Finding the Strength

Unit chief SSA Aaron Hotchner was rarely late to the BAU team briefings in the morning. It was even rarer for the rest of the team, Penelope Garcia included, to be in conference room before him. On one particular morning both of these events happened.
“Hey does anyone know where Hotch is?” Spencer Reid asked, “He isn’t usually this late”
“I did see him come in this morning” JJ replied as she sat down at the round table with a cup of coffee, “We don’t have a case so I don’t know why he asked us all to come in early”
“Well it looks like we won’t have long to wait to find out” Rossi said, “Here he comes now”
“Sorry to keep you all waiting” Hotch announced as he walked into the conference room, “I was waiting on some files to be sent to me”
“What’s this all about Hotch? Why’d you send for us if we haven’t got a case?” Morgan asked.
“I called you all in here to inform you that a new agent will be joining the team. She is due to arrive sometime today” Hotch answered.
“Whoa whoa whoa, we’ve got a new agent joining the team today?” Morgan said, “Why’d you take so long to tell us?”
“I only got the paperwork confirming it today” Hotch explained, “She’s a good agent and a natural profiler”
“So who is this new agent?” Rossi asked.
“Her name is Lynn Clarkson. I was her mentor when she was in the academy” Hotch replied and everyone turned when they heard Garcia gasping.
“Garcia, what’s wrong?” Morgan asked and put his hands on her shoulders, “Do you know this girl?”
“Sh-she’s my niece” Garcia replied.
23 year old Agent Lynn Clarkson was nervous as she walked into the FBI Headquarters at Quantico. Yes it was the building she worked in but for the first time in her life she was going up to the BAU floor rather than the field office.
“Um excuse me” she said catching a passing agent as she stepped out of the elevator, “Could you direct me to Agent Hotchner’s office please?”
“Up those stairs, first door on the left” the agent replied.
“Thank you” Lynn smiled and walked in the direction that the agent had directed her. She paused outside Agent Hotchner’s office door before knocking on it 3 times.
“Come in” Hotch shouted.
“Agent Hotchner?” Lynn said as she opened the door, “It’s Agent Clarkson”
“Ah Lynn, it’s good to see you. How are you feeling?” Hotch replied and got up from behind his desk to shake her hand.
“Much better thank you. With everything that has happened in my life time it may take me a while to get over it” she sighed, “But then you of all people would understand that right?”
“Right. Come on, I think it’s time you met the rest of the team” Hotch said putting a hand on her shoulder and leading her out the door and down the stairs into the bullpen. The only member of the team not present was Penelope Garcia.
“Everyone, there is someone I want you to meet” Hotch announced, “This is Lynn Clarkson, the new agent”
“Derek Morgan” he said and reached over to shake Lynn’s hand, “And I must say that you look exactly like your aunt”
“Well I wouldn’t know since I’ve never met her” Lynn shrugged.
“Seriously?” Emily replied, “You’ve never met her until now?”
“My father was put up for adoption when he was a baby, I didn’t even know that I had an aunt until 3 months ago” Lynn explained biting her lip.
Hotch then introduced her to the rest of the team currently present and they spent some time talking to her. They all turned around when they heard someone running towards them.
“Is she here yet?” Penelope asked and paused when she spotted Lynn standing with the team, “L-Lynn?”
Lynn nodded slowly with tears in her eyes. The large space between them was quickly reduced as they ran at each other. Other people around them started clapping when they hugged but the two of them were crying so much that they didn’t even notice.
“I’ve spoken with the director and he has agreed to give the both of you the day off” Hotch said after the two women eventually broke apart, “And that’s an order not a request”
The two women went to a nearby cafe for lunch and catch up since the last time they spoke on the phone.
“So tell me about your family, I mean our family. What are they like?” Lynn asked nervously.
“Well I have 3 step-brothers and 1 half-brother, Michael, Owen, Adam and Tristan” Garcia said, “My mother and step-father got married when I was a baby but I have always known him as father. They died when I was 18”
“I’m sorry to hear that” Lynn replied and she meant it, “What happened to your biological father?”
“I don’t know, he never got in contact with my mother and I” Garcia sighed, “What about you? When we last talked you said that you worked for the Government but you didn’t mention the FBI”
“I was actually in rehab at the time we spoke” Lynn said avoiding eye contact with her aunt, “At the time I wasn’t sure if I could come back to the bureau”
Seeing Garcia’s shocked expression Lynn sighed and told her everything that had happened to her in her lifetime.
The next morning arrived at the FBI building at the exact same time that Morgan and Reid did.
“Hey look who it is!” Morgan grinned as she joined them at the elevator, “It’s Mini Garcia!”
“I hope you’re not making fun of my aunt Agent Morgan” Lynn grinned, “I become very defensive when people say things about my friends and family”
“What makes you think that you could take me on?” Morgan joked with her.
“What makes you think that I can’t?” Lynn replied before stepping into the now open lift.
Morgan and Reid glanced at each other before following her.
When the 3 of them exited the elevator Morgan and Reid didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary until Lynn approached a man that they didn’t recognise.
“What the hell are you doing here Barrett?” she asked him angrily, “The field offices are 2 floors below us”
“I came to see you” Agent Barrett replied, “You weren’t in yesterday and then the boss came in and said that I had a new partner. I was wondering why?”
“Surely Burns told you that I was being transferred to a different unit” Lynn asked crossing her arms.
“Yes he did but I didn’t believe him. I didn’t think you’d actually leave me” Agent Barrett admitted.
“Believe it. I am no longer your partner and there is nothing you can do about it” Lynn replied as she turned away but Agent Barrett grabbed her arm.
“Hey!” Get your hands off her!” Morgan shouted and grabbed Barrett by his shirt. Barrett let go of Lynn and started fighting with Morgan. Lynn went to help but Spencer grabbed her before she could. In her haste to break free from his grasp Lynn accidently elbowed Reid on the nose very hard and caused it to start bleeding.
“Oh god Reid” Lynn gasped and quickly pulled her jumper off and held it against his nose, “I’m so sorry!”
“Some team, they are all pathetic” Barrett laughed as he kick a very beaten up Morgan one last time, “You would have been so much better off staying with me”
“Listen to me you arrogant bastard, I am NEVER going back to the same unit as you” Lynn shouted as she grabbed him, “And as for my team, if you ever say anything about them or my aunt again then I will make you sorry that you were ever born!”
“As yes I heard that that technical analysis is your aunt, I guess bad blood runs in the family” Barrett smirked. That was when Lynn lost it and knocked him unconscious with one punch to the face unfortunately just as Hotch walked up to them.
“Clarkson, that’s enough” Hotch ordered, “My office, now”
“Hotch it wasn’t Lynn’s fault” Morgan said, “Agent Barrett was antagonising her”
“Both of you go get yourselves cleaned up and then meet the rest of the team in the conference room” Hotch said to Morgan and Reid, “Agent Burns is on his way up to collect Agent Barrett”
With that he walked away towards his office and Lynn had no choice but to follow him.
“Hotch what happened out there was not my fault” Lynn pleaded, “When he grabbed me Morgan grabbed and got into a fight with Agent Barrett. I accidentally elbowed Reid in the face in an attempt to break them up”
“I know what happened, I was standing behind the wall the whole time” Hotch replied.
“Then why did you call me in here?” Lynn asked.
“The team has a new case that is similar to your past, I am giving you the option to take a backseat on this one and join us on the next case” Hotch informed.
“With all due respect Agent Hotchner even if I didn’t work this case there is bound to be other cases just like it” Lynn replied.
“So I take it you will be joining us?” Hotch said more of a statement rather than a question.
“If that’s alright with you sir” Lynn replied.
“Only one acceptation, please call me Hotch instead of sir” Hotch said.
“Yes sir- I mean Hotch” Lynn grinned.
Hotch also smiled and the two of them left his office for the team briefing.
“6 children have gone missing from a foster home in Newport, North Carolina” JJ informed the team, “When questioned the owners claimed that all the children were adopted”
“If all the children had been adopted then why are we being called in?” Morgan asked, “I don’t see any case here”
“That’s the thing there were no adoption records for any of the children who went missing” JJ continued, “Oh and there was also a victim”
“A Natalie Woods, aged 15. Claimed that she had been held captive for 6 days and was regularly molested” Reid said reading off of the case file.
“Wheels up in 30 minutes” Hotch said.
“Hey guys, I’m sorry about what happened earlier” Clarkson said to Reid and Morgan after the rest of the team had left, “Are you both okay?”
“It wasn’t your fault. We’re both fine” Reid smiled at her.
“I take back what I said about you not being able to take me on. Damn girl, you sure can throw a punch!” Morgan grinned. The 3 of them laughed together as they walked to the airstrip.
“Hey Auntie P, what are you doing here? I thought you don’t go with the team?” Lynn asked as her aunt sat down in the seat across from her.
“Not normally but since this your first case that it is similar to your past I want to be there to help you through it” Garcia replied. Out the corner of her eye Lynn could see Reid staring at her curiously.
“I’ll be right back” she said and got up out of her seat. She walked up to the back of the plane where Hotch was making himself a cup of coffee.
“Hotch before we start this case I think I should tell the team my story. They need to know.” Lynn whispered to him.
“Are you sure? I understand why you want to tell the team but you don’t have to do it now” he whispered back.
“I think it would be better if they hear it now rather than later. I don’t know how I’ll react to this case, even though I’ll try my best not to let it get to me. They deserve to know” Lynn replied silently.
“Alright, whenever you’re ready” Hotch said. Lynn watched him walk back towards the front of the plane and sit down. She then followed him and sat in the only available seat next to Reid.
“Before we start going over the case I want you all to know my past. Since it is similar to the case it will help you to understand how hard it is going to be for me” she announced.
“My father was put up for adoption when he was a baby. I’m not sure when he met my mother but I do know that he was 24 when I was born. My mother died in child birth and my father blamed me for it. The abuse started almost immediately. For the first few years of my life I experienced neglect and physical abuse but when I got into my teens the abuse got worse. On the morning of my sixth birthday he tied me to his bed and raped me. It soon became a reoccurring thing but it was always more brutal on my birthday. When I was 15 my dad was arrested for the murder of a government official’s son and I was put into foster care. The woman Lydia that fostered me was very kind and caring and unfortunately didn’t have any family. She told me just before she died of cancer that she was leaving her entire estate to me and that she wanted me to forget my past and use the money to go to university. I did as she wished and went to the University of Virginia School of Law to study Criminology. After graduating I joined the FBI and was assigned to Agent Burns’ team. A couple of months ago my partner Agent Barrett, who was drunk at the time, snuck into my apartment and tried to have sex with me. My neighbours heard me screaming and phoned the police. The following night I tried to commit suicide but luckily my boss came to check up on me and saved me. The bureau sent me to rehab but I was so messed up that I kept on trying. It was so bad that they put me on 24 hour supervision. While I was there one of the nurses helped me search for any members of my dad’s family which is how I found Auntie P. 3 months after I was admitted Hotch came to see me and convinced me to come back to the FBI. I didn’t realise at the time that I would be reassigned but here I am.”
Lynn looked up at the team and saw they all had similar looks of horror and sympathy.
“Look I know that you all probably have questions so fire away” she sighed.
“Why didn’t any of your neighbours report the abuse to the police? Surely they saw what was happening to you?” Emily asked.
“I came from a very small town where everyone knew each other. It wasn’t just my father who abused me but every man in the town and I wasn’t the only girl did it to. Unfortunately only my dad got caught” Lynn answered.
“Why didn’t you look for any of your mother’s relatives?” David asked.
“I don’t know what her name is; she gave my father a false name” Lynn replied.
“You went through all that and you’re still working this case?” JJ said, “Darn girl, you’ve got guts”
“As I said to Hotch there is bound to be other cases involving child abuse” Lynn sighed, “I’ll just have to deal with them the best I can”
“We’ll all help you through it. You don’t need to go do it alone” Reid replied and squeezed her hand reassuringly.
“If it makes you feel better I’ll fight with Agent Barrett again but I won’t go so easy on him” Morgan offered.
“As tempting as that sounds Morgan I would rather you didn’t in case you get into trouble” Lynn laughed.
“Hey, I can talk my way out of any situation” Morgan grinned.
“I think flirt is a more appropriate word” Hotch replied. The team laughed all except for Morgan who was frowning at his boss.
After going over the case the team split up in different directions. Neither Reid nor Clarkson felt the need to move so they stayed where they were. When the plane hit some turbulence Lynn jumped and quickly put her seat belt on.
“Are you a bad flyer?” Spencer asked her.
“I never flown before” she admitted.
“You know turbulence very rarely causes planes to crash” he replied.
“I know you’re trying to help but please stop” Lynn said.
“What you really need to worry about are microbursts. The sudden down bursts of air associated with thunderstorms but a small craft like this if we hit one at the wrong altitude-” Spencer started to say before Lynn pulled an apple out of her bag and shoved it into his mouth.
“I wish I had an apple that day he told me the same thing” Rossi said and the team chuckled.
15 minutes later Lynn was shook awake by Spencer. She hadn’t even realised that she had fallen asleep.
“Hey we’ve landed, it’s time to go. Are you ready for this?” he said to her.
“No, but then can you ever be ready for this type of case?” she replied.
“Not really no” he said.
“Let’s just get it over with” Lynn sighed and together they went join the rest of the team.