Disclaimer: I own nothing.

At long last I've found some writing time in the middle of my crazy semester. Here's the next chapter of this story. Thank you so much for the reviews and support.

Note: I'm currently super behind in replying to reviews. Expect those soon!

Off the Hudson Bay – Ontario, Canada

Hours in the cold had turned Penelope's limbs to ice. The only feeling in her arms she had came at her wrists from the fiery sting of the raw skin where the cable ties had torn into her. It didn't even register as pain. All that sting did was further her determination to free Idina and Fox. Primal instincts had taken over; the only thing driving her was the faint prospect of saving her children.

Penelope's mouth worked furiously as she attempted to spit out her gag once more. The flimsy piece of cloth Diego had inserted in her mouth wasn't placed very well, and she finally managed to spit the cloth out. The corners of her mouth felt raw and cracked. She took deep breaths, pulling in as much frigid air as possible. As she struggled to pull her wrists from the cable ties binding her, she pulled too hard. Pain shot through her broken skin, and warm blood trickled down her skin. She gasped sharply.

"Damn it," she hissed. In exasperation, she gave up trying to release her hands and instead used her shoulder to push her blindfold up so that she could see. The glare of the fluorescent lights blared into her gaze, burning her retinas. The agony of the light, coupled with the stinging of her unshed tears, ripped through her eyes. She squinted hard, trying to get a view of her children.

Fox lay slumped against his sister, sound asleep, with even breathing as he shivered every so often. She couldn't quite tell if Idina was awake or asleep; the girl remained unmoving as a mountain in a raging storm, staying close to her brother in a protective stance.

Coughing, Penelope gazed upon her children with a heavy heart. What could she do to help them not be afraid? Was there any way she could assure them of Derek finding them? She supposed as a mother it was fundamentally wrong to lie to her children, but sparing them from the truth that she didn't know whether Derek would rescue them seemed to be the only thing she could do.

"Dee?" she whispered with a hoarse voice. She tried to conceal the tears that leaked their way into her voice, but it became almost impossible to hide them. "Dee, are you awake?" She sniffled. "Just make a noise if you can hear me."

Idina was silent for a long, agonizing moment, before make a small grunt around the gag blocking her tongue.

Relief flooded through Penelope at being able to hear her daughter, even if it wasn't firm words.

Sniffling, Penelope tried to keep her voice steady so she could speak. "Baby, you need to listen to me," she murmured. "Nod if you can hear me, okay?"

Idina nodded slowly.

"I know it's cold, and I know…I know these men are terrifying," she started. Her voice shook, grappling for control. "But you need to know that your dad is –" She nearly choked on her voice. " – is coming for us. I know he is, because I know he would never let anything happen to you or Fox. He loves you both so much. You need to hear me when I say that, even if you don't believe it. Okay? You hear me? Your dad loves you." Penelope bit her lip to keep from sobbing. She wished she could wipe her nose. "Nod if you heard me, Idina."

Penelope watched closely for any sign of acknowledgement that she heard her. Idina remained very still for a little while, but ultimately she nodded.

XXXXX

East of Toronto – Ontario, Canada

Dad…

Coughing, Derek's head tilted from side to side, as he tried to find the source of his daughter's voice. This had to be some sort of hallucination, but he swore he could hear Idina speaking to him.

Dad, help! her voice repeated

Shots of anxiety blinked through his body, and he tried desperately to find her.

"Dee?" he rasped, even though he knew what he was hearing was nothing but what he wanted to hear. He blinked several times, his eyes adjusting to view his surroundings. The light was falling from behind the broken windows. Tiny snowflakes trickled down from the sky, landing on the already icy road that the flipped car lay on.

Glass crunched as he sought to escape the confines of the car. He kept hearing Idina's voice in his head, fueling his quest to release from the car. His hand fought to release the seatbelt. Breathing became difficult. A fiery stinging broke out on his forehead, and a trickle of wetness slid down his face. It was almost certainly blood.

Once he released his seatbelt, he dropped from the seat onto the ceiling of the car. He landed with a thud, glass from the broken window slicing into his hands and the cheek that fell on the ceiling. He gritted his teeth at the glass embedding in his jaw. Fighting the pain, he shuffled through the shards of glass on his forearms to slide out of the window.

"Dammit," he growled, more glass digging into his skin. He quickly slid his way out of the car and into the snow covered ground. The cool air bit into his skin, causing him to shiver. Blood from his cut hands stained the snow.

Derek looked back at the flipped car as he lay on the ground. His stomach dropped to the floor. He was in the middle of nowhere, somewhere east of Toronto, and he was a fugitive. What the hell was he going to do now?

Shakily, he got to his feet and stumbled forward with a slight limp. The only thing he could do was head down the road until he found another vehicle. His whole body was sore, and he was almost positive he had sprained his ankle, but he kept moving on. Somehow he was going to get to his family, one way or another.

As he trudged down the road, the snow continued to fall from the gray sky. A few cars sped by him, but none of them stopped for him. Derek rolled his eyes, frustrated when each of them went by him. Although the way he looked certainly made him understand why no one was picking him up.

A few miles down the road from where his car turned over, one of Derek's phones buzzed in his pocket. Reaching in, he found it was the phone given to him by Fuentes. Shivers spread through his body and he hurriedly opened the text. In it he found his next riddle.

The Discovery sailed in during 1610.

Comrades are no comrades when they leave you alone.

Henry was left in the cold, while they went after James.

You can't trust anyone, can you?

Derek frowned at the text, tempted to throw the phone across the road. Why did these have to be a game for Fuentes? Why did he have to solve puzzles to get his family back? His fist curled around the phone, and the only thing that stopped him from crushing it in his hand was the sound of a car slowing down behind him. Turning, Derek saw the driver pull to a stop right behind him and motion for him to get in.

Shoving the phone back in his pocket, Derek hurried toward the door of the passenger side. He opened the door and got in with great difficulty. The soreness in his muscles and the cuts made him cringe, but he managed to sit down and shut the door.

"What happened to you?" the driver asked, looking at him with wide eyes. "You look like – "

Derek didn't bother to look at the driver. He just pointed down the road. "I need to get to the nearest hospital," he lied. "I was in a car crash."

Putting the car back into gear, the driver nodded. "Yeah, sure. It's only another fifty miles."

Fifty miles until Derek could call Reid. Fifty miles that felt like wasted time.

XXXXX

Quantico, Virginia

JJ sat back in her chair in exasperation, waiting patiently for her son to arrive. She'd sent a twenty-two year old Henry a text, telling him to find Monty and ask him for an update on Derek's progress. Currently, she and Kate were still trapped in the round table room. Two agents had been stationed outside the doors to keep them in there, but hopefully they would let Henry in.

Soon enough, Henry appeared in the bullpen, his face worried as he hurried up to the entrance to the round table room.

"Let me in to see my mother!" Henry demanded from the other side of the door. His voice sounded muffled, but the second JJ heard him, she stood up. She couldn't make out what the agent was saying, but she heard Henry's louder response. "I can visit her, and you know it. Now let me in!"

There was a moment of silence between Henry and the agent, but then the door opened. Henry went in, a frantic look on his face.

"Mom!" he said, as if he'd run up every flight of stairs to find her. Using his foot, he slammed the door shut behind him. "Mom, are you okay?"

JJ smiled softly at him. She hugged Henry, and whispered in his ear, "I'm okay. But I need to know what Monty told you."

Henry pulled back, looking his mother in the eye. "He told me he hasn't heard anything new from Derek," he said, remorse clear in his expression. "I'm sorry, Mom. I don't know what else to tell you. He's trying to track his phone, but it looks like he's in a low reception area where the signal is harder to catch."

Kate huffed, rubbing her face. "This is not good."

Gulping, JJ faced both her son and her friend. With Monty unable to track Derek, there was no possible way they would have any idea of how to help the Morgan family.