Unexpected Legacy [Criminal Minds]

[2] Welcome

"Loosen up, Hollis. You have nothing to worry about today," Rowan said to nobody as she glared at herself from her front view mirror.

Her hands were fidgeting on the steering wheel as she pulled into the drive-through line of the Starbucks that she had considered her home away from home. It was only eleven-fifteen in the morning, and the line was surprisingly short for it being a Monday. This felt like a stroke of good fortune, and if Rowan had to be honest, she needed all the luck she could get today.

It was her first day on the BAU and ever since she had gotten the assignment, she had been stressing herself out by overthinking about the possibilities. Namely being told that she had to transfer, should Agent Hotchner change his mind about her assignment.

She was to meet Agent Hotchner in his office with Section Chief Strauss and Agent Rossi at noon to meet the leader and senior agent of the BAU, which were agents Hotchner and Rossi respectively.

It wasn't completely stress-inducing. There would be someone there besides Chief Strauss that Rowan was familiar with. She had met Agent David Rossi during her schooling and felt that she knew what to expect from him. The plethora of guest lectures during the pursuit of her Master's degrees had shown her that he was a good speaker, and she considered him to be a good listener as well. The personal conversations they had together had been about her best interest for her future.

It was a nice break from the praises of her other instructors and strict orders to get back to studying from her mother.

"May I please get a medium iced caramel macchiato? No extra shots of espresso. And can I get a slice of lemon bread as well?" Rowan said into the speaker when it was her turn to order.

Nearly everyone at this location knew her typical order because she came there so often to caffeinate while she was working on her thesis for her two Master's degrees and the dissertation for her doctorate. She was definitely the youngest college student that they had seen, and most of the people here had 'adopted her' in some manner.

Rowan had a feeling that she was going to have some friendly banter at the window about her lack of two extra shots of espresso that she normally got with her coffee.

She didn't want to indulge in the extra caffeine though. She was anxious and couldn't afford to be jittery in front of her bosses. Not today. She needed to be perfect. Nothing less.

She got her wallet from her briefcase as she listened to the total of her order, and saw on the screen that she had gotten a senior discount, which told her that it was one of her friends taking her order.

"You know, I'm surprised you haven't gotten fired for giving me these discounts yet, Dan," Rowan said, half teasing as she gave her friend the card. He laughed and rolled his eyes, looking down at Rowan with a sly grin.

It was a running gag from a couple of years back that started when Dan had thought she was a lot older than he was because of how she was talking about her dissertation, even though she was only two years younger than him. Ever since then, he'd been giving her senior discounts when he was able to. And Rowan never complained, but instead, she would occasionally muse about the fact that he might get fired for this someday. Even though both of them know that he wouldn't. The current store manager has watched him do it several times and he never did anything to chastise Dan.

"Why are you hounding me when you're the one not getting your typical order?" Dan clicked his tongue dramatically as he gave her a warm slice of lemon bread along with her card and receipt. She took it gratefully, setting it in her center console cup holder.

"Starting that new job today. Can't be too caffeinated or I'm gonna go crazy," Rowan said with slight exasperation as she turned back toward him. Dan nodded in understanding. He hung out by the window while waiting for his coworker to make Rowan's drink.