"Let the waves carry you where the light can not"
-Mohit Kaushik-

Maya arrived at the scene in Jacksonville. Workers on a ship just off the coast were draining sea water through a pipe when the flow started to sputter. Turns out the pipe was clogged with bodies. Multiple. Hotch and Rossi arrived at the scene before everyone else and ordered them to turn the pipe back since there could be more bodies. And there were... at least 12 more.

"Hey," Maya greets as she removes her sunglass and places them in her back pocket before looking over at Derek. "Hey, pretty lady" Derek greets making Maya shake her head while her cheeks begin to heat up, but she hides it pretty well.

"Just tell me what we know so far" Maya states, changing the subject before she takes a case file from Derek's hands. "This site is known for record of yellow mouth" Derek explains, pointing to the area on the paper. "So, the unsub was smart enough to dump during the off season and avoid fishermen" Derek states as one of the detectives on the case walk over to join the conversation.

"He could be a local" Maya suggests before the detective wonders if the unsub could possibly be one of his guys. "We run interdiction exercises around that spot" Detective explains but based on what Maya has heard she shakes her head to his statement. "It's probably another fisherman" Maya states and the detective wonders why.

"I'll show you" Derek intervenes and starts walking away with Maya and the detective following behind him. Derek goes onto show that the unsub is a fisherman due to the precise manner in which the bones have been cut. "That's a skill that only an experienced butcher or fisherman would have," Derek explains. He then notices that info on one of the victims notes an African American female in her 20s. This gives Derek pause which Maya notices.

Maya walks up next to him and spots what he's looking at and wonders how that could be a significance to him. "Something wrong?" Maya asks as Derek clears his throat, shaking his head. "Yeah, just in cases like these where there's only pieces, it's tough. The best we can do is catalog them and wait for the unsub to screw up somewhere else" Derek states trying to change the conversation.

Maya crosses her arms over her chest and narrows her eyes at Derek. "Why are you changing the subject? You ranted to throw me off track because something is really wrong with you" Maya noticed and Derek sighs as he shakes his head. "I don't know what you're talking about" Derek mumbles, resting his hands in his front pockets before he walks away.

Maya then looks down at the note right next to some bones that says African American female in her 20's. Who could she possibly be to Derek Morgan?

Moments later, Maya was looking through the bones with her surgical gloves when she saw Derek taking a phone call. Ever since he saw those bones, she's noticed him being distance and more on edge than usual and she just didn't know why. She wanted to ask but she was afraid Derek would turn her away and not admit his feelings because that's exactly what she would do.

"You're worried about him" Rossi calls out as he sneaks up behind Maya who whips her head around to look at him. "I- He's being weird" Maya confesses as she snatches her surgical gloves off.

"Some years back, Morgan's cousin fled a stalker. She made it to South Carolina. She was never seen or heard from again" Rossi explains, intriguing Maya in the topic. "What about the stalker?" Maya wonders. "He killed himself 2 weeks later, so we never found out for sure. But Morgan's profile led straight to him. So whenever unidentified female remains turn up... He gets that call" Rossi concludes before him and Maya turn their heads to look at Derek who's learning all the information he can and keeping an eye on everything and everyone.

_____

Maya wants to get more intel so instead of interviewing some families of the possible victims she stayed with Reid and Hotch while Reid explained the bones of the first victim. Reid notes that the bones of the very first victim were smashed while the poor guy was still alive.

So, it was personal.

Hotch suggests a father, perhaps. "If he's a father, he isn't a very good one" Maya sighs as she clears her throat after thinking of her father. He was- isn't a good man and never was or will be in Maya's eyes.

Reid likes the idea of the unsub being a father, then notes that the bones indicate alcoholism, so maybe the relationship wasn't a good one.

Hours later, Maya went to the police station to check on Derek and when she got there, he was hauled up in an office looking at some post card. Maya knocked on the door twice, letting him know she was entering, not wanting to bombard her if she ended up not being welcomed.

"Are you okay? I haven't seen you all day" Maya says as she takes a seat on the edge of the desk. "So, what I'm hearing is... you want to see me" Derek suggests making Maya scoff jokingly.

"No, I'm actually glad how far away you are, but-- you've been acting weird. I don't do... weird" Maya explains even though she already knows, and Derek already knew that. "Judging by the way you were speaking with Rossi earlier, I'm guessing you already know" Derek states as he leans back in his chair, setting the post card on the desk in front of him before leaving silence between the two of them but it didn't feel weird.

The silence kind of filled the void. They didn't need to have a conversation just to feel noticed. Each other's presence was enough.

"Is it hard to believe that those bones could be your cousin?" Maya's voice was gentle yet probing, her eyes searching Derek's for any sign of emotion.

Derek sighed, his gaze distant as he considered the possibility. "The only thing that's in common is Jacksonville and African American in her 20's," he replied, listing the similarities that made these bones a potential match for his cousin.

"My aunt has spent years obsessing over Cindi's last few hours. She doesn't go out. She doesn't sleep. She forgets to take her medication. It's killing her, Maya," Derek confessed, his frustration and concern evident in his voice. But Maya noticed something missing - Derek's own feelings and struggles in the midst of his family's turmoil.

"What about you?" Maya's question was soft, a subtle invitation for Derek to open up. She observed his reaction, noting the alarm in his expression as he knit his eyebrows in confusion.

"Don't look so surprised," Maya continued, her tone soothing. "The way you talk about it, it doesn't seem this situation has been easy on you either."

Derek hesitated, the conflict evident in his eyes. "Because what I've learned from this job is not about what I want to be true. It's about what I can prove. So I can't go there," he explained, shaking his head.

"You don't want to have closure?" Maya probed gently, her empathy shining through as she placed her hands on her thighs, a gesture of understanding.

Before Derek could respond, Rossi's interruption broke the moment, announcing a match in their investigation. The revelation shifted their focus back to the case, but the tension and unspoken emotions lingered between Maya and Derek, a subtle undercurrent of connection and shared understanding that hinted at a deeper bond yet to fully unfold.

_____

Hotch calls Garcia with more information about the unsub to narrow her list. He asks Garcia to look for registered fishermen who operate single-person boats with cargos big enough for a "torture chamber." Reid, who theorizes that the victim wrote the simple message on the postcard while in captivity, then examines the handwriting and realizes it indicates no struggle or even nerves.

"There's a new drug called Tripamide. In minor doses it treats Parkinson's, but its main use is for seasickness" Reid explains and Maya nods her head as she takes a look at the post card and how it's written.

"That drug sounds like easy access for any fisherman" Maya states, handing the post card back to Reid. Reid then suggests that the drug is usually administered in powder form, is narcotic that can also act as a form of mind control while Derek notes that some thieves even blow it in their victim's faces and then convince them to load the getaway truck.

_____

Four more postcards have turned up- some from Miami. "He's bouncing between two cities," Hotch notes. "But why Miami?" Maya wonders. "It actually makes a lot of sense. It's a coastal town with a lot of tourists" Reid states and Maya begins to understand that a lot of people go to Miami for vacation or just to tour and even a lot of people actually live there so it's easy for an unsub to get a target in that area. It's hunting grounds for them but what they can't figure out is why these five people and what connects them besides the postcards.

"The victim writes the post card but if that drug makes them do whatever the unsub says the unsub could be dictating the message and what they write" Maya suggests which to Reid agrees to. "We should start linguistic profile. We need to sit down with the people who got these post cards" Hotch states.

_____

Maya found herself in an unusual position, sitting across from Derek in a quiet interrogation room. Hotch had personally assigned her to interview Morgan, sensing a closeness between them that might lead to more openness than if Rossi had conducted the interview. Maya wasn't known for her empathy or ease with people, but she was determined to do her part in the investigation.

"So, more about Cindi. Was she a responsible person?" Maya's question was direct, her gaze fixed on Derek who held a picture of his cousin.

Derek sighed; his expression pained yet resolute. "Yes, she was," he answered quietly, his eyes flickering to the photo in his hands. Maya leaned back in her chair, trying to appear relaxed despite the weight of the conversation. "You know, in order for this to work, you have to actually be willing to be interviewed," she remarked, her tone neutral yet firm.

"I'm sorry, but- Just, next question," Derek responded, his voice tinged with hesitation and discomfort.

Maya nodded, understanding the delicate balance she had to maintain. "Listen, I was asked to do this. I didn't have to. We're looking at the risk level of all victims, even the potential ones," she reassured him, hoping to ease the tension.

"Cindi didn't drink or do drugs. She had a steady job, then she left," Derek explained, his gaze never leaving the photo in his hands.

"What about the stalker she had?" Maya probed gently, knowing she was treading on sensitive ground.

"What does he have to do with this?" Derek's confusion was palpable, and Maya hesitated, unsure if she should press further.

"Did she... sleep with him?" Maya asked cautiously, her words hanging in the air with a weight she hadn't intended.

Derek's reaction was immediate. "What? No!" he exclaimed, rising from his seat in frustration.

Maya sighed inwardly, feeling the tension rise in the room. "I'm just asking. Maybe that's how the obsession started," she suggested, trying to rationalize her question.

"They went on one date. He got one goodnight kiss. But this was a classic power assertive stalker, and I've seen enough of these cases to know how they end," Derek explained, his tone firm as he stood by his assessment.

As the conversation reached its end, Maya couldn't help but feel the weight of her own discomfort with interviews like these. She knew she wasn't the best at navigating sensitive topics, but she also knew the importance of gathering information for the team's profile.

They believe the unsub is a 30- to 40-year-old fishermen currently chartering his boats to tourist trying to find a victim of medium risk. Which means when someone goes out their regular schedule and becomes weak, that's when the unsub makes his move. All the people he had taken, they were trying to start new lives and build a better name for themselves but to the unsub they were abandoning their responsibilities, and the team can tell that by the messages he forces them to write on the post card and they believe that the first victim is the unsubs father which started his anger. And he's not even close to being done.

Derek's Aunt came to see him to give him a DNA sample of his cousins to see if the bones could belong to her but after talking with her and realizing Cindi's seasickness, he thought maybe the victims aren't being lured with his boat which confused both Maya and Hotch when Derek informed them.

"If he tried to talk Cindi into a charter she wouldn't even stop. His ruse doesn't fit her" Derek states. "Is she victim number 5?" Maya wonders and Derek shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know but I rushed her DNA to Quantico. They're working on it for me" Derek informs and Maya nods her head, happy that Derek is looking for some type of closure.

"Until we get a confirmation, we can't make any assumptions based on her behavior" Hotch declares and Morgan agrees but he doesn't want to turn down the fact that Cindi would never get a boat.

Hotch calls Garcia to find the victims history in Charleston and Miami but she comes up empty, so they wonder how they got to those cities because maybe he met them in transit, but she comes up empty again. "How?" Maya asks, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't get that. If these people are start over their lives they need to travel and they have no history in the places that the post card was from" Maya states.

"This guy's not abducting them while they're in Miami or Charleston," Derek theorizes. "He's grabbing them while they're en route."

_____

The day after, a body is found, and Derek and Reid examine the body. They notice the self-imposed stabbing wounds. "This guy was mentally and physically compromised, but he still went after the unsub with everything he had," notes Derek, who suggests the victim was trying to protect someone.

Derek calls Garica, whom he calls baby girl, to try to track fathers who had recently filed change-of-address forms in relocating to Florida. Within minutes, Garcia has a match: a divorced man who was moving south with his 15-year-old son, James. Unfortunately, there's no record of how they traveled -- "like the others," Garcia notes. The team suspects that the victims traveled by train, as it's the only transportation service that wouldn't leave an electronic record of tickets.

Garcia notes that James took the train three summers in a row and that an employee of the train company also owns a boat. That employee, Blake Wells, comes from a broken home in which the father abandoned the mother and child. Wells also didn't show up for work at the train yard that week.

The BAU team, along with local law enforcement, scoured the area around canneries and docks connected to Blake Wells' past. Maya partnered with Derek, their eyes scanning every corner for any sign of the elusive unsub. Suddenly, Hotch's urgent call shattered the tense silence.

"The unsub isn't in our area. He might be in ours," Hotch's voice crackled over the radio, prompting Maya and Derek to spring into action.

"Let's move!" Maya shouted, her senses on high alert as they raced towards the docks. As they approached, Maya's sharp eyes caught sight of a boat near the dock, raising her suspicions.

"Derek, look," Maya called out, pointing to the boat where a figure stood, obscured by the dim light of the evening.

Derek wasted no time, hanging up on Hotch as they closed in on the boat, their guns drawn and ready for action. As they rounded the corner, the scene before them unfolded in a heart-stopping tableau - Blake Wells, holding a knife to a young boy's neck.

"I suggest putting that down," Maya's voice was firm, her gun trained on Blake Wells with unwavering focus.

"Stand down! Everybody, stand down!" Derek's command rang out, his authoritative tone cutting through the chaos of the moment. The local cops hesitated, unsure of what to do, but Maya remained steadfast, her finger ready on the trigger.

"Stand down," Derek repeated, his gaze locking with Maya's, silently urging her to lower her weapon. Reluctantly, Maya complied, lowering her gun but keeping her eyes fixed on Blake.

"Drop the knife," Derek's voice was commanding, yet there was a hint of empathy in his tone as he addressed Blake.

But Blake seemed hesitant to comply, his grip tightening on the knife. "Look at James, he's just a kid," Derek appealed, trying to reach the humanity within Blake. "You don't hurt kids. You're not that guy."

Derek's words seemed to penetrate Blake's hardened exterior, his expression flickering with uncertainty. "You have much to teach us, Blake. We won't abandon you," Derek reassured, his voice soothing and calm.

Finally, after a tense moment of hesitation, Blake Wells dropped the knife, the tension in the air dissipating as the team moved in to apprehend him. It was a moment of triumph amidst the chaos, a testament to the team's ability to defuse even the most volatile situations with a combination of strategy, empathy, and unwavering resolve.

_____

In the dimly lit interrogation room, Derek faced off against Blake Wells, the killer whose crimes had torn families apart. As Derek slid a photograph across the table, the atmosphere crackled with tension. The killer's eyes flicked to the photo, a smirk playing on his lips.

Maya watched from the other side and felt a certain tang in her stomach. Maybe looking down at the picture of Derek's cousin, gave him a sense of release and made him relive the moment. The moment he ended her life, making her life a mystery.

As Maya continued to watch Derek, she knew that wasn't the case. He didn't seem phased by it. He seems disgusted, but not angry. Not frustrated in any way possible. His expression made it seem like he had a sense of hope.

"Do you remember her?" Derek asks and Wells chuckles, his wrist and ankles shackled to the metal table and chair. "Do I remember her? Of course I do. She was willing to do everything I said. She--- she was great, and I loved watching her blood color my floor" Blake taunts.

"You want to know who she cried out for before I made her slice her own throat?" Wells taunted, relishing in the pain he inflicted. "You. Where were you when she bled out on the floor of my boat?"

Derek's jaw clenched, his eyes burning with restrained anger. "You are a sick sonofabitch, but you didn't kill her," he stated firmly before exiting the room, his mind heavy with memories and unresolved grief.

Outside the interrogation room, Maya awaited Derek, her expression unreadable as he approached. "How'd you know?" she asked, her voice quiet yet probing. "He knew his victims' names. He didn't know Cindi's," Derek explained, his tone tinged with sadness as he walked away, the weight of his family's pain heavy on his shoulders.

"What're you gonna do? What will you tell your Aunt?" Maya's questions hung in the air, her concern evident in her voice.

Derek paused, his gaze distant as he considered his response. "I don't know. I want her to stop looking. Stop worrying about Cindi," he admitted, his voice tinged with longing for closure.

"I don't want to hurt her feelings," Derek added, turning to face Maya, his eyes searching hers for understanding.

"Sometimes what we need isn't what we want. People need their feelings hurt once in a while," Maya remarked, her words carrying a weight of wisdom born from years of grappling with the harsh realities of their work.

"You do what you have to," Maya said softly, her hand briefly resting on Derek's shoulder in a gesture of support before she walked past him, leaving Derek to wrestle with the difficult decisions ahead, his heart heavy with conflicting emotions.

"You can only move on if you accept that it's gone"
-The Goddess Rebellion-