Amalya Youssef Dawoud Hanna; born December of 1975 in Cairo Egypt to Vivian Thompson and Youssef Hanna. She didn't have any recollection of her birth mother, since the woman left when Amalya was around six months old, and never looked back. Her father had made sure he provided the best life he could for her, and his best friend's – Youssef – wife, Thuraya, was the mother Amalya always knew. When Youssef passed away unexpectedly when she was six; Thuraya and Youssef took her in full time. She'd grown up calling Thuraya 'Mom', and a few months after her father passed away, she started calling Youssef 'Dad' as well.
The couple never made her feel like she wasn't theirs; their respective families welcoming her with open arms and to their kids, she was simply their cousin.
And since the quest to find a girl a suitable man to settle down with is more or less the same in every culture; as soon as she finished college, relatives, friends, acquaintances, friends of the family tried to find her someone who – from their perspective – was a good fit for her. She'd given it a try a couple of times, but with her job, it didn't work. She'd taken the idea out of her head completely when she started hunting Sokolov; it was the only time in her life when she didn't follow her father's advice and spent every waking moment trying to take him down.
She'd had her moments when someone would catch her eye, and the men she'd entered into relationships with were more than easy on the eyes. But never in her life had she ever had a sex dream about any of them. The only times she ever did were usually of some famous actor or something like that, never someone she knew personally, and most definitely never her own boss!
Her hands were still tangled in her own hair as she stared at the ceiling of her bedroom, her conscious mind trying to make sense of what her subconscious just did. Where did that come from? She wondered, as she slowly sat up in her bed, her eyes looking around her room, as her hands moved down her body to check that she still had her clothes – and most importantly her underwear – on.
Was she expecting to find him? She chastised herself when she realized she was scanning the room for signs of him. The man had never set foot in her apartment; he didn't even know her address!
But you know his, and the dream was in his apartment not yours! A voice reminded her, and she groaned loudly as she threw the covers off of her, and headed for the bathroom.
Twenty minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her torso, and grabbed her phone off the nightstand. She headed for her closet as she fumbled with the phone in search of the specific number, as she pulled a clean pair of underwear and a bra. She hit the dial button, and the speaker button before she put the phone onto the vanity as she pulled the underwear on.
"Morning." The woman's voice filtered through the speaker phone, just as Amalya ditched the towel and was starting to put on the bra.
"I. Am. Going. To. Kill. You!" Amalya enunciated, as she adjusted the bra, then realized that it was the same bra from the day before – just different color – and her whole body shuddered at the memory of how the dream made her feel.
"What did I do?" the woman countered.
"Am I on speaker?" Amalya checked.
"No, and I'm home alone, so…." she told her.
"You put it in my head that Hotch has the hots for me, and now…." she paused as she pulled the white shirt over her head, "now, my damned subconscious is hallucinating." Amalya shrieked as she tried hard to shove the images from her head.
"What?" the woman laughed, "did you have a sex dream about him or something?" she quipped, and Amalya simply glared at the phone as she pulled her pants up. The woman roared with laughter when she was only met with silence, realizing that she'd hit her target spot on.
"It's not funny, Nora!" Amalya grumbled in protest, as she clipped her gun and baton to her belt.
"I beg to differ." Nora – her cousin – squealed with laughter.
"How the hell am I gonna be able to look him in the eye?" Amalya's protests continued, as she gathered her things, and headed for the door, her cousin's laughter growing louder with each protest.
"Just make sure you don't end up alone with him somewhere where you can act it out, and you'll be fine." Nora teased.
"This is your doing!" Amalya pointed out, as she climbed into her car.
"Oh, no, you don't. I pointed out his feelings! That should've made you dream about him confessing his feelings, or something," Nora objected, "not the two of you going at it!"
"I have to work with him, Nora!" Amalya reminded her.
"Unless you slept with him for real, I don't see what your problem is!" Nora shot back.
"My problem is all I will see whenever I look at him is…." Amalya trailed off, and Nora roared with laughter once more.
"Nora!" Amalya called in frustration.
"Alright; all joking aside. If it was just a sex dream, why are you freaking out about it? It's not like you guys really slept together," Nora started, "he can't read minds, and you have one of the best poker faces I know. So why are you freaking out?" she wondered, "stop thinking about it, and it will simply be forgotten."
"It's not that simple." Amalya pointed out, as she pulled into her spot at Quantico.
"Why not? Unless you actually feel something for him too." Nora alluded.
"Don't be ridiculous!" Amalya was quick to answer… a little too quick she realized.
"Then stop making a hill out of a mole!" Nora shot back, just as Amalya reached the elevator, and found Hotch inside.
"Morning, Hotch." She greeted, loud enough for her cousin to hear her.
"Are you two alone in that elevator?" Nora teased.
"Nora!" Amalya hissed.
"I'll take that as a yes. Just remember that there are probably cameras, and it's not really a good idea to give the security guard a re-run of your dream last night." Nora tantalized.
"It's my fault for telling you anything!" she said through gritted teeth.
"Talk to you later, cos!" Nora laughed.
Amalya was thanking her lucky stars that Hotch didn't speak a word of Arabic, because she was sure some of Nora's words were loud enough for him to hear.
"Everything ok?" he asked, and Amalya nodded.
"Yeah, just some friendly banter between cousins." She dismissed, but he wasn't convinced. Something was off about her; he just couldn't put his finger on it.
But as luck would have it; he didn't get a chance to dwell on it much, since a case stood leaps and bounds above the rest, and demanded their immediate attention.
A copycat of one of Rossi's old cases.
"Morgan, Emily and Amalya go to the ME's office, we need to compare rituals and MO. Rossi, Reid and I will interview the families, and go over the messages." Hotch assigned them, and Amalya nodded.
"Rossi, what's in the box?" Morgan wondered, as he looked at the box Rossi came in carrying, and had brought onto the plane with them.
Rossi looked over at the box, his eyes portraying just how much the case haunted him. "Evil." Was his simple answer. His eyes met Amalya's and an idea came to him. "Hotch, if you don't mind, I'd like to Amalya to look over the old cases. She's fresh eyes, she might see something I didn't back then." He suggested, and Hotch nodded.
Once they were in the station, Amalya settled on the couch in the room they gave them, put her earphones in and started to study nine years' worth of Butcher cases.
Hotch found himself looking over at her more than once during the case; she seemed to be in her own world, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about her. He wasn't sure what made him so sure, since nothing was obvious about the way she was acting. She'd gone up to get coffee a few times, but otherwise, she was enthralled by the files. She asked for Rossi's case notes at one point, and the autopsies of the new victims, as well as transcripts of both the old and new messages the victims left behind. But aside from that, she hardly said a word.
"You wanna hold back the profile based on a feeling?" Hotch asked Rossi, at the dump site for the latest victim.
"Amalya is still looking over the old cases, maybe she found something I missed." Rossi hoped, he knew it in his bones that the Butcher was involved.
Hotch and Rossi went back to the precinct, and headed to the room Amalya and the rest of the team were waiting in. They found her standing up, and stretching out her arms.
"Am, are you done with the files?" Rossi asked, as soon as they walked in.
"I think the Butcher's involved, I'm just not sure about the 'how'." She told them, and Rossi looked over at Hotch.
"Did you read Rossi's original profile?" Hotch wondered.
"Yeah, a narcissist who worked alone." She sighed, "but if he's in his seventies, a partner would be a necessity. But there are too many similar nuances for this to be a simple copycat." She continued.
"But the signature is missing, and he's too compulsive to deviate." Morgan interjected.
"It may not be a deviation; it could be a timing thing." She told them.
"How do you mean?" Emily asked her.
"Those killings could simply be dry-runs for the partner to make sure he's the right fit, so he's not laying out all the cards on the table just yet. So, in case he's not the right one, his involvement isn't known. He knows the lack of the signature would have law enforcement leaning more towards a copycat. Especially with the old detectives passing away, and the retirement of the third. And it's possible he didn't count on the fact that Rossi could get involved." She elaborated.
"So, you two think we should hold off on the profile?" Hotch inquired.
"Yes" and "No" came from Rossi and her respectively. "We'll work both theories just in case Rossi and I are wrong; deliver the profile and we'll try to find some evidence to back up our theory." She explained.
She and Rossi stood with the team as they delivered the profile, but they didn't participate. Rossi was lost inside his own head, while she was looking over the crime scene report from the last victim.
"Agent Rossi, has the Butcher come out of hiding?" one of the officers wondered, and that made her and Rossi snap out of their respective trances.
"We think this is the work of two of his fans, and that they are going to strike again." Hotch quickly answered. He didn't want the veteran profiler to be caught in a lie.
She and Rossi retired to a room away from the rest of the team, as they tried to find some proof to back up their theory.
"I think if we figure out why he stopped for all those years, and suddenly decided to take a partner now, it will help us find the connection." Amalya suggested.
"The pressure got too intense back then, if he'd continued, he would be risking getting caught." Rossi told her.
"Okay, but why wait this long? Why not pick it back up in five years?" she wondered.
"Like you said, the original detectives were still around, and I was easily accessible; it's still too risky."
"Then why not two years ago?"
"He needed to train his partner," Rossi answered simply.
"But wouldn't we find high risk victims with at least one component of the ritual? Some of the marks on the newer victims show hesitation, like these are his first." She pointed out.
"It's not easy finding a partner who would be completely submissive; he needed to break down any ounce of resistance he might possess." Rossi told her.
"So, what if the years of hiatus weren't because of the detectives, but rather because of that?" she wondered.
"What do you mean?" he asked her.
"What if those years were years of training; of subduing his partner to make sure he carries out his fantasy and not one of his own? That he took the partner when he was younger – during his informative years – and spent all this time molding him? Like a prodigy?!" she thought out loud.
And just like that; the pieces slid into place with Rossi.
He took her face between his hands, and planted a smacking kiss on her cheek. "You're a genius!" he told her, before he stormed out of the room.
She quickly followed him to where the rest of the team was, and saw him wipe out all the possible relationships except for the 'father/son' one.
"This is what it is." He told them.
"A father/son partnership?" Hotch wondered.
"Wait, an older alpha with a younger submissive?" Reid added.
"It's very rare for sexual sadism to be an inherited trait, that's why we ruled it out." Emily told him.
"What if he created his partner and groomed him? He would be in complete control and have his trust?" Rossi suggested.
"And it would explain how the Butcher is able to abduct women; he's older, so appears harmless but the son lies in wait." Morgan agreed.
"The Butcher has a child, I never profiled that." Rossi told them.
"It would also explain the gap; back then his son was just a kid." Amalya pointed out.
Just then the lead detective came in with a message from their latest victim.
"I enjoyed it; that's his signature." Rossi stated darkly after listening to the recording, "it's him."
The case had finally come to a close, and they were packing up their files. And much to Amalya chagrin; she hadn't forgotten about her dream, nor was she able to shake the feeling that Hotch would be able to read it all over her face. She was following Rossi out of the station, as she continued to try and scrub the dream from her memory, when Lee Mullins's voice as he called Rossi's name froze the blood in her veins.
It took a lot to get that reaction out of her, but the way he called Rossi's name was reminiscent of his former self, and it didn't sound human at all.
"I remember you," he told him, and they both watched him stare blankly at the wall ahead of him. "In the end you're the reason I stopped." He added.
Back on the plane, Hotch and Rossi sat opposite each other, with Morgan next to Rossi, and Reid next to Hotch. She and Emily took the couch as they all appreciated the fine scotch Rossi had poured for them.
"I have to ask; how did you reach the father/son conclusion?" Hotch wondered.
"It was something Amalya said about why he stopped for years," he started, before he relayed what their thought process was.
"You were right to want her to look over the old cases," Morgan told Rossi, knowing that the veteran profiler was feeling a bit guilty for not catching Mullins sooner.
"And he's the reason Mullins stopped in 93." Amalya told them.
"How do you know?" Emily asked her.
"Mullins remembered him; he told him he's the reason he stopped." She recalled.
"But now he gets to forget it all; while the families never will." Rossi repeated his statement from before.
"He's getting locked up for however many years he still has left, and he wont even remember why. Isn't that enough?" Amalya wondered.
"I guess, I mean you thought the absence of his signature was some genius maneuver on his part to throw off law enforcement, when it was simply because his brain wasn't all there." Rossi shrugged.
"I think if he had been in full possession of his faculties, he would have been that cunning once he started killing again." She told him.
"You think he would've gone back to killing if he didn't have Alzheimer's?" Morgan wondered.
"I know so." Rossi answered him.
Once they landed, they all drove back to Quantico except for Rossi who went straight home.
"Hey, how was the case?" JJ asked as they filed out of the elevator.
"Be glad you missed it!" Morgan told her.
"I hate to do this to you guys, but your case loads are on your desks." She told them sheepishly, and they groaned collectively. "Regret saving my job yet?" she teased Amalya.
"Never!" was called back collectively as well.
Hotch saw Amalya eyeing the bullpen. "Look who needs to be dragged away now?" he quipped, and she chuckled.
"Yes, yes, have your fun," she joked, "but I don't exactly have anywhere important to be tonight, so if I choose to finish the paperwork, that's my prerogative. You, however, are going home." She said matter-of-factly.
"Oh, come on, Am. You'll make us all look bad if you do that." Emily whined.
"Don't worry, I won't. I'll just grab a few of the files, and head back out." She assured her, as she used her back to push the door open, and headed for her desk.
"Does she seem off to anybody else?" Morgan commented.
"Yeah, she's not herself today." Emily agreed, and Hotch was glad he wasn't the only one who noticed, though he didn't let on that he did.
Hotch went over to Haley's parents' house to pick up Jack, and was waiting inside until his son got his things together. He was lost inside his own head trying to figure out what was off about Amalya; she was fine the night before, dancing and laughing. Could it have been something he said? Could it be that she noticed anything on his part? But what was there to notice?
He held her pretty close for the slow song, and she was damned good at reading him; did she see something in his eyes? Did he make her uncomfortable somehow?
But no, that can't be it. She was joking with him minutes ago like nothing was amiss. So, what was it?!
"Aaron," Haley called, and he snapped out of his trance.
"Sorry, did you say something?" he apologized.
"Are you ok? You're about to burn a hole into the hardwood with your eyes." She quipped, and he chuckled.
"Yeah, sorry, I spaced out for a minute." He told her.
"Penny for your thoughts." She encouraged him.
"Something's been off about Amalya all day, but she says she's fine." He told her.
Haley had to bite the inside of her cheek to hide her amusement. "Maybe the case hit her hard?" she suggested, but he shook his head.
"No, it started out before the case. She was fine last night, but this morning, she wasn't." He told her.
"Maybe it has something to do with her family back home," she offered.
"It could be." He said, though he wasn't too convinced.
Haley was about to push him further on the subject when Jack came barreling down the stairs.
"Daddy!" the little boy squealed, as he launched himself at his father.
Hotch genuinely smiled at the sight of his son, and caught him with ease. "Hey, buddy." He hugged, taking a minute to appreciate the strength of his son's arms around his neck, before allowing the boy to pull back.
"Did you catch the bad guy?" Jack asked, a bit of a ritual now with them.
"Yes, I did."
"Did Amaya help?" Jack inquired, and Hotch's heart skipped a beat at the mention of her name from his son. The boy did really love her. Would he be open to her becoming more than just a colleague then? The thought entered unwelcomed into his mind, and he was quick to shove it aside.
"Yes, she did." Hotch affirmed. "Say good night to Mommy, so we can go." Hotch told his son.
"Good night, mommy." He hugged Haley.
"Good night, baby." She hugged him back, and kissed his cheek. "Don't give Daddy too much trouble, ok?" she reminded her son.
"Wasn't it 'any trouble'?" Hotch joked.
Haley did the 'so-so' gesture with her hand, while shrugging her shoulders. "A little trouble won't hurt." She teased.
"Good night, Haley."
"Good night, Aaron."
Haley watched them both walk to Hotch's car, as Jack excitedly told his father about his day and what he missed since his last sleepover. She couldn't deny the change in Hotch, the effort he was putting in with his son and to spend time with him as much as he could.
She closed the door after they drove off with one final wave to Jack, and turned around to find her sister, Jessica, standing at the bottom of the stairs.
"He lights up at the mention of her name," Jessica commented, and Haley chuckled. "I've never met her, but even Jack is absolutely smitten with her." She added.
"Yeah, Aaron will deny it to his dying breath, but he's starting to have feelings for her." Haley concurred, as she walked over to her.
"Starting?!" Jessica repeated in disbelief, as both sisters turned around and headed up the stairs.
"No, I mean something beyond a simple attraction, or infatuation. But it won't be easy for him to admit it to himself, let alone to her." Haley sighed.
"I would pay good money to watch them together." Jessica mused, and Haley laughed.
"She was there for Jack's birthday," Haley reminded her, but Jessica shook her head.
"The day was crazy, Haley. There were twenty kids, and their parents. I didn't pay much attention." Jessica recalled.
"And whose fault is that?" Haley teased.