The next morning, Emily is surprised to see Morgan already in the kitchen when she comes down for a mug of coffee. He glances up at her, nervousness in his eyes.
"Morning," he says.
She lifts a brow. "Morning." She pours a cup of coffee, doctors it, then turns and leans back against the counter. "Well?"
He sighs. "Do not be pissed at Garcia. This is all on me."
Emily rolls her eyes. "You ran Morisini."
Morgan nods. "Yeah."
"And is she clean?"
"Yes."
"Then all is good," Emily states, taking a sip.
Morgan's forehead wrinkles in surprise. "Seriously?"
Emily nods. "Seriously."
He studies her a moment then starts to laugh. "Garcia told you, didn't she?"
Emily finally smiles. "Yep…when I went to ask her to run the same thing."
Morgan starts to laugh. "Damn. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Em. I just…with all the stress already I didn't want to add more to your mind or get you pissed at me."
"I get it, Derek. I promise. Sure I was pissed at first but then I understood why you did it the way you did. And Garcia was pretty effusive in her defense of you. So I decided to just let you deal with checking her out. I was sure she'd be clean but, well…I don't think I could have handled it well if she wasn't."
Morgan nods. "Understandable."
Emily stands. "So, make yourself useful and start breakfast. We'll be down in a few with the kids. Francesca should be here soon to make the shake that keeps JJ from turning into a caffeine thirsty monster so you shouldn't be on your own long."
Morgan chuckles. "And what will you be doing?"
"Changing diapers. Wanna switch jobs?"
Morgan moves towards the fridge. "Eggs and bacon sound good?"
Emily laughs. "Yeah, that's what I thought."
She goes back upstairs as Morgan starts to get things together to make breakfast for everyone.
It is well after noon on Saturday. The team had been vocal on certain things and cryptic on others, hoping to feed the unsub enough to keep him from changing the rules. But he had still managed to change them.
Well after noon…and no one has received a call as yet.
JJ is standing in the kitchen making some decaf when Emily walks in. JJ turns quickly, expectantly. Emily just shakes her head and starts to pour a regular coffee.
"Shit," JJ mumbles. "Is this change just to make us sweat or what?"
Emily shrugs. "That or the next victim did something the unsub didn't expect. Had a doctors appointment, went out of town, who knows."
"But two of us haven't gotten calls. He could have just switched victims," JJ points out.
Emily shrugs. "Unless there is an order to what he is doing. He may be telling a story we won't see until it is finished." She takes a sip of coffee. "How's your trip down memory lane?"
JJ rolls her eyes. "I looked so young in some of those. I can hardly believe I am seeing myself at times. And damn I got some chipmunk cheeks when I was pregnant with Henry!"
Emily grins and takes a sip of coffee. JJ lifts a brow.
"I do not have chipmunk cheeks now!" JJ insists. Emily takes another sip. JJ rolls her eyes. "You suck, Prentiss."
"But you love me anyway, Jareau," Emily points out.
JJ smiles. "Yeah, I do." She sighs. "Well, back to the videos."
She takes a sip of decaf and starts out of the room. Suddenly her vision swims. She grabs the edge of the table as her knees start to wobble. As if it is miles away, she hears her mug shatter on the ground, closely followed by the distant sound of Emily's mug shattering.
"JEN!"
Emily grabs her wife, quickly shifting her into a chair. Emily kneels down, ignoring the coffee pooling under her. She stares into her wife's eyes.
"Jennifer, breathe, honey. Deep breaths, baby. Please," Emily begs.
"What's wrong?" Garcia asks. She had been coming for coffee but now the need for caffeine is ignored when she sees how pale JJ is and how shaken Emily appears to be.
"Di…dizzy," JJ mumbles weakly.
Emily is massaging the back of the blonde's neck. "Too much stress, Jennifer." She looks at Garcia. "Get the b.p. cuff out of her desk."
Garcia hurries to get the instrument at the same time texting Hotch to get to the kitchenette. She grabs the cuff and runs back to Emily as fast as her platforms will allow.
"Here!" she thrusts it at the brunette, glad to see JJ is already looking better.
"Thanks. Hold still, honey," Emily says as she quickly gets the cuff on and starts to check her wife's blood pressure.
JJ stares at her free hand, noticing it shaking. She can't deny the sudden feeling of weakness but hate that it happened at work.
"Prentiss? Jareau? What's going on?" Hotch asks as he walks up.
"JJ got dizzy," Garcia answers.
Emily ignores the distractions and concentrates on the read out in front of her. She sighs and stares into worried blue eyes.
"High yellow zone," she says.
JJ sighs. "Go figure."
Emily nods. "I'm trusting you when I ask this, Jen. What do you need to do?"
"Rest. Maybe on Rossi's couch again? An hour or so. Then we check again, okay?"
Emily studies the eyes of the woman she loves. She finally sighs. "Are you sure?"
"I think so. Please can we…try? If I go home I know I will just stay stressed not knowing what's going on. This way I know I'm close enough to be kept informed."
Emily bites her lip a second. "I will check you again in an hour. If it is still high yellow zone you go home," she states with finality.
JJ nods. "Okay." She looks up at Hotch. "I'm sorry, Hotch."
Hotch shakes his head. "Don't even go there, JJ."
Emily stands and helps JJ up. JJ leans on her as they walk to Rossi's office. Hotch and Garcia exchange a look, hating to see how weak JJ appears to be.
"If we were all pregnant we'd all look like that I bet," Garcia notes.
Hotch can't help but grin at the strange conclusion. "Most likely. I'll call maintenance to get this cleaned up."
Garcia nods.
In Rossi's office, Emily gets her wife settled. She strokes a hand through soft, golden locks.
"I love you. Call me if you need me."
"I will," JJ promises. "Sorry to scare you."
"That's okay. But the coffee stains on my pants, well, you get to pay the dry cleaning bill," Emily teases.
JJ looks down and sees the large wet patches. She smiles. "Oops. Yeah, I guess I owe you that."
Emily leans forward and kisses her wife. "I love you. All three of you. Please rest now."
"I will. Promise. I love you, too."
The share one more kiss then Emily leaves the office. As she closes the door she leans back against it. They had to find this bastard soon. He was starting to affect the lives of her wife and her twins.
"We gotta find this bastard," she mumbles and goes back to trying to find that one little clue that could point them in the right direction.
By 3 they are sure they are not getting a call that day. Something had seriously changed the unsubs pattern.
"What are the chances he was killed in a car wreck?" Reid suggests.
"Slim to none, Pretty Boy," Morgan replies.
"Damn."
"Well I, for one, am sick of watching myself on screen," JJ states. "I'm sure Reid is, too. Even after resting for over an hour I'm sick of myself again."
Emily studies her wife. The irritation is uncharacteristic of her and Emily is trying to decide if it is case stress or pregnancy stress. JJ slowly swings her head around and glares at her wife.
"Pissed at the case, Emily. Chill out."
Emily shrugs. "I didn't say anything."
"Yes you did," the whole team responds. Emily blushes.
"Actions speak louder than words sometimes, kid," Rossi points out.
"Oh," Emily says quietly.
"Whoa!" Garcia squeals.
"What is it, Garcia?" Hotch asks.
"Remember when I said I had no credit card info that explains the electronic shop buy and no one Morgan or Emily talked to remembered the guy?" The others nod. "I just got a hit that someone bought more of those parts, enough for 3 more routers, today at a Radio Shack on Route 1 in the Mount Vernon area of Fairfax County."
Hotch looks at Morgan and Prentiss. "Go. Now."
The two leap up and head for the door. Emily pauses and looks back at JJ. The blonde smiles.
"I'll be okay. Go."
Emily sighs. "Love you."
"Love you, too."
About 10 minutes after they leave, Hotch dismisses the team from the conference room to get back to what they were doing. JJ goes out to the kitchenette to make herself another decaf. She has just taken her second sip and turned when she is hit by a wave of dizziness again. This time she was lucky Hotch and Rossi were there to catch her and get her into a chair.
"That does it. JJ, you and Garcia are out of here. She can work from your home. You can go to bed," Hotch orders.
JJ tries to shake her head but only makes herself feel worse. Rossi looks at Hotch.
"I'll go get Garcia."
Hotch nods as he walks off. JJ lifts her head and looks into Hotch's eyes.
"Let me…call Emily. I'll call when we get home. Promise."
"Fine. But make sure she knows that was your idea not mine."
JJ manages a weak smile. "Deal."
Fifteen minutes later JJ and Garcia are in the lobby when one of Garcia's phones starts to sound. She grabs it out of her bag.
"NO! Not now, damn it!"
JJ studies her. "What's wrong?"
"My facial reconstruction just finished. It is already starting to get some hits. I need to refine things a bit."
JJ sighs and takes her keys back from Garcia. "Go. I'll drive myself and- -"
"Oh the TARTARUS you will!" Garcia exclaims. "What if you get dizzy while driving? No, no, no. We'll find someone else that can take you."
"Garcia? Something wrong?"
Garcia looks over to see one of the security guards. "Hi, Dom. Nothing wrong but JJ needs to be driven home. I need to go up and see if anyone can do it."
Dom Krieger shrugs. "I can do it. Just getting off shift." He looks at JJ. "If you don't mind that is."
Garcia smiles at the guard that always took the time to chat with her. "That'd be great!" She looks at JJ. "JJ, this is Dom Krieger. He's a real sweetheart and always has a kind word when doing his sweeps when you people abandon me while you're out seeing the world."
JJ chuckles. "Seeing the world? Yeah, that's all we're doing. Sightseeing." She looks at Dom. "And I know Dom, Pen. Are you sure you don't mind driving me home?"
"Not at all. My truck isn't too far away."
JJ looks at Garcia. "Okay. But promise to wait for Em and Morgan before you start home, okay?"
"Okay. Or if they go straight there I'll hitch with Rossi, Hotch and Reid."
JJ nods. "Sounds good. Good luck with the program, Pen."
Garcia heads off to the elevator as JJ and Dom make their way out to his truck.
Emily and Morgan stare at the Radio Shack that had popped in Garcia's tracking program. After a second Emily looks at Morgan.
"Maybe it relocated and this is the old address?"
Morgan shrugs. "Maybe. Let's ask at the deli next to it."
The two agents get out of the SUV and walk up to the boarded up store. They check to see if there are any signs about relocation but there is nothing. They go into the deli next to it and hold up their badges.
"Hi. Agents Morgan and Prentiss with the FBI," Morgan states. "Do you happen to know if the Radio Shack next door moved to another location?"
The woman behind the counter shakes her head. "Not that I know of. That's been gone over a year now."
"A year?" Emily confirms in shock.
The woman nods. "Yeah. The owners sold out all they could and moved on. Said they were retiring to North Carolina…or maybe South Carolina. One of those two."
"I see. Thank you for your time," Morgan says as he and Emily walk back outside.
They stare at the boarded up building as if it could give them an answer. Emily sighs.
"Let's drive up the road to the next couple of mini malls. Maybe the owners sold the franchise and the new owners are using the old info?"
Morgan shrugs. "Might as well try."
"Or, Morgan, maybe he sent us here on purpose." She stops and looks back at the building. "What if the unsub wants us here because this is his lair?"
Morgan studies the door and windows. He walks over and tugs a bit on the plywood over the door. It is solid. So is the wood on the windows. The two agents hurry to their SUV and drive around behind the building. They find the back door of the deli and figure out which door would be Radio Shack's since it is no longer marked. Morgan carefully tries the door but it is sealed tight. He studies the locks and shakes his head.
"This door hasn't been opening in a long time. There's dust and stuff in the keyholes."
"Shit." She sighs. "Guess we're back to driving."
Morgan nods. They get in the SUV and start up to the first mall. Emily texts Hotch to let him know what they are doing. She runs a hand through her hair.
"This case is one pile of shit after another."
"Damn right, Princess. Damn right."
JJ and Dom are nearly to his truck when she hears someone call her name.
"AGENT JAREAU!"
JJ turns to see Eleanor Morisini hurrying up to her. JJ smiles. "Hi."
"Hi. I, uh, haven't had a chance to talk to you since, uh, you know, everything came out. So, um, I just wanted to say thanks for the talk that day and I'm sorry I wasn't honest with you. I just wasn't ready to face…everything," she explains nervously.
JJ smiles. "I get it. And I know things have been a bit crazy since it all came to light but once things calm down maybe you could come over for dinner, meet the kids and have a long talk with Emily."
Nora smiles. "Yeah, I'd like that. A lot. Thanks."
Dom is glancing at his watch anxiously. He did not have time for this. He takes a calming breath and puts on a charming smile.
"Um, Agent Jareau, I hate to rush you but I sorta have a date tonight," he says with a shy shrug.
"Oh! Right. Sorry, Dom." She turns back to Morisini. "Look, Em or I will call you as soon as we wrap this case, okay?"
"Sure. Or, uh," she looks at Dom, "if you are in a hurry I can take Agent Jareau home," she offers.
He shakes his head. "I don't know. I promised Garcia I'd do it. Things are kind of tense right now." He steps closer to the two women. "I really think I should do this."
JJ shakes her head. "Nora is a cadet. I'll be fine with her, Dom."
Dom shakes his head. "Sorry, Agent Jareau, but I can't let you do that."
Before JJ can argue the point he whips a gun out of his coat and slams it upside Morisini's head. She drops to the ground. A kick to the same spot knocks her out cold. JJ stares in shock as he cocks the gun and points it at the unconscious woman.
"Get in the truck or I put a bullet in her head," he warns.
JJ looks around but sees no one. Dom grinds his teeth.
"I shoot her first, your twins second, JJ. Drop your bags and. Get. In."
JJ reluctantly moves to the truck and opens the passenger door. She gets up on the seat. Before she can close the door he is there holding it open. "Here." He tosses cuffs to her. "Latch your right wrist, thread the chain through the handle and then cuff your left wrist. You'll be uncomfortable but the alternative is a death or three," he points out.
He eases the door closed enough to make sure she does as ordered. He then slams the door. He grabs her purse and dumps it out, grabbing her phone and turning it off as he slips it in his pocket. He'd need it later. He then slips her clutch piece in his pocket. He gets into the driver's side of the truck and starts it up, driving calmly out of the lot with one hand, his other holding his gun level with JJ's baby bump.
"Do anything to draw attention to us and I shoot. Understand?"
JJ just nods, swallowing with force. "What…why are you doing this?"
"Your hubris killed the only woman I have ever loved. That's all you need to know for now. You and one other got her killed. And tonight, after years of planning, you will pay off your debts."
JJ stares at him, trying to figure out what to say to get him to stop this kidnapping and whatever else he has planned.