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𝑬 𝑽 𝑬 𝑹 𝑮 𝑹 𝑬 𝑬 𝑵
❝ 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚛 ❞

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ㅤ𝐑𝐔𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐇𝐄𝐑 messy, shoulder-length hair, May kept her eyes forward as she listened to everyone as they spoke their theories aloud, back in the precinct.

It was just after they had a leak, and a news station aired and talked about a restaurant that might've been the scene of the crime; a restaurant that might've served people hallucinogenic drugs. But they hadn't mentioned the name of said restaurant, which brought out severe panic among the people in and surrounding the Beachwood area.

May, Spencer, and JJ were sent out to the hospital to figure out which of the sudden onslaught of poisonings due to panic were actually real. It hurt the Quileute to leave Derek, but she trusted Elle to keep him safe in case of any emergency.

So, the second she arrived at the hospital with the other two, it was JJ who took the lead, seeing as she was their liaison. She quickly talked to the nurse, explained that majority are surely psychosomatic, and asked if any seemed actually real to her. And there was one: Lynn Dempsey.

The talk with the doctor offered them a lot of insight in her condition, and when she was positive for rohypnol, they believed they might've found another victim. But when revealed she was negative for LSD, May had to ask.

"Do you know of biological agents that have similar symptoms?" She frowned.

Spencer nodded beside her. "Ricin, sarin gas?"

"You think this is a biological attack?" The doctor wondered, shock clear in is tone.

"We can't rule anything out."

And much to May and Spencer's surprise, it was botulism.

Just as they found out the Lynn might be their unsub—Hotch even joining them to confirm—she started to die. Sepsis, VFIB, she started crashing right in front of their eyes. Both Spencer and JJ had to look away, and Hotch left to tell the rest of the team the news, but much to May's surprise, she couldn't look away, as the sudden appearance of what appeared to be smoke was lifting from the woman's body.

It wasn't all that bright, something that she was sure the others didn't see. But it was clear as day to her; it was the woman's ghost. Slowly, this spirit began to transform into a more corporeal form, looking like a mirror image of the woman who had just lost her life—just a little more translucent and a tad...longer.

This corroborates with Quileute belief. But what May didn't expect was for the ghost to actually begin to speak to her, sounding like a soft whisper in her ear that had her feeling as if she was going to leave her body, the same feeling she feels whenever she travelled to the spirit world. But the tug wasn't towards the other plane, rather, the tug was leading her to the ghost.

"You can see me, can't you?" Lynn stated. "Your appearance...you look different from the others. Like a...beacon. But I know you can't speak to me like this." Subtly, May shook her head, eyes leaving the ghostly form to look towards the body instead, knowing that if Spencer realized she was looking too intensely at a random spot, he'd ask questions. "You're wondering why I did it, are you?" May gave her another subtle movement of the head. This time, a nod.

As May tried to look around, she realized that the world seemed to be slowing down, all while the surroundings were fading to gray. She was traveling. But nobody else seemed to notice; it was like the world was suddenly composed of just her and the ghost Lynn Dempsey.

"What the fuck," she cursed, eyes widening slightly in fear of something suddenly happening. But it was as if she was fully in a different world, as no one batted an eye at her vocalization. "Oh, I can speak."

"You're only given a short time to converse with me," Lynn warned. "I can see you fading, and I can feel myself disappearing. So listen to me. The envelopes. It was the envelopes."

A sudden tug dragged May back into her body with the force so strong, she stumbled over her own feet. But she was able to catch herself quick enough that she only appeared to falter in the eyes of everyone else. She masked her surprise by pretending to be disappointed, mirroring JJ's expression.

"The test run is over," Spencer ominously spoke, before he turned away to leave the room. JJ followed suit, and May couldn't help but glance at where Lynn's ghost stood, before shaking her head and walking away.

Which leads her to now.

"Lynn Dempsey was an executive assistant," Gideon spoke, reading through the recently deceased woman's file. "She has no expertise with chemicals. She doesn't fit the profile of the unsub."

"But the CDC found both LSD and rohypnol in the candy she was replacing at the bank," Derek countered.

With crossed arms, Hotch looked towards him. "She must've been an accomplice. And when the unsub finished using her to further his attack, he killed her with botulism."

"It's curious," May decided to speak. "The unsub using a toxin that causes botulism. It's easy to get the toxin, but not exactly something that a normal person thinks of. Especially not for something like revenge."

"It means that the unsub is far more sophisticated than we realized," Spencer nodded at her, frowning as he mulled over his findings in his head.

"Why is that?" Elle asked.

"Botulism toxin is the deadliest substance known to man. It blocks acetylcholine receptors, paralyzing its victims until, basically, choking you to death."

"Really, just knowing what it can do to your body is uncommon," May shrugged. "Regardless, without an antitoxin, a lethal dose will kill you in thirty-six hours."

Elle grimaced. "How many people have access to this stuff?"

Spencer took the reins. "In New Jersey, quite a few. It's the pharmaceutical and chemical capital of the US. The toxin can be ordered in the form of Botox through any...chemical or biological lab or Botox clinic. It has to be purified, but any chemist or lab assistant has that capability."

"So we're looking for chemists and sophisticated lab assistants?"

"Basically."

"Okay, wait a minute," Derek cut in. "If the unsub is a chemist with access to the toxin, what'd he need Dempsey for?"

"Well we don't know yet," Gideon answered. "But she worked for a..." He trailed off just as he was looking for another set of papers that he'd read earlier. "She worked for a company called," he opened up a folder, "Hitchcock Pharmaceuticals. I think there's a good chance the unsub worked there, too."

May decided to take a breather for a moment to try and catch her breath. She had just spirit travelled without much prompt just so she could talk to the deceased woman that most likely held all the answers to their queries. And she wanted to know how she was able to do it.

After a quick word with Hotch, she separated from the group so she could stand outside and feel the cold air brushing her skin. It helps her calm down, especially since her body heat can sometimes get too much for her. So, as she breathed in the air, she made a sudden decision to call her dad.

It wasn't much of a surprise when he answered her call just after the second ring. "May, how are you?"

"I'm doing good," she sighed. "But, uh, I've got some...news."

"What news? Good or bad?"

"One of each," she shrugged, biting her lip a little in contemplation. "So, which one do you want first, dad? Good or bad?"

"Good, I guess."

"I, um," she let out a breath. "I've imprinted."

"You WHAT?!"

"Yeah," she couldn't help the chuckle that came out of her. "He's uh...yeah, I've imprinted on this guy I work with."

"Oh, you work with him?"

"Dad."

"He's your coworker?"

"Dad, I swear."

Billy sighed. "Please tell me it's not Spencer."

"Fuck no! God," she cringed. "Definitely not Spencer. He's my best friend, he's practically my brother. Your son!"

"Yeah, I'm happy it's not him."

"Me too!" She laughed, leaning back against the wall on the side of the building the precinct was using. It was dark in the little alley she found herself in, but it was open enough that anyone who'd walk past it could see in. "His name's Derek. He's from Chicago. He's older than me."

Billy hummed. "How much older, exactly?"

"Well..."

"Hm?"

"Eight years."

"Not bad."

"And honestly? He's really hot."

He let out a groan. "Good for you, then. But what's the bad news?"

"It's, well, not really bad, but not good either. Like, in between," she shrugged a little. "I was able to travel just now. But I had no control over it. It was like I was...like I had to be pulled into it? I don't know, I can't really explain it. I wish Taha Aki would speak to me again to help me understand, but he's always pushing me to be able to do it myself. It's not a bad thing, but I have questions! I have questions that only he can answer, but he...ghosted me!"

"Well, he is a ghost."

"Ugh!" She groaned. "The talk with this ghost. She was actually a suspect. And I'm pretty sure she confirmed it to me, but she died before she could say much. Only thing she did say was...envelope."

"You gotta figure that out."

"I know. But I don't know how!"

Billy smiled despite knowing she couldn't see. "You're May Black, you'll figure it out. I gotta go, honey. I gotta tell the council that they should expect a new member."

"You're the worst."

"Love you too."

May sighed as she ended the call. She glanced down at her phone, stared at her screen, her wallpaper a picture of Remus. She weirdly missed La Push for once in her life. Obviously, being around nature was something she craved all the time, but now it was the peace. Life there was simple. She had Remus, she had the pack. But she knew she had to be here, with the BAU. And with the revelation that Derek was actually her imprint, she now believes that her being here wasn't just because she was great at what she does.

Maybe she was fated to be here.

"May?"

"Jesus Christ!" May jumped when her name was called out of the blue, and when she looked up, she realized it was her best friend. "Spencer? What's up?"

Spencer gave her a serious look. "May, did I hear correctly?"

May nervously chuckled. "Uhhh, what?"

"Tell me the truth."

"About what?!"

"You can't lie to me. Did you just call Derek hot?"

May let out a big sigh of relief. She was lucky; that out of everything Spencer could've heard, it was just her exclaiming that Derek was hot. If he'd heard anything else...

"Uh..."

"You do realize you have to do the dishes for a month now, right?"

"Oh. Right. Yeah. I'll do that." She quickly cleared her throat. "Anyway, uhm, any new updates?"

"Garcia may have found our unsub, but it's taking a while to find his location," he shrugged. "Hotch is telling us to go back to the hotel to rest."

"Great! I'll, uh, grab my stuff from inside and we can go together."

He gave her his signature awkward smile. "I'll wait for you outside."

"Gotcha."

And as May walked back inside the building, she never realized that Spencer was looking at her differently. It was a look of curiosity, mixed with a look of suspicion. Because unlike what he led her to believe, he heard everything. Now, he had some questions.

Right after the team retrieved Edward Hill, their unsub, from his lab, May was stood beside Spencer, surrounded by Hotch and Gideon, as they stared at him from the other side of the glass of the interrogation room.

Wearing a pair of black, slightly oversized pants—that she thrifted, hence the size—a white shirt underneath a gray pullover, and some black sneakers, she looked the least like an FBI agent. The police personnel that they were working with actually thought she was a random teenager with a fake badge until Hotch ushered her in. With his tailored suit, he looked FBI.

She was quickly shuffled into the small room to watch the unsub, a little disturbed by Spencer's lack of greeting, but eventually focused on the task at hand.

"He let us take him," Hotch spoke first. "He didn't kill himself. Doesn't fit the profile of a workplace killer."

"Sometimes, you miss the mark," Gideon offered. "Let's be glad we did. He's our best chance at stopping the next attack."

Detective Hanover walked into the room just after Gideon spoke, and said, "Well, his lab had traces of botulinum toxin, but no clues as to what he's up to next."

"Our only chance is to make him tell us," Hotch told him.

"You think he will?"

"Once caught, these types usually do," May said as she glanced at the older man.

Despite not looking at her, Spencer followed up. "They want the whole world to know about their brilliant plan to destroy their enemies."

"In case he doesn't give it up, let's play every angle," Gideon instructed. "We need to re-examine everything we know about this guy."

"I'll check witness reports, forensic evidence, anything that might be a clue to this guy's plan."

Gideon nodded. "A lot of lives could be at stake."

As Spencer left the room, May cleared her throat. "Is it okay if I focus on this guy's relationship with Lynn Dempsey? I feel like I'm missing something."

"Go ahead."

May nodded respectfully and walked out of the room. She barely made it halfway down the hallway that led to another room where she can view the types, when she was pulled to the side. To her surprise, it was Spencer.

"Uh, what--"

"What is going on with you?" He cut her off. "You've been acting strange since you got back. You've been more secretive, and you're weirdly attracted to Derek and is unable to hide it very well. You're quiet, you're...you're talking about ghosts. You're not acting normal. It's driving me crazy."

"Spence--"

"I want to know what's wrong with my best friend."

"I..." she trailed. "I don't...I can't tell you..." At his crestfallen expression, she quickly shook her head. "Just not now! I can't...I can't tell you now. We're on a case. After. Once we're home."

He looked her in the eye. "Will you tell me the whole truth."

"I'm...I don't know."

author's note: just to like, explain a few terms (you might've noticed the underlined ghost), i will give you guys a rundown on quileute eschatology based on a paper written by Leo J. Frachtenberg from 1920. there is emphasis on the 1920 part though, because i'm not sure if this is completely accurate, especially since the paper uses terms like 'primitive' and all that, which kind of rubs me the wrong way. but this is like the only solid thing i read about the tribe's beliefs about death and stuff so yeah.

BASICALLY, the quileutes believe in like, three kinds of spirits/souls. we have the inner soul libitetipad which is like the 'main' soul; outer soul taxkistetipad or the 'outside' shadow; and the ghost. there are two terms for the ghost, one for the living (totsa aqolowa or 'the thing whereby one grows') and the one for the dead (yala or ghost/devil). note that my spellings aren't accurate as i basically just copied the latin letters and didn't include the symbols that helped with pronunciation.

regardless, the distinction between the three are as follows: according to Frachtenberg (1920), "the outside shadow leaves a person as soon as he becomes sick, the inner soul departs a day or two before his death; and the ghost leaves the body at the very moment when death sets in". the only time a person is considered "dead" is when the inner soul or the ghost leaves the body, and the reason why one dies is because of a sickness (when the outside shadow leaves). 

so, the outer soul and the ghost immediately goes to the underworld or the land of the shadows once it leaves the body. but the inner soul basically goes around and visits the person's favorite places for like a week or two before joining the the other two souls. once it joins the two souls, they combine again like they once were before death. 

in this case, i used the term ghost because the woman just died, so that's what may was seeing. the outer shadow's already gone, and the inner soul's off exploring. apparently, according to the paper, if a shaman was like powerful enough or something, they can intercept the inner soul and the outside shadow before they head off to the underworld, place it back into the body, and basically restore someone's health.

it's honestly so interesting, reading about all this, that i couldn't help myself from incorporating it into the story. i hope you guys (if any of you actually read this) enjoyed this little tidbit of information and history of the quileutes.

AND, i hope you guys also enjoyed this chapter. i'll see you all soon <33