Chapter Three:
I woke up with a smile plastered on my face. Today was the day; my first day as an FBI Agent in the Behavioral Analyst's Unit. The excitement was overwhelming. Today was the start of a new life for me. I never thought it would come. After the loss of my parents, I never thought that I would see the day where I felt true happiness. But here it was, staring me in the face. I hopped out of bed, and made for my shower. I always did some of my best thinking in the shower. I thought about all the new people I would be working with and what kind of projects we would be dealing with. I knew this job wasn't all fun and games, but I still couldn't hold back my joy.
After my shower, I put on my clothes for the new job… Because I was new on the job, I decided that I should save some of my more eccentric outfits for once they got to know me. I had purchased a new skirt and dress coat for the first day. It definitely was not suited to my tastes. There was no color in it. It just looked bland. Flittering through my drawers, I found a few accessories that might soften the sharpness. First, a bright scarf, dabbled with teals and lavenders. It was definitely eye popping. Then, I found a pair of magenta earrings that complimented the scarf nicely. Last but not least, I found a navy headband to pull my blond hair out of my face.
After being completely accessorized, I grabbed a pair of my glasses that fit the outfit perfectly. They had all of my favorite colors on them. I've always had glasses, but I decided that I would rather have a pair of glasses that fit every occasion rather than one specific pair of glasses that matched nothing. So I ordered a whole bunch of different styles and just asked the company to reproduce my lenses for each set of frames I found. Thankfully they cooperated. I sat down and quickly donned my face with some eyeliner, mascara and a bright lipstick. Just because I couldn't dress like the individual that I wanted to, I could at least wear a little make up to make myself more attractive (especially since I lacked in that department just ever so slightly.)
Stepping into my magenta heels, I left to start off my first day of work. Heels were not my favorite thing to wear but I figured that I needed to show that I was sophisticated enough to work for the FBI. I only hoped that I didn't trip.
I hopped into Esther and sped away to the FBI headquarters in Quantico, Virginia, the parking pass presented to me by Agent Hotchner dangling off my rear-view mirror. My heart was pounding so fast, I could almost see the vibrations in the mirrors. Soon, I was going to meet my team that I would be working with and be shown my desk and everything was going to be wonderful… Agent Hotchner hadn't given me any time to talk to anyone when we did my interview so I really had no idea who any of the people on my team would be. We saw a few in crossing but he never said names.
The BAU was huge. Even though I had been in the building a few times, I still could not get over how enormous it was. There were glass windows enclosing certain areas. I could see inside of meetings, watching proposals of future plans in the works. It was all so exhilarating. I finally made my way back to Agent Hotchner's office. I knocked slowly, trying to take one final breath before I began my work.
The door opened a few seconds later. "Oh, hello Penelope," Hotchner greeted me with the same expression he had every time. His face was hard and stern. I couldn't help but wonder why I acted in such a way. It was almost as if he had never smiled before. "Walk with me and I'll introduce you to the rest of the team." He said, scurrying out of his office. He was a fast man.
Following him as quick as I could, I could feel that these heels were not going to do me any justice. They flopped off my feet as I tried to keep up with Agent Hotchner. Suddenly, he stopped. I almost ran into him because of my shoe debacle. Looking down, I decided that I should just take off my shoes until we made it to the team. Slipping them off, I grabbed hold of them in my hands and swiftly chased after Agent Hotchner as he moved through a security doorway.
"Welcome to the BAU." He said as we stopped at a set of doors. I could see there were people waiting around in the room. Agent Hotchner took his card and swiped it, allowing him to push open the doors and let us in. I couldn't help but smile as I walked into the room of people who I assumed I would be working with as a team. I was to be their audio technician. I had slipped my shoes on before entering the room. Didn't want to give them the wrong impression.
I looked around at all the people sitting in the room. There was a small blonde girl, a small brunette girl, a thin boy with scraggly long dirty blonde hair, a gentleman with squinty eyes and thinning dark brown hair, Agent Hotchner, and a dark skinned built man… This was my team. I looked around at them all as I inched my way closer to them all, not realizing there was a rug there.
I felt my shoe snag on the rug but it was too late, I had lost my balance and was descending, face first into the floor and a pool of utter humiliation. I had always managed to fuck things up in my life and this was just another prime example. I sighed, waiting for the force of gravity to face plant me to the floor when I felt a hand catch mine. I opened my eyes to see how close I was to the ground before I was pulled backwards and back into my standing position, looking straight into the eyes of the brooding dark skinned man. He smiled at me, using his free hand to brush the hair out of my face. I couldn't help but smile back, though I'm not sure if I looked like I was actually smiling or if I was constipated. Regardless, he had saved me from the first day of humiliation on the job.
"Thank you…" I managed to say, focusing in on his face. It was well defined, particularly in his jawline. His cheeks were brushed with stubble but it seemed to make his face look more together. His eyebrows, one raised slightly higher than the other.
"No prob." He said, smiling again. The smile was breathtaking and his voice… Oh it was sultry. I could feel chills down my spine as he spoke, even so few words.
"Achem… Attention everyone, this is the new member of your team, Agent Penelope Garcia." Hotchner announced. "She will be the new audio analyst. Agent Garcia, these are your new team members." I smiled and did a little curtsey. "These are Agents Jennifer Jareau, Elle Greenaway, Dr. Spencer Reid, Jason Gideon, and Derek Morgan." He gestured to each when he said their names.
"It's so nice to meet all of you! I cannot wait to get started, I mean this is just…" I began to trail off realizing that I was starting to receive stares from the peanut gallery. "I mean, thank you for having me. I cannot wait to work with all of you." I composed myself a little more modestly.
After the introductions were over, I sighed heavily as the rest of the team went about their work. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned around to see Agent Jareau. "Oh hey…" I said, hoping that she wasn't going to make fun of me for my grand entrance.
"Hi… You know, we are all really happy to have you on the team. I'm new too so I understand how you are feeling but it will come with a little time. Perhaps we can work through it together." She smiled and gave me a sense of hope.
"Thanks Agent Jareau." I responded, breathing a little more rhythmically.
"Oh you don't have to call me that… Friends call me JJ." She responded. "Generally a lot of us go by last names when we are referring to each other in the work place. We only get technical when we are out in the field." She responded and I felt relief flood through me.
"Thanks JJ. I appreciate you reaching out to me." I responded. "This is just all so new to me and I guess I got a little excited."
She laughed a little. "You and me both. Welcome to the family, Garcia."