Title: Bluejay
Rating: R
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Characters/Pairing: JJ/Hotch
Genre: Supernatural/Drama
Summary: It's been two years since Jennifer Jareau has seen her team. She's been a little busy fighting demons.
Author's Note: Written for floatingamoeba, who bid on my auction post for thepurpledove.

Part Seven

As much as Morgan hated to admit it, they were stuck in a holding pattern.

It seemed to go without saying that they needed to rescue Reid, but the logistics of that endeavor was something that nobody could quite figure out. They didn't know where he was, they didn't know what had happened to him…

It wasn't a needle in a haystack. It was like a needle in a whole warehouse full of haystacks, and even then, the needle was probably in another dimension.

All they had to go on was a vision, some symbols that nobody could read, and the words of a former coworker that was sharing a body with a demon.

'I have an option that I know is going to be super unpopular,' Garcia said, over breakfast the next morning. Nobody was looking particularly awake; seven people split between two beds and living room furniture wasn't a comfortable arrangement for any of them. 'We probably have the right equipment to summon Sekhmet.'

Emily bit back a noise of disagreement. Garcia shot her a look. 'What? You have another idea?'

'No, I think it'll work,' Emily said, giving a half shrug. 'I'm just wondering whether or not we're all going to come out of this apocalypse with horns and a tail.'

'Well, demon can be a pretty sexy Halloween costume.'

'As sexy as it may be, I feel like my soul is kinda tarnished enough already.'

'Not all demon summonings are bad,' Garcia said pointedly. 'There are all kinds of reasons for summoning a demon. It's not just a "do as I command" kind of thing.'

'Baby girl, the things we've been doing, we haven't exactly had much experience with the "good" kind of demon summoning,' Morgan said, gently. He looked towards Hotch, whose arms were folded, his expression hard. It was impossible to tell what the other man was thinking. His opinion would hold more influence than anyone else's.

'I think we should do it,' Hotch said finally, and Morgan was only a little bit surprised. After all, Hotch was the one who had been there at the start of it. If they didn't get Reid and Seaver back, then it was Hotch that would feel the overwhelming guilt.

Once upon a time, Morgan would have argued the point.

The fact that he didn't was as much a testament to how desperate the situation was, as it was an indication of how much he had changed.

Before they left, they planned.

Evidently, Garcia's readings on the literature surrounding demon summonings had been much wider than the rest of theirs. With her analytical skills, she had managed to put together some viable solutions to their problem, viable meaning, options that don't rely on human sacrifice or slitting the throats of a thousand puppies.

'We can stop by the downtown markets on our way out of town,' Garcia announced. 'We should be able to pick up everything we need.' They'd come to the conclusion that even if it was a "good" summoning, so to speak, there was no way they could conduct it within the city limits – it was the kind of thing that would have seen them burned at the stake for witchcraft.

With that, it seemed to be finalized.

'Pack light,' Hotch instructed them, but it was mostly unneeded. There was no way that they would be able to take a vehicle, and even then, if they were going to be doing some multi-dimensional adventuring, it wouldn't be a good idea to be lugging around a suitcase.

Morgan unpacked his duffel bag and started redistributing its contents into his backpack. Most of it was clothing, which he tossed aside immediately, keeping only a second pair of jeans, some underwear, and a couple of t-shirts. Clean clothing was not exactly one of their priorities.

With any luck, they would survive long enough to return.

…

Out on the street, Garcia took the lead, something that JJ endorsed completely. The former technical analyst had spent two years in Denver, and probably knew the city like it was the information superhighway.

'We can take the Number 3 bus to the downtown markets, and then the Number 6 to the edge of town,' Garcia told them, authoritatively.

'And what, we just walk after that?' Morgan asked, giving a slight frown. JJ understood his meaning – it wasn't exactly hot out, but they wanted to get a fair way away before attempting anything that would draw attention to them.

'Not exactly,' Garcia said, and even though JJ could only see Garcia's back, she could hear the amusement in the other woman's voice. 'Tell me – how many of you can ride a horse?'

JJ could. East Allegheny had been good for some things that weren't soccer. She wasn't exactly an all-star champion, but she could hold her own. Emily could ride, which wasn't surprising, and so could Rossi and Hotch, which was, a little.

The Number 3 bus was crowded, and smelled a little like burnt flesh. JJ let her hand rest against her thigh, loosely gripping her shotgun. Between them, they had enough firepower to go up against most gangs, so hopefully, there wouldn't be too much trouble. In any case, the neighborhood where they got off the bus didn't look too bad, compared to some parts of the city that they had seen.

'We should split up, if we want to get this done quickly,' Hotch said, and JJ privately agreed. Garcia starting scribbling out lists.

'Here,' Garcia passed a list to Hotch. 'You and JJ can go to the spice emporium – it's three blocks west from here. Meet back at the crossroads in half an hour.' There was a devious look on Garcia's face, and JJ knew that her being paired with Hotch was no coincidence.

Hotch didn't seem to think so either, judging by the small smile he gave, as they headed off west.

'Do you really think this is going to work?' JJ asked, stepping to one side to avoid the half dozen chickens that had inexplicably decided to cross their path. A man in torn khakis ran after them, yelling in Spanish. As they reached the next tent by the side of the road, JJ saw a rotisserie, boasting a variety of meats.

There was a part of her that wanted to chickens to win.

'We've both seen what magic can do,' Hotch said grimly. 'If it can call a demon, it can open a doorway…We just need the right key.'

'If we do this, there's no guarantee we'll ever make it home.'

'I don't care what's happened over the last two years,' Hotch said. 'More than anything else, this team is family. You don't leave family behind. We are going to bring Reid home.'

There was a pause, and JJ gave Hotch a disdainful look. 'Don't think I can't tell when you're plotting something, Aaron. I may not be a profiler, but I've known you for almost ten years.'

He didn't answer straight away. 'It's not a solid plan,' he admitted. 'But suppose there was a way of…flushing Sekhmet out.'

'Saving Seaver, you mean?' JJ asked, giving a slight frown. 'I'm not saying it's impossible, but summoning a demon is one thing. Pissing one off…I mean, she did help us, right? And it's not as though Seaver's being hurt.' The last part was said with a sarcastic tone; JJ knew the importance of playing Devil's advocate (no pun intended) but she wasn't naïve. The mere fact that Sekhmet hadn't ripped them limb from limb didn't mean shit.

'For all we know, that was just something to keep us placated,' Hotch said, gloomily.

There was another pause, as they turned into the spice emporium. The smell overwhelmed JJ's senses. 'When did we get so cynical?' she murmured, staring at a barrel of what looked like sage.

'When the world was overthrown by the forces of darkness?' Hotch asked. He scanned the list, and grabbed a worn plastic basket from a mismatched stack. There was something strange about their conversation, but JJ couldn't quite place her finger on it. Maybe it because they had never really been open with each other in this way.

It seemed almost ironic that it had to wait until, as Hotch had said, the world was overthrown by the forces of darkness.

Go figure.

She loved Will, and part of her would always love Will, but she couldn't ignore her feelings for Hotch, either. It was like Dawson's Creek mixed with Silent Hill.

Fifteen minutes later, they were back at the crossroads, Hotch carrying a large paper bag filled with the kind of ingredients you would use to summon a demon. No eye of newt or toe of frog, fortunately. A bizarre image formed in her mind of her, Garcia and Emily dressed as the Weird Sisters. The fact that that somehow wasn't stranger than the situation they were already in was no comfort.

The rest of the team was already waiting, Morgan leaning against a disused mail box with his arms folded. 'We ready?'

'As we'll ever be,' JJ said with a grimace. The bus came within ten minutes – this one smelled like rotten eggs. By the time they made it to the outskirts of the city, it was almost sundown. Nobody even mentioned the possibility of staying the night in a motel. They were going to keep moving if it killed them.

Of course, finding a place that was willing to rent them out horses indefinitely was the hard part. However, once Garcia handed over a wad of notes, and, for some reason, a cucumber, the stable owner was much more willing to discuss the issue.

'I think it's time for a girl's night out,' Garcia commented, as she mounted the horse behind JJ. Kevin rode with Rossi, and Morgan with Hotch – if they came under attack, then Hotch's eyepatch would put him at a disadvantage. The fact that they were riding at night through unknown territory was a pretty bad disadvantage as well, but no-one brought it up. The torches would have to do.

'Take this,' JJ said, unclipping one of her holsters from her belt and passing it over to Garcia. 'I can't shoot and ride at the same time.'

'My aim is pretty bad,' Garcia said, but she took the gun anyway.

'As long as you don't shoot one of us, baby girl, I think we'll be okay.' Morgan had his rifle pointed to the ground. Hotch, to his credit, didn't look remotely worried. Trust was a funny thing.

The horses were restless. That much was clear almost immediately. JJ ran her hand along her horse's mane. His name, according to the stable-owner, was Jinx. Jinx didn't seem to think much of being hired out by an amateur rider in the middle of the evening. JJ didn't blame him.

Emily was trotting her horse slowly, while Rossi was still trying to get his under control. The circumstances weren't ideal, but then, it wasn't as though they were riding through an obstacle course. For the most part, it would just be straight riding, providing nothing went wrong.

Of course, things always went wrong.