3.20

    EVEN FROM A YOUNG AGE, Katharine knew that her actions would have consequences. Now, she knew the extent of those consequences.


    "I still don't see why these are necessary," Katharine said, holding her wrists up to one of the uniformed officers. According to them, it was required that she wore them due to the fact that she was an Inhuman. She nearly decked the officer right then and there.


    She didn't need her abilities to take down a fully grown man. Her training sessions with Derek and, sometimes, Hotch proved that well enough.


    Katharine sat next to Spencer, his arm around her waist. She felt boneless, if that was even the accurate word. She had zero energy to do anything, which included being there.


    The officer that she had been talking to simply stared straight ahead, refusing to even acknowledge her presence. She looked down at the orange cuffs, the color almost pulsing as if her actual abilities were being held in the metal.


    "Why aren't we in there?" Spencer asked, bouncing his knee up and down nervously. Katharine put a hand on his knee as a way to soothe him, and maybe stop bouncing around like the energizer bunny.


    "They're just trying to intimidate us," Rossi said. He was standing in front of the bench, back to the hallway and looking straight at the doors they were each to walk through. Katharine thought the whole thing was painfully dramatic. Too many theatrics for a hearing.


    "Well, that's not about to happen," Derek said, crossing his arms over his chest. He too was standing, his glare affixed on the double doors JJ had disappeared behind thirty or so minutes ago.


    Garcia, who stood in between Rossi and Derek, anxiously glanced between the doors and the uniformed officer they had stationed near Katharine 'just in case.'


"I'm not ok with this," she said, glancing once more back at the doors.


"You may not even be a witness," Rossi tried to reassure the blonde woman. In all actuality, if Katharine were not weighed back with the cuffs they'd so unfairly slapped on her, she would have been up and pacing alongside her. This whole experience was nerve-wracking.


"Sir, I'm not worried about me," Garcia said, fixing her glasses. "They've put cuffs on Katharine like she's the criminal and we all know she's not! Don't they have anything better to do than--"


"Baby girl," Derek cut her off, "this is just what they do."


"And don't worry about me, Penny G.," Katharine rhymed. "I've got a great legal team backing me. You just let me and Stark worry about these cuffs."


Garcia continued to look anxious, though Katharine couldn't blame her. The woman barely had to face any confrontation in her office. Being surrounded by screens and shielded from what happened in the field would do that to a person. Katharine figured she'd be okay.


Katharine saw the look of pity on Strauss's face even before she approached their little group. She glared at the older woman, daring her to say anything. The section chief decided to be wise for once and kept her mouth shut.


"Anything?" Rossi asked, looking for insight into what was happening in the room where it happened.


The older woman pursed her lips. She shook her head.


"It doesn't look good," she admitted.


The team looked over at the still-closed double doors. Katharine's mind was going a mile a minute, thinking all the possibilities and the outcomes of these encounters. Out of all her friends, she and Spencer both decided that asking for reinstatement would be out of the question.


Though, she doubted she would have been reinstated. The senator had made it pretty clear what he thought of having an Inhuman on the team. She was sure he'd find a way to keep her away from the FBI and even further from the BAU.


Spencer's grip around her waist tightened.


"How long is she gonna be in there?" he asked. Katharine rested her head on his shoulder, wanting to become a puddle. She knew that even when JJ did come out, she wouldn't be able to stay for long. She'd be escorted away without a word.









    WHEN IT WAS KATHARINE'S TURN TO GO IN, she felt like she was going to pass out. The cuffs had been on for roughly five hours, which was three hours more than she had ever had to wear them.


    It was truly embarrassing, having to be helped into the room when it came to her turn to testify because she barely had any energy to move on her own. If only they'd allowed her her phone, she was sure Tony would have been on their asses in half a second, if Nina hadn't already planted malware in their servers or something similar.


    As she sat in front of the committee, however, she made no move to show that she had any emotion. She made sure to look the perfect anger, keeping her anger under wraps and not showing a hint of embarrassment to the white men that looked down upon her.


    She sat with her back straight and her hands folded on the table in front of her. Years of training in interrogation would serve her well here. Thank God SHIELD taught them how to deal with people like the senator--assuming assholes that have nothing better to do with their time than look down upon the people that work to protect people like them.


    Katharine tried not to look bored as Senator Cramer got his documents together, taking longer to start his questioning than necessary. Honestly, she could have been in and out in less than twenty if the man didn't take so long to try and establish dominance over the room.


    What? Being on a literal pedestal wasn't enough? He had to show he was in control by taking measured movements as well?


    Typical.


    When he finally stopped shuffling papers around, his first question to her was: "How long had you been with the team?


    Katharine did the mental math.


    "Sixteen months, sir," was her answer. She tried her best not to seem like she was glaring at him.


    The senator looked down and away from her, reading from what she assumed was her file.


"And in that time," he said, furrowing his brow as he read, "you've been shot once and even held a gun to one of your own teammates' heads?"


Katharine blinked.


"I'm sorry, sir," she said, cocking her head to the side, "but I don't see how that's relevant to the matter at hand. But if you must know, yes, I held a gun to my husband's head with the safety still on during a hostage negotiation."


She answered his question honestly, gaze not wavering from his forehead. Maybe, if she tried hard enough, she could go to her happy place.


The senator looked at her carefully before pulling another sheet of paper to the forefront of his notes. She was sure that he would have gone deeper into that situation if he could.


"Where were you for the past four months?" he moved on, taking up a pen in hand. She watched as he jotted a few notes down.


"I was in Pakistan with the Behavioral Analysis Unit's unit chief, Agent Hotchner," she answered.


"And you were the one to fly the two of you back into the states?"


"That's not correct, sir."


"I'm sorry?"


Katharine took a deep breath. "I said that's not correct, sir. We'd only been in the air for four hours."


"Despite the number of hours you spent in the air," he said, starting to look visibly irritated, "you still operated as a field agent after four hours of flight."


She tried not to scoff.


"Autopilot is a wonderful thing, Senator," she said. She figured if she kept her answers relatively short, she'd be able to get out of here and out of the cuffs faster.


"Agent Morgan, you should know that the FBI is not SHIELD," he said. Katharine frowned. What did any of this have to do with the fallen agency? "We do not tolerate the same things as the former agency."


Then Katharine remembered how Natasha had practically told a bunch of government officials to fuck off.


"You're right," Katharine answered calmly. "SHIELD would have never put cuffs on me."


"They are for your own safety--"


"Not for my safety, Senator, "Katharine cut him off, all resolve to stay calm disappeared. She glared at him. "Your own. And it's Agent Reid, not Morgan."


Senator Cramer gave her a hard look before reviewing one of the documents in front of him. Rapid-fire questioning hadn't gotten her to slip up, so he'd have to try and call her out on something else. Too bad Katharine was ready for whatever bullshit he wanted to throw at her.


"Agent Reid," he stressed her last name, "please remind me of what your abilities are again."


"My abilities are being able to detect verbal falsities and the power of persuasion. Unfortunately, that ability does not work on a person if their psychosis is too far gone," she explained, pursing her lips. "It's an extension of my willpower, which means if I will it hard enough it will happen. My ability to persuade, however, only truly works in person. I cannot will a person to do my bidding over the phone or a video call."


"You've used your ability on the general public," he noted, eyes barely leaving the document in front of him. Katharine was sure he was reading her case reports now.


"I have," Katharine said. "I have also signed the Accords, meaning the use of my abilities for the betterment of the Government was completely legal."


She tried not to look smug. Every accusation he tried to throw her way was batted away without flinching. She was prepared.


Katharine finished the rest of the hearing in stride, not letting the senator get under her skin. By the time he had finished questioning her, Senator Cramer looked completely worn out.


Good.


By the eighth hour of being stuck in the courthouse, they had finally allowed her out of the cuffs. Garcia offered Katharine some of her rose-scented hand cream for her wrist, to which Katharine laid the sloppiest kiss on her cheek. Spencer only looked mildly offended at the massive display of PDA between the two women, saying that it was whole unfair that he hadn't received any kisses from Katharine that day.


Their mini reprieve from the long day was cut short, however, when they called the entire team back into the room.


Upon reentering the room, Katharine was pleasantly surprised to see a member of Tony's legal team standing at the end of her table. The lawyer, Emmi Talbot, winked at Katharine, letting her know that Tony knew exactly what had been going on.


"He knew as soon as Nina hacked the security cameras," Talbot had told her before she sat down. "But since we can't exactly take the senator's job due to lack of evidence, we'll be pushing for having the abiding officers removed from their station and put in jail. After all, war crimes should be taken seriously."


Katharine furrowed her brow.


"Wait," she said, pulling out her seat, "cuffing me was a war crime?"


The lawyer just winked at her before telling her to sit. The senator gave a fearful look at her end of the table before delivering his verdict.


"This team took many unprecedented risks," he said, careful not to look in Katharine's direction. "None were approved. The DIOG has rules, and you chose to ignore every last one. That's blatant disrespect to the bureau and to authority of law in general. What I find interesting is that you are the experts in behavior but find nothing wrong with yours."


Katharine leaned back in her seat. While she didn't want to show any blatant disrespect, she couldn't help but simply not care what the man in front of her had to say. Wasn't it bad enough that he had committed a war crime against her? And the fact that there was no evidence that he was the one to put out the order...


Katharine was disgusted with the way Senator Cramer had acted.


"May I?" Emily interjected. "The journey was not traditional, but this team neutralized four international criminals and saved the life of a young boy in the process."


"You started a war with Ian Doyle years ago that this team and the US government had to finish," the senator shot back. "The rest of you are dismissed. Agent Prentiss, we're not done."


Katharine got up with the rest of her team, exiting the room without another glance. She waited until the doors had fully closed before turning to her lawyer.


"Ms. Talbot," she said, pulling the woman aside. "Thank you for coming today. I know you normally work exclusively for Tony but I really do appreciate you coming to my aid."


"It was no problem, Mrs. Reid," Talbot responded with a smile. "I'm happy to stand against terrorists in the United States."


Katharine narrowed her eyes at the woman playfully.


"You really are Tony's lawyer," she said, laughing. Talbot laughed as well.


"I'll be in contact, Mrs. Reid," Talbot said, handing Katharine her card. "If you need anything, feel free to reach out first. Oh, and give Mr. Stark a call. He sounded furious when Nina told him the details of today."


Katharine promised she would give Tony a call before departing from the lawyer, wishing her good afternoon before returning to her team.


"So what's next?" she asked, slipping in between Spencer and Derek. "We just go back to the BAU and wait?"


Hotch nodded.


"It's all we can do."









"THE COMMITTEE MADE IT CLEAR THAT THEY WILL NOT SUPPORT A ROGUE TEAM."


Strauss had gathered them all in the briefing room, giving short reprieve from the feelings of anger and betrayal bouncing between half of the team. Katharine had forgiven JJ and Emily a long time ago, figuring it'd be hypocritical of her to continue being mad at the two for essentially doing what she did after first meeting them. She disappeared to Ireland for four months and then pretended she didn't exist for two more months after that. 


Hotch, on the other hand, Katharine was having a harder time forgiving. After all, she'd literally cried onto his shoulder when her grieving became too much. He could stand to suffer for a bit longer.


"Agent Prentiss convinced them you were not that," Strauss continued after her pause for dramatic effect. "They will be watching you closely. So I suggest you play by their rules."


"So we're ok?" Garcia asked, her hands clutched to her chest.


The woman's thin lips stretched into a close-lipped smile.


"Suspension is lifted for everyone," she said. Katharine visibly exhaled as she let the news sink in, relief washing over her like a tidal wave.


Emily thanked the woman, showing her gratitude from across the table.


"There may be more paperwork, considering your... situation," Strauss addressed Emily, "but the team is lucky to have you, if you're interested."


"May I think about it?" Emily asked.


"Of course."


The brunette looked around at her teammates, meeting hopeful looks and questioning brows. Katharine linked her arm through Spencer's awaiting Emily's answer.


"I'm in," she said, smiling the widest she had in a while.


"I have a stack of cases on my desk," Strauss said. "I'm happy to pass them all off to you."


Hotch nodded cordially.


"I'll pick them up in the morning," he said before Struss left the room.


Katharine leaned against Spencer as he moved his arm so that it was securely around her waist. He kissed the top of her head, the most PDA they had shown that day.


"Emily," Derek said, looking at the newly reinstated woman. "Uh... What did you tell them?"


She told them, Katharine no longer fighting the grin that was spreading across her face. The BAU was back together, finally, and what they had managed to get through as a team only stood testament to what they'd be able to survive in the future.









The only people I know who could accomplish that mission just walked out. They do their jobs with integrity, and most importantly, they honor their oath. "I will support and defend the constitution of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion. That I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter, so help me God."

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