Author's Note: I'm so sorry for the delay, everyone! I flew back to the UK a few days ago, so I've been a little busy. But don't worry; I haven't abandoned you or this story. ;) This is a short one I'm afraid, but I wanted to get it out the way, without cramming it somewhere that it didn't belong. As always, read and review please. Any ideas and/or suggestions are welcome, also.

Author's Note 2: Thank you to everyone who sent me their ideas yesterday. And also to Karmen Sandiego, for bouncing a few ideas around with me. :)

Author's Note 3: I've added more to this chapter. I had planned on giving information on what had happened with Sarah further in the story, but I didn't take into account that that may be confusing for some. So I've added a little. Not much, but I didn't want it to seem that it had been completely forgotten about, lol.

Disclaimer: I still do not own Criminal Minds.

THE WAITING GAME

After the area around him had come back into focus and the ringing in his ears had stopped, Hotch was still rooted to the spot. It was only when Morgan and Reid pushed past him to get to Emily and JJ that he had come back to life, instructing his team on what to do next. Even the most together of leaders needed those two seconds sometimes; two seconds to really see what had just happened.

Emily was still on the floor unconscious, Rossi's hand now pressed to her gushing wound. Reid was fumbling with JJ's restraints, his concerned mind hindering his efforts until he composed himself and let her arms free. And Morgan was holding down an injured Sarah, putting her own wrists in restraints whilst making threats that clearly depicted his anger for putting his friends in danger.

Hotch knew that Sarah's cuffs were a little tighter than necessary, that Morgan had used a little more force than necessary, but he also knew that he would have done the same. He had been the one to put a bullet into Sarah, and yet it wasn't enough. It was both instantaneous and hesitant; just in the nick of time and too late. If only he had gotten there thirty seconds before, if only he'd sped up by just five miles per hour; if only.

CM-CM-CM

"You couldn't have helped it, Aaron." Rossi placed a reassuring hand on Hotch's shoulder as he took a seat beside him, reading his body language for what it was. "You did everything that you could. And if you didn't get there when you did, Emily would probably be dead now. JJ, too."

Hotch took no comfort from Rossi's words, reminding him. "But they're still injured. They're still both in surgery. They still could have died." He looked his friend in the eye for the first time. "And Sarah, she got what? A shot in the leg."

"But they didn't." Rossi shot back his own reminder; they were both still alive. Albeit, in less than fantastic condition, but they were alive. "And no. Sarah is gonna spend a long time rotting in jail with no chance of parole."

"Is that really enough?" Hotch asked seriously.

Across from Hotch, Garcia was fighting her own battle. If her girls didn't make it out of surgery alive, she would never forgive herself. If she was being rational, she could have told herself that JJ simply took a shot to the arm. Of course, nothing about being shot is at all 'simple', and she'd be unable to use that arm properly for 6 weeks at least, but once the surgeon had the bullet removed, she'd be fine; it wasn't life threatening.

And Emily, she had had a lucky escape. Whilst the force of the bullet had been powerful enough to knock her down, and the pain of it ripping through her chest, as well as the blood loss, had been enough to render her unconscious; it was also true that the bullet had lodged itself somewhere between her collarbone and lungs. It was nothing short of a damn miracle that it had missed the lungs, her heart, and any major arteries but somehow it had.

The quirky technical analyst knew all of this, but what ifs still plagued her colourful mind.

Morgan sat by Garcia, his hand protectively strewn across the length of the chair back behind her. He knew what was currently swirling around in the redheads mind, and he wished that he could ease her pain, tell her that it wasn't her fault, but he'd be lying if he said that a part of him wasn't angry with her for keeping this one to herself; and angry at Emily too, for the same reasons. Still, his protective nature took the leading role; now wasn't the time.

Looking up, the dark agent was about to say something to Reid who was currently looking like a sad child who had lost his mother, when a nurse came around the corner to the waiting room.

"Agents Prentiss and Jareau?" The small blonde nurse asked as she waited for some indication of the people she should be talking to. She didn't have to wait long though, as all five of them anxiously rose to their feet and five sets of eager eyes stared her down.

Hotch was the one to step forward. "We're with them. What can you tell us?" His formal nature overrode the whirlwind of emotions plummeting through his brain.

"Ms. Jareau is currently in room 172. Her surgery went fine, the bullet was removed, and we're just waiting for her to wake up." Hotch nodded his head, a short wave of relief washing through him, "As you've already been informed, she will be unable to use her arm for a while, and field work is definitely out of the question for at least six weeks. But she is going to be just fine."

"Thank you." Complete appreciation and relief filled those two simple words before he continued hopefully. "And Emily?" He was certain that his heart stopped beating for a moment as he asked this question, genuinely uncertain whether she was even still alive.

"Ms. Prentiss.." The nurse sighed. "There were a few problems with her surgery." Hotch fought against the nerves-induced vomit that was making it's way to his throat and waited for the nurse to continue. "She lost a lot of blood, and whilst we were able to remove the bullet, we've had to put her in a medically induced coma."

The rest of the team stepped forward, with Garcia being the first to speak. "But she's going to be okay, right?" Despair and wavering hope filled her words; her usual free-spirited nature merely a shadow of her current self.

The nurse looked at Garcia as she spoke again but directed the response to everyone. "She should be just fine. We wanted to give her body proper time to fix itself. She's going to need a lot of support," her eyes trailed across all five people, "both now, and when she wakes up."

"Of course." Morgan began. "What can we do for her?"

"Just be there for her. Talk to her. And when she's awake, she is probably going to need someone to stay with her for a couple of days, just until she's back on her feet."

"Certainly." Morgan responded, indicating in just one word that he would be the one to stay with her. Though, he knew that Emily wasn't going to allow it too easily; that woman was far too stubborn for her own good.

"When can we see them?" Rossi questioned, certain that they all needed to see with their own eyes that both women were alive. They weren't just colleagues; they were a family.

"As soon as Jennifer wakes up, which should be any time now, you can see her." The nurse began before looking down at a chart and then back up to the waiting agents. "Emily.. She's in the room next to Jennifer's, 171. But I'd recommend that you go in no more than one at a time."

Each person nodded their understanding, just grateful that they were able to see them at all.

"Thank you." Hotch said, turning to face his team as the young nurse nodded and walked away. He opened his mouth to say something, but Morgan was already gone, headed to Emily's room, he assumed. Morgan was nothing short of Emily's best friend, and he knew that whilst they all loved the brunette, there was a special bond between the two agents. So as a silent understanding, and direction to the rest of the team, Hotch took up a seat in the waiting room once more.

As each of them sat down, silence filled the room; each team member lost once again in their own mind. It would only be when they had seem Emily and JJ with their own eyes, alive and breathing, that the storm in their brain would stop.

But for now, they would wait it out.