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A/n this takes place after "Lauren," and follows cannon up to that episode. There will be minor spoilers for episodes following "Lauren."

Think Before You Speak

"Hey Seaver… Over here."

She turned at the familiar voice and wound her way through the small round tables to a corner booth. She slid in across from a dark haired woman with hazel eyes and her hair piled into a knot at the back of her neck. She wore a pair of square framed glasses and light rose lipstick.

"I thought you decided to ditch me." She said to Seaver.

The music on the jukebox in the corner changed to an old rock and roll tune Seaver didn't recognize. "Why did you pick this place?" She complained. "What's with the oldies?"

"I don't have any control over the music." Shelby sipped at her beer. "Why don't you have a drink and relax."

"What'll ya have?"

A very tall woman with raven black hair, a round face and a tattoo of an eagle on her left shoulder stood staring at them as if they were some kind of inconvenience. Seaver hadn't even noticed a server approach their booth as though Agent Shelby's question had drawn her there.

"I'd like a be-no, on second thought, give me a Chivas on the rocks and keep them coming."

"You have trouble in the famous BAU." Shelby asked as she sipped her ice-cold Corona.

"It's nothing… Why don't you tell me why you're so happy?"

"Are you kidding? We graduated Ashley. We're free."

"That's not the only reason."

"I got my assignment… Los Angeles!" The agent admitted happily. "I can't wait to get a California tan."

Seaver just shook her head. "I'm right where I want to be."

"And we're back to the BAU. Give it up girl. I can see something's bothering you." Shelby probed.

"It's not important."

The server came back with more drinks as Shelby reached over and pinched the top of Seaver's right hand. "Are you going to talk to me or not?"

"Fine…" Seaver shouted back.

The music in the room changed again to a slower, quieter ballad. More people got up to dance as Seaver began to talk.

"It's not that bad. I just don't think Hotch trusts me."

"Didn't you say he was the one that signed off on letting you remediate there in the first place? He's letting you stay on when he could've kicked you to the curb after graduation."

Seaver laughed. "Nice way of putting it."

"I'm just saying that after that one agent died, he could've replaced you. Didn't that agent train you?"

Seaver looked down at her half empty drink of Chivas. "Yeah… She was nice, but it turned out she was a spy with Interpol years ago. She was sleeping with the enemy, literally. Yeah, she helped put away a terrorist, but that doesn't justify what she did. I'd never do that for the job." Seaver said. "She didn't trust us to help her out. It kind of pissed me off because you're supposed to trust the agents you work with, right?"

"Aren't you just a little self-righteous? What happened to the accepting girl I knew when I first came here?"

"I got wise. They don't trust me Shelby. They all think I'm some kind of interloper who's trying to take the place of a real profiler."

"If you feel that way, then why do you stay there? Ask for a transfer?"

"I'm not gonna give up. I've wanted this assignment from the beginning and you know it."

Shelby drained away the last of her second beer and sighed. "Yes… I know you've always dreamed of becoming a profiler."

She reached out and touched one of Seaver's arms. "If it's that stressful, then maybe you need to think about a career change."

"I can't…"

"Then you better learn to get along with them."

"I do get along with them. Agent Rossi is great. We actually played video game after a case."

Shelby chuckled. "Isn't he the older one? The one you say is good looking in an 'older man,' kind of way. I heard he's the reason there's so many frat rules for agents."

"He's not like that." Seaver said. "It's complicated."

"Oh… I see… You have a crush on him."

Seaver looked down at her glass again. Yeah… She's used to have a crush on him, after he put her father away. He'd been like a hero to her, but that was over. Shelby didn't know about her dad. No one in the cadet's class knew about him. It wasn't their business and anyway, she didn't want them to look at her differently like people had before she and her mother moved and changed their name.

"I don't have a crush on him. He's an old friend of the family."

"So that's how you did it. You got connections."

Seaver looked up at her friend to see a little jealousy and mostly teasing light in her eyes. "Not that I want to work in the BAU, but these days it's more about who you know."

"That's not it at all. Why am I justifying anything to you anyhow?" Seaver slurred. "I don't care what you think."

"Hey… I'm your friend. I'm just saying you got a great job. Be happy. Tell me about Derek Morgan."

Seaver smirked at the light in Shelby's eyes. "He's hot, and he's nice, but he's always running around and kicking in doors. I think he thinks he's the go-to man on the team. He's the muscle and not the brains."

"Who cares if he's hot?"

Seaver smacked her friends arm. "He is easy on the eyes. The one thing that really bothers me though is how he talks to Garcia."

"Who is Garcia?" Shelby asked.

"She's the team's tech analyst. She does all the computer stuff for us. She has a boyfriend that's another tech, but you should see how she acts around Morgan."

"So you think they have something going on?"

"No… I think she likes him more than he likes her."

Shelby sipped thoughtfully on her drink. "Maybe they have something going on that no one knows about."

"I doubt it." Seaver said. "She's not his type."

"How do you know that?"

"She's just not his type."

"Is that it?" Shelby asked.

"Maybe you should be profiler." Seaver answered irritably.

"Then talk to me instead of changing the subject."

"Garcia jokes around in briefings and it bothers me." Seaver began. "Most of the cases involve people that died in pretty grisly ways and she makes little jokes and comments."

"That does sound unprofessional." Shelby said.

"It's completely uncalled for and unprofessional and Hotch doesn't say anything."

"Have you talked to him?" Shelby asked.

"I can't say anything. I'm the new girl and a brand new agent."

"Just because you're the new agent doesn't mean you can't talk to your boss."

"It's not a good idea."

Shelby shrugged her shoulders. "Okay…"

Seaver narrowed her eyes at her friend. "Garcia made me cupcakes for the little party they gave me for graduation."

"They gave you a party. That was nice." Shelby said and took a sip of her next beer.

"Oh it was nice alright, but she messed up the cupcakes. She didn't make enough to spell out the word graduate. All she had was gradua."

"Why are you being such a bitch about it? It sounds like she's a nice person. She probably just wanted to do something fun."

"Yeah… She's a nice person. She'd do anything for anybody."

"So are you going to tell me what's bothering you?" Shelby pushed.

Seaver looked back at the dance floor where the music had changed to another dance tune, more old rock and roll that was really getting on her nerves.

"You know about Dr. Spencer Reid." She asked Shelby.

"Sure… Everyone knows about the genius profiler the bureau hired when he was twenty-one. I've heard he's cute too."

Seaver laughed and then choked on her drink. "Yeah… He's cute, but he never shuts up. I asked him a question once about Dr. Who and he just went on and on. He rambles all the time if you don't cut him off. It's extremely annoying."

"You're irritated just because he talks too much. If he's cute then who cares."

"It's not just that. He's weird. Lately he's been acting like he's on another planet."

"How would you know?" Shelby asked, playing devil's advocate again. "You barely know him."

"We had a case in Miami." Seaver began. "He took his vest off and walked into a house with an armed un-sub. Then, he was taken hostage by the un-sub. Of course, it all turned out okay, but… If I did something like that, Hotch would be all over my ass."

Shelby nodded. "I can see why you're upset."

"And… I think there was definitely something going on with Reid and Emily Prentiss."

Shelby leaned into close to hear better. "Why do you say that?"

"Well… You should've seen the way he reacted to her death. He was completely upset. He started crying and everything."

"That doesn't mean anything." Shelby pointed out as she finished her third beer.

"I don't know how to describe it." Seaver said irritably. "I could just tell by the way they acted together. They were mysterious and had little conversations that would stop when other profilers came into the room. I'm sure there was something going on."

"If you say so…"

CMCMCMCM

He left the booth next to the agents and left the bar. He pulled out his phone and dialed a number he'd memorized months ago. "Hey… It's me… Yeah, I need to talk to you. I have something to tell you I think you'll find very interesting."