A/N: Right so I know I talked about longer chapters at some point, but I feel like this one has come to its natural end where it is. I hope everyone enjoys:)

Chapter 10: Tentative Partnerships

"Tell me again what's inside that antidote, and how you made it?"

Liv rolled her eyes. "It won't kill them," she sighed, uncorking one of the vials and moving to the first victim, Spencer and Agent Prentiss hovering with wary curiosity beside the morgue doctor.

"Says you. I get that you're FBI and all that, but I'd really love to –"

Liv ignored her ramblings, taking the vial and tipping some of the liquid into the first victim's mouth, gently coaxing her to swallow before moving onto the next girl.

"Hey! You can't just give them that! What –"

Liv rolled her eyes, listening as the agents and the doctor scrambled to the first girl, who groaned softly as she woke and tried to sit up.

"What happened?" she croaked.

"Easy, you're in the, uh, New Orleans mortuary," Spencer said, taking a step back to let Prentiss and the doctor take over, Liv looking over in time to see his cheeks flush with color. "You just woke up again. How do you feel?"

"I'm okay, I think. Just a little stiff, maybe?" she said, trying to stretch out. "But not that bad. Wait. Why am I in the morgue? And how long was I out?"

Liv nodded to herself, barely listening to them as she went around and woke the others, using up both vials she'd managed to make. A secondary bonus; now they wouldn't have anything to study concerning the antidote. In her experience, someone smart enough to reverse-engineer an antidote, could engineer a matching poison, and even improve on it.

The agents held off on explanations until all the victims were awake, and lucid enough for a serious conversation and light questions. She stayed off to the side, watching them talk and the confusion on the girls' faces.

Some had been asleep for over two weeks with no sustenance, no pulse. And from what the doctor could tell so far, they weren't in dire need of anything, either.

They were still booked into the nearby hospital for checkups and observation, however. Liv could understand that, even if it was unnecessary.

"Thanks, Liv. We really appreciate your assistance with this," Agent Prentiss said, coming up to her as they stood outside and watched the ambulances leave.

"It's my pleasure. Besides, I'd be happy to help out with some of the weirder cases," she shrugged, glancing at the woman beside her.

Prentiss hesitated, starting to say something when Spencer interrupted her.

"But you're headed back to Washington, right? We might as well give you a ride back," he said.

"I will be fine, though I appreciate the offer," Liv said, unsure of what exactly they meant by ride. She'd heard of 'airplanes' and how they were massive metal structures that flew through the sky. And from what she'd understood of Spencer's chatter last night, they'd arrived in a plane.

That was a kind of not-magic that Liv wasn't ready to experience yet, especially considering she was barely comfortable inside a car. Or other 'automobiles'. And trains were just… uncomfortable. She wanted her horse back, or maybe even Odahviing to give her a lift.

"We'll need to talk to Hotch and the others about it, anyway, before we agree on anything," Prentiss added, giving Spencer a long look.

Liv shook her head, offering a small smile. "It's no trouble, really. You don't need to do that for me. But I do have a shift starting at the cafe soon, so I should head over there and get to work. You know where to find me if you need anything," she finished, raising a hand in greeting and walked off, careful not to jostle her side.

"Why can't we just take her home? We still want to interrogate her, right? This is the perfect opportunity," Reid argued.

Hotch frowned, his right eye twitching a little as he listened.

"I don't really like the idea of her on a plane with us, Reid. She's already proven she can handle herself in a scrap, and she just keeps showing up places where she shouldn't," Morgan said.

"Maybe, but he has a point," Rossi nodded. "If we take her back with us, we can get to know her a little, something more casual than the interrogation was. She's also shown how quickly she closes off. And if we use her as a consultant – which we could do on a trial basis at first – we would have Liv available to us at all times. I'm still interested in that case with the cult and the masks, and with Liv working with us, we might get to the bottom of it sooner."

JJ was the one to break the long silence in the precinct boardroom. "Hotch? What do you think?"

He drew in a slow, deep breath and shifted. "I think we could afford to take her on the jet with us, and we can see during that time, if she will be useful to us as a consultant, even if it's only on a trial basis at first," he said.

"Maybe, but we know she doesn't have anywhere to live, either. She seems decent enough, and I doubt she's actually stupid enough to try to hurt any of us, but where is she going to live, if we take her on? How will we contact her? She doesn't have a cell phone," Prentiss added.

"What are you suggesting?" Hotch asked.

"I don't think that's a good idea," JJ frowned.

Reid glanced between them, mind working overtime to figure out what was implied.

"I think it's the only idea," Prentiss said. "I'm suggesting that she lives with one of us. I'm happy to take her on, I have the space without her getting lost in the house, like she might with you, Rossi. You two already dislike each other, plus you're renovating, Morgan, so that's a bad idea. I don't think having her near either Jack or Henry is any kind of good idea, and Reid… I love you, but you're too close to her to think about it objectively."

He pouted, but nodded soon after, looking away from her. He was still upset with her, but he couldn't deny her logic.

Hotchner nodded after a long moment. "Alright. If you're sure you want to take her in, Prentiss, then I agree to it. She can stay with you for as long as you feel safe with her, and we'll set up a probationary contract for Liv. However, I don't want her to know we're planning on giving her somewhere to stay, yet. Let's see if she's still keen on working with us, after we've brought her back to Quantico."

Reid's lips curled into a grin that he quickly fought down, clearing his throat. "I'll go tell her that she's welcome to come back with us on the jet." He stood, gathering up his bag and slung it over his shoulder, Hotchner nodding his approval.

"Well, if you're going I might as well drive you, Pretty Boy," Morgan said, straightening from where he'd leaned against the table and followed Reid out to the car.

"Try to be nice to her, Okay?"

"I will be polite, but I still don't really trust her," Morgan said, unlocking the car and slipping into the driver's seat.

"Yeah, fair enough. She's not that bad, you know. I think she just struggles to trust people," Reid said, buckling up and waiting for Morgan to start the car.

"And you think you might get her to open up?"

"Well, that's what we want, isn't it? To get her to tell us what she knows so we can continue on that case?"

Morgan sighed, pursing his lips as they travelled. "Reid, we do wanna know what's going on there, but just remember not to get too close, alright? She might be right in the middle of all of that, and on the wrong side, too."

"I know that –"

"I know you know, I just worry about you, okay?" he said, glancing at Reid before returning his attention to the road. "If she were almost anyone else, I'd be really happy you liked her as much as you do. I'm just not sure about her intentions yet, and my gut is saying she's a lot more dangerous than she looks."

Reid nodded, staring at his lap and fiddling with the edges of his sleeves. "Thanks, Morgan. And I know. I watched her make the antidote."

"You did what now?" Morgan exclaimed, sparing him several rapid glances. "When?"

"Yesterday and last night. I set up a place for her to make the antidote. It wasn't exactly conventional science."

"And you didn't think to tell any of us that?"

"I'm telling you. And it was already hard enough to convince any of you to let her help in the first place," Reid frowned, glaring accusingly at Morgan.

He sighed, giving in for now and focusing on driving. "Alright, fine. So what did she do to make it?"

"Honestly? It looked like alchemy."

"Alchemy? Are you serious?" Morgan chuckled, pulling into a parking space and sobering with Reid's expression. "Oh, hell. You are."

"Yup. It was interesting. I've never seen anything like it. I think I want to study it," he nodded, stepping out of the car before Morgan could reply.

They headed into the cafe, Reid already deciding to order a coffee to go when he spotted Liv balancing two trays, one on each hand and weaving through the tables to get to her destination.

She might not have looked comfortable handling so many people, or wielding the trays, but he had to admit the way she moved was calculated, graceful. Much more like a fighter than he knew Morgan to be, and that was saying something, all things considered.

"Hi! Can we offer you a table for two?" a blonde girl asked, smiling as she stepped up to them with two menus.

Reid blinked, opening his mouth to reply when Morgan answered. "No, thanks. And if it's not too much trouble, we'd like to talk to Liv, too."

"Oh, alright. Maybe something to take away, though?"

"Yes please. Medium cappuccino and four sugars, please," Reid butted in before Morgan could turn her down again.

"Coming right up!" she smiled, turning and heading to the barista.

"What? I need a coffee," Reid shrugged, grinning back at Morgan's half-hearted glare and earned a chuckle for his efforts.

The blonde stopped Liv on the way to the back, talking quickly to her and pointing at the two agents as they claimed a table for two by the door.

Reid watched as she nodded, handing off her orders and trays and strode over to the pair.

"Agents," she greeted. "What can I do for you?"

"We're willing to take you along with us. We'll leave tonight at five," Morgan said.

Liv blinked, brows twitching up for a split-second. "That's kind of you. My shift ends in three hours, so I'd like to finish my obligations before we leave."

"That's fine by us. We still have some paperwork to finish at the precinct, anyway. Just thought we'd come tell you," Morgan said, leaning back as the blonde girl from earlier placed Reid's paper cup in front of him.

"Thanks," he smiled, then turned back to Liv. "You'll be ready to go by then?"

"Of course, yes," Liv said. "Is that all? I really do need to get back to work. We're getting to rush hour," she said.

"Yeah, that's all. We'll be back," Morgan nodded.

"Excellent. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Just the bill, thanks."

Morgan came alone to pick her up at the end of her shift, her pay stashed in a pouch in her back as she sidled into the passenger seat of the car. She held Qahnaarin between her knees, the hilt resting against her shoulder as she watched houses and buildings fly past.

It was disorienting, but at least the silence wasn't particularly uncomfortable.

"How's your hand?"

"What?" she asked, blinking at Morgan.

"Your hand. You broke a couple bones when you punched that metal mask. I don't see much of a bandage on it now," he said, giving her a curious look.

"Oh, right. I heal quickly," she said, fighting down a twitch when the road dipped and her side twinged uncomfortably. There was still that annoyance, too.

He nodded, taking them straight to the airport where the jet waited for them, walking with her to the transport.

Liv stared up at it, wondering how exactly they planned to get that much metal into the sky, technology and magic be damned.

It was impossible. It had to be.

"Never been in a plane before, huh?" Morgan asked.

She half-expected a smirk, something that might show he wasn't being quite as civil as he was, but all she found was concern, sincerity.

Well. She'd take that. "No, I haven't. I can't imagine something with so much metal can get into the air," she chuckled, a little surprised when Morgan joined her.

"Yeah. But technology and science are some amazing things. I'm sure Reid can give you a long and complicated explanation about why this works, and not the other things people much smarter than me tried hundreds of years ago. You'll be fine in the air, though, and it's a lot safer than by car. If what Reid says is true."

"Which it usually is!" the doctor called, half-hanging out the hatch. "Hurry up; the pilot wants to go."

Liv chuckled softly, hurrying up the stairs to enter the plane, Morgan right behind her. Spencer guided her to her seat, mouth already running a mile a minute with all sorts of trivia and information on planes, from how they worked to their history to statistics.

Several of his team members tried to get him to slow down, take a breath and leave Liv be, but she'd waved them off, grateful for the distractions he provided. And besides, it was interesting to learn about the Bernoulli Effect, and the various forces in science, Newton's Three Laws, and other things that simply went right over her head, though with some light prompting, Spencer was more than happy to fill her in.

The rest of the team seemed astounded that anyone was willing and able to put up with the sheer amount of information he was spewing, and gave her a few looks of mixed awe and terror.

Liv didn't even notice they'd been moving until they sped up, the force pressing her back into her sea, before they took off, her ears aching with the change in pressure. It quickly became painful, clamping her hands over her ears, eyes squeezed shut.

"Hey."

Reid's voice wafted through the ache, making Liv look up.

"Try yawning, or sucking on this," he said, offering Liv a hard mint. "You have really sensitive ears, huh?"

"Yeah, thanks," she said, yawning and feeling the pressure ease, then took a mint with a wince. "I don't like this," she huffed, the pressure slowly becoming more bearable, the ache easing once they were at their designated altitude.

"You get used to it after a while. It's just your eardrum expanding and your Eustachian tubes needing more air to try and adjust to the sudden change in pressure. Basically, you've got more pressure inside your ears, than the air outside, so the 'pop' you'll feel is when it equalizes," he smiled.

She eyed him critically, then shrugged. It was quite possibly a different name to something from her world. Not that she was a healer who knew about such things, anyway. "Huh. So basically, this high up there is less pressure?"

"Yes; there are fewer molecules in the same volume of space. That gives them more space to move, which is great for gasses because they don't like being compressed, and they're high energy particles, uh, but well, basically that makes it harder to breathe. Which is why aircraft are usually pressurized; so we can keep breathing and die slowly from oxidization," he smiled, nodding slowly.

"Reid, c'mon," JJ sighed, a fond but chiding smile on her face as Rossi chuckled.

"What? It's true!"

Liv opened her mouth, then closed it and laughed, surprising herself as much as the agents who tried to undo what he'd said.

"Well, at least being slowly burned from the inside is interesting," she said, shaking her head. "There are much worse ways to go."

The rest of the trip was oddly peaceful, the first few interactions with the team members a little tense, a little awkward, before they relaxed enough for small talk to flow easily.

Until Prentiss mentioned 'doctor who', and Reid's attention snapped up from a paper he had been reading. Something in Russian, if Liv remembered correctly.

"Please tell me you've seen Doctor Who," he grinned.

"I... don't think so?" Liv asked, glancing around at the team as they groaned.

"No! You have to watch it. I have it on my... tablet," Reid frowned, digging it out and slid into the seat across from Liv again, pulling out a device Liv recognized as 'headphones' and slid everything over to her, once he'd plugged them in.

Liv tensed. What was this? How did it work? What was it supposed to do?

"Would you... mind setting it up for me?" she asked, and apparently her wording was correct, too, considering Spencer simply flipped the tablet over and tapped on it.

Now that was magic.

"Good luck. You'll be watching from the First Doctor right up until the newest one. And you'll get trivia," JJ stage-whispered, giggling softly when Reid shot her a look and handed Liv the tablet.

"You can adjust the volume here," he said, pointing it out, "and pause and play here."

"Alright," she nodded. He'd just touched the tablet, so she could do the same.

"And put the headphones on first. You have to get the whole experience," he smiled, eyes alight when she met his gaze.

"Of course. There's no other way," she laughed, fighting down her nervousness on using the tech, putting on the headphones only for Spencer to correct her. Apparently there was a left and right side.

But when she finally started, she had to admit watching the people move across the 'screen' was considerably more fascinating, managing to prompt a lecture on film from Spencer.

She never finished the episode, but she'd be lying if she said she hadn't been delighted by it.

Spencer was halfway through explaining his theory on how the TARDIS actually worked, when the jet was rocked by severe turbulence.

Papers flew off the tables, Rossi crashed into a chair on his way to the coffee pot.

"Dovahkiin!"

Liv's head snapped around to the source of the Thu'um, her very soul tugging at her to leave, to follow it to Alduin.

And just like that it was over, the air smooth and level under the jet's wings again.

"What the hell kind of turbulence was that?" Morgan asked, standing from his seat to help organize scattered pages and knickknacks.

"Liv? You okay?"

Prentiss' voice and a gentle touch on her shoulder had Liv jerking back into the moment, taking in the state of the jet before she nodded. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Just… wasn't expecting that," she trailed.

Alduin's Thu'um had rung out not too far from where they'd just been.

Prentiss had offered to take Liv to her apartment, give her a place to stay while she settled into the new job, and had an easy lift to the 'HQ'. The lack of reaction from the other agents told Liv it was probably planned instead of impromptu, as if Prentiss had just thought of it, but she wasn't about to be ungrateful.

A cool shower and a soft bed would do wonders for her injury, provided she could successfully keep it hidden.

"So, that's about it with my apartment," Prentiss smiled, having given Liv the tour and helped her set up on the couch after one of the best shower's she'd had in a long time. Liv's contract set up in brief terms as a trial period consultant on the jet, and . "If there's anything else you need, just let me know. And help yourself to whatever's in the fridge, just make a note when something runs low."

"I shall, thank you," Liv smiled. "I dislike staying somewhere for free, though, so while I'm here, I'm more than happy to take on any tasks you need me to do."

She paused, then smiled. "I'll keep that in mind, but you really don't need to worry about it. You're okay with the plans for tomorrow?"

"Yes; we're heading in to finalize my contract, debrief completely, then it's paperwork concerning the case for you and your team. If you're worried about me being on my own, I assure you I'll be fine, Agent Prentiss," Liv said, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"Oh, no – I trust that," she chuckled, waving her hands. "You just seem a little… lonely. Maybe we could go out for coffee after my day at the office?"

"I, yes. I would like that," Liv nodded, offering her a more genuine smile. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. And call me Emily," she chuckled. "I'll see you in the morning, then."

"Emily. Very well," Liv nodded. "Yeah, sleep well."

"You too."

She eased onto the couch, listening to Emily move in her bedroom. The soft pad of socked feet, the rustle of blankets being pulled back. Things that were dulled to fully Mannish races, things that were much sharper to the Mer, and the Beastfolk.

Liv settled into the couch and pulled the blankets over her carefully, ears straining when she heard a drawer open, and something heavy thud softly onto wood.

Of course.

Just because Emily was being nice, didn't mean she was throwing caution to the wind.

Liv smiled, letting sleep carry her away. She liked this one, too.