At the Station:

I groaned in relief as the air conditioning hit me, smiling as we made our way into the conference room. "Ugh this is a nightmare, my skin feels like it's on fire and I'm 2 minutes away from a brain aneurysm." I cried, laying my head on the desk as we all sat down. "Come on little mama, don't give up on us now," Morgan laughed, nudging her shoulder playfully as he sat down opposite her. We soon continued to work the case, Spencer and I going over the case files as Morgan and Emily went over the victimology. Hotch was with JJ discussing some things about the crime-scenes with the captain, whilst Rossi was discussing the M.O with some of the other cops.

As I looked over the files, I felt as though there was a pattern we had missed. None of the children went to the same school, had any mutual friends or were in any of the same afterschool clubs or activities. None of the parents had even known of each other until after the deaths. "Find anything yet?" Spencer asked, placing a cup of coffee in front of me. "No, I mean, these kids had nothing in their lives that were even remotely related to one another. Bethany, the first victim, was on the football team, whereas Susan was in the school choir, and then Katie didn't even do any clubs except the debate. I swear it's as though they were just picked at random!" I groaned, angrily picking up my coffee before taking a big swig.

"Wait, how did you know how I like my coffee?" I asked, shocked it wasn't just a bitter americano. Spencer smiled, sheepishly scratching his neck as he spoke. "Well, I remember on the plane when you made your coffee you put 2 spoons of sugar and about a third cup of creamer. So when I made it just now I made sure to follow that exact method. Perks of an eidetic memory I guess," He chuckled, his cheeks flushed. "S-Spence, that's... really sweet of you," I whispered in awe, my mouth stretching into a grin as I looked up at him, our eyes never moving away from each other's gaze.

The sound of Morgan calling out for Spencer broke us from our dream-like state, shoving us back into the harsh reality in front of us. I sighed, burying my nose back into the case files as I desperately looked for something that could help us catch our killer. Then it hit me. "Oh my god..." I whispered out, so quiet that not even my own brain picked up on my words. "Oh my god! I got it!" I screamed out, shooting up from the desk and running over to the phone.

Spencer's POV:

"Oh my god! I got it!" Cassia shot up from her chair, a cheshire-like grin plastered on her soft face. She quickly scrambled out of her seat, running to the phone to call who I assumed was Garcia. "Mistress of knowledge, how can I serve you fine peasants," 'Yup, definitely Garcia,' I thought, laughing slightly at her voice. "Hey Garcia, it's Cassia. Can you do a quick search for me?" Cassia bit her lip, flipping through the case file in her hand.

Once Garcia agreed, happy to do her job, Cassia nodded, finally stopping on a page in the file. "Ok, can you find the list of parent or adult volunteers who signed up for the following children's recitals that were going during these dates," This immediately got all of us intrigued. "Alorez, what's going on?" Hotch asked, moving over towards her side of the table.

"Well, I was looking at all the statements of the parents about their children, I realised that all 3 of the girls had one thing in common, they were all a part of some sort of recital that's been taking place this week. It's set up by this non-profit who have this recital where the kids put on performances, sing songs and they sell souvenirs, with all the profits going to charity. All three girls had signed up and were taking part in it. The reason we didn't see it before was because there was no sign up sheet for the children. The only people who know the participants are the parents, the organisers, fellow children and... the people who volunteer as helpers." She explained, showing us the parents' statements she had taken earlier today. "You're right, they all were a part of the recital." Hotch agreed, giving Cassia a nod of approval before Garcia's voice faded into view.

"Ok you brainy bunch, I think I have our lucky winner of the murder case! Meet, Gregory Adamsville. 44 years old, works as a carpenter. He had a daughter named Hiedi." She explained, quickly sending us the picture of our suspect and his daughter. "Oh dear god, turns out his daughter died after being caught in the hairs of a robbery. She was stabbed... god... she was stabbed 23 times by the robber before he shot the woman he originally tried to rob and then ran off. His daughter was one of the girls who used to volunteer to participate at the annual recital; and get this, he's been a loyal volunteer every year since her death." Cassia's breath hitched at the news, her eyes hardening as she looked at the pictures.

"Garcia, can you find out what the stressor was?" Rossi asked, looming over the phone. "Already did sugar, his wife filed for divorce 3 weeks ago, just 3 days before the killings started!" she announced. "Well, we've got means, motive and not to mention a stressor. Looks like we have enough to at least bring him in for questioning. Garcia, where is he now?" Emily asked as the others all grabbed their gear, getting ready to head out. "Already forwarded the addresses to your cells my sweets! Now go kick some psycho butt!" She cheered before hanging up.

Time Skip: At the Recital

Once we got there, we all quickly ran in, evacuating the place as fast as possible whilst looking for our suspect. The sound of a little girl screaming broke us from our thoughts. Looking up on the stage, there stood Gregory, in one had a gun, and in his other, a little girl- no older than 12 years old- with the barrel of the gun pushed against her temple. We all immediately pointed our weapons at him.

"Put down the weapon Gregory!" Morgan screamed, trying to intimidate the man. "No! How come these girls get to live when my little baby died! Huh! How is that fair!?" He screamed out, tears pouring down his face as he tightened his grip on the sobbing girl. I looked over to Cassia, only to see her holster her weapon. Just as I was about to speak, I heard her airy, soft voice filter through.

"Gregory, please, don't do this. Think of your little Hiedi. Do you think she'd wanna see her father like this? You were her hero, Gregory. She loved you with all her heart. Her death was tragic but it was out of your control. This though, you have all the power. You can write the ending to this story. So please, put the gun down, so that another family won't have to experience the same grief you did all those years ago. You better than anyone knows that no man or woman deserves that kind of torture..." Cassia slowly finished, watching as the man finally loosened his grip on the girl, the gun falling to the ground and the team grabbing him to be put in cuffs. Cassia immediately grabbed the girl in her arms, cooing as she consoled her cries. "It's alright honey, you're ok now. It's all ok," She whispered, placing a soft kiss on the girl's head.

On the plane:

After we had wrapped up the case, we were on our way home, exhausted as usual. JJ and Emily had fallen asleep splayed out on one of the couches, whilst Morgan listened to some music. Rossi and Hotch were discussing some private matters as Cassia and I sat on the other couch, furthest from everyone else. I looked over at Cassia to see her staring out the window, a solemn look on her face. "You know, you did a really brave thing today; talking to the killer and all..." I trailed off, watching her smile sadly.

"My father was never a good man, Spencer. He would get drunk, get angry and mean, take it out on my mother, my brothers and I, then pass out on the couch before repeating the cycle. I never knew what it meant to have a father who would buy me ice cream, teach me how to ride my first bike, interrogate my first boyfriend or eventually walk me down the aisle. But Hiedi, that little girl had so much love in her life. Her father and mother's worlds revolved around her. She was just taken so soon. In a way, I felt both pity for that man, but envy of that little girl. She had what 9 year old Cassie could only dream of; she had not just a father, but a dad too," She finished, her eyes welling with tears.

I squeezed her hand in mine, biting my lip as I replied. "I know sorry won't fix all the damage your father did, but I want you to know that it's his loss; he missed out on time with the most courageous, kind, warm-hearted woman I have ever met. One day he'll wake up and realise what a shit life he led, whilst you continue to grow and be the amazing person you are. Don't let him or anyone else strip you of that. Ok?" I sternly finished, smiling when she nodded, laying her head on my shoulder.

"C-Could you finish reading the book from yesterday?" She whispered out, looking so softly into my eyes it was as though drops of warm honey were coating my vision. I smiled, placing a soft kiss on her head before reaching into my satchel to pull out the book. Cassia situated herself into my side, her legs propped up against the arm of the couch as I cleared my throat and began to read.

3rd Person POV:

Morgan looked over at the two of them, smiling as he reached over to tap Rossi. "Look at those two, it's like they're made for each other," he chuckled, smiling softly as Spencer placed Cassia's head in his lap, one of his hands carding through her hair as the other held the book open. "I say 2 months before he asks her out," Rossi piped up, immediately catching Hotch's and Morgan's interest. "I say 3 months," Morgan countered, both men now looking over to their boss.

Hotch rolled his eyes before looking at the two young lovebirds, a soft, rare smile decorating his face. "I say a month at max before one of them cracks and confesses," he responded, laughing as his colleagues continued to guess. It didn't matter though, all they knew was that no matter how long it took, those two would end up together, afterall, they were two peas in a pod.