Hey all, here is the next chapter for this fic. I've put its been almost two weeks since I've updated, and that's because I was debating on whether or not to wait until after the holiday season to update again. As you can see, I decided against it, but the next update won't come until 2018! I've hit a bit of writers block for this story and I want to take some time and outline everything again; that way, I am delivering (somewhat) quality chapter for you all. Don't worry, I'm not going to forget about this story, as there is an insane chapter coming up and you won't want to miss it (I couldn't even bring myself to write the original ending...)! One last thing, this is the last arc that my friend Darcy has written, but I'm sure we'll see more of her in the future.

So, I wish everyone who celebrates the holidays a wonderful time and I'll see you all in the fresh, new year. I hope you enjoy and please remember to review! Happy reading. x

All rights go to the owners of Criminal Minds, except for my original character

Not Like This

Chapter Twenty-five: New York, New York

February 4th, 2015

"Seriously, let me pay this time!" Jamie practically begged through a laugh, digging roughly into her purse to try and grab her wallet. Her efforts proved to be too slow, as Spencer grabbed a ten-dollar-bill from his pocket and handed it to the coffee shop employee.

"Enjoy your day," the cashier told them, handing Spencer his change and sending them off with a smile.

"One of these days, I will pay for these three dollar cups of coffee," Jamie declared, sipping from her hot cup.

"Three dollars isn't anything, Jamie." Spencer replied, finding humor in her words.

"Um, you've bought my coffee four days in a row. So, I mean, I'm no mathematician, but I think that adds up to twelve dollars."

Spencer let a smile slip as he drank from his to-go cup, "Nice to see that those extra math classes came in handy." he teased.

"Oh, aren't you a funny one?" Jamie remarked, sarcasm not missing beat, "We're going to be late if we don't hurry."

With that, the two FBI agents got into Jamie's car and made their way to the Quantico office. The drive there was filled with witty, yet intelligent banter and jabs at Jamie's music selections. Ever since the case and Spencer's injury in Las Vegas, the two of them proved to be almost inseparable. Since Spencer wasn't allowed to be in the field for about a month, he stayed behind at the office and was put on desk duty; and while Jamie was traveling with the team, she made sure to check up on him (not too much to be borderline smothering) and filled him in on case details that she knew he would want to know. When she would arrive back to Quantico after grueling cases, it was like her and Spencer were attached at the hip. They would leave the office together and arrive together the next morning. If any of their coworkers suspected anything, no one said a thing, but they could all see through the falling façade that was the wall of Jamie and Spencer's rekindling relationship.

Not every aspect had been thoroughly discussed or even thought about, though. When Jamie had her declaration of feelings for Spencer back in Las Vegas, she was sure she had ruined one of the better things in her life. Yet, when Jamie had stayed with Spencer in the hospital, she could've sworn that he was reciprocating the same feelings. It hadn't been brought up and part of Jamie was grateful for that. She would sometimes admit to herself that it was frustrating, not knowing where the two of them stood, or what exactly they felt for one another; but all in all, they were closer than before and it felt like only goodness could come out of that.

It was a regular Thursday morning as Jamie and Spencer walked into the bullpen. Other agents were scattered about, working at their desk, delivering paperwork and reports back and forth through the offices. They walked over to their adjacent desk, unloading their belongings for the day.

Jamie plopped herself down in her chair and opened her laptop to check her email. She snuck a side view of Spencer, who was simply sitting in his chair, doing nothing. Her head turned to face him in full and she cocked one of her eyebrows. "You alright?"

Spencer glanced at her and nodded, "I think so."

"You think you're alright?"

"I've been out of the field before, but for some reason…it just feels different this time."

Jamie took her hands away from her keyboard and placed them in her lap. Her face had sympathy written on it as she said, "Care to elaborate a little bit?"

"I don't really know how…" he admitted, his face in deep thought.

Jamie huffed a laugh, "Says the guy with an IQ of one-eighty-seven." She sat there, wondering what was going on in that big mind of his. She kept her eyes on him, silently wishing she could say something to make him feel better. A tilted her head in concern and she shrugged her blazer covered shoulders, "You passed your psychological evaluation, right?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't really mean anything." he tried to wave off.

"It means that trained professionals see you as being fit to go back into the field," Jamie sighed and got out of her chair. She moved herself over to Spencer's side, sitting down on his desk with him sitting right in front of her. "You didn't exactly ask for my opinion on the matter, but I personally think that you wouldn't be here right now if you weren't ready. Then again, if you do jump back in too quickly and the situation goes astray, let someone know, please."

Spencer looked up at the woman, his eyes meeting her soft looking green ones. "How are you doing?" he asked, catching her off guard with the question.

"...me?" Jamie questioned back, placing a hand on her chest.

"Yes, you. How are you doing since your…situation."

Jamie adjusted herself on the desktop and tore her eyes from Spencer, the softness seeming to disappear from them. She let her eyes wander around the bullpen, letting them take in the controlled chaos that was the BAU. "I would say I'm fine, but I think I use that phrase too often," she admitted, ending it with a laugh. The topic seemed to make her nervous, causing her to bounce her leg and tuck some hair behind her right ear. "In all seriousness," she began, settling her eyes back on Spencer, "I try not to think about it and I haven't dreamt about it for a while. Then, there are times where I look into a mirror and I can see where I was shot, so it comes back, almost unwillingly."

"Almost?"

Jamie nodded, "Like I said, I try not to think about it, but sometimes I let it flow back in. You can't keep something like that buried and I learned that the hard way. You on the other hand, your situation was personal. Hanna was your friend…"

As if he was saved by the bell, both of their cell phones went off at the same time. Jamie took her phone from her jean's pocket and read the message as it appeared on the screen.

From: P. Garcia

8:15 A.M.: Heroes assemble! Briefing in 15!

Jamie stuffed her phone back into her jeans and hopped off Spencer's desk. "Come on," she told him, gesturing with her head towards the way to the debriefing room. She held out her hand and offered him a smile, "We've got work to do, hero."

"In the past three months, three people have been beaten, tortured, and stabbed in different New York alleyways," Garcia informed the team, passing out their case files.

Jamie opened her file folder and fished out multiple photos of the victims and their crime scenes. Her eyes grazed over the gruesome photos, cringing internally, but giving them equal amounts of attention. Her hand picked up the M.E. report from the file and she read over it, her face forming a looking of confusion. "The M.E. doesn't know what the victims were stabbed with?"

Garcia shook her head and she walked back to the front of the room, "No, they haven't figured out what exact weapon was used, but all three causes of death were the same for each victim, as they were each stabbed through the heart."

"The weapon of choice was smooth along the edges, but very sharp…" Rossi read from the report.

"Any leads yet?" JJ asked.

"None yet, that's why the local New York office is calling you in."

"Wait, this is an FBI case?" Morgan questioned, lowering his case file. "It's hard enough for local police departments to admit they need help, now we've got a branch of the FBI?"

"This case is under the authority of Taylor Emmison. His claim is that he's at a dead end and he doesn't know what to do, so he's looking for more assistance."

"Look at the victims," Spencer said, looking intently at the photos. "The victimology is all over the place."

"Samuel Roberts, age thirty-one, Lindsay Chambers, age forty-four, and Ian Willard, age twenty-four," Garcia recited, clicking her remote to make pictures appear on the screen behind her. The photos included one of each victim, where they looked happy, simply posing for a picture, and another photo of their mutilated corpses. "Samuel Roberts was missing for five days before he was discovered, Lindsay Chambers was missing for eight days, and Ian Willard was missing for one week."

"The unsub was…vaguely creative with his methods," Rossi chimed in. "He stabbed, beat, burned, even electrocuted them."

"Not very consistent with the methods…" JJ added.

"Says here that there were traces of Acepromazine Maleate in their system," Hotch read from the M.E. report.

"It's an animal tranquilizer," Spencer chimed in. "Back in the nineteen-fifties, it was used as an antipsychotic for institutions. It has a depressant effect on the central nervous system, which causes the sedation, muscle relaxation, and it acts fairly quickly."

"So, that's more than likely how the unsub subdued them," Jamie said. "They were taken outside of their places of employment, kept for multiple days while being tortured…then eventually stabbed."

"These crimes don't appear to be sexual of nature," Morgan said. "Also, it's obvious that age and gender don't matter to him, so it has to be something else that's the motivator here."

"We'll figure it out once we get to New York," Hotch told the team, standing from his seat. "Wheels up in thirty."

When they arrived in New York, Jamie couldn't help but stare at the city in admiration. Despite the nature of the work they were there to do, she found herself eyeing the surrounding area. She had been to New York before, but there hadn't been a time where she went to the city just to go. She told herself that she definitely had to visit The Excelsior State for fun at some point in her life.

When the team arrived at the FBI branch office, it was bustling with organized chaos. There were people running back and forth, people at desk with phones to each of their ear, papers flying from some desk in the back as if someone has thrown them. The team walked in further, each pair of eyes observing the field office. Hotch was leading and took the team to an office that was somewhat in the back, away from the crazy activity. There was a plaque with a name engraved on it: Taylor Emmison.

Hotch knocked a few times and when there was no response after he waited, he opened the door, finding the office empty. He was about to say something to his team of waiting agents, when a feminine voice sounded from behind them all.

"I'm going to assume that you're all from the BAU," the woman said, keeping a stoic expression as all of the agents turned to see her. She extended her hand to Hotch first, "Charlotte Cooper," she introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you," Hotch greeted, "I'm SSA Hotchner, this is SSA Rossi, Morgan, Jareau, Carter, and Dr. Reid."

Charlotte shook hands with each of the BAU members, then she sighed. "I'm sorry that Taylor isn't here at the moment, but he should be back soon. He's in a real bustle about this case."

"You call him Taylor?" Morgan asked, eyebrows knit together.

Smiling slightly, Charlotte nodded her head and said, "I guess I'm the exception, but to you he'll be Agent Emmison and I also don't think he'll appreciate you intruding on his office."

"He's not even in there," Jamie pointed out, crossing her arms.

Charlotte chocked her head and Jamie, "Yes, well, were you taught manners as a child?"

Before Jamie could reply, she felt a hand on her shoulder and it felt like it was attempting to hold her back, telling her to let it go. When she looked back, still caught off guard by Charlotte's attitude, her eyes met with Spencer and he didn't even have to use words; Jamie just understood him.

"Anyways, I should also tell you that Taylor has a bit of a…temper," Charlotte warned, a small smile on her face. "It's a whole pride thing and the last thing he wanted to do was call in you guys, but…here you are."

"Why did he call us in if he doesn't want us here?" JJ questioned.

"Just because he's not happy about the fact, doesn't mean that he can't admit when he needs help."

"Tell us again why he isn't here?" Hotch said, frowning.

"He was called to a crime scene."

"…another?" Rossi asked, stressing the word.

"There was a forth body found about an hour ago." Charlotte answered.

"There's another victim and we weren't told?" Morgan confronted, voice raised in is disbelief.

Charlotte shrugged her shoulders, "You all were already on your way here and he had just planned on telling you when you arrived."

"Where is he now?" Hotch asked, in a slight scowl. He had his glare aimed at Charlotte, but she didn't seem to falter under the look.

"Listen-" Charlotte began, holding out her hand to tell Hotch to wait.

"Agent Cooper, we were called into the city to do a job and we can't do that job if we are not informed of new information."

Charlotte sighed as her eyes crossed over each member of the BAU. They were all waiting for an answer, standing and staring directly at her. "He said to wait until you were here so he could talk to you personally-"

"We don't have that kind of time, especially if there's been a fourth victim." Jamie glared, uncrossing her arms and walking up to Charlotte. She stood in front of the other female agent, looking right into her brown eyes, which looked sort of amused. "You need to tell us where the scene is so we can go there…now."

"Fine," Charlotte surrendered, peeling her eyes away from Jamie. She looked back at the rest of the team, "But I'll warn you now, don't get on Taylor's bad side."

From inside of the dark SUV, it wasn't difficult to spot the crime scene. There was the cliché, but necessary yellow tap blocking it off from the public, but that didn't to stop people from trying to look. Jamie had gone with Hotch, Morgan, and Spencer to the scene, as JJ and Rossi stayed behind to work on the geographical profile. The four exited their vehicle and approached the scene, flashing their badges to get by the tape. They were all handed latex gloves when they entered the vicinity, for precaution.

Jamie was walking along the scene and simultaneously shoving her hands into the sticky gloves. Her eyes wandered about and when they landed on a certain individual of the male variety, she tilted her head and watched him for a moment. He was tall and brunette, but the way that he was seen giving orders to others around him, told Jamie all she needed to know. She walked back over to Hotch and the others, who were talking with CSI and nudged her head back to where she saw him. "That's him, over there." she told Hotch.

Hotch, Morgan, and Spencer all looked towards the direction she was speaking of.

"Emmison?" Spencer asked.

"What makes you sure?" Morgan wondered.

Jamie turned to look back at Emmison and then back at her team members, "Considering the way that Charlotte made him sound at the office and seeing that guy being a jackass…I kind of took a guess, but I'm pretty sure."

"Let's go," Hotch directed them, giving a thank you to the CSI personnel. All four of them walked towards the angry looking man, who spotted them coming as he ordered away some agents.

"Agent Emmison?" Hotch asked as they approached.

"Maybe," he answered back, snappy. "Who's asking?"

"I'm SSA Aaron Hotchner. This is SSA-"

"Oh, damn, you're the BAU," Emmison interrupted. He shook his head a bit and ran a hand over his face. "I specifically told Charlotte-"

"Well, calling us here and then not providing us with new information on the case isn't a very great way to start," Jamie said. She stepped forward, taking off the gloved and held it out, "SSA Jamie Carter." she introduced herself, sincerity in her voice.

Emmison looked taken aback by her, but he tried to subtly gave her a once-over before he shook her hand. "Taylor Emmison…"

"And this is SSA Derek Morgan and Dr. Spencer Reid," Hotch finished, "Now, I want to know why you didn't tell us about this recent murder."

"Because you weren't here yet, and as far as I'm concerned, you can ask someone else to give you the low-down, because I'm a bit busy here."

"Agent Emmison, you're the one who called us in for assistance and we came to do just that. So, if you don't want our help, just let us know and we'll be on our way."

Emmison stood stiffy with his hands on his hips. He looked gruff, but conflicted at the same time. "Yes, I want your help," he admitted, "This just hasn't been the easiest case, alright? This person seems to have no motive for these murders and there's no obvious connection between the victims."

"It's never easy," Morgan retorted, "but that's where we come in."

"Right…" Emmison replied sort of sarcastically.

"What's the victim's name?' Spencer asked, bending down to get a better look.

"This is Sophie Andrews, age twenty-nine. She was reported missing three days ago," Emmison answered, looking down at the woman's body. "She's been severely beaten, electrocuted, then there's the cause of death, the stab wound."

"And nobody has been able to identify what's being used to stab the victims?" Jamie asked.

Emmison shook his head, "Not yet, and to make things more interesting, the coroner said he's never seen anything like this before. Whatever the hell is being used…it cuts clean through the bone and muscle."

Jamie nodded, listening to what Emmison was revealing. She looked down at the woman, Sophie, and felt a tinge of sadness for her. Her face was practically destroyed. Whatever she looked like before she was taken and murdered, there was no knowing, unless it came from a photograph. Her body was a canvas of bruises and electrical burns, including blood all over her body.

"We have more agents back at the office working on the geographical profile, so that should help move things along." Hotch informed Emmison.

"Fantastic, more BAU agents…" Emmison said under his breath. "If something like this happens again," Emmison pointed to the dead body, "Make sure you have your ringers on."

"Of course," Hotch replied, seeming slightly annoyed when Agent Emmison walked away from the group.

"He's a character," Jamie joked half-heartedly, but not letting out a single laugh.

"We're going to have to get used to it," Morgan said, walking back to the SUV with Hotch.

Jamie watched them for a moment and spared her eyes to Spencer, who hadn't said much. She eyes him for a moment and when he caught her gaze, she gave him a small smile. "You're doing alright?"

Spencer nodded, taking off his latex gloves, "Yeah, I'm good." He took his arm and moved it around Jamie, but not touching her, leading her so they could follow Hotch and Morgan back to the car.

"It's going to be a real joy working with that guy, isn't it?" Jamie said, looking at Agent Emmison demand more orders out of more agents. She shook her head and looked away, taking off her one glove.

"Maybe he'll ease up," Spencer replied, watching Emmison after Jamie looked away. Spencer and Emmison made eye contact for a moment, but Spencer released his stare and looked forward; but that didn't mean that he couldn't feel Emmison's eyes boring into the back of his head as he walked away with Jamie by his side.

Back at the field office, the group and Agent Emmison were gathered in a conference room. Everyone seemed on edge, not wanting to say the wrong thing or take unauthorized action.

"What do we have so far?" Emmison asked the room. He had been pacing back and forth, not taking a second to sit down and cool off.

"Well, we know that these crimes aren't sexual in nature," Morgan answered, sitting at the large table. "There's no sexual fantasy involved in this, which means there's another motive."

Emmison gave no verbal response, he just gave Morgan a raised eyebrow, telling him to continue.

"We don't know what that motive is yet, but trust us when we tell you that we're working on it." JJ added.

"When we figure that out, we'll be able to find out what connects these victims and what this unsub is after." Rossi informed, eyes going over their evidence board.

"I have been over every damn aspect of these people's lives that I can think of," Emmison defended, no longer pacing around the room. "We've had agents talk to their friends, family members, we looked at their work history, credit reports-"

"Sometimes it's not enough," Jamie cut in, standing up from her seat. "When we figure out the motive, more clues will come through that we've simply glanced over. It happens more often than not."

"We've also sent everything we have to our technical analyst back at Quantico," Hotch told Emmison. "If there is something that we've seemed to miss, she'll catch it."

Agent Emmison didn't reply, but he kept a frown on his face, one that seemed to be permanent.

"What if the torture is a way of getting something out of the victims?" Spencer questioned.

"This isn't a horror movie, Dr. Reid," Emmison spit out.

"Hey, hear him out." Jamie bit back, giving Emmison a tiny glare. She looked back at Spencer and gave him a nod, telling him to continue.

Spencer cleared his throat, "Think about it," he continued, going over to the evidence board. "That would explain why there is no consistency for how long the victims are tortured. Once the unsub is given what they want, he kills the victims."

"That would explain why they're all reported missing for different periods of time."

"So, the longer the victim hold out, the more time they have…" Emmison thought, nodding in agreement. "But what would they have had that this unsub wants?"

"That's what we need to figure out," Hotch said. "I want a few of you to go back and speak with the victim's families."

Morgan, JJ, and Rossi volunteered for the job, seeing themselves out to go speak to the victim's families.

"The rest of you, keep working on the victimology and the geographical profile. I need to go and work up the current report on the most recent murder."

Jamie and Spencer nodded, looking back at the work behind them on the boards.

"Uh, Agent Carter, may I speak with you for a moment?" Emmison asked, using one finger to call her over.

"Of course," Jamie answered, walking over to the superior agent. "Is there something you need?"

"I don't appreciate the attitude I received from you while we were debriefing."

Jamie let her eyebrows knit together and placed her hands on her hips, "Well, I don't appreciate the disrespect that you give my team members."

Emmison gave a dry laugh, "Listen, this is my stomping ground and if you can't respect that, you can bet your ass I'll have you kicked out of here."

Jamie laughed internally, but eyed Agent Emmison with understanding, yet hard eyes. "Yes sir."

"Good," he replied with snark and walked away, yelling orders at some other agent that was handing him a stack of paper.

Jamie rolled her eyes and turned back into the conference room, meeting Spencer back at the board. "What a joy…" she mumbled.

Spencer glanced at Jamie, then back towards the door. "What was that about?"

Jamie had a marker in her hand, circling areas on their big map, "Oh, just a regular threat, no biggie."

"Wait, what?"

Jamie sighed and dropped her marker, looking at Spencer. "He said that if I can't respect him, then he'll have me kicked off the case."

"Where does he get the authority to do that?"

"I don't know," Jamie shrugged, "I guess since it is technically his case and we're just here to help…"

Spencer didn't give a reply, as he was going over the file in his hands. "Hey, look at this," Spencer called Jamie to his side, showing her the folder in his hands. "He's probably going to kidnap someone else."

"How do you figure that?" Jamie questioned, looking back at their boards.

"It's the pattern of escalation. This unsub waited three days between the first two victims, two days after that, and only one day after the last."

Jamie nodded her head in understanding, "So, now that he's dumped off another body, he's more than likely already looking for a new victim."

The whole work environment was uncomfortable. The members from the BAU were like fish out of water in the New York office. With all six agents coming and going throughout the day, they were no doubt exhausted not only physically, but mentally as well. As for Jamie, she had been keeping a close eye on Emmison since he threated to kick her off the case. She still wasn't sure if he could do that, but she didn't want to chance it. The hazel-eyed agent was sitting at the large table in the conference room with JJ, a pen to her lips, eyes looking over the scattered papers all along the table-top, and her beautiful, bemused mind, seemingly running a thousand-miles a minute. The pen on her lips tapped away, like she couldn't control her own hand. The windows in the conference room gave a wide view into the office and Jamie could see into the office of Taylor Emmison, who was sitting at his desk, looking even more distraught than he did earlier.

Jamie put down the blue pen and stood from her seat at the table, "I'm going to get some coffee, you want any?" she asked JJ.

The blonde looked up from her case file, "No, I'm good, thanks."

Accepting the decline, Jamie left the conference room and walked over to the break room. It was later in the evening, around six-thirty, almost seven; so, the office had calmed down just a tad. Entering the break room, Jamie was relieved to find a full, hot pot. She grabbed a styrofoam cup and poured it full of the liquid, bringing it to her lips, not caring about the sensation from the heat. Then, something dawned upon her. "This could be a suicide mission…" she thought to herself. Eyeing the stack of cups on the counter, Jamie quickly grabbed another one, filling it up and took it in her hand. She inhaled and exhaled a deep breath to prepare herself, Jamie began walking to Emmison's office. With each step she took, it felt like the earth was crumbling into rubble behind her, but she knew it was just her nerves. Yet, she didn't even know why she was nervous, he was just a person...with a bad attitude.

Reaching the office, Jamie wondered how she was going to knock when both of her hands were full. So, she took one hand and used the knuckle of her pinky finger, knocking fairly lightly, but enough to get Emmison's attention. She saw him glance up from his paperwork and give her a confused look, but he stood from his desk and walked over to the door, opening it.

"Yes?" he asked, voice sounding plain and dry.

"Thought you could use a cup," Jamie said, holding up the cup she poured for him. She held it out to him with a small half-grin.

Emmison looked from her to the cup, then back to Jamie, finally taking to coffee. "Thanks," When Jamie didn't go away after that, he raised an eyebrow at her. "Did you need something?"

"…crap." Jamie said, internally. Did she even have a reason for going to his office, for bringing him a coffee that she wasn't even sure he would drink? Jamie let her eyes wander to the back of Emmison, seeing the chairs in front of his desk. "Do you mind if I sit?" she questioned, hoping for the best.

Agent Emmison looked back into his office, obviously taking a minute to consider. He sighed, "I guess, but I do have paperwork." He motioned with his head for her to enter and closed the door behind them.

Studying the office, Jamie noticed the mind-numbing colors; several shades of grey and some white furniture. She assumed he liked it neutral, then again, she also thought it was because of his personality. "Nice office…"

"You're not a very good liar, Agent Carter," Emmison said, sitting back at his desk.

"I've been told differently," Jamie played along, sitting herself in one of the white chairs.

The room went silent for a moment, neither of the agents speaking, holding their breath.

"Look," Jamie began, breaking the awkwardness, "I just-I wanted to apologize, I guess."

"You guess?" Emmison responded, giving her a skeptical look.

Jamie shrugged her shoulder, "For the way I came off earlier. I'm not usually so defensive…or at least I don't think I am," she went off, thinking to herself. She shook it off, "Anyway, it's not my place to tell you what to do. You called my team and I am here to help you on your case, so I intend to do that."

Emmison looked surprised, linking his hands together on the desk top, "You know-"

"All I ask is that you don't leave us in the dark about anymore murders. We really need to know about those." Jamie interrupted, face going a little red.

"Understood," Emmison said with pursed lips, nodding.

"Can I just ask…" Jamie began, but hesitating at her question, "Actually, never mind."

"No, please, go ahead." Emmison told her, sounding sort of genuine.

Jamie huffed a laugh and let her eyes wander around the sad looking office. "I just don't understand how you became supervisor, the top-man with the sort of attitude that you have."

Emmison looked a little amused, not angry for the first time since the BAU arrived. He leaned forward in his desk a bit, hands still on the top of his desk, "I got where I am by being good-the best at what I do. Just as you did."

"Well, I wouldn't say I'm the best." Jamie joked with fake flattery.

"I'm not someone who likes asking for help, Agent Carter. And to be completely honest with you, I'm not even sure I like you…but I needed to call for more help. From what I've heard, your team is one of the best, if not the best and there is no doubt in my mind that you'll help me solve this case in a timely manner."

Jamie watched him intently, "…but?"

"But I'm not going to become a submissive pooch just because the infamous BAU comes to town. Like you said, it's my case."

Jamie nodded, looking down and making indents with her finger nail in her coffee cup, "We understand that," she told him. Then, she looked up, creating stern eye contact, "But we can't do our job if you don't let us. We need to be able to do our job, so that you can do yours."

He nodded with acknowledgement, with a tiny smile twitching on his mouth, "Got it," he took his hands from the desk and ran them over in his hair, "I suppose I'm just being territorial."

"Kind of typical," Jamie replied, sipping the coffee in her cup.

"How so?"

"You're completely playing into the stereotype of dominate male authority figures."

Emmison shrugged, "Not the first time I've heard that one."

"Oh?" Jamie sounded, looking intrigued. "Who beat me to it? This whole field office?"

"My wife-or my ex-wife," he told her.

Jamie was genuinely surprised, but didn't want to show it, afraid it might offend him. "How long were you married?'

"Seven years," he replied, looking off into nothing. "She said I loved the job more than my own family."

"You've got kids, too?"

"Yep, two boys…" He took a sip of his coffee, then looked back at Jamie. "Any other dented cans you want to break open?"

"To be fair here, I didn't ask for you to tell me those things."

Emmison let out a huff and started stacking the papers on his desk.

"Wow," Jamie drew out, letting herself smile.

"What?"

Jamie shook her head, "For a second there, you almost sounded like a human with feelings."

"I'm just someone who knows what they want."

"I think you've giving a pretty good example of that today," Jamie looked at Agent Emmison and saw him looking out of his office window. Her eyes followed his gaze and she saw the rest of her team enter the conference room across the way. "Oh, they're back," she said out loud to herself. She watched for a moment longer, seeing as JJ was speaking to Morgan and Hotch, motioning over in her direction. She waved through the window when she saw some her teammates eyes go over to Emmison's office.

"Maybe we should get back to work," Emmison suggested, almost sounding embarrassed.

"Of course," Jamie said, getting up from her seat. She was about to open the door to exit when Emmison called her back. "Yes?"

"Agent Rossi…" he said, giving no explanation.

"I'm sorry?"

"That's not the David Rossi out there, is it?" Emmison asked her, motion with his head towards the window.

Jamie wanted to laugh, but held it in and instead let a smile form on her face. "Oh, you mean the David Rossi who was a part of starting out unit, wrote several books, became famous, made millions, and then returned to the FBI?"

Agent Emmison gave no verbal response, only a tiny head nod.

"Yeah, that's him out there."

"Jeez," Emmison said, scratching the back of his head, "Never in a million years would I have thought that I would meet David Rossi."

"You're a fan?"

"You could say that…"

Jamie nodded in understanding and crossed her arms, "Trust me, I felt the same way; but don't tell him that."

"It's safe with me."

"Good to know," Jamie said, looking back through the window to the conference room. "I'll let you get back to work."

"Have a good night, Agent Carter."

"You too, Agent Emmison."

Thanks for reading and please remember to review. I would really appreciate it.