CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN: HAPPILY EVER AFTER !

10x06

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THE TEAM WAS CALLED IN FOR ANOTHER CASE. Surprise, surprise. Everyone walked in, ready for action. "Good evening," Garcia started. "Okay, University of Montana student, Douglas Clark was found this afternoon next to his car, stabbed at least a dozen times, and the killer left us a calling card."

Casey looked down at the file in front of her. "Oh, wow." The woman comments as she notices one of the crime scene photos has a dead man laying on his back with a cell phone stuck in his mouth. "Oh, that's a distinctive signature." Morgan added once he had seen the photo.

"Have there been similar murder reported in the area?" Vivian asks. "Thankfully, no." Garcia answers. "So then why are we being called in?" Kate asks curiously.

"Last month a local shopkeeper was killed in a hit-and-run. The driver was a student who's very rich and well connected. Daddy got him off with a slap on the wrist." Garcia explained. "Which I imagine didn't sit well with the locals." Rossi comments. "Oh, you could say that. A random fraternity was bombed in retaliation." Garcia tells.

"And there's concern that the murder might escalate the friction between the student community and the permanent residents." Hotch added on. "Town versus gown. It happens." JJ tells.

"All the way back to The Battle of Saint Scholastica Day." Spencer tells. Everyone goes silent as Spencer nods at his own words and Casey smirks at her fiancé and Kate gives in to the silence. "Okay, I'll take the bait. What is the--whatever it is that you just said?"

"The Battle of Saint Scholastica Day? I'm glad you asked." Both Kate and Casey chuckle at the man. "Oxford University, 1335, citizens attacked students and professors with bows and arrows. Fighting went on for two days and nearly 100 people were killed." Spencer explained. "What a way to die." Casey commented.

"You know, it's probably just my easygoing nature, but if I stabbed someone a dozen times, it'd pretty much be out of my system. Why smash a car window?" Rossi questioned.

"Well, a car killed the shopkeeper. Maybe it's a message." JJ assumes. "Or just plain anger, and a lot of it." Kate added. "Or maybe it was smashed beforehand, easy access to grab." Vivian also concludes.

"Whatever the reason, we have to assume there's more where that came from. Wheels up in 30." Hotch orders the team.

They head on out to the jet, Casey taking a spot next to Vivian on the jet. Morgan and Spencer sitting in front of them.

"The coroner's report puts the time of death between 10pm and 2am the previous night." Spencer stated. "This doesn't feel like payback for the hit-and-run driver. Clark was stabbed 12 times. That's personal." Morgan points out. "I agree, this is definitely something more than shopkeeper dying." Casey nods.

"He was quiet. Kept to himself. No problems with the locals." Rossi told. "Clark did come from the same privileged gene pool as the other kid. Money, education, influence." Kate said as she looked back at the file. "There's not much blood on the scene given the extent of the injuries." JJ added. "Clark must have been killed somewhere else and then dragged into the woods and abandoned." Vivian said, glancing over to Hotch before turning her attention back to the file.

Garcia appears on the monitor. "Okay, thing one: A search on Douglas Clark's cell phone turned up a cache of porn. The non-heterosexual kind." Garcia told. "Well, that changes the equation. If the victim was gay, we could be looking at a hate crime." Spencer suggested.

"And I wouldn't have said "thing one" if there wasn't a thing two. A new body was just discovered a mile away from the first victim. No details yet." Garcia informed.
"So much for a cooling-off period." JJ says.

"All right, when we land, Dave, you and Reid go directly to the new crime scene. Morgan and JJ, talk to the ME, and Kate, Vivian, Casey and I will coordinate with local law enforcement and find out what we can about Douglas Clark." Casey nods at her boss and waits until they land.

Once the four arrived to the PD, they are met with Detective Carpenter, who greets them and leads them to their conference room. "It's an honor to be working with the BAU." The woman tells. "We're glad to be of help." Hotch stated.

Casey nudges her head forward as she picks up a photo. "This is the latest victim?" Casey asks curiously. "Kevin Brubaker. Senior here at the university." Detective Carpenter answered.

Kate takes the photo from Casey along with another photo on the table. "Oh, wow. The killer and I have the same type. Dark-haired handsome guys in their 20s." Kate jokes. "Casey?" She then asks, indicating what her type is.
"Been there, done that," Casey answers. "Now, I got a thing for the smart guys with awesome hair." Kate smiles at the joke.

"Both had money, too." Carpenter added. "Drove nice cars, rented high-end condos. A hair fiber that wasn't Brubaker's as found at the scene. We're checking for DNA."

"Do we know Brubaker's sexual orientation?" Vivian asks. "No, but your agent sent back a cell phone with one of our officers. We're looking through it now." Carpenter informed as the group nods.

"We need to speak to someone who knew Douglas Clark." Hotch tells. "Terence Reynolds," Carpenter pointed up ahead to a timid man, standing off to the side. "He came three hours ago on his own. Said he's the victim's partner."

As Hotch had a conversation with the man, Kate and Casey had discovered a video on Brubaker's cell phone, a practical porn video where the woman didn't know she was being filmed. There are three other videos on the phone and the man sent the videos over to his friends.

JJ had discovered that their unsub may have been a woman due to the stabbings on their victims looking more like a stiletto-heel puncture than your average kitchen knife. If anything, JJ's theory about their unsub being a woman fit in better than anything else.

After that, one of Brubaker's buddies that he had sent the videos of the women over to had showed up and was lead into one of the interrogation rooms. After both sharing a glance with Hotch, he had sent both Casey and Kate to do the talking since he had alpha male energy as soon as he walked into the room. He'd respond confidently to women more than to men.

The women sat in front of the man, who had a smug look on his face. A smug look you had when you're a woman hater and you're currently dealing with two strong independent women sitting in front of you.

Casey placed the files in front of her as she did the talking. "Shane, you received via email three videos from Kevin Brubaker of him having sex with three different female college students, correct?" Casey questioned.

The man shrugged as he smugly smiled. "Can't control what I'm emailed." He answered to that.

Kate opened up one of the files, in of which had photos of different women from the email. "He also sent you these two days before the videos, sort of like a preview of the coming attraction."

"My buddy just died," The man questioned, pushing the file away. "Is this going anywhere?"

"I think we're asking the questions here." Casey stated. Casey grabs the file as she continues. "Did your buddy have another woman lined up?" She questioned.

"Kevin always had women lined up—"
"I mean like a specific woman, maybe in the last couple of days." Casey clarified.

There's a pause and Kate continues: "Look, it is in your best interest to cooperate with us, Shane. I mean, you did receive videos taken of these women without their permission."

"Montana may be a two-party consent state, but you probably noticed Kevin turned the audio off. Consent isn't required without the audio component. Therefore, I wasn't involved in anything illegal," Casey and Kate look at the man. "I'm pre-law." He added.

"Oh," Casey leans back in her seat and turns to her coworker. "He's pre-law."
Kate turns back to the man. "And I'm sure you are gonna have a wonderful career sometime in 2035. Consent issues don't apply to child porn."

The man's smug smile drops as soon as he hears that. "What?" He asks. Casey didn't know what Kate was doing but she let it happen.

Kate looks down at the files in front of her. "Well, let's just say one of these girls was, I don't know, two months shy of her 18th birthday. That's child porn, video or audio, whatever, it doesn't really matter. And child porn carries a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison. But I am sure that you knew that, what with your pre-law background." Kate explains to the man, causing Casey to shake her head at the man. "Tsk. Yeah, you're screwed, buddy." Casey exhaled sharply.

"I did not--didn't know-- I never would have..." The man was a blubbering mess and looked like he was gonna hurl. "I'm gonna be sick."

"Okay, so then let's try this again, shall we?" Casey questions. "Did Kevin Brubaker talk about another woman that he was planning on videotaping?"
"Yes." Shane nodded.
"Did he describe her or give a name?" Kate asked.
"No. Uh, she was a townie, impressed by his car. All Kevin said was that... she was weird."
"Weird how?" Casey asks.
"I don't know. Old-fashioned. Didn't even have a cell phone. Her dress had a tag still hanging off of it." The man gagged a bit. "Really, I'm gonna puke."

With that, Kate and Casey looked at one another and realized they had what they needed and walked out of the room and joined Morgan, who had been watching the three behind the interrogation mirror.

"None of the girls Brubaker filmed were underage." Morgan stated. "Oh, gosh. Do you think I gave Shane the wrong impression?" Kate spoke sarcastically.

"I really dig your style of interrogation, Callahan." Casey spoke with a smirk. "And I really dig yours, Willows." Kate smirked.

"Somebody should get a barf bag for our legal eagle in there." Kate told as she walked away with Casey to go and tell Hotch what they'd discovered.

       After discovering another body, the team had delivered the profile and discovered their unsub had been decking herself out in dresses in public to make her seem more appealing. "The price tags were still on the dress. Maybe the unsub stole it." JJ assumes.

     "I'll have Garcia look into local vintage and second-hand shops. Maybe an employee or customer fits our profile?" Spencer figures. "Also have her check police records for young women recently arrested for shoplifting."

       As the everyone remained having a conversation with one another, Casey had stared at the photos of the crime scenes and was beginning to piece it together one by one. Wealthy men, a stiletto-heel, ash on their newest victims' body? Casey stood up and formed her theory together.

       "Interesting." Casey comments under her breath.

      "What is it, babe?" Spencer asks and Casey turns over and decides to share her theory. "Young, handsome men with money and status. A high-heeled shoe one might wear to a dance. Luxury transportation that at the stroke of midnight reverts to junk, and what's another name for soot?"

      "Cinders," Hotch answers. "It's a fairy tale gone horribly wrong." Casey turns back to the board. "More like a fairy-nightmare." Casey comments.

      "Fairy tale? You mean like..." Carpenter asks. "Our unsub sees herself as an avenging Cinderella." JJ finalizes and Casey nods to the woman and points at her: "Bingo."

       Spencer had called Garcia up and they had informed the woman of Casey's affirmative theory. "Cinderella? Where do I even start?" Garcia questions. "Our unsub obviously feels her life mirrors that of Cinderella, so start there." JJ tells.

      "All right, go back fifteen years, see if law enforcement or child services were called in to deal with a stepparent/ stepchild situation." Hotch orders. "You know what, Garcia? Also check the foster care system, particularly instances where girls were put into homes where favored biological daughters we're already in place." Spencer also suggests.

       "Per usual, your suggestions have made the impossibleness of this endeavor seem possible. I will hit you back when I have more intel." With that, Garcia hung up.

      "So if she's Cinderella, who are the victims?" Carpenter questioned. "Prince Charmings who didn't live up to her fantasy." JJ informs. "From her perspective, she's trying to find a Prince Charming of her own so she's been planting fairytales in her own head for years trying to find the perfect guy, but men like this — she unfortunately ran into men who only wanted one thing. So, she killed them." Casey explained to the detective as best as she could.

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      As everyone had been doing their own investigating, JJ, Spencer and Casey had remained in the conference room, trying to figure out things from the victim and unsub themselves. JJ was currently on the phone while Spencer was looking over the crime scene photos and Casey had finished grabbed coffee for herself and the other two. JJ hung up the phone once Casey came back with coffee.

     "Got anything new?" JJ asks Spencer as Casey hands him his coffee and they silently thank the woman. "Yeah. All three cars had the driver's seat adjusted as far forward as possible, which means the unsub's probably short. I'm assuming under 5'4"." Spencer explained.

     JJ had zoned out for a moment in thought which caused Casey to tilt her head over and ask: "Hey, everything okay?" Casey asks.

    "Yeah," JJ answers. "Yeah, that was my mom. She's up visiting for a couple days."

     Casey nodded towards the woman as Spencer responded with: "Nice." JJ nods, "Yeah, yeah. She and Henry are gonna go to the zoo."

     "Sounds like fun." Spencer commented and then JJ scoffed. "Or not." Casey assumed from JJ's scoff as Casey settled into the seat next to her.

    "Okay, parental issues are my go-to. Spill." Casey told. JJ sighed as she started, "She and I got into an argument a couple nights ago and it's still a little tense. So--it's just not a big deal."

     "What was it about? If you don't mind me asking." Spencer asks as he sits down as well. JJ looks at the couple, who is willing to listen. And maybe she could use some parental guidance and/or insight from the two since they pretty much now knew what they were doing as parents.

    "Um... well, my mother believes that children shouldn't be shielded from the realities of the world. I do." JJ the further explained how her mother mentioned JJ's sister, who had committed suicide when she was eleven and Henry had no idea who she was and JJ had gotten mad at her mother for mentioning her to him. "I mean, you guys are parents. What would you do in my shoes? If Christopher was asking about this sort of thing at Henry's age?"

      Both Spencer and Casey looked at one another, realizing that the way they parented was different from JJ's parenting. "Well, he's only a year old so we don't have to worry about it now but as he grows and processes and reads, he's gonna learn eventually. I mean, we're not really planning on mentioning anything until he's at least five." Casey explained.

       Casey never thought about shielding the realities of the world from Christopher. For obvious reasons, she'd shield that part of her that was always sad from him like she'd often witness with her father growing up. She never wished for herself to be distance from her son like she is with her father. And Spencer was the same way, wanting to shield Christopher from Diana whenever she was having a bad episode and part of him feared that the same relationship he had with his father would turn into a reality for him and his son. This topic of reality was something they thought about and mutually agreed upon and decided it'd be best if Christopher started learning about this stuff when he was curious and wanted to know about it.

     "It's a touchy topic, I know, but, I mean, isn't that why we read them fairy tales in the first place?" JJ questioned.

      "No, actually, most fairy tales in their original form were gruesome to the extreme. In Cinderella, the stepsisters had their feet mutilated to fit into the shoe, and their eyes were eventually pecked out by doves. Sleeping beauty was raped while she was unconscious by the king. Hansel and Gretel were held captive by a half-blind cannibal. Soldiers were instructed to cut out Snow White's liver and lungs so the queen could feast upon them." Spencer explained.

       "Alright, enough." Casey holds her hands up in surrender. "Before you ruin more of my favorite fairytales." "Yeah, thanks for that, Spence." JJ nods.

      Spencer softly smiles before cordoning: "My point is, one could argue that the sanitized versions we have today are actually counterproductive to the original purpose of fairy tales. So that children could safely confront their darkest fears." Spencer explained.

     JJ then took that into consideration. "Maybe my mom was right. The unsub believed in the fairy tale, not in reality. This is the result." She looked down at the crime scene photos.

     "Did we help?" Casey questioned as JJ softly chuckled. "I guess I can say you did," JJ said. "I wish I had you guys as parents." The woman further joked as Spencer and Casey laughed.

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      Another body was found. This time, the man was stabbed and was found with a heel in his neck. There was a blunt-force trauma instead of a stabbing. Their victim was last seen at a bar so Kate and Morgan had decided to go and see if the bartender saw anything. The bartender noticed a woman fiddling with a dress that was a size too big and had kind of a child-like quality to her. They had come up with a conclusion where the clothes she was wearing were tagged and had come up with the fact that their unsub was working a dry cleaner's store.

       Garcia further helped with the investigation and found a Claire Dunbar who worked a dry cleaner's and the father had flaked on the woman and Garcia discovered that the man was dead and was arrested for pedophilia.

        With that new information, Hotch, Vivian and Kate had decided to investigate the woman's home and workplace after the addresses were sent but Hotch had mentioned that the owner of dry cleaner's son was supposed to check in on the woman and Garcia finally tracked the number down and Hotch called JJ, Spencer and Casey back at the PD.

      "Hey, Hotch, what do you have?" JJ asked. "We think Claire Dunbar is at Cypress Memorial Cemetery." Hotch told. "That's out near Bonner Mountain." Carpenter added.

     "You're closer to the location than we are." Hotch stated to the three. "All right, we're on our way." JJ nods but before she hangs up, Hotch speaks again.

     "Wait, Reid. There's something I want you to take with you."
      Casey had looked over at her fiancé, wondering what Hotch meant.

     After furthering explanation to what Hotch wanted Spencer to do, they headed towards the cemetery. Spencer was to play "The Prince" in Claire's fantasy and to get her to fall into the trap so they could successfully arrest her without hurting her. Both JJ and Casey had vests on and held their guns tightly as Spencer headed on into the cemetery and assured the two he'd be fine.

      Both JJ and Casey went in separate directions and watched the woman carefully as she laid over who Casey assumed to be the dry cleaner's son's unconscious body. Casey hid behind one of the trees and JJ did as well at a farther distance.

      Casey nodded to Spencer and so did JJ when they were ready and Spencer made himself known to their unsub. "Excuse me." Spencer spoke. The woman immediately turned over to Spencer. "May I approach?"

     "Who are you? Go away!" The woman shouted and Spencer began to make his way closer to Claire. "Please, just give me the chance to speak." Spencer spoke softly. "I've looked for so long."

     The woman was confused. "What? What are you talking about?" She asks.

     "I've searched this entire city trying to find the right person," Spencer stated. "Are you the right person?" Casey watched as Spencer began to release his inner charm to the woman and it seemed to be working.

     The dry cleaner's son began to try to get away and Casey had tried to help him get out of the view of the woman, grabbing him and watched as the scene unfolded and she couldn't risk calling in a medic due to Spencer working his magic.

     "The dance, the other evening. Do you remember?" Spencer asked Claire and she stood up, dropping her garden shears. "The dance?" She asks.

     "I met the most beautiful girl I had ever seen in my life. We danced the whole night, and then... she was gone. But she left this behind." Spencer had pulled the heel out from the last crime scene in an evidence bag and Claire approached closer.

     Spencer hesitantly approached as well and held the shoe towards her. "May I?" He gets down on one knee and places Claire's foot into the shoe. He looks back up at her, his messy hair dangling over his face. Claire smiles, thinking she has finally found her Prince Charming. Spencer grabs Claire's hand and places a kiss onto the back of her hand.

     "I brought the carriage." Spencer tells.
     "You did?" Claire asks.
     Spencer nods, "It's waiting for us."

    Casey watched as Spencer had taken Claire safely out of the cemetery and into one of the SUVs. Casey called in for a medic for the dry cleaner's son and ultimately, felt bad for Claire in the end. She had just wanted a fairytale ending and was met with disappointment each time. Casey honestly felt for the girl. She deserved a better life than what she had and had resorted into.

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      The team had headed back home, survived their jet ride and into the office to finish their paperwork. Hotch was in his office and Vivian was in the conference room with Rossi as the team had discussed their case.

     "I guess Pretty Boy finally lived up to his name with this case, huh?" Morgan joked, as he packed up. "Yeah, Spence, how'd you come up with all of that on the spot?" JJ asked.

     "With my help," Casey told. "I told him to remember all of the stories we'd read to Christopher about fairytales and junk." Spencer nods, "Yeah, it really wasn't that hard to do. I just thought about Casey while I was doing it." Spencer smirked as he grabbed onto his fiancée's hand and she had blushed once he did.

      Kate shakes her head, "I can't help but feel for that girl. She just wanted a fairytale ending."
      "I know," Casey told. "I agree. But although, her killings were... I guess, justified, for lack of a better word, she needs to be somewhere where the harsh realities of the world have disappointed her over and over."

      Casey had then looked over as Vivian was coming out of the conference room and she looked as if she was ready to leave the BAU for the night. "Speaking of harsh realities of the world that disappoint people..." Casey stood up as she rushed over to Vivian. "Viv!"

      Vivian is shocked once she sees Casey approaching her in a rushing manner. "He's alone in his office!" Casey sings quietly to the woman. Vivian looks up at Hotch as he's getting ready to leave. "Now's your chance!"

     Both JJ and Kate had decided to take their opportunity to tease as well. "My chance for what?" Vivian asks, confused. "To ask Hotch out, of course!" Kate tells. "I'm not asking him out!" Vivian chuckles, ridiculously. "Yes, you totally are." JJ nodded and the three began to talk over one another before Vivian stopped them.

    "Okay, all of you, drop it," Vivian said, making the three women go silent. "I'm not gonna fulfill your fantasy on us being together and whatnot because last I checked, it was inappropriate to start a relationship with your boss. It would be a conflict of interest, on my part and his. So I'm gonna go home to my cats and watch reruns of The Nanny. Thank you very much. And goodnight!"

     With that, Vivian headed on out and Casey furrowed her brows at the woman as she did. "Did I sound like that when I was single and in denial?" Casey questioned to her coworkers. "Yes, you did." JJ almost immediately answered as the three had seen Rossi coming down the stairs and heard the question.

     "But of course, you have to count in Sawyer." JJ started.
"And my nephew." Rossi added. "And Matt Spicer from the blackout case six years ago?" Morgan added.

"Matt Spicer?" JJ asked in disbelief.
"Okay, 1) I didn't even date Matt Spicer. That was more about looks and 2) I get it." Casey sighed.

"I've had a million princes in my life, none of which have been the best experience but..." Casey then trailed over to her fiancé, sitting in a chair and she goes over to sit on his lap. "I'm only happy with one prince I have right now."

Spencer almost looks dumbfounded when Casey sits on his lap and he's confused. "Me?" He asks. "Yeah, you." Casey tells. "You who makes me feel like a princess all the time."

"But you're not a princess," Spencer says. "You're a queen."

"And this is why I love you, Prince Reid." Casey pecks Spencer on the lips as she pulls him up from her seat and grabs their things. "Now, take me to my carriage and let's go to our castle."
"Indeed, malady." Spencer smirked as the two headed to the elevator and Spencer picked Casey up bridal style.

"And they lived happily ever after." Rossi joked as they headed into the elevator.

As this all happened, Hotch had managed to sneak his way out without anyone noticing him and headed out to the elevator where Vivian had held the door for him. Hotch responded with a quiet 'thanks'.

The elevator ride was painfully quiet and awkward. Vivian stared down at her watch to pass the time in the elevator since no one had said a word. There was so much both of them had wanted to say but they just couldn't bring themselves to it. Sure, they came off as independent leaders who couldn't give a rat's ass about people thought of them — but when it came to each other, it was different.

As the elevator finally came to a stop, Hotch was the first to exit to escape the awkwardness of this. They were both pushing late forties and seemed to act like teenagers around each other.

"Uh, Aaron?" Vivian decided to escape this awkwardness and decided to rip the bandaid off. The man stopped and looked right at Vivian. Even in the subtle darkness, Aaron's honey-pool eyes always caught the woman's attention. "Yes?" Hotch asked.

Vivian had taken a pause, trying to figure out the best way she could professionally ask this question. But this was in no way professional. Asking your boss out was never professional.

"Um, I was wondering..." Vivian looked down and played with button on her jacket, something she did when she was nervous, Hotch noticed. "Would you maybe like to go to dinner sometime... with me?" She finally ripped the bandaid off and almost immediately regretted.

Hotch almost looked taken aback by her sudden proposal and it was written on his face. Vivian scrunched her face up, embarrassed and wishing she was dead. "You know what? That was stupid, I'm just gonna—"

"Sure." Hotch answered almost immediately. His response making Vivian feel as if she was dreaming. She almost couldn't say anything until she finally brought herself up to say something. "Okay." She nods.

With that, Hotch walked away and the two went their separate ways.

Vivian muttered to herself as she headed to her car. "I have a date with my boss." It came out in three different ways. One way being denial, the other way being shock and the third way in fear.

And then something surprising happened with Hotch, a smile started to creep up on Hotch's face as he walked away. It was the same smile he had with Haley and Beth. He hadn't noticed until he had gotten to his car.

He had a date with Vivian Hudson and she had a date with Aaron Hotchner.

And they both silently cursed at themselves for leaving it at that with no details.

HOTCH AND VIVIAN ARE GONNA GO ON THAT DATE FINALLY YAYYYY🥳

also
SQUEALING over prince reid🫶

also
VAMPIRE BY OLIVIA RODRIGO FUCKING SLAPS

also
THANK YOU GUYS FOR 100K ON THIS BOOK!
it seems just like yesterday i published it and it got 1k reads in over a night lmaooo thank you guys for being on this journey with me and casey and i'm glad y'all have stayed for the ride! more to come soon!

it's a little boring rn but the tea will be coming EVENTUALLY
i love you guys
-mya </333