Carrying the Shadow

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds

Hands shaking, shallow, fearful breaths, and blood. Dark red, once warm blood soaked her clothes and her hands stained red, the blood drying and caking on her skin. Her jaw worked up and down, uncontrollably chattering against the traumatic images blinking across her vision. A whimper fell from her mouth, her head throbbing in time with her heart. Fear, pain, and sorrow. It was a deep, penetrating sorrow that burned down to her core and tore at her chest, causing her to struggle for oxygen. Tears streamed down her cheeks, leaving trails down her petrified face. Every inch of her being was numb, her limbs shaking despite her efforts at keeping her horror at bay. She pulled her trembling legs to her chest, letting her head lay on her knees. Her eyes were wide, horrified, and red with more tears at the brink of spilling over. Her back was against the wall of a building…she wasn't really sure where her feet had taken her, but anywhere was better than where she was before. The air outside was chilling and bit at her exposed skin, but she didn't really notice. She didn't know how long she had sat there, it could've been minutes or hours, but it was dark and the moonless night filled the city air, making it hard to see anything farther than a few feet away. She heard the click of heels on concrete to her right, a tired sigh with an audible level of weariness, and the beeping of a car being unlocked. She heard the woman stop walking; something must have made her turn back. Then, she heard the clicking get louder and faster. It seemed like the woman was jogging toward her.

"Hey! Are you alright?" A concerned voice floated above her head, urgency piercing through the woman's calm. Emily Prentiss' brows drew together as she knelt down next to the small, trembling figure and put a kind hand on her shoulder. The young girl looked up, the fear in her eyes startling Emily, taking her aback. The girl was shaking, clearly in shock and Emily looked at her fully now. Blood covered her clothes and skin and Emily's heart pounded wildly in her chest.

"Hey, is this your blood?" Emily's shaky voice softened, worry deep in her eyes. She got no response, which didn't surprise Emily but she needed to rule out serious injury. Emily noticed a head wound and put her hand under the young girl's chin to look into her eyes. "Can you tell me your name, sweetie?" The girl's traumatized face smoothed for a second and she seemed to remember something. Recognition of why she was sitting outside this particular building sparked in her eyes. The girl opened her mouth and Emily paid her full attention to her, noticing every expression on her face. A small, frightened voice came from the girl's mouth, but Emily heard an edge that resembled something like strength and resilience.

"Andi Blake….I…I need to find JJ…" She paused, breathing hard. "Agent Jennifer Jareau…I need to find her…." She struggled to get the words out, but they were clear and Emily's eyes widened as she nodded, swallowing back the shock of the situation. Andi squeezed her eyes shut, tears sliding down slowly.

"Okay…I'll get her for you, alright? But I need to know if you're hurt." Emily gave Andi a sad smile and put a comforting hand on her arm. Andi swallowed and tried to stop herself from shaking, visibly rebuking herself for showing this much weakness. It was like she had no control over her body.

"I'm fine…I…I just need JJ." Emily narrowed her eyes skeptically at her and nodded, knowing that Andi probably needed medical attention but right now she needed JJ more. Emily wondered fiercely what had happened to this girl and prayed that it wasn't as bad as the scenarios that were running through her mind.

"Okay. We need to get you inside. She's still in her office. Can you stand up and walk?" Emily helped Andi up slowly once she nodded and pulled her own coat off, draping it over the young girl's shoulders. "Easy…Alright, let's go." Emily kept her grip on Andi's arm, letting the terrified girl lean on her as they moved inside the BAU. Andi continued to shake and Emily figured that the girl wasn't even aware how much she was trembling. "Almost there. She's just up these stairs." Emily gritted her teeth angrily at whatever person had made this girl so afraid and assisted her up the stairs. Emily knocked on the door and waited to open it until she heard JJ's bored voice telling whoever it was to come in. Andi stood outside, absently staring at the floor. Emily opened the door, peeking her head in for a second and gesturing for Andi to wait there. Andi wasn't even paying attention so Emily walked inside, moving to JJ's desk.

JJ looked up at Emily with her tired expression and noticed Emily's urgent, worried eyes. "Emily?" JJ knew that Emily had already left to go home and it was weird that she would be back already. Something must be wrong, JJ thought.

"JJ…do you know an Andi Blake?" Emily held her breath for a second and let it out slowly, calming herself; her heart was still racing.

"Yeah...um. How do you know her?" JJ was starting to get worried and she pushed her chair back from her desk a bit.

"She's looking for you. Look, JJ, something bad happened to her. She has blood all over her and she's definitely in shock. She wouldn't tell me if she was hurt…all she wanted was to find you." Emily hesitated, not sure how this news would affect her friend. JJ's eyes widened and she stood up, anger and dread in her eyes.

"Where is she?" Emily gestured to the door and JJ followed her quickly.

"Andi?" Emily put a caring hand on her arm and Andi looked up into Emily's eyes. "JJ's right here, sweetie." Andi's eyes brightened and she looked through the door, searching for JJ.

"JJ?" Her voice was frantic. JJ walked to the doorway, her hair falling into her face.

"Andi…" JJ let her eyes drink in the scene and there was horror in her eyes. "Oh my gosh, Andi. What happened to you?" JJ's brows drew together and moisture gathered in her eyes. Andi opened her mouth and all that came out was a whimper as she began to cry. JJ took a long stride to Andi and pulled her into a strong embrace, whispering encouraging words to her. Emily stood aside and wondered how they knew each other.

"Shhh…It's okay, Andi. I'm right here. You're okay." JJ repeated the words softly in her ear and put a hand to the back of her head, flattening her hair gently. They stayed like this for a few minutes until JJ pulled back a little, leading her inside her office, gesturing for Emily to follow them. Emily closed the door and frowned, knowing their long day was not over. JJ sat Andi down and took her shaking hand that stopped moving once JJ held it, a protective move like that of a big sister or a mother.

"Andi, are you hurt? Are you okay?" JJ glanced worriedly at Emily for a second before looking back to Andi again. Andi's right hand started shaking once more and the fear that had been blanketed in her eyes came back. "Andi, you're okay. I'm right here." JJ saw the panic in her eyes and quickly brought her back to reality. "I just need to know if you're hurt. Can you tell me what happened? I want to help you, but I need to know what happened." Emily saw JJ's silent plea for the terrified girl to be okay. Getting the story out of her seemed the only way to know if Andi was hurt.

"I…I was at my house with Mom and Dad…Then there was a man…I didn't recognize him. He came to the door…" It seemed that Andi was picking up confidence, erasing the fear from every feature of her body. "My dad opened the door." Andi looked down at the ground as she relived whatever horror had happened to her. "The man had a tranquilizer gun…he also had a .45 with him. He had extra magazines in his pocket…he was prepared. He used the tranquilizer on my dad and mom….and me. When I woke up, we were all tied up. It seemed like he was waiting on me to wake up because as soon as I did, he started hurting my mom. My dad was screaming…because the man was…"

Andi stopped and her eyes widened. It seemed like she couldn't go on. Emily closed her eyes as she guessed what Andi was struggling to say. JJ shook her head, willing it to not be true. "He raped her…." Those three words hung in the air, pressing down on Andi's lungs, making it harder to breathe. Tears fell silently and she went on. "My mom was crying and screaming…then he…he shot her in the head." JJ squeezed Andi's hand tight, letting her know that she was there and Emily put a hand on her shoulder. "He moved on to my dad…he was beating him…like he was angry at him for something…it was like it was personal and he kept looking back at me like he was getting my approval. He seemed confused when I screamed at him to stop. My dad begged him to stop, so he shot him like he did to my mom. By that time, I was crying and screaming at him. He came after me next, but he untied me first. I guess he didn't think I was a threat…" Andi chuckled without humor and then closed her eyes. "He tried to….touch me." She stopped again, and JJ was trying to hide her tears to be strong for Andi. Emily didn't hide her tears, only listened intently to Andi's story.

"I fought him…and I hurt him. I think he got a few hits in…but I got him. He laughed…at me. He was having fun. He got the gun back somehow and holstered it. Then…" Andi paused again. "He left. He said that he'd be seeing me and he left. Just left me there with my dead parents. All the blood…I tried to save them…" Andi fell silent and shook her head. She couldn't cry anymore. She only blinked and gritted her teeth.

"Andi…I'm so sorry…" JJ wrapped Andi in a hug, breathless.

"I'm alone, JJ…I have no one." JJ gritted her teeth and shook her head.

"You've got me, Andi. I'm not going anywhere, sweetie." JJ pulled away and sighed, gently wiping Andi's tears. "Alright. I'm gonna take you to the hospital and Emily is going to go talk to Hotch, my boss." JJ gave Emily a look and she nodded, giving her a sad smile. Emily was more than happy to help.

"No. I don't need to go to the hospital. I'm fine." Andi sat up straighter and Emily saw a stubbornness in her disposition.

"Andi…You're going to the hospital. You're not going to win this argument." JJ's eyes were intense and Emily knew that you didn't argue with JJ…If you did, you didn't get far.

"I'll go talk to Hotch. He's still here, right?" Emily stood.

"Yeah. He's always here." She paused and looked up again. "Thanks, Emily." JJ looked at her meaningfully and Emily nodded, leaving the room.

"Okay…let's get you to the hospital." JJ stood and helped Andi up, despite her protests.

Tell me what you think and if I should keep going! :D Thanks for taking the time to read this! –mlw217