A/N: I do not own Criminal Minds, only characters not on the show such as Haylee and Harper Rossi. This fic starts somewhere in the middle of season four.
I apologize in advance for the long A/N. I promise that this first one is long for a reason.
All chapters after this chapter will be in third person POV. This first chapter only will be in Haylee's POV.
This is a re-write of a previous Criminal Minds fic of mine. If you haven't read it, don't bother- I really don't think it's any good. My writing as improved since then- I think so anyway- and the only reason that it's still up it because I want to include some of the events of the original in this one, except write them better, include more detail, clean up typos and grammatical errors, etc, etc.
I also think it will flow better with this first chapter only being in a first person point of view. I very much prefer third person anyway, but I feel like the first chapter just fits well being in the POV of one of the twins.
It anyone spots any typos or grammar errors I missed, don't hesitate to point them out (nicely, please) and I'll fix them. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated, welcomed, and by all means encouraged. I know I'm likely to get some eventually- I'm still growing as a writer, being fourteen.
Lastly, the chapter is semi-short because it's basically just a "here it is, starting the story" chapter. I'm going to try to average between 2K-4K a chapter, in a pinch, no less than 1.5K, and I'll try not to have a chapter much over 5K.
Anyway, here goes nothing.
Left On The Steps Of The FBI
Chapter One: Hello, Dad
The hot summer sun shone brightly as we stepped out of the taxi. My sister squeezed my hand as we stood in front of the FBI Academy, gawking at it. She hadn't spoken since the train left the Amtrak station in New Orleans, except to ask me the occasional question. Harper's long, mouse brown hair, identical to mine, billowed behind her in the wind as she kept her head down.
I tapped her hand and gestured to the building in front of us. "Come on, Harper," I told her. "We have to go in."
"But what if he doesn't want us, Haylee?" Harper asked seriously.
I bit my lip, knowing she was right. If our mother could change her mind after fifteen years, who's to say our father would want to take on two children he doesn't even know exist? But of course I didn't voice my fears to my sister. I just told her that we'd cross that bridge if we had to.
I took a deep breath and grasped her hand as we started toward the building.
"Harper," I asked my younger twin. "What floor is the Behavioral Analysis Unit on again?"
"BAU is on the…fifth? I think."
I nodded, "Fifth it is."
The elevator ride was the most uncomfortable experience of my life. My palms were sweaty and it was all I could do to keep from fainting right there. A million different things ran through my mind as the elevator doors opened on the fifth floor right in front of glass doors with the FBI's seal on them. Through the glass doors, I saw straight into what I assumed was where the BAU agents worked. Inside, there were desks, office doors, everything typical to Hollywood's idea of a government agency workplace. It was almost funny how accurate it was.
Before Harper could hesitate, I forced her out of the elevator and through the glass doors leading to the office-looking area. The first person I saw was a pretty blonde woman with a large stack of files in her arms. I searched for nametag and upon seeing it, tentatively addressed her.
"Ms. Jareau? Or, um, Agent?"
She turned around and set the files down on the nearest desk before cautiously raising an eyebrow at us. "Can I help you?"
"We need to see David Rossi...Agent David Rossi. It's kind of important; extremely important, actually." I said, trying my best to act as adult-like as a possible.
"Agent Rossi is pretty busy," she answered. "I'm the team's media liaison and communications director, I'm sure I can help you with whatever it is."
"With all due respect Agent Jareau, we really need to speak with Agent Rossi. Please," I added.
I guess she knew that I wasn't going to back down until I got what I wanted, so she nodded and led us to his office and knocked on the door and came in with us. Two agents were inside, one stern-looking man who looks like he never smiles, and a somewhat older and slightly shorter man with black hair.
"JJ," the stern man said to Agent Jareau.
"Hotch, these girls would like to speak with Agent Rossi." Said JJ, then she left the office.
So the stern guy is Hotch. That makes the shorter man-
"I'm Agent Rossi," said the man sitting at the desk. "What can I help you with?"
I opened my mouth to answer, but as soon as I went to form my words I found myself dumbstruck. So I stand there with my mouth agape like an idiot, holding onto Harper's hand like a frightened child, and about to faint.
"Spit it out, we don't have all day," he said hurriedly, and earned a cautious look from 'Hotch.'
I closed my mouth, opened it, and closed it a few times then finally said, "My name is Haylee and this is my twin sister Harper. Mr- I mean- Agent Rossi…you're our father."
There. I said it. There were probably a million other and better ways that I could have put that, but I figured it's better to be straight up than it is to eloquently beat around the bush. I stood there awkwardly as I waited for him to reply.
"Who is your mother?" came the unusually calm response.
"D-Danielle Carranzo-Rossi."
Agent Rossi shook his head. "She wasn't pregnant when she left me. I'm sorry; you must have me confused with somebody else."
"I-I-I I can prove it. S-sort of, I mean. Mom sent us with copies of our birth certificates, which I guess doesn't really prove much but she gave us money for a DNA paternity test if you wanted one, and she-"
My eyes widened and I fell silent. For the first time in my life, I was genuinely terrified. Not once since our mother basically told us that she'd chosen her rich fiancée over us had I been afraid. Until now, it was still too surreal for me to feel any sort of emotion about it. I had other things to worry about- school, the soccer team, the volleyball team, glee club, drama club, debate club, my music, dance class, dance competitions, my job at the Main Branch of the New Orleans Public Library, my commitment to my church youth group and to the church worship team, my social life- there wasn't room in my schedule to worry about meeting my father and my mother's (for lack of a better word) abandonment. But now, school was out and there were no more grades or sports or clubs to worry about. I was miles away from the library, the church, and the dance studio back in New Orleans. All of mine and Harper's instruments were in the attic of our uncle's house on Palmer Avenue. For the first time ever, the reality of the situation I was in came crashing down on me like a meteorite.
"My gawd," I said, my New Orleans accent becoming even more pronounced than usual as my composure declined. "You think I'm insane or something, don't you? You think I'm lying."
"I never accused you of lying-"
"Not outright, but you were implying it. Why would I lie about this? I'm sorry for interrupting you just then; that was very rude of me. But…Harper and I- we don't have anywhere to go. Our mom is getting married to some rich guy and- look. It's a long, long story. She told us you probably wouldn't believe us and-"
Harper wiped a tear from my eye with her finger. I wasn't even aware it was there. I thought that maybe she'd speak up then, but she didn't so I sighed and apologized. The agents both stood there, staring at us and scrutinizing our appearance to see if we looked anything like the man we claimed to be our father.
"What did Danielle expect me to do?" Agent Rossi asked. His calm façade was starting to become a little transparent, but at least he wasn't majorly freaking out. That was at least somewhat comforting.
"I don't know."
He stood there looking at his for a while longer before sharing a glance with the other agent. "Would you girls excuse us for a moment?"
"Yes sir," I said.
"Yes sir," Harper echoed softly. Agent Rossi asked me to leave the folder with our personal information on his desk and I did just that as I led Harper out of the office and into the chairs outside.
