A fairly long update for you all! Hope you enjoy it. Leave me some reviews if you feel so inclined!

Chapter 22

She had watched a good amount of hospital-centered television in her lifetime. In some of them, they would depict what the patient was hearing and seeing while they were being brought in. It was always the same: bright lights, blurred objects, and far away voices that made you think you weren't really there. Before she had ever been in a situation like this, having no reason to doubt them, she'd accepted this as truth. The truth, however, was much more gruesome. What the shows don't show you is how heightened everything is- your hearing, your sight, your pain. Your body is on high alert, screaming at you that something has gone terribly wrong, and the only way it knows how to tell you is by hurting you. And unlike the romanticized version that you watch every Thursday night, the real thing is indescribably awful.

JJ knew she where she was. She knew exactly what was going on around her and who was with her. She could hear, see, and feel everything- every pinch of a movement, every pull of an arm, every jab of a needle. She could feel herself being lifted from the ambulance gurney to one in the hospital. She could hear the sound of fabric tearing as nurses ripped what little of her clothes the EMTs had left on her. She could see the frightened faces of her team as they desperately tried to get a glimpse past the mass of doctors that surrounded her. She could also see another gurney which had made the trip right behind hers. While she couldn't see through the men and women in white, JJ knew who was on it.

Ava.

"She's right there, Agent Jareau, don't worry." A voice told her and JJ frowned, unaware that she had spoken out loud. "We're going to get both you and your partner back on your feet, ok?"

"Ava." Her voice was louder and filled with purpose now as she called out to the other woman. Receiving no response, JJ heaved a deep breath and went to rise. Several pairs of hands forced her back down but she continued to fight against them.

"You have to remain still, Agent Jareau." A new, male voice demanded. "We're going to help you and your friend but you have to-"

"Ava!" JJ's panic and fear gave her a burst of energy, shooting up in the gurney and straining for a look at her friend. While sitting upright caused JJ's multitude of wounds to scream in protest, it paled in comparison to the pain she felt when she saw her partner. Ava was unconscious, a tube already being forced down her throat as her blood continuously tinted the floor. JJ was so confounded by the sight that she failed to realize who had shoved past all the doctors and taken her arm.

"JJ." Emily called to her. "Jennifer, look at me." The older woman took her friend's face into her hands and turned it away from the grim sight beside her. When JJ realized who was touching her, a light seemed to go off. Her eyes, which were glazed over with anger and fear not a second ago, were now filled with tears at the sight of the brunette.

"Em-Emily?" she breathed, unable to understand why she was here. She knew it had something to do with Interpol but her mind simply couldn't make the connection.

"It's me. I'm here." Emily cooed. "Now please, lay back down. Let them help." Slowly, JJ began to nod, allowing her friend to ease her back down onto the gurney.

"She saved me, Em." JJ could feel the tears streaming down her face. "From-from more than just dying."

"I know, Jay." Emily had pieced together their situation long before they had been rescued. "It's all going to be ok though. You just have to let them help…please." As the doctors began rolling her away, Emily quickly swiped the tears from her friend's cheeks and, in seconds, the room was silent again.

"Emily?" Hotch's voice barely registered in her mind as Emily stood unmoving, staring down the hallway they had taken her best friend. It was only when his hand grazed the small of her back did she react. Jumping as if electrocuted, Emily swiftly wiped her own tears away as Hotch turned to face her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"You didn't. It's fine." Emily tried to reassure him. Risking a look up, she realized she had failed. Hotch seemed to be equally as worried for her as he was about JJ and Ava. The thought did more than confuse her- it captivated her.

"She's going to be fine, you know." He said softly. "They both are and it's because of you."

"Me?" Emily scoffed. "I barely did anything. I just-"

"Emily?" Hotch rarely, if ever, interrupted people. The action caused the woman to freeze. Letting out a small 'hm?', Emily noticed just how close the two were. Almost completely pressed together, Hotch's hands rested on her waist as hers did on his chest. Neither seemed to know when or how it had happened but the effect it was having was clear. Both eyes were wide, each desperately trying to find something to say as their hearts continued to pound merciless against their chests. Emily was sure that he could hear hers trying to escape. One word managed to fall from their lips as Hotch took her hands into his and rested his forehead against hers.

"Stay." It was a loaded word, one filled with equal parts request as it was question, but it made Emily's heart skip several beats. Her reaction alone gave her the answer she needed. Unable to form the word, she simply nodded, her gaze never leaving his as a glimmer flashed in his eyes. More tears fell from her eyes and Hotch gently used his thumb to wipe them away.

"I told you all we had to do was wait." Rossi's voice caused the dark-haired duo to spring apart only to turn and see that he, as well as Reid and Morgan, had witnessed most of their exchange. A furious shade of red crept onto both faces.

"I didn't even know you two could blush." Morgan quipped as Rossi and Reid agreed.

"I suspect we'll be seeing a lot more of the blushing couple, isn't that right?"

"Don't call us that." Both voices ordered simultaneously which only served to enhance their embarrassment as the other three withheld chuckles.

"I have to say," Reid frowned slightly, "I don't often pick up on social cues but even I see it…now."

"So you're coming back, right?" Morgan was quick to ask Emily. "Please tell me you're coming back. We could barely handle him the last time you left and it'll definitely be worse now that you've swapped saliva or whatever was just happening." The brunette immediately let go of Hotch's hand to land a solid punch to Morgan's arm. The fact that she retook promptly after was not lost on anyone.

"You're a child." She chided him. "But yes, I'm staying…for good this time."

"Finally." Morgan breathed. "See Hotch, all you had to do was ask. The ladies can't refuse if they know what they'd be missing." Both Emily and Hotch turned to look at one another and, as if speaking telepathically, wound an arm back and punched one of Morgan's arms each.

"Will you ever learn when it's time to stop talking?" Rossi patted the larger man's back affectionately, smiling at the two. His grin, however, was quickly wiped away as he saw who was entering the ER.

"What a glutton for punishment this one is." Emily shook her head as they watched Kate scramble to find someone to speak to. She froze the moment she caught sight of the BAU.

"She's got some balls." Morgan's tone darkened as he took a step towards the woman only to be stopped by a hand to the shoulder.

"Down, boy." Emily raised an eyebrow at him, not wanting to cause a scene in the middle of a hospital. "I'll talk to her."

"She has no right to know anything that's happened, let alone how Ava's doing." Morgan called after her, definitely loud enough for Kate to hear. Emily turned on him immediately.

"She made mistakes- awful, irreversible mistakes- that will haunt her for the rest of her life." Emily huffed. "But she's clearly still in love and came here, even knowing that Ava won't take her back."

"And rightfully so." Morgan crossed his large arms, challenging his friend.

"I'm not disagreeing with you, Derek." Emily sighed. "All I'm saying is that, even if we knew anything about Ava's condition, there's no need to be cruel. She's already in hell."

"Yea well, I'd gladly send her to the real thing." Derek narrowed his gaze at the woman but fell back to sit with the rest of the team at least fifty feet away.

"Ms. McGrath," Emily watched as the blonde toyed with the engagement ring on her finger, "how did you know to come here?"

"It's all over the news…and I'm still her emergency contact." Kate swallowed hard. "Ho-How is she?"

"We only got here ten minutes before you did." Emily explained. "We don't know anything just yet."

"But you saw her?" The woman was already in tears as Emily nodded once. "What happened to her? Please, tell me."

"I'm sorry but I can't." Emily's response caused a single sob to escape the woman's lips. Kate cradled her own head, nails digging into the skin of her scalp, as she tried to compose herself.

"Why not?" she cried. "I'm her fiancée."

"Ex-fiancée." Emily reminded her cautiously. "I don't think you need reminding as to why that is so please, don't make a scene."

"You can keep information from me but you can't make me leave." Kate's voice hardened. "I will find out what's happened and I will see her." Emily's nostrils flared, her patience with the adulterer wearing thin. The blonde sensed the change in mood and took a small step back as the older woman rounded on her.

"You will see her if she wants to see you and I think you and I both know the chances of that so why don't you do us all a favor and go home?" The question caused Kate to frown, stumbling backwards a little as if she had been struck. Instead of leaving, however, the woman simply sat back down and crossed her legs, showing no indication of leaving soon. "Fine. Stay. But I'm warning you, if you go within ten feet of her without her explicit permission, there are at least fifteen objects in this room that I could use to hurt you."

"Have you even met Ava?" Kate was taken aback at Emily's apparent anger towards her. The brunette almost laughed.

"No, I haven't. I guess you can say that I'm just not a fan of abusive and unfaithful partners. Ava saved my best friend's life at a cost no one should have to pay." Emily brought her face closer to the woman's. "So I don't need to meet her to know that she deserves worlds better than trash like you." Kate's face went from olive to red in milliseconds and Emily waited- no- hoped that she would lash out. She almost wanted to thank the woman as she stood and wound back a hand, preparing to slap Emily across the face. She was slow and predictable and Emily caught the wrist before it came even came close to her. However, this was an opportunity she wouldn't want to miss so, for the sake of solidarity, Emily threw back a fist and punched Katherine McGrath square in the nose. The woman went down hard, missing the seat and falling onto the floor as the men of the BAU approached. Cradling her face, they could already see the blood pouring out from in between her fingers. Morgan couldn't help but high-five Emily as the brunette shot Kate an innocent smile.

"You might want to get some ice for that." Rossi suggested coyly as they turned to leave.

"I think I'm in love with you." Morgan jeered, dropping his arm across Emily's shoulders. She shrugged him off with a chuckle, casting a glance to her right at Hotch who sported a similar expression of awe.

"You'll move on." Their boss quipped, wrapping his arm around Emily's waist and pulling her closer. Emily was too busy blushing to take in the three equally shocked faces around her.

Hours passed with no word on either JJ or Ava. The BAU, as well as its unwanted addition, grew restless and anxious, springing to their feet every time the same nurse would walk by. The woman pitied them, apologizing with each pass and ensuring them that they would be the first to know if anything changed. While it wasn't uncommon given the women's injuries, the simple thought that they were undergoing surgery was enough to rile even the most steadfast of their group. Emily, in particular, had a difficult time sitting still for more than several minutes at a time. She had spent the past four hours pacing a trench into the hospital's waiting room floor. Only when Hotch stood in front of her and took her hand did she somewhat settle.

"I'm going to see about getting us a room for tonight at least." Hotch told them after a while. "I know none of us feel comfortable leaving them here."

"Better make it more than one night then." Rossi said. "I don't think they're going to be in the condition to be transferred anytime soon." Hotch grudgingly agreed as he stood to make the call, giving Emily's hand a hard squeeze before he let go.

"They're going to be alright, right?" Emily couldn't help but ask, her eyes turning to Reid. The second youngest of their team seemed taken aback, not accustomed to being asked for hard truths. It was why he had been so silent, knowing that he tended to make people feel worse in situations like these.

"You-You said JJ had a stab wound?" Emily nodded. "And what else?"

"There were, uhm," Emily forced herself to recall the drive in the ambulance with the blonde, "a lot of bruises on her chest. She was ice cold and her hair was wet. We saw a barrel of ice water so we assumed they…"

"There's a good chance she's contracted some type of pneumonia. But don't worry, that's relatively simple when treated in a timely manner." Reid was quick to add. "Any damage to her ribs will make it more painful but you said she didn't have a punctured lung, right?" Emily nodded. "That's good. That's really good." Emily offered him a brief grin before he turned to Hotch who had just returned from his phone call. "What did the EMTs tell you about Ava?"

"Not much." He admitted. "The bullet went straight through but they believed it nicked an artery which is why…why there was so much blood." Hotch had spent the first hour and a half trying to wash Ava's blood off of his hands and shirt. "She'd been beaten. More than once, they assumed. Other than that, it was impossible to tell without scans."

"Right." Reid nodded. "I doubt they'll be comfortable for a while but…but they should be fine."

"Should be." Morgan repeated, drawing all of their attention. "How can-"

"Agent Hotchner?" One of the trauma nurses who had been there when they had arrived called to him from behind the desk. All five BAU members as well as McGrath looked up immediately. "It's about what we discussed before."

"It's not an update. I'll be right back." Hotch told his team, knowing that this wasn't something that needed to be shared. "Yes?"

"The test you asked me to run…the rape kits?" The woman waited for him to nod his acknowledgement before continuing. "I have the results. One of them was negative. The other was…inconclusive."

"How can a rape kit be inconclusive?" Hotch frowned, keeping his voice low so that no one could hear.

"As you know, rape kits examine for nonconsensual intercourse." The woman explained. "But, obviously, consensual intercourse would also be detectable for a period of up to a week."

"They were in that basement for almost three weeks. It's safe to assume there was no consensual sex during that time." Hotch crossed his arms, unsure as to where the conversation was headed.

"Yes, given the circumstances it would be quite…odd." The woman agreed. "Which is why the inconclusive result is concerning."

"Who is it?" Hotch asked, already knowing the answer to his own question. "Please, I need to know."

"Agent Jareau's test came back negative." Hotch felt little relief at the news.

"What does this mean?"

"If there was an assault," Hotch could see the woman choosing her words carefully, "then it was either extremely brief or extremely…gentle."

"'If there was an assault'?" Hotch repeated.

"Like I said, the test was inconclusive. The only reason that could be is because, well…they found evidence of intercourse but couldn't classify it as 'nonconsensual'."

"You're telling me that Agent Thorne willingly slept with one of her captors?" Hotch was completely prepared for this conversation to take a much different turn. No one would have been surprised if one or both of the agents had been assaulted. As much as he hated to admit it, the fact that JJ had escaped that fate was nothing short of a miracle. She wasn't Volkov's main target and could've easily been used as a consolation prize for the men Volkov had hired. Yet, even though there were almost a dozen men in her employ, not one of them had touched her.

"I'm saying that we don't know what happened." The nurse stated plainly. "Honestly, the only way you can really find out is by asking them."

"That's not exactly an option at the moment." Hotch told her absentmindedly.

"I know this isn't exactly my area of expertise but," the nurse thought for a moment, "wasn't the mastermind behind their kidnapping a woman?"

"Yes." Hotch frowned at the mention, unaware of what it had to do with the issue at hand.

"That could possibly explain the result." She suggested. "If Agent Thorne and this woman-" Hotch stopped listening to the nurse's technical evaluation as he thought. Was that why Volkov took Ava? Not for revenge or to make a point but because she was in love with her? That's why Volkov was releasing JJ. That's why she made Ava record that message. She had no intention of ever letting Ava go. She was going to keep her like a prized doll, taking her off the mantle only to- the thought made him visibly cringe. JJ had told Emily as much when they had brought her in.

She saved me from worse than dying.

The pieces of the puzzle had begun to form an image, leaving Hotch wishing that he had never opened the box to begin with.

"Thank you for your help." He stopped the woman who had, apparently, not finished talking. "Please let me know if anything new comes up." Taking up his seat beside Emily once again, Hotch was quick to take the woman's hand into his. The sudden nature of the action caused her to frown, tilting her head as if to ask what happened? As the two stared at one another, Hotch could see that what he had just learned, Emily had already figured out. Maybe it was her years of experience with people like Volkov. Maybe it was the fact that she had been in a similar situation with Doyle. Regardless, the reason didn't matter. All that mattered is that they knew a secret Ava, and most likely JJ, would not want them to know. The knowledge made them uneasy but it helped knowing that they could, at the very least, confide in one another.

"Guys." Morgan stood suddenly and the four turned to see two figures in white making a b-line towards them.

"Agents." The taller of the two acknowledged them. "My name is Dr. Howe. I'm the lead surgeon on Agent Jareau's case." The man slowly raised a hand as the BAU bombarded him with questions. "I know you have a lot of questions but let me start by saying that we don't have all the answers just yet."

"What does that mean?" Rossi prodded.

"Our primary concern was the stab wound on her right shoulder." Howe explained. "She had lost a lot of blood and there was a risk of nerve damage as well. We patched it up but we'll see how it feels when she wakes up. She's also contracted bacterial pneumonia. In addition to that, she has seven broken ribs as well as a concussion, a fractured collarbone, and deep lacerations on her wrists that will most likely scar. The current concern is how the pneumonia treatment will take given her drastically weakened immune system and the physical damage to her ribcage. We've sedated her to keep her comfortable and have her connected to a breathing tube to make sure she's getting enough oxygen."

"Can we see her?" Emily's voice was small, still taking in all the information.

"She won't be awake for quite some time," Howe reminded them, "but yes. Just prepare for her to look…different than you're used to."

"And Ava?" Reid turned to the second man who was, in all likelihood, her primary surgeon.

"Agent Thorne is still in surgery." The man, his nametag read 'Marlow', told them. "The bullet came a little bit too close to her neck for comfort. Had it been on the other side or an inch more to the left, I doubt she would've survived the trip in. However, her vitals have been holding strong and we've set aside blood for her just in case."

"Other than the bullet wound?" Hotch asked the man. He referred back to his notes briefly.

"I really hope you stopped whoever had them." Marlow sighed. "She's got a concussion, five broken ribs, a slightly lacerated kidney, and, like Agent Jareau, gashes on both wrists. We stitched up her kidney but other than that, there's not much we can do for the rest aside from make her comfortable."

"How much longer is the surgery going to last?" Reid wanted to know. Marlow made a 'so-so' motion with his hand.

"Hard to tell. Maybe another three to four hours, if all goes well." He checked his watch. "I'll be back when it's over."

"Thank you." Hotch called after him as he rushed back down the hallway and around a corner.

"Agent Jareau is in room 113. If you need me, I'll be back in a few hours." Howe offered the group a smile as they thanked him as well. A minute later he was gone, undoubtedly going in search for the nearest bed.

"You go." Morgan nudged Emily's shoulder, knowing that she would probably lose her mind if she didn't see her friend soon. "Tell her we say 'hi'." Emily breathed a chuckle as the other three nodded.

"I'll be back soon." She promised, knowing that they wanted to see her too. Room 113 was around the corner and four doors down. Emily knew because she had walked the entirety of the hospital multiple times in the past five hours. Standing outside the door, she paused. Prepare for her to look different than you're used to. How, exactly, does one prepare for that?

"You don't." Emily told herself, turning the knob and entering the dimly lit room. The sight that greeted her made her step falter. Swallowing hard, she bit her lip as she approached the bed. JJ looked like a child, surrounded by white sheets that gave her the appearance of a ghost. Her skin was almost yellow and the only sounds in the room were of the machines that helped her breath and monitored her heartrate. Slowly, Emily pulled up a chair and sat at her friend's side.

"God, Jennifer." She whispered as if afraid to wake the younger woman. "Why is it that every time I leave, you wind up in one of these rooms? If you wanted me to stay, all you had to do was ask." The joke was lost on the empty room but Emily couldn't help the tears that began to fall. Reaching out, she took JJ's hand and squeezed it tightly.

"I'm so proud of you, Jay." She stroked her thumb over JJ's. "You didn't give up. You kept fighting even when there was no hope and you won. You kicked some serious ass in there and now I need you to wake up so you can tell me all about it." Emily waited as if anticipating a response. "That's ok. You rest. I'll wait here." Rest.

When was the last time you got any of that, Prentiss? As she asked herself, Emily could already feel her eyes beginning to close. They had found them. They were safe. Volkov was gone. Everything else after that was amendable. With the weight of the world seemingly lifted from her shoulders, Emily Prentiss fell into a deep, much needed sleep, her hand still holding onto her best friend's.