"No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy" - Field Marshal Helmut von Moltke
Marcus Baker stood in front of his followers. The entirety of his White Dawn militia was assembled on his ranch in Colorado. Including him, they were 13 and all dressed for battle. The previous day, they had lost two brothers in a failed attempt to assassinate the governor of Colorado and now the FBI was hot on their heels. He was under no illusion regarding his situation. He assumed that his identity was known to the authorities, so this farm, registered to his name wouldn't grant them respite for long. His plan to seize political control was thwarted, but he was nevertheless determined to go down fighting. His surviving men were willing to stay by his side, so they prepared themself to go on the offensive. He planned to deploy his forces on the edge of the property in the hope of striking out at any intruders first, relying on the element of surprise. For this task, his men were heavily armed and armored. All carried assault rifles, hand grenades, and sidearms. Additionally, two of his men were equipped with Soviet-made RPG-7 rocket launchers, and a further three manned a .50 cal heavy machine gun for fire support. He figured that would be a nasty surprise for any fed daring to approach them. The grim expression on his face and the determination flashing from his eyes were enough to encourage his men. Taking off his cap, he shouted their battle cry.
"White Dawn, White Dawn!"
"We are the light of freedom in the storm," twelve voices answered him in perfect unity.
"For Jack and Billy!" he proclaimed, reciting the names of their late brothers before leading his men onwards.
On the edge of the farm grounds, the FBI vanguard had already arrived. It consisted of 8 SWAT officers as well as Hotch and his team minus JJ, who as liaison had stayed back at the FBI field office in Denver.
Their plan was simple. Hotch wanted them to gather information. They had arrived in Colorado this morning after the failed coup last night. As they knew that the White Dawn militia had up to 15 members, 20 more SWAT officers should arrive by helicopter to help with the arrest as soon as they were ready to be flown out from Denver.
As they knew rather little about the militia, Hotch figured that gathering intel first would help them with the actual arrests.
Baker in the lead carefully signaled his men to stop. It was already getting late in the day and dawn began to approach, but he could clearly see three black vehicles, a van with two SUVs parked behind, approximately 150m in front of them.
"Those bastards are already here," he let out through his gritted teeth. He quietly ordered his machine gun crew to take up a flanking position to his left, while he divided his other men into two groups of five. He positioned one group to the right and his own in the center.
He had made it exceeding clear to all his men to wait for his orders to preserve the element of surprise.
The BAU team was currently in the process of briefing the SWAT officers.
"The main target is Marcus Baker, age 35," Hotch began the profile. "He and his men are suspected of trying to assassinate the Governor of Colorado yesterday".
"From the way they conducted themselves yesterday, we know that they are highly motivated and organized," Emily continued.
Rossi spoke up next, "Baker is well-versed with firearms. He served with the army in Iraq before being dishonorably discharged for assaulting an African-American officer after racially insulting him. "
"We think his militia group has ten to fifteen members," Morgan added.
Reid closed out the briefing, "Baker is arrogant and ruthless. Combined with his charisma and manipulative nature, we shouldn't expect a peaceful arrest. He and his men will most likely resist."
The briefing concluded, Hotch dialed JJ's number.
"Yes, Boss?" her distant voice came out of the speaker for all to hear.
"How long until our backup arrives?" he asked her straightaway.
"Shouldn't be long, maybe 30 minutes. I'm currently on my way to check in with the...".
The rest of her reply went unheard due to a warning from one of the SWAT officers. "We are being watched," he warned, gesturing to the nearby treeline. Before thinking about the possible implication of giving themselves away, all their eyes fell onto the spot he was pointing to. They could see a reflection, most likely either from a scope or binoculars.
"Take cover," Hotch ordered, his voice filled with urgency.
Baker cursed himself for his carelessness. He had used a set of binoculars to scout out his enemy, failing to account for the setting sun. It was a rookie mistake, unbecoming for a man with his experience. As soon as he saw a black-clad man pointing in his direction, he knew that the sun was mirroring in his binoculars.
He quickly pulled out his phone, ordering his cover force to open fire. As everybody in his sight dove into cover, his heavy machine gun let out a barrage of fire.
JJ jumped violently when a cacophony of gunfire erupted from her phone. Her face lost all color as she turned deadly pale and she couldn't banish the fear from her voice.
"Hotch," she shouted into her phone. "What is going on?".
Hotch had taken cover behind the SWAT van when the first salvo from what he assumed was a machine gun hit the other side of the vehicle. The positioning of their vehicles was a lucky coincidence. The SWAT van was armored, which prevented the bullets from piercing the vehicle. If he had been forced to hide behind an SUV, he would have been torn to shreds.
When he heard JJ's fearful voice, he lifted his phone to his ear. He had to shout to make himself heard over the second arriving salvo.
"JJ, send us reinforcements as fast as possible. We are under att...". He didn't get to finish his sentence as an RPG round struck the SUV next to him, where three SWAT officers had taken cover. The ensuing explosion knocked him off his feet and shattered his phone. When his head made contact with the ground, he lost consciousness.
"Hotch!" JJ yelled into her phone, but after what sounded like an explosion, the line had gone dead. At the sound of her scream, multiple agents in the corridor had turned to her. An older senior SSA approached the deadly pale blonde woman.
"Is everything all right?". He didn't get a response. As soon as his voice pulled JJ from her shock, she shoved the phone into her pocket and ran down the corridor as fast as she could. When she reached the room in which the reinforcement SWAT teams fitted out, she had nearly crashed into three different people. But she didn't care, the fear for her team driving her on.
"Who is in charge here?" she shouted as soon as she burst through the door, panting from her sprint.
"That would be me," a huge African-American man around 40 emerged from a group of officers.
"We need to leave now, the observation team was attacked. The helicopters are waiting for us on the roof," she placed all the authority she could muster in her voice.
The addressed man didn't hesitate as he turned to his men. "Departure in 30 seconds!"
"We meet at the pad," JJ told him, "I need to get my vest."
He shot her an appraising look. "You're planning to join us?" his tone was skeptical.
JJ could feel anger flaring up inside her stomach. "My whole team is out there," she answered angrily. "What do you think".
He was still not entirely convinced of the idea, but he could see the grim determination radiating from her.
"We can outfit you," he relented. "You will need heavier gear anyway if you plan to join us."
"Lopez," he shouted over his shoulder. "Bring me the spare gear set."
The addressed officer, a short but bulky Latino appeared at their side, handing his boss a suitcase, which he in turn handed to JJ.
"I'll change in the helicopter, let's get moving!" she ushered them, turning on the spot and hurrying to the door.
As soon as they were airborne, JJ changed her white blouse for a black combat shirt. It was at least two sizes too large for her, but it would provide her with much better concealment in the quickly approaching darkness. She was lucky that she wore gray jeans instead of a skirt today as her gear set didn't include a set of pants.
She also donned a heavy ballistic vest as well as a black balaclava and a helmet. She hesitated before pulling an MP5 from the gear case. The last time she fired anything heavier than her sidearm was during her training at the FBI academy. Her job as media liaison didn't exactly require much firepower. She clocked the same hours as her teammates at the range and took pride in her good shooting, but she never bothered with anything other than a pistol. But remembering the final seconds of her call with Hotch, she figured a little extra firepower couldn't hurt. So she retrieved the submachine gun and loaded it. As she discovered, extra magazines were already stored in her vest.
Now ready, she had nothing else to occupy her mind and the fear for her friends hit her with full force again. She tried calling each of them in turn, but she couldn't get a connection. Her knuckles went white as she gripped her gun, blinking away the tears that threatened to spill. For the rest of the thankfully short flight, she tried to reassure herself, that her team, her friends would surely pull through. It only worked partially, but she managed to calm herself enough to focus on what lay ahead.
The minutes ticked by painfully slowly as they approached the farm.
On the ground, Rossi felt himself teleported back to Vietnam. From his cover, he watched in shock and awe as the SUV in the middle of their small column went up in a fireball from the impact of a rocket-propelled grenade. He could immediately see that two of the SWAT officers who had taken cover behind it were dead. The third had managed to somehow evade most of the explosion and was already back on his knees. When he spotted the silhouette of their team leader, lying motionless on the ground, he snapped into gear. Fear for his team boiled up in him, but his old training still etched into his mind, overcame his emotions. He was the only one familiar with this kind of situation and the others needed him. With a last gaze to Hotch, he took charge. Quickly taking stock of his team, he counted 10 who were still in fighting condition. Their situation worsened, as rifle fire erupted in front and to the left of their position.
He nimbly darted behind the wreck of the SUV and collected the two submachine guns from the fallen SWAT officers, tossing one to Morgan.
"You three," he pointed to Morgan and two SWAT officers, "Silence that machine gun!"
Morgan nodded and he and his men quickly disappeared into the dark behind the cars.
Knowing that they were attacked from at least two sides, Rossi fell into cover next to Emily and Reid, while two SWAT officers opened up on their attackers. He assessed his teammates. Reid looked shaken, but it was Emily's expression that surprised him. Her face was a mask of grim determination, looking nothing like the kind woman he knew. He briefly wondered again if she had experienced something like this before, as he knew nothing about her past before the FBI.
"Take two officers and flank them on our right! We will cover you," he ordered them.
Emily wasted no time and pulled Reid up with her. "You guys with me," she added in the direction of the nearest SWAT officers.
Rossi returned to his remaining two men, joining them in answering their opponents in kind, even as it was exceedingly difficult to spot them in the dark. He just hoped it would force them to keep their heads down, allowing his two attack groups to flank them.
Morgan and his two men didn't need long to circle back in the direction of the machine gun volleys. He silently thanked himself for choosing a black leather jacket and a black shirt today. It offered him good concealment in the night.
Earlier than expected, they spotted three men, positioned on a slight elevation. Before they could coordinate their attack, he saw one of them line up another RPG shot. Vividly remembering the first RPG impact they took, he wasted no time and aimed. But one of his SWAT officers was even quicker. His target was illuminated by the muzzle flash from the .50 cal and he sent an expertly aimed shot through the guy's head. When the machine gunner saw his comrade fall, he tried to switch his aim to the surprise attackers. But he was not quick enough. A full salvo from Morgan's submachine gun perforated him.
By now, their luck and the element of surprise had run out. As they stormed forward, eager to further exploit their success, the third target appeared from behind a tree, wielding his fallen comrade's RPG. As he pulled the trigger, several bullets hit the tree next to him. The unsub winced at the impact, his aim slightly drifting off. This minimal motion saved a life. Instead of racing directly at him, Morgan saw the rocket hit a tree, a mere six meters away. A blinding flash was the last thing he saw before everything went black.
The first thing Hotch felt was pain. Still disoriented, he tried to figure out where he was. Slowly, he became aware that he was lying on the ground. When his sense of hearing came back, a hail of gunfire brought his memories back. A surge of adrenaline pulled him to his knees, pulling out his gun.
He took a look around. Fear and panic gripped him when he saw only Rossi and a single SWAT officer locked in a heavy engagement. But when he saw only two bodies and one officer who was patching his injured arm with a tourniquet, he concluded that his team was still fighting back and focused on their attackers, pushing his thoughts on the team into the back of his mind. Aiming over the remains of their SUV, he started shooting in the direction of their attackers.
Fighting on the right had devolved into a confused affair. Emily, Reid, and their two men had formed a 50-meter-long line to await and check their advancing enemy. The heavily wooded area did them no favor, obscuring any light from the moon and stars, as the sun had now set beneath the horizon.
The fighting distance had closed to under 60 meters and it was still hard to spot anything except muzzle flashes. Emily was in the process of preying on one of their attackers, who had emerged from the same cover twice already when a bone-chilling cry from Reid echoed through the forest. Her blood turned to ice at the sound. She quickly dove back into her cover, gazing over to where the scream had originated.
She could make him out, merely ten meters away from her, but caught out in the open. Emily presumed he had been hit when he changed cover. To her immense relief, she could see him moving, but he seemed unable to get up.
Without a second thought, she emerged from her cover, firing two shots in quick succession at her previous target to keep his head down, before she darted over to Reid. Pulling him behind a large rock was one of the most exhausting things she had ever done. Even with his slender physique, he was still a tall guy and his weight provided a real challenge for her. But concern for her friend as well as adrenaline kept her going, giving her almost superhuman strength. She leaned him against the rock before kneeling in front of him.
"Spencer, what happened?" she asked him, checking him for injuries. She could see blood on his right leg.
"Got shot in the leg," he groaned, his face overtaken by pain. "You need to tie off my leg. Critical bleeding is the number one concern in military casualty care..."
"Please, no lecture," she cut him off. But she gave him a reassuring smile as she loosened the tie around his neck, using it as a makeshift tourniquet.
"You need to tie off the injured body part as close to the middle of the body as possible," he lectured her through his gritted teeth. He barely managed to suppress a cry of agony as she tightened the tie around his leg. The pain brought tears to his eyes. When she finished patching him up, she apologetically cupped his cheek.
"Sorry for that, but pain means you are alive and kicking," she reassured him.
"Stupid of me to get shot," he returned in a weak attempt at humor. The battle around them however offered them no time to regroup.
From the corner of his eyes, he saw something fall to the ground after bouncing off a tree, only a few meters away. Before he could react, the explosion of the hand grenade drowned out the sound of gunfire around them and sent splinters of wood flying everywhere. As Emily's back faced the explosion, she took the brunt of it and shielded him from the blast. He screamed in agony as she collapsed into his lap, landing on his wounded leg.
He cradled her body in his arms, turning her around only to find that a large piece of wood had missed her vest and had penetrated her shoulder. He instantly knew that he could do nothing to treat the wound, except of leaving the piece of wood where it was. Thankfully, the piece hadn't hit any vital organs, at least as far as he could see. He quickly checked her pulse, but as it was still going strong, he suspected the blast had only knocked her out. Out of viable options, he just pulled her close to him, holding onto her, praying that no unsub would find them in their defenseless state.
JJ watched in horror as the three helicopters approached the farm. While they were still approaching, she could see two explosions going up in quick succession. But as they were only 30 seconds away from landing, adrenaline kept her worry for her friends in check. The first two helicopters prepared to land, while the third snapped on his searchlights. As soon as the helicopter touched down, she jumped out, directly behind the SWAT leader.
Rossi knew that his plan had at least some success, even as he had no way of communicating with his other groups. Their communication equipment had gone up in flames in the SUV. The machine gun had been silent for a considerable amount of time now and nobody had turned his left flank, meaning Emily and Reid had stopped the second assault. He could hear a battle raging to his left, their attempt to cover his position.
The sounds of battle concealed the approach of the three helicopters and the first thing he noticed was a blinding white light from the sky that pierced the darkness and illuminated his enemy's position. He rose to his feet after reloading his MP5, spotting a silhouette illuminated by the searchlight. His target now visible against the dark background, he aimed.
Baker knew he had lost when the glistering light illuminated him, but his determination to cause as much damage as possible did not leave him, even in the face of certain death. The searchlight was strong enough that he could see his opponent for the first time. He had exchanged fire with a man around his fifties, dressed in an expensive-looking suit. To him, he looked like a bank manager or an attorney, except for the submachine gun he was wielding. He quickly opened fire on him, seeing his target collapse before a round from the return salvo from his target hit him just between the eyes, killing him instantly.
Disembarking from their helicopters, the SWAT reinforcements quickly overwhelmed the enemy surviving militants, assisted by the searchlights of their helicopters. JJ took no part in the battle as she and three SWAT officers approached the still-glowing remains of the vehicles. She was shocked by the sheer scale of the destruction. One SUV had clearly been hit by explosives, the other and the SWAT van were perforated by bullets. Her eyes caught onto a silhouette that stood amid the wrecks and as she approached it, she recognized Hotch. Relief overtook her, quickly followed by concern as she saw the bloody headwound he spotted. She quickly approached him as her accompanying officers started checking the various bodies lying in the vicinity.
Hotch's head was spinning as vertigo threatened to overcome him. The adrenaline rush had subsided, leaving him severely disoriented. The hand that held his now empty gun had dropped to his side, while he tried to remember what he should do.
He was convinced that he had an important task, but his head felt like a sponge, leaving him unable to think.
A voice cut into his thoughts. "Hotch can you hear me?" a voice asked him. He turned to locate the source of the voice, becoming aware of a black-clad SWAT officer by his side. He briefly thought about the question, failing to notice that to even think about it, he had to understand the question.
"I guess I can hear you," he concluded.
"Hotch we need to get you to the hospital!" the officer urged him.
He began to wonder why this random SWAT officer knew his nickname, but his brain still seemed to be blocked. But the officer didn't wait for his response, sliding under his arm and grabbing him by the waist to support him. He led himself to be led to the ambulances that had by now arrived on the scene. He gradually became aware of how tired and exhausted he was and he stumbled, but the figure by his side caught him before he could fall.
"Keep going, we are nearly there," he could hear the effort of supporting him putting a strain on the voice. Suddenly he became aware that the voice of the officer sounded female. Her voice had a calming and soothing effect on him, even if he couldn't remember why it sounded so familiar.
When he was lowered into the back of an ambulance, he asked confused, "...JJ?"
Having set her boss down, JJ removed her helmet as well as her balaclava, exposing her blonde hair. It scared her that Hotch hadn't recognized her sooner and that he hadn't reacted to most of her questions as if he hadn't even heard them.
He was now examined by two paramedics, but he remained focused on her, a look of confusion on his face.
"JJ, what are you doing here? I told you to stay at the office. It is too dangerous out here..."
Before she could respond, they were interrupted by the SWAT leader who approached her.
"We found the rest of your teammates. They are all wounded, some pretty severe. But they are alive and I already send them off to the hospital." He could see the blonde woman visibly relax at the news.
"Thank you, Officer...?"
"Captain Homer," he shook her offered hand.
"Agent Jareau," she introduced herself.
He couldn't help but be impressed by the young agent in front of him. She had displayed great courage and no hesitation to help her teammates, a trait that he found very admirable.
JJ looked up to the captain. "I need to get my boss to the hospital, can you take over here?" she asked him.
He nodded, "Of course, Agent Jareau."
"Call me JJ," she offered him with a small smile.
Having sorted out the responsibility on the former battlefield that was now a crime scene, she vanished into the ambulance.
In the meantime, Hotch had been placed onto a stretcher.
"How is he?" she asked the paramedic next to her, concern back in her voice.
"Bad concussion at least," he shrugged, "We know more when we are at the hospital". The careful response didn't exactly do much to reassure her.
"Do you know him?" the paramedic asked her. JJ just nodded.
"Then talk to him and keep him awake until we reach the hospital."
As the ambulance drove off, she took her seat next to Hotch, taking his hand into hers to get his attention.
Remembering his earlier question about what happened after their call had been interrupted, she told him everything that had happened. But his gaze had drifted off into the distance and she was unsure if he even understood her.
JJ paced back and forth through the small hospital waiting room. She just couldn't sit still. It was already late in the day and she was the only person in the room. At first, she had busied herself with calling Garcia and informing her of what happened. The news had her scrambling to the nearest airport immediately. Next, as she was the only one of her team left, the task of informing Chief Strauss had fallen to her as well. Thankfully, it went better than she had expected. She was just ordered to stay put and provide updates on the condition of her teammates. Her endless trip through the room was finally ended by a doctor who entered the room.
"Are you a family member of Agent Rossi or Agent Hotchner?" he asked her.
"Yes," she hastily answered, eager for news. "Well technically no," she corrected herself, "We are a team".
He nodded, content with her answer, and looked down at his clipboard before starting his report.
"Agent Rossi received only minor injuries. Three bullets were stopped by his vest, resulting in two cracked ribs and severe bruises in his chest area. Tomorrow he can already be released". Some of the anxiety that had steadily grown in her vanished.
"Agent Hotcher unfortunately needs to stay for a few days. His head wound needed eleven stitches, but we found no trace of brain trauma. Nevertheless, he is severely concussed and needs to stay under observation. He will also have a hellish headache for a few days," he finished.
For JJ, even that sounded like good news, regarding what could have happened.
"Before you ask," the doctor said, seeming reading her next thought, "I don't know anything about the rest of your team, they are all still in surgery".
"Can I visit the other two?" she asked instead of the question that had already been answered.
"Yes, but Agent Hotchner will need rest, so only five minutes. I will show you the way." She followed him, trying to sort out the confused mess of feelings that threatened to overwhelm her.
She barely managed to compose herself before entering Hotch's room.
Hotch had his eyes closed and he let out an audible groan when he heard his door opening. His head hurt like crazy and he only wanted to sleep, unbothered by another nurse or doctor.
So he didn't bother to open his eyes, but nothing happened. After two seconds of silence, his curiosity took over and he opened his eyes to see JJ standing at his door, still wearing her oversized combat shirt.
She hadn't properly entered the room, feeling unwanted by his greeting.
A small but sincere smile appeared on his face. He was grateful that at least she was unhurt. His doctor had told him that the rest of his team was still in surgery.
"JJ, please sit," he gestured to a chair. Even with his terrible headache, his profiling skills were still sharp and he noticed the smallest hesitation in her movements.
"Sorry for that greeting." The look of sincere resignation on his face made her laugh as she took her spot next to his bed. "I thought the nurse was back," he admitted.
"How are you?" she asked him, eying his bandaged head.
"Terrible headache, but I will survive." The answer came in his normal calm, collected, and commanding tone. This convinced her more than the actual words he spoke.
"Do you have an update on the rest?" he asked her.
"Rossi is mostly fine, only a few vest shots. No word on the rest." Her mood fell again as she spoke this out. But Hotch pulled her from her thoughts.
"Can you organize me a phone? I need to report to Quantico." This request left her stunned. Of course, she knew that her boss was a true workaholic, but it was unimaginable to her how he could think of working in his state. She could hear in his voice how tired he truly was even if he hid it expertly.
"I already did, Strauss knows about everything," she reported.
He gave her a thankful nod, "I knew why I picked you for my team, you never disappoint."
She beamed at his praise. Hotch didn't hand out compliments easily, so his words really touched her. But he wasn't done yet.
"What you did today...," The irrational thought that he would scold her for not staying at her post crossed her mind and she dropped her head. Normally, she wasn't insecure or easily irritated, but the day had taken its toll on her.
Seeing this, Hotch shifted in his bed so that he could lay a hand on JJ's shoulder, letting out a muffled curse from the effort. At his touch, she looked up at him.
"You were very brave today. Nothing of this is in your job description but you didn't hesitate," he gave her another smile. "I'm very proud of you."
He was glad to see her smile again.
"I hate to make your day worse," she scoffed at his words, "but the doctor told me I need to sleep. You need to take over my duties until tomorrow and check on the others".
She nodded in agreement, "I would do that anyway."
"I know," he gave her a thankful look as he sank back into his pillow.
She stood up and took hold of his hand as she had done in the ambulance.
"Go sleep, I will take care of everything."
"I know," he repeated sleepily, squeezing her hand before she left to check on Rossi.
Seconds after she left, he had escaped into the land of dreams.
Before she entered Rossi's room, she asked a nurse for an update, but there was still no news. When she entered his room, he found the older agent in a very disgruntled state.
"Ah Bella," Rossi greeted her, "Can you please help me convince this gentleman over here to let me go?". He gestured to a doctor who stood next to him. She examined him as he sat there on the edge of his bed. She could see a bandage through the collar of his hospital gown.
"I think you should listen to the expert," she suggested carefully but resolutely. That earned her a groan from Rossi and a thankful look from the doctor.
"You need to stay the night for observation. If everything is alright, you will be discharged in the morning." With that, he exited the room.
"Thanks for sentencing me to a night of solitary confinement," Rossi sighed. But he winked at her, conveying the joke. He could see that she was also quite shaken from the events of the day, even if she wasn't injured. Her worry was visible on her face.
"But it is good to see you," he continued and spread his arms invitingly.
JJ gladly took the invitation and closed the distance between them. When she hugged him, she was extra careful not to accidentally touch his bruises. As he closed his arms around her, she relaxed in his embrace. She had been alone with her fears for hours by now and was desperate for some comfort.
His hug calmed her greatly. She was so relieved that she nearly started crying, but she remained strong as Rossis padded the back of her head, before releasing her and holding her at arm's length to muster her.
"You need a new tailor, this shirt fits you horribly," he joked.
She laughed a genuine, hearty laugh, happy that his sense of humor had seemingly survived as well.
"Next time when you get ambushed, just hold them back five minutes longer so that I can dress properly for the occasion," she teased and sat down on the bed next to him.
She rested her head against his shoulder and he laid an arm around her shoulders. Even though she hadn't known him for very long, she had quickly gained respect and admiration for the veteran profiler. Of course, she had heard stories about him. He was a living legend at the BAU, but they hadn't done him justice. The long years of service had made him wise, as by now he had seen so much. She admired his calmness, which he displayed even in the most adverse of conditions and she was glad she could call him her friend.
Of course, she had also heard stories about his charm and his love for women, but to the female members of the team, he had never conducted himself with something other than fatherly manners.
So the weight of his arm on her shoulders soothed her immensely.
After a few moments of comfortable silence, he spoke up again.
"How many did we lose?" he asked her, his voice low.
"From your SWAT team, three were killed and three more are wounded, one is in critical condition. From the relief force, two were injured," She didn't look up as she recited what Captain Homer had told her earlier after she arrived at the hospital. Rossi sighed heavily at the news.
"Did we at least get them?" he continued.
"Baker and ten of his men died in the fight, two were taken into custody," she elaborated, now looking up to him.
He had a strange expression on his face, something between sadness, pain, and remembrance.
She observed him closely. Even if she wasn't a trained profiler, she was still surrounded by them all the time, so she too had developed a keen sense of human behavior. His reaction hinted at past trauma.
He caught her looking at him and chuckled, "Trying to profile me?"
She averted her gaze, embarrassed she had been caught staring.
His next words caught her off guard. "What do you know about my life before the FBI?"
She shot him a questioning look. "As liaison, I read your file. You served in the Marine Corps."
He nodded, "I was in Vietnam. This today was not my first ambush". A sad expression had stolen itself onto his face. "We were very lucky today JJ. I saw good friends die in the same situation. Friends that saved my life."
His incredibly sad expression caused her to lean back into him. He held her tightly, this time for his comfort. After a few seconds to compose himself, he continued, "When Hotch brought me back, I had my reservations. In the past, there were only Gideon and me and I didn't think I would work well with a team at all. But I was proven wrong. We work incredibly well together and I'm happy to call you all my friends." This made JJ smile.
"But today, you all impressed me. I saw people who were trained for this collapse into total chaos, but today, even with no training, everybody conducted themselves flawlessly."
"Oh and...," he bowed slightly to kiss the top of her head, "thanks for saving our asses."
She leaned back to look at him. "I really had no choice," she teased to lighten the mood that had gotten quite dark. "The paperwork would kill me if I lost you all in a single day. Not to mention the struggle to find replacements."
Her attempt at humor worked, and Rossi smiled warmly at her joke.
Their conversation was interrupted by the door opening, revealing the doctor once again.
"Agent Prentiss is now out of surgery and awake," he told them, "you can visit her."
"Great," Rossi got up to his feet but was unable to hide the pain that the movement caused him.
"Not you Agent Rossi, you need to rest. You can visit her tomorrow".
It was telling of the trouble his injuries caused him that he didn't act up again.
"Tell her I said hello," he told JJ instead.
"I will," she reassured him as she hugged him goodbye. "And you get a good night's rest."
"Who am I to say no to my guardian angel for the day," he winked at her as she followed the doctor out of his room. After she left, he settled into his bed.
"Hey Girl," she greeted Emily as she stepped into her room. Emily lay in her bed, propped up by several additional pillows to take pressure off her injured shoulder. She still looked slightly confused and JJ guessed she had just woken up.
"Where is Reid?" she asked instead of a greeting, "He was with me."
"He is still in surgery," she answered, taking a chair over to her bed.
"And the rest?" she continued, "I just woke up and nobody told me anything yet."
That confirmed JJ's earlier suspicion. After answering this same question over and over again, she grew more and more sick of it. "Rossi is fine, he took a couple of hits to his vest. He told me to say hello to you," she did her best to imitate Rossi, getting a grin out of Emily.
"Hotch has a nasty concussion and the rest is still in surgery." Repeating the last part over and over put a steadily growing strain on her composure, but just as with Dave before, she remained strong.
Blinking rapidly twice, she focussed on Emily instead, "How are you?"
Emily wanted to shrug but immediately winced from the pain of moving her shoulder.
"Fuck!" she cursed.
Seeing that JJ was closely observing her, she managed a reassuring smile, "Nothing I haven't handled before. Really JJ, you can stop mothering me". But JJ seemed unphased, her eyes firmly planted on her.
"Just another scar to ruin my bikini figure," she grinned.
As soon as she finished, she could see that her joke hadn't had the intended effect on the other woman.
JJ's mind had drifted a few months back, when she, Emily, and Penelope had spent one of their rare free weekends in a spa hotel. She had shared hotel rooms with Emily before, but that day she had truly recognized the unusual number of scars covering Emily's body. She hadn't asked her about it, knowing that Emily would block her attempt anyway, but Garcia had tried more than once. But as predicted, every attempt had been firmly rebuffed. It had once again dawned on her that she knew basically nothing about her friend's past. Her train of thought was interrupted when she felt a hand taking hers, "Stop worrying about me, I'm all right".
Her firmness convinced JJ to ease up on her. She squeezed Emily's hand in acknowledgment, making her smile.
"Now to you, tell me what happened to you," Emily mustered her, "You look like you raided a police supply depot for clothes."
"You should have seen me with my helmet," JJ countered before they both burst into laughter. It was incredibly freeing to just laugh and some of the pressure fell off from them.
JJ filled her in on what happened to her, but Emily's eyelids became heavier as she went on. She fought the approaching sleep, wanting to hear the end of JJ's story, but her efforts were in vain. When JJ concluded her report, she was asleep, snoring lightly.
JJ quietly got up and brushed a strand of hair out of Emily's face. Emily hummed lightly as she touched her.
"Sleep well," she whispered to her teammate, before leaving her room.
She didn't know what to do next, so after a while, she returned to the waiting room. Contrary to her earlier stay in the room, she was now too tired to pace through the room. She had lost all track of time, but by now, she figured it was well past midnight.
The hardships of the day quickly lulled her into an uneasy sleep in one of the chairs.
She was plagued by nightmares and after what felt like seconds, she was awoken by the third doctor for the day.
"Are you Miss Jareau?" the woman in her fifties asked her.
"Agent Jareau," she corrected her automatically.
The doctor continued as if she hadn't heard her, "My colleagues told me where I would find you."
JJ's brain, still half asleep just now caught up with the situation, "Do you have news?" she asked eagerly.
The other woman nodded, "Agent Morgan is out of surgery, but he is sedated. He sustained minor brain swell from a blunt force trauma caused by an explosion and he will sleep until it abades."
Before JJ could fully process the situation, her thoughts were redirected in another direction.
"Agent Reid is still in surgery, there were complications." JJ's eyes widened in shock. She felt like she was falling as she thought about the worst possibility.
"It's nothing bad," the doctor quickly assured her, "but he will remain in surgery for at least another hour."
Anger boiled up in JJ at the untactful way of delivering her the news, but she could just manage not to snap at the other woman. She could imagine Hotch's scolding look if she conducted herself that unprofessionally.
"Can I see Agent Morgan?" she asked instead, doing her best to get her breath back under control.
The sight she got when she entered Morgan's room was distressing. He lay completely still, half buried under tubes and cables.
As she moved a chair over to his bed, memories of her colleague crossed her mind. Normally he was brimming with energy, evermoving and untiring. Sports, shooting practice, renovating houses, or teaching new agents, some physical task always seemed to occupy him.
It was a stark difference to the man who lay in front of her now. She sighed as she rested her hands on his arm. The warmth of his skin served as a welcome reminder that he was expected to make a full recovery without issues.
"In another life, you would have made an excellent mine-clearing tank," she thought to herself, "Running face first into an explosion like that..."
As he was held in an artificial coma, there was not much that she could do for him. She just sat by his side, keeping him silent company, lost in her thoughts.
Sometime later, she was rudely forced into action, when the door to the room flew open with a bang.
She winced and scrambled to her feet, her hand already at her sidearm when she saw Garcia entering the room with all the sense of tact of a colorful hurricane.
Garcia's movements were erratic and her eyes red and puffy as she steered towards JJ. It seemed like she didn't even notice JJ's alarmed state as she closed her into a bone-crushing hug.
"How are they? Are they gonna be fine? What happened exactly? How are you?" she rattled off questions in quick succession, giving the blonde woman no time to answer any of them.
JJ carefully extracted herself from Garcia's embrace.
"All except Spence are out of surgery and nobody has lasting injuries."
Garcia looked like she wanted to simultaneously cry and smile in relief.
"And before you ask," JJ continued, "I have no news on our genius."
She took Garcia by the shoulders and maneuvered Garcia to the chair she had previously occupied. As she sat down, she instinctively took hold of Morgan's hand, sandwiching it in between her own.
She padded Garcia on the shoulder, before leaving the room to get them some coffee. As she headed past the desk of the station nurse, a voice called out for her, "Agent Jareau, I was looking for you."
When she turned in the direction of the voice, she recognized the first doctor who had filled her in on Hotch and Ross.
"Good news, Agent Reid is out of surgery." The announcement made her jump with joy before anxiety set in again.
"Is he fine? What happened to the complications?" she asked warily.
"We had some trouble with a bone fragment, but he will make a full recovery." As the anxiety left her as quickly as it had come, she briefly thought that she would collapse if she didn't sit down. But she willed herself to remain at her feet.
"He is in the room next to Agent Hotchner," the doctor regarded her with a sympathetic smile as he went on his way, leaving JJ struggling with a flurry of emotions.
Almost on autopilot, she pulled out her phone to inform Chief Strauss. The call passed like a dream, she answered the Chief's questions mechanically. When Strauss finally hung up, she made her way back to the hospital rooms, steadily gaining speed until she was jogging down the hallway, the coffee now totally forgotten.
Reid sat in his bed. He still felt pretty groggy from the narcotics and painkillers, so it took him much more focus than usual to eat his Jell-O. He had expended all his charm and sweetness to convince the nurse to get him some, despite the late hour.
He looked up when he heard the door opening. When he saw JJ entering, he beamed at her.
"Hi JJ", he greeted.
JJ was wordless as she took in the scene in front of her. Reid was sitting in his bed, his right leg elevated by pillows and she could sense the imprint of a bandage under his hospital gown. Nevertheless, he seemed to be in a great mood. He was eating Jell-O and she briefly wondered how he managed to get his hands on a desert his late, no, she corrected herself, this early in the day.
But it was his wide smile that he gifted her that finally overwhelmed her. A single tear escaped her and ran over her cheek while she went over to him.
She couldn't describe or sort out the storm of emotions that raged inside her. Since they had met, they had immediately connected. By now, even if they had known each other only for a couple of years, she considered him her best friend. She didn't need to ask to know the feeling was mutual. As she sat down on the edge of his bed, she gave him a quick once-over. On seeing that he was truly fine and that her team had pulled through this horrible day, relief overcame her with the force of a crashing tsunami.
As she looked him in the eyes again, she saw a mixture of concern and surprise on his face.
"JJ," he carefully asked, "Are you all right?"
The question surprised her, as he was the one with a bullet hole in his leg, not her.
"You are crying," he added. It surprised her again, as until now, she hadn't been aware of the fact. But now that he pointed it out, she could feel the wetness on her cheeks. She fully realised what a pathetic sight she seemed to offer, as Reid extended his arm and took her hand. This was highly unusual as she knew that Reid normally shied away from physical contact and rarely initiated it himself.
She really appreciated his gesture, and she gave him a watery smile as she took firm hold of his hand.
It helped enormously to ground her and after a few seconds, she was again sure of her voice, "I'm fine Spence, it was just a long day."
"This is stupid!" she added while wiping her eyes with her free hand, "I came to cheer you up, not to burst into tears." She managed a chuckle.
"What did you get yourself into?" he pointed to her shirt.
"I had to safe your asses you fool," she told him. "A genius like you should have figured that out on his own," she finished with a challenging grin.
"The survival rates for Agents with gunshot wounds have significantly improved over the last three decades. Ambushes make up only a tiny amount of deaths. The biggest driver of casualties is rather...," his elaboration was cut short as JJ leaned over to him and locked him in a tight hug.
She loved his sudden outbursts of random knowledge and had missed them dearly throughout the whole day, but she wasn't in the mood for fatality statistics.
Reid stiffened as he suddenly and unexpectedly found himself trapped in JJ's arms, but he gradually relaxed again and his arms found their way around her.
JJ was painfully reminded of their encounter with Tobias Henkel nearly two years earlier. The day held a special day in her memory as the second worst day of her life. Today could have easily been so much worse.
Her head still tucked into his neck, she whispered to him, "I'm so glad you are okay". With that, she released him and sat back up again.
"You look terrible," Reid told her straight away when he was once again able to look at her. She scoffed at his comment.
"We need to work on your way with women," she retorted, causing him to blush.
"No I meant you need some rest," he immediately clarified.
She couldn't deny that. Now that fear did not keep her on edge any longer, she barely managed to suppress a yawn.
She thought about going back to their hotel, but she quickly discarded the idea. She wanted to be present when Morgan woke up and Rossi was released. She quickly made up her mind.
"You know what, you are right. Move over!"
He looked at her with confusion written in his eyes.
"I want to be here when the others wake up and I'm not keen on sleeping in a chair. I had enough of that already today."
He turned red again as he hesitantly moved. She crawled up into the bed, laying down next to him. As it was only intended for one person, even as they were both of slender stature, it was still cramped. Reid threw part of his blanket over his friend. He was still very much out of his comfort zone as JJ rested her head against his chest. But he knew the value of body contact for comfort so he closed her in his arms once again.
"Relax, it's only me," she smiled when she became aware of how tense he still was.
"I'm very glad that after today I still have a best friend to make uncomfortable," she mused, causing him to relax a bit.
He rolled his eyes as he was basically able to hear her smirk.
"Goodnight JJ," he wished her instead.
"Goodnight," came the very sleepy response.
Not long after, both had fallen asleep, ending a long day of combat and compassion.