Delilah was sent to her room to gather clothing for herself along with other personal items she would need to bring with her. Before doing so, she let out a couple more details to the agents about the case. Whether or not she was supposed to, no one ever asked and she didn't care.

They were looking at a possible group of 6 Unsubs if the group had decided to stick together; they were all armed and very well trained. Stealthy too. As far as Delilah knew, it was the same group that forced her into Witness Protection but before her they had committed a decent amount of crimes that called upon police attention. There was no doubt in her mind that the two murdered junkies had possibly crossed them in some way to warrant the overkill. Them finding her specifically or out of simple coincidence was still in question.

"No, they definitely scoped her out," Morgan squashed whatever doubt still filled Emily and Spencer about Delilah's location. He crossed the meeting room to pin up a blurry photograph of the man Marlene had spotted in the cafe. It was pretty grainy and it could very well be anyone but it was all they had. "The barista we talked to told about a guy watching her last week. And in every shot his face is hidden."

"He knows we'd be looking at the camera," Rossi said. "The barista told us he was tall, had blonde hair and a full beard. Nothing else to set him apart."

"Yeah, and if he's smart enough then he's probably already shaved the beard off." Hotch walked up to the board himself. It was sad, really, how little they had for the case.

"That's very little," Delilah's voice made every agent turn towards the door. She was standing by the doorway with a duffel bag slung over her shoulder, but her eyes were glued to the board. "And it's my fault."

Silence filled the room.

Eventually, Emily got up from her seat and walked over to Delilah. "No, no, it's not."

Delilah laughed humorlessly and let the door close behind her. "Yes, it is, and you're all probably so frustrated about it."

"Even though...it's for your own safety not to get so involved," Hotch was making way for her when she set her duffel bag on the table.

"No, enough is enough. I'm in your way and I'm not even helping," she drummed her fingers along the table as she studied the board. Her eyes flickered from one piece of evidence to the next. "They," she pointed at the two corpses, "were junkies who probably wanted new drugs from the Unsub. They were probably annoying in his eyes and since he found me he killed 2 birds with one stone. He—" her finger had moved to the grainy picture, "—is Michael Sade, if I'm seeing the beard right. He was part of the 6 men gang who terrorized practically all of Virginia. I'm not sure about the names of the other four but I know that if Michael's here then the others are too, or at least on their way. He and...Jordan Rosh are the reason I'm in Witness. They're master murderers, all of them, but Michael and Jordan were in charge."

"That's enough," Hotch's hard tone was met with a rather sharp glare from Delilah. "You're not supposed to divulge any information that could endanger—"

"—but I have to," she said. Everyone noticed the hard grip she had on the table. Her knuckles were turning white.

"Your safety—"

"Is my call." Delilah was holding Hotch's gaze quite strongly. Usually no civilian, nor anyone crossing him, was able to. "I have given you information you can use to help avoid any other unnecessary death. I will not feel bad about that and neither should your team. You have a job to do and if I can help, I will." Realizing that commanding wasn't the best strategy either — it certainly wasn't polite considering they were also risking their lives for her — she fixed her tone of voice. "Please," she said softly, "I...I need to take some command back into my life. Let me help."

"Hotch," Morgan decided to make his call, "Maybe we should. If she's willing, we'll double our detail on her…"

"Please," Delilah insisted and hurried around Hotch to reach the board. She studied the contents and realized that they really didn't have a lot to go by. Behind her, all eyes turned to Hotch. Though they wouldn't say it out loud, except for Morgan, they were making their stance pretty clear. Delilah smiled to herself as soon as she heard the key sigh be given.

"It'd be off the record," she heard the warning.

"Of course," she grinned just before turning to face them. "Did you write those two names down?"

"We've got something better," Morgan flashed her a smirk before making a call. "Hey baby girl, I need something from you…"

'Baby girl?' Delilah mouthed to the others. They all smiled at her with the same 'it's normal' on their faces.

Apparently this 'baby girl' would be able to find anything and everything on Michael and Jordan. In the meantime, they would dissect the other parts of the case.

"So your cellphone was definitely taken from the house. Was there anything important in it?" Spencer asked her.

"Not really, just the necessary Marshal numbers…"

"We'll let Lewis know to warn whoever was in contact with you," Emily said.

Delilah was midway nodding when she suddenly went 'oh!'. It garnered similar gazes from the team. Delilah had become timid and so far that wasn't part of her personality. "Um…there was a-another number…" Looking back at it, she felt so stupid doing it. "There was this guy and...we texted a bit. It didn't really go anywhere — I never even got his last name."

"He could still be perceived as a boyfriend," Spencer said. "Can you remember any part of his phone number?"

Delilah scrunched her face to try and think. She wasn't going to pretend like she didn't stare at that number for days before sending the first text. "Umm, 310-821-499." Yeah, maybe she did stare at it a lot.

"Great, we'll give him a call," Spencer said but made no move to do so. Delilah thought it strange.

"Aren't you going to write the number down?"

"I don't need to," Spencer shrugged.

Delilah lifted an eyebrow at him. She went through the embarrassment of admitting the whole thing for him not to even write the damn number down?

Sensing Delilah's feelings, JJ eased her thoughts. "Don't worry, he has an eidetic memory."

"What?" Delilah blinked. Her eyes followed Spencer as he moved to make a call.

"I remember everything, basically," he shrugged at her.

"Oh…" Her eyes lingered on him, much to the amusement of everyone else. It was like she was trying to figure him out. "So...you'll just remember everything I say to you? Everything?"

Before Spencer could answer, they all heard Morgan's quiet mutter of 'everything'. Delilah glanced over at the man and chuckled at his expression. Clearly that gift wasn't always seen as a gift.

"I will be more aware of what I say then," Delilah resolved with another chuckle. Although now she was very aware that he would always remember her as the crazy woman who had nearly fought him for a journal when they first met. "Don't want you repeating something that I didn't mean."

"I wouldn't," Spencer assured her but he soon saw the looks on his team's faces. He frowned. He tried his best not to...usually…

~0~

Penelope Garcia had come through with records for both Michael Sade and Jordan Rosh. The two were childhood best friends who graduated from petty crimes into full murderers. Brotherly homicide is what Garcia regarded them as.

"They were arrested for multiple petty crimes but made their names when they started targeting gangs. No one really caught up to them until most gangs suffered decent losses," Garcia was on a full ramble that no one dared to interrupt. "By that point, they had started their own gang and went on to give the local police the biggest migraines. They're experts in the drug empire and know how to cover up their tracks. Most homicides they're suspected of have been of victims belonging to rival gangs."

"And I don't suppose you have the names of the rest of their little cohort?" Morgan asked her.

"Course I do, who do you think I am?" came Penelope's sarcastic offended huff. "The only problem is that none of them have been active in Virginia anymore. It's like they moved out of the state completely."

"I wonder why," Emily looked at the others.

Delilah.

"What was their last known whereabouts?" asked Hotch, knowing the implications that might come with the answer if Penelope was able to figure it out. Everyone else followed fast, except for Penelope.

"Looks like they were involved in a pretty high profile homicide — sorry, homicides." Garcia was scrolling through her screen for key points, and perhaps to avoid seeing the gruesome photographs of the crime scenes. "It was a bloodbath, guys. They took out several detectives, judges, and a few ADAs from D.C. at a banquet of some sort."

"We didn't hear about that," Rossi frowned. That type of mess would've drawn in decent media coverage.

"Because they weren't in need of our services," Garcia pointed out. "They knew exactly who did it thanks to three key witnesses." As soon as the word left Penelope's mouth, the team looked at each other. "According to the reports, there were three women who survived the attack when it happened. They got lucky and were being counted on to cooperate with the investigation. One witness claimed she was already looking at the group responsible, as part of an internship or something before she disappeared too. I'll get her name—"

There was a collective 'No!' from the team that stopped GaPenelopercia in her tracks. That witness had to be Delilah and if they learned her name, her real name, it would be the ultimate weapon against her.

"Garcia, those witnesses were placed into Witness Protection and the woman with us might be one of them," JJ explained so that Penelope wouldn't push to reveal the names.

"Delilah?"

"Yeah, so...let's not open that can of worms. It's better if we don't know anything about her true life. We're just interested in the men."

"Right," Penelope said, giving them the image of her nodding. "Um, the group was almost caught when they disappeared all of a sudden. No other homicides have been tied to them so far, not any that they can prove anyways."

"Okay, thanks Garcia," Hotch ended the call and followed it with a stern look at the others. "Nothing of that leaves this room."

"Of course," Emily said. As if any of them would he stupid enough to let the new information leave their lips to anyone outside.

"These men are more dangerous than we thought," JJ said. "To take out detectives, judges and D.A.s in one room? That's bold."

"But it truly confirms what this case is about," Morgan returned to the evidence board. "This whole thing revolves around Delilah. They found one of the witnesses and they want to take her out. They won't stop unless someone stops them."

~ 0 ~

"I'd ask if this is really necessary but I think I know the answer," Delilah sighed as she waited outside of her new hotel room with JJ while her room was 'checked'. JJ offered Delilah a warm, albeit apologetic, smile. "Yeah," sighed Delilah again. "Lewis gave me a whole new cellphone and strictly told me not to give any other people my number. Except for you guys."

"It's best that way," JJ assured her but she suspected that by this point Delilah had heard it all.

Hotch and Morgan emerged from the room moments later. Everything was good to go.

"I really don't like the idea of having your agents stay up the whole night babysitting me," Delilah told Hotch after pulling him to the side. "They have a job and I don't want to make it harder on them."

"I appreciate your concern for them but they'll be fine. They'll be doing half shifts. Prentiss and Reid will take the first shift. Agents Morgan and Rossi will be in later in the night. Agent Jareau and I will be working with the media to get your photographs pulled off before they air." Delilah had forgotten that pesky details and felt even worse knowing they had to go through all that mess just for her. "You'll be fine and, need I remind you, it is part of the deal."

Delilah's smile was strained. "Yeah, it was…" She would avoid repeating herself about how frustrating it was. It wasn't their fault, after all. "Thanks," she said instead, choosing to continue showing her appreciation and how very aware she was of the risks they were taking with her.

"Miss Carrerro," Morgan gestured towards the open door. "We'll stick around until the others show up. They had to get a few things."

"Yeah, so they can stay up, poor things," Delilah said as she walked for the room. It was a curse being that aware.

The room wasn't all that luxurious but enough to have a small living room first and then the actual bedroom. Delilah went into the bedroom and set her duffel bag on the foot of the bed. She wouldn't unpack, there was just no point, but she did lay out the pajamas she'd get into later.

When she returned to the living room, Morgan and Rossi were sitting on the couch conversing quietly. She had no doubt it was about her and the case.

"Was Marlene afraid?" she suddenly asked them. The question was random and caught them off guard but they still answered her on the spot.

"Just worried, ma'am," Morgan said.

"Please, Delilah," she said first. "Ma'am is what you'd say to my Mother. And I ask about Marlene because she really is young. She has no business being stuck in this mess."

"She'll be fine," Rossi assured her. "She was very helpful."

"If it's possible, I'd like for someone to keep an eye on her too. I wouldn't put it behind Michael or Jordan to try something against her because of me."

"Of course, we've already discussed that."

Delilah thanked them and made her way to the only window in the room. There was no balcony for her protection but there was still a nice view of the streets. She barely registered the knocks on the door and when she did, she caught Morgan and Rossi doing their diligence before opening the door. But, as scheduled, it was just their fellow co-workers. Delilah felt absolutely awful for making them go through all that.

"Alright, we'll be back later," Morgan said as he and Rossi left the room.

Delilah turned around to see them closing the door. Poor Emily and Spencer would be taking the first shift being absolutely bored out of their minds. "I'd offer you two some dinner but, uh…" she gestured to the room like they didn't already know.

Emily smiled at her. "Don't worry about us."

"But we did bring you something," Spencer pulled out a box from around his back and held it out for Delilah.

"What is it?" She inched closer until she was able to take the box into her hands. She pulled the lid off and saw a pile of jigsaw puzzle pieces inside. "My puzzle!" she beamed. "Did you guys go back for it?"

"All 3000 pieces," Spencer nodded.

Of course the reminder of the number of pieces put a downer in the air. "Ooh," Delilah turned away and started for the coffee table. "I had a lot of it already started." She dumped the entire pile on the table then sat down on the ground, over her knees. "It was a pain not to look at the box because, yes, I like to cheat sometimes."

"Don't worry, I don't do puzzles because I get mad at them," Emily folded her arms over her chest.

Delilah looked up with an odd expression. "But...but you're a profiler. That's like one huge puzzle." Emily bobbed her head to the side, giving Delilah the point. Delilah sighed heavily and made a show of pushing the box away. "I won't cheat this time."

"You know, back then there were no guide pictures on the boxes so if the titles were vague," — Spencer had moved over for the box Delillah pushed away — "people wouldn't really know what the puzzle was about until they actually finished it."

"Then why would they buy it in the first place?" Delilah made a face. "I like knowing what I'm buying."

"Well, people didn't really know back then. John Spilsbury was the first to create a puzzle but at that time he called it 'dissected maps' and sold them as a method of geography-teaching. It was actually really interesting because he mounted a world map on a sheet of hardwood then cut around the borders with a handsaw."

Delilah had lost him midway in his fast-paced ramble but was far too bemused to interrupt until after he was done. "I'll bite, where's the English button?"

Emily chuckled. Spencer took it with a shrug as he did whenever people responded to his moments.

"We've never been able to find one," Emily remarked in-between her laugh. Now at her, Spencer threw a sharp look. She wasn't helping.

"Sorry," Delilah eventually said to him with a matching apologetic smile. "My social skills have lost a bit of their touch since I don't really talk to anyone anymore."

"It's fine," Spencer handed her the box so she could look at the picture. She was one of the few who would actually apologize even though she hadn't been very rude to begin with.

"Actually…" Delilah's expression turned mischievous in a second, "You did say that you...you remember everything, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Well…" Delilah fiddled with her fingers and threw a glance at the pile of pieces in front of her, "...would you be so opposed to…" Her face scrunched when she squeezed the answer out in one go, "...helping me recreate what I had before?" Her hands came together to complete the innocent pose she was going for.

The pose hit him more than it should've. He didn't know why but his first instinct was to look at Emily like she had the answer.

"Don't look at me, I hate puzzle pieces," she raised her hands in front of her.

"You're a profiler!" Delilah laughed.

"So I'd like not to solve puzzles I don't have to! That—" Emily pointed aggressively at the pile of pieces, "—is a huge stress bomb for me! I don't need it! Nor do I want it!"

Delilah playfully rolled her eyes. "Fine," she sighed. "I can do it."

"No—I can...I can help," Spencer awkwardly cleared his throat. She had asked him first anyways.

She beamed at him. "Great!" She motioned him to take a seat beside her. He did so but awkwardly as he considered the amount of space to leave between them. She didn't seem to notice as she was spreading the pieces on the table. "I know it's sad that this is what I'm excited about right now but...it's sort of all I have going for me."

"Well puzzles are seen as a perfect, therapeutic, way to escape reality. Back in the Great Depression, people tended to do puzzles to forget about the unemployment rates — they were even set up in restaurants and nightclubs for customers."

Delilah stared at him like she was trying to figure something out on her own and when she couldn't, she asked for help. "So this…" Her hands gestured at him, "...just comes to you naturally? The-the information well?"

"Yup," Emily was the one to answer first. Delilah smiled at the woman who was finding her own seat on one of the couch chairs. "'Information well' is calling it nicely."

"It must come in handy," Delilah turned her attention back to Spencer. "I mean, school must have been a breeze."

That wouldn't be the phrase he would use to describe his school experiences but since she was being nice and he had no right to dampen her mood even more, he simply nodded at her. Lucky for him, Delilah wouldn't press for specific events about it. She truly was excited to restart her puzzle.

"An easy way to start is to sort the pieces—"

"—by colors and sometimes textures!" Delilah triumphantly finished before Spencer could and when she did she smirked. "Ha! I know some things too."

He smiled at her. Most people shied away — or some would be more bold and rude — with his 'information well'. Delilah seemed to take it as a challenge. Granted it was probably a waste of her time — something he was sure that she knew — but it was refreshing to see someone take it at a different angle.

"I've got reds, oranges and blues…" Delilah easily sorted the pieces she could spot and those that she missed, Spencer would slide over to her. In no time they had the pieces in separate, smaller piles.

When the actual rebuilding started, Delilah proved that she really was an avid puzzler. She remembered key puzzle pieces belonged in certain areas and she was more happy to test the unknown ones. The fact that every now and then Spencer kept bringing up random facts about puzzles did nothing to hold her back. She would comment where she could but she wasn't afraid to admit that she had no idea what he was talking about. It just led her to ask questions about it.

"So you just happen to walk around knowing that the most expensive jigsaw puzzle was sold for $15,000," she looked at him through the piece in her hand. Along the way, they had moved around the table so that they were sitting across from each other. They were halfway through the puzzle.

"It's not that hard to know about it," Spencer shrugged. "A little reading goes a long way."

"Mm, except I think your definition of 'a little reading' is vastly different from mine." Delilah was glad to fit another piece. "I do read but I don't read about puzzles. Although," she raised a finger in the air, "I do remember someone mentioning that the record for the most assembled pieces in one jigsaw puzzle was—"

"209,250?" Spencer said casually as he found another piece for the opposite corner Delilah worked on.

"Okay…" She was clearly sour. He had cut off her showing off attempt, but she wasn't a quitter. "But did you know where—"

"The Grand Formosa Regent Hotel in Taiwan?"

Delilah let the piece in her hand drop so she could curl her hands into fists. "Dammit!"

Maybe Spencer enjoyed the moment for a bit...just for a bit. Delilah's eyes narrowed at his poorly hidden smile.

"Okay then, I see how it is," Delilah cleared her throat and fixed her blouse. "I will not make a fool out of myself."

"I didn't think you were…"

Delilah brought her fists down and uncurled them to press against the edge of the table. She wished she had something clever to say but for now, he bested her. Instead, she yawned. "You know what, I think I'll go get some sleep. Take a break."

"Taking a break from puzzles every once in a while is good," Spencer watched her stand up. "It's like a reset button for your brain."

"Something I assume you don't have to do very often," she glanced at Emily who was sleeping on the couch chair with an arm over the armrest and her cheek pressed against her palm. It couldn't be a comfortable position. "I feel terrible for you guys. You should be sleeping."

"Don't worry, usually when we have cases we don't always get to sleep well."

"Still," Delilah brought her arms over her chest. "Sorry about it."

"You should go rest."

"Yeah, hope you get to do the same — a rest never hurt anyone." Before he opened his mouth, Delilah quickly added, "I didn't mean it literally!" she sarcastically huffed and headed for her room.

Spencer smiled to himself as he fit in the last piece of the puzzle. They managed to figure it out quickly, even though he had to slow himself down. Delilah was too nice and even though he wouldn't intend to be rude, his fast-pace could be perceived as such.

"I have so many comments…"

He flinched in his spot when Emily made the remark. "I thought you were—"

"Yeah, right," Emily slowly opened her eyes and smiled languidly at him. "What kind of an Agent would I be? Surprised you didn't realize that but then again..if a pretty girl is laughing with you, that big brain of yours just flatlines."

"What…? That's not…" Spencer pushed himself up to his feet and stepped away from the table as if that alone would prove what he was struggling to say. "I was keeping her distracted from the case."

"Mhm," Emily' sarcastic nodding wasn't appreciated in the least. She fixed her position on the chair and leaned forwards. "I built a decent rapport with her but you just downright stole it."

"I did not," Spencer's defense wasn't as strong as he would've liked.

"No, it's good," Emily took pity on his reddened face and chuckled. "Now she'll definitely trust us."

"I didn't do anything, Emily." Spencer pushed himself up and looked down at the puzzle. He really didn't do it, not even for the dang rapport. He knew exactly what it was like being practically no one and it turned out that Delilah liked something he did too. He would've done it with anyone else...he would like to think.

Emily watched him with a growing smirk on her face. It wasn't often any of them got to have one of their local boy genius. It was a simple novelty.

A/N:

So this was just a little fluff piece to start off. It's like a foundation, you know?

P.S. As always, I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "saiilorstars"