Unsure as to why, JJ had woken abruptly from her sleep. Her first thought was that the babies were awake, but when she felt her baby bump through her pajama top, she concluded that, for once, both of her children were fast asleep. She also noticed that Emily wasn't in the room at all.
"JJ, what's wrong?"
A light sleeper, Penelope had woken and turned on the light, sitting all the way up in her bed as she did so.
"Nothing, Penelope." JJ told her friend. "Go back to sleep."
Penelope wasn't having it, especially when she noticed that the third member of their trio was absent.
"Where's Emily?"
"I was just wondering that, myself."
KNOCK KNOCK!
Quite curious as to who was visiting, the pair made themselves decent by putting on robes the hotel had provided before JJ got out of her bed and answered the door.
Imagine her surprise when Hotch turned out to be the one calling on them. He was dressed, although in a sweat shirt, jeans, and sneakers because given the time of night it was and the nature of the situation, he didn't have time to change into his usual business attire.
Immediately more awake, JJ stepped aside to let him enter and shut the door behind him.
Penelope spoke up first. "Sir, what's going on?"
Hotch turned to JJ. "You should sit down."
JJ did as she was told, and Hotch's tone alone told her that she should be on her guard, so she sat right next to Penelope, whose hands were plastered on her baby bump. She was already tapping into her nervous mother hen mode and not saying anything, leaving JJ to echo the question that had already been asked.
"What's going on?" JJ's hands fell to her own pregnant middle, instinctively wanting to protect the babies. "Is it about Emily? Where is she?"
"It's more about your mother, Jennifer."
Now JJ just felt confused. "My mom?"
"She went to meet Prentiss and Reid to tell that she'd had an encounter with Oscar Lee. She also had Annalynn with her."
"What?"
"Your mother was able to report what she needed to, and they about to drive them back to Foxworth Hall, but Oscar surprised them in the parking lot. According to Prentiss and Reid, he even had a gun."
JJ wasn't sure how she managed to even speaking, but she found herself asking, "Is my mom hurt? Did he shoot her?"
"No… but he did abduct her at gunpoint."
JJ immediately felt like she'd been stabbed in the heart, and was only vaguely aware of Penelope giving her a back rub in between her shoulder blades, probably a tactic to keep her calm and something to focus on.
"And they just let him take her? Please tell me he didn't hurt Annalynn; DeLilah wouldn't be able to handle it."
"He didn't touch her, no."
JJ breathed a sigh of relief, although her heart tightened all over again as a new thought hit her.
"Aaron," JJ said seriously as she got to her feet. "Do you know if my mom at least has her inhaler? She's got bad asthma!"
Hotch knew for a fact that Sandy had left her purse at the crime scene, but he didn't have any firsthand knowledge of the exact inventory of its contents, making him feel like a bad friend as he answered her.
"JJ, I'm so sorry, but I don't know if she has her inhaler or not."
JJ heard her friend's words, but didn't quite process them because she suddenly felt dizzy and a little sick. She definitely wasn't in control of her body, that was for sure.
"JJ?" Hotch spoke cautiously as he and Penelope moved in to catch her, just in case. "Talk to us."
"You guys, I don't feel so good…"
And just like that, JJ collapsed and passed out in Hotch's arms.
As he tended to her, Penelope scrambled over to the bedside table for the phone and immediately dialed for help.
"911 opoerarer. What's the emergency?"
"This is Special Agent Penelope Garcia, badge number 96370! I need an ambulance to room 216 at the Clearwater Hotel on Main Street; we have a pregnant agent who has collapsed! Please hurry!"
Over at the hospital, Emily was recovering from her concussion and feeling very groggy. That being said, she remembered everything and just wanted to be left alone because she was ashamed of what had happened with Sandy. She was also afraid of what Hotch was going to say, but she was even more scared of what JJ was going to say.
That put Spencer in the waiting room with Annalynn. Derek joined him, having driven over from the hotel. He called to Foxworth Hall on way over, and Archer answered, promising to get DeLilah and his grandparents to the hospital as quickly as he could.
He was with Spencer and Annalynn in the waiting room for just a few minutes before leaving the the room to answer a phone call from Rossi. When he returned, he saw that Spencer was doing his best to soothe Annalynn because she was wide awake, very cranky, and hanging on like a baby koala.
"How's the little miss doing?"
"She's mad because all she wants is to sleep. She gets crankier if I move her."
Derek sighed, only because he knew that leaving Annalyn be was the best thing, and changed the subject. "Rossi just dropped a bombshell on me in that call."
"Did he, now?'
"JJ collapsed after finding out about her mother."
Spencer winced. "Has she had a seizure?"
"No, and even though Hotch caught her, she hit her head on the way down, so he'd already riding over with her in the ambulance."
"What about Rossi and Penelope?"
"They're going back to the precinct to work on putting out a BOLO for JJ's mom, the car, and Oscar Lee. I have no doubt that Penelope is going to be getting security cam footage, too." Derek told him. "They would come here, but too many cooks in the kitchen, and all that."
Spencer actually understood that metaphor, so he just nodded vaguely. Noticing, Derek addressed the matter.
"What's going on in your head, kid?"
"What measure of trouble would you say I'm in with Hotch? I'm totally willing to take all of the blame, considering what's just happened with Emily…"
Derek patted Spencer on the shoulder, although the younger man couldn't tell if it was a sympathy pat, or one of 'you're freaking doomed.'
"On a normal scale, it'd be an eight, but a Hotch scale. Fifteen."
Yep, Spencer thought. I'm doomed.
The two sat together in silence after that because they didn't know what to say to each other in that moment, but they didn't find each other's presences comforting.
"Reid? Morgan?"
The men jumped at the sound of their names and were then genuinely surprised to see Hotch standing in front of them. Neither of them had any idea how much time had passed, but if their boss had arrived, that meant that JJ was about.
"Sir?" they responded in unison, both doing their best to look sharp.
"JJ is resting, but isn't allowed visitors jus yet because the babies are being monitored and she needs to calm down and reacquaint herself with reality. A nurse is keeping her company at the moment."
Cautiously, Derek asked, "What happened, exactly?"
"JJ's blood pressure spiked. She didn't have a seizure, but she definitely fainted because her body overloaded from the shock. Depending on what the doctor says, JJ might even be benched for the rest of this case."
Speaking as cautiously as Derek had, Spencer inquired, "But JJ and the babies will be fine, right?"
Hotch nodded. "They're all expected to pull through, just fine."
Spencer breathed a sigh of relief. "Does JJ know that Emily is here as a patient?"
"No. All she does know is that you and Prentiss went to go talk to Missus Jareau." Hotch told him. "One of us will tell her what's going on when she's cleared for visitors, and in the mean time, you and I need to have a chat about tonight's events."
Realizing that he should go, Derek stood. "I'll go see if Emily is in a sociable mood."
"Good idea." Hotch agreed. "Please tell her about JJ, and take Annalynn with you. I'll send the family in your direction when they arrive, but considering DeLilah's condition and everything that she's gone through recently, it might be awhile."
"That's alright."
Derek took Annalynn from Derek and when she fussed about being moved, he started talking to her, wanting to reassure her that she was fine. Mesmerized by the sound of Derek's voice, Annalynn simmered down almost immediately and rested her head on his shoulder, giving her eyes a rub as she yawned.
"See?" Derek held Annalynn securely in one arm while with his free hand, he picked up the handle of the carseat; he told himself it was practice for when his and Penelope's baby came. "Kids love me."
When he and Annalynn were out of sight, Hotch sat in the newly vacated chair and turned to face the youngest member of his team.
"Reid, I need you to know that I'm not entirely angry, but I am frustrated at the situation. You and Prentiss had to do what you had to do, didn't you?"
Spencer looked at him, quietly relieved as he recalled what Derek had said about 'Hotch Scale' measurements. "Uh-huh. Oscar Lee would've shot JJ's mother on the spot if she didn't cooperate with him, but she chose to go, and was remarkably calm about it."
"She was?"
"Yes. She must be where JJ gets it from." Spencer let out a halting sigh. "The last thing Missus Jareau said before she was taken was to Emily, but it was meant for all of us."
"What was it?"
"That no matter what happens, she forgives all of us."
Hotch was the one to let out a sigh. "We will find her. We will."
When Derek went to check on Emily, she accepted his and Annalynn's company, but only because should tell that he just needed something to do. Derek updated her on the situation, including the part that concerned JJ, and almost immediately, Emily's thoughts drifted to her love and how badly she wanted to see her.
She was more present for Hotch's visit when he arrived, though.
Leaving the pair be, Derek took Annalynn to see JJ when he was informed that she was finally allowed visitors.
"Hey, Ace. How are you doing?"
Derek asked this of his friend when he saw that he was awake and sitting up in her bed, dressed in a hospital gown and hooked up to a few kinds of monitoring wires.
JJ smiled at the nickname, although it wasn't completely heartfelt. "I'm really tired, sad, and scared."
"I would be, too." Derek sympathized.
"I want my mom so she can be safe and sound, but that's natural, isn't it?"
"In this kind of situation? Absolutely."
JJ sighed as she flexed the fingers on her damaged limb. "Have you seen Emily?"
Derek nodded. "We were just with her and when we left, Hotch was talking to her."
"Is Emily worried that I'm mad at her?"
Again, Derek nodded. "So is Reid."
"Emily is everything to me, and Spence is as good as a little brother; knowing those two and the kind of person that my mom is, what happened in that parking lot happened because it was the only situation without anyone getting hurt."
"That's what Reid said. He also said that he heard your mother tell Prentiss that she forgives all of us, no matter what."
"And I forgive Emily and Spencer. Will you tell them that if you see them before I do?"
"Of course."
JJ thanked him and nodded towards Annalynn. "Hotch mentioned that the baby was with my mom, but he wasn't specific."
"This is all started as a trip to the dry cleaners and a nighttime ride for Annalynn to get her to fall asleep."
JJ raised her eyebrows. "And she still won't sleep?"
"So it would seem. Spencer was minding her, but I took up the task, and Hotch told me that he'll send the rest of your family to us when they get here."
Tired of Derek, Annalynn leaned away from him, towards JJ, little arms outstretched.
JJ asked, "Will you give her to me, Derek?"
"Here you go."
He laid the baby on JJ's chest, and as Annalynn got comfortable, JJ felt all of her worry and fear leave her body. There was nothing quite like holding a baby.
"You're a sleepy baby princess, aren't you?" JJ cooed to Annalynn as Derek thoughtfully pulled the blanket over his friend and their little charge. "Go ahead and sleep. There's a good girl."
Truly exhausted but relieved to be with someone who was completely stationary, Annalynn closed her eyes and finally fell into a peaceful slumber. She was out like a light.
Eventually, JJ looked back at Derek. "Will you stay with me until someone comes? My mom is an asthmatic, and I don't know if she has her inhaler, but she's as tough as they come because another lifetime ago, she used to travel with charity groups to really poor countries to build schools and administer food aid. Southern belle that she is, I wouldn't put it past her to figure out how to escape."
"And would you don't want be alone right now?"
JJ nodded as her eyes filled with tears. "Yeah."
Derek wiped JJ's tears in an affectionate, older sibling sort of way before taking off his jacket and hanging it up on a nearby coatrack.
"Sure, JJ." Derek sat in the chair beside his friend's bed. "I'm here for as long as you need."
