AN: I did not get a single review from the first chapter. Yikes! Please let me know if I should continue this story or not. I do enjoy writing but if it isn't being read, then I need to change tactics!
You hear the splash and suddenly there is a flurry of activity. SWAT rushes towards Luis, their guns still trained on him. You rush past him only briefly glancing back to see him smiling and sitting up. It was not a lethal shot. He will be fine.
But JJ.
You run down to the bridge, looking over. It's too damn dark, the snow and the wind are obscuring everything. You cannot even see the water below.
"Do we have a visual?" You shout into the earpiece, hoping to hear from someone. Anyone. You look around and see your team rushing down to the embankment, at least ten other law enforcement officers following them. A few of them are stripping their gear; they are already ready to enter the water. All ready to jump in and try and save JJ.
You decide to stay up at the bridge, to look over. You scan constantly and so does everyone else. It's eerily silent, everyone listening for any noise, any splashing. Anything.
But nothing comes.
"She's already dead." You look over and see Luis grinning at you. "She was hardly breathing when she fell into that river. She already has pneumonia from being a stupid girl and not doing what I politely asked her to do. If she had, well, she could have gotten some clothes and a warm bed."
Your face remains stoic, but you know he needs to keep talking. The more he talks, the more information you can get about JJ's condition. The more you can pass onto the doctor when she… you stop your thoughts. You hope she has to, you know she will get to the hospital.
But there are no words over your earpiece, there is nothing saying anyone has JJ. And she's already been in the icy water for two minutes. She does not have any time.
And Luis is still blabbering.
"She refused to comply, so she had to be taught a lesson. Well, multiple lessons. Unfortunately for her, but fortunately for me, none of them involved clothes…" he a sudden slap resounds through the air and you look up to see one of the paramedics shaking her hand out.
"Oops, sorry, must have slipped on the ice." She rolls her eyes and the others around her nod. "Keep talking big man, I might slip again." She threatens and you thank her silently. You might have your gun slip out of your holster in a minute if he keeps this up.
"Hotch?" You look to your right and see Emily. You know the look, everyone is thinking it. You shake your head, there is no word yet.
Emily briefly looks away.
"I need you to come to the hospital with him," you tell her, gesturing to Louis. "I will keep you updated."
She simply nods and heads toward the gurney that Luis has been placed on. He still has that damn grin on his face. You watch as he is searched again and one officer stops and pulls something out of Luis' pocket before handing it to Emily.
Emily takes it and nods before walking to you with the item. There are no words exchanged between you as you take it. It's JJ's badge. And your heart drops further into your chest. Every second she isn't located…
And then life explodes into your earpiece. Multiple voices talking at the same time.
"We've got her! We've got her. Approximately 500 feet south of the bridge;" you rush to the other side and look down, numerous flashlights and searchlights have spun in that direction and you see a group of men straining against the current.
The river is too icy for a boat, the men are pushing their way closer to the shore. One of them is holding a limp figure, the other is holding something behind them. You know it's the weight that dropped her down so far; they don't have the tools to cut it from her just yet.
And you race down to meet them, shouting for the medics.
Morgan is at your side and you and him get to the embankment the same time the dive team does. Both of you have stripped off your thick coats, many of the other law enforcement officers have as well.
"Reed, throw down a blanket!" Morgan yells looking up at the top of the embankment "and get the damn medics over here!"
Morgan drops down next to you as JJ is gently placed on top of one of the thick jackets.
The sight of her makes you want to vomit; she is gray in color, her lips are blue and snowflakes cover her long eyelashes. Her hands and feet are a sickening mixture of colors; black and blue and green and purple. And you are not sure which is from injury and which is from frostbite.
"JJ, it's us," you tell her as you press your fingers to her neck, desperate to feel a pulse. And you breathe a sigh of relief when you feel a weak one. But she isn't moving and has not opened her eyes.
"Where the hell are the medics?" You yell into the earpiece, wondering what could be taking so damn long. You run your hands through JJ's blonde hair, trying to get her to wake up.
"Right behind you!" You turn and see a team of medics rushing towards you, gear being hauled down. You see Dr. Langston as well, they are all coming.
"JJ," You grab her hand in yours, "we have you. It's over, you are safe." You tell her as Langston crashes down next to you. Immediately she begins checking JJ over.
You do not understand any of what is being said, but know it is concerning. The look on the doctor's face tells it all.
"Pulse ox is 87, temp is 80 degrees…." You know those numbers are not good. Not good at all, you just are not sure how bad it is.
Suddenly, you look down at sudden movement as you hear a sound. Coughing! JJ is coughing!
"There you go, good girl," you hear Langston say softly, rubbing JJ's cheek as one of the medics gently turns her head to the side. Water begins flowing out, she is coughing up the water she had inhaled in the river. It keeps coming, more and more.
Langston presses her stethoscope to JJ's chest as the medic takes his gloved hand away from JJ's cheek, allowing her head to roll back. "You sound better, kiddo but we still need you to do a lot more coughing."
You look down at the doctor, watching as she continues to work. "Is she…"
Langston shakes her head, "I don't know, agent. I don't have a good grasp on her condition just yet. But I can tell you without a doubt, she needs the ICU. I cannot move her just yet, she's not stable. The medics are warming her via IV, but it's a delicate process. We cannot get a gurney down here either, so we will need to use a backboard."
"Just tell me what you need." You glance back down at JJ and to your surprise, you see her eyes slowly opening. "JJ?"
Everyone grows silent as you speak. You take her hand in yours as her eyes finally open. "Hi there." You tell her softly. "We have you, we are taking you to the hospital."
She blinks a few times and you can see the pain she is in. "Hotch." She whispers your name and begins coughing more. Alarms ring out signaling the temporary drop in oxygen when she spoke. "Cold." She sputters out.
"I know you are, we are trying to get you warmed up. We are going to move you in just a few minutes but the doctor and medics are making sure you are safe to move." You tell her as one of the medics prepares a backboard. Her eyes start to shut but you gently shake her, "you need to keep your eyes open, JJ."
"Tired…" her voice is so weak and you can tell she is still fighting.
"I know." You validate.
"Agent Jareau?" A medic is leaning over JJ, an oxygen mask in her hand. "I need to place this over your nose and mouth, okay? It's just oxygen, it will help you feel a bit better." She does not wait and JJ's face is obscured by the plastic.
You watch as the medic and doctor keep looking back at machines, the doctor shaking her head, worry growing.
"We can't wait any longer. She needs to move."
"JJ," you reach over to her again as a team gently gets her on the backboard, strapping her down before placing numerous blankets over her. She doesn't respond and you look to see her eyes have closed. "JJ?" You reach over and gently shake her. There is nothing.
"Agent Jareau, I need you to open your eyes," Langston's voice is different, more concerned than it was a few minutes ago. There is no response. JJ remains deathly still. "JJ, c'mon," the doctor rubs a knuckle firmly down JJ's sternum. It looks horrendously painful and yet, JJ does not move.
"Damn it," Langston growls, and then a chorus of alarms starts sounding. Red lights start blinking in concert with the beeps and wails. You hear shouting, someone saying they've lost her pulse, there is no heartbeat.
And you momentarily make eye contact with the doctor, understanding the significance of the situation she is now in. They have to move JJ up a rocky and icy slope on a backboard to a waiting ambulance. They cannot rush as the grass and hills are covered with ice.
But JJ cannot wait.
And now she isn't breathing.
And the doctor has a decision to make. Put the backboard down and attempt CPR with multiple people helping, or climb on the board with her patient aware of the significant injuries and perform CPR herself as the rest of the men carefully climb the embankment.
And you are helpless.