The skeletons in the closet and collective experiences are a threat to new beginnings.
Marwa Rakha
Egyptian writer

David Rossi was returning to the BAU and Aaron Hotchner had to admit that the news took him by surprise. After all, his old friend and mentor had left years ago and found himself a new, much more lucrative career.

Erin Strauss had delivered the news with the tone of voice that Hotchner imagined a physician would use when presenting an unwitting patient with a terminal cancer diagnosis. Rossi and Erin never did get along. Hotchner wasn't sure if it was because of Rossi's methodology or if she were, as the rumor mill suggested, one of a handful of spurned lovers that were left behind on the man's way through the bureau.

Hotchner almost laughed, trying to picture the two of them together. Rossi, dark, full of passion and hubris, paired with Strauss, the uptight ice queen. Although, he had to admit, if anyone could melt that ice queen, his money would have been on Dave.

Of the handful of women that Hotchner knew for sure would be surprised to see the formerly retired profiler stalking the halls again; only one was still assigned to Quantico, Lisa O'Reilly.

Lisa joined the BAU barely a year after he did. Being the new kids on the block, they bonded during those crazy years and had managed to remain close as time went on. She'd left the BAU back in 1998, when the government mandated that the FBI formed the Child Abduction Serial Murder Investigative Resources Center (CASMIRC). She threw herself into the development of the new unit and was now the Senior Agent and definitely poised to take over the Unit Chief position.

She loved the work, loved the cause, and spent many extra hours working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), to solve as many missing child cases as they could. She told him once, after way too many glasses of single malt scotch, that her biggest mistake in life was not having children. It didn't take a profiler to see the motivation behind her devotion to the job.

Stopping at the double glass doors into the CASMIRC, Hotchner paused, still trying to decide what would be the best way to break the news to his friend. As he reached out to open the door, he heard her voice.

"Trying to decide if you're worthy to step behind the doors to my domain?" she asked, in the Philadelphia accent, that years of living in Virginia did nothing to tame.

He turned to find her standing, hand on her hip, smart smirk on her face. Lisa was tall, standing nearly 5'10", most of it leg, so it didn't surprise Hotchner to find her deep green eyes staring right back at him.

"I'm not worthy," he laughed, paraphrasing Wayne's World, a movie he hated to admit he watched and actually laughed at.

"I'll make an exception for you. Come on up to my office," she said, "I've got to send off an email to the Dallas office and we can talk."

He followed her into the large room, laid out, not too differently than the one that housed the BAU, Lisa's office was on the upper level, where Jason Gideon's used to be in the BAU and where David Rossi's would be. The room hummed with activity, unfortunately, it almost always did.

After walking into her office, he sat on one of the chairs in front of her desk, watching as she quickly typed an email. The sleeves of her blue button front shirt were rolled up and her dark auburn hair was pulled up into a loose pony tail. He knew that look signaled that she was knee deep in research and was settled in for the long haul. For a moment, he debated passing along his information.

"Okay, Hotch, what's up?" she smiled, leaning back in her chair. "Do you have a new case?"

"No, actually," he began, watching as curiosity played on her features. "I had some news that I wanted to share, before you heard it through the grapevine."

"You met someone?" she excitedly asked. She was privy to the details of his failed marriage, it was just one more thing they had in common.

"No," he shook his head. "It really doesn't have anything to do with me."

"You're stalling, and that tells me it's not good. What? Did Strauss say something about me again?"

"Relax. She actually likes you now."

"Oh, yeah, right," she said, rolling her eyes. "We're best of friends. So, if you're not here to warn me of my impending demise, what's going on?"

"I just found out that an old friend of ours is returning to the Bureau."

"Someone from the BSU days?" She went through a mental catalogue of their former colleagues, "I was just talking to Katherine Ramsland, so I know it's not her. John Douglass wouldn't pass the physical…"

"David Rossi," he said, waiting for her reaction.

She paused a moment, her demeanor changing to an icy cold that nearly matched Erin Strauss, "Oh? Is he giving a lecture or just stopping by for a visit?"

"He's rejoining the BAU."

Lisa nodded, taking it all in stride. "When?"

"Tomorrow," he answered, watching her process the information. "Strauss just told me this afternoon. You were the first person I've told."

"Thank you," she said, "For letting me know."

"Lisa," he said, knowing that she was holding back her gut reaction.

"I can handle it, I'm a big girl," she dismissed. "I put myself exactly where I wanted to be. It didn't end quite like I thought it would, but, hey, it's been a long time. I will be as professional as possible in my dealings with him."

"Very adult," he said with a laugh, "Just make sure that you don't try to eviscerate him and leave his body dumped in my office."

"Hotch," she laughed with him, "Come on now, do you think I learned nothing from my time in the Bureau? If I was going to eviscerate him, I certainly wouldn't leave his body in your office. I would put him through a meat grinder and dispose of him at the local pig farm."

Hotchner laughed at her response.

"Now, how he reacts to me? Well, that I can't speak to, but I'm sure we'll both be very professional."

"See to it that you are," he returned smartly, standing up. "We still on for dinner tomorrow?"

"Of course," she nodded, "Your treat, remember?"

"Damn Red Sox," he shook his head.

"You made the bet."

"I tend to do stupid things like that when I go for drinks with you."

Lisa grinned, "Which is exactly why you continue to go for drinks with me."

XXXXXXXXX

Lisa O'Reilly was frustrated. She'd been working on a missing child case that, to her chagrin, had turned into a serial child abduction and murder case. She knew when to call in the BAU and had worked the case as far as she could.

Carrying a manila folder full of pictures, she walked into the BAU bullpen, looking for Jennifer Jareau. Finding the bullpen empty, she walked up to JJ's office. It too was empty.

"Shit," she muttered under her breath.

"They're at lunch," began a male voice that was all too familiar. Despite the years that had passed, she would always recognize the sound of David Rossi's voice.

Taking a moment to compose herself, she turned to face him, finding him leaning against the door to his office, smile firmly in place. He'd aged well, damn him.

"Hello, Lisa," he said.

"David," she nodded, willing herself to remain aloof. "I guess I should say welcome back."

He nodded, "Thank you. Things sure have changed since I was here last."

She laughed dryly, biting back a sarcastic remark. "Yeah, progress is an amazing thing."

"Did you need something?" he asked, still casual, still friendly.

"I've got a case to run by JJ," she said, growing irritated by his casual friendly attitude. "We stumbled upon a serial."

"Can I take a look?" he asked, holding out his hand.

She thought about saying no, thought about telling him that she'd wait for JJ and follow proper channels, thought about telling him that she didn't need his help and he should just mind his own goddamned business. All of those responses would have been totally warranted, if it wasn't for the pictures of the children that were in that folder. As much as he hated to admit it, this really was his business. He was the best of the best and those children needed him. She held out the folder.

"Come on in," he said, walking into his office.

She followed him in, taking a look around. She was surprised at the lack of decoration, knowing that there were countless awards, certificates, and other memorabilia that could be gracing the walls of his office. Instead, he displayed very little.

"Good catch," he said, studying the pictures. "This guy's organized, meticulous…" He looked up at her. "Any suspects?"

"A couple," she said, "Everything's out on the shared drive. Here I'll show you, can I use your computer?"

He nodded, and she walked around next to him, leaning over and typing on his computer.

XXXXXXX

As she leaned towards his computer, he could smell her perfume. It was a soft scent of roses. Not the scent he remembered her wearing, but it was subtle and feminine and fit her well. Her shoulder brushed his and he was surprised at how his body reacted to her touch. It was, he decided, not a good thing.

"All of the files are out here on the shared drive," she said, "JJ knows where to find them, too. See, right here?" She pointed to the screen. "If you open the CASMIRC folder, the subfolder's named Tara MacLean, after the latest abduction."

He nodded, the irony of her now teaching him, smacking him in the face like a spurned woman. "As soon as JJ gets back from lunch, I'll show this to her. I can't see why we wouldn't take on the case."

"I'll need to be a part of this," she instructed, her tone letting him know that she would not take "no" for an answer. "I know JJ is the liaison with the locals and the press, but I deal with NCMEC and the victims' families exclusively when we work a joint case."

"You'll be with us every step of the way," he assured her.

"Good," she nodded, realizing that she was standing way too close to him. Taking a stop back, she spoke, "I need to go back and call my contacts at NCMEC and let them know I've dropped this with the BAU. Call me when you've run it past the team."

"I will," he promised, watching as she walked, quickly out of his office. Once she was gone, he released the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. It didn't take a profiler to tell that she harbored one hell of a lot of anger towards him. He supposed he deserved some of it, probably most of it. After all, he was the senior agent, he should have known better. And, the way they ended it was less than on friendly terms.

He could see that it took everything she had to bring this case to him. It was more than just the fact that she was breaking protocol, by not showing it to Jennifer first. What galled her was the fact that she had to hand it off to him. But, to her credit, she sucked it up and did what was necessary for the good of the case. He was glad to see that her professionalism had remained in tact.

She'd come a long way since the old days of the BSU. He could still remember the gorgeous redhead who's cocky bravado did little to hide her warm heart and compassion. Over time, the rough edges had been polished, as the saying went. The bravado was replaced with an air of confidence, but the warm heart and compassion were still there. Although, he doubted that he'd see any of it directed towards him.

One of the many things that David Rossi had discovered over the course of his life was that no matter what the surface might show, deep down, people didn't change much over time. And, if that was true in this instance, eventually, they would have to deal with the mess they'd created and walked away from and the attraction that was still there.

Working with her was going to be very interesting. For both of them.