As Morgan wove through the cars, my cell phone rang. I read the caller ID, and it was Penelope.

I quickly answered. "Garcia?"

"Oh thank God. Is Derek there with you?"

"Yeah, we are almost back to the federal building. Where is everyone else?" I ask, slight tremors running through my body.

"You're the first people I've called. Reid and Rossi greeted me when I got back here."

I let out a sigh of relief. "Keep me on the line while you check everyone else."

Garcia patched through Emily, and then after a couple tries, she reached JJ.

There was still no answer from Hotch and Kate.

"Alright, well try her again, she's gotta be-"

Emily's line cut mid-sentence.

"Emily?" Garcia asked, worry growing.

"Garcia, what happened-"

My line cut off, leaving a beeping dial tone running through my ear.

"Damn it!" I slam the phone onto my lap. "I lost contact. With everyone."

Morgan quickly looked at me. "You what?"

"I-I don't know! It just cut off mid sentence! Emily cut off, and then I did too!"

Morgan let out a frustrated grunt and then sped up. I gripped the door as he took sharp turns and came within inches of other cars.

Soon enough, the flashing lights from ambulances and police cars came into view. As we grew closer, Morgan aggressively parked the car and we both hopped out quickly and grabbed our bulletproof vests from the trunk.

We ran up to SWAT officers pulling out our badges in unison. "Who's in charge here?" Morgan questioned.

The SWAT agent pointed to a tall man. "Captain Warner."

I quickly thanked him as Morgan ran ahead towards the captain, and then I followed after him.

"Hey, hey, we got our people down there!" Morgan yelled.

"I'm sorry, who are you?"

I pulled out my badge once again. "Special Agents Keller and Morgan. FBI. We are looking for Agent Hotchner. Aaron Hotchner."

"Go back to the federal building, agents. There are evac marshaling spots. Check in and make sure they know where you are." Captain Warner stated, not giving Morgan another glance.

Morgan got closer to his face. "I am not about to do that."

Captain Warner took a breath. "Get out of my face, or I will have you bodily removed, agent."

"Please! We're here!"

I whipped around to see Hotch and another man standing over a body, probably Kate's. Hotch is screaming as he keeps applying pressure to Kate's body.

"Hotch." I mumble, and begin to run towards him, but am stopped by a SWAT agent who aims his gun at me.

"Hey, that area's restricted!"

I turn around, to face the Captain, jaw dropped. "That's our boss down there!"

"My orders are what they are." Captain Warner says, rolling his eyes.

"I don't give a damn what your orders are!" Morgan yelled.

"I get it agents. But we've been told by you guys that responders are the targets. So until the blast site is cleared, no one goes in."

I take a good look at the man who is staring Morgan down. "You're Marine Corps right? Right?"

He looks down, and then under his breath, he says, "Please, go back to the marshaling point."

"We aren't doing it." Morgan states, standing up even straighter than he already was. "We aren't just gonna let my man lay down there like that!"

"Someone! Damn it! We're here!"

I look at Captain Warner directly in the eyes. "Never leave a man behind, right? You do remember that, don't you?"

"We're here! Please!"

After a moment of hesitation, Captain Warner nods his head. "Both of you go."

As soon as those words leave his mouth, we both take off in a full on sprint towards Hotch and Kate.

As we get closer to them, Morgan is the first to speak. "Hotch."

"We've got to get her out of here." Hotch cries.

I look down at Kate, who is covered in her own blood, and has scratches and cuts everywhere.

It doesn't look good.

"They're not letting any ambulances down here until they clear the scene. Kid, you gotta get behind the barricades, let's go." Morgan orders, but the boy doesn't move.

"Go!" I shout in his face.

The boy looks at Hotch. "Go, Sam." Hotch adds, and Sam gives him a nod.

"Good luck."

Sam stands up and begins to slowly walk away from the scene.

We move in closer to Kate's body. "Can we move her?" I ask.

"No." Hotch denies. "No, I tried. Guys, she's gonna bleed to death if we don't get her out of here. We have to do something."

All of a sudden, I feel a buzz coming from my back pocket.

I press the answer button. "Garcia? We've got Hotch. But listen to me, you have to get someone down here right away, you hear me? Right now!"

"T-That boy, he's the one who placed the bomb."

My eyes widen. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Yeah, he watched it go off, and then he came back and tried to help." Garcia responded.

"You're absolutely sure?" I confirm.

"Yes." Garcia answers, and I look up at Sam who is backing up slowly with a smirk on his face, and holding out his arms in a proud manner.

I hang up the phone quickly. "Guys, the kid. He's the bomber."

There's a silence between the three of us, before Hotch speaks. "Morgan, go."

Morgan gets up and sets off in a sprint after Sam, leaving just Kate, Hotch and I.

All alone.

With no medical supplies.

-

My phone buzzes once again from my back pocket, and I pull it out and see Spencer's name.

I quickly press the answer button. "Spencer?"

"Oh, thank God you're okay. Where are you?" Spencer asks, his voice moving at 100 miles a minute.

"With Hotch and Kate. Garcia found out who bombed them and Morgan's running after him right now."

"Alright, I'm at the federal building. Just please, stay safe, okay? I don't want to lose you." Spencer mumbles with urgency.

"I don't want to lose you either."

"I know, alright, I gotta go. I'll talk to you later. I love you, Stella."

Stella felt heat rush to her cheeks, but quickly shook it off. Now is not the time. "Love you too, bye."

I shut off my phone and put it away, and direct my attention back to Hotch and Kate.

"Who was that?" Hotch questions.

"Spencer. I think they're getting close to finishing the sweep of the area."

Hotch raised a brow. "They should've been down here 20 minutes ago. We are going to be too late!" He yelled out of anger.

As if on cue, an ambulance pulled up on the opposite side of where everyone else had congregated. Our heads whipped over to see a man, probably about 35, making his way over to us with a bag of medical supplies.

As he knelt down, Hotch began informing the paramedic of Kate's condition. "She's got an arterial bleed in her back and I'm doing my best to hold it closed."

The man looked at both of us, but mainly Hotch. "You guys okay?"

"Yeah. I just want to get her out of here." Hotch responded with urgency laced in his voice. "Her pulse is weak and thready."

"I'm gonna need both of your help, okay?" The paramedic stated, and we both nodded at his words.

"Is the area clear?" I ask, kneeling down to be eye level with everyone else.

"You were calling for help and I couldn't listen anymore." The paramedic responded. "My partner was too afraid to come in here with me."

I knelt down farther so that Kate would have a better chance of hearing me. "Kate, we are going to get you out of here." I hesitate while the paramedic takes her blood pressure. "We are on our way out of here."

"Okay, we need to flip her. On my count." The paramedic orders, and I get in position to help.

"1, 2, 3." We lifted her up, and then rested her up on her side.

"Okay, keep her steady, I'm going to clamp the artery. When I say move, move your hands and get as far out of my way as you can. You guys got it?"

We both nod. "Yes."

A few seconds go by, and then the paramedic gives us the order to move. I yank my hand away from Kate's body as he proceeds to do more things that paramedics do.

Eventually, we get her on a gurney and into the ambulance. I take the passenger seat and Hotch drives while the paramedic tends to Kate in the back.

The man gives Hotch the directions to the hospital and Hotch turns on the sirens, speeding just like Morgan was earlier.

A couple minutes or so goes by, and the paramedic breaks the silence. "Hey, look who's back!"

I turn around and look back at the two. "Is she awake?"

"Aaron?" Kate asks, reaching her arm out towards him.

"Ma'am, it's Agent Keller. He's currently driving but he's here."

"I'm right here Kate." Aaron projects, making his presence known.

Kate looks back at the paramedic. "Thank you."

The paramedic smirked. "Don't thank me. Thank your partner, he did it all."

I crack a small smile at the sight of Kate's consciousness, but Hotch doesn't slow down.

He doesn't slow down until the ambulance is all of a sudden parked at the emergency entrance.

-

We rush Kate in as she starts losing her heartbeat, causing her heart to flatline. They wheel her away into a trauma bay, leaving Hotch and I standing by the nurse's station.

I pull out my phone to text Spencer of our current location when I notice Hotch grabbing the desk, while beginning to stumble over his own feet.

"Hotch?"

As soon as I say his name, he begins to fall to the floor. "Hotch!" I yell, running over to try and catch him.

As soon as I ease him to the floor, I shout for a nurse. "Nurse!"

Two young women, one with a gurney and one with supplies, come over to Hotch and I, and we all work together to ease Hotch up onto the gurney, and then they begin to wheel him away.

And then there was one.

I lean against the wall and text Spencer of my current location.

Stella: I am safe. Just arrived at the local hospital with Hotch and Kate. Kate is in surgery and Hotch just got wheeled away on a gurney, he collapsed. Morgan ran after the bomber, please tell me that he's okay.

As soon as I hit send, Morgan comes running into the E.R.

"Derek." I mumble, running up to him and pulling him into a tight hug.

He pulls away and puts his hands on my shoulders. "How's Hotch and Kate?"

I sigh. "Kate is in surgery, and Hotch is in the emergency room."

"Well, nothing has happened since the bombing, right?" Morgan asks.

"No. What happened to Sam?" I question, furrowing my brows.

"He electrocuted himself. Stella, our profile is wrong. Why would they do all of those shootings, and then a bombing?"

My eyes widen. "He's escalating. From single civilians, to cars, to-"

"Buildings." Morgan finishes, and immediately whips out his phone to call the rest of the team.

A few minutes go by and I anxiously bite at the inside of my cheek, before Morgan hangs up the phone. "The team is on their way."

"So everything was a diversion from the actual attack. So does that make Kate and Hotch a diversion too?" I question, trying to put the pieces together.

Morgan hesitates, and then takes a breath. "Yeah, probably."

As everyone else on the team files into the emergency room, our conversation continues.

"Well it's not multiple targets, it's one target. One target, one bomb." Morgan begins.

"Garcia said the device was placed under Kate's SUV." Rossi shares, and then all of our attention goes to Spencer.

"It was likely made using oxidizing agents, including chromates, peroxides, perchlorates, chlorates, and red mercury, all jammed into a device no larger than a cell phone." Spencer finishes, using all of his science talk that I so greatly adore.

I walk over to stand next to him and my hand brushes his, and I eventually interlock my fingers with his behind my back, so that nobody notices.

"Imagine what a bomb the size of an oil drum could do." Emily mutters.

"We just need to know how they would deploy something that big." Morgan adds.

A lightbulb went off in my head. "Morgan, did you ever find Sam's cell phone?"

Morgan nodded. "Yes."

"Did he call 911?" I ask quickly.

"No. He dialed one number 6 times every few minutes."

"It was a disposable cell." Rossi shared.

"Garcia tracked the number, but it went dead minutes after Sam died. Whoever had it, destroyed it." JJ added while putting her hair up in a ponytail.

"Well, if he didn't have a secondary device to detonate, there's only one reason that he stayed with Hotch." I stated.

"To make sure that the ambulance got to you guys." Rossi muttered, looking up with realization.

"And with its sirens on and by speeding, you make it through every roadblock with no question." Emily mumbled.

"And straight into a hospital with a bypass order on it. Secret Service has a bypass on this hospital." I say, connecting the dots in my brain.

"Secret Service? Who are they protecting?" Rossi asks.

"That's who Sam was calling, the paramedic on the ambulance." Spencer stated.

"The ambulance I rode in here. This hospital is their target." I finally finish, and everyone's eyes grow wide with concern at the sound of my words.

"Let's go." Rossi orders.

-

We run up to Secret Service and they fail to tell us who they are protecting, but they shut down the hospital and we got eyes on the paramedic.

Rossi is on the phone with Garcia telling her to jam the frequencies, so that the paramedic can't do anything.

Morgan taps my shoulder, and then whispers in my ear, "Come with me. Let's go find this son of a bitch."

I look back at him and he gives me a concerned and urgent look.

"I have to do something really quick, go, I'll catch up." I say, and Morgan nods and runs off.

I tap Spencer's shoulder and he whips around, looking at me with busy eyes.

"I'm going with Morgan to find the ambulance."

"What? No you're not, you're staying right here."

"Spencer, he can't do this alone. I'll be alright, okay? I love you, so much." I whisper, making sure that I'm out of earshot from the rest of the team.

Spencer looks around before pressing a quick kiss to my lips. "I love you too. Now go catch up to Morgan. Stay safe."

I give him a small smile and a nod, and then turn around to catch up to Morgan, who was opening the door to the stairwell.

We run down the stairs carefully so that we don't trip, but efficiently enough to catch this unsub.

Once we reach the bottom of the stairs, I can see the ambulance around the corner. I tap Morgan's arm, and gesture at me pulling my gun out of my holster, and taking it off of safety.

Morgan mimics my actions, and we slowly make our way around the corner, making sure to clear everywhere around it.

Eventually, Garcia comes through on our wires.

"Derek? Stella?"

"Yeah baby?" Derek responds, focusing solely on his surroundings.

"You sound stressed." Garcia answers, trying to remain calm.

"Do I?"

"Where are you guys?" Garcia questions.

"Not where we want to be right now." I mutter. "Garcia can you track this ambulance? FDNY 108."

"Yeah, why? Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, we are fine. Just track it for us." I peer inside the back windows of the ambulance, and sure enough, there is a gigantic bomb built into the ambulance.

I let out a worried breath and look at Morgan, who is expressing the exact same face as I am.

Morgan slowly opens the door to the ambulance as to not set anything off, and he steps inside slowly.

"Oh my God. Stella, don't come in here."

"Yep, you uh, you don't have to worry about that happening. Garcia, how long can you keep jamming the cell phone lines?"

"Uhh, a few minutes, max. Why?"

"Because we are going to have to get this ambulance out of here." Morgan answered.

"Or you could just evacuate the building like everybody else."

"No." We both answer. "As soon as the airways are clear, this thing's going up." Morgan finishes.

"Going up? Oh my God, thats in like 3 minutes, because that's when the satellite moved position."

Morgan hops out of the back end and gestures for me to get in the passenger. I holster my weapon and climb in as he starts the ambulance, and begins to pull it out of the hospital.

"Garcia, listen to me." I begin. "I need you to find an area of town Morgan can drive this thing, and you tell everybody - and I mean everybody - that we are coming."

"Okay, got it." She responds, and Morgan turns out onto the road, going faster than he ever has before.

"All right, talk to me Garcia!" Morgan yells.

"Okay, head north, and floor it, I'll tell you where to turn."

Morgan speeds around cars and is careful to avoid walking pedestrians, but never loses speed.

"Derek, Stella, you guys don't have much time. Please be smart about this. Signal is coming back online, you only have 30 seconds until full coverage." Garcia starts. "Derek, drive to the opening, and then you both need to get the hell out."

"There's something I really want you to know, Garcia."

"Save it! Just get out!"

"No, we aren't quite there yet."

"Guys, please." Garcia pleads.

"You know what you are Garcia?"

That is the last thing I heard, aside from Garcia yelling for us to get out. I look over and see Morgan jumping out of the ambulance.

I swing open my door but my seatbelt gets stuck, and by the time I get it loose and jump out, the ambulance explodes, sending debris and fire everywhere.

I hit the ground with a loud and hard thud, and the Earth begins to spin. It's like I'm revolving around a small speck in the sky.

I can't feel my legs, or my arms, all I can see is the sky.

Soon the one speck in the sky is covered by Morgan's head.

"Stella? Stella? Come on, talk to me!"

"D-Derek." I croak, and as soon as I open my mouth, blood pours out.

"Don't speak, do not open your mouth. Garcia! Get an ambulance and the team here ASAP! Stella is down! I repeat, Stella is down!"

"Derek, stop yelling, you're hurting my ears."

"Baby, come on, stay with me. You want to see Spencer again, right?"

"Spencer? Where is he?" I begin to turn my head but Derek reaches his hand out and makes my head straight again.

"Do not move. Stay as still as possible. Spencer is on his way."

"Derek, I can't feel anything, and I'm cold, really, really cold."

Derek shrugs off his windbreaker and lays it over top of me.

"I'm tired." I begin to shut my eyes, but Derek yells in my face.

"No, you are staying awake! Nobody goes to sleep, okay? I don't get to sleep, you don't get to sleep!"

I try to open my eyes, and barely manage to get them open enough to notice another head looking over me.

A very sad one.

"S-Stella?"

Spencer.

"Hey, Spence."

"No, you can't die. We are meant to be, you know that right? You're my soulmate. You're the person I want to spend the rest of my life with."

"Spencer, I'm so tired."

"No, you can't be tired. You have to stay awake, you have to keep fighting!" Spencer cried.