Disclaimer: See chapter one.

Author's Note(s): So…still alive. Weird, huh? Happy Valentines Day all! I bet you can guess how exciting my day has been based on me being online to post right now. I hope Leigh59, Sue1313, JJstar52, ramona, dncnmndy, didi2909, RavennaNightwind, tearbos, h, MissingLashes, jessalynnGSR, the-vampire-act, Cushion, Betan, 88Keys, sophie and Jay Marthow have had an especially good V-Day. Thanks for taking the time to review :-)

Danse Macabre
Chapter 11

"My goodness," said Miller, with an eyebrow raised. "That poor Doctor."

"We know," said JJ coldly.

Morgan looked sympathetically over to where JJ was sitting. She had taken Brennan's death particularly hard. She obviously thought it was their fault, and if he were honest, he wasn't sure if he disagreed with her. It was a bloody stupid thing to do of course, running off like he did. They could have done more to stop him. Forced him to sit down and tell them his suspicions.

"Did he have any family?" asked Miller rather sadly.

"He had a sister and a couple of nephews," replied JJ evenly.

"Ah…and who notified them of the death?" Miller probed.

"Sheriff Thorn, presumably," JJ again. "We didn't tell them at least."

"Didn't have the time I suppose," said Miller kindly. JJ did not reply.

The fact was they hadn't had time. From that moment on, events had spiralled very quickly out of control, and unless the poor guys family had wanted to come and chat with Hotch and himself while they lay in their potential deathbeds it just couldn't be helped. Morgan closed his eyes briefly and tried to gather himself. All this talking was exhausting.

"Well," said Miller, clasping his hands together and resting them on the desk in front of him, "Agent Prentiss," his gaze shifted to Emily, "You arrived back at the hotel and shared your information with your team," Emily nodded, "Then what did you do?"

A very brief look of puzzlement crossed her face at this question, "I slept."

"Is that all?" asked Miller persistently.

"Well, I showered first if that's what you mean?" Emily replied, sharing a confused look with Morgan who attempted to smile at her.

"Why did you do that?" said Miller. He was obviously going somewhere with this line of questioning, but Morgan had no idea where.

"For the reason I imagine most people shower," said Emily, both confusion and sarcasm lightly peppering her voice.

Miller smiled benignly, "Of course, Agent Prentiss. Moving on then, you went to bed and then what happened?"

"I was woken up by the deputy sheriff shouting down the radio," Emily informed him.

"How many hours sleep did you get?" asked Miller. Mmm…Sleep…That sounded good to Morgan. Maybe nobody would notice if he had a little nap…

"I don't remember," said Emily, her eyes flicking to an empty corner of the room in a way that let everyone in the room know that she knew exactly how much sleep she'd had, "A few."

"I see," said Miller, he almost sounded disappointed. He probably thought he'd managed to break through all of their defences by now and that they'd all be pouring out their heart and soul to him. Waxing lyrical about their pain and woe perhaps. Not likely, thought Morgan. "What did the deputy sheriff have to say for himself then?"

"It was hard to pick out individual words," Emily admitted, "I caught something about a kidnapping, the devil and getting to the church. There was static and he was panicking."

"I see," Miller repeated. If he said 'I see' one more time Morgan swore he was going to start throwing punches. "And then what happened?"

"I woke JJ and Reid and we moved back in to Hotch and Morgan's room," said Emily while absentmindedly resting her hand on her damaged leg and grimacing ever so slightly.

"Then you all agreed that some of you should go and investigate?" asked Miller mildly. His question sounded far too much like a throwaway comment for Morgan to believe that he didn't know what answer he was going to get.

"Yes," said Morgan forcefully. Emily shot him a reproachful look. Everyone in the room knew full well that she was prepared to shoulder all the responsibility for what happened next.

Morgan remembered the conversation with alarming clarity, and the fact was that it was most definitely not a unanimous decision for the three healthy agents to wander off. The argument had been between himself, Hotch and Prentiss and JJ. Well, really Hotch hadn't said too much because by that point he was struggling to even think straight. Morgan however had been very forceful in his view that JJ, Prentiss and Reid should stay with them where it was safe instead of gallivanting off to investigate the newest crime scene. Reid hadn't said much either, presumably because he didn't want to get caught in the wrath of several angry profilers. Morgan bet he wished he had agreed with him and Hotch now.

"Yes?" repeated Doctor Miller, "Are you sure about that Agent Morgan?"

"I'm sure," said Morgan firmly.

A disapproving look crossed Miller's face. It was perhaps the first time he'd shown actual annoyance at their obvious lies and omissions and Morgan felt a childish thrill of satisfaction.

"Fine," said Miller shortly, "Would one of you please continue with the story?"

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Five more minutes, mom," Reid mumbled, pulling the covers over his head. JJ and Emily grinned at each other.

"Sorry, Spence," said Emily in a soft voice, "But it's almost school time."

"Noooo," came the muffled voice of Reid again. "I don't wanna go."

It was really not the time for this, but the two agents couldn't help but smile at their young co-worker. But then Emily shook her head and JJ felt her heart sink.

"Doctor Spencer Reid, you get up out of that bed immediately. We have work to be doing," said Emily loudly.

Reid immediately sat up and pulled the covers off his head, "Emily?" he said blearily, rubbing his eyes.

"Afraid so," she replied, shrugging her shoulders.

"What happened?" he said, stifling a yawn.

"I have no idea," Emily admitted, "Whatever it is though it can't be good."

"Doctor Brennan is dead," JJ felt herself saying mournfully.

"What!? How?" asked Reid sharply.

"I'll explain when you're dressed," said Emily pointedly, then she headed to the door. "I'll see you in Hotch's room."

--

"What can you tell us about the body?" said Reid once they had all congregated in one room.

"There were no pentagrams and no sign of anything Satanic," said Emily sadly, "The unsub must have realised Brennan was getting close to his identity and so had to kill him."

"Poor guy," JJ muttered, looking away from the group.

"Anything else?" Reid prompted.

"It looked like he was facing his killer and I think he'd been hit more than once," replied Emily.

"So either the unsub was angry," said Reid musingly, "Or the first blow wasn't fatal…"

"I don't see why they'd be angry," Morgan contributed from his half sitting position. He seemed to have slid down the wall since propping himself up there.

"Meaning that the unsub wasn't strong enough to kill with one hit," said Emily, continuing with Morgan's train of thought.

"Maybe," Morgan agreed.

There was a short silence while everyone was lost in their own thoughts.

"What do we do now then?" said Reid.

"We go and investigate the new crime scene," said Emily, sounding surprised that he should even ask.

"Woah, hold up there, Prentiss," said Morgan quickly, "You're not going anywhere."

"Excuse me?"

"No, if you think we're letting you three go anywhere alone you're sadly mistaken," said Morgan, attempting to fold his arms and look imposing.

JJ suppressed a sigh. It didn't happen often, but when Emily and Morgan started arguing it became less about the subject matter and more a competition of who could stay stubborn for the longest. But guilty though it made her feel, she almost hoped Morgan won this one.

"What do you propose we do then, Morgan?" said Emily, narrowing her eyes, "Just leave those two guys to deal with this alone?"

"Of course not," Morgan retorted, "We need to wait for backup. Splitting up is not a good idea."

"I don't want to be the one to tell any new victim's family that we didn't save them because we were too scared to leave our hotel room," said JJ quietly, at once wishing she hadn't spoken.

"And I don't be the one to tell your parents that you were killed because you didn't have enough backup when facing down a couple of serial killers," Morgan snapped.

Reid lifted his head up then with an alarmed expression. JJ wondered if he was thinking about how his mother would take the news of his death. Not that JJ thought for one second that any of them would die.

"We aren't going to die, Morgan," said Emily, pulling a face, "We're just going to look at a crime scene."

"No you're not," said Morgan stubbornly, "You're staying right here."

"I'd like to see you stop us," replied Emily, adopting the same tone.

"Don't be ridiculous," cried Morgan, "I don't know if you think you've got something to prove but this is a stupid idea!"

A fleeting look of hurt crossed Emily's face at this, "Is that really what you think? That I'm so selfish that my desire not to leave this village in the hands of psychotic serial killers is more about me than wanting to prevent more death?"

"That's not what I said," was Morgan's quick reply.

"That's exactly what you said. And besides," said Emily grimly, "You have no authority over us, and as Hotch obviously is in no state to make any decisions right now, I guess you can't tell us what we can and cannot do."

Everyone's eyes shifted to Hotch's prone form lying in bed. His pallid complexion would have been noticeable to a child and his ragged breathing could be probably be heard in the next room. JJ had to look away. She couldn't bear to see anybody in pain, let alone her boss, whom despite his outwardly solemn demeanour, she'd always had something of a soft spot for. The thought of him leaving them, as well as his young son, was much too difficult to think about.

Morgan's head turned to face Emily once more, the anger fading from his bloodshot eyes. Emily smiled weakly at him.

"I'm sorry," she said, almost sadly.

"I know," he replied in a defeated tone, "You have to go."

Emily nodded and placed a comforting hand on Morgan's knee.

Not quite sure what had just happened, JJ glanced briefly at Reid. He was actively avoiding eye contact with her though and staring down at his shoes. JJ wasn't sure if it was because he was still lost in his own little world or if it was because he felt uncomfortable with the arguing. Probably a bit of both, she decided.

"Don't forget the radio," Hotch said faintly, startling everyone in the room.

"We won't," Emily promised.

--

They walked relatively slowly to the church. JJ suspected it had something to do with the fact that none of them really wanted to get there. Even Emily who had been so insistent of them going was in no great hurry. Plus the tension in her stance was pretty hard to miss.

It didn't escape either her or Reid's attention when they passed Doctor Brennan's surgery. There was no police tape and absolutely no sign that anything amiss had happened. It made JJ sick. Had they even moved the body? Who would have moved the body? Brennan was the only doctor in the village as far as JJ could tell. She wondered if he had any family. Even if he didn't, in a small town like this he was bound to have lots of friends. Everybody knew each other in these types of places.

"We can't save everyone, JJ," said Reid softly, obviously having noticed the expression on her face.

JJ's head whipped around so she was facing Reid, "Yea, great," she said shortly, then after a pause, "Do you feel better now?"

"Um…Not really," said Reid, looking down.

Suppressing the guilt, JJ turned her attention back to the road where Emily walked a few paces ahead of them. If she had heard her and Reid's exchange she didn't show it. Not that there was really anything she could say.

The sight of the church loomed before them. It was strangely beautiful in the morning light and the gentle rain. The gardens all around it were obviously very well cared for and even the small graveyard seemed well looked after. Even the really old tombstones had not been overrun with weeds as they would have been in most cemeteries.

Looks, of course, could be deceiving though, and JJ mentally steeled herself for whatever they were about to find. They still had no idea what to expect, but based on her expansive experience in the job she could make an educated guess that it wouldn't be good.

They were greeted by the sheriff's deputy who sprinted out to meet them. His face was a pasty white and he had a strange look reminiscent of a caged animal.

"What happened?" asked Reid immediately.

"We don't know!" replied the deputy, turning to lead them to the church.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" JJ asked, not sure if she really wanted an answer.

"He's just gone!"

"Who's gone?" said Reid loudly as they stepped through the open doors.

"Father Mathew!"

"You mean he's been kidnapped?" asked Reid, nonplussed. Kidnapping was not a part of the profile.

"That's right," said the Sheriff grimly, as the profilers drew closer to him at the front of the small church.

"How can you be sure?" said JJ, her eyes darting quickly around the impressive hall. It was exactly what she was expecting. Everything was old and worn but cared for and loved. "He might have just gone for a walk."

"Um…I think that's unlikely, JJ," said Reid in a strange voice.

JJ took a deep breath before turning to see what Reid was looking at. She felt a thrill of horror as she saw the sacrament. It had been smashed to little pieces. She wasn't a massively religious person herself but she knew what an attack this was on the church. Then her eyes fell downwards to the top of the altar and she had to fight back the nausea.

Written, in what she guessed was blood, was a message. It said, 'The traitor will be the last to die'.

"Sebastian Black found it," said the sheriff, answering the question Emily had just asked. JJ tried to pay attention. "He came in to do some routine cleaning and noticed it straight away."

"Where is he now?" said Reid thoughtfully, "Do you know if he moved anything?"

"He says he didn't," said the deputy weakly. "He's sat in Father Mathew's office."

Reid looked up at Emily who gave a sharp nod. Even though she'd been on the team for the least amount of time, for some reason Reid and JJ both saw her as being in charge for the moment.

"JJ," said Emily, breaking JJ from her musings, "While Reid is speaking to the witness, will you go outside and let Morgan and Hotch know what's going on?" She handed JJ the walkie-talkie.

"Sure thing," she said, quite eager to get away from the blood stained altar. She suspected Emily had guessed how she was feeling and had sent her outside for just that reason. JJ didn't mind.

She and Reid walked off in different directions while Emily stayed in the church and spoke to the sheriff and deputy about the significance of the word 'traitor' in the message. Once she was outside she tried not to pay attention to the way the atmosphere had shifted to something oddly threatening. The church didn't seem nearly as picturesque as it had done ten minutes ago. It also seemed to have become inexplicably darker during that time. Well, JJ thought as she stealthily glanced at the thickening clouds drifting across the sky, maybe not so inexplicably.

People had obviously started to notice that something strange was going on and had begun to gather around the church. She felt a twinge of alarm at the look of fury on some of their faces.

"What's going on?" one woman shouted, despite only being about ten foot away. "Mass is starting in ten minutes."

"I'm sorry, ma'am," said JJ, trying to sound cool and collected, "But there have been a few setbacks. Mass will have to be cancelled for today."

"What do you mean, 'setbacks'?" one man demanded, marching right over to where JJ stood. "I thought you goons were supposed to be patrolling to stop anymore 'setbacks'!"

"Please calm down, sir," replied JJ quickly, attempting to quell the panic that was rising in her as people began to assemble around her. "We just need to close down the church for today. As soon as we know anything, we'll share it with the rest of you."

"Why don't you share what you know with us right now?" said the same man angrily.

JJ took a reflexive step backwards, "Sir, it would be counter-productive to share all our knowledge while the killer is still at large."

"Oh? So it's definitely one of us then is it?" the man spat. "And I suppose you have proof of this?"

The man towered over her and JJ tried not to flinch at his harsh tone. It was difficult to ignore the immediate outcry that followed his words though.

"Look, if you'll all just keep-" suddenly the man grabbed hold of JJ's wrist and she gasped in pain.

"Don't you 'keep calm' me," the man thundered, "My friends have died! And you don't seem to be doing anything to stop it."

"Please-"

"I want some answers!"

"BROOKS!" a voice suddenly shouted. "What the bloody hell are you doing?"

The man, Brooks, quickly let go of JJ's wrist and she stumbled backwards and away from him. She jumped in fright as two hands clamped themselves around her upper arms but then relaxed as she realised it was Emily.

"Are you okay?" she whispered, concern written all over her face. JJ nodded mutely and then turned back to the crowd.

"You should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself!" Thorn was shouting angrily. "Mobbing that poor Agent…I thought better of my town!"

There was another chorus of disapproval and Deputy Dave quickly had to physically restrain Brooks as he lunged forward. Even to the crowd though, this was taking the ambush too far. The energy seemed to leave the group and suddenly everyone seemed rather less angry and significantly sadder.

"Look, we'll have another meeting tonight," said Thorn. "I'll explain everything then." He stopped another rise in volume with a raise of his hand. "Until then though, I need everyone to go home and let me and the agent's do our job. Do I make myself clear?"

There was a dark mumble of consent and gradually the crowd thinned until all who was left were Brooks and who JJ assumed was his pale faced wife.

"Do I make myself clear, Brooks?" the Sheriff repeated firmly.

"As crystal," he spat bitterly.

--

It was because of this hubbub outside that nobody noticed that Spencer Reid had been gone for rather longer than he ought to have been.

--

Author's Note(s): Sorry for the delay. You know how real life is though I'm sure. Always one thing or another to worry about. Hope I made up for it with this extra long chapter!

Thank you for reading :-)
Rubiks