Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds

Chapter 5

Present Day- 6:20 a.m.

"Shit," Morgan yelled as he watched Prentiss go tumbling into the river along with the victim, Jesse Taylor. He now had two options, releasing the unsub and saving Prentiss, or holding the unsub until another team member arrived. He looked behind him seeing that Hotch was nearly there, Reid following closely behind. Morgan yelled for Hotch to hurry, his voice lost in the wind. He slapped the handcuffs on the unsub and after what felt like hours Hotch finally appeared beside him. Morgan leaped up and told Hotch to take the unsub. Without waiting for a reply, Morgan took off full speed along the river bank, yelling for Reid to keep up. He came across a small boat that sat on the river bank and began to push it towards the water's edge.

Reid was trying desperately to keep up with Morgan but his legs just couldn't carry him that fast. He continued to slip and slide along the bank careful not to fall into the river himself. Finally near enough to see Morgan through the blinding rain he noticed Morgan pushing a boat towards the river. Reid was about to protest when Morgan shoved him forward into the boat before jumping in himself and pushing away from the security of the shore.

JJ and Rossi led the unsub back towards the front of the house to await the police and ambulances that should have been there by now. The unsub would struggle occasionally only to be stopped by a stern look from JJ or harsh words from Rossi.

Hotch was left alone on the river bank, a radio in his hand so he could alert the others of any information he had on the others whereabouts. Pointless really, as all he could see in the river were the ripples made from the large raindrops hitting the surface.

Prentiss was struggling to keep her grasp on Jesse's arm as they were tossed down the river violently. Every second she could feel Jesse slipping further and further from her grip. Jesse was screaming wildly and kicking her feet as she tried to stay above the water, making Prentiss's task of keeping hold even more difficult. As the current continued to pull them down the river a large rock came into sight, the water forcing the rock between the two. Prentiss held onto Jesse's hand as tight as she could, but the rock forced their hands apart, leaving them alone to fight the battle with the rampant river.

6:23a.m.

Morgan couldn't believe that the rain had failed to let up. It poured down from the sky pelting hard against his dark skin. He continuously wiped at his eyes trying desperately to see through the thick curtain of rain that was blurring his vision. He called out her name repeatedly, it echoing in the distance as he inwardly prayed that she would respond. When nothing but the wind answered his call he held his breath before diving into the rampant depths of the river.

Reid clutched the sides of the boat as it rocked back and forth viciously, water splashing over the sides and soaking his running shoes. His eyes were closed tightly as he tried to keep himself from being thrown overboard into the icy blue water. The sounds of the rain, wind and calls of her name blended together as Reid tried to keep this moment from being etched into his mind forever. He didn't even open his eyes when he heard Morgan jump into the raging water but instead held on tighter.

Prentiss gasped for air when her head bobbed above the surface before she was quickly pulled under again. She tried to swim but the current continued to sweep her under the water. She kicked her feet with all the force she had left in her slowly making her way towards the surface again. Roots from a fallen tree held her under, her shirt catching on a branch. She struggled to get free as her lungs slowly began to fill with water.

6:25 a.m.

Morgan wrestled with the water trying to keep above the surface as he called out her name. Every time the water pulled him under he would look for any sign of life under the surface, although it was too dark to see really anything at all. He reached for a rock that was coming up in front of him using it to hold himself above the water. He searched the top of the water for either Jesse or Emily when something yellow caught his attention ahead. He let go of the rock before quickly swimming towards it.

This had been the worst week of Jesse's life and somehow it had only managed to get worse. She held onto a stray branch as she floated down the river, the cold water numbing her body. She blinked continuously as an attempt to flush the water from her eyes, a mix of the rain and river water. She was still screaming as loud as she could, her voice becoming raspy. Beginning to lose her grip of the branch as the current again pulled her under, she felt two strong arms grab onto her and lift her towards what appeared to be a boat. For the first time in a week, her chances at survival were looking up.

Reid opened his eyes for the first time in minutes when he heard someone calling his name. Somehow the boat had turned around and was now facing backwards as it was pulled down the river, he wondered when that had happened. He turned his gaze back to the water when again he could hear his name above the wind. He squinted through the rain and noticed two heads bobbing above the surface not two meters from the boat. Reid reached for a paddle and began to row ferociously, little progress being made against the strength of the current. Finally close enough for Morgan to grab onto the side, Reid let out a sigh of relief. He struggled as Jesse was lifted into his arms and he attempted to pull her over the side of the boat. When she was up enough to pull herself in, Reid reached his hand to Morgan who was quickly pulled back under by the rushing water.

6:28 a.m.

Air escaped her lungs and was slowly replaced with water. She tried to remain as calm as possible as she tugged at her shirt attempting to pull it away from the branch. When it refused to come free she made quick work of removing her vest and then attempted to get free of her shirt. With one arm out her lungs began to burn and her adrenaline began to fade along with her oxygen supply. Now kicking fiercely as she attempted to remove her shirt, she quickly tired herself out before she could no longer find the energy to move her limbs. As the burning worsened she felt her eyes begin to close, she was dying a painful death, she just hoped it was fast.

Morgan grabbed at the fallen tree in front of him finally able to take a proper breath as he held himself above the water. Still no sign of Prentiss and he was beginning to doubt she would make it out alive. As he turned to see how near Reid was he felt something hit his leg. About to kick it away he realized what it was and reached below the surface to grab for it. From the murky depths he pulled out Prentiss's vest.

6:30 a.m.

JJ and Rossi were now standing at the river bank where they had left Hotch minutes before. He too had now disappeared and the two of them shared worried glances when no response was heard on the radio.

Hotch was now running along the river bank looking for any sign of the others. He had dropped his radio farther back, it falling into the water before he could catch it. The rain had let up slightly but was still proving to be a nuisance as he worked his way farther and farther down the river. From somewhere in front of him he could hear Prentiss's name being carried along with the wind.

Reid had no idea what to do. His stomach was still doing flips as the boat continued to rock, giving him a slight dose of sea sickness. Jesse Taylor, injured and bleeding in his arms was sobbing loudly as she begged for him to take her to shore. He had not seen Morgan's head reemerge from under the water in several minutes and still no sign of Prentiss could be seen. Lightning struck a tree next to the bank causing a loud bang. Reid was now wishing he was back in the SUV thinking that even Morgan's driving would be blissful compared to this.

Morgan dove below the branches pushing twigs away from his face looking for any sign of Prentiss. Beginning to run out of breath he made his way back to the surface before diving under once again.

So this was what death felt like, complete and utter nothingness. She couldn't see anything, hear anything, or feel anything. She was just there, a strange presence floating in a dark world. Wherever she was she had to admit it was a huge step up from the freezing depths that she last recalled being in.

6:31 a.m.

He almost let out a scream of joy, before remembering he was under water when he saw her. His happiness was soon replaced with panic when he noticed she wasn't moving. Her shirt was half off and seemed to be caught on a branch. Her arms floated nonchalantly at her sides, only moving due to the strong current. Her eyes were closed and her chin was touching her chest. He swam towards her as fast as he could against the current. He yanked at her shirt with all the strength and adrenaline he had built up tearing it from the branch. He pulled her out from under the tree kicking wildly screaming for Reid to hurry the hell up. He braced Prentiss between himself and the tree trying his best to keep them both above the water.

6: 33 a.m.

Reid felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders when he saw Morgan up ahead with Prentiss. The boat continued to float down the river, stopping abruptly when it came into contact with the fallen tree. Reid struggled even more this time as he attempted to pull Prentiss's dead weight aboard. Even Jesse stood attempting to help the two men pull her up. Finally getting her into the boat Reid collapsed on the seat, too tired to stand. Only when he noticed that Prentiss wasn't breathing did he again begin to panic.

Morgan pulled himself aboard the small boat not even attempting to quiet Jesse's sobbing, and Reid's rambling. He turned to Prentiss and began to apply all of his knowledge in first aid to saving her life.

A/N: As you may have noticed there is a piece from the prologue in this chapter. I just placed it there so the story would run more smoothly. There will probably be about one more chapter after this one.Thanks for reading and please review!