A/N: Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited or followed this story!

Special thanks to samcarter1980, Jotchprossi18, jenny crum, arjemma, Criminalmindschick221, Violette702 and guest!

I don't own criminal minds!

Chapter 4: Reunion

Emily raced through the never ending hallways of the hospital in Seattle. She had gotten a call from Derek about five hours earlier when she was in a meeting. She kept his number in her contacts and when she saw the caller-id, she knew something big had happened. They hadn't been in contact since she left for the Chicago Field Office. Hearing that they had a lead on JJ caused her to jump out of the most important meeting of her career, but she didn't care. Her missing friend was far more important than any job she could get. She just couldn't believe that this was happening. When she got the call from Derek to come to the hospital, she knew JJ had to be alive. She was relieved about that, but she just didn't know what her condition was.

As she raced around the corner, she almost slipped. She froze when she saw the team standing closely together in the dimly lit hallway. They hadn't changed a bit. They only one missing was Gideon. Their facial expression told her more than enough. Hotch looked the worst of them all. She couldn't have expected anything different. Hotch was the one who kept the investigation going when there seemed to be no possible way of finding JJ. Lead after lead turned into a dead end.

''Hey,'' she greeted, approaching the small group of people who used to be her family.

Everyone turned around. Hotch couldn't help but smile at the sight of the brunette.

''Emily!'' Hotch called out emotionally. He shook her hand and guided her back to the team.

Garcia immediately pulled her into a tight hug. ''Oh my god, E!'' she exclaimed, crying on Emily's shoulder. ''I'm so glad you're here. I don't think I can do this without you.''

''I missed you!'' Emily whispered, pulling away from Garcia. She turned to Reid, who seemed to be shaking. ''Reid, come here.'' she said, pulling him into a hug.

Derek was the last person she was going to greet, but he didn't seem to open about it. Emily knew Derek always blamed her for JJ's disappearance. ''Thanks for calling me.'' was all she could come up with.

''Your welcome.'' Derek mumbled.

Emily returned her gaze to Hotch. ''What the hell happened?''

''We should talk in private.'' he suggested sadly. His mind kept repeating JJ's cries for help. It broke him. He followed Emily into a waiting room, where they both sat down.

''How have you been?'' he finally asked. Her expression was still filled with regret and sorrow, just like three and a half years ago.

''I've been better.'' she confessed, trying to keep her tears at bay. ''I still think about that day, Hotch. I still feel guilty. I don't know why, but I just do.''

Hotch grabbed her hand. ''What happened could've happened to any of us. There was nothing you could've possibly done to prevent this from happening.''

''Do you really believe that?''

''I think I do.''

Emily smiled sadly. ''That doesn't sound convincing.'' she said. ''So, how is she?''

He leaned forward while putting his elbows on his knees. His head turned to Emily. ''I honestly don't know.'' he began. ''When I found her, she was too far gone to even recognize me. She had to be sedated to keep her calm enough for transport to the hospital.''

''So, you don't know what happened to her?'' she asked hoarsely, hoping he wasn't going to confirm her suspicions.

He sighed deeply. ''I think I have a pretty good idea, but we won't know until the doctors have examined her.''

''Just be honest with me!'' she pleaded.

''It's not good, Emily.'' he started. It wasn't good at all, and he knew it. ''Every inch of her body is covered in bruises or cuts. Her arms and legs are covered in restraint marks. Her neck has choke marks.'' he summed up, stumbling through the sentences.

''Did you make any arrests?''

''Yeah,'' he replied. ''We were able to make five arrests on the scene. Members of my team and the detectives are trying to find witnesses. They are also questioning the other girls who were found.''

''Agent Hotchner?'' a doctor called out.

Hotch rose instantly. ''Yes,'' he answered.

''I'm Dr. Phell. I was present during Jennifer's examination.'' he explained. ''Is her family present?''

Hotch shook his head, remembering the day he told JJ's parents about her disappearance. It was one of the worst thing he had ever done. ''No, they wanted nothing to do with the investigation anymore. I haven't called them because they asked me to leave them alone.'' he explained. ''But her friends and my team is here. She has enough people who can help her.''

''I don't think it's is necessary for everyone to hear the details about JJ's condition.'' the doctor suggested kindly. ''I think it's best if you inform you team later on. Right now, someone needs to make decisions regarding JJ and there's no one here who can legally do that.'' he began. ''I'm sorry agent, but I had a nurse call JJ's parents.''

''You what?'' Emily interrupted, stepping next to Hotch.

''It's fine, Emily. I'll talk to them.'' Hotch said calmly. He turned back to the doctor. ''What can you tell us about JJ?''

''I suggest you sit down.'' the doctor hinted sadly. He could see Hotch cared about his patient. It was something he had never seen in his entire career. ''It's not good.'' he started off. ''We had to keep her sedated in order to do tests. She was uncontrollable when the sedation started to wear off.''

''Please get to the point.'' Hotch pleaded, his voice shaking. He held onto Emily's hand tightly. It was the only comfort he had in that moment.

''Of course.'' he agreed. ''I am going to do a nephrectomy to remove the damaged tissue from on one of her kidney's. The MRI showed several internal bleedings, which doctors are working on as we speak.''

''She is in surgery.'' Emily said rhetorically. She couldn't believe any of it. ''What caused the internal bleeding?'' she asked, knowing the answer already but she needed confirmation.

''Jennifer has been severely beaten over the past years. The bleedings we found are the result of recent abuse.'' he answered. ''We also did a rape kit. It showed signs sexual abuse. We believe the sexual abuse has been constant. We found too much scar tissue for it to be one time abuse. We also found multiple semen samples, which were sent to the forensic lab as evidence.''

Hotch felt a lump forming in his throat. She had gone through hell for six years. His anger wasn't showing anymore. Instead, a tear ran down his cheek. The woman he loved was broken into tiny pieces. He knew he was going to need revenge on the people who did it to her. ''What's going to happen during surgery?''

''We are going to remove as much scar tissue as we can and we'll stop the bleedings. Her parents told me to do what was necessary.'' the doctor replied.

''Thank you.'' Emily said. The doctor left the waiting room. Emily turned to Hotch, who had his head in his hands. ''I'm sorry, Hotch. I'm so sorry.''

''Why did she have to go through so much?'' he asked with tears in his eyes. He never cried, but it was all too much for him. ''It's not fair.''

Emily had never seen him cry before. She had always known Hotch as an cold and distant person, who never let anyone in. But she knew JJ pulled out another side he had buried deep down inside of him. ''She'll get through this, Aaron.'' Emily promised. ''You just have to be there for her and love her like you have in the past six years.''

He looked up in shock. ''You knew? All this time?''

''I started to figure it out the day she went missing. I interrupted a conversation and the tension was there.'' she said. ''And over the years I could see how fierce and loyal your love for her is. I've never seen anything like it, Aaron. It will survive. You just can't give up when you've come so far.''

''I won't. I won't.'' he promised her and himself.