"Will you stand by me"
* * *
Gripping her bag tightly, Bella inhaled sharply as she stepped into the hospital. Her entire body trembled as the smell of strong hand sanitizer filled her nostrils. It didn't matter how old Bella got, hospitals would always be one of her least favorite places. It harbored nothing by anxiety and fear.
Spencer rested his hand on the small of her back, glancing down at her as she chewed on her bottom lip. She walked forward, her steps small as she made her way to the front desk. Quietly, she asked for the location of her grandmother's room before being pointed in the direction.
"Are you alright?" Spencer asked as they walked down the hallway.
"I'm fine," Bella lied.
"We can take a break if you want, Bells. Just to catch your breath."
"No, I can't waste any time."
Bella took Spencer by the hand and continued to walk down the bright hallway. Her grip on her bag tightened as she got closer to her grandmother's room, seeing all of her sisters already standing outside. Aurora leaned up against the wall and sniffled before looking up and noticing Bella.
"Bella," Aurora sniffled, breaking off from the group and pulling her sister into a tight hug.
"Hey," Bella said, lowly. "I'm sorry I'm late, we got here as fast as we could."
"You're ok."
Bella then pulled Charlotte and Phoebe into a hug, each woman wiping their tears away as they stole glances into their grandmother's room. Aurora pulled Spencer into a hug, crying onto his shoulder as he attempted to soothe her.
"What happened?" Bella asked, her throat feeling dry.
"She stopped eating," Phoebe said. "She just started to get weaker and weaker. She-she's dying."
"How did this happen so suddenly?"
"She's old, Bella. She's 82 years old...it was bound to happen."
With a sniffle, Bella turned and looked into her grandmother's room. The older woman sat up in bed with her eyes closed, her chest rising and falling slowly. Bella turned and looked back at Spencer, taking his hand.
"She's been waiting to see you," Charlotte said, urging Bella to go into the room.
Bella swallowed roughly and continued to grip Spencer's hand as she made her way into her grandmother's room. The curtains were open, allowing for some sunlight to stream in through the dirty window. Bella let go of Spencer's hand and sat down at the end of her grandmother's bed, gently grabbing her hand.
"Grandma?" Bella whispered.
Her grandmother jumped slightly and opened her eyes. She blinked slowly before a light smile spread across her face, her eyes lighting up as Bella's face became clearer to her.
"My Isabella," her grandmother whispered. "I've been waiting for you."
"I'm here," Bella said, tears flooding her eyes. "I'm not going anywhere."
"I had a dream about you."
"You did?"
"I made you a strawberry cake and we went to the park. It was so beautiful outside and there were so many birds. We sat underneath a large tree and you brought cups and cold milk. You served the milk as I cut the cake into perfect slices and we ate it all under the tree. It was so warm and bright. For a second I thought I was in heaven."
"That sounds beautiful, grandma. We'll have to do that sometime."
Her grandmother grinned, her eyes flicking up to Spencer. He stared at the old woman kindly, his hands shoved into his pockets. She old woman smiled at him the best that she could.
"It's Dr. Reid," she chuckled. "Have you gotten handsomer?"
"You're making me blush, Martha," Spencer laughed.
"You girls have a wonderful way of choosing handsome husbands. Aurora's husband looks like he walked straight out of a fashion magazine."
"He's very handsome," Bella agreed.
"But I always had a crush on Dr. Reid," Martha laughed. "I think it's the hair."
Bella nodded, "It's always the hair."
Spencer laughed as Bella turned and winked at him. Martha let out a loud cough as Bella reached for her glass of water, offering it to her only for Martha to shake her head.
"I wish you visited me more often, Isabella," Martha sighed. "I've missed you."
"I'm sorry, grandma," Bella said, feeling guilty. "Life has just been so hectic and busy between work and the girls-"
"The girls," Martha smiled. "How are they?"
"Brilliant, beautiful, kind, caring, and everything else good in the world. I'm sorry I didn't bring them."
"No need to apologize, dear. I wouldn't want them to see me like this. How is this little one doing?" Martha lightly touched Bella's stomach.
"Good," Bella answered. "Really good."
"Is it a boy or a girl?"
"We aren't sure, we like to keep it a surprise."
Martha grinned and nodded, "It's a girl, I can feel it."
"Really?"
"Our side of the family is just really good at having daughters."
Bella and Spencer smiled as Martha let out another cough, once again refusing any water. She blinked slowly and gripped onto Bella's hand tighter.
"I'm going to die today, Isabella," Martha whispered.
"Grandma," Bella said, furrowing her eyebrows. "Don't say that."
"I'm old and I'm sick, it's going to happen."
"Bells, I'm going to go wait in the hallway," Spencer whispered, feeling uncomfortable. "I'll see you soon, Martha, alright?"
Martha chuckled as Spencer left the room, finding the rest of the sisters sitting on the floor outside. Bella turned to look back at her pale grandmother.
"You're different from the rest of them," Martha whispered quietly. "You see things that others can't. You're much more different."
"Y-yeah," Bella stuttered.
"They don't understand what it's like to have constant danger in their lives. They don't understand what it's like to hold secrets and keep them locked away."
"Grandma, I'm confused."
"You're the most brilliant out of all of them," Martha continued to whisper, her grip growing tighter. "This is why you're the only one who will understand. You're the only one who will truly get it."
Bella tried to pull away from the grip, "Grandma, you're scaring me."
Martha leaned in closer to Bella, "Our family isn't what it seems to be. Dip deep, Isabella. Dig deep!"
"What?"
"Our family...secrets...lies...find it! Dig deep!"
As Bella stared at her grandmother with wide eyes, the old woman let go of her tight grip. Slowly, her eyes closed as she fell back into her bed. She let out a slow breath before the heart monitor went flat, the long beep sounding like a screech in Bella's ears.
She jumped off of the bed and backed up, her heart pounding against her chest.
* * *
Surprisingly, Bella found herself able to contain all of her tears. As she stared up at the hotel ceiling, she found herself lost in thought rather than grief. She blinked slowly, hoping that the sun would rise soon so she could start a brand new day.
Spencer could almost feel Bella's anxiety. It was as if he had the ability to absorb all of it. He opened his eyes and turned over on his side, watching as Bella stared at the ceiling as if she was studying it.
"Are you ok, Bells?" Spencer asked.
"No," Bella answered honestly. "I am far from ok."
"Do you want to talk?"
"I just...I don't even know where to begin, Spence. I-I don't even know what to talk about."
"Well, for starters, we can talk about how you just lost an important person in your life. It's not easy to lose someone you love."
"She was old, I knew it was coming."
"It still hurts, Bells."
Bella let out a huff and turned on her side to face Spencer. He pushed some hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. She frowned, trying to absorb his touch and let it comfort her.
"It was more than that, Spence," Bella whispered.
"What is it?" Spencer asked, his voice low and calm.
"My grandmother said something to me that didn't make any sense. She told me that my family isn't what it seems to be and that I need to dig deep. Spencer, she alluded to my family possessing a deep secret."
"Are you serious?"
"It came out of nowhere and she didn't go into any detail. She died before I got anything out of her."
"Bella, elderly people sometimes make up stuff in their head and it comes out. They suffer from delusions and confusion-"
"I think she was telling me the truth," Bella interrupted. "Spencer, my family kept a secret from me that I had an aunt who was murdered before I was even born. They had no problem keeping that from me so why wouldn't they keep another secret from me?"
Spencer furrowed his eyebrows, "How big of a secret would it have to be for your family to hide it from you?"
Bella shrugged, "I don't know and my sisters don't know. Both of my parents are dead, my grandparents are dead, my mom's sister is dead, my eldest sister is dead, and my dad didn't have any siblings. I have no one to turn to, Spence. I have no one to talk to about this."
"Hey, whatever it is, we'll figure this out together," Spencer said, taking Bella by the hand and kissing it. "I promise, we'll figure this out no matter how long it takes."
Bella nodded and held onto Spencer's words, hoping that they could manifest into something real. He leaned in and planted a soft kiss on her forehead before cupping her cheek, lightly stroking his thumb over her soft skin.
"I'm sick of my life being a mystery," Bella whispered.
"I know, honey," Spencer responded.
"I feel alone."
"Bella, you are never alone. You always have me, no matter what. I am always going to be right by your side."
Frowning, Bella closed her eyes and willed herself to fall asleep.
* * *
Bella stirred a spoonful of sugar into her cup of tea, sitting down at her desk as her grandmother's final words continued to play over and over again in her head. She took a long, slow sip of her tea while she stared down at her desk blankly. It seemed like no matter how hard she tried to focus on anything else, her grandmother's face kept popping up inside of her head.
"Hey," Florence said, walking to Bella. "I heard about your grandmother, I'm really sorry for your loss."
"Hm?" Bella said, choking on her tea. She looked up to meet Florence's confused gaze before plastering a fake smile across her face. "Oh! Uh, thank you. She was old so it wasn't really a...shock."
"Death is still painful, I'm always around if you need someone to talk to."
"Thanks, Florence."
"I remember when my grandpa died when I was 8. We were in the hospital with him and he was all wrinkly and smelly. I remember my parents kept trying to make me hold his hand but I was creeped out so I refused. Then he just died and I begged my parents for jello as they cried. I didn't really understand death when I was little. Now, as I'm older, I realize that I was kind of a menace."
"Wow," Bella said. "Luckily I didn't do any of those things."
"You're much better than I am. I still get weirded out about death, which is weird considering that I'm training to be an FBI Agent for the BAU."
"You get used to death really fast, you see it all around you."
Florence nodded, "Like that shooting that happened recently."
"What shooting?" Bella asked, looking over at her sharply.
"You didn't see? An entire women's basketball team was killed by a sniper."
"A long-distance serial killer," James corrected, walking by with a muffin in his hands. He took a seat next to Bella and bit into the muffin before grinning. "I learned that from Spencer."
Bella widened her eyes and set her cup of her tea down, suddenly feeling incredibly nauseous. James finished his muffin, tossing the wrapper into the garbage underneath Bella's desk.
"There was a long-distance serial killer and we weren't called in on it?" Bella asked.
"Nope," James said. "Apparently they don't need us for that. I hate shooters. I hate guns in general."
"Is that why you don't carry one?" Florence asked, crossing her arms.
"I'm a tech analyst, I don't need a gun. Even if I did, I don't think I'd ever use it."
"What if you had to?"
"Like I said, I hate guns."
"Why wouldn't they call us out for that?" Bella whispered, feeling disoriented.
James shrugged, "Not sure. Maybe they're confident enough to think that they can catch this guy without needing behavioral analysts to take a look at him."
Bella furrowed her eyebrows, a pit growing in her stomach as Tara burst through the doors, rushing into the room while barely holding onto her go-bag.
"Woah, woah, woah, slow down there," Matt said, holding up his cup of coffee to prevent Tara from running into it.
"Have you seen the news?" Tara gasped, out of breath.
"What happened?" Luke asked, looking up from his stack of paperwork.
Tara reached into her back pocket, pulling out her phone. She went to Google, typing quickly before clicking on a video. She turned her phone around to her co-workers, watching as their mouths fell open in shock.
"Bomb explodes outside of women's college, kills 400," Luke read, the video of the destroyed school reflecting in his eyes. "What the hell?"
"Are we being called out for this?" Florence asked. "First the sniper now this?"
"Long-distance serial killer," James corrected again before turning to Tara. "When did you see this?"
"Just as I was walking into work," Tara answered. "It happened only 40 minutes ago."
"Is this terrorism?" Matt asked. "It's all happening in D.C. Mass shootings and now a bombing?"
"Women are being targeted too," Luke said.
Bella felt vomit rise to the back of her throat.
* * *
A man adjusted his eyes to the darkness of his office. He opened up his desk drawer, his hands tracing over the countless documents stashed away inside. Reaching deep inside, he pulled out a manila folder with pieces of paper sticking out.
As he opened up the folder, the papers began to fall out with ease. He cursed underneath his breath and shoved them back inside, the photos from inside falling into his hands. Instead of forcing them back inside, he allowed himself to catch them and cradle them like they were a child.
The photos depicted the recent shooting, blood staining the ground, and trailing over the grass like it was seasoning. The other photos depicted the recent bombing and the bright flames that took hours to be put out. The man chuckled to himself as if he was pleased with the number of people dead. As if he was challenging himself to reach an even higher number.
The man felt as if he took a hit of drugs, adrenaline rushing through his system as he continued to stare down at the photos of pure destruction. He couldn't help but smile and congratulate himself, striving to do more as he shoved the photos away.
As the man reached over and turned on the lamp on his desk, he shrugged off his sweatshirt and threw it onto his bed. He sat down in his chair and opened up his laptop, grabbing a piece of paper and a pen. He licked the ballpoint of the pen and began to hum to himself.
Slowly, the man spun around in the chair and looked up. His face was as clear as day. His face was too recognizable.
It was none other than Bella's father.
Bella woke up with a jolt, her body forcing her awake as her eyes shot open immediately. She flinched dramatically, kicking off the blanket that Spencer was setting on top of her.
"Sorry!" Spencer whispered, looking at his startled wife. "I didn't mean to wake you up."
"What time is it?" Bella asked.
"Almost 10:30, you and Emma fell asleep watching Toy Story. You looked so comfortable down here I didn't want to wake you up."
Bella glanced over to see Emma curled up on the couch, clad in fuzzy pink pajamas with her hair tied back in a messy ponytail. She gripped her stuffed giraffe tightly and snored lightly. Bella sat up, her entire body feeling funny.
"Don't worry about her, I'll carry her up," Spencer continued to whisper. "I put Ophelia down, she fell asleep quickly."
"That-that's good," Bella stuttered, still attempting to bring herself back into reality.
"Is everything alright? You seem confused, Bells."
"Y-yeah?"
Spencer furrowed his eyebrows and crouched down, becoming eye level with Bella. He reached out and felt her forehead with the back of his hand before pulling away.
"You're not warm," he said. "What happened? Did you dream something?"
"I dreamt something beyond reasonable explanation, Spence," Bella whispered.
"What did you dream?"
"Y-you know that shooting that happened recently? And the bombing?"
"Yes."
Bella swallowed roughly, "Spence, I dreamt of a man who was looking at photos of the damage. He-he was proud. He was smiling and laughing and it seemed like he was behind it."
"Did you see his face?"
Bella's bottom lip began to quiver as Spencer moved in closer to her, cupping her face gently as she fought back tears.
"That's what I don't understand," Bella said, her voice raw. "Spence, the man that I saw was my father."
"Your father?" Spencer questioned.
"Yes, my dead father. I-I don't understand why I saw this."
"Well, sometimes dreams can just be dreams."
"No, not with me. I once had a dream where I saw you murdering a woman. It obviously wasn't you but my brain substituted Gus with you."
Spencer continued to stare at Bella in disbelief as Emma stirred, slowly sitting up as she yawned and rubbed her eyes.
"Dada?" she whispered. "I'm tired, can I go to bed?"
"Of course, pumpkin," Spencer answered.
"Will you carry me? Please?"
"Alright, princess."
Emma smiled as Spencer scooped her up, setting her on his hip as she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Mama, are you sleeping soon?" Emma asked.
"Yes, honey," Bella answered. "I'm going to bed soon."
"Let me put her down and we can talk," Spencer whispered as Emma closed her eyes and nestled herself into Spencer's arms.
Bella nodded and stared at the ceiling until Spencer got back.
* * *
"Why were we all called in?" JJ asked, sitting down at the round table. "Are we finally being called in on those mass killings?"
"No," Emily said with a shake of her head. "I was actually called by Dr. Snow today. She said that she wanted to meet with all of us because it was important."
The team glanced at each other with confused expressions as Emily sat down, unsure if she was ready to hear what Bella was bringing to them. As she glanced over, she watched as Spencer walked into the room. He stayed silent as he sat down, his face stern as the team looked at him curiously.
"Reid," Luke whispered. "What the hell is going on?"
"It...it's a lot to explain," Spencer answered. "Bella is coming, just listen to everything that she has to say."
"Is everything ok?" James asked, concern filling his voice.
"I don't know," Spencer answered honestly.
Before anyone else could try to pry for answers, Bella walked into the room with bags underneath her eyes and her hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. She looked up at the team, struggling to maintain eye contact with anyone.
"Bella," Emily said, greeting the woman. "Hey, is everything ok?"
"I have a lot on my mind right now," Bella answered. "I...I don't know if I'm going crazy or not. That's why I needed to meet with all of you. I need you to tell me if I'm crazy."
"Sweetheart, you aren't crazy," Spencer said with a sigh.
"You're my husband, you're biased."
"Bella, you aren't crazy," Luke laughed.
Bella huffed, "First of all, you don't even know what I'm about to say. Second of all, you're my brother-in-law so you're also biased."
Luke held his hands up in surrender as Bella set down the file she was holding. With shaky hands and a large breath, she opened it up, pulling out multiple documents.
"I know you have all heard of the recent shooting and bombing," Bella said. "I know we haven't been invited on the case yet, and I also know that nobody has determined if these are even connected or not. I just...I need to discuss something with you all."
"Bells, you really don't have to do this," Spencer said, sensing his wife's anxiousness.
Bella shrugged him off, clearing her throat as she flipped through her documents. Her large eyes looked up and scanned over all of her colleagues. Each of their faces showed that of understanding and compassion. Yet, she still felt as if she was the craziest person in the room and they were judging her for it.
"I've discovered some things that weren't easy to look into," Bella continued. "As some of you may know, my father died when I was 10 years old. He hung himself and I...I found his body. He was depressed and it was obvious but I was only 10, and I couldn't do anything about it.
Bella inhaled sharply, trailing her eyes over to meet Spencer's. She knew that it didn't matter how uncomfortable she was, his eyes were always there to gather her in a warm hug. She licked her lips and looked back at the team.
"I didn't know much about my father except that he was a very private man," Bella continued. "He didn't share anything about his personal life and he tended to keep his problems hidden. When I was 4, I remember that he disappeared for a little bit. He returned after about 2 weeks and didn't say anything about it. I never questioned it, why would I?"
Bella took a pause before continuing, "My father attended UAlbany and achieved a degree in chemistry. He then went on to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry. He would go hunting sometimes. He once took me and my sisters out with him and I saw him shoot a deer from miles away. I remember flinching and looking away because I hated that he killed an innocent deer. But, he made a perfect shot from miles away."
Feeling her throat close up, Bella squeezed out a tear as her hands continued to shake. Spencer reached out, grabbing her hand a giving it a reassuring squeeze. Bella took a deep breath and pressed her lips together.
"In 1974, before my sisters and I were born, there was a case of a mass shooting followed by a bombing," Bella continued. "A women's book club was gunned down and a sorority house was bombed. 13 women died. It all occurred around UAlbany, where my father was attending school at the time. He-he was studying chemistry and he was a perfect shot. He knew how to shoot someone from a distance and he knew how to build a bomb. The person behind these horrific crimes was never caught. During the 2 weeks that he was gone, a girl's boarding school was bombed. 18 women and girls were killed. No one caught who did that, either."
"Bella, what are you saying?" Luke asked, shock exploding through him.
"Are you trying to say that your father is behind these recent crimes?" Rossi asked.
"No," Bella said with a shake of her head. She wiped her nose as another tear fell. "My grandmother died recently and before she died she told me that my family held some secrets. I think all of these crimes are connected and I think that my father committed those crimes from when I was a kid and before I was even born."
"But, what about the recent ones?" Florence asked.
"I think he has a copycat," Bella said. "My father was a very charming and influential person, it wouldn't shock me if he somehow passed his ideas down and somehow got their hands on them. I never knew why my dad killed himself and I'm starting to think it was because the guilt got to him."
"Bella," Emily whispered with a shake of her head. "I-I don't even know what to say."
"It's ok," Bella said. "I don't know either. All I know is that...I think my father was a killer. And I think his legacy is somehow living on through someone else."
The room fell silent.
_________________________
Song: "Mind over Matter" by Young the Giant
A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks so much for reading! SO, this chapter marks the countdown until this book is finished! There are only 10 more chapters until this book is complete! I can't believe it but I'm so excited to complete this journey with all of you! Stay safe and healthy! I'll see you all soon!!!