Elijah hummed as he stood, tapping his hands on the counter, waiting for the toaster to pop. Rigatoni jumped up on the counter, purring.

"Hello honey." Elijah stroked him,"You're not gonna be happy in a few minutes."

Rigatoni tilted his head.

"Mr toaster is on." Elijah hummed,"Now get off the counter before he pops."

Rigatoni climbed into Elijah's arms.

"Aw, just a baby, aren't you?" Elijah hummed.

That's when the toast popped up, causing Rigatoni to run off, scattering.

"I mean.. I told you so." Elijah called after him as he grabbed a plate.

"Why is there a cat running past at thirteen miles per hour?" Reid blinked as he walked through.

"Because Tony doesn't like the toaster." Elijah put his toast on the plate,"And I was hungry."

"Right." Reid nodded.

"..Are you hungry?" Elijah asked slowly.

"I guess I could have something. You eat your toast, I'll find something."

"I can make you something if you want."

"I got it." Reid hummed, kissing his cheek,"Eat."

"I will, I promise." Elijah smiled softly.

"Are you having jam?" He held up a jar.

"I am." Elijah hummed.

Reid handed it over while he looked in the fridge.

"What are you gonna have?" Elijah asked.

"I think..A couple of muffins."

"That sounds nice." Elijah hummed as he spread the jam on his toast.

"Do we need anything from the store later?"

"Strawberries- Oh, and milk. We're nearly out." Elijah nodded.

"You need to stop drinking so much coffee." Reid sighed.

"I can't help it, I need it."

"It makes you jittery."

"But my brain needs the fast juice." Elijah pointed.

"Fast juice." He laughed.

"That's what it is."

"It doesn't make me fast." He pointed.

"Your brain works fast enough without it, my brain never works fast enough." Elijah crossed his arms.

Reid hummed,"It gets slow sometimes."

"It doesn't even make me less tired." Elijah sighed.

"You know you should try those melatonin gummies some time." Reid turned to him.

"..I should."

"Eventually. Don't take them all at once anyway."

"I wasn't planning on it." Elijah shook his head.

"Don't worry. You'd be okay." Reid assured him.

"I know I would." Elijah took his hand,"I trust you."

"Im glad."

Elijah kissed Reid's hand before gently swinging it from side to side.

"Now, finish your food, hm?"

"I will." Elijah smiled.

*********************************

"Babe." Fleur hummed.

"Yes, Flo?" Morgan turned to her.

"Can you make me some food?"

"Of course, what do you want?"

"I don't know."

"Well.. What am I supposed to make then?" Morgan asked slowly.

"I don't know." Fleur groaned, laying back.

"Are we thinking something savory? Or do we want something like cereal?" He questioned.

"No..No." Fleur shook her head.

"Fruit, do you want me to do something with that?"

"Well.." Fleur sat up,"..No."

"Pancakes?" Morgan tried.

"Yes!"

"See- That wasn't difficult, was it?" Morgan sighed,"I'll get stated on those."

"Can you add some fruit to it?"

"I can and will." Morgan nodded as he headed for the kitchen.

"But not grapes." Fleur pointed

"Dont worry, no grapes will be used." Morgan called back to her.

"Thank you." Fleur smiled.

"Anything for you, babygirl."

Fleur hummed and petted Beau,"Hi buddy."

Beau leaned into her hand, wagging his tail.

"Are you excited for Christmas soon?"

Beau barked, jumping up.

Beau didn't seem to care, his tail still wagging as he nudged her legs.

"No, you need to wait." Fleur shook her head.

Beau sat down, looking up at her.

"I'm sorry baby boy."

"Remind me to get Marie's you-know-whats when I'm out later, we're nearly out." Morgan called to her.

"Of course. How could I forget?"

Marie chirped, almost immediately on top of Fleur's legs.

"Hello sweetheart." Fleur hummed.

Marie stretched out, flopping over.

"Oh, you're so pretty." Fleur petted her ears.

Marie meowed in agreement as she pawed Fleur.

"Be good, okay?"

Marie purred, nodding slightly.

"I'm stuck, I can't move." Fleur looked over at the kitchen.

"Then I'll bring it to you." Morgan hummed.

"Thank you."

"Not a problem, honey." Morgan walked over, holding a plate of pancakes.

"Thank you." Fleur took the plate.

"You're welcome." Morgan kissed her forehead.

"It smells amazing."

"It's some of my best work."

"I'll be the judge of that." Fleur nodded, cutting the pancake.

"Go ahead." Morgan hummed as he began to pet Beau.

Fleur ate the pancake, tilting her head,"Hm..I might need Beau to help judge."

"Beau loves my cooking, don't you?" Morgan looked down at him.

Beau panted and took one of Fleurs pancakes.

"You're eating that all by yourself?" Morgan crossed his arms.

"Someone's hungry." Fleur shrugged.

"Well, someone has already had his breakfast."

"I don't think he cares, cheriè."

"No, no he doesn't." Morgan shook his head.

"Thank you though, the pancakes that I managed to eat were good."

"I'm glad you enjoyed them." He smiled.

"Beau enjoyed them more." Fleur chuckled.

"Oh, I know he did." Morgan laughed.

"We better get these two gone, we need to head to work."

"I suppose we must." Morgan scooped up Marie.

Marie meowed, looking up at him.

"Hey baby, mommy and daddy have to go to work now." Marie scratched her chin

Marie purred, leaning into his hand.

"You'll be a good girl, won't you?"

"You better be." Fleur got up.

"Oh, I'm sure she will." Morgan kissed her head.

*********************************

A little girl had gone missing, however a mother who claimed her son had been taken by the same people had turned up. She did it every year.

"Need more coffee?" Elijah asked her as he and Fleur walked over.

"Oh, no, no. I'm okay." Sarah hummed before pointing towards a picture,"Is that your pets?"

"They are." He nodded.

"Oh, what age are they?" Sarah asked.

"Well, Horatio is three and Rigatoni is only a few months." Elijah hummed.

"How's your daughter?" Fleur tilted her head.

"Uh, Jake took her away."

"What?" Fleur blinked.

"Well, he remarried and thought it would be best for Emily to have a fresh start." Sarah explained.

"I'm sorry." Elijah shook his head.

"Well, I can't really blame him. I mean, look at me." Sarah chuckled softly.

"So Sarah-" Fleur began.

"This little girl, Aimee, she was eight. Just like Charlie. They were taken almost eight years apart." Sarah pointed,"Now, I've been doing a lot of reading on sexual attraction and know that prepubescent has the greatest range and also a really large crossover, gender-wise."

"I'm sorry you know all of that." Fleur shook her head.

"I could've gone my whole life not knowing, but then someone took my son." Sarah looked down.

*********************************

Fleur and Elijah left Sarah for a moment, going to meet Emily in the conference room.

"Aimee's mom was distracted by a mom looking for her daughter, and she's blaming herself for looking away." Emily sighed, putting the phone down.

"Wait, Sarah said the same thing when Charlie was taken. There was a mother searching for her lost son. Do you think its a coincidence?" Fleur looked at them.

"Or what? A ruse?" Elijah raised a brow.

"A woman looking for her lost son. That's pretty specific, right?" Fleur sighed.

"Add to that a target-rich environment with no security? Yeah." Emily nodded.

"Okay, so if the woman was a distraction, who took Aimee?" Fleur asked,"A partner?"

"Well, if it's the same people, they've been doing this for close to a decade." Elijah bit his cheek.

*********************************

Everyone was sitting around the Conference Table, discussing what had happened.

"Look, we all think that Aimee could be alive. No one's given up on her. That's why there's hundreds of officers and volunteers combing every inch of this county." Hotch shook his head.

"Yeah, but they're dragging the rivers and digging up the woods. That's not gonna help us if Aimee is still with the Unsub, if she's still alive out there." Emily pointed.

"What about Charlie? Is he still alive?" Morgan asked.

"Sarah believes it." Elijah shrugged.

"Eight years she's been saying the same thing, Eli. Have you thought about why you suddenly believe her?"

"It's because another mother just walked in here with the exact same ruse used eight years ago." Elijah crossed his arms,"I can't deny that.. Can you?"

"All I'm saying is if we go from a single abduction to multiple abductions over ten years, that changes everything. We all have to be convinced that's what it is, based on an unbiased profile." Morgan sighed.

"Okay- Distraction of a lost child, eight year old victims taken from public places with little or no security. That's not just the same rules, that's a signature." Fleur pointed out.

"Charlie would be sixteen now. We all know that preferential offenders typically dispose of their victims before they reach puberty." Hotch looked up at them.

"Maybe he serves another purpose." JJ suggested.

"Aimee's mom said the Unsub was slight. Wouldn't be easy to keep a teenager under her thumb." Rossi shook his head.

"Except that she's had him since he was eight years old. By now, he's completely submissive to her." Fleur told them.

"Keeping him could explain why Charlie's body was never found." Reid agreed.

"Garcia?" Hotch asked.

"Sir?'

"Go back ten years. Nationwide. Start with abductions in target-rich environments. Rule out any with bodily recovery. Dead or alive."

"I'm gonna let Sarah know." JJ pointed, leaving the room.

"We need to check out Aimee's abduction site with new eyes." Hotch sat up.

*********************************

"Hotch, this is Sarah Hillridge." JJ nodded to her.

"Oh, we met when Charlie was taken. I mean, you know, you saw a lot of us. I'm sure we all look the same." Sarah sighed, shaking Hotch's hand.

"Thank you for coming in. Have a seat." Hotch instructed.

Sarah sat down while Fleur began explaining, pointing at the map.

"Alright. These represent kids taken from public places. Locations are never hit more than once, but there's similarity in each. Different malls, toy stores, carnivals, theme parks, parades."

"Places where families should feel safe." Elijah sighed.

"And where there isn't much security. That's twelve children over ten years? We should interview all the families." Hotch nodded.

"I know a few of them. We had a support group." Sarah spoke up,"Most of them have moved on."

"But you're here." Emily tilted her head.

"..I saw Charlie three years ago." Sarah admitted.

"Wh- You didn't tell us that." Elijah blinked.

"Well, my husband didn't believe me, why would you?" Sarah sighed.

Tell us what happened." Hotch nodded.

"At first, I saw him all the time. I thought I did. And from what I understand, that's normal. But- You can't survive that way, so Jake and I promised that we would move on. But a few years later, I saw him. I mean, it was different. I mean, in my mind he had never aged, but this was a teenage Charlie crossing the street. And as quick as he there, he was gone again, but I know I saw him. Jake didn't believe me. That was the day he left me." Sarah ranted.

"What did you do when you saw Charlie?" Emily asked her.

"I called for him."

"And how did you know it was him?"

"Well, I didn't, not for sure. So, I called for him again."

"Did he hear you?" JJ asked.

"He looked back." Sarah nodded.

"And your husband didn't see him?" Elijah tilted his head.

"It was crowded, he disappeared." Sarah sighed and she began to tear up,"I lost him all over again."

"We'd be asking those parents to sign up for all that pain again. If they've moved on.." JJ looked over at Sarah.

"They'd take the chance if it meant their kids were alive." Sarah nodded.

*********************************

"Eleven families have confirmed the same woman, forty to fifty years old, calling for children." JJ shook her head,"In some cases, she even had a child with her."

"She actually used kids in the abductions?" Sarah asked,"Were they her own or the ones she kidnapped?"

"We don't believe she's a mother." Elijah shook his head,"Most predisposed female offenders are not."

"But they are the most violent." Reid pointed.

The Agents stayed quiet, giving Reid a look before Sarah spoke again.

"You- Y-you said that she was working with someone?" Sarah stammered.

"It's likely a subservient male, but the women separates herself from her partners. She chooses the victim, while they do the riskiest part. They grab the child and manage the getaway." Hotch explained.

"This is what he looks like as a teenager." JJ showed the sketch of Charlie.

"He's tall and thin. His hair is darker than it was, but that's him, that's Charlie. Why would they take the risk of letting him out in the world?" Sarah asked.

"They've had him under their control for eight years, he's either got Stockholm or he's being threatened." Rossi answered her,"Get us another kid and we won't kill you."

"Sarah, let's take a break, okay?" Fleur suggested.

"O-okay, okay.. Thank you. Thank you." Sarah nodded slowly as she left the room.

"Alright, so living and working in Northern Virginia. It's most likely in isolation. I mean, there's no way of explaining a houseful of kids at the neighbourhood block party." Morgan began.

"Managing this many children isn't easy. And there have to be incidents when things didn't go as planned." Hotch shook his head,"We should look into domestic calls and disturbances. Focus on families who were visited by social services."

"I'll get Garcia." Reid grabbed the papers.

"It's likely these Unsuhs were questioned before. Once we've narrowed down Garcia's list, we should revisit them." Hotch instructed.

*********************************

Garcia walked into the Conference Room with her laptop, placing it down,"Okay, there are one hundred and seven families visited by social services in the last ten years."

"That's too many to go door-to-door. We need to narrow it down." Emily shook her head.

"Well, we need to figure out why they're staying in Northern Virginia." Hotch sat down.

"Their work could be the key. They could have a childcare facility on the premises as a cover." She suggested.

"You know it's most likely a single income family. Somebody has to stay at home to be with the kids." Reid mentioned.

"Okay, all this helps." Garcia nodded as she typed.

"They've been questioned before, so we can expect a rehearsed response." Fleur added.

"How many on that list are single-income?" Elijah tilted his head.

"Twenty three." Garcia answered, gaining a sigh from Fleur.

"What's the problem?" Rossi asked.

"We're going to be knocking on the door of twenty three families and all of them have done something bad to a kid. We don't have a warrant, only a profile. If we get it wrong and leave that house, they'll destroy any evidence they have, including the children." Fleur sighed.

The room was quiet before Hotch stood up,"JJ, get an article of Aimee's clothing."

"What for?" Garcia looked up.

Elijah sighed,"It's for the dogs."

*********************************

Fleur and Morgan were inside one of the houses on the list, although the man, Roger Roycewood, was acting quite suspicious.

"I'm sorry?" He leaned forward.

"I said you've got a lot of land here." Fleur nodded.

"Oh, mhm." Roger agreed.

"And a houseful of kids." Morgan held up the picture of the family.

"Yes, I do." Roger smiled, crossing his arms.

"It's awfully quiet. Are they out?"

"My wife took them out." He told them.

"At the winter festival?" Fleur hummed.

"The Winter Festival?" Roger raised a brow.

"In Ashburn."

"No, but that's a wonderful idea. I'll mention that to my wife. It might be nice for the kids." Roger smiled.

"They have pony rides." Fleur nodded.

"Oh, great."

"So, do the kids take after your wife?" Fleur raised a brow.

"Some say they do." Roger nodded before sighing,"How may I help you?"

"Well, we were actually hoping that your wife would be here." Morgan shrugged,"Do you know when she'll be back?"

"Well, she's got the kids out on a field trip. The children just love a Sunday drive." Roger hummed,"I enjoy the quiet."

"You have four children?" Fleur asked.

"Well, our oldest is nearly sixteen."

"And the others?"

"The girls are twelve and.."

"You have two boys and two girls?" Morgan tilted his head.

"Yes." Roger nodded,"I, uh, I can get her back here."

"Please, if you don't mind."

"I need to step outside, excuse me." Fleur nodded, leaving the household and grabbed her phone.

"Why don't you go on ahead and make that phone call?" Morgan turned to Roger.

Once outside, Fleur called Elijah,"Eli?"

"What have you got, darling?" Elijah answered.

"We're at 2150 Mosley Lane. Only the husband is here. Roger Roycewood."

"Wife and kids?"

"Yeah, out."

"He matches the profile?" Elijah asked.

"So does the property. It's isolated. You can't see it from the street. They have extra locks on the door, there's a minivan in the driveway, and a photo of a boy who looks a lot like Charlie." Fleur explained.

"Is he onto you?" Elijah questioned.

"Without a doubt." Fleur looked away from Roger.

"Don't worry, we're on our way." He hung up.

"It's going to voicemail again. I suppose you all could come back later." Roger put down the phone.

"I think we both know that's not gonna happen." Morgan crossed his arms.

*********************************

"What about their work? We thought it would be tied with what they do for a living." Morgan asked Garcia over the phone.

"No, employment records, taxes. It's all legit. Roger's an electrician, has been since forever." Garcia shook her head.

"What about the wife?" Fleur raised a brow.

"As far as I can tell, she stays at home. I'm crossing these records with her maiden name, Anita Weld Roycewood. I don't think we're gonna find anything and I'm rarely wrong so-" Garcia stopped herself,"I'm wrong."

"Her family owns a funeral home in Leesburg. You're less than ten minutes from it." Reid told them.

"Oh God. The funeral home's been in the Weld family since she was a little girl. Coffins, hearses, vans, a million ways to hide the children." Garcia shook her head.

"We can't dig up ten years of coffins." Morgan sighed.

"You might not have to. They have a crematorium." Reid informed them.

"Go." Fleur hung up.

*********************************

"How are you doing?" Elijah asked Sarah as they walked.

"Honestly? I'm terrified. I've waited eight years. What if he doesn't know me? How long have you been doing this Mr Deans?"

"You should've asked my boyfriend- Going on five years now, I'd say." Elijah put his hands in his pockets.

"In your experience, what normally happens?"

"Well, Sarah, Charlie was eight when he was taken, which means he was developmentally in middle childhood. He had a greater sense of right and wrong and a growing understanding of his place in the world." Elijah told her,"Mentally, he had the ability to talk about his thoughts and feelings, while having less focus on himself and more concern for others."

"So you think he's going to be okay?" Sarah nodded.

"With a mother like you, who did all this, I do. I'm a profiler, I put my faith in facts and behavioral patterns, but today, eight parents are going to have closure. Three children are going home with their families.. All because you believed your son was alive." Elijah smiled softly,"That's as close to a miracle as I've ever seen."

"Thank you." Sarah smiled.

Soon enough, Fleur and Morgan came back with the children. Everyone running to their families but there was one family who.. Had no one. Stephen's family. Morgan walked over to Stephen's parents, but he didn't need to say anything. They knew.. They walked off to the side, sobbing into each other, Charlie walking over to them.

Everyone left them be, the girls and Elijah going to the Conference Room and beginning to bring evidence down. That's when Sarah knocked on the door, walking in.

"I have been trying to think of something to say and 'thank you' just doesn't come close." She sighed.

"You don't have to thank us." JJ chuckled.

"Yes, I do. Do you know how long it's been since someone believed in me?" Sarah asked,"You're just surrounded by darkness. Why do you do it?"

"Because of days like this." Elijah looked out of the window, at the reunited families.

"Thank you." Sarah smiled, leaving the room to be with Charlie.