Its strange to think that standing here, looking out over the Capitol's dome that anything can be solved, the thoughts that are flying at a million miles an hour through your mind can be slowed, to be thought out, to be resolved. There is one thing I wish that could be slowed down, time. It goes far too quickly, with each case, each gut-wrenching day having to see and smell the horrors that man can do to another. How are we meant to be able to deal with this? Are we to try and find the beauty in the world? The beauty that used to be everywhere before man got there, where we built on it, destroyed yet another delicate fragment of the world. Time spins out of control, out of my control, trying desperately to grasp a hold n the tangible thread that weaves us all together, just to create a moment of peace that I can hold onto, with the world spinning out of control, how do I do it?
There was a time when innocence used to flourish, where children could be children and parents didn't have to worry about every adult that approached them, well that was the perception, we know that wasn't the truth, we know that they have always been out there, waiting for the precise moment that they can take you away, into their fantasy, and your worst nightmare.
Taking a deep breath and turning away from the window, walking over to the plush sofa, it is surprisingly soft and comfortable, not the normal kind you would expect. Bringing the coffee close to my mouth I inhale, smelling the heavenly scent, taking a sip of the rich liquid it scolds my tongue but the pain is a relief. Placing the mug back on the table I glance at the window, ready to bear the torrent of emotions that storm through my veins.
Two months ago, I was dragged into their world, one full of pain and suffering, of torture and humility. I knew that first day would be different, walking into the bullpen, seeing the place alive and bustling, even though it was barely eight am, I knew that this was different, the training in me knowing that there was certain danger, the human in me terrified of that. Walking in through he glass doors and all eyes suddenly turn to me, the relief in some and the worry in others still there.
"What's going on?" trying to sound normal and not like the scared girl that is bubbling inside me, the on that knows this cannot be good. "Emily! Why didn't you answer your phone? I have been calling non-stop for the last hour!" glancing between JJ and the rest of the team with a confused look I grab my phone out of the holder on my hip and check it, looking a the phone, I realise why they weren't able to get hold of me, "Sorry guys, the battery died last night and I forgot to turn it back on this morning" I'm still confused as to why there is the concern and why there are so many people here, suddenly JJ is enveloping me in a bear hug while hitting me "Don't ever do that again, don't you ever!", ""JayJ, what is going on?" "Princess, have you not seen the news this morning?" Morgan gives me a pointed look "Erm no I haven't seen it or listened to the radio" pointing to the monitor I the corner of the room I follow. ".God" on the screen is a car, exactly the same as mine in the middle of the I95 in pieces, reporters are saying there were 5 dead women in there, all brunette with brown eyes, gagged and bound.
"Agent Prentiss?" looking around the waiting room the doctor addresses the group that has stood, "is there an Agent Jareau here" JJ steps up to the doctor "I'm Jennifer Jareau"
"Agent Jareau, you are named on the medical proxy as next of kin, would you like to come with me so we can discuss Agent Prentiss's condition please?" "Here is fine Doctor, we are all Emily's family" Looking at the group he motions for everyone t sit. "As you are all aware Agent Prentiss has suffered a major trauma, there were many extensive injuries, the major concern is the bleeding in the brain, the collapsed lung and the severe fracturing of both legs" checking that the group are still listening and understanding he carries on, "there are other minor injuries that will heal with time, she has 5 broken ribs of which one caused the collapsed lung, she has a dislocated right shoulder and severe bruising around wrists and ankles" allowing the group to digest what he has just said, "we have also doing a regulatory sexual assault test" suddenly five sets of eyes are looking at him with sheer horror, with a deep breath "the test results have come back positive". All that can be heard on the floor is a woman's scream and then crying, from both women in the room, one man looks like he is ready to kill someone but the shock is keeping him there, and judging by the size of him, God help who did this. "We have had to put Agent Prentiss in an induced coma, so that the majority of her injuries can start to recover, we will be keeping a close eye on her and monitoring her for any sign of distress or improvement. I must warn you all, with the extent of her injuries, there is a very likely and real chance that she will never wake up, and if she does there is no telling if she will recover from the emotional trauma."
"Everyone conference room now" Hotch's stern eyes look over with his furrowed brow, I know I am in deep water with everyone, dammit, if I hadn't of overslept then I would have been in earlier, if I had remembered about my phone, that would have been a good start. Leaving my things on the desk, there is no point in booting up the PC only for it to be shut down, I walk slowly following everyone else. "We have been invited in by the locals, JJ can you?" he glances at me again then looks away, I close my eyes briefly then look at the board, I have to just suck this up, all the worry they had is because I didn't have my head in place, to be able to help the locals I need to focus and keep my head on straight. "Okay guys, as you have seen on the news the media have already taken hold of this pretty quickly, we have five dead girls that were left on I95, the car was then blown up, in the middle of rush hour, gaining maximum attention and subsequently maximum news coverage. The girls all had their hands tied behind their backs and were gagged, we are waiting on the autopsies to tell us if they were dead before they got in the car or not."
Walking down to the SUV's I can feel their eyes burning in my back, I know I screwed up but we have to focus, I can tell they are all worried about me, normally when I fit the description of the Unsubs type we are in some town hundreds of miles away from our home, but this time we are on home ground, normally that would be an advantage but there is something about this case that is not right, I felt it this morning when I walked into the BAU, and it is getting worse the longer the day gets. "Morgan, Prentiss, head over to the crime scene, see if there is anything there that the first responders missed" Hopefully I can at least redeem myself at little by trying to find something at the scene.
This is useless, anything that as of any value was either blown from here to Antarctica or is a pile of burnt plastic on the highway. "Morgan, you got anything over here?" passing round the back of the car it looks like he does, "What's that?" "It looks like a modified steering wheel, the box here" pointing to a melted plastic case "looks like it was used to remotely control the car, probably why this was done in rush hour, when the traffic would be at a near stand still which would allow him to control the vehicle without it looking suspicious" This guy really thought of everything, if he used a remote control then he must have been close to it, wouldn't he? "Morgan, what do you think the range would be on that? It couldn't be too far as he would have to see the way the traffic moves so that he didn't crash prematurely, which would mean he would need to be close, probably in one of the cars that stopped first after the initial explosion"
Walking into the room all the team could do was gasp, more tears left JJ and Garcia, Reid could hardly look, Morgan grew more angry and silent, Rossi was struggling to keep himself together, seeing the person you think of like a daughter laying there was killing him and Hotch, well Hotch became cold and distant, blaming himself for not being quick enough to find her.
Emily was laying in the bed, tubes were everywhere, the ventilator going up and down to keep her breathing. IV's running into her hand, pumping fluids that she desperately needs, gone for four days with no food or water her body was craving them. JJ slowly walks over, careful of the tubes and wires that were keeping Emily alive, gently taking her hand and feeling how she was warm gave her hope, but seeing the tube out of her throat quickly took that away. No one on the team knew of JJ and Emily's relationship, well except Garcia, as she is the all-knowing goddess of the BAU. Teary eyes look up and connect with Garcia's, "She will wake up, right Pen?", "I hope so Gumdrop, I hope so". Looking down at the stoic brunette in the bed Garcia's heart broke even more, if Emily didn't wake up they would be losing two agents, looking over at the blonde agent anyone can see she is breaking inside although you could pass it off as worry for our best friend but this runs so much deeper, it cant end like this, with all of them gathered around a hospital bed, one of their own fighting for life.
Walking back into the station Morgan and me are still discussing the idea o the range on the control box, as we enter the BAU Hotch signals us to join everyone in the conference room. "Okay Morgan what did we get from the scene?" looking over the others it doesn't look like we managed to get much from the initial questioning, "from what we can tell there was a control box fitted to the steering wheel, allowing the Unsub to remotely control the car, we passed it to the forensics team, hopefully they can get us an approximate range which would narrow down as to which car he could have been in" "good work you two" Rossi gives a sly smile, I feel I may be let off the hook for now, although glancing over to JJ I know I am not that lucky. What the others got wasn't really much, until we get the results back on the range there is not much else we can do.
What this guy did to these women was horrendous, looking over the autopsy reports of the five women it makes for disturbing reading. First he tied them up, from the look of the bruising around their wrists it was most likely metal shackles, he them beat them fracturing various bones in their faces, breaking their ribs and then violating a woman the worst way possible. All these women knew before their death was pain and suffering, the depths that a human can go to, to inflict this pain on another human is heinous. The interesting thing for want of a better word is that the time span they were killed over, they were all in various stages of decomposition, the first victim had an approximate death of two weeks ago, the last victim was two days ago. Where as he keeping them? It must be somewhere there is privacy and not an apartment building, as the smell would draw attention so he must have a house with a basement or a secondary property where he can store the bodies. "Hey Em, you ready to go?" feeling the hand on my shoulder I glance up into the cerulean eyes, filled with apprehension but also the last dwindling sense of anger. "Yeah JayJ lets go, I don't think I can read anymore tonight"
The drive home was silent, it allows me to think over the case, I can see JJ following in the rear-view mirror, no doubt playing some random tune on the radio. Feeling the car beneath me, the rumble of the engine is soothing helping me to relax and rid the thoughts of what could have happened this morning.
Opening the door to my apartment I let her in first, "Do you want a drink?" watching her walk over to the window I can just make out the reflection on the glass, "JayJ, you okay?" Turning I see the tears rolling down her tanned face, walking slowly over I pull her into a hug, feeling the tears soaking my shirt and the fists balling my shirt, I have never seen her so broken before, the tears subside into sobs which slowly stop. "Emily, when I saw the news, and saw the car on fire, when they said what make and model, and then I couldn't get hold of you, oh God, I have never been so scared in all my life. I don't know what I would do without you" she looks up and all I see is the pain in her eyes and as much as I want to blame the Unsub for using the same car as mine it is just as much my fault. "Jennifer, I am so sorry for scaring you, I don't know what to say apart from that I am sorry baby"
A/N: Let me know if i should continue with this as i'm not too sure about it