A/N: I would like to dedicate this long overdue chapter to the wonderful folks who were kind enough to include this story on their alert list: BM originally, Cassandra30, DarkHarpie54, and amsilcox. You guys were my inspiration to get my butt in gear. I hope you enjoy!

CHAPTER 6

When she opened her eyes, she was confused. Where was she? Slowly focusing, Jill realized she was looking at a pulpit. Was she at church? Then she remembered. The hospital. The fire alarm.

She could hear whispering from behind her. She turned to peer over the top of the pew, moving slow not to jar her sore shoulder. She saw Josiah and the younger agent talking to two fire fighters. Was there really a fire? Did they have to get out?

She continued to watch the small group of men. They seemed to be relaxed, not worried at all. The fire fighter who was slouching in the doorway looked over at her. He touched the brim of his helmet and nodded his head. Both were wearing breathing masks, so she couldn't see his face, but she got the feeling that she knew him. How was that possible?

They must have finished whatever they were talking about, because the firefighters headed back out of the chapel. Before they left, she noticed the other firefighter salute the two agents with two fingers.

Josiah was smiling when he crossed over to the pew she was sitting up on. "How are you feeling, Jill? You're looking much better."

"Who were they? Do we have to leave? Is the fire out?"

"Whoa. Slow down. You're worse than JD after he drinks coffee."

"Hey!"

Josiah smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry. After two coffees." He sat on the pew next to the girl. "Don't worry, we're safe. There are some plenty of guardian angels out there watching out for you."

J.D. smirked. "Angels? You're calling Ez and Vin angels?"

"Well, their halos may be a little crooked, but they'll get the job done." He turned back to the confused girl. "Those really weren't firefighters."

"Oh." Now she understood why they seemed familiar. "They're from your team. Ezra, I mean Mr. Standish, he's the one who was here yesterday, right? He talks like my English teacher."

"Yep, he's the one," J.D. replied. "I don't know if you met Vin yet. He's kind of quiet. Has longish hair."

Jill remembered a man standing apart from the others in her room the day before. He had been leaning against the wall just like the firefighter today. "He's the one who tried to call my dad, right?"

She didn't miss the look the two agents gave each other. The older one quickly flashed a smile. "Yes, that was Vin. So, tell me. Are you feeling any better?"

"I'm fine."

"You have clearly been spending too much time with J.D.," said Nathan as he walked into the chapel. He was carrying a plastic bag and a tray of drinks. "How do you really feel?"

Jill thought about it. "My shoulder's kind of sore. My throat feels scratchy. And my stomach hurts."

"I bet you're hungry. Here, I brought you something." Nathan reached into the bag and pulled out a banana. "I also have hot tea for you."

Jill thought back to the conversation with Chris. "With honey?"

Nathan looked surprised. "Yes, as a matter of fact." He handed her the banana and a Styrofoam cup.

"How long was I asleep?"

"About 20 minutes," Josiah answered. "We're waiting for the all-clear signal."

"Why were your friends dressed up like firemen?" the girl asked, sipping carefully on the hot tea.

Josiah took one of the Styrofoam cups from the take-out tray. "Vin and Ezra were in the area when the alarm sounded. They felt they could do find out be our eyes on the outside." He looked at the other men. What he didn't say was that Vin and Ezra were watching to see who were coming out of the hospital or waiting on the nearby streets. Disguised as members of the fire companies reporting to the alarm, they could look out for suspicious persons, like members of the Genovese family.

Surprisingly, there were no signs of any possible troublemakers. Vin and Ezra had shared their observations with Chris and Buck, who were still upstairs staking out Jill's room. Concluding that this was not a false alarm designed to get the girl out of the hospital, Chris went to find the fire captain to find out exactly what happened. Buck was sent to find out when the hospital was going to allow the patients to return to their rooms.

The three agents spent the next few minutes in silence, sipping the coffees that Nathan brought for them. Josiah noticed the girl was staring at the red votive candles that stood in the front of the room. Some were lit, little licks of flame that represented the prayers for loved ones to recover or to be remembered fondly. She was tugging at her St. Cecilia necklace. The look on her face was hard to read. Was it fear? Guilt? Defeat?

He had planned to bring her here to the chapel to ease her pain. Through their talks, she had revealed her faith and commitment to the church. But he knew from personal experience how one's faith is questioned and doubted in times of trouble. Her entire life had been thrown into turmoil, and right now she needed to get control of it.

Josiah decided it was time to address what was hurting her. He turned to his friends. "Brothers, do you think you could give Jill and I a moment alone?"

Nathan immediately nodded and stood up. He knew that what was hurting the girl now was beyond medicine. He hoped that Josiah could help her. He gently pushed J.D. out the exit. The younger agent clearly wanted to ask what was going on, but he correctly sensed it was not the time to ask.

As Nathan closed the doors, he saw the rest of the team approach the chapel. "What's going on?" Buck asked, bringing the wheelchair he had been pushing to a stop.

"Yeah. What's going on?" JD demanded.

Before Nathan could answer, Chris spoke up. "Is Josiah talking with her?"

"Is she all right? Is something wrong? Has a new calamity developed?"

Nathan held up his hand to stop the barrage of questions. "I think Jill just needs some time to get things off her mind."

"Then Mr. Sanchez is the perfect candidate to ease her mind. He'll hypnotize her with some obscure parable that remarkably relates to her situation, and she'll be so utterly confused that she will forget her own troubles.

With a small smirk on his face, Chris decided to move on. "As soon as they are done, we'll move her back up to her room."

"Are we sure it's still secure?" Nathan asked.

"Me and Ez didn't see nobody from the Genovese family outside in the crowd," Vin replied.

J.D. wondered, "Was there even a fire?"

"No, the fire chief said the only his men found was an activated pull-station on the 6th floor. I told him to get DPD to dust it for prints, but I doubt they'll find any." Chris then noticed the duffel Ezra was carrying. "What is that?"

"Oh, this? I just procured some personal items for Miss Carlisle."

Chris felt that particular pain behind his left eye that only his undercover agent could cause. "Damnit, Standish, you went to her apartment!"

"Well, where else would I find her personal items?"

In an attempt to keep his voice down, he growled, "Her father is being investigated by IA, and who knows who else is watching the damn place. What the hell were you thinking?"

"Don't worry," Vin spoke up. "No one was watchin' the place."

"And how the hell would . . ." Chris's left eye started twitching. "You went with him!" he bellowed.

"Now, now," Buck tried to calm down his fuming friend, "I bet Ez and Junior were in and out like a couple of ninjas. Right boys?"

The matching smirks on the two agents in question did nothing to ease the now blinding pain in Chris's head.

"Maybe we shouldn't mention the message," Vin stage-whispered to Ezra.

"What message?" Chris demanded quietly. The two smirks quickly disappeared when hit with the intense glare.

Just then, the chapel doors opened. Josiah had one arm around the girl's shoulders. She had clearly been crying, her face red and blotchy. "Is there a problem, Brothers?"

Ezra stepped toward them. "Oh, Mr. Sanchez, your timing is impeccable. I feel Mr. Tanner and I may owe you our lives." He motioned with his head towards Chris, who was still glaring at his two agents.

"I think Jill is ready to return to her room, if she is allowed." Josiah looked at the team leader, who was still visibly tense. "Again, is there a problem?"

The other men looked at each other. Surprisingly, it was Chris who answered. "Yeah, there is, but we'll deal with it later." He turned to the girl and tried to soften his voice. "Are you ready to head back to the room, kiddo?"

The girl didn't look up. "Yes, sir."

Chris sighed. She was back to 'sir'. He looked at Josiah, who shook his head and mouthed 'later.'

Buck pushed the wheelchair forward. "Well, little lady, your chariot awaits." He swept his arm over the wheelchair. "And I've got some good news from the doctor."

This time the girl did look up. "What good news?"

"I was talking with Dr. Jackson, also known as Nathan's better, gorgeous, sexier half . . ."

"Buck."

"What, Nathan? It's true, ain't it? Anyway, she said that if you were feeling up to it, you could take a shower."

"Really?"

"Yep. Can't wash your hair though. Maybe we could convince Ez to help ya out again."

Ezra helped her into the chair. "It would be my honor. I also have some of your things so you can change out of that dreadful gown."

"Cool. Let's go." The girl flashed a tired smile.

Chris had to smile as they headed down the corridor. Trust Buck to get a girl excited about getting her hair done.

The rest of the evacuated patients were being brought back in and there were only two elevators. The team chatted quietly while waiting for an elevator for about 15 minutes. Chris did notice that Vin and Ezra were keeping their distance from him.

When they finally reached her room, Jill jumped out of the wheelchair. She grabbed the bag from Ezra. "I'm going to take the longest, hottest shower ever!" She set the bag on the bed.

"You're gonna shrivel up like a raisin," Buck quipped. He sat on the other side of the bed.

"Buck."

"Hey, it wasn't that bad."

"No, Buck, look." JD pointed.

Buck looked behind him. Jill was still standing next to the bed. But she had something in her hand.

"Jill?"

When the girl didn't answer, Chris and Josiah moved toward her. "Jill, are you all right?" the profiler asked gently.

Chris peered over her shoulder to see what she was holding. It was a bag of jellybeans and a piece of paper. "Jill, what is it?"

She looked at him. He was surprised to see tears in her eyes and a smile on her face. She started laughing and crying at the same time.

Josiah forced her to sit on the bed. Chris tried to take the bag of candy out of her hand, but she had a firm grip on it. He was able to loosen the grip enough to get the piece of paper. Nathan knelt in front of her. "Jill, what's the matter?"

She sniffed. "It's . . . I . . ." She started crying again. This time she turned and hugged Josiah.

Chris opened the folded paper. It had three words written on it.

"What does it say?" Vin asked quietly.

"As you wish."

Jill laughed out loud and wiped at her face. "It's my dad!"

The men looked at each other. Nathan stood up. "Maybe I should go find a doctor."

"No, no, I'm fine. It's just . . . he's alive! My dad's alive!"