I do not own any characters from the TV series 'Criminal Minds'.
This story is the work of fiction.
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Please enjoy!
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Criminal Minds: Jack and Jill
Chapter 1
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It was just a dream. It had to be.
Aaron Hotchner could not believe what he was seeing as he watched helplessly. She was tumbling down the hill like a rag doll.
The children nursery rhyme came to him instantly; Jack and Jill went down the Hill...
Except there was no Jack, just Jill or in this instance Emily.
"Prentiss!"
He blinked when he heard someone in the far off distance called out.
"Emily!"
Another voice had called out her name. JJ.
In a strange trance he slowly turned to look and saw Reid and Morgan rushed towards her.
Followed by JJ and Rossi.
Dave, while running behind JJ, looked up at Hotch and gave him a strange look before he looked away and continued on.
Why did Dave looked at him like that?
Don't just stand there like that, like a jackass!
Emily was shot! She had fallen down the hill, like Jill in that kiddie nursery rhyme.
Hotch wanted to laugh, he wanted to recite the nursery rhyme.
Did Jack fell first?
How did the rhyme go?
Oh yeah;
Jack and Jill went up the hill
to fetch a pail of water
Jack fell down and broke his crown
And Jill came tumbling after
But here in the real world, Jack did not fetch any damn pail of water. Nobody fetches any pail of water anymore. They just filled it in the sink or the tub.
Water was easily accessible now unlike back in those dark ages where one had to dig for a water well.
And right at this moment, what was going on? Why are they here? The BAU team. Yes, Yes, they were trying to get a serial killer...
Did he shoot her?
Did we get him?
What are the consequences?
He looked down and saw himself holding his Glock and recalled that he had fired a couple of shots and it had hit the suspect and killed him instantly.
But not before the suspect had shot Emily first.
Emily... she was right in her assessment of the victimology profile. It fit perfectly.
She had came up with the name before anyone in the team had figured it out.
He should have listened to her. She was a better profiler than most he had worked with.
Dave had told him many times before.
Dave and the rest of the team had even began to suspect the same thing but kept their counsel as they continued to follow Hotch's lead.
Again, he should have listened to her.
So, why didn't he?
He could not say.
"Hotch!"
It was Morgan.
He blinked and came back to the present, "Yeah?"
"We're losing Prentiss!"
He took a deep breath and rushed to the group who were surrounding her, "Where's the paramedics?"
"They're on their way, ETA less than 3 minutes."
He saw a lot of blood pooling on her chest; her beautiful face was pale in the afternoon sun.
"Emily!" He picked up her hand and held it, "Emily!" He looked at his team and said, "We have to stop the bleeding!" He removed his jacket and lifting her head gently, he placed his jacket underneath and lay her head on it. "Em...wake up. You're right. It's Gilbert Hunter." He continued to talk to her as if she was awake.
The others were observing him with worry.
Hotch ignored them, as if he and Emily were the only ones in the woods.
Far out in the distance, they could hear the sounds of the approaching ambulance.
Each team member prayed it was not too late.
Morgan was on the phone, keeping the ever anxious Garcia updated.
In the meantime, he continued to talk to her, "Gilbert had been killing the families. He was responsible for kidnapping them and torturing the mothers first. Just like you had said. Then he took out his frustration on the oldest child. He was the youngest of the three. And he..." He stopped talking for a moment as he leaned down to listen to her heart. "She's not breathing! Emily!" His eyes had redden, as he tilted her head up and began to apply CPR. "You are not going to die on me, you promise me Emily, you promise me you'll be my wife. You said yes last night and you can't go back on your words."
His team gasped when they heard him.
"Please...don't do this to me." He continued to breathe life into her. Morgan tried to help but he pushed him away, "No...I can do it, Derek. Just let me, leave me be."
Just then, the paramedics arrived with their kits and stretcher.
"Sir...move aside, let us get to her, please."
Hotch shook his head, "I can do this. I got it. I have to save her!"
Derek finally grabbed Hotch and pulled him away from Emily, "Hotch! Let them do their job!"
"NO! I have to save her!" He began to struggle against Derek's strong grip. "Let go of me! She's going to die!"
JJ, Reid, and Dave watched helplessly as they uttered, "Hotch, she's still alive, let them help!"
He stared at them wildly, "You don't understand, she's dying. She died. Don't you see it? I have to save her!"
They knew what he was thinking; he was going through Haley's death again.
But at least, Emily was still alive.
"Hotch!" Morgan exclaimed through their struggles, "Emily is still alive!"
"NO! She's not!" He cried out as he fought against Morgan's strong grip. "Let me go, Morgan!"
Dave stood between the paramedics and Hotch, "If you get in their way, I'm going to knock you down, Aaron."
JJ and even Reid came to stand on either side of Rossi, they were now 'ganging up' against their supervisor.
"Stop fighting, Hotch. Let it go, Emily's going to make it." JJ assured him.
He shook his head as he continued to struggle, "NO! I want to be with her! She need me! I need her!"
Dave shook his head, "We'll take you to see her as soon as the EMT leaves."
"NO...it'll be too late...too late..." He muttered. "I didn't get to say good bye."
"Hotch, she's still alive." Reid said. "This is not Haley. Emily's not Haley. Don't confuse Emily with Haley." He kept repeating Emily's name.
Dave and JJ saw what Reid was doing; he was trying to remind Hotch that Emily was here and Haley was long gone.
"Emily is still alive. Let the paramedics save her. We're going to see her at the hospital later." Reid nodded encouragingly.
His strength finally sapped, his knees buckled as he collapsed to the ground, Morgan let him but he still had a grip on him, just in case.
A few minutes later, he nodded, "I'm okay. I'll be alright."
Morgan didn't look convinced, "I..."
"Let him go, Derek." JJ said in a soft voice.
Morgan gently loosened his grip on his boss as he stepped back but kept an eye on him.
He didn't move as he watched the EMT quickly moved Emily onto the ambulance.
"Go with them, JJ." Dave urged her.
"No, I'll go." He said as he stood up.
Dave turned to face him. "Are you..."
"I'm fine. Just wrap up the case and join me at the hospital." He said his team in a tired voice.
Dave gave him a close look and nodded, "I'll meet you later."
He nodded as he jogged to meet up with the paramedics before he hopped onto the back of the ambulance and soon they were gone.
The team watched the vehicle leave.
"Well, that was quite a shocker." Dave uttered. "He does care for her after all."
"So, who called it first?" JJ gave a small smile as she turned to look at Dave and Reid, they were soon joined by Morgan as Reid handed him the phone he had dropped.
"Actually," Reid began. "It was not really considered a shocker. Garcia and I did suspected Emily and Hotch's close relationship when we saw them in his office late one evening..."
The remaining team members exchanged curious looks and grinned, "I think we've all been suspecting them all along and this confirms it." Dave said.
With a consensus nod, they turned to walk away and continued talking...
..The End..
