AN: Thanks for your reviews!
JJ finally felt as if the tremendous pain she was experiencing, was coming to an end. The helicopter ride couldn't possibly last too long and once she arrived in the emergency room, she hoped the staff would make a quick assessment and be able to administer something. Anything to dull the pain thundering through her body.
The medics had been nothing short of wonderful, and as Kale secured her into the basket, JJ felt her eyelids beginning to droop; she was exhausted. The pain would certainly keep her awake, but she figured closing her eyes may help her body relax.
"Oh no, no no." Suddenly, she felt a gentle but stern hand shaking her shoulders and her eyes shot open, meeting the deep green eyes of Kale. "Sorry agent, you have to stay awake for me." He explained.
She knew why, of course she knew why… but she was so tired, and suddenly, the pain started ebbing away providing some much needed relief. It was as if her body could finally take a deep breath, and she closed her eyes again, sleep pulling her further and further away from Kale's voice.
The last thing she heard before blackness engulfed her was the sounded of screaming. She never felt the fall.
Hotch watched in silent horror, Morgan, Reid, Rossi and Emily standing next to him. They had been powerless before, but this was something entirely different. They were unable to do absolutely anything, until the thing they were dreading most occurred.
Nobody said a word as the helicopter struggled to stay airborne, nobody breathed when they watched the skilled pilot lower the helicopter.. it was Reid who picked up why.
"They are going to cut the line." He breathed and instantly, everyone's attention snapped to him. "The pilot, the pilot has a release mechanism for the basket. Should something go wrong with the helicopter, the pilot can release the tether and basket…"
"That has to be at least fifty feet." Rossi said, looking at the chopper.
Reid nodded, "The pilot is trying to get them closer to the ground."
And then, just as Reid had explained, the team watched in horror as the tether holding the basket, holding their friend to the rescue craft was cut loose and sent plunging to the ground. By the time the chopper burst into flames and exploded, the skilled group of profilers had already taken off running. Ready to start the search and rescue for the medics and their friend.
It was Kale who first returned to consciousness, just minutes after the basket had collided with the hard wooded ground. He had been thrown feet away but as he checked over himself, he sighed in relief. Besides the cuts and bruises and the obviously broken finger, Kale did not see any serious injuries lining his body.
It was a damn miracle.
Bart was next to him, just now starting to regain consciousness. Kale had looked him over immediately and like himself, Bart appeared to have minimal injuries.
It wasn't himself or Bart that Kale was concerned about; it was their patient, and as he slowly climbed to his feet, the magnitude of the situation began to weigh on the experienced medic. The temperature outside was in the high eighties, the humidity probably closer to the mid-nineties and the wind was starting to pick up as the skies began to darken.
"Kale?" It was Bart, and Kale immediately turned his attention to his partner who had slowly sat up.
"Chopper crashed." Kale knew how Bart wanted information, no fluff, and no nonsense. Bart nodded and put his head into his hands taking in a few deep breaths.
"How is she?" He grunted, slowly standing up.
"I'm trying to find her, she cannot be too far away." Kale replied, looking around for the red basket.
Bart nodded in agreement and began looking around the wooded floor; less than thirty seconds later, Bart spotted the basket. "Kale, I got her!" He hollered, rushing as fast as his body would allow him.
He doubted that the woman was alive; it was a bloody miracle that he and Kale had survived the crash, and they hadn't been injured. But when he reached the basket, not only did he find her still trapped inside, but to his surprise, she was still breathing.
"'Ma'am? Can you hear me?" He asked, seeing her eyes closed. She remained still, not moving, not responding. But she had a pulse, and that was better than expected.
"How is she?" Kale asked, arriving at Bart's side.
"I am sure she has had some better days, but she is breathing." He reached over and knuckled his hands before reaching over and suddenly stopping. "Damn." A sternal rub would have been their next go to, but the black Kevlar vest she was wearing prevented any of that.
"It's probably better for her now, hopefully she cannot feel anything." Kale responded, seeing the predicament. "Good thing she is a FBI agent, her team will have the entire damn military scouting for us in a few hours."
Bart looked at him. "Hours are all we have, Beth picked up a shit ton of speed; landfall is expected in eight hours." He paused. "That's why I was late meeting you for the call; I was watching the reports. It was not looking good then; now- now it's all hell is about to break out."
Kale's eyes went wide, "Eight? Shit…" He looked around, he had never seen the remote area of the woods they had found themselves in; in fact, it looked like no human had touched the place in centuries.
"Margo is gone; that was one of the last bird's we had, everything else has been relocated for the storm. The FBI will use the GPS from Margo to locate the wreckage; they won't know we aren't near her for hours afterwards." The situation continued to get more desperate.
"And." Kale glanced back at JJ.
"And, we have a wounded federal agent in our care. We have no food or water, and with her bone sticking out like that…"
Kale licked his lips. "Infection has already set in…"