AN: I am beating the hell out of JJ here, thanks for the reviews. I PROMISE you, she will end up "okay."
Ross watched as JJ slept and watched as Hotch paced the house; his phone pressed tightly to his ear.
"JJ, he is driving me nuts; lets get you to wake up so we can get on out of here. What do you say?" Ross smiled as he continued examining her for injuries. He had carefully looked over her neck, made sure she had no other outward signs of injuries from the strangulation, before pausing for a few minutes to gather himself; before proceeding onward. His job was the medical aspect of it; he would let the FBI handle the criminal part of it; they would figure out who had strangled her. And he would be there in court to testify that someone had tried to kill JJ, again. And that they had failed. Again.
And he smiled down at her, "JJ, you are running out of those nine lives here kiddo; let's try and save some for later," he joked halfheartedly. "My hands are cold sweetheart, just letting you know, I don't need you attacking me I surprise you." He rubbed his hands together, as he began examining her again. He made it down to her shoulders and the collar bone and stopped again. "JJ," he shook his head; he knew it was there, knew it had been placed again, but actually feeling it and seeing it brought the emotion forward again. He didn't say anything, he kept his focus on what she needed now; and that was not a doctor who couldn't control his emotions.
So, he kept his eyes on her, kept talking to her; kept joking with her. Anything to keep this somewhat normal; as normal as it could be while working a patient that had survived two abductions, torture, paralysis and now being stranded in a cabin during a blizzard. He had to keep talking to her, had to pretend like she wasn't heading south. And pretending was all he could do; because the reality was nowhere near something he could wish.
JJ was not doing well; and Ross was running out of options. Her breathing remained his top concern and if he had to, and there was no other option, he would intubate her. But he had to think of every other option first; he had to try everything else first. He didn't want to sedate her, he couldn't sedate her. But deep down, he knew he was going to have to… it was just a matter of time.
He kept his hands gently examining JJ's body, talking to her the entire time; not sure if she could hear him. But in case she could, he wanted her to recognize his voice and his hands; he wanted her to know without a doubt that he was not going to hurt her.
"JJ, once we get you out of the hospital, I am going to force feed you cheeseburgers; you have lost a serious amount of weight and I thought we had talked about this." Ross said softly, joking with her. "Cheeseburgers, Cheetos and milkshakes are what you can eat. No exceptions, doctors' orders." He shook his head as he saw her ribs; she was too thin. Her body was starving.
"And then, we are going to a RedSkins game," he kept talking, kept everything as positive as he could as he looked it over. He kept talking as he saw new surgical scars, he saw stiches and he froze. He didn't like the pattern of stiches; didn't like where they were placed…
"Oh JJ," he whispered, knowing what had happened. "JJ, you keep fighting and I promise we will fight alongside you," he licked his lips, "We will fight for you."
"Okay…" came JJ's soft voice, her head slowly nodding. "Okay, Will," she repeated.
And Ross didn't have the heart to tell her that her husband was not there. "Just rest for us, okay?" He smiled and patted her arm as his hands trailed down her body; and for the first time, he relaxed. He didn't see anymore new outward injuries; he had addressed her knee and broken leg to the best of his ability; had started trying to hydtate her, and he and the kind medic had gently wiped the mud, dirt and blood away from her.
Now, he had to worry about any internal injuries she sustained and he knew there was a lot of them. "She looks like she's out of it," Ross turned to his bag as he asked the medic.
The medic smiled, still sitting in the couch, allowing JJ to lean against him. "I'd say so," he whispered, reaching down and shifting the mask again. "I think she's having an easier time breathing though; I don't feel or hear her struggling as much."
Ross smiled at that one but he knew he was just buying time. "That would be the steroid shot I gave her; I am glad it is working." He said, grabbing his pen light. "I cannot keep giving it to her though; she'll need a lot more help then a steroid can give her once it wears off."
The medic nodded and shifted his position, knowing what Ross was going to do. "I doubt she'll feel anything," he whispered, and Ross nodded in agreement. Gently, he reached over and slowly lifted one eye lid at a time, hoping to get her pupil to dilate to show that her nerve was receiving and recognizing the light.
He got nothing.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Hotch stood in the far corner of the house, confident that JJ was safe with Ross and Grace. He paced as he listened to what Emily was telling him; he paced as she explained everything, and he paced hearing what more had been done to JJ.
He had told Emily the current circumstances and why they were stranded in the cabin and told Emily to secure the ICU at the hospital; blizzard be damned. Now that he had this new information; he felt they had no choice but to leave the cabin. But Ross would be the one to make the final call.
"How is she?" Hotch whispered, seeing Ross looking over JJ.
"She's okay. The oxygen seems to be helping as is the medication I gave her earlier. I am trying to rehydrate her and she was asking for water. But Hotch…" Ross shook his head, "I saw another surgical scar on her stomach; the pattern suggests…"
Hotch nodded, stopping him. "I know, Lacey just told Emily everything." Hotch looked over at JJ, "we know now what was going on."
Ross looked at him and then back to JJ. "Want to tell me?"
Hotch took a deep breath, "it was a pharmaceutical company based in India, Pyongyang pays this company for their services. They specialize in developing medications for people in organ failure; they specialize in allowing people to thrive while awaiting a transplant." He paused before looking at JJ, "They specialize in organ transplants."
The magnitude of what Hotch had just said, hit Ross like a ton of bricks. "That was why they decimated her immune system,"
Hotch nodded, "she was being used for organ trafficking; it explains why her immune system was destroyed, why her heart is such a concern and why…" Hotch paused, looking down and away.
"Why she is now missing a kidney." Ross realized.
And Hotch nodded, this kept getting worse and worse; "according to Lacey; JJ was a goldmine for the company. She was healthy and was able to withstand all of their medication. The company skipped all the requirements for drug testing and went straight to JJ. Once she was able to show the medication was effective; they would target something else; and try to put that organ into failure before bringing it back with their medication." He felt the nausea well up in him.
Ross stared at him and closed his eyes, it made so much sense. "Hotch.. we cannot wait any longer. She must get to the ICU. Now. I think they botched the surgery, and I..." He turned to look at JJ and saw her shivering, "and I know she is septic." He didn't want to add that he believed JJ was fast approaching heart failure or that the blindness was starting to scare him as a doctor.
"The blizzard?" Hotch asked.
Ross shook his head, "it is the least of her worries; it's a horrible choice but getting her to the hospital later is no longer an option."
And Hotch nodded his head, before getting back to his radio and setting a plan in motion. He just hoped it was good enough.