Hellooooooo friends! Oh, how I've missed you all! I hope you've enjoyed your year (wow, it's been that long) and are looking forward to a beautiful summer! I'm happy to introduce the sequel to Predetermined Fates and I can't wait to share this story with you! Thank you for sticking with me and if you read The Sounds of Silence, thank you for that as well! Now off we go!

Chapter 1

"He's making a break for it!" Morgan's voice rang in all six ears. In an instant, the agents sped off in search of the criminal they had been tracking down for weeks- a sick, depraved man who preyed on children no older than 10. Diving into the thick forest, one of the BAU's youngest members completely forgot about her fear of the forest. The only thing on the blonde's mind was making sure that Dennis Snow was behind bars by nightfall.

"There's a clearing up ahead!" Emily Prentiss' announced, her accelerated breathing easily detected through the earwig JJ wore. Turning her head slightly to the right, the blonde double checked to make sure that her boss was right behind her. Hotch nodded and the two continued pushing through the forestry until the clearing was visible. They slowed down, removing their weapons from their holsters, and cautiously approached the field. Before them stood an old windmill, obviously beyond repair, where the suspect had run into. Emily and Morgan had been the first to arrive and were clearly waiting for the rest of the team.

"He's got a gun." Morgan said as he saw the two approach. The group could already hear Rossi and Reid's footsteps emerging from the forest behind them.

"We don't know the layout. It could be a trap." Hotch narrowed his gaze at the structure, analyzing it from the outside.

"Well, we can't just stand here." Emily huffed, hands on her hips as she too seemed to look over the mill for any alternate entry points.

"We're not." Hotch nodded once, making the decision to breach the building. "Emily, Morgan take the back. The rest of us will keep him distracted from the front."

"Be careful." Everyone nodded as JJ's knowing tone caught their attention- particularly the attention of the only other woman on the team. It had been a little less than three months since Emily Prentiss had discovered that she was pregnant. Against JJ's advice, she decided to withhold from an announcement until at least the fourth month. That, of course, meant that Hotch had no reason to remove her from active field work. This was only the second case the BAU had worked on since the discovery and the last had gone off quite smoothly- if one considered suicide by cop smooth. At least last time they didn't have to run around the woods, chasing a madman with a gun. JJ snapped out of her own thoughts as Hotch prepared to kick down the door in their way. She inhaled deeply and flexed her fingers against her weapon as the door came crashing down.

"You good?" Morgan turned briefly to assess his partner. Emily nodded once in return before kneeling before the locked door and removing a bobby pin from her hair. Within seconds, the door was open and their entry seemed unhindered. Raising their weapons, the two agents took a cautious step inside the poorly lit structure and immediately turned on their flashlights. Before either had a chance to react, the door behind them slammed shut and a pair of footsteps came rushing at them. Emily heard Morgan grunt and spun on her heels, her light catching the sight of two bodies wrestling on the ground. Unable to get a clear shot, the brunette moved to holster her weapon and yank the criminal off her partner before she heard his chilling voice.

"Unless you want to see your boyfriend's brains splattered along the wall, I suggest you drop it." Aiming her flashlight towards the voice, Emily's heart leapt to her throat at the sight of Morgan in a headlock with a gun resting against his temple, blood dripping down his nose. Their unsub, Dennis Snow had managed to get the upper hand on the surprised agent, leaving Emily with no choice but to toss her weapon to the ground.

"Dennis, you know there's no getting out of here." Emily's calm voice tried to reason with him as she raised her hands defensively. "Killing him will only make things worse for you."

"I am not going back there!" Snow cried, his hands trembling at the mere thought of returning to prison. "Do you know what they do to people like me there?!"

"Dennis, you've murdered eight children." Emily explained. "Killing a federal agent will-"

"Shut the hell-"

"Dennis Snow, FBI." Emily sighed in relief as the sound of Hotch's voice reached her ears. She could hear her team arrange themselves around the man, guns drawn and aiming straight for his head. If Snow so much as twitched the wrong way, she was sure one of them would bring him down without hurting Morgan.

"It's over, Dennis. Don't make this any worse than it has to be." Rossi told the man who was closer to his age than the others'.

"No, no, no!" The BAU flinched as they saw Snow press the muzzle of his 42 closer to Derek's head. "I can't go back. Won't." Just as Rossi opened his mouth to continue his reasoning with the criminal, Snow tilted his body to the side and reached his arm out- gun in hand. He chose the closest agent- Emily- and took aim, knowing that these were to be his last seconds. Time seemed to slow down as the BAU realized what he was doing. One by one, they reacted. Morgan did everything he could to knock the man off balance, the thought him hitting Emily terrifying him to his very core. Reid, Rossi and Hotch all waited for the opportune moment to fire, hoping that it would be before a bullet even left the 42's chamber. JJ, on the other hand, had only one thought in her mind. If that bullet hit her- vest or not- Emily would sustain severe damage, not to mention the baby she carried inside her. Dropping her gun, the blonde took off at full speed towards her friend and dove wildly just as the sound of gunfire crackled through the air. She winced as she felt herself hit Emily's body and heard the other woman let out a rush of air on impact. The two crashed to the ground, instantly followed by Snow who was dead before he landed.

"JJ!" Emily cried, completely ignoring the men that had surrounded them. Morgan rushed to her side, making sure that his partner was unharmed, as the others crowded the blonde who remained unmoving. Emily scampered to her friend's side and caught sight of two large slugs embedded in her torso.

"Call a bus." Hotch's voice was calm but the others knew just how close to panic he was. After all, it had been less than a year since JJ had taken a bullet to save her newly found sister, Leila. No one was keen to relive that nightmare. Reid was already on the phone with 9-1-1 before the group heard a groan escape JJ's lips. Emily pulled the woman into her lap and moved the golden hair out of her face, revealing a grimace.

"Ow." The blonde rolled her head to the side and opened her eyes slightly before trying to intake a breath and regretting it.

"Easy there." Rossi knelt at her side. "Don't try to take deep breaths."

"JJ." Emily practically whispered. The blonde turned her head and made contact with Emily's gaze. What she found there confused her. "Why would you-"

"Why do you think?" she retorted before grimacing once more and placing a hand on her vest. She grazed the two bullets that could have easily killed her and felt a slight wave of panic wash over her. "Get this off me."

"Slowly, slowly." Rossi eased her into a sitting position as Emily undid the Velcro that kept the vest on her. Maneuvering her way around JJ's form, she managed to remove the garment without causing further pain. Just as JJ managed to sit upright without help, the brunette practically shoved Rossi out of the way and enveloped her in a gentle hug. JJ winced slightly but smiled as she accepted it warmly.

"Thank you." She whispered in her friend's ear. "So much."

"Don't mention it." Emily noticed just how labored JJ's breathing was and immediately released her. The sounds of an ambulance could be heard and Hotch was at the blonde's side, ready to lift her up and carry her to it.

"Not a word." Their boss ordered as he saw the former media liaison's mouth open. He gingerly lifted her in his arms bridal style and tried to ignore the sharp intake of breath as he slowly made his way outside, the rest of the team right behind him.

"Thanks." JJ smiled as he placed her on the gurney. Hotch frowned down at her.

"I thought we agreed no more getting shot." He crossed his arms as if scolding a child. JJ couldn't help the small, painful chuckle that escaped her lips.

"Technically I," she stopped to intake a sharp breath, "didn't get shot."

"Details." The dark-haired man waved his hand in dismissal before offering her a rare smile and making room for Emily to take his place in the back of the ambulance. Hotch sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he watched the vehicle speed off towards the setting sun. He felt a strong hand clap him on the back and turned to see Morgan, no longer bloodied, smiling at him.

"Can't take 'em anywhere." He joked with a shake of his head. Hotch couldn't help but agree.