It was a few hours after the interviews had been completed and everyone was going over the information that had been gathered which wasn't much.
"I sure hope we get a break soon," Morgan commented.
"You and me both," Rossi agreed. Just then Emily's phone rang and she answered it.
"Prentiss," came her voice down the phone.
"Hey there, Em, I've identified the woman in the picture," Garcia informed her.
"Hold on, let me put you on speaker, Garcia," she said as she did just that.
"Hello my wonderful crime fighters. The woman in the photo Emily sent me is Danielle Wilson. She's 33 and is married and has been so for three years. Apparently she and her husband can't conceive. They've been working with an adoption agency for about a year now. About four months ago they were supposed to become parents to a baby. The mother was Sandy Jacobson and she gave birth but changed her mind and didn't want to give the baby up. The husband took it okay, but apparently Danielle went nuts and threatened her. She had to be removed from the hospital via security."
"Do you have a picture of the young woman?" Reid asked.
"I sure do, and it's being sent to you as we speak," Garcia replied. JJ pulled up the picture and gasped.
"She looks exactly like the women who have been taken," she said softly.
"Do you have an address for Danielle, Garcia?" Hotch questioned.
"Sent it already, bossman," the tech answered.
"Okay, let's go. I have a feeling finding Cassie won't be this easy, but we can always hope," Hotch instructed.
XXXX
"Danielle Wilson, FBI!" Morgan said as he knocked on the door. They continued to call out but got no answer.
"I don't think she's here. Her husband is gone on a business trip, according to Garcia," Reid said as he read a text from the tech.
"Let's head back to the station and have Garcia look into other properties she owns. We need to find Cassie soon," Hotch replied.
"I just texted her and asked her to look into other properties she or her husband own," Emily said as they climbed back into the SUV's.
XXXX
"I hate the waiting," Morgan grumbled as he and Emily stood in the station break room fixing coffee and tea respectively.
"Yeah, me to," Emily said with a yawn.
"Baby making you tired?" her partner wondered.
"Yeah, and I know it will only get worse as the pregnancy progresses," Emily responded. "I'm okay with that, though, just as long as she's healthy." Glancing around to make sure they were alone, Morgan lowered his voice before speaking again.
"Are you sure you can't tell me the name?" he whispered. Emily laughed at her best friend.
"No, I can't tell you. You're just as bad as Garcia," she teased.
"Well, you can't blame a guy for trying," the dark-skinned profiler argued back.
"No, I can't," Emily agreed.
"Garcia found another property," Rossi called out as he walked by the room.
XXXX
"Turns out Danielle owns a cabin in the mountains. It's slightly off the beaten path so she would have privacy for her killings," Garcia said once the team was all together. "The address as well as a map have been sent to your phones. Go rescue Cassie and be safe my lovely's, Garcia out."
XXXX
"Prentiss Morgan, and JJ, you enter through the front. Rossi, Reid, you're with me," Hotch said as they pulled up in front of the cabin and got out of the SUV's.
"Danielle Wilson, FBI!" Morgan shouted as he knocked on the door. He heard running footsteps and kicked in the door. He could hear Hotch doing the same thing at the other door. Danielle was standing in the middle of the room holding a frightened Cassandra in front of her, a knife at her throat.
"Put the knife down and let the girl go, Danielle," Morgan demanded.
"No, she has to die! She promised me the baby then she took him back. She must be punished!" the angry woman snarled.
"That's not Sandy, Danielle. Let Cassie go and we can talk about this," Hotch urged. Danielle took her eyes off Cassie and stared around the room. Her eyes fell on Emily and a nasty grin crossed her face.
"I'll let her go, but she comes with me," she snarled pointing at Emily.
"No!" everyone else shouted.
"Okay," Emily said as she walked over to where the unsub stood with her hostage.
"Emily, no!" Reid nearly yelled. Danielle released Cassie who fell to the floor and grabbed for Emily. Emily was too fast for her though, and reached out with the butt of her gun she'd pulled without Danielle seeing. Bringing the butt down on Danielle's head she smiled as she saw the other woman hit the ground unconscious. The rest of the team surrounded them along with some officers. The officers secured the unsub while JJ and Rossi headed for Cassie.
"You're mom's going to be very glad to see you, sweetie. You're going to be okay," JJ said soothingly.
"My baby, she doesn't know I'm pregnant. What if she hates me for getting pregnant so young?" Cassie whimpered.
"She doesn't hate you. All she cares about is that you and her grandchild are safe," Rossi assured. Smiling slightly, Cassie allowed herself to relax for the first time since she'd been taken.
XXXX
Reid stared hard at Emily trying to get his temper under control.
"I can't believe you did that," he said in a controlled voice.
"I didn't have any other choice," Emily argued.
"Yes you did, let one of us subdue her. You're pregnant Emily! You shouldn't have put yourself and the baby in that position," Reid said angrily as he turned on his heel and left the room. He needed a few minutes to compose himself before he did or said something he didn't mean to.
XXXX
"She's going to be okay?" Erin checked as she talked to Hotch on the phone.
"Yes, JJ rode to the hospital with her. They're admitting her for observation. She'll probably be in the hospital for a couple of days. I know she'd love to see you. The baby is also fine," Hotch added knowing that would be at the front of the section chief's mind.
"Tell her I'll be on the next flight," Strauss said as she let out the breath she'd been holding.
"I will, ma'am. Have a safe flight," Hotch said kindly.
"I will, and Aaron?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you, I am very grateful for what you and your team did. I'm sure that if you hadn't worked so hard Cassie wouldn't still be alive. Please give my gratitude to your team," she requested.
"I will, ma'am. I have to go, see you when you get back," Hotch said hanging up and heading back into the conference room after sending JJ a text that Erin was getting the next flight so she could tell Cassie. He also told her to meet them at the airstrip in 45 minutes.
"Okay," JJ responded with a couple minutes later.
XXXX
The flight home was a tense and silent one for Emily and Reid. The tension and silence continued in the car. Arriving at home, Emily knew she had to break it or it would go on all night. Walking into the house she dropped her go bag and headed straight for the couch hoping Spencer would follow her. Sighing when he didn't, Emily spoke up.
"Spencer, please come sit down so we can talk about this." Reluctantly Spencer made his way over to the couch and sat down next to his wife.
"I'm sorry I yelled at you, but do you have any idea how badly you scared me?" he asked trying to fight back tears.
"Yeah, I know I scared you, and I'm sorry. Can you tell me honestly, though, that there was any other real way to get her away from Cassie?" she asked. Spencer gave a defeated sigh.
"No, I guess not," he reluctantly admitted. "Just please promise me that before you do that again you'll think about if it will really help or if it will only put you and the baby in more danger? Please Emily?" he begged.
"I promise, now come here," she said as she pulled him into her arms. The moment he was in her arms she began kissing him. The kisses quickly turned passionately and before either of them realized it they were removing clothing and Spencer shifted so he was under Emily. Pausing to ensure that what they were about to do was what Emily wanted; Spencer continued his ministrations as soon as Emily nodded. This was what they both needed to be reminded that Emily was still alive and that Danielle Wilson hadn't harmed her.
TBC?