Thank you all so much for the reviews, favorites, and follows. This story is a rollercoaster! Hope you like this next chapter! Special shout out to foxyfeline, SSAmolloy, velizara95, sugarhigh9394, cheliosfan, and various guests! You guys definitely make me want to keep writing! Cheers!

Chapter 8

There was a flurry of activity on the Potomac Bridge in Washington D.C. The Metro PD had officers and medics running every which way in an attempt to gain control of the situation. And in the middle of everything was the Behavioral Analysis Unit. This was an undercover operation that had gone horribly wrong. They were on the verge of losing one, maybe even two of their own right now.

"Morgan!" Prentiss shouted down to the water below. He had just jumped over the edge, and he had not resurfaced yet.

Hotch and Rossi were running with the cops and medics as fast, but as safely as they could down the embankment to the water's edge. Reid was on the phone with a frantic Garcia, as he was filling her in on the events currently taking place.

Derek swam beneath the surface of the river, laying his eyes on the car that held JJ and Chelsea. The water was cold, and he could feel his lungs burning as he held his breath. He was a good swimmer, but he knew he couldn't stay under water for too much longer, and the car had already filled up with water. He swam over to the car's back door and pulled on the handle. It was locked, of course. He silently cursed as he caught a glimpse of JJ in the back of the car. She was clearly unconscious, and he wasn't sure if her lungs were filled with river water at this point or not. His head began to hurt as he swam back up to the surface. He wasn't giving up though. Not by a longshot!

Up on the river's shore, the rest of the BAU team stood by as medics moved in as close as they could. Hotch was on his cell phone with Chief Strauss, trying to update her on what was happening. The distraught look on his face was the same look everyone else had on theirs right now.

"Why haven't they come back up yet?" Emily asked to no one in particular.

"Derek is a strong swimmer." Rossi answered. "He'll get JJ, and they'll both be okay."

"Hey guys!" Spencer, who was now off the phone yelled. "There he is!"

Hotch was also off of his phone, and waded into the shallow water along with an officer. Derek treaded water and seemed to be trying to catch his breath, but he made no attempts to swim to shore where his co-workers were.

"I have to go back down Hotch!" He called out. "I couldn't get the door open."

The officer closest to Morgan pulled a tool off of his belt and held it up so they could see it. "This should help us break the windows sir." He said.

Derek motioned for him to toss it over to him, and the officer did so. He tucked the steel punch in his gun belt, and pre-pared to go under water again.

"Morgan please be careful!" Emily implored.

"I'll come down with you sir." The young officer said. "I'm a pretty good swimmer."

"I'm going to get her out." Morgan said to his teammates before swimming back down to the car.

He and the officer reached the car again, and Derek looked inside to see a still unmoving JJ. He could see that her hands were tied, but couldn't see much else. He took the punch and aimed it at the center of the rear window. He needed to get to JJ first. Using all of the strength he could underwater, he struck the glass and watched it crack. He handed the tool over to the officer who proceeded to swim around to the front of the car to try and get their unsub out.

Morgan acted quickly, using his muscles to push in the broken glass and reach inside the car for JJ. He grasped the blonde underneath her arms and pulled. He didn't have time to check for any injury, as his lungs were once again running out of air. He took note that the officer had also begun is ascent back up to the surface. He did not have Chelsea with him.

"I see them." Hotch said, wading further into the water.

"Medics be ready!" The police officer in charge shouted. "They're coming up!"

Morgan broke through the water's surface with a loud gasp, his lungs clearly working overtime. He had JJ in his arms though, and everyone let out an audible sigh of relief.

"Help me get her out!" Derek called. Hotch was already at her side with another cop pulling JJ to shore so Derek could swim back himself.

"Be careful, we don't know what her injuries might be." Emily stressed.

Medics were at the ready as JJ was laid gently on dry land. One of the medics looked up at Derek who had just come out of the river in confusion.

"I thought we had two people in that car?" he asked.

Everyone looked up at Morgan and the cop who had swam down with him.

"We'll get her." The police officer answered. "She has a bullet to the head." He explained. "It's too late."

The police chief commenced giving orders and calling for the coroner to come to the scene. The rest of the BAU refocused their attention on the medics tending to JJ.

"She's not breathing!" One of them stated. "Beginning CPR!"

A soaking wet Derek Morgan rushed to her side. "JJ come on!" He pleaded. "Don't do this!"

"Morgan, give them space to help her." Rossi said gently pulling the younger agent away.

"1, 2, 3…" The medic kept repeating as they continued to try and resuscitate JJ.

"Come on…" Reid said under his breath.

Just then JJ began to cough up water from her lungs. The medics gently rolled her to the side so she could expel the water. Using a stethoscope, the medic held it to her chest. He frowned, shaking his head.

"What's going on?" Morgan asked. "Why isn't she waking up?"

JJ still lie there, unmoving, and the team stood by as they checked her over.

"Her pulse is slow and weak. We also have decreased breath sounds on the left side of her chest."

"She has a collapsed lung?" Prentiss asked.

The medic nodded his head, but didn't look up from JJ. He noted a nasty bruise forming on her collar bone along with some swelling. He used scissors to cut open her top, and checked for more. There was more bruising on her rib cage, and he touched it gently.

"She's got a broken collar bone and broken ribs for sure." The medic reported. "Let's her into the ambulance and to the hospital now!"

They all followed close behind as the medics got JJ loaded onto a stretcher, and back up to the road where all the vehicles had been left. They were all scared that JJ hadn't even blinked since being revived. They knew that wasn't a good sign at all. Morgan rushed over to the ambulance as they loaded her inside.

"I'm riding with her." He said.

"Morgan you can ride with me." Hotch said, stepping forward.

"Hotch…" Morgan started, but his unit chief held up a hand.

"Emily, you ride to the hospital with JJ." He said sternly. "Rossi, you and Reid take the other SUV, and Morgan you're with me."

"Yes sir." Emily said. She climbed into the ambulance once they had JJ settled, and they took off down the street, sirens blaring.

"Rossi, call Agent Anderson and have him bring Garcia over to the hospital. She'll want to be there. Have them bring go bags for Morgan and me too."

"You got it Aaron." Rossi said. He turned to Reid. "Let's go kid."

Morgan silently climbed into the other SUV as Hotch got in the driver's seat. They followed Reid and Rossi through the DC streets towards Memorial Hospital. Hotch drove in silence, only glancing over at his Team Leader every once in and a while. He figured Derek was worried enough right now. He didn't want to make it worse by asking him the questions he probably knew were coming about him and JJ. That could wait. Everything could wait for now, as the primary concern was making sure their friend and fellow agent was going to be alright.

In the ambulance Emily reached for JJ's hand and squeezed it tightly. She looked down at her friend's face, looking for any sign of consciousness.

"JJ we're almost there okay?" She said in a shaky voice. "Just hold on."

"We're almost there ma'am." One of the medics told Prentiss.

Emily nodded, keeping her eyes glued to JJ. She had never seen her friend look so ghost like. It scared her. She knew the whole team was scared. And she knew from the look on Morgan's face, and by him jumping into the river to save her, that he probably cared the most. Just then she thought she saw JJ's eyes open a sliver before closing again.

"JJ can you hear me? She just tried to open her eyes!"

The medic bent in close to JJ. "Jennifer?" He said.

Emily squeezed JJ's hand again, and this time the blonde opened her eyes again, and they focused on her teammate.

"Emily..." She whispered faintly, but they could all hear it through the oxygen mask she was wearing.

"Shh…" Emily said. "Don't try to talk JJ. You're going to be okay,"

Just the JJ's eyes closed again, and the monitor she was hooked up to started beeping like crazy. Her hand went slack in Emily's as well. All of the sudden the ambulance came screeching to a halt. They were at the hospital, but were they too late?

"JJ!" Emily cried out frantically. "What's happening?"

"She's going into hypovolemic shock!"

"Get her into the ER now!"

They all clambered out of the ambulance, and Emily stepped back so they could rush into the building. The others pulled up just as they whisked JJ away.

"Where is she?" Morgan asked instantly. "What's happening?"

Emily filled them all in as they went inside to the waiting area. None of them could sit, and Rossi went straight for the coffee. They all looked up at the distinct sound of high heels clicking loudly down the hallway. Garcia had arrived. The technically analyst rounded the corner with Agent Anderson following close behind, carrying two bags.

"Oh my god, Derek!" She cried, throwing herself into his arms. She didn't care that he was soaking wet. "Where's my JJ? Is she going to be okay?"

Morgan squeezed Garcia tight. "We're still waiting to hear from the doctor baby girl."

"What about you?" She said taking a step back to look at a soaking wet and very distraught Derek Morgan. "Are you okay? You jumped off the bridge and into the river!"

"I had to Penelope." He said simply.

Garcia regarded her friend for a moment, seeing the hurt in his eyes. She understood why he had to. It was JJ. "I know you did, love. I know you did." And she hugged him again.

Anderson cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Agent Hotchner. Agent Morgan. I brought you some dry clothes." He said handing over the bags.

"Thanks man."

"Thank you Anderson."

"I know Agent Jareau will be okay." He said before turning to leave.

A few minutes later Morgan and Hotch had come from changing into dry clothes. The doctors were still working on JJ and had not yet come out with any kind of update. Everyone paced around nervously, as they waited on news on how she was doing.

"Morgan can I have a word?" Hotch asked.

Morgan didn't even try to hide the heavy sigh he heaved at his unit chief's request. He picked up the cup of coffee he had just poured and walked to the corner of the lounge with his superior.

"Morgan I just wanted to…" was all Hotch got out before Derek stopped him from talking.

"Hotch this night not be the best time to do this." He said.

"To do what?"

"I don't need a lecture about me and JJ, Hotch."

"I'm not going to lecture you Morgan. I can see that you care very deeply for JJ as more than a friend. And it seems you have for a while. It may have taken this case for you to realize it."

"And…?"

"And you know I have to ask the question Derek."

"What question is that Hotch?"

"You and JJ." Hotch said bluntly. "Your relationship is physical?"

"Hotch come on man…" Derek started.

Hotch held up both hands and stopped in surrender. "No lectures. I promise. But just know we will need to talk about this later. Let's all just try and focus on JJ for now."

"Thanks Hotch."

"No thanks needed."

Morgan walked back to the group and took a seat on the lounge sofa. He let out a loud sigh and rubbed his hands over his face. He was going to go crazy if the doctor didn't come and give them an update on JJ soon. He opened his eyes when he felt someone sit down next to him. He smiled, seeing that it was Garcia. His best friend. She wordlessly took his hand and squeezed it in support. He looked into her eyes, and he knew she understood how he was feeling. How could she not? JJ was her best friend.

"She's going to be okay Derek." She told him gently. "She'll come back to us."

"I know she will baby girl."

"Someone should've come out here to talk to us by now." Spencer said looking at his watch.

"Maybe the whole "No news is good news" rule applies here." Prentiss suggested.

They were all on edge and tired of waiting. Just when Morgan was about to demand what was happening, a doctor in scrubs came walking towards them. They all jumped to their feet in anticipation.

"You all are here for Jennifer Jareau?" He asked.

"Yes we are!"

"How is she?"

"What's happening?"

Everyone started talking at once, and the doctor held up his hand so he could speak.

"Agent Jareau is doing better, and I'm confident she'll recover." He began. "We were able to repair the damage done to her lung, which I believe was caused by her not being strapped in when the car flipped then fell into the water."

"Is she awake?" Derek asked.

"No she isn't. Not yet." The doctor sighed before continuing. "Jennifer was in the water for a long time, and both her lungs and brain were compromised due to lack of oxygen."

"Is there brain damage?" Reid asked.

"Too soon to tell, but we have pretty heavily sedated right now. And because her lungs are still so weak, we have her on a ventilator to help her breathe. That's just a precaution."

"Can we see her?" Hotch asked.

"Soon." The doctor answered. "She'll be moved out of recovery and into a room in the ICU. I'll have a nurse come get you once that happens."

The doctor looked at each and every member of the BAU team before turning to leave. "She's lucky to have all of you, and I know she's glad you're all here."

They all watched as the doctor walked back down the hallway. He had good things to say, and definitely sounded upbeat. They all needed to see JJ with their own eyes though. They had all gotten word that Chelsea died in the car from what looked to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. So Dan would stand trial, go to prison, and his wife was dead. No one wanted to say it, but they were all thinking it. There was a chance JJ had permanent brain damage. They wouldn't know anything until she woke up though. Hopefully that would be sooner rather than later. They all sat down in an uncomfortable, uneasy silence, as they waited on the word when they could see their beloved JJ.

Thanks for reading! More to come soon! Don't forget to review please. Next chapter is going to be so good!