Meeting the Team

It was a clear, warm, and moonlight night. Perfect for an outdoor barbeque. The venue was the backyard of the Rossi mansion and the awesome food was the genius of Derek Morgan and Aaron Hotchner. Jack, Hotchner's son and Henry, JJ's boy were playing soccer to one side of the fenced yard. JJ and Penelope Garcia were laughing over their antics while Dr. Spencer Reid and David Rossi were discussing the merits of a new fingerprinting program the Bureau had just adopted. Any outsider who considered the BAU team would mistake them for a close-knit, albeit mismatched, family.

The team was gathered that evening to meet their newest member, who had yet to arrive. They all had meet the agent once before, they had helped her on a case two years back. They had been impressed with her then but knew so little about her outside of those few days they spent in Anchorage. SSA Lindsay Parker had replaced Prentiss but Strauss believed they needed another team member. The search had taken them back to Hope. Hotch realized the big change that she was making, coming to Quantico from Alaska and wanted to make the transition easier for her. So, with that in mind, he arranged for an outdoor party at Agent Rossi's to take place at seven-thirty, Friday night, with no other memo other than to meet and get to know the newest member of the Behavioral Analysis Unit, SSA Hope A. Bering.

The air was filled with excitement and apprehension. Every member of the team remembered Agent Bering; she was hard to forget. They wanted to get to know her better and they all hoped that she would be good at the job. It was very nerve racking having a new team mate come in. Little did they know they were not the only ones who were nervous.

...

SSA Hope A. Bering had a lot of things going through her mind as she made her way to the home of David Rossi. The last year of her life had been crazy and filled with so many uncertainties she hoped that this new job would be just the thing to help her reorient her life. She knew that applying for this job had been a good move and she was at peace with taking it. That still didn't change the fact that she was experiencing so many adjustments in her life and that she was facing them more or less by herself. She was a small town girl from a big state, and a family-focused woman who had made the choice to move 4,283.2 miles away from her parents and brothers. She remembered that she was acting in obedience to the call that God had placed on her life to bring justice to those who couldn't find it themselves. But that didn't mean obedience didn't come without sacrifice.

Her GPS told her to make one last right, leading her to the end of the street and a huge mansion. She parked her 1999 Suburban, took a deep breath, and let out a quick prayer that the night would go over smoothly. Her feet led her to the front door, and she rang the bell. The door opened to reveal Agent Rossi, just as Hope had remembered him.

"Agent Rossi, so good to see you again," Hope began, with a cheery note.

" And it is very nice to see you again as well," Rossi said with equal pleasure. "Come inside, everyone is anxious to see you." And with that, Hope stepped across the threshold into her new life.

For once the profiler was at a loss. Not knowing too much of her background didn't help matters, but this young woman was something of a puzzle. At five foot four inches this girl at first glance did not seem very formidable. Then he looked again. She carried herself with confidence, her dark blue eyes conveying wisdom beyond her years. She stood tall, obviously no stranger to skepticism, but had an air of self-esteem that said she didn't take crap and she could probably give it just as easily. Yet at the same time she exuded a peaceful continence that would go a long way in breaking down the team's doubts. Her respectful addresses told him that she had a good upbringing. She spoke like a well-educated person, intelligent, but not arrogant. Yes, she would be a good fit into the family.

…

Rossi and Hope walked through the house and into the backyard and were instantly greeted with intense stares. For a moment everyone seemed to freeze and Hope took it all in. "This is it," she thought to herself. She let up another silent prayer before addressing the dark haired man in front of her who had stepped forward to make the first move.

"Hello Hope," Agent Hotchner began, "thank you for coming," he said with a welcoming smile.

"Agent Hotchner," she started to say…

"Hotch or Hotchner will be fine, Hope," he interrupted.

"Hotch, thank you for arranging this," she said, gesturing to the setup in the yard.

"Not a problem, come on everyone wants to get reacquainted."

The said team had been watching this exchange closely, as if trying to form a profile on their newest member. Penelope took it upon herself to be the first one to step forward as she was the only team member to have not actually met Agent Bering in person.

" Hi Hope, I'm Penelope Garcia," said the bubbly blonde. "Although I will answer to pretty much anything in the office. I am the Technical Analyst for the group. And may I just say I am very pleased to have another girl on the team."

She received a genuine, friendly smile for her efforts and JJ chose to follow her friend's lead welcoming Hope to Washington D.C. and introduced her to Henry. Jack also chose this time to introduce himself by kicking the soccer ball to Henry, which missed its target by a few feet and nearly hit Hope in the face. Hope reacted just in time and caught the ball. She smiled down at Jack and chatted with him for a few moments.

"You have a pretty strong kick there, I'll bet you make quite a few goals on the field," she exclaimed to the young boy. He was staring at her like he half-expected her to yell at him and she didn't want him to be scared of her.

"Yeah, I get the ball in sometimes," he said a little shyly. "But I need to work on passing, sometimes I hog the ball," Jack added matter-of-factly.

"Do you know what the great thing about sharing is Jack," Hope asked? When he shook his head no she explained, "Sharing doesn't mean you lose out on a moment, it just means that you include others in that moment. When you share you help other people feel good about themselves and in that you feel good as well." The whole team had watched this exchange. They were impressed as none of them had really thought to describe sharing like that to Jack. Also, where most adults would have gotten mad at him for missing his target, she treated it as they would have and used the moment to connect a little better to the child she had just met.

After this she turned her attention to the man standing next to JJ. She could have mistaken him for Special Forces he was that built. Tan, about average height, tough looking with a playboy smile, Derek Morgan reminded her of both her brothers. He offered her his hand and looked her in the eye. Knowing what he expected she gave him a strong, brief handshake with direct eye contact conveying confidence and respect that would be required among the fellow agents. It was then that he offered her a sincere smile.

Agent Spencer Reid was another story altogether. He had been the youngest person on the team and was very much the "little brother" of the group. Hope noticed this and approached him as her equal. She could see instantly that he was very smart and she knew of him from one of the sessions she had attended while at her training in Quantico. He wasn't cold in his greeting but rather reserved. She understood; eldest brother was much the same way. Hope knew that she just needed to find something in common with Reid in order to get to know him. She gave him a warm smile when she approached him, hoping to ease his discomfort.

Once the introductions were made the large group settled into the picnic table to begin their dinner. The new agent could see that years of working together made for an easy, family-like atmosphere. She had an earnest desire to contribute to that. While everyone was talking and beginning to dig in, she silently bowed her head to bless her food. This habit did not go unnoticed but no one spoke out against it. Soon they settled into a conversation, taking turns asking questions of the new kid according to their respective interests.

"So, Hope," started Derek, "how did you get your start in law enforcement?" Derek knew that Hope would probably be his partner during cases and he wanted to know what she was capable of.

"I started out as a state trooper. I was able to enter the academy right out of high school so I have been officially working in law enforcement since I was 19. About four years ago I decided to enter the FBI academy and after I graduated I was placed with a white-collar unit in Anchorage and then transferred to ATF and now the BAU." Hope started relaxing the more she began to speak. She was beginning to feel more in her element talking about what she loved to do. The team was once again impressed. Most of them had held other employment outside law enforcement, but Agent Bering had chosen to make this her life.

JJ was more interested in the new agents background. "Where did you grow up?" and "What do your parents do?"

"I was born and raised in Alaska. I grew up in two different parts of the state, Bethel in western Alaska and Valdez in south central Alaska. I am a small town girl, I admit and claim that title," she said proudly. "Another title I am proud to claim is 'pastor's kid'. My dad is the pastor in the family while my mom is a special education teacher. I am also the oldest; I have two younger brothers, Zach and Zeke."

Reid and Penelope were more interested in her hobbies and interests. Reid inquired whether or not she was a Doctor Who fan. When she replied in the affirmative they exchanged thoughts on favorite doctors and companions. (Reid favored the older doctors and their companions while Hope preferred the Tenth doctor and Donna Noble) "What do you do to relax?" this question came from Garcia. "I read, write, listen to music, or bake. It all really depends on what I feel like doing or circumstances surrounding the need to relax." The information gleaned so far by the team was enough to keep a conversation going for the rest of the evening. No one talked about work; there was enough time for that later. For now they just enjoyed getting to know Agent Bering better and she enjoyed learning about them. At the end of the evening the group parted, feeling more at ease then when they started and ending with the promise to see each other on Monday.