A/N Thanks for the reviews/favourites/alerts. They have really boosted me up!

Chapter 2

Stealing herself against the pain, JJ tried again to open the window. When it began to move slowly she realised it wasn't locked, just old and rarely opened. The pain in her hands was excruciating, but she eventually managed to open the window enough to escape the now smoke-filled room. Grabbing the baby from the floor JJ stepped out onto the fire escape, blinking her eyes rapidly in an attempt to clear the tears caused by the smoke.

"Kayla?" she heard a female voice call. As she turned she saw a teenage girl and an older woman (probably her mother) running towards her.

"FBI Agent Jennifer Jareau" she introduced herself quickly. "I need you to get Kayla to the paramedics as soon as possible. Katie is still inside. What are your names so I can find you later?"

"Janie and Alicia Smart" the older woman replied. "We'll send up some help."

JJ didn't stop to respond. Having handed Kayla over to the woman she turned and made her way back into the apartment. Immediately choking as the thick wall of smoke hit her, she dropped to the floor in an effort to find clear air so she could breathe ... and see. Slowly crawling back into the main room, putting her weight on her elbows in order to protect her damaged hands, she called Katie's name and waited for a response. Receiving none, she painstakingly searched the room on her hands (or elbows) and knees, eventually locating an unconscious Katie. By now, JJ's eyes were streaming and she was really struggling to take a breath, but she knew that she had to do what she could to get Katie to safety.

Standing up, she bent down to catch hold of Katie underneath her armpits. Taking a sharp breath as the pain shot through her hands and up her arms, she transferred the woman's weight onto her elbows, coughing as the smoke hit her lungs. She slowly moved backwards, hopefully in the direction of the open window. After a dozen or so steps, she stumbled and fell backwards against the wall, nearly dropping Katie in the process. Cursing, she looked around her, trying to find her bearings. Faced with an impenetrable barrier of smoke she considered giving up. She was exhausted and felt the overwhelming urge to drop to the floor and fall asleep. She attempted to take a deep breath and began to cough and choke uncontrollably. As she slid slowly down the wall to sit on the floor, she could hear footsteps and the sounds of breathing equipment.

"We're here" she called, the effort making the coughing much worse.

Within seconds two firemen appeared through the smoke and made their way over to the two women. The first lifted the unconscious Katie and the second leant down to pick up JJ.

"I can walk" she said determinedly, using his arm to help pull herself off the floor.

The fireman didn't argue, merely wrapping an arm behind her and guiding her quickly out of the building and onto the fire escape.

As soon as she stepped out into the clear air, she immediately tried to take a deep breath. She quickly regretted the action when it caused her to collapse into an uncontrollable coughing fit. Her knees gave way and it was only the fireman's strong arms which stopped her from hitting the floor. Without a word he wrapped one arm around her shoulders and used the other to lift her legs off the floor.

"I'm fine" she choked out weakly.

The fireman ignored her and rapidly carried her down the stairs before placing her on a waiting stretcher. A young female paramedic immediately placed an oxygen mask over her face.

"Agent Jareau?" the paramedic inquired.

JJ nodded in reply, trying to pull the mask off using her damaged hands.

"Katie and Kayla?" she said hoarsely. "Where are they? Are they...?"

"The other two casualties are both on their way to the ER" the paramedic said softly, determinedly placing the mask back on JJ's face. "They're both critical, but still alive."

JJ reached up to lift the mask again and took a breath to speak, but again collapsed into a coughing fit.

"Keep the mask on Agent Jareau" the paramedic said. "Let me treat your hands."

Giving in to the exhaustion which was beginning to creep in, JJ sat back and allowed the young girl to cover her hands in cool, wet bandages. As she finished with the hands and moved onto JJ's eyes, which were still streaming painfully, an older paramedic approached the stretcher and began asking questions.

"What do we have?" he asked the young girl.

"Agent Jareau was taken out of the apartment which was on fire" the younger paramedic answered. "She has partial thickness burns to both hands and is showing clear signs of smoke inhalation – coughing, wheezing and hoarseness. The smoke has also irritated her eyes."

"What treatment have you given?" the man asked.

"Immediate oxygen therapy" the girl answered confidently. "I've put wet dressings on the burns and am in the process of preparing a wash for her eyes. I think she may need a bronchodilator, but wanted to wait for you to make that decision."

"Good job Nikki" the man said, before turning to JJ.

"Agent Jareau, my name is Phil" he said as she stood directly in front of her. "I'm going to take the oxygen mask off temporarily so that I can ask some questions, OK?"

JJ nodded and Phil carefully pulled the mask down from her face.

"Are you in any pain?" he asked.

"My hands hurt" JJ said hoarsely, surprised at how much effort she was having to put into taking a breath.

"It sounds like you're struggling to take proper breaths" Phil said, "so I'm going to administer a drug that will help to relax your bronchial tubes. If that doesn't work I may need to intubate."

JJ nodded worriedly and followed Phil's instructions for using the inhaler which he placed in her mouth, coughing slightly as the drug hit the back of her throat. As they waited for the drug to kick in, the younger paramedic returned to wash out JJ's eyes with a clear, cool liquid while Phil asked JJ questions about her medical history.

As they both finished JJ was relieved to feel the tightness in her chest relax slightly. Phil returned the mask to her face and, with Nikki's help, wheeled the stretcher into the ambulance, explaining to JJ that they would be travelling to the nearest ER to get her burns treated properly. As Nikki drove them the short distance to the hospital, Phil checked and redressed her burns, placing a line into her hand to administer pain killers. Despite the improvement caused by the inhaler which Phil had given her earlier, JJ continued to cough and choke on her way to the ER. It was still a struggle to take a proper breath and she was beginning to worry about what damage had been done.