I hadn't even realized that I had fallen asleep on my desk until I woke to a light touch on my shoulder. If Reid hadn't predicted my knee-jerk reaction to being suddenly awakened, he would have taken a swing to the throat. He stood back, hands up in a gesture of goodwill.

"Sorry, Reid." I sighed, swiping at my eyes once with the back of my hand.

"Don't be. Garcia has a lead." He said with no pretense.

"What? How?"

"Let's find out." Said Rossi from behind me. He strode past his hand pressing ever so briefly against my shoulder, made a beeline for Garcia's tech closet of an office. Morgan, alert as always followed behind with Reid and I. Hotch was already in the room. JJ was nowhere to be found.

"Garcia how-" I began as we crammed ourselves into her Penelope's small, eclectic work space.

"This guy is good, but no one beats the queen of hearts at her own game." Garcia triumphed, spinning her chair to face us.

"What did you find?" I demanded. My voice was harsh and loud. I could tell the others were uneasy at my response, but I couldn't have cared less. Here, after two long years, I could finally see the light at the end of a very long, very dark tunnel. I could hardly breathe from relief, and the room took on an almost other-worldly appearance.

"A traceable IP address. Well sort of. Your guys were right, he was bouncing the signals but after I combed through those videos-she's adorable by the way, has your eyes and your-"

"Garcia." Hotch reprimanded.

"Right-after I scrubbed those videos I found one that was different. It was a lower quality video-lower resolution. I barely picked up on it. But it was there, which meant he used a lower quality camera to take the video. His normal camera must have been on the fritz because he used his phone to take the video."

"And?" Morgan asked.

"And it was geotagged. The asshole forgot to disable his GPS. He's in the city."

I barely registered Hotch ordering Morgan and Reid to get two company cars and wait for the rest of the team in the garage, asking Rossi in find and inform JJ of the developments and his uncharacteristically gentle tug on my arm, leading me out of Garcia's office and into a quiet, empty hall. She had been in the city the whole time. My daughter had been minutes, blocks away from me for two years. Right under my nose. How could I have been that I couldn't even find my own daughter in my own damned back yard?

I shook myself forcefully from myself pity. Now was not the time to wallow. Now, more than ever was the time to clear my head and focus on getting Amy back.

Hotch was watching me closely when I came out of my reverie. Silently, patiently waiting. His eyes searched mine and that was when it sunk in. "No." I said.

"You don't even know what I'm going to say." He protested, shifting his weight and crossing his arms across his chest, trying to come off as more authoritative. But the look of pity and concern on his face kept him from looking too intimidating.

"You're going to tell me to stay behind, let you guys check it out. You're going to tell me that I'm emotionally compromised and won't be working this case."

Hotch said nothing, which an answer in and of itself.

"I am working this case." I ground through gritted teeth. "I'm not a child, you don't have to protect me."

"It's not you I'm protecting, Emily." I made to move past him, toward the elevators but he blocked my path. "I'm serious, Prentiss. You're staying here."

"Like hell." I growled.

"I'm doing this for the safety of the team." Hotch stated, as if I gave a crap about the team's safety in that moment. "And for her safety. For Amy." I finally met his gaze at this, my blaze against his stern disapproval. "Nothing good can come from bringing an emotionally compromised agent into a potentially dangerous situation in which a hostage is involved. Especially when that emotionally compromised agent is the mother of the hostage. That's asking for trouble. And it's against FBI protocol and policy. I'm sorry, Prentiss. You have to stay here." I could tell that he truly regretted having to say what he did, but that did little to settle the rage licking flames through my insides.

"Screw safety. Screw protocol. Since when have we ever followed protocol?" I seethed, pacing just to release some of the pent up aggression.

"Since one of our own abducted and tortured, Prentiss." He reminded gravely. It was true that ever since Spencer had breached protocol and decided to split up from JJ on Hinkle's property that Hotch had been a stickler for doing things by the book.

"This isn't some normal case, Hotch. This is bigger. This is Amy."

"Which is exactly why we need to do this the best way we can. The safest way we can." And with that, Hotch strode toward the elevators, leaving me to my anger and my despair.

A/N: sorry this chapter is so short. I'm swamped at school and just realized how long it had been since I updated. Just a short tidbit, don't worry more is on its way!