A/N:Hello! This is an AU I've been working on, and I had a few people on Tumblr ( thestrawberrygirl) say they were interested in reading it! This is the first chapter. I'll try to update every Tuesday, but I want to post some small drabbles in between chapters on Tumblr too.

This story takes place in Colorado. No real reason, it just worked well for what I needed. The entire team, plus Elle, Gideon, Alex, James (Alex's husband if you don't remember), Kate, and Tara. There will be a few unsubs in here too, but I'm not telling which ones. You'll have to read to find out!

It has a lot of Emily, since she's my favorite, but everyone is in here and I have angst mapped out for most of the characters already. I'm open to requests on what people might like to see as well. This story starts in about mid-September, present time, but no Covid-19 of course.

Ages and grades of all the characters:

Emily: 17, college sophomore (skipped 2 grades), will be 18 in October, bookshop employee

Hotch: 18, college sophomore, will turn 19 in November (technically didn't skip a grade, is just one of the youngest), bookshop employee

Alex: 20, college junior, will be 21 in July, bookshop employee

James: Just turned 21 this September, college junior, bookshop employee

Penelope: 18, college sophomore (skipped 1 grade), will be 19 in February, coffee shop worker

Spencer: 14, college junior (skipped 6 grades), will be 15 in October, bookshop employee

Tara: 20, college junior, will be 21 in December, coffee shop worker

Kate: 20, college junior, will be 21 in January, coffee shop worker

Rossi/Gideon: mid-sixties, Gideon is the owner, Rossi is a regular patron

Elle: 21, college senior, will be 22 in March, coffee shop worker

JJ: 17, high school senior, will be 18 in May, regular patron

Derek: 18, college freshman, will be 19 in April, regular patron


Now I'll be bold
As well as strong
And use my head alongside my heart
So take my flesh
And fix my eyes
A tethered mind free from the lies

Mumford & Sons, I Will Wait

The Mountain Bean was a small establishment situated in the rolling hills of Colorado. It was a used bookstore/coffee shop that was primarily run by a group of teenagers. The store did well- it was never too busy, so the quiet bookstore aesthetic was never broken, but there were enough customers that they never had to truly worry about finances.

The workers of the coffee part and the bookstore employees were on the same shift schedule and all got along well. They were an odd group, but they loved each other just the same.

Aaron Hotchner tightened his hold on his backpack and the folder in his hand as he mentally prepared to enter. He was applying for a job at the store, and the folder held his resume and references.

As he walked in, a girl of about 18 or 19 in a polka dotted dress with a light brown apron over it and multicolored streaks in her bright blonde hair called out to him.

"Hey handsome, what can I get for you today? You look like an espresso kind of guy, am I right?" Her name tag said Penelope.

"Oh, actually I'm applying for a job in the bookstore," he explained. Penelope nodded.

"Miller! You've got someone needing an interview!" She called into the store. A few moments later, another girl of about 20 emerged from the shelves of the store. She had auburn hair pulled back into a ponytail, dark blue jeans with Converse, an olive green tanktop, and a solid black cardigan over it. On her nose perched a pair of reading glasses.

"Hi, I'm Alex Miller, I'm the manager here. If you'll just follow me, we can get the interview started." He followed her through the shelves upon shelves of books to a small office in the back. "So, tell me about yourself. Why would you be good for this job?"


"I've seen enough. You're hired," she decided, dropping her pen on his file.

"Seriously? That's it?"

"Yep. It wasn't a hard decision, we've only had two other people apply, and they were definitely not a good fit. The first one was very… opinionated, which is a nice way of saying she was a bigot, and the second one was a fifty year old man who couldn't stop staring at the other women who work here. He even tried to grope one of them on his way out, and she sprained his wrist. Come on, I'll tell you who's who." He followed her out of the small office, leaving his backpack behind.

"First, the coffee shop employees. Be nice to them, they have a lot of power here. The one with the colorful hair who you met first, that's Penelope Garcia. She's the light around here, complete sunshine. She's also a hacker extraordinaire, so don't piss her off. The short one, that's Kate Callahan. She's very protective of everyone in here, and can definitely kill you. Don't underestimate her by her size. The tall one next to her, that's Tara Lewis. Like the other two, very protective. Actually, just… don't mess with the coffee shop workers. The one with the high ponytail is Elle. She can be terrifying if she wants to be, but she's got a good sense of humor and she's like the big sister of the four of them."

"Next, the regulars. The one flirting with Garcia is Derek Morgan. He's here a lot, mainly just to see Penelope. We've got a pool going on when they'll get together if you want in. He's a nice guy, a bit cocky but he's kind. The blonde one over there is JJ. Soccer star, she's really sweet. She's here a lot to study, we let her read the books without buying them since she's doing so much already, but always up for a good chat. He's not here yet, but David Rossi comes in a lot too. He always reads the true crime books we have. Technically, Jason Gideon's the owner, but he doesn't act like one. He'll come in, talk to Spence or Elle, buy a coffee and make sure everything's running smoothly, but he's really laid back."

"Lastly, the bookstore workers. That's James Blake," she pointed to a boy who looked to be about 21. "He's one of the cashiers. James is really sweet. You too should get along well. The little kid in the beanbag is Spencer Reid. Gideon had to pull some special strings so he could work here. He's the youngest out of all of us, 14. He's also our human catalog. He's a genius, he has an eidetic memory and can read 20,000 words per minute. There's me, of course. Technically I'm the manager but really it's just a title."

"Not exactly Al, you are definitely the most responsible out of all of us," the boy she pointed out as James said.

"Yeah Alex, you're the mom friend," Spencer added without looking up from his book in the corner.

"Well, you heard them, I'm the mom friend. You'll be a cashier with James most of the time, but honestly your position is pretty flexible. Sometimes I'll have you shelving, sometimes you'll be buying the books that people bring in. Just be ready for anything."

"Who's that?" He asked as he pointed with his chin to a girl pushing a cart of books. She was dressed head to toe in black, even her hair was dark. She was wearing black skinny jeans tucked into a pair of Doc Martens with roses embroidered on the side. She had a black Hozier shirt tucked into her jeans under a long black cardigan that went down to her knees. Her long black hair was pulled into a half-up, exposing the cobalt blue underside. Her ears had at least 7 piercings, showing a variety of stud earrings. She had black eyeliner as well as dark lipstick. Her eyelashes were long and a pair of white earbuds were dangling from her ears.

"Oh, right. That's Emily Prentiss. She's our shelver. She's the one who sprained the guy's wrist, if you're wondering. She doesn't talk much, but she's nice. Unless you get on her bad side. Then all hell breaks loose. I've seen it. She's scary when she's mad. She's funny though. She keeps to herself. If I'm being honest, I don't know that much about her. David Rossi, one of the regulars I told you about, he knows her pretty well. He's your best bet on getting to know some things about her; she's quite secretive. There is one thing though. Don't ask her or try to talk to her about her past or her parents. Last time it happened, she didn't say anything for a week. She came in, did her job, but she didn't talk to anyone. Not even Spencer or Rossi. Anyways, if you want, you can start now."

"Right now? That works for me."

"Great! James, this is your cashier partner, Aaron Hotchner."

"I go by Hotch," he told him as he shook the cashier's hand. He then began walking back through the store to the back room to get his bag. He found himself standing behind Emily, not really knowing what to do. She seemed to sense his presence, because without even turning around, she said, "No, I'm not going to get you a discount on your books and no, giving me your number won't change that."

"Oh, I wasn't going to-" she turned around to face him, a battered copy of Flowers in the Attic still in hand. She raised one eyebrow to say, well?

"I'm Aaron Hotchner. Hotch. I'm the new employee here."

"I'm guessing Alex filled you in on everyone?" She asked, putting the book on the shelf and crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Yeah. I'm a cashier for now."

"Cool. Well, just a few more things that I doubt Miller told you about. One, James has a crush on Alex. That'll become pretty clear the more time you spend here. Are you new in town too?"

"Yes."

"Alright then, keep your head down around here. There are people who will try to get you into trouble. Don't let them. There's a guy that'll swing by sometimes, George Foyet, he threw Derek threw a window last month. He's just a bully, albeit a very aggressive one. Three, we're a family here. You hurt one of us, you hurt all of us, understood?" He nodded, and she stepped aside to let him pass. "Welcome to the team Hotch."


"Princess, I think your cat is hungry," Morgan called into the store as he scratched a black cat behind the ears. Hotch was on his dinner break, drinking a coffee with his turkey sandwich. Emily soon emerged from the back part of the store, scooping up the cat in her arms. The cat climbed up her arm and sat on her shoulder as she started to retreat back to the inner part of the shop.

"You're a witch, you know that? I don't think I've ever seen a cat do that with anyone before," Morgan told her. She smiled slightly.

"Well, like you said, I am a witch." Hotch observed as the black cat purred contentedly from its place on her neck.

"She's allowed to bring her cat into the store?" He asked the other man when Emily left. Morgan laughed.

"No, Sergio isn't her cat. He's the store cat, Princess is just his favorite. She takes care of him on holidays too, so we all joke that he's really her cat and the rest of us are just for show. I'm surprised Alex didn't tell you. We found Sergio 6 months ago, when he was a kitten. Prentiss and Penelope were about to go home at the end of their shift when they found him behind the dumpster outside."

"He was so small and still we weren't even sure if he was a real cat," Penelope added as she wiped down a counter.

"They brought him inside, and we all fell in love with him. I drove him to the vet and groomers while the others got him all sorts of treats and toys from the store. Customers and kids love him, and he loves the attention. He's lived here ever since."

"Huh. You guys have an interesting dynamic here."

"You didn't know that?" Elle sat down next to the two. "I'm pretty sure that 'be ready to get a second family' is in the job description. Or at the very least, one of us told you that on your first day. "

"Emily did say something like that on my first day," he told them.

"Damn, she talked to you on your first day? That's rare. Not to say she's antisocial or anything, she just doesn't normally talk to the new people, not on their first day anyways. She talked to Pen and me-"

"Pen and I," Alex corrected her as she sat down at the table with the others.

"Pen and I, sorry Miller, forgot how much of a grammar nerd you are. Anyways, Penny and I talked to her on our first day, but I don't think she did to anyone else."

"Spreading conspiracy theories about me Greenaway?" Emily had circled her cart of books back to the shelves in the front.

"Someone has to," she shot back with a grin.

"Just don't tell them about how I'm actually a witch here to curse them all," she joked before continuing to shelve her never-ending cart of books and novels.

"Did she just make a joke?" Derek asked before Alex slapped him on the back of the head.

"She does have a sense of humor, you know, she just doesn't show it much." Hotch nodded absentmindedly, wondering what else Emily Prentiss was hiding.


David Rossi walked into the bookstore like he always did on Tuesdays. As he walked in, he saw a familiar face shelving books as she always did. He also saw a new face working the register with James. He dismissed it, instead making his way to Emily.

"He's getting big, isn't he?" He asked her as he pet the cat sitting on her shoulder. She turned around at the sound of his voice and gave him a hug.

"Hey Rossi! I pulled some new true crime books I don't think you've read yet, they're in the back."

"Hey kiddo. Sorry I wasn't here last week, I was out of town."

"It's fine, it was a slow week anyways." Aaron watched from a distance as the two friends caught up. He had only been working here for about a week, but in that time, he had never seen her as happy as she was right now. He saw how she handed him Sergio and how Sergio didn't protest. That was rare- even though Sergio technically was everyone's at the store, the only people who could hold him without getting scratched were Penelope, Derek, and Emily, and Emily normally let him ride on her shoulders all day anyways.

"When's your dinner break?" All of the employees on this shift schedule worked the late shift, from 4 PM to midnight, so instead of lunch breaks they had dinner breaks.

"About 20 minutes."

"You wanna go get something to eat?"

"Sure, let me just wrap this up." Hotch leaned down next to JJ, she was sitting on the desk next to the register.

"Are they together?"

"Who?" She questioned as she turned the page to her Spanish textbook.

"Prentiss and Rossi." JJ actually closed her textbook to look at him. Her gaze was a mix of incredulousness and confusion.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes." She burst out laughing, to the point where she fell off of her chair.

"What's so funny Jareau?" Morgan came over to see what the commotion was about.

"He thought… Emily and Rossi… were a couple!" She managed to gasp out before she continued laughing.

"No way, really? That's a new one. We've gotten JJ and Em, me and Emily, even Alex and Emily, but god, never her and Rossi."

"The more I think about it the worse it gets," JJ's laughs had subsided into hiccups. "First of all, Emily's a 17 year old college sophomore, and Rossi's in his 60's. A forty year age gap? Come on. Second of all, Rossi's married to his wife, Carolyn, and third, Emily's like his daughter. She always has been. The two of them together? Ew…" JJ explained.

"What's ew?" Penelope had brought over the coffees they had ordered.

"Hotch thought Princess and Rossi were dating," Morgan filled her in.

"That brings a whole new meaning to the word 'gross.' That'd be like her dating her dad!"

"So I've heard," Hotch commented dryly.

"Anyways, no, Goth Gumdrop and Master of All Things Italian are not dating. They're just friends. You're new, you'll learn. Just give it time. Just be glad Elle isn't here right now, you'd never hear the end of it. And you two, go easy on him. He's only been here a week," Penelope warned them before going back to her work.

There were a lot of things he had to learn about this place.


"So, how have you been? Anything exciting going on?"

"No, not really. I go to my college classes, work here, go back to my apartment. To be honest the highlight of my life is work. That's depressing when I say it out loud. What about you?"

"Not much, I'm working on my new book. Are you still in ballet?"

"Yes, but you can't talk about that. I have a reputation to uphold."

"And what reputation would that be?"

"The reputation of being a complete and total mystery, of course."

"Of course." He laughed, before he switched back to serious. "And there's no one giving you any trouble?"

"No… why? Is someone giving you trouble?"

"No, I just worry about you. There are bad people in this town, and I don't want you getting hurt."

"As sweet as that is Rossi, I can take care of myself. I'm a big girl." He smiled.

"I know you can. I've never doubted that. But even the strongest of souls can get into trouble. Just… tell me if someone does, ok?"

"This is about Foyet, isn't it? What happened with Derek last month?"

"Yes, it's about that. Emily, Foyet has a good lawyer. He didn't face any charges and there's no restraining orders on him. He could come back and come after you or Spencer."

"If someone messes with Spence, you'll know. Trust me, I don't take lightly to that shit."

"Thanks kiddo."

"No problem Rossi." The waiter came back and Rossi asked for the check.

"Let me pay," she insisted.

"No."

"Come on, Dave, you always pay when we go out to eat. Let me pay this once."

"I'm a millionaire author and old. Let me pay." She threw her hands up in defeat.

"What will we do if Foyet comes back?" She asked softly as they walked back to the store. Rossi sighed.

"You'll tell me, if he comes back then I can get a restraining order to stick. If he's violent towards any of you, I can get him arrested." That seemed to be a satisfactory answer as they walked back into the store.

"What are you guys all smiling about?" She asked as she walked into a shop of grinning faces.

"Oh, nothing," Garcia very unconvincingly lied.

"Ok so there's definitely something."

"Hotchner thought you and Dave were a thing," Elle said.

"Ew! No offense Rossi, you know I love you, but ew."

"None taken, I don't like it either. That's like dating my daughter."

"Is it just a widely known thing that you two have a father-daughter relationship?" Hotch asked, annoyed. Emily smiled at him as she went back to work- not the big dopey grin she had had earlier, but a smile nonetheless.

He followed Rossi outside as the older man walked out of the store.

"Mr. Rossi?"

"Just Rossi or Dave is fine," he said, turning around to face him.

"Rossi, can I ask you a question?" The older man gestured to the bench in front of the store and they sat down.

"Depends on the question."

"What can you tell me about Emily?" Rossi sat up a little bit straighter.

"What do you want to know?"

"Anything. What does she do for fun, what are her hobbies, things like that."

"She plays piano and violin."

Hotch took a deep breath before continuing. "... what's her past?" Rossi stiffened.

"I can't tell you that. I don't even know the entire story, she didn't even tell me much about what's happened, I had to fill in most of the blanks. I can tell you, however, that she has demons in her past. Lots of them. She's guarded the way she is for a reason."


A/N: If you want to chat or have any questions/suggestions, my tumblr is thestrawberrygirl and I'll be putting updates and drabbles up there. It would really mean a lot! Please review, it keeps me motivated!