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"Where I fall is where I land"
* * *
The next week was pure hell for the entire team. The cases they were given were always ending in gore and death, or with no resolution at all. Hotch was the most stressed Bella had ever seen him. He felt like a complete and utter failure as he watched unsubs kill innocent people before killing themselves. Bella would knock on his office door to try and offer some kind words before he would tell her to go home, Bella leaving feeling defeated.
Everything felt slow and draining. Everyone was miserable, barely speaking to each other unless it was about a case. The team had never felt so off and uncomfortable around each other. It was rather alarming. Typically the team talked and treated each other as members of their own family. But this week was cold. This week was dark.
The most difficult part of the week, for Bella, was being around Spencer. Neither of them had spoken one single word to each other unless it was quickly something about a case. Neither of them wanted to bring up what had happened. Neither of them wanted to address it. Spencer was embarrassed by the entire situation, feeling as if he had just ruined his friendship with Bella for good. Bella still didn't know how to react, she was confused by the entire situation. She still didn't know who that mystery woman was and she didn't know why Spencer thought it would be a good idea to kiss both of them.
That was one thing Bella could not tolerate. Cheaters.
The team was also adjusting to the fact that JJ wasn't here, a new agent by the name of Jordan Todd was covering for her. Though the team didn't admit it, they longed to have JJ back. Jordan was fine at her job but the team still itched to have the familiar blonde be the one to present the cases to them.
You could say that the BAU was in a massive slump...and they had no idea how to get out of it.
The team sat at the round table, busying themselves with hot cups of coffee and mountains of paperwork. There was no noise except for the occasional scribble of a pen or spoon stirring in some sugar to a bitter cup of coffee. No one said a word to each other except for a polite "good morning" when they entered the room. It was obvious that everyone was annoyed and on edge. It was apparent that each member of the team lacked the motivation to start this new case, already going into it with barely any hope.
"Birmingham, Alabama," Jordan said, entering the room with authority and quickly handing out the case files. "6 bodies have been discovered, 3 men and 3 women. Each body had extensive injuries recieved pre-mortem ranging from cuts to bruises to...missing limbs. 2 of the men died from stab wounds to the chest, 1 man and 1 woman died from blunt force trauma to the head, and the 2 other women died from gunshot wounds to the head."
"The unsub clearly doesn't have a specific M.O," Rossi stated. "Looks like he's beating his victims before he kills them. Were any of them reported missing for days before their body was discovered?"
