Alex took one last look at her reflection in the mirror before checking to make certain that she had a number of hair ties in her pocket if they needed to go out in the field for any reason. Picking up her go bag, she left the bathroom and made her way down to the kitchen, filling up her travel mug with coffee before heading out the door. Thankfully, it was a nice day, so the quick walk to the subway station was pleasant. She took that as a sign that her first day back with the BAU would be a good one, and she smiled lightly as she fairly skipped down the stairs, swiping her metro card before choosing a place to wait for the train.
After getting settled in a seat, Alex sipped at her coffee and took out the latest journal that had come to her house, turning towards an article written by one of her colleagues and reading it with interest. To her shock, Alex found that it was a good use of time, as she had arrived at her stop in Quantico much quicker than she had anticipated. Dog earring the page she had left off on, Alex shoved the journal under her arm as she got off the train and hurried over to a bench so that she could put it back in her bag before shouldering it and making her way down to the building.
Passing an open café along the way, Alex couldn't help but stop in and get a fresh cup, since there was ample amount of time before she had to be in the bullpen. And it was also easy to pick up a rather large blueberry muffin, her stomach reminding her that she hadn't eaten yet that morning. It was a little difficult to eat and walk, but she made it work, knowing that she couldn't afford to be short with her teammates on her first day. Throwing away the bag, she made her way inside and over to the elevators, riding up to the sixth floor with a number of other people, wondering if any of them were Agent Jareau.
"Alex!"
Her head shot to attention at the sound of her name, and she finally found David Rossi giving her a wide grin as he came over to her side. "I was very surprised to hear that you were rejoining us. I see that you have your go bag. Are you ready to hit the ground running?"
"We have a case already?" she asked, allowing him to guide her into the bullpen. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Erin lurking in the background, and she fixed a sharp look on her before focusing her attention on Rossi. "I suppose that I'm ready to turn around and head right out."
Rossi chuckled as he shook his head. "It won't be that quick, Alex. We have to go through a briefing of the case, which Jen will give, since Kitten is still in England with Morgan."
"Kitten?"
"I'm sorry, Garcia. You'll find out soon enough that we give each other nicknames around here, as it helps to reduce some of the stress that we face. And do you have a desk yet?"
"Ron mentioned something about Aaron showing me where I should settle into?"
"Oh, I assumed that the two of you weren't talking still."
"Hotchner, Rossi. Aaron Hotchner."
He gave her a long nod before winking, and that caused her to frown a little as he brought her over to a clean desk. "This was Emily's old desk, and it's still empty for you to use. Unless you prefer to use a different one?"
"This will be fine, I know that there's not as much room in here for me to be picky. I'll have to bring in a few things to make it more homey when we're home from this case." He nodded as Alex took a seat in the chair and took a look around at the surroundings. There was room for pictures, and she knew that she would have to bring in a few of James, to remind her that there were other things than sticking it to Erin that she was back with the BAU for. "Give me a second?" she asked as she looked up at Rossi, and he smiled and nodded.
Taking a deep breath, she opened up her bag and pulled out her pocketbook and keys before sticking the attaché case in the bottom drawer and then getting up. "You can leave your bag here, too. I think that Jen has a tablet ready for you, but if not, I can have Kevin source one for you before we head out. We usually have about thirty minutes between the end of the briefing and when the jet leaves, so there's a bit of time."
"I'd forgotten that we have a jet at our disposal now. That has to be pretty swanky."
He chuckled as he nodded, placing his hand on the small of her back as he guided her upstairs. "It is really nice to not have to wait on commercial travel. Now, Hotch's office is right next to Garcia's office, and mine is next to his," he said as they passed three doors on her left, "and this is our briefing room. Thankfully, I am not the one in charge of running the projector, because while Garcia makes it look so easy, even Hotch fumbles with the remote when he takes over. That's one of the things that you'll have to get used to, as well. She…doesn't react well to all the gore and horror that we see on an every day basis."
"Then how did she come to be attached to the BAU? That's almost a given that we see the worst that society has to offer?"
"She was given the choice of us or the CIA, and we were the lesser of two evils. She even handed me her resume printed on pretty pink paper."
A familiar low voice spoke behind them, and Alex turned to look into Aaron's face, giving him a tender smile as she nodded. "So she's scary good with computers."
"Yes. I've heard her threaten to wipe a person's online history from the face of the planet, and I have no doubts that she could do so, if provoked enough. Thankfully, Morgan and I are able to keep her in line. Dave here just encourages her."
He sheepishly shrugged his shoulders before taking a seat at the table, and Alex swallowed a giggle as she shook Aaron's hand. "That does not surprise me in the least," she said as she took a seat next to Rossi, feeling comfortable with him. "Now, where are we headed out to?"
"Alabama," a soft, high pitched, voice said, and Alex looked over at the doorway to see a very young, blonde, woman entering. "You must be Alex Blake. I'm Jennifer Jareau," the woman said as she extended her hand. The handshake was firm, and Alex nodded a little before taking the tablet from Agent Jareau's hand. "You can call me JJ, everyone else does, since I know I have a long name. I also respond to Jen, though Rossi's usually the only one to call me that. Do you have a preference?"
"Alex will be fine," she replied with a small smile as she began to scroll through the information that was already on the screen. "Well, this will be an interesting case."
"That's what we say about a lot of what we see," JJ said as she handed around tablets to the rest of the team, and Alex gave a small wave to Spencer as he took a seat at the table next to Aaron. It would take a few moments for her to grow accustomed to calling the man Hotch, since she was so used to addressing him by his given name. "All right, let's get this briefing started."
Alex nodded as she picked up a pad of paper and pen from the middle of the table and took copious notes, following along with the information on the tablet as well. It was a bit dizzying to realise just how much things had changed in the time that she had been gone, but there was something that felt so right about the way that it felt to be back to work. Suddenly, she was grateful that there were only a few of the team here, since she knew that she was going to be a bit emotional, even if it didn't show on her face that clearly.
"All right, everyone, wheel's up in thirty," Hotch said as he got to his feet. "Alex, you'll ride with me and Dave to the airfield."
She nodded as she stood up, tugging at the hem of her suitcoat a bit awkwardly. "All right, I'm ready to follow you," Alex responded as she fell in line next to Rossi, heading out into the hall. The men made their way over to their offices while JJ and Spencer went down into the bullpen. She felt a little lost for a moment, and she took a deep breath as she made her way down to her new desk and took a seat there. Staring at her monitor, Alex realized that she hadn't thought to ask for a log in. Pulling out her notes, she quickly scrawled a reminder to ask Hotch for that information when they returned, knowing that she would also have to set up a new work email. Unless the other technical analyst had already done that for her, which would make things a lot easier.
"Ready to go, kiddo?"
"We are not starting with that nickname again, David. Am I clear?" He nodded as he chuckled and she got to her feet, picking up her bag and following him out to the elevators. Erin was there once more, as if she had been waiting for them to come out, and she felt her face tighten into a hard expression as Rossi pressed the down button on the elevator.
"All right, I suppose that I can live with Alex. So, how has life treated you in the last few years?"
"It's been weird. James is gone so much with MSF, that our marriage is, for all intents and purposes, a Skype relationship. That took some getting used to, but I find that it's nice to be able to talk with him for hours at a time."
"Really?" he asked as they stepped into the elevator. "You carry on hours long calls?"
Alex rolled her eyes as the doors started to slide closed, her gaze being caught and held by Erin's in that last moment before they started downwards. "I do know how to talk, I just prefer to let others do the majority of the talking. And that works quite well when dealing with unsubs." He nodded as he scratched at his beard. "And you? How has life treated you? Are we on wife number seven yet?"
"Haha, very funny. I've had three marriages, and my current partner doesn't want to get married any time soon, which suits me just fine. I want to see if we can make things work without the bonds of marriage, if this lasts. It's only been four months, after all."
"Hey, I've known people who've gotten married after four hours, so…"
"That is not for me, at all. I need something better than amazing sex to bond me with someone, and I feel like there are going to be issues in this relationship that might break our bond before we even consider taking things to an engagement, let alone a marriage."
Alex nodded as she drew in a deep breath through her nostrils. "I hope she realizes that she has a great guy."
"She's a great woman." He smirked a little, and Alex had to wonder just what he was thinking of, but then reconsidered wanting to know those thoughts. "So, any questions about your new old job?"
"Yes. I need a login for the computer, as well as a new work email, since I'm assuming that my old one was closed down when I stopped working with the Maryland field office and focused solely on my teaching career. How do I go about getting that?"
"I'll have Hotch contact Lynch and have him set that up for you while we work on this case. By the time we're home, everything should be in order. Sound good?" She nodded and gave him a smile as she pulled out her phone and looked at the time, mentally readying herself for jumping right back into the life of a profiler.