*Trigger warning*
Chapter Five: Cell-Block Tango

[Feel good ~ The Command Sisters ]

Anya had two more weeks and she would find out if she was official to be quite honest, she felt like she was official. Her badge was sitting there calling her name along with her gun, Derek said he was going to take a million photos of her with her new creds once she had them. She wouldnt be a probationary Agent, she would be SSA Holmes.

Strauss explained how Anya needed to get in more prisoner Interviews so she had to go with Reid and Hotch. The car ride was seven hours long and she was annoying an already annoyed Aaron Hotchner. The ride started out peaceful Reid was reading in the back seat and then Anya was humming along to her iPod. She had headphones in and was dancing in the passenger seat. He was annoyed by her singing loudly. Then Anya asked if he wanted her to drive and he snapped at her for no reason just for the mere fact that she asked.

He was in a pissy mood and it wasnt helping that every dream he had was about Anya, she was naked in all of them. And they were having unfucking believable sex. The kind that made your toes curl, he hadn't masturbated this much in his entire life. It was like every time he closed his eyes she was there naked and moaning his name. Screaming it at times, she was being the best sub that she could be in his dreams but the minute he was awake, she was back to her bratty self.

And her skirts kept getting shorter and shorter, there had to be a dress code for this stuff. It was like she knew what she was doing. How she was driving him absolutely insane and today might actually be the day he burst, and maybe into tiny flames. They had argued about stopping for food on the way and he lost his mind too he was tense and he was really truly starting to piss Anya off. He was snappy, irritable, and just plain irritating, they arrive at the prison and Anya is thankful she didn't carry a gun and that the security check was intense, they were waiting in the Warden's office. When his phone rang.

"Within the core of each of us is the child we once were, this child constitutes the foundation of what we have become who we are, and what we will be." - Neuroscientist Dr. R, Joseph

"Yeah, Jj. Um, No, It's--It's– It's A Personal Matter. Yes, Thank You. I Will Take Care Of It When I Get Back." he just sighs and tucks his phone back into his pocket.

"Is Everything All Right?"

"Yeah, Fine." He says as Anya rolls her eyes.

"We Can Do This Interview Another Time."

"Well, He's Scheduled To Be Executed Next Week." Hotch sighs again pacing around the small office.

"I Can Take The Lead If You–"

"Reid." Hotch snaps.

"I dont know what crawled up your ass today, but Don't be rude to Spence because you are irritable. He's just trying to help." Anya quirks a brow at him as he sighs and gives Reid an apologetic look.

A short guy with glasses enters the room with a file in his hand "Agent Hotchner?"

"Yes." He shakes the man's hand

"Ah. You Must Be Agent Holmes." she just nods waving from her spot behind Reid's chair. "And Dr. Reid." Reid actually shakes the man's hand "Abner Merriman, Assistant Warden. You're Here To See Our Infamous Inmate Hardwick."

"Yeah. He Agreed To Meet With Us As Part Of Our Criminal Personality Research Project Prior To His Execution."

"I've Read Some Of Your Studies In Police Journals. Serial killers Are A Kind Of Hobby Of Mine. Chester's The Only One I've Ever Met In Person, Though. I Bet You've Met Quite A Few." he pushes his glasses up on his nose. For some reason he made Anya's skin crawl and it was bugging the fuck out of her.

"Sir, We'd Very Much Like To Get Started As Soon As We Can." Hotch was annoying as well and Anya was so close to strangling him or bitching him out.

"Oh, Of Course, Of Course. Forgive Me. Um, We, Uh...We Don't Really Have Interrogation Facilities, But I Do Have A Small Room That You Can Use. You're Not Armed?"

"We Secured Our weapons Before We Arrived. It's Not Our First Time In A Prison." Hotch explains.

"No, No, I Suppose That's True. I Have To Say, When I Heard That He Contacted You, I Was Surprised."

"Why?" Reid speaks up.

"Chester Hardwick? He Doesn't Really Talk Much. To Anyone."

Hotch shrugs. "Well, That Usually Changes When Someone's About To Die."

The issue with Anya was that she had a smart mouth, she was learning how to control that part of her, but the enlarged heart and potential death at any given moment made her feel like she could say whatever the hell she wanted. Life was short and she wasnt getting any younger, in fact, she was definitely without a doubt not getting any younger. She was told that she was going to live as long as her heart would allow her which was an estimated ten years. But she had already beaten the odds by surviving and now well she was willing to risk it all if it meant helping people

"The, Uh, Door Will, Of Course, Be Locked From The Outside, And This Button Here," he point to the button on the wall. "It Sounds Audibly As Well As Triggers A Flashing Light To Signal The Guards. When You're Finished."

"Thank you."

"Are These The Crime Scene Photos?" He looks down at the files that Anya and Reid were pulling from the box they brought with them.

"Oh. Uh, Some Of Them, Yes."

He picks up the photos. "God... I Knew What He Did, Of Course, But I... You Know, Never Saw...23 Victims Like This."

"Sometimes In These Interviews, They Talk About Crimes They Were Never Charged With, So It Might Even Be More," Reid explains as Anya nods.

"Is It Ever Less?"

Anya furrows her brows. "No."

"Uh, Please. Paying Attention To These Items Projects A Kind Of Importance On Them. When He Comes In, I'd Like To Give Him The Opportunity To Show Us Which Parts Of The Crimes He Thinks Are Important."

The warden put the files down. "Sorry. Of Course. Sorry."

"It's All Right," Hotch replies as a few guards bring Chester into the room.

"Chains are Left On, Right?"

"That's Probably A Good Idea." Reid starts off.

"No. It Won't Be Necessary."

"It Won't?" Reid gulps thickly as Anya can sense his fear. "You Sure?"

"Mm-hmm. We're Just Gonna Talk, Right, Chester?"

Chester was Eyeing the three agents like they were the last meal he was ever going to eat.

"Sit Down." Hotch was pacing just like Chester. Anya was sitting in the other chair next to Reid.

"I'd Like This Window Opened." Reid looks at Hotch. "I'll Answer Any Question You Have, But Only If This Window Is Open."

"Go Ahead." Hotch nods to Chester, "Reid."

"You Were Born April 4, 1950?"

"Does My Birthdate Really Matter?" Chester asks.

"It's Customary For Us To Start At The Beginning. We Want To Try To Know As Much As We Can About Your Childhood."

He stares out the window. "There's Nothing To Know. It Was Average. I Lived In A Nice House On A Quiet Street. I Ate Cereal. I Went To School. I Watched Cartoons."

"I Don't Have Time, For This " Hotch yells which startles Reid and it just pissed Anya off. "FYou Didn't Live In A Nice House On A Quiet Street. You Grew Up In A Series Of Projects In East Bridgeport, Each One Worse Than The Last. You Spent Your Teenage Years Peeping Into Your Female Neighbors' Windows And Burglarizing Their Underwear Drawers When You Got The Chance. And You Set 100 Small Fires For Which You Spent 2 Years In Juvenile Detention."

"We've Done Extensive Research, Mr. Hardwick, And We've Talked To Almost Everyone You've Ever Known... Including Your Mother."

Chester turns around with a smile on his face. "Good Old Jean? I'll Bet She Was A Real Treat."

"Good Old Jean's Down The Street In The State Hospital."

"At This Point, Lying To Us Isn't Really Possible Or Helpful," Reid explains as Anya just leans back in her chair she was so wishing she snuck a bag of popcorn in here from her snack bag. It was a long drive and they started driving at night Anya fell asleep in the front seat. Hotch had to admit she looked quite cute. She snored a tiny bit and even offered to drive. She was really pretty in a way and yet everything seemed to be difficult, they were constantly at each other's throats and he wanted nothing more than to put his hands around hers. To fuck her into submission, of course, would never happen. At least not until they admitted they liked each other and Anya she wasn't admitting anything. Yes, she was having thoughts and occasionally intense erotic sex dreams but that was because she was Anya and she thought about Sex like eighty percent of the day. Hell, she had sexual dreams that involved Emily sometimes and it was completely normal.

"Well, Then, You're Wrong." Chester begins.

"About What?"

He turns back to the window. "I Started A Lot More Than 100 Fires." He turns back to the group, " What Do You Want To Hear? How Papa Kicked Me And Jean's Ass Every Single Day? That The Kind Of Thing You Want To Hear?"

"If It's True."

"Nobody Gives A Damn About The Truth." He turns back to the window and Anya grabs a pen she scribbles down on a piece of paper and slides it toward Hotch who was standing near the end of the table " Temperature's Dropping. It's That Time Of Year. Warm Days, Cold Nights.

"It'll Be Summer Soon."

Hotch nods reading her cursive handwriting. "But Not For You."

"No...Not For Me."

"Let's, Um, Let's Talk About The Specifics Of The Case. Why Did You Choose Sheila O'neal?"

Chester just sighs. "You Gotta Show Me A Picture. I Don't Know Their Names."

"Is That What This Is All About, Some Chance To Relive All Of This?"

Chester was staring at Anya directly she was phased by him, he didn't scare him and that irked him, not to mention how short her dress was. No amount of pantyhose could measure up to the length. "I Have An Excellent Memory. I Thought You Wanted To Hear The Truth. Truth Is, They Meant Nothing To Me. They Were Toys, A Diversion, And From The Moment I Decided To Kill Them, They Were Dead. They Begged, They Cried, They Bargained, And It Didn't Matter, Because They Didn't Matter. Sometimes I Wish I Was Normal, That I'd Had A Regular Life. But I Didn't."

"Why Did You Ask Us Here?"

Chester turns to the window. "I Wanted To Smell The Air."

"What?"

"They've Got Me On Death Watch. 24-Hour-A-Day Isolation And I Will Be Until They Take Me To The Death Chamber. So I Wanted To Smell The Air One Last Time Before I Die. Thank You For Giving Me That." He had a smirk on his face.

"Let's Pack It Up."

"Should We At Least–" Reid starts off.

"No, No." Hotch nods for Anya to get up and heads for the door, he presses the button next to the door, "Have A Nice Trip, Chester You're Going Where You Belong."

"It's 5:17. Evening Yard Started At 5:00. Guard Staff's Outside With The Population. There Won't Be Anyone To Open That Door For... At Least 13 Minutes." He picks up a crime scene photo. "And it took me Less than five to do this." Reid looks like he's gonna vomit all while Hotch and Anya have angry faces. "While You Were Doing Your Research, Maybe A Question Or Two About Security Tones Would Have Been A Good Idea."

"I Heard The Tones."

"So You Planned To Be Locked Inside With Me, With No gun Or weapon." Chester was pacing with a sly smirk

"I Won't Need A gun."

"There's No Way They're Gonna Execute Me Next Week, Not After I kill three Fbi Agents. You Saved My Life By Coming Here." He cracks his knuckles as Anya just scrunches up her face.

"You really think I am gonna let you kill me that's cute." she sasses while Reid is slowly tip-toeing to the corner of the room.

"But Unfortunately For You, I'm Not A 5-Foot-Tall, 100-Pound Girl." Hotch begins taking off his suit jacket. All Your Life You've Gone After Victims Who Couldn't fight Back. And The Rest Of The Time You Spent Looking Over Your Shoulder, Worried About The Knock On The Door, Scared That Somebody Like Me Would Be On The Other Side Waiting To Put You Away." Hotch removes his Tie. "At Your Core, You're A Coward."

Now she definitely wished she brought popcorn. Chester growls lunging at Hotch.

"Chester, Do You Want To Know Why You killed Those Women?" Reid interrupts the best moment of Anya's entire career and she scowls at him kissing her teeth,

"What?"

"Earlier You Said You Wish That You Were Different. I Can Tell You Why You kill Them, Why You Are... What You Are." Reid continues as Anya just pouts highly upset she wasnt going t see Hotch go all cage-fighter on a bitch,

"You Can Tell Me Why I Did The Things I Did?"

Reid nods. "I Think So. I Do. Your Mother's Bipolar And Almost Certainly An Undifferentiated Schizophrenic. Your Father Suffered Severe Shell Shock In The w*r, What We Now Refer To As Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. As Far As I Can Tell, He Remained Clinically Depressed for The Rest Of His Life. 53% Of All Serial killers Have Some Form Of Mental Illness In Their Family. In Your Case, Both Your Parents Suffered Psychological Disorders, Which They Largely Took Out On...They b*at Each Other As Much As They b*at You, So Violence Became A Natural Expression Of Love...There's Something Called The Hypothalamic Region Of The Limbic System. It's The Most Primitive Part Of The Brain. It Wants What It Wants Without Conscience And Without Judgment. It's What Makes Babies Cry When They're Hungry, Uh, Scream When They Want Affection and Become Enraged When A Toy Is Taken Away. In Most Children, A Healthy Relationship With Their Mother Counters The Hypothalamus And Maps The Child's Brain Into Healthy Emotional Response...Your Hypothalamus Never Learned Control. It Still Operates On That Primitive Level... our Records Indicate That You Display The Symptoms Of Satyriasis. You're Obsessed With Sex. Sex And Love Are Cross-Wired With Pain. Additionally, Your Hypothalamus Won't Allow You To Stop Seeking The--The Desires That It Wants. So You Became A Sexual Sadist... No Functioning Sexual Partner Will Ever Willingly Submit To The Painful Desires That You Have. The Only Way You Can Serve Them Is By Making A Partner Compliant, Making Sure That They Do Exactly What You Want Them To Do. And You Ensure That By killing l Them. Earlier, You Said Your Victims Never Had A Chance. I Think You Know Deep Down... It Was You Who Really Never Had A Chance."

The door unlocks and a few guards step inside. "Everything All Right In Here?"

"Fine. We're Done." Hotch grabs his Jacket and Tie as well as Anya's hand and leaves Reid follows.

"Is That True, I Never Had A Chance?"

"I Don't Know. Maybe." Reid replies Anya just shakes her head at Hotch. They were currently taking the elevator down Reid was taking the stairs he would most likely beat them. Anya was holding up her makeup mirror for Hotch.

"I don't understand what is wrong with you today.." She was currently watching him tie his tie, she steps forward toward him. "You are so angry and all that anger is going to make you hurt someone." Hotch just continues tying his tie. "Hey, dont ignore me. I know that I get under your skin and that I annoy the living shit out of you...but you Can't keep all that anger bottled up up

"I had it under control."

Anya scoffs. "Sure Hotchner, that was control."

"What did you expect me to do?"

She rolls her eyes closing the mirror with such force it practically sounded like a slap. "Your job, you never let these guys get under your skin and Now suddenly you're going all street fighter on guys."

"You don't get to question my motives, I am your boss."

"Screw your bullshit ass title, as far as I'm concerned Reid is boss." she just groans. "God, you make me want to strangle you."He stares at her before Leaning over and pressing the emergency stop button on the elevator. "Calm down, I'm not actually gonna strangle you."

"What are we doing?"

She shakes her head, "What do you mean?"

"This, this schoolyard game that we play every day."

Anya just stares at him with such intensity she was mirroring what he was doing to her, "You mean the game where we hate each other?"

"Do you really hate me?" there was that intense stare, they say nothing before she leans forward and kisses him with her hand around his neck. The kiss breaks and they stare at each other before he turns her to face the wall, he runs a hand under her dress rubbing circles with his thumb into her thigh, before he lifts her up and places her on the poles inside the elevator, he kisses her again her feet rubbing up against his legs, they were practically eating each other at this point before the intercom in the elevator goes off.

"Everything alright in there?"

"Sorry, just bumped the button," he replies placing her down on her feet. she put her hands on her lips they were tingling. She just turns away from him and the elevator starts up again, they make it back downstairs to see Reid. The car ride back was silent; she offered to switch spots with Reid and he declines, which meant she was sitting up front next to Hotch,

Hotch apologizes for his behavior in the car and Anya just ignores him looking out the window. They arrive back at the FBI building and Anya jumps out of the building, she hated it he was playing with her trying to throw her off her game, trying to get into her head, at least that's how she felt. She wasn't going to let him get into her head. She and Reid got busy working on case files as the others pile in. go bags in their hands.

"Pretty Boy." Morgan puts his go-bag down. "Princess." he turned to Anya, who was walking back to her chair. "How Was Connecticut?"

The two just look at each other before Anya just sips her coffee, and Reid wets his lips. "Ultimately Uneventful. Sir, There's Somebody Waiting To Speak To You In Your Office." Reid points to Rossi's office and they see Garcia's boy toy Kevin come out onto the landing.

"Agent Rossi. We Need To Talk... About Penelope...Man To Man."

Rossi nods. "Man To Man." he starts walking up the stairs to his office as everyone has confused looks on their faces JJ is just smirking Emily just mouths "what the fuck" Anya shrugs, and Derek has a confused but worried look on his face.

"What About Penelope?"

"I Don't Know." Reid shrugs,

"♪ Garcia And Kevin ♪ ♪ Sitting' In A Tree ♪" JJ sings walking off with a smile.

"Get Outta Here. Are You Serious?"

Emily scoffs as Anya almost chokes on her coffee. "Just When I Thought Nothing Scandalous Was Ever Gonna Happen Around Here."

"What? What Does That Mean?"

The two women look at Reid with furrowed brows. "Didn't You Hear Jj?" Emily asks.

"The Song Meant Something? No, I Missed It."

"Yeah...It--It... You Know What? Never Mind." Emily takes a seat in her chair while Anya laughs.

"What?" Reid just looks at Rossi's door with a confused look like he was trying to figure it out which makes Anya laugh harder. Meanwhile, Hotch was in his office, he erased an X from the calendar but he added another Tally mark. He sits back in his chair sighing thinking about the kiss they shared, he runs his fingers over his lips. What did all of this mean?

"There Is No Formula For Success "Except Perhaps An Unconditional Acceptance Of Life And What It Brings." Arthur Rubinstein.

Word count: 3500