Chapter Seventeen – Perfect Motivation

It took awhile for JJ to slowly come back to them again. As they waited, they'd given her the time she needed put pull herself together. For the most part the pairs had fallen into quiet conversations. Olivia and Morgan were simply trying to distract themselves since Olivia had quickly found that Morgan wasn't going to share anything about his potential dream. Rossi remained relatively quiet, only speaking up once in awhile to assure JJ she wasn't alone. Hotch and Emily had fallen into a deep conversation about JJ's reaction so neither one of them had to think about what they'd seen.

"I know that JJ was unsettled the first time, but this isn't like her," Emily whispered worriedly as she snatched another look at JJ.

"She usually doesn't show what she's feeling," Hotch confirmed. "It must have completely overwhelmed her."

"Did last time. After we'd found her I went to check on her in the bathroom… she ended up pointing her gun at me. It scared her that much before. This time, with Henry added…"

Hotch nodded. With that information her behavior made a little bit more sense, especially if the dogs JJ had faced during the Hankel case had gotten Henry in her dream. If Foyet had reached Jack in his dream, Hotch figured he would be reacting much the same as JJ was. It had to be tearing JJ apart, and what was worse, JJ had no access to Henry. She couldn't pull her little boy into her arms and reassure herself that he was okay.

"Hotch?" JJ whispered as she finally lifted her head. It was the first word she had said in about an hour.

When Hotch met her eyes he found that she seemed more like her old self. Her eyes weren't dull or gleaming with fear, and she was sitting straighter.

"I didn't mean to worry any of you. I'm alright."

Hotch didn't really believe that, but he would accept it.

"JJ, it's not your fault. You needed the time," Emily told her gently.

JJ rolled her eyes. She knew without a doubt that both Emily and Hotch had seen worse. More importantly, they hadn't broken down after.

"I don't know why it bothered me so much. It shouldn't have."

"He drugged you to the point that you threw up, JJ. That's a good reason to me," Morgan argued. If he was being honest, he didn't think she really looked much better. There was still a touch of green to her skin that he didn't like at all. Plus, she seemed to be straining to stay awake.

"So did everyone else, Derek."

"Only he's getting better, JJ. You know he is. Stop trying to come up with a reason why you should feel bad about what happened."

"I'm n-!"

"He so caught you, JJ. Should probably just drop it," Emily told her with a grin.

JJ sighed, knowing full well that Emily was right. She just didn't like seeing herself as weaker than the others even if it was really only in her mind.

0~0~0~0

Bill sat in his lab lost in thought, his pen tapping constantly against this work table. He couldn't make a decision about what to try next. It was a far too important test to screw up. The dose had to be dead on. Not for Agent Morgan, though that's who the drug was being given to. The importance was Olivia.

It seemed that the last dose was a bit too strong. The female agent had seen things that weren't related to her real nightmare. While it had certainly terrified her, he would rather the nightmare stay more true to form. The fear would last longer that way.

Well, enough stalling. He had work to do! Hopping off his stool, Bill headed over to his supply of drugs. After flipping through them he pulled the ones he needed. As he began measuring and mixing them Bill started humming to himself. Before long the fun would begin again and shortly after the real prize would be had.

"Tsk, tsk, detective~. You've given me a very good reason to get this right."

He giggled happily.

"And that's not a good thing. For you at least. For me, well, it's very good for me. Every scientist requires good motivation!"

Not only would the motivation make him work harder, it also made the experiment more fun. He simply couldn't wait to play with the little detective. She could certainly dish it out. The question would be if she could take it too. Bill was very much looking forward to finding out the answer to that question.

He was going to hit her with everything he had.

0~0~0~0

When the door clicked its usual warning of Bill's impending arrival, Olivia swung around to look at Morgan. So far he'd refused to discuss what he might see in his nightmare. If Olivia wanted to get information that could help him, she was going to need to work fast. They didn't have much time.

"What do I need to know?"

Morgan glanced at Olivia and immediately saw the determination gleaming in her eyes. He wanted to give her a good answer, but he couldn't.

"I don't know. I'm serious when I say I don't know what I'll see."

Olivia didn't get the chance to respond before their unsub started over. Bill stepped into the room and remained motionless for a moment before he took a dramatically deep breath.

"Ahhh. Round five is about to begin. And, if I do say so myself, I think I got it perfect this time. Absolutely perfect~. Isn't that exciting?" he giggled, hardly able to stand still.

"It's all thanks to you, Detective. A little motivation goes a long way, and you… well, you," he drew out the second you into two syllables, "have provided wonderful~ motivation."

Olivia didn't like the sound of that at all, but she refused to let those feelings show. The chances of any of them getting out of this were slim. If she was going down, Olivia had every intention to not make it easy.

"Now, without further ado~, it's your turn, Agent Morgan."

Bill caught the flash of defiance in Morgan's eyes and knew he had to squash it immediately.

"Tsk, tsk, Agent~. I see that look in your eyes. Don't get any ideas in that bald head of yours. Being the a-maz-ing scientist that I am, the exact specifications for your dose are written down. It would take me an incredibly short amount of time to make a new syringe if I needed to use this one on, say, Agent Jareau?"

Rossi shifted slightly, putting his body between JJ and the unsub as much as he could. JJ's breathing was still shallow and fast. If she received another dose, it could very well kill her.

Morgan growled but did nothing more. Bill's message had come across loud and clear. If Morgan fought, JJ or one of the others would pay for it. He couldn't let that happen. Without a word, Morgan put his hands behind his back.

"There. You see? That's why I use human~ lab rats and not regular~ rats. They're much more compliant. That, and they're not as creepy~."

Bill shuddered in horror.

"Really, I have never seen the draw in using rats. Foul~ little creatures~, especially the tails!"

He shook his head in disgust and knelt before Morgan to begin attaching the heart monitor. When it was set and ready to go, he waved a hand at Morgan's arm, indicating he could bring it around front. Once he'd slipped the needle in and sent the liquid coursing through Morgan's veins, he began to stand.

Morgan had decided to take a chance though. He snagged Bill by the collar and yanked him forward until they were only inches apart.

"You listen to me you sick bastard. You're going to pay for this. I promise you that."

By that point Morgan's words were starting to slur together as the drugs took affect. He would be out in a moment or two, but still he tried to solider on.

"I promise…"

Seeing that Morgan was out cold, Bill just reached out and patted his cheek.

"I'm just going to assume that's the fear~ talking. So strong looking on the outside~. I guess it doesn't go all the way through, hmm?"

He turned to grin at Olivia. A grin that was more than just happy teasing. A shark's grin.

"We'll see how deep your strength goes soon, sweetheart~. Yes we will indeed."

Olivia forced herself to remain still and not allow the intense desire to shudder to escape. She managed, but it took every ounce of her willpower to do it. Had her mouth not been so dry from fear she would have shot back a retort of "bring it." As it was, she couldn't even open her mouth to start the words.

"She can handle it," Hotch stated simply.

Bill swung toward him, eyes narrowed.

"What?"

Suspicion confirmed, Hotch continued on.

"Don't underestimate her and overestimate yourself."

He caught a slight flicker of a smile from Olivia for a brief moment and saw her mouth "thank you." Hotch kept his eyes on Bill, not wanting to give Olivia away, but he gave her a subtle nod in return.

Bill growled, eyes blazing.

"We will see."