The Element of Surprise

The One Where He Almost Missed - Part 2

Estella leaves the ladies room while smoothing out the skirt of the dress. It fits her perfectly and the color makes her eye pop more than the makeup already does. It's a simple design with short lace sleeves, a silk top that flares out to a skirt just past her waist, stopping at the middle of her thighs. To complete the outfit, she's wearing a pair of champagne heels and a matching pair of earrings and bracelet.

All in all, she looks and feels amazing and that's just enough to boost her confidence regarding this date tonight.

Mark already texted her saying that he'll be at her apartment in half an hour. It's astonishing how time flies when you're trying to avoid your colleagues while getting ready for a date. And Mark still doesn't even know they're in the same building! She has to give herself some credit for being sneaky and subtle.

But now the next challenge is staring her in the eye; sneaking to Garcia's bat cave in these heels while not drawing the attention of the entire bullpen with what she's wearing.

"You can do this..." She tells herself quietly and starts walking down the hall, "Just act casual."

Stopping at the entrance of the bullpen, she glances both ways to make sure no one is paying any attention. Reid is still scanning through the book in his hands, Emily is nose-deep in her paperwork, Derek has his earbuds in and is sitting close-eyed at his desk, and there is no sign of Rossi anywhere. But looking to her left, she manages to briefly spot him entering Hotch's office and the Unit Chief closing the door behind them.

Good, he's distracted.

Not wasting another precious minute, she slips into the room and sticks close to the wall as she makes for the technical analyst's office.

"Estella?"

Stella's heart spikes when she recognizes Spencer's voice coming from his desk. Choosing to pretend she didn't hear him, she picks up the pace and basically jogs the rest of the way.

Penelope startles for the fourth time that day when her door flies open for her best friend to barge in, "That's it! I'm getting biometric locks for my door because my heart won't survive another trip to space!" But upon seeing the profiler in that dress, she draws a sharp breath, "Oh my girl... you look stunning!"

"It's not too much?" Stella asks, hardly aware of the fright she gave Garcia.

"It's perfect."

"Thank goodness," she emits a relieved breath and smooths out the dress yet again, "It's mission impossible to sneak past a bunch of profilers three consecutive times. I'll be leaving for my apartment now, I just wanted to come say thank you once again. If it wasn't for you, I'd be going on this date wearing jeans and a cardigan."

Penelope is still gaping at Stella in that dress when those words sink in, "I, uh... I think I should just let you know that, uh, Agent Rossi knows you're here and is looking for you as we speak."

"What?"

She nods rapidly, "And if he hasn't found you already, that means he's probably on his way back to ask me to check if you're at your apartment."

In her head, Estella is calculating how fast she can run in these heels to get to the elevator before crossing paths with the senior agent - while ultimately avoiding the rest of the team as well.

Accepting that she will have to risk spraining an ankle, Estella says to Garcia, "Thank you again, Penny. I owe you one. I'll call you after the date. Bye!"

"Stella, wait!"

Too late. Estella is already halfway down the hall on her way to the elevator, leaving the technical analyst gaping in her office.