to the poor girl. "Well, I'll see to it that the bones get sent to a cemetery anyways."

"That's not really part of your duties," Hotch said as a reminder and not reprimanding for taking on tasks that weren't part of her normal assignments. He already knew what she attempted to do, after all.

"I know," Aitana agreed. "But I need to do it. For sheer human decency."

"Right." Hotch wouldn't push her. She wasn't the first agent to come back after their first injury from an Unsub. He would just do what he could from his end to help the transition. "I need to postpone your evaluation."

Aitana blinked in surprise. "What? Again? But I'm good—"

"It's me," Hotch clarified. "I have some things to do for Strauss, so...you get some more time to think about where you would like to go if you prefer to leave the BAU."

"Right…" Aitana cleared her throat, "Um, well, I'll think."

"We're heading out in a couple minutes," Hotch said after a moment. It was ironic that he couldn't tell whether or not she was inclined to stay. It was a bit refreshing.

"Aitana?" Spencer poked his head into the tent. "You called?"

Aitana cleared her throat again. She nodded fast then turned for the table. "I'll be done soon, Hotch, I promise."

"Please," the man said sternly. As much leeway as he wanted to offer her, they were on a schedule to get back home. He turned to leave and warned Spencer as well they had about 15 minutes.

"Sorry, I just wanted to see if you could add anything else for this victim." Aitana had moved to their unidentified victim's bones. "I'm trying to see if we could leave the preliminary profile for the precinct and they can hopefully match it to a missing person case."

"I'm pretty sure they would do that on their own," Spencer said and Aitana nearly cut him off to make her case.

"I know but I want to help before we leave," she spoke rather quickly. It earned her a full study from him in return. She sighed. "I know it's not part of my job, I just...you don't have to say it. I know what I'm doing and I will fix it in the next case. Right now, can you please just help me?"

"Of course." Spencer sincerely hoped she was being honest because she really couldn't afford to do this with every case of theirs. She would never be finished and worst of all, it would bury her.

He offered her and her report as much he could to help her out. She handed the report to Foreman herself with the desire for him to finish the last piece of the case.

Aitana was quiet when they stepped out of the tent. "Thanks." Maybe their work would be futile but at least she tried.

"No problem but, um, if you ever want to talk — it doesn't have to be me — you can always find someone in the team." He may be overstepping but it was better to do so than let Aitana get swallowed up by her problems. He knew what that felt like.

"I know you guys don't believe me but I'm good. I have a bad scar but I'm good."

"It's just...I had a friend many years ago who was badly hurt by an unsub, almost to the point of death, and she said she was fine but she wasn't. She ended up leaving the BAU after it got to be too much." It was odd bringing up Elle after so many years of radio silence from her. Even when Penelope was shot he didn't really think about it as much as he had with Aitana. Of course at that time Emily was still around with no possible implication of her dying too. But, in all honesty, what right did he have dumping this on Aitana now? It was his problem, his way of thinking. He had the responsibility to figure it out and move on.

And so it was especially difficult to hear Aitana apologizing to him.

"I'm sorry about your friend," she said. "Do you still talk to her?"

"No," he shook his head. "The day she left is the day we lost contact with her."

"Oh…" Aitana didn't know what to say then. It had to be horrible losing a friend like that. A part of her felt actual guilt because this superficial incident apparently brought up deeper feelings for Spencer. "But there are big differences here. My injury is just a scar now. I wasn't close to death at any point. But you want to know why I'm okay?" Spencer nodded. "Because I have gone through much worse. I was in the middle of a massacre. I survived but I still lost two years of my life because of it. Then I had to work on reintegration. Coming back from that was ten times harder than it was coming back from this. I don't know if it's good or bad but this is pretty much how I felt it."

"It does make sense," Spencer admitted. He hadn't thought about her previous life in WPP. Of course those 2 years would seem like hell for her. "I'm sorry. It's really my problem—"

"Like you said, it does make sense," Aitana shrugged her shoulders. "No need to explain anything. Sometimes we can't help but to think a certain way and you, my friend, happen to think a lot."

They shared a small laugh.

"The only thing I guess I do have to admit is why I worked extra hard on this case, but I'm sure you guys already figured that out."

Spencer nodded. "Your first case back after being out for a while?"

"Yeah," Aitana scrunched her face. "I may have to talk to Hotch more because he pushed back my evaluation again."

"If you're being honest, he'll see it and you guys will get to sit down to talk."

Aitana hummed. She started heading out, prompting Spencer to follow. "C'mon, we should go before they leave us."

"Garcia would be on them if they did," Spencer's response had Aitana laughing.

"I can see it, but maybe it'll give me an extra day to actually enjoy this sight — look at it!" She had turned to face the ocean now boasting a beautiful red sky as the sun was close to setting. "I get the feeling Penelope would agree with me here." She sent Spencer a specific glance for his words from before.

"Seriously," he began, his hands sliding into his pockets, "If you only knew about the never-ending — and drug resistant — bacteria spread by seagull feces, you'd see my point."

"I really doubt that," she said with a small laugh. "I'll give you a point for the seagulls, though, because they're so damn annoying. I understand that what you're saying is true. I'm sorry if I came across as me being dismissive—that was never my intention—but just hear me out."

Because she somehow found a way to make things so casual and even playful over something the others would have definitely passed over, Spencer motioned her to make her point. He was fairly interested in seeing her do it.

"I hear your 'sand everywhere, salty water and sunburns' and I raise you sandcastles, riding on a stupid banana boat waiting to get thrown off, and a nice umbrella keeping you completely safe from the sun." Aitana waited with her palms turned up in a 'what do you think?' gesture.

Spencer nodded, acknowledging each of her alternatives but he couldn't hide the disdain for each one of them. "Yeah, no…" he shook his head in the end. "I heard 'sand in your pants, crashing into people as you're thrown from what has to be a boat that hasn't been disinfected in ages, and an umbrella waiting to fall on you'."

Aitana couldn't believe her ears. "Unbelievable. How dare you turn my family vacations into that?" She turned away from the ocean to head back to the car.

"I can't believe you never thought about it," Spencer followed her. He had plenty of more alternatives if she was still unconvinced about the terrible place that were beaches.

"Don't talk to me for the rest of the ride back!" Aitana warned him then threw out something about "beach hater" that just made Spencer laugh.

A/N:

P.S. As always, I have an AO3/Wattpad account under "noblecrescent" and a tumblr account under "saiilorstars" if you'd like to follow!