"Really?"
Chapter One: Give Me Strength
03x03: Scared to Death

*Trigger warning*

Eden was going through the motions trying to figure out life. Reid was doing a lot better and then he wasnt now he was sad. Because Gideon left and the team was kinda falling apart and everything seems to be going to shit but hey at least the people who were still here were together Life is a fickle friend with severe mommy issues and not enough time.

"Gideon left everything Except the photographs." Garcia was cleaning out Gideon's office.

"He always said those Were like his family," Reid mumbles as everyone looks at him with concern.

"What should we do With all of this?" Garcia asks as everyone sighs. Eden goes to the coffee machine waiting her turn Emily was waiting behind Derek.

"How was your date?" Emily turns to Eden.

"It was awful, I am never doing that again."

The line moves up and now Derek was at the coffee machine. "What even happened?" Emily asks as Derek pours his coffee before stepping to the side, he sips from his mug adjusting the milk and cream ratio while eavesdropping in on their conversation.

"My ex showed up instead, and threatened to cut his little friend off." Eden was now at the coffee pot pouring some into her mug. While Emily is stirring sugar into hers.

"How did your ex find you?"

Eden pours some sugar into her mug. "He found my dating profile and figured out where my date was."

"Yikes, I am sorry,"

"Joshua is the worst kind of human and I can't seem to get rid of him." Eden leans back against the counter.

"Yeah from the stories you told he doesn't seem like the best," Emily pats her on the back. "For what it's worth I have dated worse." Emily goes to her desk as Eden leans back against the counter it was now just her and Derek.

"You didn't mention you had a crazy ex."

She shrugs, "It's not a big deal I can handle Joshua."

"But what if you can't, I mean from what it sounds like he's stalking you."

"That's just typical Joshua's behavior I am fine he's harmless." Eden sips her coffee pushing herself up off the counter. "Thanks for looking out though" she smiles at him as JJ is calling everyone into the round table room. Derek sips his coffee thinking for a moment.

"Ok, we have 4 victims In Oregon." JJ starts she was hanging out the files.

"I got this." Hotch stands up taking the remote from JJ. "I know that We've all been wondering What this was all about. And, uh You know I've known Jason For many years, And I can tell you I have no idea. But it doesn't even matter. What matters is we're here, And we're going to continue. Portland field office Uncovered a mass grave With 3 bodies, Killed 6 months ago.

Nearby, They found another body. Causes of death range From burning alive To asphyxiation.No sexual assault."

"Well, the torture's sadistic," Derek says.

"The lack Of sexual preferences Could make it hard to tell If the unsub is male Or female.

"Typically, female Serial killers Stick to the same m.o it looks like this guy's all over the place."Emily explains.

"Most recent victim Is Jenny Wittman asphyxiated she was discovered yesterday."

"How long Was she missing?" Reid asks.

"She was never reported missing."

"What about the others?" He furrows his brows.

" Only one." Hotch continues

"One of 4?" Eden arches her brow at Hotch who nods.

" Rick holland Was reported missing 9 months ago, But the search was called off.

"Family Discovered his car at The train station. But more importantly, They received e-mails from him saying that he needed time To figure things out." Hotch informs them

"And his family Bought that?"

" Guess the alternative Was too hard to accept." Hotch shrugs.

"Reaching out could be A sign of remorse."

"Psychopaths don't apologize For their behavior. This guy's covering His tracks." Hotch continues.

"Well, it's working."

"So" Emily pushes herself out of her chair and walks over to the board where the crime scene photos are tapped up. "3 victims He buried in one grave, And then Only Jenny Wittman In the other."

"You thinking It's a pattern?" Derek sends her a puzzled look.

"Uh, it's hard to tell."

"If there is, It's one down two to go," Hotch says as everyone sights gearing up to leave.

Taoist philosopher Lao Tzu once wrote: "he who controls others May be powerful, "but he who has Mastered himself Is mightier still."

"Can we go over What portland found?" Hotch asks.

" One female And 2 male victims were found buried together In the same grave. All 25 to 30. All had been dead six months." JJ was passing out files to everyone.

" That sounds like three different M.O's"

" uh, Gary Taylor, The phantom sniper, Was all over the map, Just like this guy. He changed his m.o. As his need to control The situation changed." Reid babbles.

"What about The fresh grave?"

" Uh, female, 28, Dead roughly 48 hours. She was asphyxiated." JJ explains.

"It's a good thing This guy's dump site Has been compromised."

"As soon as the unsub knows that, He may feel pressured That we're onto him. It could push him To make a mistake." Eden says as everyone nods.

"Hey. You." Reid was looking around as Eden chuckled. "Uh, down here."

Reid moves into the seat next to Eden turning the laptop so everyone could see. "I knew that."

Garcia chuckles. "Good thing You're handsome, doctor. Attention team members- This killer guy continues To stoop to An all-time low of lows By posing as his victim. He's also manipulated Into thinking. Everything was ok, Even after They were reported missing. One of the fake e-mails Was from their daughter. She said she met this guy And was taking him To her favorite place, Australia, For a couple of weeks. The family contacted The Australian authorities After too much time Had passed."

"This guy sure knows A lot of personal Information About his victims," Derek says from his spot behind Eden's chair.

" How did he get access To their e-mail accounts?"

" Screen name was the same, But the domain Was different. The families never noticed. When I find more pieces Of the puzzle, you'll know. Garcia out." the laptop bleeps indicating she hung up.

"This guy's creative. Let's go over the details One more time Just to make sure We haven't missed Anything." Hotch says as everyone nods.

Walking into the police station was bitter but they had to be there. There was a job that needed to be done.

"You must be the B.A. U. Special agent Bill Calvert."

"Hi. Jennifer Jarreau. This is SSA Aaron Hotchner. These are Agents Morgan, Prentiss, and Dr.

Reid. and Dr. Hunters" everyone either Waves or nods as JJ introduces them. Once everyone found out Eden went to medical school they felt they should respect her hard work, until otherwise she would be addressed as Dr. Hunters. Because well she was a doctor and a damn good one at that.

"I appreciate Your help On this case." Agent Clavert explains

"So you're from Boston, huh?" Morgan asks if he had a bag slung over his shoulder and Eden's bag in his other hand, he places her bag on the floor and the back over his shoulder on the table.

" The accent's kind of hard To miss in Oregon, right?" Bill smiles as Derek nods.

" We'd like to take a look around Jenny Wittman's Apartment," Hotch explains.

"I'd take you myself, But I'm waiting To meet a family, So I'll have another agent drive you."

"Thank you." Hotch nods.

"I'll stay behind And work victimology," Emily says as Eden nods.

"I'll help Em." Hotch just nods again figuring his team knew their strengths and weaknesses.

"Great. I could use Some extra hands. We'll call you If we find anything." Hotch, Reid, and Derek leave.

"So we'll just Set up here?" JJ looks at Bill he nods.

" Yeah. Yeah, this is fine. Right here." they start opening the bags and going through everything

The woman of the Behavioral Analysis Unit find themselves growing frustrated by the minute Emily was pacing the floor. While Eden sat on the table next to JJ.

"We have been over The details Of this case So many times, I could recite it In my sleep." Emily continues to ace while Eden is massing her skull.

"Nothing like Being prepared."

"Sorry to interrupt, But I just spoke To Jenny Wittman's family." Bill enters the room.

"Oh. Did they give you Any insight?" Eden asks

He shakes his head. " Well, they weren't What you'd call Close-knit. It was like she wanted A fresh start. Struck out on her own."

"Yeah, Garcia Couldn't come up With any connection Between the victims. Different socioeconomic Backgrounds, Levels of education, And areas of work."

"But they all had Relocated to Portland Without any family Or friends- One divorced, The rest single," JJ explains.

"They did have that In common. New to the city, And they all lived alone."

"That'd describe me as a "t" I transferred To this field office A month ago. I'm 30, single, And don't have much Of social life, Since I work so much." Bill explains.

"Well, I need to go over Whatever evidence you found At the other victims' homes, And then, I would love To pick your brain About how you got settled Into the city," JJ Says as Eden nods along with Bill

"Absolutely. So this guy He burns 'em, Hangs 'em, Smothers 'em. Why does he kill in So many different ways?"

" That's exactly what We're trying to find out," Emily says.

It was time for them to give the profile to the agents at the field office everyone gathered around.

"Ok, we know this guy Used wildwood trail As his Graveyard For 6 months. That site's Been blown For him now, Which means that He's been forced To change Part of his m.o." Derek starts.

"Which won't be easy For somebody who thrives On being in control. The reason that He's gotten away With these first 3 murders Is that He's been meticulous At every stage, From how he chooses His victims To their torture And their burial."

"To us, His victims appear To be nonspecific. Other than being New to portland, All they seem To have shared was A torturous death." Emily says.

"But you think The unsub chooses them For another reason, too?"

" We think so." Emily answers.

"The tortures lack A sexual component, Which is incredibly rare. I think It's more about, uh, Not necessarily about Exerting power, But more like Overcompensating For a lack of it."

"This guy craves control. He's coming from A place of weakness, Trying to Demonstrate strength. Now, we see this A lot in unsubs Who've been abused." Derek speaks up.

"The lack of sexual assault Could be as simple as The fact That he's impotent, Something that He's trying to hide."

"A man this obsessed With control Most likely feels powerless In his everyday life. So he would crave Stability and security. He's most likely married. If he is impotent, He could keep up appearances By adopting children." Eden explains.

"Yeah, and someone This methodical Has every moment Planned. If he is captured, He'd most likely take his own life Rather than give up Any sort of control."

"The victims' lack Of defensive wounds Suggests that they willingly put themselves in danger. So someone of authority Or otherwise easily trusted Put them up to this." Reid said.

"Also, the victims' families Were led to believe Their loved ones were Alive and well Through e-mails written By this murderer."

"He's calculating, And he's intelligent, And We're going to have To do something That he's not expecting," Hotch says,

"Like what?"

" Like warn His potential victims," Hotch explains after giving the profile JJ proceeds to give a press conference.

Eden was taking a phone call outside.

"No stop this is ridiculous, how did you even get my number? Joshua... Joshua delete my number..."

Morgan steps outside. "Hey, we got something."

Eden holds up a finger. "Seriously....No Joshua... leave me alone....Goodbye Joshua." she hangs up her phone straightening herself out.

"You okay?"

She just nods plastering a smile on her face. "Yeah, I'm fine nothing I can't handle."

"Is it your ex again? You know I can help you with it." he opens the door for her and lets her inside.

"Derek, I dont need help...Joshua doesn't know how to take no for an answer. It's fine I blocked his number he won't message me again." She steps into the room they were using.

Derek stops her by her arm. "Red, I am serious, I can help you."

"Derek I am serious okay I can handle Joshua, okay and if he gets out of control I will let you know okay?" she pats his shoulder entering the room. After a few more times of deliberating, they call it night.

The next day came quicker than any of them were prepared for they have greeted by another body not just anybody, but after the press conference a woman called in about her Tennant Patrick he had shown up at his place the next morning and well they figured out why.

"Local police I.d.ed the body. It's Patrick Walker. He's got deep abrasions And bruising On the neck And shoulders." Calvert explains as Eden, Emily and Derek continue to walk down to the pier where the crime scene is.

"I'm going to go see If they found anything else In the water."

"I'll uh go with." Eden begins following after Derek. She wasnt going to admit but she was about to fall on her ass, everything was downhill and she didn't prepare for this at all. Luckily for her, Derek was catching on rather quickly. He wraps his arm around her waist guiding her down the rest of the hill with him.

"I'm not a child Derek."

"No one said you were, it's okay to ask for help Hardhead." He sasses as she rolls her eyes.

They get to the bottom and turn around after two whole minutes. There wasnt much down in there in the first place.

"Well, they found a rope At the bottom of the river, But that's probably Been there for years. A couple of feet out, They found this. It's a shepherd's crook. Lifeguards And rescue workers use it." Derek holds the bright blue crook in his hand.

"I bet he didn't use it For safety."

"Officer, thank you." Derek hands it to an officer.

"We haven't seen any evidence of a struggle with the other bodies. This is the first one." Calvert says.

"Do you remember any open cases Involving Suspicious drownings?" Eden says.

"Since I've been In Portland, We've had 2 or 3. I can call the office, Get the files to Your other agents. Maybe they can make A connection."

Derek nods. "Thank you."

"Yeah." Calvert walks off.

Derek pulls out his phone calling Hotch. "Hey, that landlady Prentiss spoke to Was right to be worried. We just found Patrick Walker Dead in a river."

"And it was exactly What you predicted. He found a new place To dump the body."

"Fire, hanging, Asphyxiation. Now we've got A drowning." Hotch says,

"I think it's someone afraid of drowning."

"What do you mean?" Eden asks.

"Yeah, it hit me when Morgan freaked out when we were stuck In the elevator."

Eden tilts her head at Derek a playful smirk on her lips Verdant eyes glistening off Derek. "You got stuck In an elevator?" Emily lets out a soft chuckle as Eden just shakes her head.

" I freaked?"

"Well, That's Not important. Here's what is." Derek shakes his head at Reid's statement. "if you look at the m.o.s Of the victims, What do they all have In common? They could all Be classified As anxiety disorders. It's right out of The diagnostics and Statistical manual. It lists 5 subtypes of phobias."

"Most of these are Environmental And situational," Hotch says.

"Exactly."

"So it's all about fear. These people are being killed By their fears." Hotch mutters.

//

After figuring out that was fears they were looking at they split up into groups of two looking for flyers in the places Patrick frequented the most. Prentiss and Reid were taking a laundromat that was closest to Patrick Walker's apartment building and Eden and Derek were taking a look at the gym nearby.

"The rates for this gym are a joke I mean if I am a single person, who just moved into a new city and I want to start fresh this is the last place I would go."

Eden tilts her head to the side. "And yet Patrick Walker joined." Derek just snorts as Eden thinks for a moment. "Did you get scared in an elevator?"

Derek feigns a laugh. "Please me scared in an elevator, Pretty Boy was practically crying for Hotch."

Eden gets close to Derek's face, "Is Derek Morgan afraid of Elevators?"

He tilts his head this time. "Hmm," he shakes his head a cheeky grin on his face.

"I almost had sex in an elevator once. They are very sturdy nothing to be worried about" Eden's voice had a slight purr at the end. She just smirks eyes going back to the bulletin board. "I dont see anything here that would catch Patrick's eye", She shrugs. "Maybe Emily and Spence found anything."

The walk across the street to the laundromat was filled with so much sexual tension. That Eden felt it seeping out of her pours. He opens the door for her and she steps inside pushing her hair behind her shoulder. They scan the small laundromat and she taps Derek on the arm nodding to where Reid and Prentiss were.

"Hey, well, Patrick Walker just joined A pretty sweet boxing gym, But that's about it. You guys find anything?" Emily hands the flyer in her hand to Derek Eden leans over his shoulder to read it, and he looks at her for a brief second. Taking in her features. The freckles ran across her nose and cheeks. They weren't noticeable unless you were close up, her Verdant-colored eyes and plum-stained lips. The way her cheeks were tinted the perfect shade of pink and her eyeshadow was brown and soft, not to mention the curl of her lashes. And how they framed her lids. But only someone who was really in love paid attention to those things and he wasnt someone in love.

"Well, I think we should go over to victim number 2's Coffee shop, See if any of these Are hanging around."

"If all of our victims Saw these fliers, We just figured out How he casts his net," Emily explains.

"Let's do it," Derek says as everyone nods.

Back at one of the coffee shops, Emily finds more flyers. But they are older than the victims they found. So she and Derek check the trail. Finding twelve more bodies. Garica finds the website for the flyers. It's a bogus website but the person on the website is a doctor by the name of Barry Goodman.

Eden is back with Hotch and Spence printing out everything from the website, the others arrive a few minutes later and JJ hands everyone a stack of papers to go over.

"Look at this, guys. He calls them phobias Instead Of anxiety disorders." Reid says circling the word on his sheet.

"Yeah, this guy's either an amateur or he studied psychology In the eighties."

"His phrasing of the questions is clinical. This guy's a professional." Derek speaks up.

"Well, he's able to pick The perfect victims. "are you close To your family? Easy making friends?" Answer yes, And you're spared The torture."

"We figured out How he chooses His victims, But how does that get us his real name?" Calvert. asks.

" All right. Let's review. J.j. Can you get Garcia" Hotch nods to her and Dials her number on the conference phone in the middle of the table

" I think the guy's a real psychiatrist," Emily says.

"Also afraid of being alone, So he's most likely married," Eden notes.

"May have Adopted children."

"Why?" Calvert asks.

" Because The tortures lack a sexual component," Reid mutters as Calvert nods.

"Oh, right. He might be impotent."

"Hey, guys."

"Also, if he's desperate For a sense of community, He'd have kids." Reid continues taking his seat next to Eden.

"Ok, I'm crossing Portland doctors With adoptions"

.

"And given the obsession To control his victims With torture, He might have been abused," Hotch explains.

"Ok, juvenile records Are going to be sealed, So you got to give me A minute."

"He uses antiquated terms Like "phobias," So he's most likely In his 40s," Eden speaks up.

"And The creep of the moment Award goes to One 43-year-old Dr. Stanley Howard, Psychiatrist."

"This guy was killing His patients?" Calvert asks.

" No. Stan Howard's Smarter than that. That's why He created goodman And the research ruse." Hotch explains.

"He's married To Jane Howard, Has one Jessica. He started a center For abused kids."

"Probably because He could relate." Hotch continues.

"One good deed's Not fortifying His karma sufficiently. Looks like his practice Shut down last year."

" Right about the time The killings started?" Hotch asks.

" He still has a lease On his old office building. City permits were pulled Due to renovation, But what do you know? They've been delayed. Yikes! His bank records show A seriously depleted Savings account."

"So he's keeping up appearances. Where's the building?" Hotch asks.

"427 Cedars Avenue."

" It's not far from here," Calvert says.

"All right. Let's go check the building." Hotch nods to Eden, Derek, and Reid. He needed all hands on deck to search that building. "You two-" He looks at Emily and JJ.

" Talk to the family. Got it." Emily finishes his sentence for him.

"Thanks, Garcia." JJ hangs up the phone.

The group makes it to the address only it's an empty lot surrounded by a wire fence.

"This is 427 cedars avenue. Where's the office?" Reid pushes the gate open more.

"He wasn't luring victims To an empty lot."

Hotch pulls out his phone. "Hey, Prentiss. We're at the office. The building's gone."

Emily calls back not even five minutes later and gives them an address to a commercial building that the wife's family-owned. Of course, when they arrive at the building they find it to be empty.

"There are no tenants In this building. These must be Fake names." Calvert points to the sign that has different office names on each floor.

"Helps with the ruse. Goodman's on The fifth floor." they pull out their guns and begin checking the office. Everyone breaks off into small groups and clears the room quickly meeting up in the middle of the office.

" Missy Cassell Was the last person To sign in." Derek reads off the sign-in sheet.

"When was that?"

"Hours ago." He replies as Hotch sighs.

"All right, Let's split up. Calvert, you and Reid Take the west side." Reid and Calvert leave the room.

"It looks Like he's still here." Derek looks around the office.

"He's not going To go quietly." Hotch, Eden, and Derek go outside the back door, seeing a long set of stairs there leaning over the railing is Stan Howard.

"Stan Howard, FBI Stay right where you are!" Derek yells as Stan takes off up the rest of the stairs, he had a very big head start.

"Hotch, I have to go find Missy," Eden says as Hotch looks back at her with a worried look. "You said it yourself this guy isn't going to go quietly at least let us get the upper hand, I will keep the radio on me if you find anything," Hotch stares at Eden for a second before nodding she takes off back inside the building, going through his office to see I she can find anything on Missy's whereabouts.

Reid stumbles into the office as a deer and Eden refrains from cackling at his disheveled state, he begins helping her look through journals. And they find one about Missy. Reid runs outside while Eden runs is looking at the building's fake interior to see if there is something that would be similar to a cave.

Reid runs outside meeting up with the rest of the group who are standing over Howard's body he jumped off the rough. "Eden and I went through all of his journals and we found Missy's."

"What did it say?"

" She was going on a cave-diving trip. She wasn't scared of the water, But she was terrified of the walls crumbling Down on her?" Reid explains out of breath from all the running he just did,

" So what's She afraid of?:"

" Being buried alive."

"Guys, look at the dirt Under his nails. She's got to be close, Guys." Hotch kneels pointing to his hands. Before Hotch can even ask his radio clicks.

"Hotch, the basement."

"The basement where is the basement." they didn't even wait for the answer all the men take off running after Calvert. They find Eden's vest at the edge of a giant hole filled with dirt. They begin digging at the dirt as Eden gasps coming up out of the dirt and struggling to pull whatever was in her hands up with her.

"Help me" She mutters as they are digging around her with her hands, Hotch starts pulling Eden up. "We are too heavy." they were sinking back into the dirt.

"Oh, my god," Derek mutters as they begin pulling Eden up out of the dirt she had the tightest grip on missy.

"Be careful. That's her head. Help me get her arm." Eden gets her gasp on Missy as they pull the two women up onto the cement.

Eden is panting as they check on Missy. Hotch and Derek are trying to get missy to wake up.

"Tell them to call The paramedics."

"Missy? Missy?"

" Ok, faint heartbeat." Eden just stares at Missy intently before lunging forward and raising both her first in the hair, she punches Missy's chest and the woman coughs gagging. She begins shuttering and painting.

"It's ok. It's all right. We're here to help. It's ok. It's ok. You're going to be All right. We're here to help you."

Eden just sits back controlling her breathing,

"You okay?" Derek cups her cheek as she nods. Hotch was holding onto Missy's hand.

Missy just turns to look at the woman, who was panting and covered in dirt, she quickly puts two and two together, reaching a hand out for Eden. she takes her hand in hers, Missy, just sighs in relief. Eden had picked up a few tricks from that hospital and while that wasnt who she was, it still helped to have those tricks up her sleeves.

Eleanor Roosevelt Once said You gain strength, Courage, and Confidence By every experience In which you stop To look fear in the face. You must do the thing Which you think you cannot do.

Eden was curled up on the jet, and there wasnt enough soap in the world to get the dirt out of her hair, so she called it quits figuring she would take the biggest shower when she got home.

Derek walks over having just gotten done talking with Hotch.

"You know, When you jumped into that dirt pit for Missy, that was fearless."

Eden just sighs thinking back at it, "What's your biggest fear?"

"You first?" he mutters as she laughs.

"My biggest fear is drowning. I am a terrible swimmer ask anybody who has met me. My older sister, however, is an excellent swimmer she loved the water, and was a damn mermaid." Derek laughs at that, "One day, we got this call, a ferry boat crashed it was all hands on deck right, I and my sister and a few other interns were at the scene tagging people, helping people, sending them to triage or on buses back to the hospital. There was this little girl who kept pulling on my shirt pointing at the water almost as if she was talking to me trying to tell me something, after five whole minutes I got intrigued, about what was causing this child so much distress. She guides me to the end of the pier and there on the ground is my sister's pager right in front of this big ass ocean. I look at the pager then the water and then the little girl and it didn't take a genius to figure out what happened."

"What did you do?"

Eden turns to look at him. "I jumped head first into the water in the middle of fall in the pacific northwest,"

"And you weren't scared."

"Oh, I was pissing myself the entire time. But that was my sister and even if it wasnt I would've still jumped because the thought of someone being in that ocean a few feet away and I didn't trying to help them would kill me."

Derek nods. "Dogs."

Eden sits up giving him an intrigued look. "Really?"

"Big giant dogs, Oh yeah I hate them, they scare the hell out of me."

She chuckles a before turning into a full-on laugh. "I am so telling Garcia."

He shakes his head at her and the two start arguing back and forth like children. Not realizing just how good they made the other person feel.

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