Chapter 18: Told me not to cry When you are Gone

"Agent Hotchner, there's a call for you from security at the front desk." Anderson announced.

Hotch nodded. "Put it through."

"Yes, sir." He said then transferred the call.

"This is Hotchner." He answered then listened to what the other person was saying. "Okay. You can send her up. Thank you." He said then put the phone down.

"Who's being sent up?" Rossi asked.

The director of Monroe Dance Academy." He informed the team.

"I thought she was out of the country." Morgan said.

"Apparently not." Hotch told them.

They busied themselves while they waited for the director.

"What do we know about her?" Morgan asked.

Garcia did a quick search. "Not much. Her name is Maia Louise Sheppard. Originally from Pennsylvania. She's twenty-eight. Wow, that's impressive. She owns her own dance academy and she's not even thirty yet." She remarked. "According to the Weekly Times, she recently got engaged to businessman, Hayden Lancaster."

"As in Lancaster Industries?" Emily asked.

"One and the same. Quite the power couple. They do a lot of volunteering and charity work together."

"When was that article published?"

"About two weeks ago." Garcia replied.

"That's around the same time Alyson Stevens was abducted." Reid mentioned.

"Anything before that" Hotch asked.

"Let's see. Er, before she moved to DC, she lived in California. Attended UCLA on a dance scholarship after she graduated high school though there's no record of her completing her degree."

"Does it say why?" Morgan asked.

"Let me check." She tapped a few keys. "Okay, it doesn't say why but I'm gonna take a wild guess and say this is the reason." She said. "It says here that Ms Sheppard was involved in a car accident when she was 22. Pretty much ended her dance career before it began."

"Do you have the police report?" Hotch asked.

"Yeah. Just a sec." She said as she pulled up the report. "Okay. It looks like it was a two-vehicle collision. The driver that hit her car was speeding and flew past a red light. Wow, talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time." She scanned the report further. "Whoa." She said, suddenly.

"What is it, Garcia?" Hotch asked.

She pointed to the screen that showed the photos of the accident. The team gathered around Garcia to take a look. Maia Sheppard's car was a wreck. A total write-off. It was a miracle that she walked away from that accident alive.

"According to witnesses, the car rolled a few times after it was hit." She shook her head. "How on earth did she survive that?" Garcia asked, incredulously. The team wore similar looks of surprise and shock.

Anything else Garcia had to say was put on hold when a voice called out behind them.

"Excuse me, Agent Hotchner?"

He turned around as he heard his name being called. "Yes, that's...me." He paused as took in her appearance. Tall, athletic built, brunette, green eyes. Just like the victims. He looked over to where Dave was standing. Their eyes made contact briefly but it was enough for him to realise that the older agent was thinking the same thing. He stood with his back to Garcia so the screen was hidden.

"I'm Maia Sheppard." She introduced. "I believe you were looking for me."

"Yes, that's right. Please follow me, Ms Sheppard." He said as he led her to the conference room.

She nodded then followed him.

"What exactly is this about?" She asked as he gestured for her to take a seat.

"Have you been following the news lately?" He asked her.

"Not in the States, no. My fiancé and I were out of the country for the last two weeks. We just flew in late last night." She informed him. "Why do you ask?

He took a deep breath before he started telling her about their case.

She shook her head. "That sounds awful, Agent Hotchner, but I don't see what that has to do with me."

"During our investigation, we discovered that these girls didn't know each other and as far as we could tell, their paths never crossed. But the one thing they did have in common was Monroe Dance Academy."

Her eyes widened in shock. "Wait, are you saying that these girls are my dancers?"

He nodded then pulled out a file containing photos of the victims.

"First two victims are Alyson Stevens and Halle Roberts." He said as he placed the two photographs side by side in front of Maia. Her eyes scanned their faces. "They were both murdered."

He took out the third photo.

"Stephany Dawson." She said softly. "I'm the one who encouraged her to apply for that dance scholarship. I knew she had what it took to be great but her parents couldn't afford to send her to college." She shook her head. "Is she dead, too?" Maia asked.

Hotch shook his head. "As far as we know, she's still alive just missing."

She nodded as swallowed the lump in her throat.

He took out the photo of Tahlia O'Reilly. "This was our Unsub's - Unknown Subject's - next target." He told her.

"Was?" She asked.

He nodded. "She managed to get away but another girl was taken in her place."

"Who?"

He took out the last photo and glanced at it before he placed it on the table. "Her name is..."

"...Aria Marano." Maia filled in before Hotch could.

"You know her?" He asked, surprised.

"Yeah. She joined about two years ago. One of the youngest dancers I've seen perform with such passion and emotion." She smiled slightly as she thought back to when she first saw Aria perform. "What happened to her?"

"She witnessed Tahlia's attempted kidnapping and called it in." He told her. "We're still not sure of the exact details but Tahlia managed to escape and Aria was taken instead."

Maia ran her hand through her hair. "I can't believe this is happening. Who would do something like this?" She asked.

"I was hoping you could answer that."

"Me? I don't understand."

"Do you have any enemies, Ms Sheppard?" He asked.

"No. Of course not! Why would you ask me something like that?" She asked, appalled.

"Right now, you're the only connection between these girls. Whoever's doing this, they're doing it to get your attention."

She shook her head. "No..."

"Look at them." He demanded softly. "They look just like you. They attended your academy. I don't think that's a coincidence."

She swallowed the lump in her throat as her eyes started to water. "I don't..." She cleared her throat. "I don't know anyone who would do something like this, Agent Hotchner."

"There has to be someone. An ex-employee. A stalker." He listed.

"You think I know this person?"

"Possibly, yes." He told her.

Maia wracked her brain. She couldn't think of anyone who would do something so horrible.

"What about the man that caused your car accident six years ago?" He asked her.

Her head shot up to look at him. "How do you know about that?"

"You really want me to answer?"

She glared at him. "He didn't do this." She answered simply.

"How do you know that?"

"Because he's dead, Agent Hotchner. He died last year in a car accident." She stated. "And even if he wasn't, he wouldn't have done this. He had no reason to."

"What do you mean? He had to have been charged. I saw the accident photos. No-one causes an accident like that and gets off scot-free." He told her.

She looked away and he knew that that was exactly what happened. She was quiet for a few seconds before she spoke.

"I shouldn't have survived that accident, Agent Hotchner. But for some reason, I did. My injuries were pretty severe: Massive head trauma. Doctors' had to drill a hole in my skull to alleviate the fluid build up. I still have headaches because of it. I had a broken arm and leg plus several broken ribs; a fractured knee cap and a damaged spinal cord. I was told that I might not be able to walk again, let alone dance. I required multiple surgeries. Expensive surgeries. Including months of physical therapy. I was a college student on a scholarship. I didn't have that kind of money." She paused.

"But the Westfords did. They offered to pay for everything. My medical bills, physical therapy. Basically anything I needed... If I didn't press charges."

"And you agreed."

"I didn't have a choice." She insisted. "I was three months away from graduating. I had internships lined up; potential job opportunities." She shook her head. "I lost all of that because of some stupid, irresponsible frat boy named Bobby Westford."

"Look, I'm not proud of what I did. But at the time, it was the only option I had. I didn't have any family who could help me. I lost the part time job I had. It was the least they could do, after what their son put me through."

"I don't have any resentment towards them. I put that behind me. I wouldn't be who I am today if I didn't go through what I did."

"After I got better, I knew that dancing again was out of the question. At least professionally. So, I had to find a new dream. That's why I started Monroe Dance Academy. I wanted to give other aspiring dancers the opportunity to do what I wasn't able to."

Hotch nodded. He felt bad for being so harsh with her. She had been through hell. "That was very admirable of you." He said, genuinely. "And I'm sorry for what you went through."

"Thank you."

"You mentioned that you had a fractured kneecap. Was it your left or right one?" He asked.

She frowned. "My right. But why does that matter?"

He shook his head. "It may be nothing but while I was going through the autopsy reports of the first two girls, I noticed that they had the same injury: Fractured right kneecap."

"It could be a coincidence." She offered.

"Maybe." He nodded then pulled out the sketch of the Unsub. "Do you recognise this man?" He asked as he placed the drawing in front of her.

Her eyes scanned the image then widened in recognition. "I don't think so, no." She answered, while looking down. "Who is he?" She asked.

She's lying. Hotch noticed. "He's the man who did all of this. We got the sketch from a witness."

She remained silent. "I don't know him."

"I think you do." He told her sternly.

She shook her head. "It can't be him." She whispered.

He leaned forward. "Who?" He pressed. "Who is he?!" He demanded a little louder causing her to flinch. "Damn it, just give me his name." He said frustratingly as he stood up from his seat.

"Aaron. You need to calm down." Rossi said as he stepped into the room. Maia Sheppard looked distraught.

"Calm down? You want me to calm down? She knows who the Unsub is." He exclaimed, then turned back to face her. "Why are you protecting him? He's already killed two girls and if we don't find him soon, he's going to kill two more."

Maia remained silent, wiping away the tears that had managed to escape. She shook her head, not believing that the man in the sketch was the same one she knew.

By then the rest of the team had made their way inside the conference.

"Please." Hotch practically begged once he cooled down. "The last girl he took, Aria..." He shook his head. "She's my daughter." He swallowed the lump in his throat. "Please, help us find him before it's too late." He said softly, emotion thick in his voice.

She looked up at him, seeing the pain in his hazel eyes. Eyes that were so familiar she wondered why she never noticed them until that moment. She looked back down at the sketch. The air was heavy as no one spoke.

"His name is Jacob Myers." She finally said. "We grew up together and dated in high school."

"You're sure it's him?" Rossi asked her.

She nodded. "The scar on his chin. He got it when we were kids after he fell on the playground."

"What can you tell us about him?" Hotch asked, even though he knew that Garcia was already running the name.

She shook her head lightly. "He had a pretty rough childhood. His parents abandoned him when he was eight and he was forced to live with his aunt and uncle who weren't exactly the most welcoming people. They already had a son two years younger than Jake and they weren't excited about having another mouth to feed."

"Was he abused?"

She nodded. "Both verbally and physically. But I only found out about that after we started dating. They were pretty good at hiding it. You know, small town; big secrets."

"Was he ever violent?"

She looked up as she seemed to consider the question. "Not unless he was provoked." She answered simply.

Hotch frowned at the way she answered the question. It was like she had experienced it. "Was he ever violent towards you?" He asked her.

Maia bit the inside of her cheek as she thought back to the last time she had seen Jacob. "No. Not until..." She sighed then shook her head. "Until the day I told him I got the scholarship and that I was leaving town."

"So, I have some news I want to share with you." She told him as they cleaned up his work area in the garage.

"What news?" He asked curiously as he packed up his tools.

"Well, I applied for this scholarship a couple months ago to study dance at UCLA and I got it. I got the scholarship!" She said excitingly.

The smile he had on his face faded and his blue eyes turned cold. "What?"

"I got the scholarship, J. I'm going to college in the fall."

"You're leaving me? I thought we were happy. I thought you were happy here." He told her.

"I was. But I can't stay here forever, Jake. I wanna go to college, explore new things and meet new people."

He shook his head. "What about me? Don't you love me anymore?" He asked angrily as he threw the box he was holding onto the ground causing her to jump.

"What? Jake, of course I love you." She told him. "You could come with me. Get a job in the city and we could rent an apartment. Somewhere close to campus. It could be like an adventure." She said encouragingly.

"I can't just leave, Maia. I'm the only other mechanic here besides my uncle. He's giving me the shop when he retires."

"What about Jesse?"

"Jesse's just a kid. He knows nothing about cars."

"He could learn." She offered.

"No!" He said as slammed his hands down on the bonnet of the car he was working on. "I'm not leaving. And neither are you." He said as moved closer towards her.

"Jake, why are you being like this? I thought you'd be happy for me." She pouted as he stood directly in front of her.

He grabbed the back of her head and pulled her in for a kiss. "Please don't leave me." He whispered against her lips.

She frowned at how desperate he sounded. "I'm sorry but I'm going to LA with or without you." She told him, finally.

He shook his head. "No, no, no." He repeated as he pushed her away and started pacing.

"Jake." She called but he didn't seem to hear her. "Jake. Jacob!" She yelled. "Please, don't make this harder than it already is." She told him sadly. "I'll always love you. But I can't stay in this town anymore." She told him as she placed her hand on his back once he stopped pacing. "I should go. I'll see you tomorrow." She told him then turned around to leave.

He grabbed her arm before she could go any further then spun her around until her back was to the wall.

"Jake? What are you doing?" She asked. "Let go." She said as she tried to break free from his grasp.

"You're not leaving me. You can't leave me." He told her as he pressed her harder against the wall.

"Jake, please. You're hurting me." She said, fear evident in her voice.

He loosened his grip on her slightly, leaving enough space for her to move. She barely recognised him. Never in the two and a half years that they'd been dating was he ever violent towards her.

"You're not going anywhere without me." He told her emotionlessly.

Before she could respond, she gasped as she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. She looked down to see Jake holding a knife covered in blood. It took her a moment to realise that the blood was hers. "Jake, what..." She stopped as she felt him stab her again, pushing the knife in deeper. "Jake, stop! Please!" She cried out in pain.

He pulled out the knife, letting it drop to the ground as Maia slid down the wall, a pool of blood already forming around her.

"He looked like a different person. I barely recognised him." She shook her head, wiping away her tears. "He's cousin, Jesse, found me right after. I probably would've bled out if he didn't. I never saw or heard from Jake again."

"Did you tell anyone that he was the one who attacked you?" JJ asked as placed a box of tissues and a glass of water in front of Maia who smiled her thanks.

She shook her head. "No but Jesse figured it out. He saw Jake leave the shop just before he found me and put two and two together." She paused. "Is that how he killed those girls? He stabbed them?" She asked.

JJ nodded.

Maia let out a shaky breath. "I still don't understand why he did it. Why did he try to kill me?"

"Based on what you told us about him, you telling him that you planned on leaving felt like a betrayal. In his eyes, you were abandoning him just like his parents did." She explained.

"I never, God, that wasn't my intention." She run a hand through her hair. "I just couldn't stay there anymore. Honestly, Jake and my grandmother were the only things that were holding me back. But I knew that if I wanted to make something out of my life, I needed to leave. I wanted to be more than just a wife and mother. I wanted a career. That's really hard to do in a small town."

JJ placed a hand on her shoulder. "Trust me, no one gets that more than I do. I'm from a small town too."

"Do you have any idea where he might be?" Prentiss asked her.

Maia shook her head. "No. I wish I did but I have no clue."

"What about his cousin, Jesse? Are you still in contact with him?"

She nodded. "He moved to DC a few years ago but I doubt he knows where Jake is. If he did, he would've told the police."

"He'd turn in his own cousin?"

"Yes. He would." She said with certainty.

The looks she got from the team prompted her to elaborate.

"Growing up, Jake and Jesse were close. They were practically like brothers. But after what happened with me, Jesse's perspective of Jacob changed. He was angry, mostly with Jake but also with me. I made him promise not to say anything. I told the sheriff that it happened so fast I didn't see who it was."

"After I healed up, I moved to LA and pretended that nothing happened."

"We're still going to need to speak with him."

She nodded. "Of course." She said as she scribbled down his number and address on the notepad provided. Just as she finished, her phone vibrated.

"I'm sorry. It's my fiancé." She told them.

"We'll give you some privacy." JJ told her then stood up as the rest of the team made their way out of the room.

They gathered in the bullpen as Hotch stood next to Garcia who was typing on her laptop. "Anything on Jacob Myers?" He asked.

She shook her head. "All I could find was his birth and school records. As well as an expired driver's licence. No credit history, no vehicles or properties registered in his name. Nothing. It's like he disappeared off the face of the earth." She said frustratingly as she typed.

"Keep digging." He told her. "In the meantime, Prentiss and Morgan, go talk to the cousin, Jesse. Find out what he knows. He may be able to shed some light on Myers."

They nodded then took off.

"Are you going to tell Aimee we have a suspect?" Rossi asked Hotch.

"No." He answered. "Not until we find him.

Maia made her made out of the conference room, phone clutched in her hand. "Agent Hotchner?"

He turned to face her.

"Do you need my help with anything else or can I leave?" She asked. "My fiancé is waiting for me downstairs."

"Yeah, of course." He told her. "You've been a really big help. Thank you."

She nodded. "Can you keep me updated? I know it's probably not how you do things but I can't help but feel responsible."

"It's not your fault." Rossi told her.

"He's right." Hotch agreed. "Do you have a business card?" He asked her.

"Yeah." She said then opened her purse, pulling out one of the cards and handing it to Hotch. "My cell's written on the back."

"Okay. I'll walk you out." He told her as they moved away from the bullpen towards the elevators.

Hotch pushed the down button. They stood in silence as they waited for the lift.

"Ms Sheppard..." He started.

"Maia, please." She insisted.

"Maia. I just want to apologise for my outburst earlier. It was completely unprofessional and uncalled for. I'm truly sorry." He apologised.

She shook her head. "Don't be. You were right. Your daughter's missing. I shouldn't have tried to cover for him. Not after everything he's done." She told him. "I guess the boy I once knew is gone for good now." She said sadly as the elevator dinged. "I really hope you find them." She said as she stepped in. "Good luck."

He nodded. "Thank you." He told her just before the doors shut.

The rest of the day had passed by fairly slowly with no further leads.

Jesse Myers hadn't been all that helpful. He never saw his cousin again after the day he stabbed Maia and he wish he never did. Clearly, he was not Jacob's biggest fan. He assured Morgan and Prentiss that if Jacob did contact him, he would let them know immediately.

"So, we basically have nothing." Hotch pointed out. It was going on 36 hours since Aria had been taken and they were no closer to figuring out where her and Stephany might be.

The team shook their heads solemnly, wishing that they had better news.

"Where the hell is this guy?" He asked frustratingly as he threw the folder he had in his hand on the table. He ran a hand through his hair just as his phone started ringing. Leaning one hand on the table, he pulled out his phone then answered it with a sigh. "Hotchner." He added.

"Aaron?" A familiar voice asked, half unsure.

Hotch looked up, eyes widening slightly. "Aria?" He asked incredulously, all eyes on him.

"Yeah." She sobbed out.

"Are you okay? Where are you?" He asked her, looking over to where Garcia was, already running a trace on his phone. He placed it on speaker.

She sniffed. "I don't... I don't know." She answered, unsure. "I don't have a lot of time. Can you trace this call?"

"Already in progress, Aria." He told her then paused. "How badly are you hurt?"

She released a shaky breath. "Uhm, a couple cuts and bruises." She downplayed. "I'll be fine, just please get us out of here. Stephany's hurt a lot worse than I am."

Garcia's computer beeped. "I got it. 18th Avenue. South Creek Park."

"That place is abandoned. Mostly forested areas." Reid pointed out. "Are there any buildings in that area?" He asked Garcia.

She checked satellite images. "There's two. Looks pretty old though. Doesn't seem like anyone's been there in years."

"Which makes it the perfect spot for Myers to hide out." Morgan pointed out. "Isolated. No nosy neighbours so he wouldn't need to be discreet or quiet."

"It's also less than twenty minutes away." Hotch sighed. "They've been this close the entire time." He said then grabbed his phone, taking it off speaker. "Everyone gear up. JJ, call Detective Fisher. Tell her we have a location. We're gonna need every available unit out searching. There's a lot of ground to cover. Garcia..."

"Address already sent to your phones and GPS, Sir." She told him.

"Thank you." He said with a grateful smile.

She nodded.

"Aria?" He asked as he placed his phone to his ear, stepping inside the elevator that Morgan held open for him.

"I'm here."

"We know where you are, okay? We'll be there soon. Just stay on the line with me."

She sighed in relief. "Okay." She said softly then heard Stephany scream out. "Please hurry. He knows I have his phone. And he has Stephany. He's gonna kill her, Aaron." She cried out. "I have to help her."

"Aria, listen to me." He said as they reached the SUV's. "Stay put. Do not move from where you are right now." He said as they got into the two cars waiting for them, Hotch getting into the driver's seat. He immediately started the car, flipping on the sirens as he held his phone to his ear with his shoulder until he pulled out on to the road. "We're on our way." He told her then noticed that her breathing had sped up. "Hey. I know you're scared right now but I need you to focus on your breathing, okay? Deep breaths, in and out." He instructed.

She took in a shuddered breath then winced. "I can't. It hurts to breathe in too deeply." She told him.

He clenched his jaw and tightened his grip on the steering wheel as he realised that she was probably hurt a lot worse than she implied. "Just do your best, okay?"

"Okay." She answered softly.

A few moments later, a loud bang was heard.

"Aria, what was that?"

"He's... trying to break the door down." She said in a panicked voice. "He knows I'm in here." She gasped. "What do I do, Aaron?" She asked as a another bang was heard.

He pressed down harder on the gas pedal. "Hide, Aria. As best you can. We're less than 10 minutes away."

"Okay." She said softly as she looked around the dimly lit room.

He heard her move, her breathing coming out in quick, short bursts as the loud bangs continued.

"Aaron?"

"I'm here."

"No matter what happens, just know that I'm thankful for everything you've done."

"Aria..." He started, knowing where she was going with this.

"I just need you to know that, okay? I'm not saying goodbye."

"It sounds like you are." He told her.

"Dad, please." She whispered, the words falling so easily out of her mouth that she barely even realised what she had said.

Aaron's heart felt like it skipped a beat. Even though the timing could not have been worse, hearing her call him Dad felt nice.

The bit of happiness he felt was short-lived when he heard one final bang, a terrifying scream from Aria and then the line went dead.

"Aria." He said when he finally saw her. She was lying on the ground, unmoving with a knife lodged into her lower abdomen. "No, no, no. Don't do this to me." He pleaded as he moved closer to where she was, placing his gun back into its holster.

He kneeled beside her, placing his hand on her abdomen, hoping to stop the bleeding from the stab wound. As he applied pressure she gave a small grunt of pain and briefly opened her eyes to glance at him as he spoke into his mic. "This is Hotchner. I need a medic now! South side of the basement." He said as he looked from the wound to her face. "Hey" He said with a small smile. She frowned at him, wondering if he was really there or if she was just imagining it.

"Aa...ron?" She asked softly.

He nodded. "Yeah. It's me. I need you to hang on, okay? The medics are on their way. You're going to be fine." He tried to reassure her as his voice wavered slightly. "You have to be. I can't lose you, too." He added, softly as he continued putting pressure on her wound, willing the medics to get there faster. He wanted to pull out the knife but if he did, she would probably bleed out before the medics got there. He couldn't risk that happening.

"I'm sorry." She said, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. I just need you to hang in there a little bit longer." He said as he heard the ambulance sirens.

"I c...an't." She managed to gasp out between breaths. "Hurts." She added as her eyes started to flutter shut.

"Aria. Aria! No, no! Hey, stay with me. Please sweetheart. Just stay with me." He pleaded. "I need a medic now!" He yelled, trying hard to keep his emotions in check.

"He's still here." She said softly as she opened her eyes again, slightly. He turned back towards her with a frown.

"Who?" He asked.

"Myers." She stated. But before he could ask any further questions, he felt a blow to his head from behind which caused him to fall beside Aria, slightly dazed. "No!" He heard Aria shout. He shook his head, fighting to stay conscious. He had been so distracted when he found Aria that he didn't even think to clear the area first. He tried reaching for his gun, but Myers grabbed it first, throwing it across the room.

"You can't save her." He taunted then kicked Hotch hard in the abdomen before he turned around and made his way back towards Aria. "Time to finish what I started." He snarled.

Hotch managed to slowly get to his feet. "Don't touch her, you bastard." He yelled out as he ran towards Myers who had his hand around the knife still lodged in Aria's abdomen.

Hotch tackled him to the ground, causing Myers to pull the knife out slightly. He heard a small grunt of pain from Aria as he punched Myers in the face, trying his best to ignore the dizziness he felt. He managed to get in a few more punches before the Unsub flipped them over. Hotch landed hard on his back, his head bouncing off the concrete ground.

"You can't have her. She's mine." Myers said then punched Hotch in the mouth, splitting his lip open. He reached behind his back and pulled out another knife.

As he brought the knife down towards Hotch's chest, Hotch managed to grab the Unsub's arm, twisting it to the side then used his legs to kick Myers off his body.

They struggled for a few more minutes.

"Hotch?!"

Myers stopped struggling when he realised that Hotch wasn't the only one in the building. He needed to get out before he got caught. He delivered one more punch to Hotch, stunning him long enough to get up and run towards an exit.

Hotch managed to get to his ankle clutch piece as he turned on his side, then fired in the direction that Myers took off. He remained on the ground, nausea threatening to take over if he moved too much.

"Hotch?!" Morgan yelled as he and Emily made their way towards him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. He went that way." He pointed. "Go!" He yelled out.

They both nodded then took off in the direction their boss pointed out.

Rossi and JJ made their way into the room next. Dave immediately going to Hotch who struggled to get to his feet as JJ made her way over to Aria.

"Oh God." She gasped out when she saw the teenager lying on the ground unmoving, knife still protruding from her abdomen as blood stained the front of her torn t-shirt. JJ kneeled down next to her, placing one hand on Aria's stomach. "Aria? Can you hear me?" She asked as she squeezed Aria's hand with her free one. "It's Agent Jareau."

Aria's eyes flickered open then closed again. She didn't say anything but lightly squeezed JJ's hand to let her know that she had heard her. JJ gave her a faint smile. "Hang in there, sweetheart. Medics will be here soon."

"Aaron, stay still. You might have a concussion." Dave calmly told Hotch.

"I need to get to Aria. She's hurt." He told him.

"JJ is with her and the medics are two minutes out."

"Why are they taking so long?" He asked frustratingly. "She needs help now." He said as he pushed Dave away and made his way over to his daughter.

"I'll go see where they are." Rossi said as Aaron kneeled down on the other side of Aria.

"Aria." He breathed out, placing a hand on her forehead, brushing the stray strands of hair out of her face. "Please, hold on for me." He told her softly.

JJ looked over to her boss, her eyes glistening with tears as she saw how scared he looked. She took his one hand and replaced it with her own hand that was holding Aria's. "Feel that?" She asked as Aria gave a light squeeze. "She's still fighting, Hotch."

He nodded, gratefully then sighed in relief as the medics finally made their way into the room. JJ moved back, giving some space to work but Hotch stayed glued to Aria's side.

"Sir, you need to step back and give us space to work." The one medic told him politely. "You need to get checked out, too. You're bleeding."

"I'm fine. I'm not going anywhere until you help her first. Please, she's my daughter."

Her eyes softened. "Okay. Just move over a bit so we have enough space to work." She told him then went back to helping her partner pack gauze pads around the wound, while he cut away the rest of Aria's t-shirt.

"What's her name?" The other medic asked as he placed the pads from the defibrillator on her chest and side.

"Aria."

"Okay. Aria, my name is Riley and this my partner Shay." He introduced while he was busy working. "I know you're in quite a bit of pain right now but can you open your eyes for me?" He asked her.

Aria's eyes slowly flickered open.

"We need to move her now. She's already lost too much blood." As soon as he said that, the heart monitor Aria was hooked up to started sounding and her eyes closed.

"What's going on?" Hotch asked panicked.

"She's coding." He called out urgently. "Push one milligram of epi."

"Pushing one milligram of epi." Shay stated.

"Okay. Charge to 200." He instructed. "Clear!" He said then shocked her, watching as Aria's fragile body lifted then fell. She still had no heartbeat.

"Charge to 250." He said then repeated the action. He went up until 300 and when that didn't work he started manual CPR. "1,2,3,4..." He counted in his head. "Come on, kid. Breathe." He pleaded. He did this for a few more minutes with Shay taking over after 5 minutes. It was nearly 10 minutes later when Riley placed a hand on Shays' shoulder. "Stop." He told her softly.

By then the rest of the team had gathered in the room, wearing equal looks of shock and sadness.

"Why are you stopping?" Hotch demanded. "Help her!" He yelled out as the monitor still sounded loudly in their ears, no presence of a heartbeat.

"I'm sorry, Sir." He shook his head, regretfully. "She's gone."

Hotch shook his head in disbelief. "No, no. She can't be gone. Aria." He said as he leaned down, lightly touching her check. "Aria, please wake up." He pleaded softly. His head dropped onto her chest. "Please." He sobbed out. "No, no, no!" He yelled out as he gripped her tightly, not wanting to believe that she was really gone.

"Told me not to cry when you are gone, But the feelings overwhelming, It's much too strong, Can I lay by your side? Next to you...you, And make sure you're alright, I'll take care of you, I don't want to be here if I can't be with you, tonight..." Sam Smith – Lay Me Down