"𝙲𝚑𝚎𝚌𝚔𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚎"
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ
𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕪 𝕒𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕠𝕠𝕟

"I THINK you're a Slytherin, end of conversation." Jess states as she and Noah walk along the sidewalk side-by-side.

"So, you think I'm mean?" Noah asks.

"I think there's more to Slytherin's than being on the dark side." The blonde beams as she looks over at Noah.

They are walking so close to each other that every few steps, their arms bump against one another.  Jess slightly pushes her hand out every now and then, just to feel the tips of Noah's fingers.

"And I think there's more to Hufflepuff's than just being kind." The brunette replies.

"My whole life, I've gone around saying I'm a Gryffindor." Jess sighs, "But seriously, you need to watch the last two movies—"

"I've been trying, but Emily is always so busy and whenever we watch a movie, she doesn't wanna watch them."

"Is it that or do you keep suggesting superhero movies?" Jess questions her friend with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay, I have to stop telling you everything I do." Noah giggles.

"Well, if you stopped telling me everything, then I wouldn't learn something new about you every day."

"Hmm," Noah hums with a smile, not having a quick-witted response.

"Are you keeping your promise?" Jess asks as they arrive at the bookshop.

"I wouldn't pass up the chance to beat you at your own game." Noah chuckles as she holds the door open for the blonde.

"You've never seen me play.  What if I'm the best in the world?" Jess exaggerates as she walks them towards the counter at the front of the store.

The bookstore is quite old; the whole store itself is practically an antique.  Noah admires the dark wood of the shelves, counter, and floor.  It almost feels like a very homey cabin flooded with books.

"You got me covered?" A voice asks from one of the little hallways in-between the bookshelves.

"Yeah, you're all good, Nadine," Jess replies as a girl comes into view.

Noah peers over and takes in the girl's appearance.  Her mahogany skin is clear and stunning.  Her hair is in braids and is messily thrown into a bun with two braids shaping her face.  The girl's dark brown eyes look into Noah's blues.

"Hi, I'm Nadine." The girl introduces herself as she pulls a jacket off of one of the hooks behind the counter.

"Noah,"

"Nice to meet you," Nadine beams and seems to gaze into Noah's eyes.

"You too," The brunette replies.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Jess." Nadine says as she comes around the counter and looks at Noah once more, "Noah." She nods and smirks.

"Don't mind her." Jess chuckles and goes behind the counter.  She pulls out her name tag and puts it on.

"C'mere." Jess chimes and waves Noah over.  The teen joins Jess behind the counter and sits on one of the stools.  She throws her bookbag off and places it under the counter.

"Alright, let's see." Jess talks to herself as she looks around the mess to find the chessboard, "Ah, here we go!" She exclaims and pulls out the box.

"So, you just play while you're on the job?"

"Uh, yeah." Jess giggles and pulls out the board, "Sometimes Nadine stays and plays, but usually I'm alone so I play myself."

"I have a friend who does that." Noah smiles to herself as she thinks of Reid.  He and that spinning chessboard are practically soulmates.

"You ready?" Jess asks.

"Are you ready?" Noah inquires and makes her first move.

—

"You're ridiculous." Jess chuckles as she shakes her head.  Noah has been boasting after every move.

"No, your strategy is ridiculous." Noah giggles as Jess' jaw drops at the slight roast.  She makes another move and watches the blonde eye the board.

"You're bragging." Jess frowns as she moves one of her bishops.

"It's not called bragging, darling, it's called winning." The brunette cheers as she makes another move.

"Oh, so you wanna be like that?" Jess asks.

"It's the confidence of a winner."

"You'll be handing that title over soon." Jess sighs happily as she takes one of Noah's rooks.

"Mhm," Noah hums as she focuses.  She takes one of her pieces and captures Jess' last rook.

The two go back and forth, talking through every turn.  They are both trying to throw each other off of their game.  Noah is focusing on the board as much as she can, but it is hard when Jess is trying to talk about something completely unrelated.  Jess tries to focus as well but finds it difficult with Noah sitting before her.

"So, how was the party with Parker?" Jess asks as she makes another move.

"It was actually kinda fun.  I met some upper-classmen girls that are cool."

"Depends how you define cool," Jess says with a smirk.

"Yeah, I know you don't think vaping and drinking and cup-pong is cool.  I had fun and I thought they were nice." Noah replies, "I never said that I'd do it again though."

"I'm not trying to convince you to miss out on the fun—"

"Would I rather sit here and do this with you?" Noah asks.

"I'd like to think so." Jess giggles, "And if your answer is no, then I do not know you as much as I think I do."

"You have me all figured out?" Noah asks with a smile.

Neither of them has looked up from the board.  They each think they are annoying the other, but both of them are smiling.

"Maybe not all figured out.  But I know enough about you to know that you prefer chess to a hangover." Jess responds confidently.

"Oh, you've never seen me with a bottle of Fireball." Noah chimes and watches Jess' careful move.  She rolls her eyes to herself as she realizes the blonde was playing well.

"Whiskey?  That's an interesting choice."

"It tastes exactly like those little fireball candies that you used to get at the cheap houses on Halloween."

"If any alcohol goes in my system, it better be a sweet, exquisite white wine." The blonde states and smiles as she sees an opportunity in the game.

"A sweet white wine?" Noah questions.

"Has to be sweet, like a dessert wine." Jess replies, "And do you know what else is sweet?"

"What?" Noah asks with a small grin.

"Victory..." Jess chimes and picks up Noah's queen, "Checkmate." She says and looks up to find Noah trying to hide her smile.

They lock eyes for the first time since starting the game and stare each other down.  Jess slightly nods as she confirms her win.

"You cheated," Noah demands with squinted eyes.

"It's not called cheating, darling, it's called winning." The blonde repeats Noah's earlier words and giggles.

"Whatever," Noah chuckles and starts cleaning up the pieces, "Come walk me out." She says after they have put the game today.

"I get a break, I'll walk with you," Jess replies as they both stand.

"No, you don't need to—"

"You walk there alone every day, just let me walk you." Jess pleads and walks outside of the store with Noah.  They make their way down the sidewalk, discussing their strategies from the game.

They arrive at the building and stop to look at one another.

"Fair and square," Noah says and shakes Jess' hand.  Before the blonde can pull away, Noah pulls on her hand and brings her in for a hug.

"Noah!" Jess exclaims through a laugh as Noah rocks them back and forth.

"You play a good game, blondie." The brunette says as she releases her hold from the blonde.  She starts going up the steps towards the glass doors of the building.

Jess watches Noah walk away and waits for her to turn around.

"See you tomorrow," Noah beams and peers at Jess one last time.

"See you tomorrow, loser." Jess giggles and seems to bounce away out of happiness.  Noah smiles to herself and opens one of the doors, instantly being met by the man who has been working in Penelope's office.

"Hey, you," Noah says, catching his attention.

"Me?" He asks.

"Yeah," Noah replies, "You're covering for Garcia, right?"

"Uh, yeah..."

"I'm Emily Prentiss' kid, will you let me on the elevator?" She asks and sees the realization hit his face.

"Oh, yeah!" He beams, "Hey, she's with me." He tells the security man at the desk, who lets them through.

They board the elevator together and stand in silence for a moment.

"What's your name?" Noah asks first.

"Kevin.  Kevin Lynch."

"Nice to meet you, Kevin." The teen replies, "I'm Noah.  Did you work in the building before?"

"Yeah, I was just chosen to cover for Penelope—"

"Oh, you two are on a first-name basis?" Noah questions with a smirk, "You know, I heard she's recently single.  The last date didn't go so well, though, so if you really wanna have a shot, I say make a nice gesture and don't be weird.  Or maybe do be weird, sometimes P is into that." Noah rambles, which takes Kevin by surprise.

"Uhm, relationships with coworkers aren't—"

"Have you ever heard the story of how Penelope Garcia started working with the FBI?" Noah asks and sees Kevin nervously shake his head, "Well, it's not ordinary and it definitely bent the rules.  So, if anything, Penelope Garcia is not here to follow all the rules; especially the work relationship rules."

"I will say, you have some impressing to do with one Derek Morgan." Noah sighs, "He seems tough, but don't worry, he's a softie inside.  That bald head and the big arms are just a smokescreen for the big teddy bear that's inside of him."

"Well, thanks!  But how'd you know that I—" Kevin says as the elevator doors slide open.

"And that story about her getting here..." Noah adds, "It's a great story for a first date." She smirks and walks off into the bullpen, leaving Kevin to his own thoughts.

"Oh, look out, it's our favorite shorty!" Derek jokes as he sees Noah walk by his desk.

"Hey, sweetheart." Emily beams as she holds her arms open.  Noah leans down and hugs Emily, who has been sat at her desk filling out files for hours.

"How boring has all this been?" Noah giggles as she points to the stack of files.

"Well, that's not even half of it." Emily sighs as she watches the teen lean against her desk.

"Hey, Doc?" Noah says and snaps Reid out of his reading.

"Oh, hey, Noah."

"On a scale of one to ten, how annoyed would you be if I asked to borrow one of your books?" The teen asks with puppy-dog eyes and a pout.

"In the negatives," Reid replies, "Ever read Solaris by Stanisław Lem?"

"No, what genre?"

"Science fiction," Reid says and slides the book out of its standing position on his desk.  He hands it to Noah and watches her read the description on the inner sleeve.

"Give me a couple of days?" Noah asks and holds up the book.

"All the time you need." The doctor says and smiles at the teen.  Noah pulls a chair up to Emily's desk and sits close to the woman.

"Hey, Penelope got out of this hospital this morning." Emily tells Noah, "We're gonna surprise her with a team dinner tonight.  I figured you would want to go?"

"Yeah, where we goin'?" Noah asks.

"To the Chinese place down the street." Emily says, "Nothing too crazy." She adds.

"Sounds good," Noah chimes and turns back to her new book.  Emily ruffles the teen's hair and pulls Noah's face towards her to place a kiss on her cheek.

—

"When are you gonna let me show you up in a workout?" Noah asks Morgan as she grabs the sunglasses off his face and puts them on her own.

The team decided to walk down to the restaurant.  Derek called Penelope and asked if she wanted to have a one-on-one dinner so that there was an element of surprise.  The sun is setting right over the tall buildings of the city, creating reflections of apricot beams on the street.

"Hey," Derek beams as he tries to grab his glasses back, "We can workout whenever you're ready.  I've just been giving you time to train."

"I don't need training," Noah giggles as she pushes the man's sunglasses up to hold her hair back, "I have all the strength I need to out-bench you."

"Okay, how about we hit the gym this weekend?" Morgan suggests.

"You're on." Noah giggles and walks ahead of him with his sunglasses still on her head.

"C'mon, fun size." Derek chuckles and grabs his sunglasses.

"Hey, I wasn't done with those!" Noah exclaims.  She playfully slaps Derek's chest with the back of her hand and sees his mouth fall open.

"Oh, wait a minute now, you just started something." He says and gently hits Noah's arm.  The teen comes back at him and they end up running around, dodging each other's slaps.

"Children!" JJ exclaims and snaps her finger.  Derek looks up at the blonde and laughs at her natural, motherly ability.

"I like your glasses." Noah compliments Morgan as he puts them on again.

"Yeah, they're fly, aren't they?" Morgan chuckles to himself.

"You have a big head." Noah jokingly scoffs, "Literally and figuratively." She adds, making the rest of the team laugh behind them.

"You can't compliment me then insult me," Derek says and holds his hands up.

"I'll stop insulting you when you learn how to take a compliment." Noah comes back at him and bumps her shoulder into him on purpose.

"Okay," Derek replies, "Thank you for the compliment, shorty."

"You're welcome, baldy." Noah snickers and stops as they get to the restaurant.

"Oh, you're all here!" A cheery voice exclaims.  Noah looks up and sees Penelope rushing up to Morgan.

"We all wanted to welcome you back, baby girl," Morgan says into the hug.

"Oh my goodness, I could just squeeze the love out of all of you!" Penelope squeals and hugs everyone, even Hotch.  Then she turns to Noah.

"And you, my munchkin, I would take all their love and give it to you!" She chimes and tightly embraces Noah, "There's no one I love more than my Mini Prentiss."

"Ouch," Morgan gasps as they walk into the restaurant, Penelope's arm around the teen's shoulder.

"I have a special love for you, my chocolate thunder." The blonde giggles and sees Derek's satisfied expression.  Once he turns away, Penelope looks down at the teen and quietly reassures her that she is her favorite.

The team is all seated around a massive round table.  It reminds Noah of the round table room.

Noah placed herself in-between Emily and Penelope.  She scoots her chair closer to Emily's out of natural affection.  As the team chats, Emily notices small affections coming from Noah.  Every now and then, the teen is playing with the hem of Emily's shirt, taking small sips out of Emily's drink just because, leaning her head on the woman's shoulder every time she yawns, and even sneaks a few bites of Emily's food when her head is turned.

Emily is thankful to see the teen having a good time.  Noah is chattering with Penelope, having insightful conversations with Reid, laughing with JJ and Morgan, cracking jokes with Rossi, and even poking fun at Hotch, trying to get him to join all the fun.

Eventually, everyone was stuffed and exhausted from their long days back to work and school from the weekend.  Emily and Noah happily say their goodbyes as the team arrives at the BAU again.  They all retire to their cars and make their way home.

Noah and Emily spend the car ride reminiscing the funniest jokes of the night while listening to music.  Noah insists they listen to the rock channel, but Emily prefers the classics channel.  They make a compromise and decide to switch between the channels every time a commercial comes on.

When they arrive home, Noah is the first to walk in.  She sets down her bookbag just as Sergio comes scurrying down the staircase and to the front door.

"Serg!" Noah beams and picks up the black cat.  He purrs at her touch and nuzzles into her hold.

"Em, look!" The teen pouts, "Him was sad that we left him all day." She coos and kisses Sergio's head.

"Sorry, Serg, we had a celebration to attend." Emily giggles and ruffles Sergio's head before going into the kitchen.

"That was nice what you all did for P," Noah says.

"Well, we would do it for anyone there," Emily replies with a shrug of her shoulder, "Including you."

"That's nice to know," Noah says with a genuine tone.

"Was that supposed to be sarcasm?" Emily asks.

"No," Noah replies with a smile, "It's nice to know what being a part of a real family feels like."

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a/n: i figured you all deserved a longer chapter!  hope you're all well and healthy and happy and taking care of yourselves.