Hey guys! Hope waiting an extra week wasn't too bad! I got so much love and support for this story during that time! Thank you all so much! I really appreciate it!

I just wanna give you guys a warning that I am going to mess with the timeline a bit. I wanna add more time between when Lila left and when she comes back and decrease the time between season 6 and 8. There's method to my madness, I just can't tell you want it is. But enjoy the next chapter!

"Seattle Police Department, Candy Ramos, Victims Advocate Representative." I heard Candy answer the phone and didn't think twice about it. People call here every day asking this question or that. I was busy going over one of the new cases we got. I needed to make a statement about it sooner than later. It was only a matter of time before the press got ahold of it and that would be a bigger mess to clean up. If we were the ones to release statements we had more control over the matter.

"It's for you," Candy said, pulling me from the papers. "It's David Rossi?" She almost didn't believe the words she was saying. Why would the David Rossi call me? Actually, why did he call me? It had been almost two years since I last saw anyone from the BAU. it was hard keeping in contact with everyone, even JJ. Not that I was upset about that. I understand what kind of job they all have and how taxing it is. I have a lot going on here at the police department. Life can sometimes get in the way.

Penelope would text and call me a lot more than anyone else, though those texts could be few and far between. We wouldn't talk on the phone that much but when we did the conversations would last for several hours. Spencer never reached out to me. I was a little bummed about it at first but as I had expressed to my friends before, I just wasn't in the mindset to enter another relationship at the time. As much as I wanted to talk to him, things seemed to work themselves out with his silence.

"Seattle Police Department, Lila O'Haul, Press Liaison speaking," I said, reciting the lines I know by heart.

"Hello, Miss Lila O'Haul. This is David Rossi from the BAU. How have you been?" He sounded so pleasant. I smiled.

"I've been very well, sir. How have you been?" I asked.

"I've been doing alright. I'm not sure if you've talked to JJ recently, but she took a new job."

"Yeah, she was texting me about it the other night. She didn't really want to do it." Candy was keeping her eyes on me. Probably very intrigued that I was having a normal conversation with David Rossi. We've both read and adored his books.

"That is correct, unfortunately someone from higher up made her take the position. Anyways, that opens up a spot here at the BAU. Her old job is up for grabs. Penelope tried to do it but it's a bit too much for her, especially alone. Would you be interested in taking it? Since you already deal with victims and the press with your current job, I figure it won't be too much of a change." Was I getting a job offer to go and work for the BAU? This has to be a dream.

"Are you serious? You want me to take her place? There's no one else more qualified?" Candy's eyes widened in shock as I spoke.

"Don't doubt your skills, Lila. I've been following your work and it's spectacular. It's also about who fits in with our team dynamic. And you, Lila, you fit in very well. So, what do you say? Would you like the job?"

I didn't even have to think twice. "Yes."

xoxo

Rossi had planned a surprise entrance for me. He wasn't telling any of them who the new replacement for JJ was. Because of this, I had to get there early to make sure I didn't run into anyone but him.

"There are you!" he said as I stepped out of the elevator. He engulfed me in a huge, father like hug, which I eagerly returned. "I'm so happy you're here!"

"I am too," I said with a smile as I pulled away.

"There's some paper work up in my office that you need to fill out, but once you do that it'll be official."

"I'll be Lila O'Haul Media Liaison of the BAU." I couldn't get the smile off my face as I talked. I never in a million years dreamed I'd get that title, yet here I was. I'm at the FBI headquarters, filling out paper work in David Rossi's office with my very own FBI BAU ID card attached to my hip.

Filling out the paper work was taking longer than I thought it would. I understand why Rossi insisted I come to work this early. He had shut the door to give me privacy and quiet as I read over some of the papers. I was so lost making sure I was doing everything correctly, I didn't even notice how much time had passed. Soon I could hear more familiar voices outside the office door. I was tempted to get up and peak out, see who all was here, but I resisted. As much as I wanted to see them I needed to make sure all forms were properly filled out. The last thing I needed to hear was that I wasn't getting the position because I didn't dot my I's or cross my T's.

There was a soft knock at the door before Rossi opened it and stuck his head in. "Hey, we're going to the bullpen to go over a new case. Meet us there in five." I smiled and nodded but I'm not sure if he saw. He closed the door quickly and I could hear retreating footsteps. I quickly finished up signing the paper I was on, verifying who to notify should I be killed. After I had finished and tried to push the mental image of me being killed out of my mind, I got up and walked out of the office. Thankfully I remembered where the bullpen was from my last visit over here.

"I think you'll like person I got for the job," I heard him say. "She can't replace JJ but I think she's a close second." That made me smile.

I could hear Garcia scream before I even opened the door. "LILA!" She was the first person to hug me as I entered, probably noticing me from the window. "I'm so happy it's you!" She gave me a kiss on the cheek, leaving some of her lipstick stuck to me. She made a face and tried to wipe my cheek with her finger but I doubt it made a difference. Not that I really cared. "Oh, you're just as lovely as the last time I saw you."

"It's good to see you too, Garcia," I laughed as she fawned over me.

"Good to see you again, Lila," Emily said as she took her turn after Garcia to hug me. After her, Hotch opted to give me a handshake while Derek gave me a very tight and warm hug. Spencer was last. He gave me a bit of an awkward wave and quiet "hello." His hair significantly shorter than the last time I saw him. This hairstyle suits him a lot more.

"Spencer," I said with a sweet smile, "you can give me a hug too. I don't bite."

"Only if I want you to, right?" he said with a proud smile, referring to one of the last conversations we had.

"Exactly," I said and took the initiative to hug him. "It's really great to see you again. All of you," I said as I pulled away from Spencer. "I'm so thrilled to be working here with you guys and I promise to do the BAU justice."

"I think you'll be a great replacement. Good work, Dave," Hotch said, giving a nod in Rossi's direction. "Now, if you'll all take your seats, Garcia has a new case for us. Lila, we won't expect you to take charge just yet. For now, just watch how Garcia does it. She'll be your main coach."

I nodded as I took a seat between Spencer and Morgan. I could see Spencer glance at me from the corner of his eyes.

"Right. The case. Right." Penelope's happy demeanor quickly changed to one of solace. Whatever this case is, it has to be bad. With a click, she brought some gruesome pictures up on the big screen. I was not expecting to see what I did. "All four members of the Bennett family were murdered last night." Penelope continued to explain what happened to the family and show more pictures up on the screen. I was starting to feel nauseous from all of it. I've seen some bad things in Seattle but apparently not this bad.

"It definitely takes some getting used to," Spencer leaned over and whispered softly to me. I smiled my response.

Penelope took down all the photos and said there were more in the files that she didn't think needed to be put up for all to see. Since no one but Rossi was expecting me, I didn't have any files to look through so I glanced at Spencer's. I audibly gasped when I looked at them. The father's chest was cut open and his organs were pulled out. Disgusting. Who could do something like this?

The team tossed around ideas about what kind of person we were dealing with. Hotch then turned his attention to me. "Do you have a go bag?"

"I do, sir." Rossi (and JJ) and advised me to pack a go bag (or two) just in case. As they had both said, you never know when a case is going to pop up so it is always better to be over prepared than under. At this moment I couldn't agree with them more.

"Good. Wheels up in thirty." Apparently that was our dismissal. Everyone got up from the table and headed towards the exit of the bullpen.

"See why I told you to pack one," Rossi said as he held open the door for me.

"You did and I appreciate that. I left it in your office. Do you mind if I run and grab that?"

"Don't worry about it. I need to grab mine as well. I can pick yours up too. Go mingle with the team." With a nod I went to my other team members.

"Hey," I said as I ran up to Emily. "What should I expect with this being my first case?"

"Well right now we're going to grab everything we need for a trip. It's always a good idea to have at least two outfits in your go back. If you can make more, go for it but you don't want it to be too big. Then it gets bulky and in the way." I followed her as she went to her desk and grabbed her bag. It was pretty small but looked like it was filled to the brim. I could only image what she had inside. After years on the job you probably know all the strange things you would pack, just in case.

"After we have all our stuff and have done any last minute things we need to do, we all head out to the jet." I looked over where Rossi's office is and noticed him come out carrying his bag and mine. I smiled. That was so nice of him. "I see Rossi has your things," Emily said as Rossi walked down the stairs towards us. "Shall we head to the plane?"

"We shall," I said, smiling. I grabbed my bag from Rossi and followed him and everyone else to the jet. It was a lot more spacious than I thought it would be. I was easily able to find somewhere to sit and didn't' feel like I was taking someone's spot away from them. Spencer took the seat next to me. There wasn't a lot of time to say anything to him. Almost instantly everyone started talking about the case.

I listened intensely as the team went back and forth on ideas and theories. I felt like I didn't have any good enough ideas to toss around. It is my first day on the job and it's all a bit overwhelming. I know I have a degree in forensic psychology but studying it and doing it practically in the field (and with the FBI no less) are two very different things.

"There's no forced entry," Rossi said, looking at the crime scene pictures again. "And their table is set for five people instead of four."

"Maybe they knew the unsub?" Prentiss asked.

"The two families lived in different states but only eight miles apart. Do you think they knew each other?" Spencer asked.

Morgan pulled Penelope up on the computer and had her analyze the two families for any interaction. She came back with nothing but that both families were very religious and did a lot of church activities. But after that the similarities ended. There was no way the families could have run into each other either. From how it has started, my first case is going to be a bit of a doozy.

So, who was at Chicon last weekend? That's what caused the delay in the update but if you were there you know it was well worth it. Anyways, Lila has made it back to the BAU! Woo! I did struggle a bit with this chapter since it does involve a case. I'm not a huge fan of writing cases so they might not be a lot of them. If there is a case, I probably won't go into great detail of it. More so just an overview with focuses on the important parts. I also might pick and chose cases from all around the series. It really depends on how much I like it and how well I think I can translate it to this fic. Like I mentioned in the beginning, I'm messing with the timeline a bit.

Regular updates have resumed so the next chapter will be next Monday!