Because of Jung and underground currents and maybe even global warming some four-hundred miles north of Brock's apartment, Connor asked, "Russell, would you marry Mom?"

Russell cooked a late dinner while Gillian was on the phone. At that exact moment, he was tasting his special sauce and had to move aside the wooden spoon, to keep from chuckling on it and spraying the whole kitchen. Gillian joined them and didn't need to ask what was going on.

"Son, I already explained to you that a good cook doesn't make a good husband," she said in a mature, patient way that forced Russell to swallow his laughter. "And Russ here is the best example of it. Why d'you think he's still single?"

As to back her up, he said, "Lay the table, kiddo. C'mon, chop-chop!" He winked at Connor's frown. "Still want me to marry Mom?"

"Forget it. Takeout rules." Connor huffed and started picking dishes, grunting under his breath as all good teenagers are supposed to do.

Russell turned to Gillian. "So?"

She sighed. "The DA needs a new boyfriend. I think I'm giving her Henderson's number."

"You broke up with him?"

"Broke up? I wasn't with him to begin with. We just got together now and then, no strings attached. And I decided I'm not seeing him anymore, that's all."

"You old perv, breaking young men's hearts all around. But you were talking about the DA. She doesn't wanna cut a deal with the girl?"

"She will have to. Aldana is working with the Youth Court and Social Services, and tomorrow morning we're meeting with the parents of some of the abused girls. If they're half as pissed as they should be about what happened to their daughters, they will agree to let them testify."

"But tomorrow you're interviewing the people who covered up for the boy."

"We're five, Russell, so—"

"Five Regs? Good Lord, I'm transferring to Alaska."

"So funny."

"You were saying?"

"We're five in the team to conduct the interviews, so the boys will handle the boys, and Aldana and I will handle the parents. And who knows, if we get lucky, some of those outstanding citizens may not leave the station."

Russell nodded, checked the pot on the burner and signaled her to hand him a plate. "You're gonna make some noise."

"That's the way, uh-huh, uh-huh," she hummed with a wink.

Russell chuckled, filling the plate with steamy pasta and covering it with the sauce artistically. They went together to the table.

"And what about the other kid? Sending him to Connelly, Reg, really," he said as they sat down with Connor.

"I've contacted them to keep an eye on him. Let him try a cell for one night, and have dinner there. He's gonna feel suddenly prone to talk."

Russell handed Connor a dish overflowing with food and said to him, "Your mom, kiddo."

Connor nodded seriously. Gillian tried to swallow a chuckle and shoot a proper glare at them, and failed. "See, Connor? This is why I don't marry Russell: 'cause you guys together, at my table every day? How long till I go full Jack The Ripper on you?"

"We're just too good for her," the boy said to Russell, who agreed.

Later that night, when Connor was already in his room and lost in some game, Russell brought his glass of wine to the kitchen, where Gillian did the dishes.

"Okay, spit it out, Reg," he said. "What is it about these cases that worries you?"

Gillian tried to pretend she didn't know what he was talking about, but Russell raising his eyebrows, stating he wasn't about to buy it anytime soon. So Gillian sighed, dried her hands and asked him to fill her glass. Then she told him about her fear of the BEB group being just a local branch of something larger, and that she was afraid that finding this one would trigger a domino effect and push the other related groups off the grid. Knowing they'd been exposed wouldn't keep them from manipulating vulnerable kids, it'd only make them more secretive.

"Have you talked to anyone at the field office about it? Henderson, Cooper, anybody?" asked Russell.

"Didn't have the chance, Russ. These last three days since that boy was murdered have been nuts. I did discuss it with Declan Brockner, though, but—"

"Brock is here?"

"He was giving a seminar, I think he was leaving today." Yeah, you think, you stupid fangirl, leaving him farewell presents at his hotel in the middle of the night, after hacking into his reservation to know when he was checking out.

"And what did he tell you? Did he agree with you?"

He pretty much told me to go to hell, such a charmer as he is nowadays. "I think he did."

Russell frowned at her hesitation. "You think, Reg? What did he say?"

"He refused to take it to Cooper, arguing that if he did, she wouldn't pay any attention to it."

"Meaning he did agree." Russell nodded. "Well, he was right, you know, about not being the right person to bring Cooper's attention to this."

"The problem is that I have nothing concrete, Russ, and right now we're too busy to start searching nationwide."

Russell nodded again and pressed her hand. "Don't worry, we're doing it together. Guess that now that you're in the interviews stage and all that, your hackers are not that busy, right? Then I'm getting one of our techs in touch with Tanya, or Kurt."

"Tanya, she'll do better."

"Let's try to find something we can bring to Cooper."

"So you think there really can be something."

"If both you and Brock thought so, I ain't gonna argue, Reg. I know both of you enough to trust your gut and his brain." Russell smiled. "So you finally met your idol again. And what was it like?"

"It was..." She didn't dare to say wow, like she was about to. "I should match him with the DA, so they shake each other's mood off, you know. But he's still frigging brilliant. No matter what your brass may think, not having him in the BAU is a total waste."

"They can't, Reg. They couldn't keep him like nothing had happened after what he did, you know it."

"Yeah, well, dare tell me you wouldn't have killed that son of a bitch."

"Of course I would've, and now I'd be cleaning toilets with Brock."

"Feds, really."

Russell punched her arm softly as they chuckled.

She sighed, smiling. "It's so damn good having you back in town, Russ. Are you staying here in Boston?"

"Most of the time, but I've been commissioned to help in the agencies all over the state. Massachusetts' numbers didn't come out as expected, so the brass is reassigning a few agents to come lend a hand."

"Well, that's good. Seeing you every day would end up being boring."

"Love you too, Reg."