Carmen | Criminal Minds

Aaron Hotchner

In the few weeks Carmen had to move, she got a lot done. The woman had set up her house in a matter of days. It wasn't that hard considering her small apartment, which she was used to. There are two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a small kitchen that barely fits a living room.

The house Carmen and her family were settled in was a one-story house. There are three beds for the family to live comfortably in and two bathrooms. Carmen was happy she had her own bathroom that she no longer had to share with her brother.

She never minded sharing with Phoebe; Carmen knew what it was to be a girl. Sharing a bathroom with her brother wasn't horrible, but she never wants to know what a boy does in a bathroom. She wanted to keep that in mind.

The rest of the house was set up pretty quickly. She didn't have many decorations in her house since her apartment was so tiny. She could hang up maybe one picture if she was lucky, but now in her new house, the house is plain. She didn't mind it, though she knew Phoebe absolutely hated it.

Carmen's bedroom was entirely empty. The walls were sickeningly white and simple, with no pictures on them. Her bed covers were dark gray. Aside from her belongings in the drawers, you'd never know this wasn't a show room put up for a buyer looking to purchase a home.

The Cuban found herself late at night, wrapped in a cardigan, strolling the street. Not having any destination for where to go. Wearily walking down a dimly lit, paved side walk.

She checked her phone to see where she was. Though she had no signal, She groaned at herself for not buying a better phone when she had the chance.

She searched for open shops to see if any were available. The only one open was an underground pub that had to be sought out to be seen. Carmen felt lucky to have discovered it. When she opened the door, she was hit with a strong odor of alcohol, predominantly beer, and as she proceeded down the steps, she heard a sweet, melodious voice singing and a beautiful guitar backing the vocals.

From what Carmen could tell, the bar was open to everyone. She saw signs that seemed very welcoming. She didn't see why she couldn't stay here.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she found a very small bar area. There was a stage at the back of the room where the girl resided singing and a large group of people who were dancing to the girl's singing.

Carmen smiled immediately at the scene. This bar must be where locals would go. She found an empty table in the back, watching the people in the bar dance around, singing and dancing. The scene with Carmen was rare. She'd never seen anyone from New York act like this. If she were to go to a bar, the only thing she'd see is drunk adults grinding on each other. This was authentic dancing.

"Anything to drink?" Carmen was snapped out of her daze by a young woman with blonde hair. A bright red lipstick came up to her.

"Uh— Sorry?"

"Anything to drink?" The girl spoke clearly. She was ready to write something on her notepad.

"No, thank you, though." Carmen smiled, and as the waitress was about to walk away, she immediately stopped her. "Sorry, may I ask you some questions?"

"Sure." The waitress shrugged.

"I just moved into this neighborhood. Is this bar open to the public, or is it like... for certain people?"

"As far as I'm aware, it's to the public, but it being hidden is quite hard to find." The waitress laughed, "The locals love it though, Jude up there; she keeps everyone dancing and happy. Her singing keeps them here." The waitress spoke with a southern twang in it. It may have been a weird quirk of Carmen's, but she loved hearing the many different accents of everybody.

"She's amazing. The first thing I noticed when I walked down here. Apart from the beer, of course." Carmen made a joke, making the waitress laugh.

"You say you just moved here? Where from?"

"New York, the city part."

"Oh wow. What made you leave?"

"Job promotion; I had to take it. The apartment in the city was too much for me."

"I get it; I wanted to go there for a weekend; it would have drained my pockets." The waitress smiled and said, "Listen, my name is Jade; if you ever need a friend to hang out with, just let me know."

"That'd be nice." Carmen smiled, looking into the girl's blue eyes.

"Here—" Jade grabs a napkin from the dispenser and grabs out the pen she was using before and says, "My number." She slides over the napkin with her number written nicely on the napkin. "I'll see you later..."

"Carmen."

"Carmen!" With that, Jade left, picking up orders from other tables.

The brunette stayed for a couple of more songs from Jude, but after her phone finally started working, she saw she had more than a dozen calls from her sister, and Carmen left immediately.

___

Driving to her newest job was exciting for Carmen. She could finally drive a car that she owned, and it didn't make her late to her job. On the other hand, Carmen was a nervous wreck. She had an early meeting with Section Chief Strauss and her newest unit chief.

Many thoughts ran through her head, wondering if her boss would hate her or if her team wouldn't trust her. She was terrified.

Walking into the building, a cold morning breeze followed behind her. The first thing she heard were telephones going off and different agents walking around the building. Carmen found that the FBI building in Virginia was almost an exact replica of the New York building.

The woman held onto the box of her stuff as tight as she could while heading towards the elevator. "Hold the door, please?" She heard behind her while stepping into the elevator.

Carmen kept a foot out for the man who was awkwardly running towards the elevator. He was a tall, nerdy man. Carmen flashed him a smile and leaned against the elevator as he went to click the button to his floor. Seeing as though it was already pressed, he retreated away from the buttons.

It was a silent ride up to the floor, and as the two got off, they saw they were headed the same exact way.

Carmen finally split off from the man and went down a dark hallway. A crappy white light was the only thing that helped Carmen get through the hallway.

She searched for Strauss' office, and she strolled down the hallway. The box has now started to annoy the brunette.

Once she found the office, she saw a tall man she didn't recognize, Erin Strauss. Carmen balanced the box on one arm and pulled the door open with another.

"Agent Valenzuela." Strauss greeted her and said, "You can put your stuff there." She looked at the table next to Carmen. Carmen gladly took the box down and sat down when instructed to.

"Aaron Hotchner, this is Carmen Valenzuela. Carmen, this is SSA Agent Hotchner. This is your boss, who you'll be working with." The two shook hands, with Hotchner keeping a straight, deadpan face while Carmen tried to keep a smile on to make a good impression. "Unfortunately, over the weeks you had been moving, Agent Gideon resigned his position as Unit Chief. Until we find his replacement, Agent Hotchner will be in charge."

"It's nice to meet you, sir."

"Likewise." His monotone voice was what really punched Carmen in the stomach. She knew what she was going to be in for, and she knew she'd hate it.



Meeting up with Aaron Hotchner in his office was the most intimidating experience she has had in the past few years. Carmen sat awkwardly as Hotchner looked through her files, looking up and raising an eyebrow every few minutes.

Carmen sat there quietly for what felt like eternity as Hotchner stayed quiet, flipping through the papers.

"Sir? Did you need me in here for any specific reason?" Carmen broke the silence; she couldn't help but fidget with her fingers due to the stress of the situation.

"I'm not understanding why you were transferred here. You don't seem that great." Aaron Hotchner spoke. Carmen's eyes widened when he said that.

Was everyone who worked in the FBI just a blunt bitch? She asked herself.

"We have all the agents we need. We do not need you."

"I'm sorry?" Carmen scoffed, "I am here because I was one of the best agents in my bureau. I'm here to provide for my family. I worked hard my entire life to get where I am right now. No offense, but who are you to say that I'm not good enough?"

"Your boss." He said it with a straight face, closing her file. "You transferred right when one of my colleagues mysteriously left his position, and Strauss loves to comment on how you almost became Unit Chief at the New York unit. I will not have an agent who's here just to move up in life and help themselves."

"I will do my job to my best abilities. I don't care if I'm demoted to the worst or the best job in the bureau. I will put my life on the line for everyone we work with." Carmen said, still trying to plead her case to the new boss, "I apologize about your colleague. I worked with him on a few cases, and he was one of the best agents I've ever met. I am not trying to take his job. I am here for my family and because of family."

Aaron Hotchner did not seem impressed by her case. He put the files back on the side of his desk and only said, "Welcome to Virginia, Agent."

Carmen took that as her sign to leave his office. Her breath was shaky from actually being able to stand up to an authority figure. Carmen found the empty desk with only a box of her stuff on it.

She saw a group of agents surrounding the desk. The Cuban could only imagine those were the agents she would work with for the next couple years of her life.

"Hello!" Carmen smiled at the group, and the woman's back, which was facing her, jumped a little. "I'm Carmen Valenzuela. The transfer from New York."

"It's nice to meet you, Carmen." The woman who was jump-scared by Carmen said, "I'm Emily; I'm kind of new here too."

"I'm Jennifer Jareau, but if you'd like JJ,"

Carmen met Derek Morgan and Spencer Reid. Carmen immediately recognized Spencer Reid when she saw him in the elevator when she arrived at the BAU. She decided to keep her mouth shut, though, assuming he completely forgot about her.

As the day progressed, Carmen was immediately put to work with the paper work of her cases from New York. She assumed everyone else was also doing the same since they were at their desks, focused on a stack of papers.

Carmen Valenzuela loved paper work. She loved explaining the interviews she conducted about the case. She loved that at the moment she wasn't hunting someone who wanted to kill someone, but instead she knew that she had already caught somebody.

"Can I ask you a question?" Carmen raised her eyebrow, and when she looked up, she saw Spencer Reid across from her. Her desk buddy from now on. "It's just a little insensitive."

"You can, but can I ask you an insensitive question in return?"

He stuttered a little bit before speaking, "Yeah." He nodded his high-pitched voice. "Why did you demote yourself to a liaison back in New York? You were on the road to becoming a unit chief."

Her eyebrows furrowed, and she opened her mouth to speak but couldn't.

"I'm sorry," He stuttered, and she found that he did that a lot. "I shouldn't have asked that."

"No, it's not that. I don't care about the question, How did you know all that?"

Spencer looked down at his work, then back at her. "Our technical analysis agent might have looked you up. I might have been in the room when she did it." His voice was higher-pitched.

Carmen laughed a little, knowing she would have done the same exact thing. Of course, if she knew how to do that stuff,.

"Well, thank you for being honest with me. I guess." Carmen is still laughing to herself. "But I don't know, to be honest. I used to be one of the best agents in my field, but now I just 'don't seem that great'." She said it in quotations, quoting her new boss. "Guess I just got burned out."

"Yeah, I had a friend do something like that." Spencer looked down at his fingers; she knew who he was talking about. She found it strange how casually Gideon resigned from the BAU. "What was your question?"

"Why is your boss an asshole?"

Spencer choked on air when he heard that sentence. "I— uh."

"Maybe that was insensitive too."

"Don't worry. He acted the same way towards me." Emily butted herself into the conversation, not that Carmen was minded. "He still acts that way towards me. He just needs time to get used to you."

"Has he been that way to everyone who just joined?" Carmen looked around the room to see nods from the men in the room. She scoffed at the reactions.




When the clock hit five, she saw the other agents grabbing their coats and leaving the office. She said her goodbyes to the leaving agents and busied herself with the remaining files that were in her box.

Phoebe was trying out for the soccer team, and Carmen knew the practice didn't end until six o'clock.

One thing Carmen noticed right away was that Hotchner didn't leave right away either. She wondered why. She saw a picture of him, a little boy, and a blonde woman in a picture frame. He assumed it was his family. Was he not excited to go home to them?

She decided not to pay any mind to it and finished the last of her paper work. When she looked at the time, it was hardly five forty-five. Looking around the room, she took in the scenery but found nothing interesting. Looking back in front of her, she saw her boss still sitting at his desk, doing work of his own.

Carmen gathered the stack of files and marched herself up to his office. Reaching his door, it was opened, but she still knocked softly as he kept his head buried in his work.

He looked up, eyebrows raised. With one look, Carmen was immediately intimidated. She understood why he joined the FBI. If she were a victim, she would be terrified.

"I have files from my cases back in New York. I usually turned them into my chief over there, but well, She cleared her throat as he was still staring at her. "Do I turn these into you?"

"Yeah, just leave them on my desk. I can send them over."

"Thank you." She smiled, putting the files down gently.

"You know, working late won't get you on my good side." He spoke bluntly. She wanted to roll her eyes, except she didn't. She didn't want her boss to totally hate her.

"My sister has soccer tryouts. She doesn't end until six, and I work closer to the school than I live there. I just stay here until it ends." Carmen explains, knowing he didn't ask and that she didn't owe him an explanation. She felt as if she needed to, though. "So you're stuck with me until six." She grinned, turning around to leave his office.

"Good night, Valenzuela."

"Good night, sir."