Woo! Chapter 9 of 590 Days! Sorry for the late upload! I hope you like it. WARNING: this chapter discusses disturbing topics to an extent of which might not be appropriate for some readers.

1 January, 8 months, 13 days since disappearance

Hearing that his daughter had lost over 40dB of her hearing was heartbreaking for Aaron. This was his little girl, the little girl who was supposed to grow up and experience the world. She was supposed to hear, see, touch, smell, taste. Without hearing, her world would be silent.

He spent long periods of time with Grace, trying to get her to understand what was happening to her, why it was happening, and what they were doing about it. Since she was so young, she barely understood a word. Combined with her hearing, it made her almost unable to communicate.

"Grace, you know how you were born very, very early?" He started.

The girl nodded. "And we had to be in the hospital?"

"Yeah," Hotch said. "Well, the doctors didn't think you would survive because you, Benjamin, and Tyler were so small. Did you know you could fit in my hands?"

"Not that small," Grace said, adding a giggle on the end. "That's too small."

Hotch nodded. "You were that small, and that's why the doctors told us that if you lived, you might have some problems...and this is one of them, okay?"

"Yep," Grace said, nodding again. "So that means I can't hear it?"

"No, you can't hear anything," Hotch clarified. "Not 'it'. You won't be able to hear anything. But we're not going to let that stop us, alright? We're going to get you some hearing aids and teach you sign language."

Grace frowned as she shook her head. "I don't want hearing aids!"

Aaron bit his lip as he looked into his young daughter's eyes. "We have to look at them. You can't say no before you look, okay? You can try them, and if you don't like them, say no."

"But what about mommy? Can she hear me?"

"Mommy isn't losing her hearing," Hotch said. "Mommy can hear. Our problem is you," he said, poking her little stomach. "But you will be just fine."

"Do we have to go to the doctor?" Grace asked, looking up at her dad.

He nodded. "Yeah, Gracie, we do. We're gonna start seeing how much hearing you're losing, and then we're gonna do some sign language lessons. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah," she said, nodding lightly. "But are you sure it is going to be okay?"

Hotch nodded, pulling his daughter in tightly. "Everything is going to be okay."

2 January, 8 months, 14 days since disappearance

"STOP!" JJ screamed, letting both of her hands fly to her wounded legs. "FUCK! STOP! STOP!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Her captor yelled, whacking her with a baseball bat. He knew it hurt her terribly. He could see the bruises on her legs, the ones that looked like blood. It was like they were permanent. They had to be. She was going to be with him for a long time.

"STOP! I'LL DO ANYTHING, PLEASE!" JJ yelled, letting out tears. Her body was in so much pain. "STOP HURTING ME!"

The man laughed as he dropped the bat. "You think...you think I'm going to stop hurting you?"

JJ inhaled sharply as one of her hands moved to one of her severely beaten hips. She was sure the bones were broken. It wasn't a question.

"Tell you what," the man said, looking down on his victim. "You do what I tell you to do, JJ."

Jennifer winced. "Just...what is it?"

"Let me continue to beat you and torture you and consume you," he said, grinning evilly. "You're mine. This is why you're not wearing any clothes, baby girl, 'cause you have to be ready for me."

"Why are you doing this?" JJ asked, shaking.

The man scoffed. "Because you're the one I want. I want you, your body, your kids...I want it all."

"Find someone in jail," JJ spat. "That's where you'll be going next."

"Don't play smart mouth with me!" The man bellowed, jamming his boot into JJ's ankles, causing her to curl up in the fetal position.

JJ let out a cry as she grabbed her injured ankles. She didn't have enough hands to protect her poor body.

"Women were made to have them babies," he snarled, unzipping his blue jeans. "So, let's make one."

JJ shook her head violently as she backed away. "You got me pregnant before!" She said, raising her voice. "You then killed my baby! I'm not a fucking experiment!"

"Baby, calm down," he said. "I'm messin' with you. Besides, you had your messy little week going on, so you weren't pregnant."

"I passed a lot of blood, more than I should've," JJ said, looking up at the man. "And then I—" she stopped talking before more came out.

"You what?" The man asked.

JJ shook her head. "I passed a lot of blood."

"No, fucking tell me what you were going to say!"

Jennifer opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"TELL ME!"

JJ was visibly shaken. "There was a baby—"

"You did not give birth," the man said skeptically, rolling his eyes.

"I did— I did," she offered. "There was a baby— a fetus, it could fit in my palm."

The man sighed, picking up the baseball bat.

"So where is it now?"

JJ swallowed as she looked around. "I can't remember."

"YOU KILLED OUR CHILD!" The man shrieked, watching as the bat came into contact with JJ's thighs.

JJ began to cry as she felt the pain. "I didn't!" She cried. "It was dead when I had it! A lot of women miscarry—"

"That's right," the man said. "And you miscarried."

"Miscarriage is different than physically fucking beating the child to death. You're a monster."

"Say that one more time," he growled, hitting JJ with the most force he could.

There was no way she was getting out of this alive.

8 January, 8 months, 20 days since disappearance

"Jack, I need these taken down to the laundry room," Aaron told his son, handing him the kids' towels.

"Do you want them in the machine, or just in the basket?" Jack asked, looking down at his full hands.

Hotch shrugged. "The basket," he said.

"Daddy?" Came his daughter's quiet voice from the hallway.

Knowing she wouldn't be able to hear him clearly, he walked out of the kids bathroom.

"What is it, pumpkin?"

"I miss mommy," she blurted out, frowning.

Hotch pursed his lips and sighed.

"Me too, baby, me too," he said, stroking her hair back. "But the best we can do is just pray...because sometimes, your prayers are answered in a way you like. This might be one of them."

11 January, 8 months, 23 days since disappearance

Hotch was sitting in the kitchen, drinking coffee, when a pamphlet was put before him.

"What's this?" He asked, putting his cup down.

Rossi shrugged. "Have a look."

Hotch's eyebrows furrowed as he skimmed over the cover. He then shook his head and looked up at the older man.

"Cochlear implants? Dave, you know we can't—"

"You can't help your daughter?"

"No," Aaron interrupted. "This isn't a cure. She will never be able to hear properly again. You get that, right?"

Rossi let out a sigh. "I've come to terms with it, but have you?"

"I'm her father, of course I have," Aaron said. "What are you saying?"

"Are you afraid to make decisions? That one decision made without your wife's input is...wrong?" Rossi asked.

"No...I," Hotch started. "Look, do you think I want Grace to be deaf? Do you think I want to learn sign language because my daughter can no longer hear the very things we take for granted? Do you think I want this?"

"No," Rossi said. "I'm...just saying, it will make things easier for her. She won't be able to hear much, but she'll be able to hear something with this. I think it's worth considering."

Hotch ran his finger along the pamphlet.

"I can't," he said, pushing it away. "Jen wouldn't want it—"

"I think she would want whatever is best for her daughter. But right now, she isn't here. You are. You're the one getting Grace help. Not her."

Hotch bit his lip. "She wouldn't want it."

Rossi rolled his eyes. "She isn't here, so you make the decision. If you want it, get it for her. It'll help her in the long run."

"I've done a lot of research," Aaron admitted, twisting his coffee cup in his hands. "And...the implants look great. They...I don't know, might give her a sense of normality, but I just can't. I think she's better off with a hearing aid for now. She's getting them next week."

"And what are you going to do when she can't hear anything at all?"

"Dave, I will figure this out as I go along. You're not her father. I am her father. I know what's best for her."

Rossi sighed. "I know you're worried about her. Aaron, I don't want to push you, but you should consider getting her the implants. They'll be bought with my money. You're not alone in this. I know you want JJ to be here with you, and I know you're thinking of her...but she would want you to do what you think is best for Grace...and I respect that."

Aaron looked up and smiled faintly. "Thanks, Dave."

JJ could feel the sweat trickling down her forehead as she played with her toes. Both of her pinky toes were broken, along with the big toe on her right foot. She couldn't move them.

"Good morning, Jennifer."

The woman took a deep breath and looked up.

"You look gorgeous as ever," the man said, looking at her up and down. "That reminds me," he continued. "Your daughter—"

"My daughter what?" JJ asked. "Is something wrong?"

The man chuckled as he stood in front of JJ. "Your husband texts you every single day, you know that? He's a real keeper, that one. You know, he sent you a picture of the girl the other day—"

JJ swallowed. "Can I see it?"

"Just because I'm not yelling at you doesn't mean I'm playing nice," he said, grinning at the image he'd pulled up. "No, you cannot see it."

JJ let tears fall as she fell back to the floor. "That's my daughter."

"But you're my fantasyland," he shot back. "You people exist when men need sex. You're smart, you should know that."

"My husband loves me. Everything we do is out of love," JJ said, trembling.

The man let out another laugh as he examined the picture Hotch had sent.

"The girl's learning sign language," he told her. "Some shit like that...what, is she deaf? 'Cause you never told me that."

JJ shook her head. "No, my daughter is healthy, she's fine, she's...she's my daughter. She's fine."

"He sent something yesterday, too," the man said, beginning to walk out of the room. "Your little...boy...got his glasses changed. Oh, that's another thing you're not there for."

"You're sick," JJ mumbled, immediately regretting her words as she watched her abductor spin around on his heel.

"I'm going to fucking end you one of these days, you fucking useless bitch!" He yelled, using all of his force to bash JJ's head against the wall until she cried.

When she dropped to the floor, he stifled a laugh and turned to walk out. Upon hearing her desperate cries for help, he looked back at her and laughed.

"You're a weak excuse for a woman. Look at you, crying...really? You'd let your husband see you like that?" He asked aloud. When JJ's cries and whimpers became quieter, he turned around and stood in the doorway. "I will kill you before you make it out," he growled.

Things are taking a turn for JJ! I might add to this one day if I get inspiration, but as of now, it's completed. Thank you for reading and look forward to other work I will be uploading!