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
The team had gotten a text from Emily, asking everyone to meet her in the round room, to brief over their next assignment. They all slowly filed into the room and looked at each other with confusion. "Garcia, did you get anything yet?" Dave asked.
"No," she said taking a seat with her laptop. "It's getting more rare these days, but it does happen. Hotch and JJ used to get cases before me all the time," she said.
"Yes, but technology has improved, now you usually get them," Tara pointed out.
"And then Prentiss and I go over everything, to figure out which one might be best suited for a massive team effort," Penelope agreed. "It's always better that way, because I prepare the file, send you all out with tablets and then you aren't going in blind and neither am I. I don't like sending my family out blind," she said.
"And as your family, we appreciate that," Dave said and sat down next to her with a cup of coffee. "This is the job though kids, we've been in a groove for a while, so someone, somewhere, has decided to shake things up. Now we prove to the brass, why they come to us," he continued.
"You don't think we're under investigation again, do you?" Luke asked.
"We're always under investigation," JJ sighed and Penelope took her hand in comfort.
"Yeah, but we keep proving why we are the best," Luke pointed out proudly and everyone agreed, as Emily was heard coming down the hallway.
"Good news and bad news gang," Emily announced walking into the round room and she was very quickly followed by Will. "The bad news is, it appears there is a serial sadist on the run and they have just taken their third victim," she said. "The good news is we are getting help from Metro PD."
"A serial sadist sounds very vague. Are we missing details?" Luke asked.
"It's why I'm here to fill you in," Will added. "This is also unprofessional, but, hello," he said taking a seat next to JJ, and forcing himself not to kiss her and she did the same.
"Being that she's your wife, I think we can over look a minor unprofessional greeting," Dave smiled.
"In that case," Will said and gave her a sweet, quick, kiss and everyone awed a little bit. "Moving on," Will said, taking a heavy sigh. "Three months ago, Troy Sullivan was found outside the police station, with a business card for a local dentist, stapled to his forehead. He was dead before we found him. His toxicology report showed levels of novocaine in his system that were well above normal. Six months before that, Anthony Shelvon was found, slumped outside the station, with a dental card stapled to his shoulder. He was unresponsive, and died in route to the hospital, where his toxicology report showed high levels of novocaine in his blood. Six months prior to that we found Mackenzie Sheppard, also dropped outside the station. She was barely responsive, and she also had a dental card, this one stapled to her leg. Miraculously, she lived. Her toxicology report showed high levels of novocaine, and there were swollen welts all along the outside of her jaw line. The social workers at the hospital helped her through rehab and our tech guy says he thinks she's still alive, but if she doesn't want to be found, we aren't going to push her into being found," Will said.
"So, three people, in a year, dropped outside the police station," Dave mused. "You're being taunted," he said.
"We are," Will agreed, "and the chief is getting pissed. Each individual case hasn't been solved but now there are all these connections to each other. He sent me here to ask for your help to stop a serial sadist," Will said.
"Who is one body away from a serial killer," Luke said.
"Penelope, sit with Will, get all the information you can on Mackenzie Sheppard to start. Dave, JJ, I want you to study the toxicology reports on the two deceased victims, and see where the overlapping connections lie with Mackenzie. Somehow, she lived, which makes her the link we need to start connecting the cases," Emily said. "Tara, head down to the hospital, and see if you can speak to the doctors who will remember the latest victim, and then try to work backward from there. Luke, you and I will head to that dental office, to see if we can get anything out of him," Emily said.
"Do you think you'll be able to get the dentist to talk?" JJ asked curiously.
"It's worth a shot, but I doubt it. Our job is just to find and stop the psychopath," Emily sighed. "My main concern is it might be the dentist himself."
"Here is what I am certain of. The dentist that you're going to see; we've tried to talk to him on all occasions. He's an ass and narcissistic. My opinion is he's most likely not the dentist, but he knows the person who is doing all of this. The thing is, he thinks he is the be all end all of dentists. So no one is better than him, so says him," Will offered.
"Lovely," Emily said sarcastically. "Check in is in two hours please," Emily said and with that everyone disbursed for their assignments.
Tara made it to the hospital and was very easily able to find Doctor McCord. "Doctor McCord, I'm Agent Lewis, thank you for your time. I'm simply looking to see what you remember about some patients who came to you with what appears to be a novocaine overdoes. Whatever you remember is fine."
"Oh yes, I remember all of them," he sighed.
"All?" she asked kindly.
"Yes, seven to be precise. All within a year. Mackenzie, Meredith, Nicole, Andrew, Anthony, Sean, and Troy. Mackenzie and Andrew were the only two to survive," he said. "Please don't tell me another one has occurred. Troy was just discovered not that long ago. Three months I think it was," he said and then he paused and thought for a moment. "I remember feeling horrible for being relieved that I wasn't called in on my day off," he said and then shook his head at the memory of seeing Troy at all.
"May I have their chart information, pertaining to the incident that brought them here?" Tara asked.
"I will give you all the names so records can give you what you need. Some of them, you're only going to get a death certificate along with graphic photos," he told her and she nodded along, knowing full well she'd be able to have Penelope get her all the dirt she actually needed.
"That would be very helpful, thank you," Tara said and the doctor looked at his watch.
"I still have time before I start rounds, let me walk you down myself, it can get a little tricky in the hallways," he offered kindly and as they walked, he began remembering the images that still haunted him. "I can also get you the name of the trauma therapist here at the hospital who talked to them. Doctor Lauren Page. She is very good at her job and works well with the patients we refer to her, if they decide to stay. I'm sure she would be an enormous help for you," he said as they made it to records. "Here, wait here, and I'll get her card. He then moved to the records window and smiled at the young girl behind the counter. "Maggie, this is Agent Lewis. She needs records for these people, all of them," he said. "Agent, please wait here, and I'll be back with Dr. Page's card," he told her.
"Agent Lewis?" Maggie asked as she scanned over the list of names and dates in her hand. Dr. McCord was very thorough.
"Yes?"
"These cases go back a year in total. It's going to take me some time. Are you okay to wait for about an hour?" she asked.
"Yes of course, thank you so much," she smiled.
"Thank you for your patience. While you wait, there's a few vending machines just down the hall, on the left, and the coffee is actually amazing," she said.
"Thank you," Tara smiled and she sat down, pulling out her cell to send out a group text. "Key names. Doctor Thomas McCord. Doctor Lauren Page (trauma therapist). SEVEN victims. Mackenzie Sheppard, Meredith Copeland, Nicole Case, Troy Sullivan, Anthony Shelvon, Sean Miller, Andrew Hayes. "
"You missed four victims?" Penelope asked Will with shock all over her face and Will gave her a look. "Not you personally, I know you better than that, but seriously four of them?" she asked.
"So maybe we're not the only ones being taunted then. I'll call around and see who else might be aware of these new names," he said.
"Or you could just let me type and then call people," Penelope offered and his phone buzzed, indicating a text from Penelope that had the remaining four victims names all tied to a tiny precinct, just outside of D.C.
"You are quick!" he said.
"I am, and I can find anything on anyone," she said proudly and then held up a finger as she answered her phone. "Go for Garcia," she answered.
"Penelope, Tara just sent that message. Can you…" Emily started.
"Will has the four names," Penelope interrupted her. "They are all connected to a different precinct outside of D.C. and I now have the name, address, and phone number for the dental card stapled to those people," she said.
"Send that to JJ and Rossi, have them go check it out please? You and your skills will be much better matched for cross referencing than our eyes when it comes to the toxicology reports," Emily told her.
"Does it still feel good to find the things and know you're helping?" Luke smiled.
"Always. Also, you still owe me lunch and no talk of awful things!" she said.
"Thank you love," Emily said, wanting to make sure Garcia knew she was well and truly appreciated. "One last thing, when you're done with the victims, look into the doctors please?" Emily asked.
"Done and done-er," she smiled.
Doctor McCord returned with Doctor Page's card and handed it over. "Thank you for waiting Agent. I have been called for a consult, so I have to run. Maggie should have your records, hopefully soon, but if you can wait a little while longer, Doctor Page said she'd come down here and talk to you personally," he said and Tara smiled.
"That'd be great, thanks," she said and immediately little alarm bells started going off in her head. For some reason, she found these doctors to be too helpful and too kind, and it was unnerving. Instead of jumping the gun and forming preconceived ideas, she sat down, took some deep breaths, and then willed her phone to notify her with information Penelope had gathered. Once she had that, she'd feel better about these doctors. She was sitting and breathing and calming herself down when a woman approached the window.
"Hey Maggie!" she called in and the young girl shouted back to her. "McCord, said that an Agent Lewis was," she started.
"That's me," Tara said, standing up and shaking the woman's hand. "Thank you for taking some time to come talk to me," she said honestly.
"Of course. I don't know how much help I can be, but I'll try. Doctor McCord said you were interested in two of my patients?"
"We're investigating a case, where most of the victims have died, but two lived and you seem to be part of the common thread between them. What can you tell me about Andrew Hayes and Mackenzie Sheppard?"
"Well, Andrew contacted me last week to inform me he's moving back to Indiana, to be with his parents, where he feels safer with his entire situation in general. He does still want to pursue a degree, but he'd prefer to be at home and work from home. Now being a trauma therapist, I can't ask him to do anything he is outrageously uncomfortable with, I can only recommend baby steps for him. He's already showing signs of regression and fear, so I will wish him well, offer to follow up long distance, and if he wants, I'll recommend therapists in his area to help him further," she said.
That was a lot of information for Tara to take in and while she grabbed a lot of key points, she still felt like she had blanks to fill in. She'd hopefully do that with Penelope later. "Can you tell me anything about Mackenzie Sheppard or is she a similar story?" Tara asked.
"Yes, I can tell you and no, she is most definitely not a similar story. What I can tell you is that her last name is now Lansing and not Sheppard. She legally changed it. There is a great deal more I can tell you and I will happily offer, but I prefer to not talk about current patients in the hallway, in an in depth manor. Is there somewhere else we can have, what will be a much longer, discussion?" she asked. "Perhaps in my office, or even your office if you're more comfortable with that," she said and Tara nodded.
"Let's set up a meeting for later this afternoon or tomorrow morning perhaps?" Tara offered.
"Later this afternoon will be fine. Is three okay?"
"Yes, three will be fine. I will take the records to our tech analyst and return here," Tara offered.
"Would it be okay if I came to you?" Lauren asked and Tara gave a quizzical look. "Two reasons. One, my shift is nearly over and I'm not on call. Two, I've heard about cases being worked on by teams, and I'm hoping your team is either all in your office, or can be more easily accessed from your office," Lauren said. "It's really a lot of information, and when the FBI gets involved, well, I want you all to have as much information as you can to catch the rat bastard who did this," she said.
Tara nodded and produced a card. "Come to this address and I'll make sure your name is at reception," she said and Lauren nodded.
"Thank you Agent, I'll see you later," she said and with a shake of hands, she then turned to the records department window. "Maggie! Are we still on for tomorrow night?" she called into the room.
"Tom Cruise, doing his own stunts and buttered popcorn. See you at six," Maggie called back and with that Lauren left, leaving Tara to wait for the files Maggie was making for her. Maggie returned to the window and smiled. "Agent, I found everyone's records, and we've gone a bit more digital, can I put some things on a jump drive and the rest I give you a hard copy. Is that okay?"
"That would be perfect, thank you," Tara said.
Luke pulled up to the address and as he and Emily got out of the car, they both marveled at the name on the business sign that was stuck in the lawn. "I wonder if some people choose their professions based on their last names," he said out loud and she smiled.
"Why?"
"What dentist do you know that is gentle?" he asked and she nodded.
"I once had a mechanic whose last name was Fixer," she told him.
"You're making that up," he laughed.
"Alvin Fixer. Fixer's Body Shop. You can even have Garcia fact check me, because I do understand how ridiculous that sounds," she said. "For now though, we need to talk to the good doctor and find out what he knows."
"About all the victims?" Luke asked curiously.
"Let's have him tell us," she said as they walked into the building, they were immediately met by the sound of someone crying and the receptionist looked quite stunned to even see people.
"Ms. Jones, you and your son are twenty five minutes early!" the receptionist scolded and Luke swallowed his smile. He didn't know why, but he found it entertaining when people attempted to challenge Emily.
"I'm actually Supervisory Special Agent Emily Prentiss and my partner Supervisory Special Agent Luke Alvez. We need to speak to Doctor Gentle," she said sternly.
"And what are you the Supervisory Special Agent of?" the receptionist asked in annoyance.
"We're with the FBI," Emily said and the woman stood there staring as if she didn't believe her while Luke and Emily showed her their badges for inspection. When the woman still looked skeptical and didn't make any move to assist them in any fashion, Emily spoke up. "If you'd like to continue to stand here and argue with me, I can have my partner here cuff you and move you along so you are no longer obstructing my investigation, and I can take things from there," she offered.
"Please wait over there. He's with a patient," she grouched and she got up to go back and tell the dentist the FBI was there to talk to him.
Luke waited until she was gone and then smiled. "Good job, Mom," he teased her.
"Shut it," she warned him and he held up his hands in defense as they took a seat to wait for the doctor. There was a scream heard in the back and Luke took a sharp intake of breath. "You good?" Emily asked him.
"That is the sound of a child being tortured. At least that's what it sounds like" he admitted and she smiled as he instinctively moved his hand to his gun, as a way to protect the unknown person.
"Hey, breathe please," Emily smiled at him, gently laying a protective hand on top of his and they waited patiently. The entire team usually reacted in a much more protective manner when it came to kids and teens, but luckily they hadn't had a case like that in a while. Putting her hand on his was a way to comfort him as best she could with maximum discretion. The receptionist returned to her seat and went back to her emails and Luke turned his head and dropped his voice.
"She hates you," he said in a very low voice.
"Good," Emily smiled and Luke raised his eyes and looked at her pointedly. "She's not my favorite person right now either. I am glad to know that I can still get things done without pulling a weapon or raising my voice though. It's nice to know I still have that."
"Yeah, you definitely have that," Luke assured her and very shortly after his statement there was arguing heard.
"Mr. Lansing, she has a cavity!" one man yelled.
"And she's clearly terrified, so I need a minute," the second man yelled.
"I'd assume the second voice belongs to Mr. Lansing," Luke said quietly and Emily just smiled. If they had to wait, at least they were getting a show for their time. Sometimes it made their job easier when that happened.
"Sit her back down! I'm not done!" the first voice yelled.
"No Doctor Gentle, we are finished," he said and he emerged from the room down the hall, carrying the person who'd been screaming before, but was now simply crying against him, and went to the front desk. "Rebecca, what is the charge for the visit?" he asked sternly and Emily and Luke watched as Rebecca seemed flustered.
"I can't charge you until she has her procedure done," she said, looking like she was torn between doing her job and what was an actual kind thing of not charging the patient.
"As much as I don't want to pay at all, I will, and you've lost a customer," he said angrily and the young lady in his arms cried softly and was physically trembling against him. "Shhh, we're all done baby, I promise," he assured her softly and then looked at Rebecca expectantly. "How much?" he asked and when he noticed she glanced behind him at Emily and Luke, he stopped to turn and look at them. Noticing their badges he gathered the young lady in his arms a bit closer and turned back to Rebecca. "How much?" he asked again and she stuttered. "Oh for Pete's sake," he said and he carefully set his little one down, and she hung on to his leg and buried her face in his hip, trembling against him. "Excuse me officers," he said kindly.
"Agents actually," Luke said standing up and moving over to shake his hand. "Agents Alvez and Prentiss," he said making introductions and the little girl shrieked, moved herself between Wyatt and the desk to get away from Luke and cried harder, but still kept her voice soft.
"Wyatt Lansing, former patient of this office. I'm not sure what capacity you are here on, but apparently Rebecca here seems torn about what to do. My little one has a cavity, and, well, suffice it to say that the dentist is being less than tolerable with her current level of anxiety and trauma. So, I'm going to explain to the pair of you what my intentions are. I'm going to put one hundred dollars, in cash, in front of Rebecca and then that will make you witnesses that I attempted to pay the doctor, at least for his time, so that we can all move on with our lives. Are you okay with that?" he asked and Luke smiled.
"That'll be fine with us Mr. Lansing," he said kindly.
As they talked, the little girl peaked over toward Emily and Emily simply smiled at her. The little girl shrunk back, but didn't look away. Emily almost looked like her Mommy, so maybe she was nice. It was seconds later that Wyatt reached for his wallet, put down the cash, and then touched the top of his little girl's head. "Ready to go home Kenz?" he asked her and she simply lifted one arm up, hanging on to his leg with the other, as tightly as she could. Wyatt picked her up, settled her on his hip, bid good day to the agents, Rebecca, and then left the office.
The dentist came out and seemed to be fuming. "She was not finished," he grouched. "Where are the agents you want me to speak with?"
"We're here, and if you'd like to do this in your office, where you might be more comfortable, that would be best. Apparently you have a patient and her son due in shortly," Emily said standing up and moving closer. Luke simply nodded along. He had a hunch about the dentist, but Emily seemed to have a better one, so he just shut up and let her lead.
"Fine! This way," he said and he went back, having them follow behind. "Did um," he said looking around his office as if he misplaced something. "Were you offered a drink or something?" he asked.
"We're fine thank you," Emily said and she glanced around the room, before taking a seat. There were posters and news clippings all over the walls of the office, hailing this dentist as some sort of local dentistry God.
"My apologies that you had to witness that patient," he said and Emily was about to move on and begin asking questions, but he kept talking.
"Oh good," Luke thought to himself, "you just keep digging yourself a grave."
"That was Makenzie Lansing. She has a cavity. I can fix her. I specialize in pediatrics, which she needs, because she might be twenty two, but she looks like she's six. She's basically frozen in time. I'm the only one in town who can fix her. Good luck finding anyone who can assist them now. What's worse is that I forced them into the schedule. They came to me, begging for help, and now they left. I have people begging me for appointments all the time and I never give in. This is the one patient I finally make an acceptation to, and how am I repaid? I'm not! Rebecca! No more favors! Put them on the waiting list. ALWAYS!" he said and then took a heavy sigh to try and clear his mind. "I'm sorry, you don't care about any of that. How can I help you? I don't often get visits from the FBI," he said. It was almost as if it finally dawned on him he might want to focus and pay attention to what could be a serious matter.
"We are investigating a case, where three victims had your business card stapled to a part of their body. Two are deceased, the third managed to survive and according to the medical examiners reports, they all had high levels of novocaine in their system. Have you ever treated either of these people?" Emily asked showing him her tablet that held two photos on it.
"I don't recognize these faces, but if you give me names, I can check my records," he said studying the photos and finally sitting back in his seat.
"Troy Sullivan and Anthony Shelvon," Luke offered.
"I don't know Anthony, but Troy I'm well aware of," he said.
"So you did treat him," Luke said.
"I tried," the doctor said taking offense to his question.
"What does that mean you tried?" Luke asked with confusion.
"He was referred to me. A while ago actually. I tried to be nice. I squeezed him in, same as I just did with Mackenzie. I set the appointment for a consultation and a cleaning but he never showed." he said simply. "Again, I tried to be nice and I just get screwed. I have the longest waiting list in town. I even have people who are from two towns over in every direction. I am a dentistry God."
"A dentistry God?" Emily asked raising an eyebrow.
"Agent Prentiss, you can look all over the state. I am the best. I give everyone the perfect smile," he said confidently. "I can even help you fix yours," he said. "Your partner will take a little more work," he added and both Luke and Emily remained absolutely stoic.
"Doctor Gentle, you have at least one patient, maybe two, landing themselves outside of the Metro Police Department, with toxicology reports of a novocaine overdose, deceased, and your business card stapled to their body," Luke said. "It makes you the prime suspect. You do realize that don't you?"
"Dentistry God!" he replied defiantly with an air of arrogance that neither of them liked. "Not everyone likes God. Maybe someone has it out for me," he suggested.
"Here is my card. Get me a list of all the people who you think may not like you," she said and with that she and Luke left the office and got into their car. "Call Garcia for me please," she said.
"Cool hand Luke!" Penelope answered happily. "Whatcha need?"
"Not me, Prentiss," he said.
"Mackenzie Lansing. She just got moved to the top of the list," Emily said.
"Mackenzie Lansing," Penelope repeated and she did her clicking to get as much information as she could. "Oh God," she sighed. "Okay. Currently twenty two. A patient of doctor Page. Young Mackenzie fought a battle with brain cancer at age six, won the battle, lost the war. Mom and Dad couldn't handle it, left her with the grandparents, they perished when she was twelve, she was sent to the foster system, made it to college, dropped out in the freshman year and then the trail goes cold between freshmen year and becoming a patient with Doctor Page. It's like a three year gap and that will take me some time," she said.
"Good, now cross reference that with the Mackenzie Sheppard on our case," she said and with a few clicks, Penelope sighed.
"It's the same person isn't it?" Luke asked starting to put things together for himself.
"Sadly it is," she sighed.
"Thanks Garcia, we're headed headed back now," she said and with that they disconnected.
"So, are we looking at Stockholm too? That girl, assuming it's her, was glued to that man's body. She was clinging to him like her life depended on it," Luke pointed out.
"It could be, but I'm reserving judgment for now. We need to meet with Doctor Page to figure out more of this puzzle," she said.
Dave and JJ showed up to the dental office they'd been assigned to and were shocked to find a sign on the door indicating it was a pediatric dental office. None of the people in their files were minors. All four of these victims were adults, based on their bios. They got out of the car and JJ went into the back to pull out a blazer to cover up her gun belt. "I don't want to scare any children in there," she said.
"Or their parents," he Dave added, buttoning up his own jacket. "Speaking of which, when are you and Will going to make me an uncle?" he asked her.
"Really Rossi? It's been fifteen years and you're giving me the have-a-child lecture? Don't I get enough of that from my mother?" she asked him.
"I'm saying you and Will would be great parents, and it might be nice to have a little one running around to visit every so often."
"Yes, but they grow, and they cause a lot of worry, so I think we're good. Besides, Will and I have very risky jobs, and we find it easier to only worry about each other outside of work. At work, we worry about our teams. Heaven forbid something bad happens to either one of us. What Hotch went through," she said trailing off. "It's just a lot," she said. "Also, may I point out, you have no children," she told him.
"Correct. I missed an opportunity and I do not wish my team to repeat my mistakes," he told her.
"If you would like to be an Uncle talk to Penelope. Of the entire team, she'd be the one to adopt children. On top of that she already has two cats and Luke has two dogs. You can be a furry Uncle," JJ smiled at him and once they entered they saw nothing but adults. "Not one minor in this room?" JJ stated under her breath and Dave made a soft grunt of acknowledgement. Some of the adults were on the floor, playing with puzzles or sitting at a coffee table and coloring something. Others were in chairs reading books or magazines, and one young man had a similarly aged woman on his lap that he seemed to be cooing softly to because she looked terrified. "Are we in the right office?" she asked Dave quietly.
"Come in, come in, we won't bite," the receptionist said. She was overly sweet and kind and seemed to be focusing in on JJ for the moment.
Rossi pulled out his ID and showed it to the woman. "Good afternoon, I can see you have a full waiting room, but we need a moment with Dr. James please," he said.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I thought you were patients. Let me show you to a waiting room," she said kindly. "Come through the door on the left please," she said buzzing them in and then she looked at Jennifer. "I'm so sorry Ma'am, I did not mean to imply anything negative toward either of you. You just like you would be the child in the relationship," she said. "And as you can tell, I see a lot of relationships throughout my day," she told her. "Both of you have a seat if you like. There's water in that fridge over there. I'll tell doctor James you're here. He does have a small break, between patients coming up."
"Hey! Holly!" a voice said breaking the calm atmosphere that the receptionist had provided. "Where's the parent helper?" the woman asked in a softer tone as she approached the receptionist and the two agents.
"We have new ones up front. Doc got one for each room, incase it's needed. I haven't had time to hang them yet," Holly said.
"Well, I apparently need one, although I don't think I do. I have a little one who is absolutely panicked, and a mother insistent on using it."
"Hey, we can't judge. Thankfully, they aren't used often, and I've seen little ones have quite an attitude adjustment after use. Some of them just like it or need it or, even get off on it, but they definitely calm down after it's used," she offered. The other woman nodded and then went off. "Hey, Janice. just close the door, so that no one else hears. Especially Kelly and Ryan. They're in the waiting room, and she's already trembling," Holly said and then turned back to Rossi and JJ. "So, just wait here, and I'll get doctor James," she smiled and then left them alone.
"I'm fairly certain I know what a parent helper is, and I'm glad they are closing the door. I do not need to hear that," Rossi said and JJ nodded her agreement. "Also, I get to ask you about children all the time now," he teased her.
"And how would you figure that?" she asked with a smile.
"They thought you were the child of this relationship," he said.
"I'm pretty sure she said it that way to avoid calling you old," JJ teased and Rossi poked his tongue out at her. "Funny," she said and got them both a bottle of water and took a seat next to him, just as the dentist walked in.
The faint sound of a person yelping was heard, before the dentist closed the door, and took a seat across the table from them. "Agents. I'm so sorry for all the chaos, how can I help you?" he asked and they were both struck by his kind and calm demeanor.
"I'm Agent Jareau, this is Agent Rossi, we're investigating a series of victims, all having your business card stapled to some part of their body over the last year," she said and the dentist looked absolutely dumb struck.
"Stapled?" he asked in confusion.
"Yes, this is your card, correct?" she asked showing him a photo from her tablet.
"Yes, that is my card. No, I did not do such a horrendous thing and how can I help you in your case and also in clearing my name," he said.
"Doctor James, please breathe, we do not think you are the prime suspect. We do however think you know the person doing this, and only because they have your card. Can you tell me about your practice please?" Rossi asked, doing his best to put the dentist at ease and the dentist smiled.
"You are either a part of this community now, were in the past, and if the answer is no, then you should be. That was well done," he said and then he took a breath to further calm himself, while JJ and Dave kept absolutely stone faced. They were only slightly sure of what kind of practice this office was, but they had to let it be told to them. "I am a licensed dentist for the past twenty years. On Tuesdays and Saturdays I see members of the adult baby community. Those days are strictly reserved for them, so there is no cross between that community and the general public. I am a member of that community myself, and I changed my practice hours because having a little one of my own, I realized getting to appointments could be very difficult, since we are no longer in the days of house calls for most things. Everyone you saw in the reception area is either classified as an adult baby, or as a caregiver in some fashion. My practice gives members of the community the ability to function as if nothing is outside the ordinary, and they are aware they are not judged for their choices. I do hope you will not judge me for such things," he said honestly.
"No, of course not. How you run your practice is up to you and you haven't done anything illegal to the best of our knowledge," Rossi said kindly. "We're only here to find out if you know these victims and to see if you can give us any leads on catching the person who has been doing this," he assured him.
"Of course," he said and then he noted the time. "How can I help?"
"If you have a list of anyone who might want to blame you for something." JJ offered.
"A grievance list, I'll have to think about that," he said. "And I don't want to do this, but I have a very nervous patient waiting for me. May I have a card please? I'll compile the list you are asking for and then please see Holly again on your way out. Give her all the names of the people with my card and she can get you anything we might have on them," he said and they both nodded.
"Thank you very much doctor James, we appreciate that," JJ said and once they all shook hands, he showed them out of the waiting room and to the side window. He tapped on the glass and told Holly to help them in any way they needed. She took down the names and asked them to wait a few moments, typing as quickly as she could while checking patients in and out. Holly typed almost furiously and checked in what looked like four different systems. Once she finished she returned to them and sadly handed over one piece of paper.
"I'm so sorry agents, this is all I could get. We saw Nicole Case, one time, and she didn't come with anyone. The doctor might have more information on her personally. Usually when they come in solo, it's because they aren't part of a couple just yet and they've met the doctor at a conference. The only exception to that rule is Janice who works here. She is a caregiver with no little one of her own yet," Holly offered.
"Well we thank you for your time and we'll be in touch if we need any more information," JJ said kindly and with that, she and Dave left. Getting in the car and on the road, she had Dave call for check in while she drove.
"JJ, what'd you and Rossi find?" Emily asked.
"A kink that we didn't know we were looking for," she said.
"You really need to elaborate that please," Luke said.
"Doctor Christopher James. On Tuesday and Saturdays he has his practice cater to adult babies and their caregivers. Remember that seminar we all went to last year and that Master was talking about little ones and training? It's along those lines. The staff was helpful, kind, genuine and completely non partisan about all of it, even though they don't have information and we're expecting a call from the dentist later, with his grievance list," she said.
"Garcia, check the background for doctor Gentle please? See if he falls into this realm," Emily said. "Lewis already checked in. She's on her way back, and we will be meeting with Doctor Lauren Page, from the hospital," Emily said.
"Do we have a heads up on Page's background?" Rossi asked.
"You do. Doctor Lauren Page, a Trauma Therapist who has worked with both of the survivors, one of which Prentiss and Alvez met at their dental office check in. From what I can find, the victim suffered some neglect at the hands of her biological parents, and then more physical abuse at various foster homes, although she's had the same residence for the past ten months and the same last name as the people she lives with for the past six months. She's been linked to Doctor Page for about a year, which is right when all of this started. I also see that Doctor Page and Doctor James have crossed paths before, so I'm inclined to believe she's going to be telling us about this community that JJ and Rossi stumbled upon," Penelope said.
"Drive safe, we'll see you when you get here," Emily said and they disconnected.
Wyatt drove the short distance from the dental office back to his office, knowing he didn't have any clients for over an hour. He didn't see Victoria's car when he pulled into the lot, so he knew he was going to have to work on calming Mackenzie on his own, which was always a challenge when she was this upset. She was in the back seat of the car and she was screaming bloody murder, something that Wyatt did his best to block out as they'd been driving. He parked, turned off the engine and got out of the car. He placed his hand carefully on the handle of the rear driver's side door and took a breath. "Come on Kenz, let me in," he said to himself as he opened the door. He knelt down and waited for her to take a breath. "Kenzie, look at me please," he said gently and she simply screamed again. "Kenzie, you can cry and scream as much as you want, so that you get it all out of your system to feel better, but there are people outside and they might think I'm hurting you," he offered. She didn't even register he was talking to her, she just screamed. "Okay," he sighed. He leaned into the car, unbuckled her seatbelt and lifted her up into his arms at which point, she wiggled and writhed, in an attempt to get away and Wyatt tightened his hold on her. "I know, I know, I'm so sorry love," he said kindly and he carried her into the building and took her into the meeting room. He set her on her feet and she fell to the ground and sobbed her heart out.
Wyatt paced nervously, watching her as she curled up tight and sobbed. She was absolutely inconsolable and it broke Wyatt in half. He was a Master. Strong. Confident. In control of everything. He had a business that was rooted in that confidence. He had to pay attention to all kinds of cues from his clients, so he didn't cross any lines. There were moments where Mackenzie was his greatest challenge, because when she got so upset that she had trouble communicating and being consoled in any form, she seemed to undo him. He was always very grateful when Victoria was around. She was his partner in crime, his rock, and when he really thought about it, the perfect Mistress/Mommy/caretaker that Mackenzie desperately needed. Taking a very deep breath, he did his best to calm himself before engaging with Mackenzie. She had to snap out of her hysteria before he could help her.
He moved to wall farthest away from her, sunk to the floor, closed his eyes and did some deep breathing. After a few moments of deep calming breaths, he opened his eyes and looked at her. She was very slowly calming down herself, taking stock of where she was, and what was happening, and then she broke down again but she wasn't hysterical, she was just sad. It took her an entire sixty seconds before she finally managed to speak. "Dah-ee!" she cried.
"I am right here, Kenz, it's okay," Wyatt said and she managed to crawl over to him and held tight. "Shhh, you are okay my love," he said fighting back his own tears and pulling her into his arms. She wasn't walking. She was crawling; which meant she was either regressing for her own mental safety or she was having a muscle spasm and not telling him. "We should sit here together and rest," he told her and adjusted her in his lap, and they just sat there. He held her close, leaned his head back against the wall and took very steady breaths. He wanted to calm himself, so he could help her calm down, before they even tried to talk about anything. She was too upset to focus. He held her there for ten minutes before he decided it was time to very slowly proceed. "Come, let's go clean up," he said gently and he stood her up, then himself, and offered to take her hand, but she whined and lifted her arms. She needed her Daddy, not anyone who just happened to be there. "Hey, hey, hey, you're okay, come here," he said gently and lifted her into his arms, taking her to a counter, sitting her on it, and handing her some tissues, but she made no move to do it on her own. "Mackenzie, you are a beautiful young lady," he reminded her and she shook her head no. She didn't want to be a young lady. She was currently more comfortable being a terrified six year old with some severe speech issues because that was more socially acceptable while she was out in the world. Wyatt waited for her to change her mind, but when she didn't, he took the tissues and helped her clean up.
His phone buzzed in his pocket and she pointed to it, making sure he knew it was ringing. "Let's see, that's a text message," he said and he threw away the tissues, before pulling out his phone. "Who's that from?" he smiled showing her the phone.
"Mommy," she answered.
"It is from Mommy," he said and then opened it to read. "She's stopping for lunch. What do we want?" he read. "Well that's very vague. Let's find out where she is specifically?" he smiled and called her number before putting her on speaker phone.
"Hello my love," she smiled.
"Two loves," he said.
"Kenzie love. Does your mouth feel better sweetheart?" she asked and with that said Mackenzie started crying again. "Uh oh," Victoria sighed and Wyatt gathered the little girl close and she hung on to him.
"We didn't get anything done. The doctor was much too rough. He has been fired," Wyatt said.
"I heard he was the best. I didn't think it would go poorly," she said.
"It is not your fault, but we still need to get her mouth fixed and we were calling to find out where lunch is from?"
"I will stop at the deli. I'll get her mac and cheese, because she can gum it if she has to and at least there's protein. I will also put in a call to Dr. Page to see if she knows anyone we can see for dental work, and quickly," she sighed.
"Drive carefully my love. We will see you when you get here, and I will do my best to get her calm, but she is pretty worked up," he said.
"Is she using family terms or have we gone past that point of recognition?"
"Oh no, family terms," he said and Victoria breathed a sigh of relief.
"See you soon," she said and they hung up.
"So now, we get you to calm down some, and breathe and wait for Mommy to come home with lunch, okay?" he smiled at her and she held on tighter. She was upset and scared and the only thing seeming to help her in the moment was having Wyatt hold her, so he did just that. He picked her up and carried her around the room a little bit, knowing the gentle rhythm of him moving sometimes helped her to calm down further. After a few minutes, she was calmer, and he sat her down on the counter top of the cabinetry in the room.
"Kenz," he said and before he could say anymore she started to cry again.
"Daddy!" she said sadly.
"Okay, let's do this. Doctor Lauren said this is the best way we communicate," he said pulling up a chair, straddled it backwards, and offered her his hands, palms up. She grabbed them as tightly as she could and took a shuddering breath. This position gave her a height advantage and it was usually designed to help her feel less intimidated. "You tell me. What is your name?" he asked her.
"Kezzie," she said softly.
"And what is my name?"
"Dah-ee," she whimpered.
"Deep breath Kenzie, you are doing a great job, and I'm not mad," he assured her. The look on her face was pure panic.
"Daddy," she said a little more clearly this time.
"Very good. Now let's take the next step. How does Mackenzie feel right now, right this instant?" he asked her.
"Daddy, peesh," she pushed out and she reached for him.
"Should I hold you?" he asked her and she nodded emphatically. He nodded, stood up and pulled her into his arms before sitting properly in the chair and putting her in his lap. "You fix yourself on my lap, however makes you feel safe remember?" he asked and she nodded. She sat so they were chest to chest and she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in close. "Good job Kenzie, and where does Daddy put his arms?" he asked her and she very gently moved his arms, one at a time, so they were wrapped around her back and he was holding her close. "Kisses for my sweet Kenzie," he told her and kissed the top of her head and she snuggled in a little closer. "Okay Kenzie, you have a lot of control. There are so many things you get to do and choices you get to make about your own life. I do have a question to ask you when you're ready. So would you like three minutes, or five minutes?" he asked, wanting her to catch her breath and calm down a lot more.
"Fye," she said honestly and he nodded.
"Five it is," he smiled. He waited patiently, rubbing her back and dropping little kisses to the top of her head every so often, hoping she would get the message, she was at the very least properly cared for by people who had her best interest in mind and would not take advantage of her. She'd be the one to call the shots in her own life. In her short twenty two years, she had not been afforded that chance until she met Dr. Page and the Lansings.
Time went by slowly and Wyatt gave her an extra minute to be fully calm about things, because they were about to have a serious talk about the very thing that had caused this latest round of hysteria induced anxiety. The fact that she'd calmed quickly, seemed to make Wyatt feel the slightest bit better about the whole situation. Six minutes passed, and now Wyatt took a deep breath before beginning.
"Kenzie, the time you requested is passed," he told her. "Are you ready to continue?" he asked and she nodded against him. "Now, we lay out ground rules. Rule one; names. What is your name for this talk?"
"Kezzie," she hiccuped.
"Kenzie it is. What is my name?"
"Daddy," she said taking a breath and snuggling in closer to him.
"Daddy it is. Rule number two; feelings. Is Daddy mad about what we will talk about?" he asked her.
"No," she said.
"Good girl," he praised. "Question. Does your mouth still hurt?" he asked and she nodded yes. "Verbalize please," he requested gently.
"Es," she said.
"Follow up. What about today upset you the most?" he asked her and she shuddered against him and he knew he had moved too quick, so he took a breath and slowed down. "Okay, okay, let's break it down. Was the office scary?"
"No. I yiked da g'een," she said and he nodded.
"Was it the receptionist?" he asked.
"Her kay," she said softly.
"Can I tell you something?" he asked and she pushed back to look at him. "Daddy thought she was fake," he said and Mackenzie raised her eyebrows in question. "I did. She had too big a smile and she was much too bubbly. I thought she was fake. I didn't like her," he said. "Next we went back to the hygienist. What did you think of her?"
"Eh," she answered. She didn't feel one way or another about her, and Wyatt nodded and began to slowly go through the processes that had happened. He talked about the x-rays, the cleaning, the tone of the hygienist, and then he got to the doctor and fear crossed her face.
"Kenzie, it's okay. No one is mad, he cannot hurt you, and we fired him. We will not go back to that place. He did say something that has my concern though. You have a cavity and we need to get that fixed," he explained her.
"No cay-na," she whimpered, fear gripping her body instantly and Wyatt sighed. He had figured that's why she was so upset, but she never communicated that at the office, she just cried. He couldn't fault her for her emotions either. She'd been through a lot, and most of her torture came most recently from a ridiculous overdose of novocaine, from a psychopath, who was potentially still out there, and had caused her minor nerve damage in her legs, and what was looking like permanent nerve damage in her jaw.
"Well, if that dentist had listened to me when I started to speak," Wyatt started, having lost his cool and that was all it took for Mackenzie to break down into tears. Wyatt sounded angry. She was sure it was at her, and so she got off his lap and moved to a far away corner of the room, away from him and he felt his heart break. "I think we need to have Mommy for this conversation, she is much better at this than I am," he sighed, and for the next fifteen minutes, he did his very best to coax Mackenzie off the wall, back over to him, so they could finish their chat, while continually reassuring her, he was mad at the dentist and not her. She clearly did not believe him.
Minutes later Victoria returned from her meeting, where she gained another client, and was going to start to work on their hot glass shoppe website. "Babe!" she called out, wanting to find him, but her phone rang before she could figure out which room he was in, so she answered that first. "Victoria Lansing," she said.
"Victoria, it's Lauren, how are you?" she asked.
"Stressed, and I think I hear Kenzie having a melt down in the other room," she said.
"Okay, go take care of her first, and then call me back. We need to talk. The person who hurt Mackenzie has hurt a total of seven people, and I am to go and talk with the FBI about it. They are going to want her help, I'm sure of it. I also won't let them near her, without you and/or Wyatt and/or myself present," she said.
"The FBI?" Victoria asked in shock.
"It's very complicated," Lauren sighed. "Take care of her first, when she's completely calm, call me back, do not have her around to listen to us talk, and we'll set up a game plan," she said.
At a quarter to three, Lauren showed up at headquarters, was given a visitor pass and was met by Tara at the elevator. "Doctor Page, thank you for coming, we have our conference room all set up for you," she smiled. "I'll take you back and introduce you to the rest of the team," she said.
"Thank you so much," she smiled and followed Tara into the round room.
"Doctor Lauren Page, please meet the rest of my team. Agents Luke Alvez, Jennifer Jareau, David Rossi, Section/Unit Chief Emily Prentiss and Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia."
"If you don't like to look at gory photos, I suggest sitting with your back to this wall, as I do," Penelope offered, pulling out a chair for her.
"With all the trauma I see, I should take you up on that offer," Lauren said kindly and took the offered seat, while everyone else took chairs where they would have no problem looking at gory photos. "So, how can I help?" she asked.
"Agent Lewis has already informed us how you're connected to the two surviving victims. If you could kindly elaborate on Mackenzie for us? We've already reached out to Andrew, and we are told, he will not be assisting us," Emily said.
"That's not too surprising, he doesn't like to speak much," Lauren said.
"No, he's absolutely refusing to speak to anyone at all. If he is someone you are staying in contact with, I'd recommend reaching out again as he seems to be retreating into himself, so says his mother, and even then, in her own words, she's not sure she told me the right thing," Luke said.
"She tries. She's a good mom," Lauren said and then pulled out her phone to set a reminder to call him. "Here's what I know. I want to protect my patients, and you already know who they are. I'm not looking to obstruct any federal investigation and I'd like to not further traumatize my active client. With all that being stated, how much more information do you need on Mackenzie?," she asked.
"Luke and I are fairly certain we met her," Emily offered. "She's very tiny, looks like she's about six years old, and she was with a man named Wyatt Lansing."
"The chances of there being another Wyatt and Mackenzie Lansing running around out there, who are not my Wyatt and Mackenzie, it'd be very strange, so let me tell you about them," Lauren said. "Wyatt and his wife Victoria are a couple, I've come to know fairly well over the last few years. Through therapy with both Wyatt and Mackenzie, it became clear Mackenzie would be in good hands with Wyatt and his wife Victoria. She was not happy in the group home she was staying in. Due to her health challenges, she needed to be in a more protective place. To the best of my knowledge she has no family. The Lansings are excellent caregivers to Mackenzie, and while I'm positive she was timid and shaking and genuinely uncooperative with things, she honestly has made leaps and bounds, and she's doing everything she can to learn and grow and explore. It has been a struggle since I met her, but at least she's verbal now."
"Caregiver," Dave said kindly. "Do you by chance also know Doctor Christopher James, who is a dentist just over the border in Maryland?"
"I met him at a conference three years ago. He's very kind and exceedingly patient. If any of my clients need dental work I have referred them to him," she said.
"Would Mackenzie and Wyatt fall into the adult baby community?" Tara asked.
"Six months ago I would have said no, now I'm not so sure," she said honestly.
"What changed?" Emily asked.
"Mackenzie was non-verbal for quite a while. She didn't want assistance doing anything, and then as we went through therapy and I got her to open up and talk, mostly through hypnosis she began explaining experiences she had that she enjoyed but also embarrassed her. She was not of consenting age when it happened, but I do not believe she was raped. I'm only working with what she's told me so far," Lauren said.
"How did she end up in the care of the Lansings?" Dave asked.
"In trauma therapy, we learn about all kinds of things. I now regularly attended a conference that caters to all kinds of kinks and sexual fetishes. It is shocking what you need to know about something in order to help someone process what they went through, so they can move on and aren't so fixated on it. At that conference I meet a lot of people, two of them being Wyatt and Victoria. They approached me afterward as Wyatt is a full time Master. It's how he makes his living and Victoria is the web person for his business. He wanted to have several sessions with me, to be sure he wasn't doing any harm to any of his clients. As we talked and time went by he became more interested about little ones. He had a young man coming to him for play and he and I talked about what would and wouldn't be appropriate.
While I was working with Wyatt for about six or so months, I acquired Mackenzie as another client. About four months into Mackenzie's therapy, she revealed that she'd been forced to play these adult baby type games. Her speech is off, so between the ages of thirteen to sixteen is when she was put into a very strange, but non physically abusive foster home. The foster mother however opened her up to every kind of kink that you can think of, and one of them was adult baby. From my notes, the best I can figure is the at-the-moment-boyfriend, was into it, the woman wasn't, and Mackenzie became the target. From her description, she was groomed and because she was a teenager, her body responded the way a teenage body would. It confused her, because she almost liked it, and then it scared her. During sessions, I mentioned to Mackenzie that I would know some people, who knew all about these various kinks and fetishes, and they were very kind people. It took a great deal of coaxing, but I explained to her that she should talk to them. They had knowledge that I didn't, and specifically Wyatt could answer questions for her, that I wouldn't be able to.
We spent two months getting to know them, over longer and longer periods of time, until Wyatt and Victoria offered her permanent residence with them. The thought was, if she was with them all the time, they could answer any question for her that she might have, and she'd have a safe place to rest and recover when she wasn't in therapy with me or the physical therapist she'd been with. She hesitated for a week, asking all kinds of questions that they answered. Mackenzie decided to try it on a nightly basis. She stayed with them permanently and she and I had regular check ins. It started three times a day and slowly dropped back to once in the evening. There was always the option for her to leave. She had a safe word to tell me, that was easily slipped into conversation and I would pull her out. She never said it. She seemed to be learning and she was at the very least interested in what she was learning. She also started asking both of them for assistance and they helped her to see she could do things on her own as well as ask for help. She may have the body of a six year old, but she is twenty two. She's limited in some things, but not everything and they are helping her to grow that independence. The moment I knew she felt completely safe with these people, was when I had this phone call," she said and handed Penelope a USB stick.
Penelope pulled it up and hit play. "Kenz, it's doctor Lauren sweetheart," Victoria called.
"Coming Mommy," a far away voice said and Victoria audibly groaned.
"When did that start?" Lauren asked.
"Early this morning. Wyatt is Daddy as well," Victoria said.
"You don't sound happy about that," Lauren pointed out.
"Lauren we have spent weeks helping her to understand that we are simply here to help her in her healing process. We are not forcing her into anything she doesn't want to do. If she has any kind of question at all, we will answer them. She can go to Wyatt and talk about any fetish under the sun and he will either answer her question or get the answers from someone he trusts and then tell them to her. She never wanted a little girl pathway and she was groomed for a long while in the adult baby world. I don't ever want her to think she has to go back there if she doesn't want to. I never want her to think she has to do something she isn't comfortable with, so she can stay with us. We have been assisting her a great deal lately and we do not mind, but the parental terms just fell out of her mouth, seemingly naturally. I'm very concerned we will push her one way or another, and that is not our job," she said.
"You need to stop worrying please. I will talk to her, and then when she's asleep later and you and Wyatt can take time away from her, you call me, and we'll talk," Lauren said.
"Thank you and here she is," she said.
"Hi," the tiny voice said.
"Hello Mackenzie, are you having a good day today?" she asked.
"Mhmm, Daddy take me to a pawk," she said.
"Mr. Wyatt took you to the park? That's very fun, did you go on the slides and the swings? I know you said you missed doing that when you were little and in the hospital," she offered.
"Yeah," she said. "An we pack-sis," she told her. "A, B, C," she said slowly.
Emily held up a hand and paused everything. "I'm not up on my six year old speech, but she sounds way younger than that and she's practicing her ABC's?" Emily asked. She didn't like what she was hearing.
"I can answer that," Penelope said pulling up some files on her computer. "Then medical reports indicate swelling, bruising and nerve damage along the jaw line. Notes indicate a weakness in dental muscles, which is why she was listed as non-verbal during intake."
"They were able to flush her system of the novocaine relatively quickly, and then when I showed up, she was still non-verbal. It took three weeks to get any letters out of her at all and I had to force her to practice, which she didn't like, because of how she sounded. It all goes back to childhood trauma of brain surgery, which she survived, and then a portrayal to the world of a six year old, who was abused, and tortured, and manipulated, and then battered, by someone with no awareness of novocaine and what that does to a body over time, or perhaps no idea of how to apply it properly," Lauren offered. "She sounds that young because she's only just starting to communicate with more words. She can write, so that's how she's done a lot of her communication in the past."
"Jesus, this poor girl," Dave said and Lauren nodded her agreement, before everyone looked to Penelope to hit play again.
"Did you have nice weather today in the park?" they heard Lauren ask.
"Boo sighs," Mackenzie answered and Lauren smiled.
"Well I'm glad you had blue skies today. You know that you can always tell me if the skies are a different color and the weather was bad, yes?" she asked.
"Mhmm," Mackenzie answered softly.
"Good. Is there anything else you want to talk to me about today?"
"No," she said simply. "Bye," she said and then handed the phone to Victoria.
"All done?" Victoria asked and Mackenzie was heard giving a soft vocalized agreement of some kind. "Okay, good. Now it's nearly ten o'clock, so finish your show please and then showers and bed for everyone," she said. Apparently Mackenzie didn't agree to this because there was soft protesting heard in the background. "I didn't say no television. There's a television in your bedroom. What I said was it's almost ten o'clock and we all need to get ready for bed," Victoria reminded her and there was more soft indiscernible speaking going on. "If you want to read, then yes, we can read a book together or you can read for an hour on your own," she said and with more indiscernible talking, Victoria went back to talking to Lauren. "I'm messing this up aren't I? I know she's not six, but she's so little, and as much as she doesn't want it, she needs to rest. Her body is still healing," Victoria said sounded very distressed.
"You're not messing it up. She's happy with you, and she's trying to figure things out as much as you and Wyatt are. You are good caregivers for her and the fact that she now refers to you as Mommy and Daddy means she does feel safe."
"What if she's playing out a fantasy though? How do I know I'm not going to accidentally trigger something horrid for her and send her back to square one trauma?" Victoria sighed.
"I will repeat. You are a good caregiver. You and Wyatt earned her trust. She's happy. It's been a month now that she lives with you. We just go day by day and when she's not happy, or doesn't feel safe, you'll know. More than that, you will know if she feels unsafe with you, or with her surroundings. I know it sounds hard, but you just have to trust me on this. Also you laid down ground rules because you know she's a very stubborn twenty two year old, who won't follow them for herself. You were not unkind. You didn't threaten her. You told her what would happen. You didn't tell her that if she didn't do something you would punish her. You did that last week too and she's still with you, even though it didn't go well. Do you remember that?"
"We told her to go to bed early, to rest, she didn't, but she's a grown up, so okay, you don't think you need the rest, don't rest. Then the next day walking through the grocery store, her body completely rebelled and she had muscle spasms all across her face and legs."
"And what did you do?"
"I wasn't with her, Wyatt was, and he simply held her, and did his best to calm her. He applied pressure to the muscles to get them to stop spazzing out, then he brought her home and we didn't talk about it. We just moved on, because as my husband so eloquently put it, shit happens. However, she regressed, big time. She didn't make many movements on her own. She glued herself to one of us. She begged to be carried around rather than walk on her own, and she barely spoke for the next three days. I don't want her to think that she has to do those things, so we'll continue to help her. I also don't want to deny her something, if she's ready to explore some sexual thing that happened years ago, and," Victoria said.
"And," Lauren interrupted, "when I checked in with her, we did a ZOOM call and she communicated that you and Wyatt simply took care of her and she was happy. Victoria, it's a balancing act, and you're doing the best you can. It's okay," Lauren assured her and with that the call ended.
"I understand why you are confident in the placement," Tara offered.
A quick look around the room meant that the team seemed okay with all the information Lauren had offered so far on Mackenzie and it was time to move on to another person of interest. "Okay, why don't we move onward and you tell us more about what type of trauma therapy you do, so we can get a better understanding of Mackenzie, so that we can attempt to interview her," Emily said.