Innocent Son

Chapter One

"Four bodies have been found in dumpsters in the past three months in San Francisco." Images of the bodies appeared on the tv behind Garcia. She grimaced at the sight and turned back to face us. "Twenty-five-year-old Jane Callahan, twenty-two-year-old Nathaniel Ray, twenty-three-year old Eden Byrne and nineteen-year-old Avery Browne were found with their throats slashed and stab wounds to their..." she motioned to her whole body.

"Unsub crossed gender and race lines, could mean these are victims of opportunity." Rossi suggested.

"That's where things get tricky my fine, furry friends," Garcia interrupts. "All of the victims are transgender." A shiver ran down my spine. I knew separating my feelings toward this case from the investigation was going to be necessary and difficult. "Based on all their records, these people had left their birth gender behind and never looked back." It had begun to feel like Garcia was describing me and not the victims up on the screen. "All of their documentation reflected their gender identity and they all had some form of either hormone replacement therapy or sex reassignment."

"It's actually called gender affirmation surgery nowadays, since it's been proven that sex and gender are two separate entities in that sex is a biological factor like skin colour but gender is socially constructed and is psychological more than anything." Reid explains. "Gender affirmation surgery suggests that the gender of the individual was always correct and that the sex of the person was not inline rather than the other way around." The team nodded and continued with the preliminary profile. I felt a bit of comfort knowing Reid had done his work learning about transgender identity, though I knew he probably just memorized some sociology textbooks and could pull up the information with his eidetic memory.

"So they're targeted. Was there any sign of sexual assault?" Prentiss asked. It was strange having her back, since she was the one I replaced. I was wondering if they were going to boot me when Hotch announced she was returning, though I hadn't heard anything suggesting it and this was the third case she had worked since she was back.

"For everyone except the first victim, Jane Callahan." Morgan pointed out. "ME report says there were trace amounts of lubricant that wasn't found on any of the other victims."

"That probably means Jane wasn't an intentional victim." JJ says. "Maybe the unsub wasn't planning on killing her."

I scanned over the ME report in the file in front of me. It looked like the unsub had also used protection. The sex was consensual, so what happened after that made him want to kill her? I couldn't get the disgust out of my head as I flipped through the report. Subconsciously I knew why, but didn't want to be the one to suggest it. The thought was too much for me to handle to actually put into words at the moment. If I needed to, I'd share, but for now it could wait.

"Local police have asked us to meet them there as soon as possible, wheels up in twenty." Hotch stated, effectively ending the briefing. I intentionally waited for everyone to leave before me, giving me a chance to take a breather. My brain felt like it was going a mile a minute. It took an ache building in my calf to realize that I was bouncing my leg up and down quite aggressively. I hoped no one else had seen that while we were briefing. Even with the rule not to profile the team, I knew from experience it's sometimes impossible not to notice. I let out an audible sigh, trying to force myself to relax before I left the room.

"Are you coming?" Hotch's voice came from the doorway. I jumped in my seat, not expecting any of them to wait for me.

"Yeah, sorry." I quickly stuffed my papers into my bag and walked out the briefing room, past Hotch who closed the door behind the two of us.

"Are you alright?" He inquires, though in that moment it feels more like an interrogation. I look up at him as we walk down the bullpen. His eyes are stern and unwavering, but in a kind, concerned way.

"I'm fine. I was just reading through the file." He knew that was a lie, the file wasn't even open on the table when he walked in. I averted my gaze from the taller man and followed him into the elevator. With the solitude of the small room, he took my hand in his. Squeezing it gently as if to say that he's there, both physically and emotionally.

"Y/N, I'm a profiler, it's my job." Using my first name was something he never did when we were in BAU mode. I knew that meant he was taking this seriously.

"I swear I'm alright." I give a small, reassuring smile before letting go of his grasp and exiting the elevator. "I'll let you know if I'm not." I say quieter, not wanting others to hear our conversation.

He just nodded, still unassured that I was actually okay and walked across the tarmac to the jet with me following close behind.

Even though we'd been in a relationship, we hadn't actually had sex. I hadn't told either of them that I was trans and I was dreading the day I had to. I avoided changing in front of either of them and did my best to keep their hands off of my chest. I knew my scars weren't noticeable to the touch, but the fear of them finding out by accident was too overwhelming. It was uncomfortable to say the least that we were getting on a plane to find a killer who would be willing to kill me if he could. I didn't need the team or my boyfriends worrying about that as well.