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Katie Cole joins the BAU back when it is still the BSU, back when it is barely out of the wild, wild west. She’s the only woman on the team, not that they’re really that much of a team. Ryan and Rossi are cowboys, Gideon hates guns, and the new kid is so new he squeaks. Katie figures if the brass hadn't finally come down and make team work a requirement, they'd all still roaming the country, solving cases and pretending they had spurs on the back of their boots.
“We’ve got a case,” Ryan announces, and she follows him to the improvised conference room. Gideon grabs the file that Rossi is reading out of his hands to get his attention, and Hotchner is already standing at the make-shift door, vibrating with anticipation. Supposedly the BSU is moving into new offices at the end of the month, but until then, they’re making due with partitions and using indoor voices. Which is a skill that Gideon and Rossi seem to lose five minutes into each others presence.
The last case they were on, the two had sniped at each other about Freud for three straight hours while the locals put them in a holding pattern. Even Hotchner had gotten sick of them before the local Chief of Police gave in and let the BSU consult.
“Six bodies were found at a dump site in the Adirondacks,” Ryan says, passing out files. “The locals’ theory is that they’re all prostitutes, but they haven’t made any IDs yet, so that’s just conjecture.”
“Like we’re going to be able to convince them of that,” Rossi mutters under his breath. Ryan ignores him, but it’s true. Locals almost always jump to prostitute when there are no IDs, and once they decide changing their minds is harder than it should be.
That doesn't stop Gideon from glaring at Rossi.
“Anyway,” Ryan says cutting Gideon off before he can start, “we’re going to up there and lend a hand. Wheels up in an hour.” He’s never been one for long briefings, or for that matter, briefings in general.
They disperse back to their desks, and Katie grabs her go-bag and steels herself for the flight. She hates the plane, not just because it’s a tiny thing that gets tossed around, but the five of them in a enclosed space isn’t always the most comfortable of trips.
The plane ride is less tense than usual, though. Hotchner actually comes up with a theory of his own, and Rossi and Gideon put off sniping at each other long enough to consider it. Even better than the lack of human turbulence is the lack of actual turbulence. Maybe this time, they'll actually be able to pretend to be a team. Katie figures pretending is almost as good as the real thing.
taken by zzathrus777