A/N: All characters, cases, and locations belong to Bruno Heller, CBS, and affiliates. Please review.
When she was beckoned into her new boss' office, the woman behind the desk was not what she expected. She waved Van Pelt in, her shoulder pressing her slender phone against her ear as she scribbled down something on the notepad next to her desk.
"Yeah. Okay. Thanks, sir."
She ripped out the paper and silently held it out towards Rigsby who didn't hesitate to take it from her hand.
"Yes, we will be right on it. No thank you."
She rolled her eyes as she hung up and set the phone on the desk with a frustrated growl. "Take that to Cho, Rigsby. You must be the new agent."
"Grace Van Pelt, ma'am," she said confidently, holding her hand out with a smile.
Lisbon's nose wrinkled slightly at the strange address and stood, taking the offered hand. When Grace caught sight of her dark jeans and classy leather jacket, she immediately felt overdressed.
As she sat down in front of the woman, she tried to discreetly suck the shiny red lip gloss off her lips in mortification.
She had spent a lot of time in trying to pick out her outfit for her day. She had decided on a lavender tee shirt with ruffles on the front and a gray blazer with long, ironed dress pants. She tried her hair in three different styles before braiding in down her back with a black rubber band. Her outfit was completed with a pair of large diamond studs her parents had got for her when she left Iowa.
She had wanted to seem professional without being too masculine. She knew there weren't many female officer in law enforcement, even at the CBI. But she didn't want to play down her looks too much. She wanted to be a least comfortable at her new job without hiding behind baggy clothing.
She refocused her attention on the woman in front of her. She was young, she realized, much younger than she had expected. She was many in her early to mid-thirties.
"…which will last for about two months. Then we'll proceed to a more permanent contract if your performance meets the standards. I reviewed your file and everything seems to in order. I've been looking for someone to meet the more technological post. I've had Cho and Rigsby on it, but it will be nice to have someone that's more familiar with all the new technology. You'll find we're behind on the FBI on that front."
She reached for her desk drawer and pulled out a sheaved Glock and a shiny badge. Van Pelt smiled at the sight of the badge.
"These are yours. Feel free to choose and desk and get set up. Have Cho and Rigsby brief you on our current case."
There was a clear dismissal in her tone and Van Pelt jerked to her feet, knocking the front of the desk as she went. She winced in embarrassment and turned red as she hurried into the bullpen.
She was greeted by Wayne Rigsby's smile.
"Hey," he greeted her as she sat her bag and laptop sleeve down on the first empty desk she saw. "I'll introduce you to rest of the team."
He got up from his desk in front of hers and gestured to the rest of the people in the corner of the bullpen. "Agent Van Pelt, this is Agent Kimbell Cho."
"You must be the new agent." The Asian man said, watching her as she gave him a small smile.
"Hi I'm Grace," she said, trying to regain the confidence she lost in Lisbon's office.
He was short, but sturdy. His eyes analyzed her calmly from the desk in the middle of the room. He had a large novel on the side of his desk that was otherwise littered with open and closed manila folders.
"Cho," he said without inflection before glancing back down at the folders on his desk.
"That over there is Jane, our consultant. Don't agree to any of his plans without going over it with Lisbon," he added in an undertone as he pointed over to a man in a three piece suit, asleep on the ratty old couch in the corner.
"Jane, aren't you going to meet our new team mate?"
The man perked into a sitting position, his blue eyes alert. He smiled a charming, white smile and stood up. "Hello Grace. I'm Patrick Jane. Pleasure to meet you," he said shaking her hand before reseating himself on his couch, this time upright.
"Nice to meet you too," Grace said, the man easing her a little more than the other agent.
Jane continued to observe her with a strange sort of stare. He was about Lisbon's age, she decided, with an attractive head of blonde curls and an old fashioned gray three piece suit.
As she reseated herself at her desk, she felt Jane's eyes follow her movements. It was unnerving and she turned back towards him.
"Is everything all right, Mister Jane?"
"Oh yes, I think so. A Libra, yes?" he questioned leaning back on the old cushion.
She heard Rigsby groan under his breath.
"Yes, how did you know that?"
"I used to be a pretend pyshic," he said with a shrug.
She frowned, recalling Dyson's words to her on the way to Lisbon's office.
"You came from a moderately wealthy family. One…no two older sisters who got married early in life. Happy family life, but from a small town. You wanted to get away and make a change in the world, which is why you've come to CBI," he continued.
"Cut it out, Jane," Rigsby said, crossly.
"Just assessing our latest team member, Rigsby," he said, not taking his eyes off Grace. He smiled again and settled back in the cushions. "Anyone seen Lisbon?"
"She's in her office. The brass just called her again about the case," Cho said, scribbling something in his notes.
"Agent Lisbon said you guys could catch me up on the case you're working on," Van Pelt said, opening her laptop and turning towards the group.
"Of course," Rigsby said eagerly and began to outline their current murder. After going over the facts, two bodies, a mother and son, found abandoned in a warehouse, executed by beheading, no trace, she found herself swallowing thickly.
This was what she had to look forward to.
"We're just going over the witness statements again to see if anything will pop."
"It won't," Jane offered as he laid back down on the couch. "Hi Lisbon."
The brunette came into the room, not bothering to respond to the man's comment. "Still nothing from forensics. Buckle down, everyone. It's going to be a long night," Lisbon said crossly.
