A prompt from MummaCass! And it involved Section Chief Strauss! Hotch and Emily had been ogling at each other but had not done anything. Tensions were high, so it was up to Garcia, JJ and Strauss to help them cool their jets! Did I say Strauss? Gads!
What to do? What to do?
Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds the series.
A great big thank you to HGRHfan35 for her beta skills! Thank you!
Enjoy!
…
The Intervention
Part 1
.
It was unit evaluation time. Section Chief Erin Strauss was required to accompany the units under her supervision on the field.
The first unit was the BAU Alpha Team. SSAIC Aaron Hotchner's team.
Strauss drew a breath; of all teams she had to evaluate first, it had to be Agent Hotchner's team.
She believed someone somewhere had a voodoo doll in her likeness and dug deep into that doll to punish her.
It wasn't that she hated him and his team. No, in truth she was envious.
Yeah, read it again; envy.
Why?
They were damn good at what they did. They adhered to the rules and regulations the closest amongst other units. They caused the least trouble as far as policy violations and their conducts when out of town.
She should be proud of them, if anything but it was partly the fact that Dave Rossi reminded her of it whenever he saw her.
Other units? She felt heat rising up as she thought of the responsibilities of them; fraternization rules being violated time and time again, sexual harassment complaints almost every day and the careless attitudes towards leadership and their devil-may-care use of weapons firing whenever it suited them whether it was necessary or not.
That was what she had to deal with everyday when she arrived to work.
All except Hotchner's team; one word to describe them? Impeccable.
But new policies in place with the incoming new Director of the Bureau required field evaluations.
She thought it was a great idea especially with those units/teams she had to deal with on the daily basis.
The current case for Hotchner's team took them to Toledo, Ohio. Two couples found dead. Two couples were reported missing the day before. When a third couple found with similar method of murder from another state, they didn't hesitate to call for the FBI.
Hotch was less than thrilled when Chief Strauss came with them. Again, he couldn't help but feel that he was under scrutiny even though he was assured that he and his team were cleared.
Of course she explained to him about the new requirement of out of town evaluation and he understood but it didn't appease him at all.
Especially at this moment; he was having some kind of personal crisis.
The crisis was Emily Prentiss.
He didn't know when or how it happened but he felt that something had been whispering into his head, telling him to look at Prentiss closely and hard.
He figured he had been lonely; it had been quite a few years since he had been with someone. It was right before Haley left him taking Jack, when he came back from the Milwaukee case, when he was suspended from his job.
But he had not let the fact that he was alone all that time affected him. Why now?
Prentiss had been with the team over six years, why now?
Granted, he had noticed she was a knockout as every where they went; she was hit on by men.
At that time, it didn't bother him; in fact he even exploited her looks several times when he or Dave had her accompanied them on interviews with men.
Sex appeal worked.
And now, it was working on him.
He tried hard to not let her bother him. He tried hard to not look or stare at her everyday but it was impossible. They worked closely together every day.
They spent more hours together at work than off-duty.
Something was bound to happen.
Mindful of the fraternization rules, he fought hard to adhere to those policies.
Alas, he was only human. A healthy male with healthy manly needs.
She was damn attractive and many times, he felt a certain vibe from her, that she was attracted to him as well.
But he was not one to willingly hit on her, just in case he was wrong about her feelings for her.
Yeah, if he were to blurt out and she was not, that would put their professionalism at risk; it would sever their work relationship.
No, he had to be sure before he took the risk.
He knew that he stared at her a lot and he was careful to not let that happen around his team. It was hard work to concentrate on work and keeping his personal feelings exposed.
Working on cases like these put extra stress on him and his vulnerability would be weakened. He couldn't have Strauss see him at this weaken state.
Great! He mumbled, as if I don't have enough on my plate.
"What did you say, Hotch?" Emily asked.
Hotch quickly glanced at her who was sitting next to him in the jet; did he said that aloud?
"Um, nothing. Just going through the files and making sure Strauss can't find fault at anything."
Emily snorted, "I hear that. Having her babysitting us is not going to make this case easier. Remember Milwaukee?"
Hotch nodded. Strauss was out of her league there but when he and Emily arrived, he tried to help Strauss as much as he could, trying to make her presence as smoothly as possible even though he wanted to throw her into the nearest dumpster.
He tried to concentrate on the files, memorizing certain key facts but he could feel her body heat.
It was not unpleasant; in fact it was downright enticing. The feelings of ripping her clothes off and ravishing her that moment was forefront in his mind. He had several scenarios playing in his mind about how he could have his way with her.
No sex, no sex, no sex…he tried to put that mantra in front of his fantasies. But his alter-ego laughed at him as he dipped his head in between her legs. Emily had her eyes closed as he tasted her, pleasured her and …
"Hotch!" Emily whispered.
Jarring from that fantasy, he glared at her, "What?"
"You were dozing off and Strauss is staring over here!" She whispered to him again.
Glancing up, he saw Strauss was looking at her work but Garcia and JJ were spotting twin grins as they hurriedly looked away.
Frowning at them, he wondered what they were smiling about; the presence of Strauss, even though she was sitting behind them, could wipe the sunshine away wherever she went.
Didn't those two get the memo on that? Hotch shook his head as he resumed his work, trying to imagine Emily as another male agent.
"God! I wish those two gossips would stop staring over here!" Emily mumbled to herself.
She had been trying to concentrate on her work but the presence of her most secretive fantasy man was sitting next to her was just too distracting!
Actually he had been doing it a lot lately. At first, she thought of nothing about it; it was just another seat, one that Reid, Derek, Dave, JJ or even Garcia, could have taken. Not only that, he had her partnered with him as well when they were in the field.
If she didn't know any better, she thought he might begin to feel something for her!
Yeah right! Keep dreaming, Emily! She chastised herself. The only way he got close to her would be only in her dreams.
Oh, those dreams! She was having a lot of them lately; starring herself and a very naked and dimpled grinning Hotch. And she couldn't get enough of looking at him, running her hands over him, from his chest to his member. And what a manhood he had! It fitted in her tight and perfectly. Oh, did she mention he was insatiable?
God! The man was a walking sex machine! His stamina was incredible and he had told her huskily that he could never get enough of her as he kissed her deeply, his hands roaming freely all over her. And what he could do to her down there? There ought to be a law against it!
She almost moaned aloud when she imagined his tongue tasting her!
"Prentiss?"
She shook her head slightly, surprised that she was actually having a fantasy about him when he was sitting so closely to her.
Closely…wait a minute, since when did he started to lean against her, arm on arm? Not that it was unpleasant; in fact the heat he was emanating was intoxicating. She was having a very hard time concentrating!
"Prentiss." Hotch called to her softly; everyone was reviewing their files. The cabin was quiet except the outside jet engine humming throughout.
"What?" She replied.
"Why are Garcia and JJ grinning about every time they looked over here? Is one of us having some sort of wardrobe malfunction?"
Emily glanced over to the two and saw their grins even though they were not looking at them.
She looked down at her shirt, making sure the necessary buttons were fastened. Yep, they were; her girls were not hanging out or dangerously so, they were tucked in snugly within her one sinful indulgence; lacy bras.
Hotch almost bugged out when he followed her gaze to her chest, her hands checking the buttons and the one motion that almost had junior busting his pants; she was patting her breasts, making sure they were not exposed.
The perverted part of him wished it was so, just that one time he could look at them and including them into his fantasies.
Of course, the chaste side of him tried to hit him, making him looked away.
That part of him failed miserably as he kept his head down and tilted towards her chest. The cleavage exposed begged to have a very grateful audience.
…
They had arrived in Toledo, Ohio. It was a big city situated next to Michigan and Lake Erie where finding an UnSub was going to tax them.
After spending four hours evaluating their profile on the UnSub and victimology, Hotch took Emily to accompany him to Temperance, Michigan where the third couple was from. Their bodies were held in the county morgue.
JJ and Garcia smirked at the blatant display of preference.
The two left the room and headed to the ladies' restroom.
They were giggling as they began to discuss Hotch and Emily.
"Oh my god! Did you see him watching her as if she was an appetizer? I don't know about you or the others, but there's enough sexual tension between those two to light up this city! And Toledo is big!" Garcia gushed as she washed her hands.
JJ shook her head, "Goodness, Emily was staring at him as if he was the main course! I'm surprised Hotch hasn't burst into flames the way Emily was smoldering him with her looks!"
Garcia turned to her friend and said, "You know, they really need to do something about it. I feel so uncomfortable, and I can hardly concentrate on work!"
"I know, Pen. If we can feel it, I know the others will feel it too. It's going to be hard to work with them."
"What happens if something happened? I mean if they get distracted with each other, they might get hurt."
JJ frowned, "I see what you mean. They are horny for each other, they don't want to admit to the other and if we even hint to each other separately, that might be worst! And I'm sure they would not appreciate it if we intercede."
"That's what I think too!" Garcia was waving her hands around. "Something needs to be done about them. I mean, look at us! We are talking about them all day! We're distracted. And I'm sure they are too!"
"They just need to get laid. That way, they get that emotional stuff out of the way and we can get back to our work."
"How about we send them some text messages about how they needed to stay in Michigan longer and arrange for just one room!"
The two laughed raucously imagining them together as they left the restroom.
Less than a second, a door opened from one of the stalls and out came Chief Strauss.
She glanced at the door to the departing two women.
So, I'm not the only one that felt that tension! She thought to herself as she stared at her reflection in the mirror above the washbasin.
She shook her head; damn! Forget lighting up Toledo, they could light up the entire state of Ohio!
Oh yes, she had noticed Hotch and Prentiss' behaviors. She first noticed their not so subtle glances towards each other when they were briefing at Quantico.
At first, she thought of nothing about it, her mindset was the evaluation but the tension she felt in the room, she could cut it with a letter opener!
She must be feeling mellow or something as she wanted to laugh at Hotch.
The always stoic, always serious, always professional agent was in love with his co-worker!
And the funnier thing was, Agent Prentiss was not immune to that emotion as she was displaying signs of someone in love.
Ah, youth! To be young again.
She recalled her own days as a younger agent. The several crushes she had towards other agents.
She knew she should talk to Hotch but now was not the time; this case was somber and macabre enough to turn other feelings aside.
Well, that was many hours ago. Erin realized that maybe she should talked to the two of them. They couldn't help feeling for each other, even though they were not aware of the other's feelings.
Garcia and JJ were right. No one could concentrate on the current case and there would be a chance someone in the team might get hurt or worst, more victims died because of their distraction.
She smacked the side of the sink; there had to be a solution to it! If she stopped them…wait, how was she to stop them from having feelings?
No, the opposite would have to do.
She thought of knocking their heads together, get them laid like JJ had suggested.
That was it! The only way to clear the 'tension in the air' would be to let them release it! And the only way to release it was for them to …
Erin blushed as she tried to banish thoughts of the two of them being intimate.
What about the frat rules?
This was not about rules, this was about human behavior and taking care of needs.
Frat rules would impede or made it worst.
Sighing out loud, she knew that was the only solution. And it would be outside her boundary as Section Chief.
Cut them some slack, Erin! Her conscience yelled at her.
Fine! I'll do that! But how?
Then she laughed; the answer was here, well, not in the restroom but the person that could fix them up.
She will be in shock!
Yeah, she will get over it.
No, she will be shock to see that you can be a human now and then!
Well, she will get over that as well.
Moving away from the sink, she walked out of the restroom and searched for her.
A moment later, she found Garcia. She was sitting in the conference room working on three laptops.
"Miss Garcia," Erin began.
Penelope jumped out of her chair when she heard Strauss' voice so near her.
JJ, who was sitting a couple of chairs down from Garcia, looked up and at them.
"I need some assistance from you."
"Y…Yes ma'am. What can I do for you?" Penelope's voice was shaking; she never liked that woman but because she was her superior, she had to listen to her.
"This is completely confidential and I…" She was interrupted by JJ.
"Ma'am, let me leave the room and you can continue with Garcia." JJ made to move towards the door.
"Agent Jareau, this will involve you as well." Erin said.
JJ turned and gaped at Erin, "Ma'am?"
Erin tried to relax, hoping to show them that it was not a serious matter.
"I overheard your conversation in the restroom just now, about Agents Hotchner and Prentiss."
…End of Part 1…