Secrets.

11.

I know there's a lot of questions about exactly what Walt did to Shelby. I know that he molested her, but I also think that he raped her. It never said it outright, but when Shelby asks Jess "Did he make you have sex with him?" and then she says "he did it to me too" I took that as he raped her as well as touched her. Just my opinion, and that's how I'm writing it.

—

JJ walked out of the room quickly, trying to save whatever dignity she had left. Her whole life had just completely unraveled, and to make it worse, her friend and sister had been there to see it.

She cursed the tear sliding down her cheek as she wiped it away. If there was one thing that Shelby and JJ had in common, it was that they were both incredibly strong. They didn't lose their composure, and they did not cry.

JJ nearly walked into Hotch. "Whoa there." he said. "Hey, weren't you supposed to grab a few more hours of sleep?" he asked as the rest of the team appeared behind him. Apparently this was the place to be. Wonderful.

"Yeah, Emily needed some help with the victim..." she said absently. Through her years in hell, JJ (or Shelby, rather) had learned that when faced with a difficult situation, it was best to separate yourself emotionally. But, like most things, that was way more easier said than done.

"JJ, what the hell?" Speak of the devil, JJ thought as Emily's voice sounded from behind her.

JJ whirled around. "Em, where's Jess?"

"She completely broke down in there; I doubt she even knows I left."

Hotch looked at Emily, shocked. "Prentiss, you left an assault victim alone, crying?"

"Hotch, with all due respect, you did not just witness what I did."

"What do you mean?"

Ignoring him, Emily turned to JJ. "Jayje, did he rape you?"

JJ just about heard Reid's jaw drop to the floor. "Emily..."

"Jennifer, answer the question."

JJ was frozen for a minute. She never called JJ "Jennifer". Never.

"JJ, answer her." Rossi ordered.

"Um..."

"JJ."

"He...he just..."

"JJ."

"Yes!" She screamed. Everyone stared at her. "Yes! Are you happy now? Because I sure as hell am not!"

Emily just looked beyond her, staring at the wall. "But when I got there, he hadn't even taken your shirt off yet. You were still dressed. I wasn't that far behind..." By the end, she was more talking to herself than anyone else.

JJ shook her head, then whispered, "Not then."

The team thought they heard it wrong. "What?" Reid asked.

JJ sighed. "It's ironic, isn't it?"

"What is?"

"Walter Blaine."

"You mean the guy who molested his step-daughters? The one who got let out of prison? What does he have anything to do with this?" Rossi asked.

"You know his name, you know everything about him. You could probably tell me his favorite color. But do you know the names of his step-daughters?" The confused agents shook their heads slowly. "Of course you don't. The monsters are all we care about, all we notice." The team noticed that she said "monsters" instead of "unsub" or even "bad guy". That was definitely an emotional connection. "The victims are nothing to us. Well, their names are Merrick. Shelby and Jess Merrick."