𝗤𝗨𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡...?        ♱        𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗦
000     / WILL I ALWAYS WONDER ?

September slowly seeped into October. Leaving behind an old life that she once lived, Bethany was overjoyed with the new month beginning. Normally, the young woman despised time and its ever-changing ways, but for the last few weeks she had been personally counting down the days until she arrived in Virginia.

Today, (October 3rd, 2005), marked the first day of the rest of Bethany Scott's life. It sounds very melodramatic, but she couldn't help the cliché feelings that engulfed her these last few weeks. She had been scribbling in her journal the whole morning, unable to keep herself still due to the excitement about it all.

          "Excuse me," Bethany smiled, gently making her way through the subway's busy crowd. She had decided to take the subway earlier that morning whilst curling her hair. It was convenient considering how close by her apartment was, and she didn't exactly feel the most comfortable behind the wheel.

A brief moment had passed before Bethany decided to ask for help, as she couldn't understand a single thing on the Metro map; its faded lettering was to blame. She turned on her heel, eyes scanning the crowd, crashing into someone before mumbling an apology as she turned to meet the man's apologetic gaze.

The papers he had been carrying covered the ground below her, causing her to gasp before reaching down and hurriedly helping him gather them. She hadn't paid the slightest attention—and if she had, she would have noticed that it was a file from the Federal Bureau of Investigation—as she was too busy apologizing for her lack of spatial awareness.

          "I am so sorry." Bethany repeated again, eyebrows knitted together as she huffed in annoyance at herself. "I wasn't paying attention." She admitted with an exasperated sigh. "This map is practically unreadable, and I've never ridden on the Metro before. I actually just moved here—."

Bethany halted her words, shaking her head as she quickly added, "Which I'm sure you don't care about! Again, I am really sorry."

Bethany poorly gathered the papers in her hand, quickly straightening them before looking up and meeting his puppy-like brown eyes. "It's okay." He squeaked, "You said you're lost?" He asked, dismissing their awkward encounter as they both got back to their feet.

The young woman nodded in response, adjusting the bag on her side as she spoke, "I'm trying to get to Quantico." Her reveal piqued his interest, eyebrows visibly rising at her words. "The FBI Headquarters, to be more specific." She added.

          "That's where I'm going." He revealed, the slight curvature of his lips was hard to miss. Bethany's eyes widened—this was either going to be a miraculous blessing or a disastrous curse. "Are you an Agent?" He inquired, holding the papers in his hand close to his side.

Again, she nodded. "Yeah—Are you?" She replied reluctantly. Bethany hadn't told many people about her newfound career. He nodded, smiling slightly as she raised her eyebrows in visible surprise. "Seriously?" She laughed lightly, disbelief clouding her features for a brief moment before adding, "What department?"

          "Behavioral Analysis Unit." He revealed, flushing softly in the face. Bethany's eyebrows practically shot up at his words. She simply couldn't believe her luck. For a moment, she debated asking the man if he could pinch her because this whole ordeal felt like a sudden dream.

Bethany had transferred from California's Bureau of Investigation all the way to Quantico, Virginia, due to being offered a spot on the infamous Behavioral Analysis Unit's team. It was practically every agent's dream, and Bethany had managed to snag it with only two years of experience.

          "This is a joke." She stated. The man was taken aback by her blatant accusation. Bethany looked around, searching for her foolish brother, as she could only assume he would do something this cruel. "I was just offered a spot on one of their teams. It's why I moved to Virginia!"

Her reveal caused his features to soften. He couldn't remember his boss mentioning someone new. His eyebrows furrowed. "Where are you transferring from?"

          "Sacramento, California." Bethany said. "I worked on a team in the CBI. You know, the California Bureau of Investigation. I don't like California, though—it's very humid, and everyone there is shallow. Then again, I'm from Las Vegas, so I've dealt with some shallow people." She watched his face. "My mom works down at the Bennington Sanitarium. You should see the kind of people she deals with on a daily basis.

He visibly stiffened.

          "I'm sorry," He blurted, shaking his head whilst stepping away from the woman. "I have to go." He turned on his heel, quickly walking into the crowd as Bethany reached forward, failing to stop him. Her lips fell agape, and she threw her arms up in disbelief.

          "I'm still lost!" She called out, watching as the man didn't even give her a second glance before fully disappearing into the crowd. Bethany turned towards the map, sighing deeply as she shook her head. "What a joke..." She mumbled to herself, scoffing at her initial hopeful demeanor from earlier that morning.

What an absolute fucking joke.

          As Bethany followed another agent into the bullpen, she couldn't help but feel that maybe her bad luck was wearing off. Her mind had seemingly forgotten about the mysterious man in the Metro station due to the nerves that engulfed her whole existence.

The agent she followed was Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner. He had met her in the lobby, even going as far as giving her a brief tour before leading the way into a large bullpen. It was similar to her old unit in the CBI. Some may find working with others in such a small space tedious, but it was one of Bethany's favorite things.

Growing up, Bethany never truly felt like she was a part of anything. So, when she joined the CBI and their elite team of investigators, it was practically a dream come true. Part of her felt guilty for leaving them, but they expressed their joy for her frequently, even throwing a party on her last day to celebrate her two years spent in the CBI.

          "So, this is where you'll mostly be working. Unfortunately Agent Gideon is out at the moment but there are plenty of others to meet." He cast a glance over his shoulder, watching her take in each and every aspect of the room. "You'll be stationed over here with the rest of the team—Morgan," He approached another agent's desk, causing the man to lower his newspaper and turn to face their shared boss. "This is SSA Bethany Scott. She's joining us from the CBI."

The man stood up, tossing his newspaper onto his desk with a dazzling smile before extending his hand in the young woman's direction. "Derek Morgan," he stated his name, shaking her hand firmly as she smiled kindly at the man. Before Bethany could express her happiness about meeting the man, Aaron had dragged a few more agents towards her.

          "Agent Elle Greenaway," Aaron gestured towards the brunette woman, eliciting a small smile from her as Derek's hand was soon replaced with hers. "Our communications liaison, Jennifer Jareau—."

          "JJ, if you'd like." The blonde woman corrected softly, maintaining a wide smile as she waved at Bethany with a few fingers, her hands much too occupied with the files in her hands to do more.

Aaron opened his mouth, gesturing to another blonde woman dressed down in bright colors and quirky patterns. She beat him to it. "I'm Penelope Garcia—Hi!" She raised her arms, stepping forward in her clunky heels before engulfing Bethany in a bone-crushing hug.

Bethany's eyes widened, but she quickly reciprocated the sweet gesture. "Oh! Thank you," Bethany smiled, slowly pulling away from Penelope's hold. "It's nice to meet you—all of you." The young woman grinned, visibly overjoyed with their kind regards.

          "You'll be stationed over here." Aaron added, moving past Bethany and towards an empty desk. It was adjacent to another desk that was covered in books and papers. "Next to you will be Agent—."

          "Doctor." Jennifer corrected softly.

          "Doctor Spencer Reid." Aaron said, eyebrows jerking upwards as he kept a mental note to work on the young boy's title. His self-reflection didn't last long, though, as he suddenly took notice of the shy man's absence. "Hm," His eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Reid's not usually this late..."

Derek nodded, having already noticed his missing friend. "I'll try and call him again." As soon as the words left his lips, a soft gasp tumbled past Penelope's lips as she gestured towards the lobby doors. "There he is." Derek sighed, shoulders relaxing at the sight. Bethany turned around, searching for the doctor.

Too impaired by her youth to know what to do, Bethany froze. Although the other agents didn't notice her stiffen, due to their attention on Spencer's late arrival, it was fairly obvious in her demeanor that she recognized the man, and not in a good way. She couldn't believe it.

What a sick and twisted joke!

The jerk that left her standing hallow-eyed in the Metro station just so happened to work on this exact team. Although the unit was filled with multiple teams, he was on this one. If Bethany weren't surrounded by her new colleagues, she would have laughed wildly at the coincidence.

Only something like this would happen to her.

          "Pretty boy," Derek grinned, already in higher spirits now that he had arrived. "This is Bethany Scott. She's joining the team." Penelope slipped her arm around the young woman again, holding her tightly with a wide smile.

Spencer didn't even bother looking at Bethany. He acknowledged her with a solemn nod and continued towards his desk. Penelope frowned, and Elle's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Although Spencer was awkward, he had never been this avoidant towards someone.

          "So," Elle cleared her throat, attempting to dampen the suddenly sour mood. "Where are you transferring from?" She asked, turning to face Bethany as the others did the same.

          "California Bureau of Investigation." Bethany revealed, nodding at their surprised expressions. "I worked with a team of profilers there as well—one of them claimed to be a psychic." She laughed lightly, finding herself missing the childish antics of her old unit. After some more small talk, it was revealed that Bethany was born and raised in Las Vegas.

They learned that Bethany has an older sister, Teddy, who works as a criminal defense attorney in the D.C. area, and a younger brother, Jesse, who is traveling the world whilst taking a gap year for college. Her mother, Helen, worked as a nurse at the Bennington Sanitarium in Las Vegas, whilst her stepfather, Buck, was a sergeant and led the Las Vegas S.W.A.T. team.

She hates the color orange, drinks tea religiously, wears mismatched socks, collects stamps, and finds anything grape-flavored unbelievably revolting. It was rather weird having to reveal these things about herself again because her old team knew everything about her. Sometimes, she wondered if that was a mistake.

          "Oh!" Jennifer gasped softly, quickly reaching for her buzzing phone. "Excuse me, I have to take this—It was nice meeting you, Bethany, and welcome to the BAU." She smiled sweetly at the new agent, nodding as she thanked her in response before quickly excusing herself to answer her phone.

Aaron nodded in agreement with the liaison's words. "I should return to my office too." He sighed, glancing at his watch before meeting Bethany's eager gaze. "If you have any questions, I'll be in my office." He turned around, quickly stopping himself before casting a glance at the agents still crowded around Bethany. "I suggest everyone else does the same...We'll have plenty of time to play nice later."

          "Fine." Penelope sighed in defeat, shooting Bethany a wide smile before patting her arm in a reassuring manner. "I'll see you around—promise that once you're all settled, you'll come stop by my secret lair."

          "Cross my heart." Bethany nodded, earning a smile from the blonde woman before she excused herself. Derek and Elle glanced at one another, watching as Bethany peered over her shoulder towards the lonely doctor at his desk. It was obvious that there was something lingering in the air between them; Elle and Derek were just unsure what it was.

          "Hey," Elle chirped, her large doe-like eyes meeting Bethany's reluctant gaze. "Don't beat yourself up about it. It isn't like he hates you or anything—he's a shy guy." The brunette woman was lying through her teeth. Spencer was never one to be social but was always welcoming towards the newcomers.

Bethany nodded, "Yeah—I'm sure you're right." The sandy-haired woman turned her attention towards the empty desk awaiting her. "Thank you, again, for being so kind." They both nodded, smiling at her kind words.

          "Of course," Derek said, "We'll leave you to it." He nudged Elle's side, causing her to nod in agreement. They turned around, returning to their desks as Bethany did the same. It took practically every ounce of self-control that Bethany had to stop herself from even peeking in Spencer's direction.

She didn't understand what she had said or done that made their interaction turn so sour. Maybe it was her rambling—which was understandably annoying at times, but that has never gained such a weird reaction.

Well, it hadn't until today.

Bethany sat down in her swivel chair, tapping her fingers against the faux oak material of her new desk. It was visibly old and used; small scratches and coffee mug ring stains covered the furniture—all of which could be covered with framed photos or other useless office supplies.

In an attempt to do something productive, Bethany diverted her attention to her computer. After some digging in her purse, she was able to find her new logins and passwords that she had gotten earlier that morning from Aaron. He had given her a thorough rundown of the place and made it crystal clear that if she had any questions, he or the other agents would happily help.

She had completely forgotten about the man beside her, absentmindedly clicking her mouse and typing away on her keyboard as she read through some seemingly unimportant emails. Although she knew it was unfair to wish a boring day on the others, Bethany secretly hoped that her first day would be spent doing mediocre tasks and forcing small talk with her colleagues.

After the morning she had, the young agent didn't have the mindset of a profiler. In fact, the sour interaction left her ego a little bruised, and she couldn't help but feel anxious about what the future held for future interactions between the two.

Wistfully, Bethany stared at the keychain dangling from her purse, a farewell gift from her former colleague. She reached out, fingertips touching the bedazzled item with a soft sigh. A peculiar feeling riddled her bones; unsure if it was nostalgia playing a trick on her or if she were truly regretful of her decision, Bethany couldn't help but wonder if leaving Sacramento was the right choice.

Which led her to her wonder, Will I always wonder?

Act One / Prologue
Published: December 18th, '24