Sorry this took so long to get out. I did warn you that I'm an irregular updater. This isn't as long as the last two chapters but hopefully it's enough to satisfy you until I write the next chapter. Also, I apologize for any mistakes. This is going up unedited because I wanted to get it out ASAP. Enjoy and thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited!
"Life is not a PG feel-good movie. Real life often ends badly. Literature tries to document this reality, while showing us it is still possible for us to endure nobly."
― Matthew Quick, The Silver Linings Playbook
Once Charlotte has cried herself out and dropped into a fitful sleep against the rough bark of the tree, Hotch and Morgan manage to summon enough energy to lift Oliver's body and carry it back into the cockpit. They all agree she doesn't need to see her dead friend again when she wakes up.
JJ moves to lie down again as soon as they're gone, deciding some restlessness is a small price to pay for not becoming the next casualty. It's not easy and she has to have Emily help her again, but at least she manages to avoid blacking out in the process.
"Okay," JJ groans, "I think I'll take some of those painkillers now." She turns her head to watch Reid rummage through the first aid kit. After a minute he produces the bottle and motions to toss it to Emily.
Shaking her head, JJ insists, "You should take some, too, Spence. Your leg looks bad." She glances to where he's lifted the leg of his trousers, noticing the dark bruising along his shin and the sickening lump of broken bone just beneath the skin, which thankfully hasn't broken. At his reluctant expression, she adds, "Please."
Reid nods and flashes a relenting smile before opening the bottle and pouring a few pills into his hand. He tosses the sealed container to Emily just as Hotch and Morgan return, looking drained after the exertion of moving Oliver.
"We should save the painkillers for those of us with the most severe injuries," Hotch says as JJ dry swallows a few pills. "Reid. JJ. Charlotte, when she wakes up. The rest of us should be relatively okay for now. And we don't know how long we'll be stuck out here at this point." Hotch checks his watch. "It's been about five hours since the crash." His voice drops off at the end as they all nod.
"We're gonna be okay, Aaron," Rossi says quietly. He manages to inject more confidence into his voice than he actually feels.
"What should we do?" asks Penelope. She uncaps their third bottle of water, takes a few sips, and then passes it to Morgan. She does the same with another, leaving them with only two unopened bottles.
"First off, we should find more water while it's still light out," says Rossi, gesturing loosely to the bright sun overhead. "It's just after 9 a.m. now so if we get going that should give us plenty of time to find some and get back before nightfall."
"Let's just hope there is something to find," Morgan comments.
Penelope smacks his arm. "Hey," she chides. "We need to stay positive."
"Garcia's right," Hotch declares. "And so is Dave." He grips the chunk of debris he's been leaning against and hefts himself to his feet using his good arm. "Prentiss and I will go. The rest of you have leg injuries or shouldn't be walking. We'll try to be back within a few hours." Hotch stoops to gather the four empty bottles scattered on the ground next to Reid and hands two of them to Emily when she approaches.
They set off to the north into the tree line and disappear from view a few minutes later.
After roughly an hour of walking interspersed with breaks to rest against boulders or fallen trees, Hotch and Emily finally stumble onto a stream running perpendicular to their direction of travel. It's about six feet across and the water appears safe enough to drink, so they stop and drop gratefully to their knees along its edge. It's an incredibly lucky break and they take a minute to bask in their relief.
A moment later, Emily removes her plum-colored button-up blouse to reveal the white tank top underneath. At Hotch's questioning look she explains, "To help filter the water. I know it's not ideal, but it's better than nothing."
Hotch nods. "Of course."
It's an inelegant process. Emily holds the cleanest end of her shirt over an open bottle, her thumb and index finger holding it tight around the neck of the container, but allowing some slack in the material right over the opening, creating a dip into which Hotch can pour the unfiltered stream water from another bottle. Once they've finally managed to fill the three available bottles, they have to switch tactics for the fourth. Emily holds it just as she did the previous ones, but Hotch now has to scoop the water from the stream with his hands and dump it carefully over the filtered opening.
They share this last bottle to hydrate for the trek back and then refill it before gathering everything up.
"At least it's still summer," Emily says as they start walking. "We aren't going to freeze to death."
Hotch chuckles dryly. "Small miracles."
"What if nobody ever finds us?" Penelope asks weakly, attempting to break the tense silence that has settled around them.
Morgan turns his head towards her, eyebrows raised. "What happened to Ms. 'We need to stay positive,' huh?"
Penelope smiles sheepishly as Morgan rests a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry, baby girl. We'll make it out of here." He raises his voice, "Right, Reid?"
"Hmm? Yeah." Reid looks up. "What?" They all smile at him. Their usual teasing laughs for such a response require just a little too much effort given the circumstances.
"You okay?" Morgan asks him after a minute.
"I'm fine," Reid answers. "Those painkillers aren't doing much for my leg. But on the bright side, I don't think my concussion is very serious."
"That's good."
Rossi speaks up then. "Remarkably, I think I managed to avoid a concussion altogether."
"Lucky you," Penelope groans. "I feel like there's a rock concert happening inside my head."
Reid tosses her the bottle of painkillers. "You should take some. We have plenty."
Penelope smiles gratefully, taking a few pills. "Thanks. But just this once. You and Jayje are way worse off." She throws the bottle back.
Reid fumbles and drops it and this time the others actually manage some real laughs as he smiles awkwardly and tucks it back into the kit.
"Nice one, Spence," JJ teases lightly. Despite the distraction provided by the team's antics, she's slowly losing her battle with unconsciousness. Whether it's due to simple sleepiness or being on the verge of passing out, JJ isn't entirely sure. She just knows that the blackness is far too inviting, and all her body wants to do is succumb. She tries valiantly to keep up the chatter with her friends, to hold on for Henry and Will because closing her eyes out here could mean never waking up again and she does not want to die in the woods of all places, but the effort is ultimately futile, and during a lull in the conversation she eventually drifts off.
The others don't seem to notice, their minds fixated on other matters of concern. Though not even two hours have passed since Hotch and Emily left, they all are getting antsy waiting for the two of them to return, knowing that their odds of survival depend greatly on the outcome of their friends' search. Morgan and Rossi both need their lacerations cleaned and re-bandaged as well, but it will have to wait until they have more water, so everyone is stuck sitting restlessly while they wait for something to happen.
That 'something' comes unexpectedly when Penelope attempts to shift her body, wanting to lean her head on Morgan's shoulder, and instead lets out a startled gasp of pain when a burning sensation flares in her right leg. She reaches down to clutch at her calf through the torn purple nylon. It feels tight and swollen when she touches it and she raises panicked eyes to meet Reid's concerned gaze.
He's already dragging himself over as quickly as he can with the first aid kit but she's panicking and crying as she calls out for him, so she can barely hear his words of assurance or feel Morgan's comforting hands gripping hers. Getting shot by Jason Clark Battle was terrifying, but at least then she'd had readily available medical assistance and a short ride to a hospital. Medical emergencies out here, especially after Oliver Green's too recent death, are a whole new level of scary, Penelope realizes.
A minute passes before she vaguely registers Reid hovering in front of her, ordering her to stop panicking and breathe, so she does, sucking in a lungful of air as she squeezes Morgan's hand. And as Reid begins ripping at the nylon covering her leg, Garcia swears to herself that she'll never step foot on a plane again.
"Is Jessica watching Jack?" Emily wonders aloud as they weave through the trees on their way back to the crash site.
"Yeah," Hotch answers, suddenly feeling that much more grateful for his ex-sister-in-law's help. "And Beth was supposed to come down for a visit this weekend," he remembers, a bit crestfallen.
"Well, hey, at least after this the Bureau is sure to give us a nice long vacation," Emily jokes, elbowing his side.
A corner of Hotch's mouth turns up in a close approximation of a smile. "They'd better."
They continue walking in a comfortable silence for a while, watching out for the crash debris that would indicate they're getting close.
Eventually, they're able to discern the faint clanking of the turbine they saw earlier, and both unconsciously hasten their steps. They're tired and hungry and it's past eleven so neither can help the tiny thrill of relief they feel at seeing the major wreckage of the jet come into view.
But when they round the wreckage and approach their makeshift camp, it's all they can do not to drop the water bottles in shock at the sight that greets them – of Reid preparing to slice into Garcia's leg with an anxious expression and a gleaming scalpel.
"Safety is largely an illusion, and panic knows this."
― Rita Zoey Chin
I know, I'm awful. But I promise to try to update faster next time. Thanks for reading!
Note: A reviewer mentioned painkillers and head injuries potentially being a bad mix so I just wanted to clarify that when I say 'painkillers' I'm referring to acetaminophen (i.e. Tylenol), which is okay to take for headaches (even ones caused by concussion), and I am not trying to cause the characters more medical trauma - not accidentally anyway. Sorry about the ambiguity there.