The bell on the door rang, signaling yet another customer entering in the busy coffee shop. Special Agent Jennifer Jareau looked up to see her friend and coworker Lauren Cawfield moving toward her.
"I thought you'd never show up." JJ smiled to her friend who plopped down across from her.
"Good things come to those who wait." Lauren smiled back. She was a short red-headed woman that had instantly bonded with JJ in the academy. Both were immediately accepted into the Missing Persons Unit of the FBI and were currently located in the Baltimore Field Office.
"Yeah, and I've been waiting long enough. Here. I got your latte."
"I knew there was a reason we were friends." Lauren sipped appreciatively.
"Yeah, that and you needed a place to live." JJ scoffed. Truthfully she and Lauren had become more like sisters throughout their training at the Academy. She was glad they had both gotten jobs in the same department. Although they were rarely paired up together and often had to deal with their annoyingly micromanaging Unit Liason, it had been a fun year and a half for both of them.
There was something about the way that her friend avoided her eyes that signaled to JJ that something was up. Although her friend meant well, she often meddled in other people's (most specifically JJ's) lives. It would be fine if she did it when JJ asked, but when JJ needed her help it would take the fun out of it for Lauren—hence the reason JJ found one day that her apartment had been sublet and all her stuff moved to an albeit nicer apartment. Or the time that her no good boyfriend got a phone call from her friend and immediately transferred to Seattle. Seeing the smirk that she knew all too well, JJ shook her head in disbelief.
"What did you do?" JJ asked her seriously.
"Me? Nothing." Lauren defended herself, knowing that JJ would see right through her. If there was one thing that both women knew, it was that Lauren was completely unable to lie. At all. Or keep a secret. Ever.
"Lauren Marie Cawfield. What did you do?" JJ asked, knowing that she was not going to like the answer.
"You may be mad at me." Lauren replied meekly. She loved JJ, and only wanted what was best for her blonde friend, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't a little bit afraid of her. Especially when she was angry. Lauren had been the brunt of JJ's wrath far too many times to take it lightly…usually it was because of stunts like the one she had just pulled.
"What. Did. You. Do?" JJ repeated, enunciating every word.
"I uh, may have possibly maybe sent your application to the BAU for their open liason position." She said, wincing as though to gauge JJ's response
"You what!" JJ replied in shock.
"Jayje, look you're better than that ogre we've got in our department, and you're not going to get anywhere with old bat-eyes breathing down your neck. And you're too modest to do it yourself." Lauren said in record speed, knowing that the faster she was able to explain herself, the less angry JJ could get and the faster it would be over.
"I can't believe you—What were you—How did you—" Lauren knew this wasn't a good sign and grimaced. It was never good when JJ was inarticulate.
"JJ. I did it for you. You'd love this job. It has all the blood, guts, and gore that you've always secretly liked, but can never admit because we work in a Missing Person's Unit where we hope people are alive, and relatively intact." Lauren interrupted.
"Well, I'm never going to get that job. I've only been in the Bureau for a year and a half! There's no way—"
"JJ, honey. I'm your best friend. You can't lie to me." She smiled as JJ guffawed. "How many job offers did you get when you graduated?" She pointed out.
"Like 17." JJ admitted begrudgingly. She had graduated at the top of her class from Pittsburg and had plenty of job offers. None of them had seemed as meaningful as the FBI which is why she immediately applied there.
"Jayje, this is like one of the most prestigious jobs in the Bureau. The BAU is—"
"Laur, they just blew up half their team!" JJ insisted softly. It wasn't that she was insensitive, but the entire bureau knew of what happened in Boston to the infamous BAU.
"Oh please! That only happens once! You're totally safe. And, you can always tell them that you don't want to go in any bomb containing buildings."
"Well, why didn't you apply yourself."
"Because I love living below my potential. You forget, I capitalize on the success of others. I do my job that makes me happy. You on the other hand like to be important. Which is why you will love the BAU." Lauren insisted.
"I'm not even a supervisory special agent. They're not going to hire me for that." JJ finally was able to come up with an excuse that Lauren might buy.
"Well, that's not permanent. JJ you're 25 years old! You're already climbing the ranks. You think they'd really turn you down."
"Well, you just let me know I get my rejection letter, and you'll have to buy me drinks." JJ countered. It wouldn't be the first time that Lauren had set her up for something just to have her heart broken.
"See, uh. That's the thing. You have an interview." Lauren said delicately.
JJ spat out the coffee she had been drinking "I have a what?"
"Tomorrow morning. In Quantico. 9:30. With the unit chief and section chief. SSA Hotchner and SSA Strauss—also commonly known as the Fire Breathing Dragon herself."
"How?" JJ sat shocked, unable to really believe this was happening.
"Remember that really good tech girl we worked with a while ago. Garcia?"
"Lauren, where's my tan skirt?"
"Oh, I haven't washed it yet. You can use my grey one." Lauren called from the other room as JJ grumbled. Not only did she have the worst friend in history, but she was also the worst roommate in history. She always stole JJ's clothes, never washed them until JJ finally broke down and did it herself.
"My interview is in two hours! I've got to leave like right now!" JJ insisted, near her breaking point.
"My gray one is clean. The black one is clean. The white one is clean but a little wrinkled. You can take your pick." Lauren pointed out, finishing her bowl of cereal before heading to work, as JJ was already ravaging through her closet.
"Fine. The black one!" JJ called. This was turning out to be a stressful morning.
"Agent Jareau. If you can wait here Agent Hotchner and Director Strauss will be with you in a moment. They're just finishing up another interview." The kind secretery-like agent instructed her before returning to her desk. JJ was now left in the large bullpen with several empty desks. She noticed the small TV mounted to the wall, and stepped closer to get a look at the football scores scrolling across the screen. She winced as her beloved Redskins again were decimated by another team. Stupid Patriots! She cursed mentally.
"You're a Redskins fan." A balding older agent said from behind. He was average height and kindly looking, in fact, he kind of reminded him of her father.
"Yeah. I can't help myself. Ever since I was little, they're the best team in the league." She admitted smiling at him. Whomever he was, it was always good to be friendly.
"You know, it's not a bad thing. It shows that you root for the underdog. That you're not swayed by people's opinion, that you're confident in your choices. It also shows that you're dedicated no matter what the statistics are." The man smiled kindly as JJ attempted not to blush.
"Well, other people would say I'm just crazy." JJ joked, attempting to lighten the mood.
"I'm a Ravens fan myself." He chuckled to himself as pretended to look disgusted at his admission.
"Well, at least you're not a Patriot's fan." She said as both laughed.
"I'm Jennifer Jareau. I work for Missing Persons in Baltimore. I'm interviewing--"
"For the Liason. I know." The man interrupted her. "Jason Gideon" He carefully studied her face. Gideon had looked at all of the applicants, and had inadvertantly met all of them. He saw the surprise in her eyes, quickly clouded under a mask of control. While Jennifer Jareau had a perfect application and an incredible interview, she had the job before she ever stepped into Aaron Hotchner's office. Not that she knew that.
"Well, I should be going, Hotch should be done in a moment." Gideon carefully extracted himself before Strauss could see that he was in the office. Technically he was supposed to be on medical leave. It had only been weeks since the incident, but he couldn't help himself. He wanted to be involved in the selection process. And, he couldn't very well just leave Aaron Hotchner to do it. Hotch had been fighting for his life weeks before, and Gideon couldn't get the image of all of that blood out of his mind. So, he tended to check in on Hotch more than he should.
Watching the retreating figure JJ stood in momentary shock. Jason Gideon! She had just met the Jason Gideon. And she had talked about football?
"Hey there hot stuff. Oh! I'm so glad it's you." A colorful woman called that JJ instantly recognized as Penelope Garcia.
"So, I hear it's your fault I got into this mess." JJ observed. She had remembered going out for drinks with the brilliantly funny Penelope Garcia after they finished the case she had helped with. She was a riot.
"Oh, I just typed the keys. The ideas were all your gal pal Lauren's." Garcia insisted. She liked this blonde girl that wasn't about to back down but had a sense of humor and good fashion sense.
"Agent Jareau?" A tall dark-haired man stood at the doorway of an office with a file, presumably hers, in his hands. "Sorry for the wait." He apologized as she approached him. He stood in the open door motioning for her to enter. As she got a better look at him, she noticed how incredibly attractive he was. Cursing the wedding band she saw on his finger, she entered the office and sat in the designated chair.
"If you can excuse me for a moment, Director Strauss will start off by answering any questions you have and asking some of her own." The good looking SSA explained before exiting the room.
"So, what do you think?" Hotch asked Gideon as he folded his arms and stared at his office door.
"Go with the blonde."
"You do realize she's had less field experience than most of our applicants." Hotch pointed out.
"She's got a couple of months on Reid. He's been doing fine." Gideon countered.
"Why?"
"She handles herself under pressure. She's articulate, likely from a small town which is why she seems to get along with everyone. She's pretty, but not so pretty that you wouldn't trust her. She's got that girl next door look. Men like her because she's attractive. Women like her because she's relatable. She's controlled and determined, and not easily swayed by opinions of other people."
"How do you know all of this?" Hotch asked surprised.
"She's a 'skins fan." Gideon said as though it explained everything.
"So why does that make her better than the others?" Hotch asked.
"Guy number one will be here for three months tops. He can't handle the pressure, he may even have a heart attack. Guy number two is a ladder climber. He's not going to be looking out for the team, just how he can get to a better position. Girl number three is qualified, but she's going to ruffle feathers. She's not the type that will encourage police agencies to ask for our help. This girl, the blonde, will be deceptively effective in her job. People will trust her more than they think they will because she's got that disarming personality." Gideon explained.
AN/ I don't own Criminal Minds. I'm not sure which pairings I'll do in this fic, so if you have a preference, let me know! It won't be for a while that they'll creep up though, but I love hearing what people want to read.