A/N: Okay, I really need to focus because I keep getting distracted by my other pieces and I think I've been stringing you all along for long enough (4 months is well and truly long enough). Hopefully now that I've resolved this fact, I can actually follow through on getting out to you quickly the last few chapters. For those of you reading my Life's Wishes series, there may not actually be another update until I am done with this one. Not now that we are entering the home straight.

I absolutely love and adore reviews. And now that I've realised just how long I've been leaving you with almost constant cliff-hangers (tries to slink away and into hiding), I realise how much more I need to appreciate all of you who are reading this story, even those of you not posting reviews. I do love you all, but if you want your name to appear here, you need to leave me a review. So for those of you who have been doing just that faithfully right from the start of the piece (particularly since you haven't killed me yet), I would love to give you a HUGE sing-out; greengirl82, miaa29, Hazmatt, HGRHfan35, HPforever-after (for chapters 19 & 20), x-MJ-x for The Best Laid Plans and Wtiger5.

Additional thanks to the gorgeous Wtiger5 for all your helpful information...you'll start to see it play out in the next chapters and I really hope I can do you justice. Love you sweetie and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Please be aware this chapter is a lot more confronting than normal. I'll understand if you need to throw something at me by the end of it but please consider leaving me in one piece. And now that I've said that, I am going to take a permanent vacation somewhere top secret for additional safety purposes.

Rated M for violence, torture themes, drug use, coarse language and sex scenes. (yes, this is going to have a little bit of everything)

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds at all, although they do own me and I do own Carrie and Toby, Chloe and India, Kelly and Brad and Ben.

Arabian Nights – Chapter 21

She'd woken to being slapped hard enough to draw blood...though maybe they'd been slapping her for a while to bring her back to consciousness. Though as she'd moaned and rolled over onto her side with the intention of being violently ill, she'd wondered if maybe they were just that powerful as the first kick landed viciously against the side of her body.

New Section

Aaron moved rapidly through the open door into the light, his eyes tracking the room from left to right as his gun swept the room. He could see immediately that the unsub's were out of sight, but that didn't mean they weren't hiding further into the suite. He carefully picked his way across the room, his gaze flicking quickly from the hall he was approaching and the floor of the living area he was walking through.

Within a minute, he knew that everyone in the suite was a friend, that the unsub's were well and truly gone. He also knew that they were missing four of their women.

He rushed back into the living room as he holstered his gun. He dropped to his knees beside Jack and lifted his son's unconscious body into his lap. He could hear the sounds of sirens and the opening and closing of doors signalling the arrival of the paramedics. Wishing they would hurry, he looked around the area as he checked Jack's neck for a pulse.

Tea cups were scattered across the room, some still with liquid in the tilted vessels. A couple had shattered against the coffee table as they fell. It was clear to him that their unknown unsub's had drugged the tea that had been specially purchased to calm the ladies from the cafe across the street. How his son and Toby had come to be unconscious as well was unclear, though they'd probably begged sips of the liquid from their mothers and that in itself concerned him; just how powerful was the drug that had been used?

Across the room, Will was trying to calm Henry's hysterics and wasn't having much luck because he himself was nearly hysterical. He knelt at JJ's side and was attempting to continue what his small son had been anxiously trying to do when they'd rushed through the door; that is, waking his wife. Henry had clearly been asleep when his mother was drugged; dressed in his pj's, it was probable that he'd woken up and come out to find her when he saw that everyone was lying where they'd fallen.

He looked at the women lying where they'd fallen and wondered if anything would ever return to normal again as the paramedics rushed in with their equipment to take control of the scene.

New Section

Dave watched Alex stride down the hall towards him and shifted to put himself squarely in the younger man's path. To his credit, Alex stopped immediately and frowned at him, but didn't try to walk around him.

"You have something to say?"

"I do. I don't care what your beef with Emily is; we've all forgiven her and that is what counts. But because I don't want one of my best friends getting into more trouble than I can get him out of, be very, very careful about what you say to Hotch."

"I'm not afraid of him."

Dave smiled mirthlessly. "You should be; right now you should be nothing but afraid of him. But it's your call. I'm just trying to keep everyone focused on getting the girls back because that will only happen if we work together as one team; not two because one of them snapped and beat up on the other. So please just remember what I said when you talk to him."

Dave stepped back to where he was leaning against the wall. Alex watched him with a look even his years as a profiler couldn't decipher before he strode off down the hall and turned the corner. He sighed heavily and consoled himself with the knowledge that there wasn't anything more that he could do short of following the man and muzzling him if he said the wrong thing. And since he wasn't moving from this spot, that meant he had done all that he could do.

"Agent Rossi? You can come into the room now."

New Section

"Do you think they'll ever leave us alone?"

Reid sighed heavily as he looked at his wife. She was curled up on the bed facing him, despite the nurse's admonishment to stay on her back for the sake of the stitches in her abdomen. One hand was tucked up under her cheek on the pillow and her hair was shiny and still just a little damp from where her nurse had washed it a few hours ago. They had just been finishing that up when Dave arrived to give him the news that their unsubs had struck yet again; but this time with a little more success.

"I don't think they will. Any normal man attempting to kidnap a woman will back off immediately if confronted with circumstances such as the ones these guys have faced. Clearly these guys verge on the edge of being mentally unstable and have become obsessed. And now that makes them extremely dangerous, if not deadly."

"So we need to find them fast then," she stated softly.

He nodded wearily. "We need to find them as fast as humanly possible. Otherwise we may only be able to retrieve their bodies and I really don't want to think about what that will do to our family."

New Section

Doing her best to keep her arms around her head to protect it from the punishing blows and kicks she was receiving all over her body, all she could do was pray that she survived this enough to get back to her family and lead them back here so that a butt-kicking of massive proportions could occur.

New Section

"Brad? What aren't you telling me?"

Why couldn't I have been blessed with a wife who's profiling skills weren't quite so sharp?

"Brad?"

He sighed and turned from the window.

"They came back this afternoon while all the men were at headquarters going over what they had for clues."

Kelly closed her eyes, feeling sick all of a sudden. "They were fully successful this time, weren't they?"

He nodded silently as he watched her work to control her emotions. She hadn't been with the team all that long, but he knew she was keen to see if there might be a permanent place for her when all the maternity leave she was covering was over because she'd never been so happy as she was where she was right now. "Who did they get?"

New Section

Marnie stood in the cool night air and swallowed hard as she looked around. She couldn't see anyone, though that didn't necessarily mean anything and she knew that if she was caught here of all places that everything she wanted to accomplish could quite possibly be destroyed. Though if she was caught here, she would say that she'd heard that one of her counterparts was pregnant and she was simply extending courtesy to a woman who was to become her sister.

Although not getting caught in the first place would DEFINITELY be preferable.

She looked around again then went perfectly still as she closed her eyes. Her idea was to tune into the night noises surrounding her in order to figure out how close someone else might be. As she continued to stand perfectly still, the noises of the night started again, having determined that she wasn't a threat to them. And as the noises continued without ceasing, she determined that she was alone but for the woman in the room behind her crying quietly.

Now my only concern is whether she is in there alone. If she's not, than it's all over red rover.

Easing the handle down on the door, she pushed it open just enough to slip into the room before easing it back to where it would look closed in the dark outside. She didn't want to close it all the way, because she clearly remembered that she had been locked into this room without a key when she first arrived and before they beat her nearly to death.

The crying woman was curled up on the single mattress on the floor, her face buried in her arms. Marnie waited, knowing that the slightest noise could potentially bring someone running to catch her. She didn't know how long she'd have to wait before the woman looked up, but she needed more than anything else to chance it; she couldn't just leave her behind. There was also the possibility that one of her friends might be the key they needed to actually getting away unharmed.

She tried counting the minutes, but the woman's sobs were breaking her heart and kept distracting her from her counting. But slowly they eased until all she heard were sniffles and then they eased to silence marred only by some heavy breathing and suddenly she had a new concern to think about.

Please don't fall asleep. Not now.

She couldn't leave the door; if she let go, it would swing shut all the way and then she'd be in real trouble. But neither could she call to the woman. Was there anything else she could safely do to get her attention?

Nothing was coming to mind when suddenly she jerked, whimpered and pushed up to a sitting position. She was looking blearily around when her gaze landed on Marnie standing near to sliver of moonlight sliding into the room around the slightly open door. She froze and opened her mouth.

Panic surging through her veins, Marnie lifted a finger and exaggerated putting it to her lips in a call for silence. She mimicked talking with her hand and then closed her fist before beckoning the woman to come to her, praying all the while that she was smart enough to fully understand what she was trying to convey.

Clearly the other woman was smart because she made not a sound as she got to her bare feet and eased forward. When she was close enough, Marnie moved as close as she could and breathed with barely any noise in her ear, "The slightest noise could get their attention. Don't move until I signal you; I want out of here more than anything and after what I've been through, I won't hesitate to leave you behind if you might hinder my plans. Do you understand?"

Too harsh Marnie; you didn't need to add that last.

Yet, even as she was thinking that, the woman was nodding agreement.

Nodding as well to seal the plan, she held up her hand and slipped carefully out the door. It would all fall apart now if they were caught before they'd even left this courtyard. Caution was definitely the order of the night.

But somehow they made it out of that courtyard and into the next without being caught. Moving across it in silence, she moved them down to the river and eased down to the soft patch of grass near a particularly loud pool of constantly rushing water.

"If we are really quiet here, they can't hear us and sitting down as we are they definitely can't see us. My name is Marnie; what's yours?"

"I'm Penelope and I can tell you, we've been trying to find you for a while now." Marnie frowned as she shot the other woman an enquiring look. "I'm with the FBI." Marnie felt hope surge within her. If all four women were with the FBI, maybe they would be able to push through their pain enough to be helpful. Penelope started speaking again. "But I've learned a massive dose of caution the hard way in the last week, so before we discuss anything else, I need to know why you busted me out of that closet of a room."

She nodded slowly, completely understanding this woman's unspoken fear. "I want out of here, sooner rather than later, and I was hoping I could enlist your help before they got around the warping your mind and breaking your spirit. I couldn't get to two of your friends before they were taken for their Rites and the third woman wasn't in her room when I got there; I don't know why though, or where they'd taken her. But there was still you and knowing of your condition, I understand why. Did you eat or drink anything they gave you?"

Penelope shook her head. "I was thirsty when I first woke up, but I was also feeling really ill and since I didn't know what the fluid was, I didn't touch it. I also couldn't get my stomach to settle enough for the food."

She attempted a small smile. "I'm really glad to hear that. One of the other ladies I've made friends with said they use safe drugs to cause miscarriage if a chosen bride is pregnant when she comes in and before they send her for her Rite of Rebellion. The drugs work over a 12 hour period. Otherwise they just beat the child to death, but the drugs are usually preferable to ensure the woman actually survives."

The blonde woman in front of her paled as her hands went protectively to her abdomen. "The more I hear and learn about these guys, the more I hate them and for me, that's saying a lot. I'm great with information but not so much on the physical kick-butt side. But I do really want to go home to my husband and the safety of his arms, so I can give you determination. I'll do my best not to slow you down."

Marnie ducked her head, hiding the flush of shame that filled her as she thought of how much she'd wished not minutes ago that she could return this woman to her room because she'd probably be useless as pregnant as she was.

"Don't worry about it," Penelope said softly, causing her to lift her gaze to the other woman.

"Worry about what?"

"Thinking I'd be a liability. I thought that too when you first stated your plan."

She smiled shyly. "I think I've been here long enough that I am already slightly warped. I wouldn't normally be so mean to anyone."

"Like I said, don't worry about it. After their Rites, where do they take the women?"

Marnie pointed back the way they'd come. "They'd be in the rooms dedicated to Najeeb's harem. I don't know about the third woman and where she'd be taken, but the first two would definitely be there. But they'll most likely be unconscious until morning."

"So we wait until morning and then rescue all three of them."

"We can't wait until morning. They'll come for you at dawn and if you aren't there, they'll search this entire place and there isn't anywhere you can hide here where they won't find you. We have to go tonight. It's our only option. Otherwise, they'll kill us both and possibly your friends as well."

Penelope's lips quivered, but her eyes filled with determination as she stated firmly, "Then we'd best go and get started trying to wake them before we run out of time."

New Section

She sat on a beach that didn't exist, watching a non-existent sun set while sipping an exotic cocktail that she could swear she could taste in all it's glory; yet which would not exist outside of this windy world. She sat with her back to the real world, because the reality would come far too soon and when it did she would have to deal with it...but until it did, she didn't need to give it any attention.

Unfortunately though she couldn't quite block out the grunts and moans that surrounded her, recalling her to what was happening to her physical body, nor could she control the violence of the waves pounding the beach in time to the movements of the man covering her physical self. All she could do was remind herself of one very important truth.

I know who I am and I WILL remember this when all is said and done.

Outside her mind in the real world, Malik knew that he could get into a world of trouble if his brother chose to challenge him about his violation of a chosen bride, but he also knew that his actions could be justified if he was asked about them. After all, this woman had broken his brother's nose badly and had re-broken his arm despite his cast. So he was taking what was his by right and gaining vengeance on his brothers' behalf while he was at it.

And because he had refrained from killing her or even from beating her as much as the Rite of Rebellion normally allowed, this was the next best thing.

His orgasm took him by surprise and shook him down to the soles of his feet. As he withdrew from her tight heat, little shocks followed him. He got to his feet and pulled on his pants as she rolled onto her side and tucked herself into a little ball. Not once had she made a sound, but neither had he ever been so completely satisfied by any of his wives.

"Well then, perhaps I'll petition my brother to keep you. That was just delicious; the best feast I've ever had."

Sitting quietly on her non-beach, Emily Hotchner started to cry.

End-

A/N: I honestly didn't intend for that to go as far as it did and I'm really sorry if anyone has been scared off by it. But I have promised my birthday girl that things will get lighter and brighter for the next LONG while and I ALWAYS keep my promises.

Please review with the conveniently placed link right under these words. I love to know what you think and it makes me type faster and update quicker.