I made this prologue to explain the semi-confusing timeline I've created for this story and to introduce some original characters.

Please remember that this is my first ever story! So if you'd like to give it a review I would really appreciate the feedback. But please be courteous because I'm new, constructive critisism is fine, but bashing me will only make me hate you!

I want to apologise in advance in case I inadventantly copy anything you have written or material you recognise as someone else's. I did not copy anyone's work intentionally, but it could happen. I can't possibly read everyone's work!

Oh yeah, I sadly don't own Criminal Minds.

A very big thank you goes out to MissdaVinci77 and peace4people. Check them out if you get the chance!

"Pray that your loneliness may spur you into finding something to live for, great enough to die for." -Dag Hammarskjold

First of all I want to thank you for checking out my story. This is my first-ever attempt at a Fan Fiction.

To Live For, To Die For is set pre-series. It takes place before the six agents were killed in Boston.

The series regulars featured in this story are Gideon, Hotch, Morgan, Garcia, and Reid. JJ isn't the BAU's liaison yet at this point, so unfortunately she isn't in this story. Elle Greenaway didn't join the BAU until the second episode, "Compulsion"; therefore Elle isn't in this story either.

I've created four BAU agents. They will be killed by Adrian Bale in Boston along with two other (unnamed) non-BAU F.B.I. agents. So here's a little synopsis of each of the new characters.

Brandie Wilson is a 40 year old wife and mother of 2. Her husband John is also an F.B.I. agent, in the counter-terrorism department. The Wilsons have a 9 year old son named Max and a 5 year old daughter named Megan. Brandie is a red-head with a short pixie-style haircut. She is strong, confident, and is sometimes known to be a bit brash.

Jared Matthews is a 25 year old southern gentleman, accent included! His brown hair is cut short, in a military style. Matthews double majored in criminal justice & psychology in college. He joined the army after college, and was deployed to the Middle East during first few months of Operation Iraqi Freedom as a sniper. In November of 2003, he was shot and almost died, and was discharged. After recovering he joined the F.B.I. He pulled some strings and got a job in the BAU in February, a few months before Spencer joined the team. Matthews sticks to his military lifestyle: he's an early riser, he's very neat, and he always obeys orders.

Ben Harper is a 28 year old with a very laid back demeanor. Harper has his Master's Degree in criminology. In high school, Ben was a model student; he had a 4.0 G.P.A., he played soccer and broke track records. Ben is kind and thoughtful, and he has shaggy dirty-blonde hair. He is newly engaged to Amy Smith, a special ed. teacher, she considers herself the luckiest girl in the world because Ben is 'the perfect man.'

Miguel Rodriguez is 31. His parents have a romantic story. They were both Colombian immigrants, who met while going to college in Florida. It was love at first sight and within two years they were married and had twin sons: Miguel and Mateo. They grew up well-off, going to a private school. The boys grew up bilingual. Mateo was now married and had three kids of his own. Miguel's story wasn't as romantic; at age 18, he got his girlfriend Maria Florez pregnant. He still was able to go to college, but he had to work endless nights to provide for Maria and their daughter Jasmine. Miguel eventually made it to the C.I.A., but Maria was fed up with him always being gone at work so they broke up. Miguel transferred to the F.B.I. and eventually joined the BAU in 2000. Rodriguez only gets to see Jasmine (now in the 7th grade) when they aren't away on cases. He feels she needs more of a fatherly influence as she seems to be growing up too fast for his liking. He wants to be there more for his daughter, but he can't just let his job fall by the wayside, as being in the BAU is a huge accomplishment for someone who was a teenage parent.

(So those four will die in Boston, leaving their children and significant others behind. It's sad that I've created people who will lose loved ones, but I couldn't resist creating families for these characters because the current BAU team seems lonely. JJ and Hotch are the only ones with children, and no one is married!)

So Spencer is new to the BAU, but this isn't his first case. He is very inexperienced and he sometimes has a hard time controlling his anxiety. Other BAU members, especially Morgan, will sometimes tease him, and it affects Reid more than they realize.

The story revolves around a case in which several women have gone missing in and around Evansville, IN. I have been there before, but I'm not that familiar with its geography, so let me know if you find some mistakes involving the setting.

The first few chapters are centered on the case and Reid really isn't as highlighted as some of you might have hoped he would be. But fret not! Later chapters will be very Reid-centric.

Each chapter begins and ends with a quote relating to what's going on in the story.

Again thank you for reading my first ever story. Feedback is much appreciated!