Criminal Minds Series Rewrite: Season Three

In Heat: Final Part

"Once Steve got to the motel, he was supposed to call," she sighs. "He never did. Every time that phone rings..." She can't finish her sentence. "I know in my heart that Steven was happy that day. I swear, it was the first time I'd seen him smile in years. He'd been talking about taking that trip for weeks."

"Sarah, you don't have to justify your brother getting on that bus," Derek says.

"Yes, I do, because it was my fault. I gave Steven the money to go to Miami."

"Why?" you ask.

"I was trying to help him to go somewhere else, somewhere he could feel safe."

"Safe from what?" Sarah becomes rigid and looks to the house as if she doesn't want her father to hear. "What are you looking for, Sarah? Are you afraid somebody's gonna hear you?"

"Was your father hurting Steven?" you ask, fitting the pieces together.

"He really believes he was doing what's right. They just didn't see eye to eye. Steven couldn't stay here anymore, and I had to help him get out."

"Is your father hurting you, too?"

"Never," she says quickly.

"How come?" Derek asks.

She doesn't want to answer that, and you know why as soon as she looks down in shame.

"It's because she's not the one who's gay," you sigh.

David, Steven's father, isn't a very nice man to his son. David believes Steven was confused with his sexuality, that he needed to work out his "issues" regarding that. David believes that wherever Steven is, he is in a better place than his own home. His father is a prison guard, so he found strength and guidance with God.

His faith is his personal code.

Because David is a prison guard, he's seen plenty of men on top of other men. He thinks it's filthy how they would find pleasure in the same sex, and he didn't want that for his own son. He likes to believe that Steven did it to piss him off, not that because he felt right doing it. It breaks your heart to think that Steven had to endure his father's beating because of the kind of people he chooses to love.

It's not right, but it doesn't seem to affect David all that much. He's set in his ways and will have a hard time changing his mind. You don't dwell on that right now because as soon as Hotch and Rossi leave the house, there is news of an abandoned car located not far from here.

When you get there, you see another victim inside the convertible car. Steven is working quickly because his past is catching up to him. He hates who he is because of David, and that hatred and contemptment is shining through in places he doesn't want shining through.

The car isn't the victim's but Deacon's. He drove the car from Texas, and Steven stole it from him when he killed him. When Tina hears it might be Steven, she becomes floored.

"We've had his picture this whole time?"

"Apparently."

"We didn't know soon enough to prevent this. How did the victim die?" you ask.

"Asphyxiation. Why mess with a good thing? It's clearly working for him. This stretch of road takes you out of the city. If we lose Steven now, it could take us months to catch up with him again."

Derek slaps on some white gloves and reaches inside the car where there are scraps of paper in the cup holders

"What are those?"

"Some kind of scraps of paper. Looks like a fast-food wrappers, and a receipt for a youth hostel. It's dated last night. The name on it is Michael Aldridge."