To Fade Your Scars

“Garcia?” Hotch said to the phone on the table.

“Sir, I found something! So their alibis check out,” she told the two men at the other end of the line, ”we have security cameras of all of them leaving the bar without our victims, every time.” Rossi furrowed his eyebrows, but before he could say anything Garcia interrupted. “Oh, hold on, Reid’s calling, I’ll patch him in.” There was a clacking of keys before they heard Reid’s voice.

“Garcia, did our victims ever crossed paths?” He said automatically, not even waiting for a greeting. They noticed the slightly frustrated tone in his voice, but decided not to comment on it, then they heard two car doors closing, a jingle of car keys, and a motor started purring.

“Good morning to you too, boy wonder,” she could practically hear Reid’s eye-roll and smirk, which she could only hope would mean he would stop being so grumpy. “Other than the fact that they visited the same bar the night our victims went missing, no— wait!” She sounded disappointed at first, but it was covered by surprise instead. “They all had gone to the this exact same place two month earlier—on the exact same night!” She said, and Prentiss asked which place.

“The Angels and Devils?” Rossi asked Garcia.

“Yep, it’s a bar/restaurant, and they had gone to the restaurant two months ago, and the bar the night they disappeared.” She exclaimed.

“Angels and Devils? Why does that sound vaguely familiar?” Prentiss asked, looking over at Reid, and noticing the realization spread across his face.

“We went there!” He said, in a panicked voice. “When we were working on a case here, two months ago, on the 17 of March, we went to have dinner!” he continued, looking between the brunette next to him, and the device on his hands, as they pulled up at their destination—which wasn’t too far from the corner’s they’d just left.

“Did you say March 17? At night?” They heard Garcia over the phone.

“Does that mean anything, Garcia?” Hotch asked.

“That was the exact same day our victims went there for, drums please, dinner dates!” She said, as disappointment returned to her tone of voice. Reid stayed quiet as they hung up, and entered the station, making their way to Hotch and Rossi.

“Morgan and JJ are on their way,” Hotch told the agents as they re-entered the room with the clear board, and fancy-dressed officials. They always wore suits, and Spencer never really understood why. There was no need for a thick blazer, when a simple, soft cardigan would do just fine. But he couldn’t keep his mind focused on that. No, he was focused on something else, something he could only talk about with Der—

“Hey, pretty Boy, you ok? You’ve been awfully quiet the past, what?” His thoughts were interrupted by a hand being placed in his shoulders. A soft, warm, welcoming hand, that had been previously wrapped around his waist, as their bod—“thirty minutes? What’s going on, in the beautiful brain of yours?” His thought process interrupted once more, by the man of his affection sitting down next to him, dragging his hand down Spencer’s arm and wresting it on his thigh.

Spencer didn’t even realized he’d been so quiet, starring at nothing in specific, but his thoughts were too loud in his head. His heart pounding against his chest. His hands sweaty in the arms of the chair—wait, when did I sit down?

“I’ve just been thinking about what Garcia said... we went to that exact same restaurant, on the exact same day as all of the victims.” He sounded so disappointed. “We were in the same room as them, for god’s sake, I should have recognized their faces—“ he was cut off by Derek, who had turned their chairs so they were facing each other.

“No, no, no, no, no! Stop that right now! You had no way of knowing who these people were, Spence!” He said, rubbing Reid knee, trying to comfort him. Everyone seems to think that works, for some reason, he thought to himself, as he remembered Emily doing just the same earlier, but I guess it works, because he relaxed under the touch both times. He looked out the window, noticing it was already getting dark outside. He sighed, and put his hand on Morgan’s.

“I know, but... I can’t help but think... is it a coincidence?” He asked and Morgan furrows his brows in confusion.

“We go to the same restaurant as them... there’s something wrong with th—“

“There is nothing wrong with you, baby!” The nickname rolled off his tongue naturally, and there was a slight angry under tone to Derek’s words, as he rubbed Spencer’s hand with his thumb. “nothing.” He whispered, bringing their hands up to his lips, and placing a soft kiss to Reid’s palm. Spencer looked around, to make sure no one saw them.

“Where are the others?” He asked once he noticed the police station was only filled with half a dozen cops.

“The unsub sent a video to the latest victim... and once we asked, the families of the first two had also recieved them, they’re taking a look at ‘em right now.” Derek said as they stood up and stared heading out of the room. Before they left, though, Spencer extended his hand to turn Morgan around, and gave him a slightly tight hug—which Derek didn’t hesitate to return, wrapping his arms around Spencer’s waist. They broke away quickly, and exited the room.

Everyone lifted their heads when they saw the door opening. Morgan and Reid heard a calm voice coming from the computer at the center of the desk.

“It’s ok! It’s ok, I promise— you’re going to be ok, shhhh. Don’t be scared, there’s nothing to be afraid of, no one can hurt you anymore, Jessie, no one can hurt you!” They heard the voice say, as they moved around the table, to stand next to the team. The screen turned to black, and the words “Day 3- the final test” appeared in the center, in baby blue.

“Good morning! I brought you some breakfast!” A man with short dark hair appeared in the frame, but his back was turned to the camera, so they couldn’t make out his face. He walked over to the bed with a sleeping girl lying on—someone they could identify as the first victim—Jamie Lakewood.

“Who’s Jessie?” She said in a sleepy voice, sitting up right, as he sat at the end of the bed, and handed her a white paper bag. She opened it, removing a croissant, with dried melted cheese dripping off of it. She didn’t sound angry, or scared. Just.. tired.

“Jessica was my best friend...” the man told her, as she took a bite out of her sandwich, a little bit of bacon peeking out at the bottom of the it. “She was the only person who was ever kind to me, really... she was just so... nice.” He trailed off for a second, “quite like you!” He said with a smile on his face.

“What happened to her?” Jamie asked, she sounded a little blunt, but her voice was too low to tell.

“Eat,” he sighed, “you’ll need your strength.” He said changing the subject quickly, as he stood up from his seat.

“Wait!” She moved towards the end of the bed. “I’m sorry, I won’t ask about her anymore, just- please- don’t go!” Her voice pleading as she got up.

“You promise?” He said, and somehow he was the one who sounded afraid. She nodded frantically, as they sat back down. The room was dark, no windows, no source of light, other then the flickering light on the nightstand. It wasn’t a dirty room, the walls were a minty shade of green, the bed was king sized, with white pillows and fitted sheet, and a pink cover with
strawberries on all ends.

“What do I have to save my strength for?” She asked him, tentatively. Taking another bite of her-what they could only assume was-breakfast.

“You’re not gonna like it...” he said, shaking his head.

“You’ve been keeping me in a locked room, for-I don’t even know how long- and you won’t tell me why? Is this some sort of game? Why are you doing this to me?!” She still didn’t sound angry, but hurt this time. He shook his head, and put his hand on hers, and surprisingly, she didn’t flinch away.

“Because...” he hesitated, removing his hand from hers. “I gave you a gift!” He told her, and a terrified expression grew on her face.

“No-“ she whispered, and the only felling present on her voice was fear. “You did this to me?!” She got off the bed, and backed herself up, until she was against the wall. “Why? What did I ever do to you?” She asked.

“You’re like Jessie!” He said with a calm smile. “You’re nice, even to those you don’t know, and I think it was time someone returned the favor!”

“I DIDN’T ASK FOR THIS!” She yelled at him, fear turning to anger in a heart beat.

“I know... but you deserve it! You’re always helping others, it’s about time someone helped you!” He didn’t seem the least bit scared. She got away from the wall and slowly made her way to him until she stood about 8 feet away from him.

“You think you’re helping me?” It was more of a statement then a question, but he nodded either way. “I didn’t need your help, I didn’t need t-to be a burden!” She gestured to herself.

“You’re not a burden!” He stood up and took her hands in his. “You’re a superhero!” He looked at her in the eyes, and a tear slipped down her cheeks.

“Stay away from me!” She said, frantically backing herself away once more. “You don’t have to do that, please! Please don’t hurt me!” She pleaded.

“I just want to show you that I’m like you,” he moved closer, as she backed herself onto a corner. “You can read minds...” he was in front of her, holding her up, as a tear slipped down his cheeks. “And I can heal people...” It was very sudden, and she was on the floor bleeding with the blink of an eye. She screamed in pain, and he dropped to his knees. He put his hands over where her green and blue long sleeved covered her stab wound, in her lower abdomen. There was a little yellow light, glowing between her stomach and his palms, and she wasn’t in pain anymore. She lifted her shirt to reveal a pool of blood, and a half healed scar. They got up, as a confused expression appeared on her facade.

“You— Ho— Why—?” She stuttered, unable to form a sentence. She trips on her own two feet, catching herself on the bed, sitting on the floor in front of it. She stared down at where there had previously been a knife, and feed cuts to black.

“What the fuck did we just watch?” Emily asked, a confused expression-much like Jamie’s- splattered on her face. The first thing Morgan does is look at Reid, and he noticed the sudden panic in his voice, when he speaks to Derek.

“Morgan! Morgan!” He says, not taking his eyes off the screen, and repeatedly hitting Morgan’s arm with his palm. “I told you, Derek, I- I knew it!” He breathed quickly, as he slowly stared stepping away from the table, eyes still fixed on the computer.

“Hey, hey! Look at me, Spencer, look at me!” Morgan interjected himself between Spencer and the device. “We’re gonna figure this out, ok, just- just look at me.”

“What’s he talking about Morgan? Knew what?” Hotch asked, moving closer to the pair.

“It wasn’t supposed to end like this” the same male voice came form the computer once more, and Hotch and Morgan snapped their heads back to it.

The camera turned on, and he was lying over Jamie’s body, as she bled from about two inches above where she had been stabbed in the previous clip. He put his hand to the wound, and healed it once again. She groaned in pain, begging for water. He left the frame for a few seconds, returning to her with a glass of water.

“Why would you do that?” He asked, his voice so shaky, anyone could tell he was crying. She kept asking for more water, as she sweat far too much to be normal. He left again, and when he came back she had passed out.

“Jamie? Jamie, no no no no no, stay with me, please!” He checked her pulse, and dropped his head when he felt nothing. He cried hovering over her-now-lifeless corpse. He picked her up, laying her on the bed, and ran his fingers through her eyes, closing them. He turned around once he was off-camera, and an arm crossed over the camera before the feed cut off again.

They looked around at each other, to see their reaction, and everyone ended up staring at Spencer—who had tears in his eyes, and wasn’t even blinking.

“Spencer...” Derek said in a voice as if he were approaching a loin, and the youngest agent broke contact with the screen to look at the man calling his name. He moved closer, folding his arms on Derek’s chest, hiding his face in the crook of his friend’s neck. Morgan wrapped his arms around Spencer’s torso and held him as he cried.

“Please...” Spencer pulled away, to look Derek in the eyes. “Please tell me... tell me you won’t let that ha—“

“Never!” Derek city him off, bringing his hand up to cup Reid’s face. “I will never, ever let that happen to you, pretty boy!” He pressed a kiss to Spencer’s forehead, and looked around the room to their friends.

“Where’s JJ?” Derek asked, noticing the blonde missing. They looked around, and Emily left the room, mumbling something about looking for her in the bathroom.

“I’ll send the feed to Garcia, see if she can tell us of that was altered...” Hotch said, leaving the room, and Rossi walked after him, telling the boys how he’d forgotten to tell him something.

*********

As she entered the bathroom, Emily noticed only one stall was closed.

“Jayje?” She asked, and she heard a sniff behind the locked door, but there was no actual answer.

“JJ, I know you’re in there...” she stepped closer and heard the lock click open. The door opened in the slightest, revealing a red-faced JJ. She stepped out of the stall once Emily nodded at her, and fell in the arms of the brunette.

“Are you scared? Is that why you’re crying?” She asked, rubbing the younger woman’s back. “It’s ok if you’re scared...” she reassured her.

“I’m not scared—not because of what you might think...” she pulled away, dropping her head slightly, and looking up at Emily.

“What do mean, Jayje?” The latter asked with a confused look.

“Are you scared? Not- not of the unsub, but... people like him... like Jamie?” She asked, and Emily took a step backwards, away from the blond in front of her

“Where is this coming from?” She asked, crossing her arms across her chest. JJ fully dropped her head, and closed her eyes, fiddling with her fingers.

“Please don’t be scared” she mumbled under her breath, when suddenly the water on one of the sinks behind them turned on. Then the one next to it, and the one next to that one. Emily jerked her head at the unexpected noise. She furrowed her brows, and looked back to JJ, who had tears streaming down her face once again. They stayed in silence as the water of sinks turned off, and Emily was as surprised as ever.