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It’s been sixteen years since they last saw each other. Thirteen since they’ve spoken.
Before either really processes what is happening, they are embracing like they haven’t seen each other in, well… sixteen years.
“Ara? I can’t believe you’re here!” Spencer exclaims. “What are you doing here? Not that I don’t want you here, I’m just wondering-”
“I know,” she stops his nervous explanation. “I applied and got in.”
“No way, that’s amazing!” Spencer excitedly states. “So you’ll be working with us?”
Before she can answer, the tall, serious-looking agent who she initially came to meet was joining the ruckus outside his office. “Ara Barlowe is our newest member, yes.”
Other men and women approach the group of three, curious about who their boss and youngest member are speaking to. Questions are asked and introductions are made, Derek Morgan being the first to do so, not quite in the fashion that the stern leader of the group had hoped for, but still effective. He had hoped that he’d get to speak with Ara in a more casual manner than the last time he saw her, an interview, before the rest of the team bombarded her, like they are doing now. He knows how intimidating they can be. However, she seems to be handling herself very well, something that confirms his decision to add her to the team in the first place.
Although, he does have one more question for her. “Barlowe, how do you know Doctor Reid?”
The air goes stale as both agents remember how awkward they had left things.
She never thought that she would see him again. She had contemplated reaching out to him a variety of times over the years, but it never felt right. The longer she went without reaching out, the wider the time gap got since she had spoken to him, and the more awkward she felt it would be. Reaching out to her childhood best friend after ghosting him for years without so much as a goodbye was never going to feel right. That is why she could never go through with hitting send.
All those thoughts make Ara more nervous than she had been walking in. How is she going to approach this situation going forward?
Right now, though, she has a question to answer. She clears her throat, “Well, Spencer and I went to elementary school together. We were actually neighbors.”
“Really?” the thin blonde, JJ, asks. “I didn’t even know Reid went to elementary school.” Spencer gives JJ a weird look. “What? I thought you were, I don’t know, too smart for that.” She shrugs.
“He probably was,” Ara laughs. “We were the same age but four grade levels apart.”
“It’s crazy that the two of you are crossing paths again,” she observes.
“Crazy indeed,” Spencer adds. The air is still yet again, so Hotch suggests that they round up their team to do more formal introductions in what they refer to as the round table room.
Ara follows the chief into the small conference room, the rest of the agents at her back. She knew going into it that all eyes would be on her, but the actual feeling is a whole different experience.
Once they have all taken their seats, Ara realizes that there is a seat empty. Before she can inquire, a beautiful brunette woman rushes into the room. She’s wearing a bold lavender shirt under a sharp black blazer, hair wound in perfect curls.
“Sorry I’m late,” she apologizes, taking the seat Ara just had her eyes on. She immediately feels the confident energy radiating off the woman across from her, unable to peel her eyes away.
“You are actually just in time,” Hotch informs her. “We were just introducing our newest member to the team.”
All the eyes are back on Ara, but with a bit less intensity. “Oh good. It’s nice to meet you. My name is Emily Prentiss.” The two women shake hands.
“Ara Barlowe,” she offers in return. This continues around the table until every existing member has officially introduced themselves to the new member. Derek goes first again, flashing a bright smile Ara’s way. The extravagant Penelope goes next, assuring her that she will always be around to help or simply chat. After Penelope is JJ, then Rossi. Of course, she already knows who Reid and Hotch are.
The team closed a case only yesterday, so today is a standard paperwork day. Spencer offers to walk the new agent through it, since it’s only her first time. Smiling, she accepts.
The team disperses, heading back to their individual desks, Spencer showing Ara where hers is. Spencer is across from her, Emily is next to her, and the first agent she met other than Spencer, Derek Morgan, sits diagonal to her.
Spencer brings over a few files from his desk to walk Ara through the process. After completing one, he does not reach for another. She looks at him curiously.
“So,” he leads in, “How have you been?”
She knew from the moment she saw him that this conversation would be inevitable. That did not make it any more desirable, though. “Pretty good. I was the lead detective over in Arlington County and loved the work but was ready for something more. How about you?”
“Pretty good, I guess. This job can be hard sometimes, though,” he shrugs.
“I’ve heard of some of the cases you guys have closed, and I know that not all of them can be easy, or have the desired outcome,” she phrases carefully.
“Yeah, I guess you could say that,” he agrees. “Why the BAU?”
“You know I’ve always loved solving mysteries,” she says with a small smile, nudging him in the arm, “The BAU seemed like the perfect place for that. You get the toughest mysteries of them all.”
“We sure do.” Spencer hesitates before what he asks next. “Would you maybe want to go get coffee sometime? Catch up?”
She smiles at him, “I think I’d like that.” Spencer visibly relaxes.
He tells her all about this perfect little coffee shop on the corner that he loves, and they reminisce about their favorite spots back in their hometown. Although, Vegas never really had any mom and pop shops like the one Spencer describes.
As Spencer continues walking Ara through the case files, it’s becoming harder and harder for Emily to focus on the papers in front of her. She can’t quite place why because there has been a lot going on in her life lately. She still thinks about her last case with INTERPOL, things with her current girlfriend are going downhill, and there is something about Ara’s calming presence that makes her want to share everything with her, despite not having ever met her before. She also can’t believe that Reid and this woman used to be friends.
She does not mean that in a nasty way towards Reid, he is a huge help to the team and a good friend of hers as well, but there is something so… different about the two. Maybe it is in her head. On the surface, the two seem like they are perfect for each other: smart, passionate, caring. But there is something about her friend that doesn’t quite seem to match the new girl.
She just seems more… complex? Not to say that Reid hasn’t been through a lot or is shallow, that’s not what she’s saying. But she seems to have more depth, more about her personality that goes much further beyond the surface.
Who knows? It could just be because she is new to the team. She should probably just leave it alone. Plus, she seems like she is getting everything she needs from Reid, no matter how confused she is about their relationship.
Emily’s phone starts ringing, snapping her out of her thoughts. Looking down, her girlfriend’s face is big and bright on her phone screen. Derek is looking at her with a question in his eyes.
“Excuse me,” Emily mutters, grabbing her phone and heading out into the hallway.
This is not lost on Ara. She isn’t a seasoned profiler by any means, but she knows how to read social cues. Something wasn’t right. She saw a beautiful, dark-haired woman on Emily’s phone, and how her demeanor changed the moment she saw that face.
One could think that the woman was a sister of hers, a close friend maybe, but Ara knows better. She knows the look of someone who is heartbroken, devastated. She knows what it looks like to care about someone so deeply, and knows that bad news is on the way.
She saw the same look on the face of the grandmother in the hospital whose daughter and granddaughter were ejected from the silver car she hit. The denial is first.
Then there’s the rage.
Emily is walking fast when she comes back into the room. Her eyes are focused on her desk, refusing to make eye contact with any of her other teammates. She huffs as she plops down, immediately burying her nose in her next file.
Everyone else exchanges silent looks. Only then, in the silence, does Ara realize that Spencer had been talking to her while Emily was out in the hallway, but Ara had been too caught up in her own thoughts and concerns about her new teammate.
Derek opens his mouth to ask a question, but Emily shuts him down before he can even get that far. “I’m fine. Nothing to worry about. Really.”
At that, everyone gets back to work. Spencer helps Ara finish up their combined files, all the while Ara keeps glancing over at Emily. She knows she shouldn’t, but she wants to say something, anything to return the confidence to this woman she barely knows.
Eyes are boring into her, so she looks up to see Derek subtly shake his head. Ara understands and keeps to herself, helping Spencer complete the final file.
Emily is deflated. She knew this was coming, she really did. What kind of profiler would she be if she didn’t? Not like being a good profiler is the top thing on her mind.
She should have been a better girlfriend. She should have been there for Steph when she needed her. But she wasn’t.
Emily wanted to blame her job and the immense time commitment for their recent issues, but she knew that was not the entire problem. The problem was that Emily had hit her max.
She has never been the most trusting person, still isn’t, but she should have tried harder. All Steph wanted was for her to open up more, to talk about her cases, her past, and her emotions regarding both. She wanted to help Emily, be there for her, and in return, strengthen their bond.
But Emily couldn’t do it.
She could not tell you what her specific reservations were about Steph. Rather, she could but she just did not want to dig that deep into her own mind, but there was something about Steph that did not quite fit. Something about her that did not make Emily feel at her most comfortable.
Eventually, Steph could see that too, and things were only downhill from there.
Emily has contemplated seeing a therapist about her commitment issues, her inability to let her guard down, but she has not convinced herself to do it yet. Maybe she should. Or maybe she will be okay having half-successful relationships for the rest of her life.
Or maybe she won’t be.
That is an issue for another day.