Author's Note: Thanks to the reviewers of the last chapter: stefi; hxchick; SparkleInTheSun; and Zolidify. Reviews make my day, so I really do appreciate it.
Special thanks to littlegreenbottle and brynnifer!
This chapter is very heavy, read at your discretion. I have been told that this chapter is HORRIBLE to read. I am trying to be unequivocally clear, the flashback contained in this chapter is the worst thing I have ever written. That being said, I'm incredibly pleased with this chapter, but I just want to make sure I'm clear. IT IS NOT NECESSARY FOR YOU TO READ THIS CHAPTER, but I think it highlights why the team feels so guilty (more than JJ's just one of them that was abducted). I don't really know how much more clear I need to be, but...just be warned.
"Hotchner." Hotch answered the phone without looking up from the paperwork in front of him.
"Agent Hotchner, this is Laurie Munroe." The social worker's normally bright voice held a tinge of concern.
"What's wrong?" Hotch asked, immediately concerned. He knew it was the social worker's time for a monthly visit at Prentiss's condo and couldn't help but feel worry wash over him that something had happened.
"Nothing's wrong right now." The social worker sighed, "I worry about Agent Prentiss."
"Agent Prentiss cares about JJ." Hotch tried to explain, "She just wants what is best for her—"
"I know that." Laurie cut in, "But caring for an individual with special needs, like JJ, is difficult for anyone. I just thought you might want to step in and give her a break. Especially given the incident this morning-"
"What incident?" Hotch asked nervously.
"Agent Prentiss discovered JJ has been avoiding taking her medication. While it's something that's serious, it is not uncommon for patients with anxiety and other mental health issues to fight taking medication." Laurie admitted, not wanting to go into the details of the experience, but also well aware that as JJ's guardian there were some issues he needed to be aware of.
"What?" Hotch exploded. "How could she possibly have—"
"Agent Hotchner." Laurie spoke forcefully, snapping him out of his shock, "JJ will be fine, you and Agent Prentiss will simply have to make sure that she's taking her medications. I'm calling, though, to let you know that I think Agent Prentiss is feeling slightly overwhelmed."
Hotch grimaced slightly, well aware that he hadn't been as supportive as he should have. "Thank you." He said softly, ending the call. He paused only a few seconds before dialing the number that was now likely permanently programmed as his speed dial.
"What?" Emily's obviously annoyed voice quickly barked at him as she answered the phone on the first ring.
"I wondered if you wanted to bring JJ and meet me for lunch."
"Fine." Emily ground out. Hotch raised his eyebrows in surprise—it had been a long time since Emily had been this obvious at a failed attempt to control her temper. Since he was fairly certain that he hadn't done anything recently to incur Emily's wrath, he wisely kept quiet.
Quickly giving her the details of where to meat, he was only mildly surprised when she quickly ended the call while he was in the middle of speaking.
Thirty minutes later he was waiting in the small sandwich shop near the bureau when Emily threw the door open and waited impatiently for JJ who slowly walked through the open door.
"Is everything ok?" Hotch smirked at Emily's obvious annoyance. Truthfully, up until this moment, he had never seen Emily this angry at someone other than himself.
"What do you want?" Emily asked JJ tersely, ignoring Hotch's question and picking up a menu.
JJ murmured something softly, in Spanish that he could easily recognize but did not understand. Emily rolled her eyes, "I don't care if you're not hungry, JJ." She replied, leaving little room for argument. "You're eating, that's it."
Hotch rose his eyebrow in surprise. JJ hadn't spoken solely in Spanish for a long time.
What is going on? He thought.
The waiter chose that moment to come and take their order, "I'll have a turkey club, and she'll have your broccoli chowder—but not hot at all. Put the chowder in the freezer for five minutes or bring out some ice with it, it just can't be hot." Emily spat quickly at the waiter, ignoring his surprise as the boy frantically wrote down the order. "We'll have water to drink, for both of us."
Hotch's surprise grew. Emily's terse attitude was definitely out of character. "I'll have a Philly-Steak Sandwich and just water to drink."
After a moment of silence, Hotch cleared his throat and informed Emily conversationally, "Laurie called this morning."
"What did she say?" Emily ground out, glancing at JJ before grabbing a package of crackers that sat in the small dish in the center of the table and ripping the crackers open forcefully. She glared at the blonde who quickly popped a single cracker in her mouth before looking to Emily for approval. Emily smiled grimly before turning back to Hotch. "Well, what did she say?" She accused, knowing that Hotch was probably about to yell at her for endangering her charge.
"She just said you might need someone to talk to." Hotch shrugged, wondering what had caused Emily's normally controlled patience to snap in two.
"Well, I don't." Emily huffed, picking up the other cracker from the package that JJ was purposefully ignoring, she held it out to the blonde who reluctantly accepted and nibbled slowly on the second Saltine.
"You don't have to get defensive with me." Hotch retorted, cursing himself yet again for letting his short temper with Emily be shown in front of JJ. "I was just trying to make conversation."
"Well don't." Emily replied.
As the waiter returned with the soup, drinks, and their sandwiches, Emily quickly pulled the soup away from JJ—the steam disappearing off the bowl evidence that her instructions had not been followed.
"Damn it!" She cursed, picking up her spoon and fishing out several ice cubes from her drink.
Though Hotch looked at Emily questioningly, she completely ignored him as she stirred the ice gently into the soup. Touching the now cool liquid gingerly, she slid the bowl towards JJ who was studying the wall next to her with fascination. Emily caught Hotch's glance and shrugged, "she won't eat it if it's hot."
"She's a big girl, Emily." Hotch reminded her. "She can take care of herself."
"If she tries to eat it and gets burned, I won't get her to eat anything for the rest of the day—possibly two days." Emily retorted angrily, "So I'm sorry if it's easier to do it this way."
Hotch nodded in understanding and dropped his gaze focus on the sandwich in front of him. How could he have left the brunt of JJ's care to Emily? He cursed himself at his complete oblivion JJ's various eating habits.
"Eat your soup, JJ." Emily commanded after a moment, noticing that the blonde was doing nothing more than stirring the cool liquid with the spoon.
JJ looked over guiltily as the soup dribbled off the spoon. She quickly accepted one spoonful before shrinking away from Emily, not willing to push Emily any further.
Because Emily was angry.
And it was all JJ's fault.
But she couldn't help it.
"Prentiss." He cleared his throat to catch her attention. "Leave her with me. Take a day off."
"I can't take a day off." Emily scoffed, snorting at the very idea.
"You need a break. I've got this under control." Hotch promised, dropping his voice to where he hoped JJ wouldn't hear, he added, "I don't need to remind you that I'm her guardian, not you."
"Could have fooled me." Emily grumbled. Truthfully, the idea of even a few hours to herself seemed almost too good to be true.
"Prentiss. Go home. I'll take her for the rest of the day."
"Are you sure?" She asked.
"Positive."
"JJ," She turned to the blonde, "Is it okay if you stay with Hotch for a little while?" She asked, gauging JJ for a response. No matter how angry she had been at JJ, she wasn't about to force her into a situation where she would be uncomfortable.
JJ bit her lip, glanced over at Emily and shrugged. Honestly, the thought of Emily leaving made her heart beat rapidly in her chest.
Watching JJ for any outward signs of needing her presence, Emily finally decided to take her leave.
She stood and paused, unwilling to leave if it was going to cause JJ distress. Seeing that the other woman didn't even look at her, she squared her shoulders in relief. "Call me if you need anything." She informed Hotch before spinning on her heels and walking out the door.
Looking out the window as he watched Emily retreat down the street, Hotch noticed the softly falling snow beginning to dust the streets of Quantico.
He was staring out the window, as if by focusing on the world outside he could will a lead to present itself.
A year.
She had been missing an entire year.
His desk phone began to ring and he sighed, well aware that it was likely another detective with another desperate case.
Didn't they realize that the only case that was important now was that of their former liaison?
"Hotchner." He answered, his gaze still locked on the falling snow.
"Hotch?" A trembling whisper that belonged to a voice he was certain he'd never hear again breathed into the phone.
He froze in utter disbelief that she was actually on the line.
"Hotch?" The small voice tried again.
"JJ, is that you?" He snapped himself out of his stupor and forced himself to speak.
"Hotch, help me. I need you to help find me." The voice cracked. "Please. Find me."
"JJ, I'm trying." He promised, feeling his heart break at how despondent she sounded. "Are you okay?"
"I—I don't—I hurt." She admitted in a panted whisper.
Frantically, he waved desperately at his team that was standing around in the bullpen. The others looked up at him in surprise but entered his office almost immediately. Placing the phone on speaker, he held up his hands. "Don't worry JJ, we're going to find you. It's going to be okay!"
"JJ?" Emily sighed with relief. "Is it really you? I can't believe it, where are you?"
"I—they don't tell me—I don't know—they—" She breathed hard, "it's dark and there's trees."
Derek quickly caught Hotch's eye and raced down the hall to inform Garcia and have her track the call.
"That's good JJ." Hotch shot Emily a look that instructed her in no uncertain terms to leave talking to JJ to him. "That's really good. We're going to find you."
"I got away." JJ said, her voice trembling with what sounded like fear and apprehension. "They didn't see me and I ran…"
"How did you get to a phone? Are there people around you?" Hotch asked with concern.
"I think I'm still in the compound." JJ admitted. "I was hiding, I found a hole in the ground and I was hiding." She explained circularly. "A man, I heard him coming, and he fell. I hit him in the head and he fell. This is his phone. I hit him, I'm sorry."
"JJ, it's okay." He comforted, "Are you hurt?"
"What?" JJ asked, perplexed.
"Are you hurt?" Hotch repeated.
"I don't—" They heard JJ pause, fear evident in her voice. "I don't understand."
"Are you bleeding? JJ is there blood?" Hotch asked with concern.
"Blood?" JJ asked deftly. "Hotch! There's blood. It's everywhere. I'm bleeding." They could hear the shock in her voice. "I'm bleeding."
"Hotch," Reid whispered, "She might have a head injury or a concussion."
"Or be drugged." Rossi postulated. "She's slurring her words and talking in circles."
"JJ, where are you bleeding?" Hotch asked, trying to figure out how badly she was injured.
"Where am I bleeding? It's—the blood—I can't—I don't know." She babbled almost incoherently. "My head hurts. There's blood. Hotch, there's blood. It's everywhere."
"JJ, do you know what day it is?" Hotch asked, hoping to gauge whether she was indeed struggling with a concussion.
"Day?" JJ asked. "It's dark. It's nighttime." She responded, confused.
"JJ, do you know what the date is?" Hotch clarified.
"What the date is? No." JJ's voice quivered. "I don't—I—they don't tell me. It's nighttime."
"That's good JJ." Emily soothed, ignoring the stern look from Hotch.
A scream pierced through the speaker as they heard grunts and scuffling. "JJ, what's going on? Talk to me JJ."
In reply, all Hotch could hear was a scuffling and desperate pleas on JJ's part. "No! Please! Let me…Let me go! Please!"
Emily covered her eyes in horror. Reid's head hung at having come so close only to have JJ ripped away momentarily.
"Who is this?" A gruff voice sounded into the phone as JJ's cries became more and more faint.
"This is Aaron Hotchner with the FBI—"
The man hooted, "Manuel said that Puta had ties to the FBI." They heard JJ's cries suddenly blare into the phone as they heard a door shut.
"Silence Puta."The gruff voice yelled. Hotch grimaced and he could see tears spill down Emily's eyes at the resounding slap that seemed to reverberate through his office. JJ's cries quickly quieted.
"Puta, Manuel said he had a plane waiting for you." Another voice sneered, "He also made sure to let us know that you needed to be punished."
"And," A gleeful male voice spoke up, his voice softer—presumably further away from the phone "He said that while he would be prepared to punish you for violating his rules, we could punish you too."
"Agent Hotchner," He could hear the gruff voice smile, "Why don't we play a little game?"
"Let her go." Hotch ordered firmly, hoping the man couldn't hear the slight tremor in his voice.
"I don't think I will." The gruff voice mocked, "But, you are now on speaker."
"JJ, we're coming for you. I promise. We'll find you—"
"Agent Hotchner, let me explain the rules of the game. You see, we're going to have to punish Puta for her disobedience, but you can help us."
"JJ, we're looking for you. We're tracing the call. We'll find you—" Hotch promised.
"Puta, Agent Hotchner here will be able to hear, and that would make him sad to hear you scream." The man informed JJ condescendingly, "Understand?"
JJ presumably nodded because the man continued. "Now Agent Hotchner, if you disrupt us then it will only be worse for your friend."
"JJ, we'll find you." Hotch assured, closing his eyes with a pained expression as he heard JJ gasp and then whimper softly.
Eventually, JJ's whimpered cries became so strong that Emily held her hands over her ears to block them out, tears rolling down her cheeks at what her friend was going through.
JJ gasped in pained agony, and Rossi began to unconsciously bang his head lightly against the door, pleading for his former colleague's torment to stop.
Reid stared at the floor, trying desperately to convince himself that this was some horrible nightmare.
"No!" JJ cried. "Please. Sto—" A loud crack stopped her plea.
The men laughed gutturally and Hotch could hear quiet hiccupped sobbing.
After what felt like an eternity, the gruff voice spoke up jovially. "Aww, Agent Hotchner, it looks like our game is coming to an end."
"What do you mean? Let her go. Please. We'll find some way, we can offer you—"
"I'm not interested in what you can offer me." The man laughed. "We've got to take Puta home. But since you've been such a good sport, I'll give you some options."
"Let her go. She doesn't deserve this." Hotch racked his brain to come up with a profile, but the gears seemed to shift slowly.
"We have a plane to catch, but Puta doesn't like flying. So, you have four options. We can: A) drug her, B) knock her with a stone like she did to our friend, C) She can spend the rest of the trip sitting on my lap like a good little girl, or D) We can throw her in her kennel like the dog she is."
Hotch fought to remain focused as his stomach churned.
Disgust turned to horror as JJ sobbed, "Please. No, I'll be good. Not the box. I promise, I'm sorry. Please-"
"Tick tick tick." The man scoffed, "Agent Hotchner we don't have much time."
"Hotch, she could have a concussion." Emily warned through her tears. "If they hit her again..." She trailed off, not needing to explain the seriousness of the situation.
"We don't know what's in her system already, the drugs could kill her." Reid added his voice cracking as he wiped away traces of tears in his own eyes.
"Agent Hotchner?" The gruff voice called in a sing-song tone, "What is it going to be?"
"Hotch, we just listened…we listened to her…you can't make her go through that again." Rossi stumbled uncharacteristically over his words.
"Ten seconds, and then we find a way to do all four." The man informed, "Ten. Nine. Maybe she sits on my lap half the way, then we throw her in the kennel?" He suggested to his friends who cackled in delight.
"Go to hell." Hotch muttered.
"Eight. Oh, Puta I'm sure you're going to enjoy this." JJ gasped loudly and the man chuckled, "Seven…"
"I'll make you pay for this." Hotch promised, "I will personally hunt you down and make each and every one of you pay for this."
"Six..." The man continued to count, ignoring Hotch's threat, "Five…oh my Agent Hotchner, you had better choose soon because I didn't get my turn with Puta earlier, and I intend to make every minute worth it."
"You bastard." Hotch breathed he grimaced as he heard JJ whimper softly.
"Maybe once Jason's done with you, I can have my turn again Puta." A different voice spoke up in a disturbingly creepy tone.
"No way!" Another voice spoke up, "I've only gotten her twice!"
"You can have her, Jose, she's not that good anyway." The first voice sounded again. The men chortled and a firm slap was followed with a soft whimper from JJ.
"Four…" The gruff sounding man counted again, "Maybe once I've got her under me, I'll make her scream for you...Three…"
"I won't rest until you are either dead or behind bars. Mark my words," Hotch growled, "you will pay."
"I heard she's been missing an entire year, Agent Hotchner, your threats aren't very promising. Two…last chance before I take my prize Agent Hotchner-"
"The box." Hotch grimaced painfully, but found a small amount of hope that Penelope was tracing the call. She'd probably already called every law enforcement agency on the continent. They would save her.
They had to.
"Box?" The gruff man chuckled maniacally, "it's a kennel. A kennel for a dog—just what Puta deserves. Say the word Agent Hotchner, say it!" Their tormentor commanded.
Hotch felt his stomach churn and knew he would never forget this moment of sheer powerlessness. "The kennel." He choked.
He tried to focus on happier thoughts as JJ's terrified screams filled the room.
But right now, it didn't seem like happier moments had ever existed.
"Now Puta," One of the other men spoke condescendingly, an accompanying slap and thud resounding through the air, "You wouldn't want your friends to be sad would you? They wanted to treat you like the bitch you are."
JJ's screams became increased as they heard metal clang against metal and desperate clawing against plastic. "Aw, look how cute. Now Puta's ready to fly."
"JJ." Hotch sighed, wiping away the tears that formed in his eyes. "We'll find you. We're coming—"
Suddenly the line clicked signaling the end of the call.
And JJ was gone.
Hotch sighed as he saw JJ looking at him quizzically. "Finish your soup JJ." He encouraged softly. "Then we'll go somewhere nice and quiet."