For everyone still reading Thank You, Thank You. And for those who have left reviews a big hug and thank you:). You guys are the best. We are getting close to Emily being found. The next couple of chapters it should occur. Still working out how it will happen.

I would be interested in your thoughts of having the story continue to deal with a trial and Emily's recovery or should it end after her being found. Not sure if I want this story to go on or just do a sequel OR if anyone would be interested for the story to continue at all.

Please let me know what you think about this chapter.

Chapter Twenty-One

It was still dark when Emily woke Mary. She only slept a few minutes at a time besides when she fell asleep and had the nightmare. Mary sat up and stretched out her body the best she could given the small confines of the truck.

Looking at Emily with sleep still in her eyes, she asked, "Is it your turn to sleep now Claire? I need to find someplace to go to the bathroom first, okay."

"No, it's time for us to get going. We should leave before the people who work in this orchard come to work."

"Did you sleep? You need to get rest too. I can drive the truck if you want to sleep. I feel bad that you didn't get to sleep."

Emily put her hand gently on the young woman's arm. "I slept a little. I will think about having you drive once we get back on the road. Let's try to find someplace to go to the bathroom and get going. We can eat the rest of the fruit while we are driving."

A few hours later they were driving on the state road heading toward a small town. They saw a sign for a rest stop and decided to stop to get some water and maybe try to wash up in the public restrooms. They had talked about keeping the truck as long as it had gas.

Emily knew they would have to go through the truck to see if they could find anything useful. She knew she would have push down her revulsion about the truck and the men who the truck belonged to if they were going to survive to find Jennifer and find their family.

Going through the truck they found a lot of useless junk that they threw out. They did find some old clothes, dirty but wearable. Emily found the cleanest of the shirts and put it on to cover the ripped shirt she was wearing. Mary took the other clothes into the bathroom to see if she could wash them so they could be at least less dirty. There wasn't anything to drink besides the half empty bottle of alcohol they already found. There were plenty of empty bottles that they washed out and refilled with water. The only food that was found was a large bag of fried pork rinds and about 6 unopened Slim Jims. There was plenty of half eaten and empty bags and containers of food. With the fruit that they gathered the night before and what they found in the truck Emily felt that it would at least last them maybe two days if they rationed it out. At least they now had plenty of water.

They stayed at the rest stop for a few more hours trying to get some rest. Mary told Emily that she would stay awake while Emily got some sleep. She was going to argue and say she would stay awake but she knew that she needed the rest.

"Do you want to lie in my lap like you let me do last night, Claire?" Mary kindly asked. She was sincerely grateful that her sister was here with her and wanted to treat her as nice as she was being treated.

She smiled at her sister and shook her head. "Thank you, Bea. But I will just lean against the door. Don't let me sleep too long. Wake me in about an hour or two. Okay?"

Emily settled down against the door getting as comfortable as she could. Mary had found a discarded magazine and old newspaper and pulled them out to keep her occupied while her sister slept.

*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*

The BAU team met in the lobby before heading to the police station that had become their command center. They greeted both women pleasantly although their interaction with Jennifer was somewhat strained not knowing how to approach her about the situation that caused her to be there. She was able to ease their concerns by how she approached what she was called on to do. They knew she was a professional no matter how it might affect her emotions. She would be there and feel just as strongly if it was any of them in trouble.

Once at the station they all got to work so they could get JJ on the air as soon as possible. Garcia was in her element being able to manipulate information for a positive outcome.

JJ had been working with Rossi and Reid to develop the best words to catch Emily's attention. They had gone over the mediums they were going to use to get the best saturation and the widest possibility that Emily will see her. She was half paying attention to what the two men were saying offering a simple nod or verbal grunt of approval.

She decided she needed to take a break and get a cup of coffee. She was glad that she was able to be more actively involved to find her girlfriend but it still felt so surreal that her talents as a press liaison were needed to find her. JJ wanted to be ponding the streets looking for but had to resolve herself that at least she was doing something. Standing by the window that faced out to the parking lot she was startled when a hand touched her shoulder. She quickly turned around and felt her cheeks redden when it was only Hotch.

"How are you doing Jennifer? I know that this has been difficult for you," Hotch said in a soft voice. "If there is anything you need let me know."

"Thank you Hotch. I'm fine. Have the other people been taken care of? Have they been reunited with their families?" She looked down not sure if she wanted to hear the answer to the question she had to ask. "Have they regained their memories?"

Taking a deep breath and fixing his gaze on the blonde he tried to find the answers for her questions. He knew her last question was the one she wanted to know the most. "The others are receiving the care that they need to recover. It will take them all time to get better but now that they are away from Phillip Monroe they have the best chance."

Hearing the name of the man responsible for this grief, JJ found it difficult to contain her anger. She knew how the others must have felt when they saw firsthand the damage the man caused. "Do we know the drugs he used to control them? Has he said anything?"

The tall man just shook his head and looked down at the floor. His head shot up when he heard what she said next.

"I want to talk to him. I…need to talk to him, please."

"I don't think that's a good idea. He has refused to talk to any of us so far. He is being prepared to be transferred into federal custody in a few hours since he kidnapped a federal agent."

"If he has refused to talk to any of you, what harm would it do if I talked to him? If it will make you feel better I will have Reid with me," she said in a firm voice trying to convince the man of her conviction.

Hotch looked around the room and then back at her. Turning again to Garcia he called over to her, "Garcia, how long until we are ready to tape the broadcasts?"

Looking up from her computer screen she gave him a smile grin, "I should have us ready to go in about an hour sir. The videographer is on a shoot right now but will be meeting us at the studio as soon as he is done."

Looking back at the blonde he sighed loudly. "Reid, come over here please. I shouldn't let you do this but maybe you will be able to get something useful out of him." Turning to the young man who approached him, "Reid I want you and JJ to go and talk to Monroe. Maybe he is ready to talk now. See if you can get any information about the drugs he used and how he programed them to believe in his delusion. Unless he can tell you where Prentiss is be back in an hour."

Hotch left the two agents and went over to join the others. Reid gave the blonde a thin smile.

"Having you come with me was the only way I could get Hotch to let me talk to Monroe," she said with her eyes focused straight ahead.

"JJ, what do you hope to gain talking to him? He is so deep in his delusion that he actually believes that the people he kidnapped are his family. He's a sick man." Reid hoped that he could get her to reconsider not wanting to cause her anymore hurt than she was already going through.

"Spencer, I know you are just trying to protect me and I appreciate what you are trying to do but I need to hear for myself who he is. There have been only men that have talked to him maybe he will open up to me. It won't hurt. Please take me to him."

*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*

They had Monroe brought into an interview room. When Reid and JJ entered he was wearing prison orange and his hands were handcuffed in front of him resting on the table as if he hadn't a care in the world. He was looking down at the table and didn't appear to notice when the two agents walked in the room. He slowly looked up and noticed the two young people. A brief smile came over his face when saw them thinking that they were two of his children but then realized that they were there to try to get information out of him. He put on his most pleasant smile and just looked at them.

Jennifer took a seat in front of the man and folded her hands delicately on the table that separated the two of them. Reid stood to her right close enough so Monroe knew he was there and ready to act if need be but far enough away to not invade her space. She met the man's gaze never losing eye contact waiting for him to speak first as she tried to calm her nerves about who this man was.

The room took on a peculiar silence for several minutes. Monroe was impressed with the woman's resolve. He was sure that he could get her to avert her gaze but he did not know that the woman before him had more than a need to get information from him she was a woman who wanted to know why. Why he chose Emily and why he couldn't grieve like any other person.

The intensity of her stare and the weight of the woman's emotions behind it became too much for the man and he broke the silence. "Have you come to tell me about my family? When can I see them? And when can we go home?" He asked these questions as if were obvious that he was owed these things.

It took everything for JJ not to show her contempt for the man. She looked up to Reid and then back at Monroe as she gathered her thoughts about how to respond to him. He was clearly delusional and she wouldn't get any information if he was approached as a grieving sane man. He needed to be approached from within his delusion. It would take others as talented as he once was to help him back into reality.

"Mr. Monroe I will have to check with my superiors to see if I can give you the information to seek." She gave him her most sincere smile which seemed to settle him a bit. "You must care about your family a great deal. You probably took care of all their medical needs to make sure they stayed healthy."

"Yes, that is what a good father does; he takes care of his family. When I'm reunited with them I will continue to take care of them. Does your father take care of you?" he asked kindly.

"My father doesn't live here."

"What about you young man? Does your father take care of you?" he asked directing his attention to Reid.

Reid took a step closer to the table. "I have not had contact with my father since I was a child."

"You poor children. I could never be the type of father who abandons his children." Monroe gave them both a sad smile.

Trying to get a psychological advantage, Reid sat down next to JJ to try to convey that they were on an equal playing field. Giving the man a sad look, he softly said, "I wish I knew my father." He knew he would have to be careful and not make his hand too visible. Fortunately JJ knew how her friend worked and easily slid into her role. She quickly touched Reid's hand while giving him a sympathetic smile before looking back at Monroe.

"It is very clear that you took good care of your family and they undoubtedly appreciated everything you did for them. It was probably scary when they were hurt or sick."

"It was a good thing you have medical training," Reid added.

Both agents turned down the intensity of their stares on the man. They knew it was a risk but they were banking on him being so far in his delusion that he wouldn't catch on.

He leaned into the pair as he gave them a pleased smile. "I think it was fate that made me have medical training because even though I went into psychiatry my medical background did indeed help keep my family safe. But prevention is the best way to keep my family healthy. I made sure they took their vitamins every night and they listened to relaxation tapes while they went to sleep. I'm afraid that now that they are away from me they will become ill and maybe be in more danger."

"Did they all take the same vitamins? I'm sure they needed different types given their different ages," Reid asked with curiosity.

"You remind me of my son, Phillip. He is curious and smart too. You are right, they did take different medic…vitamins in the beginning but after a while they were able to take the same ones. They were very healthy."

"Wow, that's impressive. Your family seems to be so devoted to you. What was your secret to get your family to be so loyal? If I have a family of my own someday, I would want them to be loyal like yours," JJ said with as much sincerity as she could muster.

Monroe was becoming excited that people understood his devotion and protectiveness to his family. These two young people reminded him so much of his own children. Thinking of his children he became sad. He wondered if they were safe especially Bea and Claire but he trusted his older daughter to take care of her sister if he was not there to take care of them both. He really missed his wife. Being apart from the rest of his family was painful enough but being apart from his beloved wife was unbearable.

Both Reid and JJ noticed the man's change in mood and assumed that they were stirring painful memories. They really had to tread lightly if they were going to get any more information from him.

Reid was the first to speak. "Mr. Monroe, is there a problem?"

Snapping out of his thoughts he looked up at the agents and his affect changed back to a more pleasant demeanor. "All this talk of family was making me miss my family and especially my wife. Do you think I will be able to see them or at least my wife?" He asked again even though all his other requests have been denied. He hoped that because these two young people shared his values about family they may show him some compassion.

"I'm sorry but I can't do that. Is there a message you would like to get to them? We might be able to do that for you." Reid hoped that he might give up some clue to help them in any verbal or written message.

His eyes flashed a bit of sadness before he spoke, "Just tell them that I love them and we will be together again just like I promised." He then bowed his head slowly and then looked back up at the two of them. "I am tired. I don't want to talk anymore. Can I go back now?"

JJ wanted to yell at the man and demand to know why he kidnapped those people, why he took Emily. If it wasn't for Reid lightly touching her arm signally that they had gotten all they were going to get from the man and calming her nerves, she would have denied his request and forced him to stay and talk. Instead she stood up from the table to go get the officer to take him back to his cell. As she went back to the table not bothering to sit, the officer came in the room.

"Thank you for talking with us Mr. Monroe." He was being directed to stand and led to the door. Before he had completely exited the room, JJ couldn't help herself as she turned to face him and said, "I'm sorry about the loss of your family. Nothing you can do will ever replace them when they die."

Monroe could be heard yelling as he was taken back to his cell to await transportation to federal custody. "Why would she say those things? My family is not dead! You people took them from me. I want to see my family! Did you people hurt my family? Are they alright? I have a right to know!"

When they couldn't hear him anymore, Reid went over to the woman still looking at the door. "Are you okay Jennifer?"

"I know I shouldn't have said that to him but I couldn't stand him sitting there believing that taking those people was his way of being a good father. He doesn't believe that he has done anything wrong." She lowered her head and said softly, "I want her back Spencer. I want her with me."

"I know Jennifer. We will get her back." He walked over to her putting his arm lightly around her shoulder and led her out of the room. "Unfortunately we didn't find out any new information from what we were able to piece together from what was found in the motorhome."

"Yeah, I guess Hotch was right."

Reid looked at his friend and wondered out loud. "Did you get what you wanted from seeing him?"

Looking back at him she simply answered, "No," as they continued to walk to join the rest of the team.

*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*

Mary figured she had better wake the sleeping woman knowing if she let her sleep too long she would be angry. She had only called out once in her sleep but most of her rest was uneventful.

Shaking her shoulder lightly Mary called her name to try to wake her, "Claire…Claire…wake up."

Emily woke with a start as she tried to focus her sleep addled mind. "What? Ohh…How long did I sleep?"

"Only a few hours. You were really tired. What were you dreaming about?" Mary said as she gave her a cheerful smile.

Stretching as she sat up straighter, she yawned loudly. "I don't remember. I guess I did need to get some rest. I'm going to use the restroom before we get going. I'll be back in a few minutes."

As Emily walked to the bathroom, Mary picked up the newspaper that she was reading and found an announcement about a church gathering that was happening today. She hoped that they were close by where it was occurring and that she could talk her sister into going especially because they would be serving food.

Emily got back in the car feeling better. She noticed Mary's large smile as she read the newspaper. "What are you smiling about? Father said that the newspaper had nothing but bad news, that's why he never let us read them."

She showed her the announcement in the paper and hoped that it would cause her to get as happy as she was about it. "We can go there and get some food."

"There will probably be a lot of people there. I don't know…it may not be safe."

"But it's at a church. That should be a safe place to go. There may be people like Maddy and her son there. Can we at least drive by there and see?" Mary pleaded trying to convince her sister.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly she took the paper to look at the announcement more closely. They did advertise food. Apparently it was the 100th anniversary of the church. The ad stated that not only would there be food but music and fellowship. Eating something besides fruit and the greasy food they found in the truck would be a welcome change. It looked like it would be easy to find being off of a highway. Fortunately they included a map on how to find them. She figured if they stayed on the outside of the group it would be safe and they could leave quickly if they had to.

Emily looked over to the young woman who still had the smile on her face. "Okay, we can go by and see if we can get some food. But we need to be careful so we don't have the same thing happen to us like yesterday."

Mary reached over and gave Emily a hug. Thank you. I guess not everything in the newspaper is bad news."

"Don't get too excited until we see what it's all about." Emily started the truck and pulled onto the highway paying attention to which highway they were on. When they passed the road signs she realized they were going in the right direction to find the church.

*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*

Hotch saw JJ's face when she came back into the conference room where they were putting the finishing touches on where they were going to get her face out in the public. It was fortunate that her face was already known in the public so she wouldn't be jeopardized in future cases. But the face she wore right now was not the face they needed to have out in the public.

He walked over to her and she could guess what he was going to say so she beat him to it. Not looking at him she said quickly and succinctly, "I don't want to talk about it. Let's just get this done so we can get her back." She walked over to the table with conviction.

Reid came over to Hotch and gave him a sad expression. "I don't think she got what she was looking for. The only thing that will give her any resolution is getting Emily back." Hotch didn't reply but just gave him a quick nod as they both walked over to join the others.

Garcia was in her element directed the agents on how they were going to splash JJ's on as many visual media forms as they could. She had brought in a photographer to take pictures that will be placed in newspapers and posters advertising several sports events. The biggest focus will be the video that will be filmed and played on TV. Arrangements were made to utilize a local studio to shoot everything over the next couple hours with the direct plea being shot first.

Before they went to the studio to start the shooting, Garcia took her friend aside to make sure she was ready to take on the emotional toil this could cause her.

Taking her hand she looked into the blonde's blue eyes as she spoke, "Sweet pea, how you holding up? The next few hours will be tough." She waited to see if she would reply. All she did was turn her head to watch the others gather their things to go to the waiting vehicles as she took a shuddering breath. "I know you probably won't tell me if things get too tough for you but I will be keeping my eye on you. We will get through this together, sweetheart. I promise."