Chapter 16: Saving JJ

JJ couldn't keep her eyes open, and when they were open, all she could discern was fuzz. The rhythmic bouncing from Colton effortlessly carrying her along had made it difficult to see or do anything besides fight for consciousness. That diminutive will to fight had all but disappeared and continued to fade.

With each step.

And every breath.

The dwindling resolve was less about Colton's empty threats and discouraging words and more about her body shutting down. She had lost a lot of blood. The torture had been extreme and varying. Her broken arm that should have been at the top of her injury list, had fallen to the bottom compared to her other lacerations and injuries marring her body. Sometime during her capture, the limb had gone numb; Colton had taken her splint and never provided a new wrap or splint to keep it safe.

Why would he?

He didn't care about her. In fact, he basked in the pain each movement brought her. His work made him proud.

Her eyes opened momentarily just in time to see a white industrial van hidden behind some shrubbery. He pulled the back door open and dropped her inside. She rolled to the other side while feeling an instant shiver rip through her body from the cold metal pressed against her bare skin.

It was only a matter of time now.

The suburban sped down the road at increasing speeds. Emily held on tightly to her armrest as Morgan kept pushing the pedal further. The sirens blared, and the lights shined brightly through the eerie shadows. As they passed each towering tree, the lights would illuminate it for just a second until the next one came along. Morgan and Emily had been on the road for long enough for Emily to begin counting the trees. Each one leading closer to the cabin Garcia had sent them.

Garcia had instructed them where to park on the lonely road while describing the cabin just beyond the ravine. As they got closer, Morgan and Emily kept looking for the cabin between the trees- their focus entirely centered on one minor detail that they had failed to see the white van speed past them or the dirt road it had come from. Instead, Emily smelled burnt rubber from the tires screeching to a halt.

The following suburban, holding the rest of the team, pulled up shortly behind them, and every agent began sprinting down the ravine with a tight grip on their gun.

Morgan couldn't help but imagine reuniting with JJ. He thought about running to her side and pulling her into a hug, then never letting go. He imagined brushing the hair out of her face and placing a kiss on her forehead. He imagined just how relieving it would be to find her breathing.

But he stopped dead in his tracks as he came upon JJ's mangled car. It was flipped on its side and resting against the base of the steep but short gorge. Then and there, he questioned everything he knew. Maybe they had been wrong this whole time. Maybe they were about to find JJ.

Not breathing.

Emily knew something was wrong with her.

She saw the relief wash across each of her friends' faces when they found the car to be empty.

But not hers.

It wasn't necessarily a good sign, but it was a better sign than the alternative.

But Emily's face had stayed the same; if anything, it got worse, and that's how she knew something was wrong with her. Because now they were standing at the door of the cabin, ready to break it down and all she could see, think, or feel was the overwhelming sense of dread. Her hope, completely depleted, and she started to berate herself for always being like this. She always prepared for the worst-case scenarios. She always imagined things wouldn't work out in her favor. Because too many times, things hadn't worked out in her favor.

And from the moment JJ didn't come home, she had been imagining finding her best friend's body, lifeless. Not because she wanted that outcome, but because she expected that outcome. If she prepared in her head, somehow, it would make it less challenging when it actually happened. It was irrational at best, but the thoughts returned as they entered the cabin, the silent and tranquil cabin. And she didn't think she would be able to handle everybody else's absolute despair when they found what she'd been dreading.

The panic attacks and harrowing screams for JJ to come back would take her to her knees.

The endless tears and suffocating cries would instigate her own wave of emotions and destroy the strong exterior she had mastered over the years.

The instant loss of a life they once had would be irrevocably spread across each of their crumbling demeanor, and Emily knew for a fact she couldn't lose any more of them than she already had at that moment.

She couldn't handle that part. But the other part? The other part Emily had prepared for.

Because things did not work out for Emily Prentiss.

As quickly as JJ had felt the hope rising in her chest, it began to diminish, ripped away before she could actually get her hands on it.

She heard the sirens, the sirens that used to fall to the background like static but now sent a wave of anticipation through her whole body because this time they were here for her. She heard them get close until the sound started to dissipate, and no matter how hard she tried to keep it alive, it wasn't long until she couldn't hear them at all.

A sort of despair washed over her body, one that she hadn't experienced since her sister died. It was a sort of despair if not controlled, would turn into a spark lit by gasoline, on its way to destroy everything. This sort of despair led to harrowing tears creeping from JJ's eyes. They fell to no end while her breath caught in her throat, creating a sort of silent but horrific cry that no one could hear, but she could feel in her bones.

Her chest tightened as if to support a new and crushing weight; even so, her chest heaved over and over as the panic began to set in. No matter how often or how hard JJ attempted to take in a full breath, somehow, there would never be enough air to satisfy the desperate need. The air disappeared, evaporated, and it only made the hyperventilating worse.

If her eyes were open, she couldn't tell. Darkness completely encompassed her, and all she knew was that rescue had barely missed her. At first, it destroyed the mediocre blocks that held up her emotional sanity. Took them all out once and for all.

And now, now it was almost a relief, a sick and twisted relief that maybe this meant death was closer than she realized. Her resolve, devastated. Completely gone, and she knew in death, the pain would finally stop.

Her heart wouldn't hurt when she thought about her team.

Her broken arm wouldn't throb.

Her wrists wouldn't sting.

And the bitter, copper taste of blood wouldn't live in her mouth.

Her will to live wouldn't come and go like the weather in a storm because no longer was there a life to live. And ultimately, she knew this would be her last night alive. Whether Colton took it… she didn't know.

But she did know this was it.

This was the end of the road for Jennifer Jareau.

Morgan kicked the cabin door open, and Emily followed close behind while Hotch, Rossi, and Reid took the back door. Besides the eerie silence, the first thing Morgan noticed was the immaculateness of the cabin. It was too clean, and it seemed a little off.

The agents began traveling through the cabin, clearing each room along the way. It wasn't until they found the room in the back that was identical to JJ's room at home did they know for sure they were in the right place.

After every room had been cleared, every inch searched, and JJ nor Colton was to be found, Morgan lost his cool. He clenched his fist and swung at the nearest wall.

"Morgan!" Emily shouted as she watched Morgan hit the wall like it had threatened his own life or something.

He pulled his bloody knuckles back to look at the damage. He didn't even feel the pain. All he felt was unrelenting anguish. Somehow this son of a bitch had been two steps ahead of them this whole time, and now, now it might cost JJ her life.

The team had gathered in the main room discussing how Colton might have known they were on their way. How he might have transported JJ and how he might have managed to keep the cabin so clean. There was an overwhelming smell of cleaning supplies that didn't bode well for JJ's safety.

It wasn't more than a few minutes that Reid had somehow managed to find exactly what they needed. A hidden door behind a bookshelf leading into a small concrete room. That was all the room was. Concrete. But it held a small twin bed and a rusty desk just adjacent. The mattress was thin and stained. But this wasn't what drew Morgan's attention and ultimately took his breath. It was the blood spread across the floor—her clothes torn in the corner. The evident torture that took his heart from his chest threw it around, then slammed it back inside him.

He knelt to look at the scarlet pools, and that's when he realized it. They were pools—fresh pools of blood.

"Hotch!" Morgan called at the top of his lungs. He turned just as Hotch walked into the appalling room. "We need to set up a perimeter. This blood is fresh, we must have only just missed him."

Hotch immediately pulled out his phone to call Garcia and get the perimeter set up as quickly as possible. As Morgan moved away, Hotch lowered his voice to give Garcia one more instruction.

"Garcia, I also need you to send a recovery team out here to comb the woods."

"Sir-"

But Hotch had already hung up. He had a sickening feeling if JJ wasn't at the site of the shooting, then they may have already missed their chance.

Colton swore under his breath as he came to the end of the only road out from the cabin. It was a police checkpoint with multiple police cars stopping every vehicle coming through. He counted three cop cars and twice as many cops. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and instantly became grateful for the actions he took right before driving off, passing the dumb agents on his way out. For once, though, he feared they might have caught him.

But this wasn't over yet.

He rolled down his window to talk to the brawny officer. The officer kept his hand on his sidearm while Colton managed to hide his own concealed weapon in his lap.

Just in case.

"How's it going, officer?" Colton asked with a forced grin.

The officer nodded his head. "All right. Where are you coming from?"

"Just traveling through, I have family in Virginia."

The officer nodded his head slowly while subtly checking out the van with a small step backward.

"You mind if I take a look in the back?"

"Uh, sure." Colton offered before moving to open the door when the officer stopped him instantly.

"Please stay in your vehicle, sir."

Colton nodded his head and straightened in his seat while watching the officer move to the back of the van through his rearview mirrors. He bit the inside of his lip and tried to calm his nerves.

He heard the van door swing open, and the officer took his time scanning the back of the van. But Colton knew he did his job well, and the odds were in his favor that he would be able to just roll right out of there.

The officer moved back to his open window with his hands on his hips. "Sir, can I see your license and registration?"

Colton knew this was it for him. He pulled his gun from his lap and shot the officer at point-blank range. As soon as the shot fired, he hit the gas and sped away from the damage. Just as quickly as the van had picked up speed, he heard the rounds of bullets heading his way. He knew this would happen, but he figured he would be able to get away fast enough. As he heard one of his tires pop, he knew he had made a deadly mistake. His car began to spin out of control, and ultimately he slammed on the breaks just before rolling off the road and slamming into a substantial tree.

Within moments he moved to the back of the van through the small opening above the seats. He slid onto the enclosed black box that he had installed years ago, then moved down to the floor and rested his back against the metal box that often acted as a bench.

He clutched his gun between white knuckles and waited for the officers to get him.

Hotch pulled out his phone on the first ring.

"Hotchner."

The agents all turned to Hotch as he inadvertently commanded the attention of the room. "I understand. We are on our way."

Hotch hung up and looked over to see all the anxious faces looking back at him.

"There has been a shooting of an officer at the perimeter. Alderman's identity hasn't been confirmed, but with the proximity-"

Morgan didn't have to hear Hotch finish before he ran out the door and towards the suburban. He vaguely heard Hotch order Emily to join him, but he didn't slow down, and if Emily wasn't there by the time he pressed on the gas, he was going by himself.

Moments later, Emily had caught up with Morgan just in time to swing her own car door open.

"We don't know if JJ is there; they didn't say on the phone." She offered in between heavy breaths from their sprint up the hill.

"It's gotta be. It's gotta be JJ." He muttered under his breath while shifting the vehicle into drive. He forced the thoughts that reminded him that just because this happened didn't mean JJ wasn't somewhere dead in the woods. But he kept the thoughts at bay, his hope persevering because he knew he would give anything to see her again. Anything to hold her. Anything to tell her how he loved her.

His eyes blurred as he sped down the road. It wasn't until Emily pointed it out did he realize tears were rolling down his face.

"I- I've never seen you like this before…" Emily trailed off. She knew her feelings about the desperation of wanting JJ to be found safe and alive were equivalent to Morgans, but his behavior had been so out of character and extreme.

Until the dots finally connected.

"You love her? Like really love her?"

Morgan looked over at Emily briefly before gripping the steering wheel tighter than he thought possible and pushing the pedal just a little further.

Morgan jumped out of the car and slammed the door behind him just before Emily did the same. He took off at a jog towards the shining police cars. He saw a white industrial van beyond the cars that somehow looked familiar even though it seemed to be a standard issue. As he got close enough to the police cars, a man on his knees, getting handcuffed, came into view. Instantly he recognized the man as the despicable creep that had brought JJ so much pain and suffering. He slowed down just long enough to make eye contact with Colton as Colton gave him a dirty smirk that reeked of cockiness. He knew who Morgan was; of course, he did, he had been stalking JJ for who knows how long. And now, even though he had been caught, his evident pleasure for his work really didn't sit right with Morgan. They had profiled this man to be incredibly impulsive and compulsive. His end game, in no hidden terms, was to kill JJ. If he looked at Morgan the way he was, well, Morgan's heart sunk because that's not how a killer, that doesn't get to kill, acts.

Morgan arrived at the open van doors. A few officers were standing nearby, some collecting evidence, but he didn't really notice this. He noticed the back of the white van- completely empty. And completely clean. No JJ and no signs of JJ.

An officer said something to Morgan about how the van had been empty when it arrived, but Morgan didn't hear that. He heard something small, something akin to a knock, and it sounded like it was coming from inside the van.

"Shhh." Morgan hushed the officer and stepped inside the van. Again he heard the soft noise and his eyes immediately fell to the built-in black box just below him. He first made eye contact with the same officer who had told him the van had been empty. The officer had a massive look of shock plastered across his face while Morgan returned the stare with confusion and immediate disdain for the incompetent man.

Morgan knelt and pushed open the heavy metal lid that had kept the box closed. Instantly his mouth fell open as he saw JJ curled up inside. Her eyes were closed, her breath shallow, and Morgan knew she was barely conscious.

He turned back towards the officer with rage seeping from his eyes.

"You didn't check the damn box? Are you fucking kidding me? If she dies, it's your fault." Morgan berated as he reached in and pulled JJ out. He cradled her in his arms and felt a sudden drop in his heart at how light her body felt cradled in his arms. He looked up to Emily as the tears started dripping from his eyes. The look was enough, and Emily had already pulled out her phone to call for medical help.

Morgan looked back down at JJ and his breath caught at the sight. She wore only an oversized shirt that just barely went to her upper thighs and a pair of dirty underwear that he had happened to see as he pulled her from the box. Her broken arm, which had been broken when she left, now showed immense swelling. The bruising, instead of getting better, had spread through her entire arm. Her eyes, although closed, were sunken in. Her left eye sported a deep bruise with varying colors, and he could see the exhaustion along the rims of her eyes. Blood caked the side of her face from an unhealed wound, and he could see a similar bloodstain on her side. He pulled up her shirt just enough to see the mild injury and the dried blood. Bruises littered her body, too many to count, but this wasn't what alarmed him the most. The superficial lacerations across her wrists made his eyes widen at the horrible sight. They weren't bleeding anymore, but he could tell they had bled plenty when it happened. His heart pinched for just a second as he wondered and hoped that it had been done to her and not from her as an escape from his abuse. But that thought hurt almost as bad as the first, and suddenly it dawned on him that JJ's sister had died from cutting her own wrists. He couldn't imagine JJ would have ever done that even in her dire situation with how traumatizing her sister's death had been for her growing up.

Finally, Morgan sighed as he saw the ambulance initially sent to the cabin show up. He slid out of the back of the van and moved towards the paramedics pulling out a gurney.

"Her breaths are shallow, and her pulse is thready, but it's there," Morgan said as he laid her down on the gurney and the medical professionals began to go to work.

"Please, save her," Morgan whispered.

A/N: We're getting close to the end, my friends. Thank you so much for all the reviews and alerts. You guys have helped me bring this story to life more than you know. Until next time, my loves!