A/N: This chapter gets a little intense at parts at the end, some dark parts to this fic. Be warned.

Thanks for reviews and alerts! I am glad people are liking this pairing. I expect to make this pretty long and put some obstacles in the way, but smut will come soon, I promise.

I do not own Criminal Minds

"Hotch!" she was banging on his door desperately and she was terrified. She kept feeling like any second she would be snuck up on and taken if he didn't just open his damn door right now.

He swung the door open as soon as he got there, catching Penelope as she fell into his hotel room. She wrapped herself around him, latching on like a child waking from a nightmare. He closed the door behind her and walked her over to his bed, helping her sit.

"What's wrong?" his voice held pure concern that snapped her out of her panicked state. She had a job to do even at five in the morning.

"I worked all night and got the files open Hotch. It was registries, hotel registries for the rooms. He had everything, every single reservation for the last two months including pictures from photo IDs that were on file. And what's worse—" she took a long and deep breath. "He has the capability of cloning room keys. He perfected it, it's all right there on the computer. He has every code, every override!"

That was not at all what he was expecting. It took a minute for him to work through her hurried explanation, a conclusion dawning on his face. "So he can just take his victims right from their rooms. He has unlimited access." No wonder she was terrified, and she fit the same description of the only identified victim. He had wondered why she hadn't just called him and now he knew.

He snapped up, still with an arm around her waist as she clutched to his side. He went straight for the phone to call the front desk. "This is SSA Hotchner. You have a security breach. Stop all maid and food service until you receive further instructions from me. I will be down shortly." Then he called Rossi. "Gather the team, now! And don't take the time to change. Meet me at Garcia's." he backed it up with a mass text, grabbed his gun and marched them to her room.

"What the hell is going on Hotch?" Morgan asked, having reached Garcia's room first and waiting in the hall. It took a minute for him to notice baby girl clutching to Hotch like a barnacle. He pulled her to him in examination before looking to Hotch for an explanation as Rossi, Reid and Prentiss arrived nearly simultaneously and entered the room.

"Garcia got a major break in the case but we have to come up with an action plan right away. The unsub is most likely employed at the hotel or another in town, in something that would allow him to carry off a victim. His computer indicates he has records and pictures of every reservation and the ability to clone key cards. No room is safe. We need to inform the public in every hotel in the area to utilize deadbolts on every door as well as extreme caution." He turned to JJ, only she wasn't there. "Reid, where is JJ?"

"I don't know. She went to bed after calling Henry for the night."

"You didn't spend the night with her?" Hotch was somewhere between incredulous and worried. Rossi and Prentiss were wondering the source of the question, Morgan kind of got it.

"No. I fell asleep calling my mother in my room." The worry on Reid's face was palpable and everyone made a break for JJ's room. Reid had the extra key card and opened the door for them all to notice she was gone. The bed was neatly made, her clothing gone. Towels all washed and neatly folded on the bed.

Hotch called down to the front desk. "Yes, this is SSA Hotchner again. Have you seen Agent Jareau leave the premises?"

"I am sorry sir, I have no record of an Agent Jareau. What room was she in?" he told her and she responded "I am afraid you are incorrect. The last reservation for that room was to a Mr. Wildamer who checked out four hours ago."

Hotch cursed aloud and slammed the phone down. "He's in the system. He has her."

Penelope could feel her lips quiver but as she looked at the strong man in front of her she somehow channeled that strength and stepped into action. "Alright!" she clapped her hands in determination. "Let's get on the road to the field office. I will put out an emergency report to every hotel and to the media then see what more magic I can do. Reid and Rossi, figure out why she was a target. Morgan and Prentiss do whatever Hotch says and hunny, get ready for a firestorm." She cupped his face quickly before grabbing the hand not occupied by a gun and towing him out of the room, with everyone else to follow.

Rossi took Reid in his rental while Prentiss and Morgan climbed in the back of the SUV with Hotch and Garcia upfront. Everyone was busily talking on cell phones, discussing the case or silent in thought. As Morgan was actively discussing the potential motives for taking JJ specifically, he saw movement up front- Hotch just reached for baby girl's hand to comfort her sudden crying. He filed it for later examination and turned back to Emily. "Did she make any public statements about the case?" she asked.

Morgan shook his head no. "She was too busy organizing the search parties."

"Well other than fitting the general victimology profile what else could point her as a specific target when at least twenty other women in the hotel had to fit that description?"

"He must have seen her in the woods. She was the only person other than me and the coroner to touch the body. He might be marking his territory, awareness of us on him making him devolve."

Hotch looked over at Garcia as she squeezed his hand with all her might, willing the image of JJ being hurt away from her mind. She had so believed she could be strong for this but as she continued her search into the case files for any clue she just kept seeing the blood and gore of the found victim.

She took a long steadying breath and return Hotch's hand to his own command, her attention on the new coroner's report to just hit her inbox. She announced aloud to the car. "The coroner found and injection site on the other side of the neck of our victim. There are traces of a cocktail of substances in her system, indicating an immediate lack of consciousness. He also found white linen fibers. Do you think that could match linens from a food service cart?" she asked Hotch and he nodded. It would make getting a body out all the easier.

Morgan leaned forward to the front. "Hotch, this changes the profile some, he's devolving rapidly if he is already targeting after a fresh kill. On the other hand it proves our profile was right on this whole time."

"I'm going to call Reid and Rossi and fill them in on the details." Emily stated, pulling out her phone. She couldn't bear to be silent the next five minutes to the station, allowing her fear for JJ, confusion over Hotch's question to Reid and the tension up front swirl around in her head.

The rest of the ride was interminably long for each of them, still in pajamas and ready to just get on with the work.

-Criminal Minds—

The day dragged on but no one noticed anything other than an anxiety to find the unsub and secure JJ to safety.

Morgan had to force Garcia to change into the clothes the officers provided for the team. Simple cop gym sweats but it would do. It took five minutes and Hotch eventually lifting her key board away to get her to comply but she finally changed and ran back to her station, yet again focused on pursuing every avenue of the cyber world she could find.

Emily had tasked herself with watching over Reid who became nearly useless at this point. He was second guessing himself at every turn. He would state a fact, say he could be wrong or it might not be relevant. Finally she had to pull him aside as everyone else continued to work the profile.

She pushed him into the women's room and locked the door behind them. "Reid, what's the matter with you?"

"JJ has been taken by a serial rapist and murderer." It was so matter of fact that Emily knew he was hiding something.

"What is it Reid?" she insisted and she saw it, guilt. She raked over the little looks she saw them share the last few days, the question Hotch asked him about sharing a room. "Are you and JJ together?"

He sunk to the floor in hysterical crying, rocking back and forth as he hugged his knees. "I love her. I was going to ask her to marry me once she divorced Will."

'Holy fuck.' Was the only coherent thought Emily had for several minutes as she lowered herself next to the weeping Reid. She hesitantly put her arm around his shoulders and pulled him in to cry on her shoulder. "Shhh. Shhh."

"I should have been there. I always sleep in her bed when we go off in the field. Why did I have to fall asleep in my own room?"

"Stop right there. None of this is your fault. #1. You had no reason to expect she was in danger. And #2. Our unsub must have moved almost silently to be able to inject her. Who knows what he would have done to you if you had been there as well. At least now we have a solid profile. We can work this out, we have time to save her."

"We do?" he asked in the most boyish of expressions.

"Yes. The medical examiner informed us that it takes many, many hours for the drugs to wear off. Our unsub wouldn't have no need to be so merciful to an unconscious victim."

"But what if he likes them in a half state?" Reid contended.

"Stop thinking that way. We have to try to gain our focus and we can't stop on every what if. I need you out there with that big brain of yours. JJ needs you."

Reid dried the last of his tears and began to stand up and dust himself off. Before he could reach the door Emily stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "So, Hotch knows?"

"He caught us kissing and JJ broke down and told him some of it in front of me, more in his office alone. I had to come in an hour later and give my own account of it."

She stopped his progress again, she needed to get a handle on the situation. "Let's take a minute, get this out in the open, ok? So we can both be able to focus on the case when we get back out there?"

He followed her lead and leaned against the counter. "The first time was when Gideon gave me the tickets to bring her to the redskins' game. I was so nervous; it was my first date you know. And she was kind on me, told me not to be so wound up. She kissed me during a big goal and I didn't let her go. We had to leave before the end of the game because we were almost making a scene."

"Its been going on all this time?" she was beyond shocked at that.

"Not really. We did it then, right before her wedding when she had cold feet and once before Henry was born. I had actually wondered for a while if there was a possibility he could be mine, but her conception and due dates were a little off for that."

"Oh. My. God."

"I should stop talking now." For once, Reid was aware he was making someone uncomfortable.

"Don't you dare. So you are together now though?"

"The next time was when I was crying to her about your death. We were both grieved, both so needing one another even though after the time before we agreed never to do it again, the guilt was killing her. But we did, over and over until I had to back away for a while. When you came back I felt so betrayed by her fake grief with me more than anything else." He took a long breath. "Then, on my birthday she came to my house and brought my present by after work. I asked her in and she asked me what I wished for. I told her the truth. Her. She didn't know what to do or where to look but I kissed her and she kissed back and we have been having an intense affair since. For once, it's a real relationship. She called the divorce lawyer two weeks ago, the papers are being drawn up as we speak."

This was a lot to take in, even for Prentiss. So she just stood there for a few minutes before she could accept it and hugged Reid. "I am surprised but I don't judge either of you. You are as close to family as I will ever have. Just don't keep any more secrets from me, ok?"

He nodded his consent and they went back to the drawing board with Hotch, Morgan and Rossi. She knew it was a bit hypocritical to tell Reid to not keep secrets when she had her own… but those were just potentials, blooming. Now, she needed to focus back on the case.

-Criminal Minds-

Once again Hotch shook Garcia awake from her keyboard. "We are going back to the hotel. We both need sleep."

She shook her head. "No. I have to keep looking."

"I wasn't asking." He wrapped his jacket around her shoulders and pulled her upright. "Prentiss and Reid already got six hours back at the hotel and will be here all night while we, Rossi and Morgan go sleep. We are stuck, we need to sleep and come to more conclusions with fresh minds."

She had stopped arguing once she heard his demanding tone. That was the Hotch she knew. She climbed robotically into the backseat of the SUV, surprised when Morgan took the wheel and Hotch the seat next to her.

"Come here." He whispered as he pulled her head to rest against his shoulder. She was falling in and out of sleep until a speed bump woke her to alert. Great, between that and the fear of being kidnapped in the night she was never getting back to sleep.

Morgan watched in the rearview as Hotch stroked Penelope's hair when he didn't think anyone was looking. A sideways glance to Rossi confirmed that they both caught on to it. Suddenly there was an intimacy between the two friends and he found a part of him really hoping it was something romantic, something that could be serious because they each needed to be happy.

He went over and over it in his mind, could they really be seeing one another? Or sleeping together? Good together? Yes on the last question. He was sure the other two hadn't happened yet. He would have seen something more concrete in Penelope if she was getting something steady again. And she still looked at Hotch with that schoolgirl-wonder-crush she always denied when he teased her on it. So it was unlikely they were dating. He allowed himself to be bogged down in thinking of ways to push them along the path to something more, a way to distract him from the hopelessness of losing JJ.

He and Rossi immediately went to their rooms, not looking back at the couple following them, each hoping privacy would push them together tonight.

Hotch walked Penelope to her hotel room, telling her to get into pajamas (he changed back into his own before leaving the station). He waited outside the bathroom to be sure she was functioning until she stepped out dressed in a long Hello Kitty night shirt.

He rocked nervously on his feet, aware that he had been staring at the contours of her braless breasts for a noticeable amount of time. She still hadn't said anything when he looked up to her eyes.

"Hotch-I-"

"What is it?" he took her in his arms when he saw the tears begin. It wasn't even weird anymore, holding her. It was becoming second nature to him.

"Will you stay? I am so afraid." She stared down and away from his tight white t-shirt that so perfectly framed his built chest and closed her eyes in fear he would say no.

"Shhh. Of course." He whispered into her hair as he walked them to the bed, letting her claim a side first before settling down himself.

He laid on his back, staring at the ceiling as she turned off the light from across the bed. He didn't know what was expected of him. Was this an invitation to hold her tonight? He needed nothing more than to just connect with another person and momentarily forget all his fears and anxieties about JJ.

She wrapped her arm around his waist as she buried her face to his now bare chest. She wasn't sure when or why he removed his t-shirt but the smell and feel of his slight chest hair overwhelmed her senses. Had it been any other time, a time when she wasn't attaching herself to him as a life line she would have been embarrassed and turned on simultaneously. But once his arm closed around her and the other picked back up in stroking her hair, she lulled to sleep with one last prayer that JJ would see tomorrow morning.

-Criminal Minds—

Her eyes opened to face a dark wood ceiling she could barely make out in the low light of early dawn. Blinking almost hurt, JJ's eyes were so dry and her head was pounding. 'Where am I? Why is Reid not here?'

Slowly she began to lift from her fog and tried to look around her. It was difficult. Why couldn't she roll over? She could feel her whole body, the slightly uncomfortable and cold mattress under her, the breeze from the open window but she hand no control over her body. She had managed only to turn her head to the side and realization began. There was another set of eyes staring back at her reflecting the same panic of her own. The other woman was in what she assumed was a similar pose to her own, supine with arms and legs spread wide.

She looked deeply at her, trying to will her lips to form a sound, any sound. But nothing was there. 'Training. What would your training tell you? Look for clues. Ok, where am I?' she could see a little more detail as the sun's light brightened.

The windows on the far wall, on the other side of the woman, were broken in. The paint was flaking off the walls and debris was scattered about. From the corner of her eye she could make out the color of her mattress, it was the same as the stuffed hay bedroll the other woman was laying on. Oh. No.

She could hear the footsteps and creaks of the floor boards as the unsub's pace neared the room and when her counterpart's eyes widened she knew he was there. She was afraid to look away from the woman's eyes. They were in this together and unlike her, the other woman had no way to know what this was or what to expect from the man now coming into her view.

He had short, boyish blonde hair and thick framed glasses. He couldn't have been older than his early twenties but he carried himself with assurance as he stalked towards the other woman, ignoring her entirely. He knelt down, grabbing her hair and bringing it to his face to smell appreciatively like a rose or chocolate. She couldn't objectify the woman in her own mind, she named her Evelyn.

Evelyn seemed to have the same paralysis she suffered and in the moment the unsub (she named him Ted) began to cut off her clothes she had a horrid thought. Evelyn was going to feel everything about to happen to her and have no control to stop it.

She couldn't even cry. Tears would have been welcomed, even just to lubricate her dry eye sockets. Ted came to her and placed two eye drops in each before returning to Evelyn and doing the same. He had whispered to her that he takes care of his ladies.

The bile of her stomach rose as Evelyn's breasts were cut free from her bra. JJ decided she couldn't watch this, Evelyn deserved to at least not have this witnessed but she felt a weight pressing on her exposed cheek. "I brought you here to see." He said in warning, leaving the weight in place, effectively paralyzing her last motor skill.

Evelyn's eyes widened in what would have been filled with tears if she could produce them as the unsub latched onto her breasts, laying down beside her like a baby feeding from his mother. There was nothing sexual about it, it was as if he was seeking to be nurtured. She could hear the gulps he took, she was lactating and he was drinking it down. He took about ten minutes, she estimated before he covered her breasts with a towel and stated "Thank you mommy." Before unzipping his pants and pushing them to the floor.

He laid on top of Evelyn, cutting away the last of the fabric and raped her in front of JJ's eyes. It was the worst experience of her life. To see the betrayal of a woman's body occur in front of her and she helpless to stop it, helpless to stop a mother like herself from experiencing this horrible invasion.

And he took his time. He enjoyed it, each little stroke a disgusting smile rose on his face. She was beyond sickened, she was already scarred from watching and she knew what was to come next.

He finished and immediately rose to roll Evelyn off the mattress onto her belly on the floor. She turned her head to look back at JJ before he quickly cut her artery and she bled out almost instantly.

She stared at the large pool of blood expanding in front and towards her and suddenly JJ came to realize what she witnessed, she could be next. Her heart was racing as he stalked over to her, now removing the weight and straightening her gaze to look into his eyes. "Sorry sweet pea. My momma raised me a gentleman. I only love one woman at a time." Before she could make sense of it, she felt the syringe slide into her neck and fought with all her strength to escape the blackness creeping up on her, but her efforts were in vain. She slowly slipped to oblivion.

Next chapter: More Hotch/Garcia moments. The team gets another break in the case.