"Garcia, don't worry. Marie will love you regardless." Fleur chuckled as she fed the cats.

"Are you absolutely sure?" Garcia asked.

"Absolutely. Just give her treats and she'll be happy." Fleur assured her.

"Got it. Treats." She nodded.

"And Beau might get jealous."

"I'll just have to share my attention between them."

"Exactly." Fleur nodded.

"I can do this." Garcia put her hands on her hips.

"Go." Fleur chuckled.

"I'm going."

Fleur chuckled as Marie ran over to Garcia.

"Hello cutie." She smiled.

Marie purred and jumped into Garcia's arms.

"Oh- Oh! I love you so much." Garcia petted her.

Marie meowed and laid down.

"Oh, you are so adorable- Look at your little ears."

"See? Best friends." Fleur chuckled.

"I love her so much." Garcia kissed Marie's head.

Marie meowed and placed her paws on her arms.

"Fleur, look at her." Garcia contiued showing Marie affection.

"She's adorable, I know." Fleur chuckled.

"Adorable? She's the cutest."

"Exactly." Fleur pointed.

"Now, where's the puppy?" Garcia looked around.

"He's not so much of a puppy now, babygirl." Morgan chuckled as he walked in and Beau ran through.

"Oh hello!" Garcia grinned.

Beau barked and jumped up on her.

"It's so nice to see you." Garcia stroked him.

Beau licked her hands.

"He's getting massive." Morgan hummed.

"But he's so cute- Just look at his little wiggles." Garcia giggled.

Beau wiggled happily, spinning around.

"Give him a treat. Go on." Morgan nudged her.

"Oh- Here you go buddy." Garcia held a treat out to him.

Beau carefully took the treat and ran off to his bed.

"Thank you for letting me stay over guys." Garcia looked at them.

"Of course. Anything to make you feel better, Pen."

Garcia smiled, giving Fleur a hug. Fleur chuckled and hugged back.

"You. You are a wonderful person."

"I should hope so." Fleur smiled.

"And you, my chocolate prince, you better hurry and put a ring on her finger." Garcia turned to Morgan

"Woah mama, that takes time." Morgan pointed.

"I'm not here for your excuses."

"Yes ma'am." Morgan chuckled.

"That's more like it." She nodded.

"Thank you, Pen." Fleur hummed.

*********************************

Elijah was laid on the couch. He'd gotten ready for work but decided he wanted to go for a nap. Reid slowly walked into the living room after getting ready, fixing his hair in the mirror once he was in. Elijah rolled onto his back, his arm raised to shield his eyes from the light. Reid hummed and looked at Elijah before placing a blanket over him. Elijah smiled softly, curling into the blanket.

"Sleep while you can." Reid whispered, kissing his forehead.

"Hm?"

"We don't know when we'll get called in."

"Sleep with me." Elijah reached up.

"Two of us won't fit." Reid chuckled.

"Just- Come here. Lie on top of me." Elijah sighed.

"I'll squash you." Reid looked down.

"Babe, you weigh nothing."

"I weigh-" Reid began.

Elijah cut him off, pulling Reid onto his chest.

"Jesus." Reid cursed,"Okay, hello."

"See? Now we're cuddling." Elijah gently placed a kiss on Reid's neck.

Reid hummed,"You're very persuasive."

"I know." Elijah smirked.

"You know, I won't complain." He shook his head.

"Is that so?" Elijah kissed him again.

"I won't complain at all." He hummed.

"Well, you won't get any complaints from me either."

"Good." Reid hummed and kissed his cheek.

Elijah chuckled softly,"God, I love you."

"I sure hope you would." Reid smiled.

"Nothing is ever going to change tbat."

"I love you too, Elijah."

*********************************

"Somerville Military Academy, Oceanside, Florida. Five boys were found hanging this morning." Hotch told them, Strauss was sat there too.

Fleur and Elijah had already been told to behave by Morgan before they walked in, knowing their disliking for Strauss.

"The bodies are at the medical examiners now." Strauss nodded.

"There's no photos?" Morgan raised a brow.

"School personnel thought they may still be alive, so they cut them out of the trees." Strauss sighed.

"Jimmy Burbage, Philip Mumford, Jerry Bowden, Jack Briggs, Tucker Calhoun." Hotch read the boy's names out.

"So we're walking into a contaminated crime scene. They don't have anything solid?" Fleur looked up.

"We're sorry' was carved into a tree branch nearby." Hotch nodded.

"This happened on campus?" Emily asked.

"No, in the woods about an hour away." He shook his head.

"How long were they out there?"

"Six days." Strauss answered.

"Without supervision?" Elijah blinked.

"It was an outward bound mission for the upperclassmen." Strauss sighed.

"What drove them to suicide?" Reid tilted his head.

"A freshman cadet, Bailey Shelton, hung himself two weeks ago in his room." Strauss nodded.

"Identical bedsheet, hangman's knot." Hotch added.

"Who takes sheets camping?" Fleur wondered.

"They woukd if it was the plan. Could be a domino effect." JJ sighed.

"The campus would have been on high alert after the first one, so the kids wait until they're alone in the woods." Rossi nodded.

"They must have made some kind of pact." Morgan pointed.

"And there's something else. Six kids went on the trip. Only five were found." Hotch admitted.

"The school officials confirm that Josh Redding is still missing." Strauss told them.

"So maybe he chickened out of the pact." Morgan shrugged.

"Or was never apart of it." Reid added.

"And the campus is completely off the grid. No Internet." Hotch shook his head.

"I can help with that." Garcia looked up at him.

"Which is why you're coming with us." Hotch looked back down at Garcia.

"And so am I." Strauss nodded.

Everyone else looked at each other. Strauss was coming on a case?

"Isn't Somerville the director's alma matter?" Rossi asked.

"Yes. The academy has enjoyed a spotless reputation, so the hope is to keep the investigation in-house." Strauss explained.

"I imagine there's a lot of concern for Josh. He's been in those woods almost a week." Fleur sighed.

"So how's he surviving?" JJ asked.

*********************************

Once on the plane, Elijah and Fleur were sitting in chairs next to each other, gossiping about why Strauss was here.

"Do you think something's up with her?" Elijah asked.

"She's been acting different." Fleur nodded.

"There's just.. Something, y'know?" Elijah tilted his head.

"It's weird."

"I know, and I can't describe it." Elijah shook his head,"It feels.. Familiar? I don't know."

"I see what you mean. Or we could just be totally wrong." She shrugged.

"But are we ever?" He raised a brow.

"Hardly." Fleur laughed.

"Oh, here she comes." Elijah nudged her.

"Theres still no sign of Josh Redding." Strauss walked through.

"We'll join the search." Hotch nodded.

"So, the Somerville Academy was founded during World War II. It is hard-core old school. They don't even have a website." Garcia leaned over the chair.

"Socioeconomic breakdown's all over the map." Emily shook her head.

"Yeah, so are the ages. Students are twelve to eighteen years old, on the same campus, in the same dorms." JJ listed off.

"Same personnel has worked there for a lifetime. Ron Massey has been superintendent for thirty years." Morgan added.

"He's an alum, as if the majority of the staff there." Strauss told them,"Lieutenant Tawes has been his second-in-command this whole time."

"These types of places have their own infrastructure. If it ain't broken, they ain't gonna fix it." Morgan shook his head.

"That's probably why they banned modern technology." Fleur shrugged.

"They didn't need it back then, they don't need it now." JJ agreed.

"Agressive motto.. Vivere est vincere." Rossi looked at the file.

"To live is to conquer." Elijah sighed.

"This school raises soldiers. Suicide is not part of that mantra." Morgan shook his head.

"Bailey Shelton was only thirteen years old. He was one of the youngest students there." Reid spoke up.

"His death is probably the key to the others." Hotch sighed.

*********************************

As the team pulled up to the Academy, Colonel Massey was already waiting outside for them and approached as they started getting out.

"Colonel Massey, Erin Strauss. This is the team I told you about." Strauss hummed.

"Agent Hotchner." Hotch nodded, shaking his hand before he introduced the team,"This is Agent Morgan, Agent Jareau, Agent Howards, Agent Deans, Dr Spencer Reid and Penelope Garcia."

"Shouldn't the flag be at half mast?" Morgan asked.

"I haven't told the boys yet." Massey shook his head.

"Do they know who we are?"

"I'll tell them when the time is right. I've called all of the parents. They're driving from up and down the East Coast. In fact, Josh Redding's have just arrived." He informed them.

"I'd like to speak with them." JJ nodded.

"They're in the chapel." Massey pointed.

"How are they?" She asked.

"As you'd expect."

"Alright, I'll get started."

"Cadet." Massey looked back at a boy behind him.

The cadet walked over and lead JJ off.

"Any leads on Josh?" Fleur asked Massey.

"In that terrain, he's only capable of moving a mile an hour." Massey told her.

"Puts him in a sixty mile radius. That's 3,600 square miles to cover." Reid did the maths.

"Tawes knows those woods better than anybody." Massey put his hands behind his back.

"We've got two agents meeting him. We'll start the investigation here." Hotch sighed.

"Where's the place with the most outlets?" Garcia asked him.

"Best bet is the library." Massey told her.

"Thank you." Garcia nodded, heading towards there with Reid and her belongings.

"We'd like to start with Bailey Shelton's suicide. Do you have a copy of the medical examiners report?" Hotch asked.

"I don't." Massey answered,"But there were no questions, he hung himself."

"Well, the nuances can tell us a lot." Hotch nodded.

"The doctor's receiving the last of the bodies now. I expect he's got his hands full." Massey told them.

"I'll speak to him later."

"Of course." Massey nodded.

"It would be helpful to us to know what Bailey's last day was like." Hotch added.

"I'll show you. He stayed in the Plebes Hall. His father took all his belongings after the suicide. Josh's items are as they were." Massey sighed.

"Josh stayed with the first years?" Morgan blinked.

"He's the Brigade Commander." Massey informed him,"Bailey's death hit him hard."

"Were all the victims friends of Bailey's?" Strauss asked.

"Brotherhood is the very price and condition of man's survival." Massey quoted.

"Carlos Romulo." Morgan hummed.

"All my boys are brothers." Massey sighed,"There's Tucker Calhoun's parents. Excuse me."

With that, Massey walked off to comfort and speak to Tucker's mother and father.

"If the boys were so vulnerable, why did he send them into the woods?" Hotch wondered.

*********************************

"These beds are all three feet apart and there's absolutely no privacy." Elijah shook as head as they walked through the dorm,"How did Bailey manage to hang himself without anybody noticing?"

"Apparently he did it in here." Strauss looked into a small room in the dorm.

"He used Josh's room?" Fleur raised a brow.

"According to Massey, Josh offered Bailey a lot of support." Strauss nodded.

"And did he tell you that?" Fleur crossed her arms.

"Yes, when we spoke. Is that a problem?" Strauss asked as she entered the room.

"Well, is there anything else he told you?" Elijah lingered by the door.

"The boys come in here just to sleep. It's why it's so minimal." Strauss sighed.

"Strauss, what, are you on the board or something?" Elijah leaned against the doorframe.

"I just saw the campus same as you. It's hardly a prison." She shook her head.

"These boys are told what to say, what to wear and what to eat. This goes against the very nature of these boys." He shrugged,"They're all looking for some type of control in their lives, and this place strip them of that."

"And suicide is the ultimate power?" Strauss turned.

"Isn't it?" Fleur asked.

"Well, at least the boys felt enough remorse to write 'We're sorry."

"That doesn't trump taking your own life." Elijah crossed his arms.

"What is it?" Strauss walked over.

"I guess I can buy that the other kids couldn't hear Bailey hang himself.. But Josh was laying right here." Elijah looked down at the bed.

*********************************

Everyone walked into the library, where Reid, Garcia, JJ, Rossi and Emily were already waiting.

"JJ, how are Josh's parents?" Hotch asked.

"Upset. They sent him here to keep him out of trouble." JJ sighed.

"Tawes made it seem like these guys are the only family they have." Fleur shook her head.

"You make it sound like a cult." Strauss crossed her arms.

"It kind of is." Elijah shrugged.

"This is a well respected institution."

"They're not on trial." Rossi hummed.

"The integral part of the investigation is going to be understanding what these victims lived every day." Hotch sighed.

"And with who." Morgan spoke up,"Bailey Shelton killed himself in Josh Redding's room."

"Was Josh in the room that night?" Emily asked.

"According to the records." He nodded.

"I will dig for dirt." Garcia hummed.

"Dave, you find anything in the woods?" Hotch turned to him.

"Josh's tent was secluded. His things were left behind. He just took off." Rossi sighed.

"Massey said he never got any respect from Josh." Hotch recalled.

"And Josh's own parents said he was impossible to control." JJ mentioned.

"His course load indicates increased isolation." Reid added.

"Isolated, smart, angry. That could be budding psychopath." Fleur nodded.

"What are you saying? That Josh Redding killed his classmates?" Strauss asked before sighing,"Then he's not missing. He's on the run."

"And he has been for a week." Morgan agreed.

"One hell of a headstart." Elijah crossed his arms.

"With all the skills he could ever need." Emily sighed.

*********************************

Most of the team were sat in their room of evidence, trying to figure things out.

"Okay, so how did he do it?" Emily looked around,"How did Josh control five strong kids?"

"Yeah, so what does 'we're sorry' mean if it wasn't written for suicide? What if Josh wanted them to apologise for something?" JJ suggested.

"For their sins?" Elijah tilted his head as he sipped his coffee,"There's no record of bad behavior, but these guys were all alpha males. They were all upperclassmen who might have bullied Bailey."

"The message was carved under Tucker Calhoun's tree for a reason." Rossi pointed.

"Yeah, we need to know more about that kid." Emily nodded.

"What are you looking at?" Garcia asked Reid.

"The M.E's report." Reid told her,"Bilateral fracture of the pars interarticular of the C2 vertebra."

"Uh huh, what's that?" Fleur blinked.

"Classic hangman's fracture, but only one of the five victims had it." He explained.

"Which one?" JJ hummed.

"Tucker Calhoun."

"Jeez, who is this guy?" Garcia sighed.

"The others suffered rotational fractures, hanging was secondary." Reid told them.

"Staging the crime scene. Josh is more sophisticated than we thought." Rossi nodded slowly.

"And vindictive." Emily shook her head,"He wanted Tucker to suffer. The question is why."

*********************************

Hotch, Morgan, Fleur and Elijah walked out the SUV, Fleur deciding to speak up.

"Hotch, is something going on with Strauss?"

"Why?" Hotch asked.

"She's awfully protective of this place." Morgan agreed.

"She's got pressure from above." Hotch admitted.

"And you're sure it's nothing else?" Elijah raised a brow.

"She doesn't like the field."

"Clearly. Any word from Josh?" Fleur hummed.

"No." Hotch shook his head.

Hotch stayed outside while the three others walked inside.

"Colonel, we need to speak to Bailey Shelton's parents." Morgan nodded.

"Well, his mother died years ago. I could get hold of his father." Massey told them.

"Do that." Elijah nodded before quickly adding,"Please."

Strauss stood up, walking over to them,"What's going on?"

"Josh had contact with Bailey's father the day he died." Morgan informed her.

"And you think he could give you behavioural clues about Josh?" Strauss tilted her head.

"It's all we have right now, Strauss." Elijah nodded.

"The man just lost his son. Do you really think he's going to remember how Josh acted?" Strauss scoffed.

"By all means, I'm open to other suggestions." Fleur crossed her arms.

"Massey knows his students better than anyone. Why not trust him?" Strauss pointed.

"Because all Massey wants right now is for this to go away. He'll tell us whatever he thinks we want to hear." Morgan pointed.

*********************************

Later, the group were still talking to Massey in his office.

"Sir, may I?" Morgan asked, picking up a pencil.

Massey looked up at Morgan, not speaking.

Morgan took the pencil anyway and sat down,"When did you decide where the boys would be camping?"

"The day Tawes dropped them off." Massey answered.

"No one else knew?"

"No need." He leaned forward.

"You didn't write it down anywhere?" Elijah asked.

"We don't use maps of that terrain. You're expected to know it." Massey fixed the pencils.

"Mr Shelton must've been quite upset when you saw him." Elijah nodded.

"Of course he was." Massey sighed.

"Who did he blame?" Fleur asked.

"What?" Massey blinked.

"For his son's suicide. Who did he blame?" She repeated.

"I have no idea." Massey shook his head.

"Well, the guilt must have manifested itself elsewhere." Fleur shrugged.

"Was it you?" Strauss asked him.

"I'm sorry?" Massey turned to Strauss.

"He was a desperate widower who put his son in your hands." Strauss stood up,"He trusted you and look what happened."

"Mamma, calmati." Elijah looked up at her.

"What? We're trying to help him and he's keeping things from us!"

Elijah flinched back slightly, looking over at Massey.

"I have cooperated fully." He insisted.

"Did you blame someone?" Strauss pointed,"Josh Redding? Tucker Calhoun?"

"This is ridiculous." Massey scoffed.

"For God's sake, Colonel!" Strauss cursed,"He didn't just find that campsite all by himself."

Massey then stood up, slamming his hands on the table as he glared at Strauss,"It's time you leave."

The Agents walked outside, Strauss leaning against the banister outside.

"I'm sorry, I just don't have the patience for this. He's clearly hiding something." Strauss shook her head.

"Ma'am, with all due respect.. Have you been drinking?" Elijah asked slowly.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Strauss, we only have one shot at this." He told her.

"You think I don't know that?" Strauss scoffed.

"Well, if he smelled what we can all smell on your breath right now, the credibility of this investigation would be compromised." Morgan warned before the trio walked off.

*********************************

"Any sign of Josh?" Hotch asked.

"Tawes is still looking." Rossi told him as they all walked into the library.

"I need to find students who are having trouble with authority." JJ nodded.

"Okay, I can do that." Garcia typed,"But I gotta tell you, they post rewards faster than they do demerits."

"Alright, well, look for kids who had disciplinary issues before they got here." JJ tried.

"Okay, I got a few." She nodded.

"Alright, did any of them have class with Bailey Shelton?"

"No, but each of the plebes have laundry duty. Does that help?" Garcia looked up.

"Their dorm is the farthest point from the laundry room. Why are they so isolated?" Reid questioned.

"The M.E said Bailey had blisters and burns, fingertips were raw, his trachea had internal scarring." Fleur looked at rhe file.

"That's awful." Garcia bit her cheek.

"Guys that could be damage done inside an industrial size dryer." Reid mentioned.

"Oh my god.. That's how Massey breaks these boys." Elijah sighed.

"No, in all the materials it says they don't believe in corporal punishment." Garcia shook her head.

"Bailey writes about each of those boys and how they bullied him." Rossi held up Bailey's diary.

"His father must have read it and wants revenge." Reid sighed.

"Does it mention Josh?" JJ asked.

"Not at all." Rossi shook his head.

"Then why would Chris Shelton go after him?" She questioned.

"What if Massey lied to Chris Shelton?" Fleur suggested.

"And set Josh up." Elijah nodded.

"And he convinced Shelton that Josh was responsible for Bailey's suicide." Emily sighed.

"That still doesn't explain how he found the secluded woods." JJ pointed.

"Wait, where's Mr Shelton's phone?" Reid asked.

"It's right here." Emily picked it up and turned it on,"It's got a couple contacts on it, Somerville Academy being one of them."

"Any unknowns? Tawes has a cell."

"No way. Lieutenant no-tech?" Emily gasped before checking,"There's one unknown, it's a text. It looks like phone numbers."

"What are they?"

"252-5727. And 802-8448."

Reid wrote it down, standing up, Those aren't phone numbers. That's latitude and longitude."

"Right where those boys were camping." Rossi looked at the map.

*********************************

"Yes, Mrs Jarvis. I understand your concerns, but we're all fine." Massey spoke over the phone as the three agents walked in,"We're soldiers, Ma'am. Call anytime."

"Colonel Ron Massey, you're under arrest." Morgan told him.

"I've done nothing." Massey shrugged.

"You texted Chris Shelton the coordinates of the campsite. That makes you an accessory to murder." Elijah shook his head.

"Texted?" Massey scoffed.

"Okay, fine, you had Tawes do it." Morgan walked closer to Massey.

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you had no power or control over Josh and you couldn't handle that." Fleur shrugged.

"The problem is, he wasn't going to go away quietly. He wanted you to pay for all those years of abuse." Elijah crossed his arms.

Massey slowly stood up,"No one will believe Josh, he's a troubled boy."

"He's a grown man, Colonel." Morgan told him,"You should be proud."

*********************************

"I'm glad that asshole is jailed." Fleur sat on Morgan's desk.

"And that Josh is okay." Elijah added.

"Did I translate my Italian correctly earlier?" Morgan looked at Elijah.

"..I don't know what you're talking about." Elijah crossed his arms.

"You called Strauss, 'mom'."

"No, I didn't." Elijah insisted.

"You did so." Fleur hummed.

"Nope."

"Are you trying to lie to me?"

"Lie to you? No, never." Elijah shook his head.

"Better not." Fleur pointed.

"Come on, why would I call Strauss 'mum'?" Elijah asked.

"Because you call Rossi 'dad'." Fleur shrugged.

"Wh- Rossi acts like a father would." Elijah rolled his eyes.

"Yeah.. But Strauss?"

"..Okay, hear me out." Elijah sighed,"I just.. Well, I don't know."

"Do we think she's okay?" Fleur sighed.

"No. I don't." Elijah leaned back in his chair.

"Me nether." Morgan shook his head.

"She's definitely drunk. But how drunk is she getting to get this drunk at work?" Fleur asked.

"..I don't want to know." Elijah admitted.

That's when Hotch walked into the office, knocking on the door,"Do you all have a minute?"

"Yeah." Morgan nodded, standing up.

The four of them walked to Strauss' office at the end of the hallway, Morgan closing the door behind them.

"Do you have the after-action report?" Strauss looked up at them.

"No." Hotch cleared his throat.

"I need it on my desk by the morning." Strauss looked back down at her papers.

"We can give it to the director." Hotch nodded.

"..Pardon?" Strauss raised a brow.

"It's time for you to admit you need help." Fleur sighed.

"I don't take orders from you, Fleur. Or any of you, for that matter." Strauss shook her head.

"Ma'am, you put my team in jeopardy." Hotch spoke.

"Is that what you told him, Agent Morgan?"

"You comprised the integrity of the unit."

"I did no such thing." Strauss pointed.

"Open the drawer Ma'am." Morgan sighed.

"This is absurd." Strauss shook her head as Hotch began to get closer,"Aaron- Aaron, what are you doing?"

Hotch opened a drawer to reveal bottles hiding.

"..One call to the EAP and all of this will be alright." Elijah assured her, his eyes locked on the bottles.

"In what world will this be alright?" Strauss slammed the drawer shut, looking at Hotch,"You have no idea what this is going to do to me."

"Agent Morgan will make sure you get checked in privately. And for that, you should be grateful." Hotch then turned, walking out of the office.

"I'll wait outside." Morgan nodded, leaving with the other two.

After they'd left the office, Elijah glanced back at Strauss who had her head in her hands.

"She'll be okay." Fleur assured him.

"Will she?" Elijah asked.

"She will."