[WARNING: THIS CHAPTER HAS MENTIONS OF SUICIDE ATTEMPTS, AND A VERY DEPRESSING CHARACTER]

Season 7; episode 17

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Third Person's POV

It had been a couple weeks since Spencer found out that Syd has mentioned that she's attempted suicide. He still couldn't believe it in the slightest.

It made sense everytime that he asked if she was fine, she'd say yes. But in all reality she wasn't.

Derek and Syd were the last people to walk in. They went to a coffee shop and got muffins. They were both chocolate chip. Because they're both children.

"Penelope, I'd like to get started." Hotch tells Penny and she nods.

"Two couples were found shot, to death in the Delridge neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. The first was Mark Daniel's and Ben Priestly. They were found dead in their living room. The second was John and Heather Miller. They lived four miles away and they were found last night dead in their home." Penny explained.

"Their daughter found them?" Morgan asked.

"Yeah. She had snuck out to see her boyfriend. When she got back, they were dead." Penny informed.

"Two double homicides must be rare in that area." Rossi tells.

"What makes it weirder is that there was no sign of robbery or sexual assault." Sydney says after she swallowed a bite of her muffin.

"The shooter used a .22 calliber." Derek tells.

"Shot them execution style." JJ says.

"Yikes." Syd mutteted under her breathn as Derek nodded his head at the girl.

"He's experienced to use a pillow as a silencer." Hotch tells.

"You don't want to wake these neighbors." Emily comments.

"You know, these crimes seen to lack the emotionality that we typical see in personal cause homicides." Reid tells.

"Most executions are criminal enterprise related." JJ says.

"The probability of these couples being involved in the exact same illegal activity is kind of low." Reid adds.

"Well, there's no way these were random victims of opportunity." Sydney adds to her Dad's statement.

"Garcia, any sign of forced entry?" Hotch asks as Pen shook her head.

"None that the authorities have found, no." Penelope answers Hotch's question.

"Or our unsub is using some kind of ruse." Emily adds.

"Either way they're calculating and dispassionate." Rossi tells.

"And no appreciation for chenille throw pillows." Penelope comments as Syd smiled as she took another bite of her muffin before her Dad became a muffin thief.

Get your own muffin. Don't steal mine.

"The violent and targeted nature of these crimes suggests that there could be more." Derek finishes off as Hotch stands up.

"Wheels up in 30."

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The team headed onto the jet. Sydney made up her mind of sitting beside her Dad which is where she's sitting at the moment. She was silently listening to the conversation between the others.

As technically she's not supposed to go onto cases but since she can't be trusted alone as now that Spencer know about her self harming stuff he's not taking chances.

He's seen shit like this and he's not losing his daughter to it. He would go to prison for Sydney. He would sacrifice himself for his daughter.

"Alright, let's go over victimology. Each of the victims is a professional." Hotch starts as Sydney took one of her Dad's book on German for no particular reason whatsoever.

Even if she can't understand some of it. She is actually evesdropping on the adult conversation. She is making it less subtle.

But it is clearly obvious what she is doing.

"The domestic partners were lawyers, and the millers worked at a tech company." Rossi started.

"But PD couldn't find any overlap." Emily adds.

"Both couples were really enjoyed by their peers, neighborhood watch, volunteered in community groups, you name it." Penelope said over the phone.

"This was a straight-up execution. Kneeling on the ground, placing a pillow behind the head." Derek points out.

"It seems ritualistic." Hotch says.

"Or they're simply taking precautions." Rossi figures.

"Skme of the vics were shot in the leg." Emily tells them.

"They were probably trying to defend themselves, and this was the only way our unsub could get them to the floor." Spencer theorizes.

"Well, the scene's pretty clean, except what's left on the floor and the pillows." JJ added.

"Garcia, how are each of the couples' financials?" Hotch questioned.

"Yo, I wish mine were this good." Garcia tells them as Sydney smiled at hearing her comment.

"What about the Millers' daughter Abby? She sneaks out to see her boyfriend? That's kind of convenient." Rossi tells them

"The PD confirms her story." Reid says. "A neighbor saw her kissing her boyfriend in his back during the time of the kill."

"You guys, something just happened." Garcia tells them. "Another couple, same area, shot to death in their house."

Derek looks at the team. "This is turning into a spree." He says as Sydney turns her head to look at him.

"Just realizing that." Sydney comments not caring if she said it outloud, as Derek gives her a look with a shake of his head.

"Prentiss, you and JJ got talk to Abby. Dave and I will go to the crime scene. Morgan and Reid you go to the new one." Hotch says as Sydney was automatically going with her Dad mainly so she can annoy him and Derek.

What she likes annoying her dad, and Derek.

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When they landed in Seattle, they went their separate ways. Sydney was trailing behind her Dad as she was too busy listening to her music on her phone.

To really care what is happening and or what Derek and her dad are talking about.

"What's new with you and Maeve?" Derek asks Spencer as he had a small smile as they stopped walking so pokie butt Sydney can catch up to them.

"Nothing really. Sydney likes her now." Spencer says which surprised Derek as he remembers Sydney not liking her because she woke her up from her nap a while ago.

"Last I checked she didn't like her? Mainly because Maeve woke her up from her nap." Derek says which made Spencer smile as he remembers that.

"It wasn't completely that. But close enough." Spencer says to Derek which he nods his head. "Maeve apologized for waking her up. The other half of it is Syd sorta wanting Maeve to replace her mother. Because she hasn't had an actual mother figure so Maeve taking on that roll it will be better for her, mentally."

Derek nods his head at the words that Soencer said as it makes sense. They finished up with they needed to do. Avoiding this conversation when Sydney took her headphones off and looked at the two confused. They looked at each other and then at her then she had this shitty grin.

"Are you two gonna kiss, or what?" Sydney said as they took a step away from each other.

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The team had discovered that a woman had been shot and her baby had been taken. Hotch had gone with the woman to find out whatever he could as Rossi and Emily put an APD on the vehicle the unsub took, and they looked over at the mothers car and investigated.

"Did you get anything from Karen?" Rossi asked as Hotch walked in the PD. "She's in surgery for two more hours. What about you?"

"We think the unsub car jacked Karen at a pediatricians office two blocks from where she got shot." Emily said.

"Witnesses said that a woman with blonde hair, early. 40s, was waiting on a bench for an hour around the same time Karen took her kid there." Rossi explains.

"We're working up a composite now." Emily told. "Dozens of women and their child were in and out of the building in the morning but her only focus was Karen."

"So it's not just about material desire. It's about a specific child." Hotch figured out. "Karen was in the process of becoming the kids adoptive mother." Hotch adds.

"The boys name is Ben. What if he's our unsubs baby?" Emily asks.

"Then he was probably fostered by all of our victims." Rossi thought.

"Do we know the birth parents' name?" Hotch asks.

"Sealed with the taste." Rossi tells them.

"Time to unseal it." Hotch says as Reid picks his phone and calls Garcia.

The team surrounded themselves as Garcia had unsealed the records. "Okay, here's the dealio, and stay with me." Penelope started. "Ben, formerly known as Johnny, was born to Margaret Hallman."

"Where is she now?" Hotch asks.

"Well, uh, she should be at the Fallbrook Women's Correctional Facility, but she was released four days ago due to overcrowdimg." Garcia informed.

"We thought it was a nent institution?" JJ tells. "But if she was released, why kill your own kid?" She adds.

"Her maternal rights must have been terminated." Rossi figures.

"Yeah, that happens when you have sex with one of your high school students two years ago. His name, Thomas Brown, aka, Tommy Brown, and he is little Johnny's baby daddy, like, for real." Garcia informed the team as Sydney's eyes widened.

"Not creepy at all." She blurted out. "Ain't that the truth babycakes." Penelope says as she heard what Syd said.

"She gave birth to Tommy's baby in jail, and then when Tommy's mom refused to raise it, the baby was put in foster care." Penelope explains.

"Okay, so we were right. The baby did spend time in each of the victims' homes." Derek tells.

"Oh you betcha. In each of the victims homes." Penelope says.

"That would explain the spree and the material desire. She's trying to put her family back together." JJ says putting the pieces together.

"Garcia, we need the Browns' address."

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In the Brown's home, they had discovered a teenage girl she shot but she was alive. The team called an ambulance for thr girl and got more information from Garcia through the sealed records.

"Ms. Hallman had an exemplary record in jail." Penny informed.

"What was her correspondence with the outside world?" Derek asked.

"Um, well, she bad limited computer use, and she used all of that time searching for a...Johnny Lewis."

"Her baby?" Syd asked, as she leaned her head on Derek's shoulder.

"No, darling. Johnny Lewis is one of her former students from Lake Forrest School. His parents charged her with molestation, and then they dropped the charges."

"When was this?" Emily asked.

"Three years prior to meeting Tommy." Penny answered.

"So she has a baby with Tommy and names it after the first kid she assaulted." Emily figures as Sydney raises her brows. "Obsession." She says in a sing-song voice.

"Yeah, and according to the prisons hard drive, she wrote dozens of emails to this Johnny Lewis." Penny says.

"Maybe Tommy's a surrogate for him." JJ says.

"Garcia, we need to talk to the Lewis'." Hotch tells as Penny pauses.

"Mm, their phone is disconnected."

"What about an address?"

"They've moved around a lot. Oh, wow. Okay, it's like they're off the grid."

"After what happened with Ms. Hallman. They could've left everything they knew behind due to the embarrassment. Probably changed everything."

"Well, who lives in their old house now?" Derek asked. "Maybe they can help us get info."

"Uh, it's changed hands a lot." Penelope says as she pauses again. "Oh, snap, crackle and pop goes the lady weasel. You'll never guess who bought it?"

"Ms. Hallman." Sydney guesses even if she's half paying attention.

"Si senorita. It was picked up by her sister a year ago and then it was transferred to Maggie's name yesterday."

The team gets to the address and Hotch and Emily sneak in through the back as JJ, Morgan and Sydney make their way to the front of the house. Tommy had walked out of the house with the gun in his hand. "FBI! Drop it!" Morgan announced to Tommy as he moved back.

He held his free hand up. "Just--just move. Move--move back." He says as Sydney cocked her gun as she looks at Tommy.

"Drop the gun, Tommy." She says in a strong stern but yet calm voice.

"Just--just get off our yard." Tommy says calmly.

"You don't wanna do this." JJ tells him as she stands protectively in front of Sydney.

"You don't know me. My--my girl and kid are in there." Tommy tries to get them to leave but it's no use.

"She's a predator, Tommy." Sydney tells him as said Tommy shakes his head, "No, she's not an animal. We love each other."

'Then, yall have a funky way of loving each other' is what Sydney wanted to say but she kept it to herself.

Derek and Sydney keep their guns high. "No, Tommy, this isn't love. This is a woman who's been taking advantage of you. She molested you." Tommy shook his head. "No,I--I knew what I was doing."

'No you didn't.' Sydney thought of what she wanted to say but kept it in.

"Did you know that there wSanother kid exactly like you from another school?" JJ questioned as Tommy shook his head.

"Shut up!" Tommy yells.

'How rude.'

"No. No! They're lying." Ms. Hallman exits the house exposing herself to them.

"Tommy, she wrote letters to him, too." Sydneh told him. Ms. Hallman looked at Tommy and shook her head.

"That's not true." She says as Sydney continues. "And she'd te him that everything happens for a reason." Ms. Hallman stomped her foot as she looked Sydney's way. "Be quiet!"

"She said that he was the love of her life." Sydney continued.

"That's it!" Ms. Hallman covered her ears.

"That she loved sneaking out to see him." Sydney continues, as Tommy looked the woman's way.

"You wrote that to me, Maggie." He said as he had tears in his eyes.

"Tommy, she wrote it to another boy. His name was Johnny Lewis, and he lived in this exact house." Sydney adds.

"What are they talking about?" He questioned.

"She named your kid after him." Sydney tells him as Tommy looked her way. "Is that true? I wasn't the only one." Ms. Hallman still had her hands on her ears.

"Answer me, damn it!" Tommy yelled, making Ms. Hallman jump, along with Sydney as she didn't see it coming.

She removed her hands from her head to her chest. "Without you, my life would be empty. Without you, I would go numb, and that's why nothings going to keep us apart, and I mean nothing."

Tommy decided to drop the gun and when Maggie went to reach for it, Sydney had shot her and killed her on the spot. "Maggie!" Tommy yelled.

"We need paramedics on the front porch." Hotch informs in his mic as Sydney is shaking as that's the first time that she's killed someone.

Maggie's last words before to Tommy before she died were: "You were my light. You were my soul. I don't care what anybody says. I love you...I love you. Johnny Lewis."

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Later everyone got back to Quantico and Sydney is still shaking she's having a conversation with herself.

"What's wrong with Syd?" Spencer asked Derek as Sydney had put herself in a corner.

"Maggie was gonna grab the gun that Tommy had dropped and then Sydney shot her. It's the first time that she killed someone and yeah..." Derek says as Spencer finished what he said.

Spencer excuses himself as he goes to the corner that Sydney put herself in. He could see that her chest was rising rather fast than usual. "Come 'ere." He says as she shakily got up and he brought her into his arms.

"You remember him, Darrel Wilson?" He asked her as she didn't say anything as she continued to quietly sob in her dad's arms. "He was the first person I shot after I got this job. I felt the same way you did today after you shot Maggie. Which might I add was a very brave thing to do." He says even if he wouldn't get a single word out of her. But when he felt her head rising she looked at him through her glossy brown eyes.

"Really, y-you r-remember i-it?" She asks him as nods his head at her as he continues to rub her back soothingly to calm her down, knowing it works.

"Yeah, I was shaken up about for a while. Let me tell you it was a while. Well until four days later." He says as he was semi-joking about it. He thought that would get her to laugh or even smile but it didn't. It just got her to look at him weirdly. "Anyway..."

"What did you do to keep your mind off of it?" She asked him as she went back go resting her head on his chest. As he moved her hair a little.

"I just tried to keep my mind off it. Well, I tried to push it to the back of my mind. Then after that didn't work , I know this sucks I kept telling myself it's going to be okay." He says as he softly kissed her head which made her sigh a little. She was processing what he just said.

He was the one to pull away from the hug he moved her chin so that they were looking at each other. "It's going to be okay, there's a first time for everything. Granted, yes sometimes it's not a good thing. But trust me, baby it's going to be okay." He says to her in hopes and efforts of making her feel better and she nodded head a little.

"I'll be here no matter what. I promise." He says to her as Sydney put her head back onto his chest as he kissed her head as they just stood there.

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hannah speaks!

hope you like this chapter!

❤️