Head In the Game

Chapter 2: Day One

I was really nervous on my first day at Quantico, for many reasons, not the least of which was that it wouldn't be at Quantico. I wasn't particularly afraid of planes or anything like that, but the idea of working a case with a brand new team in a brand new city was a little nerve-wracking.

I knew Rossi, of course. And I'd met all the others. They were all nice. At least to my face. The only one who I thought was a little cold was Reid. He always watched me out of the corner of his eyes, like I was the sun and he couldn't stand to look at me directly. Maybe that's just how he was. I had heard about him of course, the kid genius with more degrees than the average extended family. Incredible intelligence often came with a price, and social skills were not an unusual tax to pay. Or he was just weary of me. Who could blame him? I did sort of just waltz without warning. A team like the BAU had been through a lot together. Maybe he was automatically suspicious of strangers.

Emily was nice. She made pleasant small talk with me as we boarded the jet (They have a whole jet!). She asked me where I was from and all that and I returned the questions politely. And when we boarded she sat across from me without a word. Morgan and Reid were across the aisle.

"So, are you used to the cold?" she asked when we'd found our places.

"Not really. I haven't lived somewhere that cold in a while. I hope I packed enough."

"I heard you. My bag is seventy-percent sweater. I almost bought a pair of those bright yellow boots."

I laughed at the thought of an FBI agent wearing a gun, a badge, and daisy-yellow slickers.

"You act like we're going to Antarctica. It's just Chicago," Morgan said. Reid was sitting next to him with a book in his lap. I couldn't see the title, but the book looked like it weighed enough to be its own carry-on.

"In my defense, the last time we went somewhere cold I stepped in a puddle and had to walk around with wet socks all day."

"And?"

"Wet socks, Morgan."—she cringed just thinking about it—"Plus, I'm pretty sure that's when I caught the flu." I got the impression that Reid wasn't really reading his book, was just pretending to as he listened to Morgan and Prentiss banter back and forth about the horrors of damp footwear.

"There's still time to get boots," I pointed out, "I bet you can get some with Hello Kitty on them or something."

"I don't know. I think the squelching wouldn't be very stealthy," Emily said.

"I guess working in the FBI is tough after all," I said.

"Don't I know it."