*Trigger warning*
Chapter Two: Parenthood

[Family Portrait ~Pink]

There are worse things in the world that can happen people die everyday fact. Life goes on it's simple. People die, you mourn their loss and then move on, sometimes we forget they do and sometimes we have memorials for their death to keep their spirits alive, to make sure they are remembered for years to come. Jessica Young died a little over four years ago and Anya felt the need to have a memorial for her. Because it felt like the right thing to do. The issue with her having a memorial is that she would be the only person present. Standing over a casket in the ground that didn't have a body in it. She hated doing it to be quite fair.

Truthfully she didn't believe Jessica was dead, sure they told her and sure she never heard from her, but there was nobody, and she had this connection with her sister, this longing feeling that she was still out there doing the best she could. Because well that's who Jessica was, she was the kind of person who didn't quit. Maybe that is what got her killed, she was heading straight for danger and nothing was going to change her mind. Nothing was going to stop her all she ever wanted her entire life was to help people and Anya felt like she was still doing it, she was still out there fighting for those who couldnt.

For the entirety of her childhood, Jessica was always the cool older sister, the responsible one, the one who protected Anya and shielded her from everything and anything. She drew a line in the sand when it came to Anya, and Anya always felt the need to push the limits of the line. Make things challenging, because that's what younger siblings are for to be a gigantic pain in the ass. Anya didn't regret anything she did, even after her mother died, and there were some fucked up things she did after Marta died. The only reason she didn't regret those things was that they made her the woman she is today, the sunshiney, dewy-eyed, beauty that had grown to be.

Being a guardian to a kid who doesn't actually know your guardian is quite possibly the most annoying and frustrating ordeal that Anya had ever discovered, in all of her twenty-six years of life, this was probably the most difficult. The only reason why it was so difficult was that her dad made it difficult. Wyatt was a sweet boy, he was fourteen and discovering life and the wonders it had to offer losing your mom at the age of ten well that can put a damper on your entire life. It makes you view life differently. Starting high school for the first time without your mom by your side was scary but when you have a really cool aunt anything is possible. Even getting dropped off your first day of high school by your really pretty and awesomely stellar aunt, well now you might just have the best street cred and it's only the first day.

Yes, Anya was running late but she wouldn't trade dropping off her nephew for anything in the world. She took pictures of him before they left and she was practically crying at how grownup he looked, at how four years could change someone. When she got to the house her dad was in a puddle of his own drool, in his bedroom nonetheless. It was an improvement usually he was high on the couch now he's high in the comfort of his own room, improvements. She was so late that she missed the entire round table debrief, she did have time to make it to the jet and luckily for her she repacked her go bag after every case and kept it in her trunk. Unluckily though she had to explain to her boss why she was late. The excuse she made had to be something good, something very well good enough to be late for work.  She just arrives immediately onto the jet and apologizes taking a spot next to Derek.

"Again I am really sorry for being late it won't happen again." Morgan hands her a file and she takes it.

"It's fine is your cat okay?"

Anya furrows her brows almost as if she forgot the lie she told. "It's touch and go." she simply replies as Hotch nods going back to the file. She was confused as to why he even asked. Was it to tell everyone why she was late to put her on blast? Or did he actually care about her pretend cat emergency

"You have a cat."

Anya nods. "Yeah a black cat named Sweater, this morning he escaped through a window, I dont know how it was left open I never leave them open but I woke up, and he was gone and my window downstairs was open. I spent an hour looking for him and I found him in the

neighbor's yard just lying there he had eaten some of her flowers countless times before and didn't have an issue but this time it was bad there was foaming of the mouth. I rushed him to the vet. They are gonna update how he is every hour."

JJ puts a hand over her heart. "Oh, poor guy." Emily nods as Anya just nods frowning, thinking about where Sweater actually was, he wasnt clinging to life in the slightest, because it's kinda hard to be clinging to life if you're dead. Sweater was most definitely dead, as a doornail, the cause of his death, vehicular manslaughter, technically it was an accident which doesn't make it manslaughter. He was buried in her backyard in a shoe box and rightfully so. But did they need to know that? Absolutely not. She felt bad lying to them but telling them about her dead sister's kid whom she technically takes care of but doesn't actually have custody of and legally shouldn't be taking care of her FBI colleagues who work for the government that would be the dumbest thing she could ever do. The fake dying cat situation definitely takes the cake and is a more realistic story. Besides all, she would say at the end of the case that her cat was dead and mourn his loss til she got home and by the next case, no one would even think about Sweater ever again.

" In the city, crime is taken as emblematic of class and race. In the suburbs, though, it's intimate and psychologically, resistant to generalization, a mystery of the individual soul..".Barbara Ehrenreich.

The debrief of the generals of the case was quick, three home invasions in the last month all ending with an entire family being slaughtered, they would even slaughter the pets if the families had any which JJ rubs Anya on the shoulder at the mention of slaughtered animals. The murders were always families and they were always in nice neighborhoods. And they would still rob the families of their cash and jewelry, which just made Anya's blood boil, not only were they murdering innocent families but they were murdering kids, and for what? A nice payday some jewelry they probably won't go for much if it's pawned. Anya was just thankful to be using her powers for good and not evil because if it weren't she didn't think she would be able to control her urges and might actually murder someone. She wouldn't murder innocent people honestly she would most likely turn into a modern-day Dexter. Sweet innocent totally chill day job murderous badass at night. Who knows maybe she would have a clueless sidekick.

"Home invasions typically involve the elderly and single females. The fact that entire families are being targeted suggests multiple unsubs." Reid babbles.

"Could mean gang-related, revenge motive, personal business."

Anya scoffs with a slight smirk. "I don't think any of these victims are running in gang circles."

"Sewing circles, more like it. P.t.a. Moms, gray-flannel dads...These guys are killing The Cleavers."

"Strange," Reid murmurs.

"The pattern?"

"No, The Cleavers. Of all the names for a 1950s idyllic tv family, I mean, it's rife with violent implications. Makes you wonder how the writers really felt about suburbia, huh?: He raises his brows as Anya nods she opens her mouth to speak being cut off by Hotch.

"Focus, please."

"Uh, ok, what about, um, a class-based uprising? Helter-skelter?" Emily suggest.

"There's no graffiti, no messages, at least not visible ones. There are no rituals."

Derek shakes his head. "Manson's aim was to start a race war. There's no proof of any hate crime here."

"The parent murders are brutal, messy. The instruments vary. Uh, golf club, kitchen knife, iron. "

"Household implements, symbols of family," Derek adds.

"But the kids were different. They died by injection, pentobarbital."

"It's a barbiturate sometimes used as an anticonvulsant for epileptics, anxiety disorders, and state executions,"  Reid explains.

"The invasions are well planned. Phone lines are cut. Ligature marks show the parents were bound and gagged."

" Look like these guys had some robbery experience." Derek leans forward placing both elbows on his knees.

"And then found their true calling."

Going over an already gone-through crime scene was like wearing pants that someone already put on. There would be evidence that they were worn, that someone used them, and sometimes it will be clear as day. Other times they just look like a regular pair of jeans. There was no sign of forced entry. Same as the other houses. It was late at night and the unsub had to be let into the house which goes to show you that you most likely wouldn't open a door to someone who looks scary. Which means they were most likely non-threatening looking. Truly If it was just about eliminating witnesses, it would never have been so vicious. These murders were about rage. Not to mention the kid, tucked in, quiet, orderly, controlled. Speaks to an introvert with some capacity for remorse. There were two different profiles at the scene which meant two different unsubs. The kids were positioned to face the area where the parents were killed  Everything's been cleared out like a stage. It's entertainment. They sit and watch the parents die.

Anya knew a little too much about watching your parents die. But that story would have to be told for a different occasion. For now, let's just say she knew what it was like and she hated remembering it. Sometimes she would be fine and go weeks without thinking about it and then one day it just creeps up on her like a thief in the knight, it haunts her, every part, her dreams, her day. It usually ends with her having a one-on-one visit with her and her sleep paralysis demon. Or just not sleeping for an entire week and falling into a three-day sleep coma. Where she feels so much better afterward. She hadn't had one in a while, an episode and she was praying this case didn't cause her to have one because well she needed this job more than anything right now. Because well buying shoes for a fourteen-year-old is expensive. On top of the fact that she had to pay for her medications. She was born with half a heart and for some, that means instant death the minute to step foot into the world but she got a miracle a donor who donated a new heart and she was able to live for as long as she wanted to or at least until her heart gave out. Things were looking good until she found out her heart was enlarged, it was too big for her body and for some reason the universe thought that would be the best trick to play on her, she had meds she took that helped decrease the size and if it got out of well the pacemaker she had implanted would littler give her the jolt she needed.

And the best part about it was no one ever knew. At least Hotch didn't, certainly not that bitch Strauss. The only person who knew who was the director of the FBI and he made sure to make her medical file look official to everyone else. Simply for the fact that Anya knew people. People in high places adored her and would do anything for her. Plus the best doctor in the city examined her and made sure she wasn't a liability twice, she was just thankful that all this stuff happened after her tour was up. This silly little heart issue wasnt going to stop Anya not unless someone was gonna put her down and even then it was gonna take a lot more to stop her seeing as two heart surgeries didn't.

Anya was super fit, she never ate junk food, always worked out, ran marathons, did yoga, and the list goes on she was perfectly healthy she needed to be Wyatt needed her and she wanted to live. There were so many things she wanted to do and she still needed the time to do so

"These guys don't lack confidence. Targeting entire families is a high-risk endeavor." Hotch starts off.

"It's possible they're minimizing that risk by jamming cell phones inside the house. No one can call out."

"High tech. That narrows the profile, right?" Detective Hamilton asks.

"Not really"

"Oh, you can buy a hand-held jammer online for what, 100 bucks?" Anya speaks up, everyone looks at her. "I mean hypothetically 'cause I myself have never bought one before."

"I could use one of those next time I go to the movies."

Derek laughs as his phone rings he pulls it from his pocket, looks at the caller Id, and opens it. "Hey, girl. You're on speaker. Behave."

"Or what, you'll spank me?"

Derek face palms as Anya just giggles.

"So I've been searching the area for unsolved robberies. I found 4 with similar elements...Phone lines cut, small valuables only."

"Occupants tied up?"

"Yes, but no homicides."

"Ok. Thanks, dollface. I'll call you back." He hangs up his phone.

"Well, if this is our guys, something made them graduate to murder."

"If we can figure out what that trigger was, it might tell us how they choose their victims," Emily says.

"Well, that would help. I have been lookin' into victimology, and so far, there's really nothing to connect the families. Different political affiliations, different careers, and different school systems. At this point, it simply appears the unsubs are targeting their victims at random."

After another day it was time for them to give the profile. You know that profile that makes the unsubs seem like they are people with remorse, the profile is just that a profile. It isnt how they catch the actual unsub but it is a guide on how they should catch the unsubs, and things to look out for. Honestly, Anya was gonna start using the layout of their profiles as a guide for her next relationship because the things some of these people had put her into were unbelievable.

To summarize they were looking for two men, probably white. (shocker) the mid to late twenties. Intelligent, and organized. These are career criminals. One or both have done a hard time, but neither presents as a convict. They would appear clean-shaven, well dressed...Neighborly.This helps them talk their way into their homes. They may also be using a ruse. Given that the invasions have taken place in the evening, it could be anything. Could be door-to-door sales, a person in distress, or car trouble. This would be the part where Reid spits some mad facts about some smarty pants shit he knows.

"Uh, Derrick Todd Lee used a tape of a baby crying to get women to open their doors in baton rouge. Never underestimate their creativity."

There goes the brainiac piece of knowledge that we didn't know but now we do. These men share a very tight bond and a mutual compulsion to kill but their signatures reveal two very distinct personalities. One brutalizes the parents. This is the dominant one... Sadistic, remorseless, extremely volatile. The other prefers a needle. His injections are consistent with an angel of death. He's more withdrawn and sensitive, and he has a warped sense of mercy. Morgan then passes out a list of places where he might have access to the drugs but before anyone can even check there was another murder. They were sending an ambulance though cause one of the kids well survived. Hotch sends Emily, JJ, and Anya down to the hospital, to talk with the girl, you know them all being women and such, might help her calm down. Let's be real here, no one would be calm after this and no one would want a bunch of random ass women in their rooms after this either.

The teenage girl in question Olivia was awake and most definitely ready to talk. She talks about how he comes to the door with a dead cat, and JJ gives Anya's shoulder another squeeze for a split second she forgets about her furbaby Sweater. She feels bad about it, but in her defense Sweater did die when she was nine, either way, it was still sad. People dont have memorials for cats, do they? Anyways Olivia explains everything in detail about how there was a heavier Hispanic one he was quiet and never looked straight ahead. Also avoiding eye contact. That's the submissives. They made Danny her seven-year-old brother call for mom and they tied them up the other one went over and grabbed the fire poker and he started hitting her parents with it all while making them watch. After a while, the quiet one took Danny away, and the other one just started going through drawers, looking for stuff. She went to wake up Danny but he was dead already and the quiet one kept calling her Lucy.

//

It's the next day and Anya feels a lot better, she told everyone that her cat had passed, and now anyone mentions cats and people tiptoe around it. As they fucking should Sweater was a good cat and all should bow down to him. But you know regardless of any of that bullshit he was still dead and crying about it wasnt going to make him any more alive. That's how Anya dealt with the passing of her mom. Her dad wasnt always this raging addict he was a sweet man who worked a basic job as a detective in Virginia, he was going places truly. People thought he might be the next Police commissioner and this his wife died and the entire world didn't mean shit anymore, not even the two beautiful girls she left behind. Hotch says something about finding out where they might be getting the cats. "They" being the unsubs. Anya wants to chuckle at the way he phrased it like as if it was something you could get from the store. Oh, I got milk and eggs and cheese, and a dead cat. It was so random and yet it wasnt at all. Research labs, veterinary hospitals. They sell them like it is no big deal, and Anya thinks, she wonders if Sweater was alive and that entire incident did happen, would they have the option to donate her cat's body to science or put it in some bag and discard it like trash?

Oliva said that they referred to each other as brothers. It isnt uncommon for duos to be related. The hillside stranglers were cousins. The Carr brothers perpetrated the Wichita massacre. Trauma connects people. That's all Anya could think about even with everyone's excessive talking. Yes, these two are of different races. And one was shy and the other was dominant. Which makes Anya feel, it makes her head swirl, and she fights the urge to clutch it, that's the thing with those meds, the side effects are a long laundry list of things that you have to accept, and she was used to it, nausea, tiredness, lack of appetite, dizziness, mood swings, extreme depressive episodes, blindness, liver disease, rash, flu-like symptoms. Ectera, but here's the thing about it, ninety percent of all birth controls have the same side effects if not more so she was double irritated and also highly annoyed. The point is she was internally fighting a biting with her body that she should've lost a long time ago.

"What if they're adopted?" she speaks up, and everyone looks at her, it was like they forgot she was there like she was officially a chair in that room. She straightens up in the chair, " I mean Family destruction plays a role in the crimes.nIt could be a reflection of their own broken home."

"This guy expressed affection for Olivia, We know he took her photograph. We could use that."

"If we release news of her survival, it might draw him out."

Emily shakes her head. "Not comfortable with that?" Hotch asks.

"Ok, but I would be more comfortable if we doubled her security."

//

At this point, it was becoming a problem. This many days and still no leads, Anya's head was literally swimming and Maybe it was because of the lack of sleep she had gotten, her hotel bed wasnt comfortable and Reid snored so damn loud she actually contemplated, strangling him at one point, she hated the fact that she drew his name from the cup, she would've much rathered Emily or JJ, hell she was willing to put up with Hotch, she was a light sleeper, due to the trauma she endured, it wasnt by choice, it was because she had gotten into some shit, and well that in itself shakes you to your core, it wasnt anything she couldnt handle and if she needed to sleep she would get it when she got home. Their newest thing was flowers, there was a specific kind delivered to Olivia's room the same kind that was found in her living room. There was a note, it was a blank card from a floral shop. And Emily was tasked with Calling Garcia to track the delivery. Reid had something and he was way too eager to share it with everyone.

"This is the Laybourne house, where we believe our unsubs graduated from robbery to murder." Reid was standing infront of different crime scene photos.

"Did you find a trigger?"

"Not until I looked at the daughter's autopsy reports. Uh, check out the bruises on her torso." Reid points to the bruising,

"She was beaten?"

"But not by our unsubs. The coroner noted those bruises were several days old. Uh, it turns out she'd been to the emergency room 3 times in less than 2 years. The d.s.s. Had even been notified." Reid continues.

"So the Laybournes were abusing their daughter. Where's this going?"

Reid straightens up his posture, "One of the unsubs decimates parental figures, but we know the statistics there. It's... It's likely he has abused himself."

"So you're saying the unsub recognized the signs of abuse, flew into a rage, and kill the parents?" Anya was trying to piece everything together Hotch nodded for the first time agreeing with what she had to say,

"Anger displacement. He's getting revenge for his own childhood abuse."

"So you think what, the victims were beating their kids?" Detective Nellis speaks up.

"Uh, the Laybourne case was just the trigger, but now they see all parents the same."

He shakes his head, "That doesn't explain the kids."

"Maybe it does. Think of the family annihilators John List and Mark BartonThey thought they were saving their kids by killing 'em."

"But what is he savin' them from?" Nellis asked.

"Life without their parents, without love, life like his."

"They're orphans. What if they both grew up in a third-party household?"  Anya speaks up and Derek looks like he might kiss her, he just smiles eagerly shaking both her shoulders.

"What, like a foster home?"

"Didn't Olivia describe an aversion to eye contact?" Hotch asks.

"Oppositional defiant disorder."

"Often seen in kids who grew up in foster homes," Hotch explains.

"Guys, I think we may have found our girl's secret admirer."

"Garcia traced the flowers?" Hotch arches his brow

"Yep. Paid for by phone with a credit card under the name Robert Serrano."

Of course, when they go by Robert's house it's another home invasion the dad and mom were dead in the living room and the kitchen and the kids were in their beds, and this was just pissing everyone off. But lucky for them they got a lead the flowers weren't the only things bought they also bought thirty-one dollars worth of gas from a station three blocks away from the house, they pulled up the security footage from that but it was blurry. Garcia got a lead on some of the  felons in the Denver area with foster backgrounds, stress on assault, and burglaries. The Foster system's a bit of a breeding ground, go figure. She did cross reference it with  offenders having workplace access to small animals and/or pentobarbital. There were nine names  Matching all three criteria.

The only thing that the security footage did get was the make of the car which was an Oldsmobile, mid-eighties, with partial plate only, and nothing on the driver. The only lead they had was Olivia who picked the guy out of the lineup immediately. A guy by the name of Ervin Robles.

The last known address is thirty-nine hill street. He was also employed by the Denver city pound. It was all hands on deck

Anya went with them to go find Ervin they went by his job and he wasnt there his boss explained how he did his job efficiently and how he was quiet. Hotch and Emily meet up with Reid and Anya outside of Ervin's job.

"Supervisor left a message for Ervin to come in right away. Work emergency." Hotch explains.

"He also said a man stopped by yesterday, and got into a heated argument with Ervin."

"The description sounded a lot like the one Olivia gave," Hotch says.

"The partner... Did he say what they were fighting about?"

"He couldn't hear it. We need a name on this guy."  Emily sighs.

"Well, until we find Ervin, there's only one person that can tell us that," Anya replies simply.

The foster mom and Let us just begin with the fact that Anya hated this woman from the moment she spoke, she made her skin crawl, and the fact that the poor kid that was there went to to the fridge for milk and there were locks on both the fridge and freezer the key was around her neck and Anya so desperately wanted to strangle her with it. Never in her life was she so enraged by an old lady in her entire existence.

"My god. Ervin? Well, I mean, he had behavior problems. They all do. But nothing we couldn't handle." The woman was gasping and scoffing in disbelief,

"And he hasn't been acting alone, Mrs. Manwaring. He's got a partner. Perhaps someone else who grew up in your care."

"Is there anyone Ervin was especially close to? Someone he would have looked up to Somebody who protected him?" Those words made a lightbulb flicker in the older woman's head.

"Gary. We tried with him, but... He tested us."

"Have you kept in touch with him?" Emily asked Anya quietly kisses her teeth. They all knew that old dust bag didn't give two shits about the kids she currently had let alone their unsubs.

She takes them over to a picture frame and holds up a photo of Gary, "Oh, god, no. Gary left the day he turned 18, and never looked back. Ervin was a mess when he got here. Got separated from a younger sister."

"Where did she go?" Emily asks.

The woman sets down the photo as Hotch and Anya stare at the photo wall. She looks at all those kids' faces, they hated it here and no one was saving them.

"Nobody told me. Siblings get separated all the time. But they find new ones here."

"Like Ervin found Gary? What was the name of his sister, the one he was separated from?" Emily continues.

" Oh, let me think. He used to call her name out in the middle of the night, wake the whole house up." she turns to her husband who was in his wheelchair planted infront of the television.  "Hal, what was that girl's name?" he husband doesn't respond. "Rosie, I think."

"Lucy?" Emily asks.

"Yes! Lucy, lucy, that was it."

" Olivia said he called her Lucy," Anya explains as Aaron answers his phone. He explains how Ervin was headed back to work, they arrest Ervin only he won't talk not to Derek or hotch, so Anya explains how maybe having Ervin talk with Olivia might help and Derek just keeps cheering like a proud parent. She was becoming the best damn profiler he had seen, and it was making him proud.

Before she was this shy puddle of Dewey eyes and innocence and now, well now she was this fierce, this lioness with a beautiful coat. Ervin described how the older woman would make it go Dark, she would ray and hold his head under the water and sometimes he could fight it but other times he couldnt and Anya was losing her shit all because there were still kids in their innocent kids. Ervin explained how Gary was going back there foster home and honestly Anya couldnt blame them.

When they arrived at the foster house the hag was complaining about them being there, which only annoyed the fuck out of Anya more. How was she gonna be mad at them for protecting her from a problem that she caused? She was constantly reminding herself that she was doing good things, that Gideon told her "Use your powers for good not evil." but this woman was making it hard for her to be good. She talks about how she has to pick up the kids from school, Hotch sends Derek and Emily to pick up the kids. But they weren't there.  Witnesses said that they spotted the kids in an Oldsmobile and after they found the car parked at a donut shop Gary sent everything into defcon one.

He had a note sent out by the sister of the kid and explained how if they came inside the donut shop he would kill the boy, of course, everyone set up a hostage negotiation, the situation outside, JJ is about to hand the phone to Hotch he asks the clerk to hand the phone to Gary when Anya speaks up.

"Let me talk with him." JJ and Reid seem stunned by Anya's outburst. Hotch seems hesitant and Anya knows she needs to convince him. She sighs wanting the urge to run, but she had to do this she had to spill a little to get a little. "When I was eleven I broke a plate in the kitchen and my dad held my head under the water hose in the backyard and tried to waterboard me..." JJ looked like she wanted to hug her and Reid looks a bit upset by her words. Hotch also seemed upset for the first time his face softened, "I can do this Hotch..."  He hands her the phone nodding.

"Who's this?"

"I'm the only thing standing between you and a bullet." She says cooly her voice calm like a serine waterfall.

"Bring it. I always wanted to die in a donut shop."

Anya nods and tilts her head. "And never see Ervin again? He told us what the Manwarings did to you in that house."

"I don't care what he told you, it's history."

Anya sighs. "They're the objects of your anger, Gary, not that little boy in there."

"It's too late for the boy, regardless."

"No, it's not. It's not, Gary. And deep down, I think you know that he still has a chance. He doesn't have to be you." Anya hears Gary's breathing. "My dad use to do really awful and shitty things to me, but before all of that he was a good dad and for the most part I dont hate him because he made me stronger, I was able to help people instead of hurt people and I know how you feel Gary, you always tell yourself you're gonna get back at them, they are gonna be the ones crying and not you, but then they are burning cigarettes into your arms and calling you worthless, believe me I know, but that boy, that beautiful child isnt the issue here"

Anya feels Hotch's eyes practically boring into her head and she wants to turn around and scream at him to look away. They watch as the boy leaves the donut shop Derek guides him over to Emily before Gary contemplates for a split second he then steps outside the door and surrenders. Which was a little worrisome for Hotch, Reid was at the Donut shop with JJ when they heard the clerk who was being interviewed talking about a gun and then it sets in Gary gave Tyler the gun. Because he knew they would be sent back home with that awful woman. Luckily for them, Derek talked Tyler down and everything was okay.

They were on the jet now and no one wanted to mention the incident of Anya, spilling little bits of her past. She just stayed quiet for the rest of the case. She just sat there in the corner staring out the window when Hotch takes a look at her, he wanted to walk over and ask her if any of it was true and if it was why she didn't say anything. But who openly talks about their abusive drug addict of a dad? Part of her felt like she deserved it, every single thing he did she deserved because well she too felt like she was the reason her mom was dead. If she could do it all over again, things would be different, she wouldn't be so battered, and she probably wouldn't be divorced at twenty-six, living in her childhood home, and taking care of her dead sister's kid. And yet, life wasnt different she was here, doing this job taking on this life. She was scared that maybe she couldnt handle it but seeing as she talked Gary down from off the ledge and it actually stuck with him whether he chose to admit that it did well was entirely up to Gary.

JJ had explained to Emily the entire situation that went down with Anya and then they looped in Derek, who was immediately jumping out of his seat, he went over to talk with Anya but she was fast asleep, her body was so tired, but she would never complain. She would never show she was hurting not to any of them and certainly not to Hotch. Who hadn't taken his eyes off the woman since they got on the jet even when they landed, they all said their goodbyes, and Anya just went home figuring everyone would forget, but no one would forget. How could they? Anya Holmes was the best thing that come into each of their lives and she didn't even know it.

She had captured everyone's hearts and she was slowly capturing another and neither of them knew it just yet.

Word count: 6100