"Remember that people are only guests in your story – the same way you are only a guest in theirs – so make the chapters worth reading."
― Lauren Klarfeld
Replacement
Yes. Yes, you do... Thank you." Rossi heard as he walked up to Hotch, who was on the phone. Hotch's expression was etched with annoyance.
"How you doing?" Rossi asked, noticing Hotch's discomfort. Hotch glanced at his team, their faces solemn, before turning back to his friend.
"I'm alright. I'm worried about the team, and Strauss thinks that adding a probationary agent is going to solve our problems," Hotch replied, heading toward the office where the rest of the team was gathered.
"Seaver knows she's not replacing Prentiss," Rossi added, abruptly stopping behind Hotch. No one could replace Prentiss.
"I know. She has potential, but we need an experienced profiler, and we need one now," Hotch said, making Rossi sigh.
"Have you started looking yet?" Rossi asked, aware that finding someone good enough to replace Emily would be a challenge.
"Strauss has, and she should be here in five minutes," Hotch replied, checking his watch as they entered the briefing room. The team stopped talking when they heard Hotch's heavy steps.
"Where's Seaver? I made cupcakes to celebrate her graduation! Well... I mean, there are two letters missing, but it's still graduation cupcakes," Penelope rambled, looking around.
"She's not going to be working with us anymore. Strauss hired an experienced agent to help us," Hotch explained, sitting down as the rest of the team followed suit. Silence filled the room. They hadn't expected Prentiss to be replaced so quickly.
"When is this new agent coming?" Morgan asked, echoing the others' curiosity.
"Should be in a couple of minutes," Hotch responded, glancing at his watch again.
"What's their name? I can try to find them. Just give me a name, and I can track every place she's been in the last year," Penelope exclaimed, taking out her tablet, nervous about the new agent joining while the team was still grieving. The least Strauss could have done was give them a grieving period.
"Garcia, I'm sure they've already looked into their background," Hotch said as Garcia hesitantly put her tablet down. He looked around at his team, noticing their sadness and annoyance. "Guys, I know how hard this has been for all of us, but please welcome this person with open arms. We all know she's got big shoes to fill, and I'm sure it's going to be fine." Everyone sighed and nodded slightly.
"It just feels like we are replacing her... It feels wrong," Reid muttered as the rest agreed. Garcia sighed loudly, poking at her cupcake.
"This is dumb. We don't want an extra agent. We have each other. This is a family. Emily was family. So if this new agent thinks she can replace Emily, then she's got another thing coming because I can hack into all of her social and financial accounts and frame her for fraud if I wanted to," Garcia threatened, looking down, none of them hearing the pair of heels clicking towards the room.
The death of their coworker was hard for everyone. It took a toll on the whole team. Emily was family, and continuing work without her was hard. Replacing her immediately afterward felt like a stab in the heart.
"It's a good thing I am not trying to replace anyone." Everyone turned towards the door. A beautiful young woman with long brown hair stood in the doorway, holding a box.
Garcia opened her mouth, gaping. "I-I-I," she stuttered, feeling embarrassed. Reid's, Morgan's, and Rossi's jaws dropped as JJ and Penelope stared at the new figure. Noticing that no one was making a move, Hotch stood up and reached for her box.
"Hello. I'm Agent Hotch, and you must be the new addition," Hotch said, putting the box on the table and extending his hand to her. The girl couldn't help but smile at him.
"Yes, I'm Agent Carter, and it's an honor meeting you, sir," she introduced herself, shaking his hand and slightly waving at the rest of the team.
"Do you have your folder with you? Strauss forgot to hand me your files," he asked as she nodded, pulling them out of her box.
"Yes, I do. Here you go," she responded, handing him her files. He motioned her to sit down in an empty chair as he reviewed her records. She looked around and saw that the team was staring at her. Morgan leaned close to her.
"Hello, pretty lady. I'm Agent Morgan, but you can call me Derek. Quick team 101: that youngster over there is Agent Reid, or as I like to call him, Pretty Boy because he's preeetttyy. That's Agent Jareau, we call her JJ. That old man over there is Agent Rossi. And this girl right here is Agent Garcia, also known as the love of my life," Morgan introduced, smiling at the new agent.
"Hi. I'm Agent Carter, but most call me Giuliette. It's nice to meet all of you. I've heard so much about this team, and I'm really excited to work here," she smiled as everyone greeted her. Then the room fell silent—everyone except Hotch staring at the new agent.
"I'm sorry, I think there's a typo here. It says you're 24, but that can't be because it says here that you were a technical analyst for two years and a field agent for one. Meaning that you would have been in the FBI since 21. Plus, you have a doctorate and two bachelor's degrees," Hotch stated, looking at Giuliette.
"I'm turning 25 this October. I entered the FBI a month before my 22nd birthday. My mom always said that the most important thing she could give me was an education, and I really took it to heart," she explained, feeling a bit uncomfortable under their gazes.
"Damn, looks like Pretty Boy met his match," Morgan joked as everyone continued staring at the new agent.
"I, uh, have an eidetic memory, so it helps a lot," Reid stated, giving her an awkward smile.
"What age did you graduate high school?" JJ asked, unable to contain her curiosity. Having one genius was fun, but having two is gold.
"Thirteen. I graduated from college at 16 and have been working on getting more degrees since then," she explained, smiling proudly.
"Me next... Um, are you a robot?" Garcia asked, prompting laughter from Morgan, Rossi, and JJ. Reid continued to stare at her in awe while Hotch delved further into her file.
"What she means is that it's pretty shocking to have someone your age with such high intelligence. What is your IQ?" Reid asked, looking at her.
"184," she responded as Reid nodded, and everyone fell silent. "Did I say something wrong?" Giuliette asked, confused.
"No. Everything is fine. Reid, go help her get settled," Rossi instructed, snapping Reid out of his thoughts. He immediately stood up and headed towards the door.
"Let me help you with that," he said, grabbing her box and leaving the room with Giuliette following.
"I never thought we would meet another young genius," Rossi laughed a bit, looking at Hotch.
"Me neither. It seems this branch is extremely lucky. I think they should be paired up together on cases," Hotch said, closing her file.
"What? Why?" Garcia exclaimed, looking puzzled as Rossi and Hotch seemed to have a silent conversation. Hotch handed Rossi her files. Rossi looked at a few pages and then at him.
"You can't possibly think that partnering them is the best idea. We have two geniuses on our hands," Rossi said, closing her files.
"Why not?" Hotch responded, not understanding his concern.
"Because they might feel intimidated by each other. They both know too much, and having them together might be a risk," Rossi claimed.
"Which is why it'll work. She's his match. They will work better together," Hotch responded, grabbing the files and walking away.
"Hello! We are still confused. Does anyone want to include us?" Garcia said, looking at Rossi and sighing when he walked away. "Is this going to turn messy?" she asked Morgan as he wrapped an arm around her.
"I hope not, babygirl," he responded, and they both left the room.
Meanwhile, Reid was giving Giuliette a tour of the office while holding her box.
Giuliette had worked in the FBI in Sacramento, so she knew how the system worked. Joining an already formed team is always hard because someone new intruding can disrupt the flow. She understood that.
"Down the hall is the girls' bathroom. I've never entered—I just saw the sign—not that I wanted to enter... I wasn't looking specifically for the girls' bathroom, it's just next to the boys' bathroom, which I use because I'm a boy, but I'm sure you already knew that..." he rambled, giving her a sheepish smile as she laughed. They walked a bit further, and Reid noticed the only empty desk was right in front of his. "Here is your desk, and if you need me, well, I'm right in front of you." He smiled awkwardly and walked to his desk.
"Thank you. I'll keep that in mind," she grinned, starting to unpack her box as Reid opened a few folders. He kept looking up to see what she brought with her. It ranged from folders to pencils to a mini Peruvian flag.
"You're Peruvian?" he asked, pointing to her mini flag, and she nodded.
"My mother is. I've been there a few times. The culture is beautiful," she beamed, looking at the red and white flag that reminded her of family—the ones she hadn't seen in a long time.
"Do you speak Spanish? Well, I'm assuming because Spanish is the most spoken language there. I think about 75% speak it?" he chimed in, trying to recall a book he had read about it.
"Actually, Spanish, Quechua, and Aymara are all official languages of Peru. Spanish is the most widely spoken of the three, with over 80% of Peruvians speaking it," she corrected, making him quirk an eyebrow in confusion. He had never been corrected before. "And yes, I can speak Spanish quite fluently," she added, smiling at the young genius.
"Wow..." he replied as she smiled and continued unpacking her box. She was beautiful and smart, which equaled dangerous.