Poison (Criminal Minds)

Chapter Seven

 Derek hung up the phone angrily. Someone was messing with him. It had to be a prank, right? They probably had just called him and tried to screw with his psyche.

The doorbell rang. Derek Opened it, to find a package. He picked it up and took it inside. Then he noticed the lack of return address. He hit the ground just as it exploded.

–

“Yeah, I got one too” JJ said into the phone.

“Well, be careful” Hotch replied. “I'm going to call everyone else. Don't leave.”

“Got it” JJ answered, and she hung up.

There was no need to tell Will. He would just worry.

Waiting was the worst thing in the world for her, at this moment. Any of them team could be dead or dying, or hurt, and she couldn't do anything. It was so hard to just sit there and do nothing.

The phone rang again. JJ answered it.

“JJ, it's Hotch. I got ahold of everyone except Morgan. The team's going to his house. Can you come?”

“Definitely” JJ replied, and she slammed the phone down.

Derek.

–

The smoke was choking Derek. It was the first sensation he could feel when he opened his eyes. He opened his eyes. He was alive. First victory.

His leg hurt. He looked down. The bone was poking out of the skin, and he had to look away. The sight made him feel weak.

It occurred to him then that everything around him was on fire. The flames were licking at his broken leg. He tried to lift himself up, but he couldn't.

He closed his eyes. No use watching himself die.

–

The car ride to Morgan's apartment was the longest car ride JJ had ever been in. Or at least, it seemed that way. When she pulled up n front, there were firefighters attempting to battle a blaze. The flames were mostly coming from Morgan's floor.

JJ saw Hotch and the others. She ran over to them. “Where's Morgan?” she asked?

“In there” Li answered, pointing grimly at the building.

“They're looking for him now” Hotch added.

They stood in silence for a moment, just watching the blaze. “Do you think it was the Commander?” asked JJ.

“Yes” Li said, conviction coloring her tone.

JJ hadn't expected Li to answer. She seemed like kind of an outsider, and none of the others on the team really trusted her. Oh, they pretended they did, but JJ knew better. The not was too suspiciously placed.

“We found him!” announced a firefighter, as a stretcher was carried out of the building. Morgan was on it, unconscious.

The team ran up to him, JJ in front. He was loaded into an ambulance, and JJ rode with him. Only one of them was allowed to.

He didn't look good. One of his legs was badly broken, he was covered in scratches where flying debris had scratched his skin, and his skin was badly burned all over.

The medics didn't look very optimistic, either. They were keeping him alive, but barely. JJ could see the heart monitor from where she was sitting, and it was faint. But at least his heart was still beating. They had that to be thankful for.

When they arrived at the hospital, Morgan was rushed to the ER. JJ took a seat in the waiting room, ready for a long night. The rest of the team was there soon. And they waited out the night.

–

Li slipped out around three to make a phone call. “Why are you warning them?” she hissed. “They know you're behind it.”

“Because” the Commander answered. “After that note got out, what was I supposed to do?”

“I know you think it's my fault” Li replied, “but it wasn't. One of the techs must have done it!”

“Where are you?” asked the Commander.

“The hospital” Li replied testily. “Derek Morgan survived.”

“Ah” replied the Commander. “You warned them I was coming, and then you failed to kill their agent.”

“If you haven't noticed, it can be hard to kill BAU agents” Li replied tersely.

“You dispatched with Emily Prentiss well enough. And Spencer Reid was a successful-”

“Shh. Someone's coming. Dad.”

JJ walked by Li. “Yeah, dad. I'm fine” Li said into the phone, rolling her eyes at JJ as if to say Fathers. What are you gonna do? JJ smiled, and kept walking. “Stop worrying, dad” Li said into the phone, and she hung up.

–

JJ woke up with a start. They had been at the hospital for hours, and it was a little bit after sunrise. She yawned, stretched.

“Morgan?” she asked, the first word out of her mouth. Hotch shook his head. Nothing. She sighed, and leaned back against the wall. Soon, they would have to leave. They had a case or three to work. Still, she didn't want to leave without news . . . one way of the other.

The sound of shoes coming into the waiting room distracted her from her thoughts for a moment. But it was just another teary-eyed relative of a patient. They had been filtering in and out of the room since the team got there. Despite how many friends of JJ's had been hurt in the past few days, the looks on the relatives' faces hurt her just a little bit more. Every time a doctor came in to tell them that someone they loved had passed, JJ could see the grief on their faces. And it made her sad as well.

More shoes came into the room. Despite herself, JJ looked up. It was a doctor this time. And he stopped in front of Hotch.

“Derek Morgan will be okay” the doctor said. JJ heaved a sigh of relief, and heard the other members of the team do the same. “He has some massive second-degree burns, his leg was broken in three places, his wrist was sprained, and he has a multitude of minor scratches, but he'll make a full recovery.” JJ smiled. She couldn't help it. The other occupants of the room stared at her almost resentfully, like she didn't have anything to be sad about anymore. She didn't care. Morgan was okay.

–

“We need more crime scenes” JJ said. “But I sincerely hope that won't happen.”

“We can do a profile without more bodies” Hotch said.

“But will it be successful?” asked JJ. “We have to see if he repeats himself, or not. If he uses the same type of bomb, if he hits the same type of place.”

“If we could stop him before he takes out more people-” Hotch began, but JJ cut him off.

“By all means, Hotch, we should try” she said. “But we won't be able to.” She sat back. They had gotten a report from the bomb squad saying that the bomb at Morgan's apartment was a completely different kind from the one at the building. They could be juggling four cases, between Prentiss' killer, Spencer's killer, Morgan's would-be killer, and this bomber. JJ knew that Hotch wanted to bring in another team. But she wanted to solve these cases herself. All four of them were directly related to their BAU team, three of them attacks on the members, and one of them, the note.

JJ almost didn't hear the phone ring. Hotch answered. A moment later, he slammed it down angrily. JJ's eyes widened. The only thing she could think of was Morgan. But Hotch didn't seem that upset.

“There's been another attack” he said. “The Commander bombed a park this time.”