It had actually taken two days before they headed out on a new case, and from the look on Hotch's face when he had called them together for the briefing, Alex knew that it would not be a good one. And then the pictures on the screen had proven those feelings right. Since it had been so long since she had been with the BAU, she had unconsciously flinched to see what the unsub was doing to the women he killed. "All right, wheel's up in twenty," Hotch said when he had finished briefing the case, and she could tell by the set of his shoulders that he was not looking forward to this case.

Nodding, she followed JJ out of the conference room, and after they had made their way down to her desk, the younger woman turned to her, giving her a slightly nervous smile. "I really wish that Morgan and Garcia were back for this case. Being two members down is not going to bode well on this one."

"When are they returning?" she asked as she scooped up her go bag and walked with JJ over to her desk.

"In a week. And I know, if we had caught this case a week later, the unsub would probably have chosen another victim, so we want to head in as soon as possible. I just feel more settled when we have everyone. Even you've become a part of the team in short order. I just wish you'd talk a little more, because I feel like a chatterbox."

Alex shrugged as they made their way out to the elevators, letting JJ press the down button. "I'm not much for talking, I'm sorry. I feel like we can learn more from situations by listening. And anything you say to me, dies with me."

"That's good to know. We protect each other here, because we need to work well together. And don't worry, once Garcia is back, you won't have me chattering away in your ear, since we talk a lot. Probably more than is healthy. I think that you'll like her."

"She sounds lovely. But what about Agent Morgan? Is there anything that I should know about him before they get back next week?" she asked as they stepped into the elevator, and JJ gave her an almost wicked smile. "That does not seem encouraging."

"He's a good guy, he's helped me grow as an agent, but there are times when he can be a complete jackass." Alex nodded a little, trying to encourage JJ to say more. "There was a time when Hotch had to step down as our Unit Chief, and Strauss chose him, of all people, to step up to the leadership position. Or at least, Hotch made it feel like it was her choice. Life goes easier for us when she thinks she gets her way."

Alex was unable to stifle her laugh as she nodded, and JJ tilted her head to one side as she gave her a look. "I suppose that I have to answer that look, don't I?" JJ nodded. "Erin and I have history, it's not something I would like to discuss, but I'm certain that Hotch or Rossi could fill you in on the details, if you asked. But I do know, full well, that keeping Erin happy can make life easier for everyone involved."

There was an unintentional wistfulness in her voice that she knew JJ picked up on by the way her expression softened, and Alex took a deep breath as she prepared herself for another round of questions. "Can I ask a personal question?"

"You may ask, I just may choose not to answer."

"Fair enough," JJ replied as they stepped out of the elevator. "I'll drive to the airfield today, so that we can continue this conversation." Alex nodded a little as she followed close to JJ, not knowing what her car looked like. "So, just like you, I can keep things close to the vest. There are some things that I haven't ever told the team. Are, are you someone who likes both apples and bananas?"

Alex glanced over to see that the younger woman's cheeks were bright red with embarrassment, as if she was afraid that she would react negatively to the subtextual question. "I do happen to like both fruits, however, my parents, particularly my mother encouraged me in one direction. And before you ask, I will not answer any further questions regarding Erin and myself. There are some things that I would like to keep private, no matter what you might think about the truth of matters."

JJ gave her a small smile as she unlocked her car, and Alex smiled back as she stowed her go bag in the back seat before settling into the passenger seat. "It's okay, just so you know. It just feels good to have someone else know about my fruit preference."

"It is hard to keep certain things locked away in our hearts," she murmured absently as JJ drove to the airfield. Her driving was slightly better than the last time she had been behind the wheel, which made Alex feel a little better. "Now, here's hoping that we can close this case quickly. I don't like being even further out of sync with James."

"I know. This will make things awkward for me to talk to Henry before he goes to sleep, since his bedtime will be five, Seattle time. That's the one thing that I don't like about this job."

"I understand," she replied before she could call those two little words back, and she hoped that JJ wouldn't ask if she had children. She didn't want to talk about Ethan, not with anyone. Even if she knew that Erin would ask after him, if they ever got to speaking terms again, which Alex considered as likely as Hell freezing over. "Have you ever thought about having another child?"

She didn't know what possessed her to ask such an intrusive question, but it was now out in the open for JJ to decide to answer or not. There was a long pause, and when Alex slid her eyes over to look at the woman, she saw the tight set of her jaw as she took a few deep breaths. "The time just hasn't ever been right," she finally replied as she pulled into the parking lot of the private airfield, and before Alex could say another word, she was parking the car and hopping out, fairly running over to the plane and boarding it as she shoved her bag into Reid's arms.

Alex was slower at getting out, wanting to give JJ some space, and she locked the doors after grabbing her bag. Heading over to the jet, she gave Rossi a small smile as he took it from her hands, and she boarded with her tablet in hand, knowing that she didn't need anything else to occupy her time during the flight. Climbing the stairs, Alex tried to prepare a suitable apology for the gaffe she'd made, only to see that JJ was already seated next to Hotch, talking about the case, and she let out a small sigh as she took a seat across the aisle, knowing that Reid and Rossi would want to sit across from the other two members of the team.

As she waited for the everyone to get settled, and the jet to take off, Alex allowed herself to get lost in thought. There was something about this case that she knew was going to test her mettle, since from the briefing, she knew that it was a lot more brutal than their case in Alabama. And suddenly, she wondered if Hotch had deliberately chosen for them to take a softball case in order to ease her back into profiling. Alex certainly hoped that that was not the case, since that insinuated that he didn't think she was truly capable of just diving into the perfidy that was human nature. I hope that my midnight caller is able to call tonight. I truly need to get these things off my chest, she mused. She didn't want to think about why she needed that connection, since that would require her to do some soul searching about the fact that she couldn't talk to those closest to her, but she could certainly open herself up to a stranger and just bleed her feelings and frustrations out all over them. James would say that it only made sense, because talking to the ones she loved meant that she had to put herself out on a limb, and she hadn't truly done that since Erin had broken her.

A pair of snaps caught her attention, and Alex shook her head to see Rossi sitting across from her, a sheepish smile on his lips. "Sorry, Alex, I didn't mean to be rude, but nothing seemed to be getting your attention. Hotch wants to start working on a preliminary profile, so that we can hit the ground running, so to speak."

She nodded and turned the chair so that it was better facing them, calling up the notepad app on the tablet and taking notes on the things that the others were saying, still feeling hesitant to share her thoughts with the others, even though she knew that they wouldn't judge her. There was this perfectionist streak inside her, though, that whispered for her to keep things close to the vest still, at least for one more case. Once they had finished gathering their thoughts and dissecting the few facts that they had, they broke into individuals once more, and Alex curled up in her seat as she angled her body towards the window and stared at her notes, comparing what they'd gone over with the crime scene photos. It seemed like the police had taken too long to call them in, as the number of known victims was in the double digits.

"So, is there anything that you'd like to discus with me?"

Alex looked up to see that Hotch had taken the seat across from her, while the others were occupied with their tablets, or in Reid's case, taking notes on paper as he rifled through paper copies of the case file. She drew in a deep breath as she stared at him for a few seconds longer, trying to figure out what he wanted to her to say. "I can't think of anything that we need to discuss, Hotch. Why?"

He gave her a penetrating look, and she squirmed a little under the gaze as she waited for him to reply. "You have been distracted all morning. That's not like you, from the little that we've worked together already. And from what I remember from beforehand. Is there something that I should know about? You mentioned that your husband was in Gabon, is he all right? Or has he run into an issue over there?"

It was almost like he was giving her an out, and she decided to run with that line of thinking, knowing that she didn't want to reveal that she was hoping to receive another midnight call while she was in Seattle. "He's fine, I'm just hoping that there is a time that he can call me while we're working this case. There is something about it that is just giving me that unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach that things will not end well. And while I know that I can't discuss details with James, he is able to help talk me down off the ledge of my feelings. After all, we can't have an unstable agent out in the field."

He nodded and gave her the quickest, smallest, smile she'd ever seen, and she relaxed a little as he went over to the others once more, soon losing himself in a discussion with JJ. Their eyes met suddenly, and the younger woman gave her an almost anguished smile, and Alex nodded as she turned back to the window as she mulled over the details of the case, hoping that they would be able to catch the unsub quickly, even though she had a feeling that they would be in Seattle for quite some time.