Psychosis

Chapter 12- Has She Changed?

Isabel looked at her friend curiously, wondering what she meant by "something better". What could be better than what Isabel and her partner were doing? They were doing what Isabel and her friend had always dreamed of doing. They were helping the world, one monster at a time. That's what they always agreed on doing.

"I don't understand what ye mean. What's better than this?" Isabel asked.

"You know what I mean."

"But my partner and I are doing what ye and I always said we were going to do. We're helping the world. Isn't that what we agreed on?" Isabel asked, and her friend shrugged.

"Yeah, but you're only doing it in one city. You're only helping my sister's city. Don't you want to go to the Big Apple, or Motor City, or even Sin City?" her friend asked, and it was Isabel's turn to shrug. She went through her brain, trying to remember which cities those were. She remembered the Big Apple was New York City and Motor City was Detroit, but where was Sin City?

"I guess, but how am I gonna do that?" Isabel wondered, deciding that trying to figure out where Sin City was could come later.

"You totally know how to do that! Your partner would even follow you, I bet. Come on, what could you join that would send you all over the country? You know it as well as I do, Isabel, and you know what? I'll bet they'll accept you in a heartbeat. You know where to go. Let me hear you say it."

"The FBI."

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Reid woke that morning with a weird mix of excitement, worry, and curiosity. Ciara and Akilah would be arriving in Quantico that day. He wanted to know if Ciara had changed any, but at the same time, he was a little worried she had. What had being in Los Angeles done to her? That, and he wondered about Akilah. He wondered what she would be like, and what the partnership between Ciara and Akilah was like. Did they share an inseparable bond, or did they just work well together? He would have to wait until they arrived later that afternoon to find out. When he arrived at work, everyone in the BAU, minus Hotch, was talking about the two girls.

"Okay, tell me again, she managed to do what when she was six?" Prentiss asked Morgan.

"She solved a case. Yeah, all on her own. Or, at least, according to Gideon. Apparently, she was a suspect, but he proved her innocence, and the next day, she showed up all matter-of-fact like and told him exactly how she had done it. He said it was one of the most remarkable things he had ever seen," Morgan answered, and while Reid didn't remember Gideon ever saying that, it didn't mean that he didn't. Maybe Reid just wasn't around when he did.

"I'm rather excited to meet Akilah. If she can control Ciara..." JJ drifted off because everyone except Prentiss and Rossi knew where she was going with it. But they would know soon enough.

Has she changed? What if she's not the same girl you remember? Reid couldn't help but wonder. It seemed like an eternity before they finally arrived. When they did, they were unmistakable. As soon as he saw her, his grip on his crutches tightened. On the surface, Ciara didn't look any different than she had nearly three years prior. She was still wearing her signature long-sleeved shirt and jeans, and her hair was pulled up into a bun. Just like Reid remembered her. That didn't mean her personality hadn't changed, though. Her eyes were on the ground, as usual, but she knew where she was going. She whispered something to the girl beside her, who nodded and looked over to the group, taking everyone in.

The picture that was in her file was definitely old- she looked much more mature, much more fierce, more defined than she did in the picture. She looked over the group, and her face settled into the smirk that they had seen in the picture. The scar under her eye was clear, and her head was covered in a hijab, so Reid still didn't get to know what color her hair was. Then again, he still didn't know what color Ciara's eyes were. Ciara led Akilah to Hotch's office, and Reid hadn't even noticed that everyone had grown silent until they began to talk again.