Albany Police Station- 17 Hours missing

Prentiss yawned and took a small sip of her coffee. Behind her, Morgan sat at the conference table, looking through each crime scene photo of the Dent Household. Reid and Rossi had left an hour prior to go get food. After a long argument with Rossi, JJ had gone to get some rest at the hotel.

Where are you, Aaron? Prentiss thought as she took another sip of her coffee. 17 hours was too long- the longer he went without being rescued, the worse chance Hotch had of surviving it.

Prentiss felt a tear run down her cheek before suddenly Reid burst into the room, his eyes filled with excitement.

"If they chose Hotch off of seeing him on the TV, maybe we can use this to our advantage!" he exclaimed all in one breath. Rossi stepped into the room with JJ, a little more lively, behind him.

"I'm lost," Prentiss replied. Reid continued, "What if we created an appeal directly to them using someone that falls into their preference range? Like bait, you know? We can fake an interest in their plans and try to get them to contact us-"

"Slow down, Reid!" Morgan said. Reid took a breath and finished, "It'll allow us to track them since Stanley isn't talking…..so who does it?"

"I'll do it," Prentiss answered quietly. When all eyes fell on her, she continued, "I fit their ideal princess and since I know Hotch-"

"Absolutely not," Rossi cut her off, "I'm not putting a target on your back!"

"It'll allow me to grab their attention."

"And if they find you to be a better option, they may kill Mattie!"

"Not if I appeal to them! If I can get them to contact me, which they will if I tell them that I know Hotch personally. I can negotiate with them as a loved one and ask them not to hurt Mattie or Hotch. Dave, please let me do this."

Rossi muttered a curse under his breath. "Fine, "Rossi directed the lead detective, Christopher Bentley, over to him. "Alright. Keep it simple and appeal to them only, Emily. Detective Bentley, we need to set up a press conference to air on as many channels as possible. We've figured out a way to get the Dent's attention."

I hope I don't screw this up…not just for the case… "I'll be fine, Dave. I promise," Prentiss stated. JJ touched her shoulder and said, "Well, let's get you dressed up then."

"What? Why?"

"You have to look the part if….you want to appear as a princess…..maybe even Hotch's princess." She chuckled, earning a glare from Prentiss. "Just be yourself and you should be fine."

"JJ, if you want to say something, go ahead and say it." She thinks it too; she thinks I'm in love with Aaron.

"I have nothing to say," the blonde profiler said slyly. She pulled Prentiss towards the bathroom. "Come on; let's get you ready for the ball."

Location Unknown: 17 hours 47 minutes missing

"Morning sleepyhead," Mary Anne said as she entered the basement hours later. She disregarded that Hotch was sleeping. She grabbed his shoulders and hoisted him into a sitting position on the bed. His head dropped back, but Mary-Anne put her hand behind his head as if he were a newborn.

"You're sick as a puppy," she muttered at the touch of his skin. She put a hand on his cheek and said, "We'll see what we can do about you being sick before the big ball. I'm so happy we found you."

Mary-Anne laid him back onto the bed and straightened out his legs. Hotch twitched and coughed a little, before his head rolled to the side. She pulled the blindfold off and found that it was damp.

"I hope that you weren't crying, Aaron. Your family will visit you soon…we just need to have the ball first. They'll be so proud of you."

A blood thirsty scream echoed from upstairs. Marry Anne laughed it off, saying, "Oh don't you worry about that- it's just Mattie. I do have a question, though. After we changed you, we found a photo in your wallet of a pretty brunette. Who is she?"

After Hotch didn't respond, she repeated, "Who is she?"

She stared at Hotch for a minute before she pulled out a photo from her pocket and barked, "Who is this?"

With Hotch still unconscious, Mary Anne grabbed Hotch's throat and pressed hard on his trachea, instantly waking the agent. Mary Anne shoved the photo in his face and repeated, "Who is she?"

Hotch's eyes darted to the photo before he felt his stomach drop. It was photo of Hotch, Jack, and Prentiss at a Washington Redskins game. It had been for Jack's birthday and surprisingly the boy only wanted to go to a football game with his father and his favorite aunt, Emily Prentiss.

That's when Prentiss, Jack, and I took the photo with the mascot- how did she get that? Hotch thought before Mary Anne screamed, "I found this in your wallet- Aaron, who is she?"

Where did this come from? "Mmphhh!" He had seconds before Mary Anne angrily ripped the tape off his mouth and continued yelling, "Is she your wife? Girlfriend? We did all this searching for you and you already have someone? Now, we have to get rid of Mattie and I really liked her-"

"Coworker…." Hotch croaked in a raspy, barely audible voice.

"What's her name?" When Hotch didn't respond, Mattie smacked him across the face, "What's. ? Answer me, Aaron!"

"Emily Prentiss!" He gasped out, "Please….don't…hurt her. Please…..let…me go."

Mary Anne's mood instantly changed again, switching from loud and irrational to calm and mothering. She placed a hand on his forehead. "But I can't let you go, Aaron. You're the prince."

She's delusional and a little bipolar. "Please….food and water! Please!"

Mary Anne pouted her lip. "I don't want to….but if you tell me where I can find this Emily Prentiss, I'll let you have a sandwich and some water upstairs."

If Mary Anne contacts the team, they'll have an idea of where I am. "Ok-I'll tell you."

Mary Anne smiled and whispered, "Ok," before pulling out a small key from her pocket. She unlocked the chain around his ankle and started to undue the zip tie around his wrists and ankles. As soon as he was free, Hotch suddenly wrapped an arm around Mary Anne's neck and pushed her with all his remaining strength into the wall. She collided into the wall head first and slumped into a heap on the ground.

Hotch tried to stand and make a run for it, but once up, he fell to the floor as his legs gave out. Mary Anne tried to grab Hotch by the ankle, but he kicked her in the face and began crawling towards the door. Use your strength carefully. You can't run for it, but you can at least try to make a phone call…..

He reached the door and closed it on her face, locking Mary Anne in the basement. He found himself on a stairs and started to climb them slowly, half expecting Daniel to jump out and attack him. Once at the top of the stairs, Hotch slowly opened the basement door, which led to an empty large living room with couches, chairs, and a television. On top of the television was a cordless telephone. The injured agent limped over and grabbed it, quickly dialing the first person he could think of.

Albany Police Station- 18 Hours missing

"There you go, you look gorgeous," JJ told Prentiss as the brunette stepped in front of the mirror. Her hair was curled, makeup was applied, and she wore heels along with a dress suit. It was pretty outfit to Prentiss, but not practical for their line of work.

"It's really nice-"Her cell phone rang before Prentiss answered it. "Hello?"

"Emily?" Prentiss felt her heart nearly dropped the phone. Oh My God, it's Hotch!

"Hotch, are you ok? Where are you?" She put the phone on speaker phone and walked out of the bathroom with JJ.

"I'm in….their house," Hotch was panting with a hoarse voice, "I'm injured-help-please."

"Ok, stay on the line with us!"

"Can't-Daniel…Mary Anne….. here." Prentiss froze when she heard Daniel scream, "Aaron, how did you get out?" before the line when dead.