Hey all, here is the next chapter for this fic. I got a lot of good feedback on my poll (if you want to see the results, they are available on my profile!), so thank you to those of you who voted. I will take your PM's, votes, and reviews to heart. With that being said, 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 Eighteen: Chemical Reactions & Inner Confrontation

While JJ had positioned herself in Viper's line of sight, Jamie had ventured through the busy club. Her slick movement helped her be free from constant elbows and wild limbs being thrown her way on the floor. The room was heavy with heat and the music pulsed from the walls as she walked up to the bar. Even though she was working a case, she still needed to blend in with the crowd and at the moment, she was kind of enjoying it. At one end of the bar, she sent her eyes around to scan the people surrounding her and to her surprise, there was someone familiar at the other end of the long counter. There was Spencer and he was talking to the bartender, the cute femalekind of bartender. Jamie narrowed her eyebrows and watched from a far, even though it sort of felt wrong. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she could see the bartender flashing her toothy smile towards Spencer. When she pulled a card from her hair, Jamie knew that Spencer had used his "magic" on her and it obviously worked. Jamie scoffed slightly and faced around front. She waved down on of the other bartenders, a cute male one, to finally ordering her drink.

"Can I get and rum and coke, please?" she asked, still glancing back down the counter at the pretty bartender.

"Sure, you want a side of jealousy with that?"

Jamie snapped her head back around, and slightly dropped her jaw. "Excuse me?"

The bartender placed a glass and grabbed a bottle from the shelf, filling her cup. "I saw how you watched Jen and that FBI guy down there."

"And?"

"And jealousy is an ugly color." he replied, sliding her the finished drink.

Jamie grabbed the glass and brought it to her lips, but didn't drink from it. "Is that so?"

The bartender gave her a smile, a reallyattractive smile. "Oh yeah, plus, you're too beautiful to be jealous of that guy."

"And that's my que..." Jamie thought to herself. She rolled her eyes at the guy and sighed, "It's kind of hard not to be, especially when he's my ex-boyfriend."

The bartender looked at Jamie, clearly at a loss for words.

Jamie sent him a sarcastic grin and placed a ten-dollar bill on the counter, leaving the bar to go find JJ. With the full drink in her hand, Jamie weaved her way through the dancing bodies once more. She spotted JJ in the distance and she was chatting it up with a man whose wardrobe made Jamie wonder if Halloween was coming early this year. Jamie quickened her pace back to JJ and fronted with a fake smile as she approached them at the table. While it looked like Viper was about to make a move on JJ, Jamie stepped in just in time.

"Oh, this is the guy you were telling me about, right?" Jamie asked in a giddy way, holding her drink near her chest.

JJ looked over her shoulder and nodded. Viper looked intrigued, sending his eyes between the two female agents. His nonexistent smile became existent as he locked his eyes onto Jamie.

"Viper, I'd like you to meet SSA Jamie Carter from the BAU." JJ introduced.

Jamie kept her smile on, extending her hand out to Viper. "Nice to meet you…Viper." Jamie sipped her drink flirtatiously, never letting her eyes fall from Viper's.

"Viper here is God's gift to woman." JJ mused.

"Hm," Jamie began, obviously giving Viper a one over. "then God has a strange sense of humor, doesn't he?"

The cocky smile that he was sporting faded and he laughed weakly. He turned to JJ and narrowed his eyes. "So, you brought a friend."

"Hey, remember you said that if I met you on your turf, you'd show me something special, right?" JJ reminded him. "So, here I am and I'm waiting."

"Yeah, Viper." Jamie cut in, leaning onto the table top. "Whose getting pushed and whose getting pulled tonight?"

Viper began to confidently demonstrate some of his bogus, signature, female-companion guaranteed moves. When he insisted that the eyes were the door into the soul and that it only took approximately fifteen seconds for a response to take place, Jamie found herself becoming uninterested. Her somewhat tired hazel eyes wandered the club, landing on one person in particular. There was Spencer, standing in the middle of the floor with Morgan, being watchful. Then, he saw Jamie and they held contact for a moment. Jamie grinned at him and he sent one back. It seemed like only a second until she was being pulled back into reality.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"See?" Viper said, pointing to Jamie's face. "What did I tell you? The eyes say everything."

"What do you mean?"

"Eye contact is a very powerful gauge. Your pupils dilate when you look at someone you're attracted to."

JJ laughed slightly and looked behind Jamie, instantly capturing what Jamie had been seeing. Turning back to Viper, she said, "So, what about me?"

"Um, Agent Carter if you would be so kind as to time for the fifteen seconds?" Viper asked.

"...sure." Jamie said flatly, clearly over his whole charade. She looked down at her watch and waited for the minute to start over. "...and go."

It physically hurt Jamie to sit there and watch JJ stare into the eyes of the quack of a man before them.

Viper raised his eyebrows, sending JJ a sultry grin. He kept his own lust filled eyes trained on JJ, letting them wander down every now and again. "I can see your eyes and I'm thinking they see what they like."

JJ playfully rolled her eyes. "Don't flatter yourself." She ever let her eyes falter, keeping them bored into the mild-mannered man's instead.

"The eyes don't lie," he insisted. "They dilate due to a chemical response that we can't control."

"Okay, your fifteen seconds are up." Jamie told them, slightly irritated by the guy's overall presence.

"What do you see?" JJ asked her, letting Jamie observe her blue eyes.

Jamie tilted her head and gave Viper a dramatic frown. "Sorry, but there's nothing. No chance, no dilation."

Viper leaned in closer to JJ, giving her a grin. "That just means we're not a chemical match." Then, he turned to Jamie. "You on the other hand, your pupils are telling another story."

Jamie scoffed, tucking hair behind her ears. "Oh please, it's too dark in here to see my pupils."

Viper shook a finger one of his fat fingers at her. "It's because you have someone on your mind, am I right?"

Jamie forced out a laugh and sipped more of her drink. "Not even close."

"You see, once that happens, the attraction center in the brain shuts down." He raised his eyebrows, looking between Jamie and JJ. JJ turned to face Jamie, who was obviously trying to avoid JJ's eyes, as she knew she was practically trapped.

"You know," Jamie started, placing her now empty glass on the table top. "I just can't figure out what our unsub could've possibly learned from you."

Viper's confident expression fell. He got visibly defensive and stood up straighter, "What do you mean? He took my look, my words, everything that makes me successful with the opposite sex."

"Oh, really?" JJ questioned, sarcasm evident in her tone. "Because that guy can get beautiful woman into his apartment and I wouldn't even let your number into my contact list."

"Hey! I gave that guy the routines that made him what he is!"

"It must all be in the salesmanship, then."

"And believe me when I tell you, we've been watching all the woman in the club," Jamie claimed. "And not oneof them has even taken a minute out of their lives to look at you."

"So, who do you go home with Paul?" JJ pressed. "Or do you usually end up alone?"

Viper was clearly nervous and shifting. He laughed nervously, "That's a really good routine, ladies. Do you think I don't know why you're really here? One of my students copies my moves and you're here to get inside this beautiful mind of mine."

Jamie scoffed and wanted to deck the guy so badly.

"I confronted my queen-bee a long time ago." he continued.

"What's a queen-bee?" JJ questioned.

"You are and so is every other confident girl in this building. The ones who are drunk and loud. Every student who has every taken my class has had one in their life. The first exercise I teach, is to confront your queen-bee. It could be as simple as someone who stood you up, or the prom date who kept you waiting all night long and never showed up. But when you find them, you destroy them…"

Jamie and JJ exchanged knowing looks and quickly left Viper behind, leaving to a quieter area of the club. When they reached a small seated area, JJ dialed Hotch. "Vanessa Holden knew the unsub." she told him as soon as he picked up.

"How do you know?"

"It's Viper's first confidence exercise he teaches. You find the source of your rejection and make her pay for it."

"That's why he stopped with the prostitutes," Jamie put in. "He took Viper's class and decided to confront Vanessa."

"Okay, we need to talk to the family again," Hotch said over the lines. "Good work you two." With that, the line went dead and JJ and Jamie were walking back into the dance floor.

Jamie slouched and looked at her empty glass. "I know we're working, but I'm going to get another drink. Want anything?" she asked JJ.

"No, I'm good. I'll just go meet the others wherever they are."

"Okay, I'll be a few minutes." Jamie said, leaving to make her way back to the bar. Just as she was coming up to the counter, one of the bartenders yelled for last call. Jamie waved one down and as if it were her lucky day, it was the bartender that had Spencer smiling earlier that night.

"What can I get for you?' she politely asked.

"Um, rum and coke, please." Jamie replied, holding her tongue. She thought back to what the other bartender had told her earlier. Did she really seem jealous? If she was, she had no right to be. Then again, feelings don't disappear overnight.

The bartender handed over the drink and Jamie nodded her thanks, taking a healthy gulp from the glass. Then, there was a tapping on her shoulder. She looked over and saw a rather attractive man looking down on her.

"Can I help you?" she questioned.

"Sorry," he told her. "but you're very beautiful."

Jamie smiled at the compliment and sipped on her drink. "Well, thank you." She had been hit on in clubs before, but now it felt different especially since she was supposed to be working.

"How come you're here by yourself tonight?"

"Oh," Jamie began, kind of at a loss for words. "I'm not. My boyfriend is here, just don't know-" Her words froze on her tongue. She studied the face of the man in front of her. Past his cocky smile and his obnoxious shiny, black wardrobe, she couldn't help but notice the distinguishing mark on his face…just above his eyebrow.

"May I read your palm?" he asked Jamie.

She shook herself out of her daze and smiled at him. "Sure, go ahead." Jamie held out her hand and watched the unsub grab her arm and trail his fingers down to her hand.

"Very beautiful," he said. "Your love line isn't broken."

"What does that mean?"

"You see, if you have a broken love line, that means you haven't met your soulmate yet."

Jamie didn't believe it for a second. He was using one of Viper's tricks and she knew it. "Oh, so you're telling me that I've met my perfect match?"

"Perhaps. Why don't we go somewhere a little quieter, get to know each other better?" he suggested, letting his hand wander up Jamie's arm. Jamie's eyes went across the room, and it was just her luck that she spotted Spencer nearly in the same spot that he had been before.

It sent chills through her body and they weren't the good kind. She pulled her arm from him slowly and smiled. "Remember what I said about my boyfriend being here somewhere?"

"Mhm, but I don't see him anywhere and I don't know why he would leave such an amazing woman alone by herself in a place like this."

"I should probably go find him," Jamie got up from her seat and gave one last look behind her shoulder as she was walking away. Her walk wasn't too fast, as she didn't want to seem spooked, but her feet wanted to run at Spencer. She knew the unsub was watching her and it took everything she had to not fall from the feeling of his wicked eyes piercing her back.

Finally, she reached Spencer and she swung her arms around his neck in a sultry manner. "Pretend you're my boyfriend, okay?" she said, making their bodies sway along to the music in the club.

Instantly, Spencer caught onto her plan and placed his hands on her waist. He brought his face down the level with her ear and whispered, "What's wrong?"

Jamie gave into his movement, hopefully making their appearance not to played out. She moved her face closer to his, eyes wandering behind him, keeping an eye on the unsub who had moved to another girl. "There's a guy at the bar whose dressed in all black. Spencer, he's the unsub."

Spencer's grip on Jamie's waist got tighter. "Are you sure? Are you okay?"

Jamie nodded into his neck, "He has the scar."

Spencer lifted his head from its lowered position and used one hand to take out his phone. With the other, he kept a protective grip on Jamie's waist, careful not to let their act go. "Morgan, the unsub is in the building. He's at the bar." he said into the phone. He started to push Jamie towards the exit, where JJ was standing with Morgan.

"He was really at the bar?" she asked Jamie, watching Spencer and Morgan go through the crowd.

Jamie nodded her head and sighed, "Yep, he even read my palm and everything."

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

As the sounds of people's gasp and feet pattering towards the exit caught their attention, Jamie and JJ sped off towards the other members of their team. In classic Morgan fashion, the unsub was pinned to the ground with Morgan on top of him, slamming the handcuffs over his wrist. He pulled him up, leading the unsub outside where the backup officers were stationed.

Jamie followed them out, alongside JJ and Spencer, rubbing her exposed arms from the chill of the night. It was almost two in the morning and she was just glad that they had caught the unsub, meaning that they could go home. The slight breeze nipped at her skin through her dress and she shivered involuntarily. She walked towards Spencer, who was speaking to Hotch and Rossi who had arrived on the scene.

"Good work, Carter." Hotch offered with a nod.

"Thank you."

"You two should get into an SUV. We can be out of here in a few minutes."

Jamie and Spencer nodded, Hotch and Rossi leaving their vicinity to speak with Morgan.

"Listen," Jamie started, looking at Spencer. "I hope you don't feel weird about what I did in there."

"It's not a big deal, honest."

Jamie laughed lightly, "Okay, I just don't want things to be awkward." Her arms covered her chest as she made her way to the next available SUV. Before she could reach for the door handle herself, Spencer had already taken it upon himself to open the door for her.

"Thanks, Spencer."


Once Jamie was able to shed that tight dress, she felt free. Changing into her casual clothing felt amazing and she was hoping to be able to get some sleep on the flight back to Quantico. She left the restroom with her go-bag, bumping into seats as she went to the back of the plane for an open seat. She sat herself down, kicking her bag under it and resting into the soft leather. There wasn't a lot of time before someone had joined her in the seat across from her.

"Carter, we need to discuss some things." Hotch stated.

Jamie tensed slightly and sat up straighter in front of her boss. "I don't really like the sound of that…"

"I want you to tell me what happened at the crime scene with the blood."

Jamie turned her face towards the window, letting out a huff of air. "Who told you?"

"That doesn't matter. I need to know what happened."

She shook her head slowly, running a rough hand over her tired face. "Flashback…"

"A flashback of?"

Jamie faced forward again, tilting her head a little. "I saw the blood and I-I couldn't get out of this weird daze I was in. I saw the night I got shot…the shootout. There was so much blood. Spencer, he-he was…covered in myblood, Hotch."

Hotch nodded his head, understanding what she was trying to get across. "I'm going to order another psychological evaluation."

Jamie locked stern eyes with his for a moment, then faltered. She shrugged, "Okay. I mean, I'm not going to argue with you about it, that wouldn't get me anywhere."

"Okay, then. As soon as we're back, I'll put in the paperwork."

"…can't wait" Jamie said, turning away from him to face the window. From the corner of her eye, she could she Hotch return to his seat.

Jamie sighed and wondered how far her injury would push her. She had gone through something traumatic, something that she would have never been involved in if she didn't work for the BAU. There was the possibility that the event of her being shot would affect her ability to cope with the world around her, and Jamie didn't know how far it would go. Her mind didn't flood with overwhelming emotion before returning to the field, she just wanted to get back to the action. Now, it all seemed so different, somehow harder to do the job. She had heard stories of how her teammates had been hit by a bullet once or twice and she listened to them in awe.

She could feel her heart beating in her chest as she was sitting in her seat. Her fingers nails took a rough beating as she bit away bits of the grown nails. The thought of having to go through another psychological evaluation worried her. During the first evaluation, the questions were easy and her answers seemed to flow naturally. This time, though, Jamie was anxious that there was an underlying distress that hadn't been conjured until she was back in the field. If that was the case, how was she supposed to do her job?


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