A/N: The next in the series following Dates to Remember. Set in the gap between the last episode of Season six, and the first episode of season seven (which isn't out yet :() Hope you enjoy. Read and Review.

A Road Less Travelled

25 July 2011
16:07pm

"What is going on? Will someone please tell me something!" Reid cried, tugging at his hair. He paced the floor and JJ watched him, hugging herself and foot tapping. Her cheeks were stained with tears and she leaned against the blue painted wall, her head falling back against it slightly. Garcia clasped her hands tightly together, her face free of make-up and worry clear on her face.

Morgan sat next to her, expression stony, stop stained with Chris's blood, and arms wrapped around her, holding her to his chest in an attempt to calm her. The expression on Hotch's face was severe and dark, his stance rigid as he went over and over the details in his mind, picking apart everything that had happened, while Rossi attempted to find out anything from a nurse or a doctor.

"Why would someone shoot her?" Hotch questioned, and Reid looked at him. His lips pursed and his eyes flashed dangerously, wondering where Hotch was going with this. Hotch stood, taking a deep breath. "Think of this like a case. What reason would someone have to target Chris? What would they gain from this?"

"Chris is a low-risk victim. FBI agent. If attacked she would instantly respond. She is married to another agent. Chris is stable, and takes precautions to ensure she does not come into harms way, especially when she is pregnant. Someone who attacks her would have to be extremely confident that they would not get caught, or have nothing to lose if they do," Morgan spoke, his nerves frayed and temper turbulent. If he got his hands on the sun of a bitch that did this...

The discussion went quiet when a doctor, in blood soaked scrubs came towards the, unhooking his face mask and pulling of his gloves. Reid stopped pacing and stepped forward. "Where is Chris? Is she okay? What's happening?" he rambled, and the Doctor held up his hands. Reid went silent, looking at the Doctor. JJ and Morgan went to Reid's side, JJ placing her hand on Reid's and squeezing it, while Morgan put his hand on his shoulder.

"There was some complications, and it was touch and go for a while. It was imperative that we carried out an emergency caesarean, in order to safely deliver the baby and remove as much strain on Agent Reid's body as possible. The child is currently in incubation, but is in good health," the Doctor assured them, and Reid slumped, a horrified look on his face.

"Agent Reid went into shock from the blood loss, and had to be resuscitated several times. Her right collar bone was just missed by the bullet, but it tore through the muscle around it. The bullet was lodged in her shoulder blade. We managed to remove it and repaired the damaged tissue and bone as well as we could. Luckily, no vital organs were hit. There is a chance she may make a full recovery. However, she will have to be kept in for observation for a few days. Also, it is likely she will be in extreme pain, so she will be prescribed Vicoden to help ease the pain."

"Can we see her?" JJ asked, and the Doctor shook his head.

"I wouldn't advise it. She is currently being settled into a ward, and it is highly likely she will be unconscious for a while yet," the Doctor told them, and Reid growled silently, until Garcia asked about the baby. Reid quickly glanced over his shoulder at her, before his attention returned to the Doctor. "The baby, you can see. He is on the nursery ward, waiting for you. I'll have a nurse take you up."

"I know the way," Reid stated curtly, and he turned walking away from the group. Garcia sighed and gave a worried 'Oh...' looking over at Morgan, who scrubbed a hand over his face, and then looked back at the Doctor. He didn't seem to be disturbed however, merely sympathetic. JJ sighed, and looked at Hotch, who's expression had turned thoughtful.

"Thank you, Doc. We can handle it from here," Morgan sated, and the Doctor nodded tiredly, excusing himself. Morgan turned to Hotch, the team apart from Reid standing in a circle. "So what are we gonna do? There is no way Reid can deal with this. That's his wife. He's not going to be thinking straight, all he will be thinking of is revenge."

"Chris is one of us. We find out who did this. Rossi, you and I will go to the park, and look around. Garcia, I want you to go to the office and get started on a search for any recent shootings in the area. Morgan, go with Garcia and go through Chris's office. There may be something there which can give us a clue as to why she was targeted," Hotch instructed, and JJ scowled.

"What am I supposed to do? I'm not just sitting around waiting for you to solve this," JJ stated, and Hotch nodded.

"I know. I want you to talk to Reid. Find out who, other than us, she is friends with, potential threats to her and any enemies she could have," he stated, and she nodded. Hotch frowned shaking his head. "There is something off about this... I just don't know what it is."

The group gave each other an all too familiar look of worry, before parting. JJ managed to get to Reid in under ten minutes, surprisingly considering how busy the hospital was. She found him holding the baby, a look of wonder mixed with total fear on his face as he did so. The baby slept, a small blue hat on his head, wrapped snugly in a blue blanket. JJ smiled softly at the sight.

"What are you going to call him?" she asked, gently so not to startle him. Reid swallowed a lump in his throat.

"James... Chris wanted to call him James. I wanted to call him Gideon, so we settled on James Gideon Reid," Reid told her, and JJ hummed. She went to stroke the baby's cheek, fondness building naturally in her, when Reid moved him away from her. She felt offended for a moment, but softened.

"It's a good name... respectable," she replied. Reid acknowledged her breifly, his eyes never leaving his son. JJ closed her eyes, and then gave Reid a look that oozed seriousness. "Spence, I need to ask you some questions about Chris."

"We are not profiling my wife," Reid bit out, suddenly angry. JJ held up her hands, in a placating motion, however Reid still bristled. "She nearly died. James could have died. Why are you wanting to profile her? She's the victim, nto the UnSub."

"Spence, I'm not a profiler, remember? I just want to ask you some things," JJ placed her hand on his arm, keeping her tone comforting, and sympathetic. Reid paused, before he closed his eyes and nodded. JJ gave a huff of breath, relieved. "Okay, good. Spence, other than us, who was Chris friends with? Who did she talk to?"

"No one. She doesn't trust people she doesn't know, she is either always with us at work, or at home. Chris doesn't have anyone other than us..." he trailed off, and JJ frowned. She hadn't known that. She had always thought that Chris at least had some friends who she hadn't met through Reid. If she didn't, that made it all a lot more complicated.

"Does she have any enemies, people who would want to kill her for some reason?" JJ asked, and Reid glowered at her slightly, shaking his head. JJ went to speak again, but froze. "The UnSub wasn't trying to kill her though... the only reason she nearly died was because of the blood loss."

"It's true. She was shot the muscle in her neck at a downward trajectory. The UnSub miss all vital organs and the bullet lodged in her shoulder blade. Why would the UnSub only aim for her shoulder?" Reid pondere,d and JJ's eyes widened, as she looked at him in realisation.

"Because he didn't want to kill her."

"Chris wasn't the target. She was a casualty," Reid stated, setting James down in the plastic crib that the babies were in.

"So who was the target?" JJ asked, confused. If Chris wasn't the target, than who was?