LIKE A GIRL ｡ CRIMINAL MINDS

TWO.

TWO; NOT A PEOPLE PERSON

THE BEHAVIOURAL ANALYSIS UNIT WAS A GROUP OF WELL RENOWNED AGENTS. Daisy knew this because they once had Jason Gideon as part of their team. He was the best they would ever have; there was something about him that could scare criminals and comfort friends. She couldn't deny that there had been more than one occasion when he'd given her supportive advice and acted as some sort of paternal figure. When she learned what had happened to his partner, her heart broke for him. He was the last person to deserve something like that.

"You'd suit the role, Alvarez," Erin Strauss muttered, not looking up at the Cuban-American woman sitting opposite her. "You're one of my only agents who hasn't had to break protocol to do something stupid. That team could use someone like you."

"Ma'am," Daisy tried not to show her building frustration. "If I wanted the job, I would have accepted it when you first asked me. That was four months ago."

"Here's the thing," Strauss put down her file and finally looked up at Daisy. Her face was void of emotion -- something many people had gotten used to over the years. "I don't care. You have first hand experience with the things that they deal with, and after Gideon's...departure, they need some extra support."

"What about Rossi?" Daisy refuted. "I heard he joined the team after Gideon left. He's one of the best in the business."

"That he is," Strauss agreed. "But, I want you in there too. I need someone to keep an eye on those agents. They've had one too many screwups over the last few years, and I know that Aaron Hotchner's at the centre of it all."

"Aaron Hotchner?" The name sounded familiar. "Have I met him before?"

"Definitely," Strauss replied. "He's the dark haired one in charge. He never smiles."

"Oh," Daisy recalled briefly meeting a man of the same description. He had shaken her hand but not looked her in the eye very long; he had been on a phone call at the time. The blonde woman beside him had apologised, saying that he wasn't usually like this. "Yes, I remember him."

"Well, he pisses me off," Strauss admitted monotonously. Daisy couldn't help the tiny smile that threatened her lips.

"You're his superior," she commented. "Why don't you just let him go?"

"Believe me, I've tried," Strauss grumbled, before lacing her hands together atop her expensive desk. Daisy watched her with a curious expression. The older woman's left eyebrow had been twitching since the moment she stepped foot inside the office. She tried to hide it, but there were small scars under the pads of her thumbs -- possibly a nervous habit she hadn't broken.

"What do you want from me, Strauss?" Daisy inquired. "Well, I know what you want, but you know I'm not going to accept. So, why did you call me in?"

Strauss gave her a tight-lipped smile. "Because your position at the BAU has now been formally accepted by Agent Hotchner. You start tomorrow morning."