Chapter One
"Hey, Cola, come meet my cousin." Deb, Nicolet's best-friend despite her constantly annoying habit of calling Nicolet 'Cola' (as in Coca), pulled Nicolet off the couch where she was reading her book and up in front of a friendly-looking blond holding a newborn baby.
"JJ, this is Nicolet, we used to go to school together. Cola, this is JJ and her baby boy!" Deb introduced them to one another. "Hi it's nice to meet you." smiled.
Nicolet, at a loss for anything to say, smiled back, "Did you know male babies are becoming less and less common? It is thought that in a relatively short time - by relative I mean thousands of years - it is possible the male gender may disappear altogether."
JJ laughed, "Man do I miss that." she grinned. "What?" Nicolet inquired, with Deb having run off to talk to more family members at the Christmas party Nicolet had been dragged to.
"Random spurts of information. I've been off work for a month now, but you remind me of another agent." JJ explained. Deb appeared all of a sudden, "You mean the uber-smart one? Cola here is a genius too! They're about the same age, right?" she asked her cousin.
JJ thought about this. Reid was twenty-seven and Deb was twenty-five. "Yeah," she agreed, "We should hook them up some time! Cola never goes out on dates!" Deb nodded enthusiastically.
"Deb!" Nicolet hissed. Nicolet always had many suitors, even now working an incredibly plain job as a secretary to a legal firm while still writing her stories on the side. But she never took any men up on their offers. She always felt so awkward and uncomfortable.
"Hey, you know what? Neither does Reid. You're right, Deb, we should get them on a blind date." JJ decided impulsively.
"No, no please that's ok I'm ok I'm sure this guy is nice and all but -" Nicolet's protests were cut off.
As the night wore on and she was introduced to more of Deb's family, she found herself sticking close to JJ - taking comfort in JJ's child's company but declining to hold him when asked if she wanted to. The baby was terribly cute but she didn't trust herself not to drop him, and anyway, he seemed to fit so well in JJ's arms - he never would in hers, she was sure.
"How did you meet Deb?" JJ asked now, while eating dinner. "University. I've been to Christmases before but have never met you." Nicolet replied, "Yeah I was probably working or doing something like that." JJ smiled. "High-maintenance job?" Nicolet inquired.
"Well, you could say that. I worked for the FBI…with the BAU. Tracking down perverts and murderers." JJ explained, "Sounds scary." Nicolet commented. "You could say that, but also entirely satisfying putting those creeps away. Plus I was part of a great team." JJ said.
"That's lucky, then. I really only have one friend. And I don't keep in touch with my family…just my sister." Nicolet had never admitted that fact to someone so quickly.
JJ gave Nicolet a sympathetic look. "So then, Deb says you're a genius…?" she changed the subject. Nicolet blushed, "Oh! No, I…just the gifted program and I graduated high school half-way through the year…I had enough credits. Sometimes it feels like I'm cheating though." Nicolet confessed.
"How?" JJ questioned, "Well I have a…I'm not sure what you'd call it. I just remember things I hear. Lyrics to songs, conversations had by people, words read out loud." Nicolet blushed, "It sounds so far-fetched, I know…"
"No, no. Reid remembered everything he read it was actually quite cool." JJ assured Nicolet. Nicolet was glad for what she was sure was a lie on JJ's behalf.
"Cola! How you liking JJ?" Deb grinned, sneaking up behind the two women and throwing her arms around them. "G-great." Nicolet smiled, a bit thrown off kilter. "How about Reid, then?" Deb pestered.
"I'm going in next week anyway to visit. I'll set it all up then." JJ decided, "Her phone number is my phone number, ok, JJ?" Deb checked.
Nicolet sighed. It seemed nothing could be done about her best-friend's matchmaking ways. But that was ok. One date and this Reid would be scared off anyhow.
