Hello, everybody; ModernDayBard here with my newest story. (I know: me posting two stories at once—who would've thought?) But I have too many long ideas to keep posting them one at time, so this one and 'Watch What Happens' will be updated simultaneously, with a chapter or two of each a week, and they'll both wrap up at the same time.
Necessary Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds—the only things in this story that I can claim are my plot/case ideas and oc's.

BAU Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner looked up from the file in his hand, taking in the young woman that sat on the other side of his desk. Amanda Johnson was only a few years out of the academy—still in her late twenties—but all of her previous superiors had recommended her to him when JJ's forced transfer had opened up a position on his team.

She was a little shorter than Emily and as pale as Reid, though her light-brown hair had traces of natural auburn highlights, and her bright green eyes could be a little unsettling, as if there was a wall behind them, but that could've been a defense attempt, since she was in the room with a renowned profiler. She was nervous, but ready to defend herself—she thought this was another interview, after all.

Finally, the older man broke the silence. "SSA Johnson, I'll be the first to admit that Agent Jereau had been on the team for a long time, and her loss has got some on the team closing ranks." He paused, watching as Amanda sat up a little taller—she wouldn't contradict or interrupt, but she wasn't afraid to stand up for herself, either. Good. "Nevertheless, I'll also be the first to say I think you will make a good addition to the team."

The brown-haired young woman seemed surprised for a moment, as her words sunk in. "You mean," she said at last, "That you actually want me on the team? In spite of my...past?"

"No," Hotch countered. "It's clear to me from the files that what happened to you made you into the exceptional agent you are. You are not here in spite of your past, but because of it."

With a shuddering breath that revealed the nerves the younger agent had been valiantly attempting to conceal. "Is it—" she began in a much quieter voice. "Is it alright if my...background isn't made common knowledge yet? I know Agent Rossi already knows, but can it be up to me when I tell the others?"

Hotch nodded in understanding—Amanda wouldn't be the first on his team with a painful past.

"Of course it can."

So, yeah. Just a prologue for now, and the briefest of introductions to my main OC, Amanda Johnson. I'm sorry about being all mysterious here, she'll be acting much more normal in chapters to come...before her backstory is eventually revealed, of course.
In terms of time line, this obviously takes place just after JJ was first transferred to the Pentagon and before Prentiss faked her death, so the team line-up is as follows: Hotch, Rossi, Garcia, Morgan, Prentiss, Reid, and now Amanda Johnson.
I hope you enjoy this take on a more realistic universe than some of my last few stories!