Disclaimer: I own nothing and I am in no way profiting from the use of these characters.

Author's note: I know I know. Longest Hiatus ever. Life's crazy, Muses are funny. I don't even remember what my original ending was going to be but I re-read what I have and just started writing again…. you're welcome?

Emily's mind seemed to recover before her body. She was aware of herself, of the deadly silence surrounding her, something soft underneath. Yet her body was heavy and no matter how she commanded them to her eyes would not open, her legs would not kick, her voice would not call out for help. She couldn't hear Desi and Fran, she couldn't hear her attacker, but she would not let herself imagine the possibility that they were already gone.

Her heart leapt when she heard a cough beside her but as the hope welled up in her so did the fear. Emily had a good ear for linguistics even though she let Reid take most of the glory on cases her ear was one of her greatest assets, but a cough was just a cough and it was not enough to identify who was next to her and if they were friend or foe. She strained to listen more carefully and after a moment to calm her thumping heart she zeroed in on the sound of breathing. Whoever it was beside her they were relaxed. That still didn't help so she forced her focus to her other senses.

She could smell disinfectant with something sour and metallic underneath, blood? Maybe. Again she tried to force her body to respond but exhaustion was setting in and she could feel herself fading once more into darkness. Smell, she remembered, she was trying to place smells. Desperately she tried to pull in more air but it felt as though something were restricting her. Just before darkness descended a whiff of something warm and familiar met her and while she couldn't identify it, the sensation of relaxation enveloped her and she allowed her mind to slip away again.

Derek paused on his way into the Chicago Field Office interrogation room to draw in a deep breath and let it out slowly. The last hour had been such a whirlwind that he was in desperate need of a quiet moment to sort it all out. Emily was gone, Steph was gone, Dr. Greene was gone. Jason, who sat smugly on the other side of the door Derek was currently leaning on was obviously a part of whatever was happening here, as was Dr. Greene. The moron, Rodney Harris, had somehow managed to get himself involved as well and the more information that came in the more terrifying the reach of 'this' became.

Garcia, bless her heart, had rung him as he and the team were arriving back at the field office. She'd seemed hesitant at first, as though she though the information she was providing might break him and though he was frustrated he started to understand why as it all became clear.

Dr. Greene was the head family physician and OBGYN for the community clinic but he was also on the books as a placement consultant for a company called, World Village Adoption Agency, that specialized in oversees adoptions. On the surface Garcia said the agency looked to be on the up and up but the more she hacked out of their records the more it was starting to look a little 'hinky'; mainly a lack of any evidence that the agency was connected to any orphanage or group outside of the US at all.

So far the tech goddess wasn't turning up any definite connection to the missing babies but as best the team could surmise it was likely the children they were looking for were being bought and paid for by well off families who thought they were saving orphans from third world countries. At first Derek had been relieved to realize that this meant it was likely the babies were all safe and taken care of, but the more he thought about it the more the overt racism of the situation made his blood boil. He took another breath and pushed into the interrogation room.

'Unless you're here to tell me my lawyer has arrived I suggest you walk back out that door' Jason sneered. Derek clenched his fist but stayed fairly calm.

'She's on her way.' He supplied truthfully. 'but the longer you wait to tell me what you know the worse this gets for you. Eight babies missing, a young girl dead, another young girl missing along with a federal agent. You're sitting here in front of me while your boy Dr. Greene could be leaving the country as we speak."

"Eight babies?" Jason repeated. His tone was unsure and questioning, obviously playing at innocence but his face flashed amusement and contempt in succession.

"Yes eight" Derek confirmed impatiently.

"You sure about that?" Jason smirked. The hairs in the back of Derek's neck stood on end as the man let out a low chuckle then resumed his study of the table in front of him.

It was obvious Derek wasn't going to get another word out of the man but he leaned over the table anyhow, his face only inches from Jason's but before he could speak he was interrupted by a sharp knock on the window behind him. Derek let out a small snarl of frustration and turned and opened the door to pop his head out.

The quiet hallway he'd left outside was now a flurry of activity as local officers and agents ran past towards the armory. The team stood with worried faces already dressed to go and one look at his boss's face told Derek that something awful was about to be revealed to him.

"What?" he promoted shortly, desperately trying to keep the panic out of his voice.

"The local detail following Harris just reported in." Hotch said evenly but paused and glanced back at JJ, Rossi, and Reid behind him. Derek motioned him to continue. "He's at your mother's home" the sound of laughter brought the dark man's attention back into the interrogation room behind him before he could even put together what Hotch was saying. As it all came together in his mind he was met by the smug laughing face of Jason.

"Make that nine, Agent Morgan" he taunted. Derek vaguely registered his team's hands pulling him back but their contact was broken easily and he barrelled in and pulled Jason out of his chair. In a flash the man was struggling against Derek's arm across his neck pushing him into the cool brick wall.

"What has my family got to do with this?" he seethed.

"Your family?" Jason cocked his head. "What about my family? What about my son?" Derek let his confusion show on his face but said nothing. Jason smiled again. "You mean your sister never told you who the father of her child is?" as realization dawned Derek felt his fist fly, connecting firmly with the smirking man's jaw. After the satisfaction of the impact he finally allowed the firm hands of his team to pull him away and watched Jason crumple to the floor.

"That was stupid" JJ scolded as they rushed to the car park and into their waiting SUVs to join the convoy of agents headed to the Morgan home. Derek only shrugged into his Kevlar and ignored her. "He's Teflon now that he has a reasonable brutality claim."

"I know" Derek growled.

"You shouldn't even be here" Hotch said by way of agreement with the blonde profiler. Though he made no move to stop Derek from sliding into the SUV behind him "Anything we get from here on in wont be admissible if I let you stay on this case. You're too close"

"Fine I am off the case." Derek grunted. "Just start the car." he demanded.

"Morgan..." Reid attempted to voice a bit if reason to his friend as he held the SUV door open but was cut off by a glare.

"I am off the case, but I need a ride to my Mama's place. I need to be there to make sure she's ok." Rossi and Hotch shared a look and all seemed to agree. With a slam of the doors, the click of safety belts and the squeal of tires they were off.

Derek leapt from the vehicle before Hotch had even brought it to a complete stop and sprinted up to the yellow police line. He resisted the urge to flash his badge, even if he was still in Kevlar he knew use of his badge would get him Into trouble. None the less as the others ran up behind him a young officer let them in and started reporting.

"Just before the cavalry arrived another person of interest, Dr. Greene, arrived" the young woman informed as she tried to keep pace with the team. "so far we can't get eyes, we have no idea if he or Harris is still in the building. We haven't seen them go but we only just got officers posted at the back entrance and fire escapes."

"Any reports from neighbors?" JJ asked.

"Definitely movement in suite 7" the officer supplied. "A Mrs. McKinney on the floor below reported a disturbance about 20 minutes ago."

"And now?" Derek asked, his tone almost pleading.

"All's quiet, Sir." Derek let his boot fly into the curb next to him in frustration.

"So the question is" Rossi said "Are we dealing with a hostage situation?"

"At this point I think we need to assume that we are" Hotch answered. "JJ and Reid, go make sure a communication line is being set up, we'll call up and see if we can make contact."

"I tried it once on the way over" Derek admitted sheepishly. Knowing he really should have waited for an order but also knowing he wasn't officially on this case and was acting as a civilian. "There was no answer"

"Does your mother have caller ID?" Rossi asked. "Could they have recognized your number?"

"She doesn't even have a cordless" Derek said with a shake if his head. "let alone a call display."

"Still, we'll try again and go from there" Hotch repeated his order. It was obvious that the team leader had meant they call from the secure line being set up but Derek quickly hit the redial button and thrust the mobile phone out in front of him with a jut of defiance in his chin. The tone of the call connecting filled the air scant moments later and the men eyed each other with a sense of forbidding. Finally, after what seemed like several agonizing hours the click of the phone being answered was heard then a rustling and a thump, rasping breaths...

"H-help... Help me"

"Mama?" Derek's voice answered sounding more like a scared boy and less like the rough and tumble FBI agent that boy had become.

"Desiree" the voice sputtered then coughed roughly "Emily tried to stop him... Derek help."

Not about to make his mother ask again Derek dropped the phone in his hand and made a break for the building. He ignored the sounds of his team calling to him and pushed through the rough hands of a local officer. His mind was racing through the possibilities and he wasn't sure his heart could take the journey up the stairs or the sights that may be waiting for him at the top.

The first thing he noticed was the shards of glass and porcelain that crunched under his feet. He levelled his weapon and forced himself to slow down. A slim pale hand could be seen but the body it belonged to was a obscured by the upturned kitchen table and his heart leapt to his throat at the sight of torn jagged nails. Movement from further behind the table kept him from rushing to her side and his slow pace revealed her in agonizing clarity. The skin of Emily's face was dotted with large bruises and her dainty wrists showed raw and red where she had been restrained. More movement caught his eye. It wasn't Emily but the groaning form of the last person Derek would ever expect to be in his mother's kitchen. It was obvious he was regaining consciousness after what looked to be a pretty brutal beating. He glanced back down at Emily's hands and smiled at the cracked and bruised knuckles of her fists.

"Rodney." he told Hotch as the rest of the team moved into the apartment behind him. And he took their cover as his chance to crouch and press his fingers into his partner's neck. Ignoring his childhood rival as the rest of the team started assessing the scene. "He's regaining consciousness so you may want to cuff him.

"He took a beating" JJ observed as the local officers moved past to clear the rest of the dwelling.

"From Emily by the looks of it" Hotch observed, he and JJ shared the same smile Derek had let escape. "Is she ok?"

"Got a pretty strong pulse" Derek reported, relief evident in his tone. Movement at the door to the living room caught their attention and Derek leapt to his mother's side as she came limping in on Rossi's arm. She was dazed but determined to reach her son.

"Dr. Greene" she gasped holding her neck. Derek's eyes furrowed at he took in the red markings there and the skin and blood under her normally perfectly manicured nails. "he took her, he has Desiree." she wobbled slightly and fell towards her son with a look of hard determination. "He mentioned" a coughing fit erupted and her hand went lazily to her neck again. "he mentioned a safe house, where they take the babies." her head nodded again but she fought to stay conscious. "He drugged her" Fran gasped, jutting her chin in Emily's direction. "She fought so hard to save us but..."

"Medic!" Derek called, panicked as his mother's weight went dead in his arms. "Why hasn't anyone called a medic!?" he demanded as he lay his unconscious mother next to his partner on the kitchen floor.

Almost there guys. Sorry again about the long hiatus on this story, I think I am ready to finish it! What do you think?