All That Matters

Leah took a deep breath, shouldering her brown leather messenger bag as the elevator doors opened. This was her first day as an FBI agent in the Behavioral Analysis Unit, or BAU. As she went in, she immediately crashed into someone.

"Ah! Crud!" She gasped softly, looking up to see another woman, with blonde pigtails, curly pink ribbons in her hair, glasses, and a feathery pen.

"I am so sorry." She gasped, and the lady grinned.
"You must be Leah Smallbone. Love the accent, by the way. Wanna trade?" Leah couldn't help but chuckle.
"Not really. I like my accent, even though it has faded a bit." She grinned, shaking Leah's hand.
"Well, my name is Penelope Garcia, but you can call me Garcia." Leah smiled, shaking her hand.
"It's good to meet you, Garcia. I was told I had to report to Agent Gideon?" She nodded quickly.
"Come on. I'll show you your desk, and then his office." She quickly led her to an office, forgetting about the desk part, and then knocked quickly on an oak door.

"Come in." A voice called, and Garcia opened the door, letting Leah go inside. The door was closed behind her, and an older man, with wrinkles, kind eyes, and glasses perched on his nose as he read through some papers. He was starting to go bald, with dark hair streaked with grey, and he wore a red short-sleeved polo shirt. He looked up, and stood, smiling and extending a hand when he saw Leah.

"Ms. Smallbone, I presume. I'm SSA Jason Gideon, but you can call me Gideon." She smiled, shaking the outstretched hand.
"It's good to meet you, sir." He gestured to the chair, and she sat, her bag in her lap as he sat down again.
" So, Leah, tell me about you and your family." She smiled weakly, looking down at her hands.
"Well....I'm one of eight children. I have one older sister, four older brothers, a younger sister, and a twin. We moved from Australia when I was about seven, when my mum was pregnant with my younger sister." His eyes widened slightly.
"Eight kids? Wow. Your poor mother." She chuckled softly, looking back up.
"Well, she and my dad married young. They had time." He smiled.
"Where do they all live?" She twisted her ring on her right hand. It was a birthstone ring that her parents had given her for her eighteenth birthday.

"Nashville. I'm the only one who lives outside of Tennessee." He raised an eyebrow.
"I'm impressed that you decided to move for this job. It must be hard, living this far away from everyone in your family." She bit her lip slightly, shaking her head. He raised an eyebrow, tilting his head slightly.

"Not really. I honestly didn't get along with my older siblings, and things were tense with my twin brother, Luke, for a little while." He nodded.
"Bad memories. What about your parents?" She smiled.
"I do miss them some, but they're the ones who encouraged me to join the FBI. It was harder for me, since I'm originally from Australia, but I still was able to, obviously." He smiled.
"Welcome to the BAU, Leah. Garcia give you a tour?" She shook her head, smiling. He nodded, standing.
"I'll get Reid to show you around. Ah, speak of the devil. There he is." A young man came in, with messy brown hair, a blue sweater vest over a white shirt, and a brown leather messenger bag. She felt her heart skip a beat when he looked up at her, smiling. She smiled back, and heard Gideon chuckle softly.

"You two are the youngest on the team, considering both of you are as smart as you are. You two should get along really well, being as young as you are." She smiled slightly, and turned back to him.
"I hope so, sir. Thank you for letting me have a chance." He nodded.
"This isn't a favor, though. You're going to have to do your part and work hard. Clear?" She nodded.
"Crystal." He nodded, smiling slightly.
"Good. Now, I informed Reid that he would be showing you around, so if you are ready, you can head on out to meet him." She nodded, shaking his hand, and he handed her a pistol and her credentials.
"Welcome to the BAU, Ms. Smallbone."

my gift to you for my birthday is.....This updated early!! Thanks for reading, y'all!! Love you!!