Decisions (4th Book in the Boss's Niece Series)

Jessica the Intern

I was almost finished my paper work when there was another knock at the door. I looked up to see an unfamiliar girl standing there.

She had long brown hair, soft brown eyes that were half hidden by her black framed glasses that sat perfectly on the bridge of her nose. In her hands, she held a clipboard with letters on it.

"Hello." she said. "My names Jessica, but everyone calls me Jess. I'm a new intern for the BAU."

"Hi there." I said. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Dr. Melanie Reid, but you just can call me Mel."

"I know." Jessica said. "Wait, that sounded stalkerish. What I meant was I know who you are through the academy. They talk about you there sometimes."

"So I've heard." I said. "So, you graduated from the academy?"

"Oh, no. Not yet. Another few months to go. I actually got the internship here for hours for the academy. I'm hoping to join the BAU, or FBI in general, when I graduate."

"Well, we're filled up right now, but you do have a shot if someone retires. We've had a defection not too long ago and we gained Agent Sara Night from that."

"I've met her. She's the replacement of SSA David Rossi. I'm a huge fan of him. He's one of the reasons I want to join the FBI."

"Yeah, he's not too bad." I agreed. "Hey, have you met our technical analyst yet?"

"Yes I have. Penelope Garcia, right?" Jessica asked.

"Soon to be Penelope Morgan." I said. "But, yeah. That's her. She's pregnant and I'd say she'll be giving birth in about 6 or 7 months and she'll be going on maternity leave. Maybe you could fill in for her."

"I don't know. I'm not the computer hacking type."

"Well, maybe you can fill in for me and I'll fill in for Garcia."

"That's mighty kind of you, but you don't have to do that. I can wait a few years after I graduate. I'll be the intern. It's just as fun. Kinda."

She looked down at her clipboard then back up at me.

"You're on mail duty, aren't you?" I asked.

"Not permanently." she replied. "I mean, I do deliver the mail, but I also do other things. I help Unit Chief Hotchner to decide the cases and such. Nothing too fun."

"I know you said you're not the computer hacking type, but if you ask Garcia, I'm sure she'll let you help her during cases. You know, if it's okay with Hotch. He's particular with this stuff."

"I think I will, thank you Dr. Reid. Uh, Mel."

"No problem. I didn't get here through the academy or anything, but I know what it's like being new to the team and not knowing what to do. I was kind of everywhere when I joined. A Profiler, a Technical Analyst, Hotch's niece."

Jessica gave me a smile.

"I better get going. I need to deliver these letters and then go and help Unit Chief Hotchner look at a case." she said. "Nice talking to you Mel."

"You too, Jess."

She turned and began to leave, but stopped in the doorway and turned back.

"I almost forgot. The reason I came was because there's a letter for you, but there's no return address or anything."

This captured my attention. Jessica placed the letter on my desk and went to leave. I stopped her.

"Um, if it's not too much to ask, would you mind telling Dr. Spencer Reid I need to speak with him, please?" I asked her.

"Oh, it's not a bother at all. I have a letter here for him, too, actually." she said and went off. That's when I knew that my theory was correct. Our mysterious letter sender was back.