always you² | derek morgan. ✓

11 | thoughts.

— time lapse: six months —

charlotte rhodes.

I groan, "What kind of fucking sicko goes after firefighters and children?" I ask, tossing a case file on the desk in front of me.

"More importantly, why the hell do all of our leads keep bringing us up to dead ends?" Jay Halstead asks, tossing a case file on his desk.

I feel arms wrap around me, "Coffee." A familiar voice speaks up as they come up behind me, placing a coffee cup on the desk in front of me.

I grin, glancing up slightly — my eyes landing on Derek who has a playful smirk dancing on his lips.

I arch my brow slightly in curiosity, "Is it actually coffee or is it tea like always?" I ask in a low, whispered tone as my eyes search his for an answer.

Derek shakes his head slightly at my words, piercing his lips together before letting them part slowly, "Well, if you ask what it is, it just ruins the fun — that's why you're always supposed to drink it first." He states.

"How do I know that you're not trying to drug me?" I ask in a low tone.

"Because I'm a cop." He states with a shrug.

I give him a soft chuckle, "Cops can still be capable of unspeakable things — and you're not a cop, you're a profiler." I state.

"What's the difference? We all work in law enforcement." He asks.

I shake my head, "Profilers know how to control themselves because they notice when one is uncomfortable. They know what consent is, unlike some people." I explain, glancing around the room.

"Hey! Don't look at me, I don't push woman to give into my desires!" Jay exclaims, defending himself.

I let out a soft chuckle, "I never said that you pressured anyone into anything. I just said that you don't know boundaries." I state.

"I know boundaries." Jay argues.

I scoff at his words, "You hit on me, up until Derek through a left hook at you." I state.

Jay goes to say something but soon stops, cutting himself off as he pierces his lips together in defeat.

Derek chuckles, "Sorry about that, by the way." He states in a low tone, giving Jay a small grin as they both burst into laughter.

"I have a lead." Spence states, rushing into the room, as he heads straight towards the whiteboard with no hesitation -- Luke and Emily following shortly after him.

"Is it just me or does Reid seem jittery?" Derek asks, glancing around the room.

Luke nods slightly, "He's on his sixth cup of coffee for the day and hasn't slept in the last four. We tried to cut him off from caffeine, but it didn't work out so well -- just let him do his thing." He states with a shrug as he places a case file on the desk.

A familiar voice clears their throat, "We got a text to meet everyone here ASAP. What's the emergency?" Hotch asks as he, Rossi, and Voight step into the bullpen together.

Spence lets out a sharp exhale, "So, I was able to recover a burner phone from one of the scenes -- it led me to a dead end because you can't really get much from an unused burner phone. There were a few calls out to some numbers, but most of the numbers tracked led to more dead ends -- possibly more burner phones. I was able to ping a cell tower to find the location of the numbers, and they all traced back to one location. Connecting that with the system, tracking down foster kids, I found out that there is one kid who went missing -- seven year old male, Louie. His last name is unknown because he was dropped off at the Chicago Fire Department at a young age. Louie can be hostile with other kids so he's been getting bounced throughout foster care, no one wants to take him and no one knows what to do with the poor kid." He explains in a rapid-speaking tone, fidgeting with his hands as he speaks to everyone.

"Is the cell tower location close to Louie's school?" Derek asks, speaking up.

Spence nods slightly before turning back to the whiteboard, circling two closeby locations on the map, "That's the thing. The burner phone pinged a block away from Louie's school the same day that he went missing." He states, turning back to us all.

My brow furrows in slight confusion, "Is it at a house or just in the middle of a random ass neighborhood? I mean, what the hell is this unsub's plan? What -- or who -- the hell are they targeting now?" I ask in a low tone, my tone filling with slight defeat with this case.

Derek slowly steps up to the whiteboard, his eyes traveling as he examines the map closely, "The current neighborhood we're looking at is a slightly poor area -- lots of crack houses, group homes, and shelters are located in this area." He states.

"How do you know that?" Jay asks.

Derek glances back at the group, his eyes landing on me, "I grew up in the area, my mom always used to yell at me for going near this block -- said that the gangbangers were looking for nothing but trouble and that I should stay away from them. I temporarily fell into this crowd when my dad passed, visited this crack house a couple times, but thankfully, I made it out." He explains, giving his shoulders a small shrug.

A small bit of warmth fills my heart -- the fact that Derek's being so open about his past with everyone makes me spot a slight part of development in his position. He's being open, speaking about what he went through, and helping in everyway that he can -- making me feel prouder than ever.

Jay nods slightly at Derek's words, "I have a C.I. that works there, maybe we could hit up that corner together." He states with a small shrug.

Voight nods slightly, "Sounds good. Halstead and Morgan, you're partners." He speaks up, placing his hands in his pockets.

Derek shakes his head slightly as Atwater walks in with Ruzek, "Actually, Sarge, I was thinking that Kev and I could hit up that corner together." He states.

"What's up?" Atwater asks in confusion.

Derek shrugs, "What do you say we go and give Karnell a visit?" He asks.

Atwater scoffs at Derek's words, "That's like saying we'd visit Carter's bitch ass while we're at it. You know white boy likes to stick his nose in business that he's not supposed to be snooping around in." He states, his brow arching slightly as he crosses his arms.

Derek chuckles, "Why not? Seems like a good idea. We know he's probably seen something he wasn't supposed to. The snitch could be needed for once." He states.

Voight nods slightly, "Okay then, Atwater and Morgan are partners. Both of you talk to your C.I.'s, set up a meeting with Karnell and Carter and see what they've got, hit up the crack house and the shelters on the block, see if anyone's vitnessed anything that they weren't supposed to or if anything seems out of the ordinary." He states.

Derek clears his throat slightly, "You got it, Sarge." He states in a low tone, grabbing his coat before glancing at Atwater, who nods in agreement, grabbing his coat as well.

Hotch glances at the rest of us, "The rest of you get to work on the geographical profile and try to figure out where the hell this man might be keeping Louie." He states.

Voight nods, "Let's get DCFS on the phone, because since Louie is in foster care, he's gonna be jumping from place to place a lot more when he is found, so let's try to find him some kind of stability." He states in a rasped tone, continuing off Hotch's words.

I don't want that kid to go back into foster care. I don't want him to fall back into the toxicity of the foster system all over again.

I need to do something. I need to.