Dark Eyes

A/N: Welcome to my new fic! This is my first attempt at a casefic and it will be darker than my other stories. But there will still be a H/P romance... and it will definitely have its moments of levity.

The town in this fic is completely fictional and if there's any resemblance to any real town then that is purely coincidental. The name of the town is meant to be a small homage to my homeland...

Please enjoy!

I do not and will not ever *sob* own Criminal Minds...

Chapter 1 – Another day, another case.

She was found on a sunny Sunday morning in the end of one of the warmest Aprils Minnesota had seen in quite a while. Her cold naked body had been wrapped in a stained sheet and disposed of in the depths of an alleyway. She laid there haphazardly thrown on the damp ground just like a rag doll that no one wanted to play with anymore.

Just like the woman who had been found more than a month before her, her body showed the black and blue signs of her fate. Her once shiny blonde hair was limp and dirty. Her mangled body that once had been soft and polished was now beat and broken and her once glowing skin was now pale and sallow.

Her face was turned towards the sky but her brown eyes didn't see the sun rise. She would never see the sun again.

The heels of Jennifer Jareau's sensible yet stylish black pumps clicked and clacked against the floor as she walked with swift steps towards the glass doors leading into the bullpen of the BAU. She had done this walk several times before but that meant in no way, shape or form that it ever got any easier. Especially when she had to do it late at night. And not at all when she had to do it directly after the team had come back from yet another lengthy case. But she had no choice. Their presence was very much needed and that left no time for rest.

Emily Prentiss, Derek Morgan and Dr. Spencer Reid were all standing around their desks in the middle of the bullpen. It was late at night and they were the only ones there. By the looks of it they were all getting ready for a night off. Some of them were heading home and some out, maybe to some bar.

Before continuing on her determined journey JJ stopped and turned around facing the other agents. "It's probably best if you wait a while. This is pretty bad..."

Watching as JJ turned and walked off towards the staircase Morgan let out a deep sigh and put his black duffel bag back onto his desk.

"Another day, another case." He huffed to himself and started making his way towards the conference room closely followed by Reid and Emily.

JJ continued up the stairs and stopped outside Aaron Hotchner's office knocking firmly on the door before entering quietly.

"You should see this, Hotch." She said with a sombre voice and handed him a thick brown folder.

Hotch took the proffered folder from her hand, looked it over reading the main entries and returned it to JJ with a stern gaze.

"Gather the team for a briefing, JJ. I'll be there in a couple of minutes."

As JJ left his office Hotch closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths as a way to steel himself and prepare himself for what would inevitably be another long case. He silently cursed whoever was behind this that would keep him away from his son for who knew how many more days.

Closing the door to his office he made his way to the conference room where the rest of the team was already sitting in their respective seats.

He gazed around at the faces of the team he thought of as a family. Morgan was staring at the screen with an annoyed expression. He was clearly peeved at having been robbed of his night off and the possibility of the company of a another warm body and the release that could provide.

Rossi was seated comfortably in the dark leather chair rolling his thumbs showing only a mild interest as he waited for the briefing to begin. He had seen it all before and there wasn't much that could to shake the oldest member of the team.

Reid was fidgeting like he always did. His long fingers were tapping the edge of the round table and his head was jerking between looking at the screen and looking at JJ making his floppy hair swish around his face. He looked impatient to the unfamiliar eye but it was just his body's way of trying to keep up with the speed of his brilliant mind.

Garcia, who today was dressed in a red and orange striped ensemble that made Hotch chuckle inwardly, was looking down at her hands. Presumably she was showing her chipped dark blue nail polish her undivided attention but he knew that she was as always just trying her hardest not to look at the pictures on the screen behind JJ. Trying to save what little innocence she had left.

Finally his eyes rested peacefully on Emily who was sitting with a straight back calmly waiting for JJ to begin. Her eyes held the same warm but determined look that they always did. That look that always made him feel comfortable no matter what the situation.

He made his way over to the table and sat down in his usual seat between Dave and Emily. As he sat down he caught a whiff of Emily's flowery perfume but ignored the lone butterfly trying to flutter through his stomach.

The team was complete and JJ turned on the screen showing four smiling faces.

"Police in Birka, Minnesota needs our help. A little more than a month ago Kelly White's body was found in an alleyway in the city center." With a slight dip of her head she indicated the picture of a laughing redhead on the screen. "She was reported missing by her mother 31 days prior to being found dead."

JJ let her eyes glide over the six focused faces before continuing on.

"Four days before Kelly was found Linda Shelton..." she indicated the only blonde on the screen " ...was reported missing by her husband." Taking a deep breath JJ continued. "Four days ago Linda was found dead in the same area as Kelly. Two days before she was found a third woman, Mary-Anne Nylund, was also reported missing by her husband. Yesterday a fourth woman, Denise Carlson, never came home from her yoga class. Local police are desperate for our help. The lead detective is certain that they have a serial and I have to agree." JJ finished looking at Hotch.

"So do I." Hotch picked up. "This is the work of the same unsub and he is escalating. He's become bolder taking two women only a few days apart and we can't count on him waiting a month before he kills them."

"Maybe he has to." Reid piped up. "Maybe he can't kill them any sooner. He might have some sort of ritual that takes a month to complete."

"That might be the case." Hotch agreed. "But I'm not taking any chances on this. The sooner we find him the better."

"What was the cause of death?" Morgan asked his eyes still firmly fixed on the four women on the screen.

JJ pressed the button switching to a photo of Kelly White's lifeless body. "Blunt force trauma to the head. That was the direct cause of death but when she was found she was covered in bruises. He beat them to death." JJ sighed.

"Okay, let's all go home and try to get some sleep. We'll be needing it." Hotch looked around the room at the members of his team. "Wheels up at 8 am. It's a two hour plane ride and we'll use that time to continue going over the case." With that he gave them all a look that told them that he was expecting them all to leave.

Glancing at her alarm clock Emily groaned as the red numbers told her that it was 2 am and even if she fell asleep in the next few minutes she'd only get four hours of sleep. Not that she got much more when they were away on a case and she could usually run on less. But they had just come back from a week long case and she really needed the rest.

Letting her head fall back onto the pillow Emily squeezed her eyes shut willing herself to doze off. But no sleep came. Whirling before her eyes was instead the chiseled face of her boss. His dark emotion filled eyes. His strong jaw and the rarely seen dimples. Sighing to herself she tried pushing Aaron Hotchner away but he wouldn't leave. He never left.

The first time he had highjacked one of her dreams was around six months earlier. A few months after she had found him alone in a hospital bed. At first it was just that one dream and she'd brushed it off as concern for a close friend. She couldn't even remember the dream. She just knew that it had starred him.

Then a few weeks later he'd crept into one of her dreams again. After that she only had to wait a week for his next appearance. And then visits from him in the depths of her dreams became a regular occurrence. But even though she dreamed of him at least once a week sometimes even three or four times she still didn't acknowledge her feelings. She tried convincing herself that it was just because he was her friend and nothing more.

Apparently though, her subconscious hadn't gotten that particular memo and one morning she woke up sweaty and panting. After that she just couldn't deny the attraction anymore. Not that it meant that she had any plans on telling Hotch. It would just have to be one of those things that would be placed in a tiny box and stored somewhere deep in the back of her mind.

Finally sleep overpowered Emily and she floated off. Into her dream came the by now all too familiar pictures of a tall, dark and handsome man. Her conscious self hadn't realized it yet but the subconscious of Emily Prentiss knew that she was in love with her superior.

Jerking awake four hours later at the piercing sound of her alarm she could still feel Hotch's fingers on her skin. She closed her eyes again and allowed herself to be taken away by Aaron Hotchner once more.

A/N: Thanks so much for reading! Please let me know what you think. I'd really love some input.

I'll have the next chapter up before the end of the week.

Sussi