Disclaimer: see Chapter 1.

A/N: I introduce and mention more original characters here, and each of them is – in name – a reference to Thomas Gibson and some of the CM writers (both past and present).


"Colonel, can I have a word with you?" JJ asked before he could escape the room. The meeting had just ended, and she was determined to speak with him before things could get out of hand.

He stopped and turned, his stance resembling that of a petulant child.

"I need to know why I'm getting such attitude from you?"

Though he clearly understood what she was asking and why, he merely responded with a surly, "What?"

"If this team is going to run smoothly, then we need to stop butting heads. So what is it about me that bothers you? Am I too young? Too inexperienced? Too much of a bureaucrat?"

The Colonel sighed. "This may surprise you, but it's none of those."

JJ was confused. "Then what?"

"There are a lot of lives at stake. How can I trust you with that when I know you don't even want to be here," he stated vehemently. "I know how hard you tried to avoid this post."

"It's true I'd rather be back at the BAU," she acknowledged. "But I'm here now, and don't think for a second that I won't put all my efforts into doing this job right. And yes, part of that is looking out for everyone. I hope after this mission, you'll be able to recognize that," she said and strode out of the room.


It had been a grueling first case: insurgents, IEDs, misinterpreted intel. But her people had all made it home, and that was all that mattered.

JJ stood in front of her squad and addressed them.

"There are a couple of things about me that you should know. First I do whatever it takes to protect my family, and you are now a part of that. I will do whatever it takes to protect you from both the terrorists firing bullets and missiles at you and the bureaucrats trying to suffocate you with red tape.

"Secondly, I recognize that you do whatever it takes to survive. You may end up doing things the politicians don't agree with, things you don't agree with. But you do what you have to. I will never throw you to the wolves for doing what you have to in order to come home alive.

"Those are the two tenets that I abide by. I would appreciate it if you kept them in mind as well."

"Why not tell us this when we first met you?" asked a captain whose name she didn't know yet.

"Because then my words would've meant nothing to you. For all you would have known, I could be all talk and no action. After this case, I'm hoping there's less of a chance that you'll just brush off what I just said."

She glanced over at the Colonel and was relieved to see a slight nod of recognition.


Silence threatened to suffocate the MTAC room.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," Captain Messer whispered, her eyes moving from the static-laden screens to JJ.

JJ laid her hand on the Captain's shoulder. "We did everything we could." Everyone in the room listened with rapt attention. "We can't dwell on it. Everyone, take the rest of the day off and come back tomorrow with your heads clear. If we're going to have any chance of turning this around, we need to be able to refocus. And I'll stress one thing: this is no one's fault. When I say take the day off, I don't mean for each of you to spend tonight racking yourselves with guilt. Do something enjoyable or relaxing. That's an order."

When she finished, she quickly left the room to escape from ensuing silence.

As she settled into her office to bury herself in files, she was interrupted.

"You should follow your own orders."

JJ looked up to see Major Fisher standing in front of her desk. "Sorry?"

"I don't think you're so different from the rest of us that you would consider files and paperwork to be enjoyable or relaxing."

"And if I did?"

"I'd consider you an alien or some non-human species."

JJ couldn't help but crack a slight smile.

"You're not blaming yourself are you?" Major Fisher asked.

"If I told you I'm not, would you believe me?"

"No."

"Then why ask?"

"Because you said, 'this is no one's fault,' but you're blaming yourself. Kinda hypocritical, don't you think?"

"So you're the hypocrisy police?"

Major Fisher smiled. "Not at all. Like I said, you need to follow your own orders. Go home. Take the rest of the day off."

JJ returned the smile. "I'm pretty sure I'm the boss here."

"You are. But that doesn't mean you can't take some time off."

"The team needs something to work with tomorrow when we reconvene."

"And they'll get it, but it doesn't need to be the product of another one of your late nights in the office. You have too many of those."

JJ didn't move from her place behind the desk.

"All right," Major Fisher sighed. "You leave me no choice."

JJ watched her in confusion as she walked around the desk.

"Hey, wha-?" JJ blurted as Major Fisher started pushing JJ's chair – and JJ along with it – around the desk and towards the door.

"Sorry, but you don't really get a choice here. Colonel Wilder is waiting outside to see if he has to carry you out to your car. Call it a conspiracy of the masses if you want. You're going home too."


"Hey there, kiddo." Colonel Breen Wilder sauntered into JJ's office.

JJ's eyes narrowed. "When are you going to stop calling me that?"

Colonel Wilder grinned. "Probably never."

"How about when I'm 50?"

"Kiddo, you're not even 35, and you've already had nearly 7 years with the BAU elite, not to mention you're our esteemed leader now," Major Fisher explained. "You'll always be younger than everyone of your stature."

"Great." JJ rolled her eyes. "I should just get myself demoted."

"Pffth," Colonel Wilder snorted. "That'll never happen."

"Fine. Then I guess I'll just have to call you Breen or maybe Bream. They're fish, right?"

He wrinkled his nose. "You can't be serious."

Major Fisher and JJ laughed.

"Sorry I'm late," Captain Messer gasped, bolting into the room. "Lost track of time."

"It's all right, kiddo." JJ got up from her desk. "Let's head over to the conference room."

Captain Messer made a face. "Kiddo?"

JJ smiled vindictively. "Now you know how I feel."


"You're leaving?" Captain Ly asked. His face reflected the rest of the team's: a mixture of disappointment and sadness.

"I've completed my assignment. Now I essentially get any post I want."

"And you've chosen the BAU," Major Fisher stated rather than asked. It really was sort of a given.

"I belong there. Besides, I still have to advise your sorry asses from Quantico when I'm needed."

"You'll always be needed." Lieutenant Commander Frazier was practically pouting.

"Nonsense, you don't need me to lead this team. I don't think you ever have. And besides, that's why I trained Montgomery and Nyland."

"No offense," Colonel Wilder cut in. "I know you can work wonders, but I don't quite trust the two of them to lead the way I trust you."

"You didn't trust me at the beginning either. Give them time."


"For having been there less than a year, it sounds like you were close to them."

"I was. Ever read Harry Potter? There are just some things you can't help but go through together without ending up close friends."

"It's just surprising to me that you could let people in so quickly." Dr. Zissou picked up a file and started riffling through it.

"Why? Does my file say I'm a 'cold-hearted bitch'?"

Dr. Zissou's hands stopped in their tracks. "Oh no, quite the contrary."

"Then?"

"You seem to me to be the sort of person that shies away from close relationships."

JJ cocked an eyebrow. "I don't mean to toot my own horn by any means, but I think I make connections with people quite easily."

Dr. Zissou smiled. "You form the illusion of connection and closeness quite easily. Actually giving yourself to the relationship is a different story." JJ opened her mouth to protest, but Dr. Zissou put down the file and quickly continued, "But that's something for another time. Instead, tell me about your team."

JJ took a deep breath and then began, "Our team consisted of a couple units. It was a mixture of all the military branches, the State Department, Department of Defense, etc. I mainly worked with five other people, and they're whom I grew close to.

"I guess I'll start with Colonel Breen Wilder. He was a Marine with a long, impressive record. In our team, he led our execution unit." At this Dr. Zissou's eyebrows migrated toward his hairline, so JJ quickly explained, "It sounds like he was head of an assassination squad, but I assure you, it was actually taking the information we'd gotten and using that to strategize the best way to execute the mission.

"His second-in-command – 2IC for short – was Lieutenant Commander Andrew Frazier of the Navy. He's got a quick mind for improvising. If something ever went wrong during a mission, he could always be counted on to find a quick solution.

"Army Major Erica Fisher was the head of our intelligence unit. She had a lot of experience working with the CIA, so she was in charge of dealing with them to acquire and confirm our intel. She was sort of a mama bear – caring and kind until someone got hurt. If that ever happened, you could expect her to growl at and chew out anyone who stood in her way.

"Her 2IC was Marine Captain Ed Ly. He's extremely astute and very well rounded. He can muddle his way through reams of paper packed with information, whittle out the pertinent parts, and then amaze you with stealthy reconnaissance.

"Captain Debra Messer of the Air Force was in charge of our techie unit. She's young, but she plays well with others and her 'toys' also known as any equipment that has electrical parts she can fiddle with."

"That sounds like a rather clinical assessment of them." He had wanted a more personal account of the team, something a little more telling. "I feel I could have gotten that information from their files."

"Explaining our relationship dynamics would be extremely difficult. There's no way I can even put into words what it was like, at least not in a way that I feel will be true to how it actually was."

"Tell me what you can."

"To sum it up, we had our silly moments when we just let go." JJ managed a small smile. "We had this joke that the Colonel, Major and I were the Three Musketeers, while the Captains and Lieutenant Commander were more like the Three Stooges. Three and three, but still one for all, and all for one."

"And now?"

"We're a mere fragment of who we once were."