Chapter 22

Boredom was the last thing that Leila thought she would feel given her current situation. Unfortunately, she had nothing to do but sit and wait for Parilla to inevitably find her. Doubly as unfortunate was the fact that he seemed to be taking his sweet time doing it. Risking another glance under the bandages, Leila withheld a grimace at the wound underneath. It had turned into an angry red by the time Robyn was long gone. Now, the edges of it were almost black. It burned as if on fire and Leila had to suppress the urge to soak it in the small streak in front of her. She knew it would do more harm than good. Besides, she didn't want to make finding her that easy. The stream, while a godsend when they had first arrived, was too far out in the open for Leila to wade in. In the hollow tree, she at least had a chance of eluding him. As if on cue, Leila heard a branch snap in the direction they had come from. Pressing herself against the back of the trunk, Leila tried hard to hold her breath. She thought that she would be able to at least pretend like she wasn't afraid anymore. She was wrong. As she heard the footsteps coming closer and closer, Leila found herself having to press a hand to her mouth to steady her breathing. Her mind was screaming at her to run- to get away by any means necessary- but she knew it was pointless. The panic increased as the footsteps stopped right next to her. The only thing that kept her hidden was the fact that there was slight drop from the ground to the base of the tree. All Parilla had to do to find her was step down. Tears were once again streaming down her face, making controlling her breathing that much harder. As she blinked them away, Leila felt her heart come to a stop as she heard the footsteps resume. The man was walking away. Several seconds passed in complete silence as Leila struggled to contain her excitement. Did she actually get away? The thought was screaming in her head and the impulse to poke her head outside was too strong to resist. Slowly, she brought herself to knees. Crawling forward, Leila peeked around the right side of the tree and saw nothing. A genuine smile made its way onto her lips for the first time in months. She turned to the left and risked looking back at the way she had come. The smile was immediately gone as she was brought face to face with the man who was hunting her.

"Gotcha." Parilla snarled, clearly still upset over the fact that she had tried to kill him. Leila couldn't help herself- she screamed. His hand wrapped around her injured arm and yanked hard, keeping any thoughts of running far from her mind. The pain was excruciating as he brought his face close to hers, his breath rancid as he spoke.

"Where is she?" Parilla demanded, shaking her slightly. Taking in her silence, the man used his free hand to press down directly on Leila's wound. The girl cried out, falling to her knees immediately. She was instantly dizzy but Parilla's screaming voice kept her from passing out.

"She's gone!" Leila cried multiple times, trying to be heard over his yells. He had expected this but still, the news angered him. With a roar of anger, he wound back a hand and slapped her. Leila fell to the floor, unable and unwilling to get back up. She could hear the man mumbling to himself and took pride in the fact that they had greatly disturbed his plans. The pride, however, did not ease the intense horror that ran through her entire body. As she felt Parilla throw her over his shoulder and begin the trek back to wherever they had been held, Leila allowed a few more tears to escape. She watched them fall onto the man's coat and run down his back before they tumbled onto the forest floor. The only thing she could think of was whether or not Robyn had made it. She knew that the BAU would most likely be unable to find her without the blonde. Praying for the first time in years, Leila felt herself slipping slowly into the welcomed embrace of unconsciousness.

Robyn couldn't remember the last time she had run for this long. Sure, she was active enough to stay healthy but she was certainly no marathon runner. Her lungs burned and her legs ached as they cried out for a respite but Robyn knew that she couldn't give in. The faster she ran the sooner they'd be able to save Leila. Robyn refused to acknowledge the possibility that the girl was already dead. It simply wasn't going to happen. Ignoring the sting of branches nipping at her arms, legs, and face, Robyn frantically tore through the unknown forest. The fact that she didn't even know which direction she was heading in anymore unnerved her greatly. For all she knew, she was delving deeper into the forest and away from any marked roads. The negative thoughts kept coming, crashing onto her and weighing her down like a vicious waterfall. Just as she was about to grind to a stop, Robyn pushed through the final patch of green before stumbling into the middle of a road. It was small, only one lane going each way, but obviously well used. The blonde almost fell to her knees with relief, knowing that she would be able to help save her friend's life in merely an hour or two. Wiping at the joyful tears on her cheeks, Robyn turned. With the tears blinding her vision and the exhaustion and malnourishment begging her to pass out, she failed to notice the oncoming car. She had just enough time to let out a shocked puff of air before she was flat on her back, pain enveloping her entire left side as she writhed in the gravel.

Another day had passed and still, the BAU had no leads. It was more than aggravating but for JJ, it was agonizing. She had just spent the last hour trying to hide her tears from Emily as the two tried to find anything that could help them. Emily pretended not to know, only approaching her friend after the blonde had fallen into a fitful sleep. She placed her jacket over JJ's shoulders and angrily wiped at a tear of her own. Biting at the only nail she had left, Emily failed to hear Hotch enter the room.

"Emily?" their boss practically whispered. The brunette spun on her heels, embarrassed at being caught crying, and approached him. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." The lie came out effortlessly. Whether it was believed or not remained a mystery. Hotch peered over she shoulder at the sleeping blonde.

"How is she?" the question angered the brunette.

"'How is she'?" she repeated sarcastically. "How do you think she is, Hotch?" the man simply blinked at her as if waiting for something. "I'm sorry. I'm just…"

"It's alright, Emily." The use of her first name from the man softened her resolve. "I lived with a pregnant woman once, if you recall." Emily couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped at his attempt at humor.

"Yea, that's it. It's because I'm pregnant." Hotch seemed worried that he had offended her and spoke quickly.

"I just mean that I'm sure it doesn't help." He clarified. Emily nodded as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"No, it definitely doesn't help with the fact that I'm feeling almost every negative emotion in the book." She sighed, noticing that her boss was waiting as if he knew she had more to let out. "I'm angry, I'm sad, I'm tired, I'm uncomfortable, I'm…I'm scared, Hotch." The admission slipped out and Emily's cheeks reddened immediately. She cursed herself for failing to maintain the guise of Compartmentalizing Queen but while she was it, "And now I'm ashamed of the fact that I've made this all about me while JJ is going through literal hell."

"Emily." Hotch's voice was soft as he took in the woman. He wanted nothing more than to take all those feelings away from not only her, but for the entire team. Their wellbeing was his responsibility and so far, none of them were fairing well, especially Emily and JJ. While he actively tried to suppress it, there was always a slightly more powerful instinct to protect the two more than the others. He knew it wasn't fair and that they were more than capable of taking care of themselves- he just couldn't help it. He was sure that the rest of the team felt the same way. Now, not a single one of them could do anything to ease either of their teammates' struggles and it hurt like hell.

"We're going to find her." Were the only words he thought would bring her even the slightest bit of comfort. Although she would never be able to tell, panic grew in him as the Unit Chief noticed the woman's eyes fill with tears.

"Are we?" Emily's voice was so low, he almost didn't hear the question. It was a new low- questioning their abilities as a team- but Hotch knew it was warranted. They had been in New Mexico for several days and had no leads. The closeness of the case as well as the perpetrator's knowledge was making it increasingly difficult. They all knew the odds. They all knew the statistics. And they all knew that neither weighed in Leila's favor. "It'll break her, Hotch."

"She's stronger than she looks." The man insisted, checking back to make sure the woman in question was still asleep. Emily simply shook her head slowly.

"No one's that strong. We'll lose her, Hotch. I have no doubt." The pain and fear in Emily's voice was apparent and Hotch knew that she was probably right. JJ wouldn't be able to continue doing what they do if Leila died. Hell, he wasn't even sure if she could even bare to look at them if they failed to find her in time. The thought was a knife to the heart, twisting and burning with each passing second. The two dark-haired agents looked at one another in silence as they each tried to control their emotions. Suddenly, a brief but loud tone caused the two to snap out of their trance. Hotch looked down at his phone, his eyes lighting up as he unlocked it.

"What is it?" Emily took a step forward, her voice startling JJ out of her slumber. The blonde was at her friend's side immediately, sensing the tension in the room.

"The blonde he took," Hotch informed the women, "they've found her."