"He who has a why to live can bear almost any how."

-Freidrich Nietzsche

Cold. The first thing JJ felt when she came to her senses was the cold. It wasn't the type from weather, though, more like the kind that seemed to always accompany damp spaces. A chill that ran through her body, her arms itching to wrap around herself for warmth. That's when the agent felt the rope. It was wrapped tightly around her wrists and ankles, preventing her from moving too much. The gag was the next thing she realised, placed over her lips to prevent her from making a sound. Panic was her first reaction, but she willed herself to stay calm. Panic would get her nowhere in this situation. If she wanted to help herself, she needed to keep a clear head and work through this with a plan, not blinded and rushed ideas. She brought her bound wrists to her face, inching around to try and reach the knot to the cloth that gagged her. It didn't work, much like she'd honestly expected. What next? JJ tried to untie her feet, but whoever had done this made sure that the end was practically nonexistent, hidden in the layers and layers tied around her ankles. Due to her struggle, she didn't notice the presence in the room, not at first.

"It's not worth it. You're not getting away." her head snapped up in the direction of the voice, vaguely making out a shadow in the corner. JJ tried to say something, of course muffled by the cloth. She knew why she was here, this could only be the unsub, the one who'd been targeting her. Well, it seemed he'd gotten exactly what he wanted. The one beam of hope was that her team was bound to find her eventually. They'd know she wouldn't just run off. They'd find her before anything bad happened... right?

"I imagine you are confused as to why you are here, Agent Jareau, and the answer is actually quite simple. We all must pay for our sins when the time comes, and your time has come. Lying can be a deadly thing, Agent, but you would know all about that, right? It seems to be a second nature to you. Lying. Lying about what really happens in cases, lying about why you really kill the people you do. You tell yourself it's for the greater good, am I correct? That's where you're wrong. Her death wasn't for the greater good, she did nothing wrong and you all hide the fact that you killed an innocent person that day."

She had no idea what he was talking about. From what she remembered, she'd never shot and killed an innocent. 'You all'? Was he talking about her team?

"I can see it in your eyes you don't remember. That's what disappoints me, Jennifer, I would've thought that out of all of them, you'd be the one to at least own up to what you did. I was wrong, you don't even remember her, do you? Was she just another face to you? Another victim to the BAU?" his voice flared with anger, the man storming over to her and grabbing a fistful of blonde hair, yanking her up. JJ winced sharply, trying not to make a sound.

"Well, now you'll find out how it feels, how it feels to be another victim, another face lost to the sea of deaths. I wonder how your team will cope with it, eh? How they'll deal with the loss of poor little Jennifer." he was still pulling her by her hair, leading her over to what looked like various chains, dangling from the ceiling.

"And Emily, how will Agent Prentiss deal with knowing she can't save you, huh? How do you think she'll handle it? I reckon she'll break soon enough, she'll succumb to the worry and the never ending anxiety over whether her girlfriend is safe. Perhaps I'll go for her next, hm? She never wronged me, but it'll be fun to know that I could break her just like I'm going to break you." if he was trying to get a reaction from the blonde, that sparked it. Hearing the threats on Emily fired something in JJ, and she attempted to fight back even with her clear disadvantages. She thrashed and writhed to get away from him, trying to hit him with her tied wrists. Everything she'd told herself about staying calm just flew out of the window; no one threatened Emily around her, she would kill him herself if he even laid a finger on her girlfriend.

"It seems I hit a nerve there, did I?" she wasn't hard to control, he still had several advantages over her. The unsub twisted her arms painfully to the side, pulling her down slightly. That didn't stop JJ from trying to fight back again, only stopping when he twisted her arms so far she thought the bones would break.

"See? You're already learning when to give up." he began to chain her hands instead, the rope dropping to the floor. There were already angry red marks on her skin from the ties. JJ didn't fight or try to argue whilst he hoisted her up. She was now suspended, hands above her head, unable to fight back.

"I think I'm going to remove that gag now, Agent Jareau. Do you know why? Even if you scream, no one is going to hear you, even if you cry no one is going to save you. Understand? Well, that's not the entire truth. I will hear you, I will enjoy hearing you scream and cry and break." his fingers ran across her cheek, touch chillingly gentle, it would almost be a sweet gesture if they were in a different situation, if he wasn't holding her captive and intending to inflict pain. The unsub reached to the back of hear head and removed the gag, letting it fall to the floor beside the ropes.

"My team will find you, they will find me. You won't get away with this, they will find me before you can do anything." JJ said the moment she could speak, eyes now sparkling with a new defiance, a determination to not let him win.

"And how? By this?" he took her phone from his pocket, a cold smirk curled on his lips as he looked over the blonde, "That's not going to happen, Jennifer, the gps can be turned off, you know? They can't track you."

"My team will find you and save me." she repeated, not hinting at any sign of backing down now, "Our tech analyst will find a way."

"Oh, you mean the lovely Penelope Garcia?" a dark chuckle, "Ah, yes, I know all about Miss Garcia. She was caught by the FBI, you offered a job, she took it. And my my my, her skills are extraordinary, I must admit. Her office too, what a fun little space." That made JJ hesitate. He knew about Garcia? He had seen her office?

"And then there's her boo. SSA Derek Morgan is spectacular, I must say. A black man, managing to earn a spot in such a corrupt field of work? How hard did he have to work for that, hm? Especially considering his past. How old was he when Carl Beaufort touched him?"

"How do you know about them?"

"I do my research." the unsub waved a dismissive hand, continuing on, "Do you want me to continue, Jennifer? Who should I talk about next? Oh, I know, the beautiful Emily Prentiss. You've been together - what - a year now? You moved in together two months ago in such a cute little place. Isn't it sad that she may be living alone after we're finished here?" he sparked another reaction out of her once more, JJ thrashing in the air, trying to kick her legs out. He stopped her soon enough, brandishing an expandable baton, the type used by police tactical units.

"I think we should give them a call, eh? I'm sure they're worried about you." he scrolled through her contacts, clicking Garcia's and placing the phone down on a metal table, letting it ring. When Garcia answered, he took a few moments to just let them worry on the line.

"Hello? JJ? Are you there?" it was Garcia, worry clear in her tone, "JJ? Hello?"

JJ parted her lips, ready to call out. As the words began to sound, she felt the sharp sting of the baton hitting her stomach. JJ cried out in a natural reaction. It didn't go unnoticed by the team on the other side of the line. The calls of her name became more frantic, until one voice blocked out all the others.

"Jen, it's Emily. I don't know where you are, but we will find you and that bastard is going down, okay? Jen, I love you, and-" the line ended as her captor pressed the red button.

"I wouldn't want to give them enough time to trace this call, would I?" even without the audio audience, he didn't stop the onslaught of hits to her skin, silently revelling in the pained sounds from the blonde. However, much to his dismay and anger, she soon stopped responding. A blank look replaced the defiance in her eyes, the agent not making a sound. He knew what she was doing and it only fired his rage, she was disassociating herself from the pain, she was retreating into her own mind to numb this. The strikes came down harder, but he still didn't elicite a reaction.

-:-

"Is that all the boxes?" JJ called over her shoulder. She set the box in her arms atop of two others, stretching her arms and looking around the mainly unfurnished lounge. She felt arms wrap around her waist and a head duck to rest on her shoulder.

"I believe so." Emily smiled, pressing light kiss to the side of her girlfriend's neck. Ten months together as a couple, over a year of knowing each other in general. They'd managed to keep it a secret for nearly six months. It had been Hotch himself who'd found them out. It had been the day after a stressful case. Most of the team had been a team home, relaxing, but they'd turned up to get the paperwork out of the way for everyone else. They hadn't expected their boss to be in the office too. They'd been in the bullpen, JJ's head against Emily's shoulder as they lazily wrote up what needed to be written up. Hotch had walked in. Never had there been such an awkward moment between three agents, never had Emily and JJ moved so quickly apart. It had taken a little while of explaining, Hotch had been hesitant, but eventually agreed that their relationship was free to continue.

"You know we're lucky, right?" JJ suddenly said, turning round and gazing up at Emily.

"How so?"

"Well, you know, what happened with Hotch. He literally broke the rules for us." JJ shrugged. It earned a light chuckle from her girlfriend.

"I'm pretty sure the rule has been broken by Rossi many more times than before us." Emily assured. JJ couldn't disagree, everyone in the team knew Rossi's flirtatious and player attitude towards relationships.

"That's true, but-"

"Oh hush. No need to worry. Hotch has a heart, you know, I don't think he could bear to know he was the reason a relationship had to end." Emily kissed JJ's forehead, beaming at her, "Now, shall we get furnishing?"

"It's late. Can we just go to bed?" she yawned quietly, rubbing tiredly at her eyes. It didn't take anything to convince Emily, she followed JJ up to the bedroom. They only actually had the mattress there for now, the bed wasn't set up yet. They both collapsed onto the new mattress, curling into one another.

"I love you, Jen, no matter what happens. I know it sounds soppy and cheesy, but it's true, I'll always love you and I'll be with you." Emily whispered into blonde hair as her girlfriend drifted off to sleep.

-:-

I'll be with you.

I'll be with you.

I'll be with-

Her eyes flew open, a cry falling past her lips. She could feel the bruises already forming. It seemed he was still using the baton, this time he was going over previous hits. She felt blood on her back. It was sticking her shirt uncomfortably to skin. JJ thought back to the memory. She had to stay strong, she had to stay alive, for Emily. This bastard could break her if he wanted, but he wouldn't kill her. She vowed to herself to not let that happen.

"You'll break soon." It was a promise, she could hear it in his voice, cruel and filled with a sort of... calm rage.

"Screw you."

"Just wait, Miss Jareau, you will break."


A/N Hey guys! Hope you liked this chapter. Don't forget to leave a review, they help me with ideas or how to better my works!

~ Oncie