"John" Strauss greeted her superior as a friend as she entered his office and took a seat. She'd been here many times before. Something they didn't tell you when you joined the FBI was that the higher ranked you were the more blurred the lines of work and play became. Hotch was technically a higher rank than Rossi but they still treated each other as friends, Strauss far outranked Rossi but they seemed to ignore that. The chain continued all the way up until the ranks were so blurred it was hard not to think of your work colleagues as friends or at least acquaintances.
"Erin" John replied with a little nod and smile. They watched each other for a moment, Strauss could tell there was something off with her boss but she couldn't place her finger on it. "I wanted to talk about Spencer" John slowly stated, gauging Strauss' reaction.
"Agent Reid?" Strauss asked and raised an eyebrow. John slightly retracted his body from the table when he heard his last name, he knew he shouldn't be doing this and hearing Reid's last name only solidified that knowledge. "As you're aware, he was engaging in a relationship with agent Prentiss. I knew we couldn't keep them both on the team due to… circumstances. So I left the decision, of who left, to Agent Hotchner" Strauss explained coolly, completely unaware of the signs John's body language was giving off.
"I'd like you to reconsider your decision" John said calmly. He had posed his sentence as a request but both of them knew it was a demand that Strauss would have to carry out.
"May I ask why?" Strauss asked, a little shocked as she tried her best not to choke on her words.
"Agent Reid is a good profiler" John said nonchalantly and ever so slightly shrugged.
"We can find another one" Strauss countered.
John laughed lightly at Strauss' ignorance and arrogance. "You think you can find another provable genius? Erin, you were lucky he was as charitable with his time as he was. You know as well as I do that he could have picked any career, we were lucky to get him. Do you really believe it's wise to just let him slip away?" He asked and raised a questioning eyebrow.
Strauss paused for a moment, it didn't take a profiler to work out he was very passionate over what he was talking about but it did take one to understand what that meant. "I'll reappoint agent Prentiss then?" She asked and slowly shifted in her chair.
"No, that won't be necessary" John said calmly, he knew Reid would never accept the job if it meant Emily had to leave.
"I can't rehire agent Reid if agent Prentiss is still on the team and engaging in a romantic relationship with him" Strauss pointed out.
"Yes you can" John replied simply. Strauss gave him a confused look so, slightly exasperated, continued. "Romantic relationships in the FBI are forbidden if they are used to further the participants' careers. Agent Reid and Prentiss have made it expressively clear multiple times they don't wish to be move up the ranks or to leave the BAU team. Therefore, the relationship wouldn't further their careers and is not forbidden" John explained with a small, smug, smile playing on his lips with the last sentence.
"Putting them out in the field together would endanger their own lives as well as others. They'd be too busy protecting each other to concentrate on the case!" Strauss exclaimed, she was becoming more exasperated as the conversation progressed.
"They coped well enough before you found out about the extent of their relationship. If anything, they'd behave even better than before to prove that they still can be professional" John said simply.
"But they have a child together, John" Strauss said in a last attempt to change his mind, it was a cheap card to play but she was desperate.
"Agent Jareau also has a child, I believe" John said slowly as he lifted up JJ's personal file. "Yes, and so does the team leader agent Hotchner. Should we fire them too?" He asked and raised an eyebrow. "I've also found a few other names working in the BAU branch you might want to have a look at- they all have children. Rather shocking, isn't it? People working for the FBI and having a normal personal life. I've highlighted the ones for you that have more than one child, you should deal with them first" John said and handed her a piece of paper.
"John, this is ridiculous. This is almost half of the BAU unit" Strauss said and pushed the paper back to him in disgust.
"I know, you wouldn't believe people actually have the time for a life with the hours we assign them. The technical analyst, Garcia I believe, was very helpful finding the names though. Very friendly too, she even offered to deliver the list to you personally" John said with a smirk growing on his lips. "Now, are you going to fire all these people or rehire agent Reid?" He asked seriously and sat forward slightly in his chair.
"What's this about, John?" Strauss asked, obviously irritated by the situation.
"Agent Reid's rehiring" John replied simply. "I thought you would have noticed that's all we've been talking about, Erin" He said slowly, like he was talking to a child.
"No, what is this really about? You didn't seem to mind when agent Jareau was reappointed to the pentagon, why all this interest in agent Reid?" Strauss asked and raised an eyebrow, her chin jutting out the slightest as she challenged him.
"If you remember correctly agent Jareau was brought back to the BAU less than a year after her leaving"
"And you arranged that, did you?" Strauss said with a disbelieving, harsh laugh.
"No, agent Rossi made the arrangements" John said honestly then paused. "But he did need clearance from a higher rank than himself or agent Hotchner" He added with another smug smile.
Strauss sat back in the chair like she'd been slapped in the face; Rossi must have gone behind her back to get JJ back. She swallowed and steadied her breathing that was ragged from anger. "If I rehire agent Reid and keep agent Prentiss' position with the team there'll be no backlash for me?"
"Certainly not. You'd be bringing back the FBI's own resident genius- you'll be seen as a hero" John replied, he could see the idea taking route behind her eyes which made him smile even more.
Strauss stared hard at him for a few minutes then quickly got up to leave. "I'll consider it" She said quickly as she shut the door behind her and walked away from the office in a hurry.
Here's a little flashback for you so you know why Strauss wants to talk to Reid. I've decided that this story will, unfortunately, be coming to an end within the next few chapters. There will be a follow up but I understand that a lot of you guys aren't keen on the idea so I'll bring this story to an end in a way that you don't have to read the second part. Thank you for all your support throughout this story; I hope you liked the chapter and the few that are to come! :)