♥

SEASON SIX
EPISODE TWO.

♥

Rosa held a stack of case files close to her chest as she walked through the BAU with a happy smile on her face. Though, her optimism for the day came to a pause as her eyes fell on Emily and Spencer. Following their gaze, her eyes landed on Aaron's office with a frown.

"Who's in trouble?" Rosa asked, jokingly.

"No one," Emily replied. "But JJ is in there."

"I thought you guys were heading out on a case?"

"Yeah, in about fifteen minutes," said Spencer.

It was a missing person case so Rosa wasn't needed, meaning she got to work her basic hours and spend a little bit of quality time with her daughter. Still, though, it came at a pang of disappointment to not be joining them (but obviously a relief that she was not needed).

"I'm sure it's nothing," Rosa reassured them, smiling brightly.

But even Rosa didn't return back to the lab as she pulled up a chair next to Emily, working through her paperwork as she waited. Usually, she always headed up to say goodbye to the team when she wasn't needed anyway, so she wasn't being that nosy.

"JJ's still in there?" Penelope questioned, joining them.

"And Strauss," Emily added.

Rosa gasped. "You didn't tell me that!"

"I didn't want to ruin your optimism," replied Emily as Spencer reached forward, picking up a small carton of milk that Rosa eyed curiously. Seeing it, Emily groaned. "Again with the dairy?"

"I can't help it," Spencer told her. "I love dairy."

"I'd agree if that was chocolate milk," said Rosa. "When I don't feel good, chocolate milk always helps." Her eyes fell on the room again, frowning. "I could do with some right now."

"It's been, like, what, twenty minutes?" Penelope guessed.

"Well, ten more minutes, we're in the air," Derek added from behind them.

"I don't think it's about the case," Emily said.

Penelope looked down at Emily. "Do you know something?"

"Do I know something?"

"She just repeated the question," said Penelope. "You always say that's a sign."

Rosa frowned. "Emily..."

"Do you know why JJ's in there?" Derek asked.

"I have no idea," Emily told them.

"What is going on?" Penelope questioned.

"Maybe she asked for a raise?" Spencer guessed.

"Have his blinds ever been closed?"

"Once," said Derek, recalling, where his eyes fell on Rosa. "Just before his meeting with Rosa when she first joined."

Rosa scoffed at that, but she felt all eyes on her. Maybe Aaron might have had the blinds closed during their meeting, but she had thought that was normal then and hadn't really picked up on it. But... Rosa supposed their kind of meeting handled delicate topics, so Rosa wouldn't be surprised if the profilers could lip-read.

The office door finally opened with Strauss being the first to leave as Rosa's eyes dropped down, focusing on the paperwork she was filling in. Then, eventually following behind, JJ appeared as she caught them all staring. Rosa panicked, struggling to keep herself busy as she flipped the page of the case file.

♥

With the separation from Lissie, Rosa had come to appreciate the small moments with her daughter more. Of course, Rosa's heart wasn't possibly big enough to contain the amount of love she had for her baby.

During that time, Rosa had received a text from Aaron to tell her that they would be landing in a couple of hours, and Rosa should be there for when they did. It had confused Rosa, but she hadn't questioned it as she knew Aaron would not explain until she saw him.

"Looks like you're seeing where mommy works, Liss," Rosa told her daughter, smiling brightly. "Fortunately, not everything, though."

Rosa's mother was out with friends so she didn't want to disturb her mother's free time, especially when she did so much for the two. Though, when they both arrived, everyone looked a little surprised to see Rosa, especially with Lissie.

"Oh my God," said Emily, smiling. "Is that little Lissie?"

Lissie hid behind her mother's leg, clutching onto her hand. Most of the team hadn't met her daughter yet as Rosa was a little too protective. Of course, she trusted the team, but the conversation of meeting Lissie had never come up. Away from work, Rosa and JJ had frequent playdates with their children, though.

"This is Lissie," said Rosa, beaming proudly, and then she reached down to pick up her daughter, hoping to make things easier for her. "These are mommy's friends, Liss. Can you say hi?"

"Hi," said Lissie, waving.

"Hi there," Emily stood, joining the two. "Aren't you adorable? I'm Emily."

Lissie pressed her head against Rosa's neck, smiling at Emily. The rest of the team stood, coming over to meet Lissie officially. Derek managed to make Lissie giggle, bringing out her confidence, which then resulted in a high-five being shared. But, surprisingly (though, not really), it had been Spencer that Lissie had clung to as her tiny arms wrapped around his legs.

"I think Lissie's made a new friend," commented Rosa.

"Spencer! Play!" Lissie cried out, joyfully. "Please! Please! Please!"

"You heard the girl, kid — play," Derek teased.

Spencer's wide eyes fell on Rosa. "Play what?"

"She'll be happy with pen and paper, Spence."

"What are you even doing here?" David asked Rosa as she watched Spencer find some paper and a pen for Lissie. "We appreciate the company, of course, but there must be a reason to come at this hour."

"Hotch text me to come," Rosa told them.

"That's not good news," Derek mumbled.

Rosa's heart dropped. "Where's JJ?"

On cue, Aaron came out of the conference room as he ignored the team before heading to his office as the door closed behind him. The sight caught all their attention, where they knew something was happening. Then, Rosa followed their eyesight as she spotted JJ sat down in the conference room.

JJ was leaving.

It didn't take a genius to know that. Even poor Lissie knew something was wrong as she rushed to her mother on little legs as Rosa picked her daughter up. JJ finally joined them with a sad smile.

"No," said Emily.

"Wait a minute," Derek said. "I thought Hotch was supposed to..."

"It's above his pay grade," JJ answered. "Strauss', too."

Rosa felt her heart crack; she hadn't known JJ long, but it didn't feel right to lose her.

"They can just take you away?" Spencer questioned.

"So, we do nothing?" Emily added.

"It's done," JJ confirmed.

"No," whispered Rosa.

"It can't be that simple," David argued.

"It is."

"This job is hard enough," said Derek. "What are they trying to do? Bury us?"

"You're too good," Emily realised. "That's the problem."

"It's true," David agreed. "You're on everybody's wish list. Our loss is somebody else's gain."

"It's not fair, though," said Rosa. "I've only just gotten to know you."

"JJ!" Lissie's hand reached for the blonde-haired woman.

"Hello, Liss," JJ smiled sadly, taking the small child's hand.

"They can't just take you away," Spencer said, catching JJ's attention.

JJ rubbed Spencer's arm in a tender way that caused Rosa's face to slacken.

"Oh, give me a hug," Rosa exclaimed, not giving JJ much of a choice as she wrapped her free arm around the blonde with Lissie taking up her other side. It was an awkward one-armed hug, but it still caused a hint of a smile on JJ's face. "I'm gonna miss you."

And Rosa's hug caused a chain reaction.

Because it wasn't going to be the same without JJ.

♥

SEASON SIX
EPISODE THREE.

♥

When Rosa got the call for another case, she had been at the local play park with Lissie and her mother. Lissie had been playing with another child in the sandpit, sharing her spade, and trying to make a conversation. She was close to two, so Rosa felt her heart swelling at the sight of her child growing.

Though, of course, duty called with Lissie struggling to let Rosa go. Her baby was smart so knew Rosa leaving meant it would be a while before she came home. It was horrible, but Rosa still managed to do it.

"Hey," Spencer greeted her upon seeing her and then caught her expression. "No smile today?"

"Lissie kicks off every time I leave," said Rosa, sighing. "I feel like an awful mother leaving her like this."

"Lissie will grow up to understand why," Spencer told her. "Children adjust, too, but you could never be an awful mother, Rosa."

"Thank you, Spencer," Rosa replied, starting to ramble. "You know, Lissie's been asking for you a lot — well, the whole team, really. You can come hang with us sometimes, you know, if you wanted. But, I understand as not everyone likes being around—"

"Rosa," Spencer cut her off, smiling. "I would like to."

"You would like to what?" Emily questioned, raising her eyebrows between the two as she joined them.

"To join Lissie and me sometimes," answered Rosa, finding herself smiling now with positivity. "You can join too, Emily!"

Emily was happy with that as the three headed towards the conference room, spotting Derek inside texting. "Is that Ellie again?"

"She texts me every morning on her way to school," Derek told them.

That caused Rosa to brighten, happy that Ellie was finding a way to get back to normal after everything she had been through. "Oh, bless her."

"How's she doing?" Spencer asked.

"Well, she's already got herself a BFF named Jill, and she thinks she wants to play soccer."

"She's adjusting," Emily realised. "That's good."

"Really good," Rosa commented. "I'm so happy for, Derek."

After everything with Lillian, it had taken Rosa years to adjust as a child. The family had moved away from Florida, needing to be somewhere completely different. Rosa had spent years mute, afraid to talk. Now, her mother liked to joke that Rosa had spent so much of her childhood mute, and that was why she had a habit of blabbering now.

"Bristol, Virginia," Aaron told them, entering the room as he handed out the case files. "The body of twenty-five-year-old Jenny DeLilly was found yesterday. She had been tortured, sodomised and electrocuted before being forced to make a goodbye call to her parents. Her body was then dumped off Elden Street."

"Poor girl," whispered Rosa, devastated.

Her eyes fell on the crime scene photos on screen with a tight expression.

"A week ago," continued Aaron. "The body of Kara Kirkland was found in the same area having suffered identical injuries."

"This reminds me of The Butcher case," said Derek.

"Why does that name sound familiar to me?" Emily questioned.

"Me too," Rosa sighed.

"The Butcher was a sexual sadist that killed twenty women," Spencer told them. "In the same area of Virginia from 1984 to 1993, and then vanished. He tortured blonde women in their twenties that lived in or near Bristol."

"That was one of Rossi's old cases, isn't it?" Emily realised.

"Yes," answered Aaron.

"Does he know?" Derek asked.

They turned with their eyes falling on David returning a lot earlier than planned since he was supposed to be on vacation. In his hands, he held a box that was likely contained with case files from the original case.

"Some vacation," Emily told him. "Did you get any sun?"

"I never got any anything," David replied.

"Do you think The Butcher's back?" Emily questioned.

"I doubt it," said David. "I profiled him as a white male in his late forties back then. He'd be in his seventies by now."

"Did you almost catch him?" Derek asked.

"In the spring of '93, we narrowed the geographical profile," David explained. "We alerted every blonde in their mid-twenties in Bristol and the surrounding counties. The pressure got so intense, the killings just stopped."

"Well, the Copelands killed into their seventies," Spencer pointed out. "This could be him coming back."

"Yeah," Rosa agreed. "And who's to say The Butcher doesn't have help now? He could have an apprentice."

"It's probably a copycat," Aaron said. "But if he's emulating The Butcher, he could just be getting started."

"Then let's hope we can catch him quickly," Rosa said, staring down at the victims.

The team set of, heading to the jet as Rosa received a message from her mother to say that Lissie was fine and had settled. Looking up, Rosa caught Spencer's gaze as he smiled.

"All right," said Aaron once they had taken off. "Let's go over victimology."

"Both Jenny DeLilly and Kara Kirkman were single professional women," Spencer started. "Jenny had just gotten a job as a web designer and Kara worked for a non-profit."

"Each woman was taken from a populated area with no witnesses," Emily continued. "Jenny from a crowded drugstore parking lot, Kara from the back patio of a ground-floor apartment when her roommate went inside to answer the phone."

"Both very exposed," Rosa realised, looking over to Emily from where she sat with David across from the other four.

"Why not take the roommate?" Derek questioned.

"She's brunette," David answered. "He prefers blondes."

"These vics were forced to make phone calls," said Emily. "Jenny left a message and Kara spoke with her fiancé."

"Garcia, were you able to trace the calls?" Aaron asked.

"My pretties, they're using disposable cells, so I'm coming up empty."

"We do have a timeline, though," Derek noticed.

"Yeah, we do," Rosa confirmed. "I've read the ME's report, both victims were dead for about three hours before they were found..."

"Which means based upon the times of their messages, they endured five additional hours of torture after making their goodbye calls," finished Derek.

"It wasn't enough that he caused his victims pain and suffering," said Spencer. "It extended to their parents as well?"

"Rossi, were the phone calls The Butcher made his victims leave similar?"

"Yeah, but the content varied. Thirteen vics left answering machine messages for loved ones, five actually talked to someone before they died, and two reached no one."

"But didn't The Butcher make his victims end their messages by saying they were enjoying it?" Emily asked.

"That was the signature," Aaron said.

"Wouldn't that make a sadist flaccid?" Derek questioned.

"It was about the parents," said David. "He wanted to make sure that they knew he had complete control and dominance over their daughters."

"All right, Morgan and Prentiss, go with Gomez," instructed his team as his eyes fell on Rosa. "We need to compare ritual and MO. Rossi, Reid and I will interview the families and go over the messages."

"Rossi, what's the box?" Derek questioned.

"Evil."

♥

Rosa had changed into her scrubs with her lab coat as she quickly examined the bodies herself, aided by the report. Emily and Derek hovered close by, watching as Rosa apologised to the victims before she started.

"Okay," said Rosa eventually as time was precious. "Right, so you can tell by these burn wounds that they were assaulted with an electrified object," she turned, eyeing the case file in Emily's hand. "There are pictures in there."

"Curling iron? Poker?" Derek questioned.

"I can't say," Rosa answered, fingers delicately brushing the pale skin as her eyes studied the wounds. "But they also have numerous lacerations on their bodies," then Rosa gestured for them to come over, pointing at the wounds near the victim's throat. "Slight ones near the throat, deep ones on the chest."

"Multiple knives," Emily realised. "The guy was creative. Creatively sick. What about the contusions on the backs of their heads?"

"I doubt they were to do with the torture or death," Rosa answered. "It was most likely sustained during the abduction, which... isn't how The Butcher originally did things."

"Based on Rossi's profile, The Butcher was a smooth-talker," Derek told them. "Who lured his victims without initial physical force."

"Yet clearly this unsub doesn't have the same confidence or finesse," Emily said. "He's sloppy."

"To me," said Rosa. "It seems like there are two people involved. One, who isn't as confident or knowledgeable, and then the second, who enjoys the torture."

The two then left with Rosa finding silence in the dead. There were a few things Rosa still had to do as part of her jobs; the morgue ME had done the majority, but Rosa now wanted to double-check before she compared the evidence to David's previous case.

Rosa sighed, not understanding why the ghost appeared opposite herself. A therapist had once said the ghosts came because Rosa felt guilty, so it was no surprise that Lillian and her father visited during her job frequently. Then, the man with no name came during triggers to haunt and torture Rosa further.

"Lils, you're distracting me from my job," Rosa muttered to the ghost. "I love you, but you're making it so much harder."

The child looked so tiny compared to the table where the body rested. Lillian was oblivious to the dead in the room as her eyes were focused on Rosa, questioning why Rosa was helping strangers rather than her own sister.

"One day, Lils," said Rosa. "I promise."

There was a knock at the door that startled Rosa, causing her to tumble into the set-up station as the tools crashed to the ground with a loud cry. A terrified scream slipped past her lips, automatically thinking the worst as she whirled around to see Emily standing at the door.

"Rosa, I'm sorry—"

"It's just you," Rosa laughed in relief.

"Who else would it be?" Emily questioned.

As if on cue, he appeared.

Rosa's eyes fell on him, body trembling as she quickly turned away from Emily, finding it too much. Knowing Emily was watching her, Rosa let out another shaky laugh, wanting to give the impression that nothing had happened. "Oh, silly me," Rosa huffed, gesturing to the mess she had made. "I'm always so clumsy."

"Rosa, don't worry," Emily reassured, heels clicking as she entered the morgue again for a second time. The woman crouched, helping Rosa pick up the tools. "I'm sorry I startled you."

"You didn't," said Rosa, not meeting her gaze.

"Okay, I didn't," Emily agreed. "Rosa, I won't pry, but I'm here if you need someone."

"What makes you think I need someone?" Rosa's said so quietly.

"Everyone needs someone in this job," said Emily as Rosa finally met her stare, seeing that wasn't analysing Rosa as if she was another victim. Instead, Emily looked concerned like a friend. "If you need someone, then I'm there for you, okay? Day or night."

Rosa flinched at that, knowing that Emily had caught her twice now: once while she was asleep and now during the day. But, Rosa didn't know what to say. Of course, Rosa had a way of getting on with everyone, but she had never let herself have someone other than her parents see this side of her before.

"Thank you, Emily," Rosa replied, trying to smile. "I'll be your someone too."

♥

The afternoon came around as Rosa was called out to the crime scene for the third body. Grabbing her medical kit from the back of the car, Rosa headed towards the scene with a warm greeting to her colleagues.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Rosa told the victim, crouching down as she eyed the scene for the first time. Again, the victim was blonde with similar wounds to the victim and she had been dumped naked with a white sheet covering her body. "I promise you that we will help find out who did this for yourself and your loved ones."

"Heather Langley," said Emily as Rosa started snapping pictures with her camera. "She lives nearby."

"Third body in a week," Aaron commented.

"I've got additional units patrolling the area," the detective informed them. "But it's too big."

"The unsubs fit into the community," said Aaron. "They go unnoticed."

"Oh, so we do think it's two people now?" Rosa caught on, having not spoken to the team since her incident with Emily. "Good, 'cause I'm seeing the same signs of a duo act again."

"This is the exact same place Susan Cole, The Butcher's last kill, was dumped," David told them. "Heather's body is laid out in the same way."

"Arms above her head, demeaning straddle," said Derek.

"Exactly the same stab wounds," David showed Rosa.

"The wounds are strategically placed so they miss the major arteries, but inflict maximum pain. These unsubs aren't just trying to copy The Butcher, they're trying to exactly re-enact his last kill."

"Good eye, doc," Rosa beamed at Spencer, following with a wink that somehow managed to come across sweet. "Two knives were likely used again, so I imagine both unsubs got involved."

"Copycats usually start from the beginning," Emily said. "Why are they fixated on the last crime?"

"Something about this particular case is significant to them?" Spencer questioned.

"Morgan and Prentiss, contact the parents," Aaron ordered. "See if they got a phone call."

"You should make the notification first," Derek warned the detective.

"Yeah, we will. And then we'll bring the parents down to the station."

"Gomez, once you're finished here, then head back to the morgue and compare all three victims to Susan Cole as much as you can," Aaron told her.

"Yes, sir," Rosa gave him a thumbs up. "That's where my mind was already heading."

"Perfect," Aaron then turned to David. "We need to release the profile."

♥

Rosa had done the autopsy and compared the four cases, where she had a feeling that things were too similar for the original The Butcher not to be involved. In the end, Rosa had headed to the local precinct to present her findings to the team.

"There's a dominant unsub," Rosa explained. "That's The Butcher. He's the one in control, the one behind the torture. And then you have the submissive, someone who is more hesitant and takes fewer risks. The difference from Susan Cole is the submissive — he's filling in to where The Butcher struggles."

Then, David came in, silencing the team from responding as he picked up a rubber. Rosa turned, having been oblivious to the board as she had been excited to share with the team. There were four possibilities on the board: husband and wife, father and son, brothers, and then brother and sister.

Father and son.

David rubbed out the three remaining options, having a similar thought stream to Rosa.

"This is what it is," David told them.

"A father-son partnership?"

"Wait, an older alpha with a younger submissive?" Spencer questioned, eyes falling on Rosa. "This would fit your findings."

"It's very rare for sexual sadism to be an inherited trait," said Emily. "That's why we ruled it out."

"What if he created his partner and groomed him?" David questioned. "He would be in complete control and have his trust."

"It would explain how The Butcher is able to abduct women," Derek realised. "He's older, appears harmless, but his son lies in wait."

"The Butcher has a child," David said. "I never profiled that."

The detective then appeared in the room. "I just got a call from Heather Langley's father," he told them. "Turns out he did get a message."

"He said he'd checked his phone," Aaron replied.

"No one thought to check Mr Langley's job," said the detective. "His secretary pulled the voicemail. She can play it for us."

"Let's hear it."

The detective pressed a button on the phone that was located on the desk. "Go ahead, please."

"Mom, Dad, this is Heather. When you get this message, I'll probably be dead. Tomorrow you're going to find me. And when you do, please know that I...I enjoyed it."

Rosa's hand covered her mouth in realisation.

"I enjoyed it — that's his signature," said David. "It's him."

♥

It felt like a huge relief when the father and son act had been caught. The Butcher had Alzheimer's, so he had relied on his son for more than just his murderous desires. Of course, without his father, the son had spiralled, but the team had ended up saving the last victim.

Rosa felt a little relieved to be on the plane heading home with the thought of sleeping in her own bed that night. Her heart even swelled as she opened her phone on the jet home, seeing a video of Lissie.

"Say goodnight to mommy, Liss."

"Night-night, mommy!"

A smile appeared on Rosa's face, watching as her daughter blew her a kiss with her bunny clutched tightly in her hand. Maybe, in time, Lissie would settle to the crazy schedule of Rosa's working life.

"Lissie has a teddy?" Spencer noticed, sitting next to Rosa.

"She does," Rosa told him. "Lissie can't sleep without her unicorn."

"I saw a teddy poking out of your bag," Spencer admitted as Rosa pressed her lips together. "Can you not sleep without him?"

"No, it's not like that at all," Rosa laughed, but her heart stung, knowing that since Lillian's disappearance, Rosa couldn't have the bear with her at night. "Teddy simply reminds me of someone I love."

A reminder of why Rosa was doing this job.

Spencer became silent at that, likely trying to figure Rosa out or to respect her privacy.

"So," said Rosa as she twisted in her seat to grin happily at Spencer. "What game are we playing today?"

"Chess?" Spencer suggested.

Rosa laughed. "We can't play chess every time," she told him. "Nor trivia. Luckily for you, I bought a couple of board games. We have a few hours, so how about a game of Clue?"

"How the hell did you fit a board game in that medical kit of yours?" Derek questioned.

"I didn't," Rosa answered. "I left them in a cupboard on the jet. It was empty, so now it's full with board games."

"Clue it is then," Spencer agreed. "It actually has a rather interesting back story as it came about as entertainment for musical halls. The creator, Anthony E. Pratt, designed it while working shifts at an engineering factory. His intention was to create a board game that provided entertainment for those stuck in shelters during the air raids of World War Two."

Rosa listened, smiling intently as she always enjoyed Spencer sharing his knowledge. Sometimes, Rosa liked to think of random things, and then see what he came up with on the spot.

"Let's play," said Emily, joining the two. "Anyone else joining?"

Pouting, Rosa shot the three a look with sad eyes. "Please?" Rosa pleaded, dragging out the word. "Play and I'll tell you a secret about me — a game that I'm extremely good at."

"You had me at secrets," David announced, standing up to join them at the table.

Rosa's eyes fell on Derek, who sighed. "You're lethal, Gracious Rose."

"In the best way," Rosa agreed.

"You guys play without me," Aaron told them.

"Fine," Rosa sighed. "But one day, Hotch, you won't be able to say no to me or resist one of my hugs."

Aaron laughed at that. "I guess we'll see then, Rosa."

Derek returned then with the board game, sitting back down on his seat as he twisted his body to focus on their table. "So what's this secret?"

"Oh, nothing much," said Rosa, casually. "I might just have a frequent good hand in poker."

Emily laughed. "Oh, Rosa, you and I are going to have so much fun."

♥

Rosa and Emily are going to break my heart towards the end of this season. Updates will likely slow down as this is the last chapter I have in my drafts, so I need to start writing now.