Another rated M but also important chapter for your reading pleasure.

Chapter 6

Eventually, the two had moved from the bedroom to the bathroom. Their earlier activities not only having exhausted them but also left them in desperate need of washing. Deciding to be eco-friendly, the two women opted to bathe together and now lay, back to front, in the marble tub. Ava let out a content sigh as Kate finished massaging her wet scalp, her hands going to rest on the woman's thighs as she lay against her chest. Stroking the tattoo she knew resided there, Kate sighed contently against her lover. The night was everything the couple needed- intimate, passionate, and incredibly sensual.

"If you keep doing that, I might fall asleep on you." Ava mumbled, her head lolling to the side as she closed her eyes. She felt, more than heard, Kate chuckle as the blonde began stroking her firm thighs instead.

"Well that wouldn't be very fun." She whined jokingly. Ava's fingers had already begun running her nails along the woman's silky thighs, letting her know that she had no intention of falling asleep. Feeling Kate begin to squirm beneath her fingertips, Ava opened her eyes and released a hot breath against the breast she was facing. Kate's fingers slowed on her lover's thighs as she preferred to focus on what the brunette would do with their new position. Ava was not one to disappoint.

"I think we've got a little bit more 'fun' left in us." Ava muttered as her hands moved from Kate's outer to her inner thighs. Ava was having a hard time deciding where to place her mouth as she looked up at Kate's closed eyes and back down to the heaving chest beside her. When she scooted slightly and nipped at the blonde's already bruised breast, Kate cried out and Ava was more than pleased with her choice. The blonde's hands were no longer idle as they traveled into the water and began to massage one of Ava's breasts. It didn't take long for the pair to begin wriggling in each other's arms. Kate's hand moved further south as she dragged her nails roughly alongside the brunette's inner thigh, causing the woman to gasp and release the sensitive skin from the warmth of her mouth. Damn her, Ava thought. Just as she thought she had the upper hand, Kate always managed to flip the tables on her. It only served to prove that once the older woman was set on dominating her lover, nothing short of a miracle could change her mind. Now, a breathless, writhing mess, Ava could barely concentrate on breathing let alone touching her lover. As Kate chuckled deeply at the painfully aroused brunette that had suddenly turned to putty in her hands, her fingers finally reached their destination. Ava let out a moan, startled at how feminine it sounded but too far engrossed in her lover's touch to care, and opened her legs as far as they would go in the now-too-narrow tub.

"Out there," Kate murmured in Ava's ear, fingers never deviating from their mission, "you can be the badass, gun-wielding federal agent." Ava fought hard to understand the words past the haze her fiancée had placed around her. "But in here, with me," Kate lowered her head to place not-so-chaste kisses on the younger woman's neck at every other word, "we both know that I'm in charge, Avalona." Ava gasped loudly as the blonde wrapped her lips around a pulse point and sucked hard. That, accompanied with what Kate was saying to her and the absolutely reprehensible things her fingers were doing, threw Ava over the edge she had been brought to. As the blonde held her in place with a firm hand across her chest, Ava cried out Kate's name and threw her head back onto the woman's shoulder. She trembled intensely but Kate's strong arms refused to let go, drawing out the brunette's pleasure for what felt like hours. When the waves finally stopped crashing against her, Ava's body collapsed against the blonde's once more, splashing a decent amount of water out of the tub. Kate wiped dark hair away from her eyes and placed a gentle kiss to the woman's parted lips as she panted.

"You're," Ava struggled to form the words, "cruel." Kate laughed wholeheartedly, shaking both bodies in the process.

"I love you too." She said innocuously. With a burst of unexpected energy, the brunette flipped herself over to be face to face with the other woman. She aimed immediately for the blonde's neck, knowing that it was one of her weak spots, and bit just hard enough to cause Kate to gasp. The blonde's eyes flashed dangerously and, while Ava knew she would be forced to regret her actions, a mischievous smile danced on her lips.

"My turn." Ava practically growled, her hands setting to work at separating the woman's thighs. Ava was stronger than Kate, there was no doubt, but she rarely used that strength seeing as she preferred to be dominated by her blonde lover. However, there were instances like this one that called for a brief switch in roles. Ava held the woman's thighs open despite the other woman's attempts to close them. She knew that Kate was already severely turned on and approximated that this wouldn't take long. With a flirtatious wink, Ava took a deep breath and plunged her head into the bathwater. Kate was rattled by the action but it didn't take long for that feeling to be replaced as Ava quickly set herself to the task at hand. Kate immediately stopped trying to close her legs and instead focused all her energy on not taking a fistful of dark hair into her fist. Gripping the side of the tub painfully, her concern for Ava's wellbeing didn't last long as her hips bucked involuntarily at her fiancée's actions beneath the water. The woman had a sinful tongue and it took mere seconds for Kate to feel the impending end. Just as she was about to cry out for probably the last time that night, Ava's phone began to ring. The blonde growled as she glanced at the caller ID. It was Ava's boss. Oh God, why now?! She knew that she had no choice seeing as Ava's job was always a matter of life or death. With a disgruntled sob, she grabbed a handful of hair and pulled Ava out of the water.

"What-" the brunette stammered, trying to flip her hair out of her eyes and wipe the soap away. "You've got to be kidding me, it's four in the morning!" Ava wiped as much water away from her ear as she could before picking up the phone.

"I'm sorry to call so late but we've got a case." Hotch's voice had the effect of throwing ice water on a flame.

"A case?" Ava questioned, a thought coming into her head. "Now?" She put the call on speaker and ignored the quizzical look from Kate as she began to approach the woman. Ava smiled impishly as she placed a finger in front of her lips indicating silence.

"Yes," Hotch's voice echoed in the tile room, "can you come in?"

"Sure," Ava said, placing a hand on her fiancée's inner thigh, "just give me the rundown while I get ready." Kate shook her head rapidly, seeing where this was going. Ava ignored her completely. As her boss began recounting the gruesome details of a triple homicide in Arlington, Kate was forced to place a hand over her mouth as Ava fingers resumed their task. Ava placed her other hand on the woman's stomach to keep her still as she leaned forward and began kissing and sucking on her neck. Agent Hotchner's voice was completely drowned out by the blood rushing past Kate's ears as she rocked her body in sync with Ava's thrusts. The lewd and potentially disastrous situation only heightened Kate's arousal and within seconds, her body arched into Ava's, teeth sinking into the exposed flesh on her neck to dull the sounds of the cry she was releasing. Kate's body continued to quiver in Ava's grasp even after the brunette had released her neck. Fingers still sheathed inside her fiancée, Ava allowed pride to swell in her belly.

"Ava?" Hotch's voice brought the brunette, but not the blonde, back to the call. "Are you there?"

"Yep," she responded, the satisfaction and amusement evident in her voice, "I'll be right there!" She quickly hung up the phone before Kate could recover her senses and reprimand her. When the blonde finally stopped shaking, Ava removed her fingers, causing a soft mewling sound to escape the other woman's lips.

"You," Kate almost snarled, "are going to pay for that." Ava grinned widely, reaching around the stunned blonde and flipping the drain on.

"I know." She shrugged as she kissed her fiancée on the nose and stood up, pulling the still flustered and slightly unsteady woman with her. "But not today."

Less than half an hour later, Ava was walking into the BAU dressed in jeans, a volleyball tee shirt from her alma matter, and a pair of worn out Converse. She caught sight of the rest of the team's silhouettes already inside the conference room and quickened her pace to join them.

"Sorry I'm late!" she cried as she sat down, taking stock of the room. Everyone was dressed similarly as her given the fact that was now almost five in the morning but their expressions were slightly different.

"Someone's quite sprightly at this ungodly hour." Morgan groaned, his face almost inside the cup of steaming coffee in front of him. The others narrowed their gazes, analyzing the youngest agent. Ava merely shrugged and sat down.

"Were you," JJ frowned, "showering at 4AM?" Ava ran a hand through her still wet hair and couldn't help the blush that overcame her cheeks.

"Uh," she tried to think of something quickly, "I was at the gym and got home late." No one seemed to buy it.

"Right, the gym." Morgan scoffed. "I'm sure there was some kind of workout going on, right Thorne?" The slap she laid on the man's arm was more than enough confirmation. Reid toyed with his fingernails awkwardly as a blush appeared and JJ couldn't help but chuckle at the taller woman's discomfort.

"What Agent Thorne was or was not doing is none of our concern, Morgan." Hotch tried hard to force the image of what his agent must've been doing when he'd called out of his mind. However, his curiosity momentarily got the best of him as he wondered how many- if any- of the team knew that Ava was engaged to a woman. The only reason he knew was because he had received a very detailed file on Agent Thorne from her superiors at the CIA when she had first applied. While he was glad to know as much as he could about the newcomer, he was sure there were things in there- things that were much more personal that who she loved- that Ava did not want him to know. It was uncomfortable having to hide the knowledge he had both from the team and from Ava herself but he was sure that she would not want to discuss her past with her new boss. Despite himself, Hotch wished that he could help her. Even though several years had passed in between the events that had undoubtedly traumatized her, there was no doubt in his mind that Ava still carried the scars, both physical and mental. Sometimes, at the most random and unexpected moments, he would catch a glimpse in her eyes and wondered what she was remembering. With the daunting cards she had been dealt in her short life, Hotch sometimes wondered how she managed to complete her day to day activities. He was sure that if all of that happened to him, he would be unable to cope as easily. Crediting it to her astonishing strength, Hotch shook the thoughts away and briefed his team on the local case but not before noticing a pair of jade eyes studying him intently.

The case didn't take as long as others and before long, the team was finishing up their paperwork. Ava finished quickly, seeing as she had a certain task to complete before the end of the work day. As she packed her things and said her goodbyes, she could feel the confused looks at her back as she walked up the several steps to Hotch's office. She knocked on the door, waited for permission to enter, and immediately closed it behind her.

"Agent Thorne." Hotch looked up, quickly putting the finishing touches to whatever he was writing and putting it aside. "What can I do for you?"

"If I'm going to call you 'Hotch', you've got to start calling me 'Ava'." The woman offered him a smile. The man nodded briefly, the ghost of a smile passing his lips. Ava got the impression that the Unit Chief didn't smile much…not like she could blame him.

"Right," Hotch agreed, "Ava. Is everything ok?"

"Actually," she began, dreading this conversation since she first noticed the way he looked at her at the start of their most recent case, "not really."

"Has something happened with one of the team?" Hotch looked concerned, having been under the impression that Ava and the team had been getting along surprisingly well. He motioned for Ava to take a seat.

"No, no, nothing like that." Ava sat and crossed her legs, picking at her nails nervously. "It's not them I'm worried about, it's you."

"Me?" Hotch reeled, rapidly scanning his brain for a memory of ever mistreating the woman. "Have I done something to offend you?"

"No," Ava shook her head, "it's not about what you've done. It's about what you know."

"What I know." Hotch repeated curiously. "I'm afraid I don't understand."

"The file you were given about me." Ava clarified, finally meeting his eye. "I want to know what's written in it."

"That's…highly irregular." Hotch leaned back in his chair, seeing where this was going.

"I know that there's…information in there that isn't pertinent to my position on your team." Ava raised an eyebrow. "That's irregular, Hotch."

"Well," the man shifted, "I didn't put the file together. It was given to me along with your application."

"By the CIA?" she questioned, already knowing the response as the man nodded. "You know, then, that the CIA doesn't exactly maintain an amicable relationship with agents that leave them." Another nod. "Then why accept any information they give you about me?"

"It was the only source I had." Hotch defended himself. "You'd only worked for them at the time and there was no other file available. I'm sure you understand that I wanted to know the people who join my team."

"I don't blame you," Ava folded her hands neatly in her lap, "but does that include knowing extremely personal and irrelevant information about them?"

"It isn't irrelevant." Hotch tilted his head, wary of getting on the woman's bad side. He watched as her eyes flashed briefly before returning back to normal.

"Who I sleep with and my prior relationships are in no way related to how well I can do my job." While her tone was neutral, Hotch could tell that they were approaching dangerous territory.

"They are if either resulted in long-term trauma." He held her emerald gaze, seeing the physical strain it took for her to restrain herself.

"My," Ava clenched a fist out of Hotch's sight, "'trauma' is none of your business."

"I disagree." He stated plainly, catching the not-so-subtle implication that she did not consider herself a victim. "Ava, you're a great agent. You've exceeded every expectation this team had and continue to do so everyday. What I know about you doesn't change that and it most certainly doesn't change how I see you. I understand why you want to keep your personal life private, trust me I do, but in this line of work our personal and professional lives blend often. If it can even remotely affect your performance in the field, then I need to know about it. Any skeletons in our closets should and are known about by each and every member of this team. It's why we work so well. We trust each other with our deepest secrets and protect one another from our weaknesses whenever needed. That's all I want- to be able to protect you if the time ever comes that you need me." Ava's anger and frustration dissipated rather quickly at Hotch's words. She hadn't thought of it in that way. Ava had read about the BAU's ordeals long before joining the team. She knew about Hotch's ex-wife, Reid's drug addiction, JJ's kidnapping, and Morgan's childhood abuse. She simply just hadn't seen how what happened to her could be as pertinent as those events. Dropping her head, she studied the carpet beneath her feet before speaking.

"I don't want any of my…skeletons to come back and hurt this team." She said softly. "It's why I've tried to be so open with them. But there are some," Ava swallowed hard, unable to think about this time in her life without unimaginable sadness, "there are some things that I'm just not ready to talk about."

"That's perfectly fine." Hotch assured her. "You may not have trusted me enough to tell me and I may not have found out in a way that you liked, but that doesn't mean I'm not here for you if you change your mind. I'm sure the rest of the team would be more than happy to be there for you too if you ever decide to tell them."

"Right." Ava doubted she would be able to form the words even if she wanted to. "I'm sorry I-"

"You have nothing to apologize for." Hotch waved a hand in dismissal. "Can I offer you a piece of advice?" Ava nodded. "Start small. Tell them about why you left the CIA and work your way up to everything else in your own time."

"That's," Ava frowned slightly as she thought, "actually a really good idea." She wanted them to trust her, to like her even. The only way to ensure that they did was to be completely honest with them and stop hiding. Hotch was right, this was a great start. She offered him a genuine smile and stood. Hotch followed her, taking the hand that she offered.

"Remember," he said, surprising her with a smile of his own, "I'm always here." Ava felt her heart warm as he shook her hand and placed the other over it. Cursing the wetness in her eyes that suddenly appeared, Ava nodded and gently closed the office door behind her. So this is what family feels like. Wiping at her eyes, she looked down at the rest of the team that was still in the process of finishing their paperwork. No time like the present. She sat down, playing on her phone until everyone seemed to be done, before getting their attention.

"If you guys aren't in a rush," she said turning in her chair, "I'd like to talk to all of you about something." The seriousness of her tone was more than enough to have the others insisting that they were ok with a slight delay.

"Oh God," Morgan sighed, "are you pregnant?" JJ, being the one only who knew how biologically impossible that was, almost snorted in laughter. Ava ignored the skip of her heart and faked a chuckle.

"You are so dense, Derek." Rossi offered her a knowing smile that left the woman wondering. "I wanted to answer one of the questions you guys asked me when I first got here." The four were silent immediately, intrigued and glad that she finally felt as if she could trust them. "As you all know, I worked for the CIA from the time I was twenty-one until I came here. They taught me pretty much everything I know but the lesson they left me with wasn't exactly a great one."

"What do you mean?" Reid asked, his head tilting in interest.

"I never really worked with anyone else before coming here. I didn't want to put that much trust into another person and even after I left, it took me months to take that step. During my last assignment with them, something went wrong." Ava began to explain. "At first, everything was fine. I set up, starting living a new life, and pretty much just waited for them to come get me." The way she made being kidnapped by a human trafficking ring sound like being picked up from school unnerved the group. "Eventually, they did and I woke up in a cell. My hands were tied with wire," she rolled up her sleeves a little and showed them the scars they had already noticed, "and I ended up waiting there for what felt like weeks. No one spoke to me, no one touched me, but it was odd that no one had come for me either. It wasn't until the third week that I realized that there was a reason I was still there."

"Were they waiting for you to find something?" Morgan offered. Ava simply shook her head.

"They lost you." Rossi concluded, drawing all eyes to him. "Didn't they?" Ava nodded once. "It happens more than we care to admit. An agent will go undercover, will do everything right, but the agency will simply drop the ball. Maybe it's a resource problem or one individual messed up. Regardless, those agents rarely make it back."

"Right." Ava confirmed. "They usually don't wait longer than a week since that's about how long it takes to find a buyer." Ava ignored the pit in her stomach as she made human beings- herself included- sound like knickknacks hanging in a store window. "The ring was having technical trouble and couldn't contact potential buyers like they used to. It's the only reason me and the other girls that were there weren't sold within a week. That's the only reason I'm still…around."

"Did they get you out?" JJ asked, unable to see another way that she could have escaped. Ava nodded.

"Eventually, they came." She said. "We were lucky- I was lucky." She took a deep breath, fully understanding what could've happened to her during those three weeks. The woman toyed with the ring on her left hand nervously. "The men who worked there were so busy trying to fix whatever the issue was that they only came around to throw us some water or a piece of bread every three days or so. By the time the raid team came, it was more about finding evidence to help locate me than saving me. No one expected me to still be there. When I got out of the hospital, I found my handler and asked him what went wrong, why I was left behind. He said that I wasn't, that they had eyes on me the entire time and knew that I was safe. It was a blatant lie. I found out a few weeks later that the techie who had installed my surveillance and tracking gear simply forgot to turn it on."

"You're kidding." Morgan frowned. Ava let out a humorless chuckle.

"I wish I was." She shrugged. "When I confronted my handler about it, he lied again- told me that was just a rumor to make the Agency look bad. It was the last straw for me. I couldn't trust him- I couldn't trust anyone who worked there. Half the team that located me knew the truth and didn't tell me. I had to find out myself that the reason I was almost sold into the sex trade was because someone forgot to flip a switch." The resentment and anger in her voice was unmistakable and the BAU couldn't fault her for it. JJ slowly reached out and took the younger woman's hand in hers. Ava squeezed it without looking up. "So I left."

"Who could blame you?" Reid murmured, shocked that this could even happen.

"Apparently they can." Ava practically snarled. "They sent Hotch a file on me as thick as Morgan's arm filled with material on why I shouldn't work for the FBI."

"They tried to sabotage your placement with us over their mistake?" Rossi scoffed, seemingly unsurprised. Nothing the CIA did anymore surprised him. Ava merely shrugged, unsure as to whether that was true. All she knew was that the fact that she left them for the FBI did not sit well with her former bosses. She sighed, feeling a large weight being lifted off her shoulders. The way the BAU reacted and rallied to her lifted her heart more than she had ever envisioned. They cared about her, they truly did, and that alone helped Ava put the past where it belonged.

"Well, that's all of it." Ava told them. "I wanted to tell you guys sooner, I just…felt a little embarrassed."

"You have nothing to be ashamed of." JJ insisted. "Those people shouldn't even have jobs let alone high ranking positions. You did nothing wrong."

"Thanks." Ava mumbled shyly as Morgan reached out and squeezed a shoulder.

"You're a tough chick, Ava." Morgan told her. "Their loss is our gain, so forget 'em." Ava chuckled with a nod until a thought struck her.

"Actually," she grinned, "it's 'Avalona'." The four seemed more surprised at being told her full name than the story she had just finished.

"Avalona?" they asked in unison causing the girl to laugh.

"What can I say, my parents had a thing for Arthurian legend." She shrugged. "But if you ever call me that, I'll end you." She eyed Morgan in particular who immediately raised his arms in defense. He had no doubt that she was capable of carrying that threat out.

"Well, Ava," Rossi smiled, "thank you for trusting us with your story. However, I do have to get going." He checked his watch and Ava nearly fly out of her seat.

"Oh shit," she cried, "what time is it?! I'm late!"

10:29PM

Kate was going to kill her.