"What is one man's gain is another's loss"
-Samuel Taylor Coleridge-

"Hey, you alright?" Rossi asks as he walks over to Hotch who just got off the phone. "I'm alright. I'm worried about the team and Strauss thinks adding a probationary agent is going to solve our problems" Hotch answers as the two of them start to walk to the office to go over the new case. "Seaver knows she's not replacing Prentiss" Rossi argues but Aaron stops them both and turns to look at him.

"I'm afraid someone already has" Aaron states before the two of them walk into the room seeing someone sitting right in Emily's seat. The seat where she sat at a point in time.

"Who the hell is she?" Derek asks, pointing to the mysterious woman looking comfortable in the seat next to Dereks'. The woman then spins her chair around, getting a look at the whole group. Her leg was crossed over the other and her arms rested on the armchairs. She had on a black leather jacket with a navy-blue shirt underneath along with black jeans and black boots because pant suits were never her thing.

"Maya Regan and I would say it's nice to meet you, but I have a feeling that won't be reciprocated." She introduces, waiting for everyone else to introduce themselves, even though she already knew everyone's name, but they didn't. They just continued to stare at her like she was a fly that wasn't supposed to be in their home.

Maya then furrows her brows, her eyes squinting in the process as she begins analyzing Derek who hesitantly takes the seat next to her and Maya knew that him and everyone else weren't comfortable around her considering who they just lost. In their eyes Maya was just a replacement, nothing else.

Aaron, SSA Aaron Hotchner, clears his throat and shakes Maya's hand reassuringly. "Nice to meet you Regan and so is everyone else" Hotch states, speaking for the whole group.

"You speak for everybody?" Maya asks as she removes her hand from Hotch's and turns her seat towards the front of the room but feels multiple eyes practically piercing through her soul.

"Let's just get started" Aaron states as he takes his seat, along with everyone else. "Ok, uh, well you're headed to Portland, Oregon, and it's not for a dead moon concert" Garcia states as she turns on the tv screen behind her. Maya leans back in her chair and listens on the case before looking over to Derek Morgan who seems to be analyzing her as well. Watching her every move, every glance, every breath and Maya couldn't say she was upset about it because his presence was sort of relieving despite his harsh demeanor.

Back to the case, Two people are dead, Jay Johnson, who was a DJ, and a nurse, who was stabbed 40 times with eight different weapons. "That's too many weapons for one person," Rossi says. Regan narrows her eyes at the screen before skimming through the case file set in front of her.

"It says there's a left and right handed killer" Regan points out to which Garcia nods her. The room falls silent for a moment and Regan raises her head noticing Garcia watching her sadly like she was reminiscing. "Is there a problem?" Regan asks, looking around at the team. "Yeah, but we'd be here all day if we told you" Derek states harshly making Maya scoff in annoyance.

"Something you want to get off your chest, Agent Derek Morgan?" Maya asks, leaning over to Derek, looking him in his eyes and for a spilt second, she noticed he was catching his breath after realizing how close she was and that was when she pulled away, leaving him wanting more.

"Back to the case please" Aaron calls out, bringing everyone back to the situation.

"Anything taken from the house?" Hotch asks and Garcia informs only random stuff was taken such as a computer, some jewelry, a framed picture of Lily, who was the victim. "All pawnable items. What do we have, serial killing crooks?" Derek asks as he flips through his case file questionably.

"Similar victimology- young professionals killed three miles apart" Hotch informs. "What about a gang? Are there any well known gangs in Portland?" Regan asks, inserting herself in the conversation. This was her job now and weather it for a few weeks or a few days, she was going to do her job and do it right.

"Uh, there's minimal gang affiliation in Portland. This seems more like desperate people in need of quick cash" Reid, the one who seems to know everything about anyone or any place, states. "But if this is just about money... why kill them when you could just threaten them and have them give you the cash or items up front?" Regan asks.

"That's what we have to find out" Rossi answers, closing the case file on the table.

"We've got 8 hours till nightfall. Regan, you're joining us. Let's go" Aaron informs as he starts packing up his things. "What? She just got here" Derek whines as he stands to his feet. "Strauss says that Regan is the best of the best and can handle herself better than most so she's coming. Besides, we need all the help we can get" Aaron states, that being his only and final answer.

Maya looks up at Derek who's standing and sends him a playful smirk before standing to her feet and being eye level with him. "See ya, partner" Regan jokes before she pushes past him so she can get ready to leave with her new 'team'.

______

The group is now gathered on the jet and continues to look over the case whilst in the air. Regan just finished using the bathroom, so she exits the tiny restroom and meets the group. Not knowing where to sit she takes a seat next to Reid who sends her a hesitant but friendly smile before handing her a new case file which she thanks him for.

Derek looks over how friendly Reid is being to Maya and can't help but wonder why, but once Hotch begins talking, Derek averts his eyes back to the case file in his hand.

"So, both victims around the same age and killed at night" Hotch recaps. "One in an alley on the way to his car, the other in her home after coming from the grocery store after work" Rossi adds on as Regan nods her head while reading over the files and learning more and more about each victim.

"That and there's extreme overkill in both" Derek states as he looks at the crime scene photos. "Overkill, could either mean the killers knew them personally or they were just really really angry" Regan states. "These unsubs are night owls, stalking and killing other night owls" Rossi says, looking over to Reid who begins to rant about how the unsubs are disorganized which confuses the team, but they start to understand it.

If this is a gang, they could be getting reckless which means they are capable of worse acts then this.

"But- This is Portland. When have you ever heard of robbery and murder in Portland?" Regan asks before she tosses the file on the table. "That's why I started working a geographical profile" Reid state as he pulls out a large map from his bag and begins to inform the team on what he has figured out or gathered so far.

_____

Hotch, Regan and Rossi, in the meantime, visit the home of the nurse. Hotch thought it was best for her to get the whole experience and stay out of Derek's way considering it's highly noticeable he doesn't like having her around. Regan finished placing her surgical gloves on and inspects the living room all the way to the kitchen.

Rossi meets Regan in the kitchen, both of them stepping over certain items so they don't disturb the bizarre and bloody crime scene.

"So, how'd you land here in the FBI?" Rossi asks, opening counters and creating small talk. Regan looks over at him and chuckles softly, "You really want to know or are you just making useless conversation?" Maya questions and looks over to Rossi shrugging to the question.

"Would you believe me if I said both?" Rossi wonders and Maya shakes her head side to side, "Not in the slightest" She declares before continuing her search.

"This hasn't been processed, has it?" Maya asks before she bends down in the kitchen, inspecting the floors and even the counters to see if anything other than the crime scene is out of place. "The M. E's report says she died after the second stab wound because they hit an artery" Rossi informs as he reads over the report. "And these guys just kept going. Killing her with any item they could find" Regan mumbles before standing up straight thinking,

Why the overkill from multiple unsubs?

"We see it sometimes with groups. The fact that others are involved helps each of them rationalize their own violent behavior," Hotch explains. But something isn't right. "No, somethings off" Regan informs as she starts to inspect the ground. "I know we are looking for multiple unsubs but if you look at all these bloody footprints they're the same. Same size and length. If this was a group it would be different. Everything would be different" Regan explains and Hotch begins to see it.

Is this wild group so organized that it wears the same shoes? Doubtful. "This is just one very erratic killer," Hotch concludes.

_____

The next morning, the team finds a third victim with 41 stab wounds.

"He's starting to evolve, that's for sure." Regan states as she looks down at the dead body, feeling uneasy but that feeling never goes away. Not with a job like this. Derek and Seaver come to join the conversation.

"The bedrooms a mess" Derek informs. "Good inspection" Regan mocks. "We need to find someone who knew the place in order to figure out specifically what was taken" Derek then suggests, trying to ignore Maya's comment, before some sort of noise is heard right about them.

"Those- That's footsteps" Regan states as she looks above her, hearing every movement going on. "Good inspection" Derek mocks back, Maya looking over at him in an instant before Derek starts to walk away, going to inspect the sound and Maya follows after him.

"What are you doing?" Derek asks, stopping in his tracks. "Oh god, are you going to whine about this too?" Regan questions before pushing past Derek and starting to walk towards the apartments to ask people a few questions and Derek surely follows her.

As they interview the upstairs neighbor, the women went on a large rant saying how she's never seen an incident as big as this one and kept dodging the question Agent Morgan and Agent Regan were asking-- "Can you just tell us about the screaming you heard?" Regan asks, interrupting the women mid-sentence. Derek secretly nudges her arm, and she nudges his back, not believing she's done anything wrong.

The women now speaks again declaring she heard screaming around 3:30 a.m. - a full hour AFTER the victim was killed. In short, the neighbor heard the unsub screaming. "And what was he yelling?" Derek asks nicely. "'I was just a kid -- I was a kid then,'" she repeats. "'I don't want to kill anymore.'" The women answers.

"And was anyone talking back to him?" Maya asks but the women shakes her head which raises even more suspicions. Derek suggests the unsub is talking to his hallucinations. "Was he hearing voices?" The woman in-front of them whispers and Regan clears her throat looking to woman up and down. "Uh, we think so" Regan answers coldly before the woman smiles, entering back into her house and shutting the door behind her.

"Are we sure she's not hallucinating? Why is she so happy about hearing someone murder someone?" Regan asks before turning around and starts walking away with Derek Morgan at her side. "People can't be happy?" Derek asks. "People are only happy when they try to cover up the fact that they're dead inside" Regan answers whilst she looks ahead of her, not realizing Derek analyzing her.

"Anyways, what do you think?" Maya asked, glancing over at Morgan who remained silent, his gaze fixed on her bright blue eyes. She chuckled softly, feeling the tension in the air. "Hello?" Maya waved her hand in front of his face, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, um---He sounds like a paranoid schizophrenic to me," Morgan finally spoke up, his tone analytical. "That usually begins in the early 20s."

Maya nodded, processing his observation. "That makes sense, and the people he's talking to are blaming him, which would explain why he said he didn't want to kill anymore. These hallucinations are driving him to kill," she added, her mind working through the details of the case.

Regan, who had been listening in, chimed in as they continued walking back to meet the rest of the group. "It's a classic case of psychosis-induced violence. We need to find him before he harms anyone else."

_____

The team then delivers its profile: the young unsub is likely a loner and is haunted by a childhood incident. As the group continues to deliver the profile Maya noticing the way Reid is moving and fidgeting with his hands like he understands the unsub pain. "It is our belief that the incident involved close family," Derek says. But what was it?

Regan was on her way back to the office when she heard voices coming from the men's bathroom. Curiosity piqued, she stopped and leaned against the wall, listening intently.

Inside, Reid was speaking with Derek, his tone thoughtful and somewhat troubled. "My mother suffered from schizophrenia," Reid confessed, his voice carrying a hint of worry. "I can't help but wonder if I might be susceptible to it as well. Lately, I've been having trouble sleeping."

Derek, always the voice of reason, advised, "Give yourself a break, Reid. You're still grieving for Emily. It's natural to have these concerns, but stressing about it won't help."

Reid nodded, his expression reflecting a mix of gratitude and uncertainty. "Yeah, and that replacement, Maya, isn't helping," he added with a hint of frustration.

Derek's agreement was firm. "I hear you, man. Maya's not Emily, and she's got big shoes to fill."

Unknown to Reid and Derek, Maya had heard everything they said, and she stood there, processing their words until she heard their feet shuffling as if they were getting ready to leave so she quickly booked it, leaving them behind, but not their words.

She was seen as the replacement, and she knew that wouldn't change anytime soon. They were grieving for a loss while Regan was gaining from this amazing job with who she thought was amazing people. She had it all but only if they knew the real her, maybe they wouldn't be so harsh about accepting her.

_____

Later, the group meets up and begins making notes. Any notes that could lead them closer to figuring out who the killer is, but Maya was silent and letting everyone else to do the talking despite having all these ideas in her hand. Reid notes that the victim was buying water and salt at the grocery store - elements common in an exorcism. He suggests looking at churches first.

"Wanna join Reid and I?" Derek asks as he grabs his jacket off the back of his chair. "No" Regan states harshly as she starts to organize the area. "I'm just the replacement... right?" Regan notes as she looks over to Derek who clears his throat softly and leaves along with Reid to go to one of the churches.

Hours later, Derek and Reid, along with Maya are called to the scene of a fourth victim, - a woman much older than the others. Maya looks around the room before looking down at the body inspecting all the stab wounds. "She must represent something to him," Reid says. The obvious answer: the mother who had him exorcised. "Look" Maya calls out as she points out, an outline of a body next to the victim. Reid narrows his eyes at the outline, "The unsub laid down and slept next to the woman" Reid states and Maya lets out a stressful breath while Reid then has a brainstorm.

"All the signs, including the stutter, point to insomnia" Reid states and Maya narrows her eyes at Reid, shocked that he found all that out because the unsub slept next to the body. "So, he has the adrenaline to kill but adrenaline goes away. It shuts your body down and makes you tired. He does this to sleep so he can get rid of the hallucinations" Regan explains as she rests her hands in the back pocket of her jeans.

"His hallucinations are so clear that sleep is the only release he has from them," Reid observes. He kills so that he can get brief periods of rest.

Garcia takes that information and crosschecks it against arrest records. A name emerges: Ben Foster, who has prescriptions for a sleep aid. "He probably uses the stolen money to buy pills," Seaver theorizes. "What's his background, Babygirl?" Derek asks and Maya raises her eyebrows slightly after hearing the way Garcia and Morgan talk but looks around at everyone who doesn't even bat an eye so... this must be normal.

When the young man was 10 years old, he was arrested for starting a fire that killed three of the people who helped perform his exorcism. Garcia pulls up pictures of the three folks and just two months ago, Ben was living in an apartment that caught fire. This recent event likely restarted the visions. The team then heads out to the SUVs. Time to visit Ben.

_____

Ben, meanwhile, is literally wrestling with his "friends," who continue to taunt him and urge him to find new victims in exchange for sleep. Regan raises her gun as she looks through the windows of the house. Just then, Hotch breaks down the door to the house.

Ben and his hallucinations race out the back door. Regan hears a fence clang in the distance and notices someone running out the back.

"He's running! He's out back!" Regan's urgent shout echoed through the team, alerting everyone as Ben and his hallucinations bolted into a neighbor's house. Inside, they found two terrified children, a boy and a girl, and Ben demanded that they close the curtains.

Derek and Maya intensified their search, combing the area for any sign of the suspect. Hotch, coincidentally nearby, saw the curtains snap shut and relayed the information to the rest of the team.

Meanwhile, inside the house, the hallucinations urged Ben to harm the children. Suddenly, Hotch and Reid burst in, guns drawn and aimed squarely at Ben.

Within seconds, Derek and Regan stormed in from the back, guns trained on Ben, leaving him no escape route. "We're not going to shoot you, but you need to put down the knife," Reid commanded, holstering his gun slowly in an attempt to build trust with Ben. "Where are the other people in this room, Ben?" he probed, while Regan maintained her steady aim, wary of Ben's mental state.

Reid engaged Ben in conversation, learning about his "friends" and the delusion of an exorcism. Regan observed the interaction, convinced that Ben's hallucinations were driving his actions.

"Ben, they're dead. They can't hurt you unless you let them," Regan stated firmly, her gun unwavering. "They can," Ben insisted, but Morgan interjected, "Your mind is playing tricks on you. Once you get help, it'll all stop," attempting to persuade Ben to release the children.

"We're here to help you, Ben. I promise that," Regan reassured, taking a cautious step forward, even as Ben expressed doubt that anyone could help him.

"We're the only people in this room, Ben," Reid's voice softened as he urged Ben to drop the knife. However, in his confused state, Ben misinterpreted Reid's words, thinking he was being asked to attack.

Regan noticed the change in Ben's demeanor as he released the children. With swift action, Ben lunged at Reid with the knife. Reacting instantly, Regan fired a shot, hitting Ben in the leg, while Derek aimed for his abdomen.

"We need an ambulance!" Reid's command rang out, signaling the medics waiting outside as he knelt beside Ben, offering care amidst the chaos.

_____

On the plane ride home, Maya sits by herself, away from the group and looks out the window as the plane slowly flies through the sky, ushering its way above the clouds. "Hey," Derek greets before he takes a seat across from her. Maya sighs and looks ahead of herself and sees Derek and forms a fake smile on her face as she adjusts herself in her seat. "Want some coffee?" Derek asks as he sets a mug on her table. Maya clears her throat and inspects the coffee before looking back up at Morgan.

"I understand that you loss someone-- important. You've all made that clear, but I've been assigned to this job, I didn't just take it" Maya rants and when she finishes Derek just takes a sip of his coffee out of his mug. "I understand that and I'm sorry if I- made you feel unwanted" Derek apologizes and Maya weirdly accepts it, but she doesn't want too.

"You can join us anytime you'd like" Derek states as he smirks into his mug before leaving Maya alone again. Maya looks down and a smile forms on her face, but it quickly fades away because she doesn't want Derek thinking he was able to get to her even if he was. She wasn't going to make it that easy.

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts"
-Winston S. Churchill-