"So what's your new assignment, babe? Is it interesting?" Peyton looked up from shoving food around her plate to her boyfriend of eight months. She had known Jake for five years. They'd met at Stanford and from the first day they met he'd been trying to get a date with her. She finally caved eight months ago after a particularly bad day at the office. She was happy with him for the most part. He was handsome and very kind, but he also seemed a bit nervous that she carried a gun

"Jake you know I can't get into it with you," she admonished.

"Well, I know, but you can at least tell me about your partner or if the cases are interesting."

"Interesting-Jake, it's dead people. I wouldn't really call it interesting. I have to go to Wisconsin tomorrow," she replied studiously skirting around the question of her partner. She was still seething a bit from their first encounter.

"Woah, tomorrow? That's really soon, babe. You don't get more notice?"

"Honey, these cases need to be solved in a timely manner before leads get cold, and more people start dying. "

"So you're dealing with murders?"

"That's not what I said. Damnit Jake-" Peyton rolled her eyes and looked at Jake pleadingly.

"Okay okay okay. So when will you be back? Two days?"

"Jake, I'm going there to solve a case, not to just to do the autopsy. If that was all I did, I'd spend my days at Quantico, but this is the big stuff now. This is what I went through the academy for."

"So you're actually hunting down bad guys, now," Jake responded, with a dubious look on his face. Peyton rolled her eyes once more and smirked at him.

"Honey, they didn't give me this gun cause they thought I'd look cute with it."

"Well, do you at least have a partner? It's not another female is it?" Peyton furrowed her eyebrows.

"So what if it was?"

"Jeezuz, Peyt. That's not what I'm saying and you know it. I just would feel safer to know that the person watching your back is-"

"Not having her period?" Peyton replied, sarcastically. It was Jake's turn to roll his eyes.

"Peyt!" They usually didn't fight this much, but for some reason her patience dipstick was running low.

"It's a guy, if you must know and I guess you should be feeling sorry for him because my period starts in a week."

"Peyton, come on. Don't be like that. I'm sure you are a capable agent. I just worry about you is all."

Peyton's gaze softened and she smiled. "I know."

"So tell me about this guy. Is he good?"

Peyton bristled. After she left his office she made it halfway to the elevator before she realized in the heat of their argument she had called him Lucas. What on earth made her address him with such familiarity she didn't know. There was something about this guy that made her drop her walls and act….unprofessionally…..And think bad thoughts.

"He's an asshole," she said quickly, not looking up from her plate. "Not that way, just in an 'I'm smarter than you' sort of way."

"Well, lemme know if I need to kick this guy's ass."

Peyton laughed and at Jake's pout she laughed some more. Jake had a few pounds on Lucas, but Lucas was taller and he looked quick. Plus he carried a gun. Jake wouldn't have a chance.

"Sweetie, that's very cute of you, but I don't think he's going to need an ass kicking. And if he does, I'll administer it."

"That I believe. So really how long do you think this'll take?" Peyton sighed.

"I don't know, Jake. It could be a week it could be two, maybe three. It all depends on how well Agent Scott and I work together. How quickly and efficiently we can solve this thing."

"Agent Scott?"

"Oh, um my partner. Agent Lucas Scott."

"Well, this Scott guy better take care of you." Peyton sighed a shrugged off the irritation she felt.

"I can take care of myself," she murmured, quietly.

"I know, I know," he stood up, taking his plate with him. "You done?"

Peyton nodded and handed him her plate. She'd barely touched her dinner. She was nervous about this new assignment. She felt she was not only being asked to spy, but to bring down one of the best analysts in the bureau. And Agent Scott didn't seem blind to the fact that there was essentially a conspiracy against him.

"Hey babe, you ready to turn in?" Jake asked. Peyton looked up at him and stood.

"Oh, I'll be in there in a bit. I just want to go over these files once more before I leave tomorrow morning."

"Okay, but I want some time with you before you go off for God knows how long."

"I know. I'll be in in a minute. Okay?"

Jake nodded and went into the bedroom to get ready for bed. Peyton watched him disappear into her bedroom and looked down at the files in her lap. The victims were all essentially exsanguinated from what appeared to be several cuts on the bodies. She needed to perform another autopsy on the bodies available to them. It would be hard to come to anything concrete with most of the bodies already buried and the bogus autopsies given to them.

It was most definitely a bizarre case and she wondered what it was about it that got it passed down to Agent Scott. Agent Scott. Her mind wondered to the cocky, full lipped, blue eyed agent.

He didn't seem particularly crazy or off his rocker, aside from believing in Bigfoot and absurd things like that. But, there was a definite glint behind those sharp aqua eyes. Eyes you could loose yourself in, that seemed to read everything about her. No wonder he was such a good profiler.

Jake appeared in the doorway and leaned casually against it. Looking thoughtful, he pointed his toothbrush at her and asked, "You're partner's name is Scott right? Isn't Scott the name of the director?"

Peyton paused a moment, the names suddenly clicking in her mind. "Well….Yes. Dan Scott," she furrowed her brows and glanced back at Jake, wondering why she hadn't thought of it before. She had heard somewhere that Lucas Scott was related in some way to someone high up in the bureau. She hadn't even thought about his being related to the director.

"I doubt there's a relation," she said with uncertainty. But if he was related to the director then why was she being assigned to debunk Agent Scott's work?

She raised a questioning brow at Jake. "Hey how did you know that anyway?"

Jake shrugged. "I'm a journalist. It's my business to know things."

He disappeared back into her bedroom and Peyton looked back down at the crime scene photos and sighed. This new assignment just keeps getting better and better, she thought to herself.