spitfire

𝐜 𝐡 𝐚 𝐩 𝐭 𝐞 𝐫 𝟖

Hotch's shoes clicked on the clean floor as he walked up to Strauss' office. If there was anything Hotch was scared of, it was her. He looked up at the door and cleared his throat before nodding to himself. He sighed before knocking 3 times. It was silent before a tired feminine voice said "Come in" on the other side of the door.

He entered to see Strauss filing paperwork for the bureau on her desk, one of her hands resting against her head as her elbow propped up on the table. "Have a seat, agent," she spoke before clicking the files onto the desk to level them and plopping them into the file holder on her desk.

"What is it you wanted to talk to me about?" she spoke, looking bored. Hotch cleared his throat before waiting a moment to piece together what he was going to say. The file in his hand crinkled slightly as he placed it onto the table. "Her name is Nova Yīkào. She's 24 years old and graduated with a major in psychology and a minor in criminology from Stanford, top of her class. She's calculating, intelligent, observant, she's a good candidate for our team." He said with a persuasive tone as Strauss looked through the file he handed her.

She looked at him incredulously as she looked up from the papers. "W- Hotch you can't be serious, she's a criminal!" He shifted in his seat, but his face remained impassive. "So was Garcia. She's a good person, Strauss. Give her a chance." He spoke. Strauss was about to flat out veto this but she saw the sincerity on his face and reconsidered.

She made a small strangled noise before sighing. Hotch spoke again "We've made an agreement, she signed a document saying that she's aware that she'll be pardoned only if she recognizes her crimes and refrains from doing anything illegal from now on, otherwise she gets a life sentence. My team agrees." He said, looking at her with raised eyebrows in anticipation.

Strauss looked up at him and clenched her jaw. "If she does anything, and I mean anything like this ever again, you will be fired and replaced." She said threateningly. Hotch nodded. "She may become a part of your team on those conditions," Strauss said, pursing her lips before thinning them into a line.

Hotch almost smiled. Almost.

"Thank you, chief. I'll be sending reports on her performance to you every two weeks." Strauss eyed him suspiciously as he left the office. Once he had reached the elevator and he was alone, Hotch smiled.

"No way- you- she agreed?!" Nova said looking at Hotch in surprise. She desperately wanted to give him a hug, but she knew she shouldn't. "As long as the terms on the document you signed are fulfilled, you'll be an agent on the team," he replied, giving her the most minuscule smile she's ever seen. "You won't start immediately, we're giving you a week-"

He started telling her about the terms and conditions of the job but she just couldn't concentrate on him. She realized she needed to move to Quantico. She needed to move there, and live there, and deal with being away from her family. Then her spirits raised once she realized she could take care of them now without becoming a felon. Then she couldn't hold it in, and she jumped on him and gave him a hug.

She heard Derek and Penelope laugh loudly in the background at the look on Hotch's face. The team hadn't really been officially introduced to her and obviously, none of them were 100% sure about her yet, but seeing her hug Hotch like a teddy bear seemed like an indication that she was an okay girl.

She practically ripped away from him seconds later muttering to herself and grabbing the things that they had taken away from her and saying. "Oh my god. I need to pack, I need to move, I need to find a place here. Oh my god," she muttered.

"Do you think she's always like this?" JJ asked Emily from the corner of the room. Emily just continued to snicker when she saw Spencer staring at her with a far-away look on his face. Derek felt Penelope nudge his arm and he looked to her to see her looking somewhere else and jutting her chin there. His gaze followed hers and they both laughed as they saw Spencer with a pink blush on his face and wide eyes as he looked down at Nova who was now rambling to him about finding an apartment in Quantico.