The lakehouse was empty when we arrived. Somebody had done a good job of clearing out all evidence anyone had been staying there. My bet was on the Winchesters. A power outage this size was bound to catch more than just the FBI's attention, and I was sure the brothers were all over it as soon as they learned about it. All I could think as I walked through the empty rooms of the house was that I was breaking my promise to Lexi.

She had asked me to bring back her son to her. Was certain he would be here. And I had been determined to fulfil her request. It was my chance at redemption with her. I had already redeemed myself in Hotch's eyes when I got her to talk. But my heart was heavy with the burden that I had failed to retrieve Milo for the mother.

"You okay?" JJ asked me back in the car.

"I failed," I whispered.

"Hey, look at me."

She didn't continue until I did.

"You did not fail. You told her that you would see what you could do, and you did. It is not your fault that he wasn't here like she thought. Don't you dare beat yourself up about this one."

"How am I supposed to face her without her son, JJ?"

"You might not be giving her her son back, but I can think of one thing you could give her."

"What's that?"

"You could let her go home."

---

The farm was nothing more than an empty field going on for miles with a single, degrading barn at one end. The old wood was moldy and termite-infested, causing the walls and doors to fall apart at the seams. Part of the roof was caved in. We got there close to midnight. Thousands of stars glittered like diamonds on the sea of black above us as we made our way to the front of the barn, weapons drawn. Hotch and Rossi were in the lead, with JJ and Prentiss behind them and Reid, Dean and I in the rear. Dean had a handgun of his own, but had been instructed to stay back and let the team do most of the work.

He agreed only if I stayed behind with him. So we made our way inside. It was hard to see, even with flashlights, but we could make out the form of someone tied to a chair by the back wall of the barn. As we got closer, we could see it was Lexi. The left side of her face was bruised and her lip was busted. Her hair and clothes were ratty and torn from being manhandled.

"Lexi," Dean breathed, cradling her face. "Oh, thank God."

"You shouldn't be here," a different voice said behind us.

We all spun around, seeing the silhouette of Peter Ellis in the doorway of the barn.

"Lexi doesn't like visitors," Ellis informed us.

"And how do you know what Lexi likes?" I countered.

"She loves me. We're married."

He had made his way further into the barn, coming closer to where we were all standing around Lexi. Dean was still kneeling at her side and was silently working at the rope around her wrists and ankles. Ellis seemed pretty unfazed for having six guns pointed at his chest.

"If you're married, where's her ring?" Prentiss asked him.

"It's at the shop. It needed to be repaired," the man said matter-of-factly.

"Peter, she's hurt. You need to let us take her to the hospital, okay?" JJ told him gently.

"No. No, Lexi can't leave. She loves me. She has to stay here."

Dean had gotten Lexi untied and she had started to stir slightly. He was shushing her, lifting her in his arms. My mind immediately went to after Becca died when the Winchester had carried her out of the warehouse after she was stabbed by the demon possessing her. There seemed to be some recurring themes to the pair's relationship.

"What are you doing? You can't take her from me! We're married!" Peter had noticed Lexi in Dean's arms.

"No, you're not, Peter. You need to let us get her help," Rossi spoke up.

"She's fine. She doesn't need help. She needs to stay here with me," Peter insisted stubbornly.

"Dean?" Lexi's voice croaked out.

"Sh, sweetheart. I'm here," he immediately soothed the woman in his arms.

"Don't call her that! You can't call her that! She's mine!" Ellis got angry, charging toward Dean.

Several shots rang out as multiple guns went off, hitting the kidnapper before he could get close to the couple. There was a tense moment as we all just stood there, watching the pool of blood grow around his body. Reid turned his flashlight away from Ellis to look around the barn.

"Uh, guys?"

We all turned to see what he was looking at. The whole wall was full of at least a thousand photos of Lexi. There were some from different times in her life, ranging from when she was a little girl to now. Birthdays, holidays, day to day life... he had photographed her doing all the mundane things people did during the day. It was sickening to see.

"Let's go," I finally broke the silence.

Everyone agreed silently, making our way out of the barn. Hotch had his phone out, calling in local PD to take care of the scene.

---

I knocked on the hospital door, a bouquet of roses in one hand. When I was given permission, I entered the room. Lexi was sitting up in the hospital bed, one hand holding tight to Dean's and the other playing with her son's hair. The young child was asleep cuddled into his mother's side, hand fisting her hospital gown.

"Derek Morgan," she greeted with that wide smile I had only seen three times before.

"Hey, Lexi. I, uh, brought you these," I said sheepishly, eyes briefly going to Dean before looking back at the woman in the bed.

"Aw, you didn't have to do that."

"Yeah, well, I wanted to."

Man, it was good to see her smile. Her blue eyes were bright and twinkling as she stared at me. The bruising on her face had almost completely disappeared and she had two butterfly bandages above her left eyebrow. The doctors said she hadn't sustained any serious injuries during her time with Ellis. They were keeping her a few days for observation, but she would be on her feet and able to leave in no time.

I laid the bouquet at the foot of her bed and was left standing there awkwardly. I didn't know why this was so weird. I was just visiting a friend while she was staying in the hospital. After she had been kidnapped by a stalker that had been watching her since she was a little girl. That I had helped kill. And that I wouldn't even know about if she hadn't been arrested with two maybe-not serial killers after they forced Lucifer back to Hell after he possessed the President of the United States.

Yeah, it was pretty obvious why it was awkward. Plus, I didn't know what to say to her in front of Dean. I felt like a schoolboy with a crush on a girl that was obviously taken. She was with Dean. He was the father of her son. They had had a daughter together before him. I had no chance with her. I shouldn't be feeling like this. Yet here I was.

"Well, I should, uh, get going. The team and I have to get back to Quantico, so..."

"Of course. Thanks for the flowers," Lexi replied. "And saving my life."

"You're welcome, Lexi."

I turned to leave when she spoke again.

"Derek, give me a call next time you're in the area. We can get a cup of coffee, catch up."

"Will do. See you later, Miss Turner."

"See you later, Agent Morgan."

-FIN-