Chapter Four / Looming Cloud of Anxiety

Season One / Episode Five Pt 1

The cool metal of her phone was pressed against her ear, her shoulder being used to keep it in place as she poured a heaped tablespoon of white sugar into her coffee. She was thankful to be able to drink coffee at work, because with the set amount of people on the team they all had their own mugs that they used so no one got mixed up with the others. Monica's was a tall quirky mug that Penelope Garcia had gotten her a week after she arrived, claiming it was a late welcoming present. The base of the mug was black, with different colored doodled dogs on the outside to give it color. Then, on the inside of the mug, it said Dog Person. Garcia had grinned, handing it over and saying "I'm more of a cat person myself, but you scream dog lover! I thought it would be perfect for you!" Monica had gone to the bathroom and cried on the phone to her friend, Aubrey, about how thoughtful it was. He blamed it on her period for her emotional reaction, Monica said it was because Garcia is so sweet.

Thankfully, the cup of coffee was still steaming, meaning that it was going to melt the sugar well and make the hot liquid even sweeter. Monica continued to add another two tablespoons of sugar into her drink as she spoke on the phone, her attention drawn away from the BAU bullpen where she was currently in.

"You know I cannot go out tonight, Nydia." Monica grumbled, picking up her coffee after throwing the spoon into the sink and then latching onto her phone with the other arm and pulling it to the opposite ear, "We have been waiting for the case files for hours, and we are all certain they are going to come today. I'll be flying out soon." 

"Come on Mon!" Nydia groaned, the stamping of her feet like a child loud enough that it came through the phone. Monica slumped into her seat by the time one of her best friends began speaking again, her knees resting against the side of the desk as she gave a polite smile to Anderson across from her who worked patiently, "Chandler and Aubrey miss you. Aubrey won't shut up about how much he wants to go bowling again."

"Tell them we can go Friday, like we always do." She offered instead, "We all knew it was going to be hard to spend time with each other. You are a doctor on call 24/7, and the rest of us are EMTs. It is amazing none of us got relocated out of Virginia."

Nydia let out a sigh, "You're right."

"I'm always right." Monica replied, her voice rising at the end to show that she was trying to lighten the mood. The call fell silent for just a moment as she took a sip of her coffee, swooning at how sweet it was to hide the bitterness of the coffee before she spotted Gideon out the corner of her eyes. He waved a hand in her direction, gesturing to the conference room before giving a nod of his head. Monica's eyes widened as she tilted her head to the side and he nodded again, she let out a wide grin. "Listen, Nydia, I'll call whenever I can, but we got the case."

"Already? That's so cool!" The woman trilled; a lot bubblier than it had been moments ago. "You go rid humanity of these gross people. We will talk later."

"I love you, Nidi." Monica whispered into the phone so that it felt personal before she hung up, leaping out of her chair to hurry into the conference room with her coffee mug in hand. Everyone in the team was already present, standing in a crowd in front of the board to read. Morgan gave a light smile in her direction from the area he stood, not focused on the case as he walked back and forth to steady his nerves. Kidnappings always made him that way, Monica realized. 

"You will follow instructions carefully. You will do this to ensure the safety of your daughter," Reid began reading aloud, knowing that the pair at the back were not able to read the screen where the letter was projected. Monica sat on the edge of the table, hanging one leg over the other as she took a sip of her sweet coffee as quietly as she was able to do, "You will wait for the call. You will answer the call at 8pm. You will write down the instructions and follow them to the letter." 

Hotch let out a loud sigh as he folded his arms across his chest, looking towards his team, "That gives us less than nine hours to get to Connecticut, work up the victimology of Trish Davenport and prepare her father for the ransom drop."

There was silence from the team before Gideon questioned, "How do we know the letter's real?"

"Uh, handwriting is a match for Trish's." Hotch explained, grabbing the remote from the shelf it rested on to zoom in on the section to prove this, "He dictated it to her. And they found saline on the paper."

Monica's heart squeezed, pulling the mug closer to her chest for warmth, "She was crying."

"He never says I." Morgan spoke suddenly, as if trying to distract everyone and himself from the thought of the victim. "He doesn't say 'I will call.' He says, 'You will answer the call.' He's distancing himself from the kidnapping. If he said I, he'd be taking responsibility for it."

"There's also another missing element," Hotch murmured, and Elle was the first to notice what the man was hinting at:

"No mention of the police." She stated, looking towards her boss who nodded his head, "Ransom notes almost always forbid police involvement."

"Is he wanting law enforcement to get involved with the case then? To feed his ego?" Monica questioned from her spot on the table.

Gideon hummed thoughtfully, "Well, if he's expecting us, let's not disappoint him."

Connecticut's weather was perfect for Monica to wear short sleeves with her slacks for the first time in a while since their last case a month ago. This was something that Elle had not realized until they were in the car with Morgan driving to the last known spot of Trish Davenport. In the passenger seat, Elle shuffled uncomfortably out of her blazer jacket from underneath the restrictions of her seatbelt, causing teasing comments from Morgan as he focused on the road. The team had assigned themselves into groups; Hotch, Gideon, and Reid going to the Davenport's family house while the other three went on their own adventure to the sister. It was a nice group, she thought to herself. They all got along well, and all had their own area where they could excel to hopefully come to a logical conclusion. However, they were all confused as they looked through the front window when they arrived at the area.

"What's she doing?" Morgan asked one of the aides for the Davenport twins as they got out of the black SUV, the twin fact established on the jet ride over. Monica's eyebrows furrowed as she looked past Morgan to the girl.

"Lying on the road." The male aide responded factually, a shrug in his shoulders. Monica glared at the back of his head at the obvious statement while Elle let out a huff, stepping aside to let Monica walk past her. The doctor was smart to drone out the conversation happening behind her between Elle, Morgan and the aides as she crouched at the feet of the blonde girl. There was silence for a moment, causing her to tilt her head to the side before she asked:

"May I ask what you're doing?" Cheryl Davenport raised her head to look at the agent at her feet who had a soft smile on her face. She furrowed her eyebrows as she rested her head on the tar once again, closing her as she whispered:

"Shush, just for a minute. And no, I am not crazy. I'm lying here for a reason." The girl added as a side thought, placing her hands on her stomach as if it was more comfortable. During the three seconds of silence, Monica looked over her shoulders towards her work partners with a questionable expression, Morgan rolled his eyes in response. Cheryl startled Monica as she suddenly sat up, looking around the area before leaping to her feet and brushing the dirty off her backside before looking directly at Monica as she paced around the road anxiously, "He dragged her from the car. This is where she fell. Trish is a fighter; she wouldn't have gone quietly. Not even with a gun pointed at her."

There was rustling of paper against wind from behind her before Elle informed, "She's right. There are nail marks on the car seat."

"So, you believe your sister's still alive?" Morgan questioned the teenager, crossing his arms over his suit and Monica, for a moment, though he made the wrong movement. It made him appear angrier, as if doubting the willingness of a helper.

Cheryl frowned, the usual youthful expression now looking a couple of years older, as she stubbornly responded, "I know she's still alive."

"You know the way twins know?" Elle phrased her words carefully, pausing between each word as she spoke. Coordinated, Monica and Cheryl sent the woman a look which startled Elle briefly.

"Not the 'I can feel my twin's pain' crap." Cheryl explained, rolling her eyes as she mimicked Morgan's stance and stood at the side of the doctor, "If you stick her with a needle, I don't cry out but if something is bothering her, if something is wrong, I can feel it. Even from a thousand miles away at college."

Morgan opened his mouth to ask something, more on the credibility of these feelings but Monica quickly butted in, "You study physics, right?"

"If you're asking why a science major would believe in something non-scientific, I don't." The blonde rebutted, eyes narrowing dangerously in Monica's direction, "I just know what I feel."

"Listen, I'm not here to judge you Cheryl," the doctor said, another smile forming on her face. The teenager raised an eyebrow at her response, "I'm an identical twin myself. We have a comparable situation; I don't feel her physical pain, but I can sense when she is suffering mentally. It's like a... A cloud looming in the back of my mind, like a cloud of anxiety. So, if you feel that your sister is still alive then I trust that feeling."

After Derek Morgan studied the crime scene, using the tactic of the UnSub's mind to understand his movements, they got a call from Hotch requesting for them to come to the Davenport house. Monica knew of the money that the family had, it was the theorized reason behind the kidnapping of Trish, but she had not expected the house to look this nice. The wood interior gleamed as if it was just recently polished, contrasting nicely to the cooler colors painting the walls. The team was set up in the living room, officers from the station walking in and out while assisting Hotch with whatever he asked of them. Cheryl had gone to the comfort of her father when they arrived, who was seated in front of the machine as if waiting for the time to click over to 8pm.

Morgan dragged Elle and Monica into the kitchen, resting against the kitchen island as he handed the women drinks of water as if he wanted to keep them silent as he told his story. Elle questioned after a sip, "You think Cheryl's a wack job because she claims she can feel her sister's anxiety?"

"I never said wack job!" He exclaimed as he raised his hands in self-defense, looking Monica into the eye who stared at him with raised eyebrows and a teasing smirk, "I never did, I swear."

"Actually, there may be a physiological basis for it." Reid interrupted before Monica could say anything in response, stepping to the side to allow the younger boy to stand aside Elle. The trio turned to look at the walking computer as he continued on, "Reversed asymmetry monozygotic eggs split late. Between nine to twelve days. The DNA matches right down to the very last stranded code."

"You're saying that because identical twins share the same chromosomes they also share mental pain with each other too?" Monica quizzed; her face scrunched up in confusion. Reid, with a light smile on his face that someone was actually paying attention, nodded his head:

"There's sporadic documentation of it in the real world." Reid rubbed the back of his head, "There was a study in 1997 by Alexander J MacGregor in London to see the determinants of pressure pain between female identical twins. If it is the result of genetic or environmental factors, or even both. It-"

"And you believe it?" Morgan cut the man off before he could ramble anymore, sending a look towards Monica as if it was all her fault.

"Oh, I'm just saying it's possible," Reid hummed as he shook his head. Morgan rolled his eyes at the response, elbowing Monica in the side, "I don't know everything. I mean, despite the fact that you think that I do."

Morgan whipped his head around to look at Reid, eyes wide and mouth agape, "I never said that! When have I ever said that?"

"Every day since I've met you," and "This morning at breakfast" chimed together from Elle and Reid, causing the pair to look at each other with wicked grins on their faces.

Hotch, who had joined the group only seconds ago straightened his posture as he placed his hands on his hips, "Yesterday when he beat you at cards. We've got one minute." The man then walked away, leaving a chuckling Monica who was bumped by her friend to shut her up.

"Anyone ever heard of sarcasm?" Morgan questioned, and synchronized – Reid, Elle and Monica all hummed a sarcastic agreement, "Besides, ask our very own identical twin about your fascinating studies, Reid. She says she can feel her sister's emotions."

"You're an identical twin?" Reid chirped; his voice higher than usual. Monica looked over to him, raising her eyebrows at the look of glee in his eyes. She could hear Morgan wheezing to Elle as they walked away from the pair, leaving the doctors staring at one another before she grumbled a defeated yes. Reid grinned, "When this case is over, I am going to talk to you about the connection!"

"Buy me a meal and I'd consider it." She responded, and Reid nodded his head eagerly. Monica blinked at how easily that agreement came into plan, as he headed towards the living room with her in trail. Most of the team stood around the table, hovering on the shoulders of Mr. Davenport as if he was going to snap any moment. Gideon, however, was giving a brief rundown on what to say when Monica entered the room, eyes briefly flickering to the blonde standing away from the crowd. 

The doctor slowly made her way over to Cheryl, hands clasped underneath her armpits to keep them warm in the night's cooler weather. The teenager looked up at her with downturned eyes, her bottom lip between her teeth. Monica gave a faint smile, "You alright?" There was a pause of silence, before the girl slowly nodded her head as if hesitant with her own answer. Monica knew she should not press further; not like she had time. The clock chimed a minute past 8pm, the set time for the kidnapper to call.

Mr. Davenport frowned, wrinkles spreading across his face to show his age, "He's late."

"He'll call." Hotch replied from the far-right corner, the opposite side of herself. His voice was steady, though a tad bit deeper than usual as if he was attempting to show the father how to act, "Just try to relax. This is a strategy; he wants you on edge."

It was as if he triggered the shrill noise of the phone to echo within the room. Monica felt Cheryl jump aside her and she gave her a soft look which she hoped conveyed everything she wanted to ask but knew not to voice. The blonde swallowed as she met her eyes, giving a weak nod of her head to confirm she was okay for now. Reid and Morgan, sitting and standing aside Mr. Davenport respectfully, put their headphones which were connected to the machine, their pads of paper and pens in front of them to write down important details. After a brief thought, Reid reached for the laptop and waited patiently for the call to start.

Gideon's fingers rested on top of the accept button, a brief look towards Mr. Davenport before giving a nod of his head. The room fell dead silent before the man swallowed, "This is Evan Davenport."

There was the sound of nothing but static before, "Hello, Mr. Davenport." A voice spoke through the phone, muffled. The voice was deep, confirming the male UnSub that the team had discussed. Mr. Davenport's face dropped for only a brief second as his eyes flickered to look towards his daughter before returning to the machine in front of him.

"Are, are you the man who has my daughter, Patricia?"

"I have your daughter." The voice drawled, taunting and cruel.

"Can I ask you-"

He was unable to finish as the UnSub snapped, "You may ask me nothing! This is not an interrogatory. You will listen only to my instructions, but I will not give them to you." His words caused Monica to look over towards Hotch, whose face frowned in response but did not meet her stare.

"I do not understand-"

Another cut off, causing the rest of the team to grow irritated. It was limiting the information he might accidentally reveal; "I do not want to talk to you, Mr. Davenport. I want to talk to her. I want to talk to Cheryl."

Monica could feel the girl aside her tense up, her feet instinctively backing her towards the wall as her eyes widened drastically. The agent moved back with her, placing a hand on her arm to brace her contact with the real world. Without a second thought the girl reached up to clutch onto the doctor's grasp, squeezing her hand tightly as she stepped into her side as if wanting to hide from the danger of the phone call. Monica gestured with her eyes for Gideon to mute the call, who did as he was told.

Mr. Davenport glared at Gideon, "What's he doing?"

Morgan was the one to speak up, lowering the headphones to around his neck, "What most of the offenders we catch try to do. Establish dominance."

"How long can we keep him on hold?" Elle questioned as she moved closer to the two women against the wall. She gestured for them to come forward, which Cheryl led them to her position.

"We can't put her on," Hotch snapped almost as if to cut over Elle, the woman glared over at him though he paid no attention. Monica raised an eyebrow at the thought, though before she could question it, Cheryl spoke:

"Why not?" the girl questioned, slowly removing herself from the bubble of safety she had made herself with Doctor Monica Choung. Her voice broke as she spoke, but she raised her head high and stared directly at Hotch, "I want to help. I'll talk to him."

"Cheryl doesn't have the authority that Davenport holds. He shouldn't want to talk to her."

Monica felt herself frowning as she folded her arms across her chest, eyeing the group of men in front of her as she voiced, "How do we know it is about Mr. Davenport though?" They all turned to look at her, Morgan raising an eyebrow in her direction as he placed a hand on his hip. Hotch's eyebrows knitted together, and Gideon pursed his lips. Mr. Davenport looked like he was about to fire her, "For all we know, it may as well be about Cheryl. Think about it, how often do we do see young women kidnappings?"

"According to the Counter Trafficking Data Collaborative, 77.75% of reported kidnappings are women, and 74.64% are 18 or older." Reid stated, and Monica gestured to him with a loose arm.

"It's more than expected for a young blonde woman to be victims to kidnappings because of the fetishation around them regarding their purity." She informed the group, despite knowing this information was common to her team. Hotch's eyebrows slightly raised, startled by the dump of detail from the doctor, "I don't think we can rule out the idea that maybe it is about a pervert, not a money-hungry man. All I am saying is we shouldn't focus our target on the money, it is a kidnapping after all."

"I think that Cheryl should speak to him," Elle murmured just loud enough for the rest of the room to hear, "If Monica is right, we can confirm her theory but only if she speaks to our UnSub."

There was a soft nod of Monica's head in the direction of the other woman on the team, the faint traces of a smile on either of their faces though it was quickly ruined when the shrill voice of the kidnapper hissed, "Do I need to repeat myself? I want to talk to Cheryl. Put her on the phone, now!"

"I think she should speak to him!" Elle reinforced, her voice louder and stronger than before. Gideon's eyes flickered towards Hotch's, who was frowning at the two women standing aside the blonde girl. He thought quietly, "He wants to speak to her. The more he speaks, the more he reveals."

"I agree with Elle," Monica chimed in.

Cheryl finally snapped, "He has my sister!" The sudden vocalization from the young woman startled the rest of the team, her usually calm anger bursting at the seam. She focused her gaze on Gideon, and him alone, who turned his position in the seat to look up at her. He took in the emotional distress of the blonde, to the women on either side of her defending her capability before he slowly nodded his head. It was Mr. Davenport who said no in response.

"Elle." Gideon called, ignoring the UnSub who talked once again. The older agent used his fingers to gesture for her to come forward, the woman instantly responding to rush to the machine. She lent comfortably down to the machine, close enough to the microphone she could soften her voice in a higher pitch after Gideon pushed the mute button to say, "This is Cheryl. Hello, this is Cheryl."

Silence, then an anger that's weight was felt through the phone call, "I have Patricia by my side. I know her voice, therefore I know her sister's. Get off the phone. I want Cheryl! I'll give you sixty seconds. If you don't put her on the phone, I will hang yp and you will never hear from me or Patricia again."

Almost in the exact millisecond that the UnSub finished his threat, Gideon was leaning over the machine to press the mute button while he jumped from his seat to walk over towards Cheryl and Monica. The young woman had frozen aside the doctor, eyes glued on the machine while Gideon stopped in front of her, "Choung you better be right. We have to do prep work now. Come on, over here please."

Gideon led them to the machine, placing Cheryl in the seat where her father once rested. Monica went to stand away, give the girl space to breathe but she latched onto her arm, shaking her head as the UnSub called fifty seconds. The agent's eyes directed themselves to her boss, who nodded his head in support.

"Okay, this guy is arrogant," Elle informed Cheryl from the opposite side of where Monica stood, "Let him know that he is in control. Let him guide the conversation. Use your sister's name. Say 'My sister, Trish' or 'Her name's Patricia.' Talk about her. Let him get to know her through you. Don't veer off topic."

"Got it." Cheryl murmured, nodding her head softly as the UnSub called out twenty seconds.

"Tell him that you understand him." Elle added, "And as hard as this sounds, empathize. Let him know that he didn't mean to hurt Trish or go this far and that he can fix it. He has a chance to show that he's a kind and forgiving person by letting your sister go. And if you don't know what to say, I'll tell you."

"Three... Two... One..." The Unsub taunted and before he could finish his countdown, Cheryl looked up at the doctor with helpless eyes and pleaded:

"Monica." The woman felt her body shut down at the helplessness in her voice, the fear in her eyes as she glanced over to Hotch asking for a confirmation. Her boss, after not even a moment of thought, nodded his head once again at the silent question from his coworker and Monica moved closer to her side. As Gideon pressed the button to unmute them, Monica found her hand being clutched by the blonde tightly, her father's in the other. Mr. Davenport looked at her for just a brief moment, before returning to face his daughter as she said, "This is Cheryl."

"Hello, Cheryl. How are you?"

The blonde gave a brief look towards Elle, who gave an encouraging smile, "I'd be a lot better if I knew that my sister... That Patricia's okay."

There was a moment of silence, "I can tell you have a lot of empathy, Cheryl. You care about others."

"Yes, I do," Another glance, a squeeze in her grasp, "And it seems like you understand."

"You mean that I emphasize." It felt more like a statement than anything else, something which caused Morgan to tilt his head to the side as Cheryl responded:

"Yes."

"I do, very much." Suddenly his voice went deep, "I empathize with you, Cheryl. I know you want to be with you sister."

Elle held out a piece of paper which Cheryl read from, eyebrows furrowed as she tried to make sense of it without a pre-read as she spoke, "Yes, I want Trish back."

"Good," the man cooed, sending shivers down her spine. His voice mocked that of a father with his daughter, tainting the mere idea of family in one word. Monica gave a reassuring squeeze knowing that if she felt that when it wasn't directed towards her, there was no way that Cheryl would feel comfortable with it, "tell me what you want, Cheryl. I'm very interested. Tell me all about yourself. What's your favorite color?"

Elle reached over and muted, "Don't answer that. Stay with Trish." Almost as soon as she muted the call, she pressed the button again.

"If I tell you, will you let me talk to my sister?" Cheryl questioned, and Elle gave a supportive nod. The young girl was picking up on what to say quickly.

A light wispy haunting chuckle, "Maybe. Maybe not."

There was a moment when Cheryl bit the bottom of her lip, the grasp on Monica's hand tightening so much both their figures were turning bony white but neither cared. Tears welled in the young girl's eyes as her father placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, pressing a deep kiss against the side of her head which made her close her eyes and let a stray tear fall as she numbly whispered, "I like blue."

"How ordinary!" The UnSub teased, his cackle loud, "Do you like chocolate, Cheryl?" When she didn't answer, he spoke every word as if it was its own sentence. "Do. You. Like. Chocolate?"

"Yes."

"I do as well."

"Please. Let me talk to my sister." The young girl pleaded. There was nothing but the sounds of Cheryl's sniffles as she thought over what to say, looking towards the agent in the room surrounding her like she was food that remained silent. Her voice cracked as she spoke again, "All I want to do is hear her voice. Please."

Something creaked in the background of the call and Monica was able to make out the faint words of door opening on Reid's laptop. There was silence, for too long, and the room fell into an uncomfortable feeling until a weak voice called out:

"Cher? Cheryl, is that you?"

A sob escaped from both Cheryl and Mr. Davenport's mouths at the confirmation of the other twin's status, "Trish, it's me. I'm here. Are you okay?"

"Cheryl, I can't..."

Cheryl cut her sister off, the grasp on Monica's hand tightening to the point it hurt but the doctor said nothing to discourage her emotions, "Where are you? What do you see?"

"I see... The moon." There was the sound of the door creaking again, another note taken from Reid before there was another period of silence. No more Trish, no more doors. Cheryl's eyes widened as she called:

"Trish! Trish!"

"Have $500,000 ready." The UnSub had returned, taking his rightful spot as villain in the story of the Davenport family, "$500,000 is what I'm owed. The Davenports will wait by the phone. You will receive a call with precise instructions in exactly 15 minutes." 

And then he hung up, leaving the group of agents just as confused as before.

Kai's Notes !

I. this is such a dialogue based episode im so sorry. im mainly sorry for the idea that dialogue is not my strongest skill, adding the interactions of how people say it or what they do to make it more realistic is quite hard especially when i dont want to spend hours watching the same scene over and over again just to know how this person acted exactly after they said this line. i wanted to write it in a way that gave enough information when it was required (any drastic movements or emotional shifts from previously stated ones) and i hope it works for everyone!

II. next chapter is finishing this episode off as well as extra content domestic team with moni's friends while theyre bowling bc we are five chapters in and havent gotten anything actually soft aside from mentions of it... so im feeling nice. especially since this show is so dark, and it only gets better from here!

III. hopefully you all enjoyed the chapter, and sorry for a delayed update <3