Hello. I know you are used to seeing me do Anime and Fantasy fanfiction in both of my previous accounts for those of you who are reading this story in hopes of finding something similar to Balance, you won't find it here. I will come back to Bleach Fanfiction when my interest is rekindled and I can almost guarantee you it will.
This is a sort of Pilot or a Promo. If you like the idea, I'm writing more if not, I'll probably still write in hopes you will warm up to it.
Read on friends.
Dr. Spencer Reid's position could not go empty for too long. Strauss had made her decision and she had made it clear that there was not going to be any argument. Not to mention Hotch signed off on it. No one was was happy about this. Only two months and they were already replacing Reid? They hadn't even found his body, he wasn't even declared legally dead. Yet. Counter Terrorism had offered one of their own...again. Because that worked so well last time. The Letter of Recommendation almost sounded like Counter Terrorism wanted to get rid of this man.
"According to his file, he's been busted down to a desk job twice. Then they just dropped him off here." Garcia said to JJ and Morgan. A bit of pre-meeting snooping was in order, JJ had a "bad feeling" about him. "But all of his credentials match up, my furry friends. He might've failed his Psych Eval once but he's certainly outdone himself in the past." She looked up at the framed picture of Spencer Reid and laid a hands on it smiling sadly. "Don't worry, honey, no one can replace you." she said softly.
"This is unfair." JJ said. "How could they do this, he's not even..." She fell silent and pinched the bridge of his nose, sighed and turned away momentarily. Garcia quietly turned the picture away from her.
"JJ, if they haven't found his body by now..."
"You don't have to tell me, Morgan, okay?" She asked in that shaky voice she always had whenever she spoke about Spencer. It was getting harder and harder to remember his voice. It just seemed like yesterday she watched him hold Henry for the first time. She abruptly turned and left the room. Derek could only watch. He'd run out of words to say. He didn't have that many anyway. That was always Reid's area of expertise.
He examined the picture of this man and sighed. He'd met the man before and talked with him many times. He wasn't too far from Pretty Boy at all. Tall, rather thin but not as bony as Spencer. He had black hair. According to Morgan, it seemed as though this man's hair was getting too long but what would he know about hair? The long hair would indicate one of two things: A lack of care for one's appearance or an obsession of such. The overly serious expression in his ID picture displayed nothing but a morose, pale, Asian American man who, judging by the faint red line over his lower lip, had an obsessive habit of chewing it and got little sleep. He was profiling him already.
"Done staring, hon? I have to..." Garcia pointed to the screen. Morgan snapped out of his funk and rubbed his brow.
"Uh, yeah sorry." Garcia frowned and reached up to touch his arm for a moment. He laid a hand on top of hers. She then stood from her chair and hugged him tightly. He hugged her back finally allowing himself to have a moment of weakness. They separated after that brief but meaningful moment.
"Hotch says he and Reid were good friends." Garcia said. "Maybe it won't be as bad everyone's saying." She offered comfort. Morgan caressed her face and kissed her cheek. They'd always skated on the boundary between dating and friendship. Was it bad that they were content to do so? Garcia had always wondered only to realize she never really cared. Morgan just smiled.
"You are my God-given solace, woman." He said. There was that smile again. The smile that was only reserved for her. If anything were to happen to Morgan too, God forbid, oh please God no...she would always remember that wonderful smile. Morgan left the room with a final pat on the shoulder. Penelope was the strong one throughout this whole ordeal. She'd been there for everyone. She hated to hear the things that were being said about Ethan. Reid knew the man and so did she in fact she trusted him. No matter what his file or the others said.
Prentiss was skeptical of this man. She always had been, but then again it was her upbringing that caused her to doubt those around her. And it was the Profiler in her that encouraged her to scrutinize him before she heard a word from him. She saw the ID photo just like JJ, Derek and Penelope, but that was not the man she saw talking with Hotch through the Venetian Blinds. She saw a tall, more lithe than simply bony, man with a healthy tan. His hair was certainly longer, but tied back in a ponytail. She could've sworn she'd walked into another dimension where Steven Seagal was actually attractive. He had green eyes...unusual for an Asian man and considering his last name being "Grace" he had an American parent. Penelope said it was his father. She also said the two hadn't spoken in years.
It took her a minute to realize JJ was standing there staring so hard at their new co worker she might as well have been setting him on fire with her eyes. Did she really resent him? For taking a job he was incredibly qualified for? They all missed Spencer and they all loved him and hoped even prayed he was safe...if he was still alive. But Prentiss out of all of them, was the one to actually agree with Strauss. Hotch and Rossi hadn't let on otherwise but she'd heard through accidental eavesdropping that Hotch had actually contacted Gideon but she didn't listen any further. Eavesdropping was something her mother loved to do. She wasn't even trying to follow in that...woman's...footsteps. She sighed and shook her head at her own thoughts. She should probably gives her mother more credit than that.
"It's not fair." JJ repeated for a upteenth time that day but Prentiss didn't reply this time, she simply turned back to the case files. She looked up briefly. When did Derek get back to his desk? She pretended to look at the case file and watched her friend's face. His jaw was working. She had a feeling they were thinking the same thing. It was time to accept this. They could keep holding on to Spencer for the rest of their lives, but the BAU and the FBI couldn't.
JJ seriously doubted that any of them were really reviewing the case files. Emily wasn't even looking at them. They all had pictures of Spence on their desks. After the his desk had been cleared, they found it...appropriate...to say the least. She wondered if framing the picture of him with holding Henry could count as self injury. She felt like she was stabbing herself in the heart every time she looked at it. She even placed it face down when she was working so she could concentrate. Even Rossi had a picture. It was at Georgetown. She cast a glance back up at Hotch. She knew he didn't like the idea either but he hadn't been nearly as vocal as Morgan, or even herself. Okay she was being pretty generous. She'd been especially vocal.
This man just...did not sit right with her in the least. She shook his hand earlier today and she felt a distinct chill up her spine. She took it as a warning. When you become a mother you become more in tune with your motherly instincts. That feeling was not born from being around profilers. Will had chalked it up to paranoia, she blew up at him. Something she was still regretting. She wasn't sure if she could handle the sight of him sitting at Reid's desk. She would have to hole herself in her own office for that.
Hotch was all business with the man. He wore his typical Hotch face. The minute their new coworker picked up the box sitting on the floor and stood, she knew the conversation was over. The man did not smile and neither did Hotch but they seemed to be...she couldn't quite find the word...at peace with each other. Perhaps they'd been working out their differences. When they emerged from the office, JJ made a note of his choice of clothing. Mostly black, how original. Rossi looked up briefly and the two nodded to each other through the open door of his office. She realized she was standing straight in the man's line of sight.
"This is SSA Jennifer Jereau our media liaison." She had to force herself to shake his hand. He had a firm but warm handshake. He'd practiced this handshake with hundreds of other people. Most likely from his experience in the U.N. "JJ this is SSA Ethan Grace." They exchanged quiet "nice to meet you"s and parted. JJ all but stormed in her office and shut the door. This was so unfair.
A handshake could tell you a lot about a person. He'd learned that in the U.N. Shaking hands with Agent Jereau he knew she was never going to get used to him being there no matter what he did. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up every time she stared him down. She was angry and she had every right to be but not at him, he didn't even know the recommendation had been sent until a few days ago.
Agent Prentiss was neutral about his being here but skeptical of his skills. He realized failing a Psych Eval, even just once, did not look good on a resume or personal file which he was pretty sure someone in the BAU had asked Penelope to look over. She was not committed to the handshake, meaning she didn't resent him, but didn't really care for his being here. That was fine, neither did he.
He'd heard a lot about Derek Morgan by way of Penelope and Spencer. They both loved this man. Strange, Morgan hadn't been there when Penelope broke down shortly after Spencer's disappearance. None of these people were. That...pissed him off. When he shook the man's hand, he didn't expect this type of immaturity from him. Morgan practically tried to squeeze his hand off. That was a sign of aggression meaning one wrong move, and Ethan would probably have nothing to look forward to but a swift punch to the face or maybe the stomach. He wanted to say 'what're you in high school?' but that wasn't the best course of action.
"Welcome to the team." Morgan said with a nod. Ethan squeezed his hand back refusing to be outdone.
"Good to be here." He replied. They let go of each other. "Even if it is only temporary." Prentiss and Morgan were taken aback. It was a small show of respect for Reid. This also meant he hoped Spencer was alive too. Morgan watched intently as Agent Grace took a picture out of his box. It was of him and Reid playing chess. It was a candid photo from a U.N. Lecture in Georgetown. Rossi must have taken the picture.
This day could not have been longer. Honestly. Ethan felt like he'd aged about twenty years. He had endured enough awkward silences and blank stares to know that joyful acceptance was not an option. He dug in his pocket and took out a cigarette. After two years, he still hadn't quit. He wasn't sure if he could chalk it up to addiction or procrastination. He kicked an addiction before so it was probably the latter. Spencer had always wanted him to quit smoking, so did Penelope, Rossi never said anything about it. The parking garage was nearly empty when he left Quantico, that's why he jumped a little when heard David Rossi say something to him.
"You handled yourself well today."
"Thanks." He managed after a long drag. He hadn't even seen the man getting into his car. The man could certainly be intimidating when he wanted to.
"You realize you've come at a very..."
"I know Rossi." He said sharper than he intended. He turned to him and took another drag before he spoke. "I'm not here to replace anyone. Especially not Reid." He shoved his right hand in his pocket and ran his cigarette hand through his hair.
"I know that." Rossi was being quite stoical with him. They'd met in the U.N. Rossi seemed to be the only person who understood the work he did wasn't his being a "psychic" it was simply the product of his heightened powers of observation...and a master's in psychology. He didn't get his doctorate until he was forced to take medical leave after failing his Psychological evaluation. That was something he and Spencer bonded over. Both men had virtually no social life and committed themselves to work not to mention they lived in the same building. "You know I'm surprised Agent Hotchner even signed that recommendation. I don't look good on paper."
"Neither do I." Rossi replied. "I put in a good word for you." He added with a bit of a shrug. There was that humor Rossi was known for, it made him feel a little more at ease.
"You may be the only one on my side, Dave." Ethan said shaking his head. He continued walking. "Thanks for the pep talk, I'll see you tomorrow." Rossi decided that moment of obvious sarcasm go. That was just how Ethan was. Just like you couldn't stop Reid from rambling, sarcastic comments were inevitable. Dave commended Ethan on his profound respect for the position he was in.
One more week and Dr. Spencer Reid would be pronounced legally dead and still Ethan Grace, the man who, as much as he denied it, replaced him was the one who seemed to have the greatest faith that Reid would be found.
So what happened to our dear Dr. Reid? If you want to know, let me know how you like this little promo. If you like Ethan tell me. I'm open to suggestions for cases too, as long as they're within the bounds of reality. I love you readers, you make me smile.
-East
