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

Special thanks to jenny crum, Christiangirl, HotchRocks, snuggleUP, Jareau37, Westie80 and GottaLoveCM!

I don't own criminal minds!

Chapter 60: New Addition

Two weeks later…

Washington, DC

Two long depressing weeks had gone by for Hotch. He had taken his conversation with Rossi into consideration and had begun to try and find where JJ was, which was proving to be much harder than he ever thought possible. He had spent every waking minute talking to contacts in the CIA. He had even tried all of JJ's old numbers, but they were all out of service. He couldn't have expected anything differently from her. She was CIA so she knew how to hide her tracks, but not even Collins or Owen knew where JJ had gone. So he had hit a roadblock in his search to find JJ, which didn't make things much easier. So the only option for him was to bury himself in work and cases. But even that option had faded into thin air when Strauss had put the BAU team on stand down. She felt that BAU team wasn't effectively working anymore. So Hotch's colleagues, Cooper, Fowler and Baker were given the choice to transfer or stay with the BAU. Hotch wasn't surprised to see them all leave for a new post, but he wasn't about to leave the only important thing that was left in his life. He was now searching for new team members, but he hadn't exactly been in the right headspace to do his job effectively. Interviews had been lined up for the past few days and it had been easy for him to find at least two extraordinary agents. He had found an absolute genius without any field experience, but Hotch knew that with a little training the kid would soon be able to enter the field. And then there was Morgan. The complete opposite of Dr. Reid, but an agent with an amazing record.

For Hotch it had been a no brainer to hire the two men. But now he had to fill three more spots, including a technical analyst for the department. Hotch had taken the liberty himself to ask Rossi to come back join the BAU once again. He had asked for a few days to think it over, but deep down Hotch knew the older man would join him. It was in their blood.

He had been sitting in his chair, waiting for the next applicant to come into his office. When a knock on the door sounded, he cleared his throat and sat straight up in his chair. ''Come in.'' he stated as he rose from his chair. He looked up from the floor and watched an attractive brunette walking into his office with a big smile on her face. He walked around his desk and extended his hand. ''Hello, I am Agent Hotchner.'' he introduced.

The brunette shook his hand, seeing why her blonde friend had been so clearly attracted to the man across from her. Even though her mother had once known him, she never made the connection while talking to JJ. But after receiving JJ's letter just days after coming home from her overseas assignment, this seemed like the perfect opportunity for her. She had a chance at a new life and to get away from it all, while helping JJ keep Hotch safe. A job at the BAU was just the perfect thing. ''I am Agent Emily Prentiss.''

Just the sound of the last name made Hotch realize who was standing before him. Elizabeth Prentiss, the ambassador. It just made him wonder how she ended up interviewing for a job with the BAU. ''You are ambassador's Prentiss' daughter?'' he asked for confirmation.

''I am, sir.'' Emily replied hesitantly, being wary of the fact that he recognized her name in an instant. He could suspect she was standing before him because of her family, while it was actually about her ties with JJ and Interpol. Clyde had given her a glowing recommendation for her interview to make sure her hire would be a sure thing. But the man standing before her seemed to be a tough one to get on your good side.

''You were off to Yale when I did security clearances for your mother.'' he continued on. ''Please have a seat.'' he offered.

Emily sat down across from Hotch as he sat down at the same time. In her honest opinion the man looked fine, even though JJ had broken his heart and left town. His demeanor was professional, and it just led her to wonder if he was always stoic. ''How have you been?'' she asked politely to break the silence that had begun to grow between them.

Hotch opened up her file, realizing he had read it earlier. He had just somehow missed her name. She had very good recommendations from her former bosses. He knew she could be the perfect fit for his unit, but he was just wondering why a woman like her wanted to be in the BAU. ''I see you've worked mostly in the Mid-West. Saint Louis, Chicago?'' he asked as he looked back up at her.

''Yes, sir. I have been with the FBI for about ten years now.'' Emily replied confidently.

''Don't tell me that it has been that long.'' Hotch said at the realization that time had moved rather quickly. ''Why do you want to work here, Agent Prentiss?''

Emily nodded her head after he asked the question, knowing her name was finally coming up. She had always run from name, and people judged her unfairly for it. ''I'm looking for a change.'' she answered honestly, just not mentioning that she was also there on behalf of JJ to protect him and keep an eye out for his safety.

''I appreciate your interest but profiling is a specialty. We can't just let anyone who wants to give it a whirl.''

Emily rose from her chair, slightly upset. ''This isn't a whirl, Agent Hotchner.'' she began. ''Maybe you believe that my parents pulled some strings, which they didn't by the way.'' she went on defensively. ''I belong in this unit, and all I'm asking for is a chance to show you that.''

''Your recommendations are outstanding, but I still want to look into this.'' he responded. ''You can start here for a probationary period of two months.''

Emily had a hard time holding back the excitement she felt. But she also realized it was going to be hard to impress Hotch. He came across as tough and untrusting of the people around him. ''Thank you, sir. You won't regret this.'' she said as she shook his hand. She walked towards the door and down the stairs as she watched the people in bullpen, starting to realize that place was going to be her new home. And she just hoped that something good was going to come out of it, instead of more pain and terror than she had experienced in the Doyle case. She was more than ready for a new life and to move onto better things. And as she looked around the bullpen she felt good, even happy.

London

Her breath hitched as she felt the liquid sting in her wound. She held onto her arm tightly, hoping it would somehow decrease the amount of pain that shooting through her shoulder. She looked away as the doctor went on to clean the wound. Her shoulder was still hurting badly, and she refused to take any painkillers because it could affect her performance now that she was sitting behind a desk all day. Fortunately, she had gotten to know her subordinates quickly and there seemed to be no real problems. She was adapting to her new role at SOD, but her heart was still hurting. She was dealing with everything the best she could. It had been nearly impossible not to pick up the phone and call Hotch to just hear his voice because she knew that just the sound of his voice would make her feel a thousand times better. Seeing his face would lift her spirits, but she simply couldn't do it. It was too much of a risk to his life, so she kept torturing herself slowly. Letting her mind wander to what he was doing. If he was moving on, or thinking about her just like she was about him. She felt torn. Her heart wanted one thing, but her head was thinking. Choosing her heart was the only thing she wanted, but Hotch's safety was too important to her.

JJ was staring up at the door when it suddenly swung open, revealing Adrian in the doorway with an urgent look on his face. It was unlike anything JJ had seen on his face before. So she turned to the doctor after he had put a fresh bandage on her wound. ''Thank you.'' she whispered as her feet touched the ground. She felt a little uncomfortable with Adrian in the room while she was only standing before him in a black tank top and her skinny jeans. So she quickly and carefully put her injured arm through the shirt and managed to put it on. She walked towards him and stopped right in front of him. ''What is it?''

''You're not going to like this.'' he whispered sadly. ''I'll show you in my office.''

JJ nodded silently and walked next to him as they moved from the sickbay to the other floor where the offices were located. The only sound audible were JJ's heels on the floor and the sound of their breathing. JJ could feel the tension, but it wasn't between them. It was because she had a gut feeling that Adrian had some life changing news. In the short two weeks she had gotten to know him professionally, she realized he was dedicated to his job. He was the type of person she always imagined herself working with. He had a certain detachment that made it somehow easier to work with him. She was slowly beginning to trust him but they still had a long way to go if they were eventually going to be partners in the field.

Once they had reached the office the door was closed and JJ was standing across from him as he stood behind his desk. He grabbed a piece of paper, looked down at it, and then back up at JJ. ''One of the agents we have undercover intercepted this intell.'' he said heavily as he handed the piece of paper to JJ. He felt their hands touch briefly as she took it from him. He hadn't seen much emotion on her face before when she started reading the words on the document in her hand, he saw her face turn in a way he hadn't seen before. Her eyes started to fill with terror and heartbreak. ''I am so sorry, Jennifer.'' he whispered as she dropped down in the chair behind her.

The paper had fallen from JJ's hand and she stared down at the ground as the fear was coursing through her body, her heart thudding insanely hard in her chest. ''I knew…I…I…knew it was only matter of time before he discovered my name, but I didn't expect this.'' she breathed out. ''What am I supposed to do?''

Adrian walked around his desk when he sensed that JJ was about to fall apart right there in front of him. ''There isn't much you can do.'' he replied honestly. ''Ward has a standing kill order out on you. It can't get any worse than this.''

''Thank you for not sugarcoating this situation.'' she said. ''I…uh…I need some air.'' she said as the tears began to well up in her eyes when she realized how bad her situation truly was. She was so scared. More than she was willing to admit to anyone.

She walked to the door with shaking hands and her back turned towards him. ''I'll be back.''

''Jennifer?'' he called out before she could leave his office. He was faced with her again when she turned back around to face him. He stepped towards her and out of nowhere pulled JJ into his arms, being careful not hurt her. He just held her, feeling her shake in his arms. ''He's going to be fine.'' Adrian whispered. ''I promise you that nothing will happen to him.''

She knew exactly who he was talking about and his compassion touched JJ and showed her he was more caring than he pretended to be. She pulled away from him abruptly when realized their embrace was wrong. ''Thanks.'' she mumbled hesitantly.

She stormed out of the office and made her way to the other with only one thing in mind. She needed Jill to inform Emily's boss about what had happened to make sure that she would be made aware of the situation so Emily knew exactly what she was dealing with. Protecting Hotch was JJ's top priority next to catching Ward and putting him behind bars. It was all that her life was about, and she wasn't going to stop until she had him.