This story is a slightly altered universe. There are 3 things that are different.
1) JJ never cared what the team thought, she and Will became an item and he moved up to DC for her.
2) They never had kids
3) Everything else did happen
4) This takes place in the middle of S16/CME 1. The difference is there is no Voit or Bailey. (If that doesn't make sense to you, that is okay and also you should either buy the Season on DVD and watch it, or get yourself some heavy binge time with Paramount + to watch it, because it's FABULOUS!)
Here are the important parts you need to know for this story:
1) I am obsessed with the people who use various sexual kinks for healing purposes. I don't understand it at all and yet I am absolutely fascinated by it, because usually those people were abused by that same kink in the past.
2) I have MASSIVE amounts of respect for the writers and creators of this show, and I do not mean them any disrespect by writing this. If for some very odd reason one of them stumbles across this, know that I am just enjoying the world you created and I thank you for doing so.
3) I'm not good at writing, so my grammar and spelling are sometimes VERY off. I've edited this story a gazillion times so far, changed the plot at least 3 times and I am still finding mistakes. Please just roll with it as best you can.
4) This is still a work in progress and I have several key life events coming up. There will be delays in updating.
5) Thank you for reading
Penelope sighed as she knocked on Emily's door, waiting to be told to come in. "That is a very sad face," Emily remarked once Penelope entered.
"You're not going to like this," Penelope replied.
"Oh come on, yesterday we dealt with trauma therapy and all kinds of kinks and fetishes, how bad could today possibly be after an overload of that kind of information?" Emily asked trying to joke around a little bit and lighten the mood.
"You're going to be very sorry you said that," Penelope told her and she handed over additional files. "Will, JJ, and Tara are at the hospital. Victim number eight was dropped off at the station about hour ago. Unresponsive, but alive. Welts everywhere and I mean everywhere. Business card stapled in places that have no business having staples and this card belongs to Oliver Wright. Will called JJ to meet him at the hospital, Tara was with her when she got the call, and went along. I'm been tasked with finding out what you need me to do to assist everyone further," she said.
Emily sighed and nodded. "You're right. I do regret it. Where are Rossi and Alvez?"
"Office and desk respectively," she said.
"Good. You stay in touch with Will, JJ, and Tara. Send the new doctor information to Rossi and Alvez. I will go ask them to speak with the new guy and then to follow up with the other dentists for their grievance lists," she sighed. "Maybe, we can stop this unsub from getting to victim number nine," she sighed. Penelope gave a brief salute and then headed off while Emily grabbed Luke and brought him with her to Rossi's office. "Victim number eight. I don't have all the details yet, Tara is working on getting them for us. Would you two kindly go talk to the new dentist? Penelope is sending you the address now, and then if you would kindly find our dental friends from yesterday and get those grievance lists, that would be great."
"New dentist," Dave sighed. "Okay, let's see if we can find a pattern. Where was the card stapled to the latest victim?" Rossi asked.
"I haven't looked properly yet, but apparently no where Penelope wanted to share with me," Emily said.
"Which could be anywhere at all," Rossi sighe,..l;d. "Got the keys?" he asked Luke and Luke nodded.
"Check in is in two hours please," Emily called after them and with that, everyone was on their way to do some digging. Emily went to the kitchenette, got herself a very strong cup of coffee, went back to her office, and just as she sat down her phone rang, with a number she didn't really recognize. "Prentiss," she answered.
"My apologies ma'am, I will mess up your title. I got your contact information from Doctor Lauren Page. You're the lady in charge of all the agents with the FBI, and you're looking up a dental case correct?" a voice asked.
"That is correct, who am I speaking with?"
"Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry. My name is Victoria Lansing, I'm the caretaker, so to speak, for Mackenzie Lansing? I believe you wanted to meet and talk with her."
"Yes Mrs. Lansing, that is correct."
"Please, Victoria," she said.
"And I am Emily. How can we go about setting up what I call an interview, which is really just a discussion. Our goal is just to have Mackenzie give us details. Doctor Page explained she can be a bit fragile at times. I don't want her to have to come to this building and be intimidated by all the grey and drab and seriousness around her," Emily said.
"So, I don't know if it can be done in our home. She's usually much more comfortable there," Victoria said.
"I will make sure that's where we talk to her. The sooner we do, the faster we get it over with and I'm sure you'd all like that."
"We would, and it's one of the reasons I'm calling. She's not speaking. To anyone. Even us. We want to help. I know deep down she wants to be rid of this demon in her life. Effective around four p.m. yesterday though, she stopped talking."
"Let's try from a different angle then. Doctor Page said she can write to express herself."
"She can, her arms were not affected by the novocaine, just her jaw and her legs," Victoria said.
"Then myself and another agent can meet with you, at your house, where she is most comfortable. You can be in the room with us, and we can go over everything that needs to be communicated," Emily said, wanting to make sure everyone was fully aware of what was going to happen. Mackenzie was traumatized, and Emily didn't want to make that trauma any worse than she knew it would be. Drudging up the past was always painful. "We can also have Doctor Page with us if Mackenzie likes," Emily offered.
"No, it's okay, Doctor Lauren was called away on an emergency. I got a text, right before I called you. As long as I can be with her it should be ok," Victoria said and Emily could hear the sadness and tension in her voice.
"Of course. What time would be good for you?" she asked her.
"Can we try for one?" she asked and then gave the address.
"Yes, one o'clock. I will see you then. Thank you Mrs. Lansing," she said and they disconnected. She hung up the phone and thought for a few moments, before wandering down to the tech room. "Penelope, I need your help," she said.
"What's up Boss Lady?" she smiled.
"I need to go see Mackenzie Lansing and I'd like for you to come with me," she said.
"Nooo," Penelope started and Emily sighed, fully aware that might be the response. "She's so little. I'll make her self conscious," she said.
"Maybe. You could also remind me that there are easy ways of being kind and gentle that I might forget in the moment. You are also the sweetest person I think I've ever met, the kindest one on our team, you won't accidentally swear, and she might warm up to you faster than me, get me answers to my questions and then we can catch the psycho doing this, who apparently isn't stopping," Emily said.
"Isn't stopping? I don't know about a number nine," Penelope said furrowing her brow.
"No, I'm sorry, I was only referring to number eight," she said.
"Whose name is Hazel Corklin, she's in surgery now, and Dr. McCord is keeping Lewis up to date about her condition."
"Surgery?"
"Staple removal, a mild concussion, a deep wound on her inner thigh and a few fractured ribs," Penelope said.
Emily took a very deep breath and looked pleadingly at Penelope. "I don't want to beg, but it is not beneath me. Please come with me?" she asked.
"Fine," she sighed.
"In fact, before we go, I will make sure I get you lunch and no talk of awful things," Emily smiled.
"You are the best boss ever," Penelope told her.
Will was pacing the floor, afraid to sit down when a nurse found him and handed him some scrubs. "Officer," she said. "We had four assists last week from a car crash, they pinned their shield to the pants, and tightened the knot," she said kindly.
"Thank you ma'am," he said and took the scrubs with him into the bathroom to change.
"You look terrified, so I'm going to remind you that Will is okay," Tara said, seeing the look on JJ's face.
"It was a lot of blood."
"Heads bleed a lot, and your husband is a hero for helping her to not bleed out from the gash on her thigh, although I don't know if the gash is that big or deep. I didn't hear those specifics," she said honestly.
"You'd think with everything we see, all the time, so often, I'd be okay with knowing it's someone else's blood, but I'm not. Not even a little bit," she sighed.
"Repeat after me. My husband is not bleeding. He is wearing Hazel Corklin's blood," Tara said and JJ took a breath, ready to repeat the statement, which was when Will emerged in his navy scrubs and JJ relaxed visibly. Tara turned to see him and smiled. "You two are meant for each other," she grinned.
The three of them were going over the pros and cons of sticking around and waiting for a report on Hazel when someone came out looking for them. "Agent Lewis!" she called and Tara turned around.
"Yes," all three answered quickly and the woman got closer.
"Agent, Doctor McCord sent me with an update. My name is doctor Olivia Cortez. The gash on her head, had glass in it, so we removed the glass, sewed up the wound and she'll have stitches that need to be monitored. Her leg was simply sliced, but I don't know exactly by what. The edges are very smooth, so it looks like it was a scalpel. The staples have been removed, and the area around them has been treated with antibiotics for safety. We also gave her a tetanus shot, just to be extra cautious. Her chest has been wrapped to help stabilize her ribs, but she's going to be in a lot of pain for a while. We are doing our best to flush her body of the novocaine that is in it, and keep the sedative in her system so she can rest and heal. It's a very tight balancing act right now. The welts are starting to come down slightly, but she's still very swollen. You said a dentist did this to her?"
"We're still investigating," Tara answered kindly.
"It was someone with access to novocaine, but clearly the person does not know what they are doing," JJ offered and the woman nodded her understanding.
"Well I don't know how much novocaine was put in her system, or how fast, or for how long, but she definitely needs assistance. Will I be calling you, doctor Page, social services, or all three?" Olivia asked.
"Let's start with doctor Page. We are working with her already on what might be a previously connected cold case. She'll keep us aware of what's going on," Tara said and JJ and Will nodded their agreements.
"Very well. If you are going to stick around, doctor McCord should be finishing shortly and we will be moving Hazel to recovery. If you have nothing else you need from me, I will have doctor Page updated on Hazel's condition every so often and let her know to keep you updated too," Olivia offered.
"Thank you, that'd be great," Tara smiled.
"Also, I see your badge, you're the officer who came in with Hazel?" she asked.
"That would be me," Will said.
"This is for you," she said handing him a sealed biohazard bag with a business card in it. "This is what we removed. Doctor McCord said you'd probably want it, and I'm also to ask if you want the glass too?" she questioned.
"Please," he said. "I'll wait out here for it," he told her. "I don't think we'd even get a partial print on it, but you never know, so it's worth a shot," Will explained.
"Please wait here, I'll be back shortly," she told him and she returned back to doctor McCord to get the glass as well.
"I'll hang around here and give you updates when I get them. You two go back and see what more you can put together," he suggested.
"I'm not leaving. One of us should be here when Hazel wakes up in recovery. We ask different questions," JJ offered.
"I will leave the two of you to wait. Keep me posted," Tara said and with that she went back to the office.
"I have done all the digging I can possibly do and there is absolutely no connection to any fetish or kink that this dentist might have. I have scoured every nook and cranny I can get my hands on," Penelope said.
"Thank you Penelope," Dave said and then he hung up and looked at Luke. "A normal dentist, who'd have thought?" he smirked.
"We haven't met him yet and you haven't defined normal," Luke pointed out.
"Well then, let's go." Dave and Luke got out of the car and walked in to Doctor Wright's office. Stepping in they saw a relaxed waiting area, with a television in it, a fish tank, and some magazines laid out on a coffee table.
"Can I help you gentlemen?" the receptionist offered.
"Yes, we're with the FBI, conducting an investigation about some patients who were given fatally high doses of novocaine. Is this the office of Doctor Oliver Wright?" Dave asked.
"Yes, it is, how can we help?" she asked.
"If it's possible, we'd like to talk directly to the doctor Wright," Luke offered.
"He is finishing up with a patient at the moment. You're welcome to wait. I can also try and answer some questions for you, if you like," she offered.
"We can do both. Thank you. Let's start with any patients you may have who are unhappy with the doctor and looking to blame him for something."
"That could be anyone," she said.
"Why is that?" Luke asked.
"Lawyers, Accountants and Doctors are in the top ten most hated professions. Some people lump doctor and dentist together," she answered.
"Fair," Dave answered, "what about this practice specifically?"
"We're a medium sized practice. I don't think anyone truly hates us, or at least doctor Wright enough to frame him for anything," she offered. "We had one potential patient last week, who was just shopping around she said. She took a business card and left, but the whole time she was here, she was mad. No matter what I said or did, she was just angry. Stormed out of here and slammed all the doors she could along the way."
"Did you get a name?" Dave pressed.
"She didn't give one, no."
"Do you have security footage?" Luke asked pointing to the camera behind him.
"She was in here last week, I don't know if it's still on there," she said honestly.
"I can correct that right now," he smiled and pulled out his phone to call Penelope. "Garcia. Are you in the high tech room?"
"No, Prentiss took me for lunch and no talk of awful things," she said.
"I will make it up to you and double if I have to. I need you and your skills, faster than you can even imagine," he said.
"Hold on," she sighed and she stood up to leave.
"Hey! No awful, remember?" Emily reminded her.
"Come on, you should hear this too I'm sure," she said and they both went into the high tech room. "Okay, go," she said.
"Doctor Wright's security footage. A woman from last week, angry, we need a visual on her somehow."
"And you can't be any more specific than that?" Penelope asked him. "I mean come on. A date, a time, a vague description, something," she said.
"Hold on, let me put you on speaker," he said. "Okay Garcia, this is Helen, she'll tell you what you need," he said.
"Hi Helen. Do you have a date and time of this woman?" she asked.
"It was sometime last week."
"Think about who you saw right before the woman and how crowded your office was," Dave encouraged as he watched her wrack her brain to help out. She clearly didn't mind helping, she just wasn't focused enough to remember details in the moment.
"Oh, yes, okay." She flipped through her appointment book and looked down the days. Finding two particularly busy ones. "Wednesday and Thursday, last week, around three p.m. Both were chaotic," Helen offered.
"Very good," Penelope answered and they heard her clicking away before she began speaking. "Helen, if you would direct your attention to the screen in front of you, you'll see everything we need you to see. We'll go ten minutes on either side of three o'clock and you tell me when you see this woman," Penelope said.
"You don't all hack in, all the time do you?" she asked worriedly.
"Never! This is only for emergencies, as we are looking to find someone who is apparently causing a lot of physical damage to people," Dave assured her.
"Okay Miss Helen, we are starting at 2:50p.m. on Wednesday," Penelope announced and Dave and Luke watched as poor Helen chewed at her lip, looking for the right person. "Nothing on Wednesday?" Penelope asked kindly.
"No, I'm so sorry, I just. I don't want to be wrong," she said worriedly.
"That is okay Helen, let us check Thursday," Penelope said kindly, cuing up the video and within seconds of hitting play Helen recognized her.
"Her! She's the one," Helen exclaimed and they all watched as the woman got more and more aggressive with her body language toward Helen.
"Thank you very much," Dave said. "Thanks Garcia," he added toward the phone. "You can give Helen her computer back. We have what we need," he said.
"Have a nice day Helen," Penelope said and she hung up the phone, only to have Tara startle both her and Emily as she entered the room.
"You're one person short. Where's JJ?" Emily asked.
"At the hospital, with Will, waiting for Hazel to come out of surgery and wake up in recovery," she answered. "Where do you need me to best assist?"
"Until Hazel wakes up, nothing, unless, you help me apologize to Garcia and come with me to talk to the Lansings," Emily said.
"Yes, do that, please," Penelope said. She'd been dreading going and Tara would be just as good, if not better. She would properly profile and notice things Penelope wouldn't even think about. "I'm not an out in the field person," Penelope said.
"You've been with us before," Emily said.
"I'm always caught off guard though, and I still need to do all my work from the computer. Take Tara, you'll get more information, I won't scare or shock or God forbid, belittle poor Mackenzie, and then you bring me back everything and I'll do all the clicking," she said.
"Okay, okay." Emily soothed her. "I will take Lewis. Will you kindly run that woman through facial recognition and then at least come back and finish lunch?" she asked. "We even have enough for Tara to join us," she said.
"Yes, that I will do, thank you," she said and the three of them headed to Emily's office to finish lunch.
"How prepared do I need to be?" Tara asked as they approached the house.
"I spoke with Mrs. Lansing earlier today. Mackenzie has gone mute as of four o'clock yesterday. This is going to be difficult, if it happens at all," Emily stated and she rang the doorbell.
Victoria answered the door with a smile and a small child on her hip, hanging on for dear life and trembling. "Can I help you?" she asked, sounding a bit frazzled.
"Agents Prentiss and Lewis, we're here to,"
"Oh God, yes, I'm sorry, come in come in, please have a seat. I lost track of time. Make yourselves comfortable, we'll be right back," she said and with that she took the small person out of the room and up the stairs, out of view.
She took Mackenzie into her bedroom and set her down on the bed, so they could have a conversation about what was about to happen. Mackenzie had other plans. "MOMMY!" Mackenzie finally screamed and Victoria sighed.
"Shhh Kenzie, I am right here," she said gently and she scooped her back up and cuddled with her in the glider that was in the corner of the bedroom.. They'd bought the glider at Mackenzie's request a month ago, so that when she chose to have story time with Wyatt or Victoria they could cuddle and read together. She liked the motion of it all and when she was this upset, it also helped to relax her. "You my sweet girl are freaking out and while that is okay, you haven't told me why. I can't explain anything to you, if I don't know what is scaring you?" she said gently.
"Mommy," Mackenzie said, with a lot less stress in her voice. She just needed to know Victoria had her and wasn't letting her go. She'd paid attention at breakfast. She'd heard Wyatt explain to her that the police were coming to ask her questions, to put the horrible person away. She heard all of it and it filled her with dread. When it was lunch time, her dread became a paralyzing fear and she refused to eat lunch. Instead she'd been holding on to Victoria for the past hour, simply whimpering and when the doorbell rang, that had sent her over the edge into hysterics.
"Kenzie, I know you had a super early morning and a rough one at that. I'm so sorry that your day has been this intense. Doctor James was nice though wasn't he? We went in and he gave you the bubblegum gas, so there were no needles, and then he filled your cavity, and you were super well behaved. I'm very proud of you," she told her and Mackenzie seemed to calm down. "So now there are very nice officers downstairs who want to help you. Well really they need your help to catch a bad guy. We need to go talk to them," Victoria said.
"Mommy," Mackenzie cried and Victoria felt her heart split in half. She and Wyatt had come to care for Mackenzie very much and being that she presented to the world as a six year old, with a large abusive past, it made her a special case and they did their best to handle things delicately.
"Yes, I am Mommy, and you are Kenzie, and we are going to take a deep breath and go downstairs and talk to the officers together, because they are here to help," she said, getting some of Wyatt's dominant tone to her voice. "Do you need one minute or three minutes?" she asked her. Mackenzie looked scared and then thoughtful. Victoria was giving her time. They were the only people to ever give her time and then stick by her after time was up.
"No," Mackenzie said and she glued herself to Victoria as tightly as she could and then went quiet.
"No? You don't want any time? You're ready to go down and answer the questions the nice police officers have for us?" she asked and Mackenzie nodded. "Okay, let's clean up your face a bit and go down together," she said and Mackenzie didn't budge. She made no attempt to do anything for herself. She just let Victoria do it all. Once she was cleaned up, Victoria carried her downstairs and into the room where Emily and Tara were waiting. "We are very sorry. Can I get either of you something to drink?" she asked.
"No. We don't want to take up too much time, thank you. We just want to talk to Mackenzie and ask her some questions," Tara said.
"Well she is here and ready, but I think we might need a pen and paper for communication," she said and Emily and Tara watched as Victoria became the kindest protective mother they'd ever seen. "What do you say Kenz, will you write for the agents please?" she asked her sweetly and Mackenzie shook her head no. "Kenzie they were nice enough to come see you here at home, so we need to be nice and answer their questions," she tried.
"No write Mommy," she answered softly.
"You're going to speak? I think that's very good. I'm very proud of you," she assured her, glad that the mute phase was apparently ending.
"Mackenzie, my name is Tara. What if we just sat down and while you talked, my friend Emily and I took some notes," she suggested.
"Emmy," Mackenzie said slowly looking at the woman who she was sure she recognized and was doubly sure she did not want to recognize. She'd seen her at the awful dentist the day before.
"Yes, that's me," Emily answered and Mackenzie had tears roll down her cheeks immediately and she held so tight to Victoria that she was starting to leave dents in her clothing. "Shhh, Mackenzie, it is okay. You remember me from yesterday don't you?" she asked gently and Mackenzie nodded. "Shhh, you're okay, let's start with this. I met Doctor Lauren Page yesterday. You know her right?" she asked and Mackenzie nodded. "She told me that this is your Mommy, is that right?"
"Es," she answered and it was so soft they almost missed it.
"You saw me yesterday didn't you?" Emily smiled, repeating her question kindly, doing her best to match Victoria's tone from earlier. Soft and slow seemed to be the best approach today and Emily was trying to respect that. She had to build rapport quickly. Mackenzie nodded again and Emily sat down on one of the chairs available, perching on the edge of the seat, looking at Victoria hoping she would copy the movement. Thankfully she did and they were now seated on the couch just next to the chair Emily was in. "You also saw my friend Luke yesterday. He's Tara's friend too. We all work together and we are trying to catch a bad person," she told her.
"Hur' me," she pushed out sadly as she continued to hold very tight to Victoria.
"Doctor Lauren told me a lot about what happened to you in the past and how you had a lot of bumps and bruises and were in a lot of pain when you she met you at the hospital," Emily said and Mackenzie started to relax slightly. Emily seemed to know things and she was being gentle and careful and making absolutely no move to sit with Mackenzie or to even take her from Victoria. She seemed trustworthy.
"Kenz, can Mommy shift you, so you can face Miss Emily better please?" Victoria interrupted and Mackenzie fussed a little bit, but Victoria was very gentle with her, explaining that if she sat facing her, she'd be more comfortable and Emily could read her lips if necessary. Poor Mackenzie was feeling so young and Victoria was walking a very fine line of balancing how to talk to her to keep her calm and not treat her like the terrified six year old she resembled which could potentially embarrass her or trigger her into a past memory that she didn't want to relive.
Tara watched and marveled at how well Victoria was doing. She seemed to know when she needed to intervene with conversation and explanations and when she could sit silently to just hold her little girl. Mackenzie reached her arms down to Victoria's and used them to wrap her own waist in comfort. She needed her Mommy to surround her as much as possible. It was both beautiful and sad, because it was a horrific case in general. Add that to the fact that Mackenzie resembled a child and it was even more distressing. Tara also kept in the forefront of her mind that Mackenzie was a person who'd been severely traumatized for sixteen years. Tara listened to everything Emily asked and focused more intently on everything Mackenzie offered and then Emily tried to go further.
"Mackenzie, Tara and I want to do what's called a 6cognitive interview. One of us will ask you questions about what was going on around you and you just have to see what you can remember. Maybe you smelled something funny, or you touched something that made a distinct impression upon you, or you heard a noise that was very specific to where you were. It's all about sensory perception," she told her.
"I go?" she asked, trembling immediately.
"No, you don't have to go anywhere. You can stay in your Mommy's arms, nice and safe, and just do your best to answer the questions. Tara is just going to ask you questions. Do you think you can try that for us?" she pressed carefully.
"Tah-wa," she answered softly.
"Okay," Tara smiled. "I'm going to sit here next to you and your Mommy and just ask you questions. Can you take a deep breath for me and close your eyes?" she prompted and Mackenzie looked first at Tara and then at Emily with fear.
"Mackenzie, I promise, the only person who is going to hold you for this is your Mommy," Emily assured her and with a shaky breath Mackenzie closed her eyes and Tara continued.
"That is great Mackenzie, let it out nice and slow for me. Just keep breathing in and out. I want you to try and remember where you were when all the novocaine happened," Tara prompted and Mackenzie went tense immediately. "You are safe with your Mommy Mackenzie, no one can hurt you. You are very well protected," she assured her and she waited for her body language to calm down. Once it did, Tara continued. "Tell me what you see Mackenzie. Where are you?"
"Woom," she said.
"Is it a very big room or a very small one?"
"Lellow," she said and she moved her hand as if she were touching a door or a wall.
"What's yellow?" Tara asked her. She was glad she was getting descriptive items, they just had to be a little more specific.
"Woom," she said and then she move her hand a little more.
"What's in front of you Mackenzie? What are you touching?"
"Door-wa," she said and then she started to panic, because as she remembered sliding her hand across the door, she noticed there was no knob. "Out! Out!" she said with panic in her voice and Tara spoke gently.
"Look around the room Mackenzie," Tara said.
"Lellow, no lellow," she whimpered.
"What else is in the room Mackenzie?" Tara pressed.
Mackenzie jumped and then calmed. "Tair," she cried. "B-ow-na. Sit," she pushed out. "In da midda. I sit." she said and her breathing was labored but she kept looking around the room and calling things out. "Ink," she said and then she flinched when the lamp above her head turned on. The lights were very bright and she felt a pair of arms lift her up. "NO! NO!" she screamed and she wiggled around in Victoria's lap trying to get away as she felt cuffs get buckled around her wrists, binding her to the brown chair to hold her down. She started to pant and Tara moved in front of her, to get her to focus.
"Mackenzie, it only looks like the scary room. You are with Mommy. You are very safe," Tara said and they all watched Mackenzie work to calm herself, which she did successfully. Tara took her own free breaths and then dropped her voice. "Mackenzie, I need you to look and tell me what you see in the room with you. Is anyone else in the room?" Tara pressed carefully. Neither Emily nor Tara were mothers, but watching Victoria's face, they knew that this was hard for her and they were trying to get their information and respect Mackenzie's limits all at the same time.
"Lay-ee," she said and panic registered on her face.
"Mackenzie you are safe with Mommy, the lady cannot hurt you. What does the lady look like?" Tara pressed.
"Tah, dah-k air, boo, no g'een eyeza," she babbled and then she screamed again and kicked a bit, trying to get away from the woman who was about to torture her. The woman was looming over Mackenzie and cuffing her ankles down to the chair. She kept talking about the AB Community and how they would love her and the woman would get an above average price for her.
"I will sell you to the highest bidder and with your condition, you'll fetch a lot of money," the woman said as she was about to jab the needle into Mackenzie again.
"Mackenzie, she can't hurt you, I am right here. Emily is right here and your Mommy is holding you. I need you to say more about the woman; what is she wearing?" Tara asked and Mackenzie saw the silver necklace with block lettering saying the woman's name.
"Ky-vee," she said and then she turned and saw the needle that was about to stab her in the thigh. "NO! NO!" she screamed and thrashed around for a minute.
"Shhh, Mackenzie, you're safe, you are okay, take a breath, try to breathe, are you still in the yellow room?" Tara asked.
Mackenzie took a breath, looked around and saw she was no longer in the yellow room, she was now outside a building where police cars seemed to be everywhere and she heard a man talking. "Shit, someone call a medic!" he yelled and he laid a gentle hand on her shoulder and carefully peeled the tape off her mouth, to reveal a business card on the other side.
"No woom," she said softly. "Ow-sigh," she said and then she started to breathe a little more normally. "Piece," she said and then she very slowly opened her eyes and Emily smiled at her.
"Mackenzie look around. You're in your house and you did so well, I am so proud of you," she praised.
"Mackenzie you did great, you told us a lot of helpful things," Tara praised her and she nodded, but turned in toward Victoria and held on tight.
"Mommy," she said softly.
"I'm right here love, and I'm proud of you too," she said.
"Tie Mumma," she whimpered.
"Do you want to go take a nap for a little while?" she asked gently, and Emily and Tara watched Mackenzie regress in front of their eyes which was both fascinating and devastating.
"No, Mumma," she said softly and hung on tightly.
"Let's see if Miss Tara and Miss Emily need anything more from us first and then we will go rest together okay?" Victoria asked gently and Mackenzie nodded, closed her eyes, put her head on Victoria's shoulder and fell very quiet.
"We don't need anything more at the moment. We're going to give you a card though and if you remember anything at all please call us," Emily said and with that she and Tara got back in the car and drove back to headquarters.
Will nodded and listened to his boss speak on about what the new set up was going to be. "Yes captain, I understand," he said and with that he hung up and looked at JJ who was still staring at the sleeping form in front of her. The patient in question was Hazel Corklin. She'd just finished surgery and no one was sure how her body was going to react. There was a very delicate balance of flushing her system of the novocaine overload and keeping her sedated so she could properly rest. All the welts had since reduced in size, so she wasn't completely swollen any longer, but she still looked dreadful. "Jayje," Will said softly once he hung up.
"Hmm?" she asked, not even turning to look at him.
"She's okay darlin', she's not going anywhere," he said and JJ smiled.
"I'm being too protective, aren't I?" she asked.
"No," he smiled. "You are staring though," he said.
"I just need her to know that people are here for her and we will help her along, and until she wakes up I can't tell her that, so I'm just stuck here, staring at her and hoping to inform her of all those things via telepathy," she sighed.
"And you're doing a great job," Will praised her. "Now, we have more information," he said and with those words he had JJ's full attention. "I am on Hazel watch, until the case is solved. She is my number one priority above all else and I am not to leave her side," he said.
"What if she doesn't want that?" JJ asked curiously.
"I don't think she has a choice in that at the moment, especially since she's sleeping, but let's see what kind of background we can get on her from Garcia, so that when she does wake up, we know how to proceed."
"I like the way you think," JJ grinned and she gave him a kiss, before calling Garcia.
"Talk to me my angel of music!" she answered. "Also, I have Prentiss and Lewis on the line, hold on," she said and patched them all together. "Go for JJ."
"Garcia, tell me about our latest victim please," JJ requested.
"Hazel Grace Corklin. Age nineteen. Emancipated at age thirteen and went to live with her paternal grandparents."
"Emancipated? Do we know why?" Emily asked
"Records indicate child abuse, sent to live with her paternal grandparents, where she suffered neglect it would seem. School seemed to be a safe haven with at least four good teachers, I'm glad those still exist," she paused. In all the awfulness of her job, she was glad to have tiny moments of good, and when it came in the form of case notes, it was even better. "She pushed through school with help, graduated high school at fifteen. Bachelors Degree at seventeen. She's been on her own since, and is working toward her Masters in medical science and biology. She lives in Maryland and works near DC. With all the videos I've been able to obtain, only one has given me a body of the unsub and it's just that, only a body, cloaked in all black. I don't even have a facial profile to attempt to work with," she said.
"Can you see what dropped her off?" Tara asked.
"It's a van and I have one partial plate digit, so it's not a lot to go on. Hold on," she said and then a few clicks later her voice returned. "Full team check in, Alvez and Rossi, go."
"This new dentist is just a new dentist. He has no connection to anything that might even remotely connect him to the previous two. He was just convenient, it would seem," Dave explained.
"His receptionist however was very helpful and gave us the information we needed of the most recent disgruntled patient," Luke added.
"Yes, I was able to find her," Garcia said. "One miss Kylie Danvers. She has a string of minor violations that have landed her in prison for no longer than a week at a time, because she manages to always make bail, or somehow get a sympathetic judge," she sighed.
"Kylie?" Prentiss asked, looking at Lewis as they paused at a red light.
"That's the name Mackenzie gave," Lewis added and so Penelope did her thing.
"Well, now you all have photos of her most recent mug shot on your tablets. What else?" Penelope asked.
"My captain has put me on Hazel duty," Will said. "I'm not to leave her side for any reason, because the captain feels she's a target and whoever didn't quite finish her off wants to," he explained.
"Garcia, cross check Mackenzie's initial tox screen with Hazel's and see if anything overlaps," Emily said. "We can all meet back and go over everything together," she said. "JJ, stay with Will. Whenever Hazel wakes up try to find similarities between her and Mackenzie. I'll have Garcia send you what Tara and I got out of her this afternoon."
"I expect she'll be sleeping a little while longer, so that'll be fine," JJ said and with that everyone disconnected.
"Your team thinks very loudly when they are all together," Will smiled at her.
"It's what we do best," JJ smiled. "I do wish Reid was here though. He's very good at connecting to someone of his same intelligence level and helping them along so we can get more information and solve the issue at hand."
"Don't sell yourself short," Will scolded her gently. Then he wrapped her in a hug, kissed her temple and squeezed her just a little bit tighter to him. "I'm going to get a coffee, you want?" he asked.
"Please," she smiled and didn't release the hug. It was nice to stand in it for a little while. Will gave her another kiss and then left the room to go get coffee. As soon as he stepped out a nurse stepped in and checked a few vitals, writing some things down on the chart. JJ watched and then her jaw fell when she realized that Hazel also appeared to resemble a very young girl, probably about age eight. She quickly pulled out her cell and called Penelope. "Hey, I need help," she said.
"Uh oh."
"No, this is what you're great at. I need stats. I know you said Hazel has a history of child abuse. Can you find out about that?" she asked.
"Can I find out about that? Did you forget who I am?"
"The oracle of the highest order," JJ smiled.
"Damn straight, okay, how much awful do you want?"
"Send me everything please. I think I have time to read," she said. "They are walking a very fine line of flushing novocaine and keeping her sedated, which sounds tricky, so I'll either have a lot of time to read, or none at all."
"Okay, sent, anything else?"
"When Prentiss and Lewis get back, tell them what I wanted and let them get up to speed with it please."
"Mama Bear," Penelope smiled. "And that's not a bad thing. Garcia out," she said and she hung up.
JJ sat down in a near by chair and began reading all the files Penelope sent and she felt slightly better for not feeling so crazy. Looking at Hazel, she was tiny, overly small it seemed. She looked more like a sleeping child, rather than a nineteen year old, and she had a hunch that the abuse she suffered for all those years as a child with her parents had stunted her growth, if nothing else. Will returned with two cups of coffee, took a seat next to her and she shared documents with him. "Where'd this come from?"
"Garcia helped me. Look at this though. She is very bright and it's a miracle she is, because her parents tortured her it seems, so I don't know how incredible her brain is to survive starvation and whatever other physical torture they did," she said.
"Hey, Mama Bear," Will said kindly and JJ rolled her eyes a little, but leaned her head on Will's shoulder. "We are here now, it's okay," he said.
"I know, and you are right, and also this is going to be a long road of recovery and I'm just trying to figure out how much of this recovery process any of us need to be involved in," she said.
"Mia, one thing at a time please. First, coffee," he said and she took a drink and looked at him. One look from her spoke volumes. "Fresh," he smiled at her. "All we need to focus on now, is keeping her safe until your team gets the unsub and you will, you always do. Breathe, it's going to be okay," he assured her and then they took a seat next to each other, holding hands while they read the medical documents and Hazel slept.
Several hours later, Will left to do his check in, and while he was gone, JJ paced the room. He wouldn't be gone too long, and as she paced a soft whimper was heard from the bed, so JJ turned, took a seat and spoke very gently as Hazel blinked her eyes open and tried to figure out where she was. She gasped at first and then flinched when she saw JJ. "Hazel, my name is Jennifer, I'm with the FBI," she said. "I'm here to help you and keep you safe," JJ told her and Hazel looked very unsure about that. "I'm going to get my badge and hand it to you, so you can look at it," she told her and very slowly she handed it over. Once Hazel looked it over and was satisfied, she painfully handed it back to JJ and tears sprung to her eyes. "You're okay, talk to me," JJ encouraged and Hazel just whimpered.
"Ow," she managed to squeak out and JJ nodded.
"I won't ask you to move to much," JJ said kindly. "Hazel, if you think you can handle things, and maybe remember some things you don't want to, I'd like to ask you some questions so we can get the person that did this to you. Can I ask you some questions?" she asked kindly and after a moment Hazel nodded. "Do you remember anything before waking up here?" she asked.
"A lay-ee," she said and the tears came a little faster as pain registered in her jaw. Her tongue felt swollen and she felt thirsty and her own speech made her sound like a toddler.
"Do you think if I showed you a picture of some ladies you could tell me who it was?" she asked gently as she reached for a cup of ice chips and Hazel nodded. "Well that's good, thank you for your help. Before we do that let's see if we can get you some of these ice chips," she said and she placed the cup gently in Hazel's hand and Hazel almost dropped it. "Whoa, oh, okay, okay, I'll help you. You're still waking up and there's a lot of drugs still flowing through your system, so we'll just go slowly. I will help you," JJ offered and she carefully tipped the cup to Hazel's lips and let some ice chips spill out.
Hazel took the chips and sucked slowly on them, so that she could take some time to herself and figure out what was going on. Everything still hurt her at the moment and now the FBI was here, so there was a lot of strange going on as far as she was concerned. She was just about ask for more ice chips when one of the machines let out a loud beep and Hazel screamed in pain, which brought two nurses running and JJ jumped out of the way, before they knocked her over. Hazel could barely communicate, everything hurt, but she decided to go with her gut and above all the chaos in the room, gathered all her strength to scream out one thing. "En-fer!" she screamed and JJ felt her heart break.
"What happened?" the nurse demanded.
"I gave her some ice chips, they said that was okay when she woke up," JJ said.
"EN-FER!" Hazel screamed again.
"Is that you?" the nurse asked and JJ nodded. "Over there, hold her hand for now, while we figure this out," she said and JJ moved into place and took Hazel's hand.
"Shhh, Hazel, I am right here, it's okay. You're okay. Try. Tell me why you're screaming. Shh-shh-shh, you're safe with me and safe in the hospital," she assured her and Hazel closed her eyes, squeezed her hand tight and tried to breathe as the nurses got everything settled and checked her numbers. Just as the chaos was calming down, Will returned and spoke softy.
"JJ," he started.
She looked up at him, shook her head no and he moved to the wall, out of the way, to stay quiet and wait. Something was going on, so he just had to be patient. "Okay Miss Hazel, my name is Tabitha and I am the charge nurse on this floor. You are my number one patient and I will let Jennifer stay with you, but you need to talk to me, so we can help you out. You've screamed. That usually indicates pain, can you tell me what hurts?" she asked and while she wasn't unkind, she definitely had a no-nonsense tone about her. Fifteen years on the job told JJ that was appropriate, but something inside her wanted to yell at the nurse for being so distant in a way. Maybe she was more of a Mama Bear than she wanted to admit.
Hazel worked her jaw and tried to talk to the nurse, but all that came out was gibberish and she couldn't seem to communicate at all, so she just squeezed JJ's hand tighter. Tabitha sighed and looked at the machine, while JJ studied Tabitha's badge and felt Hazel rolling toward her, seeming to want to get closer. The more that Hazel wiggled around, the pain in her ribs radiated and she worked hard not to whimper. "Nurse Tabitha, was it the ice chips that set her off?" JJ finally asked.
"I don't think so. Water is good, it will help and we knew it would be hard to keep her in the sedated anyway. That pain sounded like a muscle spasm to me, so I will be back in a little while, to draw new bloodwork and get that tested. It might be a mineral deficiency," she said. "Hazel, I do not mean to scare you. You can have Jennifer here with you as long as you like, as well as Officer LaMontagne, because I know he's been assigned to you. For now, try to rest and if you can, tell Jennifer any details about anything you might be able to remember," she said and with that she left, smiling at Will as she walked out the door.
"You didn't want to correct her to call you Agent Jaraeu?" he smiled and JJ just shook her head.
"He thinks he's funny," she smiled at Hazel. "Okay, let's make proper introductions and see if we can figure some things out together," she said and Hazel gripped her hand tighter. "I am right here Hazel, I promise, I am not leaving. We need to set up some ground rules though, okay? First a reminder. I said my name is Jennifer, and I heard you call it, so I'm really proud of you for remembering it. I know it sounded a bit funny, but I think that's the novocaine working it's way out of your system. For now, try JJ, it might be easier to say," she explained and Hazel nodded.
"Day-day," she tried.
"That is close enough, good job," JJ praised her. "Now can you try to tell me what had you screaming before?" she asked.
"Eye," she said very weakly pointing to herself and then she wiggled her foot.
"My foot?" JJ guessed and Hazel shook her head no, hissed and then rolled onto her side as best she could and JJ could see the spasm happening in her calf. "Oh your calf," she said. "Okay, hang on," she said, "I'm going to add pressure to help it stop," JJ told her and Hazel nodded her understanding. JJ carefully wrapped her hands around Hazel's calf and applied very steady pressure. Hazel hissed sharply and then the hissing stopped, followed by soft panting, and finally steady breathing. "Better?" she asked and Hazel nodded.
"Otter piece," Hazel pushed out carefully and JJ repeated it slowly to herself to get the gist of what Hazel was asking for. Will was doing the same and he kindly pointed out what she wanted, before JJ could figure it out.
"Water please?" Will asked and Hazel nodded. "Of course, and once you've had your water, JJ and I can explain who I am and what will happen next," Will said. He poured her a glass and helped her to drink it. She was going to attempt to do so on her own, but her arms were so weak that she wasn't able to hold anything, so she required help. Will kindly tipped the glass to her lips and helped her to drink however much she wanted.
In an hour, Will and JJ explained who they were and all the basic steps that were going to happen in the hospital, so that they could help Hazel and she could know exactly what was going on. She was incredibly intelligent, so she understood everything they explained to her. She was also very small, and all of her recovery was exhausting. Their explanation also left her concerned, because she was fully aware that she didn't really have anyone to rely on. However, by the time they finished the explanation, all JJ and Will saw was a very exhausted young woman. "I'm sorry if we are overwhelming you Hazel," Will said honestly.
Hazel managed a strangled noise and JJ gave her a moment before she continued on. "Do you think, you could look at some photos and see if any of them are the lady you remember?" JJ asked and Hazel nodded yes. JJ pulled out her tablet, and slowly scrolled through each photo, studying Hazel's reaction. When she landed on Kylie Danvers, Hazel visibly recoiled and mouthed something unintelligible, which was when Tabitha chose to return and Hazel started to panic.
"No, no, come here. Remember? I am here to protect you. JJ is here to protect you. I know JJ has to call her team and let them know you know who the bad guy is and I know Nurse Tabitha needs to do bloodwork. I will hold your hand, or even you the entire time," Will offered and Hazel nodded and rolled to her side, trying to get to Will and whimpered in pain. Her ribs were sore, and movement of any kind caused a rippling pain to move through her entire torso.
"Just don't tangle her lines and she can stay in your arms, safe and protected the whole time," Tabitha said kindly as she went about preparing to draw her bloodwork.
"Hazel, I will be right back. I'm just stepping outside the room to call my team," JJ said.
"What'd you find JJ?" Emily asked as Penelope put her on speaker.
"Kylie Danvers. She visibly recoiled at the photo," JJ said.
"How is she doing otherwise?" Tara asked kindly. Having met Mackenzie, she was now concerned about Hazel's mental health and well being.
"She's having trouble talking. The novocaine seems pretty powerful, or she had too much. She's also twitching slightly, looks like muscle spasm," JJ said.
"Anything like that match the tox screen?" Emily asked Penelope.
"She might have a sensitivity to epinephrin, which is usually in novocaine. The amount in her blood though, it should have damaged her heart, and there is nothing wrong there," she said.
"You can get it without epinephrin, so if Danvers has any kind of medical background, she might know about that," Tara offered.
"Garcia, get us everything on Danvers. Everything"
"What she ate for breakfast last month, got it," Garcia said and she started clicking away. A soft beep was heard and Emily very quickly added Dave and Luke to the group call.
"Rossi, what'd you find?" she asked.
"We got the grievance list from Doctor James. He also helpfully provided a list of three very demanding clients, and then he mentioned that he was going to be out of town for the weekend, for a seminar," Dave said.
"What's the seminar?" Tara asked.
"An expo of varying fetishes, and he's going to inform them that he can help if they have dentistry needs," Luke offered. "It is either the same or very similar to the convention that doctor Page talked about," he said.
"Rossi, JJ, was anything off about this Doctor James?" Tara asked.
"I didn't think so. Apart from the fact that the receptionist thought I was Rossi's little girl," JJ said and Penelope smiled as did Tara. Rossi always gave off lovely, fatherly vibes.
"JJ's right, he was calm, kind, and genuinely horrified about the stapling part," Rossi said and Emily nodded her understanding.
"Send Garcia the list of names and we'll see you and Luke when you get back here. JJ, stay with Will and Hazel. Check in every two hours please," she said.
"You got it," she answered and she left the call.
JJ returned to the room and smiled when she saw Hazel in Will's arms. She paused for a moment, thinking her husband somehow looked very sexy as he worked on calming Hazel. "Hazel, it is okay. Miss Tabitha is almost finished," he said watching as Tabitha finished drawing the blood she wanted. Once that was done, Hazel went stone still, and looked at the wall, breathing heavily and JJ saw her slip into a panic attack.
"Hazel, it's JJ, look at me and find my voice," she said moving in front of Hazel immediately. "Breathe in, breathe out," she said and she made her voice, gentle and rhythmic and finally Hazel's eyes found her. "Good job Hazel, keep breathing. Breathe with me. In. Out," JJ said as she coached her to calm down and once Hazel was calm, she broke down into tears. "It is okay Hazel," she said and Hazel leaned forward and reached for JJ, whimpering as her torso rattled. JJ took her into her arms and hugged her. "You're okay Hazel, I promise," she assured her. She kept her close and Hazel seemed to hang on and was not willing to let go. Once JJ understood that, she stopped trying to pry Hazel off of her and worked on calming both Hazel and herself. Once everything was calm JJ sat down on the bed and gently pet Hazel's face. "Should we try resting?" she asked kindly.
"Day-day," she said softly.
"Yes, Hazel and JJ. I will stay with you," JJ assured her and without any prompting or forethought, Hazel put her head on JJ's shoulder and closed her eyes. She was exhausted, but at least she was in the arms of very kind people. She was sure of it.
After a few minutes Will spoke up. "This is strange, but you look very sexy like that," he offered and JJ smiled. "I'm going to help you to sit back and be more comfortable though," he said and carefully helped her.
"Thank you," she said and thought for a moment. "I thought the same thing about you before," she said honestly.
"Do we have a game plan for the rest of the day?" he asked.
"For me, I'm checking in, every two hours and I'm studying as much as I can. Maybe you can ask Tabitha about discharge. We don't know how long Hazel has to stay, but I don't want her released to anyone's custody except ours," JJ said protectively.
"She's legal, she doesn't need to be in anyone's custody," Will smiled, speaking kindly. He could see JJ falling for this human form of a tortured puppy who needed care and healing.
"You know what I mean," she said and he nodded and kissed her temple.
"I will go find out and be back shortly," he promised and with that he left the room.
"Day-day," a soft voice said and JJ simply smiled, speaking very softly.
"Hmmm?"
"I taked?" she asked.
"You took something?" JJ asked her and Hazel shook her head no and pushed back a bit, to try and look at JJ and JJ could see the frustration and pain in her eyes. "Hey, hey, breathe, it's okay. We will figure this out. Your speech is going to take some time to return to normal, because of all the drugs that were pumped through you. You're still quite swollen. I promise you that I will answer any question you have, as many as you have and if I don't know the answer, I will get it for you. Right now though, I really think you should sleep, or at least rest. You look exhausted and your body needs time to recover," JJ offered kindly, glad that Hazel stayed in her arms and didn't pull away, even though, based on her micro expressions she was not at all happy with what JJ was telling her. "Let's start with some facts okay? Basic things that you and I will come to agree upon," she said and Hazel nodded. "Fact one, you have been injured, by brute force but also a great deal of novocaine, so we need to have the doctors help us get that out of your system. It is why you have this IV drip. Fact two, your mouth and tongue are still very swollen and it's going to take time for them to return to normal. Fact three, Will went to find out how your discharge will work and fact four is that Will and I are going to protect you. Do you agree to all these facts?" she asked.
"Es," she said simply.
"Very good, so then, you asked me to stay with you, here in the bed, and I will. I also need for you to go back to resting and know that when I have more facts you will have more facts and if you don't understand anything I will help you. I am also going to find a way for you to better communicate, because I can see by your face you don't like your own speech," she said kindly.
"Nye-tee, no bay-ee," she said with a pout.
"You are speaking as someone who had a great deal of novocaine forcably injected into their body by someone who did not know what they were doing. It doesn't make you a baby, it makes you the victim of a crime. One that my team and I plan on stopping," JJ explained.
"Ooooh s'ay?" she questioned and JJ thought for a second.
"I will stay, yes, with you," she said. "Will you go back to resting please?" she asked and Hazel nodded, leaned against JJ and went back to resting. It did not take long for her to pass out against her protector and that was what Will saw when he returned. He put a finger to his lips and JJ stayed quiet.
Will however pulled out his phone and texted a note to her. "Tabitha says once the bloodwork comes back and that IV drip is gone, then she can be released. We will be getting wound care instructions because she did have some surgery with the staple removal, and personally, I'd love it if you asked Emily to be assigned as Hazel's body guard. She trusts you, which is a huge deal," he said and JJ nodded her agreement.
Once she read everything carefully, she texted a smiley emoji back to her husband and then began typing away. "Please call Emily, tell her we are getting Hazel released to our custody once she wakes up and the drip finishes. Also, have Garcia look at all the records for Hazel, and ask her to order us some supplies, clothes, underwear, shoes." He nodded, leaned in, gave JJ a kiss, and then left her and Hazel to rest quietly, closing the door behind him. JJ sighed and rubbed Hazel's back in long loving strokes. This was going to be a monster of a case to handle logistically, but right right now she was just going to sit with Hazel and provide her some level of comfort.