"I'd learned that some things are best kept secret."

Nicholas Sparks

Her heart pounded.

She couldn't hear anything except for a loud, obnoxious ringing in her ears. Slowly, that started to fade, along with the initial shock of their situation. She opened her eyes, but all she saw was blackness until she blinked a few times and her vision started to fade back in.

There was ash everywhere.

It floated through the air down from the trees. She looked around slowly, the earth looking distorted to her. She felt like everything was spinning and the faint ringing in her ears didn't help. Blinking, she looked down at her hands. They were filthy, covered in soot and ash.

The memories of what had just happened flashed through her mind suddenly, bringing with it an awful, stinging pain on her shoulder. She looked down and saw a small, deep laceration on her shoulder, extending to the edge of her collarbone. It was already beginning to bleed into her shirt.

But that was the least of her worries.

Tenderly, she got to her feet, despite the aching protest from her shoulder.

Again, she looked around. The ground was covered in ash, soot and debris. But no people. That was what concerned her. Gulping, she opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Her throat was dry. She coughed a few times and then, "Reid!" She called out hoarsely.

And then louder, "Reid! Where are you? I'm okay!"

"Over here!" She heard.

She stumbled towards the sound of his voice and found him, leaning against a tree, bleeding slightly from a cut on his head. His face, arms and legs were covered in soot, just like her. He was so dirty, barely recognizable. "Hey, you alright?" She asked, bending down in front him.

"Emily." Reid breathed, his relief obvious. He nodded slowly to her question and replied, "I think I'm okay. Got a cut on my head, but I don't have any intracranial pressure symptoms or concussion symptoms so that's a good sign." He paused and blinked a few times, "What about you?"

She shrugged, "Just a cut on my shoulder."

Reid nodded and started to get up with Emily's help. "What about JJ?" He asked, looking around.

Emily looked at him, confused. "I thought she was with you, right? Wasn't she?" She asked, panic engulfing her quickly. She started moving through the woods, looking around.

Reid followed, "She was…and I had her, but she was struggling and then…" He shook his head, "I let go of her. I let her go and she ran. I don't know where she went, but a few seconds later, this happened." He gestured to their surroundings.

Emily nodded, "She probably went back for him. Let's go, we should be able to find her." She said as they walked further through the woods, the debris getting more plentiful and the ash on the ground getting thicker.

They walked for a few minutes until they both started feeling heat. It wasn't like heat from the sun though, it was thick and overpowering. They walked through it, both wondering what the source was, but it wasn't until a few moments later when they heard the noise, that they knew.

Fire.

The crackling was unmistakable.

Emily saw it first, ripping through the trees, engulfing them and tearing them down as it spread through the forest. She froze and Reid ran into her. "Fire." She said quietly, backing up.

Reid looked up. "Fire!" He yelled, turning and starting to run away.

But Emily grabbed his arm, stopping him. She stood, frozen as the fire got closer.

"What are you doing?" Reid asked incredulously. He tried to pull himself out of her grasp, but she wouldn't let go. She was staring straight towards the fire, squinting. "Emily! What is it?!" He tried again, desperation in his voice.

Emily didn't look back at him, just stared towards the fire. A few yards away from them, underneath a tree that had just caught fire was JJ, lying underneath one of the posts from the fence that had been destroyed. It didn't look like she was moving, but they couldn't leave her. "It's JJ." She said finally, "I see JJ, we have to get her."

Reid turned around and looked over in the direction that Emily was. A few seconds later, he saw her. "Oh god." He said, not hopeful.

Emily shook her head. "We have to get her!" She looked back at Reid for a moment and then decided that they couldn't waste anymore time. She took off towards the fire, the heat heavy and the smoke thick, making it harder and harder for her to breathe.

Reid watched for a moment, cursed to himself and then took off after her.

An hour earlier

"I have an awful feeling about this." Reid said, his conscience eating away at him as he peeked around the side of a tree. In the distance, he could see JJ and Will walking. He shook his head. Lying, stalking, none of it felt right.

Emily shook her head, following closely behind him. "It's what we have to do. I mean, she's in love with him and her leaving him on her own isn't likely. We have to save her. It's what Will wants…" She said uneasily. Saving someone at the expense of someone else felt wrong, but what else could they do? Someone had to go in.

And Will had volunteered.

Emily respected that. The fact that he was willing to give himself up to save the rest of them, the fact that he was aware they'd been in captivity for too long and couldn't turn back, the fact that he was brave. She had to remember to mention that to JJ when she got the chance.

Ahead of them, Will and JJ stopped so Emily and Reid stopped too, watching them.

"We have to be getting close." Reid said, looking around. He recognized a few things. The mound of rocks a few feet away and the tall oak tree defined by long, deep scratch marks, probably from a bear. He turned to look back at Will and JJ, who had to be at least 30 or 40 yards away, maybe more.

Emily and Reid stood behind a tree and watched them, unseen. From that distance, they were unable to hear what they were saying, but they could watch.

Their mouths were moving, both of them engrossed in a conversation. About what? Emily and Reid didn't know, but it looked serious. They talked for a long time, probably about what had happened in the past few months. Bored and exhausted, Emily and Reid watched them, both wondering when they would start moving again.

And then suddenly, JJ and Will's lips met. It seemed completely random to Reid and Emily, who couldn't hear their conversation, but they assumed it was probably in context. JJ leaned into Will, arms wrapped around him while Will put his hands firmly on either side of her face and kissed her deeply.

Reid turned around. "We shouldn't watch." He said, shaking his head as he kicked around some of the leaves on the ground.

Emily smirked, glancing at him. "Wow. They are really going for it." She said with a chuckle, "Three months. That is a long time, Reid, way too long." She said, raising her eyebrows.

Reid rolled his eyes. "Don't you feel like you're invading their privacy a little bit? Or even that it's just kind of awkward to watch another couple make out when they don't know you're there?" He didn't wait for an answer. "I think it's uncomfortable."

Emily shrugged and turned around. "It's a little weird, but it's good that they did it." She paused, their conversation taking a somber turn. "You know, it might be the last time."

Reid hadn't thought of that. Slowly, he turned back around again. JJ and Will had stopped, he whispered something in her ear and she smiled and then they gave one final, gentle kiss before pulling away, their faces flushed.

Reid shook his head, wondering if that final, gentle kiss they had just shared would be the last. He sincerely hoped that it wouldn't be.

And then Will and JJ started walking again and so did Reid and Emily.

Within the next 30 minutes, Will and JJ reached the tall, menacing fence. The thick steel posts stood tall, weaved wire between them, making it impossible to get in. Except for a gate. There, in front of Will and JJ, was a gate. It was locked, but a large, intimidating camera was posted above it along with an intercom on the post.

Emily and Reid got closer to them this time, only a few yards away, because they knew that they needed to be close by to grab JJ at just the right time.

They watched as JJ slowly reached up and pushed the button on the intercom. "We're here. I brought what I've lost, but I'm going in with him." She said confidently, giving Will a reassuring smile as she touched his arm.

Will smiled back, half-heartedly.

A voice came over the intercom. It was the same, chilling, mysterious, taunting voice that had been terrorizing them for weeks. "Two for the price of one." It said, chuckling. "Sounds good to me. The gate will open in a few seconds. Walk into the back door of the building. Someone will be waiting for you there."

JJ and Will exchanged a look and then waited.

The gate buzzed loudly a few moments later.

Will looked at JJ and then reached out, pulling it open. As he did, he paused, glancing behind him before stepping through. He gave JJ a smile as he did.

She moved to follow him.

"Come on." Emily said, moving from their spot out into the open. She came up behind JJ quickly as she was stepping through the gate. A scream escaped JJ's mouth as Emily grabbed her. "It's okay." Emily tried, but JJ was in a panic. She elbowed Emily in the stomach and then struggled out of her grasp.

But Reid was waiting. He grabbed JJ once she was free. "It's me, JJ, it's Reid, calm down." He said quickly, pulling her backwards.

Will held the gate open, watching.

JJ struggled. "Reid? What are you doing?"

But Reid didn't answer.

"You aren't coming with me." Will said, meeting her eyes. He gripped the bar of the gate tightly with his hand. "I can't…I can't let you." He looked at the ground for a moment.

JJ was still confused, or maybe in denial. "Will…" She started, "Will please! No!"

But he just shook his head. "I love you, JJ." He told her, "I've been waiting four months to tell you that. And I'm sorry that I've waited until now, until this moment to tell you."

JJ stared at him, silent.

"Say something."

Tears filled her eyes, "I love you too."

Will nodded, cracking a smile. He blinked a tear out of his eye, "You have to go, okay? I want you to go."

But JJ couldn't leave him, especially not after what he'd just told her. "No. I'm not leaving you." She said with firm, honest conviction.

Will looked at Reid and Emily, "Make sure she leaves." He told them and when they nodded, he looked back at JJ. "Promise, you'll come back for me. Even if maybe I'm not…" He stopped, "Just come back for me, after all this."

"I'm not leaving you." She struggled.

"JJ."

She struggled more, but Reid held her tight.

"JJ!"

She stopped and looked up.

Will met her eyes, "Come back." He said another time. "Promise me."

JJ looked down at the ground, defeated. "I promise." She said quietly, "After all this…I'll come back for you."

Will nodded, gave one last, crooked smile and then shut the gate, turned around and started walking through the compound towards the building.

JJ watched him for a moment and then closed her eyes, trying to remember what his face looked like, how his lips felt. Had she already forgotten? Would she forget? His face flashed through her mind. There for a moment, she saw him, and then he was gone.

Slowly, she opened her eyes. "Let's go."

Reid and Emily were both surprised by her cooperation, but they didn't protest. They turned around and started walking, but after they got a few feet away, they heard the voice again from behind them, the voice from the intercom.

"Emily, wait." It said.

Reid looked back at her, JJ didn't.

Emily nodded forward, "Go ahead. I'll catch up." She said.

Reid nodded and he and JJ pushed forward.

Emily turned back to the intercom, annoyed. "Go ahead." She said.

First, he chuckled and then he continued on. "Will made it inside." He reported, the smugness obvious in his voice. He was satisfied with what he'd done. "I just wanted to let you know, maybe you can tell JJ, she'll probably want to know."

"You bastard." Emily snapped.

He chuckled again, "I would be mad at you for that, but right now, I'm just excited for what's to come. Isn't it funny how life can change in one instant? I'm sure JJ knows. One minute a person is there, the next they're gone. One minute you think you know what's going to happen next and then…it hits you."

"What hits you?"

A pause and then, "Everything."

Emily tilted her head, the silence deafening. Everything? What did he mean? She was suspicious almost immediately, that sounded like a threat. Maybe he was planning something or maybe he had executed it already. She closed her eyes for a moment and listened to the silence.

It was quiet.

She opened her eyes.

Too quiet.

Before she could react or even consider what it was she was reacting to, the building ahead of her swayed. And then, suddenly, the windows burst open with fire. The walls crumbled easily and then the sound came. A loud, vociferous boom. And the force from the sound or from the blow pushed her backwards against a tree. She stood, frozen.

The building had exploded.

And she thought that was it.

But then, a second bomb went off. She saw the explosion out of her peripheral vision, but before she could even turn her head, a third went off.

And then a fourth and then a fifth.

Everything was going up in flames.

She turned and tried to run, but then the ground behind her shook, a sixth bomb had just exploded behind her. It pushed her to the ground and then something hard hit the back of her head.

That was the last thing she remembered.

Present

Her eyes burned as she squinted through the smoke. The air felt heavy in her lungs and she had to gulp for air. But JJ was in trouble, she was trapped and there was no way Emily was going to leave her. The tree branches above them were on fire and beginning to spread down the trunks towards the ground.

They had to get to her, quickly.

Luckily, she was close. Her blonde hair contrasted the dark soot covering the ground, making it easy for her to be seen, even through all the smoke.

Emily made her way to JJ, hearing Reid behind her. Together, they bent down on either side of JJ, trying to figure out how to get her out from under the steel post from the fence. It was lying over her abdomen, but the post was diagonal. One side of it was resting on the ground, trapping her arm underneath it.

Emily touched the pole, "If I try to lift it up from my end, it'll just crush her arm even more. If you try to lift it from your side, it'll just crush her stomach even more." She told Reid, "We have to lift it off of her at the same time."

Reid nodded slowly, looking down at his end. He saw her arm underneath it. His mind filled with all the possible injuries she could have sustained, none of them good. He grabbed the pole with both hands and looked at Emily.

She was gripping her side. "Now!"

They both lifted.

It took a lot of effort because the pole was heavy, but with both of them lifting it, they were able to get it off the ground. And once it was off of JJ, they moved it and dropped it a few feet away from her before returning and helping her off the ground.

As they got her up, her eyes lulled open.

"What happened?" She asked, her voice soft.

Neither of them replied, they were focused, determined. The fire burned around them, but they were going to get out, they had to. And talking, explaining what was happening to JJ would only slow them down.

They stumbled through the forest blindly, trying desperately to escape.

And finally, the smoke started to thin. The freshness of the air increased. The heat behind them subsided. They were making their way to safety. And after about 30 minutes of walking, they found a river. The fire wouldn't be able to follow them after they crossed.

And once they got to the other side, they stopped and finally, they could sit.

JJ was quiet.

Emily looked at her as she wiped some soot off her face. "You alright?" She asked, seeing the blank look in her friend's eyes.

JJ looked up. "Will is gone." She said quietly with a shake of her head. She looked at the ground for a moment before adding, "I can't feel my hand."

Emily looked down at JJ's hand. It was swollen, like extremely swollen. That was the biggest she'd ever seen someone's hand swell. It must have been crushed, her wrist broken, maybe a few bones in her arm too. But she didn't know what to tell her.

Reid did.

"Looks like your metacarpal bones have been crushed, causing a lot of internal bleeding and nerve damage, which is why you don't feel pain." Reid told her as he examined it, "And you're wrist looks broken too, looks like an oblique fracture, maybe compression. I can't tell if it's crushed too or not, but I can tell that the break is preventing blood flow from getting to your hand."

JJ looked up at him. "What does that mean?"

Reid looked down at her hand again. "I'd say…if we don't get you to a hospital by either today or the middle of the day tomorrow, you could lose your hand."

Will sat in the basement, completely still. The walls were concrete, the seat was steel, his eyes were stony. Above him, he heard the explosions. One by one they went off. He imagined the shock that would come with them. A sigh escaped his lips.

And then the door skidded open slowly, the hinge squeaking loudly as it did.

And in came Brooke, a smile on her face. But she didn't say anything. Just walked right past Will to the other side of the room and waited there, watching the door.

Will watched it too.

And then he entered.

Him, the mastermind. The man with no identity, the unsub.

He walked in slowly, leisurely, his walk regal and proud. He wore a suit and tie, very formal, very smooth, very important-looking. He stopped when he was in front of Will and stood there, a smile on his face. "You did good." He said.

Will shook his head, "No I did not do good. It's not right, none of this is. And you're a psychopath if you can't see that." He said, his glare fierce.

The man shook his head, amused. "Oh the contrary, I believe a psychopath would have the ability to realize that what he was doing was wrong and be able to enjoy it." He said with a shrug, "And I am. It feels good."

Will let out a deep breath, trying to control his rage. "I just sent the woman I love into a trap. She's probably dead and so are her friends. And for what?" He threw his hands in the air, "I'm just as sick and disturbed as you."

"Glad you're admitting it." The man said, "And I have to say that I agree. Will, you are quite the liar. All that stuff about caring about JJ and needing someone to take her away...it was great. I almost believed you."

Will shook his head. "So what now? You said this was it, that this was the only thing I had to do for you." He said, "So what now? Are you going to let me go? Kill me?"

The man shook his head. "No I'm not done with you yet." He leaned towards Will, got really close. "I need another favor."

"If there is one thing upon this Earth that mankind love and admire better than another, it is a brave man. It is the man who dares to look the devil in the face and tell him he is a devil."

James A. Garfield

A/N: I'm so sorry it's been so long. I've been busy, lots of vacations, lots of summer work. And honestly, I had writer's block, especially with all my Criminal Minds stories. It's probably because I started a bunch of other shows. It's weird, I was so blocked. I couldn't think of anything. And then one day, I just sat down and wrote. I finished this chapter in two days.

But I wouldn't expect another chapter soon. School's starting soon so I need to focus on that. I'll try to write as much as I can and find inspiration where I can, but it's hard so I'll just say sorry about the slowness in advance. I hope this chapter will hold you off, maybe give you some stuff to think about for a while before I write the next chapter. Thanks to everyone for your continued support and I'm sorry this took so long.

Please review! And message me if you have any questions or ideas or anything. Thanks!