It's Team Work

Disclaimer: So you know that CBS owns Criminal Minds, not me. Nope, never me...

Summary: Each team member thinks the other has it easier in their position, so when the team is left on stand by, they switch jobs. Except for Reid, Morgan and Garcia who are sitting back enjoying the show...

A/N: This originally was a separate oneshot but I decided to incorporate it into this series, which takes place before JJ's an agent.

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"When people go to work, they shouldn't have to leave their hearts at home." Betty Bender

Emily sighed as she looked down into the bullpen and groaned at the sight of JJ, Reid, Morgan and Garcia sitting down going over case files while she was up in Hotch's... her office going over team reports correcting mistakes like a fifth grade teacher.

A knock on the door pulled Emily from her task as temporary team leader, "Come in."

'Wow, so that's how Hotch does it everyday?' Emily though to herself 'God how does he not get bored day in, day out?'

Emily was surprised to see JJ walk in armed with case files and a weary expression on her face.

"Here are my finished case files, Emily" JJ said placing the files on the edge of the desk and sitting in the visitor seat "How the hell do you do this everyday? I'm tired and I'm not even through half the cases yet."

Emily chuckled lightly as she smirked through her tension headache, "Those files? Those are the smallest piles that I've ever had in my entire time at the Bureau. It's just getting use to a new position that makes it feel harder."

JJ groaned as she rubbed her hand over her temples and looked at Emily, "You're joking right? Right?"

Emily shook her head, "Nope. You know I had the same feeling as you did, when I stepped into Hotch's role as Unit Chief. But his job isn't just leading the team or paper work. He has back to back meetings with other Unit Chiefs and Strauss."

JJ rubbed her sore wrist and said, "Thank God we're on stand by, so you wouldn't have to do all this out in the field."

"I am so tired," Emily said running her hands through her hair, "And I've got to sign off on these case files, then pass them along to Strauss before our meeting."

JJ shuddered and said, "Well I'll get back to work so that way you can hurry through the crap with Strauss."

Emily nodded and picked up JJ's files to sign off on, watching the temporary field agent head back into the bullpen.

Another knock caused Emily to internally groan as she said, "Come in."

Emily saw Dave walk in with some files, "I found a case for us to go over to pass to the B team."

"All right" Emily said "Write up the necessary paperwork for the teams files and have it ready to prepare in ten minutes."

"Ten?" Dave complained "I'm old give me at least fifteen."

Emily sighed as she watched Dave give her a pleading look and nodded "Hurry it up, it's not like you have to write it by hand. There is this thing called a computer and it allows you to print out more than one copy."

Dave glared and muttered walking out the door, "I get stuck as the media liaison? This sucks."

"You want this job?" Emily challenged with a smirk "Because this is no walk in the park."

Dave slammed the door and Emily signed off on the case files leaving it in the outbox as she gathered herself to head for the conference room.

Walking out of the office, Emily looked down at her agents and missed her old desk which Garcia took to redecorating with troll dolls and sparkly glitter.

"Guys" Emily said getting the mismatched group to look at her, "Conference room in fifteen."

The team watched as their new temporary leader wandered down the catwalk and headed off to the new technical analysts office.

Knocking on the door, Emily smirked when she heard a frustrated voice say, "Come in."

Emily smirked when she saw Hotch glare at the computer screen before swiveling around in the computer chair to look at her.

"Yes, ma'am?" Hotch said drolly earning an eyebrow raise from Emily.

"Want to watch it on the ma'am-ing?" Emily told Hotch "It's Emily or Prentiss, not ma'am."

"Sorry" Hotch said "But I hate being the technical analyst."

Emily looked at him, "Well you're job was no picnic, but other then the severe case of carpal tunnel syndrome and boredom I'm surviving."

"So what brings you down here?" Hotch asked trying to retrieve file needed for the B Team.

"Conference room" Emily said "Dave picked a file for us to profile and pass off to the B team. What are you doing?"

Hotch sighed as he clicked on the mouse pad "Trying to retrieve the file for the B team. I hate this job. I don't know how Garcia can stay so happy and perky all the time. This makes me want to quit."

Emily sighed as she helped click on the correct file, "There you go."

He looked over at Emily in surprise "How'd you do that?"

"Well when Garcia was teaching you the ins and outs of her job, just like you we all did for each other, I asked her for a few tips in case any of us got stuck" she told him, "By the way you're job, as cool as it is to be the boss, it's kind of boringly depressing. I mean I understand what you do, but man sitting in that office makes me wish I had a tv in there or something..."

Hotch laughed "I guess we all take for granted the others jobs. Guess that's why I wasn't chosen to be the field agent because I already was one."

"And I get that we all find it easier to be in our own little world with our own jobs, but man I really want my job back, and I know that JJ and Dave do too. Dave hates picking out the case files." Emily told Hotch.

"I want mine back to, but we'll have to do it the right way without seeming weak." Hotch told her.

The two headed up to the conference room to see the clearly annoyed JJ glare at Dave.

"I want this thing over, and my job back." JJ told Hotch and Emily "Because he is putting a bad name on media liaisons."

"What?" Emily asked "What did you do?"

"He hit on one of the reporters that he was giving the profile to." JJ told him.

"Dave!" Emily said shocked "How could you?"

Dave shrugged, "Really? You're surprised?"

Hotch shook his head, "Ok that's it. Today is the last day. Forget the two week switch, at the end of the day, everyone goes back to their own desks, offices wherever and gets their own title back. Got it?"

"Pay up" Garcia told the Morgan and Reid, "Told you they wouldn't last two weeks."

Morgan grumbled and said, "Lame. I thought they could take it."

Reid reluctantly handed over his money as he watched the team switch back from their new roles into their relaxed positions of their own roles.

"Ok." Emily said watching Dave pass around the file "Present the case."

Dave gave Emily a look, while JJ snickered at Dave's less then pleased look at presenting a case to review.

JJ turned her attention to the case in front of her, trying to think like a profiler as she read the file, looking over at her temporary team leader, she wondered how Emily manage to compartmentalize all the horror they see.

Garcia watched Hotch type slowly on the computer looking up the information needed and wanted to scream at his treatment of the precious computer.

'Thank God this is almost over' Emily thought as she sat up straight 'How the hell does Hotch manage to do this everyday?'

"The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one." Oscar Wilde

Until Next Time...

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