Everyone on the plane was trying to occupy their minds, trying to forget the undesirable way that the last case had ended. To say that they had been disappointed with the outcome would have been an understatement; the result had left the team feeling devastating and deflated. The knowledge that there was still a paedophile roaming the Appalachian Trail was creating a heavy atmosphere in the plane, that caused discomfort to each of the BAU agents. No matter how much they tried to ignore the collective pit in their stomachs, they knew that there was a chance that they would hear from the UnSub once more.

Every member of the team was playing back every decision they had made since they landed in Pennsylvania the precious day, wondering if they could have prevented the escape of Shane Wyland. While there had been no obvious mistakes made during the investigation, they still felt as through they had failed in extreme proportions. Each team member wanting to talk, to discuss the case, but none of them wanted to be the one to draw the attention back.

However, after moments of silence, Emily shook her head, speaking from a place of reassurance, "Shane must have seen the police presence and just taken off. It was easy for him."

"Our attention was fixed elsewhere," Annie sighed, leaning into Aaron for comfort. She looked across at each of the other agents as she asked rhetorically, "How do you make the decision between saving a child and catching a killer?"

There was a silence among the group once again, none of them knowing how to respond to Annie, out of all of them she had been hit the hardest. The original team had partaken in countless cases where the outcome had vastly countered what they had hoped would happen. However, this was the first time a case had ended badly for the newest member. Until that case, she had lived in an optimistic bubble of understanding regarding the job. While she had known that not every case could end with little collateral damage, she had never imagined an UnSub slipping so quickly through their fingers.

Derek had noticed the way that the silence was a barrier in the overall recovery of the team. Leaning forwards, he thought aloud, "Robert's a tough kid."

"Knowing he fought back will help him get through this." David replied, looking at the despondency that was apparent on the face of his friends and colleagues. "In my entire career, I've only brought back a handful of kids to their parents after the 24-hour mark." As he spoke, he noticed the inability of the agents to meet his gaze. "This is not a loss in my book."

"Before now, nobody knew that there was a paedophile hunting on the trail." Aaron explained, causing Annie to look up at him from her position of comfort. "Now we know who he is and what he looks like."

Nodding along with Aaron, David caught the team's attention once more, stating, "His photo's been sent to all the Ranger stations."

Beyond Annie, Derek was the most effected by the knowledge that Shane Wyland was still a free man, but he didn't let it show. Derek held his discomfort and worry as close to himself as possible, not wanting the team to ask the questions he knew they would had he have let the impact of the case become apparent. Instead, he simply kept his gaze to the ceiling as he asked, "Do you really think he'll go back there?"

"Well, he can't function anywhere else." Emily responded, her mind telling her that this element of his profile may in fact help their apprehension of him in the future. There were only so many times he could leave the trail without being spotted, and one of those times he would be recognised and held accountable for his crimes.

"He's got no place to hide." Aaron stated, causing them all to nod. "We've taken that away from him."

Spencer looked across at the rest of the team for the first time since they had begun their discussion, still scratching at the small specs of dirt on the arm of his seat, "It's just hard to accept there's no justice for the families he destroyed."

"We'll get him." Aaron assured. "He will be brought to justice."

Annie bit her lip slightly as she asked, "Are we responsible for any other children he hurts between now and then?"

"No." David announced forcefully, catching the gingers gaze. "Cara Mia, the only person who would ever be responsible for any harm is the person who inflicted it. That stands both ethically and physically."

She nodded at him as she smiled slightly, knowing that he had been correct. If anything, the team had made the Unsub's existence that much more difficult. His urges had a control on his life that meant he would have to offend again, and, when he did, they were ready. There profile still stood, and so did the photograph they had of him. Shane Wyland may have still been a free man in a physical sense, but under any other observation he was trapped. Trapped people make mistakes.

It was after another prolonged silence that the team dispersed as much as they could on the jet, leaving Aaron, Annie and David sat in the centre table. The latter of the aforementioned trio had removed his laptop from the bag beside him, using the time of quiet to work on his next book. Having caught The Butcher, he had decided that it was time to use him as a teaching resource, the power he once had was nothing now that he was incarcerated.

A fair amount of time had passed before David looked up from the computer. He had been aware of the quiet voices behind him, where the other half of the BAU's team were discussing the best Sci-Fi films of the decade. He had chuckled slightly as the doctor among them began to take things further than they had intended by discussing the scientific accuracy of the movies. He would never admit it, but he loved the small quirks that each of his colleagues had. If there ever came a day when Spencer stopped uttering seemingly useless facts, or Emily and Derek stopped their casual sarcasm, he wouldn't know how to cope with the job he loved. They made the job easier for each other, when he had worked for the Bureau before the support system had been far from as effective as it was now.

However, the debate of the younger half of the team had not been what had caused David to look up from his laptop. The chapter that he had been working on had been heavily focuses on the apprehension of The Butcher's son, so, in order to ensure he had written the account correctly, the author had been preparing himself to question Annie about her recollection of that day. However, he was stopped as the woman's eyes widened at her phone, before she showed it to Aaron.

The interaction caused David to become intrigued, keeping his gaze on the woman, who was now biting at her lip, as Aaron took the phone and scrolled through whatever was on the screen. He closed the laptop, noticing the slight discomfort on his friends' faces. Without hesitation, he asked, "Is Jack okay?"

"He's fine," the ginger reassured, having crossed her legs under herself so that she could turn to face Aaron. She shared a questioning look with the Unit Chief, and he nodded back at her. From that simple interaction, she knew she could tell David the truth. "I had Garcia get the contact information for a member of the McGregor sheriff's department, she just found it."

He looked confused for a moment, his knowledge of American town being less impressive than he would have liked. However, before too much time had passed, he had worked out the subtext, "McGregor? that's in Iowa, right?"

She nodded, Aaron still reading through this information that Penelope had sent. For a split second, his face mimicked that concern, something in the file that made him wonder if Annie had been correct to trust this man. He passed it back to her, explaining, "About three months ago, an internal investigation begun regarding him. Something he had done had caused him to become suspected of tampering with evidence."

"That was because he helped me." Annie explained, not looking at Aaron or David as her face became painted with guilt. "It was Adrian who helped me to fake my death, he's the only reason I'm here right now."

"If that sparked an investigation, why are you so sure that he will help you now?" The Italian asked, leaning over the table. "He may blame you for anything that happened to his career."

She shook her head, placing the mobile back on the able as she looked between her two superiors, "If he did resent me, then he has had plenty of time to tell Gabriel where, and who, I am. And, unless Gabriel no longer believes in our divine connection, he hasn't told him." They each looked at her, with scepticism written across their faces. "He'll help us, I know he will."

Both of the agents sat at the table were well aware that Annie was keeping something from them about Adrian Miles, but neither wanted to question her in the presence of the rest of the team. Instead, they agreed to meet the following day, giving Annie time to make an informed decision that was not tainted by the bias of the reunion she had witnessed early in the day. However, Aaron had seen the determination in her stance when she had told him she was getting her daughter back. There was no changing her mind from the second she had made that decision.

a.n thanks to everyone for reading, this part of the story is where it gets juicy and more interesting. The only problem I hit writing this chapter was following the same format I had for the rest of the chapters (starting with the name of the character with the primary narrative voice), which is why it is slightly different. However, I hope you enjoyed it nevertheless.

On a different note, I'd love to hear your opinion on Annie as character. She's still got a lot of secrets that she isn't ready to tell Aaron, but she's starting to open up more freely. But, positive or negative, I'd love to hear your thoughts on her character and the development so far.

I hope you have a great day and are both healthy and happy.

Thanks once more for reading,

Katey. Xx