"Morning Ni!"
She wasn't in the mood to answer SSA Morgan properly. A loud mumble into her coffee would suffice.
"Wow. Late night again?" Reid asked. She nodded. It was day 3 without a full night sleep in her own beautiful Serta mattress at home. The cluttered desk in front of her demanded all her attention during waking hours. Nina Samine was a few years in to this position as an SSA for the BAU and still couldn't figure out how the rest of them managed to do paperwork AND get a full 8 hours. Well, she actually imagined Reid to be able to do it fine. 20k words per minute and all that.
"But! Hopefully today is the last day of that." She finally formed words.
"Ah yes." Morgan smiled wide "Thank god for government holidays! Anyone got plans for the big ball drop?" Nina kept her mouth shut, knowing that everyone expected to say what she always says: sleep.
"Last minute bar thing probably." Prentiss said before pointedly looking at her team members. "And none of you try and talk me out of it either. I love a grimey Times Square broadcast."
Everyone laughed at that.
"What about you Hotch?" Nina tried to casually glance over at the approaching man. Morgan's question was a bit heavy, everyone knew he wasn't the most open about his personal life. She was definitely curious.
He lightly smiled at them all "Not exactly sure. Jack's on this private school New Years excursion, so Emily might see me there as well." Nina loved the way he said people's names, like they were slightly precious spells. Just a bit light and attentively. She wondered if he would ever call her by anything other than her last name.
As if summoned, he met her gaze. "And you Agent Samine?"
Furiously, she told her face to cool down and spread a hand over the stack of papers in front of her. "This. Then sleep."
He joined the communal chuckle before walking off, coffee in hand. The office was quiet for the next hour or so after that.
Agents flew back and forth across the bullpen, as Nina wrote follow-up information about each case. This one, death by cop suicide. That one, caught in the act. The next, found 1 a mile from kill zone. Each one reminding her of that the ugly is worth the beautiful, the families that got closure and the people that could sleep safe.
By the time she took her break, her stomach rumbled. She rubbed the groove the pen created on her index finger and wandered to the kitchenette. Hotch had apparently had the same idea. He faced the coffee pot, fiddling with a pack of sugar. She told herself to stop admiring his hands.
"Is there any more in there?" Her shoes clicked lightly on the linoleum.
"No, sorry. But I just put another pot on." He said in that way when he was thinking too hard about something too complex.
Nina was reminded of all those plane rides back and forth, where she would glance at the top of his head just to see if steam was coming out. Once or twice he caught her. Instead of asking what she was doing, he asked her something about said thoughts. What about this, why do you think that. She waited for the same to happen but he never looked up.
"Thanks." She grabbed a mug and the familiar tupperware stored in the fridge, bending down towards the back. Mis-judging her dexterity, the mug slipped from her hands and dropped to the floor between them, chipping off a piece of ceramic. "Ah, Shit."
"Oh let me help." They both reached for the small pieces, now in front of the open fridge, Hotch facing her. She was wearing a knee length skit but made sure to angle her bare knees safely to the side. Otherwise squatting in this proximity could turn into an HR complaint.
What if he took you up on the invitation?
The dirty thought froze her. Nina was grateful Aaron had turned by then, throwing the pieces in the trash. Those kinds of unprofessional thoughts hadn't appeared in some time. She must be very very tired. The tupperware squeaked against her tight fingers as she stood. "Thanks. Again." A warm nod replied.
"I appreciate the work ethic on the reports, but you really should prioritize health, you know." Hotch's words gave her a way to thaw out. "I know we all make it look easy but, it's only because we do actually sleep." He smiled lightly out of the corner of his eye, taking a sip of coffee.
She opened the microwave on the other side of them, chuckling. "I take health very seriously! I told you I am definitely snoozing through the New Year. Especially with these past couple of cases." They shared a knowing beat of silence. Nina had led the arrests of a few unsubs this year. It was a bit more intense than she expected.
"With that track record, I'm sure you're up for the Auspicious Agent Award this year." He turned, leaning slightly on the counter. The coffee noisily percolated.
They haven't known each other long, but Nina Samine was certain Aaron Hotchner was out of his mind. That award was reserved for Agents far more experienced and field-hardened than her. Agents who won were given priority when it came to promotional opportunities. It also meant they were put on the ambassador list, gaining a whole list of clearances. "You have too much faith in me." She said. Hotch knew what that award meant, and how much responsibility she would gain.
"..And you have too little." He threw back. They met eyes and Nina had to look away. Another thought pushed in, about over clothes and on skin..
"Good luck with the reports." He softly receded back towards the bullpen.
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