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CHAPTER 7
"JJ, are you ready to go?" Hotch asked as he turned off the car in the bureau parking lot. Everyone was arriving for the day, he had just seen Reid entering the elevator through the glass doors and could see Emily kissing her husband goodbye as she was dropped off at work. JJ had apparently seen Emily's family and seemed to be watching them intently. He had noticed how JJ seemed to avoid Emily more than she used to, but was at odds of how to explain it.
JJ looked away in pain as she saw Emily open the back door of the small SUV and presumably kiss her daughter goodbye. Taking a deep breath, she answered, "Yeah, Let's go."
Mentally cataloging her reactions to seeing Emily kiss her baby goodbye, Hotch climbed out of the car. "What do you think of having the team over on Saturday?" He questioned, "They really haven't gotten to spend any time with you outside of work since you've been back."
"Erm, yeah. That'd be great." JJ said, obviously distracted in her own thoughts as she exited the car and began walking slowly enough to not catch up with Emily to ride the elevator up to their floor.
Emily, however, seemed to sense JJ's presence and turned around to see both Hotch and JJ walking slowly behind her. Stopping, so they could catch up, Hotch didn't miss the slight groan that JJ quickly stifled before she smiled at her friend.
"Oh, I have the cutest picture of Meri to show you..." Emily started to look quickly through her bag.
"Agent Jareau?" a taller female agent interrupted, nearly out of breath from running. "Section Chief Strauss sent me to find you and bring you to her office immediately."
"Sorry, Em. I've gotta go." JJ apologized, secretly glad to be ending the conversation, "Why does Strauss need to see me?" JJ asked, falling in step with the female agent as they headed into the building and into the elevator.
"All I know is that someone is waiting in her office to speak with you, Agent Jareau."
"No idea what it's about?" JJ asked as they reached the right floor.
"Not really, but whoever it is was accompanied by Secret Service Agents." The other agent replied as they reached the door to Strauss's office, "I'm sorry I don't know anything else."
"It's okay, see you around." JJ smiled, taking a deep breath before she opened the door to Strauss's office.
"Good afternoon Agent Jareau." Strauss offered, standing to introduce the man in her office, "This is Secretary Timothy Geithner of the Treasury Department. He is here to request to Behavioral Analysis Unit's help in finding a leak in his department that threatens national security."
JJ fought a groan. This is turning into a great day. A mole in the treasury department, what are the going to do? Steal our money? Oh wait, that's the IRS's job. JJ thought to herself cynically. "I'll get the team together."
JJ began to make her way to Hotch's office when she was stopped. "JJ, I'm so glad to see you!" Kevin shouted, running up to her. "I know you can talk some sense into my Penny."
"Kevin, I don't know how to help you. I don't know if its the best idea for me to get involved." JJ said, hoping that Kevin would take her word for it and find out another way.
"No, you can do this. I know it. She's taking a ridiculous stand on this..." Kevin began, cutting himself off abruptly. "Please JJ, I just want my wife back."
JJ began shifting her weight from leg to leg, not sure what to say. She had no idea why Garcia even left, let alone how she could possibly get the couple back together.
"Kevin, I really have to go find Hotch, but I'll see what I can do." JJ answered, "I'm not promising anything though."
"I understand. Thank you so much!" Kevin smiled as JJ took off quickly towards Hotch's office to find him hanging up the phone.
"Hey JJ, do you mind if Jack comes over for the weekend? That was Hailey, she's going to her sister's and she needs me to watch him." Hotch explained, "Her sister is having a baby."
"Hotch it's your house, you can have over whoever you want, but I think Henry would love to have someone to play with." JJ smiled, "That is if we can solve this case in time to actually have a decent weekend."
"What case?"
"The Treasury Department has a leak and the Secretary of the Treasury just made a personal visit down here to ask for our assistance."
"Great." Hotch groaned uncharacteristically. He had run ins with the Treasury Secretary before, and had never liked the man. "Meet in the conference room in five minutes?" He suggested.
"I'll gather the team." JJ nodded, quickly leaving the room.
Twenty minutes after briefing the team, the unit arrived at the Treasury office, ready to find the mole that threatened national security. The team walked in purposefully when JJ stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of a certain Secret Service Agent. "Devon?" She asked happily, causing the team to look curiously at the man that had elicited such an odd reaction from JJ who had avoided most of them at all costs.
"JJ?" The man whipped around to check and see if it was really her.
"I haven't seen you in ages!" JJ smiled, walking up to shake his hand.
"It's been what, like 5 years?" Devon asked, ignoring the hand and wrapping JJ in a hug.
JJ quickly pulled away, feeling her stomach churn slightly, though incredibly happy to see her old friend again. "Yeah, something like that." She smiled politely, but with far less enthusiasm than earlier.
"I thought I heard you left the FBI?" Devon pressed slightly, desiring to catch up on old times.
"Erm, yeah." JJ was suddenly at a loss for words. "I, um, just got reinstated about two weeks ago."
Sensing she was hiding something, but not really wanting to talk about it, Devon backed off a little, "So what brings you to my neck of the woods?"
"I'm here with my team." JJ supplied, "Apparently the Secretary thinks we're capable of handling a situation he has."
"Oh watch out for him JJ. He's married, but that hasn't stopped him from trying to get into every woman's pants he meets." Devon informed.
JJ shuddered involuntarily. "Just what I need." She muttered under her breath.
"Any luck?" JJ asked as Hotch stood next to her at the coffee machine. They had been there a little of two hours and had already narrowed the suspect list down to three disgruntled Treasury workers who were stuck on the bottom of the totem pole. The problem now arising was trying to find out which one it was. All three had been passed over for promotion after promotion, working at starting government pay, all three were likely suspects. JJ was discovering that if when the team looked into the CIA was anything like this, she was glad that she was stuck in Quantico with Garcia.
"We found our guy. Micheal Clancy has ties to the Marrano crime family, which has a record for counterfeitting large sums of money." Hotch told her, a smile twitching in the corners of his mouth. He was pretty impressed with his team, they had found a mole in less than three hours, a new record. He found it more than a little preposterous that they had been stuck doing this when there were serious crimes to solve. There was absolutely no reason that this had to be a BAU case.
"Great, I'll go tell the Secretary of Treasury." JJ informed him, a fake smile blossoming on her face.
"Want me to go with you?" Hotch offered, "I heard what your friend said about him."
"Maybe you could just wait outside the door? Just in case he does get a little out of hand?" JJ questioned, "I don't want to take any chances."
"Of course." Hotch assured her as they made their way to the man's office. Stopping outside the door JJ sighed deeply, gathering her courage. Feeling ready, she pushed the door open. Hotch, standing outside the door could hear every word.
"Mr. Secretary, a word?" JJ asked politely.
"For you darling, anything." Geithner smiled, causing her breathing to accellerate.
"We have identified the leak in your department."
"Well, isn't that something." Geithner mused, coming to stand next to JJ. "Who is it?"
JJ fought the nervousness that accompanied the close proximity to this man. "Why don't you join my team back in the conference room and they can fill you in?" She suggested.
"Or, you and I could stay here, alone, together--" The Secretary mused.
JJ was completely at odds of what to do, feeling herself falling into a 'deer in the headlights' moment. Fortunately, Hotch wasn't slow and picked that very moment to enter the office. "Secretary Geithner, our team has advised the Secret Service of Michael Clancy as your leak and they are arresting him as we speak. If there is nothing else, we all have to get back to Quantico."
Smiling JJ moved to stand next to Hotch, "Yes, I'm sorry we have to leave so soon. It's just that we're having a welcome home party at our house tomorrow afternoon."
A quickly masked look of disbelief passed over the Secretary's face as he caught JJ's meaning of 'our' house, "Please tell your team thank you for solving our problem so quickly, Agent Hotchner. That will be all we need your help for at this time."
"Very well." Hotch nodded, he and JJ turning to walk out the door--his hand placed securely on the small of her back, something Secretary Geithner didn't miss. He felt his spirits soar, even pretending to be with JJ seemed too much happiness to handle. Hotch cleared his throat awkwardly, knowing that he was getting to far ahead of himself. JJ wasn't ready and it would be a long time before she was--even if she did want him.
"Well Hotch, if I got my say, you'd get an Oscar." JJ said happily as they entered the elevator. Hotch smiled as he heard her, the voice that had been so consumed with anguish was finally getting some of it's former light back, even if for just a moment.
"Please JJ, you carried our performance." Hotch teased back. He had never been particularly funny, but she brought out something different in him--something no one else ever saw. He realized that he had never removed his hand, awkwardly putting it back in his pocket, hoping that he hadn't made JJ feel awkward in anyway.
"I've never liked Geithner, he's a pompous know-it-all." Hotch smiled, sure that he wasn't quite ready to reveal his real reason to the blonde.
"Not to mention he gives me the creeps." JJ added, a disgusted look on her face. "I'm just glad we managed to still get some sort of a weekend."
"Oh, yeah me too." Hotch added, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from breaking into a full blown grin, "Hailey wants us to just pick Jack up on the way home, that okay?"
"Sure." JJ smiled, "By the way, is he allergic to anything? I was thinking of making sugar cookies with Henry and Jack later for when everyone comes over, but I won't if he's allergic to eggs or flour or some of the toppings."
"He's allergic to peanut butter and pineapple."
"Well, I guess I won't be able to make peanut butter and pineapple cookies." JJ teased. "Although I guess my second choice would be chocolate chip."
AN/ As always, we'd love to know what you think!
