Come Downstairs and Say Hello; S.R.

The Day of Case 3

Jo smiled as she felt the water rush through her fingers. It had become a tradition for her to take a swim whenever she could between cases. She had always loved swimming, ever since she was little. She stood and stretched, throwing her towel onto a nearby chair. She bent down by the water and flicked some of it onto herself in order to avoid a shock from the cold. She hopped in, feeling the sudden rush of adrenaline envelop her. She laughed at the sheer excitement she felt, and pushed off the wall, beginning to kick her legs and move her arms.

She felt as her arms left the cold of the water and met the warm air, only to go back down right after. In the water, all of Jo's issues went away. She was too busy focusing on her movement to focus on the bodies she saw, or the people she was pitying. She thought about absolutely nothing but herself at those moments, which was extremely rare for Joey Starling.

She took a number of laps until she was out of breath. She put her hand against the side of the pool, gasping for breath with a smile on her face. She always found it strange to be out of breath in a pool, since it was usually a way to cool off. She let out a relieved and rejuvenated laugh, climbing out of the pool and wringing out her hair. She was picking up her towel when her phone rang, making her groan. She dried off her hands and answered.

"Hey."

"Ay, Yo, Jo!" Morgan called from the other end. He paused for a moment, "What are you, swimming at 2am?" He asked.

"Yeah, I always swim."

"You didn't invite me to scope out? Criminal." Jo rolled her eyes.

"Stick to the bars, Derek." She joked, making her colleague laugh at the other end. "So what's going on?"

"Hotch asked me to call you. We're getting called in to work."

"Really? It's 2 am."

"You're one to complain, weren't you taking a dip?" Morgan snorted, and Jo stuck her tongue out at him, even though he couldn't see. "Max Ryan is coming, too." Jo froze.

"You're kidding." She breathed.

"Nope." Morgan replied nonchalantly. Jo hissed.

"Morgan, Max Ryan, the Max Ryan is working on a case with us and I'm still at the goddamn pool?! Why didn't you say so?!" She hung up the phone and rushed out, beyond anxious to meet one of her idols.

Joey shuffled into the Behavioral Analysis Unit right behind her teammates, who, apparently, hadn't ever left.

"So they've been here all night?" Morgan asked.

"Apparently." Hotch replied.

"Where else would we be on a Saturday night? It's not like we have lives or anything." Elle said sarcastically, making Jo smile.

"Speak for yourself." Morgan huffed.

"Guys, we are about to meet Max Ryan, the guy responsible for catching the Boise Child Killer." Reid said, making Jo groan.

"Don't remind me! I'm nervous enough as it is!" She whined. Reid looked at Hotch.

"Have you spoken to him before?"

"He's pretty intense. Brusque. Not much like a bedside manner." Hotch explained, and Jo sighed dramatically.

"Sound like anyone else we know?" Elle joked, referring to Gideon. Jo put her coat down at her desk and brushed her hand through her still damp hair.

"I heard he was forced into early retirement." Morgan gossiped.

"No, he chose to retire." Hotch corrected him.

"He wrote a new book on the Keystone Killer Case." Said Reid, and Jo nodded.

"Yeah, I read it." She said. Hotch nodded along as they made their way to the meeting room.

"He moved to Philadelphia to be closer to the crime scenes." He explained, making Jo raise her eyebrows.

"That's retirement?" Elle asked.

"BAU style." Morgan said.