Chapter 1

The dusky night provided just enough light for Emily's sure hands to pick the lock quietly, and she gently opened the door, barely making a sound. The soft moon silhouetted them against the house. It was hard to see, but not impossible. The two agents pulled out their flashlights, flicking them on and positioning them over their glocks. "We're ready when you are." JJ whispered, her gun ready at her side.

Hotch's voice snuck into their earpieces. "Breach in three…two…one…go." The hinges swung open silently, and Emily followed JJ through the door. The second that they stepped inside, shots rang through the room. They came from every angle, trapping them in a pen of gunfire.

"It's an ambush!" Emily shouted, searching for cover. Before she could turn and run through the open door behind her, she saw JJ's flashlight fall and roll across the ground, illuminating JJ's own descent to the floor. Blinded by muzzle flashes on all sides, Emily fired into the darkness towards the shots coming from her left, and as the gunfire subsided for a minute, Emily heard the thud of another body as it crashed into some piece of furniture that told her she had done her job. But suddenly, it started again with even more ferocity.

She heaved JJ behind the kitchen counter at her right, and squinted through the inky room, struggling to find the remaining unsubs behind the firefight. Her head poked cautiously out from the corner of the cabinets, but before she could focus on the movement, Morgan's voice cut through the commotion. "Emily! JJ! We're here!" In the split second of distraction that it took Emily to find him, she felt a bullet slam into her stomach and force her back onto the filthy linoleum next to JJ.

"Morgan!" She cried. "Hotch!?" It was still dark in the house, save for the white flares of guns going off like firecrackers. Emily shone her flashlight around, and by its stark beam, she could see JJ struggling to sit up, holding her leg in both hands, and trying to stem the blood that was forming a small puddle underneath her thigh.

As she crawled toward JJ, Emily felt the breeze of yet another bullet whistle next to her cheek, and felt the ricochet as the bullet lodged in the cupboard behind her. "We're pinned down!" She shouted into the room, not really caring who heard.

Hotch appeared at the corner, his face white. He grabbed Emily's arm and dragged her further behind the counter, shielding her with his own body. "Stay here." He commanded, and turned to shoot again. Emily could feel pressure building where she had been shot, but still couldn't tell if it had hit her vest or not. The only thing she knew for sure was that she was gasping for breath; the hit had completely knocked the wind out of her.

With a final, silencing shot, the firefight abated and Hotch ran to the girls, panicking as he took in the scene before him. "Help JJ," Emily wheezed, and Hotch ran to the prone agent's side. Emily slowly pulled herself up so she was leaning against the cabinet, and she felt a small porcelain handle digging into her neck. The pain in her stomach was growing, and Emily gasped out loud as it began to radiate through her chest. Morgan turned on the lights as he ran into the kitchen too, and his eyes widened when he saw the two women sprawled on the kitchen floor.

"Emily? Are you okay?" He knelt down next to her, scanning her body for any blood.

"In the vest." She gasped, her hand fluttering over her stomach, searching for the bullet. Morgan looked down, and gently pulled a misshapen slug from her vest, holding it up so she could see.

"Just a vest shot. You sure you're okay?"

"What happened? i thought this…was going to be…easy." She said, still breathing heavily.

"Ambush, like you called it. Our unsub was here, and what looks like a couple of his buddies. We knew that he knew we were coming. We just didn't expect this." Morgan glanced over his shoulder at JJ and Hotch, and Emily saw them too.

"Help JJ. I'll be fine." She was still short of breath, but Morgan turned away, pulling out his cell phone to call an ambulance.

"This is Agent Derek Morgan of the FBI, we need medical and crime scene units to 7684 Elmcrest Drive, we have an agent in distress, gunshot wound to the thigh."

"How far out are they?" Hotch asked, his sleeves rolled up and his hands bloody.

"Two minutes." Morgan said, looking over his shoulder desperately. "How's she doing?"

"I've got it under control, but she's lost a lot of blood."

Morgan sank to the ground next to Hotch, covering his hands to keep pressure on JJ's wound. "Hang in there Jayje, just hang on." Emily watched as the paramedics ran in. One of them stopped and looked at her, still leaning against the cupboards, but continued quickly to JJ.

"Please move, guys," The medic said. He snapped on latex gloves, and took over for Hotch, who sat back on his heels. He watched the medics working furiously, and cringed close to the wall as they carted her away. He saw Emily across the room, her face still twisted in pain.

"Emily?" She looked up. "We should get you to the hospital too."

"Hotch, I'm fine," she said, trying to stand up. She winced again, holding her stomach with one hand and grabbing onto the counter with the other. Morgan helped her up, and she shot him a scathing look as she stalked away, gently probing her side and grimacing.

"She's not okay, Hotch." Morgan said worriedly.

"Why don't you drive her to the hospital, I'll meet you there after I swing by the station and get things figured out. I'll call Dave and Reid on the drive and send them your way."

"Will do, Hotch. I'll see you there." Morgan followed Emily out of the house, and Hotch sat against the cupboard, staring at the pool of blood and the pockmarked cabinets. Finally, he sighed, looked at his watch, and walked outside to wait for the CSU.

The car ride was quiet until they pulled into the hospital parking lot. "Morgan, do you have any aspirin in here?" Emily asked, searching the glove box.

"You know, Emily, we're at a hospital. I'm sure they could get you something. Or something stronger…"Before she could protest he opened her door and helped her out of the car, and he couldn't help but notice as the pain flashed across her face. "You're going to get checked out, and that's not a question."

"It's just bruised, Morgan, I've taken hits before. I'll be fine."

"Have they ever hurt this bad?" His eyebrows drew together in concern.

"Yes." She responded petulantly, crossing her arms protectively over her tender abdomen. He walked her into the ER and sat her down in a chair. "You have to debrief, Morgan. JJ is fine, I am fine."

"Debriefs can wait. I'm not going anywhere until you're checked out, Emily." His face was stubbornly set, but as he began speaking again, he was interrupted by his cell phone. "Yes sir. Alright sir. But—we have two agent in the hospital, sir. Yes, I understand. I'll come in now."

"Debrief?" Emily smiled.

"You get checked out. And I mean it, Em." He looked worried, and she did her best to allay his fears.

"I promise." She watched his back disappear, and immediately stood up to leave. She walked in the opposite direction, pulling out her cell phone to pass the time until she could check in on JJ. She pushed through the doors to the outside, reveling in the cool air. ERs meant doctors, doctors meant reports, reports meant time off, and time off meant laziness and weeks of PT. Emily had endured the physical and mental endurance of the appointments before, and had no desire to do so again. She assured herself that she was fine…or at least she would be once she got some pain meds.

"Emily?" She turned at Reid's voice behind her. "Are you okay? Morgan said you got shot."

"Just in the vest," she sighed, irritated.

"Have you gotten it looked at?" Reid asked, sitting down on a bench.

"What are you even doing here, Reid?" The pain seeped into her voice, leaving a bit of an edge as she snapped at the young doctor.

"I was looking for you!" Reid responded, confused. "Morgan told me he left you in the ER."

"Oh, I got checked out pretty fast." Emily said nonchalantly. "They said I was fine, gave me a prescription for some pain meds."

"What did they prescribe you? We have time to get them filled before we can see JJ if you'd like."

"I don't like meds." IT wasn't true—pain meds were lifesavers. But it was the only excuse she had at the moment.

"What are you talking about? Emily, you're clearly in pain. Just find a chair, and I'll go—"

"Leave it alone, Reid." She stood looking across the grounds before checking her watch. "That's probably been long enough," she muttered to herself.

"What?" Reid asked, confused by the utter strangeness of their interactions.

"Nothing," she said, walking away. Reid followed after her, but quickly noticed that he didn't struggle to keep up with her driven stride like normal. Instead, she was a little bit bent over, clutching her side and stomach. "Let's go find JJ."

When Emily and Reid walked into the hospital room, Rossi and Hotch were already there, clustered around JJ's bed. "Hey Em!" JJ said. She was laying on her back, her leg elevated on some pillows.

Emily gave her a pained smile, and edged her way next to the bed. "How are you?" JJ's face was pale, and she looked as if she was about to fall asleep at any moment.

"I'll be okay. I mean, it's not like I got shot or anything." They all smiled, glad that she was back to her sunny self. "And how are you? I heard I'm not the only one that took a bullet for these guys."

"Just a couple of bruises. A couple of days, and I'll be fine." The rest of the room watched her curiously, and she felt the scrutiny. "Just a couple of days." She repeated, reassuring herself as much as the others.