Eyes in the Mirror

The conference room was fairly quiet as the team filed in. They had just returned from a triple rape homicide in Kentucky and they all looked exhausted. Reid and Emily slumped into chairs, clutching cups of coffee.

"You did well today," Hotch said, surveying his team.

"You never know which cases are going to get to you," Emily sighed, trying not to close her eyes. She could still see the victims' bodies in her mind's eye. Reid gave her a sympathetic look as did Morgan. JJ sat quietly a few chairs away, staring at her closed briefcase.

"Alright, get out of here and get some sleep," Gideon ordered. Morgan shook his head, gathering up his paperwork and heading for his desk.

"Morgan, I said go home. You can do the reports in the morning," Gideon called after the agent.

"You sure? Kentucky authorities are going to want these ASAP," Morgan replied and Gideon just nodded his head. With a yawn, Derek put the pile of papers on his desk and grabbed his keys. Slowly Emily stood up and followed him out towards the elevator. Reid noticed that JJ hadn't said a word since they'd boarded the plane in Kentucky.

"You ok?" he asked in a hushed tone.

"Huh? Yeah. I'm just tired that's all," she muttered.

"You seem a little down," he remarked as they both stood up. She didn't say anything as they headed for her office so she could put her case files away.

"I don't know. I've been thinking a lot lately," she murmured. Reid caught her by the arm and pulled her into a loose hug.

"I keep thinking if we hadn't split up that night," she began, fighting tears.

"JJ…it's not your fault. I was the one who said we should split up," he whispered, holding her closer now.

"But I should have known better than to agree to it," she sniffed. HE shushed her, holding her tight as she let the pent up tears slither down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry I'm breaking down like this Spence. I guess I've just been holding it in for a while," she gasped, backing up to dry her eyes.

"It's ok. We're both ok. That's all that matters," he reminded her.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said, grabbing her keys and jacket.

"Do you want me to walk you to your car?" he offered and she nodded.

When they headed out to the elevator it appeared that they were the last ones to leave. The ride down in the elevator was quiet. Just as they were about to walk out the front door, Reid's phone went off. He pulled it from his pocket and checked the display. JJ had stopped walking and turned to look at him.

"Just a second," he said and held up his hand.

"Hello?" he spoke into the small device.

"Hey," a familiar voice said from the other end.

"Hi…what's going on?" he replied.

"Nothing. You didn't pick up at your apartment…I was getting worried," the voice on the other end stated.

"I've been in Kentucky for the last few days," he answered.

"Kentucky? What's in Kentucky?" the caller questioned.

"We had a triple rape homicide. It's just me and JJ right now. We're the last ones out of the building," he explained.

"Oh. Right. I should have figured it was something like that," the voice said with a laugh.

"Can I stop by tonight?" the caller asked.

"Yeah…of course. I'll see you in an hour or so?" he said and hung up. JJ eyed him with a raised brow.

"Friend of mine. Haven't seen them in a while," Reid explained vaguely. He didn't really want to tell JJ who had been on the other end of the call. JJ just laughed a little and patted Reid's arm affectionately.

"Come on, let's get out of here," JJ said and they headed for her car. Miraculously Reid had parked right next to her.

"See you in the morning...err later," Reid called, checking his watch. It was already two in the morning. He hadn't realized just how late it was.

"Bye," she called, giving him a wave as she climbed into her car.

She buckled up and stuck the key in the ignition. With a firm push of the gas, she was pulling out of the parking lot and onto the highway to head home. He followed suit, pulling out in the opposite direction as JJ. His drive home was fairly quick and uneventful. He dropped his keys on the kitchen table and hit the button on his answering machine. Three messages played from Elle. He smiled a little at her playful tone. He just shook his head as he deleted them.

She maneuvered around the few cars still on the road at two in the morning until she hit the residential area, getting stuck at a red light. Little did she know that not far away someone was following her every moment. The black vehicle pulled up to the red light moments after JJ sped away. The driver's gaze followed the other car as it turned the corner. Pressing down on the gas, the driver lifted a hand from the steering wheel to tuck a stray strand of brown hair behind her ear. Instead of following JJ around the corner, the second car went straight, taking a shortcut so as to beat JJ to her destination. The black car pulled up down the street a house or two, waiting anxiously for JJ's car to pull into the driveway.

"Come on," the driver breathed, tapping her fingers on the wheel before her. Finally JJ pulled into the drive. She watched as JJ climbed out of the driver's side and went fishing for her house keys in her purse. As quietly as she could, she slipped from her own vehicle, making sure to keep to the shadows so as not to be seen. JJ finally found the front door key and inserted it into the doorknob. She heard it click and pushed the door open. The figure in the shadows moved closer to the door, hoping to slip inside before it shut. She was just fast enough to slip inside before the screen door slammed shut.

JJ tossed her keys and purse on the small table to her left, pulling off her jacket. She unsuccessfully stifled a yawn as she clumsily hung the jacket on a hanger in the closer. She looked around her and headed for the kitchen, her pursuer not leaving her position by the door.

"Coffee," JJ muttered to herself. She didn't care that it was close to two thirty right now. She was in dire need of coffee. She should have gotten some when the rest of the team had stopped earlier. She set the pot to steep and checked her phone messages. She had none but that didn't surprise her. Who would call her at home anyway?

Suddenly her ears pricked up at a sound. She wasn't entirely sure what it was but she was pretty sure she hadn't imagined it. She left the pot to continue it's process and wandered back into the front hall. She looked around and didn't see anything at first. As she turned around, she could swear she saw a pair of eyes reflected in the mirror on the wall beside her. She looked again and they were definitely there. She was about to turn around when she heard a click and felt something press against her head.

"Don't move," an eerily familiar voice ordered. JJ swallowed and tried to glance in the mirror again.

"Elle?" she asked, her throat suddenly dry.

"Long time no see, JJ," Elle said calmly, not removing the gun from the back of JJ's head.

"What are you doing? How did you get in?" JJ asked, trying to stay calm. She was reaching for her phone that lay on the table nearby.

"Well you let me in," Elle answered with a smirk, swiping the phone out of JJ's reach.

"What do you want?" JJ asked, trying not to panic. She had faced a lot more dangerous situations…or had she? A rogue former agent seemed pretty damn dangerous at the moment.

"You," Elle hissed and smacked JJ upside the head with the butt of the gun. Her vision blurred before everything went black. JJ dropped to the floor with a 'thud'. Elle stowed her weapon and bent down over JJ's body. She surveyed the agent; Elle could easily disarm JJ and cut her off from the rest of the team. She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a pair of flex cuffs. With care she slid them over JJ's wrists and pulled her to her feet. As inconspicuously as she could, Elle dragged JJ out of the house, making sure to lock the door behind her, using JJ's hand. They finally reached Elle's car and she slid the unconscious agent into the back seat.

"Time for a ride," Elle snickered, speeding away from the scene. Twenty minutes later, Elle had deposited JJ in her basement and made sure she couldn't go anywhere. Satisfied with herself, she headed back to her car and made the drive over to Reid's. She knocked on the door, waiting for him to answer.

"Hey stranger," she said with a smirk as he let her in.