Past and Present

Chapter 12

After a month went by, the team had a few more cases, some worse than others. I had really been settling in at the BAU and at this point I really felt like it was my second home. JJ, Garcia, Emily, and I went out almost every Saturday for a girls night, accompanied by Morgan or Reid on occasion, (and sometimes even Rossi and Hotch). One night Rossi invited us all over for a homemade Italian meal that I couldn't resist. I loved my new family.

As for things with Reid, they were better than ever. We hung out every weekend and got to see eachother everyday of the week, making hiding our relationship from Hotch super difficult, (not to mention I was finally having a sex life, which by the way may be the best I've ever had). We finally made things official after two weeks of seeing each other, and everyone was super happy for us. When we announced our relationship, Hotch assured us that he was more than happy but told us we had to have a conversation with Strauss. Although I was nervous at first, the meeting with Strauss went smoothly. She just reminded Reid and I that if we let our relationship get in the way of our work, one of us would have to be moved to a different unit, (and we all knew that would be me). Hotch thankfully put in a good word for us, keeping as little drama out of the whole ordeal as possible.

That's when I knew I could go without him. Noah. He was simply a loose end from my past that was irrelevant to my future. I depended on him a lot in our relationship, which I was now finding out through my newer and healthier relationship, was extremely toxic. When I came to the BAU, I admit there were lingering feelings for him, but after basically threatening me, I knew I had to cut him off. Thankfully, he hadn't reached out to me since that night at the bar, and he went back to Boston, where he stayed after college. Everything seemed to be going right now. My life was finally being set into motion.

And then we had our new case.

***

"Actually Morgan for your information, Jo and I don't just talk about nerd stuff, we do plenty of other activities on weekends. In fact, last weekend we went biking and had a picnic," Reid responded defensively to Morgan's teasing about two brainiacs dating each other.

"Settle down boys," I said as I walked over to the two at their desks, handing Reid a cup of coffee.

"Jo, Morgan is making fun of us," Reid said as if he was a ten year old, grabbing the coffee from my hand.

"Morgan c'mon what could you possibly have to say about our relationship. Bring it. I  can handle it," I said, sipping my coffee.

"Nothin, nothin. Just that you guys must run outta things to say with those brains of yours," he said chuckling.

I leaned towards Morgan, Reid following my motions like a puppy dog.

"For your information," I said whispering, "Reid and I don't always talk. In fact, a lot of the time we spend no time talking at all," I said slyly, sipping my coffee with a smirk seeing the look on Morgan's face.

Reid and I high fived to Morgan's response as Morgan cringed jokingly.

"Brainiac lovin', not something you hear about everyday," he said, laughing at his own joke.

"Ha ha," Reid responded sarcastically.

Then, as if on cue, Hotch came out of his office.

"We have a case."

The team all looked at each other and made our way to the conference room. There I sat in between Reid, of course, and JJ, who for some reason looked at me with a concerned face.

"Last night twenty seven year old Sandra Anderson was killed on a run in her neighborhood in Bristol, Indiana," Garcia started.

I gasped. My home town. Sandy. Sandy Anderson. I grew up with her. We were never close but we went to school together and graduated together. I thought I was going to be sick. Reid immediately saw my discomfort and held my hand under the table.

"Local PD has connected this murder to the murder of two other twenty seven year old women in the same town, Katherine Paine and Ruby Nickels," Garcia continued.

Now, I knew I was going to be sick.

"Each victim was stabbed in the back ten times, with strangulation marks on their necks as well," Garcia looked at me, a concerned look in her eyes. "Each girl had long blonde hair and hazel eyes."

I gulped. That is exactly what I looked like.

Reid squeezed my hand.

The entire team kept giving me awkward glances, making sure I was okay.

After Garcia finished the presentation, I was feeling super uneasy. What did this mean?

"Our unsub has a type. He is targeting women of the same age and physical features, in a small town, making him extremely dangerous. If we are going to catch this guy, we are going to have to act now. Wheels up in 30," Hotch stated as the team began to prepare to fly to Indiana.

"Jo, can I talk to you for a moment," Hotch said as he began filing more papers into his folder.

I walked over to him knowing what was coming.

"Jo, obviously this case is in your home town and while I would usually say it is imperative that you be with the team, it is obviously uncanny how much these victims look like you. The unsub may be targeting  you directly, and in that case, it may be dangerous for you to join us. But it's up to you."

I thought for a second, knowing in the end what I was going to do.

"I want to be there. If whoever this guy is, is targeting me, I want to see him be taken down by our team. Plus, it would be nice to see my family," I said, trying to make the conversation lighter.

"Okay Agent, whatever you want, just know if he is targeting you, you will not be allowed into the field, understood?"

"Yes Sir," I said, understanding that it may be too dangerous for me.

***

On the plane ride, the members of the team asked me how I was doing and kept checking up on me every five seconds. While it became a little irritating, I understood. They cared about me and just wanted to make sure I was somewhat at ease.

Reid just held my hand and distracted me the entire time by giving me facts about anything he could possibly muster up.

The plane ride was short, allowing me to remain anxious the entire time. I really needed to calm down. No more coffee for me.

As we discussed victimology, I budded in a few times, trying to treat this as if it was any other case. Everyone treated the situation the same, which I was grateful for.

As we walked off of the jet, I took a deep breath. This is not the way I was planning on spending my first week back home.