two thousand and seven.
prelude,  alone.

     THERE'S NOTHING MORE THAT SHE wanted than for this feeling to go away. It's painful- a terrible ache where her heart should be. It's empty; the office, the bullpen, her chest. She found it cruel, the way he left them, but she can't find it in herself to blame him. Over the years, she's watched many agents enter the bullpen for the first time and leave without looking back, pieces of their soul missing, pieces that this job has taken without remorse.

     Jason Gideon told her, almost ten years ago, that the three of them wouldn't be there forever. As much as Abigail hated the idea of that, she knew how true it was. She just never thought that she would be the last one standing, seemingly unscathed from the job.

     Truthfully, Abigail couldn't see herself doing anything but hunting some of the worst criminals. She had helped build this unit from the ground up, making ground-breaking discoveries about the country's worst psychopaths.

     She can't take her eyes away from the empty office, nothing but a lone desk inside with the lights off, door closed and locked, without a name placard. She can't put this feeling into words, only that she feels alone in a world that's been a part of for nearly twenty eight years. She can't even begin to fathom how Dr. Reid felt- Abigail knew that Jason had taken the young man under his wing, made him feel like he belonged to something.

     Abigail knew that she shouldn't dwell on the empty feeling that has made a home in her chest. With a defeated sigh, she slung her bag over her shoulder and clicked off her desk light, plunging the bullpen into total darkness.

     This was just the beginning to a new era.