Author's Note: This chapter starts with a flashback/nightmare of JJ's time in captivity. Although it doesn't go into enough detail to warrant a 'M' rating in my opinion I do want to mention it as a trigger warning for implied rape.

Thank you again to everyone for the awesome reviews, and welcome to new readers! One of the best compliments ever, I think, is when someone says they don't usually ship a pairing, or like a particular character, but change their mind because of my story. I'm so pleased that you all are enjoying this ride with me, especially as it's my first time writing some of these characters and the Hotch and JJ relationship.

"We'll start the bidding at one thousand." The voice sounded far away, though she could see the outline of the woman standing just in front of her, close enough to touch if she wasn't chained to the chair. This room was so bright; her eyes hadn't adjusted to the light yet, not when she'd spent the last three days in almost complete darkness. There was no light in her cell, only the yellowed light bulb in the hallway beyond.

"She doesn't look like she'd put up much fight." The voice came out of the darkness, somewhere beyond the lights that were pointing at her. No matter how hard she tried to look she couldn't see the people she knew were there.

"All she needs is a little incentive." JJ almost wished her eyes hadn't started to adjust to the light; the woman she'd thought was another victim when they first met was now holding a knife and grinning in a way that made her blood cold. "Who's going to start the bidding tonight?"

JJ barely heard the voices that shouted out numbers. Everything was muffled still, a side effect of whatever they put in the food, she was sure. She struggled against the handcuff around her wrist but it was as secure as any state issued set. She needed to get out of here.

"This is our friend's first night here. Look how flawless she is; isn't that worth a little more?" The woman was crouching at her side now, the look in her eyes pure pleasure as she touched the flat of the blade against JJ's thigh. JJ stopped struggling.

"You're a psychopath," JJ said. There was no sign of guilt or remorse coming from this young woman. There was no way to talk her out of doing this either, not even if there wasn't an audience. Maybe Hotch could have, or Emily, but not her.

"I'm just someone who really, really enjoys my work." Dark eyes met pale blue, and somehow JJ couldn't look away, not until the tip of the knife dug into her skin. It wasn't much more than a scratch, but blood welled up and was absorbed by the grey underwear. Underwear that, a moment later, were cut away by the knife, leaving her exposed. JJ tried to cross her legs, but the woman shook her head and caressed the inside of JJ's thigh with the knife blade. "The clients should be allowed a good look at the merchandise."

"You can't do this." She didn't cross her legs but she did, once again, try to fight against the restraints. "How can you live with yourself, doing this to other women?"

"I think of all the nice green money I get, and it's easy." She looked amused as she examined the knife in her hand, looking at JJ over the blade. She didn't even bother looking at the audience that JJ could vaguely see now. "Do I have two thousand?"

"I'll give you five thousand, for the girl and the knife." The voice, low and cultured sounding, wasn't one JJ had noticed before.

"It's twice that, if I can't use her again."

"I'll keep that in mind." The handcuffs came off, then, but there was nowhere to run. She didn't manage more than a few steps before she was caught around the waist and held tight. "You're mine, girl."

"These people took me from my campus and keep me locked up. You could stop this. If it was your sister or your daughter wouldn't you want someone to help them? My dad's all alone, if anything happens to me." She wanted to scream and kick, but knew that it wouldn't help anything. Fighting would only make it easier to objectify her. She needed to make him see her as a human if she was going to have any hope of stopping him from raping her, and worse.

"There's a room next door. Mike will come take care of things when you're done." Even as JJ was carried off, a young man was being led to the seat she'd been occupying. He was young, thin, and scared. He looked a little like Reid. She couldn't do anything to help him.

"You don't have to do this. If you get me out of here I'll make sure you get your money back. You could shut this place down and be a hero in the press. I'll tell everyone how you saved me." She wanted to tell him about her little boy, how Henry needed his mother, but breaking cover would only get her in more trouble if she was found out. She wanted to find the right thing to say to stop this from happening, but when he tossed her on the bed she could see the look in his eyes and knew that nothing could save her.

"Money only matters to me because of the pleasure it can buy." In the dim light of the room, the metal of the knife seemed to gleam even brighter.

"Please." She bit her tongue before she could say more. She would not beg. His hand touched her leg and though she knew it was hopeless she tried to kick it away. He touched her again and everything inside of her wanted to scream.

"JJ." The voice was low, a whisper just at her side. It was wrong. The voice was wrong and the name was wrong; this man couldn't know who she really was.

"JJ, you need to wake up." The hand was on her arm now, featherlight, unlike the hand that gripped her thigh. The comfort it seemed to offer was unbearable.

"Get off me." As she pushed the hand away she opened her eyes, and found Hotch watching her with cautious concern. The dingy warehouse faded away, replaced by Hotch's living room. She'd been dreaming.

"Are you alright?" He didn't try to touch her, but he didn't back away either. His hands rested on the edge of the couch. He barely moved.

"I don't remember falling asleep." She didn't answer him; there didn't seem to be a reason to agree that she was fine when she obviously wasn't, and she wasn't ready to admit to anything other than 'fine.'

"You made it through about half of Groundhog's Day. I didn't think there was a reason to wake you up." Not when she so obviously needed the sleep.

"What time is it?" It felt uncomfortable, laying down while talking to him, so she struggled to sit up. She panicked for a brief moment when it felt as if she was being held down, but realized it was the blankets Hotch must have covered her with earlier, tangled around her.

"A quarter to midnight." When she sat up he perched carefully on the edge of the couch, making sure there was space between the two of them.

"I didn't wake you, did I?" It didn't occur to her until after she asked that he was still wearing his clothes from earlier; pants and a button down. He'd removed his jacket when they'd gotten to his place, and his tie before the food had arrived.

"I was trying to get caught up on some paperwork; you know how that is." He nodded at the files stacked up on the coffee table. She couldn't imagine him sitting on the floor, unless it was to play with Jack, so he must have been sitting in the armchair next to the couch. Like he was standing guard, a small voice said. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"The nightmare?" It was the last thing she wanted to talk about.

"Any of it."

"Henry's coming home on Saturday. I talked to him this morning." For the first time in hours she smiled. Henry was the one light in her life right now. She couldn't even let herself worry about how she was going to manage, on her own.

"I bet he's missed you like crazy. Jack's asked about him a few times; we should get them together soon." He looked like he wanted to say more, but didn't. JJ could read the questions in his eyes, though.

"Will's only bringing him, he's not staying. We split right before I left the team." Maybe she should have told the whole team then; it would be easier then telling everyone one by one.

"I'm sorry. I know how hard that is." His gaze flickered to the photo on the coffee table, where a photo of him and Haley with a toddler Jack held the place of honor.

"We were never what you and Haley were." JJ shook her head. Even two years after they'd divorced, Hotch was heartbroken when Haley had died. Her bond with Will was Henry. She was glad there was nothing else between them, now; it had been hard enough to keep a relationship before, but now she felt hollow, as if everything in her had been used up or taken away.

"No relationship is the same as another. It couldn't have been easy, dealing with that and your new assignment at the same time."

"For a while the new job made it easier." At least she didn't have time to think about thing. Now she had too much time, and nothing to do but think. "I should get going, and not keep you up any later. I'll call a cab."

"It's late." Hotch frowned. "Why don't you stay the night and I'll drop you off in the morning on my way to work?"

"It's not fair to put you out. You'll have to get up early and drive out of your way." And she might have another nightmare; he didn't need to worry about that, or deal with it.

"I'll get up at the normal time, and risk not being there before every member of the team. And I won't even insist that you take my bed. You can use Jack's room; he'll probably think it's 'cool."

He made it sound so logical that she didn't see a way to argue with him. It helped his case that the idea of being alone in a cab with a stranger made her nervous. "Alright. I guess since it's this late already."

"Good. I'll find you something more comfortable to sleep in." He led her to Jack's room, stopping at the doorway. She wondered if it was an unconscious action, or if he did it deliberately to give her the sense that the room was a safe place, just for her. A minute later he returned with a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants that would be too big, but workable. "Is there anything else you need?"

"A week in the Bahamas would be nice," she tried to joke.

"You should think about going somewhere with Henry. I know you have quite a bit of vacation time owed you." They all did. No one on the team used more than a fraction of their allotted time off.

JJ shook her head. "Henry needs to settle back in. Maybe later, at the end of summer."

"Alright." He didn't press the issue. As much as she needed a break he didn't like her being farther away then he could reach, if she needed help. "Sleep well, JJ."

"Goodnight, Hotch. Thank you, for everything." She was going to have to stop letting him help so much. Soon, but not tonight.

"I'm right across the hall if you need anything else." He closed his bedroom door, then. She stared at it for a moment before stepping back and closing her own and turning towards the blue and white bed of a little boy. She hoped that tonight she would not sully it with any nightmares.