Thank you for reading! As I always say thank you in these author notes for the reviews favs and alerts I don't think the words do justice to the motivation it gives me. So sincerely thank you!

I wanted this next chapter to be Reid and Rossi and what's happening with Morgan but it was not cooperating so I went with the muse. I hope you like it!

Happy reading!


Doubt

The lights flashed like fireworks behind her eyes as she squeezed the lids so tight it almost began to hurt. The expected pain never came but the echo of the gun was clear. Emily felt her breath catch as his rough hand squeezed the back of her neck. She opened her eyes to only close them in disgust when his hot breath stung her ear.

"The game has begun." He half laughed as he moved his head away but did not loosen his grip.

Emily tried to see into his face but he pushed her downward and forward, and the pressure on her neck and the pain in her arm held her captive to anything he demanded. All she knew was she was being led across a grassy lawn. The path in front of her began to blur with spots and moments of darkness and she continued to struggle not to lose her hold on consciousness. He had not killed her right then for a reason and she had to find a trace of clarity to know why.

When they reached a small set of stairs she stumbled over herself as she found her motor control began to wain with the rest of her body as it shut down. It only resulted in an annoyed grunt from Damon.

He tightened his grip and moved the two of them up the remaining stairs then pinned her against the wall and used his free hand to to open the door. This gave Emily a chance to try and look around but the dark night only gave her a curtain of black beyond the small cone of light that came from the tiny bulb on the porch.

The wave of warmth that hit her face as they broke the frame of the door soothed her for a moment, but the emptiness of the house and its eerie air broke any sense of calm. She could not make out anything remarkable as they moved and he continued to press her forward into the dark house that seemed to snake on forever. They finally came to a halt at the end of a narrow hallway.

He opened the door in front of them and before they entered Emily saw stairs to the right that lead to what she could only assume to be a second story. Before she could focus on it he moved them through the doorway. He flung a light on and Emily squinted as it assaulted her eyes and tried to see what lay ahead. She took in a small breath as she saw more stairs to have to decent, and with the way Damon jerked her around she could only prepare apart of her for what seemed an inevitable fall. She focused on not tripping, and was relieved when she managed to complete the small task. Her relief fled as he released his grip and her uncooperative body gave out and she fell to her knees. She was unable to catch herself fully and as the pain rocket through her she tried to bite down the cry that escaped.

His impatience to achieve his goal became apparent as he once again replaced his grip and shoved her forward. As they moved Emily tried to see the space for what it was. It was void of anything but a small table in the middle, and a door that filled the space of one of the walls and looked like it would slide open, but large locks kept it sealed. The walls were stone and the warmth of the house refused to be found in the cold unforgiving room. Against the furthest wall was a single shackle a quarter of the way up the wall. That was where Damon led her and halted their progress.

Upon reaching it he spun her against the rough stone and as she hit the air that pushed out stole a whimper with it. She could no longer refuse the tears that welled up in her eyes from the agonizing pain that ripped through her. He smiled viscously at her as he forced her arm into the cuff and locked it. He gazed for a moment at his handiwork and then stepped back.

She examined him and tried to hold herself up to not show him how weak she really was. She quickly realized that the angle and the height of the shackle would not allow her to do anything but hang, and she already had began to feel the pull on her arm muscles from her legs wanting to give out. It took everything she had not to pass out from the pain.

"What do think you're accomplishing?" She forced out as he stared at her.

"You really don't remember me do you?"

"Should I?" She continued to focus as her legs gave way and she began to lose the battle. She pressed herself against the wall for support and waited for Damon to answer her.

"I shouldn't expect anything less. Dr. Reid was the only one to acknowledge me."

Emily rolled her eyes up to him, "not all of us have an eidetic memory."

He disregarded the comment and continued, "let me refresh it for you then. Seven years ago Indianapolis."

She raised her eyebrows for him to enlighten her more.

"I was fresh out of the Academy and ready to learn. The BAU was called in. When you all strolled in with all your confidence and knowledge, I knew at that point I wanted to be apart of that team."

Emily searched her memory for when they were in Indiana for what case and more specifically him, but her mind was covered in a thick fog. She knew it didn't really matter he was beyond an apology if seven years later he was hatching a revenge plan.

He began to pace in front of her and his eyes were lost in his distant memory. "I had that case solved, but did any of you care to hear what I had to say. I was your grunt, getting coffee, making phone calls. No one gave a shit about what I thought."

"If you had something to contribute I'm sure-"

"Shut up!" He growled as he lunged towards her and halted inches from her face.

Emily's mouth sealed at his tone and sudden closeness.

"I was disregarded, but it doesn't matter now. What does is I got you all here and I'll be the one to solve these murders. I'll have captured the one responsible."

"Whose that?" She asked between struggled breathes.

He brought his hand to her neck and squeezed mockingly as he spoke through his clenched teeth, "Why would you care, you'll be dead."

She could only stare at him afraid that any response she gave might only bring her end sooner. He released her and began to leave but turned abruptly and let out a low menacing laugh, "How can I forget to let you know your rules."

He smirked as he pointed to a white line she had not previously noticed when he brought her in. "The first person through that door cannot cross that line. If they do, you die as does the person breaking the rule."

He moved next to the table and began to arrange the keys on it, "If for some reason the right person makes it across only one of these keys on the table unlocks you. Get it wrong you die, also the person attempting the fruitless rescue."

"The last and my personal favorite is that you cannot give any hints or insight to the rules. You do and they die then so do you."

"Sounds fair," she muttered under her breath.

"What was that?"

She bit her lip and turned her face up towards him but then let it drop to not push him further.

"That's what I thought."

After he slammed the door she allowed herself to sink into the unavoidable and torturous position. For the sake of the others she found herself secretly hoping that no one came crashing through.


The room felt like it began to fall inward and suffocate her. JJ had not allowed herself to unfold from the ball she held herself in, but she knew this was not the time to fall apart. The reality of what had happened, more what she imagined had happened, held her captive.

In a small effort of strength she rose her head finally and caught the stare of Aaron who had not taken his eyes off her. She wiped her tears and took in a deep breath to release any lasting doubt.

"You okay?" He asked with caution.

"Are you?" She replied cooly.

Aaron blinked slowly and his deep scowl drew tighter as he continued to stare. He didn't make a sound at first as he rose from his squatted position.

"If we have any chance of surviving we need to rethink the profile."

"What?" She asked in disbelief.

"JJ, I know what your thinking, but there is nothing that we can do at this point." He paused and looked back over to the blonde that began to stand. He tried to swallow his guilt and spoke softly. "I'm sorry, I should have done something sooner-"

JJ jumped in before he could finish, "we both could have done something sooner. I just don't see how the profile will help get us out of this, or bring Emily back."

As she spoke the last few words her voice trailed off and she moved to distance herself from the door.

Hotch watched the internal struggle she was dealing with but needed her to just pretend that they had a chance to get out.

He tried again to grasp control of their situation, "we know what he wants."

"And what's that?"

"For us to fail. What changed in the murders?"

She let her head drop in defeat and her eyes searched as she thought back to the case, "his method became more sophisticated and his victims more specific."

"Okay what else?"

"Umm, the role of law enforcement became intertwined in his game."

"Exactly, so he wants us to play his game. To try and save each other from unrealistic challenges. That's why I think he wouldn't just shoot Prentiss."

"You think its a mind game?"

"Makes sense. What thrill would he get from an execution style murder?"

"Do you really believe that?"

"I have to."

She gave him a weak smile and whispered a response that was more to herself, "I hope you're right."

"So do we have a plan?" She asked and leaned against the wall before she sank back down to a seated position.

"Try and stay together."

"What if he splits us up?"

"Then we work to survive and get back together. He mentioned teams, so I don't think he'll split us up but until he actually gives us the rules we can only wait."

Before any more words could be spoken a low hiss began to fill the room. The two looked around to see the air above them begin to fill with a gas. There was no where to go and they covered their mouths and held their breath as long as they could. The effort was useless as the gas overtook them and they fell to the ground.


A sharp striking slap rocked JJ's head to the side and brought her abruptly to the present. Her head felt like rocks were rolling around and slamming into her brain. Before she could try and grasp the ache her stomach flipped from the nausea that came on as fast as the pounding in her head.

She felt his presence in front of her but fought to open her eyes in fear of more pain.

"Let's go. I'm not interested in waiting much longer."

JJ forced her eyes open to look at the man that hovered too close for her comfort. She looked past him to her surroundings and noticed she was no longer in the room she and Hotch previously occupied. She frantically looked around for him but there was barely enough light to see Damon in front of her.

Her heart sank at the prospect that he had split them up. He grabbed her by her arms and forced her into a standing position. She tried to will her uncooperative legs to hold her weight and not buckle. He adjusted her like a rag doll until she could stand on her own with the support of the wall behind her.

"Finally," he huffed as he stepped back. "I'm going to keep this simple for you. You're the only one free to roam. You ultimately decides who lives and who dies."

"What?" She tried to comprehend his words as she still fought to gain a clear mind.

"Have fun." He laughed and then disappeared behind a door she had not seen but heard the bolts lock as he sealed her in.

Her mind spun and she held herself against the wall and fought the nausea, that came on in waves, with deep controlled breathes. She held her head in her hands as and tried to understand her role. She could roam free, and to her that meant there were others there still alive, but who? She feared for Hotch and her thoughts went to Emily. Maybe Hotch was right that it was a mind trick. But where they could be and in what state? There were too many unknowns, and she was not doing anyone any good standing still.

She squinted her eyes into the darkness in front of her afraid at first to step forward; unsure of her own footing and what lay ahead. Tentatively she put one foot in front of the other and kept a hand along the wall to feel for anything that could resemble a door or a way out.

As her hands ran along the wood paneling she thought of the profile, and worried whose fate she would be responsible for. Her stomach turned into a knot at what may lay ahead.

Before she realized how far she traveled she was at a cross roads of stairs and a door. The stairs led up to another level, but she chose against it as she was more interested in getting out then going much deeper into the creepy house.

She reached out and carefully tested the handle of the door and when it gave way she held her breath at what it might do. When nothing happened she released the breath as she slowly pushed the heavy door open. It was the first instance that she had been greeted with light. Her initial view was a set of stairs that led down, and she started to regret her decision but figured any decision she made wasn't really better than the other.

She lowered herself down the steps carefully and kept her back against the wall to have the view above her and below clear.

Her careful nature vanished when her eyes completely adjusted to the light and saw Emily as she hung limply on the wall furthest from her. Her heart leapt that Herst had bluffed at killing her but sank just as fast as she realized her fate now lay in her hand. The worst part of the unknown was how it was up to her, what did she need to do?

She was about to run to her when her gut told her not to. A sudden flash of the night in the woods sprung forward and she halted her movements. She began to look around the room in curiosity. There was nothing that gave her any indication that if she strolled up to her that anything would happen. She felt the concern to get to her well up as she saw her state. The only reason that Emily was somewhat upright was the shackle that was clasped to her wrist. Her knees barely touched the ground and was almost suspended in air from the height of her binds.

JJ took a step forward and saw the line painted across the room, and the table in the middle with keys laid out in a row.

She paused at the line and called out to the unconscious brunette.

She tried to be gentle with her words but she found she couldn't control the panic in her voice and her volume was sharp.

Emily's eyes shot open and she grimaced as she tried to adjust her awkward position. Her eyes searched in confusion in front of herself then landed on JJ.

She stared blankly but then a realization of what was happening hit her. JJ was relieved at first but the words that came out of her mouth threw her back.

"No, go."

"What? Emily, it's me. Tell me what to do so I can get you out."

The brunette closed her eyes and weakly shook her head. Her voice was low and almost a whisper, "you need to go."

"I'm not leaving you. Please tell me what to do." She looked to her right and then to the left and a sudden rush of panic ran through her. She focused on the table. "How do I get to the keys? Emily please."

Emily's voice suddenly became harsh and her dark eyes pierced her, "please trust me." She took in a ragged breath and slightly whimpered at her pain, "go."

JJ froze riveted in her stance. Those words, those simple words cut into her like a knife. Her heart couldn't allow her to walk out of the room and leave her bound to a wall barely holding on. She could never forgive herself for not even trying. She knew that Emily would not want to put her in danger and she must know something she could not divulge. It was the only thing that made any sense. Trust her, she wished it was that simple. She could not deny the pit in her stomach that stemmed from the thought of finding Emily alive, after she thought she was dead, to only leave her in misery. The worst part was not knowing if she could return for another rescue attempt.

Before she convinced her body to turn itself around she moved her head to make sure their eyes connected, "Hang on for me. I'll find a way to come back for you."

She almost saw a subtle laugh come from her but wasn't sure. She did see the weak smile that was her response. As she turned she looked back once more and swore it looked like Emily relaxed to the fact she was left in her confines. JJ only hoped it was the right decision, that might have been her only chance and failed.

All of her doubt welled up as she looked up at her only other option and began to ascend the dark stair case to more of the unknown.


Well, I hope I still have you!

Next up more of what's up with the rest of the team...hope you stay tuned!

Thanks for reading, and please don't hesitate to tell me your thoughts!