Author Notes: So here's the second chapter, it's reasonably longer. But I needed to establish the character a little more. Next chapter holds the more interesting stuff.
Chapter 2: Relations
The team had spread out on a jet. Like the past two cases I had sat in the back settling down with a book or my notebook and pen. But the departure of this case just felt wrong. Everything had happened so fast and so strangely.
The unsub had been kidnapping women in their late twenties to early thirties. He kept them for three days, torturing them before drugging them with a concoction and causing overdoses normally resulting in death. One woman had survived, but she had suffered damage so severe we were unable to draw any information from her. We had spent a good twenty four hours trying to figure out the connection with the women, until finally receiving reports of children missing from a public school. All four women that had been kidnapped had been mothers. A fact that we had overlooked completely. We discovered the children all had gone to the same school, same class, eventually putting it all together that the teacher of that class was our unsub, and that he was attempting to sell the children.
This whole thing was very unsettling, and the fact that a teacher of all people could do that was not sitting right in my stomach. I had handled the emotions it brought up easily and buried them away to deal with alone later, but it was still hard to focus on what I was currently trying to read. I put the book down giving up completely and looked out the window of the jet.
"Can't focus?" Someone asked prompting me to look up. Greenaway had joined me at the table.
"Nah, just too boring." I replied looking down at my carefully selected reading choice.
"You read classics every day and you think Eragon is boring?" She asked chuckling.
"I have to agree with Elle here, Eragon is definitely a more exciting choice to some of the things I've seen you read. Although being in English I can see your point. I have a German copy if you want to borrow it?" Reid piped up from across the aisle.
"No Reid thanks though." I said smiling gently at the genius. He reminded me of Jared a little too much.
"Oh ok. Well if you change your mind!" He offered with a smile.
"Thanks." I said nodding as he went back to his reading selection. I turned back to Elle who rolled her eyes. I chuckled at this and looked down at the book again shaking my head. No one quite understood Reid. As far as his genius could be understood anyway. I got it, because my brain functioned in a very similar way, but I wasn't exactly your typical human woman.
"So, why can't you read? Besides your claim to its boring nature." She replied eyebrows raised.
"Guess my minds just not in it." I said with a smile. I wanted to talk to my niece so badly. But it wasn't 8:30 and we weren't off the plane yet. I sort of needed to vent, and distract myself with her daily happenings.
"Makes sense, this case was pretty bad." She answered nodding.
"Believe it or not I have seen much worse with kids." I said frowning.
"How could anything be worse than that?" She wondered aloud.
"That's not something I think needs to be gotten into after a case like this." I replied shaking my head.
"Right. So you were a psychologist before this right?" She asked. I nodded in affirmation.
"In your opinion, why would he do this if he could just take the kids for the money?" She asked.
I didn't want to answer this, but Elle needed closure on this. Elle Greenaway was far from a person who continuously needed closure, in fact, for a rookie on this job just a week more than me she was very good at compartmentalizing it all. When it came down to it, she tried not to let anything affect her. But she was human, and a case with kids, especially in the hands of a psychopath like our perp, affected her just as bad as if she was an actual mother trying to find her child.
"Well there's the argument that the mothers where there for a sexual satisfaction, but I personally think there was a part of him that couldn't give those kids away without knowing he was "helping" them somehow. In his own minds he was stopping these kids from being orphans, by making them orphans and selling them." I answered disgusted by this thought let alone the fact that I knew it to be true. I had wanted to find this out for myself, so had delved into the perp's mind to try and answer the question.
"Do you think that's because his mom died, then his grandmother and aunt?" Elle asked. This question was a friend to friend question.
"Probably." I nodded; it was hard to discuss family units dying.
"So what are you doing when we get back?" Elle asked satisfied with my answers.
"Finishing paperwork, then going home and sleeping probably." I said thinking about what I could do. I didn't sleep often, so I normally sat up signing papers or writing in my journal.
"You don't have anybody at home?" She asked.
"Ah no, both kids are in school up north and I don't have pets." I replied.
"Husband?" She inquired raising an eyebrow.
"Hopelessly divorced." I replied shrugging.
"Oh sorry." A frown permeated Elle's face.
"It just wasn't right. It's over now so it's no matter." I replied.
This was a lie of course. Colton had been everything I ever needed in one person. But then he had become Tyro, and even after he came back from that he wasn't the same. Then he had just up and left for days, returning to explain that he had left because of his guilt at making a deal with the fates.
"Oh ok. So no other romantic interests going on?" She grinned. I had half the mind to blush, but didn't.
"Nah, I kind of like being single. Though I do miss the option of another kid." I said smiling as I thought of my twins.
"So why don't you adopt?" Greenaway asked.
"Don't know if this job would be too lenient on raising a kid." I said chuckling.
"True enough." She replied.
"So what about you Elle?" I asked eyebrows raised.
"Not a kid person." She replied smiling.
"Hmm that was evident." I joked referring to her earlier reaction to the children. She had immediately guided them out to safety.
"Hey they where vics, and they needed help!" She exclaimed with a grin.
"Hey I get it!" I said raising my hands up with a smile.
"Ugh huh, I'm going to grab some sleep. You should try too." Elle said standing up.
"Yeah thanks." I said smiling as she walked away.
I watched her locate a place to sleep and curl up before letting my eyes drift to Agent Jareau asleep on the couch across from where Elle had just curled up. She looked so peaceful. But then she always did, there was just something about her facial expression in slumber that made me desire the ability to sleep that soundly.
I looked away and picked up my book again taking a deep breath as I flipped it open. A chuckle beside me made me crack a small smile and I waited for the plane to land.
I stepped off the plane just behind Reid and was immediately met by Gideon stepping to walk beside me. I looked at him as we walked together back into the BAU building.
"How are you?" He asked as the whole team stepped onto the elevator.
"I'm good." I replied with a smile.
"Ok, and I should believe this why?" He asked meeting my eyes.
"Why shouldn't you believe it?" I countered eyebrow raised.
"I heard you talking about Colton on the plane." He replied.
"You two were really good together." He added. I frowned at this.
"Things changed. He did things, I did things, and the rest is history." I replied shrugging.
"Yeah and a little change never hurt anything. So what really happened?" Gideon pressed.
"Can we not talk about this here?" I asked glancing at the rest of the team, who were undoubtedly listening.
"I'm just trying to help." He said.
"I know, and I appreciate that. But he did things I couldn't agree with and that I can't talk about now." I said taking a deep breath.
"Ok, we can talk about that later." Gideon said, he was watching me. Like he did normally, and that was ok. He was careful about who was on the team and he considered me a flight risk. I honestly couldn't blame him; he did save my life from a mass serial killer who had killed my "parents". But I wasn't like the humans standing in the elevator rising to the BAU floor, and I certainly did not function normally like them.
"So who wants to head out to get drinks after we wrap up?" Morgan asked the elevator of people. A chorus of agreements came from Reid, Greenaway, Gideon, and Hotch, but I stayed silent and JJ said she had a lot to do.
"What about you Jess? Want to tag alone?" Morgan asked eyes twinkling.
"Nah thanks though; got a few phone calls to make." I said smiling at my colleague.
"Alright." He looked disappointed but didn't press it.
The elevator dinged and we all stepped off. I headed to my desk right away to put down my bag and check my phone. Seven o'clock, still another hour and a half until Aria called. But at least I had time to go home and hope in a shower.
I sat down instead of leaving right away, pulling out my leather bound notebook first. I started to write about my day in Latin then switched in the middle to Kikandrian before realizing someone was standing next to my desk. I looked up at the blonde standing there.
"Hey there." I said with a smile.
"Phone calls?" She asked with a grin down at my notebook.
"Ha-ha yeah, my niece calls every day at 8:30, it's a thing we do. I tell her about my day and she tells me about hers. But before that I record my thoughts." I tapped my book.
"Why?" She asked leaning against my desk.
"I guess you can say it's my compartmentalization." I replied leaning back in my chair to look at her.
"Do you not have any other way to compartmentalize this stuff?" She asked.
"Not really. Most people go home and talk about their day, that's kind of not an option. So I talk to my niece, and write." I said looking down at my journal then back up at the blonde.
"Interesting way to compartmentalize. You know you could always take some steam off. You've only been her a few weeks, but it is ok to join them for drinks, or even just to get out of your house. Which may I say sounds completely and utterly lonely!" She said.
"Sweetie, I was a psychologist, I know the implications of the social needs of humans." I said sarcastically.
"Yeah well you don't seem to take care of yourself in that respect." She replied. She was being serious.
"You're a mother hen aren't you?" I asked jokingly.
"You're trying to avoid the subject." She replied.
"You should be a profiler." I said raising an eyebrow.
"That means I'm right." She said.
"Yes, you are right, but there's a good reason for my avoidance of social situations." I replied sighing.
"That being?"
"I'm 32 when most of you are 24." I replied.
"Bullshit." She said.
"Well, the Pennsylvania petite has a mouth!" I grinned up at her.
"Yes, I do. But seriously you think age matters? We work together every day, saving lives, and you think because your older you can't hang out with us after a case? Do you even have friends outside of work?" She asked.
"I used to." I replied. Which wasn't untrue, a long time ago I knew a dozen people who would "hang out" with me. But now it was just basically me.
"That's pitiful." This time she was joking.
"Hey, chasing serial killers and saving kids was a full time job ok?" I joked back.
"Come on, you and I are going out for that drink, and you are going to tell me about yourself. Because you need friends." She said standing.
"Not a choice?" I asked.
"Not in the least." She replied.
"Alright fine." I said standing and picking up my go bag.
"Can I at least drop my stuff off?" I asked as we walked towards the elevator.
"No." She replied as we boarded the elevator and she hit the button.
Thus began my night out and friendship with Jennifer Jareau.