No Plan ━━ Spencer Reid

[ 003 ] Powder Blue

[ September 12, 2007 ]

The headquarters of the Behavioral Analysis Unit were cold. The glass doors, imprinted with the FBI's seal, opened and closed every so often as people filed in and out. Daisy hovered by the elevator, anxiously fiddling with her visitor's badge, clutching a brown paper bag and a bottle of orange juice in her other hand.

According to the officer in the lobby, Aaron's office was at the top of the stairs, all the way in the back of the huge communal office. Swallowing her nerves, Daisy stepped forward and pulled open the glass doors.

The moment Daisy stepped inside, she became acutely aware of how much she must stand out—that morning, she'd chosen to wear jeans, a striped blouse, and bright red converse. The room was filled with people in suits and various types of formal work attire, and compared to them, Daisy looked like a child. It was easy to feel like she didn't belong here.

The large room was clean, but the individual cubicles all had their own personalities—one had large stacks of folders that looked ready to fall over, another was meticulously organized, and a third had a bunch of sticky notes with impressive but small drawings tacked up.

Sitting at one of the desks, poring over a folder of some sort, was someone Daisy recognized—Derek Morgan. He'd come to Aaron's house for Thanksgiving several years ago, when Sean and Daisy had been there as well, so she approached him and tapped him on the shoulder.

Derek turned around, then raised his eyebrows and smiled. "Hey, look who it is!" he exclaimed, clapping her on the shoulder. "What's up, little Hotch?"

Ignoring this unflattering nickname, Daisy smiled and said, "Good to see you, Derek. Have you seen my brother?"

"Yeah, he's been in his office all morning," Derek replied, checking his watch. "But we've got a briefing in five minutes, so he should come out soon. Everything okay?"

"I'm just dropping off lunch for him," Daisy replied. "I know he never eats here, and he forgot to bring food, so. . ." she shrugged and held up the bag. "I made him a hamburger."

"Didn't bring any for me, did you?" Derek asked playfully, then said, "Just playing. His office is up there." He pointed to a door just next to a staircase.

"He's on the phone," said another voice, and Daisy turned to see a woman with long blonde hair holding a folder. She held out her hand. "Jennifer Jareau. Everyone calls me JJ."

"Nice to meet you, JJ," said Daisy, shaking her hand and smiling. "My brother's told me all about you and the rest of the team."

JJ raised an eyebrow. "Your. . . brother?"

"This is Daisy Hotchner," Derek supplied, slinging an arm over Daisy's lean shoulders. "Remember Sean?"

"Oh, the hottie who showed up on a motorbike to yell at Hotch a while back?" JJ asked, her expression shifting to one of amusement. "How could I forget?"