A/N: Okay, was the smut that bad? Or are readers generally against smut and skipped that chapter? Anyway, here's another part and we are quickly approaching the end. I hope folks enjoy it and if you get a chance, I'd appreciate it if you leave a review with some feedback. Thanks.

Ashley walked into the bookstore that was serving as the BAU team's temporary headquarters. She saw that Reid was helping out a customer, but she caught his eye and he nodded towards the back room. He would join her as soon as he finished up with the elderly couple he was currently serving.

She casually walked towards the back and then slipped through a door marked "private". She moved down a short hallway and then through a door at the end of it where their equipment had been set up. Seaver smothered a sigh of resignation when she noted the presence of the other blonde on their team. With a curt nod of hello to JJ, she moved over to the coffee machine and poured herself a cup.

Since she confronted JJ a month ago about the other woman's treatment of Emily, relations have been civil, but chilly between these two agents. The unspoken agreement was that they would stay out of each other's way and everyone would be happy. But as the silence between them stretched out, Ashley rolled her eyes and decided it was ridiculous to be in the same room and not say something to each other, especially since it looked like Reid wasn't coming back there any time soon and she had no idea where Rossi and Morgan were.

"We think Mason isn't the link to the terrorist cells," Seaver blurted out.

JJ looked up from the papers she was reading and arched an eyebrow at the other agent. "We?" she drawled out in a cool tone.

Seaver blushed, but stoutly plunged forward. "Emily and me." She quickly and thoroughly related the information they had stumbled across regarding Nina Mason. As she spoke, Ashley could see the doubtful look leave JJ's face to be replaced by a more thoughtful one. The older blonde nodded her head gently, agreeing with the assessment Emily and Ashley had made.

"We should have Garcia do more digging on Nina Mason," JJ said. "If there's anything to find, she'll find it." She moved to pick up her phone to call the tech, but Seaver stopped her.

"JJ," she began hesitantly. The other woman paused and turned to look at her. Seaver felt emboldened by what she thought was a slight thaw in JJ's attitude and she plunged forward. "Look, I don't understand why you're so upset with Emily. I get you weren't happy you had to lie to everyone about her being alive, but it was necessary to not only protect her, but the rest of the team and Declan Doyle. Why can't you get past it?"

JJ"s face hardened and Seaver mentally kicked herself, knowing she had stepped into things again, but then the older woman's face softened slightly and she sighed. "It's not just about keeping Emily's secret."

"Then what is it?" Ashley pressed. "Garcia has told me how close you two used to be, like sisters. I mean, I've never had a sister but if I found a friend that I could be that close with, that I thought of as my family, that I loved so much, I wouldn't let something like this come between us." She gazed earnestly at JJ. "Maybe you don't understand because you've always had family, but I didn't. It's so hard to lose someone."

"I know exactly how it feels to lose a sister!" JJ snapped, remembering her older sister's suicide. "I know what it feels like to lose someone you love! It's Emily who doesn't and she's the reason I've lost everything!"

Ashley blinked at her. "What are you talking about?"

JJ was trembling now, her cheeks flushed and tears of anger, pain and shame in her eyes. "Will, he left me."

Seaver, though never having met the man, knew Will LaMontaigne was JJ's significant other and the father of her child, Henry. "I'm sorry that's happened, but how is Emily to blame for that?"

"He left because I returned to the BAU." JJ sighed and sat down, the energy suddenly gone from her body. "He said I loved the BAU more than I loved him and Henry. Can you imagine that? That I would put my son second to the Bureau." She didn't add that Will had also said whenever Hotch called, she came running, but she didn't seem to show him that same respect or consideration.

Things had been strained between them for a while and protecting Emily and faking her death had added to that strain. She couldn't confide in Will and that had frustrated him. But the final blow had been her return to the BAU. He had accused her of neglecting her family and being in love with Hotch or someone on the team.

"He took Henry," JJ's voice cracked when she said this. "He took my baby."

Seaver didn't know what to do. She had never been close to JJ, in fact, she didn't even really like the other woman. But it was obvious she was in pain and from what she understood, the turmoil in her personal life had made her take out her pain and frustration on an easy scapegoat, Emily, who was Ashley's friend.

Awkwardly, Seaver patted JJ on her shoulder. "I'm sorry that's happened to you, but you can't lay all this on Emily. These were your choices, JJ."

She felt JJ stiffen underneath her hand. The older woman jerked back and stared coldly at Seaver. "You're just like Hotch and all the others, making excuses for her. She lied. She ran. And I had to clean up the mess. But what happens when she comes back? The Bureau gives her a freaking medal! Hotch fawns all over her! Garcia hovers over her! And you! You think she's some type of hero that you can worship. Emily gets it easy and I lose my family."

"You think this has been easy for Emily?" Seaver asked incredulously. Her earlier trepidation was gone and she was just plain angry now. "My God! You've all been treating her like a leper! She doesn't know what her place is anymore on this team. She feels isolated and alone and still guilty for what happened, even though she was only trying to protect you, your families and an innocent child! Don't go blaming what happened in your personal life on Emily. You decided to come back to the BAU. Your problems with Will probably started before the whole Doyle mess. These were your decisions, your actions. Not Emily's. So JJ, stop acting like an entitled bitch and accept responsibility for your own problems."

With that, Seaver turned on her heel and marched out of the room, knocking aside Reid who happened to be walking in at the same time. He fell against the door and gazed inquisitively at JJ who only stared back at him, her mouth in a thin line.

Ashley continued her angry progress out of the bookstore and was halfway down the block before she realized what she was doing. She forced her self to slow down and take deep breaths as she calmed herself.

She sighed, realizing she had no way to get back to the mansion. When Emily had dropped her off, they had both assumed Reid would give her a ride back, but she didn't want to go back to the bookstore. She still needed to calm down. Seaver started to walk, trying to work off some of her energy and anger. After a while, she looked up and noticed that she wasn't far from the Grand Hotel. She headed there, knowing she could catch a cab, but also deciding that a drink in the luxurious bar there would help her calm down before she returned to the Mason estate.

He watched as his mouth moved down her elegant neck to suckle at her breasts. Her head was thrown back, arching towards him. As they moved in a dance as old as time, he stood there and watched. The back of the couch blocked most of their bodies out, but from what he could see, their actions were unmistakable.

The whore.

Bernard Mason turned away from the window and numbly walked towards his car. He had driven out to Hicks' house having gotten the address from the country club where they had played golf earlier. Bernard had intended to apologize from some of the things he said today during their game. He thought he had been too hostile with Hicks. Afterall, how could he blame the other man for being attracted to Emma? She was so beautiful. And Hicks hadn't really done anything approaching a move.

But when he started to pull into the long driveway, he had noticed Emma's car there. He parked at the end of the drive and walked quietly up to the house, peaking into the windows. That was when he saw them.

Hicks was screwing Emma and she was enjoying it.

He couldn't hear them, but he could see the pleasure in their faces, how she drew him towards her. When they sank down onto the couch, he could only see Hicks as he moved rhythmically, thrusting himself into Emma's compliant body.

She was like the others, just another whore. Like Brigid. Like Whitney. Like Sarah. Like Jane. Whores all of them.

And Bernard Mason knew what needed to be done with whores.

Hotch woke up and turned his head to see Emily pulling her hair out from her dress and tying the belt. He propped himself up on one elbow and his other hand ran down her back.

"Stay here," he rumbled out, the nap he had taken making his voice sound lower and gruffer.

She turned to smile at him and leaned down to kiss his lips. He pulled her towards him and she fell gently against his chest. One hand delved under her dress and moved up between her legs. He smiled when he only felt bare flesh and he began to tease her sex, feeling her moisture coat his fingers.

Emily groaned and pulled away. "Stop it," she said in a breathless moan even as she moved against his hand. "You're making it hard to leave."

"That's the point," he said in amusement as he watched pleasure cross her face. His clever fingers moved a little faster. "Besides, you're the one who isn't wearing any underwear."

"Someone tore, oh! them," she murmured.

Hotch hooked his finger and then touched that spot that he knew would shatter her completely. Emily let out a loud whimper and collapsed against him in a boneless heap. Before she knew what was happening, she was straddling him, as he filled her and moved inside of her until she was a sobbing mess once more.

It was another powerful orgasm for her and she vaguely heard Hotch growl her name as he filled her with his seed. She collapsed against him, still in her dress.

They laid there for a few moments, catching their breath. She only stirred when she felt Hotch begin to fumble for the tie of her dress with one hand and the other began to push it off her shoulders.

With great reluctance, she pulled away, shivering slightly when he slipped completely from her body.

"You know I have to get back," she said regretfully. "They'll be waiting and we have an assignment to finish."

He knew she had to go, but he didn't like it. More than ever he wanted her away from Mason. "You don't have to go back. We can find another way to get the information."

Emily smiled but she shook her head. "You know we can't do that. Too much is riding on this and besides, Ashley could be back there already and we can't abandon her." She straightened her dress and then leaned over to give him a quick kiss. He tried to follow her lips but she pulled back with a laugh. "It'll be over soon. We'll leave there tomorrow night after Mason and Nina have gone to the party and Ashley and I have gotten the necessary information." She bent over and began to slip on her shoes.

Hotch watched her, still unable to shake the feeling that he shouldn't let her out of his sight. It was a familiar feeling but it was stronger than ever now. But Emily was right. They needed her to go back in. Just another 36 hours and this miserable mission will be over.

He sat up and wrapped his arms around her. She tilted her head back to lean it against his.

"Tomorrow night," he whispered. "It'll be over and we'll be out of here. Then I'm going to pull you into my arms and never let you go."

Emily was silent and she bit her lip. Hotch could feel the slight tensing of her body. He pulled back to look at her. "Em?"

"Things are really different now, aren't there?" she said quietly.

"Different and better," Hotch acknowledged.

She turned worried eyes toward him. "How are we going to deal with this? With us? What is 'us'? I mean, what's between us?"

"Something that I've wanted to happen for a long time. You?" He looked anxiously at her face.

She looked at him and opened her mouth, but then she closed it again. Hotch felt his gut clench as doubt crept into her face.

"Emily?"

Abruptly she stood up, breaking his embrace. "I really need to get back." She moved quickly away from him and all but bolted out of the house with Hotch calling after her.

He had to stop and find his gym shorts, not wanting to bolt out of the house stark naked. That had cost him precious time. By the time he got outside, her car was pulling away and she was gone.

Ashley walked into the large lobby of the Grand Hotel and headed straight for the bar located at the end of the corridor to her right. She stood in the doorway for a moment, trying to decide if she wanted a secluded table or a place at the bar. She blinked when she saw a familiar figure sitting there.

Bernard Mason was at the bar, downing a glass of Scotch. From the concerned look the bartender was giving him and the slur she heard in Mason's words as he ordered another, it appeared that he might have been sitting there for a while. She moved further into the bar and took a table near him, but which was obscured by some plants. She probably didn't need to be so cautious as Mason seemed oblivious to everyone and everything but the drinks in front of him and the man serving them.

"She betrayed me," she heard him murmur. "The lying, cheating slut! I trusted her. Took her into my home and she stabbed me in the back!"

Seaver's eyes widened and she felt anxiety flood her body. Had their covers been blown? Did Mason know about them now? Hastily, she slipped out of her chair and moved quickly out of the bar. When she hit the lobby, her fast walk almost became a run and she bolted out of the hotel, hopping into the first cab she found.

"Grady's Bookstore on Fifth! Hurry!"

Nina Mason's cell phone rang and she frowned at the sound, not happy about the interruption. She didn't recognize the number but answered anyway.

"Nina Mason," she said crisply.

"Ms. Mason? This is George, the bartender at the Grand Hotel's bar. Uh, you might want to come down here, your brother is here and he's, uh, had quite a bit to drink."

"Bernard?" she asked, her voice laced with concern. "Is it really bad?"

"Ma'am, I think so. I don't think it'll be right for me to just put him in a cab. I think he's had some sort of shock or bad news. He keeps going on about a woman and how she's cheated on him or something."

Nina closed her eyes and shivered. It was beginning again. She had to stop it before he went too far. "I'll be right there."

She hurriedly stood and flew out of the study, not bothering to shut down her laptop.

Emily wanted to smack herself silly for bolting out of Hotch's place without any explanation. She had panicked. It was obvious Hotch wanted a real relationship with her. Aaron Hotchner was an all or nothing man. But what did she want? She had to admit that she had been harboring feelings for him for a while but she had managed to bury them so deeply that she wasn't sure what they were anymore. And she wondered if the whole experience with Doyle and her subsequent resurrection might have changed them. Changed her.

It was all moving too fast and she was confused and uncertain. What did she want? Did she even know anymore?

Emily sighed as she parked her car and looked up at the Mason mansion. She needed to put all thoughts of Hotch and what was going on between them out of her mind for now. There was a mission to be completed and if she was distracted, it could be deadly not only for herself, but Seaver. She got out of her car and walked into the mansion. She cocked her head but could hear nothing. She had noticed both Bernard and Nina's cars were missing. A smile crossed her face. She might not have to wait until tomorrow night.

With swift, sure steps she made her way towards the study. She knocked on the closed door and then eased it open when there was no response. It was empty but she could see Nina's laptop still on the desk. She hurried over to it and to her surprise, it was still on. Jackpot, she didn't even have to try to hack into it or call Garcia.

She took off the necklace she had been wearing since the mission started. It was a rectangular shaped locket that concealed a small flash drive. She plugged it into the one of the USB ports. She began to hastily open and scan some of the files on the laptop. She found a wealth of information on the terrorist cells. Nina had been careless in how she stored information and Emily could only think the woman made it this far undetected by sheer dumb luck. With a few keystrokes she began to copy the contents of the laptop onto the flash drive.

Each of her senses were on hyper alert, listening for any sounds that indicated someone was coming towards the study. She had no idea how long Nina or Bernard would be out and she intended to be gone before they returned. She had no desire to spend another night in this house if it wasn't necessary. She would call Ashley and just tell her to sit tight in town. Even if Nina and Bernard did show up, she would make some excuse like picking up 'Amanda' to get out of there.

Her copying done, she put the necklace back on and cautiously left the study. Emily hurried down the hallway and made her way to the entrance of the mansion. She was part way across the foyer when the front door banged open and she was confronted by Nina and Bernard Mason.

A/N: Yes, the reason JJ has been such a bitch to Emily is because she hasn't wanted to admit that she was the one who screwed up her relationship with Will. It's always much easier to blame someone else for your own mistakes and JJ is only human and has done that very thing.