"And little by little, she found the courage for it all"
-J.H Hard-

The door to Derek and Maya's apartment door open, Maya being the one to have opened it. She slowly closes it and proceeds to lock it as she enters the house a little early in the morning. She notices Derek on the couch snoring in his sleep.

Maya sighs as she grabs a mug from the cabinet and turns on the pot of coffee so she can get a morning boost.

Derek jerks awake from his slumber as he hears appliances and moving around going on near him. He lets out a soft yawn before turning and noticing Maya in the kitchen.

"It's 9:30 in the morning. You left at like 7, why?" Derek asks, standing to his feet as he maneuvers his way into the kitchen where Maya stands by the coffee pot as it makes coffee.

"I left to go get something" Maya says, lying straight through her teeth. "But you didn't bring anything in" Derek says as he looks around his area and notices no bags or new items. "Um, I left it in the car" Maya shrugs while she closes her eyes shut, knowing she's not selling her lie.

Derek then checks his phone for the date. "It's Thursday. Every Thursday for the last 2 months you leave early in the morning" Derek realizes as he sets his phone down on the kitchen counter while Maya pours a cup of coffee immediately after it was finished.

"You noticed that?" Maya asks, walking past Derek as she sips her coffee. "I'm a profiler, I notice everything" Derek declares as he watches Maya walk away.

"I also notice when you lie" Derek states and Maya stops in her tracks, letting out a stressful sigh. "It's nothing important" Maya shrugs, turning around to face Derek who is visibly upset Maya isn't talking to him about something.

"Maya, we had an agreement. No more secrets" Derek voices and Maya sets her cup of coffee on the counter before she rests her body against it.

"I- uh, I went to go see Delilah. That's where I go every Thursday. I go to the prison and see her" Maya says while Derek tries to comprehend what Maya just said. "Delilah Perez? The women who kidnapped you, held you at gun point, and almost got you blown up?" Derek questions and Maya sighs as she pushes herself on top of the countertop and lets out an annoyed sigh.

"Yes, Derek, that Delilah" Maya confirms. "Why?" Derek wonders as he steps closer to Maya who continues to sit on the countertop. Maya stammers over her words, trying to find the right ones to say.

Suddenly, her and Dereks phone begin to buzz which Maya is slightly happy about as she swiftly pulls her phone out of her back pocket, seeing the message from Penelope that they have a new case, and they need to meet up at the jet because it's urgent.

Maya pushes herself off the countertop. "You should get ready so we can go to the office" Maya urges. "We going to talk?" Derek asks and Maya sighs, "Not right now. We have to go" Maya states, finding any reason to get out of this conversation.

"I'll take the SUV and go by myself" Derek says as he walks past Maya making her knit her eyebrows in shock. "What?" Maya questions, taking offense, "I can wait until you get dressed, Derek" Maya informs but Derek waves her off anyway.

"Just- just go to the jet and I'll meet you there" Derek urges and Maya scoffs in disbelief as she grabs her things and exits the apartment, slamming the door behind her and leaving Derek to think about what he's done.

_____

Later, between Maya and Derek, Maya showed up at the jet first and arrived the same time JJ and Kate did. Maya exited her vehicle and began walking with Kate and JJ while they looked around aimlessly for Derek.

"Where's Morgan?" JJ asks and Maya sighs, "He was taking too long to get ready. He should be here soon" Maya states as she starts walking ahead of the two women and makes it onto the jet where Hotch, Reid and Rossi are.

"Where's Morgan?" Hotch asks as Maya takes a seat, putting her seatbelt around her waist. "He'll be here in like 20 seconds" Maya answers non-enthusiastically, making the team question what her and Derek have going on at the moment.

Suddenly, Derek rushes onto the jet, car keys in hand and breathing heavy. "I'm here."

"Alright, uh, well, trans alliance flight 420 just crashed in a Colorado field northwest of Durango" Garcia informs over the video call, having the team left in shock. "Wow, any survivors?" Maya asks, adjusting herself uncomfortably in her seat while desperately trying not to make eye contact with Derek.

"152 passengers, all presumed dead" Hotch answers and Maya notices Kate look extremely upset at the answer. Anybody would be, but her reaction was more... personal.

The team gets more information that a call came in from a witness who said he saw a streak of light in the sky just before the crash. Surface to air missile.

Miraculously, one of the pilots has survived the crash. So that gives the team someone to interview and get more insight on what truly happened on that plane ride.

_____

Over at the crash site, Kate and Maya discover that the plane wreck is scattered over a mile, meaning that it broke up in mid-air, so a missile is back in the running. The two of them continue to walk around the site aimlessly, looking for clues and analyzing their surroundings.

Maya looks over at Kate who nervously and anxiously plays with her fingers while looking around at the crash site that seems almost like a memory for her.

Maya, not being a very sympathetic person, looks to Kate sadly and quietly stammers over her words while trying to find the right words to say.

"Are you alright? You seem... on edge" Maya wonders while Kate clears her throat and shakes the thoughts out of her head. "Sorry" Kate says softly, and Maya scratches the back of her neck nervously. "Don't be sorry. I just wanted to know if you were okay" Maya reassures and Kate looks over at her with a friendly smile that seems somewhat forced.

"You don't have to worry about me" Kate declares and Maya sucks her teeth and shrugs, "Sadly, I do. You're on this team, and frankly, I actually like you" Maya jokes, but actually meant what she said.

"Look, I'm not going to push you to talk about your feelings because I don't know how to handle things like that but, you can talk to me- if you want to" Maya reassures, sending Kate a nod while trying to seek a profile on her from a distance.

"I can see you profiling me" Kate voices, not even looking at Maya to know she's staring.

Moments later, Kate informs Maya that her sister and brother-in-law died in 9/11 and the plane crash brings back those tragic memories.

"I'm... so sorry" Maya trails starting to feel bad for even bringing up her feelings. "Anyway, I don't want to be that weepy agent with the tragic past" Kate says as she sniffles in her tears. "I hope not because, I think I already took that title" Maya states, jokingly nudging Kate's arm as they continue to walk side by side with each other.

"We going to compare war stories?" Kate asks and Maya shrugs, "You told me something, I tell you something" Maya declares and Kate nods her head, thinking that's a good deal.

"When I was younger, my father killed my mother in front of my brother and me. He then tried to kill me but, obviously, didn't happen so my brother came back like 2 and a half years ago to finish the job and didn't succeed" Maya shares and Kate's word catch in her throat as she processes what Maya has just told her.

"That's not even half of it" Maya adds and Kate clears her throat and tries to think of another conversation topic since it just got real dark, real fast.

"After my sister died, I adopted all 10 of her kids" Kate states and Maya widens her eyes as she almost trips over a random burnt up suitcase. "10?" Maya questions, in complete shock.

"Kidding- kidding. Jesus, you had like a panic attack" Kate joke as she covers her mouth, controlling her laughter.

"Yeah... well, kids can make you do that" Maya sighs as she adjusts her clothes while continuing to walk next to Kate. "Don't want any?" Kate wonders and Maya shrugs her shoulders, very unsure.

"It's not something I think about. I mean, when we solve cases that involve children, you see it from a parent perspective and I- I don't think I could handle that much responsibility." Maya explains and Kate nods in understanding.

The man who saw the light describes a green trail and a blinding flash of light and claims that he knows who was responsible for the attack. The guy claims that the military was behind the attack, just like TWA 800 and Flight 93.

Hotch assumes he's just a crank, but then the guy volunteers that he's seen militia guys creeping around his property, which he thinks is proof of a Black-Ops situation...

____

Later, Garcia checks into everyone who lives in the area, trying to figure out who could be involved in a terrorist cell. The two options: 1: Jesse Bronwen, a guy who donated money to a mosque. 2: David Marshak, an army missile operator that was dishonorably discharged for being grossly insubordinate.

_____

Later that night, Hotch ordered Derek and Maya team up together to go arrest some army guys along with some other officers and SWAT. Derek slammed on the brakes and stopped in front of a gate that just opened and two guys were about to drive out of.

Maya presses the button, and the sirens begin to sound throughout the woods.

Maya grabs her gun out of her holster and quickly rushes out of the SUV along with Derek. Maya and Derek slowly approach the truck, their guns easier and ready to shoot if needed. "Get out of the car!" Maya shouts while Derek stands next to her, determined look on his face while the two men in the truck look shocked but petrified at the same time.

The swat team members drag them out of the car and roughly place handcuffs on their wrist as they slam them up against the truck, they were just in.

Maya and Derek get the militia men, such as David Marshak, to the station but they refuse to talk or give any useful information and they didn't have any missiles on their property, just plenty of illegal guns they'll be charged over.

Other than that, the team cannot connect them to this case besides... one of their partners named Cole who has suspiciously gone missing and is nowhere to be found.

"Just tell us where Cole is" Maya says, crossing her arms over her chest. "I will..." David starts off, "if you give me something in return" David says flirtishly which makes Maya snicker in disbelief before looking over at Derek who knits his eyebrows in anger and confusion.

"If I did that, the man next to me won't be very happy. And I keep him very happy" Maya says softly as she leans towards David tauntingly before she slightly tilts her head to the side while David looks to Derek who eyes him up and down, serious spreading across his facial expressions.

"Then I guess I need a lawyer" David states as he leans back in his chair comfortably. "I guess you will" Maya states as she softly taps the metal table in front of her and stands up straight before leaving the interrogation room, Derek following after her.

"Crazy" Maya says jokingly as her and Derek stop in front of the door that has now shut. "Yeah, totally" Derek mumbles and Maya can't help but scoff as she realizes Derek might still be mad at her because of what happened this morning about her going to see Delilah.

"Don't make that sound. You're going to see the women who wanted to kill you. Mind you, her dad tried to kill you too!" Derek argues, his voice raising, and Maya looks around cautiously to make sure no one is staring.

"I'm not going to blame her for what her father did and what my brother's manipulation did to her. She's in a tough situation right now-". "Well, she's in prison. For a good reason" Derek interrupts and Maya sighs stressfully before pushing past Derek, not wanting to argue while they're trying to find an unsub who has killed over 100 people already.

"When you stop being a child about this, let me know" Maya concludes as she starts walking away. "When you actually want to talk and not walk away from every serious conversation, you let me know" Derek shouts back before Maya gets too far away. Maya shakes her head in disbelief while in the distance, the team was discussing something, but JJ was distracted by paying attention to Maya and Derek instead of the conversation at hand.

She watched as Maya went outside the station, pushing pasting the crowds of people in the lobby. "Uh, I'll be right back" JJ informs as she rushes off, leaving the team confused before they go back to discussing their topic.

Maya stands outside, away from all the news reporters and press. It's a little chilly outside so she shivers as she paces back and forth, trying to calm down. "Trouble in paradise?" JJ asks, breaking Maya out of her trance as she stopped in place and looked to JJ with a sincere smile.

"Something like that, yeah" Maya answers, rubbing the back of her neck anxiously before she takes a seat on the curb, sighing tiredly.

JJ looks around at her surroundings before she bends down, taking a seat next to Maya on the curb. "You don't have to stay out here" Maya declares, looking over at JJ who waves her off. "I want to" JJ states before wondering what's going on with Maya and Derek.

"He's upset because every now and then I go and see, uh, Delilah. Delilah Perez" Maya informs, and JJ widens her eyes in shock and Maya scoffs, "Okay, don't look at me like Derek is looking at me right now" Maya warns and JJ raises her hands in surrender. "Can I ask why you go see her?" JJ wonders while Maya looks around the dark parking lot, trying to figure out the right words to say before realizing there is only a few words she can say.

"Since Thomas is dead, they can't really blame him for all the deaths he caused. But they can blame them all on Delilah. She was an accomplice for some of them and even did most of them herself." Maya explains, JJ taking it all in. "I feel like there's more to the story" JJ says and Maya stressfully rubs her forehead before nodding her head, confirming there is more to the story.

"She went to court and... they're putting her on death row. Giving her the lethal injection as soon as possible" Maya concludes.

"So, you go and see her to give her some good memories before she dies" JJ realizes and Maya nods her head in agreement. "I just haven't told Derek that part because he doesn't understand- he won't" Maya corrects.

"You just have to let him see it the way you see it" JJ declares as she slightly nudges Maya's arm, urging her to take her advice. "We'll see" Maya says softly before she looks over at JJ, giving her a friendly smile.

"You and Morgan are the greatest love story. It'd be a shame if this is the reason it gets messed up" JJ states making Maya chuckles softly at her comment before she looks away, looking around at the parking lot.

Meanwhile, JJ was still staring at her, hoping she would look back... but she didn't.

_____

The next day, the team finally turn up the black box, which has the cockpit recorder. As they assumed, the controls started going nuts without the pilots doing anything, and that's what they were arguing about. The communications system was shut down because they attempted a full system reboot.

Garcia has spotted a person on the plane who was sent a death threat. It's the Oppenheimer 'I am become death' line from Hindu scripture. The team discusses how hard it's going to be to track the killer down since the predicted radius of his control setup is 28 square miles.

Also, NORAD is planning to shoot down the latest plane if the team can't find the killer and shut down his control, because they're afraid that the killer will crash it into a populated area.

"Shoot down the plane? Then it'll be you killing innocent people, not the unsub" Maya argues, looking to the military men and women that are trying to make the order. "But it makes sure he can't do it again" The military women argues, and Maya rolls her eyes.

"That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard. We aren't even sure he's operating the plane from inside" Maya states but it's obvious they are not looking for any other ideas at this moment.

Luckily the killer was one of the people who called to threaten the co-pilot, and despite the fact that he's some kind of super-genius, he left the GPS active in the phone he called from, so Garcia is able to immediately send the team his location and the team starts to leave the station to go to the shack in the middle of the woods which belongs to a man named Hayman Vasher.

_____

As the team heads to the shack, they find out that once Hayman has taken control of a plane via his transmitter, he can fly it indefinitely. Once he does get control of the plane, he turns it towards Washington D.C. Which gives them like 2 hours to kill before they have to shoot it down.

The team attacks the Unabomber cabin where the guy, Hayman, is controlling the plane with a standard RC rig with some extra circuit boards attached, and they try to negotiate with him but have no luck.

Hayman tries to crash the plane, so they shoot him, which destroys the controller as he falls. They've brought no electronic or flight specialists with them, so they just have to hope that breaking the controller was all they needed to do.

And it was. Case Closed.

_____

The next day, Maya arrived back home late at night and didn't drive with Derek. She parked in the parking lot of their apartment building and starts to walk to the front when she got there, she seen Derek sitting on the steps, waiting for her. Maya sighs as she adjusts her go bag on her shoulder.

"I'm ready to stop acting like a child" Derek declares, clasping his hands together while resting his elbows on his knees.

"I'm ready to talk" Maya says as she takes a seat next to Derek on the stairs.

She then explains the whole situation to Derek. The court. The death row and the lethal injection. She explained why she was seeing Delilah and how she's not excusing the horrible things she's done to her or other people, but Maya feels as if she owes her for shooting all those years ago. She shot her and left her for dead. Not saying it's her fault that Delilah turned out the way she did but, in the end, Delilah was willing to help Maya get out of the house before blew up. No harm in making sure Delilah has a few happy memories before she goes.

Derek then understood. Understood why Maya was so defensive about the situation. Maya leans over towards Derek, placing her head on his shoulder.

"Can we go inside now? It's cold" Maya asks before the two of them burst out into soft laughter. Derek then slowly raises his to his feet and puts his hand down towards Maya, letting her place her hand in his. Derek helps her to her feet, and they walk into their apartment building hand and hand. Relationship restored.

"Don't deny your fire, just be who you are and burn"
-Mark Anthony-