DIFFICULT TO LOVE

“Welcome to the BAU. I’m Jennifer Jareau, and I used to be the media liaison for the BAU, so I’ll be the one orienting you,” JJ explained. I still can’t believe she’s going to work here. A part of me wishes this were just a dream.

“How long do you think she’ll last with Emily not liking her?” Tara questioned.

“I’m guessing a month, but I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt and say five months,” Luke said, genuinely giving Tara an honest answer.

A couple of minutes had passed, and as I looked back at the bullpen, JJ and the brat were already there, getting to know the team.

“This is Dr. Spencer Reid, our specialist in... well, everything,” JJ said with a laugh. “And lastly, I know you’ve met Agent Prentiss, so I assume you already know what she looks like, right?” JJ asked.

“Yes,” she answered shortly.

“Good, because you won’t be seeing her outside of her office,” JJ said with a smile and a raised eyebrow. “Are you comfortable with me leaving you alone?” she asked.

“Yeah, and thank you for the warm welcome, even though I did something horrible to your team,” Eve said.

“It’s alright. We’re glad to have you on the team,” JJ said with a smile.

Glad my ass. I can’t wait to drive her out of here. Hopefully, she does something stupid so I can fire her beautiful ass.

“Griffin, come up here,” I said, motioning for her to come to my office. As she entered, I prepared files for her to handle. They’ve been sitting on my desk for a really long time.

“These are cases that need to be reviewed. I’m assuming you know what to do,” I said seriously, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, Mrs. Prentiss,” she answered.

Mrs.? This girl— “Alright, you can leave,” I said, waving my hand dismissively.

“Thank you,” she said.

One week later...

“We have a case,” Eve said as she entered the door. “I already called the team, they’re on their way.”

“Alright, Ms. Griffin, I’ll meet you guys at the round table.”

“For the last two months, four African-American men were found dead in Atlanta, Georgia,” Eve said as she presented the pictures. “Their bodies were discovered outside hospitals. And if you’re wondering whether they were all at the same location, the answer is no,” she said before I could question her. She also pulled up a map with pins marking the locations of the bodies. “I’ve already spoken with the detective on the case, and they’re ready for us,” she added, as if waiting for praise.

“They were all strangled with a wire?” Rossi asked.

“With a cord, but that wasn’t the cause of death. They died from blood loss due to wounds on their penises,” she said, pulling up images of each victim without their private parts.

“Whoa... how long were the intervals between the kills?” Luke asked.

“Two weeks,” Eve answered. “The latest victim is named Elijah Richard. He suffered the same injuries and cause of death.”

“Alright, Griffin, thank you. Wheels up in 30,” I said. Our first case with Griffin—let’s see how much she can contribute.

“Griffin,” I called her before she could leave. “Do you have a go-bag?” I asked, hoping she’d say no.

“Yeah, I have one. JJ told me what to bring during orientation,” she answered with a smile.

Great. “That’s good. I just thought she hadn’t told you yet.”

“Agent Prentiss... do you not want me to come?” she asked.

Yes. “No, Griffin, I was just worried no one had informed you,” I answered. Fuck me sideways. She really is going to be part of the team.

“Is that all, Mrs. Prentiss?” she asked.

Again, with the Mrs. “Yes, you can go.”

“Mrs.?” Rossi said with a raised eyebrow. “If that was me or anyone else on the team, we’d be dead.”

“She’s new. I’m giving her a pass.”

“Sure...” he said teasingly as he closed his office door.

Before I could enter my office, Garcia called my name while holding a file.

“Yes, Garcia?”

“I did what you asked, and by the way, it was hard but not that hard... but hard, you know...”

“Penelope...” I said, smiling at her.

“Right,” she said with a smile and a slight giggle. “I hope you’re doing this to get to know her, not to make her life miserable,” Penelope said with puppy-dog eyes.

“I’m not. Just trust me, please,” I said, grabbing her hand.

“Alright... you guys have a safe flight!”

 “Good day, Detective. I’m Agent Griffin; we spoke on the phone,” she said, shaking hands with the detective. “This is Agent Prentiss, Rossi, Lewis, Alves, Simmons, and Dr. Reid.”

“We have a conference room ready. Everything is already set up,” he said, leading us to the room.

“Thank you,” I said as he left.

“Reid, Tara, go to the M.E. and examine the body more thoroughly. Griffin, JJ, talk to the families of the victims and get to know their lives,” I instructed, making sure Griffin was with JJ so she wouldn’t mess up the investigation. I want her gone, but I don’t want her ruining this case.

“So, there’s a new addition to the team?” Simmons asked. He had been away on paternity leave.

“Yeah, and she’s a joy, really,” Rossi said genuinely. He really liked Griffin. “Right, Emily? She’s amazing, right? I mean, on her first case, and she’s already acting like she’s been here for years,” he said with a tone of playfulness that I found annoying.

“Sure,” I muttered as I rolled my eyes. He sure knows how to push my buttons.

“I think she’s going to fit right in. JJ already introduced us, actually, and—”

“And what?” I asked. If Simmons said he liked her, I was firing everyone.

“And I feel like I’ve seen her before, but I just can’t put my finger on it,” Simmons said with a smile.

Well, I don’t know where he could have seen her—oh, I don’t know, maybe on TV, where her face was probably plastered for being the daughter of the U.S. ambassador.

A couple of hours later, Tara and Reid were back, but JJ and Griffin were still missing.

“Where are they? Have you guys tried calling them?” I asked, hoping they weren’t in danger.

“I have, but JJ isn’t answering, and I don’t have Eve’s number. I already asked Garcia to call Griffin, but she said she’s not answering either,” Tara responded.

“I’m sorry,” JJ said as she walked in. “I’m so sorry, guys. I know we’ve been gone for quite a while, but I couldn’t answer the phone,” she explained. But I couldn’t help but notice that the brat wasn’t with her.

“Where’s Griffin?” I asked.

“She’s not here? She told me she was coming back here to get something.”

“And you believed her?! She’s a liar, JJ!” I shouted. “You know what? We’ll deal with Griffin later. Let’s just build our profile.”

That little pretty liar left JJ alone to do all the work I had assigned to both of them. And she really just gave me an excuse to yell at her.

Thank God for the information Reid found on the body and for what JJ uncovered about the victims. It led us to more clues that helped build the profile. The unsub’s name was Marcus Bennett. He had lost his wife to a mugging and rape incident a year ago. The suspect was a Black man, and she had been killed by strangulation.

“Is she here yet?” Rossi asked.

“No. JJ, are you sure you called her?” Tara commented.

“Yes, and I really can’t believe she would do this,” JJ blurted out.

“You really can’t believe it?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “We arrested her because she did something illegal and had lied so many times, I’ve lost count,” I stated. I couldn’t believe JJ actually trusted her.

“Has Garcia tracked her location yet?” Reid asked.

“Yeah, but she said it came up empty. She can’t track her phone,” JJ answered.

“Do you guys think she ran off?” Luke asked.

“It’s a possi—” Before I could finish my sentence, JJ was already defending her.

“No! I believe Eve. She would never leave without telling us,” JJ stated firmly.

What the hell has Griffin done to JJ?

“Okay… how about we all just calm down and be a little patient? I’m sure she’ll turn up any time now,” Rossi suggested.

“Rossi is right. Let’s wait for her,” Tara replied.

That brat was really walking a very thin line. Wherever the hell she was, she’d better be here in ten minutes. If not, we were leaving her to rot.

Before I could speak again, an officer knocked.

“Agents, uhmm… Ms. Griffin is here.”

When we stepped outside the conference room, Griffin was with two kids—a boy and a girl—who were clinging to her like she was their mother. Griffin didn’t look at us; she just kept talking to an officer. She looked like she had been through hell.

“Griffin,” I called out her name.

She looked at me and mouthed, “I’m sorry,” before continuing her conversation with the officer. She didn’t leave the kids’ side for an hour. We waited for her to finish before talking to her.

“Hi,” Griffin said as she entered the room. “I’m sorry to all of you. I didn’t mean to leave in the middle of the case. I really tried. I really, really did try to fully commit to this job, but I couldn’t. And for that, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for wasting time and for not being able to help you guys. It was irresponsible of me.

“And, Agent Prentiss, I know you want to fire me, and I know you wanted me gone since the day I started, but please don’t. I will make up for my mistake, I promise. Just please let me stay.”

None of us spoke. We just looked at her, listened to her. I hoped I wasn’t making a mistake actually listening to her and giving her the chance to explain why she had left.

“Alright, Griffin. How about you sit down and tell us why you left in the first place?” I said, really hoping this wasn’t a mistake I’d regret later.

“An old co-worker contacted me. She said she needed my help getting two kids out of a bad situation. And I know I shouldn’t have, but I just—I had to. She sent me their case files, and it was horrible. They were being beaten, starved, and subjected to things you can’t even imagine people doing to kids”

Before she could continue, Reid cut her off.

“Wait, she knew you were in Atlanta?” Reid questioned.

“Uhh… this is the part you guys might hate me. I brought you guys here,” Griffin admitted. “I mean, I didn’t ask anyone to kill, it was just fate that there was a pending case in Georgia. Luck was on my side, I guess, because they really did need our help "I really thought I could get the kids out in an hour, but I couldn’t. Surprise, the foster parents had guns, and they didn’t like social workers,” she finished with an awkward smile.

“You could have told us, Eve. We would have helped you,” JJ said, placing a hand on Eve’s shoulder.

“Are you okay? Is your friend okay?” Rossi asked.

“Yes, I am, and she’s fine as well,” Griffin answered.

“That’s great. I’m glad no one got hurt,” Rossi replied.

“What’s going to happen to the kids?” Tara asked.

“Uh, sadly, they’re going back into the system. But my friend is going to make sure their next foster parents are actual candidates for adoption,” Griffin explained.

“Your friend, or you?” I asked, doubt creeping into my voice.

“Just her. I’m giving them my letter of resignation,” Griffin said with a cheery voice and a smile.

“You haven’t resigned yet?” JJ asked.

“Well, I couldn’t let go of that job just yet, so no, I haven’t. At least not yet. But I am—I’m going to send it later. That, I promise,” Griffin stated.

“Alright… If you think I’m mad, I am. But JJ is right. You could have told us, and we would have helped you. "And I get why you did what you did.” As I was speaking, she didn’t meet my eyes. I called out her name in my nicest, kindest voice. “Griffin, hey, I really do. But next time, a heads-up would be nice.” She finally met my gaze, looking like a lost dog.

She clearly couldn’t let go of helping those kids. And what else could I do? One of these people was going to help her, and that was something I couldn’t stop. So I might as well embrace it, even if I didn’t want to.

“Thank you, Agent Prentiss,” she responded while giving me a hug.

I just hoped I wasn’t making a mistake trusting this gorgeous, kind-hearted, smart, ho—oh, fuck no. I’m not going down this road. She’s not my fucking type in the first place.

Why the hell am I thinking this? God, I hate myself right now. And look at that the brat, she’s smiling at me.

Fuck me. She is gorgeous.

Now, that’s just a fact.

God, why am I being reminded that she’s a fucking saint?

“Hey, you know she just might melt in your gaze,” Rossi whispered.

“Go away, please,” I muttered.