Pride and Punishment

Chapter 2

You and the team stumble into the office, red-eyed and disoriented. "It's so good to be home." Spencer flops down and lays his head on his desk. "I may never move from this spot again."

"Speak for yourself; I could take another couple days of action." You reply with a laugh. "The word is stamina, Reid."

"I have plenty of stamina, but even you have to admit this was a rough couple of days. I'm glad you were with us though."

"Why wouldn't I have been with you guys?"

Spencer and JJ exchange a look.

Rossi speaks up first. "Well, Y/N, to be honest, we weren't too sure if you were going to pass your psych eval."

"Not that we think you're crazy or anything." JJ interjects quickly. "You just have a tendency to-" She trails off, searching for the right words.

"Go off the rails sometimes." Spencer supplies helpfully, withering slightly when you scowl at him.

"So, how exactly did you pass your eval?" Morgan asks.

You smirk. "Let's just say I said all the right things."

"Of course you did. You little master manipulator." He rubs your shoulder. "I'm so proud."

You shrug. "I have no idea what you mean. I'm a changed woman. I'm going to listen to Hotch and be the best agent I can possibly be."

Morgan and Rossi exchange glances. "Well, that's a nice change of pace. What convinced you?" he asks.

"I convinced myself." you lie, taking care to control your microexpressions that would betray your words. "I'm going to do the job right and show Hotch the respect he deserves."

Upstairs, Emily ducks into Hotch's office unnoticed by the rest of the team sprawled out in the bullpen. "How do you think she did, Aaron?"

Hotch sinks back into his chair and touches his temple. "She did everything she was supposed to. She listened to me and followed my instructions."

Emily nods in agreement. "That she did." Unmistakable sarcasm drips from her voice.

Hotch notices her shift in tone. "Something wrong?"

"Aaron, you've been a profiler for how many years now? You can't tell when you're being played like a violin?"

"What are you referring to?"

"Geez, Aaron, I can't believe you don't see it. The others don't notice it either. That girl is only going along with what you say so she can be back in the field. She doesn't respect you. She rolled her eyes every time you turned away from her. She's in the bullpen right now telling the team how she lied her way through her psych evaluation! She thinks this is a game, and right now, she's winning."

Hotch sits up straight. "I'll deal with this tomorrow, Prentiss. I just need a good night's sleep. We all do."

"You need to deal with this now. The longer she thinks she's gotten away with it, the more defiant she'll act. Nip it in the bud, or I will."

Aaron blinks, startled. Emily is interested in Y/N?  "I thought you said she wasn't your type."

"She's not, but something needs to be done and if you aren't up to the job-"

"Send her up here. Now."

You're heading to the elevator when Emily calls out that Hotch needs to speak with you. Waving to the others as the doors close, you walk through the empty bullpen and head up the stairs, taking a few seconds to plaster a smile on your face before stepping into Hotch's office. "You needed to see me, sir?"