Chapter Text
You can feel his eyes on you from your desk, and you do your best to ignore it. You know what he wants, and you refuse to give in. You hunch over some more and focus on the consult in front of you. You’re in the middle of giving yourself a hunchback when someone’s hand settles on your shoulder.
You give a little yelp of a startle as you shoot up into a standing position. Your heart is beating so hard you’re afraid it’s going to jump ship. Taking a deep breath you turn to look at Derek. An amused smile is on his face. You point a finger at him, “Don’t do that.”
You can tell he’s holding back laughter, “What? Get your attention? You know kitten, you are way too jumpy for someone with a gun.”
He shoves a plate with a piece of cake at you, “Dave told me to give this to you.”
Your glare intensifies, and you know if you had mastered it like your father had, he’d be a puddle on the ground. Then again, maybe not? Derek is pretty unflappable. You take it and dump it in the trash, “Don’t let him drag you into this Derek.”
“Into what? Cake testing? Kitten it’s time. I know Hotch is ready, and I know you’re ready, so what the hell is keeping the two of you from planning this wedding?”
You wrap your arms around yourself, “That’s personal. Tell Dave if he sends me any more cake, I’m going to break into his house and kill his pasta maker.”
Derek holds his hands up in surrender, and heads back up towards his office. You take a deep breath, feeling only slightly guilty, and settle back in your chair. You scrub at your face and you can feel the cold metal of your ring glide across your skin. You take a moment to admire it. Aaron had picked it out early on in your relationship. He said he’d seen it and just knew it was yours. To be quite frank, you love it.
You glance up towards the office where your patient man is on the phone. You’ve only been engaged for six months, but for the bureau that’s apparently a lifetime. And you suppose when you add in six years with the team, and the fact that you and Aaron had been in a relationship for three of those years, it does scream time. And with Aaron’s penchant for death defying stunts, sooner probably is better. But for you … it’s complicated.
You finish off your consultation and head up to Aaron’s office to hand it over. He’s still on the phone, but next to his elbow is a half eaten piece of cake. Your lips purse at it, and he of course catches it. He rolls his chair back slightly, and opens his free arm towards you; you’re feeling too down to reject the sign of affection in the workplace.
You settle in his lap, and his free arm wraps around your waist. You lean your head against his, and wait for him to finish up. When he finally hangs up he looks up at you, “It was free cake, I wasn’t going to turn it down.”
You smile at that, Aaron’s sweet tooth was a closely guarded secret and Dave unfortunately knew about it. “Any good?”
He shrugs, “Not my taste. I already told Dave. I also asked him to back off.”
One of his hands trails up and down your spine, and you relax a bit, “You know I want to marry you, right?”
He smiles, “I know. I also know why we’re waiting a little bit. The rest of the team doesn’t.”
You let out a breath, “Yeah.” You run your fingers through your hair, “I need to woman up and just go see him. It’s not fair to you and it’s not fair to Jack to keep dragging things out.”
“Jack and I are fine.”
You give him a look, “Aaron, he asks about the wedding all the time. He’s so excited and I hate keeping him in suspense.”
“Jack is fine. I talked with him about it. He gets it.”
You smile at that, “He is the smartest kid I’ve ever met. And the cutest. And he’s just wonderful.”
Aaron laughs, “Plus, he’s only excited about the wedding because of what we’ve told him might come after.”
You roll your eyes, “Ahh yes. Little baby Hotchners.” Jack had made several requests for a baby brother since you and Aaron had told him about the engagement. And you were happy to oblige … after you solved your own drama. You toss the file onto Aaron’s desk, and shift out of his lap. You drop a quick kiss on his lips, and say “I will see you when it’s time to go home.”
He winks at you, “Not if I see you first.”
It’s nearly quitting time, when a group of men in suits flood the BAU bullpen. Your heart stops when you see who’s leading the charge, and you do your best to shrink into nothingness. If he doesn’t see you, then you don’t have to confront your past. If he does see you, he doesn’t say anything. You watch as he and another agent disappeared into your fiance’s office.
Derek sits down on the edge of your desk, “SSA Tobias Fornell. What the hell is he doing here? He usually goes to the B team for his profiles. He and Rossi don’t get along.” You know this, it’s how you’ve avoided him for five years.
You and everyone else in the bullpen stare, fixated on the door. You watch through the blinds as Aaron and Fornell shake hands. They exit together, and Aaron makes the announcement from the walkway, “Our unit has been called in to assist with several other agencies at NCIS. We have a possible serial killer team. To what end, we don’t know. Either way grab your bags, we’re heading to the Navy Yard. BAU main team, I need you in the conference room in two minutes.”
The entire room goes silent. They’ve all heard the stories about MCRT at NCIS. They know the stories of former marine sniper Leroy Jethro Gibbs, and his team. You just happen to know them better. You had seen them all first hand.
You feel dread settle in your stomach as Aaron’s eyes finally focus on you. And Fornell, formally Uncle Toby to you, finds you too. You meet his gaze as you grab your gobag, and start texting Jess about the change in plans for the evening.
You tote your bag up the stairs and into the conference room. You brush by Fornell, who is now focused on you, and take your seat next to Hotch. Aaron makes the introductions and saves you for last, “And this is special agent Y/N Shannon.”
He stares at you, “This is where you’ve been hiding?”
You meet his gaze, take a deep breath, and release, “I wouldn’t call it hiding.”
His hands go to his hips, “We expected you to go to Homeland, or CIA. Why the hell are you here?”
You trace your tongue around your teeth before finally admitting, “Kate.”
You watch Fornell deflate in front of you. He nods a few times, “Yeah. Yeah. That makes sense.” He swallows, “You’re good at this then?”
You think about how to answer and finally say, “Rule five.” You don’t waste good, and you’re very good at your job.
“Fair enough. You okay with this? I mean you haven’t spoken to anyone in …”
“Six years. And that wasn’t my choice, it was his. The rest of you followed along.”
“We didn’t want to see you get hurt.”
“And you didn’t.” It’s said so glibly, that his eyes go wide.
His arms cross against his chest, and he goes on the attack, “What happened? Who the hell hurt you?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“None of my … ?”
“Agent Fornell.” Aaron stops him before he can go any further, and you’re grateful for it. You can feel the rest of the team watching you, trying to figure out what’s going on. His attention shifts to Hotch, he has a presence that won’t be ignored, “Please remember that Agent Shannon is a member of my team. She has authority here, and she wouldn’t be a member without having earned it. Please afford her the same respect you’ve given the rest of us.”
Fornell’s eyes narrow, “I’ll see you at the Navy Yard.”
There’s silence after he leaves for several minutes before Dave asks, “Something you want to tell us?”
You shake your head, “Not yet.”
They let it go and you go over the specifics of the case. When you head out you pile into the car with Aaron, Dave and Prentiss. You stare out the window, and when you reach the Navy Yard you can feel your breath hitch. They all notice.
You meet by the entrance, and that’s when Spence asks, “Does anyone know where we’re going?”
“I do.”
Your voice surprises you, and your body shocks you when it just starts to move. You navigate the halls with an ease that comes from being raised in the building. You had spent more of your life in these walls than in your family home. The elevator ride is nostalgic, and when you step into the bullpen, it’s a flurry of activity.
You recognize members of Fornell’s team when you arrive. They’re standing to the side and seem almost afraid to be here. The MCRT is nowhere to be seen but you do notice some familiar faces from the LA and New Orleans Teams. That doesn’t surprise you, the killer had struck there as well.
You keep your head up as you fall in behind Hotch. You feel your team build a sort of cocoon around you, as Aaron is escorted up to M-TAC. They have no idea what’s going on, but they’re going to protect you and you adore them for it. You might even let Dave shove cake at you for it.
You look up to find G. Callan staring at you, a look of wonder on his face. “The FBI, really?”
The entire room has gone silent, and you now have everyone’s attention. You gather some of your confidence, “Really.”
He smiles at you, “How you been little-bit?”
The nickname gets a look from Morgan, and you turn towards him “Don’t.”
He smiles, “I’ll stick with Kitten, thanks.” Garcia had baby girl, Reid had pretty boy, and you had Kitten.
“What did you just call her?”
You look back at G, the older brother you never had, and never really wanted. You don’t intervene, Derek can take care of himself, “It’s a nickname man.”
“I don’t like it.”
Derek, takes a step forward, and you grip his arm with your hand to keep him from going any further. There does not need to be an interagency brawl right now, “Then don’t call her by it.”
“You two together or something?”
You both shudder at the thought, “Man! She is my baby sister in everything but blood.”
G shakes his head, “Actually, that’s my job.”
“Really, then where have you been for the past six years?”
Before he can answer, a voice rings out, “Is there a problem here?”
You look up to see Aaron, Fornell, Uncle Leon, the director of the FBI, Lieutenant Colonel Mann, Special Agent Abby Borin, Gibbs and his team streaming out, and to your big surprise Mike Franks. He finds you, immediately, and he doesn’t wait to trot down the stairs with his team right behind him. Rossi stands in front of you, and you reach out to put a hand on his shoulder, a way to tell him that it’s okay.
Gibbs moves through the people and stops right in front of you. He takes a minute to look you over, his gaze lingers on the gun at your hip, before continuing up to your face. His voice is a little gruff, “Hey there kid.”
You swallow the lump in your throat, “Hey dad.”