AN: NEW CHAPTER! Please enjoy and leave a review.

Bobby was ready for work. It was a tough day yesterday, but that was the FBI and life has to move on. He could understand why Sue and Tara would be upset, but they also had to learn that this was reality and sometimes things like this happen. Who Bobby was more worried about was Myles. He tried calling him before he left for work today, but it seemed like Myles wasn't too keen on answering. He was probably going through a list of emotions at the moment. He was probably angry that he was forced to go on vacation, and sad that he had to kill a fourteen year old in order to save Sue. He knew all of this wouldn't help with his condition. Bobby told himself that if he didn't hear from the man by four o'clock, that he would try calling again.

With his morning coffee in hand from the shop down the block, Bobby entered the Bullpen by 8:30am. It was awfully quiet in there; there were people, but they were keeping to themselves while drinking their coffee and typing on their laptops. From his unit, only Lucy, Sue, and Tara were in the area, and they all looked uncomfortable. Why? Then, as he approached his desk, he quickly found out why.

There was somebody sitting before him. It was a woman, and she was looking through a duffle bag. She was blonde like Sue, but kept her hair in one long dutch braid. She had sharp facial features and gray-blue irises that could kill him if he locked eyes with her. She bore a frown, and she didn't look friendly. Although she was sitting, he could tell she was very tall. She was almost as tall as the person who normally sat in that particular desk.

"Who're you?" Bobby asked quite aggressively.

The woman looked up at him and raised a brow. "Is that how this unit likes to greet its newcomers?"

Bobby knew for a fact that this lady wasn't a newcomer. He'd seen her before. She was a regular on the task force, and she was a genius. Regardless, she was in Myles' seat, and this bothered him.

Lucy said from her desk, "Bobby, relax."

After reorganizing the stuff that Myles left behind on his desk, the woman pulled out her laptop and said, "I'm Elke Schäfer." She gestured for a handshake, but Bobby didn't accept it. She then tilted her head. "Did you not know I was coming?"

Bobby's mouth hung open. He was disgusted by this. He replied, "No!'

What was the Bureau doing? Did they actually replace Myles permanently? Did he get fired? He's just on vacation. Nobody told him about this. "Please, excuse me." With his jacket still on, Bobby stormed out of the office. Lucy tried reaching for him, but he was too fast to catch.

With brows furrowed and jaw clenched, Bobby went straight to Garrett's office to have a not-so-friendly chit chat. The door was already closed, and he could hear shouting behind the door. It sounded like Jack. Not caring about the repercussions for interrupting, Bobby swung the door open and entered. He observed Jack and Dimitrius talking with Garrett. Dimitrius had his arms crossed, but he was calmer than Jack who was bent over and had his hands clinging onto his supervisor's desk. Bobby practically slammed the door to notify everybody of his presence. They all turned to look at Bobby.

Before Garrett could say anything, Bobby shouted, "Who the hell is that in Myles' desk?"

Garrett, "Bobby…"

"Did you fire him?!"

Dimitrius tried to calm the storm. "Myles is not fired…but Jack and I aren't happy about this either."

Jack was seething, "I am the team leader. You guys should have given me a heads up."

Garrett explained, "I keep telling you guys…Myles is out for two weeks, and with his severe condition, he could be gone longer. You need a team of six out in the field."

Jack shouted, "We have Lucy…"

"She doesn't count." A pause, then, "She's not an analyst, nor a special agent. Like I said, you need a team of six, so we brought in a temporary replacement. The temp knows this."

"Who is she?" Bobby exclaimed.

Garrett said, "Her name is Elke Schäfer, and she's a regular on the task force. She specializes in tactical and foreign languages, and has worked in the FBI for six years. She used to be a state champion in wrestling back in Minneapolis. Anyway, she's a special agent, and she knows what she's doing. She's excited to be helping us while Myles is recovering."

Bobby scoffed, "This is ridiculous, Garrett. You can't just replace him like that?! We've done without Myles for a week before. What's another week?"

Garrett said, "I just told you that Myles could be gone longer. He might have to be put on short-term disability."

Bobby begged to differ, "You're not even giving him a chance! First you force me to tell Myles that he's off the team until he gets better, and now you're replacing him early? It hasn't even been a day, and you already have someone lined up to take his position. Do you plan on letting him go when he gets back? I wouldn't put it past you, because you never liked him from the get-go."

Jack said, "Bobby."

Dimitrius said, "What if this lady does a fantastic job? What if she wants to be a permanent member of the team? God forbid, what if she's better than Myles? Then what? You're going to make her comfortable, and then send her back to where she originally came from? Or are you going to keep her and do something else with Myles? This is purely political, and you know it."

"We are all replaceable," replied Garrett, "Myles is sick, and it's severe. Let's be reasonable, he won't get over it in two weeks."

Jack said, "Just listen to yourself Garrett! People who have endured trauma never get over it, but at least he won't be having anxiety attacks, flashbacks, and will be able to shoot straight again. I trust Myles, and I know he'll do everything he can to get better. He loves this job too much."

Bobby was steaming. He was ready to punch something, and Garrett was looking rather punchable right now.

"You guys need to accept this…"

"I won't accept it right away," answered Bobby, "Myles has been my desk mate and teammate for over ten years, so excuse me if I find it a bit of a shock when you suddenly put someone else in his desk; and on the first day no less!"

Jack added, "What if Myles comes back to the office today because he forgot something? If he sees that someone has replaced him, he'll never get better!"

Garrett said, "Then, that's his decision to make. Maybe seeing a replacement will force him to get better quicker. Deal with it gentlemen. I'm not talking about this anymore. Elke is on your team until Myles returns. Respect her."

Bobby said, "Fine, but I don't have to like it."

Sue was talking to Elke. The lady reminded her of Myles (in a way), except she was less sarcastic, more accepting of Sue upon first meeting, and she was way more serious about her work. Myles was serious, but he learned how to be more relaxed and have more fun as the years progressed…even if he was the butt of the joke.

"So, you're deaf?"

Sue answered her, "Yes, I am, but I read lips. Don't worry, you can trust me. And this is Levi…my hearing dog. He'll let me know if you're trying to talk to me. It's good to have you on the team."

Levi barked. Sue chuckled. "See? He agrees."

Elke gave a soft smile. She then folded her hands on the table, and leaned forwards. "Okay…I know you're trying to be nice. And I understand that you're shocked over this decision by the Bureau and your supervisor, but I'm here to help you. I'm not here to take your friend's job."

"I know," Sue said, "but right now, there's a lot of people here who aren't very welcoming of you, and I just want to make sure you know that you at least have one friend."

Elke nodded in approval. "Thank you, Sue. I must get to work now."

Sue exhaled. This was going to be one boring office. Maybe she could come up with a hazing prank. Once Sue went back to her desk, she decided to text Myles…

Sue: Hey, how're you doing? Do you need anything? I can bring you some lunch later.

Luckily, he responded right away.

Myles: I'm fine.

Sue: No, you're not.

Then, he stopped answering her. Maybe she should go over and bring some lunch anyway. Or just leave him alone. She'll try texting him later.

The rest of the day was very awkward. No one talked to the replacement, not even Jack. All he did regarding her was close up Tara and Sue's side of the cyber crime case, and asked her to take it to the fraud department. Sue guessed he did this just so she couldn't be in the same room as him. Just then, Sue came to the conclusion that she would be Elke's only friend. She looked at her phone again. Since three o'clock, she was texting Myles, but he wasn't answering her. She looked at her previous messages sent to him…

Sue: Myles, I can come over after work, and bring you some supper.

Sue: I know you're upset, but I'm not mad at you. We can talk about this.

Sue: Are you alright? You're worrying me.

Then, tired of him not answering, she said:

Sue: I'm coming over whether you like it or not.

After texting Myles, Sue rose from her seat and grabbed her jacket. She told Jack that she was going to Myles' place to check up on him, so she would meet him at home. He agreed that was a solid idea, and told her that if she needed anything, she should text him. Sue did wind up grabbing supper for both her and Myles on the way to his house. She knew he liked Italian and she'd seen him eat spicy food before, so she thought Penne all'Arrabbiata would be a good choice for them both. Maybe while she was there, she could water his garden, take out his trash and do the dishes if he hadn't done so already.

When Sue had arrived at Myles' abode, she grabbed the Italian take-out from the back seat of her car, and sauntered to his porch. She walked past Myles' garden, and noticed that the flowers had wilted. How long had he not been watering them for? A week? She then made a mental note that she should water his garden; if he wasn't taking care of that, then he wasn't taking care of the chores inside his house either.

Sue knocked on the door, but there was no answer. She rang the doorbell, but there was still no activity. Then, she went to his living room window in which the curtains were half open. She peeked inside and saw that there were lights and a television on; but other than that, there was no movement that gave her an indication that someone was home. While going back to the door and ringing the doorbell several times, she texted Myles…

Sue: I'm here. Come to the door and answer. Are you in the bathroom?

While she waited, she continued to ring the doorbell constantly. Maybe if she annoyed Myles long enough, it would stop him from being stubborn and answer the door. But all was in vain. Worried, Sue texted Jack…

Sue: Jack, can you come to Myles' house?

Jack responded right away.

Jack: Yes. I'm just leaving the office now. Why?

Sue: Myles is not answering his door. I've been trying for fifteen minutes. He's home because the lights and his TV are on, and his car is in his driveway. He's not answering my texts either.

Jack: I'll be there right away.

Chapter 9 is next…