Chapter Text
Erin Strauss' resignation was a scandal to the Bureau.
The morning of the controversial email, Prentiss, Morgan, Reid, JJ and Garcia were crowded into JJ’s petite office. Theorising and sharing what they had heard from around the building. There was no real explanation released yet, unless you took Grant Anderson’s word as the truth. They tried not to.
Although they by no means liked the woman, what relationship each agent had with the section chief was one of mutual distrust but professional courtesy. She had tried to play Prentiss as a bureaucratic pawn in her chess game, something for which the unit had never really forgiven her for.
“I mean, I would have said OxyContin if anything.” Prentiss mused, which earned her a disapproving look from Morgan, not that he held any real authority over her when he did it like Hotch did. She shrugged at him.
What Anderson had been sharing was that Strauss had an underlying alcohol problem and had been forced into resigning. They wanted to say that it explained a lot, but they said nothing instead. Gossip was dangerous.
Under her desk, JJ gently kicked at Reid’s foot beside hers. Across the desk from him she asked, “Has Hotch said anything to you?” Reid shook his head. Hotch didn’t tend to tell him things before he told the team, tried not to treat him with any favouritism on the job. Any news concerning the team, Reid found out at the same time as everybody else. They knew this, she asked anyways. They were truly clueless.
Last night had seemed so... distant, from this moment. Everything was so spectacularly normal. They made dinner and watched some talk show that Hotch liked while Spencer read through a new book he found at the airport. They’d talked idly about their day and Aaron mentioned bringing Jack on a holiday, maybe take Diana up on the offer to meet him. It was all so perfectly normal.
“Do you think we’ll still get that extra agent?” Morgan asked the group. They didn’t know much about the situation beforehand. Before Strauss had accompanied them to a case and Hotch and Reid’s relationship was revealed. That seemed like years to them now, when it had merely been two months ago.
Reid had tried to bring it up to his partner once or twice, conversationally, but Hotch had always kept it confidential and professional. Dismissing the topic and redirecting their discussion before Spencer could object.
Hotch hadn’t left his office since he and Reid had come in this morning. Rossi was yet to make his appearance, he tried not to be in any earlier than absolutely necessary if he could help it, quoting that his advanced age meant he needed all the beauty sleep he could get. Hotch was buried in his paper work as usual, seemingly unchanged by the news of the morning. They had seen him close the blinds to take a call, but that was not uncommon; Emily Prentiss had an awful habit of lip reading.
He got calls everyday, there was no way to know whether the two events were in any way related.
“I hope it isn’t an outsider.” Garcia mopped and it pulled at the profilers' heart strings.
There wasn’t really much they could say to comfort her, they were unsure and dubious of what was to follow. “I don’t know, momma.” Was all Morgan could offer her.
After almost a full long, dull and wholly underwhelming day, the unit chief stepped out of his office at exactly half past five and called his team to the conference room. They followed him in anticipation. Hotch was running his thumb along his knuckles nervously as the agents took theirs seats. Dave sat beside him and shot a questioning glance in Hotch's direction to which he could only return an anxious grimace.
“I assume you have all heard this morning’s news,” he started carefully. Garcia came waddling in a moment later, having also been summoned. She took the empty seat between Derek and JJ.
They nodded in response and he continued. “Some believed it was expected, others were completely unaware. However, her replacement has already been organised.”
Morgan voiced the group’s question. “Who is it?” The agents looked to their leader in anxious expectation, hoping to God it wasn’t-
“DOJ.” Was all he said.
There was a collective ‘oh fuck’ feeling that passed around the room. "Great.” JJ muttered, which pretty much summed up what the agents were thinking. The thick silence that fell was sticky and uncomfortable to Hotch.
He winced before he then saying, “There’s more.” He placed his hands on the table and linked them, he looked at each agent around the table to gauge their reaction. The general consensus being nervous skepticism. “In light of the situation and the circumstances of its occurrence, the director’s deputy has also been asked to step down, affective immediately.”
The team had similar quizzical expressions on their features. “Sir?” Garcia questioned delicately. So quiet compared to her usual loud personality.
“It’s not really my place to say,” Hotch responded regretfully. His hands were truly tied, sworn to confidentiality by people well above his pay grade. They understood that, most things worked like that within the FBI. It was constantly irritating and exasperating, but the agents had mostly become accustomed to it.
Prentiss glanced around at her colleagues and asked, “So, we’re under review or something?”
When Hotch said “Well,” instead of a straight answer, they knew there was more bad news to come. He seemed to be having trouble verbalising what he needed to say. It was only Spencer’s soft ‘What is it?’ that got Aaron to eventually announce; “I’ve been offered the deputy’s position.”