“How could she do that to me Pen?” the hurt in her voice pained
her.

“Jayje honey, she couldn’t stand to see you like that and
frankly neither could I.  If she hadn’t
done it I probably would have.” She admitted it freely even if it did piss her
off more.

“You wouldn’t?”

“I most certainly would have Jennifer Jareau.  Tell me you don’t feel a little better?”  Garcia dared her to lie.

She hated to admit it, but she did feel a bit better.  She was still in pain but it was
bearable.

“Fine, but she still should not have done that.” JJ was
still angry but more at the fact that Emily had been right.  She was sitting up slightly.  Mindful of her back injury they had only
elevated her a bit.  The swelling was
going down and she was able to move her legs with less pain.

“Where are we with everything?” she asked as the lights
blinked and the dim emergency lighting came on.

“What the…” Garcia glanced at the lights and at JJ

“He’s here.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The fire department arrived within eight minutes. Meeting
with Prentiss, they were given the specifics of what transpired before the
smoke started coming out of the Mechanical Room.

Rodriguez had already made it to the third floor.  With all of the activity on the ground floor,
it had been an easy enough affair to get upstairs.  Grabbing a set of scrubs from the second
floor nurses lounge, he changed.

It wouldn’t be long now.
He had called the information desk again as Cavanaugh, before the lights
went out to verify Rizzoli’s room number, 610.
They were two floors apart. He wouldn’t be able to be able to take them
out separately that way.  He had to
convince them they were safer together, “or
at least on the same floor”

———————————

“Where are we going Prentiss? Morgan asked.  Flexing his hand he tugged at the wrapping
that had been put on his burn.

“Fourth floor Derek.
He’s here and he wants them both, I have to figure that he’ll make a
beeline for whoever he’ll have easier access to and that’s JJ.”

“Sure hope you’re wrong Prentiss.”  Frost kept up with her on the stairs as
Morgan watched their rear.  There were so
many entrances and exits and shortcuts around the hospital, it was almost
impossible to cover them all.  Emily knew
the only way they were going to catch him was to out think him.  So far the sonofabitch had been one step
ahead of them.