A/N: Here's another chapter. I hope you all like it!

And for those of you who are waiting for a sequel to Life After 200, I have decided to wait with it because I want to put my focus solely on this story, unless anyone else is desperately waiting for the other sequel.

Special thanks to jenny crum, guest, snuggleUP, cRiMiNaLmInDsObSeSsIoN, Christiangirl and 2Addicted2YourLove!

I don't own criminal minds!

Chapter 54: Following Protocol

The timer stopped. The timer had stopped immediately after JJ had cut the yellow wire. The knife fell from her hands as she kneeled down on the ground before the crate, her heart thudding in her chest. It was over. She was done. The weapon had been defused and she had done everything that was asked of her when she started the assignment ten months earlier. Finally, she was done.

And as she sat back, she heard a faint voice in the background, but she was too weak to respond to anything around her. Her head was becoming light and before she knew it, everything around her went black.

Owen, Hotch and CIA strike team had surrounded the buildings shortly after JJ stopped responding to their calls. Each and every exit of the building was covered by a team, with Owen as the lead. Hotch had joined Owen's team and they were quickly on their way inside to assess the situation. They had no idea what happened to JJ, so their search of the building was more than urgent. Luckily, the CIA had registered a floor when JJ had called with one of the office phones.

Hotch stood nervously next to Owen in the elevator, looking down at the floor with impatience he had never felt before. But he knew if anyone could save JJ it would be her colleagues. In the short minutes he had spent with them, they seemed extremely professional. He trusted them to do their jobs.

Owen could practically feel Hotch's nerves himself. ''She's going to be fine.'' Owen tried to encourage, not convincing himself in the process. ''JJ is strong!''

The elevator reached the floor before Hotch could respond. He drew his gun, pointing it straight in front of him as the strike team moved onto the floor. He followed Owen carefully as they searched several offices, and smaller rooms where there was no trace of JJ. But when his eyes suddenly fell upon the ground, he saw red stains on the carpet. ''We have blood spatter over here.'' he pointed out, following the drops of blood as they led to the end of the hallway and into a bigger office. Once they were inside the office, he immediately spotted JJ sprawled out across the floor, her eyes closed and a pool of blood forming around her shoulder.

Hotch stormed forward, kneeling down next to JJ. Her face was pale and when he checked for a pulse he could feel a faint heartbeat, but it was barely there. ''We need medics! Now!''

Owen watched the sight in front of him unfold, causing him to stop and kneel down on the other side of JJ as he watched Hotch trying to wake her up. He felt the tears welling up in his eyes. It was his worst nightmare. JJ laying there like that with the possibility to die. He couldn't handle it.

''JJ!'' Hotch called out, his voice filled with terror. ''JJ, I need you to wake up for me, okay!'' he said, a tear streaming down his face. He watched as Owen held his hand on the bullet wound to her shoulder, seeing his own fears reflected on his face. ''I love you, JJ. I love you so much. So you can't die. Don't you dare die!''

He cupped her face gently, just hoping that her eyes would open somehow. That they weren't stuck in that situation. In the background he could hear other agents calling for help and medics, but his real focus was only on JJ as she lay unconscious on the ground. ''JJ, come on!'' he yelled desperately, but she still wasn't moving. Her body was limp in his arms, and she didn't give any sign of life.

Owen was still covering the bullet wound to her shoulder, and it didn't look good. He noticed her arm had been pulled from its socket, and the bullet had torn through an artery so she was slowly bleeding to death. When he finally saw the medics, he felt relief wash over him. One of the medics took his place on the ground and he immediately moved away.

''Sir, you have to move.'' the other medic told Hotch, but he wasn't moving an inch.

Owen walked to the other side, grabbing Hotch's arm and pulling him away from JJ with force. ''They need to help her, Hotchner.'' Owen breathed out.

Hotch fought against Owen's grip but he was too occupied with JJ to really get away from him. ''Let me go!'' he warned.

Owen pushed him up against the wall as the medics behind him were working on saving JJ's life. ''Bring him to Langley. Now!'' he yelled when he noticed his colleagues hesitating.

''You son of a bitch.'' Hotch said angrily as he was held back by other agents. ''You're going to regret this.''

Owen turned his back towards him and watched as JJ was lifted onto a gurney and they began wheeling her out of the offices. ''I'm going to ride with you.'' he announced to the medics as he stepped next to the gurney. He gently took JJ's hand and held onto it, praying that she was going to make it, that she would live and enjoy the rest of her life.

About four hours later, Hotch had finally been released by the CIA. After hours of interrogation they finally let him go. His anger had shown through the entire time, not to mention that he was only thinking of JJ's wellbeing instead of answering Collins' questions. He didn't care about the CIA or what JJ may have revealed to him about her job. It was all about JJ being even alive to tell him anything. So as soon as they let him go, he had stormed through the building and raced out of the parking lot and to the hospital where the CIA told him that JJ was for her injuries. But they didn't mention if she was alive or if… He couldn't even think it. The thought made his heart stop. She just couldn't be. So he drove as a maniac through traffic, seeing JJ's limp and bloodied body in front of his eyes the whole time.

He never imagined he could love anyone as much as he loved her. He was going completely insane, and it was something he had never experienced before. Years ago, Haley had a car accident while he was at work, and he didn't remember feeling as crazy and insane as he felt in that moment. Somehow everything between him and JJ was different. Their relationship was so real it still shocked him. They had something special that he had never been to describe, so he couldn't even imagine spending another day without her. And that's why he had gone to a store weeks earlier, and he had bought a ring. He didn't know what drove him. They had barely been together for six months, but he couldn't imagine not having her by his side. JJ was everything he ever dreamed off, so he intended to prove that to her by proposing. But then he found out the truth, and somehow nothing changed for him. He was still going to do it when the time was right. He was going to ask her to become his wife because he wanted no one but her.

After a ten minute drive, he finally reached the hospital. He jumped from his car and slammed the door shut behind him. Once he was inside it didn't take long for him to realize that he was close to JJ. He saw several agents standing in the hallway. They seemed busy, talking to each other with concerned faces. But Hotch kept passing them by until he saw Owen speaking to two agents who were standing in front of a door.

''Ward is still out there somewhere and he knows JJ's identity. No one leaves her side, do you understand me?'' Owen asked professionally. After the CIA had searched the rest of the building it had become clear that Ward had disappeared and that only his associates were dead. Which meant that Christian Ward was out there, somewhere on the loose and maybe putting a target on JJ's back, and he couldn't have that. ''We'll rotate shifts every three hours.'' he ended.

Hotch was standing behind Owen as he heard him talk about protecting JJ, but he didn't seem to be too concerned with it. ''Where is she?'' he asked quickly.

Owen turned around and looked at the door where the two agents were standing. ''It's none of your business.'' he began. ''JJ's in the middle of a major investigation and no one besides the CIA can have access to her.''

The anger began to boil inside of Hotch. ''I need to see her.''

''You can't! Not until we've wrapped up this case.'' Owen went on. ''All you need to know is that JJ is out of the woods. She just came out of the surgery and the doctor successfully removed the bullet from her shoulder. She's going to recover.''

''This isn't over!'' Hotch said as he turned around. For now it was enough. He knew JJ was safe, and the CIA wouldn't let anything happen to her. Just knowing that she was still alive made him feel better.

Owen watched as the FBI agent walked away. So he stepped towards the door and slipped inside the room. He hadn't seen JJ after the medics took her in for surgery. And now looking at her, he saw how vulnerable she was in that moment. Her face was pale and she looked so small in the large hospital bed that it actually scared him. In the two years that they worked together, JJ had never been in any real danger. They had managed to do missions without either of them getting in harm's way, but this case had turned out differently. More different than he ever imagined. JJ had become a different person. She had become more emotional than ever before probably due to her relationship with Hotch. It had been hard to know she was happy with someone else. Still after such a long time, Owen loved her. He needed her in his life, but he realized that was never going to happen anymore. He had ruined his one shot at happiness when he cheated on JJ in Paris. So he took a seat next to the bed and leaned closer to the bed, his eyes staying on JJ as he watched her breath in and out peacefully. He felt a rush of emotions as he just watched, and before he knew it he was back in the moment that destroyed his life.

One year earlier…

JJ unlocked the door to the apartment that had been her home for the past two months. It was an amazing time in her life. Everything was coming together. Owen had showed up in Paris just to be with her, and she was about finish her assignment. She was ready for her next case, which would probably take her across the world and she would be paired up with Owen again. Their relationship had been stormy and fiery, but it was exactly what she wanted. The excitement in her life was amazing.

She closed the door behind her and walked into the living room, noticing Owen's jacket scattered on the floor. ''Owen?'' she called out. ''Owen?''

She froze when she heard a giggling noise coming from the bedroom, so she slowly but steadily made her way towards the bedroom. She stopped in front of it, hearing two voices, so she opened the door. The sight in front of her felt like a knife of her heart. The tears immediately built up in her eyes, and she found herself staring at the man she loved in complete disbelief as he was underneath the woman she had been developing as an asset for the agency.

Owen immediately pushed the woman off of him, and he jumped from the bed when JJ ran out the room. He put on his boxers and jeans and began to ran after, only to catch up with her in the hallway of the apartment building. ''JJ, stop!''

JJ whirled around, tears in her eyes, and her eyes red. ''Stay away!'' she snapped. ''Don't come closer to me!''

That had been the last time that he had seen JJ until their current case in DC. He had hurt the one person he loved the most in the world, and there was no going back for him. He only hoped that maybe one day she'd forgive him for his mistakes.