Ophelia Rivers found herself in an elevator with Erin Strauss, and a headache at 7 am on a Monday morning. Her blazer had been purchased the day before, and her house the day before that. In fact, almost all of her material possessions had been bought the weekend prior. Despite being a force to be reckoned with, she could do nothing to hasten the moving van that had undoubtedly remained in New York City to spite her. So here she stood, shifting her feet in the steel box that held the formidable Erin Strauss and herself on a day where Ophelia would rather be anywhere else.
A month earlier, Ophelia had been on the CIA's payroll until her near perfect record was marred by a mission deemed a failure by the agency. Prior to that, she had been on retainer at multiple organizations and was merely working for whomever the CIA decided needed her the most. Pissing off the higher ups at the CIA or the suits as she had affectionately deemed them had been a mistake that had cost her dearly. Now, she was condemned to a semi-desk job at the BAU. Well, it isn't really a desk job but it is in comparison to previous job titles. Some suit had owed Erin Strauss a favor and she had come to collect the week before. Strauss was in search of someone who could keep the team in check and hopefully expedite the interrogation process. Ophelia was still for the most part confused by the assignment, as her formal profiling experience and training was relatively non-existent. But Strauss seemed to believe that there was a use for her somewhere. And Ophelia once again found herself a pawn in a political game she had no interest in understanding.
Her blazer was two sizes too big and the sweater beneath well-loved. Her hair veered dangerously close to platinum blonde but still possessed a warmth. She had pulled it into a high ponytail that pulled on her scalp in a way that made her bored and angry already. She was tired, and tried to resist the urge to rub her eyes because of her mascara that was hastily applied at a red light. Ophelia had the type of beauty that was hard to pinpoint, unconventional in the sense that people found themselves staring and then questioning why they found her interesting at all. There was a perfume of melancholy and something otherworldly that was what perhaps drew people into her salty blue eyes, yet maintaining eye contact seemed unnaturally difficult.
Ophelia turned her gaze to Strauss as the elevator dinged to announce their arrival to the floor where the BAU was housed. Strauss met her eyes with a look that seemed to signal that Ophelia was under her roof now, and that even her home turf at the CIA was hostile territory. She was at Strauss's mercy and Erin wanted her to know it. So, Ophelia broke eye contact to give Erin the impression of victory and also so she could adjust her FBI issued name tag that had been clipped on backwards in the rush to make It on time.
Erin exited first, and the tension in the room became palpable almost immediately. The bullpen had quieted upon the arrival of Strauss and her ill-fitting skirt suit. No one in the room knew Ophelia and as Spencer Reid noticed the new face, he alerted Emily Prentiss who in turn told Derek Morgan. Pretty soon the domino effect carried the news of a stranger walking behind Strauss all the way to David Rossi. Everyone on the team knew of the stranger except Aaron Hotchner, who sat at his desk on what could be called the 1 and 1/2 floor. His forehead was creased with the lingering tension of a phone call with his wife who was once again griping about the long hours of his job.
Unfortunately for Hotch, the arrival of Strauss was sure to bring more stress to his day. He had received news a week earlier of a new arrival to the unit, while the details had been withheld by Erin. While Ophelia had no formal training in behavioral psychology, she could understand the silent power struggle between these two with clarity. Hotch had barely glanced up to greet Erin but whipped his head back up as he realized she was not alone. Strauss, ever eager to have the first and last word introduced Ophelia before she had a chance to herself.
"Aaron, this is Agent Rivers. She is going to be working with the BAU indefinitely and I hope you make her feel welcome"
Ophelia stuck her hand out towards Hotch and he shook with a strength that told her he was not to be messed with. Strauss had seemed to think that introduction was sufficient and left them standing awkwardly.
"I'm Ophelia, she introduced me as Agent Rivers but I became an Agent yesterday so I don't think that title is most appropriate. You can just call me Ophelia"
Hotch seemed relaxed by the sudden awkwardness of the new recruit as anyone who Strauss associated with was automatically suspect to him.
"I'm Agent Hotchner, but everyone here calls me Hotch. I understand you've come from the CIA, why the switch? Agency to Bureau transfers are uncommon"
He said "uncommon" but Ophelia knew he really meant "never heard of". She paused for a moment to compose an answer that didn't involve her saying "I pissed off some old guys in suits who haven't ever been in the field so now I'm Strauss's plaything until they get over it". So instead she said,
"It's complicated".
Hotch seemed to understand that "complicated" really meant "classified" and nodded in acceptance of her answer. There was an awkward silence that Ophelia avoided by pulling at the hem of her sweater until Hotch spoke.
"I can take you to meet the rest of the team".
"I would appreciate that".
So, Ophelia and Hotch descended the five steps into the bullpen where everyone had been huddled around Reid's desk theorizing about who Ophelia was. For profilers, they were surprisingly bad at hiding their thoughts as they scrambled to appear normal. Ophelia suddenly found the pattern on the carpet fascinating.
"Everyone, this is Agent Rivers who will be joining us under the order of Section Chief Strauss".
Glimmers of suspicion shone on everyone's eyes at the mention of Erin and Ophelia knew they already had common ground with their dislike/mistrust of Strauss. Ophelia gave a small wave and the man in a sweater vest gave a shy smile. Emily Prentiss introduced herself first and Ophelia hid the flash of recognition she felt when she took in Emily's face. In a matter of moments, everyone had been introduced and once again an awkward silence fell upon the bullpen until the bright and oblivious Garcia came bursting in.
"Derek! Where's the pretty and mysterious new recruit? I got your text!"
Everyone tried to avoid eye contact with one another as Garcia processed that the aforementioned mystery woman was within earshot. But without a hint of embarrassment Penelope waved and said
"You are so pretty! Derek was right!"
Ophelia gave a quiet thank you and Morgan introduced the two. By now, Ophelia's feet were starting to hurt from standing in heels for so long and asked to see her desk. Everyone followed her movements to the empty desk next to JJ's. As Hotch left to go retrieve her badge and gun, the team descended on Ophelia in a frenzy with a flurry of questions.
How do you know Strauss? What did you do at the CIA? How old are you? Why the BAU? Where are you from? Have you ever been in the field?
Work, classified, 26, work, New York, yes.
Reid then chimed in by asking her what her favorite books were and how many languages she could speak.
War and Peace, Jane Eyre, and 1984. 12.
Morgan laughed at her second answer, "Looks like you have competition Emily!
Ophelia learned then that Emily could speak 7 languages.
Hotch returned before Ophelia could answer Garcia's question about her romantic life and Ophelia almost said "thank god" out loud. The standard issue gun felt familiar in her hands and the badge foreign. In her previous line of work you didn't carry around a card that practically said "CIA". She clipped the gun into her holster and awkwardly tucked the badge in her blazer's inner pocket. JJ had disappeared earlier to answer her phone and returned with a case.
"Let's see what you've got" said Rossi with a smile.
Ophelia hardened herself and followed them into the briefing room
Garcia stood in front of a screen displaying a grotesque tableau of crime scene photos that contrasted with cheery family portraits.
"The - family was found dead this morning. They were supposed to be at Disney world on vacation, but the suitcases and credit card statements show they never left the house."
"Who found the bodies?", asked JJ.
"Cleaning lady, she had been hired to clean the house while they were away" spoke Garcia, "But there is something even weirder- the dinner table was set for five and the meals were partially eaten.'"
"So we know they were alive long enough to eat dinner last night" said Morgan.
Ophelia stayed quiet, not eager to interrupt the flow the team naturally had. Reid had JJ and Emily engaged in a conversation about how the family was murdered, and the placement of bodies. Ophelia came to a realization, but as she had finally mustered the courage to speak Hotch said "Wheels up".
Half an hour later found the team on the jet, Ophelia seated next to Reid across from Hotch and Morgan. Emily and JJ were behind them and Rossi sat across from Emily. Ophelia was grateful for Reid being her seat partner, as he was the least intimidating. Ophelia was aware that she had given off a shy exterior in the two hours she had known everyone. She was even more aware of how that didn't match her true personality. Something about Hotch unnerved her and Strauss's presence had made her unusually quiet.
Garcia appeared on the laptop placed in front of Morgan and was dictating the crime scene reports for them and was informing Reid that the autopsies were being completed as they spoke. Reid seemed to find that satisfactory. A comfortable silence fell over the group until Ophelia decided that being shy was a shit way to start their working relationship.
"Why eat dinner with their captor? And why didn't they call or scream for help?"
Everyone looked startled by her questions.
"There must have been some sort of fantasy that they had to play out." Reid was quick to answer the first question, happy to share his knowledge.
"As for them not screaming, there could have been a threat to the children or there was no reason to" Rossi chimed in.
"It was good you had a go bag in your car. Not everyone comes to their first day ready to jet off" said Prentiss.
Ophelia gave a small smile. She always had a plan B and C, and even D. But Emily didn't need to know that she had three types of go bags always at the ready.
At this point, the high ponytail and the accompanying headache was unbearable so Ophelia pulled the hair tie out and her hair fell right below her ribs. She tugged at her blazer sleeves to adjust the crumple that had bloomed while sitting for so long. Morgan was listening to his headphones and Reid was deep in some obscure Russian novel that Ophelia was discreetly reading over his shoulder.
"You read Russian?"
"Yeah, I was born there"
Ophelia caught the slip as soon as it happened. Revealing that information was something she rarely did, let alone on the first day of knowing someone. But there was an innocence around Reid that made him seem harmless.
"Cool". Reid didn't seem to pick up on the slight panic in Ophelia's eyes.
Hotch did though, as he wasn't more interested in a book than Ophelia's expressions. So, out of curiosity and wanting to get a sense of Ophelia's walls he prodded further.
"Where in Russia?"
"St. Petersburg". Which was a good answer in Ophelia's eyes, a big city. Nothing too revealing in that answer.
The plane landed before the team could chime in and continue the informal interrogation. Ophelia said a silent thank you.
Later, Ophelia found herself in a black SUV riding shotgun across from Morgan with Emily and JJ in the back.
"So newbie, you nervous? You've been awfully quiet" Morgan said what everyone was all thinking.
She decided now was the time to come out of her shell, guided by the knowledge that her dislike and mistrust of Strauss was a shared sentiment with this group of people.
"Strauss makes me nervous. I'm not normally this shy"
"She makes us all nervous" said Emily.
Ophelia turned around in her seat, "Oh thank god, I thought I was totally overreacting."
They seemed relaxed by the new body language of Ophelia.
"So, why did she send you to us?"
"I honestly don't know, and I don't think there is a good answer to that. Some CIA suit owed her a favor I guess"
"You were CIA?" said Emily. She was curious, but couldn't place Ophelia in any meeting or mission she had while at Interpol.
"Yeah, and I guess I still technically am. I'm just on an indefinite loan to the FBI"
"Well, we are happy to have you", JJ's warm smile made Ophelia feel comfortable and at home.
"We're going to the police station right?", asked Ophelia, "This is my first time so I don't know the protocol"
"Yeah, we head to the local station and set up there then split up and go to the crime scene, interview family, see the M.E.", explained Morgan.
Ophelia nodded in understanding.
In the other car Rossi, Hotch, and Reid were discussing Ophelia. Reid was very excited that she spoke Russian, as he now had a new person to take to the Russian movie theater other than Emily. Rossi was chuckling at Reid's enthusiasm while Hotch drove in silence. He still harbored concerns about Agent Rivers. No one simply transferred from the CIA to the FBI because they wanted to. Ophelia Rivers was hiding something and he was determined to find out why.
Author's Note: So this story kind of ignores some criminal minds episode timeline stuff (I'm not going episode by episode). Like Gideon was obviously still on the team in the first fox episode- but I'm just ignoring that entirely. Please leave reviews they mean the world to me!