Just a quick note to those who have just found this story. I post weekly. Every Weds. like clockwork. Sorry for no trivia but it is very hard to work it into the story. If you want random trivia I can still do that. Now go read and enjoy.
The murmur of indistinguishable voices worked its way under the blanket of exhaustion shrouding her mind. She was mildly curious about what they were saying but not enough to warrant opening her eyes. Instead, she pressed closer to her only source of warmth. Content with her decision Emily went back to sleep.
Again it was the voices that tickled her back to consciousness. They were much closer that she could make out the words but could not understand their meaning. Emily didn't care. They could yak on all they wanted as long as they left her alone. She was happy with her little world of nothingness.
Without notice that world tilted. Unfamiliar hands touched her and the warmth, her comforting center, disappeared from her side. Not liking that one bit Emily began to squirm against what was now holding her and complained as loudly as she could.
"No," she protested weakly.
Then she felt the gentle touch and heard the soothing voice of the one she had searched so strenuously for and had worked so hard to protect. A wave of peace washed over her and she settled down. Even the feeling of floating didn't bother her as long as she knew JJ was there. Before she could finish that particular thought the hands vanished which was annoying. She began squirming again.
A male voice spoke up. "Prentiss, you need to hold still or I'm going to drop you."
Emily cracked her eyes open. Much to her surprise she found a man with kind eyes smiling down at her.
"Hey, Kiddo," he said to her. "It's nice to see those gorgeous brown eyes of yours."
She was confused. This wasn't the person she had been expecting to see. "JJ?" she asked, not recognizing the man.
"She's standing right beside me," he told her.
His gentle baritone was reassuring so she didn't push the matter. Instead, she nodded and closed her eyes. She was tired and cold, so very cold. The mere thought sent tremors throughout her body. After laying her head on his shoulder she burrowed in closer to soak up any of his body heat.
"Cold," she whispered to him.
She listened half-heartedly to the bearded man converse with whom she assumed to be JJ and another or man or maybe he was a boy. Emily wasn't sure which it was and she was too tired to reopen her eyes to look. All that she knew it was a male voice that sounded like it was trapped in the throes of puberty. Pain filled her head. All this thinking was making the pounding worse so Emily decided to focus on getting warm.
Something was draped over her and she sighed in contentment as it immediately started to generate some much-desired heat. Sleep called out to her to join it. The bearded man's smooth gait nudged her closer to its gentle embrace. Just before Emily nodded off he whispered in her ear.
"You're going to owe me several trips to the Chiropractor after this is over."
It sounded reasonable to her muddled mind so she said, "Okay."
Rossi was right. By the time they had reached the SUV Emily's weight had doubled and his back was screaming at him to put her down. But he persevered and got her there though Emily had not made it easy. Three quarters of the way back she had started to twitch and mumble in her sleep that made his hold on her a bit more precarious.
When JJ caught sight of the car, she dashed ahead and had the back passenger door open when he got there. She climbed in and helped Rossi ease the sleeping Emily onto the backseat.
"Reid," Rossi called out to the young man as he put both hands on his aching back and stretched. "Get the blanket and extra clothing Eileen sent with us."
"Right," Reid said and trotted to the rear of the SUV. After scooping up the bundle he made his way over to the opposite door.
"I think we need to get Emily out of these wet clothes," JJ observed after she got her friend situated.
Rossi smiled at her. "Way ahead of you, JJ. A woman who had befriended Emily sent along a blanket and some extra clothing."
JJ looked at him in puzzlement. Rossi chuckled. Apparently Emily hadn't shared what she had been up to in the past twenty-four hours. He waved his hand dismissively. "It's a long story. I'll fill you in later."
"Okay," JJ said with a shrug. "Could you get her boots off for me? But be careful of her left foot. That's the injured one."
"Got it," he said.
As Rossi reached for Emily's boot, JJ touched her fingers to the zipper of the mud splattered jacket and pulled.
Emily pressed through the dark of night, her destination unknown. Every time she paused a mysterious force pulled at her, urging her forward. Her breath came out in little puffs of white and she shivered with the cold but she ignored the tremors focusing on each determined step.
A flicker of light in the distance caught her attention. Unbidden her feet moved her steadily toward it. The glow did not radiate the warmth that she so urgently yearned for. Instead the light had an ominous feel. It frightened her; it sent her heart racing yet she could not turn away from it. With each step the dread grew and threatened to overwhelm her. She wanted to turn and flee but inexplicitly she was drawn closer. A bleak and forbidding structure beckoned her, its yawning maw threatening to consume her.
Emily tried to stop but invisible hands seized her and reeled her in. The door creaked open on rusty hinges sending a chill running up her spine. She pushed back against the unseen pressure but it proved to be too strong. She knew she was fighting a losing battle but she refused to surrender. As the door slammed the glow faded sealing her fate.
In the blink of an eye, she found herself bound to an unforgiving surface. A shadowy apparition loomed over her, its hot breath caressing her neck. The hairs on her arms stood up in alarm.
"I've missed you, Emily," it whispered in her ear.
His name froze in her throat. He had her again, was ready to mark her as his own. She could not allow that to happen again. Emily fought back with everything she had, struggling to break his unnatural hold on her.
He merely chuckled at her feeble attempt to free herself. She squeezed her eyes shut as she felt him slide his hands slowly down her shoulders and onto her chest where he tenderly, seductively undid the top button of her blouse.
Emily's eyes shot open and with a strangled cry she blindly lashed out at the hands touching her. She landed a solid kick to Rossi's stomach, sending the senior agent staggering back a few steps with a muffled "Ooof!"
JJ, at the last possible second, saw the elbow flying at her face and twisted out of the way. Emily's clenched fist harmlessly flew by to strike the back of the driver's seat with a resounding thud. Meanwhile Reid stood frozen outside of the car, eyes wide in shock, and his mouth slightly agape, the bundle clutched tightly to his chest.
JJ pounced. She seized Emily's wrists and pushed down as hard as she could until she had them pinned against the brunette's chest. Emily continued to buck and twist under her.
"Emily, it's JJ," she called out. "I'm right here."
Emily looked at her with unseeing eyes. "Ian…please don't," she begged.
JJ heart broke when she saw the fear on her friend's face. "It's just a dream, Em," she said softly. "Ian's not here."
"No," Emily moaned with a shake of her head.
"I'm sorry I woke you up. I was just trying to take your jacket off. Just relax," she cajoled.
Emily didn't hear her calming words, remaining locked in the remnants of the dream of Doyle branding her. She continued fighting against the confining hands. JJ struggled to keep her grip on Emily's wrists. Emily was a lot stronger when she thought she was fighting for her life. If her words were falling on deaf ears maybe Dave could get through to her remembering the tone of voice he had used earlier to calm her.
"Dave!" she called out in desperation. "I can't get her to calm down. Can you try? She might listen to you."
"I'll try," he said, knowing exactly what she wanted him to do.
Rossi climbed into the backseat of the SUV. He gently but firmly cupped Emily's face in his hands. "PRENTISS!" he said sharply. Emily's eyes snapped up and locked on to his. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, and for your own sake I suggest you pick the easy way and settle down."
His words punched through the dream and Emily blinked awake. Ian Doyle no longer hung over her. In his place was the bearded man and judging for the expression on his face he meant business. Not wanting to upset him further Emily immediately ceased her struggling.
JJ smiled in relief. "Thanks, Dave," she said, peeling off the sodden jacket from the now cooperative Emily.
"No problem, JJ. Sometimes you just need a firm voice to make someone see reason," he said, giving her a comforting pat on the shoulder.
He hopped out and turned his back on the SUV to give the two women some privacy. Reid stood at the other door holding the blanket and extra clothes. He had his head turned to one side and eyes screwed shut tight so he wouldn't see anything that he wasn't suppose to. His eyebrows twitched nervously and his cheeks continued to turn various shades of pinks and reds. Every time JJ took an article of clothing from him she had to restrain herself from laughing out loud at his discomfort.
A few minutes later JJ announced she was done. Rossi turned around. Emily was now curled up on her side, dressed in dry clothes with the blanket wrapped loosely around her trembling frame. Her head rested on JJ's lap who was gently stroking her hair. Every now and then a deep, rattling cough would escape her lips.
Rossi leaned in. "How is she?"
JJ shrugged. "She just fell back to sleep." She turned to Reid. "You can open your eyes now. Everyone is decent."
Spencer turned his head slowly as if not believing JJ. He smiled sheepishly at her, his face brighter red than it had been before. He didn't say a word and moved quickly around the SUV to the front passenger seat. He kept his head forward as he buckled himself in. JJ leaned her head back and smiled softly.
Rossi climbed into the driver's seat and smirked at the young genius. "Well Reid, seems to me JJ saved your ass. Looks like you will live to see tomorrow."
"Screw you, Rossi," Reid retorted with a faint smile.
Rossi laughed as he threw the SUV into reverse and slowly headed back down the rutted lane trying to avoid the worst of the potholes so that he wouldn't jar awake his sleeping passenger.
Eyes focused on the road ahead, he said, "Reid, get on the horn and let Hotch know we found both of them and are on our way back to the hospital."
Reid, who was holding on to the handle over the door, nodded and whipped out the phone one handed. He spent the next several minutes in deep conversation with the Unit Chief before hanging up.
"Hotch says he will meet us there and that he will let Garcia know that JJ and Emily are safe," he reported as the vehicle passed the campground's office.
Now on a slightly less bumpy surface, Rossi picked up speed. Just past the mangled gate they encountered the local Sheriff's car. He slowed down enough to let the officers know where they could find the prisoner. The men grinned at the thought of the UnSub hugging a tree. When the tires of the SUV hit pavement, Rossi floored it, hit the lights and siren and screamed down the highway at over 80 miles per hour. Emily never woke.
JJ finally spoke up after being silence the whole trip down. "How did you know to find to find me?"
Reid turned in his seat to get a better view. He looked briefly down at the slumbering Emily, relieved that they had caught up to her and now could get her the medical attention she so desperately needed. At that very instant another fit of coughing wracked her body and JJ wrapped her arm more tightly around her.
He gave JJ a sheepish grin. "Actually we didn't. We've been chasing after Emily for the last eighteen hours or so. She's been all over this county looking for you."
JJ's eyes widen. "In this condition?" she asked in shock, gazing down at her friend's fever ridden body.
"Yup," Reid said with a nod. "We hypothesized that if we were able to find Emily we would also find you."
"Emily had the clues to where you were which she couldn't articulate to anyone because of the concussion. So we followed her trail and that lead us to you," Rossi chimed in.
JJ looked back down at her friend. She bent over and whispered in her ear. "Thank you, Emily, for finding me. Will and Henry also thank you."
Emily grunted in return and burrowed deeper into the blanket never waking.
Garcia sagged back in her chair in relief. She took off her glasses and tossed them on the table to pinch the bridge of her nose. At last her girls were safe and the two R's were transporting them to the hospital. Hotch informed her that JJ appeared to be a bit rattled but otherwise okay. Emily, on the other hand, had developed a high fever and a bad cough that Reid thought might be a sign of early pneumonia. They wouldn't know for sure until a doctor had checked her out.
Emily's condition worried her but she knew she would be fine since the team was now there at her side. Spinning her chair around, Garcia grabbed the phone and hit the speed dial for Morgan.
Her chocolate Adonis answered on the first ring. "Morgan."
"We found them," she announced with a big grin.
She heard Morgan let out a big sigh of relief. "Oh thank you, god," he said. "How are they?"
Garcia quickly brought him up to date on JJ and Emily's condition. Morgan cursed and then said something she couldn't hear. It sounded like he was talking to someone else. "Who is there with you?" she asked in curiosity.
"I'm telling Momma everything you just told me. She's been just as worried about them as I was."
"Awww…that is so sweet and motherly. She worries because you worry."
"That's my Momma," he said, grinning over the phone.
"Are you still on the cruise ship?"
"We're about to leave for the airport," Morgan informed her. "We'll fly to Chicago first to drop off Mom and then I will catch the next flight to Lexington. What? Momma, you don't have to do that. I really appreciate the gesture but...yes, Momma." Garcia grinned at the one-way conversation. "Change that. We both will be flying directly to Lexington."
Garcia laughed for the first time in what had seemed like days. "Say hi to your mom for me and have a safe flight, Momma's Boy. Garcia out."
In a little over twenty-four hours after she had originally left Emily was back at the scene of her first escape. Dave roared up to the ER entrance and parked crookedly half way on the sidewalk. He then tossed the keys to the young genius and told him to move the SUV once they got Emily out.
Getting Emily out of the backseat proved to be much harder than getting her in. This time she was semi-awake and she became combative when Dave and JJ tried to move her. She didn't want to leave the warm comfort of the SUV and she had no intention of surrendering the blanket. When JJ attempted to remove it Emily latched on to it. Any other time it would have been humorous but not at this particular moment when all the two agents wanted to was to get her to a doctor.
Dave didn't want to carry her wrapped in it because he was afraid he would trip over it and accidentally drop her. Emily didn't want to give it up because it was warm and offered her a sense of security. In the end Dave threatened never to return the blanket if she did not cooperate. Emily relented sensing again from his tone that he would do it and she would never be warm again. They did promise to return it once inside.
With JJ, who had the fought over blanket, at his side Rossi carried the now docile Prentiss through the Emergency room's automated doors. On their way in they ran into Jackie, the nurse who had attended to Emily the night before, leaving after just finishing a double shift. She stopped to look in surprise at the bundle he carried.
"You've found her," Jackie breathed in relief. "And her friend," she added when she noticed JJ standing next to him.
"Yes," Dave agreed, awkwardly shifting Emily in his arms while she plaintively demanded the return of her blanket.
Jackie turned around and gestured. "Follow me."
She led them through the waiting room, past the check in counter and through the swinging doors into the examination area. She pointed to a small room to their left. Rossi entered and gently set Emily on the hospital bed.
Emily glared at JJ and held out her hand. "Mine."
"Right. We did promise to give the blanket back," JJ said with a smile and stepped over to the bed to return it, mentally chuckling that her best friend was acting like a petulant child. Something she would definitely file away for a later ribbing session.
But before JJ could hand it over Emily snatched the blanket out of her hands and wrapped it around her shivering frame. With a sigh she laid down on her side, curled up in a tight ball to conserve heat and settled into a light doze.
JJ turned to Jackie and gave her a sheepish shrug. "She's grown rather attached to the blanket."
Jackie just laughed as she took off her coat and set it and her purse in a nearby chair.
"I thought you were on your way home," Rossi observed.
"I was but I going to stick to her like glue until she is safely tucked into a bed upstairs. I lost her once and I'm not going to let that happen again," she said with a rueful smile.
Rossi chuckled. "She's been a little tough to keep an eye on."
The nurse excused herself briefly to fetch Emily's medical chart and to get a doctor in ASAP. "What is her name again? I'm afraid I've forgotten it," she asked a few minutes later as she stepped up the to the bed.
"Emily. Emily Prentiss," JJ supplied.
"Hi, Emily," she asked, pulling out her flashlight to check her pupils. "Do you remember me from before?"
Emily, not liking the light, tucked her head under the blanket. Jackie chuckled. "Seems like we been through this before. Do you know if she has a medical POA and who she appointed?"
"That would be me," JJ said watching her work.
"Do you happen to have it with you?" Jackie asked.
"I do," JJ began then swore. She looked helplessly at Rossi. "It's in my bag which is in our wrecked car."
He blinked in surprise. "You carry it with you all the time?"
"Wouldn't you after the year Emily has had?" she asked him.
"I guess," he conceded.
JJ turned back to Jackie. "I have another copy in my desk back at Quantico. I can have our Technical Analyst fax or email it to you."
"Please do." Jackie made some notes on the chart. She looked back at Emily who was shifting restlessly on the bed and mumbling. She picked up the blood pressure cuff and started to pull the blanket down.
Emily cracked one eye open and pulled the blanket tighter around her. "It's mine."
"I know. I'm not going to take it. I just want to fold it down so I get a blood pressure reading. Is that okay?"
She looked at Jackie suspiciously for a moment then nodded. "Okay," she said.
"At least this time round she's talking to me," she observed. As she took Emily blood pressure she asked, "Has she sustained any new injuries?"
"No," JJ said with a shake of her head. "Not that I am aware of. But Emily is running a high fever, coughing and is delirious at times. Spence thinks it might be pneumonia."
Jackie nodded as she reached into the pocket of her scrub top and pulled out a thermometer. With a flick of her wrist she swiped it across Emily's forehead. She frowned at the initial reading. "Hmmm…104.5."
"That's not good is it?" JJ asked. Jackie didn't comment as she made note of it.
Rossi stepped forward. "Could you also examine her right collarbone and shoulder while you are at it?"
The nurse cocked her head to one side. "Sure. May I ask why?"
"Agent Prentiss was shot in that shoulder months ago and it still bothers her from time to time. I just wanted to make sure that the car accident," and being tossed down a ravine he mentally added, "Didn't aggravate it."
"I didn't know that," JJ said in surprise. "How did you know, Dave? I'm sure Emily didn't tell you. That is something she would keep to herself."
He raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm a profiler and I notice things. When Emily thinks no one is watching, she'll rub it."
"Anything else?" Jackie asked. The two agents shook their heads.
Just then the doctor strolled in and took notice of the number of people in the room. "I'm afraid you'll have to wait outside," she informed them. "Jackie will keep you up to date on your friend's condition."
"Thank you," JJ said. She stepped up to the bed and touched Emily on the shoulder who looked sleepily up at her. "We'll see you in a little bit. Now be good for the doctor."
"Okay," Emily said drowsily. "Then can we…go home?"
JJ laughed. "We'll see." Emily harrumphed and turned away to go back to sleep.
Rossi caught up to her just outside of the doorway. "You need to get yourself checked out, JJ."
She waved a hand dismissively. "I'm fine, Dave."
He looked her straight in eyes. "That wasn't a suggestion."
"Dave. I'm okay. I should be here in case…" she gestured back to the exam room.
"I get it, JJ, but Emily would want you to get checked out. Not sitting out in the waiting room worrying. Besides you'll be done way before we hear anything about her."
JJ made a face at him. "FINE! You know, Rossi, sometimes you can be such a drill sergeant."
He grinned at her. "I know."
Yay! They are out of the woods and safe at the hospital. And some of you thought I would leave poor Morgan stuck forever on the cruise ship. Nope he is on his way back. Hope you enjoyed. Please continue to tell me what you think and we shall meet here again next week. Until then.