AN: Ok, so this is a bit of a filler chapter once again. Unfortunately it's necessary. I know these aren't always the most exciting, but I'm trying to make this as much a "real story" as possible which means focusing on the details and trying to connect everything. It should all make sense. The two following chapters coming after are a couple of my favorites and I think you'll like them.

Warning: After this chapter I'm bumping this story up to an "M" rating. Although the content in the next chapter may not entirely warrant the rating, I'm doing it just to be on the safe side as this story will become progressively darker and eventually earn its rating. I'm telling you this now so if you aren't following this story, you still know where to find it and don't think that it simply disappeared. The next update WILL be in 2 days in the M section. Thank you loyal readers!

"Reid? Reid? Reid!"

Spencer bolted upright at the sound of Aaron Hotchner's voice calling him. He tried to stifle a yawn as he rubbed his face and attempted to compose himself.

"I'm sorry Hotch, what did you say?" He looked up and asked his boss through tired eyes and a sleepy voice.

"I said I think it's time you went back to the hotel and got some rest. There isn't much else to be done here right now."

"I'm fine Hotch, really. I was just resting for a minute."

"Reid you've been going at a high level all day after taking a redeye from Las Vegas and dealing with your mom. It's late. Some rest will help you think better and we're going to need all you can give us tomorrow."

"I'm fine Hotch. I need to think through why this happened. Any luck with the road blocks?" He asked hopefully, changing the subject.

"Nothing so far, but it's only been a few hours. There are multiple checkpoints set up along the highway and they are stopping all vans, trucks and SUVs and searching them."

"What about the crime scene? Have the techs processed everything?" Spencer asked, although he already knew the answer.

"They are almost done with the scene itself. They plan to work through the night, but we won't know anything until tomorrow morning at the earliest. It's going to take some time."

Spencer nodded, standing to stretch his legs.

"We should call Garcia and have her start looking into what we have."

Hotchner sighed.

"You know we don't have much to go on right now, Reid. She won't be able to do much until we give her something more specific to work with. I know it's the last thing you want to hear, but we have to be patient. The evidence suggests we have time, whoever has JJ probably isn't going to kill her anytime soon."

Spencer took a deep breath and nodded, his eyes scanning the empty precinct.

"Everyone else is back at the hotel, aren't they?"

Hotchner nodded silently.

"I ordered them to get some rest. They're all just as worried as you are, but they also realize we're kind of stuck right now. It won't help us to run over the same minimal information we have over and over again and become sleep deprived. We should have more to go off of tomorrow. When we do, we'll run with it."

Spencer stared blankly at the table in front of him, his eyes seeing the notes he had made but not actually reading them. He felt sick, exhausted from worry about JJ. Hotchner could read the young man's face like a book.

"We will find her Reid. We all know how strong JJ is. She's smart enough to know what she has to do to stay alive. She'll do everything she possibly can to get away or at least stall them until we can find her. She won't go down without a fight, and neither will we."

"I know she's strong Hotch…I just can't believe this happened. Why now? Why her?" Spencer said quietly, not meeting Hotchner's eyes.

"It's a question we're all asking Reid, and until we find who took her, they are questions that we might not be able to answer. All we can do is focus on developing and following the profile. If JJ can, she'll do everything in her power to help lead us to her."

"I should've gone with her."

"We needed you here. There was no way to know this would happen."

"I had a bad feeling from the beginning." Spencer admitted, dancing around the thoughts of his mother.

"It might not have mattered. For all we know you could've ended up in Deputy Brewer's position, if not worse. He's a strong man who knew the area. You can keep looking back and saying 'what if', but it won't do JJ any good and it will only serve to torture you. You need to push past this, try to get some rest, and come back ready for tomorrow." Hotchner said through firm encouragement.

"I don't think I can sleep knowing she is out there, in danger."

"You have to try, even if it's only for a few hours, it'll be better than nothing."

Spencer stood still, considering Hotchner's words, knowing deep down he was right, but the logic escaped him. His brain kept insisting that perhaps he was missing something, perhaps there was something else he could do to bring JJ back sooner. Logically, he knew unless they got lucky, either with the roadblock, the unsubs making a grave mistake, or JJ persevering and escaping, there was nothing else that could truly be done. Nothing else would get them any closer to finding her, that couldn't be done more quickly or efficiently in the morning with the help of rest and a team effort.

"Come on Reid, let's go." The older man approached him, placing his hand on the young man's shoulder and guiding him away from the table.

"Hotch…" He began to protest again.

"It's an order Reid, not a choice." Hotchner said firmly, guiding the man towards the door.

Spencer wanted to say something more, something that would make sense and force Hotch to let him continue, but he came up with nothing. He was too tired, too defeated. He forced himself to accept Hotch's order. Spencer walked out the door, side by side with the man who was both his boss and friend, the cool air reminding him of just how cold and empty he felt inside. He could only hope nothing serious would happen to JJ over the course of the night; that she could at least hang on until morning.

/

JJ was led down the hallway by the man named John. She did everything she could to get the layout of the building she was in. She looked into rooms as she passed by open doors and climbed stairs, looked out the windows towards the outside where her freedom awaited; anything that could help her when the opportunity to escape presented itself.

While she walked down the halls JJ learned two things. First, she was in what appeared to be a large compound made up of multiple buildings. The area was well lit, even in the pitch black of the late night. There was a large, lit wall surrounding the complex, about a couple thousand feet from the building she was in, providing the inhabitants plenty of land for farming and leisure. It was almost like she was in a little secluded colony, or a cult.

JJ shivered at the thought of being in a cult, she knew they were generally strict and more than likely, there could be brainwashing involved. To her, that was a very scary thought.

The other thing JJ picked up on was that Tony's 'private quarters' as he called them were in the opposite direction of where most of the action was. There were fewer rooms the closer they got, and many of those rooms appeared to be empty or hardly used. He liked to keep himself secluded from the others, which also meant she would be too. He would be in control of who she met and when. If she somehow escaped, she would have a long ways to go before she ran into anyone who may be of help. She had no doubt that the people who roomed closest to Tony were also his closest, most loyal followers. He was well protected.

They slowed as they reached the corner of the building, approaching the door to the room that could quite possibly turn into JJ's own personal hell. John turned the knob and led her in. Without saying anything, he closed the door behind her, locking it and leaving JJ to herself. This surprised her. Obviously he wasn't too concerned with her getting into trouble or going too far.

JJ sighed, turning from the door to glance over the room. She nearly gasped at what she saw. The room was large, spacious and swanky. There was no doubt Tony was the so-called leader of these people, and of where much of his money had been spent. The room had a bit of everything. A couch, comfy chairs, a TV, table, computer, desk, a dresser, two separate closets on different sides of the room, a mirror standing next to the nearest closet to her, and a large, king-sized bed to name a few things. JJ took a deep breath, tearing her eyes from the well made, comfy looking bed fearfully. Next to the mirror and one of the closets was a door.

Curiosity got the best of her, and carefully she approached the door and turned the knob. Turning on the light, she found it to be a personal bathroom. It was rather large for a single bathroom, and had all the essential amenities. She looked everything over carefully, noting there wasn't anything sharp such as a razor, and that all of the drawers needed a key to get into them. This guy was smart, he knew how to make everything look modern and normal, and yet the little things gave the message that he truly was the one in control.

JJ left the bathroom behind, moving about the room until she found another door next to where the other closet was situated. She slowly turned the knob and entered, again turning on the light. This room was a tiny personal kitchen, containing a refrigerator, microwave and some cabinets, all of which were again locked. JJ groaned in frustration. This wasn't going to be easy.

Approaching the sink, she turned the water on and forced her sore wrists under it, slickening her skin and soaking the rope. While it did nothing to weaken the rope despite her efforts, it did refresh her chaffed skin a bit.

After a moment JJ removed her hands and shook them dry, returning to the large main room. She noticed there were multiple windows lining the room, covered by big, expensive curtains. She walked over to one window and pulled the curtain aside.

JJ's eyes grew wide as she looked out the window, she was at least five stories up and if she were to climb out the window, there was nowhere to land but down on the ground. She yanked on the latch of the window anyway, hardly surprised to find that it too was locked.

JJ moved from the window, beginning to pace around the room more anxiously. She had no idea if or when Tony would show up, but she was sure she didn't have forever. Although she was getting a layout of the room, she had come no further in finding a way to protect herself or a means for escape. She moved to the TV and turned it on, praying she would find media coverage of her sudden disappearance. She had no idea how long she had been gone, but she had a feeling it probably wasn't long enough yet. The screen flickered on, but the screen remained blank.

'Really?' She cursed, realizing the cable had likely been disconnected.

She walked over to the desk, turning the laptop on. She waited impatiently for the computer to start up. Finally, it had loaded and JJ immediately went for the internet, praying she could send an email S.O.S. Sure enough, that was disconnected too; she was stuck.

Tony had gone to great lengths to prevent visitors, presumably her, from having any real chance at freedom in this room. He controlled everything.

JJ sighed, bringing her tied hands to her face in an attempt to brush the hair off her cheek. She wanted to cry, she wanted to scream, curse. She was so frustrated, she felt so helpless. Never had she felt quite like this, so not in control, so desperate. At the mercy of someone she didn't even know. This wasn't good. This was almost her worst nightmare.

She missed Spence. Where was he? Had he ever received the last two messages she sent him? She was beginning to feel frantic, the panic bubbling up inside of her.

She sat on the couch, burying her hands in her palms. A tear threatened to slip from her eye. She refused to let it. Tony would likely be there any time now. If he saw she had been crying that would surely give him more power and put her at a disadvantage.

Taking a deep breath, she choked back the sob that was deep in her throat. Gradually she began to feel a little better. But just as she did, she could hear footsteps coming down the hall in her direction. As JJ lifted her head and stood from the couch, gathering herself as best she could, she had no doubt it was Tony.