A/N: Thanks for the continues support guys, no matter how often I write bad things, its always hard and im always nervous about how they will be recieved. Your support means alot to me. There will be a few refrenses to my fic Sold in this chapter.

CoogrrrShae - I use Gideon because im so in love with the original cast, and when I was writing Criminal minds fics, I used the old cast. I'm a bit more comfortable with them, still nervous about writing them after all this time though.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Hours had passed since the others had fallen asleep. But Drake couldn't sleep, and, after his first few tries, he didnt want to. Every time he closed his eyes he relived every moment of it, saw it all from the mirror at the foot of the bed, felt it rip through him again.

Every time he moved another wave of pain coarsed through his body, his tears riding those hurtful waves. Singular, silent streams of liquid pain gleaming in the moonlight as it fell through the barred windows.

"you should try to sleep." Ash's voice drifted through the room.

"Can't..." Drake sighed.

"I know it hurts now, but, the pain will go away." Ash said, trying to comfort him. "The first time is always the worst."

The words first time stung. They meant that it wouldn't be the last, that it would happen again.

"How do you do it?" Drake asked, his voice cracking. "How do you stay so strong, after being here so long?"

Ash took a moment to think before sighing heavily and walking over toward Drake. He sat on the floor next to him, taking his hand briefly, reassuring him that he wasnt alone. "It's not easy. Sometimes it feels worse then just giving in to how horrible I really feel. Holding all of it back, putting on a calm face when all I want to do is just break down..." He shuddered, pushing away tears. "If I can't stay strong, can't show everyone that we can get through this, then i risk seeing them give up. I don't want to watch anyone else die."

Drake placed his hand on Ash's shoulder, trying not to look at the bruises around his wrists.

"I worry about Damien the most..." Ash said softly. "He's had it worse then all of us, and i've seen that look he gets in his eyes before. The empty calm before the storm. The acceptance that leads to the final decision. I don't want to see him take that road, he's like a little brother to me..."

Drake looked over toward Damien's bed, watching him twitch as his dreams held onto him. he knew what Ash was talking about.

"Just remember that we're here for you." Ash said, looking Drake in the eye. "We've all been through this, we know how it feels. If you need to let it out, then let it all out. Don't bottle it up until you can't go on anymore."

"I wont." Drake promised, though the words seemed forced. He didnt know how long he'd be able to handle all of this.

"It hurts." He said.

"I know." Ash replied.

"will it hurt every time?" Drake asked, he was crying again.

"Each and every." Ash replied, sitting on the bed next to him, moving the hair away from Drake's eyes. "You learn to numb yourself to it, make it like the feeling you get when your foot falls asleep.'

Drake nodded. "Thank you." he said, closing his eyes.

"Try to sleep." Ash said. "Tomorrows going to hurt."

Drake nodded, his voice lost to him now. He tried to relax, to push the pain away from his thoughts. He felt himself drifting, thanking Ash for being with him as he fell into sleep.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Audrey was at the police station as soon as she could be. she wanted to meet the people who were looking fir her son, to see the video they'd found and make sure it was Drake. She wanted it to be Drake, to know that they had something to go on.

She watched the grainy video, blurred but enhanced, that was her son being laid down in the trunk of that car. "Thats Drake." She nodded, holding back tears. "That's my son." she reached out to the screen, lightly tracing the image of her son in that man's arms.

"We have a lead on the vehicle." Officer Pekoe said softly. "Were bringing in the man who took him."

"Does he have Drake?" She asked, eyes pleading.

"We don't know."

"why would he do this?" She asked, hurt.

"We don't know." Officer Pekoe answered, shaking his head. "But we'll find him."

She nodded her head, thanking him as she looked back to the screen. Watching the paused image and hoping that he was all right.

the memners of the BAU team were setting up in a small conference room, laying out photos of the missing boys ad going over the files. They'd been taking turns calling the families. Most of them were angry that it had taken so long for the FBI to get involved, all of them were hurting. Some of these children had been missing for years.

They all looked up as Officer Pokoe let Audrey into the room, looking at her disheveled appearence and knowing that she hadnt been sleeping. She was hurting.

JJ stepped forward, taking Audrey's hand in a comforting handshake. "I'm agent Jareau, we spoke on the phone." She said gently.

"Thank you for comeing." Audrey said. "Drake's been missing for so long, we started to worry that he might not have a chance." She couldn't say the words without crying.

"We're very lucky someone sent in the video, or we wouldn't have any leads." JJ said, leading Audrey to the table and sitting her down. "Was Drake acting weird before he dissaperaed, like he thought someone was after him?"

"No, he was upset, but,"

"Why was he upset?" She ased gently, seeing how hard this was on Audrey.

Audrey sighed, shaking her head. "he'd been fighting with his brother, Josh. They're normally like two peas in a pod, so, when Josh started ingoring him, he just kind of shut himself off."

"And you didnt get any calls or messages from the man who took him?" JJ asked.

"No," Audrey said. "Nothing. the police were sure that Drake had run away, but he would never..." She was crying harder. "i'm sorry." She said as she tried to push away the tears.

"Its okay." JJ said, taking her hands and holding them.

They were interupted wnem Officer Pekoe entered the room. "We have Paul, he's in the interrogation room."

The team nodded, following The officer to the room. They stood on the other side of the two way glass, looking at the man who sat there, calm. He was an average looking guy, the same one from the video. They let Audrey stand outside as Hotch and Morgan entered the room.

"Good afternoon." paul said, as if he didnt have a care in the world. "Mind telling me why I'm here?"

"You've been arrested for the kidnapping of Drake parker." Hotch said, sitting across from him.

"You see, thats what the police said, but, I havent kidnapped anybody." paul said, smiling.

Hotch played the enhanced video, clearly showing Paul on the screen. "That's you, and thats your car." He paused the image as Paul was putting Drake in the trunk. "And that's Drake parker. Where is he?"

Paul rolled his eyes, trying to hide his anger. "Don't know." he lied.

"Did you kill him?" Hotch asked, he knew Audrey could hear them, that the question would haunt her.

"No." paul answered, "Im sure he's still breathing."

"Where is he?" morgan asked, his anger not hidden.

"He's where I was paid to take him. I want my lawyer." paul said. They knew he'd taken the kid, but he refused to tell them anything more. Brendon's men would find him, and, he could risk a few years in prison.

"Who payed you to take him?" Hotch asked, his eyes cold.

"that's confidential." Paul chuckled.

"You're looking at at least five years in prison." Morgan snapped. "Tell us where the kid is."

"You're boring me." Paul yawned. "I knew the risks when I got into this buisness."

"What buisness?" Hotch asked. He was intent on getting something out of this man.

Paul smiled. "Lets just call it indentured servitude." He flashed his white teeth at the mirror. "I take them to the people who want them, after that, I don't care what happens to them."

"How many kids have you taken?" hotch asked.

"Quite a few." paul smirked. "They all end up in the same place." He turned toward Morgan. "If your people would have stayed in chains, who knows, those kids might still be at home."

It took everything morgan had not to hit him. Racism was one thing, but everything about this case upset him.

Paul laughed. "Got you good there, didnt I?" He turned toward Hotch, staring him in the eye. "About a year ago the FBI shut down one of our main auction houses, it was run by Gregory Sanders." He gave them that, knowing that it would leave them with the thoughts that would haunt them. The FBI knew what gregory Sanders had been doing, that anyone taken by those sort of people, well, they wouldn't be living well.

Reid felt his pulse quicken at the menton of that name. Memories that he hadnt visited in months ran fresh through his mind and he could feel Gideon's hand on his shoulder. "Im okay." He said emptily. He could feel his calm slipping as he remembered more and more from that time.

Hotch looked at paul in disgust, gathering his files he stood up. "We're done here." He said, gesturing for morgan to follow him out.

"he isnt going to tell us anything." he said to gideon upon leaving the interrogation room.

Gideon nodded his head. They needed to find those kids, quickly.

"What was he talking about?" Audrey asked. they had all gone tense at the mention of the name Gregory Sanders.

The team looked at her, they'd forgotten that she was with them. None of them knew how to tell her that her son was probably in the hands of a sexual sadist, none of them had the heart.

"We're going to look into it." gideon said, nodding at Elle who quickly walked away, as if going to check something.

Audrey knew they were lying. She'd seen the way they had reacted to that name. If they didnt want to tell her, fine. She'd look it up on the computer at home. She nodded politly to them, thanking them again before leaving.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

A/N: this chapter was sorta rushed, and, it's not the best. I just wanted to get the next one out for you guys.