A/N: I'm just imagining what this'd feel like...I've never been hit over the head with a shovel :P On a more serious note, thanks again to sangreal_7 for giving it a once over when I was unsure! And klcm for allowing me to idea bounce.

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds

Chapter 4

After hearing the dial tone in her ear it took JJ all of two seconds to decide that she couldn't sit here and wait for news. She didn't care that she was technically just an American citizen right now, all she cared about was the fact that her friend and a little girl needed their help. She couldn't stay here knowing that the rest of the team would be there trying to save them. Her Agent Jareau mask of professionalism and calm automatically slid into place as she snatched a set of Sheriff issued SUV keys from the desk and marched for the door.

"Jayje! Don't leave me here!" Garcia exclaimed, not even needing to question where she was headed. It was the only place any of them would have wanted to be; in the thick of it right there so that they would know what was going on the second it happened – whether it be good news or, god help them, bad news.

"I wouldn't dream of it." She replied, catching herself on the door frame and turning back to look at the colourfully dressed technical analyst.

"Let's go help get our friend back." She said softly as Garcia made it to her side.

A determined nod was all the answer she got and when they made it to the car there was another nod in agreement before JJ flipped the switch and the sirens blared to life. They'd keep them on until they got within a couple of miles of the area, then they'd make the rest without them, Emily's life could depend on them going unnoticed until the last minute and neither was willing to jeopardize that.

She groaned as she finally managed to force her eyes to open; her head was pounding and her vision was dotted with black spots as the light hit her eyes causing her to screw them shut once more. Trying to move her body into a more comfortable position her eyes flew open once again, this time in alarm as she realised she was tied up. The ties bit into her skin as she struggled for a second before taking a few breaths to calm herself down. What happened? She thought to herself, straining her mind to remember.

A flash of panic invaded her mind as it turned to Doyle, had he finally resurfaced and found her? She tried harder to work through the haze of memories to discover the last thing she could remember. She'd been in the SUV, she'd been driving, she'd...she couldn't remember.

Groaning in frustration at the lack of memory she breathed out a jagged breath before taking a much deeper and calmer one in. She tried to focus on shutting out the pain in order to clear her mind.

A few minutes of forcing her compartmentalisation and visualisation skills to their limits finally let her remember.

She had been going to re-interview Mrs Howard, an elderly woman who had come forward after watching the news about Jo Hallens abduction and they had to clear a few details up and as she was leaving...BANG. Everything went black and she was tumbling forward, landing on her knees with a crunch as they connected with the gravel.

And now she was here, wherever here was. She could make an educated guess of who had left her in this position though as this was definitely too low calibre for someone like Ian Doyle who, she knew, would still have his flair for the dramatic.

Taking a deep breath against the pounding in her head and the aching in her arms from being tied behind her she reminded herself of her training: use all of your senses. Shoving up another internal wall against the pain and shutting her eyes she focused on her surroundings; the smell of them – dust and old wood – and the sounds around her – someone was pacing next door, muttering something, to someone or to them self she couldn't tell. She tried to open her eyes and attempt to survey her surroundings visually again when another, softer, sound caught her ears and she screwed her eyes shut tighter to make sure she wasn't hearing things; someone was breathing...in the room. Her heart began to race.

"Are you okay?" a soft voice asked from the other side of the room and Emily's eyes flew open. She tried to move towards the voice but the sudden lurch of movement made her head spin and pulled the muscles across her shoulders and in her thighs as her body tried to move against the bindings.

Trying to ignore her pain she spoke, and her voice was somewhat rough; "Jo, Jo Hallens?"

The voice gasped and she knew it must be her, their latest victim. That was good, in some ways; it meant he hadn't killed another.

"How do you know my name?" Jo asked in a soft voice, this time a lot closer to her.

"I'm an FBI Agent. I was here to help find you. My name's Emily." Emily stated before gritting her teeth against the pain as she lurched again, trying to face the girl; she wasn't having much luck tied like this.

"Well you found me." She joked and Prentiss couldn't help but chuckle, the girl had guts.

"Are you hurt?" She asked, hoping that the UNSUB had not changed this part of his MO and she would remain unharmed...until he killed her. But this time he wouldn't get the chance to, Emily wouldn't, couldn't, allow it.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that? You're the one that's been hog tied and unconscious since you got here."

"I can handle it." She said, dismissing the girl's concern, instead worrying about her. "Are you hurt?" She repeated, wanting an answer.

"N-no. I'm okay." She stuttered slightly.

"Tied up?"

"Yeah." She said, her voice becoming even softer and Emily knew right then that she had obviously tried to set herself free and had, in doing so, gotten hurt. "I tried to reach you, but I can't, it's too far. I already tried."

"How long have I been here?" She asked with a grunt as she tried once more to move herself to face Jo, this time she made it. She surveyed the damage; a few cuts and scrapes but apart from that and the fact that her hands and feet were bound she seemed fine - at least on the surface.

Jo looked up and into the agent's face, trying to pretend they were anywhere but here as worries plagued her: if she had been kidnapped, too, how could her colleagues find them?

"You've been here since not long after the sun came up and it's maybe coming up dinner time soon, so not too long. Not as long as I have." She said with an undercurrent of fear in her voice.

"Are you okay, Jo? What did he do to you?" Emily asked softly, both to keep her calm and to try and against the pain in her head when her voice was much louder.

"Nothing." She said quickly and for a second Emily heard confusion in her voice.

"Nothing?"

"He just wanted to play, so I did. It was the only thing I could do to make him not hurt me, I didn't want to end up like-" Her voice quivered and broke as she began to cry and Emily wished she could do something, anything to comfort her.

"Shhh, don't cry; my team's working on finding me, finding us. They'll be here. But how about we make sure we're ready for the-"

She was cut off as the door flew open and crashed into the wall behind it sending a wave of pain sweeping through her head as the loud and obtrusive sound echoed in the small room.

"I see our guest's up and awake again, isn't it great to have people to tea Karen?" Asked a man's voice with a slight childlike lilt to it and Prentiss tried to shut out the pain and turn her body to face him; she wanted a good look at this guy. As her muscles groaned and ached she knew she was going to have to take up yoga or something if – when – she got out of here to improve her flexibility, JJ and Garcia had sworn by it so after this was as good a time as any to give it a go. Snapping her mind back to the present she heard Jo speak to the man.

"Y-y-yeah." She stuttered out, playing along and Emily was proud of her, she was trying to be what he wanted her to so he wouldn't hurt her. She just hoped that Jo was playing the part well enough as Emily knew how delicate a balance like this was; if she wasn't exactly like who he was convinced she was then his fantasy would snap and so would he.

Taking another deep breath, Emily bit her tongue and looked up at the man who had entered the room; he had to be close to six foot five and he was quite muscular. He was also what she would call shaggy, hair just a little too long, a few days worth of stubble and some rather questionable clothing. Despite all that he had a somewhat childlike quality to him; it was in his eyes and his crooked smile as he spoke. This Karen was the key to the whole thing; she just hoped the team was somehow closer to finding him.

"Do you want to play too?" He asked Emily eagerly, bending down to look at her face.

Emily refused to answer, hoping to keep his attention on her and away from Jo by any means necessary.

"Didn't you hear me?" He asked, a crease forming between his eyebrows at her lack of response.

When she still didn't reply he spoke again, this time more menacingly: "I asked you a question." He leant down closer to her face and she could see a somewhat feral glint in his eye that hadn't been there before.

"I don't want to." She stated with confidence.

She couldn't help but flinch when he grabbed a fist full of her hair and pulled her face closer to his still. She closed her eyes for an all-too-brief second against the pain that had surged through her head at his actions..

"I said do you want to play?" He ground out, his nostrils flaring. He obviously didn't like being ignored.

"And I said I don't want to." She shot back, winching as he yanked on her hair once again. She could feel the wound from earlier re-opening; this wasn't going to be good.

"You will play with us." He said, his eyes flashing with anger as he flung her back to the floor with a crash.

She couldn't help the groan of pain that escaped her lips. He seemed to almost calm at the sound, his eyes losing their anger.

"You have to." He stated calmly. "You will. You will. Karen and I need a play mate." He said, turning to leave the room. As he did he continued to mutter under his breath.

"She'll play...she will...no she was a mistake...has to go...loose end...she'll play...she will..."

After the door slammed shut they heard a key turn in the lock.

"He doesn't usually lock it." Jo said, slight panic in her voice.

"He doesn't usually have an FBI agent tied up in here, either." Emily tried for a joke but her wince in pain made the joke fall flat, or maybe it was just the situation.

"Are you okay?" Jo asked in concern. Emily may have just gotten here but she had been trying to save her and she had stood up to him for her; she was a friend, she had come to help, no matter what had happened in the process.

"I'll be fine, a few aspirin and I'll be right as rain." She joked through gritted teeth; her head was throbbing once again and she could feel a small trickle of blood trailing down through her hair.

"If I'd believe that I guess I'd believe anything." She joked back, finding it odd that she was finding humour in a situation as horrible as this but it seemed to be helping her stay calm.

Silence fell on the room then as they both became lost in thought. A few minutes of silence later they heard a door slam somewhere downstairs and Emily spoke.

"My team'll find us." She said with conviction. "They'll find us." She repeated, but this time much quieter before succumbing to the pain in her head and resting it on the floor.

A moment later everything went black for Emily.

"Emily?" Jo called out, slight panic tingeing her voice. There was no reply. "Emily! Talk to me?" She begged as the security that she had felt in having company, living breathing, FBI Agent company in the room with her began to slip. What if Emily didn't wake up again? What if he came back and Emily was unconscious still? Would he get angry again and hurt her? Would he take her away and leave her all by herself again? She didn't think she could take that, the silence and the fear of never seeing another person - her mum, her dad, her best friend – ever again. "Emily, please..." she begged again as she tried, unsuccessfully to hold back the tears.