Author's Note: Well, well, well...here I am again. This story is very differnt from anything I've ever done and I'm a little nervous about it. This is strictly a romance, so expect (in later chapters) some mushy stuff. I have to say, the character of Cadence is loosely based on my sister, Grace, and my neice, Tessa. Also, I'm not a forensic pyscholgist, but I've done some research on them and I think my description is pretty accurate, but still if I make any mistakes don't be shying about saying something to me! Constructive critisim is always welcome! Well, I'll stop rambling now and let you go read!
I have a face I cannot show
I make the rules up as I go
So try and love me if you can
Are you strong enough to be my man?
-Sheryl Crow
Dr. Jaime Walsh, thirty-two-years-old, was stuck in traffic. This wasn't abnormal in Washington D.C., especially at 8:00 in the morning, but still, it was frustrating. Jaime drummed the palm of her hand on her steering wheel, in time to the music playing on her radio. She sung softly along to the Rolling Stones cd she had stuck in that morning before leaving the house.
Damn it! She looked around her, praying she could find an exit from this traffic. She had planned everything so perfectly, she thought. She had dropped her thirteen-year-old daughter, Cadence, off at school and thought she would have plenty of time to get to Quantico.
Today Jaime was starting her new job, as the main psychologist for the BAU. She was nervous, but even more so now, that she was nearly late. Finally finding an opening in the line of cars, she zipped her little red Prius on to a side road and gave it hell. Thankfully, she reached the unit building with time to spare. She looked at herself in the rearview mirror. The person looking back wasn't exactly ugly, but her heart-shaped face, wide set green eyes, and stubby nose didn't really scream 'beauty'. She did have this great little bee stung mouth that she was quite proud of, though.
Jaime quickly twisted her wheat colored hair into a bun and took a deep breath. This was it. She was as ready as she was gonna get, so she might as well get it over with. She grabbed her brown leather briefcase, a birthday gift from Cadence, and headed inside the building. She paused once inside, not quite where to go from here.
"Ms. Walsh." She turned, hearing the deep voice behind her. It was SSA Aaron Hotchner, her new boss. He was heading across the lobby towards her.
"Hello, Agent Hotchner." She said, trying to fight the urge to puke all over him.
"Call me Hotch, please." He told her, directing her towards the elevator. "Let's go on up, and I'll introduce you to your new team."
"All right." She said faintly, following him. Jaime didn't feel like this would be the best time to tell him that she hated elevators.
They rode mostly in silence, with a few words of small talk, up to the third floor. When the doors opened, they were an open room, quite crowded, filled with desk and agents. Jaime followed Hotch, trying to ignore the curious looks she was getting. He ushered her into a smaller room, where six people were sitting around a round table. Every face in the room turned towards her when Hotch cleared his throat. Jaime felt the heat rise in her face, especially under the gaze of the youngest member of her new team. He didn't look any older than Jaime herself, possibly younger, and he was gazing at her with avid interest.
"This is Dr. Jaime Walsh, our new psychologist." Hotch said, patting her shoulder.
He quickly introduced everyone at the table and Jaime got her first impressions of her new team: David Rossi, a slightly older man with a kind face; Derek Morgan, an extremely handsome black man, who winked at her; Jennifer Jareau, a pretty blonde with a nice smile, who said to call her JJ; Penelope Garcia, a red-head with cute pigtails and an outfit that Jaime would never expect to see at the F.B.I; Emily Prentiss, a dark haired woman with who simply nodded at her; and Dr. Spencer Reid, the young man who's attention she had caught when she entered, who simply blushed and looked down when their eyes locked.
"I'm going to give you a few minutes to get acquainted." Hotch said. He indicated for Jaime to sit down, then left the room.
Jaime sat, trying hard to pretend that the entire room wasn't staring at her.
"So, Jaime," Derek Morgan started. "Tell us about yourself."
She looked up from smoothing her skirt. "What do you want to know?"
He leaned his forearms on the table. "Well, are you married?"
"Oh my God, Morgan." Emily rolled her dark eyes. She looked at Jaime. "I'd tell you to ignore him, but it wouldn't do you any good."
Surprisingly, Jaime felt the urge to smile. "No, it's okay." She said. She held up her left hand and wiggled her ring finger. "I'm not married; it's just me and my daughter."
"Oh, you have a daughter?" JJ asked. "How old is she?"
"She's thirteen." Jaime answered.
"You don't look older enough to have a teenage daughter." Rossi told her.
"I had her young." She answered. "I was barely out of high school."
"What's her name?" Penelope asked.
"Cadence." She told them.
"Must be difficult, raising a teenager by yourself." Derek said, leaning towards her again.
"We manage." Jaime told him. "As long as she has her cell phone and her IPOD, anyway."
Morgan laughed. A few seats down from him, Spencer Reid sat in silence. He knew he should ask Jaime some questions, but he couldn't bring himself too. He couldn't even open his mouth to speak. Reid had never believed in anything as foolish as love at first sight, but as soon as Hotch had led Jaime into the conference room, as soon as Spencer had laid eyes on her, he felt a lightening bolt strike his gut. He had had crushes before, even steady girlfriends, but none had affected him like this. He couldn't keep his eyes off her, the way the light shimmered in her blonde hair, the slight gap in her front teeth, her full, pink lips, the way the dimple in her left cheek flashed when she smiled.
When Hotch returned, he had JJ show Jaime her new office and around the BAU. As soon as the two blonde had left the conference room, Morgan turned to Reid. "So…what do you think of our lovely new team member?"
Spencer shrugged, though he knew his face was turning red. "She's okay, I guess." He tried to nonchalant, but wasn't sure he quite pulled it off.
Morgan snorted and Garcia grinned. "You think she's pretty, don't you?" She asked.
Spencer shrugged again. "She's not ugly." He said.
Prentiss laid her hand on Reid's shoulder. "Leave him alone, guys." She told them.
"What are you, his mommy?" Morgan asked, grinning.
Spencer narrowed his eyes. "Shut up." He said, standing up from the table. "I've got work to do." He said, leaving the room.
"Touchy, touchy." Morgan muttered after he left.
"Well, you were kind of mean to him." Rossi said. Morgan rolled his eyes.
"I was kidding. Jesus, can't anyone take a joke?" He left the room, too.
Prentiss rolled her eyes up. "Do you think one day those two will ever act like anything but overgrown preschoolers?"
"I doubt it." Garcia told her, tucking her fluffy pink pen behind her ear. "Well, Chickies, I've got things to see and people to do…"
Rossi stood up. "I guess we should get back to work, too." He said. Prentiss nodded and they left the conference room.
In the office next to hers, JJ was showing Jaime everything she would need. "Do you have any questions?" She asked when her little tour was over.
Jaime shook her head. "No." She said.
"Well, I'll let you get settled." JJ told her. "This office is yours to do what you like."
After she left, shutting the door softly behind her, Jaime sank down into her desk chair. She had barely been here an hour and a half and already she was exhausted. She closed her eyes for a few minutes, allowing her thoughts to drift to her new team. They seemed like friendly people, she thought, well except for Dr. Reid. He was the only one who hadn't asked her any questions, though maybe he was shy. Or maybe he resented Jaime's new spot on his team. She had heard rumors that not everyone in the BAU was happy about getting a psychologist in their division.
Jaime knew she shouldn't let this bother her, but she couldn't help dwell on it for a minute. Who could blame her for taking this job? It was quite a step up from her last job, where she had worked under another doctor. He had been sad to see her go, but seemed fairly happy for her. Jaime knew she had needed a better paying job, she did have a teenager to take care of and she was proud to say that she, a single, unwed mother, was able to enroll her daughter in a private school, live in a fairly new home, and drive a new car. Who would have thought that fourteen years ago, when she discovered she was pregnant? Certainly not the snobby girls in her graduating class, who had laughed at her baby bump under her graduation gown.
Who was laughing now, she thought bitterly. Who was laughing now?
Jaime spent the morning getting acquainted with her new job. When she finally glanced at the clock, she realized it was nearly noon, and that she could take her lunch break. She tried to remember where exactly JJ had said the breakroom was. She found it, and when she walked in, only one person was sitting in there. It was Dr. Reid.
Jaime bought a Pepsi and a bag of pretzels from the vending machines and walked over to the table where he sat.
"Uh…can I sit here?" She asked. Dr. Reid looked up from his book, something written in a language Jaime didn't know. He seemed surprised, like he knew she was there, but didn't think she would speak to him.
"Er…sure…" He said. He was eating a Snickers and drinking a Mountain Dew.
"Is that your lunch?" She asked, nodding to his junkfood.
"Yeah." He said, a little sheepishly.
"I should tell you, as a mother, that that is extremely unhealthy, Dr. Reid." She said, smiling.
Spencer felt the lightening bolt hit his gut again. "You, uh, don't have to call me Dr. Reid." He told her. "Spencer is fine."
She smiled again. "Spencer, then. So, Spencer, are you married?"
"No." He shook his head. "I don't even have a girlfriend." He didn't know why he tacked that on.
"Oh, I see." She took a sip of her drink.
"What…what grade is your daughter in?" He asked, in a sudden burst of confidence.
"Cadence is in the eighth grade." Jaime told him. "She goes to Brookefield Academy."
"The private school?" He raised his eyebrows and she nodded.
"That's the one."
Spencer paused, unsure of what to say now. As he reached for his soda, his hand twitched and instead of grabbing the can, he knocked it over…all over Jaime's sweater.
"Oh, God!" He cried, jumping out of his seat. He tripped over his own feet, grabbing her some paper towels. "I'm so sorry!"
He handed her a wad a napkins and she dapped at her shirt. "It's all right." She told him. "It's no big deal."
Spencer knew his face was the color of a tomato. "Jaime…I'm so sorry. It was an accident."
She looked at him. "I know, its okay." Jaime unbuttoned her cardigan, revealing the thin, white tank-top she wore underneath. Spencer stopped gibbering his apologies and stared at her for a second. He could just make out the outline of her lacey bra under her shirt and even though he knew it was wrong, he felt the first stirrings of arousal.
"I'll…uh…pay for you to get that cleaned." He finally said. She shook her head.
"It was an old sweater." She told him. This was a lie; she had just bought it the week before, but the poor guy already looked so guilty, she couldn't add anymore to it.
"All right…if you're sure." He said, feeling more stupid than ever.
Jaime spent the rest of the day wrapped in her jacket, her soiled sweater stuffed in her bag. When Derek asked why she had changed, she just said she had spilled soda on her sweater. Spencer sent her a grateful look at that and she winked at him when Morgan's back was turned.
When the day was over, she rode down in the elevator with Spencer and JJ. As they exited the building, she noticed Spencer fiddling with his subway pass.
"You take the train?" She asked. He nodded.
"Yeah." He said. "I don't really have a need for a car."
"Oh…" She paused. "You wanna ride?"
He looked at her. "What?"
"I said, do you want me to give you a ride home?" She repeated. He shook his head.
"No, it's fine."
She touched his arm lightly and he felt another jolt. "Are you sure?"
"I…uh…yeah." He nodded. "I take the train everyday; it'll be lonely without me."
Silence, as the not so good joke fell flat.
"I was kidding." He said awkwardly. "That was a joke."
"Oh." She smiled uncertainly. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow." She said. She walked away, towards her car.
Spencer watched her climb into the shiny, red Prius and kicked himself for not accepting her offer.
When Jaime arrived home, she found her daughter stretched out on the couch.
"Hey." Cadence said, looking up from her book. "How was it?"
"It was good." Jaime told her, removing her jacket.
"What happened to your sweater?" Cadence asked, laying her book down.
"Just an accident." Jaime said. "Nevermind that, how was school?"
Cadence sighed. "It was school, Mom. It sucked." She held up the book she was reading. "I did get a new book from the library."
"Is it good? "Jaime asked, studying the title, 'Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children'. "It sounds creepy."
Cadence grinned. "It is."
Jaime sighed and rubbed her daughter head, before rising to go fix them some supper. Cadence was, like a lot of teenage girls, into all things fantasy. She loved Vampires, ghosts, and witches. In looks, she was her mother in miniature, the same willowy build, blonde hair (those hers was liberally streaked with black) and green eyes. Jaime had allowed, for Cadence's thirteenth birthday, for her to get her nose pierced, so she now wore a tiny silver hoop through her right nostril.
Jaime decided to make one of her favorite dishes, Chicken Parmesan casserole. After she mixed the ingredients, dumped them into a casserole dish, and slid it into the oven, she went to shower and change into something comfortable.
"I'm going to take a shower." She told Cadence, who was parked back on the couch, this time watching a rerun of 'How I Met Your Mother. "Can you listen for the oven?"
"Yeah." Cadence answered, her eyes never leaving the TV screen. "Sure."
Jaime walked down the hallway of their small, two bedroom house, and into her own room. She grabbed a clean pair of yoga pants and an old, faded t-shirt.
Once she was in the shower, the warm water spraying down on her, Jaime was able to relax a little. She let her mind drift and, for some odd reason, it drifted right to Spencer Reid. She knew that naked, in a hot shower, was not the appropriate place to think of her new co-worker, but she couldn't help it. He was very cute…she thought of the sweet way he had smiled at her. Quickly, she pushed the thought from her mind and finished her shower.
Dressed in clean pajamas, Jaime headed back out to check on the food. It was nearly done, so she joined Cadence on the couch. They ate their supper there, watching FX, then cleaned up the kitchen together. It was a ritual that the two of them had developed in all their years alone together. It was something Jaime figured wouldn't change, at least until Cadence left for college.
Then Jaime would be all alone.
Note: I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter! Now, there's this lovely little button right near the bottom of the page that reads 'REVIEW', so please, go press it and tell me what you think!