Thank you ever so much for all the reviews! I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I'm not entirely sure what's going to happen but that's my favourite way to write. Sit down, hold on and hopefully you will enjoy the ride!

Thank you also to all of you who have added this story to your alerts and favourites. Knowing that there are so many people out there waiting for me to update definitely helps to keep me motivated. The reviews certainly help too. Hint hint.

Bye for now.

Susanne

CHAPTER FOUR

The realization that the flight crew, the black box and the emergency beacon were gone seeped in slowly into Special Supervisory Agent Aaron Hotchner's addled mind. The mere fact that it took as long as it did to completely register let Hotch know that he too was suffering from shock.

While his mind processed what his eyes were seeing, Aaron stood stock still, staring at the torn metal where the cockpit had been not that terribly long ago. All around him, other passengers were lying on the ground injured or in shock. Others were trying to tend the injured or were scrounging through their luggage, looking for warmer clothes. It was then that Hotch realized that they had crashed above the snow line. The ground was covered with a thick layer of snow. The only real ground he could see was where the plane had scoured it clean in its landing.

"Damn it," Aaron swore. Tearing his eyes away from the non-existent cockpit, he turned his attention to his associate. At least there was something he could do for Reid, he hoped. In a heartbeat, he was at Reid's side, not even aware of the pain in his hip and the resulting limp.

The young genius was still unconscious. He was sprawled on his side, his knees drawn up to his chest. He looked pale and cold and so very young. Hotch had taken his suit jacket off during the flight. At the moment he desperately wished he had it. The need to cover Reid up was nearly overpowering.

"Reid?" Aaron said softly as he looked down on Reid's prone shape. Reid was lying on his right side, his back still propped against the rock but he'd slid to the ground sometime during Hotch's excursions into the plane.

Kneeling down in the snow beside his young colleague's still figure, Hotch reached out toward Spencer's neck to check for a pulse. If Reid was dead, he didn't know what he was going to do. It was an irrational thought, not one worthy of an FBI Unit Chief but it was also the truth. Hotch was only partially aware of how badly his hand was shaking when he pressed his fingers against the boy's cold skin. Relief flowed through him. Reid's heart was still beating, strong and steady. The steady pulse of pain from Hotch's hip was lost in his concern for his friend.

"Okay, let's get you covered up," Hotch muttered as he looked around for the nearest suit case. He would apologize to the owner later, if he figured out who it was. He needed to find some clothes for both of them. Reid's core temperature was all ready dangerously low. Hotch had progressed from shivering to his teeth chattering. All the suit cases he could see were currently claimed. Just as he was considering going to search closer to the plane when Laura came up to him, a blanket in one hand and Emily perched on her hip with the other.

"Here," the blond woman said, offering the blanket. Both she and her daughter were dressed in warm clothes. Apparently she'd found her own luggage. Hotch was relieved to find that the woman appeared to be only marginally injured from being trapped in the plane. He noticed that her pant leg was ripped and blood stained but Laura didn't seem to notice or care. "This will help keep him warm."

"Thank you," Hotch stated, accepting the blanket. He was relieved to see that Emily was remarkably calm. Now that she had her mom, everything was right with the world. Looking down at Reid, the little girl giggled.

"Pretty," Emily said, pointing a pudgy little finger at Reid. "Mine."

"I'm so sorry," Laura said, her face turning bright red in embarrassment. "She likes the boys."

Smiling, Hotch bent down, laid the blanket out in the snow and carefully moved Reid on top of it. He needed to protect the injured man from the cold as much as possible. While Aaron shifted the lanky man's form onto the blanket, he took the time to check his subordinate over. Initially there was no obvious injury to explain the man's continued unconsciousness. Then he pulled half of the blanket over top. Reid was going to need more than a single blanket but even its thin material would help.

"Is he all right?" Laura asked. Emily struggled to get down. Not sure what else to do, Laura set the toddler down on the ground beside the young man. The girl was momentarily distracted by the snow. Giggling, she ran her fingers through it.

"I'm not sure," Hotch admitted. Absently, he wiped the blood off of his own face with his left arm while he used his right hand to feel Reid's body for broken bones. Emily scooted over to Reid's head and laid her own up against his. Hotch swore he heard the girl singing or humming quietly.

"You're FBI," a voice stated from behind Hotch. Satisfied that there wasn't anything obviously wrong with Reid's limbs or torso, Aaron began running his hands over Reid's head, much to Emily's disgust. The toddler swatted at Hotch's hands and wailed at him.

"Yes, we both are," Hotch stated. Under his finger tips, he'd found a swollen section on Reid's skull. When he drew his hand back, his fingers were slick with blood. As gently as he could manage with the sulking child so close, Hotch turned Reid's head to the side and searched among the curly, chestnut locks until he found the damage done by the debris.

"I'm Jake Thurston," the voice continued. Hotch was only marginally aware of the fact that the voice belonged to the Air Marshal. The man was standing beside Laura, watching him tend to Reid. Hotch knew he should be helping to deal with the other passengers, especially the wounded, but all he cared about at the moment was Reid. The rest could wait until he was sure the young genius was okay or at the very least going to live.

"I'm SSA Aaron Hotchner. This is Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid," Hotch stated as he checked the wound more thoroughly. As he worked, Emily cooed and patted Reid's head. She didn't seem to mind the cold or the trauma of their landing. She was just happy to be able to touch the 'pretty' one that she now considered to be hers.

"Are they going to come get us tonight?" Laura asked as she watched both Hotch and her child. She wasn't entirely sure who 'they' were but she hoped desperately that they would miraculously appear. She had no idea what she was going to do once Emily got hungry or thirsty. All of her baby food and bottles had shattered in her suitcase, resulting in them only having the clothes on their backs.

"Not likely," Jake stated. He had gotten the flight attendants to marshal enough people to rescue the rest of the luggage from underneath the plane. They were going to need all the supplies they could get. That was keeping any of the able bodied passengers busy. Keeping people busy was going to help reduce stress on everybody.

"Do we have anything that can be used for bandages?" Hotch asked, interrupting the two. The wound wasn't especially deep but being a head wound, it was still bleeding freely.

"One of the flight attendants found a first aid kit. There might be some left in there," Jake said. The tall marshal turned to head in the direction of the male attendant. Clearly SSA Hotchner wasn't going to leave his subordinate's side any time soon.

"Hotch?" The voice was low. Aaron almost lost it amid the low rumble of people talking around him. He was so intent on examining the laceration to the back of Reid's head that he hadn't noticed the young man's brown eyes flicker open. Memories of what was happening when he'd passed out flashed through Reid's mind. Jerking away from the cold, probing fingers, the young genius struggled to sit up. Panic threatened to overcome logic. Then he heard a little giggle.

"You're okay, Reid," Hotch responded as he carefully pushed the thin man back to the ground and the blanket. Emily scooted closer and patted Reid's head rather hard. Gently, Hotch pulled the toddler's hand away. "I'm going to put a bandage on your head and then you can get up."

"Where are we?" Reid asked as he tried to see around the rock his boss had him facing. He was only slightly aware of Emily. The girl was now running her hands through Reid's hair. Apparently that was enough to entertain her for the moment.

"Somewhere in the mountains," Hotch responded. Sitting back on his haunches, the Unit chief took his first real look around. As Hotch turned, his hip muscles clenched in a spasm. As nonchalantly as he could manage, Aaron moved into a more comfortable position and resumed checking out their surroundings.

The plane had come to rest in a deep valley. The valley walls were pretty sheer on either side. All Hotch could see of the sky was directly over his head and to either side. The plane was resting up against the eastern most edge, shearing what was left of the wing on that side of the fuselage. The valley was barren. There were no trees around, just a few large boulders and several smaller ones. The valley floor was only thirty feet or so at this point, it narrowed further to his right. Debris filled the valley, small fires flickering and dancing over some of the larger plane parts.

Digging into his cell phone holder, Hotch pulled the piece of electronics out. He knew it was a million to one shot but he had to try. While the phone had stayed with him during his adventures, it showed no signal. They weren't going to find help from there. Even if he climbed to the top of the 60 percent grade valley walls, he could see taller mountain peaks beyond in all four directions. At this point he wasn't even sure if a satellite phone would help.

"Here you go," Jake said as he handed Hotch what looked like someone's clean t-shirt, two sweaters and two more blankets. He'd seen the older man shaking with the cold. Even if he wasn't going to say anything, Jake was determined to make sure the man didn't freeze while he took care of his friend.

"Thank you," Hotch said. The t-shirt was sacrificed for bandages for Reid's head. One sweater went over Hotch's shivering torso, the other he struggled to get Reid into. The young genius began nauseated as soon as he helped him sit up which left him throwing up helplessly in the snow beyond his blanket.

"Uh oh," Emily said as she watched Reid with huge eyes. She didn't know what he was doing but it didn't look like a lot of fun.

Unsure of how to help, Hotch pulled Reid's lanky frame over his knees. Reid's head was still over the snow but at least he wouldn't wind up fast first into his stomach contents. As he waited for the boy's stomach to settle, Hotch marvelled at just how thin Reid really was. Under his hands, even with Reid's shirt, sweater vest and a second sweater covering him, he swore he could count each individual rib in his back and every vertebra. Ignoring the thought, Hotch rubbed the younger man's back and made comforting sounds like he would if Jack, his son, was ill. By the time Reid was done, the young genius was like a newborn kitten, his body shivering with cold and weakness.

Shuddering, Reid tried to pull himself off his boss's lap. He was mortified that he was lying across Hotch's knees but any movement only brought the nausea flooding back. Gulping back the bile, Reid closed his eyes and simply wished to disappear.

"You're okay," Hotch said as he carefully extracted Reid from his legs and laid him back down on his blanket. Then he covered him up again, using one of the two extra blankets. The second one he had to break down and wrap around himself. As much as he hated to admit it, he was cold. Glancing up at the sky, Hotch realized that nightfall was going to come early in the valley. They were lucky if they had two hours of light left. There was a lot that was going to have to be done in that time if they were going to survive the night.