AN: This is an important chapter as it shows the ethical position the team and hospital is in. It may read as a filler chapter but I needed it to show

exactly where everyone was standing with JJ caught in the middle. PLEASE review!

Ross took a deep calming breath before pushing into the conference room. The FBI was there, along with at least nine of his coworkers. He didn't want to do this, and if he had to, he sure as hell did not want the FBI there intimidating his colleagues. Not for this.

They had come to an impasse; neither side willing to budge. So, the hospital ethics and legal teams had been called in to discuss the Jareau case. The FBI had invited themselves to the meeting and the hospital legal team supported them in being involved.

The argument between him and that smart-ass agent had only taken place a few hours ago; and somehow, everyone had availability for this meeting. The higher ups, the staff involved with her care, the lawyers. Everyone was available and that never happened.

"Dr. Lucas, have a seat," the chief of medicine, Talia Cruz, motioned for him to take the empty seat next to his wife. "Alright, I believe we have everyone here. Let's get this moving." She turned on a projector and everyone's eyes went to the screen. A picture of JJ when she first arrived in the emergency room was plastered on the screen. "This is Agent Jennifer Jareau; she arrived in our ER approximately four days ago. You all have all of her medical information in front of you, her condition, labs, medications and procedures. You also can make your own determinations about her prognosis but everyone should be essentially on the same page." Cruz paused and took a sip from her water bottle, watching as her staff studied the medical history.

"This woman shouldn't be alive.." one doctor said, not bothering to lower his voice and undoubtedly wondering why he was sitting in a conference room instead of spending time with his patients.

"But she is," Hotch replied calmly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is Agent Hotchner of the FBI; he is Agent Jareau's supervisor."

"Why is the FBI in here?" The same arrogant doctor spat. "This is a medical ethics review hearing; they are patient's family. They have no business…"

But he was cut off quickly by Hotch. "What happens to Agent Jareau is my business, is our business. Whatever was done to her, was done on purpose." He replied coldly. "As I have explained before and as has Dr. Reid," Hotch gestured to Reid sitting next to him. "We believe Agent Jareau was being used for the development of biological warfare."

The large conference room went completely silent at the allegation. "Dr. Reid also believes the medication currently being used to keep her comatose is allowing the chemical to thrive in her system." He watched the staff squint down at the lab results in front of them.

"Which brings us to why we are here." Dr. Cruz interrupted, well aware of the tension. "It has been proposed by the FBI, by Dr. Reid, that bringing Agent Jareau out of the induced coma could be the key to saving her life."

The instant uproar voiced exactly what Ross was thinking. "Are you insane? We cannot do that? The pain she would be in? We aren't even sure she'd wake up!" Were just some of the comments Hotch heard.

"What ethical question is here?" One of the doctors asked. "If you are asking me if removing her from the sedatives would be unethical, without a shadow of a doubt, it is. There is no ethical dilemma here." Numerous doctors around him nodded their heads in apparent agreement.

Reid stood up. "We have identified the biological agent in Agent Jareau's bloodstream- it morphs like the flu virus." He bent down and picked up the labs in front of him. "If you look, you can see a direct correlation between her worsening condition and the use of sedatives."

"Agent Jareau is in grave condition, Agent Reid. There is no substantial evidence of your claim."

"Her PEEP number has increased…" Reid argued back, seeing the confused look on Hotch's face. "When she came in, it was at a ten and now it's a sixteen. Extubation doesn't normally happen until a four for five."

"We are aware of her airway requirements, agent. I would argue that her PEEP number has increased due to her deteriorating g condition. She simply cannot manage her airway. At all."

Hotch watched the arguments fly across the room, stepping in to help Reid when necessary. It went on for several hours, debating back and forth over the question at hand. Was it ethical to wean JJ off the sedatives?

"What happens if you begin to wean her off? Taper the sedatives?" Hotch asked.

"Normally, we wouldn't do it until we had a firmer grasp on the patient's condition and they were showing signs of improvement. None of which is the case for Agent Jareau. This isn't a process that takes a few minutes; it can take several hours or days. We would be putting her body though tremendous stress in the off chance you are right."

"Would she wake up?" Hotch questioned.

There was silence before Cruz spoke up. "We don't know; based on everything we have, I wouldn't think she would ever regain consciousness. But if we started weaning her and she did…" Cruz trailed off. "It's risky and I think we would be doing more harm than good."

Hotch nodded, this was truly a no win situation for anyone- especially JJ.

"Hotch, its not a good idea. I know what I am looking at," Reid whispered. "If she stays on the sedative, we know she dies. If she comes off of it, she may or may not ever wake up."

"But she will still die!" Another doctor spoke up, "this has to be done humanly. I am sure the FBI has her will? What does that state?"

Hotch paused for the briefest of moments. "She wouldn't want to live in this condition."

For another hour, the debate continued; neither side budging. The medical staff firmly believing it was unethical, Reid adamant in his position.

"She deserves a chance, and this is the chance we can give her," Hotch explained to the medical staff.

"She deserves to die with dignity, we can give her whatever dignity she has left!" Ross shot back.

"Look," Cruz stood up, "until we get a court order, Agent Jareau remains on the sedatives."

Reid looked imploring at Hotch who was trying to figure out a legal way around this. He was FBI, he could order whatever he needed, except around doctors.

"If she dies because of you refusing to try this; I will charge you with everything I can throw at you. If she dies, when she could have had a shot and you refused, you all will lose your licenses; and that'll be the least of your concerns." Hotch growled silencing the room.

"Is that a threat Agent?" Cruz asked.

"It's a promise."

And with that, Hotch stood up and walked out of the room; Reid on his heals. "You'd better be right about this Reid," Hotch pulled his phone from his pocket, "we are going to court."