Disclaimer: Christmas has come and gone and yet I still do not own Criminal Minds or any of its characters. Santa obviously decided I hadn't been good enough.

Author's Note(s): That's right, folks. I'm back with another story instalment. Now, this actually follows on from the last piece of fanfiction I wrote, namely 'Flawless' (an uninspired title I know). However it is not necessary for you to have read it, though I would recommend doing so as I will mention things that happened in it a good few times. Basic gist for anybody who has not read 'Flawless', JJ and Prentiss got kidnapped by crazy unsub, took a bit of a beating and then got rescued (an uninspired plot line I know). Oh yea and Reid decided to quit drugs at the end.

This story will follow the same format of the first, meaning that I will switch character perspectives for each chapter. I love all of them so I can't only write from one person's point of view without wanting to move on. Keeps the story interesting I feel and stops me from getting bored.

Anywho, that's enough rambling from me. I hope you enjoy the first chapter :).

Easier to Lie
Chapter 1

Three weeks. That was how long it had been. That was how long it had been since JJ, along with her colleague and friend, had been snatched from her hotel room in the middle of the night. It had been three weeks since she had looked upon the face of her abductor and three weeks since he had beaten her almost to the point of unconsciousness. And yet, every night for the past three weeks had been filled with nightmares where his face was all JJ could see. Surely three straight weeks was enough suffering? Surely now after this point JJ would be able to move on and finally get that good nights uninterrupted sleep that she so desperately craved. But alas, it was not meant to be.

JJ woke with a gasp. She quickly shoved the oppressive blankets that pinned her to her bed onto the floor, almost as though it was them that were attacking her and not the man in her dream. As the cold night air hit her skin she immediately regretted her actions and scrambled to the bottom of her bed to retrieve them.

Wrapping the blankets around her thin shoulders, JJ leaned back heavily on her headboard and closed her eyes. She let herself the shiver against the cool air and allowed herself just a few moments of weakness before she would have to carefully fit the mask of professional indifference onto herself ready for work. JJ was fairly sure that everyone saw through her, but it gave her a sense of normalcy that helped to get her though the day.

JJ wondered if Emily was having the same problems. If she was then the older woman was doing a much better job at hiding it than JJ. It made no sense. They had both been taken, both had been through the exact same thing, and yet Emily seemed to have made a quick recovery. In the first two weeks JJ had stayed in Emily' guest room. It was so neither of them had to be alone for a while. But after they had gone back to work, JJ had moved out and back into her own home. At first she had been relieved that she would have her own space and be in familiar settings again, but that feeling quickly faded and for some reason she felt rather lonely.

No matter what time JJ had got up out of bed and went downstairs, Emily was always there before her cooking breakfast for them both. It was an uncanny knack she seemed to have of predicting when JJ would choose rise and would plan her breakfasts to the exact time. Sometimes it had annoyed her slightly, JJ had never been a breakfast type of person and sometimes it was just too early for her to eat. But she would eat the food anyway to make Emily happy. Now she had become used to having breakfast and was forced to add it to her daily routine before she went to work. It was rather a bit of effort when she had just got up in the morning though, JJ wondered how Emily had the energy to keep up making bacon and eggs and other such foods every morning. It was nice to know that someone cared enough to do that for her, especially when they were dealing with their own issues at the same time.

With a small groan, JJ rose from her bed and moved to stand by her window. She gently pushed the curtains aside and gazed wistfully out into the street. It was more peaceful than any street had the right to be when such tragedies where happening in so many other places around the country. Her stare fell onto the lone maple tree that adorned the sidewalk in the middle of a small patch of grass. The last few dying leaves clung hopelessly to their branches as the wind struggled to separate them. It was with a heavy heart that JJ watched a particularly strong gust succeed in dislodging one of the brown leaves from its pitiful twig from which it was so dependant on for life. It fluttered slowly to the ground.

Even though JJ was surrounded by people all day, she had never felt quite so alone before.

It turned out to be one of those days were the sun shone brightly and clearly, and yet outside it was still freezing cold. JJ suspected it was something done purposely by some sort of weather God to lull people into a false sense of security, only for them to find that they had underdressed and would have to fight against the chilly air until they could finally go home again. Luckily, JJ would not be fooled by such trickery, and had wrapped up warmly before going to work.

"Good morning, JJ," said Reid in a tired voice as she passed him on the way to her office.

She glanced up at him and fixed a false smile on her face, "Good morning."

With no small amount of surprise, JJ noted that Reid looked like he had not slept in several years. Dark bags hung under his eyes and if possible he looked even thinner than he normally did. One of the good things about being a woman was the fact that JJ could use makeup to hide her exhaustion, Reid had no such luxury. Rather than mention it though, she merely nodded and carried on her way to the interminable heap of files that awaited her.

As expected, when JJ opened the door to her office she was greeted by a pile of work that seemed to have multiplied over night. Whenever she seemed to be making headway with it, more was simply added. Sometimes JJ really hated her job.

She took off her coat and hung it over the back of the door. Might as well get comfortable, she thought. It was going to be a long day.

JJ felt her entire body stiffen as she held in her hands a case that could not be ignored. Words could not describe how much she didn't feel ready to be carted off to another state and track down yet another serial killer. She didn't feel quite ready to leave the comfort and safety of her own home again just yet. But she quickly put these feelings of doubt to one side. She refused to allow her emotions control over her.

It was not difficult to round up the team into the briefing room. They had become so accustomed to the grim way JJ would walk out of her office with a case file that they knew when they were needed before she had even opened her mouth.

Now she stood before them all, a remote control in hand and the pictures of two couples on the screen behind her. Each of them stared at either her or the screen as she opened her mouth to speak. Well, everyone but Reid who was gazing intently at his hands as though there was something of immense interest on them that he couldn't quite drag his attention from.

"Four victims in two weeks," JJ began, pleased to note that her voice was perfectly steady and hinted at none of the trepidation she was feeling, "The first couple where found in a park in the middle of a small town just outside of New York and the second couple were found in their car just outside the same park."

JJ pointed the remote control at the screen and clicked the arrow button twice. A montage of pictures appeared displaying the mutilated corpses of the four victims.

"There are signs of torture on the two women before they were stabbed to death shortly after. The men were both killed by a single stab to the heart. The coroner says that as the deaths were so close together it is impossible to tell whether the man or woman was killed first in either case."

Morgan tapped his pen on the desk and said thoughtfully, "So the women are the primary target, and the men are just the afterthought?"

"No, he could just as easily target women alone rather than go to the trouble of seeking out couples. He needs the man to be there," Hotch said to no one in particular.

"We won't know for sure until we see the crime scene, but the killer looks to be organised," Reid began, "If he carries a knife around then may be hunting for his victims, maybe even stalking them before he kills them."

"But look how messy the crime scene is," Morgan interjected, "Organised killers tend to be cleaner and more precise. The marks on the women's faces, they don't correspond. There is no method to them."

Hotch was nodding almost imperceptibly at what both profilers were saying, "We can talk more about it on the plane," he said, effectively cutting off whatever Reid was about to say, "Wheels up in an hour."

Morgan and Reid left the room quickly, but just before Emily left, Hotch caught her shoulder.

She flinched at the contact, and even though it was barely noticeable, JJ knew Hotch realised and he quickly withdrew his hand before speaking.

"Emily, sit down please. You too JJ," he turned to look at JJ, his dark eyes unreadable.

Putting her file down on the table, JJ slowly obeyed, not at all liking where she suspected this was going. By her stiff movements JJ guessed Emily was equally reluctant to do as she was told, but her face betrayed nothing as she sat down in the chair next to JJ so they were both facing Hotch.

"Is there a problem, sir?" Emily asked after no one spoke for a moment.

Hotch paused before taking the seat opposite them, he spoke slowly as though selecting each of his words very carefully, "I know this has come quickly, and I will understand if you want to stay here for this case."

"No thank you," JJ said quickly, "We'll be fine."

Hotch pursed his lips, he had obviously been expecting this answer even if he didn't entirely approve of it, he turned to Emily, "Is this how you feel too?"

"It is, sir," she said.

Putting his hands on the table to push himself up, Hotch nodded and said, "I will see you in an hour then."

JJ felt a great surge of relief when he had left the room, it was very unnerving to be under the careful scrutiny of Aaron Hotchner. She could only imagine how intimidating it must be to be on the receiving end of one of his interrogations. As she stood to leave the room, JJ's eyes briefly met Emily's, but they both quickly looked elsewhere and went their separate ways.

Author's Note(s): It aggrieves me to inform you that I shan't be posting every day like I did with 'Flawless'. I'm actually still on holiday and it's taken me two weeks to write this chapter. For a holiday I've been very active and I'm always too tired when I get back. I do have half of chapter 2 written though so hopefully it will only be a couple of days. Those of you who kept up with my last fic know how hard I worked to get in a chapter as often as humanly possible, so I hope you'll believe me when I say that I shall try my utmost to post as frequently as I am able. I get home in about a week anyway so provided my social life doesn't take a dramatic turn for the better you can expect regular updates from me :)

I didn't actually want to post this until I got back and could update every day…but I'm weak and having a chapter and not posting it was bugging me.

Constructive criticism is highly appreciated. It won't offend me in any way and will only serve to improve my writing, which can only be a good thing, right?

Next chapter is from Hotch's point of view :)