To Profile Love

The New Addition

Spencer looked around as Hotch approached the team. "Conference room in five." Hotch announced before entering his office. Spencer glanced at Morgan and JJ.

"New case?" JJ guessed.

"Hopefully. Tired of deskwork." said Morgan.

"I don't think so," said Spencer. "Hotch's tone of voice didn't suggest a grim case. Sounded more like business."

"Okay, sir-know-it-all." said Morgan.

"C'mon," said JJ, smiling. He, JJ and Morgan entered the conference room. Rossi was already sitting at the table, along with Garcia. Prentiss's vacant chair pitifully continued to gather dust. Spencer took his seat and waited patiently for Hotch to enter the conference room.

To his surprise, Hotch didn't enter alone. A young woman followed him. She had long blonde hair, blue eyes and square glasses. She wore a gray pencil skirt and a plum button-down shirt. She held a manila folder. "Team, this is Victoria Parker, from the Office of Victims Assistance. She's a counselor and will be working alongside us. Strauss appointed her after Emily's death to counsel you guys and send reports on our behavior." said Hotch.

"Um… No offense, but why aren't you counseling us, Hotch?" asked Morgan.

"Strauss believes it is not appropriate for me to be your counselor, as I have been affected by this too." said Hotch.

Morgan shrugged. "All right."

"These are agents Rossi, Morgan and JJ. That's Dr. Spencer Reid, and that is Penelope Garcia, our technical analyst. Any questions?" said Hotch.

Victoria shook her head. Spencer glanced at JJ. This woman was quiet, even shy. How was she a counselor? Victoria took Emily's empty seat. "I know this is an awkward and painful situation, and I know having a stranger come in makes it even more difficult for you. I promise I won't be too annoying." Victoria said. Her weak joke hung awkwardly in the air.

"It's good to have another girl on the team." said JJ.

"Thanks." replied Victoria, looking relieved. Spencer didn't shake her hand, but he did offer her a small wave and an awkward smile.

"Let's begin." announced Hotch grimly.

…...

"I don't get why we're doing this." Morgan said.

"The bureau wants it." Victoria replied. "Look, I know this situation is uncomfortable. But I will try and make this as painless as possible… But I can't guarantee that it won't be. I do my job, and I do it well. You can't blame me for that."

Morgan nodded. "Fair enough," he muttered.

"So, you and Emily Prentiss were often partners in the field?" questioned Victoria.

"Yeah, we were." replied Morgan.

"So you two were close?" Victoria asked.

"Yeah."

"Her death must've hit you pretty hard," Victoria guessed. Morgan simply stared at her. She huffed. "But you don't seem too heartbroken."

"Excuse me?" Morgan snapped. "Look, I know how this works. You're going through the stages of grief. And I am heartbroken! I just don't show it. Don't pretend to know me. Don't act like you know how I cope."

Victoria tilted her head. "Ah, you're angry."

"Damn right, I'm angry." Morgan growled.

"I'm not going through the stages of grief, Derek," Victoria said. "I'm just making sure you're okay."

"By saying I'm not heartbroken?" Morgan shot back.

Victoria pressed her lips together into a tight line. "I'm observing how you cope. You're angry. And hurt. But you hide it well. Which means you're strong, and you're trying to protect the rest of your team, which is admirable. But it is okay to not be… well, okay."

Morgan stared at her. "You're trying to figure out if I can still do my job?"

"Yes," Victoria murmured. "But I'm going to be part of this team for a while, so I might as well try and get to know you. You're angry about Emily's death. Talk to me."

Morgan sighed. "Sometimes I wanna quit my job and hunt down the son of a bitch who killed her. But I can't."

"Emily didn't deserve to die the way she did," Victoria sympathized.

"She didn't deserve to die at all." muttered Morgan.

"Right," said Victoria. "But everyone dies. Even if it's sooner than we expect."

Morgan's jaw tightened. "Are we done? You know I'm angry. Why are you provoking it?"

Victoria frowned. "I'm making sure that the littlest thing won't set you off. Derek, I can tell you're hurting a lot. But I can also tell that this job matters to you, and you're smart. I know you don't trust me, either. I'm the outsider, I get it. I'm just trying to help and do my job."

Morgan nodded. "All right. Should I send in Rossi?"

"Yeah, go ahead," Victoria said. Morgan was a tough shell to crack. "Derek?"

Morgan turned. "Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about Emily. From the little I've heard, she sounded like an incredible woman." Victoria said.

Morgan nodded. "She was." Morgan left the room. Victoria sighed. Her job was never easy.

Rossi entered. "I'm guessing Strauss didn't like Hotch heading these, so he appointed you."

Victoria pursed her lips. "Yes. Agent Hotchner needs a place to go, too."

Rossi sank into the armchair. "Well, I'll tell you what I told Hotch. I don't let people in."

Victoria sighed. "I don't usually either. But at some point, you've got to. Or else you'll have nobody."

"I suppose that's true," Rossi allowed. "You didn't know her, though."

"Yeah, you're right. So why don't you tell me about her?" Victoria countered.

Rossi eyed Victoria so long she began to feel uncomfortable. "It's too soon, Agent Parker. You should know that." he said.

"Her death was a while ago." Victoria argued.

"But your addition to the team was only an hour ago. And even then, you're still an outsider." Rossi replied.

Victoria pursed her lips. "Fine, then. Tell me about you."

"That's not how this works." said Rossi. "I don't trust you."

Victoria worked her jaw irritably. "Look, I'm just doing my job."

"Which is why I don't trust you." said Rossi. He got up. "I'll send in Garcia."

Victoria opened her mouth to protest, but Rossi was already gone. Garcia entered and sat across from Victoria. Garcia didn't say anything. Victoria sighed. "So, let me guess, you don't want to talk, either?" she said.

Garcia's eyes filled with tears. "Not about her being gone," she said. "I don't like change. And Emily's… And now you're here… And it feels like you're replacing her, and it's just too much change, and I don't like admitting she's gone… I'm rambling, sorry."

Victoria blinked. "I'm not replacing her, Penelope. I'm just making sure you're okay."

"I'm as you'd expect. I lost a friend. C-can we not talk about that?" Garcia said.

"What do you want to talk about?" Victoria prompted.

"Can I tell you how Emily made me smile?" Garcia queried.

"Sure," Victoria said, smiling.

…

"I don't know. She seems sincere, but I'm not sure about her." said Morgan.

"She's too focused on completing her job." muttered Rossi.

"Which means she'll send bad reports." Morgan assumed.

"Not necessarily," said Hotch.

"We don't know this woman," said JJ. "We should at least give her a chance."

"Didn't we already do all of this?" Reid muttered.

"Strauss wants it redone by someone outside of the team. I approved of Parker myself." Hotch answered.

"Hey," said Garcia. Her cheeks sparkled with the remnants of shed tears. "She's ready for JJ."

JJ nodded and left the conference room. "How was it?" Morgan asked Garcia.

"She's nice," said Garcia. "I don't like change, but… She's good once she starts talking."

"She didn't seem like she did it because she cared, but because it was her duty." said Rossi.

"Can you blame her? We don't know her." said Hotch.

"Maybe we should at least give her a chance… Or something to report, so she doesn't lose her job." said Garcia.

Reid looked at his hands. He would be nice to Parker. But he knew what she wanted to hear. And so that's what she would get.

…

"How are you coping?" Victoria asked.

"Well, as well as you'd expect. Emily and I became pretty close right before…" JJ trailed off, looking saddened. "And the team isn't too good with outsiders."

Victoria looked down. "Yeah, I've gathered that."

"Just give them time," said JJ. "And maybe… Don't dive right into the grief counseling just yet. We need time to cope with you, too."

Victoria smiled. "Thanks, JJ."

JJ nodded. "Sure." She got up and sent in Hotch.

Hotch sat down and stared at Victoria intensely. "Your team is a hard shell to crack." Victoria said.

Hotch nodded. "They're all feeling it, but nobody wants to talk about it."

Victoria half-smiled. "I know it's too soon. But I have to send something back, or Strauss'll have my ass. Pardon my French."

Hotch's lips twitched. "Pardoned," he said. "They need to trust you before they open up."

"Yeah, that's what Rossi basically told me." Victoria said. She scrunched her lips together. "I'm not going to send a bad report to Strauss. If I don't have sufficient information, I won't send anything at all. So far, you all seem like wonderful people. You've just got walls keeping me out. But right now, I don't think that's a good idea."

Hotch tilted his head. "Why's that?"

"Because my colleagues wouldn't put up with it. If I get booted, then you get Strauss. As I understand it, you requested me. Why?" Victoria said, narrowing her eyes.

"Your reports were well-written. And you spent a lot of time with those you evaluated. I think that's unique. It tells me you care about your patients." said Hotch.

"Oh, I'm not a doctor," said Victoria.

"I know," said Hotch. He checked his watch. "The team needs a reason to trust you before they talk to you, myself included. Some might seem hostile, others might just seem quiet or reserved. I'll send in Reid."

Victoria allowed Hotch to leave. Dr. Reid entered and sat across from Victoria. He glanced at her and waited for her to speak. "So, Dr. Reid… How are you coping?" Victoria asked.

"If you had asked me that a month ago, my answer wouldn't have been good. I kept asking myself, why her? Why couldn't it have been me? If I had figured it out sooner… Maybe I could've saved her… Or Morgan…" Reid trailed off. "But I know that we did everything we could. And I accept that. She's gone. There's nothing that can be done."

Victoria stared at Reid a long time. He stared back. Victoria sighed. "Look, I know that I'm the outsider here. I didn't know Emily and I don't know you. But you don't know me, either. Telling me exactly what I want to hear isn't going to help. It just tells me that you're hurting and you don't want my help. That's fine. But the only person you're really hurting is yourself."

Reid stared at Victoria. "I haven't even told my team how I'm really feeling. Why would I tell you?" There was no spite in his tone, just a slight catch that informed Victoria that Reid truly was hurting.

"Because I'm not going to treat you the way you fear they'll treat you," said Victoria gently.

Spencer averted Victoria's gaze. "They'd baby me."

"There's nothing childish about a man in grief," said Victoria. Reid looked at her. Victoria offered him a small smile. "You don't have to tell me everything now. Or ever, if you don't want to. It's up to you how we treat this. I can help you, or I can just send reports on your behavior. Okay?"

"Okay." Reid replied. Victoria smiled.

"All right, let's go see the rest of the team." she said. She and Reid exited the office and entered the conference room. The team took their seats and stared at Victoria expectantly. "I know this is weird. I'm the outsider. We've established that. I'm part of the team, but not really. This can be done two ways. You guys can tell me what you think you want me to hear or you can actually talk to me and I can help you. Either way, whatever you tell me in our sessions is completely confidential. The only thing I report is whether or not I think you are a functional team. Got it?" Victoria stared at the team intently. They all nodded their understanding. Victoria exhaled the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "All right. Thank you."

After a short discussion about scheduling with Hotch, Victoria bade farewell to the BAU team and exited the Quantico headquarters. She climbed in her car and headed home. Once she reached her house, she called a familiar number on her phone.

She waited patiently for him to pick up, her heart racing. "Hello?" His voice sent shivers down her spine.

"Hey, babe," Victoria chirped.

"Tori? How'd it go?" asked her boyfriend.

"Great! Well, the team seems nice, they just don't trust me yet." Victoria replied.

"Well, they'd be stupid not to. Gullible thing like you? How can someone not trust you?"

Victoria bit her lip. "How's work?"

"It's busy. You know not to call me while I'm work."

"I thought you wanted me to, Korey?"

"Just this once. Understand?" Korey snapped.

Victoria's heart sank. "Yeah. Got it."

"Bye. Love you, babe."

"Love you, too."

Victoria hung up. She blinked back a few tears, gathered her stuff, and headed inside her house.

…

Hey guys! This story will follow key episodes with the addition of my OC. Right now it's set in between Prentiss's "death" and Seaver's transfer, so right before "It Takes a Village," in Season 7, which will be the next chapter. This will be SpencerxOC, but it is VERY gradual, as I will include Maeve and all that jazz. This is my first Criminal Minds fanfic, so I'm really excited! Criticism is welcome, but make sure it's constructive and not rude. Please fave, follow and review! Thank you!

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds or anything associated with it, just my OCs and any plot elements surrounding them.