Chapter Text
Everything that Amelia Harper had worked so hard for in the last fifteen years, led up to this moment. She was finally joining the most prestigious unit in the FBI, the Behavioral Analysis Unit. Though the position was only temporary, she was more than thrilled to join the BAU. Amelia looked down at her watch.
"Shit."
Her first day and she was already running late. Amelia quickly made her way into the FBI building, miraculously the elevator was just opening and a blonde woman was stepping into it.
Amelia took a second to catch her breath when she made it into the elevator. She looked over at the blonde woman who was already staring at her with a raised eyebrow.
"You okay?" The woman asked, actually sounding concerned.
"Yeah, running late on your first day just isn't a very good look," Amelia explained, and the other woman's eyes lit up like she just solved some kind of puzzle.
"Are you Amelia Harper?" She asked, Amelia nodded, a little weirded out that this random lady knew her name.
"I'm Jennifer Jareau, everyone calls me JJ though. I'm the Media Liaison for the BAU. I'm the one who's going to go over protocol, show you where everything is, and introduce you to the rest of the team." JJ explained and Amelia let out the breath she was holding in. She took a moment to look JJ over.
JJ had blonde hair that was just past her shoulders, she had bright blue eyes, Amelia figured that without her heels she'd probably be about five foot six. Amelia also took note of the wedding ring on her left hand and what looked like a ring with a birthstone on her right hand. The elevator doors opened at that moment and Amelia followed JJ out and into the bullpen.
Amelia took note of the three agents already sitting at their desks and the empty desk.
"Good morning, guys. This is Amelia Harper, she's filling in for Em for the next two months. Amelia, this is Derek Morgan. Across from him is Spencer Reid our resident genius. And across from you will be Alex Blake. Our other resident genius." JJ said, pointing to each person.
"Technically I'm not a genius. My IQ is only 156." Alex stated, and Derek rolled his eyes.
"Einstein's IQ was estimated to be like 160, so I'd say it's close enough."
"Okay, but Spencer's is 187." Alex retorted and Amelia looked at JJ, who shrugged.
"You can set your stuff down on the desk and then I'll take you to Hotch's office," JJ said and Amelia sat her things down on the desk she'll be occupying for the next few months. JJ led her up to Aaron Hotchner's office.
"When you're done talking to Hotch, he'll tell you how to find my office," JJ said before walking off.
Amelia took a deep breath before knocking on the door. She opened the door when the man on the other side said, "Come in."
"Agent Hotchner?"
"Please, call me Hotch. It's nice to finally meet you, Amelia. I assume JJ has already introduced you to the rest of the team?" Hotch asked, standing up from his desk to shake Amelia's hand.
"It's nice to meet you too, sir. Yes, she did, but they started arguing about whether or not Alex is a genius?" Amelia said the last part came out as more of a question because she still wasn't sure what happened there.
"There will be plenty of time for more formal introductions, for now though, here are some files for you to get started on once JJ goes through protocol with you. You can leave them on your desk in the meantime. JJ's office is outside the bullpen and down the hallway to your left." Hotch said and Amelia nodded before thanking him again and leaving.
When Amelia made it back to her desk, she saw a very brightly colored woman leaning against it.
"There she is, baby girl," Derek said, causing the woman to turn around and look at Amelia.
"Oh my god! You're the newbie? You're so pretty! I'm Penelope Garcia, I'm the technical analyst for the team! And arguably the third resident genius!" Penelope said, all in one breath.
"How many resident geniuses do you guys have? And how are there multiple?" Amelia asked because it seemed like every person she met there was some kind of genius.
"Including Emily? Four, but like I said earlier Spencer is the only technical genius. We just have higher IQs than the average person." Alex said, Penelope, nodding in agreement.
"They think it's funny to call themselves resident geniuses, JJ and Derek just encourage them," Spencer said and even though his voice sounded unamused, he was smiling. Amelia nodded slowly.
"Uhh well, I'm going to go find JJ so we can go over protocol," Amelia said she sat her files down on her desk before she walked off. Amelia didn't make it five feet from her desk when JJ walked into the bullpen.
"Sorry, guys. Amelia we'll have to go over protocol later. Unfortunately, serial killers stop for no one." JJ said, leading the way to the round table.
"Good morning crime fighters! Today you will be traveling to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. So far there have been three victims, all female, all tortured and drowned. Your victims are Anna Black, Christine Johnson, and Phoebe Max. They were all held for three days and the next victim was taken within a week of the last one turning up." Penelope explained as she displayed some gruesome images on the screen behind her.
"How long ago was our last victim discovered?" Morgan asked.
"Three days ago. If he sticks to his pattern we have approximately four days to stop him from taking another girl. Wheel's up in 20." Hotch said, gathering his files and quickly exiting the room.
"Do you have your go bag ready?" JJ asked, looking over at Amelia.
"Yes. It's in my car." Amelia said, nodding quickly.
"I also left mine in my car! We can walk together and then drive to the airstrip?" Alex suggested, looking over at her. Amelia just nodded before letting Alex lead the way.
"So, have any pressing questions?" Alex's soft voice broke Amelia out of the little bubble she was in.
"How big of shoes am I filling here?" Amelia asked tentatively, the team hadn't spoken much about the agent she was filling in for, hell all Amelia knew was that her name was Emily and she was incredibly smart.
"You're not filling any shoes. Emily is.. a force to be reckoned with, and we love and miss her very much, but you're your own person, so don't try to be someone you're not." Alex said and Amelia nodded slowly.
"Why is she taking so much time off?" Amelia asked, and Alex laughed.
"Ask JJ that question once we're on the plane and done going over the case some more."
~••~
"Hey Jayje, Amelia here was wondering why Emily is taking so much time off," Alex said, and JJ's eyes lit up at the sound of her fellow agent's name. Amelia was so confused.
"She had so much vacation time accumulated and it was going to run out if she didn't use it. So, I suggested that she use it all at once and spend some time with our son, Henry. Who by the way, is overjoyed to spend the next two months with "Mama Emmy!" as he's started calling her? We're not entirely sure why, but it's adorable so." JJ explained and turned her phone around to show Amelia a picture of the young boy.
"How old is he?" Amelia asked with a soft smile, Henry was the spitting image of his mother.
"He's three."
"He looks just like you."
"Thank God for little favors," Derek said, and JJ rolled her eyes.
"Will's a good dad," JJ said and Alex raised an eyebrow.
"A good dad who's never around."
"We're not having this conversation again, at least not in front of others." JJ didn't say her name, but Amelia knew she meant not in front of her. Which was fine, they'd only known each other for two hours.
Amelia stared out the window of the jet, she was going to work harder than she'd ever worked before, and maybe, just maybe, in two months when Emily came back, Amelia could stay too.