Summary: Nothing will fix this but death and destruction. No one will escape. Not even those on the peripheral… Is there such a thing as "peripheral"?

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds. I'm merely playing with the fandom. If I did own Criminal Minds, JJ would never have left the show because of her new position (Hullo, potential for use? What?) and there would be more JJ/Hotch (Cuz I'm an obsessive shipper – so sue me – and they're the one I pick out of all the possible ships).

Rating: K+ for now. This may go up as the story progresses and plot takes over.

A/N & Warning: This follows a few weeks or so from the final scene in episode 6.18 "Lauren". If you haven't seen it yet, I strongly suggest you do not start reading this yet. Not quite sure how this is going to play out – it's my first Criminal Minds fic – but I'm curious, so let's take a ride. Be patient, though, the first few short chapters will come fast and furious because if I'd combined them, it'd have broken up my focus. You'll see what I mean. LOL!

Decimate

"If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us shall we not revenge?"
- William Shakespeare

Somewhere

He couldn't say that he was enjoying life, per say, but he knew that the decision to leave the BAU and Quantico behind all those years ago was the right one as he could finally feel the ghost of a genuine smile flit across his face.

He folded the first letter in a multitude of letters postmarked from fairly recent all the way back very nearly five years ago. Carefully, the paper was returned to the envelope. With a hand that felt steadier than it had in a long time, Jason Gideon picked up the next letter.

In a moment of fatherly-like weakness, he'd sent a single text with a simple post office box listed. It hadn't surprised him that when he'd finally returned from his self-imposed exile that he'd had a box stuffed full of letters with a return address of Quantico, Virginia.

This time the smile widened, even if just fractionally. Jason knew that it was Spencer Reid's way of saying he was missed and welcome back. As he opened the envelope, he couldn't help but think that Spencer wrote a narrative like he usually spoke – intelligent, rambling, if a little awkward.

Scanning over the paper, Jason realized he'd grabbed a letter out of order. He'd fast forwarded suddenly… and what he saw made him frown. While David Rossi had integrated well into the group, Hotch had very nearly been killed, Haley Hotchner was dead, Penelope Garcia had been shot and almost died, and Jennifer Jareau was no longer with the team. There were more instances Spencer outlined, but he'd caught the major point of it all. When he'd driven off into the figurative sunset to attempt to find what was left of his humanity he'd conveniently forgotten that the rest of the BAU would soldier bravely on. And sometimes that meant there would be casualties. Another fact he'd conveniently forgotten.

With a sigh, he ran a hand over his eyes as his not-so-steady-anymore hand returned the letter back to its envelope again. He paused for a moment, staring at that mocking pile of paper in front of him. The question rang through his head as he contemplated his next move. Did he want to know?

Yes, he did. His hands quickly picked up the envelopes and he sifted through them all to find the most recent postmark. When he found it he made a mental note that it wasn't Spencer's typical handwriting. Still, the return address was listed as Quantico and could only assume it had been someone else on the team deciding to make their presence known. Quickly, he split open the envelope and took out a single piece of paper – another oddity in comparison to the tomes of Spencer's usual rambling.

As he opened the paper and his frowned deepened, he realized that there were a few other things that he'd conveniently forgotten… The paper slipped from his hands to the floor, but his eyes could only stay focused on the big, bold lettering of one simple word.

DEAD.

To be continued…