Awaken

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds.

A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed or put this story on alert for the first chapter.
Please let me know what you think.

Chapter Two.

Morgan sighed as he left JJ alone with the still sleeping Prentiss, for all that She had been through in the past few days Morgan was pleased to see how well she looked, even if at the moment she didn't look wonderful. Both he and JJ had been shocked when they had received Rossi's messages, the two of them had expected Emily to be home the week before them that was after all what she had said in the last email JJ had received a month earlier. Her case in Italy was planned for a year exactly, however she had been there for almost an extra week and in that time, had managed to get herself into a life or death situation.

He glanced down at his watch, both he and JJ had an hour to discover where Hotch and Prentiss had arranged to meet, only an hour to discover secrets between two very close friends, now he was getting worried, they certainly didn't have enough time. Morgan pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed the number of their boss's friend, he answered quickly.

"Morgan, is Prentiss okay?" Rossi said answering her phone as he sat in his office back at the bullpen.

"Hey, man, She's fine, no change since this morning. She's sleeping peacefully at the moment, they've kept her on the same amount of meds since we've been here. Jayje is still with her." Morgan replied in a calm voice, which was met by a deep sigh of relief from the other man. "We do have a small problem though."

"We do?" Rossi questioned, immediately worried once more.

"Has anyone told Hotch?"

"No I don't think so." the agent sighed, "I didn't feel that it was something I could write in an email and he didn't answer his satellite phone. Is that the problem?" He asked, hoping that Hotch wouldn't magically appear at his door, furious that he hadn't been told of his agent's condition earlier. They all had a small suspicion that their unit chief had feelings for Emily Prentiss. Something had always been there.

"Sort of." Morgan replied.

"Morgan, you are being unnaturally short in your answers, what has happened?"

"Jayje has read Prentiss's diary, she was to meet Hotch somewhere in approximately fifty five minutes, but we don't know where."

"Oh," Rossi answered, "I suppose that is a problem."

"Exactly." Morgan answered, "You don't have any idea when Hotch was getting back, do you?" he questioned hopefully.

"No, I don't. I thought he was coming back a few days ago, a week ago even. But I ran into Booth last week and he said Hotch asked to stay a few days longer and that they'd agreed."

"Wait, Jayje said that Prentiss was meant to be back before her, and she'd originally thought it was last week too."

"So they must have had some contact with each other then," Morgan replied, his mind calculating once more, "Each of them extended their trip by a week, or in Prentiss's case, less than a week, but that was circumstance."

"I see." Rossi replied deep in thought, he wondered how much Booth knew about Hotch's return and how much he would be able to tell him.

JJ remained sitting as she continued to leaf through Emily's diary, there was a limited amount of information contained in the pages. Occasionally there was a note about a place, or notes about Her case. Then so often there was a notation about a particular behaviour of someone around her or something that someone had said. JJ sighed and was about to give up when she caught sight of a folded piece of paper tucked into one of the pages. It was a letter, written a few weeks ago. JJ reached for the piece of paper and unfolded it slowly, she smiled recognizing the familiar scrawl and began to read.

Dear Emily,

I know that it has been awhile since we spoke over the phone and I am sorry, but things have been difficult here. We lost another man yesterday, he was one of mine, I'd been training him and he had real promise. He would have been a great soldier, he could shoot almost as accurately as me once I had finished with him.

Em, he had a family, he had a baby boy he'd never seen, and it made me begin to think what I was doing here, why I'd ever come back. Why I've lasted almost a year here. I have Jack and he means the world to me and I can't wait to see him, I don't want to miss out on anymore of his life, I have a chance to see him grow up, grow up even more than he already has.

But I am writing to say that I am going to stay another week, I want to be here when they send Parker home, I feel I need to say goodbye to him here and goodbye to everyone else over here, I made a decision last night, I won't be coming back here again. I've realized that I don't belong here any longer, this feels like it is a part of my old life. I belong back in Quantico, I miss everyone, I miss the BAU, I miss the diner and Hell, I even miss Reid and his constant spouting of facts .

I hope you get this in time before you leave Interpol, and I hope you understand why I am staying. Can we put back our meeting by a week? One year and one week we meet? Both of us back in Washington, back where I believe I belong.

See you soon Prentiss, I'm not being a hero I promise.

- Hotch

JJ dropped the letter to the floor and the diary followed, she felt guilty for reading such private correspondence, if either Emily or Hotch ever found out about her reading the letter neither of them would be impressed. JJ bent down and retrieved the letter and the diary, refolding the letter and tucking it back into the same place as it had been before. It was then that she noticed the writing in the week prior to this one, at the same time as today's appointment it read 'Meet Hotch, reflecting pool, mall, coffee cart.' JJ's head shot up, she had found where they were to meet, the only thing now was to decide who went to tell Hotch about Emily.

_
Two weeks prior.

She blinked awake, feeling a lumpy, and damp mattress underneath her. Her head was killing her, and she realized she wasn't where she should be. She groaned and tried to push herself up off of the cold ground, her aching body protesting. She tried to press off from the cold concrete floor, but she felt something in her wrist snap. She collapsed once more onto the mattress and moaned.

She was in a dark room, no light coming out through a door-if there was a door. She gasped in pain as she felt around her body. The last thing she remembered was she and Clyde Easter were searching for their Unsub In the dark woods at night. Then there was nothing.

She crinkled her nose at the moldy mildew smell of the room and looked up as a bright light flooded in from a door. She squinted and saw the outline of two strong men walk in. She swallowed and tried to sit up again, holding her snapped wrist to her stomach.

"Ooh, our little agent from Interpol is awake." One man snickered as he walked close to her. He grabbed her by the shirt and pulled her up to her feet. The other man chuckled darkly and grinned as he eyed the agent over.

"She's a pretty one, Eh? Tres belle." The man's heavy French accent was mixed with a slight wheeze. She whimpered at the pain she felt in her shoulder.

The other man laughed deep in his throat. "She'll sell nicely. People like pretty." He looked down at her and grinned widely as he reached up to stroke her cheek. The woman tried to pull away but the other man held her tightly.

The first man's hand traveled down to her chest, unbuttoning the first set of buttons on her shirt and then sliding his hand underneath the fabric, pulling it off her body. He caressed her breasts and eyed them in the purple laced bra. "Oh, she's perfect." His eyes traveled down to the scar just below the bra line and his eyebrows narrowed curiously at the pink scar. "And what do we have here?"

The woman flinched as the man stroked his finger across the old scar. She chewed her lip, tasting the metallic taste of blood as she reopened her split lip wound. With all the energy she had in her, she pushed against the man, making him slam into the other man. She shook her hand out from his grasp and ran, she ran as fast as her legs could carry her out the door.

The pounding in her head was now ringing through her ears. She looked around her surroundings and winced when her bare feet crunched over pine cones, rocks and roots as she ran into the shelter of the forest. She quickly looked herself over, making sure she still had her bra and pants before continuing to run.

_
Present

"Booth couldn't tell me when or where Hotch was landing, I'm sorry Morgan." The disappointment shone through Rossi's usually calm voice, as soon as Morgan answered his phone call, "There was something in there about national security as well," He continued.

"Typical." Morgan answered as he rolled his eyes, "I guess it is still up to us then."

"I guess so." Rossi replied before sighing, if only Hotch had answered his satellite phone.

"I'd better get back to Jayje," Morgan said flatly, as he began to stand, before he noticed JJ running towards him with a wide smile on her face, a smile that showed him that she had discovered something useful, "Wait, man," he said into the phone, "She's here, I think she's found something, I'm going to put you on speaker."

"I know where he is going to be," JJ said excitedly as she reached the tired and slumped figure of Derek Morgan. He sat back down as she neared him, "The reflecting pool at the mall," she finished triumphantly.

"Good work, Jayje." Rossi praised through the phone, his voice slightly less disappointed.

"Very clever." Morgan whispered as he looked back to the hospital room.

JJ smiled, a half smile, she still didn't know who would be the one to tell Hotch about his hospitalised agent.
She hadn't woken up in days and they weren't sure if she'd be okay. An assortment of rainbow bruises decorated her body. Something had happened out in Italy and they had to find out what.

"I guess we need to decide who goes to the reflecting pool?" Rossi said flatly, breaking the small silence that had descended between his friends on the phone and himself.

JJ sat down next to Morgan before she spoke quietly, "I think I'd like to go."

"You would?" Morgan questioned. Emily's best friend wanted to leave her? She had barely left the room since they had arrived, even a toilet stop was completed in the shortest amount of time, Morgan had never seen her exit a bathroom as fast as she had over the past few days.

"I don't want to leave Emily, but I feel that I want to be the one who tells Hotch, I don't know why exactly, but I just feel obligated to do so." JJ stated quietly before staring up to look at Morgan, he returned her stare, before smiling at her slightly.

"You're sure you want to go?" Morgan questioned, as he hung up.

"Yes Derek, I am positive." JJ reassured him, as she slipped her hand into his. "If Will had been injured I'd want Emily to tell me. I'm just returning the favor," she said calmly as they reached Emily's room.

Morgan smiled as he retrieved JJ's gobag from the ground, placing Emily's satchel and diary on the small table next to her bed, before sitting down on the chair that JJ had made her own. "I understand," he told her as he handed the bag to The blonde agent standing before him. "I'll be here while you are gone, and Rossi and the rest of the team will be here soon."

"I know, thanks." JJ replied before hugging Derek lightly.

Morgan nodded and hugged his wife close, hugging her back. "Go on then." He said encouragingly, "You don't want him to think she isn't coming."

"I'm going." JJ replied as she untangled herself from both Morgan and the chair, she smiled a small smile before she turned to look at her friend, taking her hand once again and leaning close to her, "Em, I'm going to meet Hotch, something you were meant to do, he's going to want to talk to you, so you'd better wake up soon."

"Good luck Jayje," Morgan said, as he took hold of the hand that wasn't holding Emily's, and giving it a small squeeze.

"I'll be fine. I know where to go. I know who I am going to see and I know what to tell him." JJ replied, as she let go of both Morgan and Emily and began to leave the room, "It will be fine," she added as she stepped into the corridor. "I'll see you both soon."

"See you soon." Morgan called after her, watching her leave, he sighed to himself as he picked up one of the magazines that he had brought for the plane ride home and began to read, he certainly didn't envy the task JJ was about to endure, to tell Hotch that Emily was currently still unconscious, bruised and battered, and that he was the last to know.

_

Aaron Hotchner sighed as he stepped off the army plane and down onto the Washington ground that he had missed so much. The tarmac was quiet, except for the technicians who were already at work on the plane, readying it for its return back to Afghanistan. His bag swung gently on his shoulder as he headed for the lobby, where he could hear the excited screams of wives, husbands, girlfriends, boyfriends, children, mothers and fathers of the soldiers he had travelled back with. He knew that there would be no-one waiting for him here. He had expressly told Jessica not to bring Jack to meet him here and that he would call her when he was on his way to see her and his son.

He moved quickly through the lobby, trying to ignore the sounds of love and laughter that had filled the room. There was one wife and son that weren't here to welcome a solider home. Parker's wife, Kate, and his son weren't here, they hadn't been able to welcome a person home, it had been a body they had waited for. Parker would have arrived home yesterday; his body had left the base a few days before Hotch did, seven days longer than the year Hotch had planned to stay. He stood at the doorway to the lobby watching the scenes all around him as he waited for the car that he knew had been arranged to take him back into the city.

He watched as one of the other sergeants' picked up a small girl in a blue dress and swung her around in the air, the sound of her happy laughter filled the room, her daddy was back and she was thrilled. He smiled despite his sadness and began to think, he had gone to Afghanistan to train soldiers not to die, they'd thought that his FBI experience would help defeat the insurgents that had begun to creep increasingly closer to base, however, Parker had still died and others would continue to. War was war, Hotch should have known that, he had after all been there before, why had he thought that this would be any different, they were always going to lose people. It wasn't what his son had said, that if he went to Afghanistan he was going to be able to save people instead of being here where he was solving what happened to already dead people and stopping the unsubs before they killed again. Hotch had been taken in by that too, taken in by the spiel, he'd been tricked by it too.

He looked up as a car stopped in front of him and the window rolled down, "Hotchner?" the driver questioned, he nodded and climbed into the back of the car, ready for his trip back into the city. He sunk into the backseat of the car as the view outside the window changed, Parker had been the most skilled he had seen in a long time and even with Hotch's training, he had still died. Hotch had made a decision the night after Parker had died, a decision that had been weighing on his mind for the last six months of his deployment, he wasn't going back to Afghanistan again, he had served his country and for the most part, he had done it well, even the army was sure of that last point, it didn't matter if they had tried to convince him to come back again, he wasn't going to. That part of his life was over, it was here where he belonged.

The car slowed and Hotch realized that they had arrived at the mall, he thanked the driver and climbed out of the car, his bag once more on his shoulder. He wandered further into the mall and found a seat near the coffee cart and the reflecting pool where he sat down, dropping his bag to the ground. He stared out into the scene around him, relishing the calm sounds of Washington. He stared down towards his watch and looked at the time, it was 10:55 am. He then allowed himself to think of the woman that he had come here to meet. Emily Prentiss. He hoped that she had coped well in Italy. He had missed her, he had missed her honesty, missed the way she was able to comfort him, missed that she was the one person who never lied to him, never tried to water down the truth. Everyone seemed to lie in war. They lied that things were going to get better on base, that they were making a difference.

Hotch had felt Emily begin to pull away from the friendship that they had created shortly after her return.

She had admitted a weakness to him about herself, that she had nightmares. Nightmares of Ian Doyle coming back for her team. He forcing her to watch as they were shot and bled out. She told him that she hadn't been able to rescue any of them, and even if she hadn't admitted it fully, he believed that she was being injured in these dreams too.

He had felt her pull away emotionally at the same time, that her personal relationships with the team at the BAU had clouded her ability to think rationally. She was invested in the lives of others, their hopes, dreams, loves, safety and that had affected the science, her ability to be what she had been before the two of them met. Hotch shook his head, this wasn't the time to think about the failings, it was time to look forward to seeing his friend, his closest friend. He would make her his.

He could still see her face as she left him standing on the pavement, the night they first met. The night he began to work for her mother. He remembered her face turning back to look at him through the back window of a cab, twice, the cab had driven her off into the night and he had been left behind.

She had left him in the rain, rejected him even, after both of them consuming far too much tequila for both of their own goods, then there had been a fight between the two of them and she hadn't talked to him for a year until it was too late. He was pulled into the FBI. Her mother-Ambassador Prentiss had recommended him to the bureau in order to get him away from her daughter. She was only nineteen, he, being 24. To this day he still remembered the feeling of her soft lips against his.

He stared back down towards his watch and realized that it was just after 11, she was late, a very un-Prentiss like characteristic.

He'd only hoped that she would be here soon, that she would still be meeting him and that she still wanted to meet him. His last letter had received no response and he hoped that she hadn't been here last week and he had not shown up. Hotch hoped that she was coming back to him and maybe if he was honest that she had missed him as much as he had missed her.

A/N: Voila, chapter two. Please let me know what you think. Emily will wake up soon. I promise.

-CriminallyCastle