THIRTEEN ; GREEN LIGHT.

"You'd think after ten years, I'd seen it all," Penelope Garcia said, her voice erupting from Derek Morgan's cell phone. Quinn stood next to the man, mind racing too quickly to be stationary in a chair. The question of who the supplier was continued to badger her, relentless in it's attempts to burrow itself into her brain.

"How many sites are there, mama?" Derek asked.

"Hundreds," was Penelope's reply, "and that gem of a fellow you've got in custody has looked at all of them at one time or another. Anonymity is huge for these sites. Brownie points to a Miss Quinn Carson for remembering that, by the way." Quinn chuckled to herself, a small grin spreading across her face. "Anyway, they use a Tor Network, which is an onion router. Point is, you're not gonna be able to find anyone this way. Do you know there are actual variations on a disarticulation fetish?" Quinn grimaced, exchanging eye contact with Kate, at the of the table, who was wearing a similar expression. Garcia sighed. "I need baby kitten pics ASAP."

"Oh, have you seen the baby hippo who lives with the family?" Kate asked.

"What?" The technical analyst's voice was excited.

Kate explained, "Sleeps with a blanket, gets massages, eats better than I do." Morgan raised an eyebrow. He glanced back at Quinn who shook her head. Animal videos weren't exactly a Horsemen priority.

"Where is that?" Garcia questioned.

"South Africa, it's amazing," the brunette replied with a smile. Quinn watched as Spencer turned away from his board, looking slightly bewildered at how a very dire conversation had turned cute.

Garcia spoke quickly. "Trust me, I have an arsenal of cuteness. Have you seen the one with the baby elephant-"

"Oh, and the baby chicks?" Kate squeaked. "Yes! I love that one!"

Morgan's eyes met Quinn's once more. "You have any idea what they're on about?"

The girl shook her head, face turning pink and putting her hands up. "I'm a bit behind on my viral trends. I uh, I just learned what a meme was."

Derek let out a loud laugh, only to be silenced by Spencer's voice. "Uh, hey guys?" he interrupted, glancing up from his file in his hand.

"Sorry," Kate apologized.

"Sorry."

"The most recent victim was taken from Riverside. That's more than two and a half hours away from here," Reid stated, turning fully to the three in front of him.

"So his comfort zone isn't limited to here," Morgan noted.

"That's not good," said Kate. "It means he's got a lot more confidence than we thought."

"He's leaving his victims here, though," Quinn tried to reason. "There's got to be some strange connection he has to this town."

"The M.E says that he's gotten better at ligating each victim, which means he may have had practice," Spencer recalled.

"On what?" inquired Derek.

Spencer glanced at Quinn and Kate. "We originally didn't profile him as an acrotomophile, but that sort of attraction typically has deep roots in childhood."

"Maybe the UnSub grew up around dead bodies, like a funeral home," Kate spoke. "So it wasn't that big of a leap for him."

"It could be," Morgan agreed. "We know he wasn't socially awkward enough to continue that family tradition, so maybe he found work in a morgue or a hospital."

"When you say work..." came Garcia's voice from the phone.

"A security guard, janitor, anything entry level," Katie answered.

"Maybe even a teacher or professor of biology or a science like that. They should have good knowledge and familiarity of the body," Quinn added, shrugging her shoulders as she thought to herself.

The tapping of a keyboard could be heard from the speaker. "Uh, the UC system has a medical facility in Bakersfield."

"Anyone fired recently?" Spencer inquired.

"No," Garcia replied, "but there's an anatomy professor on sabbatical. Quinn Carson you are on roll, welcome to the team my friend." Everyone glanced at Quinn who was turning pink once more. They all noticed how much Quinn blushed when complimented or embarrassed.

"Do we have a name?" Kate asked.

"Dylan Myers," responded Garcia, sighing slightly. "He's your best lead, I'd check him out."

-----

The team had sent Hotch, Rossi, Callahan and JJ to the abode of Dylan Myers, hoping to find either the man himself, or evidence that this was indeed the man they were looking for. This was their best guess of who the mystery man was, and they had to take every opportunity to catch the 'Mad Butcher' that they had.

Quinn and Spencer sat at the table at the center of the BAU's setup, the two flipping through their copies of the recently updated M.E report. The girl rubbed her fingers up against her temple, attempting to console a pounding headache that had developed. She glanced at Spencer who was doing the same, but his fingers were placed at his neck. Quinn frowned at the action, taking in a deep breath and sighing. Spencer looked up at her, eyes widening as he realized he had been caught.

"You're not okay," she stated. The doctor opened his mouth to speak, but Quinn cut him off. "Don't even try to tell me you're not."

"Quinn-"

With a sudden vote of confidence, she revealed something she hadn't with anyone else. "I've been shot too," she quietly confessed. Spencer's eyes widened in shock. She had figured out what had happened to him and he had learned a startling fact about her. "Multiple times. It was a Horsemen punishment. The sound still makes me a bit anxious."

"Quinn, you don't have to talk-"

"Sometimes it was just the sound. They'd blindfold me and fire off blanks just to scare me," she continued. She felt herself fall into a memory as she spoke to Spencer. She did not cry. She wouldn't. She wouldn't show weakness. "I told you I was deaf in my left ear." She shrugged and laughed humorlessly. "That's why."

Spencer felt his chest tighten as he watched her talk to him. "I-I'm sorry."

She shook her head, letting out a deep breath. "Don't be. It wasn't your fault." She laughed to herself. "This wasn't the point of my speech. My point is, I know that it takes a while to heal from something as serious as a gunshot, especially one to the neck. You can't lie to me, especially about this kind of stuff," she said. Spencer looked away from her, lips pursed and pushed to the left side of his mouth. "So, I'm going to ask you again, Spencer, how are you feeling?"

The doctor looked up at her with a small smile. "I'm a little sore, honestly."

"There we go, good," she cheered, making Spencer chuckle slightly. "Not that you're hurt, but that you're not lying."

"I got it, I got it," he replied, rubbing his neck once more.

"Rubbing it is just going to make it hurt more, by the way."

Spencer shook his head, pointing a finger at her. "Actually, I'm going to take this opportunity to tell you that you're false, because I don't think I'll be able to do this a lot," he said, making Quinn's eyes widen. "Static pressure or compression, besides feeling good to sore muscles, does generate a small amount of increased blood, lymph and oxygen flow to and from the affected areas. It's the increase in blood and oxygen that brings nutrients to the cells in the affected area and the increase of lymph flow speeds removal of metabolic waste."

Quinn stared at him in shock, blinking once or twice. "Well, I uh, stand corrected," she told him, making Spencer grin to himself. His hand returned to his neck, grimacing as he touched the scar.

Morgan came to the group several minutes later, furrowing his eyebrows as he watched Reid rub his neck. He held two coffee cups and glanced back and forth from the doctor to Quinn. The two met eyes and Quinn shook her head at Morgan, signaling that Spencer didn't want to talk about his injury.

However, Morgan being the protective man that he was, chose to ignore the girl, voice laced with concern as he said, "Kid-" The sound of Morgan's voice made Spencer retract his hand immediately. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he said quickly. "You?"

Morgan nodded, sliding a cup of coffee to a yawning Quinn. "Just tired," he responded, smiling softly at Quinn. "Looks like Q is too."

"Neither confirming nor denying that statement." Spencer grinned as he watched Quinn interact with Morgan. She was warming up to him.

"Doctor Lee just sent this over," Reid said, raising the M.E report from his lap. "Uh, the most recent victim had more than leather particulates in her stomach. She chewed through it, leaving entire chunks behind. She also found traces of horse hair. He's using a bridle."

"This guy could have used anything. Why that?" Morgan asked.

"It could be something specific to his fantasy," Spencer offered.

"Or something he was able to get a hold of it easily," Quinn added, shrugging slightly.

Derek paced over to the board the team had made, sipping from his cup. "How many horse ranches are around here?" he questioned, eyes raking the map before him.

Quinn stood up to join him, taking her laptop to the board as well. "Judging from the landscape, I'd say about-" She scanned the map. "-sixteen in this area."

"Well that narrows it down," Morgan said sarcastically, raising his eyebrows. Quinn chuckled, nodding in agreement. "We just have to figure out which of these ranches Dylan Myers is locking himself in."

As if on cue, Morgan's phone began to ring. He pulled it out from his back pocket, glancing down at the caller ID. "It's Hotch," he said, sliding his phone open and putting the call on speaker. "Hotch, what's up?"

"We're at Dylan Myers's house," the boss explained.

"What, is he not there?"

"Morgan, Dylan Myers is dead," JJ answered. "He's our first victim."

The three at the station exchanged a look of surprise, not expecting that to be the response they were to get. "So the real UnSub killed Myers and then framed him."

"But it's not just a countermeasure," Hotch said. Spencer and Quinn glanced at each other, trying to process the newfound information in their heads. "He took out a lot of rage on this man for a reason."

"Maybe Dylan Myers stood in the way of the UnSub's true object of affection," Spencer offered.

Morgan nodded. "Well, it makes sense since we thought the first and second victims were connected."

"But, Dylan Myers wasn't in a relationship," Quinn countered, furrowing her brow.

"Garcia, was Dylan Myers dating anyone?" Hotch asked, making sure to check that Quinn was assuming the correct facts.

Garcia inhaled through gritted teeth. Oh, a conference call, Quinn thought as she sat down. "He was a bit of a hermit. Uh, like I said, zero social media skills, did go old school with a landline. Tracking his frequently called numbers now." She paused for a beat. "He called a young woman named Christine Locke several times. She's a former student, lives in Bakersfield." Garcia went silent. "And she's missing. Sending her picture now."

"Uh, she looks like his second victim," Kate said.

"Did she have a restraining order out on anyone?" Hotch inquired.

"I'm checking now, uh, yes," Garcia began, "She filed for and was granted a restraining order on August sixth from a Steven Parkett."

"And where is he?"

"Probably on his way to hell in a hand basket, sir. He was raised and lives at a cattle ranch and slaughterhouse in Bishopville, just outside of Bakersfield," Penelope replied. "Sending you coordinates now."

"Alright, thanks Garcia," Hotch said, ending the call.

Morgan, Reid and Quinn all seemed to sigh simultaneously. The three were immensely tired, having worked for almost twenty four hours straight. The girl sipped her coffee, eyes drooping as she placed her head on her hand. "What now?" she asked, glancing up at the men before her.

"We wait," Morgan instructed, sitting down in the desk chair across from Quinn. "You're quite attached to that thing," he commented, motioning to the computer in front of her.

"I'll be very upset if they don't let me take it home," she joked, eyes fluttering shut.

Morgan chuckled, looking at Spencer as he sat down beside him. "I'm sure we can work something out."

Quinn smiled at him with closed eyes, feeling completely comfortable with two men sitting in front of her for the first time in years.

-----

The team boarded the plane at four in the morning. The sky was an onyx color, the lights of the airport illuminating brightly, contrasting against the night sky above them. Callahan had walked away with a mildly sprained shoulder. The rest of the team turned out to be fine, having saved the last victim and gotten rid of Steven Parkett.

The plane was quiet as it took off, Quinn sitting in the front of the plane with Rossi diagonal from her and Hotch beside her. Spencer stood in the back of the plane, preparing a cup of tea to help him fall to sleep better. Callahan and JJ sat behind Quinn, talking about the injuries that they had acquired on the job, Morgan shortly joining the conversation and bragging about the wounds he had gotten.

The leader of the team slid into the seat across from Quinn, making her widen her eyes and take both of the earbuds she had taken from the police station out of her ears. She gave him an uncertain smile, unsure of what to expect from this conversation with her superior.

"I just wanted to tell you, that for your first ever case with the FBI, with no prior training, you did an impressive job," he told her. Quinn felt herself flush. "For a first timer, I couldn't have expected better."

"T-Thank you, sir," she replied, a beam forming upon her lips. A small smile appeared on Hotch's face. "I, uh, I heard what you said to Banks when we first began the case, about the whole, treating me as you would any other agent stuff." Hotch's nod cued her to continue. "I just wanted to say, thank you for that. I know it's hard traveling around with someone like me, so-"

Hotch shook his head, interrupting Quinn. "Your background doesn't matter anymore, Quinn. Sure, it's always going to be apart of who you are, but it's not going to be what's going to define you for the rest of your life. Not if I can help it."

Quinn felt her smile get softer at his words. Aaron Hotchner had been nothing but helpful and supportive of her since she had joined his team. It had made her feel more welcome and helped her feel as though she belonged. She knew her other teammates would come around eventually, but for the leader to feel this way was something else.

"I don't think you understand how much I appreciate that," Quinn said quietly.

Hotch chuckled softly. "Get some sleep, Quinn."

"Will do," she responded, pulling off her sweater and placing it up against the interior of the plane.

One eye opened as she heard the squeaking of leather, seeing that Spencer had replaced Hotch. She gave him a lazy smile, closing her eye once more. She heard Callahan and Morgan teasing each other, JJ laughing along as well.

"Welcome to the team, Callahan," he said to her. "You too, Q."

Quinn let out a slurred 'thanks', losing consciousness as she heard the team laugh quietly at her response.

Hours later, the plane landed in Virginia, awaking all eight passengers. Some had gotten a bit of sleep, some did not. Quinn had learned the unfortunate way, that she did not sleep well on planes.

Spencer had insisted on driving Quinn home once the plane had landed at nine in Quantico. Hotch had given them the day off, telling them that the paperwork could be saved until tomorrow, leaving them with plenty of time to catch up on sleep. Although Quinn lived three blocks away from the base, Spencer persisted, and Quinn was frankly too tired to argue with him.

The two got into Spencer's car, waving at their sleep-deprived teammates as they drove down the road, soft music playing in the background. Quinn and Spencer rode in a comfortable silence back to Quinn's building, neither of them feeling up for starting a conversation.

The yellow car rolled up to the girl's new home, Quinn scrunching her eyebrows together as she saw Spencer reach to open his door. "You don't need to walk me in," she said to him, laughing lightly.

"Are you sure?" came his tired reply. "Because I want to make sure you get in safely and-"

"Spencer, I'll be fine," she laughed, smiling jadedly at him. "It's like, five hundred feet from here."

Spencer opened his mouth to correct her (it was actually four hundred and twenty five feet), but kept his thoughts to himself, seeing as it was probably his best option. "Okay," he agreed. Before she got out, he stopped her. "But please text me or something, just to let me know you got in safe."

Quinn smiled at him fondly, thinking to herself. "Uh, okay. How about this," she began, "I, for some reason, associate the color green with meaning safe. I'll text you the words 'green light' when I'm in the apartment. That means I'm okay and safe," she told him. "That can be like, our thing. Sound good?"

Spencer nodded. "I like it," he replied. Quinn laughed to herself, opening the door and exiting the car.

"Thank you for the ride, Spencer," she said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," Reid responded, waving at her slightly.

As Quinn disappeared into the building, Spencer closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the seat of his car. He grimaced as he neck began to ache. The doctor rubbed it again, feeling the pain getting stronger.

His phone vibrated suddenly. He glanced down, seeing Quinn's name pop up and suddenly forgetting about his sore scar.

green light :)

Spencer chuckled to himself, shifting his car into drive, beginning to roll down the road with Quinn Carson looming in the back of his mind.

-----

wooo chapter thirteen in the bag

this was a good bonding chapter, i'm still trying to create relationships here based on the characters cm has given me and it can be tough, so please be patient for everyone to accept quinn bc it with certain people it will take a while

anyway, thank you for 4k, that is so so insane. and almost 500 votes in 12 chapters ?? what the hecking that is so awesome thank you so much

i love you all tons.
-mags