All My Heart

I slow my jog down to a walk, and Morgan does the same. We head for our cars and pull out our bags. “So, you’ve officially been a member of the BAU for two weeks. How are you liking it?” Morgan questions as we walk into the building.
“Everyone is great…for the most part.”
“JJ still giving you a hard time?”
“Yeah, but I get it. I mean, I’m taking the place of someone really dear to her.”
“That’s not an excuse by any means.” I nod in agreement. “Other than that, I think you’re a great fit for this team. I’ll be the first to admit that the mood of this team was heavy until you came along. You kind of shine with hope, a lot like Garcia. It’s what we needed.”
I smile and shrug. “That’s what I wanted to do.” We approach the locker rooms. “I’ll see you upstairs.”
It’s definitely a reassuring feeling that I’m doing my job and what I intended to do. I’m dealing with the JJ situation to the best of my ability. She just doesn’t want to like me. I’ve gotten relatively close with Alex and Garcia, and I’ve been close with Morgan. Alex has so much insight to offer, and Garcia radiates cheer.
On my way in, Garcia catches me. “Can I ask you something?” she wonders. I nod. “So, remember how I read your files when you came in?” I furrow my eyebrows and nod slowly. “Okay, it’s not as creepy as it sounds. I do it to everyone who joins my family.” We share a laugh until she hands a paper to me. “Why haven’t you told anyone about this?” It’s the result page of an IQ test my elementary, middle, and high school arranged for me to take once a year.
“Hotch knows,” I respond. I shrug. “It never did me any good. It got me bullied in school. I never had a date to dances…I didn’t even go to Prom.”
“Wow. For a genius, you’re social skills are flawless now. I’d have never guessed.” I shrug and hand the paper back to her.
“You learn a lot as the laughing stalk of a school. Shred this. JJ already hates me for filling in for Dr. Reid. I don’t need her to hate me because I’m smart, too.”

I head to the Starbucks a few blocks away during lunch. I’ve found that this is the least busy one around, and it gives me time to dive into a good book for a while.
I order my coffee and head to find a table. “Dr. Reid,” I state, a little shocked to see him here. He looks up from his book, and the same shock is written on his face.
“Agent Vick.”
“Juliet, please. I’m surprised to see you here,” I admit. He puts the bookmark into his book and closes it.
“I enjoy a nice cup of coffee, and I needed to get out of the house.” He looks around for a moment. “You can have a seat if you’d like.” He gestures to the chair across from him.
“Thanks.” I drop down and shed my coat. “So, how are you? I know that we’re not exactly friends or anything, but the concern around the team has spread to me, too.” I take a second to examine him, and he looks healthier. There are still bags under his eyes, but they aren’t as dark. His arm is no longer in a sling, and his hair is cut shorter.
“I’m…I don’t know.” He shrugs and lifts his coffee to his lips. “But thank you for asking.”
I nod and turn towards the door as it dings. An overly lovey couple walks in, and I grimace at the pair. I turn my attention back to the conversation only to find a glare sitting on the face of the Doctor. I take a deep breath and brace myself because I may very well be treading in dangerous waters. “I know it’s hard,” I console. “It’s probably strange hearing someone you barely know with consolations, but we’re going to be teammates when you come back—“
“If I come back,” he cuts me off. “I’ve heard nothing but great things about your performance. The team might not even need me back.”
I shake my head in refusal immediately. “It was your team before it was mine. Geniuses are irreplaceable.”
“Unless you have two.” He looks at me knowingly, but there’s an extra sadness to him.
“She was smart, wasn’t she?” I ask. I watch his eyes glaze over as he nods.
“Brilliant.” I can see the hesitation in his body language, but he still continues. “She understood me. She never judged me…and I only ever saw her face once.” He buries his face in his hands.
“I’m so sorry. It’s so hard losing the ones you love—I get that. Just remember, the ones that love us never really leave us.” I glance at my watch. “I’ve got to head back to the office, but if you ever need someone to talk to…”
“Thank you, Juliet,” he replies sincerely. I pull my lips into a smile.
“Just keep your chin up, kid.”

“You’re late.” Morgan’s sitting on my desk. I sigh heavily and run a hand through my hair.
“I’m sorry,” I mutter.
“Where do you go at lunch time? You’re gone longer and longer every day.” Morgan’s eyebrows rise in interest. “What’s his name?”
I notice JJ watching from the copier. “I’m not having this conversation with you.” I drop my things back at my desk and head to find my radiating ball of sunshine in the shape of a technical analyst.
Just as I suspect, she’s in her room. “Hey, can I talk to you about something?” She snaps her attention to me.
“What’s the matter, sugar plum?”
I take a seat in her extra chair. “Last week at lunch I ran into Reid at Starbucks, and we’ve been meeting up for lunch almost every day since.” Her eyebrows immediately fly up.
“What? How is he? He hasn’t returned any of my calls lately.”
I shrug. “He’s alright. He looks happier every day.”
“More importantly, how are you two getting along?”
“Really well, actually…just, he doesn’t know if it’s coming back, and I don’t know what to say to him.”
“No! He has to come back!”
“He suffered a really hard loss, and I completely understand why he wouldn’t after everything he’s been through.”
Garcia’s eyes narrow on me. “What has he told you?”
I shrug. “We just get talking, and whatever comes out, comes out.”
“His mother?” I nod. “Henkel?” I nod again. “Emily?” I nod for the third time. She studies me for another moment. “Oh, no, Jules.”
“What?”
“No, you have to stop meeting with him. He’s in a really vulnerable state—“
“You seriously think that—“
“Is it not?”
“No! Who do you think I am?”
“Sorry! That’s just what it sounds like!”
“No, no, no. I would never do that. He needs a friend right now, not a rebound. I want to help him come back because I’ve been in places like that before. You read my files, you should know.”
Her cheeks turn a little pinker. “Yeah, I suppose. Just be careful with him. I don’t want him getting hurt even more. I love you like part of the family, but he was here first.”
“I entirely understand.”
“Oh, there you are,” JJ’s voice enters the room. Garcia and I look at her. “Can I talk to you for a second in my office?”
I nod and glance at Garcia on my way out. The walk to JJ’s office is eerily silent until the second she closes the door after me.
“I want to apologize for the way I’ve been acting. I just see Spence as a little brother, and to me, Hotch was replacing him rather than just bringing someone else in. I took it a little too personally. You’re…you’re a great agent, and we’re extremely lucky to have you on this team.”
“Thanks. I kind of figured it would be hard on everyone. I’m actually surprised it was only you who reacted.”
She shrugs. “This team is kind of used to people coming and going, but if we ever lost Spence or Morgan, I think this team would fall apart.” She shrugs. “But, either way, I’m really sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it.”