Previous part of Your Illusion.

***

Dropping Hints

The team looked at Morgan. His knuckles were swelling up and blood was dripping off his fingers. Emily stood up and started to leave the room.

"Where are you going?" Morgan asked.

"Getting some ice for your hand," she replied.

"Forget that. We need to focus on JJ," he shot.

"Sit down, Morgan," Hotch ordered.

"Hotch, I'm fine," Morgan spat. Gideon turned to Emily who was still standing in the doorway.

"Prentiss, go get some ice," he said. She nodded and walked out of the room. Morgan just shook his head as Emily returned. She handed the ice pack to Morgan who placed it gingerly on his hand.

"So what do we do now? We have a profile but none of the suspects fit it. Do we just sit and wait…hoping to get a viable tip?" Reid asked.

"It's all we can do right now," Gideon answered.

"We need to be out there looking not sitting on our asses," Morgan grumbled.

"That's enough. Morgan, go cool off. Take a walk, get some air," Gideon ordered sternly. With a scraping sound, Morgan pushed his chair back and stood up, tossing the ice pack on the table before storming out.

"Tempers are running high. It's understandable. Why don't you two get some rest. We'll call you if we hear anything," Hotch said calmly.

"No offense sir, but I really don't think it's a good idea to leave. We need to be ready at a moment's notice," Emily replied.

"Alright. At least get something to eat," Hotch told her and Reid. They both nodded and headed for the kitchen.

"I'm going to go check on Morgan," Gideon informed Hotch. Hotch nodded and headed back to his office. Just as he sat down the phone began to ring. He picked it up.

"Aaron Hotchner," he spoke.

"Hi honey," Hayley greeted from the other end. Hotch ran a hand over his eyes.

"Is everything ok?" he asked.

"I don't know. You haven't been home all day. What's going on?" she begged. He paused before speaking.

"Honey…JJ has been kidnapped. She's been missing almost two days," he said, his tone soft.

"What? Aaron, oh God. So that's what I just saw on the news?" Hayley gasped.

"We're doing everything we can," he promised her. It was partly to reassure himself as well.

"I'll let you get back to work," she mumbled and hung up. Hotch stared at the phone a minute before placing it back in the cradle. News was definitely spreading. Hopefully that would be to their advantage.

Outside Gideon found Morgan leaning on a railing. Neither of them spoke for a while, just acknowledging the other's presence.

"You doing ok?" Gideon asked. Morgan looked at him, trying to loosen up his fingers but without much luck.

"I don't know. First Reid…and now this," Morgan sighed.

"We can handle it when the victim is a stranger. We're taught to disassociate to an extent. When it gets personal, we lose our objectivity. We let our emotions get in the way," Gideon stated.

"I know I overreacted, man. I'm sorry. I just…I'm frustrated and that doesn't sit well with me," Morgan explained. Gideon just nodded his head in understanding.

"You have every right to angry. This unsub hit hard and where we hurt most. In our interpersonal relationships with each other," Gideon mused.

"Come on. I want you helping Garcia with the tip hotline," he instructed.

"Oh…and put some ice on your hand," he added as an afterthought. He headed back inside and Morgan followed, grabbing the icepack as he went. He reached Garcia's office and walked in. She looked distracted.

"Hey Mama," he said quietly. She jumped a little and turned around.

"Don't scare me like that," she snapped.

"Sorry," he apologized, pulling up a chair.

"So what brings you down here to my humble domain?" she questioned. He held up his bandaged hand.

"I got into a fight with a wall…I lost," he said with a smirk.

"Poor baby," she teased.

"Anything from the hotline?" he asked, sounding hopeful.

"Nothing yet. Most of the tips have been iffy at best," she replied. She could tell he was disappointed.

"We can't give up on her. She needs us," Garcia breathed.

"I know baby girl. I know," he agreed.

Back upstairs, Reid and Emily sat opposite each other, staring at their cups of coffee. Neither had been in the mood to eat. Finally Emily cleared her throat, causing Reid to look up.

"Crazy stuff," she muttered.

"Yeah…seems to be an increasing trend with the team," he added, averting his gaze.

"You can't think like that," she said firmly.

"Can't I? I mean…I can't help but feel this is somehow related to what happened…I can't explain why…but it just feels that way," he rambled.

"Reid, Henkel is dead," she reminded him. He just shook his head and took another sip of coffee.

Miles away, footsteps sounded on the stairs leading to the basement. Elle shut the door behind her and took a seat next to the bed. She'd sedated JJ a few hours ago but she knew the effect would last for shorter lengths of time. JJ's eyes slowly opened and she groaned. This was getting old. Waking up only to get drugged again.

"What do you want now?" she snapped.

"Just thought we'd have a little chat," Elle answered, leaning back in the chair.

"When did you become so damn controlling?" JJ blurted. Elle's face didn't betray any change in emotion.

"I'm not the same person I used to be, JJ. Near death experiences change people," Elle replied calmly. It was the calmness that bothered JJ most. How could Elle be so nonplussed and have committed a crime like this? JJ just shook her head at Elle's response.

"You were a federal agent, Elle. You know this against the law," JJ tried to reason.

"Of course I know what I did was against the law," Elle snorted.

"But I'm prepared to accept the consequences," she added.

"You've turned into one of them," JJ gasped.

"Can you really expect people who face what we faced not to think…just for a second…that could be me?" Elle asked.

"No. I can't. Because I'd never put someone's life in danger…especially not someone I thought was a friend," JJ shouted.

"Friendship is something that involves trust, JJ. And I lost that…" Elle began but trailed off.

"This isn't about Lee…this is about Garner," JJ murmured.

"So you think you've figured me out? Know what's going on then?" Elle hissed.

"Go ahead. Tell me all about it," she continued, arms crossed over her chest.

"I'm not a profiler, Elle," JJ breathed.

"Oh come on, JJ. You spend enough time around them. I'm sure you've picked up a trick or two," Elle taunted.

"You want revenge. You're still angry that Hotch sent you home…that the team abandoned you," JJ stated.

"If I wanted revenge on Hotch, do you think you'd be the one lying in that bed?" Elle asked, having to take several breaths to regain her composure.

"You're closer than you were before but you're not there yet," Elle stated, standing up.

"Why don't you just tell me?" JJ asked.

"Because…I know you're a smart girl, JJ. Deep down you know the reason you're here. You just need to think about it," Elle answered. With that she headed upstairs. JJ tried to wipe her eyes as best she could. She couldn't believe this was happening. Elle had been a good profiler until Garner had attacked her. And how could she be so calm? It didn't make sense. Just then, Elle reappeared, mug in hand.

"I'm not drinking it," JJ stated firmly.

"We've been through this before. It's easier just to take it," Elle said.

"Sedation…isn't that a sign of weakness?" JJ tried.

"JJ, I have you chained to a bed, locked in a room that no one, aside from myself, knows even exists. I'm fairly certain that doesn't denote weakness. Besides, it's merely an added precaution. Now drink it," Elle answered.

"Screw you," JJ spat, pushing the mug away. Elle closed her eyes and took a breath. She needed to stay calm and in control. In one fluid motion, she'd drawn her gun and had it leveled at the side of JJ's head.

"Go ahead and shoot me. You'll get more time for murder," JJ said.

"I'm not going to kill you, JJ. If I wanted you dead, I'd have killed you in your apartment. You know that," Elle said, pushing the mug into JJ's restrained hands. JJ stared into the liquid in the mug and slowly downed it. It tasted different than before. Her vision seemed to blur faster and the darkness enveloped her.

She didn't hear Elle take the mug from her hands and walk upstairs nor did she hear the footsteps returning back down. The next thing JJ was aware of was waking up to find herself alone. She expected Elle to appear but she didn't. It was a small blessing to have woken up and not have Elle standing over her like a vulture. It was then that she looked over and noticed something foreign sitting on the table, just within her reach; a phone.

***

Cat and Mouse

She stared at the contraption for a while, contemplating what it meant. It had definitely not been there before. She would have noticed it for sure. But why was it here now? What was Elle getting at? JJ couldn't deny that every fiber in her being wanted to pick up that receiver and dial 911. But what if Elle caught her? She closed her eyes and looked away, trying to fight the temptation.

"Don't give in to her," she lectured herself. She had to accept that for all intents and purposes, Elle was the enemy right now.

Upstairs, Elle sat reading the business section of the paper. Added to the gun and beeper on her hip was now a little trigger button. She turned the page and scanned the articles. Nothing seemed all that interesting now that she thought about it. Her mind drifted to Reid. Elle knew once the proper hints had been dropped, he would figure it out. She had no doubts about that.

"Soon," she murmured to herself, folding the paper in half.

Back in Garcia's office, Morgan and Garcia were sifting through the tips that had come in. Garcia laid her head down on one of the many keyboards in front of her. She, like the rest of the team, hadn't gotten much rest in the last two days.

"We're not finding anything," she groaned, not bothering to lift her head back up.

"Somewhere in here could be the key to finding JJ," Morgan commented, replaying the last message. The caller was claiming to have spotted a woman fitting JJ's description in a homeless shelter.

"I think we should check this one out. For all we know, she's managed to get away from the unsub and didn't know where else to go," Morgan said. Garcia gave a noncommittal noise. Morgan shook his head and dialed Hotch's number.

"Hey Hotch. We have a possible lead. Caller says they saw someone fitting JJ's description at a homeless shelter. We're going to—" Morgan began.

"You're not going to check it out. I'll go. Keep searching," Hotch said and hung up.

"I punch one little wall and suddenly I'm grounded," Morgan grumbled.

"Look at it this way. You get spend more time with me," Garcia said flirtatiously.

"Can't argue there, sweetness," he teased back.

Hotch walked out of his office and spotted Emily just about to sit down at her desk. He flagged her down and she jogged over.

"We have a possible lead. You're coming with me," he said. She nodded and they headed towards the garage.

"A homeless shelter?" Emily asked once they'd reached the car and had left the garage.

"It's a shot we need to take. If she has managed to get free somehow, it's as good a place as any," Hotch answered, turning a corner with a small squeal of the tires. Emily just looked out the window, silently hoping they were going in the right direction. They arrived at the shelter and climbed out of the car. Just as they approached the front doors, a man in his mid forties stopped them.

"I'm sorry, we're all full," he said. Apparently the suits and sunglasses hadn't given them away.

"Sir, we're not looking for a spot. We're with the FBI," Emily answered.

"You from that unit? The one looking for that missing woman?" the man asked. Hotch nodded.

"Yeah…I just called in…there's a woman…looks like it could be the one you're looking for," he continued, leading them inside. The rows of beds were filled with shabbily dressed people. Despite the poor condition of their clothing, the rest of the facility was clean. The man who'd met them at the door led the two agents to the far corner of the common area. A young woman sat, knees drawn to her chest. Her hair reached just past her shoulders. Emily took a deep breath before placing a hand on the woman's shoulder.

"JJ?" she asked, applying a little pressure to get the woman to turn around. Her head whipped around at lightning speed and Emily's heart fell. It wasn't JJ.

"My name is Samantha," the woman replied.

"We're sorry to bother you, Ma'am," Hotch replied, starting to pull Emily away. The man followed quickly behind them.

"Wait…that's not her?" he asked, sounding anxious.

"No. That's not her," Hotch replied. With that he and Emily headed back to the car.

"I can't believe it wasn't her," Emily grumbled.

"We're going to find her," Hotch reiterated. It was starting to feel like a mantra of some kind. Just as they were heading back toward headquarters, Emily's phone rang.

"Prentiss," she answered.

"Hey Em, it's Garcia. We have another possible lead," the computer tech replied from the other end.

"Alright, give me the location," the brunette said, looking over at Hotch. She pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled down the information from the caller and the location.

"Got it. We'll go check it out," Emily said and hung up.

"I hope this lead is legit," she murmured as Hotch looked at the location.

Back at Quantico, Reid had wandered downstairs and joined Morgan and Garcia. The office was quiet. No one had called the tip line in a while. The lead that Garcia had just given Emily had come in nearly twenty minutes earlier.

"Find anything?" Reid asked, pacing around, looking at the various computer screens.

"We found two possible leads. Hotch and Emily are checking them out," Morgan answered, massaging his swollen hand. Garcia looked at him and gave him a wink.

"You want me to kiss it and make it all better?" she offered, trying not to giggle too much.

"Very funny," Morgan laughed.

"Do we know if the first lead turned up anything?" Reid pressed, his nerves starting to reach their end.

"They didn't say. I'm sure they'll tell us when they get back," Garcia replied. She could sense Reid's anxiety.

The car pulled to a stop outside a park. They spotted a uniformed park ranger and walked up.

"You with the FBI?" he asked. Both Prentiss and Hotch flashed their badges.

"Follow me. We found her about half an hour ago," the ranger said as he led them over to a secluded area of the park. They came upon an unconscious blond woman, her hair obscuring her face. Hotch bent down and brushed the hair from her face.

"It's not her," he said again and stood up.

"You sure?" the ranger asked.

"I'd know one of my own agents damn it," he shot back.

"Whoah, the news never said anything about this being a Federal Agent," the ranger called.

"Because we didn't want to risk the unsub taking drastic action," Emily snapped and followed Hotch back to the car.

"Two false leads. This is like a game of cat and mouse," Emily grumbled as they headed back to headquarters. She pulled out her phone and called Reid, to let him know that they'd struck out on both leads.

"No…there haven't been any more tips," Reid answered, looking distressed as he hung up.

"Nothing," he sighed.

The room was silent as they all stared at the central computer that was collecting audio from the hotline. Every time they thought they had a lead, a direction to go, it turned out to be wrong.

"Guys…the unsub…is in complete control of this investigation," Reid breathed.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Morgan asked.

"Every move we've made, has been forced because of something the unsub did," he said.

"Or didn't do," Garcia added and Reid nodded.

"He's one step ahead of us," Morgan stated.

Back at Elle's, JJ was staring at the phone again. The temptation was growing stronger, especially since Elle hadn't appeared to drug her again. JJ set her jaw and started to reach a hand out when she heard footsteps approaching. She quickly closed her eyes, pretending not to have noticed the device taunting her. Elle appeared, mug in hand. JJ thought about trying to fight her but realized it wouldn't do any good. Elle handed her the mug and she drank obediently. It still tasted different. She half expected Elle to make some comment about the phone but she didn't say a word. She simply took the mug back and returned upstairs. Now was her chance. JJ reached out and grabbed the phone, pulling it out of the cradle. She turned the phone as best she could to reach the numbers and pressed 9-1-1. It rang on the other end for a time or two before someone picked up.

"911, please state your emergency," a woman answered.

"My name…is Special Agent Jennifer Jareau with the FBI," JJ began, her tone slightly slurred.

"Ma'am, are you intoxicated?" the operator asked.

"I need you to get a message to Aaron Hotchner…with the Behavioral Analysis Unit," JJ continued, seeming not to have heard the woman's question. She blinked a time or two and noticed her vision starting to blur.

"I…I'm in…" she tried to explain but something strange happened. She heard a click on the end right before she blacked out, the phone falling from her grip and clanking against the leg of the table.

***

So Close Yet So Far

"Ma'am, are you still there?" the operator asked. She received no response from the other end and slowly ended the call. The message seemed strange but she would do her best to honor it. She picked up the phone and dialed the number for Quantico.

"My name is Marilyn with the Virginia Emergency call center. I need to speak with an Agent Aaron Hotchner. It's urgent," she said once someone picked up on the other end. She was told to wait and the line clicked, signaling she was on hold. The line clicked again.

"I'm sorry. He's not in right now," the person on the other end replied. Marilyn thought for a minute.

"I just received a call from a Special Agent Jareau. Do you have anyone I could send the audio and transcript to?" Marilyn asked.

"Penelope Garcia," the person on the other replied immediately.

"I'll get it to her right away," Marilyn said and hung up. With a steadying breath she searched for Garcia's email address and sent the files.

Back at Quantico, one of Garcia's many computers beeped loudly, signaling she had a new message waiting for her. The noise made both Reid and Morgan look up.

"What is it?" Morgan asked.

"Email," Garcia replied, trying to figure out which of the monitors had made the sound. Once she'd found it, she pulled up the message and scanned it. The body of the message read 'I received this call ten minutes ago. I believe you need to hear it. It will help you'.

"Click the audio," Reid said. Garcia moved the mouse over the attachment and opened it.

"911, please state your emergency."

"My name…is Special Agent Jennifer Jareau with the FBI."

"Ma'am, are you intoxicated?"

"I need you to get a message to Aaron Hotchner…with the Behavioral Analysis Unit."

"I…I'm in…"

The three agents just stared at the screen, not believing their ears. It couldn't really be real, could it?" Morgan swallowed a few times before he found his voice again.

"Play it again," he said. She hit the play button and the short conversation played again.

"It's her," Reid rasped.

"Guys…that means she is still alive," Garcia whispered.

"Go get Gideon. See if Hotch and Emily are back yet. They need to hear this," Morgan ordered. Reid rushed from the room and headed up to find Gideon.

"Gideon," Reid called, finding him in the kitchen.

"Get something?" Gideon asked, sounding hopeful.

"A 911 phone call…it's JJ," Reid said. Gideon put down his coffee mug and nearly bowled Reid over to get through the doorway. Just as he entered the bull pen area, Hotch and Emily walked in.

"Conference room," Gideon ordered. Emily raised an eyebrow at Reid but did as she was told. Garcia and Morgan were waiting in the room, a laptop computer set up with the audio of the phone call ready to play for the rest of the team.

"What's going on?" Emily asked, sitting down.

"I got this email a few minutes ago from a Virginia 9-1-1 operator," Garcia replied and hit the play button again. The conversation played and Emily stared in shock.

"It's JJ," she breathed.

"So we know she's alive," Hotch stated.

"She sounded drunk," Morgan commented.

"The operator even asked if she was intoxicated," Reid added.

"She wanted to get a message to you," Garcia said, looking at Hotch.

"I wonder what it was," Reid mumbled.

"So what does this give us?" Gideon asked the team.

"We know that as of about fifteen minutes ago, JJ somehow got access to a phone and made a 911 call which means she is alive," Emily answered. She knew there was a possibility that the proper tense was the past. But she couldn't bring herself to say it.

"Is there any indication that she could…" Hotch began but couldn't finish the sentence. It wasn't needed. The rest of the team knew what he was trying to ask.

"The call ended abruptly," Morgan offered.

"She was mid-sentence but it wasn't like she was gagged. We would have heard that," Reid added.

"Maybe she was drugged? I mean her speech was slurred," he contemplated aloud after a minute.

"If you listen real closely you can a faint click in the audio. Like the phone got cut off," Garcia noted.

"Maybe the unsub found her on the phone and cut the connection," Morgan suggested.

"I think we need to keep in contact with the Virginia Emergency center. Get a trap and trace on their lines, initiated if JJ calls back," Gideon stated.

"You think she'll call back?" Garcia asked softly.

"I have no idea but it's the best lead we've had in two days," Gideon answered, walking out of the room. The rest of the team exchanged a look.

"Reid, can you and Garcia sit on the trace/' Hotch questioned. The young agent nodded and he and Garcia headed back downstairs. Hotch just gave Morgan a nod and headed back to his own office.

"Want to grab a cup of coffee?" Emily asked. Morgan stood up and they headed to the kitchen. It wasn't entirely private but it was a respite from the rest of the building.

"How's your hand?" she inquired, pouring two cups of coffee.

"It's alright. Hearing that audio clip…" he answered, trailing off as he accepted the cup.

"Sent chills down my spine. It's the closest we've come to finding anything actually useful," Emily stated.

"But at least we know she's alive," he agreed.

"Do we really know that though? There are a million reasons why that call ended the way it did," Emily said.

"I don't mean to be morbid or the pessimist but we will need to face the fact that she might…be severely injured now," Emily continued.

"I need to believe that is alive," Morgan snapped. Emily backed off. She knew his was close to JJ, closer than she herself was.

"You're right. We can't help her if we think she's hurt," Emily mumbled.

JJ woke up again and found herself in a very uncomfortable position. Her arm was hanging at an odd angle, the restraint starting to rub her wrist raw. She groaned and tried to roll over to get in a more comfortable position. She looked to her left and saw the phone had been placed back in the cradle. She didn't remember doing that. She tried to concentrate, to figure out what the last she remembered was. She definitely made the call to 911 and had talked to someone. She didn't notice Elle sitting in a chair a few feet away.

"Hungry?" Elle asked, startling JJ.

"Can't you just leave alone?" JJ spat.

"Well it's starting to get late and I thought you might be hungry so I made ramen," Elle replied, essentially ignoring JJ's comment.

"You can cook bacon and eggs but the best you can do with real food is ramen?" JJ laughed.

"Well…the last time I asked what you wanted to eat you didn't answer," Elle replied.

"You're losing control, you know," JJ murmured as Elle moved closer.

"Am I? How so?" Elle asked, leaning closer, looking intently at JJ.

"I called 911," the blond stated.

"You couldn't have made that call without me giving you the means to do it," Elle said calmly.

"And I'm pretty sure you didn't get very far," she added, tapping her fingers on the edge of the bowl in her lap.

The two women looked at each other for a while without speaking. JJ was trying to figure out what Elle wanted from all of this. She didn't want the team to find her yet she kept a phone within reach and wasn't surprised that JJ used it. Elle finally stood up, accepting that JJ wasn't going to eat and took the bowl upstairs. JJ knew it would be only a matter of minutes before Elle came back to drug her. She needed to act fast. For the second time she grabbed the phone and dialed 911.

"911, please state your emergency," a different operator stated from the other end.

"My name is Jennifer Jareau. I'm a Special Agent with the FBI," JJ said as quickly as she could. There was a flurry of sounds on the end before the operator spoke again.

"What is your emergency?" the operator asked.

"I'm being held captive. I need you to get a message to SSA Aaron Hotchner or SSA Jason Gideon. I'm being held by—" JJ started but heard a click. The same sound resounded on the other end. The operator looked over his shoulder. The team had moved into the small space available in the Emergency call center. He shook his head and hung up the phone. Hotch looked at Garcia.

"Did you get a location?" he asked, his voice strained. She shook her head in the negative.

"The call wasn't long enough. It could only narrow it down to a general area," she answered.

"How general are we talking?" Morgan asked. Garcia looked at the map in front of her.

"I managed to get it down to the street but not a specific place," she answered. She looked at the area that the trace had pinpointed and felt a chill run up her spine. They were so close but it felt so far away.

***

Heart Stopping

No one moved for a moment, just letting it sink in. They were getting closer to finding JJ than they had been in the last 2 days. Morgan caught sight of the clock on Garcia's computer. He hadn't realized they'd already hit the morning of day 3. Finally, Hotch snapped them all from their daze.

"Let's go," he ordered. The team complied, scrambling from the room and heading to their cars. They piled in and Morgan jumped on the phone with Garcia..

"Hey beautiful, can we have that street name again?" he asked. Garcia checked the map and read it off to him.

"Thanks," Morgan stated and was about to hang up.

"Bring her home safe," Garcia murmured. Morgan inclined his head before ending the call.

"He looked behind him to see Gideon on his phone, alerting local police to meet them on scene. He hoped they weren't too late. He could still hear that click in his head. It meant whoever was holding her captive had found out again.

"You know…getting a call from her one time…that's luck. But getting a second call…well I don't know what that is," Morgan sighed.

"It's like the unsub knew JJ was calling for help," Reid murmured.

"If the unsub knew she was using a phone, why not take the phone away?" Hotch asked as he paused at a stop sign. No one answered for a long time. Finally Emily spoke.

"What if…he wanted her to call the police?" she suggested.

"A way for him to brag about kidnapping her," Gideon breathed.

"But the unsub was clever enough to cut the call before JJ was able to reveal who he was," Reid noted.

"We're going to search every house on that street until we find her," Hotch said, a tinge of anger in his voice.

Back at Elle's, JJ stared at the phone, a scowl on her face. She had been so close. She heard footsteps approaching and slammed the receiver back down. She didn't know how but she knew Elle had cut her off. The door at the bottom of the stairs opened and Elle walked in. She looked pissed but she shut the door quietly.

"Nice trick," JJ commented.

"Have to keep them on their toes, don't I," Elle stated.

"Come to drug me again?" JJ snapped.

"No. We have something to discuss before they get here," Elle answered.

"No, I don't know what demented plan you came up with," JJ countered.

"Yes you do, JJ. You just don't want to admit it," Elle snapped.

JJ wracked her brain, trying to figure out what could have set Elle off. It wasn't about the Lee case or Randall Garner. Those were the only cases that JJ could think of relating to Elle's time with the Bureau. She closed her eyes and let out a breath. Then it dawned on her. She let out a gasp as it hit her like a ton of bricks. It didn't involve Elle at all.

"Reid," she rasped.

"See I knew you could figure it out," Elle said with a small smile. JJ looked Elle straight in the eye.

"But…that happened after you left. How could you…" JJ started to ask but Elle cut her off.

"How could I know about it? For a bunch of highly trained profilers, you can't see what's right in front of your face," Elle sighed.

"What are you talking about?" JJ questioned, her heart starting to beat faster.

"How couldn't you see what he was doing to himself?" Elle asked, fighting back her emotions. JJ averted her gaze. They'd all noticed something was wrong with Reid after the Henkel incident but after a while he seemed ok.

"He is fine now," JJ murmured. Elle just shook her head and turned her back on JJ. She wiped tears from the corner of her eyes. She needed to keep her composure. She couldn't break down I n from of JJ.

"So if this is about Reid, why am I here?" JJ questioned.

"Because you were stupid. You should have known better," Elle said, her voice cold.

"You're blaming what happened on me? I wasn't the one who said we should split up," JJ argued.

"That doesn't matter. You should have known better than to let him go alone," Elle replied, trying to keep her voice even. JJ could tell this was making Elle mad and she wasn't sure what Elle would do if she got too angry. With that, Elle stormed upstairs.

Not far away wheels squealed on the pavement as several police cars stopped on the street. The black SVU transporting the team stopped as well and everyone jumped out.

"Spread out," Hotch called.

"Aren't we going to need search warrants, Sir?" Emily asked.

"JJ's life is at stake. Right now, I don't care about search warrants," Hotch answered, heading to the first house on the left side of the street. Emily caught Morgan's eye and he just shrugged.

Hotch reached the front door and banged loudly. Footsteps echoed from within and it was pulled open by a woman in her late thirties.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Federal Agents," Hotch said and pushed passed her. Several police officers followed him.

"Excuse me! Do you have a warrant?" she snapped.

"Ma'am, please step outside," Hotch ordered and one of the officers escorted her out. They checked every room in the house. Shouts of 'clear' echoed from every direction. Outside, Emily had taken over standing with the woman.

"What is going on?" she asked, looking around to see her neighbors being ousted from their homes as well.

"We're searching for a missing woman who made a 911 call from a house on this street," Emily responded just as Hotch and the officers walked out.

"Nothing," he told Emily.

"Thank you for your cooperation," he addressed the homeowner.

"You really think there's a missing woman here?" she asked.

"Yes, Ma'am we do," Hotch replied.

"Do you know something?" Emily probed.

"Well…we are all pretty friendly on the block. I think we would have noticed," she answered. Hotch merely nodded and let her return inside. They caught up with Gideon and Reid.

"Nothing on the entire right side of the street," Gideon reported. Reid looked around him, taking off his sunglasses. Something seemed familiar to him but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.

"Keep looking. She's got to be here somewhere," Hotch called to the surrounding officers.

Back inside Elle's house, she peered out the front window. She smiled a little as she headed for the dining room. She pulled open the drawer of the small desk and pulled out JJ's cell phone and the battery. Carefully she put the battery back in and turned it on. Outside, Morgan's phone began to ring.

"Morgan," he answered.

"JJ's cell just turned on. I'm tracking the GPS right now," Garcia said excitedly.

"Garcia's got a trace on JJ's cell. It got turned back on," Morgan called to he rest of the team. They all rushed towards him.

"Tell me you've got a location, Garcia," Morgan begged.

"Just one more minute," Garcia said. She let out a groan.

"What?" Morgan demanded. It shut off again. But…I managed to get a lock on it before it went off. It came from the last house on the left," Garcia replied.

"You are amazing," Morgan complimented and hung up.

"We've got her. Last house on the left," he said and began sprinting down the street. Reid too a closer look at the street numbers and a light when off in his brain. He knew why this looked familiar.

"Guys, wait!" he called after the team but they didn't listen. Biting his lip he raced after them. Morgan got to the door first and took a running lunge at it. It creaked but didn't open.

"Stand back," Hotch said and kicked the door in. The team rushed inside and began checking the house.

"Living room is clear," Emily called.

"Bedroom and bathroom too," Hotch replied. Morgan slowly moved into the kitchen. He found Elle with her back to him, emptying the dishwasher.

"Don't move," Morgan ordered. She continued putting cups in the cabinet to her left.

"I said don't move," Morgan repeated. His shouting had drawn the rest of the team into the small space.

"Turn around slowly," Emily called. Elle stopped what she was doing.

"Make up your minds," she said, turning around nonetheless.

"What the…" Morgan choked out.

"Elle?" Reid gasped.

"I'd appreciate if you would put those away. You could hurt someone," Elle said, eying Morgan and Emily.

"What the hell is going on?" Hotch asked.

"Where is she?" Morgan snapped, taking a step closer. Elle didn't answer him.

"We know she's here. Where the hell is she," he repeated, gun still leveled at her chest. Reid watched in silence, trying to think of where JJ could be. He knew this house inside and out…or he thought he did.

"She's safe," Elle finally answered. She could tell Morgan was livid, his fingers itching to pull the trigger.

***

Got A Hold On Me

"Safe?" Morgan spat.

"I'm going to ask you one more time. Where is she?" he hissed. It was then that he noticed the collection o n her belt. She still didn't answer his question. She looked over at Hotch and Gideon. They stood off to the side, watching.

"If I were you, I'd disarm me first, Morgan," she said coolly. Morgan looked over at Emily and she reached out and grabbed the gun, beeper and trigger button. She tossed the small collection onto the kitchen table.

"You must be Prentiss," Elle commented. Elle leaned on the edge of the counter, arms crossed over her chest. Emily just stared at the woman in front of her. She seemed so sane and calm. It didn't make sense that she could have done this.

"Elle, please just tell us where JJ is," Reid begged. She looked at him, his hands shoved in his pockets. She unfolded her arms slowly and pointed to the door next to Emily.

"You'll need this," she stated, reaching in her pocket and handed the key to Reid. He took the key, letting their hands touch a second longer than necessary.

"Morgan, go with him," Gideon ordered. Tentatively, Morgan holstered his gun and followed Reid down the stairs.

With two of the agents out of the room, Hotch and Gideon moved closer. Emily still had her gun in her hand, not sure what to make of the situation. Why had Elle given up JJ's location so easily?

"Well, are you going to arrest me, Hotch?" Elle asked.

"I think you know that answer. I let you go last time. I'm not doing it again," Hotch answered.

"I wouldn't expect anything less," she said with a smirk. No one moved.

"What are you waiting for? I'm guessing you don't want me here when they bring JJ up," Elle commented.

"Oh, I'd call an ambulance just to be safe," she added offhandedly. With that she started to walk towards the doorway between the living room and the kitchen.

"Hold it right there. Where do you think you're going?" Emily called, raising her weapon.

"Well I was going to find someone to cuff me seeing as none of the three of you seem to be taking any decisive action," Elle answered rudely. Glaring, Hotch pulled a set of cuffs from under his jacket and pushed her against the fridge.

"Elle Greenaway you are under arrest for the kidnapping of a federal agent," Hotch began but Elle interrupted him.

"Don't bother Mirandizing me. I know my rights and I waive them," she interrupted.

"Get her out of here," Gideon sighed. Hotch dragged her out of the room, leaving Emily and Gideon alone. She put her gun back on her belt and looked at Gideon.

"That was the agent I replaced?" she asked, sounding clearly surprised.

"Yeah," was the only response Gideon gave.

Downstairs, Morgan and Reid pushed open the door at the bottom of the stairs. Both had their guns raised just in case. As the door swung on its hinges, they spotted JJ lying on the bed.

"Oh God, JJ," Reid called, crossing the room in two strides. She opened her eyes.

"Reid?" she asked, not believing he was actually there.

"The key," Morgan prompted him. The younger of the two pulled the key from his pocket and began to unlock the restraints on her hands and then her ankles. JJ slowly sat up and rubbed her wrists.

"How?" she asked, not making any moves to get off the bed.

"We got the 911 calls," Reid answered.

"Garcia managed to trace your cell to here," Morgan added. JJ felt a shiver run up her spine and she visibly shivered. Morgan pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"You're going to be ok," he whispered, helping her stand up.

"She blames me," she mumbled, looking at Reid. He didn't respond. All he cared about right now was getting JJ to the hospital. Slowly the threesome made their way back up the stairs. JJ had to blink several times when the morning light hit her pupils. Emily looked at JJ and gave her a weak smile. They heard sirens outside and continued through the house and outside. Several of the other occupants of the street had come out to see what had happened. JJ caught sight of Elle being driven off in a squad car.

"Easy," one of the paramedics said as Reid and Morgan eased JJ onto the stretcher.

"I'll ride with her," Gideon offered and climbed into the ambulance once JJ had been loaded in. The doors shut and the bus quickly sped away.

In the ambulance, JJ looked over at Gideon. She could tell he was on edge. She reached up and pulled the oxygen mask down.

"I didn't think you'd get my messages," she said softly.

"Ma'am, you need to keep that on," the paramedic said. JJ rolled her eyes but put it back on. Gideon reached over and squeezed her hand.

"We got them. There was no way we were going to let you down," he answered. She smiled, closing her eyes. Despite being drugged for so long, she was genuinely tired.

As the ambulance sped off, Hotch joined Reid, Morgan and Prentiss. None of them spoke for what seemed like hours. Finally Hotch broke the silence.

"Search the house," he said. Morgan and Emily started back to the house. Reid lingered for a minute before joining them. He walked straight up to the desk in the dining room and pulled open drawers. He found JJ's cell phone easily. He still couldn't believe that JJ had been here the entire time, literally right under his nose.

"Didn't find anything," Emily reported.

"I think the only thing she took was JJ's cell phone," Reid murmured, holding the device up.

"I can't believe she did this," Morgan spat.

"Neither can I," Reid agreed, feeling suddenly very uneasy.

"It was weird. She told us to call an ambulance. It's like she was worried about JJ or something," Emily commented as they headed for the SUV.

"Yeah well to me it looked like she was making it pretty clear that she didn't give a damn," Morgan rebutted.

"Where are we heading?" Reid asked of Hotch once they'd all climbed in.

"The hospital. Elle's being taken down to the station," he answered.

The drive to the hospital was silent as was the ride up in the elevator. They found Gideon sitting bedside, a nurse hooking up an IV.

"What's in that?" JJ asked, eying the pole nervously.

"It's just a mild sedative," the nurse answered.

"Get that away from me. I've been sedated enough thank you," JJ shot, jerking away from the woman.

"She doesn't need to be sedated," Gideon stated and nurse walked out of the room. She passed the team as they entered.

"How are you feeling?" Emily asked.

"Really tired and hungry," JJ answered.

"What day is it?" she asked suddenly.

"You've been missing almost two and a half days," Hotch answered.

"God it felt like forever," she murmured. She was avoiding looking at Reid. She couldn't help but feel like it was her fault that he got kidnapped that night. She'd certainly blamed herself at the time.

"She seemed calm. She turned herself in, waived her rights," Emily informed Reid and Morgan.

"What did she do to you?" Morgan asked, his voice laced with more anger than he intended.

"Aside from kidnapping me and chaining me to a bed? Let's see, bought me Chinese, made me breakfast and ramen," JJ recounted.

"What?" the team asked collectively.

"Yeah, she kept telling me I needed to eat. I swear she was trying to poison me," JJ answered.

"Whoah, hang on. She was feeding you but kept you chained up. What kind twisted logic is that?" Morgan questioned. JJ just did her best to shrug.

"Could you tell what she was drugging you with?" Hotch asked.

"No. But the last couple of times it definitely tasted different. I couldn't really figure out what about it was different but it was," she rambled.

"Do you have any idea why she kidnapped you?" Gideon asked gently. Reid, took a step back.

"She told me that…she blamed me for what happened to Reid…the Henkel case," she admitted, not making eye contact with anyone. At that moment she felt as though Elle was right in accusing her.

"JJ it wasn't your fault," Emily tried to reassure her.

Just then a man in a white coat walked in and looked around. He was holding a clipboard. Everyone turned to look at him. He nodded at each of them.

"How are we doing in here?" he asked.

"Tired but alright," JJ replied.

"I just got your toxicology reports back. You've got high levels of a mixture of Acetaminophen, Dextromethorphan HBr and Doxylamine succinate in your system," he said, looking at JJ.

"In English please," she said.

"That's the chemical composition of Nyquil," Reid interpreted.

***

Not The Only One That Hurts

"Wait a minute; she drugged JJ with sleep medicine?" Morgan asked.

"It appears so," the doctor answered. JJ ran a hand through her hair.

"So that's what it was," she mumbled to herself.

"There were also traces of regular alcohol as well," the doctor added, flipping through the papers on the clipboard.

"We'd like to keep her overnight to make sure the rest of the Nyquil is flushed from her system,' he concluded and walked away.

"So…it started to wear off too soon so she spiked it," Hotch stated, looking angry. How could Elle have done this. Then again, he knew deep down what she'd done to Lee.

"She had every opportunity to kill me," JJ began.

"She didn't," Gideon interrupted.

"She kept telling me she didn't want to hurt me," JJ finished, looking down at her hands.

"Get some rest. We'll be back later," Hotch said and led the team out of the room. Reid was the last to leave. He quickly glanced back at JJ. Her eyelids were already drooping.

The team walked down the hallway and took the stairs to the garage. As they climbed into the SUV, Reid couldn't help but think about one thing JJ had said. She'd had Chinese. His heart stopped for a minute. That's why she'd ordered it.

"Reid….Earth to Reid. Anybody in there?" Morgan called, snapping his fingers in front of Reid's face.

"Huh?" he mumbled.

"You ok man?" he asked.

"Yeah. Just tired," he answered. The remainder of the ride back to headquarters was silent. No one was looking forward to what came next. They dispersed in the bull pen, all heading for their desks. Hotch walked into his office and jumped silently when he saw Hayley sitting there with Jack.

"Honey, what are you doing here?" he asked, putting his badge and sunglasses on the desk. He bent down and picked up his son.

"I was getting worried," she admitted.

"We found her. She's ok," he said and his wife breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank God. And you…caught the person who did it?" she asked.

"Yes…it was a woman," Hotch murmured, bouncing the child on his hip.

"What?" Hayley asked.

"Honey…it was Elle," he told her. Hayley gripped the arms of the chair she was sitting in. She didn't know what to say to that. She knew that Elle had left the Bureau but Aaron couldn't go into detail.

"We need to do some things here. Why don't you take Jack home? I'll be home as soon as I can," he promised, kissing her quickly as he handed the child back to her. Hayley slowly stood and walked out of the office. Emily caught sight of her and looked over at the rest of the team.

"Probably just family stuff," Morgan said. Just then Garcia appeared. Morgan was on his feet in seconds.

"She's ok. We got her," he told her.

"No one told me anything…" she trailed off.

"Mama, you're not going to like how this ends," Morgan whispered. He filled her in on who the unsub was. Garcia's face contorted in shock. Neither of them spoke for a while. Garcia was still trying to digest the information she'd been given. She should have figured it out…done a search on who owned the house.

"Guys, conference room now," Hotch called. As if in slow motion the team began to trudge back to the conference room.

"We need to figure out how we're going to handle this interrogation," Hotch began once the team had assembled.

"She's trying to force our hand. Do it her way," Gideon added.

"Well…I could interrogate her," Emily offered. She didn't have nearly the conflict of interest the rest of the team had.

"It could work," Hotch agreed.

"She's smart. She thinks like we do. Keep your guard up," Gideon reminded her. Emily nodded and stood up. She moved to the door and looked back over her shoulder.

"Don't I get a little moral support?' she asked, trying to smile. Gideon nodded and they followed her down to the interrogation room. Elle sat on one side of the table in the small room. She looked calm and unperturbed by her surroundings. Emily took a deep breath and walked in. Without a word she took the seat across from Elle. Elle slowly looked up at the woman across from her.

"They send you in here because you don't know me?" Elle asked. Her tone conveyed no emotion.

"I don't see why that has anything to do with this," Emily countered.

"Save yourself the trouble, Prentiss. Let one of them do this. I'm sure Morgan would love a piece of me," Elle said, a small smile crossing her lips.

"Excuse me?" Emily asked. What was Elle trying to do? Outside the rest of the team watched, confusion on many of their faces.

"She's trying to take control of the situation," Gideon noted.

"Maybe we should give her what she wants," Morgan suggested. He couldn't deny that he did want to take a crack at Elle.

"Alright. Go," Hotch said. Morgan pulled open the door and Emily stood, suddenly very thankful that someone else would be dealing with this woman. Once the door had closed Morgan rounded on Elle.

"What the hell happened to you?" he demanded. Elle leaned back in her chair.

"What happened? Let's see. I was shot. There's something right there," she answered coolly.

"But I'm guessing you want me to tell you what my stressor was," she added.

"You kidnapped a Federal Agent, Elle. You're not getting away with it," Morgan spat.

"Who says I was going to get away with it, Morgan?" Elle countered. She looked down to see his bandaged hand.

"Get a little angry? Lose a fight with a wall maybe?" she asked, trying to keep the bemusement out of her voice.

"Oh and before you take any guesses, this doesn't have to do with Randall Garner or William Lee. JJ learned that rather quickly," she stated. Morgan glared at her. She had the upper hand and he could feel the pressure building on his shoulders. This wasn't the way it was supposed to go.

"Why'd you do it then," he asked, trying to calm down.

"You know why. I'm sure JJ already told you. How is she doing? Getting enough hydration?" Elle answered.

"Don't you dare act like you give a damn about her. You put her life in danger," Morgan ground out.

"Her life was never really in danger," Elle rebutted.

Back outside, Gideon watched the exchange closely. His mind whirred, trying to figure this out. It had been about Reid. He suddenly knew what was going on. He pulled Reid aside and looked at him.

"How long?" he asked.

"What?" Reid murmured.

"How long have you and Elle been involved?" he expounded. Reid looked at his shoes.

"A year," he answered.

"I just…I just don't understand why she would do this," Reid rasped. He was doing his best to keep the tears from coming. He couldn't lose it in front of the team. They'd ask too many questions that he didn't want to answer. With that he walked out of the room. Emily was about to go after him when Gideon stopped her.

"Let him go," he told her. He looked back through the window to see Morgan stand up and storm out.

"I can't deal with her," he spat. Gideon walked in and took Morgan's seat.

"Come to try your hand?" she asked.

"You really cared about him didn't you," Gideon said calmly.

"Yes. And you know what…you stood by and did nothing while he slipped away day after day," she answered, her tone taking on a hint of emotion now.

"He's doing fine now," Gideon countered.

"Physically maybe. But not psychologically. I tried to make him stop and he ignored me. And what did you do? Nothing!" she shouted at him. The sudden burst of emotion made Gideon jump a little.

"You can't make him listen so you go and kidnap JJ? Is that it?" he asked.

"No Jason. That's not it. JJ is just a part of it," Elle answered.

"She should have known better than to let him run off on his own," she continued.

"You knew we'd find her," he said.

"Of course I did. I let you find her when I wanted to. You took steps forward only when I left the hints. Face it Jason. I was in control of the entire situation," she hissed.

"Yes you were," he conceded.

"Tell me….how close were you with the profile?" she asked, her tone less abrasive now. He didn't answer her. Instead he stood up and walked out. He pointed to the paper.

"Write it all down " he told her. She shot him one last look before pulling the paper to her. He walked out and looked at the rest of the team.

"She was testing us. Seeing if we could profile her without a shred of evidence," he said and she nodded.

"Are you kidding me?" Morgan spat.

"She blamed us for not helping Reid handle his demons after the Henkel incident. So she had to test us. To see if we could still accurately identify her," Gideon explained. The team just shook their heads. This was all too much. It was bad enough they had nearly lost a team member…again. They didn't need to find out that it had all been a test. Gideon went in search of Reid, finding him outside, leaning on a railing.

"She confessed to everything," Gideon told him.

"It was about me…my…problem," Reid whispered.

"She was hurt that she couldn't help you," Gideon said.

"I was going to ask her to marry me," Reid blurted, pulling a small box from his pocket.

"Did she know that?" Gideon asked and Reid shook his head in the negative.

"I think you should talk to her," Gideon instructed the younger agent. With painstaking steps, Reid went back inside and passed the team without looking at them. He entered the interrogation room and sat down across from Elle.

"Spencer, I'm sorry," she said. He toyed with the box in his fingers.

"You should have talked to me," he whispered.

"So should you," she replied. Wordlessly he pushed the box across the table. She looked at it and groaned.

"Spencer, don't do this," she pleaded.

"I was going to ask you to marry me," he spat at her. She opened the box and looked at the ring.

"It's a nice ring. Save it for someone who deserves it," she said and handed it back.

"Elle…" he trailed off but she didn't answer.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you with all of this…but it hurt me too," she said.

"I don't understand," he mumbled.

"I had to sit by and watch you slip away. And you wouldn't let me help!" she shouted and walked out of the room, leaving him to sit alone.

***

Try As I Might (Extended Version)

Two days had passed since the team had found JJ. The doctor had decided to keep her another day, much to JJ's dislike. She was currently lying in bed when there was a knock on her door.

"Come in," she called, sitting up. She smiled when she saw Garcia walked in with a big arrangement of flowers.

"Hey," Garcia said, setting the flowers on the table next to the window.

"Hi. Thanks for the flowers. They're beautiful," JJ replied.

"How are you feeling?" Garcia asked.

"I just want to get out of here. I'm tired of lying in a bed. It's all I've been doing for the last five days," she complained, laughing a little at the end. Garcia didn't see the humor in her friend's statement.

"Oh come on, Garcia. I can find it funny can't I? I mean I made it out alive," JJ said.

"I know. Tomorrow is the bail hearing," Garcia sighed. She knew she should have come up with something else to talk about but part of her wanted to keep JJ informed.

"I don't know if I'll be able to make it," JJ answered.

"I'm sure the doctor will release you soon," Garcia tried to reassure her friend.

"So how are you doing?" JJ asked.

"I've been better. I don't think any of us have gotten much sleep in the last five days. I know I won't sleep well until this is all over," Garcia admitted.

"Sometimes I think that she's right…that I should have known better," JJ murmured.

"Don't think like that," Garcia said, laying a hand on JJ's forearm.

"How is Reid handling all of this?" JJ finally asked. She'd heard that he wanted to propose to Elle.

"He's been hiding out in his apartment since yesterday. I think he's really depressed," Garcia answered, looking down.

"I don't blame him. She broke his heart from what Gideon told me," JJ sighed.

"This is all so insane. She used to be one of us," Garcia breathed.

"We're armed with really powerful tools, Garcia. It kind of makes sense that she'd be a near perfect unsub," JJ commented.

"Yeah…but it's just really creepy to think about," Garcia said with a small shiver.

They fell into silence for a while. JJ was glad that Garcia had come. It was a friendly face and one she didn't get to see very often…at least not as much as she would like. Garcia was about to open her mouth to speak when JJ's doctor walked in.

"Sorry to interrupt ladies but JJ, you can go home now," he said. JJ smiled broadly and threw off the covers. With a smile, the doctor walked out to let JJ get changed.

"Want me to drive you home?" Garcia asked as JJ pulled her belt through the loops in her pants.

"That would be great," JJ answered as Garcia picked up the bouquet of flowers. Together they headed down in the elevator and climbed into Garcia's car. The drive was quiet except for the radio playing softly in the background. When they finally pulled up, JJ's eyes widened. The crime tape was still blocking her door.

"I guess they haven't taken things down yet," Garcia murmured as JJ tore the tape off. She noticed metallic powder on the door handles.

Aside from the obvious crime scene collection residue the rest of the house looked normal…until she walked into the kitchen. Her eyes fell on the giant coffee grind mess.

"You go missing for three days and they can't even bother to clean up?" JJ groaned.

"That was actually here when we got here," Garcia piped up. JJ raised an eyebrow at first and then remembered she'd been making coffee when Elle had caught her off guard.

"Oh right…" she mumbled. She got a rag and a bucket and started to clean up the mess. Garcia set the flowers on the kitchen table and got down to help her. Together they managed to clean up the floor and most of the powder off the doorknobs.

"Now I know how civilians feel when we go in and search their place," JJ said, sitting on the couch with a glass of water in her hand.

"Yeah…I wouldn't want us traipsing through my house either," Garcia agreed.

The following morning, JJ was up early and dressed. She didn't know why but she felt she needed to get to the courthouse early. She pulled into a spot and climbed out of her. After making it through security she let her legs take her where they wanted to go. They brought her to the holding cell. After arguing with the security guard for a good five minutes she was finally admitted inside. She found Elle buttoning the top button of her shirt.

"Well this is something I didn't expect," Elle stated.

"Guess you don't know everything," JJ said, arms crossed over her chest. Elle pulled on her jacket as she eyed JJ.

"So what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I don't really know, actually. You hurt a lot of people," JJ replied.

"Don't lecture me, JJ," Elle snapped.

"And I'd leave before anyone else gets here. We don't want them to think you're double-crossing them," she added.

"I'm sorry you felt you had to do this to make a point," JJ murmured as she turned to leave.

"Yeah…I'm sorry too," Elle called after her.

JJ walked out of the holding block and headed for the main courtroom. She was still too early to be let in. So she took a seat on a nearby bench and waited, her eyes scanning the sharply dressed men and women for anyone she recognized. Finally Hotch and the rest of the team showed up.

"JJ, do I want to know how long you've been here?" Morgan asked as she stood up.

"Oh since about 8:30," JJ answered. He just shook his head. She noticed how anxious Reid looked. He had dark circles under his eyes, darker than usual at least. He was avoiding eye contact with everyone and didn't say a word as they took seats near the front of the court room. Hotch leaned up and whispered something to the Prosecutor.

"He probably wishes he could prosecute this case," Morgan whispered to Emily.

"I don't blame him," she answered.

Reid's eyes wandered over to the defense table. It was empty. He could feel his palms begin to sweat as they waited for Elle to be brought in and for the judge to enter. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the bailiff walked Elle in. She was impeccably dressed and was without legal counsel.

"All rise," the bailiff boomed some ten minutes later. The judge walked in and took his seat behind the bench. The first thing he noticed was the fact that Elle was standing alone.

"Miss Greenaway where is your attorney?" he asked, looking down at her over the top of his glasses.

"With all due respect, Your Honor, I don't need an attorney," Elle answered.

"You're going to represent yourself then?" he asked and she nodded.

"So noted," he muttered, making note of it with a pen. He cleared his throat before looking over at the Prosecutor.

"Is Counsel ready?" he asked.

"Yes, Your Honor," the Prosecutor answered. The team watched with baited breath for the question that was on all of their minds.

"Miss Greenaway, on the count of kidnapping in the first degree. How do you plead?" the judge asked. All eyes were on Elle as her lips parted to answer his question.

"Guilty," she replied. Morgan's jaw dropped at her response.

"Did I hear her right?" he hissed in Gideon's ear. Gideon nodded his head very slowly, making sure that he had heard correctly. Apparently the judge was wondering the same thing.

"You're sure?" the judge asked.

"Yes, Your Honor. I'm fairly certain the prosecution has a strong case against me. I could stand here right now and give you the basic points but that would waste the court's time," Elle began to answer.

"And I wouldn't want to waste court time and money with a trial," she concluded.

"Very well then. The defendant enters a plea of guilty. Be back here on Wednesday for sentencing," the judge announced.

"Bailiff, please escort Miss Greenaway back to the holding block," he said. Elle stood up and followed the bailiff out.

"Court dismissed. Next case," the judge called.

The team filed out in silence. That had not gone the way any of them had expected. Hotch shook hands with the Prosecutor and watched him walk away.

"She's still in control," Gideon said once they were clear of the courtroom.

"How so?" Emily asked.

"She knew we'd want to bring her to trial. By pleading guilty, there is no trial," Hotch replied.

"She got exactly what she wanted," JJ murmured. Garcia raised an eyebrow.

"She wanted to be caught. She wanted to go to jail," JJ expounded.

"Why?" Reid asked; the first word he'd said in nearly two days.

"I don't know, Spence. I wish I did," JJ replied, squeezing his arm. With that the team headed back to headquarters. Two days later Hotch received a call from the prosecutor and brought everyone into the conference room.

"She got fifteen years," he announced. So that was it…it was over. They could move on with their lives.

A week later he found himself walking into a visitation room. He had barely spoken to anyone since the verdict had been reached. But he needed to see her. He needed to tell her he still loved her. When he saw her walk in, his throat went dry.

"Spencer, what are you doing here?" Elle asked, sitting down across from him.

"I…I love you, Elle. I know I shouldn't after what happened but I do," he confessed, trying to take one of her hands in his. Elle let out a breath.

"You're young. You're brilliant…but you're young. You deserve better than what I've given you," she whispered, lifting his chin so their eyes met.

"But I want…" he tried to say but she shushed him.

"I want you to make me a promise," she said gently. He nodded, wiping at his eyes. She allowed him to take her hands in his this time.

"I want you to let me go. I want you to move on…and please don't come back here again," she said and stood up.

"Elle…wait," Reid called out to her. She stopped and looked over her shoulder.

"Goodbye, Spencer," she said and disappeared between two guards.