Disclaimer: see chapter 1

A/N: I included the end of chapter 2 in italics, so the beginning of chapter 3 can be read in proper context. More A/Ns at the end.

And because he didn't want to talk about Sean either, he said, "It seems the whole team had a rather terrible night."

"Everyone?" Even after her terrible night, JJ's concern for her teammates shone through in her voice.

"I don't know about Prentiss," Hotch admitted.

"Well wonder no more," a voice said from the doorway.

"Emily," JJ sighed in relief.

"Are you all right?" Hotch asked, eyes immediately giving her a once over to make sure she wasn't injured.

"I'm fine," Prentiss responded stiffly as she made her way into the room.

Neither Hotch nor JJ believed her.

Prentiss' face was pale with dark, deep circles under her eyes, which were bloodshot. It looked as though she hadn't slept at all the previous night. If Hotch had to put it bluntly, he would say she looked like crap. Her pupils were contracted, her hands twitched restlessly, and her breathing seemed faster than normal. In fact, she looked… high.

Then it occurred to him.

Dilaudid.

Prentiss had been chosen to experience Reid's terrible fate. Hotch was about to say something but then thought better of it. He didn't even know what to say that wouldn't elicit a defensive reaction. He watched as Prentiss approached JJ's bedside and placed a hand on the younger woman's.

"You ok?" JJ asked with concern having noticed the same signs Hotch did.

Prentiss put on an unconvincing smile. "I should be the one asking you that."

"Prentiss," Hotch interrupted them. "Reid is waiting for updates on Rossi in the waiting room. Can you go check on him for me please? I need to talk to JJ."

Emily nodded, and with one last look to JJ, she walked out the door.

Turning to Hotch, JJ said, "She's high."

"I know."

"That was a smart move, sending her to Spence."

"Well I really do need to talk to you." Hotch steeled himself for his next statement. It wasn't one he wanted to make, but it needed to be done. "I need to know what happened last night."

"I don't remember," JJ responded immediately. Using it as an excuse to change subjects and feeling like a terrible mother for not having asked sooner, she asked, "Where's Henry? Is he all right?"

"He's fine," Hotch reassured her. "He's with Garcia."

"Is she okay then?" JJ asked. When Hotch looked lost for words, JJ grimaced. "Right. Dumb question."

"No. No, not at all. Last night, someone broke into her apartment and..." Hotch trailed off, finding himself unable to say the words. He opted for the more circuitous route. "It seems we're being paired. What you went through last night and Sean for me. You saw Prentiss. Reid was with Ethan last night, who was killed with a car bomb. Rossi was impaled with a wooden stake."

"Oh God," JJ whispered, a hand coming up to her mouth. "Please don't tell me -"

"Morgan and Garcia were paired."

Hotch could see from her expression that JJ understood perfectly well what that meant for Garcia.

"I know you remember," Hotch said, bringing them back to the subject JJ wanted to avoid. "I know you remember because I do. I know it's unfair to ask you to share when I didn't, but we need to know as much as we can about this unsub or these unsubs. We need to find out who's behind this."

JJ closed her eyes. Despite knowing Hotch's every word to be true, the last thing she wanted to do was relive the last night's events. She didn't want to see Will's lifeless eyes staring back at her. She didn't want to feel the fear of not knowing where Henry was and if he was safe. She didn't want to remember how helpless she felt as the unsub taunted and stabbed her.

Finally, she looked up at Hotch, her eyes swimming with tears she refused to let fall, and she complied.

"Reid?"

The genius in question looked up from where he sat in the waiting room to see Prentiss approaching. What he saw made his stomach drop.

Standing quickly, he asked, "How long?"

Prentiss tried to play dumb. "What?"

Voice lowering, but only slightly, Reid clarified, "How long has it been since your last fix?"

"Hi, Reid. Good to see you too," came the sarcastic reply.

"Answer the question."

"Don't worry about it."

Reid decided to try a softer approach. "Emily."

"Don't 'Emily' me," Prentiss snapped.

Reid couldn't help but feel he deserved it. After all, he'd done the same to her all those years ago when she was just trying to help.

His attempts at getting her to open up were interrupted by another arrival.

"Agents?"

Reid turned to see Strauss enter the waiting room. Prentiss turned to the other direction, hiding her face. She needn't have bothered. She could've worn a monocle, and Strauss wouldn't have noticed. There was only one thing on the other woman's mind. "Has there been any news?"

"Nothing," Reid answered much to Strauss' disappointment. "Do you mind if we go outside for some air?" He felt bad for asking, but he needed to talk to Prentiss, and she certainly wasn't going to talk with Strauss around.

"No, it's all right," the Section Chief responded. The environment of the room was rather stifling, and had she not wanted to be on hand for any news on Dave, she might very well have wanted to do the same.

Reid led Prentiss to the door and said, "We're going to talk, you and me."

"We go see Mommy and Daddy now?" Henry asked as he ran toward Garcia.

Garcia had taken him to the park for the day. She could hardly have taken him to his home where his parents' blood stained the floor, and she certainly didn't want to take him back to hers where the unmentionable had happened. The park gave him the opportunity to run around and distract himself.

And to distract her too.

In their time at the park, she had actually managed to smile a few times at Henry's antics, but that time was over. It was time to face reality once again.

"Let's go see your Mom," Garcia said as she took his hand and led him to her car. Hotch had texted to let her know that JJ was awake and eager to see her son.

"What about Daddy?" Henry asked cheerfully as he began to swing their arms.

Garcia couldn't bring herself to tell him he wouldn't see his father again, so she repeated, "Let's go see your Mom."

A few days of sitting in an uncomfortable hospital chair left Erin Strauss with a terrible neck ache.

Rossi remained unconscious but improved each day. Strauss had been unwilling to leave Rossi's side, only doing so when one of the members of the BAU would force her to go home for food or a shower with reassurances that they would call the minute anything changed.

She massaged her neck, working on a terrible knot that insisted on making her life even more miserable. Her head rested on the side of the hospital bed, and she considered the futility of massaging the knot when it was sure to stay for the days ahead.

"Erin?" Rossi's weak voice reached her ears.

Standing quickly, Strauss grabbed a hold of his hand. "I'm right here, Dave."

The Italian mumbled something more before drifting off again. A nurse came in to talk to Strauss, check Rossi's vitals, and update his chart before leaving the two alone again.

Several minutes passed before a welcome, familiar voice cut through the silence. "How's he doing?"

Strauss turned to see Derek Morgan standing at the door and gestured for him to enter. "Improving everyday. He woke up briefly just now. And how are you?"

"I just got in from Chicago. I heard what happened," Morgan replied, not really answering her question.

"Have you seen the rest of your team?"

"No."

Strauss could see from his face that he was avoiding them due to some unwarranted sense of guilt, so she tried to comfort him. "It's not your fault that you couldn't be here."

Thinking back to Garcia's voicemail message and their subsequent but brief phone conversation, Morgan wasn't sure the rest of his team would feel the same.

Hotch walked into JJ's hospital room to find an unexpected sight: JJ packing her things. Knocking softly on the door frame to announce his arrival, he asked, "Doctors releasing you already?"

"Nope."

"You're leaving AMA," Hotch frowned. Already against the idea, his position was reinforced when leaning to get her cell phone caused JJ to groan. "JJ, you need to listen to the doctors."

JJ stubbornly shook her head. "What I need is to be with Henry, and this is not the place for that."

"JJ."

"Hotch."

"JJ, I understand," Hotch said gently, trying to get her to listen to him.

"Don't you get it?" JJ snapped as she rounded on him, wincing as she did so. "I don't want you to understand!"

And as much as he hated to admit it, he did get it. JJ had always been a very private person, a person of secret sorrows. She would share her insecurities with him every once in a while, but for the most part, she hid herself behind a capable, tougher exterior. That Hotch knew exactly - or at least very nearly exactly - how vulnerable, guilty, and pained JJ felt inside was quite possibly as terrifying to her as those feelings themselves.

"Agent Jareau," JJ's disapproving doctor interrupted them. "I'd like to do one last check up before you leave."

Hotch left for the hallway to give them privacy.

"Don't worry," Sandy Jareau's voice floated over to him. He turned to see her approach, filled prescriptions and paperwork in hand. "I know how to handle her."

"Do you?" Both Hotch's vocal and facial expressions were skeptical. From what little he'd heard, Sandy hadn't been the most supportive parent after Rosaline had died. Then again, how could devastated parents stand strong for others when they could barely stand strong for themselves. "That was rude of me. I'm sorry."

"I might not have been the best after..." Sandy trailed off, gaze lost and vacant. Her eyes flitted about in a manner that reminded Hotch of her daughter, and she continued, "After her sister, but I did raise Jenny. She'll be in good hands."

"Let me know if you need any help," Hotch offered.

With a grateful nod, Sandy responded, "I will."

Thanks for reading!

A/N: Hi, everybody! Thanks to everyone who's reading and especially to those who are reviewing. I just have one request if y'all don't mind: I'm trying to incorporate pretty much every friendship pairing/dynamic possible, not just the ones the show highlights, so I would really appreciate it if you guys could give me some suggestions (e.g. Reid and Strauss stage an intervention for Prentiss). Thanks! Oh, and don't worry, canny-bairn, I've got the Batman and Robin stuff covered. :p