Hotch was pulled out of his office by the horseplay in the bullpen. Had he been less stoic he would have rolled his eyes. As he walked up beside David Rossi he wondered what Morgan had done now.
"Do I even want to know?" asked Hotch dryly.
Rossi chuckled as he watched Morgan duck behind Prentiss with Reid's phone held firmly in his hand. The young doctor desperately bobbed from side to side, trying to get around Emily to reclaim the phone from where Morgan held it just out of reach in a game of keep-away. "Reid had a date and Morgan stole his phone and is threatening to pretend to be him and text the lovely lady quite inappropriate things."
"You realize that Sam Ryan is arriving today and I really don't want this to be the first impression we give of the BAU."
Rossi looked in surprise at Hotch. He knew the profiler was joining the team but that fact was something that they had kept from the rest of them. The BAU was a family and they didn't want them worrying needlessly about having that family broken up or worse, another spy like the one Prentiss was supposed to be when she joined the BAU. What he didn't know was that it would be today. Mentally reviewing Ryan's file, he knew the young profiler was either going to flow with the team smoothly or become almost as hated as Strauss. Rossi had questioned the decision to expand the team for that very reason.
Hotch was debating how to break up the antics when the elevator opened. A young woman stepped out, motorcycle helmet in hand, bag slung casually over her shoulder. Her long auburn hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her ID was clipped to the collar of her fitted leather jacket. The white tank top, jeans, and knee high boots made her look feminine in a strong way. Everything from her posture to her attire screamed that this was a woman who would not be a pushover. Confidently she strode out of the elevator before smirking at the antics of Morgan, Reid, and Prentiss.
The trio of troublemakers didn't even notice her until she crossed the bullpen and reached Hotch and Rossi. They stopped and watched with interest as she interacted with the leaders of the team.
"Agents Hotchner and Rossi," she said holding our her hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you. Dr. Sam Ryan."
Both agents shook her hand, noting that she looked them in the eye and her posture was one of confidence. Hotch shook his head at the three in the bullpen and motioned the other two into his office before closing the door.
"Who do you think that is?" asked Reid curiously.
"I don't know," said Emily as she took in the sight of Morgan. It wasn't often you got to see the profiler's attention so caught. He had changed his posture as the woman walked by and been noticed. Emily had seen that look before when the team had gone out for drinks and Morgan had singled out a young lady to take home for the night. "Down Tiger." Emily said with a smile. "She had an ID on, not a visitors pass. She's FBI; she's not going to be another notch in your proverbial bedpost."
Reid took advantage of Derek's momentary lapse in concentration to retrieve his phone before running to Garcia's lair to find a way to lock his co-workers out of it to prevent future mishaps. The other two settled into their desks, awaiting the opening of Hotch's office door.
"Sit." was the brisk command from Hotch. Ryan settled into a chair, placing her bag and helmet down next to her. Rossi leaned casually against the wall nearest the end of Hotch's desk waiting to see how the newest team member reacted to Hotch's cool demeanor. He had to admit, she didn't seem intimidated, sitting up straight but casually, calmly waiting for her new unit chief to say whatever he was going to say.
"The call saying you were coming in today was unexpected Agent." was Hotch's calm start to a conversation.
"I know, sir. The closing date on my house got moved up so I came to town early. The moving company doesn't arrive until tomorrow afternoon, so I have time on my hands. Coming in today let me get my new ID pass and start to get settled. I know u am not due to report for active duty until 0800 on Friday."
"We appreciate the initiative. I would like to introduce you to the team. We are on stand down and, as you witnessed, they are not otherwise occupied. We haven't yet told them that we are expanding the team, so expect them to be shocked and expect questions. And, expect them to be distrustful. Expanding the team has been troublesome in the past." Hotch grimaced as he remembered Strauss' plan to use Emily as a spy.
"Sir?" came the question from Ryan with a quirk of her eyebrow.
Rossi felt the need to step in. "The BAU is a family. As such, we take care of each layer and look out for each other. And as such, they will take tine to accept you. But once they do, their loyalty is unswerving."
Sam leveled her gaze at the older man. "Yes sir." was the brisk reply.
"Let's meet the team, shall we?" said Hotch, rising.
Sam gathered her bag and helmet and followed Rossi and Hotch out into the bullpen. "Conference room in five minutes." Hotch announced to the room before leading the way to the conference room.
Sam settled in on the side of the round table taking the time to watch as everyone walked in. A petite blond came in composed but looking at Hotch and Rossi with a slightly raised eyebrow accepting the slight upturn at one corner of Rossi's mouth as an answer. The brunette with alabaster skin walked in confidently followed by the lanky, floppy-haired young man that they had been picking on when she arrived. Both silently sat down, trusting their leaders to inform them of the situation but taking in Sam's appearance with curiosity. A bubbly blond with glasses, bold makeup, and an outrageous colored outfit cane barreling in, stopping dead on her heels when she saw the new face before composing herself and settling into a seat at the table. Finally, the tall, broad, chocolate-skinned man strode in with cup of coffee. He was the only one to speak immediately.
"Alright, what's up? Why call us in here when we are on stand down and why doesn't Baby Girl seem to know what's going on. Obviously we don't have a case." Morgan said as he flopped into a chair with a deliberately careless air.
Hotch took in a deep breath before starting. "I would like you to meet the newest member of this team. This is Dr. Sam Ryan. She is transferring in from the Vegas field office."
Five identical looks of disbelief turned to Sam. She wondered if they were more surprised that there was a new team member or because she had been introduced as Doctor. Did teams never change around here? Of course, Rossi had stated the team viewed themselves as a family.
Hotch continued, "Allow me to introduce you to the team. From left to right these are SSA's Morgan and Prentiss, our Technical Analyst and part-time liaison Penelope Garcia, SSA's Jareau and Dr. Reid. Team, Dr. Ryan is here to meet our needs for an expanded team. There are simply not enough bodies to do around on the cases we are called out on. Rossi, how do you feel about leaving the gang to get acquainted?"
Rossi nodded before beginning to exit the room. Pausing in the doorway with a smirk he threw a casual "Fight nice kids," over his shoulder before following Hotch.
Silence filled the room. Five pairs of eyes room in Ryan and she suddenly felt like a canary surrounded by hungry alley cats. Forcing herself to maintain a relaxed pose, she waited.
Garcia was the first to break the ice. "Hi, I'm Penelope, or as they call me, the Oracle of All Things Seen and Unseen. If you need it, I can find it."
"Linux?" was Sam's easy response as she eyed the bubbly blond. Garcia had an easy air and a breezy confidence about her. She seemed like someone who wouldn't be too hard to get to know and someone who might be up for grabbing a friendly drink after a long day. She also seemed like someone who might get into trouble, but who would be right there with you to bail you out.
"You know your open source?" replied Penelope, surprised.
"A bit. I dabbled in programming. Guess I've dabbled in a lot of things." was Ryan's easy reply.
"So, what useful skills has your dabbling brought us?" was the slightly superior remark from Morgan.
Ryan took a minute to eye up the man. Definitely an Alpha Male. Confident, cocky, sure that she was here to play and not work. And she would bet more than she won the last time she hit the casinos in Vegas that he had already imagined her naked.
"My skill set is well rounded. I can shoot a silver dollar at a thousand yards with KY Barrett or I can shoot a quarter Alva hundred with my Glock. I hold qualification as an FBI marksman. I graduated high school at fifteen and had my first degree at eighteen. I hold bachelor's degrees in psychology, criminology, and mechanical engineering. My PhD is in criminology and I am working on one in engineering. I can hack but I'm not elite. Annapolis wanted me and as much as I wanted to fly, the ides of never being able to fly a combat mission just because I don't carry a Y chromosome didn't appeal to me. Not to mention, I would have had to enlist as a plebe after already having my first degree and by then I was on my way to doings things differently."
JJ smiled, impressed at the calm manner that the woman had taken on Morgan's questions. "Wow, Reid, she's almost a female you."
Dr. Reid looked confused. "I don't see it. Obviously Dr. Ryan is intelligent but she us blatantly better looking than me and seems adept at the more physical skill set required by the FBI that I have struggled with."
"Down genius." was Emily's reply with an eye roll. "She just meant she was really smart like you."
"Just how smart?" was the biting question from Morgan. "After all, Pretty Boy here is a certified genius."
Sam calmly faced the man across the table. "My IQ is 145 if that's what you are asking, which puts me at genius level. However, I get the impression that Dr. Reid here tests at Einstein levels and was probably an actual child prodigy."
Reid smiled. "You are right. My Roderic memory helps quite a bit but my IQ is 187. Which does make me smarter than you, technically, however I find I struggle with social norms and morays which you seem not to. You don't fit the classic genius mold at all. You don't dress in a typical geek fashion and you almost seem to be compensating for your femininity by wearing masculine clothing. And, if your helmet is an indication, you drive a motorcycle...."
JJ cut Reid off. "No inter-team profiling, you know that Spencer." she said sternly. JJ stood up and walked around the table before stopping next to the newest agent and extending her hand. "Welcome to the BAU," she said shaking Sam's hand. "Let's go find you a desk and get you settled."
Sam stood and followed the petite woman out of the conference room and into the bullpen. This was going to be interesting.