(Here's Chapter 7! I hope you enjoy. Review!)

The rest of the weekend is thankfully quiet. I spend a quiet Sunday alone, doing laundry and dishes, restocking my fridge and pantry (it turns out I hadn't been exaggerating when I told Garcia I was out of food), and relaxing. With the BAU, it's something of an anomaly to have time off, and I've learned to cling to the time I'm given.

Monday morning dawns much too early for my liking, but I get up anyway. I'm the first in the office this morning. It's uncommon for me to beat Hotch here, but I assume he'll be in soon enough. I dive into my emails and the next thing I know, hours have passed and it's ten o' clock. On my way to the kitchen to refill my coffee cup, I swing by Emily's desk.

"Has anyone heard from Hotch this morning?"

"Nope. Not a word. You think he's sick?"

I can't help but snort a little at her question. "Are we talking about the same person? Aaron Hotchner? At this point, I think germs are afraid of him. I can't say that I've even heard him cough."

"Maybe he's got a secret girlfriend none of us know about, and he overslept."

"You sound like Garcia. He's probably just in a meeting."

She cocks a perfect eye brow at me. "A meeting that you aren't aware of? Not possible. I like my theory better." I don't bother answering as I resume my trek for my caffeine. "You never know! Stranger things have happened.!" She calls, following after me with her own coffee cup.

"You don't think it's more probable that he maybe had to do something with Jack this morning? Like a parent teacher conference or something?"

"Probably, but where's the fun in that?" She holds out her cup and I top it off.

"So how was your weekend?" I ask.

She shrugs as she retrieves creamer from the fridge. "Nothing to write home about. Spent some time at the shooting range, cuddled with Sergio, binged some History channel. You?"

"The same. Went grocery shopping, apparently for the first time this year. Went for a run in the park."

We're walking back through the bull pen when we see Hotch up on the catwalk. "JJ, Prentiss, everyone's in the conference room."

"Is everything okay? Do we have a case?"

"Not a case."

I make eye contact with Emily and I can see that she also didn't miss that he only answered one of my questions. We follow him.

"Did something happen?" Emily ventures.

He glances over his shoulder.
"It's nothing like that. In fact, it's some good news for once. I've been in Strauss's office all morning. We're getting a new addition to the team. I didn't want to say anything prematurely, but it's official. I think it will be a good fit. His name is-"

"Spencer?" The name falls out of my mouth before I have a chance to stop it. Because none other than the lanky, brown eyed genius from Pennsylvania is standing in the BAU conference room.

"I take it you've already met Dr. Spencer Reid? He's joining us from the University of Buffalo where he's been teaching applied physics and linguistics." I brush past Hotch to give Spencer a hug.

"So this is what brings you to DC! Why didn't you tell me?"

"I tried!" he grins. "When you said you were at the BAU I was about to tell you I had been brought in, but you left before I had a chance."

"Hold up, how do you know JJ?" asks Morgan.

"We grew up together!" I reply for him. "We've known each other since we were, what 4? 5?"

"When we met I was 4 years and 247 days old and were 4 years and 129 days old."

I can't help but smirk at he stunned looks on everyone's faces. "He's an actual genius. IQ of 187 and an eidetic memory. Get ready to hate him."

"Wait so does that mean you have all kinds of embarrassing stories about JJ? The stuff she's too prissy to tell us about?" Morgan asks with a devilish grin.

"What? No. And even if he did, he wouldn't tell you. Right?" I throw a glance over my shoulder.

"Of course not. No stories. None," he replies with a lopsided grin.

"Well that's the news. He's officially on, starting today, but Dr. Reid we do need to get some more paperwork filled out, if you'll follow me." Hotch says, clearly wanting us all to get back to our paperwork.

"I guess this solves the problem of you knowing how to get in touch with me," I say, butting my shoulder playfully into his as we walk out of the room. "I mean, what are the chances?"

"Well-" he begins, with a look I remember very well.

"Never mind, I don't actually want to know," I reassure him. I see Hotch waiting ahead. "Hey, I'll catch up with you later, alright?"

He awkwardly waves as he walks towards our boss. "See you Jayje."

I walk back to my office where I find Emily waiting for me. "Okay you have to tell me all about this kid."

I can't help but laugh. "Like what?"

"Like… Eidetic memory? C'mon, that's not real."

"No it is. He remembers everything he's ever read. And can repeat most conversations verbatim. He also probably speaks more languages than you do."

Her face is the picture of offense. "What? He does not!"

"I mean I can't know for sure but by the time we graduated he already knew Spanish, French, and Portuguese. I can only imagine what languages he's picked up in the last 12 years."

"That is insane. No one should be that smart. Is he just like, infuriating to be around?"

I plop down in my chair. "No, he's not too bad. He can be a tad awkward, a little bad at reading social cues, but other than that he's great."

"Did you two ever date?"

I shake my head, giving her a look. "No way. Spence was my best friend. I spent all of my time playing soccer and he spent all of his time… I don't know. Being a genius, I guess." She tilted her head to the side and pursed her lips. "What?"

"Nothing! It's just… Hmm. Interesting."

"What's interesting?"

She shrugs. "Nothing, I just… I don't know. I mean I moved around a lot as a kid. No one has known me for that long."

"Yeah, well… Like I said, we've been out of touch since we graduated."

She hums quietly, shrugging her shoulders. "Well, it'll be nice to catch up, anyways."

I wiggle my mouse, bringing my screen back to life. "Yeah. It will be."

A few hours later, my stomach began to grumble and I decided to run out for lunch. As I walk across the bull pen, I see Spence sitting at his new desk, arranging large leather bound novels along the edge of his cubicle. I make a detour and come to stand beside him.

"Settling in okay?"

"Yeah!" He spins slightly in his chair.

"Has anyone given you the grand tour?"

"Well, if by grand tour you mean, shown me the kitchen, the bathrooms, and the conference room, then yes."

"And was it grand?"

"Very much so."

"Glad to hear it. Have you had lunch? We could go grab something, catch up?"

He gives me a sheepish look. "Oh man, I definitely would but-"

"-but I already beat you to the punch, Blondie." Morgan puts an arm around my shoulder. "We're going to lunch so I can dig around and uncover all of your deep, dark aren't invited."

I roll my eyes. "And what exactly are you hoping to find? I grew up in the middle of nowhere, I went to school, I played soccer, I went to college, I came here. Little of consequence happened along the way."

"Yeah, yeah, you can keep up the 'All American, Girl-Next-Door' act. There has to be something juicy hidden in your past, and I'm going to find it."

"If you say so, Morgan. We'll catch up later, okay?"

Spence nods. "Of course!"

Almost six hours later, my eyes are burning. I log out of my email, and set my office phone to forward to my cell. Collecting my purse from underneath me desk, I leaned forward to switch off the lamp.

I hear a knock and look up to find Spencer standing in the doorway. "You headed out?"

"Yeah! I think if I fill out one more report my head is going to explode," I joke. "You?"

"Yeah I'm done for the day. Did you want to grab a bite? Catch up?"

"That sounds great!" I switch off the lamp and walked towards him. "What are you in the mood for?" I ask as I lock the door after me.

"Well actually I was thinking-"

"Agent Jareau! Just the person I was looking for." I turn to find Chief Strauss striding towards me. "I was wondering if you had a chance to look over the potential serial arsonist case in Texas?"

"Yes ma'am, I believe I Cc'd you on the findings I sent to Agent Hotchner."

She gives a wry smile. "Excellent. I'm on my way to a meeting with the governor and the lead fire marshal, I wonder if you will accompany me and relay your findings in person?" she asks, but I know it's not a question.

"Of course."

"Excellent." She turns her gaze away from me. "Dr. Reid. How was your first day with the unit?"

"It went well. Everyone was very accommodating."

"Glad to hear it. Shall we?" Her focus is back on me.

I adjust the strap of my bag on my shoulder and give Spence a smile. "Not in stars, I guess. To be rescheduled?" I ask him, taking a step towards the Chief.

He gives a half wave before clutching the strap of his messenger bag. "To be rescheduled," he assures me.