The next morning arrived both too quickly and too slowly for Parker. She had a restless night and didn't sleep for more than half an hour at a time. Around four o'clock she gave up on sleep and arranged her clothes in the wardrobe. She put together a go bag - knowing that it probably wouldn't be long until she was dragged to another state. Soon it was time to get ready and she showered before pulling on the reasonably crumple free suit. Gazing at her tired face in the mirror, she pulled her dark blonde hair into a ponytail. No matter how she styled her hair or applied her make-up she always felt she too closely resembled her aunt. Not that she'd have been able to hide their relationship. She had begged Erin to let her use her father's name when she joined the FBI but her aunt had assured her that there were plenty of agents with relatives who held senior ranks, and that it was better for the connection to be known from the outset. But now, more than ever, she wished she was not walking into a new job with Parker Strauss emblazoned across her security pass.

An alarm sounded on her phone at half seven, signalling that it was time to leave. She took one last look at herself in the mirror. She supposed she looked presentable. She swung her go bag over one shoulder and then hooked her handbag over her arm. Fighting every bit of her body that wanted to lie back down on the mattress, she left the apartment and flagged down a taxi.

Arriving at Quantico she forced a smile as she paid and thanked the taxi driver. Well, this was it - time for her new start. She sighed a little as she walked towards the entrance. She didn't want to be here.

/
/

"Good, you're on time," Erin greeted her as she made her way along the corridor to her aunt's office.

"I wasn't sure where you wanted me," Parker murmured quietly, suddenly feeling nervous.

"Here's fine - I'll show you to the BAU offices." Parker simply nodded and fell into stride with the older woman. "Don't look so worried."

"Are you sure about this?" Parker asked, offering her aunt a chance to change her mind about the transfer. Before Erin could reply to her niece she spotted the man she was looking for just ahead of them in the corridor.

"Agent Hotchner," she called. The man stopped and turned towards them. Parker didn't fail to notice the way his shoulders tensed as he registered their presence. She could tell he was irritated. Great. And they hadn't even been introduced. "This is Agent Parker Strauss," Erin presented her niece.

"Sir," Parker nodded, with no hint of the cheek she had shown her aunt the day before.

"SSA Aaron Hotchner," he introduced, holding his hand out to Parker.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir," she shook his hand politely and smiled as genuinely as she could manage. He gave her a nod in response and then turned to Strauss.

"We have a case. The team are on their way in. Perhaps, Agent Strauss would be better getting settled in before she joins us." Parker looked down at the ground in an attempt to avoid making eye contact with the man, who seemed to be making no effort to disguise his dislike of her joining the team.

"She starts today. It'll be good for her to see how you work right from the start," Strauss replied in a tone that made it clear she was not discussing the matter. She rested her hand on Parker's shoulder for a second in a gesture that her niece took to be reassurance and a wish of good luck. "Keep me updated," she called as she walked away, directing the comment at Hotchner but with a look that said she wanted to know how Parker was getting on.

Ten minutes later, after a brief tour of the offices and bull pen, in which Hotchner had barely spoken to her, Parker was led into a meeting room where the rest of the team sat around the table.

"This is Agent Parker Strauss," Hotchner announced to the room. She watched their expressions change momentarily as her surname registered. "She'll be joining us as of today." He motioned towards an empty chair and she smiled at everyone as she sat down. "JJ can you go ahead and present the case, please? There will be time for introductions later." JJ stood up and brought up the first set of photos on the screen. Parker chewed her lip absent-mindedly as she tried to pay attention to what was going on around her. Despite her best efforts to focus on JJ's presentation her mind drifted back to the living hell that had been the past few weeks and the prospect of more misery which lay ahead. This was worse than any punishment she could have imagined.