Wow! I was pleasantly surprised to see the amount of positive feedback for this story! Obviously, I have decided to continue and can't wait to get further into the story and get to the juicy parts. In this chapter, our beloved trio will be searching for a way out of the woods and we'll see a bit more of what's going on with Emily.
Also, I will be out of the country starting in very early July, so I do not know when I'll be able to post the next chapter. Just be patient with me :)
Anyway, I really hope you enjoy this story, I'm very excited for it! I've got a lot planned!
WARNINGS: Dark themes, violence, mild language
- I will put an extra warning on chapters if I believe it's necessary
Disclaimer: Our wonderful crime fighters are not mine
Set in season late 5/early 6
Please leave reviews after reading…they really help motivate me to write! I feed off of them !
Chapter 2 : Search and Rescue
…
"Sir, the last location I have them at is I-40. Then their signals are lost."
Hotch closed his eyes in frustration. Three of his agents had been missing since the night before, and they were no closer to finding them. They had found the SUV hours ago and had crime scene analysts combing over it for any evidence. The damage to the vehicle, especially the driver's side made his stomach flip.
"Keep trying, Garcia."
"I'm on it like a dog on with a bone." She said, using the feather pen to tap the end button.
Hotch walked briskly towards the window, running his hand through his hair. They had no leads on their current case and now he was down three agents. The police chief had made it clear that he had some of his best detectives working on finding the three absent agents while Hotch and Rossi continued working on the case. They had less than twelve hours until the fourth body, Vanessa Cambell's body would be found.
"Dave, you and I will deliver the profile and JJ," he said, turning to face the blonde, "I want you to set up a press conference. Every woman needs to know there's a serial killer."
The liaison turned on her heels and quickly exited the room, one job in mind.
…
Garcia had been twirling the pink, feathered pen between her fingers and sipping on her iced tea, waiting for any results. Their unsub hadn't left any evidence on or around his victims - the bastard was good. The four women had nothing in common, as Garcia's searches has uncovered zilch.
A high pitched beep caught her attention and she swiveled her chair around to face her computers.
"Oh! Oh my gosh…"
She quickly used her pen to tap the speed dial to Hotch's cell and waited for him to pick up.
"What is it Garcia?"
"I found them! Their signal just came back." She said, unable to contain her relief. "I'm sending you their location as we speak."
Hotch heard the ping on his cell phone. "Got it. And Garcia, send two ambulances."
"Already done."
"Good work, Penelope. We're on our way." Hotch said, quickly getting Dave's attention.
"Just bring my babies back home. Safely."
Once the cell phone clicked off, Hotch explained the Rossi that they'd found Morgan, Reid and Prentiss' location. Hotch grabbed his suit jacket off the back of the chair and he and Dave walked towards the exit.
"Where are you going?" The police chief, James Berkley, questioned them.
Hotch node at Dave, telling him to grab the SUV and bring to around to the front. "Our missing agents have been found and we're on our way to meet them."
Berkley narrowed his eyes at the unit chief. "I brought you in to help solve this case—"
"And we are. We've delivered the profile and there's nothing more for us to do at the moment besides let your officers apply the profile to the field. Now if you'd excuse me," Hotch began walking around the man, "I need to make sure my agents are alright."
…
Derek was essentially carrying all of Prentiss' weight, as she could hardly move her legs enough to walk. Her head was still resting on his shoulder, yet it lulled with every step. Morgan could feel her fighting to remain conscious, but it seemed as though the darkness was beginning its triumph over her. He was forced to halt again as she vomited again, but this time there was nothing left to come up. He held her hair back and wiped away the left-over liquid that remained around her mouth.
"It's okay…shhh…" He soothed, as she continued to dry-heave.
"I have signal!" Reid cried, ecstatically.
"Call Garcia." Derek said solemnly as he placed a small kiss on Emily's head. Her eyelids kept fluttering open and then closed as they gradually caught up to Reid and stopped.
Spencer quickly dialed Garcia's number and watched as Derek looked down at Emily, his eyes open wide as he gently patted her cheek.
"C'mon, Emily. You gotta stay awake."
A soft moan escaped her tight lips and she turned her head away from him. "It hurts."
"What hurts?"
A second whimper broke through her lips as her breath hitched. "Head.."
"Garcia's sending a medic. The team's on their way." Reid said, a hint of worry laced his voice, "we need to get to the road, though. Garcia said it's half a mile this way." He pointed to his left.
Morgan looked at Emily and made the decision to pick her up in his arms. He nodded and Reid and the two took of running towards the road. Despite the burning in his lungs and arms, Morgan continued to run. Emily was declining faster than he was comfortable with.
About seven minutes later, according to Reid, they made it to the side of the road, both men panting and trying to catch their breath. Reid looked over at Morgan, who still had Emily in his arms. She was still awake, however, her eyelids would flutter closed frequently and she hadn't spoken in quite some time.
"Morgan, lay her down and put her head on your leg."
"Why?" Morgan asked, yet he still followed the young doctor's instructions.
"I think she might have some brain swelling as a result from the crash." He said quickly, bending down to help him position her head correctly.
"How bad is it?"
Reid shook his head, letting his eyes scan over his nearly unconscious friend. "I don't know."
Morgan studied Reid's face, searching for any sign of something other than worry, but found nothing. He realized then, Emily's situation was dire. Moving his eyes off the boy's, he looked down at his partner, cocking his head slightly. He plastered a small smile onto his face to reassure her that everything was fine.
"Emily, I need you to squeeze my hand," He said, wrapping his own hand into hers.
Her eyebrows raised, telling him she was trying to and then he felt the smallest bit of pressure around his hand. "Good, that's it. Just keep squeezing."
Reid was standing a few feet farther down the road, ready to flag down the team and the ambulance. Only minutes later, he could hear the sirens and relief flooded into every nook and cranny in his body. Moments later he saw the flashing lights and he waved his hands in the air, effectively grabbing the attention of all of the drivers.
Rossi was the first one to exit the SUV, running over to Reid. After seeing that their genius was relatively unscathed, his eyes landed on Morgan, who was calling out for help. He ran over to his colleague and crouched down next to him.
"How long has she been down?" Rossi asked, just as Hotch joined them.
"We need a medic! Now!" Hotch called out.
Derek ignored Rossi's initial question and continued to stroke Emily's dark, amber hair away from her face. "She—she was fine! She was talking—"
"Derek!" Rossi yelled, causing Derek to look at him. "How long as she been down?" He asked in a much softer tone.
"I—I don't know. She just lost consciousness."
Two medics quickly approached the three men, carrying multiple backpacks full of an array of medical supplies. "Please step back," they directed Hotch and Rossi then addressed Derek. "What happened, sir?"
"We were in a car accident, she took the brunt of the impact." He started, "She was fine earlier, then she became dizzy, then vomited a few times. She couldn't walk right, or talk very well." Derek informed him, then carefully helped the medic place her head flat on the ground. He remained next to her, and held her head steady when the female medic advised him to as they rolled her onto a stretcher.
The medics nodded, and the older of the two flagged down a third medic. "Josh, can you set up an oxygen mask? Allison, you insert an IV and push two grams of Mannitol." He pulled out his pen and clicked on the light at the end, using his fee hand to peel back her eyelids. "Ma'am? Can you hear me?"
"Her name is Emily." Reid said, biting his thumb nail as he stood behind Derek.
"Emily? I'm Sam, can you tell me what hurts?"
To everyone's surprise, Emily's eyes peeled open. She looked around, her eyes unfocused and dazed. Sam looked into her eyes and furrowed his brows. "Let's get going." He said, a hint of urgency mixed into his usually calm voice.
As Derek stood up, he winced and grabbed at his side.
"Sir, are you okay?" Sam asked, placing a hand just below Derek's shoulder.
"I'm fine, just some bruised ribs. Just help Emily, please."
Sam's eyes narrowed at him, doubting the darker agents assessment of his own injuries. Sam lifted up his shirt and a display of blacks, blues and purples littered his side. "Agent, why don't you ride along with us?"
Morgan nodded and looked back at Reid, Hotch and Rossi.
"We'll meet you at the hospital." Hotch said as the three men nearly sprinted into the SUV.
Once in the ambulance, Derek sat on the bench while the younger medic, Josh, inspected his bruising. However, Derek's eyes never left Emily's still body on the stretcher. Her eyes were open, but were showing no signs of clarity or lucidity. He desperately wanted to hold her hand and tell her everything was going to be okay, but he was too far away.
Every head turned towards her as she let out a quiet, yet piercing cry. For Derek Morgan, this moment had to go towards the top of the list for scariest moments of his life. It was fairly close to witnessing his father's death.
Her mouth was open under the mask, emitting the high-pitched cry, and her eyes were hazy but open. Derek watched as she looked around the bright ambulance, searching for what he assumed was a familiar face. He quickly shooed away the medic and stood up next to her, locking their eyes.
"Shh…it's okay, we're almost there." He soothed, gently brushing her hair back. Second later, he watched as her brown eyes rolled to the back of her head as she began shaking violently.
"She's seizing!" Josh called out.
"You gotta do something!" Derek cried.
Sam quickly turned Emily onto her side and tore the oxygen mask away from her face. Drool immediately trickled out of the side of her mouth while her body continued to spasm.
"What's our ETA?" Sam hollered to the driver.
"Two minutes!"
Less than a minute after the seizure started, it was over. Sam gently turned her onto her back and placed the oxygen mask over her face. Her eyes were now closed and if he couldn't have seen the rise and fall of her chest, Derek would've thought she was dead.
The ambulance slowly came to a stop and right after the doors were open, Derek saw the familiar faces of his friends and colleagues. JJ had somehow made her way to the hospital to join them, and he flashed him a brief but reassuring smile.
The team of medics quickly rushed Emily's stretcher into the hospital, the agents all following closely behind. Medical jargon was being shouted back and forth between the medics and the doctor who'd been waiting for their arrival. Sam, Allison and Josh stepped back and the team of doctors and nurses took over, pushing their friend between another set of double doors, disappearing shortly after.
Derek stood, unmoving, in the center of the group. The numbness he'd felt since waking up in the basement was now diminishing rapidly. The sharp pain in his side now making itself known while his shoulders ached at every twitch. He hunched over, hands clutching at his sides and nearly fell into a plastic chair.
"Morgan?" JJ asked as she quickly walked over towards him, placing a warm hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"
Hotch silently waved down a nurse who grabbed a wheel chair and spun it around to face him.
"Agent, why don't we take a look at your ribs." She said, a comforting smile gracing her lips. "I'll update you as soon as I know something about your friend."
Derek looked up at Hotch, who only gave him a stern glare in return.
"I don't have much of a choice, do I?" He mused.
"No." Hotch replied. "Reid, why don't you get checked out too. You were in a car accident yesterday."
Reid caught himself before he protested, closing his open mouth and giving them a silent nod. He couldn't do much anyway, besides run the statistics of Emily's condition through his mind over and over again. Wordlessly, the two wounded agents were admitted and assigned their own rooms.
"Where did they take her?" Hotch demanded at the young nurse who'd stayed back.
"They are most likely running some scans right now. As soon as I know more, I will let you know." She said with a sympathetic smile before grabbing a chart and running off.
Sam had hung back from his team, watching as the broken FBI agents struggled to comprehend the past few hours. He found himself walking over towards the leader, Agent Hotchner, and the other two quickly flocking towards him.
"She's in good hands," Sam said, giving them an encouraging smile, "the neurosurgeon here is one of the best—"
"Neurosurgeon?" Rossi asked, his eyebrows raised.
Sam exhaled, he'd never dealt with profilers before and know understood how difficult it was to slip anything by with them. "From what my team and I gathered," he gestured back towards Josh and Allison, "Emily endured what we call a 'traumatic brain injury' yesterday in the crash. As a result of the injury, her brain began to swell."
"Why were her symptoms delayed? She was fine…" JJ asked.
"Swelling takes time to occur, and as the swelling gets worse, that's when symptoms begin to show. Sometimes people feel fine and then begin to rapidly decline, like Emily." Sam said.
"Will she be okay?" Rossi asked, keeping his tone optimistic. He couldn't stand to lose her.
Sam bit his lip, unsure how to answer the hopeful agents. He'd seen patients with brain swelling go both ways - some made relatively fast and easy recoveries, while others were in a near vegetative states or dead. And, with Emily's rapidly declining heath, combined with the vomiting and seizure, he knew she was one of the severe cases.
Hotch could tell the medic was trying to decide what to say, so he broke his trance. "Be honest."
He looked up at the agents and locked eyes with the blondes wide, blue eyes. He exhaled before continuing. "It's bad. The vomiting and seizing are both signs of fairly advanced swelling." He said solemnly, "But the doctors will work to drain the fluid and she will be given the best chance at recovery."
Aaron looked at of his agents. JJ was nervously biting at her fingernails while Rossi seemed to be intrigued with the white paint that covered the walls. Despite not getting the news they'd been so desperate for, they had more answers now than they did an hour ago. Hotch thanked the medic for his help, and Sam joined Allison and Josh and the trio left through the double doors, presumably on their way to the next emergency.
The team stood in the lobby, each sorting out exactly what had happened over the past twenty-four hours.
Hotch, Rossi and JJ were then left to themselves. To worry about their injured friends who'd just been the victims of their newest case.
JJ softly excused herself, stepping away from the two senior profilers and making her way to the double doors. She breathed in the crisp, morning air and pulled out her cell phone. She clicked the speed dial and listened to the monotone ringing in her ear.
"JJ? Please tell me my babies are alright! I haven't heard anything and I—they have to be okay!" The technical analyst nearly cried into the speaker. "I'm about to board a plane as we speak."
"Garcia," She said breathlessly, pinching the bridge of her nose with her middle finger and thumb. "Derek and Spence should be fine, just a couple cuts and bruises. Derek might have some fractured ribs—"
"Oh! My poor chocolate thunder! Is he okay?"
"He'll be fine." JJ said, and before she could continue, Penelope's voice broke through.
"Oh thank the heavens. I don't know what I'd do if—"
"Penelope!" JJ yelled, a bit louder than she'd intended to, but it'd gotten the analysts attention. "It's Emily. They think she's got brain swelling, she—" her voice cracked and she swallowed to regain her composure, "it's not good."
"Oh…oh gosh. How…" Penelope whispered, unable to truly comprehend the utterly devastating news.
JJ brought her free hand up to her cheeks, wiping away her own tears. "Just…just get here, okay?"
"I'll be there faster than a jaguar running through the forest." Garcia chirped, settling into her seat next to an older man. She smiled at him, content when he returned the gesture. "I'll see you soon Jayje."
"See ya, PG. Have a safe flight."
JJ turned her cell phone off, moving her gaze up to the sky. She shut her eyes, willing Emily to be okay. For their team to leave this dreadful city together. As a family. She broke out of her thoughts when a gentle hand cupped her shoulder. She blinked and turned her head and was immediately met with Rossi's tender eyes.
"Hey, kiddo. We can go see Derek now."
She quickly straightened out, unable to contain her excitement. "He's okay?"
Rossi nodded.
"And Spence?"
"He's alright, too. Derek's got some fractured ribs and a mild concussion. Reid has some road rash on his shoulder and a sprained thumb, but the kid will be fine." Rossi said, placing a gentle hand in the crook of her back. "Let's go see 'em, huh?"
She smiled softly and nodded. The pair walked back into the hospital where they met Hotch in the middle of the lobby.
"Doctor said she'd surprised Derek was able to carry Prentiss through the woods for how long he did with the fractured ribs." Hotch said, pride clearly written on his face. He was beyond grateful to be the leader of a team that had such a strong bond, he knew not every team was as lucky as they were. He just hoped nothing would change after this case.
"They're partners. He'd never leave her behind." JJ said, recalling several occasions in which Emily and Morgan had saved each other's asses in the field.
The three agents walked down the hall to room 107, where both Reid and Morgan were. Hotch opened the door and was relieved to see both men, sitting up, alive and well.
Right after they entered, Morgan perked up. "How's Emily?"
"Nothing new," Hotch said, glancing at Rossi and JJ. He'd decided to leave out what Sam had told them at the last second. Hotch figured that Sam hadn't seen any of the test results so he could've been mistake. There was a chance none of what he'd told them was true. Until Hotch heard from the doctor, he didn't want to say anything. "So what happened yesterday?"
How it had only been a matter of days since the crash baffled the genius. The cellar seemed so long ago — wait. The cellar!
"After the crash, we woke up in a cellar of some sort." Reid said. "We managed to overpower the man, but he might've gotten out—"
"That's right," Derek said, finally recalling the events of the past day fully. "He was short, thin. Not the type of guy to hold three FBI agents captive."
Despite the initial shock of learning that his agents had been abducted, the profiler mode in Hotch came out. "Could you describe him to a sketch artist?"
Morgan glanced back at Reid, both shrugging. "Yeah, yeah we could." He said. "He was handcuffed in the cellar but, he probably got out by now."
Hotch nodded and dialed Garcia. "She brought her laptop, right?" He aimed his question towards JJ who nodded. "Garcia? I need you to search for a cabin or house in the woods near the location Prentiss, Reid and Morgan were found." He paused for a second as he heard her quick typing, "And once you find it, send a unit to the location. The unsub may still be there."
"Got it, sir. Is there anything else I can do ya for?"
"No, that's all."
There was a brief, but hesitant pause from the technical analyst. "Sir, is there an update on Emily?"
"Nothing yet. We'll hopefully know more by the time you get here."
They both said their goodbyes and Hotch hung up.
Before Derek was able to complain about how long it was taking for an update, a nurse opened the door, dressed in yellow scrubs and a scrub cap. "You're here for Emily Prentiss, correct?"
"Yes." JJ and Hotch answered in unison.
"We just wanted to let you know were taking her into emergency surgery to perform a Ventriculostomy, where an external ventricular drain will be placed." The older woman said, noting the confusion written on all their faces, excluding the thin man in the bed to the left. "The surgeon will place a tube that will help drain the fluid caused by the cerebral edema." When their expressions became more confused, she corrected herself in a way for them to understand. "The brain swelling."
"She'll be okay, though, after the surgery. Right?" JJ said, her blue eyes wide in apprehension.
Nurse Jamie ran her hand over her ponytail. "We'll have to wait and see until she wakes up. Now, if you'll excuse me," she quickly exited the room and sprinted back up to the operating room to join the neurosurgeon.
"Brain swelling?" Derek asked, shock evident in his wide eyes and quiet voice.
"Traumatic brain injuries are actually quite common, affecting more than two-hundred million people every year—"
Derek shut his eyes. "Kid, not now. Please."
"We just have to wait." Rossi said, pulling out the chair next to Morgan's bed and lowered himself into it. "It could be a while."
As the team settled into the crammed room, Hotch's phone began buzzing in his pocket. Expecting it to be Garcia, he was very surprised to see the police Chief's number.
"Chief Berkley, I apologize for not updating you—"
"I'm not calling about that." He interrupted, the urgency in his voice obvious, "Vanessa Cambell was just found."
Hotch's heart sank. They hadn't been able to get to her on time, and now his ritual would start all over again, victimizing yet another innocent woman. Hotch pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to come up with a response that would be suitable for this moment.
"I am—" Hotch started, before Berkley cut him off yet again.
"She's alive."
Ah! My first kinda-real cliffhanger! What do you think? Please do leave a review…if you think the characterization was off or if I mixed something up, PLEASE let me know! Also, I'm doing my best with the medical stuff…I'm not a nurse or doctor or surgeon (I barely qualify to hold a kitchen knife) so I'm not familiar with much of the medical aspects. I do look it up and research it as much as I can before and as I write, but if you notice something major, let me know!
Thanks for reading!