So this is the fic I've been working on for a while now. I originally intended for it to be a one-shot, but it turned out to be very long so I'm turning it into a multi-chapter fic. It will only be a few chapters though.

Until I finish this, I'm putting Eternally Lost on hold for the moment, unless I get more time to write. Nothing is concrete as of yet.

I hope everyone likes this. I'm not a huge fan of Elle myself, but she was part of the team and I can't just ignore that fact. So I wanted to touch upon her and what happened all those years ago.

As always, please leave me a review if you can and let me know if you like this!

Elle stared down at the phone she held in her hands. All it would take was one call, one call for her to know.

With one call, she would find out how her old team was, how they were doing. And she would find out…god, she didn't even want to think about it…she would find out if they were all still alive.

She knew very well how dangerous that job was, maybe more than some of the team. She wanted, no she needed to see if they were all okay.

Her finger hovered over that contact, one that hadn't been used in almost ten years. But she still kept it after all this time, somehow knowing that it would someday be of use.

With a deep breath, she hit call.

OOOOOOO

Hotch set his phone down on his desk, his mouth almost hanging open. When he answered his phone, he never imagined that it would be her.

But no, she had called, asking about the team and how they were doing. And when she asked if they could all get together, he couldn't possibly say no to the hopeful tone of her voice.

After she had left the team, he knew that they wouldn't hear from her again. At the time, she wasn't in the right mind, and it was beginning to affect her work. Hotch knew that, but he wasn't sure if the rest of the team did.

They'd be shocked to hear that Elle was coming to the BAU in an hour.

OOOOOOOO

Everyone was in the bullpen, with the exception of Garcia who was in her office, and Rossi who was on a rare vacation. JJ, Kate, and Reid were busy doing paperwork, while Morgan had vacated his office to come and bug the rest of them. As of right now, he was throwing pieces of the popcorn that he was eating at the back of Reid's head. He didn't react, so he figured that the kid didn't notice.

He was so focused on aiming the kernel when all of a sudden, the bag was swiped from his hand. He spun to see JJ holding it, dangling the bag from her fingertips. He hadn't even heard her move.

"Now Morgan, why waste such a delicious treat?" She grinned at him, tossing a piece in the air and catching it expertly in her mouth.

Morgan's mouth gaped for several seconds, before finally collapsing in a fit of booming laughter. JJ just smiled and shook her head, returning to her paperwork with the bag of popcorn.

When Morgan saw that she still had the bag, he immediately stopped laughing and walked up to her desk. At his approach, JJ popped another piece in her mouth, smirking up at him.

"Hey! Give it back!" Morgan whined childishly. He reached for the bag.

JJ jerked it out of his reach and teasingly ate another piece. "Nope. It's mine now. You should know that improper conduct of any junk food is punishable by confiscation." JJ looked up at him, batting her eyelashes and looking innocent.

Kate stifled a laugh at JJ's comment. She couldn't hold it in anymore when Morgan stomped away, probably in search of another bag of popcorn.

JJ grinned at Kate. "Want some?' She motioned to the bag. "Hell yes." Kate dutifully replied and took a hefty handful. JJ then offered some to Reid. "What about you, Spence?"

Reid looked over at the bag and shook his head. "Did you know that the manufacturers of microwave popcorn coat the bags with a chemical that, according to the FDA, breaks down during the cooking process and forms a chemical called perfluoroctane? Not to mention the numerous accounts of chipped and cracked teeth due to unpopped kernels, as well as gum irritation and – "

"Spence!" JJ interrupted his information spew. Reid looked at her and flushed. "Sorry, got a little carried away."

JJ looked down at the bag. "So I take it that's a no, then." She shrugged. "More for us." Kate grinned and grabbed another handful before settling in to finish her paperwork.

Before she could even pick up her pen, Hotch appeared on the walkway above and called down to them. "Something came up. Get Morgan and Garcia in the bullpen in five minutes." With that, he disappeared back into his office.

JJ, Reid, and Kate all looked at each other. "Wonder what that's about." Kate said. JJ's forehead creased. "Yeah, me too. Definitely doesn't sound like a case."

They dutifully called Morgan and Garcia, and they appeared in the bullpen a minute later. "What's going on?" Morgan asked them.

Before anyone could respond, Hotch came out of his office again, and made his way down the stairs and into the bullpen.

He took a deep breath before beginning. "What I'm about to say will be a shock to you. But I want you to hear me out before coming to any conclusions. Got it?"

They nodded, and Hotch continued. "About ten minutes ago, I received a call. I didn't recognize the number, but when I answered it –"He paused for a moment. "It was Elle."

Kate heard JJ's sharp intake of breath next to her. She looked over at the team and saw that their faces held a mixture of emotions, impossible to read. She was confused though; who was Elle?

"She said that she wanted to reconnect, to get to know us again. So she asked if she could come here. I told her yes."

JJ's body was stiff beside Kate. "When?" She ground out, her voice gravelly. Hotch glanced at the clock. "45 minutes."

Everyone remained silent. Hotch studied each person closely. Morgan's nostrils flared as he attempted to reign in his anger. Hotch sighed. That was to be expected. Reid had a hurt look on his face; he had never really gotten over Elle's silent departure. Kate looked utterly perplexed and Hotch mentally slapped himself. Of course she would be confused. She had no idea who Elle was or why the team was reacting this way.

Lastly, he glanced at JJ. If you had asked him beforehand, he would've told you that she would be the most understanding, reserved person here.

Man, was he wrong.

Her body language told him that she was almost as angry as Morgan, if not more. Her body was rigid and tense, and it looked like she had stopped breathing. However, her face didn't hold one trace of emotion. She was completely passive.

That's what she did best.

You aren't a communications liaison for almost seven years without learning how to put a mask on. The team jokingly called it her "press mask".

Well, she was definitely wearing it today.

Tearing his thoughts away from JJ, he looked back at the rest of the team. "The workday is over for everyone. Go home, stay here, do whatever you want. Just be in the conference room at 3:45 p.m. sharp. Don't be late." And with that, he headed back to the office.

They watched him go, each with their own thoughts. Reid headed to the coffee machine to replenish his need for caffeine and to think about who he would be seeing in less than an hour. Morgan left the bullpen, but didn't take any of his things, so Kate assumed that he was headed to the gym to work out some of his anger.

Only Garcia and JJ were left now. JJ sat down heavily in her chain, putting her head in her hands. She radiated tension, and even Garcia could feel it.

She approached JJ's unnaturally still form and looked up at Kate briefly. Kate still had no idea what was going on, but she didn't want to intrude, so she returned to her desk, letting JJ and Garcia have their privacy.

Seeing that Kate took her hint, Garcia knelt down next to JJ and placed a comforting hand on her leg. "JJ?" She said cautiously.

JJ sat up and met Garcia's eyes, anger burning in them. Garcia was taken aback, almost scared by the fiery look in her eyes.

Garcia took a deep breath. "JJ, I know you're mad at her, and understandably so, but I think we should give her another chance."

JJ looked away, her jaw set. "I want to, Garcia. But after everything that happened, I'm not sure if I can. I mean, she just left. She was the closest friend that I had other than you, and she left without even saying goodbye."

Garcia opened her mouth to speak, but JJ cut her off. "I know, I know. She had a good reason for going dark." JJ frowned at the memory. "But couldn't she at least have called? She just left, and we had no way of knowing how she was or where she went. It's just… hard. This whole situation is impossible. I mean, so much has happened since she left and I've changed, we've all changed in some way from the people that she knew."

Garcia's heart ached for JJ. Out of all of them, she was probably the most affected by this. None of the guys, not even Hotch, knew how close Elle and JJ had been during the time that they had known each other. It was a time when Elle was the only other female besides Garcia, and she had bonded quickly to JJ because of that.

Or so JJ had thought. Because disappearing for almost ten years with no contact was not a quality of someone that she would call a good friend.

From her desk, Kate couldn't help but watch JJ and Garcia speak. She was in awe of their relationship, and how easily Garcia had been able to calm JJ.

And what was up with JJ, anyway? In all the time that she had known her, Kate had never seen JJ lose it like that. This Elle must have meant a lot to her to make JJ react like this.

Kate was snapped out of her thoughts when JJ abruptly stood up and briskly headed towards the bathroom. She watched her go and then glanced up at the clock – 3:35. Only twenty five minutes until this mystery person would be showing up.

To be honest, Kate didn't know what to expect.

OOOOOOO

JJ leaned over the sink, her hands gripping the cool porcelain. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. Other than her red eyes, she didn't look any different than any other day. She took a deep breath, steeling herself for what was to come.

With one last glance at the mirror, she left the bathroom and headed for the conference room.