Jesse POV

We all met up at the station, and immediately gave the profile to the locals. I let the rest of the team give most of it, but when it came to where we were going, I made sure I was the one to talk, "There will be booby traps. We go in first, then you follow behind and around us. Double check before you shoot. It'll probably be hard to see because of the tree cover."

A local interrupted me, "We know our forest ma'am."

I looked him in the eye, "No you don't officer, or else you would've accidentally found this son of a bitch earlier." He nodded, and backed down.

I walked over to the map, and pointed to where we would start. "He'll likely be here. We'll start there." I looked to my team, "We need to be extra careful. I'm not sure what to expect once we get there." They looked at me and nodded, "I'll run ahead-"

Before I could finish, Hotch's phone rang, "Hotchner."

He put it on speaker; it was Penelope "Is my Scottie there?"

I smiled, "Yeah, What'cha got for me?"

"Well my beautiful red headed mobster, I have a match for your DNA, it just came in."

"You beautiful wizard, don't keep me waiting. Just tell me already."

"Well someone's in a chipper mood. I bet that chocolate wonder had something to do with it."

I snatched the phone and took it off speaker before she could say anything more, "Garcia, we really need this guy. He's started to target us. I'll tell you when we get back, but we're about to head out to the location of the geographic profile. What do I need to know?"

She gave me the person's history, and confirmed the location of the cabin in the woods, "Go get 'em."

I hung up and turned to face the team, "We were right, that's exactly where he lives." I gave them the bio, and we headed out to the SUVs. I drove, but still kept an eye on Derek, "How are you doing?"

"I should be asking you that, you almost became another victim last night."

I waved my hand, "Don't change the subject Derek. I'll make you wait in the car."

"Don't segregate me with the dog."

I snorted in response, "He's coming with me. I have the DNA sample with me for him to sniff. We'll chase after him if need be."

Derek paused to consider that, "Well, then I'm fine. But how are we going to know it's you?"

At this point we had pulled up to the edge of the forest. The others were already here. We got out of the car, and put our Kevlar vests on. I looked at everyone and explained what Daemon and I would do. "I'll have a mike on, but we might get out of range. If I'm coming near someone, I'll whistle." I did so just so they could hear the noise, "Get going. I'll catch up in a minute."

Derek walked over to me, "You don't have to do this. You don't have to prove yourself to the team. We already know how good you are; or at least suspect."

I nodded, "I know, but I have to. What if he has another victim that hasn't been reported missing yet?"

He nodded then took off. I leaned down to let Daemon get the scent, then he leaned his nose against the ground and started walking.

Derek POV

About ten minutes later we found the cabin. Jesse hadn't caught up yet, so we went in without her, detailing it on the mike. We heard rustling in the bushed behind the house, so I ran out, "He's on the run!"

I took off, but I lost him very soon. Everyone except Jesse caught up, and we spanned out, our guns raised.

Five minutes later we hear rustling behind us, then a whistle. We knew it was Jesse, but didn't say anything. We all stopped to let her catch up. Daemon burst through the trees, and not a second later Jesse came running out after him. She didn't even slow down, actually sped up. I had never seen someone run so fast in my life, I didn't know it was possible. Over the mike we could hear, "The dog's got a scent. I'm in pursuit." We ran after her, knowing she would need assistance.

After five more minutes of running, I started to get out of breath. I knew it was from the poisoning, but I didn't slow down. Jesse would need help, probably as much as she could get. All of a sudden we heard gunshots, then over the mike, "He's got a gun! He's shooting blindly!"

I heard Hotch next, "Need a sit rep, now."

It took a minute, but then Jesse came back on, "He's still running." We heard another gun shot, "I don't know where people are so I can't fire in return."

We all sped up, but I knew we wouldn't be able to stay like this for long. "Jesse, where are you?"

"He's stopped in a clearing-" Before she could say anything else we heard more gunshots, then return fire.

Not a minute later we burst into the clearing, and saw the man handcuffed on the ground. I looked around for Jesse while the others cleared the scene. I spotted her bent over with her hand on a tree for support a few feet away. I jogged over to her, "You okay?"

She nodded her head, but didn't speak. I rubbed her back to help her breathe. After a few minutes she stood up and winced, "Yeah. I haven't run that hard in a long time. Plus I think he shot me." She held out her arm for me to see. She was right, but it looked like it only grazed her. The bullet wasn't even still there. She hissed in pain as my finer brushed over it, "Watch it. That does hurt you know." I looked at her face, and noticed the many scratches there.

"You really weren't being careful, were you?"

She shook her head, "Neither were you." I looked at my arms; they were in the same condition as hers, minus the gunshot wound. Thankfully we were wearing our Kevlar vests so our torsos didn't get scratched up.

I looked around for Daemon, and saw him circling the UNSUB. I could hear him occasionally growl, and I whistled him over. I was surprised when he actually came, but I leaned down to check him for scratches.

Jesse POV

I was trying severely hard not to puke. My stomach churned, and I hurt everywhere. I hadn't run that fast in a long time; probably since before Sophie was born. I leaned against the tree so I wouldn't collapse and closed my eyes. Derek was looking over Daemon, so I didn't have to worry about that. Slowly I sat down and put my head between my legs. I tried to ignore the pain in my left arm as my head started spinning.

Derek walked over to me, and leaned down in front of me, "Jesse, what's wrong." I didn't even open my eyes, "When was the last time you've eaten?"

I had to think about it, "I don't know."

I heard him mumble, "Shit." He jogged over to Hotch and said, "Her blood pressure's too low. She's about to pass out from the bleeding. I'm getting her back to the SUVs. I'll call a paramedic along the way." I still had my eyes closed, but could hear everything they were saying just fine.

I suspected my eyesight was trying to go, but couldn't yet. I just hoped I could get out of the forest in time. Derek helped me stand up, and put my arm around his waist. He put his arm around my shoulders to help me walk. Faintly I could hear Daemon behind us.

"Jesse start talking."

"Hmm?"

"Dammit. Stay awake Jesse. The bullet didn't even cut you that deep, it was a through and through."

"The damn thing won't stop bleeding."

"What hurts?"

"My arm, my head. And quite frankly my feet too."

He chuckled, "Talk to me about Daemon."

"I don't have a concussion Derek, I'm fine. Just a little blood loss."

"If you fall here you will get a concussion." I harrumphed. "Jesse I'm serious, keep talking or I'll purposefully touch your bullet wound."

"Fine." We talked the whole hour walk back to the SUVs. An ambulance was already there, and Derek led me over to them. Neither he nor Daemon would leave my side. I glared at them both, the big babies; I was just fine. The EMTs handed me a granola bar to eat while they cleaned all my wounds.

"Miss, you're going to have to go to the hospital to get this stitched." I harrumphed again. "We don't have the capabilities of doing this."

I glared at him, "Fine. But the dog comes in the ambulance with me." They started to shake their head, but I glared at them again and they stopped.

Derek looked at me, "I'll meet you there. Someone has to drive the SUV there."

I nodded, and jumped into the ambulance. "No lights, or siren. I'm not dying." My vision blurred slightly, but they didn't need to know that.

"Fine. But you should get a transfusion once you get there."

It didn't take long to get to the hospital, but it did take an effort for me to not take a nap. Once we got there, I did though. I didn't care what they wanted, I was tired. I made sure to tell them no pain meds though. I didn't need my eyesight getting even fuzzier. Finally the doctors stitched up the bullet holes, and put me on a transfusion line. I fell asleep just as Derek walked in.

A couple hours later I woke up, and my eyesight was still blurry. I blinked a few times, rubbed my eyes, and then it was fine. I looked around the room, and saw everyone was asleep except Hotch. He walked over to me and whispered, "Can you walk?" I nodded, and he helped me up. He lightly held onto my right arm to help me walk. My left arm was in a sling. I noticed he dragged a medical pole. Then I realized it was connected to the tube in my arm. I looked at him in confusion, "You were dehydrated. This was the easiest way to get you hydrated." I nodded, and we continued on. Eventually we stopped at the cafeteria. He helped me sit down, then went to get some food, "You want anything?" I shook my head, and he left.

A minute or two later he came back and set a plate in front of me. I raised an eyebrow at him, but ate it anyways. "What happened after Derek and I left the scene?"

"It all went according to procedure. He did not have another victim with him. The rest of us finished up at the station. We can leave whenever you're released." I nodded, and continued to eat. I guess I didn't realize how hungry I was. Hotch ate some too, but waited for me to finish. When we were both done, he took the plates away. I assumed we were going to go back up to the room, but he just sat back down. He looked at me for a few minutes, and I shifted positions to get comfortable.

"Hotch, I don't know what you want. You're the one who brought me down here."

He sighed, "Look, I assume everyone from Rossi to Garcia has given Derek the protective friend speech about you. Right?"

I paused, "Pretty much."

He nodded and continued, "Derek's only had a few serious relationships in his life. You've been married and had kids. You know the difference between the two." I nodded, "I get it, you're damaged goods. You're not sure if you could ever have that kind of relationship again, yet you may want to try." I didn't move a muscle, but he continued, "I don't know what you're thinking, and I'm not even going to try. I get there's a lot that we will never know about you, but to be frank, if you aren't fully interested in a relationship with Derek, don't even start one. Because if you break his heart, I'll do more than label you a terrorist."

I nodded, "Hotch, I didn't even want to try. Now? Maybe. I'll give it a try. I'll do my best not to hurt him though." Me I couldn't promise about though.

He nodded, "Do better than your best." I nodded my head once, and we both went back upstairs. We both acted as if the conversation had never happened, but we each had a new understanding of the other, and it wasn't that bad.