Hi everyone. I am really sorry about how long this took. I had three assignments due in and exams to revise. Anyway I really hope you like this.

Chapter 32

'Be faithful in small times because it is in them that your strength lies' Mother Teresa

JJ sat on the stool beside Livie who was lying on examination table waiting whilst nurses moved around her running a fine tooth comb through her hair, picking dirt from under her nails and swabbing at her skin searching for evidence whilst another nurse stitched up her leg and some of the wounds on her stomach from the unsub and his knife.

JJ could see that Livie was uncomfortable so as soon as they were finished taking evidence from under her nails she reached out and caught hold of her hand. Livie looked over at her and smiled weakly. "Thank you for being here with me" she said "no problem" JJ said gently "I am just glad to see that you are ok"

Livie's smile faltered before she regained her composure and pushed the smile back onto her face. "How did you find me" she asked and JJ grinned. "Your Spencer Reid got very scary in the interrogation room with our submissive unsub" she said and Livie frowned "there was a submissive" she questioned as she was asked to sit up and JJ nodded as Livie swung her legs over the wide of the table and sat still whilst she was photographed. To distract her JJ continued to tell her about the case.

"The bartender in the bar where you met with the Unsub. That is how they drugged you. The bartender slipped something into your drink before giving it to you."

"I wondered how they drugged me" Livie said softly as she moved to stand behind a screen and pass out her clothes to the nurses who carefully paced them in bags as Livie allowed the nurses to photograph her bare body noting the bruises and marks that were littered over her body before she changed into a gown and slowly stepped out from behind the screen and looked at JJ "I hate hospital gowns" she said looking down at the white gown she was wearing "It makes me feel like I look weak."

"No" JJ said "you look like a survivor"

Livie gave her another smile as she held out her arms so that the bruises that covered her wrists before she brushed her hair back to display the bruises on her neck.

"So how did you break the submissive" she asked and JJ shifted closer as Livie limped back to the table and lay back on down so that they could take blood and then began the more intrusive examination of her body. Livie tried to hide her pain but JJ could see that it was hurting her and reached out to grip her hand. "We didn't break him" she said "Reid did."

Livie looked at her confused and JJ smiled "I have never seen him like he was" she said "he was hell bent on getting you back… there was no stopping him… hell after you went missing he punched Prescott right in the face. Nearly broke his nose. I have never seen him punch anything before then. He wasn't going to rest until you came home. Then in the interrogation room… he terrified the unsub before going all gentle… pleading with him, appealing to his humanity before eventually breaking him and getting the location… though I doubt not getting the location would have stopped him to be honest."

Livie smiled before wincing at the examination of her body and her grip on JJ's hand tightened. "I really missed him" she whispered "I was so worried about him… there was so much happening… to me but… all I could think about was him… I was worried about what would happen to him if I didn't make it home…"

Her voice broke at that last part and JJ squeezed her hand gently.

Livie looked away briefly trying to regain her composure before she looked back at JJ. "When do I have to give my statement" she asked softly. "Whenever you are ready" JJ said.

"I want to do it soon" she said "so that I can move on… I don't want to remember anymore… I want to forget…"

"I'll tell Hotch" JJ said "he'll arrange for your statement to be taken as soon as you are ready"

Livie nodded "thank you" she whispered as the nurses finished examining her and allowed her to sit up. They took her to a private room where another doctor entered holding a glass of water and a small cup. "You might want to take this Livie" he said and Livie looked at it apprehensively. "What is it" she asked.

"Levonelle" he said gently "an emergency contraception."

Livie's smile dropped and she glanced at JJ before she nodded and dropped her head. "It's ok Livie" JJ whispered rubbing her shoulder but Livie didn't look at her as she quickly swallowed the pill she was offered.

"Don't tell Spence what happened to me" she whispered as she rested her head back against the pillows "I don't want him to hear from someone else what I went through."

JJ nodded and she saw that Livie's eyes were drooping. "Get some sleep" she said "you have had a long couple of days and need as much sleep as you can get."

"Spence" Livie whispered but JJ interrupted "he'll be here when you wake up" she promised "relax… you are safe now."

Livie didn't look convinced but the pill along with the other pain medication she had taken seemed to be making her drowsy so she relaxed slightly and her hand formed a fist around the blankets covering her bruised body and JJ sat with her watching until she slowly drifted off to sleep.

She waited a couple of minutes before she headed out to the waiting room where she wasn't surprised to see everyone else still waiting.

Reid was the first to leap to his feet and JJ saw that Morgan had taken him to have his wounds looked at for there were paper stitches over the cut on his forehead. "Is she ok" he demanded

JJ nodded "she's ok" she said "she's sleeping so relax… they gave her some pain medication and it sent her right off to sleep."

Reid nodded but stared over her shoulder until JJ told him Livie's room number and he instantly rushed off.

Everyone else looked at JJ "what did the doctors say" Hotch asked. JJ sighed "I only spoke to them briefly but he said she went through hell. She has a fractured hyoid bone from where they choked her, two broken ribs, one cracked and that is before I even start thinking. There are multiple lacerations on her stomach where they cut her with a knife and she is covered in bruises. When she wakes up they said that they would take her for another chest x-ray and they think she may need an MRI scan."

Everyone stood there silently trying to wrap their heads around this. "How are the other girls" JJ asked. "Similar wounds" Hotch said "they are resting too… we'll come get their statements tomorrow."

JJ nodded "Livie said she wants to give her statement as soon as possible" she said and Hotch nodded "I'll talk to her first thing in the morning" he said. "It might be best for Spence to not be there" JJ added gently "she didn't seem to want him to know the extensive details of what she went through"

"We'll talk to her when he isn't around" Hotch said before he looked round at his team. "We should head back to the hotel" he said. "I'm going to stay" JJ said "just in case Livie or one of the other girls needs to talk to someone."
"No" Hotch said gently "go back to the hotel… I will stay… I need to talk to Livie's doctor anyway so I can know the full extent of her injuries for when I talk to Strauss about Prescott's immoral practices."

JJ hesitated before she slowly nodded and they all headed down the corridor towards the elevator.

Hotch quickly called home where he managed to catch hold of Jack just before his bedtime. He promised his son that he would be home in a couple of days before checking in with Jessica and then saying goodnight. He then went and checked on the other surviving women before heading to Livie's room stopping briefly to talk to her doctor. "We are still waiting for some of the tests on the rape kit to come back" the doctor said "but you can have her medical file with everything else in it."

Hotch thanked him and took the file before he headed to the room he was directed too and peered in where he stopped and felt a small smile slip onto his face.

Livie was lying curled up on her side in a defensive ball but her face seemed peaceful. Her arms were covered in bruises and she was covered in cuts but she was alive and safe and right now in that moment that was all that mattered. And curled up in the chair beside her with one hand extended towards her, fast asleep was Reid. His young genius looked relaxed for the first time since this whole thing had begun. Sitting beside Livie ready to be there for her when she woke up.

It reminded him of the first case Livie had worked with them when after rescuing Sophie, Livie had been in the hospital overnight and Reid had stayed vigil by her bedside until she was released. He should have known right then that they were soulmates.

He made sure that they were both ok before he headed out of the room closing the door behind him. He dragged a chair over to beside the door and settled down in it for the night. He looked at the medical file in his hands and debated whether or not he wanted to read it. He knew from the injuries he had seen that Livie had gone through hell, did he want to know the full extent? He sighed before realising he had to read it for the trial so with a heavy heart he opened it and began to read the doctor's assessment.

XO

Dreams plagued Livie's sleep that night, causing her to twist and jerk in her bed as she fought to get away from the demons who tormented her.

She was lying in the basement that she had been held in when she was thirteen. She could almost smell the damp rotting stench that had filled her nose and she could almost feel the mixture of cold and fear that rushed through her once again.

She heard the door to the basement open and two men came in. But they weren't the kidnappers from when she was thirteen. They were the unsubs from this case; the ones who had hurt her so badly.

"Hello my love" the one called Joe said as he came forward towards her "didn't think you would be escaping us so easily did you?"

Livie whimpered and turned away "no" she whispered "stay away. I'm not in the basement… I'm not back in that warehouse… I'm safe… this is just a dream."

"No my dear this is a nightmare" the unsub said bluntly "you see you will never be safe… I can still torment you… I will take your sleep… never will you be free."

He descended towards her and Livie shifted backwards frantically whimpering in fear "no" she begged before she let out a gasp as she saw a flash of movement and then she saw the white hot pipe that had branded her skin come flashing down towards her. "No" she cried "leave me alone… please… no …no"

"Shh Livie Livie wake up its ok… Livie… wake up"

Livie jerked awake letting out a cry before looking around wildly for any danger. "Easy Livie" she heard and slowly she looked over to see Reid sitting in the edge of the bed staring at her in worry.

Slowly she calmed down slightly feeling her breathing ease up as she stared at Reid feeling a small sense of relief inside of her. "Spence" she whispered and he nodded "its ok" he murmured "are you ok?... you were mumbling and moving in your sleep… were you dreaming?"

Livie nodded looking down at her hands feeling alarmed when she realised they were still shaking. Slowly she clenched her fists trying to stop the trembling. "Do you want to talk about it" Reid asked and she quickly shook her head "no" she whispered "I'll be ok in a couple of days…"

She lifted her gaze to his face once again and stared into his eyes calming slightly before she slowly lifted one hand to brush gently over the contours of his face trying to reassure herself that this was real and that she was safe.

Reid smiled as best he could at her carefully catching hold of her hand as it fell back to the bed. He held onto her hand tightly feeling relieved that she was safe.

"I missed you" Livie whispered slowly "god I missed you so much."

Reid forced a smile onto his face "I missed you too" he whispered staring at her and Livie smiled weakly "well it's over now" she whispered tightening her grip on his hand slightly before she shifted and visibly winced in pain and Reid stiffened not gritting his teeth at the memory of what had happened to her.

Livie saw his reaction and quickly looked away. Her gaze fell on the window and she saw that it was dark outside. "What time is it" she asked softly and Reid checked his watch "almost 4am" he said and Livie nodded "did everyone else go back to the hotel" she asked and he nodded "I think Hotch is still here though" he said and Livie smiled wincing again.

She saw Reid's eyes fill with pain again and she sighed "Spence don't think about it" she whispered "please don't dwell"

"I can't help it" he whispered miserably "I've never been so scared in my life Livie… I thought you were gone and it was all my fault."

"No" Livie said firmly cutting him off before he could say anything else "no Spence don't you dare think that… what happened was not your fault… do you hear me? It was not your fault… this wasn't meant to happen true… but it was not your fault… you couldn't have known they were going to take me… you couldn't have known they would figure out I was undercover… you couldn't have known"

"But it's my job to know" Reid protested and Livie let out a shaky laugh "Spence you are not psychic" she said "your job is to know facts, not know what is going to happen before it does… do not blame yourself for something that was out of your control. It's over now… I'm alive… and I don't care about anything else… I'm alive and it is thanks to you that I am… and that is the only thing you are responsible for ok? That I am alive"

Reid ducked his head and stared at the bed. He kept hold of Livie's hand playing gently with ring on her finger, he couldn't shake the sounds of Livie's pained cries in the video they had been sent. He remembered the sight of her glaring at the camera with her wrists bound behind her back and tape over her mouth though there were tears in her eyes despite the attempts to stay strong.

He shifted uncertainly and tightened his grip on Livie's hand. She quickly cupped his hand in hers "Spence relax" she whispered "please relax, you look like you haven't slept in days, you need to relax and sleep"

"I can't" he whispered "every time I close my eyes I see you lying there with them coming towards you and then I hear your screams. I can't close my eyes without seeing you there… I can't bare the thought of you being…"

"Spence shhh" Livie whispered lifting one hand to stroke his cheek "please don't think about it… please" "I can't help it" he whispered.

Livie stared at him with tears in her eyes before she reached up to cup his cheeks gently urging him to lift his head "Look at me Spence" she whispered and after a moment's hesitation he did so; looking up at her bruised and cut face. She held his gaze for a moment before she whispered "Spence… they … they didn't rape me"

Reid blinked and stared at her "wh… what" he stammered. Livie smiled weakly "they didn't rape me" Livie repeated quietly. "But… but I saw…" Reid began but Livie shook her head "no you didn't" she whispered "when I saw them coming I knew I didn't want anyone to see, I was scared that he was going to hurt me so I… I kicked the camera over. He laughed when I did that and then he came down on me. I remember thinking 'this is it… this is what is going to destroy my life all over again' but all he did was pin me down and hit me, feel me, then to make me cry out he got a knife and…"

She shifted uncertainly and her hand went to her stomach. Reid stared at her torn between wanting to know what they did to her, but also fearing her answer. Livie looked back up at him "they just wanted to taunt you all" she said "to anger you."

"It worked" Reid whispered hoarsely. "I know" Livie whispered back before she gave a small smile "JJ told me how you hit Prescott… tell me I bet that felt good… I'd love to give him a round house kick to the jaw" Reid smiled weakly as his eyes travelled over her again "they did so much to you" he murmured and she nodded "I know" she said "but I am just glad of the one thing they didn't do to me" she ducked her head for a minute before looking up at him. Then slowly she reached out and caught hold of his hands and gently ran her fingers over the swelling on his knuckles before she lowered her head to gently kiss the bruises and Reid smiled before squeezing her own hands gently.

She waited another few minutes before she looked up at him. "Can you do me a favour" she whispered and he nodded "anything."

She smiled "can you go back to the hotel room and get me something to wear; I hate hospital gowns." Reid slowly nodded "are you sure you are going to be ok on your own" he asked. "Yeah I'll be fine" Livie murmured "and I am sure someone from the team is somewhere in this hospital if I need them." Reid nodded again and rose slowly to his feet. He hesitated before he bent and gently kissed her on the forehead before quietly he slipped out of the room.

Livie sat staring out the window at the darkened city before she suddenly sensed movement out of the corner of her eye. She looked over and saw that Hotch was standing in the doorway watching her with a sombre expression haunting his face.

Livie looked at him uncertainly trying to ascertain what he was feeling. She could tell by the expression on his face that he had heard the conversation between Reid and she. She eyed him whilst struggling to decide what to say.

Slowly Hotch moved into the room and paused beside the bed. Then his eyes turned gentle and kind. "I'll make sure Reid never sees your medical report" he said gently. Livie managed to force a small smile onto her face as her hands formed fists around the blankets. She took a few deep steadying breaths before looking back up at him. "Thank you" she whispered and he nodded knowing why she had done what she had done.

"Are you ready to give your statement" Hotch asked and Livie hesitated before she very slowly nodded and Hotch moved into the room and sat down in the seat beside the bed, pulling out his phone which he set to record before placing it on the table in front of Livie.

She eyed it suddenly looking uncertain. "It's ok" Hotch said gently "just take your time and start whenever you are ready… just tell us what you remember."

Livie nodded taking a deep breath "I've done this so many times" she murmured "yet it never gets any easier." Hotch gave her a weak smile as she steeled herself before she began.

She told him about how she had gone outside before she had realised she had been drugged. But before she had been able to call out se had been grabbed and thrown into the van where she had been knocked unconscious. She told him everything that had happened to her and everything they had done to her knowing that it was imperative for the trial that she told them what happened in as much detail as possible.

She managed to remain composed for most of her tale, her voice only breaking a couple of times. However the whole time she refused to make eye contact, maintaining a firm gaze on the blankets covering her.

Hotch remained silent, listening intently until she had finished. Then he asked her a couple of questions before he stopped the recording and slipped it into his pocket. "Thank you Livie" he said quietly and Livie nodded.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Hotch sighed "Livie I'm sorry" he said and Livie slowly looked up at him. "For what" she asked looking confused.

"For putting you in that position" Hotch said "I should never have asked you to do that."

"Hotch it was my choice" Livie said "you didn't hold a gun to my head and force me into that bar. I knew the risks … it's not your fault… besides, Strauss didn't give you much of a choice."

"But you are my agent" Hotch said "I didn't want you to go in… I should have put my foot down."

Livie sighed "please stop blaming yourself Hotch" she whispered "it's bad enough that Spence thinks he should have seen into the future and protected me… I can't tell everyone it wasn't their fault… nobody is to blame ok, no one expected it to go the way it went but… what's done is done and all I want is to forget and move on."

Hotch didn't look convinced so Livie deliberated before she spoke again. "You know whilst they had me I had a dream that terrified me… I dreamed that I had been gone for months and that you guys were forced to move on and stop looking for me… I dreamed you gave up. I woke up terrified that that dream would become reality…" she looked at Hotch who was watching her looking sombre before she continued: "but the more I thought about it" she said "the more I realised that it would never happen. I knew that you would never stop searching until you found out what happened to me… I knew that no matter how long it took you guys would find me…. I believed in the loyalty I have seen from this team… and that knowledge… that you would all be looking for me was the only thing that gave me the hope and strength to carry on fighting. You didn't put me in that situation Hotch… you saved me."

A small smile slipped onto Hotch's face before he slowly nodded "I'm glad you are safe" he said and Livie nodded "me too" she said.

They both fell silent before realising that the sun was slowly rising and that there were sounds of life from around the hospital.

"Are you going to be ok" Hotch asked and Livie shrugged "I don't know" she said "I feel like the darkness is waiting to smother me but… I've recovered before… I'll be able to do it again."

Hotch nodded before looking up as there was a tap on the door before it opened and the team all peered in. At the sight of them Livie's face split into a grin. "Hey" she said softly "come on in guys."

Slowly everyone filed into the room and offered moved towards the bed to give Livie a gentle hug. She accepted each embrace with a small smile on her face but Hotch could tell that it was slightly forced.

He saw Reid hanging slightly back allowing Livie to see everyone else, yet he watched Livie closely obviously trying to see if she was actually ok. Slowly Hotch rose to his feet and moved over to his youngest agent.

"She is going to be fine Reid" he said gently "all she wants to do is move on and forget… I've taken her statement, everything is good"

"You took her statement already" Reid said looking slightly worried "I was hoping to be there for her"

"It was probably better that you weren't there Reid" Hotch said "she felt comfortable without the audience, she didn't want for you to hear what she went through"

Reid didn't look much happier but he did nod as he moved slowly towards the bed to stand beside Livie who smiled up at him.

"Man we are glad you are back" Morgan said "You had us worried."

Livie smiled "sorry I'll try not to worry you next time I get kidnapped" she teased.

"Don't say that" Rossi said but Livie laughed "with me though you never know" she said smiling and they all smiled with her.

They stayed with her until the doctors returned and wanted to give her an examination. Once again they didn't want Reid to stay with her so this time Emily volunteered to watch over her whilst Reid reluctantly went with JJ to talk to the other girls.

They were lucky that all the other girls seemed to be relatively unharmed and recovering nicely. They all had a similar story about what had happened to them and they all said that Livie had done everything she could to try and save them and they were relieved to hear that she was ok.

Hotch was on his way back to Livie's room when he saw Livie's doctor exiting her room. "Hey" he said "is she ok." The doctor nodded "physically she is recovering nicely but mentally I don't know. I would thoroughly recommend getting her to see a psychologist."

"She is a psychologist" Hotch muttered knowing Livie would not like the idea of being forced to sit in a room on a sofa and be forced to talk about everything that had happened and her feelings to a total stranger.

The doctor nodded seemingly understanding. "I would say though that as long as the next blood test comes back ok you can take her back to Quantico this afternoon."

"Thank you" Hotch said before he headed back to Livie. She was sitting talking quietly to Emily when he entered but broke off as soon as she saw him. "Good news" she asked and he nodded "doctor said as long as your next blood test comes back good you can be released at lunchtime."

Livie grinned seemingly pleased with this development. They left her to change into the lose clothes that Reid had bought her before returning to sit with her whilst they waited for her to be cleared to leave.

When the doctor entered he handed Hotch the updated test results from they had taken from her last night. Reid saw and looked at Hotch who didn't meet his eye hoping to keep his promise to Livie by preventing Reid from seeing her medical report.

Once they had signed her release forms they took her down to where the cars were waiting, Livie never strayed far from Reid's side as he kept one arm wrapped around her waist supporting her gently as she kept her hand firmly on the hand at her waist. She held her head high but seemed wary of the world around her. She flinched violently as there was a small crash from behind her before regaining her composure and she slipped into the SUV looking almost relieved.

Hotch watched her all the way to the air strip wondering how she was going to recover. She had been through a lot and it wasn't fair that she would have to do it all over again.

Nobody seemed to know what to say to her as she clambered slowly onto the jet and made her way over to one of the double seats with Reid right behind her. Slowly she slid into the seat and Reid slipped in beside her and she slowly leaned against him and he wrapped his arms around her holding her with so much tenderness it made everyone smile.

They knew that despite how hard the next few weeks were going to be for her. She wasn't alone. She had them all; they all wanted to do whatever it took to help her move on after everything that she had been through. And of course she had Reid. He had already requested the next week off to help hr move on especially as the doctors had told her she was meant to be resting. He was determined to make this as painless as possible for her and they knew he would do whatever it took.

After all; she was his soulmate.

"I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you. I love you not only for what you have made of yourself, but for what you are making of me. I love you for the part of me that you bring out." Roy Croft

Hope you enjoyed this. Please let me know what you think. I love hearing what you think.

I promise to try and update soon.

Thanks

Mysticgirl