Chapter One
Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner sat behind his desk in his office, carefully looking over a file with all the paperwork from the team's most recent case. If even one detail was overlooked, the entire prosecution could be deemed fallible. As a former prosecution attorney, the hardened father knew this more than most.
Lost in concentration, he didn't even notice that Agent Jareau had slipped through his open office door and now stood before him, holding another manila folder.
"Hotch," she brought him back to reality, "Strauss sent me this to give to you."
Aaron looked up at the young blonde, who had recently stepped up and was pulling double duty as both media liaison and a full-fledged Agent in the BAU. She was a parent, as well- her son Henry had recently turned four. She handled her position with an exceptional amount of poise and fervor. He was proud of every member in the BAU, but Jennifer had by far shown the most growth in the past few years.
"What is it?" he remained stone-faced, fully aware that every file that passed through his door was potentially another life lost. Jennifer shrugged.
"I don't know, but she told me to give it to you. I can look at it if you're busy..." she noticed the stack of files on his desk, but he waved her off.
"No, no, I'll get to it. Thanks anyway, JJ."
He offered a weak smile, and the younger agent dismissed herself. As she exited his office, she cast a quick glance over the bullpen. It was nearly 6 o'clock, and without a working case, the rest of the team was getting ready to leave.
Dr. Spencer Reid, the youngest of the team at thirty-one years old and by far the most intelligent, had finished reading over his share of the files hours ago. He had an IQ of 187 and an eidetic memory, which allowed him to read up to 20,000 words per minute. However slightly socially awkward Reid was, the team had become his family over the past seven years. He remained at his desk and playfully bantered with the other Agents.
"Hey, Morgan, you want some help with those?" He prodded the tall, dark, and handsome SSA, who flashed a grin and shook his head.
"Nah, thanks Reid. This is my last one."
Reid attempted to crane his neck and read over Derek's shoulder, which made him pause.
"You want me to smack you?" He playfully threatened, wielding the case file in his right hand, ready to strike. Reid took this opportunity to turn to SSA Emily Prentiss, a dark-haired, fair-skinned linguistics expert and child advocate. She put on a tan peacoat over her black turtleneck, then smiled at the young Doctor.
"Reid, any plans this weekend?"
He shook his head.
"I'll probably just read." he admitted.
Emily took a deep breath, then exhaled.
"Same...I can't wait to just relax, for once."
Behind Emily, a short, stout woman wearing bright pink fuzzy headband, purple, thick-framed glasses, and grinning like the Cheshire Cat interjected.
"Oh, don't count on it. You know the Universe likes to ruin our weekends. You ready to go, Em?" Penelope looked up at Jennifer, who had since returned to her office and retrieved her belongings. "JJ, let's get out of here!"
Jennifer laughed, pulling her office door shut and taking one last peek inside their leader's dimly lit office.
"You sure you don't need any help, Hotch?"
Aaron looked up from the file with a furrow in his brow.
"I'm sure, JJ...you go enjoy your weekend."
The knowing mother cocked her head to the side, not needing to profile him to know something was definitely amiss. Still, it was not her place to pry. If it was important, he could tell her when she came back in on Monday.
Jennifer, Garcia, and Emily walked out to the parking lot together on most nights and generally parted ways- Jennifer and Emily getting into their own FBI standard issue black SUVs and Penelope in her beloved jalopy named Esther. Tonight, however, was a special night- Henry's father, Will Lamontague, had Jennifer's pride and joy in New Orleans for the weekend. It wasn't often that the busy FBI agent had girl time, so every other weekend the girls of the BAU would gather at the Jareau residence, drink wine, and gossip. The last three attempts at their Girls' Nights had been interrupted by gruesome cases that required their immediate attention.
Their caravan drove across town to a small suburb just outside of DC, where JJ's picturesque three-bedroom house sat among a row of nearly-identical houses.
Once inside, the thirty-four-year-old immediately found the wine cabinet and pulled a '94 Pinot Noir from the shelf. Prentiss and Garcia followed behind her, tossed their coats on the coat hanger by the door and entered the kitchen, which looked vaguely like a tornado had swept through on its way to the living room. Jennifer seemed to live a sort of double life: organized, thorough profiler by day, and loving, single mother of a four-year-old Tasmanian Devil by night.
Emily's eyes lit up upon seeing the bottle of Pinot in her co-worker's hand.
"Is that a '94?"
Jennifer had to chuckle as she reached into one of her kitchen cabinets and retrieved three large wine glasses. Emily, an ambassador's daughter, was quite the wine enthusiast.
"Yeah...was that a good year?"
"I'll say...that was the year my mother spent an entire summer in Paris on assignment and i spent an entire summer after graduation getting trashed and eating lobster in Maine." she laughed, while JJ poured the rich, dark red wine into each glass with her back turned to the other girls.
"Let's see, in '94 i was...a sophomore in high school, the first sophomore to start on the Varsity soccer team."
Emily stopped in her tracks, and winced.
"Oh God, don't tell me that."
"What?"
Emily sighed as she pulled out a barstool to sit at JJ's kitchen counter.
"You're so young...and i'm so old."
"You are not old," Penelope corrected her, "stop that. Tonight is supposed to be fun, remember?" The tech analyst grabbed two glasses of wine and handed one to the pouting agent. Emily conceded, knowing there was no use arguing with Garcia.
"Okay, fine, let's talk about something else. Hey, Jayje, how was it having Will around last week?"
JJ paused, having flashbacks of Will's visit: stiff greetings, lifted toilet seats, awkward silences at dinner...which was still better than the argument they had just before he left. He wanted to see Henry more often, but was still adamant that he was not leaving New Orleans. The insinuation that she would drop everything and leave DC, her job, and her family nearly made Jennifer's blood boil.
"I don't wanna talk about it, Em." She took a swig of wine. "New subject."
Both agents turned to Penelope, who stopped mid-sip and realized that her friends were looking at her expectantly.
"Oh, me?" She set down the glass. "Well, while you guys were in Atlanta, I heard something I think you guys might find interesting..." she wiggled her eyebrows, basking in the suspense. When neither of her friends bit, she tried again.
"Don't you wanna know what it is?"
JJ chuckled, and finally humored her.
"Okay, Pen, what is it?"
"A new transfer!" she grinned, getting excited.
"What?" Emily interjected. "Who?"
"All I have is a name," Penelope explained, "Kristina Kent."
Emily chuckled.
"Is her father a reporter at the Daily Planet?"
"Wouldn't that be a twist?" Garcia shot back, taking another sip of wine.
"I wonder if that was the file Strauss gave me to give Hotch tonight...and why she treated it like a national secret?" JJ wondered out loud, but Garcia stopped her.
"Okay, I can't take it...let's look her up."
JJ retrieved her laptop and handed it over to the tech wizard. Within seconds, Garcia had remotely accessed the FBI database and typed the new girl's name into the search engine.
"Okay, Kristina Marie Kent. Born August 4th, 1978- 33 years old-" Garcia began, reading off the file- "grew up in San Pablo, California. Her father is a retired teacher, her mom was a homemaker...Graduated from UC-Berkeley with degrees in criminology and abnormal psychology. Joined the FBI immediately after graduating..."
Emily peeked over her shoulder.
"She speaks fluent French, interesting..."
"Look at this, Em," Garcia scrolled down, "It says here that she first applied to the BAU, but they told her no. She partnered up with Special Agent Frank Washer, haven't I heard you mention him before?"
Emily chuckled.
"Oh, Frank...yeah, I know him. We were in the academy together."
"Can you call him?"
"No, I'm not going to call him!" Emily laughed. "I haven't seen him in years."
"Well, he's retired now," Garcia explained, "bum knee. I guess that's why she re-applied. She seemed plenty qualified for the job."
JJ snuck behind Garcia and looked at the stock photo on file: she had a golden tan, with exotic, piercing hazel cat-like eyes and long, chocolate, wavy locks.
"Okay, seriously, there has to be something wrong with this girl." she decided, resting her left hand on Penelope's shoulder. "Dig deeper, Pen. No one is this perfect."
"Your wish is my command, Jayje" Garcia hit a few more keys at lightning speed, then paused when a police report flashed on her screen.
"Oh no..."
The report was from an unsolved murder from 1999; a sixteen-year-old girl was found in her home, brutally stabbed 27 times, with no witnesses or suspects on record. The victim's name: Bridget Kent.
"Oh God..." Garcia covered her mouth in horror, shutting the laptop immediately.
"You guys, we shouldn't have done that." she whispered, her voice shaking. Emily tried her best to console her emotional friend, draping an arm over her shoulder.
"We couldn't have known, Garcia..."
"I guess we know why she joined the FBI." Garcia added, still somber.
Jennifer bit her lip, painful memories creeping into her subconscious. She, too, had lost a sister; when Jennifer was eleven her older sister Rebecca committed suicide. Unlike Kristina, however, JJ knew that ultimately there was no one to blame for what happened. She couldn't imagine how much worse it must be to lie awake at night knowing that the person responsible was still out there.
"I think I'm gonna need another glass of wine." She declared, grabbing the bottle and replenishing her glass. She offered some to Penelope, who threw up her hands.
"I better not...remember what happens to me when I drink too much wine?"
Emily, however, held out her glass for a refill.
"Fill 'er up, JJ." she sighed, resting her chin on her hand propped up by her elbow. "I wonder when this new girl is transferring?"
As JJ filled Emily's glass, she bit her lip, careful not to spill the undoubtedly magnificent wine.
"She'll probably start on Monday."
"We'll get to size her up then." The older agent's impish smile lifted the mood.
"She's gorgeous," Garcia noted, "and it'll be fun having another girl around."
Jennifer sighed.
"It'll probably make my job a little easier."
Emily immediately noticed Jennifer's shift in mood.
"Hey, JJ, no one could ever replace you."
Garcia nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, Jayje, don't even worry about that."
The blonde mother took another sip of wine, trying to shove the insecurities to the back of her mind. She hadn't even been a Special Agent for an entire year yet, but had been working with this team for eight years. They were her family. She was fiercely protective of them. From an administrative standpoint, it made sense to add another agent to the unit. From a chemistry standpoint...they were a well-oiled machine and adding another cog to that machine could either make or break the team.
Another sip of wine and JJ was determined to get Special Agent Kristina Kent alone first thing on Monday, to figure out which way this transfer was going and nip any problems in the butt before they even start.
