"Even more, I had never meant to love him. One thing I truly knew - knew it in the pit of my stomach, in the center of my bones, knew it from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet, knew it deep in my empty chest - was how love gave someone the power to break you."

Stephanie Meyer

The team had just returned from a case. It had been a normal, routine case. Well, as routine as they ever were. They had interviewed a couple witnesses, visited dump sites, delivered the profile and then, within a day they were able to apprehend the unsub. They had gotten back early on a Thursday morning and were supposed to stay in to do paperwork for most of that day.

It was quiet in the offices. All of the team members seemed to be concentrating on getting the work done. Most of their paperwork was due Friday so they really only had that day to finish. They worked diligently.

And by 5:00, most of them were close to finishing. One by one, they filed the finished case reports away.

Emily was the first to be completely done. She packed up all of her stuff and started to head out towards the door. As she walked towards the elevator, she passed the hall. The hall that JJ's picture was in. She let out a sigh as she stopped in front of the elevator, silently wondering if she would ever be able to walk past the hall without thinking of JJ. She didn't think so.

The doors of the elevator slid open and she stepped inside. There was quiet music playing and the lights were dim. She pressed the ground floor button and watched the doors slide shut again. Once it reached the bottom floor and the doors opened again, she walked out. She walked down the hall and exited out a side door towards her car that was parked in the side parking lot of the building.

Emily walked to her car, unlocking it once she got close. She opened the door and climbed inside, setting her bag in the passenger's seat beside her. She started it and then waited a moment for the heat to start flowing. Just as she was about to pull out, she saw Morgan jogging out of the building. At first, she thought he was just jogging to his own car, but then she realized he was coming straight towards hers.

Confused, but concerned, she rolled down her window.

Morgan was panting, his breath coming out as a white fog in the cool night air. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but…it's JJ. I mean, it's her case. They found something, well…something happened." He said quickly, "Come inside."

Emily blinked. JJ's case? She was supposed to be dead, her case had gone cold. How could something else have happened after so long? She turned her car off and climbed out, jogging after Morgan back towards the building.

They arrived in the conference room a few minutes later, both panting. Everyone else was already gathered around the table, shock still apparent on most of their faces.

"What happened?" Emily asked, looking up at the screen.

Garcia looked up, "A 911 dispatcher in Pennsylvania received this call an hour ago." She clicked a button and started the clip.

Hello, 911 what is your emergency?

Hello. I'm, well, I mean my brother and sister and I have been kidnapped. We're, uh, we're trapped in this house-I mean, it's a farm. We're trapped on a farm in the middle of nowhere.

What is your name, sir?

Cole Jareau.

And when were you kidnapped?

Eight months ago. Since then, they've been keeping us in the basement of this house we're in. This is the only time I've been able to get my hands on a phone and someone could come in and find me at any moment, so I can't talk long.

Alright, do you know the address of the house you're in?

No, no I don't know. But I think I have an idea of where we are. We're outside the city of East Allegheny. I used to live near here and when I look outside, I recognize the bridge off in the distance. It's the Deer Creek Bridge, it goes over the Deer Creek Tributary. I'm not sure exactly where we are though. The bridge looks at least a few miles away. Can't you trace this call?

Yes sir, I can, but you have to stay on the line for at least a few more minutes.

Okay, I can try, but I'm not sure when everyone else is going to come back inside and if they find me with the phone then-

Cole! What are you doing?

I was just-

No. It doesn't matter. We aren't supposed to use that, give it to me. You're lucky that it's me who found you and not Carson or Ethan.

It isn't even on, JJ. I haven't even dialed a number yet. What's the big deal?

Cole, give me the phone.

No.

Why? You are talking to someone, aren't you?! Give me the phone.

No.

(struggle, footsteps, grunting noises)

Sir? Is everything alright?

Who is this?

My name is Nancy, who is this? What happened to Cole?

He's fine, nothing's wrong. Whatever he told you isn't true. It was a prank, I'm sorry for the inconvenience.

Wait, ma'am-

The call cut off.

Emily took a seat in the chair that was the closest to her. "They're still alive?" She asked, dumbstruck. All this time, they were still alive and no one had been looking for them. She shook her head.

Hotch nodded, "They're alive." He confirmed.

"And because of Cole, the 911 operator had enough time to trace the call to a landline located just outside of East Allegheny, like he said. They haven't sent any officers there yet though, they're waiting for us." Garcia said quickly.

Reid looked at her, "Wait…outside East Allegheny?" He asked and went on to his point without waiting for an answer, "And Cole said there was a mini bridge, Deer Creek Bridge. We went over that, didn't we? On the way to JJ's house, we went over a bridge just outside of East Allegheny. We were right there and we didn't know." He shook his head and stood up, running his fingers through his hair. "We were right there."

Hotch stood up too, "Come on. We should get going. We'll talk more on the plane." He said quickly, rushing to his office to grab his go-bag before walking out onto the tarmac where the jet was waiting. He was the first one on it.

Within 10 minutes, the rest of the team had boarded, including Garcia. The plane took off 10 minutes after that and once they were in the air, they got to talking.

"So, he kept them." Morgan stated blandly, "Why?"

Reid shrugged. "He must have had an ulterior motive that we didn't know about. Considering that he took all three of the siblings, made JJ confess to murder and framed her father, it must be something to do with their family."

Rossi nodded slowly, looking thoughtful. "Okay, when JJ came in that day and confessed, she confessed to the murders her dad had supposedly committed, which was to get the unsub off the hook, understandable. But then, she confessed to her mother's murder, why?"

"And how did the unsub know that her mother was murdered?" Morgan added.

Reid shook his head, "He didn't know. And we don't either. There's no proof that any of that actually happened. JJ's dad only said he heard a shot, for all we know, JJ's mother could have killed herself. Only JJ and her brothers really know."

"So the point of her confessing that wasn't because he thought she actually did it." Emily said, creasing her eyebrows, deep in thought.

Hotch nodded, "Maybe it was because he had a connection with her mother. Didn't JJ say her mother changed her last name?" He asked quickly, looking at the rest of the team.

They nodded.

"What's the main reason that a woman would change her last name?" He asked, looking at his team for the obvious answer.

There was a pause and then they all understood what he was trying to say.

"Marriage." Emily said.

Hotch turned to Garcia, who had been sitting quietly in a seat beside Morgan. "When we get there Garcia, I want you to see if JJ's mother ever got married and if she did, see if the new man had any children."

Rossi opened his file and looked into it, "But there may be another unsub too." He pointed down at the piece of paper in front of him, "In the 911 call, JJ said 'you're lucky it's not Carson or Ethan'. We already knew about Carson, but who is Ethan?"

Morgan shook his head, "Carson would have needed another person to help pull this off anyway. It would make sense that he had at least one partner, maybe even more." He paused, "But what I don't get is why JJ seemed so unwilling to be rescued. She took the phone away from Cole and told the 911 operator that the call was a prank."

"It's possible…" Reid paused for a moment, "It's possible that, because she's been captive for so long, she's become submissive to the unsubs, so much so that she completely refuses to break any of the rules they've set in place. Brainwashed, essentially."

The team was silent for a moment, unsure of how to respond.

"How should we go in then? If she's submissive, she won't necessarily be willing to leave, will she?" Morgan asked, looking at Reid for an answer.

He shrugged, "Seeing us might help her get past it, but it all depends on what has happened. The good thing is that it seems that Cole is still trying to escape."

Hotch nodded slowly, "I think we should take a quiet approach to the property then. If they hear us coming, they could leave or kill JJ and her brothers. We should surround the property quietly, no sirens, nothing and then go in forcefully." He paused, "Cole said they ate lunch together. So we should go in during dinner time because there's a good chance they will be having a meal and probably won't have weapons with them."

Everyone nodded in agreement and then sat in silence, waiting anxiously to arrive.

It took about an hour to arrive in Pittsburgh. Once there, they met with the police and told them the plan. Within another hour, they were all on their way to East Allegheny with the coordinates that the 911 Operator had gotten from the call. When they crossed over the bridge, they turned left down the dirt road instead of right, which would take them to JJ's house.

Once they got close to the destination, they all parked their cars a few yards down the road. Running through the tall, dry grass the agents and officers surrounded the property. Well, they surrounded the fence around the property.

And Hotch, Morgan, Emily, Reid and Rossi, along with a few other agents were positioned at the front gate. It was dark outside, around 6:30, when most people ate dinner. They could see a security camera on top of one of the poles, but in the hope that they were all dinner, the agents approached the front gate. There was a chain locking the two fences together. The agents had been prepared for this. An officer came up from behind them with two long tools, lock picking tools. He put them into the lock that was holding the chain together and started moving them around. A few minutes later, it clicked open and he pulled the lock off.

Hotch stepped forward and pushed the gate open. He stared at the large farm house, it was beautiful, large windows, shiny polished wood and marble. It looked extremely expensive. They approached it slowly, quietly. He could feel his anticipation rising. He was so close. JJ was inside. He was about to find her, after 8 months. He would finally find her.

They stepped onto the porch, Hotch stood on one side of the door, Morgan on the other. The rest of the agents were staggered on the porch, staying out of the view of the windows. Hotch and Morgan made eye contact, Morgan nodded at Hotch.

Hotch pulled the screen open, slowly tried the door handle to see if it was unlocked.

It wasn't.

He took one step back and then reared forward, kicking the door open. It swung open loudly and Hotch ran inside, first he ran to the left, checking the nearest room. It looked to be some kind of a living room. But it was empty.

"Clear." He said.

Behind him, he heard Morgan call clear as he checked the kitchen. The rest of the agents flooded into the house behind them, going upstairs and into all the rooms around the house. Various clears were called around the house, but then among them Hotch heard something else.

"I got something over here." Someone said calmly.

Hotch turned around the corner and saw Reid standing by a door, it was shut, but they all knew where it probably lead. He nodded to the young doctor.

Reid pulled the door open to reveal a steep set of stairs. He went down them slowly, followed by Hotch, Morgan and Emily. There was light at the bottom of the stairs, but they couldn't see what was going on because the stairs were like a tunnel with an opening at the bottom. They didn't know what to expect.

They traveled down the steps cautiously and when they got to the opening, they were finally able to see the entire room. It was large and concrete, but they barely noticed that. The first thing that caught their attention was Carson standing by the dining room table, holding a knife to Cole's neck.

Hotch looked around, but JJ, Travis and the other unsub were missing, but there was door towards the back of the room. But before they could check that, they had to stabilize this situation. "Carson Locklear."

The man chuckled, pressing the knife closer to Cole's neck. "You still don't know my real name. What's it been, eight months? The BAU is really slipping, isn't it?" He shook his head.

Hotch stepped towards Carson, "There's no way out of this." He said, "We have this place surrounded, you've been caught. Right now, you're only charged with kidnapping. If you kill Cole, you'll be charged with murder." He lied smoothly.

Carson stared back at Hotch, "I'm already gonna be in jail. What's the point? If I kill him, at least I can be in jail and satisfied." He said, smirking.

Before Hotch could respond, the door that he had noticed before swung open. It was Travis standing in the doorway, he was beaten and bloody, but it was still him. Everyone turned to look, including Carson who turned his head for a moment.

Hotch saw that as an opportunity. He lunged, pulling Carson's knife away from Cole's neck and pushing the man backwards. He hit the edge of the table and then fell to the ground, dazed. With him in that subdued state for a moment, Hotch was able to take the knife out of his hand.

Morgan rushed in then, roughly pulling Carson off the ground and shoving him against the edge of the table, where he cuffed him.

Emily approached Cole. She noticed that his hair had grown in the eight months, gotten considerably longer. He also had a black eye and bruises all over his arms that made her wonder what the rest of his body looked like. "Are you alright?" She asked.

Cole looked into her eyes, "You came." He shook his head, panting. "I…I never thought…I never thought you were going to come."

Emily smiled at him, "Come on. There's an ambulance outside." She got underneath his arm and helped him up the stairs.

Hotch jogged over to Travis, who was hunched over in what he guessed was pain. "Are you alright?" He asked quickly, itching to get past him and into the room.

Travis nodded, "Go." He said, sensing the man's apprehension.

Reid approached after that and helped Travis to the stairs.

Hotch entered the next room, Morgan close behind him. There were two unmade beds and a dresser in that room, but no one in it. He turned to his right and saw another door, as he walked towards it, it swung open.

It was JJ.

She still looked the same.

Hotch wasn't sure what to expect as he walked up to her. He lowered his gun, "JJ." He said quietly.

JJ stared at him, "What…" She glanced behind her, "What are you doing here?"

Hotch was confused by that, "We…we came to rescue you."

"I don't need to be rescued." JJ said firmly as a man appeared in the doorway behind her. He was a holding a gun.

Hotch raised his gun again, aiming it at the man behind her. "Step away from her." He said calmly to the man.

They both stepped forward, JJ and the man, so that they were out of the doorway and standing side by side. The man's gun was pointed at JJ.

Hotch and Morgan both trained their guns on him.

"What are you doing?" JJ asked.

At first, Hotch thought she had been talking to him and Morgan, but then he realized she was talking to the man beside her.

The man shook his head.

JJ looked at him, "Put the gun down. They're gonna think that-"

"Think that what? That I'm your captor? That I abused you and your brothers? I did, JJ! I did all of those things. I'm a criminal." He paused, handing shaking, "I'm a monster."

JJ met his eyes, "No you're not." She said soothingly, "You're human."

The man shook his head again. He cocked his gun and in one swift movement, turned towards the two FBI agents.

Morgan was the one that shot.

The man fell to the ground, dropping the gun.

JJ rushed to his side, "No!" She yelled, putting both of her hands over the wound on his shoulder. "Stay awake, you're fine." She whispered to the man.

Morgan crouched down across from JJ, "I got it from here." He said.

JJ looked up at him, eyes blazing. "Get away from him. You did this. You shot him, get away. Get away from him!" She pushed him away and then went back to putting pressure on the wound.

Hotch crouched next to JJ, "Come on. We have to go, JJ."

She shook her head, "I'm not going anywhere with you."

Hotch looked at her, "We have to take you down to the police station." He said, "Morgan will take care of him. He'll take him to the ambulance, he'll be fine, okay?"

JJ shook her head again, "I'm not leaving him."

Hotch stood up, shaking his head. He reached down, wrapping his arms around JJ's waist and pulled her away from the man. "Come on."

Morgan put his hands where JJ's had just been to stop the bleeding.

JJ struggled in Hotch's grasp. "Get off of me! No! Let go of me!" She yelled, frantically.

Hotch pulled her out of the room and towards the stairs, easily overpowering her. "They're going to take him to the hospital, calm down." He said soothingly, "You're going to the hospital too."

JJ shook her head, "But I'm not hurt. Just…" She pulled herself out of his grasp, "get away from me." She finished, glaring back at him and then watching as the paramedics came down and took the man away. She followed, walking up the stairs after them.

Morgan walked up to Hotch after she was gone, "What's wrong with her?"

They wouldn't know until a few days later at the police station when they finally got the chance to individually interview each of them.

"What's wrong with her?" Hotch asked.

Cole shook his head and let out a sigh. "It was during the second month. I noticed…she stopped talking about escaping and about rescue. It seemed like…she'd lost hope and she starting following Ethan around like a lost puppy. And then…she became one of them. Every time I tried to escape, she would tell one of them, every time I tried to do anything, she would be right over my shoulder, watching, making sure I didn't do anything against the rules." He shook his head, "It was like she'd forgotten who I was. It was like she's forgotten who she was."

Hotch nodded.

"She said she was in love with him." Cole smirked and shook his head, "Whenever I broke a rule, Ethan he would…he would beat me. He would hit me and hit me until I was numb. He would make sure that I wouldn't be able to walk the next day. He was insane. And she was in love with him?"

Behind the two-way mirror, the rest of the team was talking.

"They call it Stockholm Syndrome. Named after a bank robbery that happened in Stockholm in which, the hostages defended their captors, this syndrome is completely psychological. It stems from four basic roots: threat to survival, small acts of kindness from the captor, isolation and the inability to escape. JJ's situation contained all four. The man, Ethan, posed a threat to her and as her captor, completely established his superiority. It is likely that after that, he performed few acts of kindness towards her which she mistook as a "softer side". That combined with her complete isolation and the inability to get away, she bonded with him and later, fell in love." Reid said quickly, informatively.

Emily stared at him, "Even if he beat her brother?"

Reid nodded. "That was part of her threat to survival, seeing him enforce his superiority, made her even more submissive to him." He paused, "That makes me think that the man was the one that initiated the relationship because she would not fall for him after he beat her brother so he probably threatened her, manipulated her into falling in love and then beat her brother after he broke a rule, making her think that she had to do whatever he wanted or he would do the same to her." He stated, "That is usually what happens in domestic violence cases. They think they can't leave or escape so they settle for the 'love' that their partner is providing."

The others nodded, understanding.

That was when Hotch entered the room, "They're bringing JJ in." He said, looking at them.

"We think she may be suffering from Stockholm Syndrome." Reid told Hotch.

He nodded quickly, "I was just thinking the same thing, but we'll know for sure once they bring her in. I'll make sure to ask her about it."

Emily stepped forward, "Oh and Hotch. I saw a bruise on her arm that looked like it might have been from someone grabbing her. Ask her about that, I'm sure it would throw her off." She said.

Hotch nodded and then looked back at the mirror just in time to see one of the officers bringing JJ into the room. She sat down in her seat slowly, shooting a glare at the officer as he left. And then she stared at the two-way mirror, just like she had when they had interviewed her before.

"Is anyone there?" She asked, expectantly.

Hotch glanced back at the team before pulling the door open and entering the room. He sat down across from her, "JJ."

"Hotch." She muttered coldly.

He ignored her tone, "I'm just going to ask you a few questions. You know the drill, or at least you used to." He paused for a moment, "How long were you in captivity?" He asked, making sure to use the word captivity to see how she would react.

JJ stared back at him, "I wouldn't call it captivity. I could come and go as I pleased."

"That doesn't answer my question." He shot back.

She didn't look happy, but answered anyway. "8 months."

It sounded so long when she said it. Hotch looked at her for a moment, ashamed that it had taken that long to find her. He noticed that her hair was shorter, it had probably grown out and then they'd cut it.

"And who were you staying with in that house?" He asked.

JJ let out a quick sigh before speaking, "My brothers, Travis and Cole, Carson Locklear, Ethan Richardson, and Mason Harris." She said blankly.

"Alright, can you describe your time in the house? Generally, of course." Hotch asked, staring at her. This is where they would be able to piece the story together.

JJ stared at him for a few moments before starting her recollection, "Carson brought me to the house directly from the hotel where I had been. I was reunited with my brothers, but my hand was broken so Ethan put it in a splint, he used to be a doctor. That night, we had our first dinner. We were told to dress up so we did. It was awkward at first, but after a few weeks of getting into the routine, it didn't seem strange anymore. Ethan slept in the same room as I did to keep an eye on me and I was apprehensive, but he didn't try anything, which I was thankful for. Out of all of the men, he was the one I trusted the most. On the third day that we were there, Ethan told us why we were being held. He said it was because Carson wanted us to be his family. He told us we'd have to perform jobs around the house and farm. So we did. We had different jobs every day. I usually worked inside or in the garden or with the horses while my brothers did the labor intensive work." She paused.

"Travis usually complied, did his work quietly, but Cole…" She shook her head, "It seemed like every other day that he would try to escape. And every time, Ethan would have to stop him."

Hotch cut in there, "Stop him?" He already knew the answer, but he wanted to see how she viewed it.

JJ stared at Hotch, "Ethan would beat him, but Carson made him. And to be fair, Ethan told us not to try to escape or he would beat us and he kept his promise. Cole just didn't learn. He never gave up." She paused and met Hotch's eyes, "And I didn't want to give up at first either, but…after two months went by, it was hard not to."

Hotch nodded slowly, guilt rising in his stomach. "Go on with your story."

"I tried to get Cole to stop, but he never did. It started to get annoying, bothersome even. I just didn't understand what motivated him. I mean, it's not like you guys were ever close to finding us. It got to the point where I just wanted to save him from a beating so whenever I would see him trying to escape, I would stop him myself. It was better than watching him get beat down until he couldn't see straight."

"By who?"

JJ tilted her head, "What?"

"Who beat your brothers?"

She glared at him, "I already told you."

Hotch held her gaze, staring into her fiery blue eyes with his ferocity. "His name, JJ."

"Ethan Richardson."

He nodded, "Carry on."

"After about two months, I started to get close to Ethan. He and I spent the most time together because he was usually on the same job as me. I liked his sense of humor and the way that he could make me feel safe even when I knew that I wasn't. We were in love. And it lasted for six months until that one day when I walked into the kitchen during lunch even though we were never supposed to leave during lunch. I just wanted to check on Cole, maybe help him with the dishes that it was his turn to do. When I walked in, he was on the phone, which we weren't supposed to use. I tried to get it from him, but I guess it was too late. A few days later, one of you morons shot the man that I love." She looked up at him.

Hotch leaned towards her, gave her a hard look, and then carried on with the questioning, "Did Ethan Richardson ever take advantage of you?"

JJ shook her head almost immediately, "No!"

Hotch glanced back at the glass mirror that his friends were standing behind, "Did he ever hit you?"

"Never."

Hotch stared at her for a long time, "Last question: JJ, what happened to your arm?" His eyes flicked down to the circular, hand-shaped bruise on her upper arm.

She glanced at it, looking surprised. "Oh…it, well-"

"Let me guess." Hotch cut in, "Ethan."

JJ looked at him, "Yes, but he didn't mean to hurt me. He just grabbed me and I pulled my arm out of his hand. That's probably what caused the bruise. It wasn't completely his fault."

"Whose fault was it?"

Her answer was telling: "Mine."

Hotch had gotten enough for one day. He gave her a nod and stood up, "Well that's all for today. A guard will be in soon to take you down to the hospital for a follow-up examination. You'll be spending the night there. Get some rest, JJ." He walked out to his team mates.

"What do you think?" He asked.

Morgan was the first to speak, "Domestic violence definitely, but I guess it's not really domestic…because he's her captor. But they were 'in love' so maybe…the point is: he was abusing her and she's either too afraid to admit it or in denial about the whole thing. It's possible that it's a little bit of both."

Reid nodded, joining the conversation. "It seems almost like she idolizes this 'Ethan' character. She followed in his footsteps, carrying out the discipline that he had subconsciously taught her." He paused. "She even 'loved' him so much that she turned on her brothers. It's possible that the stress got to her and Ethan took advantage of it, being there for her in her time of need and then manipulating her from there."

"And that's what could have led up to the Stockholm Syndrome that she is showing signs of now. She loves Ethan and is defending him and then, in turn, also defending the other men behind the crime." Rossi said.

Hotch nodded slowly, "Well they're bringing Travis in next, hopefully we can get more information from him."

Before anyone could say anything else, they heard a door open. The guard was already ushering Travis into the interrogation room. He looked better, it was obvious that he'd gone to the hospital already and gotten stitches and bandages for all of his injuries.

Hotch turned towards his team members, giving a slight nod before turning and entering the interrogation room. He sat down across from Travis and crossed his arms, "Hello Travis, how are you feeling?"

Travis shook his head, his face red. "You…" He shook his head again, stuttering in anger, "You…you leave us on that farm…with them for 8 months, 8 months! And the first thing you say to me is 'how are you feeling?'" He gave Hotch a hard glare.

"I understand you're angry." Hotch said calmly, "We did try, Travis, but there were no new leads. Carson covered his tracks and after a month, we had to take on new cases. And then after six months…we thought you were dead."

Travis stared at him, "Dead?" He said in disbelief, "You thought we were dead? You know…I used to believe in the FBI. What is it they say? Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity. Well what about loyalty? You gave up on us."

Hotch stared right back at him, "There were other people out there getting murdered, Travis. The case went cold. What were we supposed to do?"

He looked like he wanted to reply, but he didn't know what to say. He didn't know what they should have done. "I just..." He started after a long time, "It was just so awful to be stuck on that farm, captive, and to know that no one was looking for you. Don't you get that?"

"I do, Travis." Hotch replied, "And I'm sorry."

Travis huffed and shook his head, not looking like he was ready to forgive them yet, but he was done antagonizing them. He stared at Hotch.

Hotch nodded, taking that stare as an invitation for him to start the actual questioning, "Alright…we have already established that you were in captivity for 8 months and you were being held by a Carson Locklear, Mason Harris and Ethan Richardson, is that correct?"

Travis nodded, "Yes."

"We have also gathered that Ethan was the known enforcer. Can you explain what he did?" Hotch asked, watching Travis carefully.

He let out a sigh. "Enforcer is right. He…he was basically the guy who made sure everyone was following the rules. It was a hierarchy. Carson set the rules, Ethan enforced them and Mason was just their little errand boy, following in their footsteps. If we ever broke rules, Ethan would be the one that would punish us, but sometimes Mason would help. It was a team thing. Mason would hold me down while Ethan just hit me over and over. I think it was a scare tactic. They beat Cole and I to scare JJ, but I was never afraid. I figured that if I had a chance to escape I should take it because you guys obviously weren't coming."

Hotch nodded slowly, "So Ethan. Tell me more about him."

Travis shrugged, "He was the enforcer like you said. It was as basic as that. He was also deceptively charming."

"Deceptively charming?"

Travis looked down at the table, "I saw right through him from the beginning. The way he was always around JJ. I knew that he was going to try to gain her trust, I knew it. And I tried to warn her." He said, shaking his head.

Hotch nodded, "And what did she say?"

"This was before she was 'in love' with him. I told her that he was going to try to manipulate her. I told her that he wasn't who he said he was and that he was just trying to gain her trust for his own gain, but she said that she knew that. She told me that she was trying to gain his trust to get inside their loop and I believed her. And after that, she fell. Hard. He was always chivalrous, charming, showing off for her. And she didn't see it. She lost track of the plan she'd had in place and ended up…becoming one of them."

"One of them?" Hotch asked, noticing that was the exact same phrase Cole had used when he was talking about JJ.

Travis let out a long sigh. "She…she started hanging out with Ethan a lot more. She stopped reassuring us that you guys were coming, she stopped trying to plan for an escape, she just about stopped talking to Cole and I altogether. And she started enforcing their rules. Instead of Ethan, she would find Cole and stop him. Ethan had her wrapped around his finger and she didn't even know, still doesn't. She believed what he was telling her, no matter what he was saying, it was like hypnosis." He shook his head.

Morgan stared through the glass at Travis and Hotch, "Cognitive Dissonance." He said quietly.

"What?" Rossi said, unable to hear him from where he was, on the other side of the room.

Morgan turned around to face the team, "Cognitive Dissonance."

The team heard him that time, but most of them looked like they had no idea what he was talking about.

Except Reid.

"Cognitive Dissonance. Noun, a psychological term referring a state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially as relating to behavioral decisions and attitude change. For example, heavy smokers know that smoking causes cancer, yet they continue smoking." Reid said, as if it were the exact textbook definition, which it was.

Morgan nodded slowly, "Stockholm Syndrome and cognitive dissonance can pair together, especially in these kinds of situations." He paused, "Cole said JJ became one of them, started stopping his escape plans and making sure he followed the rules. She adopted their ideas even though she knew that they were wrong."

"So she did become one of them?" Emily asked, tilting her head.

Reid nodded, "Essentially."

"The question is…how do we get her back?" Rossi asked as he stared through the glass window at Hotch and Cole. He turned to face the rest of the team.

They stared back at him with blank eyes and heavy hearts, all silently asking the same question.

Was that even possible?

"You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope."

Thomas Merton