I know I've been mysteriously absent and lacking in the update department for months now. I do want to say that rumors of my demise and or retirement from writing are greatly exaggerated! :D 2014 was kicking me in the teeth a bit... but I hopefully have it under control now and having time to write can resume.

The unabridged version of this chapter can be found over at TWCS or AO3 - the links to my profile on both sites are on my profile page. And now, without further adieu, on with chapter 24! Also - you might remember a little story from a couple of years ago by the name of "The Clothes Make the Man" this chapter picks up right where that one shot left off... so if you want to know what precedes the beginning of this chapter - I recommend reading that first as a refresher. :D

As always, happy reading and enjoy :D

"JJ, beautiful, beautiful, JJ…" Spence said as he ran his fingers through her hair, while they lay, legs tangled and recuperating in each other's arms.

"Hmm," JJ sigh in bliss filled content, "you're very good-looking yourself Dr. Reid, or should I call you Spiderman?" She countered playfully with a glance over her shoulder to the floor where Spence's discarded Halloween costume lay as she ran her hand lightly up and down his side.

Spence grinned. "Tonight was fun." He said as he pulled her closer, kissing her head and then burying his face in her blonde tresses.

JJ grinned and propped her chin up from where she lay sprawled across his chest, their legs tangled together. "It really was. Thank you for dressing up as Spiderman. I know you didn't really want to and you only did it because Henry asked."

Spence shrugged as his hand trailed through JJ's hair and down her back. "Anything for my little buddy."

JJ smiled at the thought of the adorable pictures of Spence and Henry together, both dressed as Spiderman and making a muscle poses that she'd managed to take before Pen had shooed them out the door so she could have the night with her Godson. "I hope Pen isn't letting him eat too much candy tonight."

Penelope smiled at the sight of Henry and Kevin both passed out on her couch while Spiderman cartoons continued to play on the TV. She pressed the off button and stood up, glad that wise Fairy Godmother that she was; she'd had the foresight to give Henry a bath and get him changed into his new Spiderman pjs once JJ and Reid had left. She bent and picked up Henry up, enjoying the weight of the small boy in her arms; then she nudged Kevin with her knee.

"Bacon makes everything better…" he mumbled in his sleep as he pitched bacon wrapped donut dogs as a snack to his fellow members of the Justice League in his sleep.

Penelope raised an eyebrow and shook her head in amusement at the quirkiness of her boyfriend as she headed off to tuck her favorite little munchkin in for the night.

"Spence?" JJ mumbled into her pillow as she fumbled in the empty bed next to her, reaching out for Spence and not finding him. She lifted her head and looked at the clock; 2 AM. 'That can only mean one thing.' She thought as she twisted around, threw off the covers, and climbed out of bed. She entered the walk in closet, rummaging by memory in the almost dark, save for the night-light in the bathroom and found her favorite pajamas of Spence's to borrow, pulling on the faded and worn Caltech t-shirt as she headed across the bedroom, pausing in the doorway just long enough to step into the soft flannel pajama pants.

Her footsteps fell softly on the carpet of the stairs, her hand gliding along the banister as she silently hoped to find Spence asleep in front of the fireplace in the living room. She paused at the bottom of the stairs; no fire in the fireplace and no Spence, sleeping or waking, on the couch. Then she noticed the flickering light coming from the staircase to their finished basement. She followed the beckoning glow, her feet padding down the carpet covered flight of stairs, pausing at the bottoms at the sight of Spence's head over the back of the couch and a commercial on the big screen TV in front of him.

"Hey you," JJ whispered in his ear, as she stepped up behind the couch, wrapping her arms around his neck and across his chest as she leaned down, "couldn't sleep?"

Spence shook his head no. "Sorry, I didn't want to wake you. Besides, at least tonight there are lots of great old horror movies on to watch." He whispered, turning his head to kiss JJ.

JJ pulled back out of the kiss, released her arms from around Spence and stood up. "What are you watching?" She asked as walked around the end of the sectional and sat down next to him.

"A classic monster movie marathon," Spence replied, wrapping an arm around JJ as she sat next to him. "Dracula just finished… Frankenstein is about to start and then The Mummy is on after that."

JJ smiled at the gleeful tone in Spence's voice, knowing his enjoyment of all things Halloween. She cuddled into his side as the black and white classic appeared on the screen. She wrapped one arm around his waist and rested her other arm across his shoulder as she dug her fingers into the muscles of his neck and the base of his skull, knowing that it was another headache that was preventing him from sleeping.

Spence moaned and melted into her touch, the feel of her finger nails lightly scraping against his scalp distracting him, even if only momentarily, from the headache that had kept him from falling asleep hours ago.

"Emily, love, not that I don't think it's absolutely brilliant to hear from you," Clyde answered his phone and stood up to look out the window of his London office, "but isn't rather late for you to be calling darling?"

Emily took a deep breath. "I couldn't sleep… and I thought maybe I'd call you at the beginning of your day."

"Ah well you must be shattered love." Clyde replied as he leaned back against the edge desk and looked out the window.

Emily shrugged. "I'm tired, but every time I close my eyes…"

Clyde's chin dropped to his chest, his eyes falling closed at the trauma Emily had suffered at that mongrel dog Ian Doyle's hands. If he had it to do over again, he'd kill that mad as a bag of ferrets ponce himself… but then he supposed without the balls-up situation of the last few months he would never have gotten his second chance with Emily. "Darling, I'm here if you want to talk."

"Clyde…" Emily sighed, as she relaxed into the corner of her couch, not knowing where to even begin as she drew the afghan around herself as she attempted to find a small piece of security.

"Take your time darling." Clyde urged softly, knowing how important this was.

Hotch leaned forward and picked up the bottle of Scotch he'd brought over and poured a few fingers into both of their glasses. "To Carolyn," Hotch said knocking his glass against his best friend's.

Dave nodded, "to Carolyn," he replied and then took a sip of the finely aged whisky.

"You should take some time," Hotch said leaning back against the couch, settling in to watch the soccer game on the screen.

Dave snorted, "E tu, Aaron?" he asked with a raise of his eyebrow as if to remind Aaron how hard it had been to keep him away from work when their roles had been reversed and he was the one telling Aaron to take some time.

"I know you think chasing down serial killers will take your mind off of it, but it won't. Believe me." Hotch said turning to look at Dave.

Dave nodded, acknowledging that if there were anyone who knew how he felt right now, it would be Aaron. "I'll keep that in mind… and I am going to take some time… I… I'm going to visit Carolyn's grave in a few days once the stone is placed…" he said trailing off as he thought about the last time he'd visited that particular burial plot… which lead him to thinking about the son he'd never been allowed to acknowledge as his… "But for now, let's watch the game." He said with a nod at the television, wanting the distraction from his losses and his memories for the moment.

"Ugh, I finally got him down." JJ said as she came down the stairs from Henry's bedroom at Will's house.

"He still feel warm?" Will asked in concern from where he sat next to Elle.

"No," JJ said, running her hands through her hair as she crossed the living room, "the ibuprofen must have kicked in." she said as she sank down on the couch next to Spence.

"I'm sorry, JJ. I know it's your weekend off an all but he was miserable and cryin' for his Momma…" Will said as he looked over at the mother of his child.

"Will, it's fine. Henry's sick. I understand… and there isn't any place else I would want to be." JJ explained.

Will nodded in understanding, remembering the times Henry had been sick when they'd still been together. "It's that pre-school… place is like a petri dish." He said, scrubbing his hand over his face.

Elle reached out, rubbing her hand up and down Will's back, able to see how exhausted he was from being up since the early morning hours when Henry woke up sick.

Just then both JJ and Spence's phones went off. They both pulled their phones out and glanced at each other after seeing the text message from Garcia telling them that Hotch wanted everyone in for a case involving a couple of kids that were found dead.

"I thought you had a few days off?" Will asked, turning to look at JJ.

JJ met Will's penetrating gaze with a look that said, 'I did… until we got this text message'.

"What's the case?" he asked continuing on after reminding himself that when JJ worked or didn't work was no longer his business except for when it came to Henry… although right now Henry was sick…

Elle and Spence caught each other's eyes, each knowing that this had been a point of contention in JJ and Will's former relationship; however they also knew that this was something that was bound to come up eventually with the line of work that they were both in.

"It's about some missing kids." JJ replied.

"Guess you gotta go in then huh?" Will asked, his disappoint on Henry's behalf for his Momma being away while the boy was sick seeping into his voice.

JJ took a deep breath and mentally counted to ten, wanting to avoid slipping into an argument with Will when they weren't even together anymore. "Look, we've talked about this. If I had someone to cover my shifts, I would… what if it was Henry?"

"Don't." Will said standing up and pacing the living room. He paused and turned, pointing up the stairs. "It's not Henry, Henry is right upstairs."

"But what if it was? We'd want someone out there looking for him." JJ answered, grasping Spence's hand as he slid his into hers.

"No, I know… you're right…" He replied, his shoulders slumping as he put himself in the shoes of the parents involved. "It's alright. You and Spencer should go. I'll take care of Henry."

Spence stood up from his seat and looked back and forth between JJ and Will. He knew that JJ wanted to stay with Henry… he did too… but he also knew JJ's sense of duty and her need to help people. It was what they'd signed up for when they joined not only the FBI, but the BAU. It came with the territory; but that still didn't make it any easier to leave.

JJ glanced up the stairs towards Henry's room, agonizing over having to leave when her little man was sick.

"Really… I got this. We'll see you when you get back." He said looking at JJ and realizing just how much she was struggling over leaving Henry to go on this case.

"Oh, and pack for foul weather," Garcia said as the team stood up at the end of the briefing and started to gather their things in preparation to leave the round table room and head for the air stip. "The weather is nasty."

JJ stared out the window of the jet into the foggy haze of the humid central plains air the just was passing through on their way to Kansas. She lost herself in her worries over Henry being sick… and how much she wished she was at home… there was no place like home she thought barely managing to hold back her snicker at the irony. They were headed to Kansas during a recent outbreak of tornadoes and she was thinking there was no place like home. She should have asked Garcia if she had some ruby slippers she could borrow. Three clicks and she'd be home.

She was startled out of her thoughts as the plane jostled them all about, the glasses on the table rattled, and the whine of the jet's engine could be heard as it fought against the turbulent air outside the relatively comfortable confines of the pressurized cabin.

"Central planes…" she said, gathering her thoughts as she along with everyone else reached out, grabbing their water glasses and coffee cups to keep them from bouncing off of the table, "right in the middle of tornado alley."

"You know if this unsub is using tornadoes as a forensic counter measure, then Kansas certainly is the ideal setting. Tornadoes do pose a significant threat. During this year's super outbreak back in April, there were 336 confirmed tornadoes in just several days resulting in over 300 lives lost." Reid quickly rambled off, attempting to distract the team from how distracted JJ was. He'd been watching her look out the window until they hit the last patch of turbulence and he could see her looking out the window again right now out of the corner of his eye. He knew how intensely private JJ was sometimes, even with the team, and he hoped that they took it to be her watching the ominous skies instead of what he knew it to be, her tucking away the last of her worries for Henry so that she could work effectively on this case and they could get home.

At that point Garcia came on one of their large monitors.

"Hey, tell us somethin' good mama." Morgan said from his spot leaning against the credenza.

"Okay, so local PD have identified your victims…" Garcia said as she began to brief the team with the most recent information.

"Well now, he could be keeping the body parts for some sort of fetish." Emily interjected as the team began theorizing based on what Garcia had been able to tell them.

"Okay, eww. That is my cue. I'm here if you need me with my binary machines that don't say gross things." Garcia said just before reaching out and using her keyboard to shut down the webcam.

No sooner had Garcia disconnected than the jet hit another patch of turbulence. Each of the team members reacted drastically different.

Emily sat calmly in her seat, keeping her body loose and tension free so as to best ride out the jostling to her body.

Morgan tightly gripped the credenza he was half sitting on, half leaning against so as not to end up on the floor.

Hotch braced himself against the table making his best effort to be immovable.

JJ inhaled and exhaled deeply with each shift of the plane, wanting to remain calm.

Reid calmly reached down into his lap, buckling his seatbelt as he watched Rossi who sat directly across the table from him squeeze the armrests tightly while reaching out to brace himself against the table, close his eyes, and make the sign of the cross, "I didn't know you were a bad flier."

"I'm not, I just hate turbulence." Rossi replied.

"You know turbulence very rarely causes planes to crash." Reid explained, trying to provide Rossi with the logic and reason to relax for the remainder of their flight.

JJ turned to look at Spence as she bounced slightly in her seat, unable to believe that he was choosing now, when they were enduring turbulence to give an impromptu lesson on the safety of flight and how turbulence "rarely" caused planes to crash.

"That does me absolutely no good at the moment, thank you." Rossi replied slightly tense, his expression becoming more tense as Reid continued his educational rambling.

"What we really need to worry about are microbursts. The sudden downburst of air associated with thunderstorms, but a small craft like this, if we hit one of those at the wrong altitude, poeuwch" he said making a sound effect as he brought his hands together, "we'll pulverize."

"I beg of you to make him stop," Rossi said as he turned to look at JJ.

JJ sat mouth wide open, shaking her head in slight shock at Spence's words for a moment, struggling to think of how she could stop Spence's rambling at the moment. Then she reached her hand over to Spence's lap and found his hand. She squeezed, getting his attention.

Spence turned to look at JJ as she tugged lightly on his hand.

JJ raised her eyebrows at him the same as she would if he was giving Henry details about something that he shouldn't.

Spence's eyes widened. "Too much information?" he asked, taking a quick glance around the cabin at the varying tenseness and paleness of their faces, and then back to JJ's face.

JJ merely nodded and took another calming breath. Here's to hoping that their jet wasn't pulverized by a microburst before they could even make it to Kansas. Now she really wished she'd asked Garcia about ruby slippers.

Reid grimaced as he replayed his conversation with Rossi in his head, this time picking up on the body language and other indicators that he should have caught during the original conversation, but missed due to his enthusiasm to share what he knew. "Sorry," he replied somewhat meekly as he attempted to pull his hand back from JJ's making a note to watch his ramblings in the future.

JJ hung onto Spence's hand, refusing to let go of her lifeline to calmness as this point as the jet shuddered yet again. The rest of the team merely nodded, anxiously awaiting the blessed feeling of the jet touching down on the tarmac and taxiing to a stop so they could get off and on blessed solid unmoving ground.

The team gathered in the area of the Police precinct that had been set aside for them compiling and assembling the various puzzle pieces they'd been able to collect throughout the day in their various assignments hoping that they were able to get a clear picture of who this unsub was and why he was doing what he was doing as quickly as possible.

Hotch stood, hands on his hips, his suit jacket pushed back, displaying his holster as the team stood in a circle unconsciously mimicking their own round table back in Quantico. "Okay, what do we know? There is another major system expected tonight. That's going to be an issue if his MO is connected to the weather."

Morgan shook his head. "Then we have a problem. These storms… they mean somethin' to this guy. One of my buddies in college that I played ball with was from Indiana. He used to tell me about how he and his boys would get drunk and chase storms… he talked about how it was as close as they could get to the true power of God… I think that's what this guy is trying to do, whatever his reason."

Emily nodded in agreement with Morgan as she articulated her opinion. "Based on what we saw this guy is mobile. He has to have his own mode of transportation… and he's impulsive. He's probably young and a loner with nothing to lose."

"That would make sense." JJ said, "Jason Meredith and Eric Janelle were both street kids. Our unsub was probably one too. With the street smarts these kids had they would have seen right through anybody trying to be a poser."

"Both victims displayed a protective nature as well and something about that might be speaking to this unsub." Hotch added then he turned to Reid. "What did you and Rossi find out from the ME?"

"The ME noticed matching blunt force trauma on each of the victims' heads as well as alcohol and dextromethorphan in their systems." Reid began to explain.

"Dextrometho what now?" Morgan asked.

Rossi gave a small smirk. It felt good to be back within the folds of the team after his short time off. Hopefully Reid and Morgan would get back to their prank war soon. God knows they could all use the levity after cases like these. He could tell they'd mutually decided to put it on hold out of respect for him and what he was going through with Carolyn's death. "Cough syrup. It's a cheap high when you're in the situation these kids were. The damage was mostly consistent with tornado type injuries other than the limbs being chopped off post-mortem with a dull axe or cleaver based on what the stumps looked like."

"Sexual assault was inconclusive" Reid added on matter of factly, "but there were anti-mortem ligature marks on the remaining limbs so the unsub is definitely holding his victims for a time period prior to killing them."

"He's gets them drunk and high, restrains them, kills them, and cleaves off a limb as a souvenir…" Rossi interjected.

"But it's not about torture." JJ pondered, "He's killing them before cutting off their limbs."

"And why keep the severed limbs as a souvenir? What or who is he trying to remember?" Reid asked as the team all stood looking at each other. Most times early on in the case there were unfortunately more questions than answers and more often than not even the answers they did get only led to more questions.

They walked across the hotel lobby as a cohesive group, heading directly for the elevators, too tired to think about anything else. They'd managed to make it to their hotel just as the winds picked up and the storm began to move in.

The silence in the elevator was palpable as it climbed to their floor, each of the profilers lost in their own thoughts. The elevator chimed as it reached their floor and the doors opened.

"Get some sleep and we'll start fresh first thing tomorrow." Hotch said over his shoulder as he stepped out into the hallway and headed towards his room.

JJ's phone was in her hand and dialing as Spence unlocked and opened the door to their room. "Will, sorry… yes I know how late it is…" she grimaced as she glanced down at her watch having forgotten about how late it was in conjunction with the time difference. "I just… how is Henry?" she asked anxiously as Spence shut, locked, and latched the door.

Spence turned to look at JJ, watching her in concern, knowing how difficult it was for her to be away from Henry while he was sick. His eyebrows rose, silently asking how his Godson was as JJ turned to look at him.

JJ nodded in response to Spence and sighed in relief. "That's great Will. I'm glad his fever finally broke. Is he asleep?" she asked, hoping for once that even though it was late that Henry was awake just so she could speak to him and hear for herself that her baby boy was feeling better. "Oh… well will you give him a good night kiss for me?" she asked in response to Will telling her their son was asleep. "Thanks. I'll guess I'll talk to you tomorrow then. Good night."

"How's my little buddy doing?" Spence asked, stepping in close and wrapping his arms around JJ.

JJ sagged into Spence's arms. "His fever broke and he went down a lot easier than he did last night." The young mother said, relief seeping into her voice.

"I'm glad Henry's feeling better. Now we just need to get this case wrapped up so we can go home and see him. I'm sure he can't wait to go outside and play with Sunny again." Spence said, his chin resting on the crown of JJ's head.

JJ smiled at the mental image of Henry playing with his puppy. "We should try to get a few hours of sleep… or when this case is over we won't be able to keep up with them." JJ yawned as she stepped back out of Spence's arms and dropped her go bag on bed, quickly ruffling through until she found Spence's old Caltech t-shirt and her toiletry bag.

At that moment a loud boom of thunder rattled the windows and a streak of lightning lit up the dark half of the hotel room as bright as day.

"Easier said than done." Spence replied as dropped his own bag on the bed next to JJ's and pulled out his own Dopp kit. Then he joined JJ in getting ready for bed; though, between the storm brewing outside, trying to figure out the elusive details of the case, and thoughts of Henry it didn't seem like either of them would be getting much sleep.

"We need to give the profile." Hotch said as he came into the bullpen of the precinct, his coat tails fluttering behind him like a cape.

"Are you sure we're ready to do that?" Morgan asked as he looked between Hotch, Rossi, and Reid who'd all just returned from the most recent crime scene where the dismembered arms, legs, and head of the latest victim had been discovered early that morning.

"He's accelerating and the weather's driving him to do it." Hotch replied, "Reid noticed that it looks like our unsub isn't taking bodies apart, he's putting one together based on the body parts that have been taken so far."

"Okay, but why?" Morgan asked.

"We figure that out and we'll find our unsub." Rossi replied as he stood with his hands tucked into the back pockets of his jeans.

Hotch nodded in agreement, "So, white male, mid to late 20's, mobile…"

"He's traveling pretty far to carry out this obsession with the storms. It's probably a beat up rusted from the elements truck or a van and he has to be living out of it." Emily added as the team went over what they knew and made inferences about who the unsub was based on what they knew.

Rossi nodded along. "He's going to need a lot of salt and ice. Those body parts are getting ripe fast."

"And he has to pay for it all… and gas. He's got to be a day laborer or handy man to make money. He wouldn't be able to hold down a regular job." Morgan said as they looked at the murder board, making sure they didn't miss anything that would help them narrow down the profile before letting Lieutenant Beasley know to pull all the on duty officers together.

"Sorry," JJ said softly, pulling her cell phone off her hip as the rest of the team continued to give the profile while she silenced her phone. Then her phone buzzed with an incoming text message and she glanced down to see the 'CALL ME ASAP 911' text from Will. "We think he's using the weather as a forensic counter measure to destroy evidence," she said, trying to maintain her focus on the case, "but we also think he might be some sort of symphorophiliac…" she trailed off as her phone buzzed again.

"I'm sorry symphoro-what?" Lieutenant Beasley asked.

"Uh, excuse me." JJ said, glancing down at the new text message from Will and then up at Hotch before abruptly heading towards the hallway.

Hotch watched JJ until she reached the hallway, concerned because the only times he'd seen JJ leave during the presentation of a profile had been when she was the media liaison and there was breaking news or she was being called with details… but JJ wasn't the teams media liaison anymore, and that left him concerned for his newest profiler.

Reid couldn't help but track JJ as she headed for privacy of the hallway. He'd heard her phone ring and buzz twice. Given the circumstances at home, he couldn't help but be concerned for both JJ and Henry; however, somehow he managed to refocus back on the profile.

Emily quickly filled the gap, "Symphorophiliacs… they're sexually aroused by disaster, usually fires or traffic accidents. In this case, the weather must enhance his excitement."

"He hunts street kids, so he may be from a similar background," Morgan explained, "and he's most likely uneducated but he's charming enough to be able to engage his victims."

"We'll talk to the press." Hotch said as he looked around at all the officers gathered. "You should warn any transient kids you might know. As this weather gets worse, so will the unsub."

"Since when is a seizure fine?" JJ asked on the verge of tears and her voice nearly breaking; only her experience with the BAU enabled her to reel her emotions in and keep it together.

"The doctor said it's normal for kids his age." Will said as he leaned against the hospital wall. He gave Elle a tired nod as she walked up next to him and handed him one of the cups of coffee that she was holding. She ran her free hand up and down Will's arm offering the little bit of comfort she could at the moment.

"But his fever broke." JJ replied, frustration evident in her voice as she tried to understand from over a thousand miles away what exactly had happened to her precious baby boy.

"Yeah," Will drawled, "it spiked again."

JJ closed her eyes, silently praying for Henry to truly be okay, "Did you give him his medicine this morning?" she asked in a harsh tone of voice, lashing out at the only person available right now.

"No, he was okay." Will replied shaking his head.

"Did he feel warm?" JJ asked.

"No," Will replied softly.

"Well you checked right?" JJ questioned, continuing her desperate interrogation.

"JJ," Will whispered as he stood up from leaning against the wall, "of course I did. What 're you tryin' to say?"

"Nothing, I" JJ responded sharply and then caught herself. She closed her eyes and took half a second to remind herself that Henry was Will's son too and that he had to be just as concerned and worried as she was. Taking it out on Will right now wasn't fair, "Where is he now?"

"He's restin'. We're just waitin' for some paperwork and then we're gonna go home." He explained.

JJ exhaled a long breath. "Okay, I'll call you when my flight arrives."

"You don't have to do that." Will said softly.

"Henry's sick," JJ expelled the last of her frustration with those words, "I'm coming home. Call you later." She continued in a soft voice feeling nearly defeated by the situation and the unknowing.

As JJ hung up her phone, Hotch came around the corner of the hallway followed closely by Spence.

"What's wrong?" Hotch asked in a concerned tone of voice.

JJ paused, looking back and forth between Hotch and Spence. "It's, uh Henry. He had a febrile seizure. Will took him to the ER. He's fine… apparently it's totally normal. Look I gotta get back home." She explained, stumbling over her words as she tried to allay all the fears and worst case scenarios running through her mind.

"Of course, anything I can do?" Hotch asked.

"Can I borrow the jet?" JJ asked sheepishly, having a feeling the answer would be no, but still taking a shot anyway.

"I think the budget oversight committee might not appreciate my generosity." Hotch replied solemnly.

"Yeah, well worth a shot right?" JJ said, attempting to smile.

"Check in and let us know everything's alright." Hotch said and then turned to Reid who was standing next to him. "I'm sorry Reid, but I need you here." Knowing that his youngest profiler wished to go with JJ, but also knowing that he couldn't afford to be down two profilers with way this unsub was escalating.

Reid swallowed and nodded in understanding, his eyes not leaving JJ's.

Hotch took a deep breath. "Alright, I'll give both a moment." He said excusing himself as he turned and headed back to the rest of the team.

Once Hotch rounded the corner and they had a modicum of privacy, Spence stepped forward wrapping his arms around JJ. "You were right you know. Febrile seizures happen to children between the ages of six months five years of age. They only happen with an elevated fever, but they don't necessarily occur when the fever is at its peak. Infants who are younger than 15 months when they have their first febrile seizure are more likely to have repeat occurrences than older children. There's no evidence that they cause brain damage, a decrease in IQ, or learning problems. Febrile seizures aren't epilepsy and there's only a slight increased risk for developing epilepsy compared to the general population. Henry is going to be fine." He whispered into her ear hoping to have given her a list of reasons not to worry about their little boy.

JJ pressed her face into the crook of Spence's neck, allowing herself a brief moment of comfort, a soft sob escaping her lips; then conscious of the fact that they were in the middle of a police precinct on a case, she pulled away, wiping her eyes as she stepped back out of Spence's arms. "Thanks," she said reaching out and taking one of his hands and squeezing.

Spence, "He's going to be okay JJ… I have to go talk to Hotch about how I think the unsub might have gotten started… but you'll let me know when you're headed to the airport?" he asked, tipping his head as he studied her, concern for her radiating off him.

JJ nodded and gave Spence's hand one final squeeze before turning and walking down the hall, taking the back way into the bullpen so as not to distract the rest of the team from working on the case while she went to find a flight home.

Spence turned on his heels and went back around the corner, pausing at the table to pick up a white board marker. He quickly shook the marker, causing it to click as the ball moved inside the barrel. Then, he stepped up to the clear glass board and began drawing a stick figure missing a head and a leg.

Hotch noticed that Reid was back from talking to JJ and turned to watch, crossing his arms knowing that whatever insight Reid had to the case would certainly help move it forward. The rest of the team noticed that Reid was at the case board with Hotch watching intently and turned, walking over to see what new development Reid had.

Once Reid had the stick figure drawn on the white board, he turned to face the team, "I've been thinking… the vast majority of unsubs with this MO aren't driven by the killing, they're fascinated by the body parts… and because of that I think I know how this unsub may have gotten started." He explained cutting to the quick in an un-Reid-like fashion, but driven by the need to finish this case as quickly as possible so that he could get home to JJ and Henry as well as having learned from the experience on the jet the previous morning.

"Who's that with Hotch?" JJ asked as she came around from behind the desk. Since her attempts to get home were futile with all the flights being cancelled because of the weather. She might as well rejoin the team in working the case so they could catch the unsub and all go home.

"There's been another abduction, a boy name Shaun Rutledge; it's his younger brother Billy." Reid explained as they all watched Hotch shake hands with the parents of the latest missing boy.

"Says a young white guy in an RV attacked them with a crowbar in the rain." Morgan added, turning to look at JJ.

"He's also changed his victim selection criteria," Reid continued, "the boy he grabbed gets straight As, plays football, even volunteers at his church."

"So he wanted him so badly he was willing to leave a witness?" JJ asked as she turned back to look at Spence.

Reid nodded. "Which suggests he's losing touch with reality and his delusions are starting to take over."

"What is it about this kid that's so attractive to him though?" Morgan asked.

"He's teenage and Caucasian like the others, right?" JJ questioned, wanting to get up to speed so that she could help.

Morgan gave a subtle nod as JJ glanced his way.

"We also think that a sexual element might not be at play." Reid said as they all stood looking through the window of the office where Hotch sat with Shaun Rutledge's family and interviewing the younger brother Billy.

"So then what the hell is driving this guy?" Morgan asked.

As JJ watched the sad expression on the young blond haired Billy, she couldn't help but be reminded of a younger blond haired boy a thousand miles to the east. And then it clicked for her… the expression on poor Billy's face… "Maybe it's love," JJ said turning around to look at Spence and Morgan, "What if he's trying to recreate someone he loves?"

"It is an emotion that drives us to extremes." Morgan said thoughtfully.

"If he's trying to recreate someone, then it's probably someone that he loved and lost." Reid added to the conversation.

"Wait," JJ said turning from the window again, "you said he was with his big brother, right?" she asked as she looked back and forth between Morgan and Spence.

At that moment Hotch came out from interviewing Billy Rutledge with the composite sketch of the unsub that the sketch artist had been able to put together from Billy's description. "Billy was able to give us a description," he said handing the sketch over to Morgan.

Morgan nodded as he moved around the conference table and picked up the receiver on the phone. "And JJ probably came up with the key to us narrowing down who this guy is," he said as he dialed Garcia's number from memory.

"Holla at your girl." Garcia said as she tapped her phone, answering it on speaker so she and her babies could make beautiful magic together and ferret out the evil doer in his tracks.

"Baby girl," Morgan drawled, resting his hands on the table and rocking in place, "I need those big beautiful brains of yours."

Garcia shook her hands, "Jazz hands ready, gimme." She answered preparing to let her fingers do the walking.

Step by step they walked Garcia through narrowing down the data until they had their unsub, Travis James. Morgan held up the composite and compared it to the photo Garcia sent to his tablet; it was an almost definite match.

As Garcia proceeded to tell them the sad tale of Travis James' life, starting with the loss of his brother and his mother in a tornado in Enid Oklahoma, the power went out at the Police station in Kansas leaving the team in the dark. The power came back on and Garcia continued filling them in on the harsh circumstances of Travis James' young life. He and five other boys had testified against a known pedophile, Roscoe Gulch. The perv had been acquitted; however, Travis' older brother Tucker and he had gone to confront him just before the tornado hit… a fight ensued… and only Travis escaped the trailer to a nearby culvert, watching as the trailer and his brother were swept away.

"Garcia, how old was Tucker when he was killed?" Hotch asked, the obsession with the storms beginning to make sense.

"17, he was found in pieces. They had to use DNA and dental records to ID him." Garcia answered sadly. "Travis was placed in foster care."

As Garcia talked about Tucker being found in pieces, Reid ambled over to the window, focusing on the weather outside… the lightning… what was it about the lightning… loss of a loved one… bodies in pieces… one piece scavenged from a mortuary… lightning… lightning… the power of God… "It's Frankenstein." He exhaled in realization.

"What?" Morgan asked as he and Hotch turned around to look at him and JJ stood up from her seat at the table, stepping closer.

"The unsub isn't just trying to put his brother back together, he's trying to bring him back from the dead." Reid explained, suddenly all the pieces of the case falling into place. "He believes that tornadoes have the power to take life, so conversely they should also be able to restore it."

"I'll pick up Rossi and Prentiss on the way." Hotch said, realizing that Reid was right. "Come on, let's go."

Morgan shook his head as he, JJ, and Reid split off from Hotch, climbing into one of the SUVs together. He'd never tease his friend about his love of old monster movies ever again. "How does Frankenstein end?" Morgan asks, glancing in the back seat and then putting the SUV in drive as they follow Hotch in the other SUV out of the parking lot.

A half-smile lit JJ's face momentarily that she knew something that Morgan was expecting Spence to answer. "The villagers end up burning the mill where they have the monster trapped and then Frankenstein's father toasts his son's marriage with hopes for a future grandchild." JJ answered looking up at Morgan from her tablet where she was pulling up the local weather so they could see where they'd need to go.

"Wait, I thought Frankenstein was the monster." Morgan said slightly confused.

"Common misconception, Frankenstein is the doctor who builds the monster… and JJ's partially right. That's how the 1931 movie ended, but in the book that all iterations of Frankenstein and his monster are based on, Victor Frankenstein dies and his monster weeps over his body. After the monster shares the sorrow of his immense solitude, suffering, hatred, and remorse with the story's narrator, he shares that with his creator dead he can end his suffering as well."

JJ's eyebrows rose on her forehead. It seemed that the book version of Frankenstein's monster was not so unlike so many of the unsubs they chased. Seeking revenge for the wrongs committed against them, redemption, forgiveness, a way to make things right again… they, like Frankenstein's monster just went about it in the wrong way.

Morgan tightened his grip on the steering wheel and his jaw, hoping for Shaun Rutledge's sake that they managed to find the unsub before Shaun's head became the final piece of the unsub's attempt at reanimating his brother Tucker.

Everyone in the storm cellar was left gasping for breath in the wake of their rush to get underground as they listened to the howling winds of the tornado raging directly above, no doubt in any of their minds how truly fortunate they were and just how close they'd cut it.

JJ stared at the floor, disbelief in her eyes at how close they'd come to being blown away like the unsub… and it made her ever that much more aware of what the important things were as she fumbled on the bench between them for Spence's hand and gripped it tightly on finding it.

Spence squeezed JJ's hand tightly in return, letting her know he was still here… he was holding on and he wasn't letting go. He breathed deeply, his head tipping back to rest on the cinder block wall at his back in the realization that Havelock Ellis was right, all the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.

"So weather's supposed to break tomorrow." JJ said as she sat in the darkened bullpen of the police precinct, exhaustion seeping into her voice, "We should be home sometime in the afternoon. I'll call and let you know for sure."

"Didju at least catch the guy?" Will asked as he sat on his bed next to Elle.

"Yeah… sort of, it was kind of weird." JJ sighed, raising her hand to wrap around Spence's as he stepped up behind her, resting one hand on her shoulder after setting her cup of coffee on the desk behind her. He set down his own cup of coffee and grabbed a nearby chair, pulling it over to sit down next to JJ, his hand remaining clasped in hers as he removed it from her shoulder.

"You alright?" Will asked, realizing how much of a toll of this took on his ex-girlfriend and how he'd never respected just how difficult it was for her. They'd been broken up over a year now and he was still making realizations about all the reasons they just hadn't been right for each other.

"Yeah, I'm fine," JJ said casting a sidelong glance at Spence, knowing they'd be talking later either in the privacy of their hotel room, or when they finally got home, "it's just…. been a really long day." She said with a sigh as she rolled her head trying to release the tension coiled in her shoulders after their ordeal. "Listen, I'm… really sorry about earlier," JJ apologized, knowing that while she and Will had separated on as friendly of terms as possible in the end, it was still hard not to fall into the old habits of their prior relationship under pressure… it was something they were going to have to continue to work on.

"Yeah, me too." Will answered, realizing in hindsight that his passive aggressive handling of letting JJ know that Henry was sick and in the ER had not helped the situation or their relationship. It seemed that they still had a ways to go in learning to co-parent effectively, but hopefully them both admitting they were partially at fault was a good start.

"So, is he uh still up?" JJ asked, sniffling slightly, leaning into Spence's chest as he shifted their chairs allowing them to be closer.

Will let go of Elle's hand and stood up from the bed. "Yeah, he says he's not goin' to sleep 'till he gets story time." He said, crossing the hall to Henry's bedroom. "He's a strong little guy, but he's exhausted."

JJ sat up, lining up her body and Spence's as she tipped the phone to rest between both of their ears as she heard Will put the phone on his end on speaker and speak softly to Henry, asking him to guess who was on the phone.

"MOMMY!" echoed Henry's adorably excited response through the phone.

"Hi! Hi, little man." JJ answered, just the sound of her son's voice reviving and cheering her. "How, how are you? I heard you um…" she paused, not wanting to scare Henry, "went to the doctor."

Spence rubbed a hand up and down JJ's back, trying to comfort her, knowing how upset she'd been and still was that she hadn't been there for Henry when he'd needed and probably wanted Mommy the most.

"You coming home Mommy?" Henry asked softly, having already gotten over and forgotten the scary time at the hospital earlier in the day.

"Not yet buddy, tomorrow. I promise. But guess who's here with me?" JJ said glancing up at Spence. "Do you want to say hi to Uncle Spence?"

"Una 'pence you come home wit Mommy?" Henry asked, his tiredness detracting from his recently improved language skills.

"Yeah I am." Spence replied with a smile. "So how's my little buddy?"

"I good. You good Unca 'pence?" Henry asked sweetly.

"Yeah, yeah I am Henry." Spence replied, swallowing thickly as he was transported momentarily back to that moment in the storm cellar having narrowly averted death by twister and making a promise to himself that he would never forget all the things that he had to be thankful for… for all the things that he would hold on to tightly. "Hey, I uh heard your Daddy mention something about story time," he said, his voice cracking and knowing how tired Henry must be after everything that he'd been through.

JJ smiled at the interaction between Godfather and Godson. "Are you ready for story time little man?"

"Yeah!" Henry replied eagerly, story time with Mommy at the end of the day was the best.

"Yeah? Okay," JJ answered, the joy of time spent with her son lighting up her face, "Daddy, are you ready?" JJ asked making sure he was prepared with the book. As she heard the pages flip on the other end of the phone she glanced up at Spence, making eye contact with him as she recited Henry's bedtime story from memory, "Bedtime for baby star,"

Spence leaned down and kissed JJ on the forehead, and then held her close as she continued Henry's story.

"Once there was a baby star, he lived up near the son. And every night at bedtime that baby star wanted to have some fun." JJ said, swallowing back her tears, "he would shine and shine and fall and shoot and twinkle oh so bright." She smiled thinking of how fitting the description of the baby star was for her own baby boy, "And he said, 'Mommy, I'll run away if you make me say good night.' And then his Mommy kissed him on his sparkly nose and said, 'no matter where you go, no matter where you are, no matter how big you grow, and even if you stray far, I'll love you forever because you're always my baby star.'" JJ said, the tears she'd managed to hold back until now cresting the rim of her eyes and hovering just on the brink of falling.

"Night Mommy." Henry said in a soft voice.

"Good night," JJ whispered in reply and then hung up the phone, turning into Spence's chest as she did so and let the tears finally fall.