Stronger in the Storm (Sequel to We Found Love In A Darker Place)

Chapter 9 - Good Guess

My eyes fluttered open and the room was to bright for my liking. "Spencer?" I asked, hoping he was somewhere near by.

"I'm right here, Clarity." He said, running to my side.

I looked around the room. It was a very clean hospital room. "What happened? How long was I out?" I asked.

"Doctor said you were giving a date rape. You have only been out for an hour or so. They said they were going to release you once you woke up. Just to make sure nothing bad happened." Spencer said, sitting next to me. "I'm gonna go tell them you're awake so we can get you back." He kissed my forehead and went to find a doctor.

I sat there and thought about which of the two suspects I had in mind it could be. Either Amy, or our possible UnSub, Victor. Spencer walked back in the room, paperwork in hand. "Which one was it?" I questioned him.

"Which one was what?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Who put the drugs in my drink?" I asked. "Victor asked what kind of coffee I drank, but I didn't see any signs of him tipping her off to give me a date rape."

He caught on to what I was saying. "They are both down at the police station, Derek is questioning them. So, I guess we'll find out soon."

We both turned to look at the door when someone knocked on it. "Alright Ms. Jones, you are all ready to go. Just need you to sign a few papers." The nurse said, handing me a clipboard with papers on it. I flipped through and signed the, and handed the clipboard back to her. "Alright, and the doctor said you should be able to go back to work. Just take it easy, when you fell, you hit your head pretty hard and got a small concussion." She smiled.

"Alright, thanks." I said, standing up beside the bed. She left the room and I turned to Spencer. "Have you talked to Will lately?" I asked, sudden worry coming over me.

"Yeah, I called him while you were sleeping. Mackenzie and Henry were playing outside. Mackenzie said she misses you." He smiled, grabbing my hand and pulling me out the door. "Have you noticed that you have been the main focus point of our UnSubs? This is the second case we have had were you have had caught up in the middle of things." He said as we walked to the SUV.

I thought about it for a second. It wasn't really that bad. I mean, we were FBI agents. Of course we are going to be watched over. That's how they get around us. The fact that my name has come from now two of our cases in the past 4 years was just part of the teritorry. Nothing to really worry about, right? "Gideon said he had many stalkers." I said without thinking. I froze as soon as the words left my lips. I turned to Spencer who has tensed up as well. "I'm sorry." I said, putting my head down.

"You're right, he did have many stalkers, and look where he is now. Dead." He spat at me. I hadn't seen this side of him. Ever. To be honest, it was scary. "You are my life, Clarity. Don't you realize that? If anything was to happen to you again, it would kill me, and most likely, I would go insane." He said, putting the SUV in drive and heading back to the police station.

The rest of the drive was silent. When we finally pulled into the station is when I finally said something. "I refuse to stop doing what I loved, just so I will be safe. The truth is, Spence, I'll never be safe. I have been on the news, in social situations where my badge has been shown. My face is known. Even if I was to get out now, there is always the possibility of something happening. I mean, Gideon was at his cabin, where only a few select people know about when we was killed. He had been out of the BAU for how long by then? We hadn't even talked to him in two years when he was killed. Is that safe?" I asked, opening the door, slamming it shut and walking toward the door.

Spencer didn't say anything, he just followed behind me as we found the rest of the team. They had a look of terror on their faces. "So, when I found out that you were drugged, I did a little work to see if the victims had anything in their system." Penelope said, turning to me. She was brought in when the woman with the name on her was found.

"And?" Spencer said, finally saying something.

"They all had high amounts in them. Which means they had to injest it right before they died. If Derek and Spencer didn't come in at the time when they did, you would probably be dead." Penelope said, not her usual happy self.

I turned to Spencer and I could tell he had two things running through his mind right now. Anger and sadness. "I'm sorry." Was the only thing that I could get to come out.

I could hear J.J. running toward me, so I quickly turned around as she drew me into a hug. After a second, she pushed me away and hit my arm. "Ouch! What the hell was that for?" I screamed.

"For putting yourself in danger. Again." She said, crossing her arms.

I rolled my eyes. "Spencer and Derek were there. I was safe. I promise." I said, massaging my sore arm.

"We have motive for the drug. Victor's secretary, is his wife. She said she buzzed him and heard Victor say something to Clarity to set her off." Derek said, joining us.

"Did she say anything about the other murders?" I asked, now curious.

"She said that they were all clients of the company. But here is a catch, none of them were Victor's clients. They were his father's." Derek added.

"Nothing is adding up, and absolutely none of this makes any sence." I said, rubbing my head.

"It does if you know that Victor wants his dad to retire and leave the business." Penelope said, showing us what she pulled up on her iPad.

I grabbed at and read the article. "Joseph McConnell said to possibly retire within the next year. While McConnell says 'I don't wish to leave my practice, my son, Victor, thinks it would be best.' He laughed 'He thinks I should be carrying a golf bag, not a briefcase.' Whether or not McConnell will actually retire is yet to be determined at the time." I said.

"When was that published?" Spencer asked.

I scanned the article and smiled. "Three days before the killing started."

"So to get his dad out of the picture, Victor set him up to make it look like he killed his own clients?" J.J. asked.

"Penelope, see how those cases ended, and what exactly the cases were about. Maybe we can get some more info on that." I said, smiling at her.

She nodded, not returning the smiling, and turned on her heel to head to her laptop.

"Since we don't have any incriminating evidence, they let Victor go." Hotch said, coming up beside me. "How are you?" He asked, putting his hand in my shoulder and looking deep in my eyes.

"I'm fine."I smiled, tucking my hair behind my ear. "What about Amy?" I asked.

Derek snickered. "She is going to jail for a while for the date rape she slipped you."

I laughed a little to myself. "Guess it could of been worse." I smiled.