"Goddammit, wake up! Jennifer!"
JJ opened her sleepy eyes, wondering what was so urgent the normally cool Emily Prentiss was yelling at her for. "Em? What happened?"
Prentiss glared at her. "While you were taking a little nap, one of those damn Paparazzi came in and interviewed the victim. She freaked out, had a nervous breakdown, and now it's all over the news. We tried to restrain her, but she's strong and stubborn."
JJ sat up, all tiredness forgotten. "What are you saying?"
"We lost her, and the whole world knows about it," she said bitterly. "Strauss is pissed off at us, and, to top it off, the doc thinks that the chances of her making a full recovery are becoming slimmer the longer we can't find her. Apparently, the concussion may be tied to the breakdown."
"Why now? She seemed to be coping better than any other victim ever the last time I saw her. What happened?"
"Who knows? Probably was grateful to get out from under that roof. Results of the X-Rays came back with numerous old injuries."
JJ was quiet. Poor girl, she thought. "Let's find her, Emily."
In all actuality, finding her was harder than JJ had anticipated. It took three hours, combing the floor again and again before JJ found the small girl huddled in a corner with her arm in an unmistakable turquoise cast.
When she saw her, JJ could have cried with relief. "Honey? Alison? Are you there?"
The dark hair lifted, revealing shockingly blue eyes, and gorgeous features that, even covered in dirt and grime, belonged on the cover of a magazine. "I'm not Alison."
JJ laughed nervously, wishing backup was here. "Of course you aren't. Let's go back to your room, and we can figure out who you are."
"No, JJ. I know exactly who I was. I was Alison Campbell, daughter to Rob Campbell and Meghan Campbell. My sister's name is- was Grace Campbell. I was the girl everyone wanted to be. I was the best. But I want more than that. I want to help others, not spend the rest of my life making millions of dollars and then spending it on stupid things like my fiftieth designer ball gown or my twelfth iPad. I want to do what you guys do. I want to make a difference. Not be chased by Paparazzi for something stupid, like starring in a movie, or winning another award."
Something in her tone of voice told JJ that Alison had thought this through, and knew exactly what she was doing. Sighing, she said, "Okay. But we have to get you back to the doctor. They think you're having a nervous breakdown."
Alison laughed. "That's funny. And here I was thinking they were crazy."
JJ offered out a hand, and Alison looked at it suspiciously before JJ remembered Alison's one rule: no touching. Shrugging, JJ put it back down at her side, and Alison stood up. "Ready?" JJ asked. Alison nodded.
When they were almost back at the room, Alison stopped suddenly. "JJ, can you promise me one thing?"
JJ thought for a minute, trying to decide whether she could trust her, before saying "I can try."
Alison smiled on the inside, but stayed serious on the outside. She had a feeling that JJ would do all she possibly could to help her. "Can you promise I won't be in a hospital tonight? That I will be anywhere but here. That I will be away from all of this craziness."
JJ didn't know what to do. "I can try, but they think you're crazy. They may not listen to me."
"Thank you."
"Please Hotch? All she wants is one night away from here."
"Jennifer, no. Where would she go? Even though the doctor has cleared her of her concussion, she still has broken ribs, a fractured arm, and she may not be stable."
"She can stay with me, and Prentiss and I will fly back and turns watching her. If she's comfortable, she may remember more about the UnSub."
Hotch sighed. "JJ, we can't just take victims out of the hospital and across the country on a whim. There needs to be a reason."
JJ turned to walk out of the small room, but before she exited, she looked at Hotch still watching her. Looking above his head, she saw a camera, which sparked an idea in her head. "Hotch, what if we can outsmart the Paparazzi by taking her out tonight?"
Hotch looked at her. "Nice try, but that still doesn't help the fact that we're taking an unprotected minor away from the hospital, where she might die while we are held responsible, and that there is an UnSub with psychopathic tendencies that wants her dead, as well as using up valuable resources for multiple flights across the country. Am I missing anything?"
JJ smiled wanly. "Nope. But if we keep her in hiding, we may draw out the UnSub so he makes a mistake. And we're sitting ducks at the hospital like this. The Paparazzi made sure everybody knew where she is. And even if not, everybody in the state of California will know who - and where - she is. Nobody in this Godforsaken state seems to know what privacy is. Even if she's locked in a hotel room, somebody will see her and call the Paparazzi, who will broadcast it around the world."
Hotch could see her line of thinking, and realized that, even though it was dangerous at first, it was the safest and smartest move in the long run. Cursing his media liaison, he spit out the words JJ was waiting to hear. "Fine. But nobody can know. And she stays with you and another agent at all times. Actually, she stays with you and Emily or Garcia. Strauss has been having my ass with the new fraternization policy."
He was mostly talking to himself, as JJ had walked towards the door. Calling over her shoulder, she said, "Don't worry!"
Behind her, she heard Hotch mumbling incomprehensible things, but it sounded suspiciously like, "Whenever she says that, I immediately start to worry." JJ grinned as she picked up speed, her long legs carrying her to Alison's room quickly.
When she got there, she saw Prentiss and Alison packing a bag with her few belongings. JJ grinned. "Really? I just got the okay from Hotch."
Prentiss smiled at her. "Great! So we're all set."
JJ nodded. "Let's go!"
