The case itself had been long and strenuous, everyone desperately trying to find some sort of connection between the families that had been murdered and the survivors. Spencer and Cassidy had been paired together more and more, which didn't help either of them. Spencer had noticed every time Cassidy had balled her hand into a fist and squeezed, while Cassidy had noticed every time Spencer's pupils dilated and he adjusted his position.
The team had been staying in a nearby hotel. JJ and Emily were paired together. Derek and Spencer were paired together. Hotch and Rossi were paired together. Cassidy was lucky enough to be on her own, yet her room was directly next to JJ and Emily.
At 2 AM, Cassidy sat up in bed, feeling uneasy. So far, the team had a pretty solid idea of what the unsub was trying to achieve, yet, Cassidy felt off, like the team - and in turn herself - had missed something. Taking a few large sips out of her water bottle, she jumped a little when a small knock sounded at her hotel room door, confusing her. She opened the door to reveal Spencer. Cassidy let him in, trying to ignore the fact that he wore nothing but a pair of plaid pyjama pants.
"Is everything okay, Spencer? It's 2:02 AM and you're sitting in my hotel room in nothing but pants." Cassidy questioned as she sat on her bed while Spencer sat on the chair that rested at the table with her go bag atop it.
"No, but clearly you're not okay either, Cassidy, considering you let me into your hotel room at 2:01 AM." Spencer chuckled.
"Okay, onto the reason why I let you into my hotel room. C'mon, spill." Cassidy crossed her arms, feeling a bit exposed, considering she was currently bra-less. She mentally slapped herself, considering she had slept with him a few weeks ago.
"Matt Doherty. The unsub deliberately spared him." Spencer started talking, confusing Cassidy, who raised her eyebrows in bewilderment.
"But not out of compassion." Cassidy fed into whatever theory Spencer had started rambling.
"He wanted them to feel the pain of losing their families." Spencer continued, Cassidy's eyes widening in shock.
"I think we've inverted our victimology." Cassidy figured out what Spencer was trying to say, causing Spencer to smile.
"We've been focused on the murdered family members. We should be focusing on the survivors." Spencer nodded.
"They are the real victims, the ones the unsub wants to hurt." Cassidy smiled before she felt a pair of lips on hers, unaware that Spencer had even moved closer to her.
As much as she wanted to pull away, she didn't. The kiss that she and Spencer were sharing made her feel complete, like it was supposed to happen. The kiss deepened, Cassidy falling onto the bed as Spencer got on top of her, his hands on either side of her hips as the kiss got more passionate. In that moment, Cassidy snapped back into reality. She rolled away from Spencer, confusing him.
"That was...amazing, but we can't. Not only are we right in the middle of a case, but JJ and Emily are right next door and I don't want to let them hear anything." Cassidy shook her head.
"We can always be quiet." Spencer smirked, placing his lips back onto Cassidy's.
"We're on a case, Spencer. We can't." Cassidy stood up from the bed, moving to the hotel room door, opening it. As much as she didn't want Spencer to leave, he had to.
The next morning, - bright and early - the team stood in the police department, Hotch giving Cassidy and Spencer permission to begin giving the profile.
"We believe the unsub is a variation of what we know as a family annihilator." Spencer started.
"The garden variety family annihilator is usually a narcissistic male patriarch experiencing psychological stress. This causes him to become homicidal and then suicidal." Cassidy continued, her hands balling into fists once again as she stood so close to Spencer.
"His narcissism often manifests as rage directed at a specific family member, prompting him to murder the entire family as an act of punishment and revenge. He then blames the object of his rage for his violent outburst." Derek looked around at the group of cops.
"Once the entire family is dead, the patriarch typically commits or attempts to commit suicide." Emily exhaled.
"But this unsub is murdering families that are not his own." JJ announced, her hands tightly clasped together.
"There's a distinct punishment component to the annihilation that's driving this unsub." Spencer continued again.
"He's more organized than the typical family annihilator, with greater impulse control and a high level of sophistication." Hotch spoke up, glancing around the room.
"His sophistication is apparent in the fact that the object of his rage is deliberately spared rather than murdered." Cassidy cross her arms, trying to prevent people from noticing her posture change when Spencer's hand brushed against her leg again.
"This allows the unsub the satisfaction of inflicting ongoing psychological pain on the object of his rage." JJ kept her eye contact as she spoke.
"We're looking for a male in his late 20s, early 30s. He's mature and highly intelligent." Rossi informed.
"Amanda Bergstrom and Matthew Doherty may be surrogates for individuals who wronged the unsub when he himself was an adolescent." Derek exhaled, shaking his head.
"Amanda and Matt both attend Pillsbury High School, and we have not identified any other connection between them or their families." Cassidy looked around the room, seeing the confusion on some of the cop's faces.
"Pay close attention to the faculty and administrators of the high school." Hotch informed.
"A lot of the parents are wondering if we should shut down the high school." A cop asked, confused.
"The school itself has not been a scene of violence. Closing it would not deter this unsub." Rossi shook his head, denying the suggestion.
"We need you to beef up patrols and warn the public of the ongoing danger." Derek nodded.
"And we ask you to encourage the entire Pillsbury high school community to report any suspicious individuals they may encounter." Spencer added before looking at Rossi and Hotch.
"Okay, that's it." Hotch announced before the entire police department dispersed, leaving the team to continue on with their investigation.