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'A Force of Nature'

Chapter Eight

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Morgan, Prentiss and Daniel stepped off the elevator and into the BAU sanctuary. "I can't believe I'm doing this," Morgan commented.

Daniel looked at his F.B.I. visitor's badge. "Can I keep this thing?" he asked. He looked up to see Garcia coming down the hallway in their direction. "Hey, Penelope!"

"Don't you even talk to me!" she retorted.

"What?" Daniel replied, shocked.

"You heard me!" She continued on her way into her office, shutting the door behind her.

Daniel looked at Prentiss. "Emily, what did I do?"

"I…I don't know," she answered in confusion, as Morgan chuckled.

A few minutes later the trio was in Hotch's office. "Agent Hotchner, it was my idea to come here. I asked if I could speak to you. Please don't blame Derek and Emily." Hotch looked from Morgan to Prentiss, and then at Daniel. "Uh, I mean please don't blame Agent Morgan and Agent Prentiss."

"I really do not care if you call them by their first names."

"Okay, well… I wanted to speak to you about Spencer." Hotch sighed. "It was my idea to go out to eat and then to the bar. Spencer had to go along as part of his job, right?"

"Daniel…"

"I feel like it's my fault Spencer got in trouble."

"Daniel, Agent Reid was removed from the protection detail. That's all. There will be no further consequences to his actions."

"They were my actions. It was my idea to go out the other night."

"It doesn't matter whose idea it was."

"It matters to me."

"Reid was pulled off the detail because he failed to inform me you became ill after going out; not because you went out."

Daniel shook his head. "I'm sorry, what?"

"While it would have been preferable for you to stay in the house, you weren't required to do so. You went out, you became ill. For all we knew you could have been deliberately poisoned."

"I wasn't."

Hotch sighed again. "That's not the point, Daniel. We should have been informed of the possibility, and Reid failed to do that. That's all there is to it."

"Agent Hotchner…"

"That's it," Hotch said firmly. Daniel stared at Hotch for a moment, and then turned and walked out of his office, followed by Prentiss. "Morgan," Hotch began.

Morgan raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I know, I know!" He turned and left the office. Out in the hallway he spotted Prentiss. "Where's Daniel?"

"Garcia's office."

Morgan raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I have to see this."

Daniel sat in a swivel desk chair in Garcia's office while she pretended to ignore his presence. "Come on, Penelope, talk to me."

"No, I'm mad at you."

"Can you at least tell me what I did wrong?"

"You should know what you did."

Daniel leaned forward. "I don't."

Garcia turned to face him. "You got my baby in trouble with Hotch."

"I did what?"

"Reid, you got Reid in trouble with Hotch!"

"Not on purpose!"

"Oh, that's just great! You got him in trouble accidentally?"

"I'm sorry!"

"Well, it's a little late for that, isn't it?"

"Penelope, no one feels worse about this than I do. There must be something I can do to make it up to you."

"No, there is not. I'm so over you."

"Come on, Penelope," Daniel implored, propping his feet up on the desk.

Garcia shoved his feet off and said, "Keep your feet off my desk!"

Daniel turned toward the door at the sound of Morgan's snicker. He saw both Morgan and Prentiss just outside the door with their hands over their mouths as they tried not to laugh. He made a face at them and then turned back toward Garcia, who was trying to look as if she was working. He swiveled back and forth on the chair a few times as though he was thinking. He suddenly leaned forward. "Penelope…"

"Will you please go away?" she interrupted.

"You want me to go away?"

"Yes, please!"

"Oh, you don't really mean that!"

"Yes, I do! I keep telling you to go away but you're just not listening."

"That's because I don't believe you really want me to go."

"I do."

"Come on, Penelope," Daniel said, as he wadded up a piece of paper into a ball and threw it directly at Morgan after he heard him snicker again. The ball hit Morgan in the shoulder. Daniel stood up and balanced himself on the arm of Garcia's chair.

"Are you still here? I was hoping you had left."

"You're breaking my heart, Penelope!"

"Good! You deserve it!" Daniel leaned over and put his arm around Garcia. "Stop that!"

Daniel looked down at her. "Why?"

"Because."

Daniel stood up and walked right in front of her, blocking her view of her computer screens. "Daniel, you're in the way!"

"So?"

"So, move!"

"No," Daniel said, sitting on the desk with his arms folded. He looked at Garcia with what he hoped was his best sad eyed deer expression and finally saw her relax.

"Okay, okay! I forgive you! Now will you please get out of here for real and let me get back to work?"

Daniel bounced to his feet, and then leaned over and hugged Garcia. "I love you, Penelope!"

"I love you too! Now, go already!" Daniel kissed her on the cheek and then on her neck. She giggled and then smacked his hand. "Stop, Daniel! Go, please!"

"Now I've seen everything," Morgan commented as he Prentiss and Daniel walked away from Garcia's office.

"This is where we have our desks," Prentiss commented, pointing to the bullpen.

"Can I see yours?"

"Sure," she continued, walking down the steps and leading him to her desk. "This is mine, this is Morgan's, and that one over there is Reid's."

Daniel looked at all three desks before commenting, "Morgan, look how organized Spencer's desk is compared to yours." Prentiss laughed at his statement.

Hotch chose just that moment to come out of his office. "I see you're still here."

"We were just showing Daniel our desks, Hotch," Morgan said. "I think we're done doing that. Uh, let's go guys." Hotch shook his head as he watched them go.

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Later that evening Daniel sat on his couch going over some papers. "Agent Rossi, would you please get that damn pizza out of here? The smell is making me crazy!"

"Have some then. It tastes great."

"I can't. It throws my whole training regimen out of whack."

"So do a couple of extra sit-ups or something."

Daniel sighed, stood up, walked over to the table and sat down. "You're killing me with this," he said, picking a piece of pizza out of the box.

"What's that stuff you're working on?"

"I'm looking over a contract for a skating show in New York City. The other stuff is college applications."

"You're going to school? Good for you!"

"Yes, I promised my dad I would consider going back to school once the Olympics were over. I dropped out six years ago after two semesters. I'm not sure this is such a hot idea, though."

"Why?"

"I don't know. It kind of scares me a little, thinking about all this."

"What are you thinking of studying?"

"Russian Literature. And thanks to Spencer, the other night I registered for a test next Saturday that measures your knowledge of a foreign language. He was supposed to help me practice my vocabulary. Now he's not here, and what am I supposed to do? I need that test to get into one of these programs. You have to have a working knowledge of the language to even apply to the program I want." He picked up some papers and waved them. "See these? Oxford and Columbia. I must have been insane to let Spencer talk me into trying to get into those two schools!"

"Close to London or New York City. Quite a choice you have there, kid. So, the program is in Russian? It's not studying the literature in English?"

"No, the entire program is taught in the Russian language."

"Weren't you an honor student in high school?"

"Yes."

"Don't you speak Russian?"

"Yes."

"So what's the problem?

"I graduated high school in 2002. It's been a while since I've been in school. I'm scared of going back. And then I've got to be able to pay for it. If I skate less, I make less money, you know?"

"Reid said you're helping your parents and putting your brother through school along with paying for your skating and your own expenses."

Daniel shrugged. "It's no big deal. It's my family, and my dad has a heart condition that keeps him from working."

Rossi looked at him for a minute, and then reached over to take the applications from Daniel. "I really think you need a break from all this. Do you play poker?"

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Reid was sitting in his living room reading through a stack of books when his phone rang. "Reid," he said automatically.

"Reid, its Hotch. I need you to go to Delaware tomorrow and talk to Daniel Meier's parents. They'll be expecting you."

"You don't want me coming into the office to work on files then?"

"No, I need you to go to Delaware. I had JJ send you a package by special messenger with all the information you'll need. You should receive it within the hour. You can pick up a bureau vehicle and drive because it's only about 150 miles to the Meier house."

"They'll be expecting the F.B.I. then?"

"They're expecting you personally. I had JJ give them your name."

"Okay."

"And Reid… Daniel Meier was at the BAU today. Basically he came to stick up for you. I thought I would let you know."

"Thank you, Hotch."

"Get some sleep tonight, Reid. Good night."

"Good night, Hotch."

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