"People say I make strange choices, but they're not strange for me. My sickness is that I'm fascinated by human behavior, by what's underneath the surface, by the worlds inside people."

Johnny Depp

The whole team was at the hospital within 30 minutes of the phone call. Out of all seven of them only Reid, JJ and Garcia showed symptoms. Everyone else had to be hosed down anyway just to be safe and the entire BAU building was evacuated and cleaned.

The string of anthrax that had been used in the letter wasn't a fatal one, it was one of the known strands with an easily accessible and plentiful antidote.

Garcia's condition was stable and within a few hours of getting the antidote, she started to feel effects. Her symptoms started to fade, but that also could have been because of the morphine. Either way, she was feeling better. They insisted on keeping her for a few days though to make sure there were no side effects.

Reid was worse than Garcia because he had touched the letter more, but ultimately after he was administered the medication, his condition improved. He was stable and awake, symptoms fading by the end of the day. They kept him for a few days after that as well.

It was Will, JJ and Henry that had the worst of it.

Will was the best off out of all of them, he had only touched the letter a few times throughout the course of that day and he was also a man, so naturally his body was stronger than that of his wife and son's. He had to get a higher dosage of the antidote, but eventually towards the end of the day, the coughing boughs he went through started to lighten up.

Henry had not touched the letter at all, but being around his parents all day in small places: the car, the conference room, the anthrax had spread to him through touches from his parents and things like that. His body was small, his immune system not as experienced and strong as his parents' so it hit him hard. He was wheezing heavily and his coughing sounded extremely painful. Because he was only a child, they had to give him small doses of the antidote that they administered at specified times throughout the day. He slept through most of that day and then during the night it got really bad, a nurse had to sit with him and hold a towel out in front of him because of the blood that he was coughing. The next morning, his coughs became quieter and there was no more blood: both good signs.

JJ was in pretty bad shape. She had touched the letter first, opened it, and carried it to the BAU. Out of all of them, she'd had the most contact with the letter and opening it in the first place probably gave her contact with the purest form of the drug too. Considering that she was the first to pass out and was passed out for the longest amount of time certainly showed that she had been highly affected by the anthrax. On the first day in the hospital, the antidote barely helped, her coughing was still heavy. All throughout the night, just like her son, she coughed. She hadn't slept at all. Between the coughing, she was plagued by nausea and fever that made her head feel like it was on fire while the rest of her body felt cold. A sore started to develop on the inside of her wrist along with another just above her collarbone. The second day showed some improvement, mostly with the sores. They gave her a specific medicine for those and the pain and itching from them stopped. The coughing though was just as persistent. Another sleepless night passed and finally, on the third day, just when she was starting to think that it wasn't going to get better, the medicine started kick in. Her fever started to fade and she stopped coughing blood.

On the fourth day, she had drastically improved and had even gotten a good night of sleep that night. The fifth day was when the coughing had just about stopped.

Reid and Garcia were released on the third day and Will was released on the fifth.

JJ and Henry, however, stayed for eight days just to be sure.

The BAU had been completely cleaned, including the vents, floors, carpets, even the smallest crevices were scrubbed down before anyone was allowed back in. The entire building was examined for traces of anthrax.

They didn't find any.

So on about the seventh day after the whole scare, the team was allowed back inside.

On the tenth day, JJ returned.

Henry and Will came with her again for safety, but this time she went into the conference room alone. Everyone was gathered around the table when JJ pushed the door open.

All eyes turned towards her.

Reid stood up when he saw her, "JJ."

JJ met his eyes and offered a small smile, "Sorry I'm late." She said sarcastically.

Emily chuckled.

"Glad you're here." Hotch said, giving her quick nod, "We were just going over the previous cases. There have been five families before yours, all received letters, three reported them, but the police officers couldn't do anything."

JJ sat down at the table, looking up, "And they were all killed?"

Hotch met her eyes and gave a small nod, "Yes. Two of the families relocated, but even that wasn't enough. It seems that this unsub is extremely organized, extremely connected and extremely vocal. His opinions are the most important to him. He wants everyone to know his thoughts on the world, he wants everyone to accept them."

"Definitely a narcissist. He believes his own ideals are the only ones that are correct. It also seems that he enjoys playing with his victims, teasing them and keeping them on edge in the months leading up to the murder." Rossi added in.

Morgan nodded slowly and then held up his hand, "Can we talk about the signature? It just doesn't make sense to me. He is a narcissist, a sadist maybe, probably a sociopath, but yet his message, the one he is trying to teach…it's not too far out there. He's saying that evil walks with us, evil is normal and a lot of people don't acknowledge it, now…don't get me wrong, this guy is crazy, but his message…it's rational."

Reid nodded along as Morgan spoke, "I see what you're saying. He's actually trying to promote a legitimate message, but just with vulgar, barbaric methods such as torture or what he calls "experience." So he actually might be a rational person, capable of maintaining a high skilled job." He paused for a moment, "It's also possible he had some sort of trauma in his childhood that had to do with the evil that he now wants everyone to see, maybe a murder, robbery, kidnapping."

Hotch sat down at the table, "Let's talk about what he does to the families." He said, looking down at his file. "There were ligature marks on all of their wrists and ankles."

"So they were tied up." Rossi said, "The autopsy reports done also determined that the father died first, then the mother, then the children. He saved them for last."

Emily shook her head, looking skeptical. "But that doesn't fit. If he truly wanted to teach his lesson, he would leave the children alive so that they would've had to watch their parents die and experience the evil first hand. So why did he kill them when it would have been more effective to keep them alive?"

Garcia started typing on the laptop in front of her, "Wait…" She said, typing quickly. Within a few seconds, she found what she had been looking for. "There was one survivor. Wyatt Peterson, his parents and older brother were killed, but he was left alive." She paused, "The Peterson family was the last to be killed by this unsub before he contacted JJ."

"So he evolved." Emily said, "That's what he's doing. The parents die, the kids live because that forces them to deal with the murder of their parents."

JJ wasn't sure if that was good news or bad news. It meant that if the unsub got to them, Henry would ultimately survive, but would be left without parents. She glanced from Reid to Garcia. They would raise him well...she shook the thoughts away. They weren't there yet. She still had hope.

"And the way he kills these parents is…brutal." Morgan added, "It looks like he doesn't stray away from torture methods. He wants to cause as much pain as possible, waiting until the very last second to kill them. It's extremely sadistic, he enjoys the pain that he is inflicting on them. Whether it's sexual or not is hard to tell, but it might be."

There was a short silence.

JJ sat forward, leaning on the table. "So he's organized and he has to be really smart to pull this off without leaving anything behind, right?" She looked around the table as her team mates nodded, "So how can we...I mean, is there any way that he won't be able to get to us…?"

"There's no way to guarantee your safety, but we can get as close to a guarantee as possible." Hotch said, "I talked to Strauss and we both agreed that you and your family should be put into Witness Protection at an undisclosed location for your own safety."

JJ stared up at him, "We have to move?"

He nodded, "For your own safety."

"But this guy is good, he's found families that have relocated across state lines to get away. How can we be sure that he won't be able to find us anyway?" JJ asked.

"We are going to follow a specific procedure that will make it near impossible for anyone to find out where you are going, including us." Hotch said, "You have to understand…the Witness Protection Program is the best we can do for you at this point and if executed right, it should be enough to keep you safe."

JJ stared at the table for a moment before looking up again, "I just hate the idea of being cut off. I want to know what's going on in the investigation." She said.

"We can give you a disposable phone that you can call us off of, if you want. You'll also have a US Marshall with you and he should be able to help you keep tabs on what's going on here." Hotch said, "It's the only thing left, JJ."

She gave him a long look and then nodded. "I guess…I guess we better start packing then."

It took them two days to pack. They had gathered there things up quickly, only taking the necessities. Their house would not be sold while they were gone so the unimportant things could stay in there until this whole thing was over.

JJ, Will and Henry were picked up on that third day by a dark SUV, driven by a man they didn't know. She had never officially gotten to say goodbye to her co-workers, but it was too late for that. Her family was her top priority now.

They switched vehicles many times on the way to their destination and took many roads that none of them recognized. It seemed impossible that anyone could be following them. They arrived at a quaint little house in a suburban neighborhood outside of Raleigh, North Carolina after countless hours of driving.

And they stayed in that house together and it was almost like it was better than before.

Almost.

There was always that thing in the back of their minds. A serial killer was searching for them and in the past had always found his victims no matter how hard they tried to escape. They were targets, anything they did could potentially give that person their whereabouts.

They always paid in cash, never wore any Virginia or Quantico t-shirts or logos, and never used their old names.

Now, they were Jennifer, William and Henry Parks.

An ordinary family with an ordinary name and ordinary lives.

And after a month, they actually started to believe they were those people with ordinary names and ordinary lives. They were settling in, things were finally starting to become normal, or so they thought.

But the unsub was lurking, waiting and it was only a matter of time.

JJ and her family were living numbered days and they would never know which day would be their last good one because once he had them, their days would be anything but good.

They would never know when it was coming.

But the unsub would and on their last good day, the unsub was watching.

JJ and her son played in the living room, laughing and carrying on while Will set the dinner table and called jokes to them from the dining room. They looked happy, relaxed. They thought they were safe.

They weren't.

Because that night, the unsub was coming for them and they had no idea.

"You have no idea!" JJ exclaimed, "Being home all day with Henry is like a blessing. We've gotten so much time to catch up. I'm almost glad this could happen even with the circumstances."

Will smiled and nodded, "I know. I just wish I could be home too." He leaned in and gave her a gentle, lingering kiss.

"Well someone has to bring home the bacon. I'm sorry you can't be home more. I miss you and so does Henry, but we have to deal with it." JJ said.

Will smirked, "Now you know how I felt." He winked playfully, "Come on, we should get Henry to bed. We have a big day tomorrow."

"I know," JJ replied, "it's not every day that our son turns five, is it?" She smiled as they made their way up the stairs.

Will smiled from behind her, "Yea I know. It's half of ten, huge milestone if you ask me." He joked.

"Smart ass." JJ muttered as they reached the top of the stairs and then turned right to go into Henry's room.

When they walked in, Henry was still playing with some of his toys, but at least he was already dressed for bed. He looked up when they came in. "Mommy! Daddy!" He exclaimed, excitedly.

"Hey buddy!" Will said, running in and lifting Henry up before playfully throwing him onto his bed.

JJ walked over, "You excited for tomorrow?"

"Yes! Yes!" He chanted as he lay back on his bed, "I want it to be morning already."

JJ smiled and nodded as she tucked him in and handed him his favorite stuffed animal – Gerry the Giraffe. "Just try to get some sleep." She insisted.

"Yea." Will joined in, "At least for Gerry's sake. He looks like a train wreck, probably hasn't slept in weeks because of all your snoring, little man." He grinned.

JJ shook her head and slapped Will on the leg before grabbing a book off of the bookshelf in Henry's room. She reached up and brushed his hair out of his face before proceeding to read the book to him.

Henry was asleep by the time she finished so Will and JJ kissed him goodnight, switched the light off and left.

And as JJ lay down that night next to Will, she had an awful feeling in the pit of her stomach, but decided to ignore it.

The unsub was outside.

They walked up onto the front porch and pulled a key out of his pocket. Easily, they used it to open the front door. Will had thought he lost that key, but the unsub had stolen it.

It was too easy.

They walked up the stairs slowly, carefully. At the top, they turned right and entered the little boy's room.

3:14 AM

JJ woke up to a noise she heard downstairs, but when she looked over and noticed that it hadn't woken Will too, she assumed it was nothing and tried to fall back asleep.

But the feeling in her stomach was still there, lingering.

And a few minutes after that, she heard another noise and this time, it was enough to wake Will.

Henry's scream.

To JJ, it was as clear as day. She sat up quickly, thinking she was over-reacting. It was probably just a nightmare or something like that, but she still had to check and comfort him.

"I'll get it." JJ said before getting up and walking out of the master bedroom, down the hall and into Henry's bedroom.

It was dark at first, but as she walked in, the lights switched on.

Henry was on his bed, tears in his eyes and fear painted on his face. Sitting next to him was who JJ could only assume was the unsub after then, holding a gun to Henry's head and a hand over his mouth.

But it was a woman.

Sitting there on Henry's bed was a beautiful woman, her brown hair flowed down, framing her cheekbones and ending in curls on her shoulders. Her eyes were a deep, captivating green color and her smile was bright.

She was smiling as JJ walked in, "Come any closer and he dies. Call for your husband and he dies, understand?"

JJ gave a small nod, warily, "Who are you?" She asked, quietly over Henry's muffled cries.

"Who do you think I am?" She returned, eyebrows raised.

When JJ didn't reply, the woman stood, bringing Henry up with her. She reached into a bag she had slung over her shoulder and pulled out a rope and a roll of duct tape.

"Tape his mouth, tie his wrists and ankles." She ordered, tossing the supplies onto the ground in front of JJ while still pointing the gun mercilessly at Henry.

Carefully, JJ reached down, picked up the rope and duct tape and then made her way over to Henry. "Hey sweetie, don't worry, everything's gonna be fine. Mommy's here and I'll keep you safe, okay?" She reassured him.

"No talking." The woman snapped.

JJ nodded and tied Henry's wrists and ankles together easily before carefully putting the duct tape over his mouth. "I'm sorry, baby." She whispered and then looked up at the woman.

The woman smiled, pulling Henry towards her so she could hold the gun to him, "Now call for your husband."

Slowly, JJ stood back up. "Will!" She called calmly, "Come in here."

JJ heard his loud groan and his footsteps as he walked down the hall. She watched the doorway and waited for him to walk in. And when he did, the shock was evident on his face. He met JJ's eyes, his own wide.

"Woah." He said, looking at the unsub now. "Don't hurt him, please. He's just a boy."

The woman playfully brushed the gun through Henry's hair. "I don't want to hurt him. I came here for you, but if it comes down to it…I will hurt him thought. Don't test me." She smirked, "Now, Mr. LaMontagne…use the rope and duct tape to tie up your wife, just the wrists. Make it tight please. If I don't see red marks forming, I'll shoot your son and then do it myself. Understood?"

Will nodded, "Yea." He said, bending down and tying the rough rope tightly around JJ's wrists before then putting duct tape over her mouth. "Sorry." He whispered.

"Alright, now, bring that stuff to me." She pressed the gun to Henry's head.

Will walked over slowly and handed all of the supplies to her, meeting eyes with Henry and giving him a fatherly, reassuring look.

The woman stared at Will, "Sit down." She said.

He did.

And then easily, she tied his wrists and then put duct tape over his mouth.

"Alright." She said, a smile forming on her face. "Jennifer, William. Stand up. We have places to be." Her voice was cruel, taunting.

JJ glanced back at her son as she stood up, Will behind her. They were both wishing they could say goodbye to him, just in case it was the last time, but they couldn't. So they both just gave him a look and hopefully, that would be good enough.

The woman grabbed JJ's hair and pulled her so that she was standing directly in front of the unsub. Then, she pressed the gun to the side of her head. "Try to run, I'll shoot you." And then she looked at Will, "Try to run. I'll shoot her."

And then she started walking, leading both of them out of Henry's room.

They could both hear him sobbing underneath the duct tape.

And that was when JJ remembered.

It was Henry's birthday.

She shook her head. This was horrifying in every way that she could think of. But the unsub didn't seem bothered. She had to know. If she had done all her research, she would know that it was his birthday and JJ knew she probably didn't care.

The unsub took them outside in their dark, unlit yard where her car was waiting parked on the curb. She opened the door and directed Will to get in the driver's seat while she got in the backseat with JJ, still holding the gun to her head.

"Drive." She said, "Get on interstate 451, no funny business or she dies."

And that was when JJ understood.

The letters said "Evil Can Be Beautiful".

And as JJ looked at the woman sitting next to her, she understood.

Evil Could Be Beautiful.

Literally.

"Good and evil, love and hate, night and day, sweet and bitter, man and woman, heaven above and the earth beneath-all those things are needful, one to the other, and who knows the end of each?"

H. Rider Haggard