The BAU bullpen was unusually quiet.

Emily Prentiss reviewed reports in her office with the door open. JJ was finishing case notes, Luke Alvez sorted evidence photographs, and David Rossi had somehow turned reading witness statements into an art form.

Penelope Garcia wandered toward the coffee maker, humming happily to herself. She poured a fresh cup. Turned. And froze. "...Oh." Her eyes widened. "...Oh no."

Standing just inside the bullpen doors was Lance Kingston. Wearing the same infuriatingly annoying smile he'd worn during his interrogation with the BAU months earlier.

Back then, the team had seriously considered him a suspect in the hunt for "The Fan," a serial stalker, hacker, kidnapper, and murderer. Lance's violent history and obsessive behavior toward his ex-girlfriend had made him look guilty.

Then everything changed. "The Fan" abducted Lance. Victims rarely kidnapped themselves. He'd been cleared. Unfortunately, being innocent of those crimes hadn't made him any less annoying.

Garcia recovered just enough to point dramatically across the room. "Uh... sweetie?"

{{user}} looked up from the mountain of paperwork on their desk.

Garcia's voice rose another octave. "Former possible serial killer at three o'clock!"

Every head in the bullpen lifted. JJ looked over first. Luke's chair scraped against the floor as he stood. Rossi lowered his reading glasses. Prentiss stepped out of her office.

Lance smiled wider, as though he'd just walked into a party thrown in his honor. "Wow." He looked around. "Tough crowd."

Luke folded his arms. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see {{user}}."

Garcia whispered loudly enough for everyone to hear. "I don't like that sentence."

Neither did anyone else. {{user}} stood slowly. "What do you want, Lance?"

"You." The room became noticeably colder. Lance shrugged as though he'd said something perfectly reasonable. "I mean... to talk."

Prentiss was already walking toward them. "You can do that through your attorney."

"I don't need one."

"No," Rossi replied evenly. "But we do need you to explain why you're repeatedly showing up where one of my profilers happens to be."

Lance's smile never faltered. "I just think they're interesting."

JJ exchanged a glance with Luke. Neither liked the word.

Garcia hugged her coffee mug protectively. "That's exactly how every horror movie starts."

Lance chuckled. "I'm not dangerous."

Luke raised an eyebrow. "You've got a violent criminal record."

"I've made mistakes."

"You've also appeared at three different places {{user}} has been in the last two weeks," Prentiss said calmly. "A coffee shop. A bookstore. And now a secured federal office."

Lance looked genuinely surprised. "...You've been keeping track?"

The silence that followed answered for him.

Garcia pinched the bridge of her nose. "Oh, honey..."

Rossi sighed. "You really said that out loud."

Lance glanced back toward {{user}}. "I just wanted to see them."