Disclaimer: I still do not own anything having to do with Criminal Minds.
Notes: I was going to wait a little while longer, but I couldn't help myself, so here's another chapter. Unfortunately that probably means that the next chapter wont be up for a while. Reviews and constructive criticism always appreciated. Enjoy!
"Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression by saying something, and sometimes one creates as significant an impression by remaining silent." -Dalai Lama
-Chapter 2-
Welcome to the Team
Turning around I surveyed my surroundings. In front of me people with stacks of papers and cups of coffee weaved between desks and chatted with one another. The place looked busy and it seemed as though my arrival had gone nearly unnoticed. A few people looked up at me with confused glances, but said nothing. I took another deep breath and held it. Counting to five before letting the air out, allowing my tension to be released with the breath.
It was something that my mother would make me do as a child when I was angry. After a while I started using it for situations where I was nervous or afraid as well. It didn't do very much, but it was enough. I turned my head to the left and looked and the stairs that made the room a split-level. At the top of the stairs there were a few rooms, the first of which looked to be occupied. I assumed it was the office I was looking for.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
I counted out the stairs so I wouldn't have to crane my neck to look at them over the box while climbing them.
Shifting the box so it was in a more comfortable position I shuffled to the stairs, taking them slowly and carefully so as not to trip. The last thing I needed on my first day was a twisted ankle. At the top of the stairs I looked to the right. The door to the first office was open an inch or so and I took that as a sign that I wouldn't be disturbing anyone if I went it. Just to be sure, I leaned slightly against the door and knocked as I pushed it open in order to announce my entrance.
Sitting at the desk was the man I assumed was named Aaron Hotchner. He had a stern expression on his face and, from what I could tell, had been focusing quite hard on the paperwork he had sprawled out in front of him before I had entered. When I knocked his trance was broken and he looked up, surprised.
I tried to remain calm, planning on smiling and showing him the confident person I wanted to come off as, but his intimidating presence was more than I had expected and my plan really didn't go through the way I had wanted it to. In retrospect, I suppose my expression at that exact moment could have been likened to a deer in the headlights.
"Can I help you?" His voice was different than I thought it would be. It was low and commanding, as I anticipated, but it was also warm, and comforting. It reminded me of a strict father.
"Yes-uh-my name is Marianna Fischer. I was recently assigned to the BAU." I stumbled over my words at first but recovered and finished well.
At first he looked confused, like he was trying to remember where he had heard my name before. I forced myself not to bite my lip, I wanted to come off as professional as possible. After a moment his face changed to one of recognition. "Fischer! Yes, of course, Fischer." He shuffled through some of the papers on his desk and retrieved one from a pile. "Marianna Fischer, from Madison, Wisconsin?" He asked. I nodded without a word. "I see..." He trailed off, reading through the paper intently for a few seconds.
"You have your file?" He questioned. "Yes, sir." I said, taking a few steps forward and resting a small portion of the box on his desk, allowing me to freely move my right arm. Paying close attention so as to not risk knocking over any of the pictures on the edge of his desk I relished the feeling as much of the box's weight was no longer on my arms. I used my free hand to hand him the documents he requested.
"Thank you." He flipped open the file, examining it just as closely as he had done to the other paper before smiling slightly. The smile caught me off guard a little. It wasn't very big, a polite smile more than anything, but it looked strange on him. Not a bad strange, of course, but I suppose I was already used to the stern-faced man I had seen when walking through the door.
His eyes moved from the paper back up to me and I looked at him anxiously. He set the papers down on the desk and stretched out a hand to me. "Welcome to the team, Ms. Fischer. I've heard a lot good things about you, I trust you wont let me down."
I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face at that moment, eagerly taking his hand with my free one and shaking it. "Of course not sir, and please, call me Marie."
Ms. Fischer sounded strange to me, and I wasn't a fan of my full name. My parents had given me the nickname Marie when I was born, but believed I needed a more formal name for when I got out into the work world, so I was stuck with having to tell everyone to just call me Marie.
"Hotch." He returned. "Follow me, I'll show you to your desk and introduce you to the rest of the team." With that he made his way around his desk, passing me and heading to the door. I quickly picked up my box despite the protest of my sore arms and followed him out of his office.
Descending the stairs was more difficult than getting up them. I had to keep up with Hotch, but at the same time I had to make sure I didn't miss a step. Which was difficult without being able to look at them. Thankfully I was able to make it down without any tripping, and I quickly followed after him.
Hotch came to a stop beside an empty desk and put a hand down on it. "This is your desk, and that-" He pointed at the desk beside mine. "-is the desk of Emily Prentiss. One of the members of the team." I nodded, making a mental note of her name. If I was going to be sitting right next to her I was going to have to learn her name fast.
"Morgan!" Hotch raised his voice to get the attention of someone. I quickly put my box down on my desk, shrugging my coat off my shoulders and throwing it on the back of my new chair. I then proceeded to smooth out my shirt and pants. When I looked back up two people stood in front of me. "This is SSA Derek Morgan." Hotch introduced the man on the right who immediately extended a hand in greetings. "Pleasure to meet you." The man, Derek, said. He was charming, to say the least, but that was obviously just in his nature. "And this is Penelope Garcia, our Technical Analyst." The woman standing next to Morgan smiled wide and shook my hand enthusiastically. "What he said." I laughed lightly at this, this Penelope girl was obviously a person who enjoyed life. "This is Marie Fischer, she's the newest addition to the team." Hotch presented. "Do either of you know where the others are?"
"Prentiss and J.J. should be around here somewhere and Reid just called to say he would be back in a little while. As for Rossi, I believe he just went down to the first floor with some papers for the guys down there." Morgan answered without missing a beat. "Hotch, we'll introduce her to the rest of the gang. You can get back to your paperwork." He continued. Hotch looked a little relieved and thanked them, turning and heading back to his office after dismissing himself. When he was gone I turned to my two new teammates.
"Come on, let's go find Prentiss and J.J., they've gotta be around here somewhere." Morgan gave me a grin and turned before strolling towards what I assumed to be the direction he thought the other members of the team would be. I fell into step next to Penelope and she seemed eager to question me. "So where're you from?" She asked.
"Madison, Wisconsin." I responded. She looked a little interested in that piece of news. "That far away?" She asked, sounding surprised. "What made you come all the way to Virginia?" I shrugged. "It was a job offer I couldn't pass up. The chance was too good to let a little homesickness stop me." She laughed a little at that, nodding in agreement.
"There they are!" Morgan nearly shouted from in front of us. I looked up ahead to see two women happily conversing with each other. We approached slowly so as not to rudely interrupt them. "Hey, you two, you gonna come and meet the newest addition to our family?" He asked them from a ways away. The two look up, surprised by Morgan. We closed the remaining distance between the two parties and the introductions ensued.
"Guys, this is Marie Fischer. Marie, this Emily Prentiss and this is Jennifer Jareau, or just J.J. for short." The two girls smiled at the same time and greeted me with a "Nice to meet you." I made a point to remember which one was Emily.
So that's who I'm going to be sitting by from now on.
Fair enough, she looked like a nice person from what I could see.
Conversations might be a little difficult to come up with, considering she doesn't look like much of a conversationalist, but I'm sure we'll think of something to talk about. And if not then we'll both just pretend to be too busy with our work to talk.
The thought of it made me smile wider. "Have you guys introduced her to Rossi or Spencer yet?" The one called J.J. asked. Morgan shook his head. "Reid just called to say that he'll be back soon and Rossi went to drop some papers off downstairs a little while ago."
"What did I go to do a little while ago?" A voice came from behind us. We all turned and I saw Penelope and Morgan smile. "Rossi, we were just wondering when you'd get back. We wanted to introduce you to the new kid." Morgan teased. I couldn't help but roll my eyes a little. "This is Marie Fischer."
Rossi brought his hand out for me to shake and I took it. "David Rossi, good to meet you." I smiled and said a quick "you too" back.
How many more of these am I going to have to go through? It would have been much faster and easier if I could have been introduced to all of them at once.
A nice thought, but it was pointless to think about at this time. Just one more and I would be done. Whenever he got here that is. Penelope turned to me after all was said and spoke. "I'll help you unpack your stuff for now, we'll introduce you to Spencer when he gets here." I agreed and followed her back to my desk, trying not to bump into anyone else working there.
She was the first to my desk and wasted no time in opening up my box. She rifled through the contents for a moment before pouting. "No pictures?" she asked in an almost sad tone. I shook my head with a laugh. "No, sorry. I've never really been one for pictures. Besides, I don't have any good ones to put on my desk anyways." She looked a little upset by this but quickly recovered. "Well then, we'll just have to get you some good pictures that you can put on it!" She said.
Are pictures really that important?
With that she began emptying the contents of the box, setting them out onto the desk in a fashion that she believed to be acceptable. I had two puzzle items that she examined before grinning. "If Spencer were here he'd have this finished in ten seconds flat." I laughed. "Oh really? What is he, some sort of genius?" It was her turn to laugh. "Yes, that's exactly what he is."
A genius, huh? I've never met a genius before.
"There! Perfect, now you're all set to be an official member of the family!" She had just finished arranging out all the contents of the box and I looked over her work, finding it to be to my liking. I looked over and grinned at her. "I'm excited to be a part of it."
