Secrets.

1.

Secrets.

We all have them. Some are big, and can change our lives, while others are small and have almost no impact at all. Still, they are secrets. Secrets are best when kept a secret, because any other way and they are no longer a secret. But sometimes, we have no choice but to spill our deepest, darkest secrets. And the BAU was no exception.

Spencer Reid was first. Penelope Garcia discovered his secret when he had no choice but to call the place where his mother was staying, to save her life. That was when his coworkers found out that his mother had paranoid schizophrenia and was being kept in a Las Vegas hospital. It was also when they found out that he was afraid he might have it, too.

Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner was second. His team found out his secret when he was interviewing an intelligent serial killer, who trapped him into giving it up. That was when all of the people who work for him found out that he was abused as a kid.

Then was Jason Gideon. His secret was revealed when he left the team, telling them it was too much and he couldn't handle it any more. He no longer had the willpower to keep going, and he had to leave. He left his secret in a note for Spencer Reid. Gideon was one of the few lucky people who doesn't have to be around to watch your secret become known to all the people you care about.

Penelope Garcia was next. Her secret was huge, and caused her to get shot right outside her own apartment. She was helping families who lost loved ones, she was cheating to get them justice. But she had to tell her secret to save her life.

Then was Derek Morgan. His was a secret he kept for almost his whole life, since he was a thirteen year old boy. Someone he grew up with, someone he trusted, was sexually abusing him for years. But when Derek Morgan was accused of murder, he had to spill his secret to keep his freedom.

Last was David Rossi. He never told anyone why he decided to come back to the BAU after twenty years of retirement. But he had to when his coworkers noticed him acting strangely. He returned to work because a case was haunting him, one he never really closed. That was when Dave Rossi's secret became known.

Jennifer Jareau laughs as she remembers when the biggest secret she had was who her best friend was crushing on. Then her secrets got bigger and bigger. She went years without telling anybody. Jennifer Jareau laughs because she still has a secret, a secret that nobody else can know. A secret that changed her life forever. And it is still a secret.

Jennifer Jareau did not exist ten years ago.