"Agent Hotchner" Hotch answered his phone brusquely.

"Hotch, we need help! Send SWAT or someone. He's shooting at us!" Penelope's voice shrieked over the line.

"Shooting? Penelope? Hello?" the phone cut off the connection. Hotch ran out the door. "Get your go bags, we're going to Vermont. Morgan and Garcia are in trouble! Get the jet ready NOW!" Hotch went back, grabbing his cell phone, dialing furiously. "This is Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner. Get me the Burlington, Vermont field office. Now!" He ran out with the others close behind.

]

"Hotch? Hotch!" Penelope cried, tears of anger and fear running down her face.

"Shh….shh…baby girl, it's ok. We'll figure this out. It will be okay." Morgan tried to calm her.

"No, it's not, Derek. We're being shot at, and we can't call the police and you don't have your gun, and I know you're hurt and you're not telling me!"

"Sweetheart, I'm okay. I'm a little banged up, but I'm okay. Hotch got your message. He'll get someone here, you'll see. The team is our family, they'll get us help."

"But what if he didn't hear me?"

"He did. I heard his voice. He knows and he will get help. You have to believe that Penelope. Don't give up on me."

"I won't."

"Good. Now, whoever's shooting at us obviously isn't a very good shot, or they'd have already hit us." "How do you know there's only one?"

"Singular shots coming from about 45 feet away."

"So what do we do now?"

"We just need to hang out here, and wait for him to come to us. Once he does, I swear to you, Penelope, I will take him out."

"No! Derek, you're hurt. You can't fight him. He has a gun."

"Hotch once said that 21 feet is the magic number. Inside that, I have the upper hand. I just have to wait until he gets within that radius."

"I'm scared Derek."

"I know, but I'm right here. You don't need to be afraid. I promise, he'll have to go through me to get to you."

"Yeah… that doesn't help so much. I don't want you to put yourself between me and danger. I want you to stay out of danger completely."

"Baby, I'm a Supervisory Special Agent with the BAU. I can't not ever be in danger. But I won't take unnecessary risks."

Penelope snorted even through her fear. "You mean like driving an ambulance with a massive bomb into a park, or chasing after a lunatic with a gun? Oh yeah… you never take risks."

"Penelope, is this REALLY the time that you want to discuss this?" Derek said incredulously staring at her.

"No, but…is that a siren? Derek, is that a siren?"

"Yeah, baby. I told you Hotch would come through." He hugged her tightly to his side, then swore.

"What? What's wrong?"

"He's running. I have to go, Pen."

"What? Derek, no!" Penelope tried to grab his arm as he took off after the shooter.

A/N: Sorry this one is short, but at I hope you'll forgive me since it's two updates in one night.