A/N: What's up guys? I asked at the end of Linchpin if you guys wanted a sequel and several people said yes. And of course, I got this idea while trying to study for my final exams. I had to write it down and get it out of my head.

If you haven't read Linchpin yet, I highly recommend you read that first. This story is based off some of the events from that story. You are not obligated to, of course, but you may be a bit confused.

Speaking of, a couple things. This story is rated T for cursing. There may be some fruity stuff in here, but I don't do lemons. Also, Caroline will return in this story in a bigger way than she did for the first story. I hate it when OCs take over a story, but I feel it's necessary in this case. This story is set a year after the events of Linchpin, and is still in the AU of Linchpin. That means the dream team is still together. Anything in italics is a flashback.

As still somewhat of a rookie writer, I appreciate any and all criticism. Enjoy!

OoOoOoO

"Penelope!"

At first, the technical analyst wasn't quite sure that she heard it. There was ringing in her ears, and when she tried to crack open her eyes, the swirling of dust made them water.

"Penelope!"

That time, she did hear it. She opened her mouth to respond, and choked, coughing loudly. Something was pressed against her abdomen, making it hard to breathe. Her legs were trapped, unmoving. Pain radiated from her left leg as she tried to get out from under whatever it was that had her pinned to the ground. Shouting, this time in another language, made her heart race with panic.

"Are you okay?" A blur appeared next to her, and she recognized the voice. Caroline had managed to find her among the chaos. "Come on. We need to get out of here." She somehow managed to shove whatever it was enough to allow Penelope to wriggle out. Now that she was free, she could feel the full force of the pain in her left leg. "Can you walk?"

"No. No, it hurts."

"I can help you but you're gonna have to deal for now. We need to focus on getting out of here." Penelope was able to bite back the pain enough to get herself up. Caroline was able to get on her bad side and offer her help. Now that the dust was beginning to settle a bit, the rough blurs were slightly more defined. She had lost her glasses, and she was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to find them now.

"You're hurt." She commented, noticing the rough red splotch on her friend's side.

"I'll be fine. Do you know a way for us to get out of here?" The distant shouting was drawing nearer. They ducked around the back of the tent and remained deathly silent as several people ran past the main entrance.

"What about the Humvees?" She whispered.

"Can you stand? I need to go around and look." Penelope nodded and Caroline left her leaning against the side of the tent, facing the high walls and barbed wire of their camp. Caroline crept silently towards the end of the tent and took a quick peek before walking back over. "We aren't going to be able to get out of here by truck."

"Shit." Penelope's eyes went wide as she began realizing the major mistake that she had made.

"I know."

"No, that's not why-look, we left the system open. If they get to any of that data-"

"Alright, let's think this through." Caroline winced and returned her hand to her side, feeling dizzy. "How long will it take you to download everything?"

"Five minutes. I just need cover."

"Come on." As if fate had intervened, they were only two large tents away from where they needed to be. Getting there would be relatively easy, but having time to download the data would be tricky. They were able to clear the area between the first two tents with np problem. It was when they tried to clear the second gap that things went wrong.

They were able to duck into the command tent, but they were met with two men in make shift uniforms, who shouted at them in Arabic and pointed the AK-47s slung around their necks. The two girls, unarmed and injured, slowly lifted their hands as a sign of surrender.

When the first man to step forward got close enough, Caroline grabbed his own gun and shoved it upward. Hard. There was an audible crack as his nose broke. She took the side arm from his waist and had shot the second man before he could even react. Without hesitation, she put a bullet between the eyes of the first man who had fallen to his knees, ensuring he was dead.

She took the AK 47, as well as the handgun. Once she made sure that the tent was otherwise clear, she came back and helped Penelope to the computer system. "Hurry, Pen. I'm sure they heard that." Penelope removed the hard drive that was practically always around her neck, and began typing furiously into the computer.

Five minutes seemed to lag on and on. With each heartbeat that thudded in her ears, she seemed to grow dizzier and her grip on her gun grew weaker. Thankfully, there was only a single entrance-a security measure. With every man that entered the tent and every shot she fired, she could feel Garcia jump. The techie pressed on, however. And soon, she had finally downloaded the files she needed.

"I installed a virus. When they try to read the file it will delete everything. I got what I needed." She returned the drive back around her neck. "We can go."

"We have another problem." Caroline's voice was a hoarse whisper. She gestured with the gun the several pairs of boots that were running to the exit, waiting to ambush them as they tried to get away.

"You have your pocket knife?"

"No." Caroline shook her head. "I lost it in the blast. You?"

"What about them?" Penelope gestured to the bodies of the six men who had tried to enter, and who still lay dead near the entrance. Caroline crept silently over to them, and began rifling through their sweat stained garments for anything that may help. "Penelope, you are a goddess." Caroline revealed a knife, albeit dull, from his belt. Penelope grinned as Caroline stood and neared the side of the tent facing the back wall of the camp. In the back corner, she began slicing away at the sides of the tent near the seams, where the fabric was weakest.

"We'll need to- We'll need to take care of the ones at the front of the tent."

"Grab his gun." Caroline gestured to the second man, who's gun still remained at his side. "Now." Her whisper was harsh, but she was afraid that they were losing time. Once she had cut the seams, the fabric gave way just enough for the two to slip out the side, but it was dangerous for either of them to be unarmed. Garcia hobbled over and removed the gun from the body. Now that she had adrenaline going, she was able to push aside the pain in her leg and hobble back over to her friend.

"Ready?" She whispered.

"Let's go."

BANG!

Penelope shot up from her bed, chest heaving and sweat trickling down her forehead, mixing with the stray tears that snaked down her cheeks. She gripped the side of the bed so tight that her knuckles went white, holding onto it like it was a lifeboat keeping her from drowning.

"Hey hey hey." A hand on her shoulder caused her to jerk violently, forgetting for a moment that she was not as alone as she had originally thought. "Baby, it's me."

She relaxed her grip on the side of the bed, focusing on the softness of his voice, and letting that calm her thudding heart. Suddenly feeling incredibly embarrassed at the fact that a slamming door had scared her half to death, she pressed her palms into her eyes, fighting back tears.

Derek sat up and propped himself on one arm, watching her with concern. "Are you okay?"

"No." She replied, finally feeling calmer, although not 100%. The tears subsided. "I need some water." She stood from their bed and made her way into the dark kitchen.

She felt, rather than saw Derek come in behind her, throwing a sweatshirt over his head as he did so. She grabbed a cup, still not willing to speak, and filled it with filtered water from the fridge. She didn't even drink it, she just stared blankly at it, fighting the images from her sleep that lingered behind her eyes. Derek padded over quietly, and she felt her robe being draped over her shoulders.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He risked asking, even though he knew what she'd say.

"No, Derek." She shook her head and finally she took a deep swig of her water.

"Do you want to talk to someone else about it?" he probed. He watched her as she turned to him, a deep frown on her face. "I just want to know how I can help." He tucked a blonde flyaway behind her ear.

"There's nothing you can do." She smiled a bit at the sweet gesture. She placed a reassuring hand on his chest. "Thanks love." She kissed him softly (something he didn't expect) and disappeared back into the bedroom, leaving him there feeling helpless.

OoOoOoO

The next night

The rain pounded against the glass panes relentlessly, seemingly trying to shatter the glass that separated warmth from the bitter cold. Inside, the mutterings of the television could be heard underlying the clatter of pots and pans in the kitchen.

Aaron Hotchner frowned at the back of the Hamburger Helper box, and stirred the pot absentmindedly as he did so.

"Hey Jack, dinner will be ready in five. Go wash your hands." He grabbed two bowls as the young boy went running into the bathroom. By the time Jack had finished, Hotch had the bowls filled with cheeseburger macaroni, and was pulling out forks and napkins.

Hotch put the bowls on the table and pulled Jack's chair out for him to climb into. Once seated, Hotch moved around the table and sat in his own seat. Jack smiled happily and did a little dance, taking a bite of his macaroni. Aaron smiled.

"How was your day at school, bud?" He took a bite, and was surprised how good it actually was. He could see why Hamburger Helper was one of Jack's favorite foods.

"I have a girlfriend, daddy!"

Aaron froze, spoon halfway to his mouth. "You what?"

"Harper Lee is my girlfriend now!"

"She is?"

"Yeah." Jack shrugged and took another bite. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"I-" The blaring sound of a telephone echoed around the kitchen and he groaned internally. He stood from the table and grabbed his cell off the counter. "Hello?" He listened for a moment with a frown on his face. "Thank you."

"Do you have to go to work, daddy?" Jack lips curled into a pout, and he swirled his spoon around in his bowl, suddenly not hungry. Aaron glanced to the clock-6:45. JJ said it wasn't urgent. The team could wait.

"Not yet, buddy. I'll make sure you get to bed, okay?" Hotch returned to his seat. Jack still looked disappointed as he took a bite of his pasta, but he said nothing.

OoOoOoO

A/N: I completely rewrote the entire structure of this story, which why it has taken me so long to post a sequel. Hope you enjoy! I don't own anything. Boomie out.