1 out of 150//Spencer Reid

9. Rare opportunity

Y/N
At first, the training program was a bit much. You were either in classes, participating in an obstacle course or just working on your fitness. But, after a few weeks, you were getting the hang of your schedule, as well as getting the hang of each class and all the other parts of the program that scared you at first. What sucked was that you hadn't seen Spencer in weeks. You thought that being part of the program would give you greater opportunities to see him, but you hadn't seen him once. You'd only talked to him once a week through the letters that you had hidden between your work for his class.

But, you understood why you hadn't seen him. He was a coveted member of the BAU, and you knew that they were visiting a new state for a new case every week.

———

Another day, another obstacle course. You were on your 5th week of the program, leaving only 15 weeks left until you graduated and became an official FBI Agent. You had noticed since week 1 that the heads of different departments, divisions and sections had been appearing and disappearing. They'd arrive at random classes, obstacle courses and activities, only staying for 15 minutes before leaving. So, when a woman - possibly mid to late 40s - started walking out of the main building, making her way past the training building, you didn't think anything of it. You thought she would be gone just as randomly as she arrived.

She stood and talked with Agent Matthews who had been yelling at you and your fellow trainees for a good 2 hours. After 25 minutes, she hadn't left.

"What took you so long, cadet? What took you so long?" You heard Agent Matthews yell as you and 7 other cadets ran through the thick forest, jumping over small hurdles. Every obstacle course area was different, and every task that you were required to perform was different. You liked this. It really meant that you could never rely on any situation out in the actual field being the same. It would shock some other cadets who weren't as aware, but you liked it.

"Here you go. The mannequin is your wounded partner. You and your wounded partner must make it over that wall." Agent Matthews instructed as you stopped moving for a moment, eyeing the wall. You watched as some cadets, like you, knelt down and started messing with the rope beside the mannequin while others just lifted the mannequins, not caring.

While they struggled to get their mannequins over the wall, you knelt down, instantly recognising what you had to do. You started to tie a very strong and reliable knot around the wrists of your mannequin

"Where's your head at, cadet? What you thinking? Let's move! Let's move! Use the rope to get your partner over the wall. Let's move!" Out of the corner of your eye, you watched as Agent Matthews walked over to the other cadets who had done the same thing as you, but hadn't yet created a knot.

"Use the rope to get your partner over the wall, cadet. Are you paying attention? Are you thinking with your head? Get your partner over the wall." Agent Matthews yelled again as the other cadets put their mannequins down and grabbed whatever rope they had, following you and the other cadets who had used rope in the first place.

"Here we go. Move, cadet! Move, cadet!" Agent Matthews kept yelling as you managed to get the mannequin carefully off the ground, trying to imagine it being an actual person. You found that immersing yourself in the scenario made it much easer to come up with a good solution.

"There you go! There you go! Watch her." Agent Matthews yelled as you got to the wall, climbing over the wall. It was a little hard at first, but getting to the top made it easier to drop down.

"That's how you do it! That's how you do it, cadet! There you go! Yes! Yes!" Agent Matthews nodded, showing her approval of your method. You took a moment to breathe, watching as 4 other cadets - with their own tactics - made it over the wall with their mannequins still in tact.

"Cadet Y/L/N." Agent Matthews called your name, causing you to turn to her, seeing that the woman was still around.

"Ma'am." You nodded.

"This is Section Chief Erin Strauss." She introduced the woman, who shook your hand. You recognised her. From where, you had no idea. Whether it was the heat, or your tiredness, you couldn't quite place where you knew her from.

"She has been going around to all the different classes and activities, observing the different groups. She has told me that she wants you to join one of her teams on their newest case as a Probationary Agent." Agent Matthews explained.

"Yes. I have selected you to be a Probationary Agent for one of my teams, as I see that you exhibit a gift regarding certain skills that the team utilise on a daily basis. This means that you'll be observing their new case, as well as consulting. This is also to test your ability to utilise the skills that you have learned so far through your training program." She explained further.

"It's simply a means to observe you in action to see if this particular team would be a good fit for you, or if another department would better suit your skill set." Agent Matthews nodded.

"If you'd meet me outside the main FBI building in 20 minutes with a go bag, that would be greatly appreciated." She smiled.

You had no idea which team she led, confusing you as you ran back to the training building. Within 15 minutes, you had packed your bag and calmly headed up to the main building. You followed Agent Strauss through the building, curious as to where she was leading you.

"Agent Hotchner. This is Cadet Y/L/N. She will be joining you on your team's newest case as a Probationary Agent." She introduced you to Agent Hotchner, who also looked very familiar.

"All right. Follow me, Cadet Y/L/N." He nodded, showing you through the big glass doors.

He looked at two men and and a woman, who called over another man and two other woman.

"Everyone, this is Cadet Y/L/N. Strauss has assigned her to our team as a Probationary Agent. She'll be coming with us on our case, and I would like you to refer to her as Agent Y/L/N." He instructed.

"Cadet Y/L/N, these are Supervisory Special Agents Prentiss and Morgan." He gestured to the raven-haired woman and the man with tattoos on his upper arm. You shook both their hands.

"Pleasure to meet you both." You smiled.

"Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi." He gestured to the man with the slightly gray hair and goatee.

"It's an honour to meet you sir. I've read all your books." You nodded, unable to believe that David Rossi had just shaken your hand.

"Supervisory Special Agent Jennifer Jareau." Agent Hotchner gestured to the blonde woman who looked like she could take down a criminal with her eyes closed.

"Technical Analyst, Penelope Garcia." Agent Hotchner spoke, gesturing to a woman with a very colourful outfit compared to her co-workers.

"And last but not least, Supervisory Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid." He gestured to the tall man who had remained silent. You could tell that he didn't like shaking hands, so you nodded to him.

You almost gasped when seeing Spencer with his co-workers. Even though you had his card, and he mentioned in his first lecture that he worked with the BAU, you had forgotten that he did. In reality you only really remembered what he looked like and that he worked with the FBI.

GENERAL
When Derek and JJ laid their eyes on Y/N, they almost gasped, but they didn't want to tip off Spencer that they knew who she was. She looked exactly like she did in the photo that Penelope had given to them. It was very clear to both of them that Y/N and Spencer had met each other, considering she could barely keep her eyes on him, signalling that maybe she didn't want to make anyone suspicious about her knowing him. Although, it was a little late for that, considering JJ and Derek knew who she was.