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𝑷 𝑶 𝑽
❝ 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚗 𝚎𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝 ❞

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ㅤ"𝐀𝐇, 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐒!" Derek exclaimed as his eyes landed on Finley who had just walked into the bullpen with an iced latte in hand and wearing clothes that most people wouldn't really think to wear in a federal building.

Her outfit once again stood out in a sea of mostly neutral colors as she wore a white turtle neck underneath a sage green suit jacket with a matching pair of pants. Her medium-length dark brown hair cascaded down her back in soft waves, and a different necklace sat in between her collarbones. To top it all off were her pair of black Chuck Taylors.

"Why are you so excited to see me?" Finley squinted her eyes at him suspiciously.

"We were just talking about you," JJ chuckled.

"Is that a good or a bad thing?"

"They were comparing the two of us," Spencer informed her just as she sat on her chair and began fixing her stuff. He had grown comfortable in speaking to her, and the genius was grateful that he stopped blushing too much whenever she was around. "Well, not us specifically. They were comparing the 'Reid Effect' and the 'Finn Effect'."

"The what?" Finley had just gotten to work and she was already confused as she stared at them. She also hasn't finished her morning coffee so that adds to her brain not yet functioning properly.

"The 'effect' you guys have," Emily rolled her eyes fondly as she sat at the edge of her table, facing her co-workers. "On people, animals, or anything, really."

"Apparently, we have opposite effects on people," Spencer gave her a tight-lipped smile as he shrugged. "JJ kept mentioning how Jody Hatchett latched herself to you quite quickly, and now they're debating on calling it the 'Finn Effect'."

"She even gave you a crown and started calling you a queen," JJ laughed, sipping on her own cup of coffee.

"Yeah, and remember when we were knocking on doors during your first case?" Derek grinned. "All those guilty people just spilled everything to you. Man, that was legendary."

Finley let out a huff of amusement. "Okay, now I'm curious. What's the 'Reid Effect' then?"

"Pretty Boy has this talent of making things react...not so great when he's around," Derek chuckled as he lifted his cup to his lips, watching as Spencer's ears turned pink. He began listing it down. "Dogs growl at him..."

"...kids cry," JJ added.

"Yeah, she gets it," Spencer cut them off, clearing his throat as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Seeing how he visibly deflated at their amusement over his predicament, Finley took it upon herself to reassure him, leaning over their partition.

"Hey, it's okay, Spencer," she said softly.

"No, it's not," he mumbled back. "I like kids, I...I want kids someday," he reluctantly admitted as he played with his fingers, looking down at his lap. He didn't really know what it was exactly that had him admitting that so openly to her when none of his teammates—most of whom he's known for several years—was even aware of his wish to start a family. "What if...what if I have kids and they don't like me?"

"You want kids?" Finley couldn't help but ask, smiling at him. The gentle tone in her voice made him sigh.

"Yeah," he weakly replied, his voice soft and a little raspy. He glanced up at her and quickly turned away when they made eye contact.

"Then you'll be a great dad," she chuckled. "The so-called 'Reid Effect' isn't absolute, okay? It's just...people aren't used to someone like you. But I promise that once they get to know you, they'll absolutely adore you." She laughed under her breath when he blushed, not being able to hold herself back from reaching over to lightly pinch his cheek. "See, you're adorable."

"Aww, Reid, you're absolutely adorable," Derek teased. Only then did the two realize that the others had been watching their entire exchange. Emily and JJ both had their eyebrows raised teasingly, with the former grinning at the two.

"Oh, shut up," Spencer's voice turned sour and he faced away from Finley who laughed louder this time, her eyes wrinkling at the edges. The genius glared at the others, his heart pounding in his chest when Derek wiggled his eyebrows at him. It surprised how much he didn't hate it when Finley's had touched—and pinched—his cheek.

Finley let out another laugh, before shifting her attention to her paperwork. She went silent as she concentrated, ears out whatever noise people were making, and the rest of the team followed suit, situating themselves back into their chairs to work.

Suddenly, Anderson walked by, stopping right in front of Finley's desk.

"Hey, Lee," he greeted with a grin before handing her a box of something that everyone was curious to see as they all lifted their heads away from their paperwork. "Found 'em."

"No way!" Finley exclaimed, letting go of her pen and made grab-hands at the man who didn't hesitate to hand it over to her. She quickly teared into the box to reveal two packs of her favorite candy: Frutos. She jutted out her lower lip as she tried not to cry at how sweet the gesture was. "Oh, I might just cry. This is so sweet."

"Candy?" Emily asked, her lips curled up into a smile as she tried not to laugh at Finley's genuinely watery expression. "You're ready to cry over candy?"

"It's my favorite candy," Finley sniffled slightly, hearing JJ let out an 'aww'.

"Yeah, Lee was telling me a story from her childhood and how much she loved these," Anderson shrugged. "Apparently hasn't had them for about a decade, so I hunted some down."

"Grant," Finley pouted as she looked up at him. "Mahal kita. Like, seriously." (I love you)

Anderson laughed, ruffling her hair like an older brother would, earning him surprised looks from his co-workers. He was often stuck on desk duty and never really got to hang out with the team, so they were surprised at how close he and Finley already were.

"You're welcome," he grinned. "Don't you dare finish all that in one day, got it? Last time I gave you candy, you finished it all up in thirty minutes and started bouncing off the walls."

"I won't, I promise," Finley smiled innocently, but everyone in the bullpen could tell she wasn't all too genuine. Anderson rolled his eyes fondly before walking away. "Thanks, kuya!" (Older brother)

The team's eyes shifted from her, to Anderson, then back to her.

"You're on first name basis with Anderson?" Emily gaped.

"Well, technically, I'm first name basis with all of you," Finley pointed out, opening up one of the packs and immediately diving for one that was wrapped in pink plastic. "Except for Rossi and Hotch, don't think I can call them David or Aaron anytime soon."

"He calls you 'Lee'," Spencer frowned. "You know, when someone gives you nickname, it means you're pretty special to them."

"Eh," Finley waved him off, munching on the candy, not noticing his expression. "He's just so easy to get along with, and he's such a sweetheart. We hang out sometimes; he's like an older brother."

"Is that what kuya means? Older brother?" JJ asked.

"Mhm, essentially. You can also call any older boy kuya, as long as they're not old enough to be your uncle."

"Huh," JJ nodded to herself. She watched as Finley tore her third candy open, chewing on them as she began working again. From what the blonde can tell, Finley had a more childish side to her; she and the others have noticed her tendency to eat sweets while working, hum songs to herself when she thought they couldn't hear, and immediate connection to kids.

All that can point to a rather sad truth: that Finley misses her childhood, and there's something in her that makes her want to go back to those days.

Though they have an unspoken rule about not profiling each other at work, all of them were interested in learning about the elusive Finley Barrett, and often times would profile her without even realizing, even Hotch and Rossi. At first, they were all hellbent on wanting be all hard and tough on the newbie because of her rather shady entry into the team, but the second she arrived, all their animosity got thrown out the window.

"Still, you've only been here for, what, a month?" Emily pointed out, observing her. "And you've got all of us eating at the palm of your hands. 

"It's the 'Finn Effect', see?" Derek raised his eyebrows. "Told you."

Just then, Hotch walked into the bullpen. "We've got a case. We'll brief on the jet, wheels up in thirty."

They were now in the BAU jet, en route to San Francisco. Finley found herself sitting across Spencer, beside Emily, looking up at Rossi who was nursing a cup of coffee as he walked down the aisle.

"What do we know about the past years' victims?" He asked, leaning against the back of Spencer's chair.

"The Tenderloin district has a high concentration of drug addicts and homeless people," Spencer explained. "All the victims have been transients."

"So this unsub's choosing easy targets that won't be missed," Finley stated.

"He's not concerned with the challenge of the hunt," Derek agreed as he sat on the couch, holding out the case file and a couple of photos for him and Hotch, who was sat next to him, to see everything more clearly. "All these victims are part of a larger plan."

"Which he executes in the same few days every year," JJ continued.

"Reid, did you find any significance to the dates?" Hotch turned to the genius with his usual frown, brows furrowed so deeply in concentration that they're almost touching in the middle.

"Nothing historical," Spencer answered. "It's got to be personal for the unsub."

With a nod, Hotch began giving them their assignments. "JJ, you and Reid hit the San Francisco PD. Rossi and Prentiss to the dumpsite. Morgan, Finn, and I will go to the coroner's office. Nobody should expect a lot of sleep in the next three days."

"What about Cooper's team?" Rossi asked, turning all the attention to him. "You said he had a theory."

"He believes that whoever's murdering these homeless men is also abducting fathers and daughters and killing them once the transients are disposed of," Hotch answered, looking up at him.

"So then we'll investigate the dead men, and his team can see if there is a missing father and daughter."

"Why isn't his team on the jet now?" Emily wondered, sharing a confused look with Finley, who took out another candy from her pocket while throwing one to Derek who also took a liking to the candy. Emily couldn't help herself from smiling at the interaction.

Hotch himself gave the two a ghost of a smile before answering, "Because the director wouldn't authorize them joining the investigation.

This made Finley let out a scoff in disbelief, opening a yellow-colored candy wrapper. "They're working against the director's orders? Bold." She then eagerly popped the little square chewy candy into her mouth and started devouring it.

Hotch ignored her little quip. "We need to concentrate on the dead men abducted from the Tenderloin. Cooper's team can help determine if there's a missing father and daughter and whether it's connected to our case."

"Or," Emily cut in. "You could get in serious hot water if the director thinks you're helping to defy her."

Rossi immediately disagreed. "No, Hotch is right; I've known Sam Cooper for twenty years, and I've never seen him defy an order. If he feels this strong about a hunch, we need to help him however we can."

"This is the body they found at Presidio Park," the coroner said as he carefully lifted the wrap off the man's upper half. "If he hadn't been shot, he probably would have died of internal bleeding."

Finley carefully examined the body, her breath hitching slightly as she realized, "He fought to the death."

Hotch and Derek turned to her curiously, watching as she quickly pulled on a pair of gloves. They exchanged looks before engaging the coroner in conversation while being hyperaware of the fact that Finley was getting lost in her own world.

Clenching her jaw, the sight of the scattered bruising, especially on the face and all over the ribs, were all too familiar—it had brought to front memories she's worked to push back. Faces of girls, all of different ages, flickered through her mind; the sound of grunting and groaning in pain; shouts and yells--

"Finn," Derek softly called out to her, snapping her out of her trance.

"Y-Yes?" She managed to stutter out, her eyes still unfocused, completely unaware of everyone's concern.

"You okay?"

She let out a deep breath, finally focusing back to reality as she turned and made eye contact. "He's making them fight each other."

author's note: you guys are so intuitive and y'all really pay attention to the easter eggs, i'm really glad. HOWEVER, i can't really reply to any of y'all (as much as i want to) without spoiling anything lmao so i'm sorry for that. i reading your comments so i know which ones are guessing right ;)

anyway, more easter eggs!! comment which of them relates to the mcu somehow, and tell me what you guys think about finley :>