After returning to the BAU from a case, every agent got into completing their unfinished paperwork before leaving the office. My desk is in the far corner of the room. Luckily for me, it was the quietest corner. The quiet did not feed the exhaustion originating from the many sleepless nights I had been having for the past month. Time flew by and I couldn't keep my eyes open after one hour. As per usual, not one agent cared to wake me up...and not because they didn't see me. I always had made it clear not to, and so did Hotch.
It was getting late, almost midnight, when everyone had cleared the bullpen. Yet, JJ was in her separate office. Following her routine, she entered the bullpen to share some paperwork with some of the agents' desks. She approached my desk with caution as she could see that my table lamp was still on. "Arizona?" she whispered, loudly. "Hey," she continues to whisper and walks closer to my desk. I groaned in response. "Hey, wake up.." She shakes my shoulder gently. I pick up my head and pick the hair off my face, that had stuck onto my lip gloss. Looking in her direction, squinting my eyes, I had no idea where I was for a moment. Then, I realized it was JJ in front of my desk. "What the hell?" I ask in confusion, my voice hoarse.
"Sorry, but I guess you fell asleep. Are you okay?" she asks concerned and places her hand on my back.
Yuck, contact with JJ. I lean forward and take JJ's hand off of me. "I was working, you can go now"
"Correction, you were napping. You were sleeping." JJ laughs softly.
I rolled my eyes at me and gathered the papers on her desk into one pile "And you do not ever fall asleep while doing paperwork, after a hard and lengthy case?" I asked, tilting her head as I looked at JJ. JJ's judgment was the last thing I needed and the first thing I hated about JJ. She is just perfect, she didn't fall asleep.
"No, no, it is okay. And I do as well." She says, whilst trying to express a smile. What a surprise. She turns to walk away but turns back to face me. "But Arizona, I have noticed you recently. First, you seem exhausted and the exhaustion doesn't seem to be connected to the cases we work on. Second, you never come to team game nights or dinners. This all is just-" She says, trying to share her analysis.
"Stop," I say cutting her off. "I mean to say this in the most respectful way possible." I paused, giving her an insincere smile. "I do not want to hear what you think. You are profiling me based on how I spend my time? First, that is crap. Secondly, I never went to any team dinners or game nights. That is not different as much as it is normal." I then take a deep breath. Before I could say anything else, which could be rude, I just put on my sweater. "You know what, thank you for waking me up. I will see you tomorrow." I pick up my purse and walk quickly to the elevator. Even while in the elevator, JJ keeps her eye on me. I could only look back at her, directly in her eyes, until the elevator's doors close.
~~~
It is 12:45 AM.
Sitting on the bed, I stared at the television screen impassively. I couldn't maintain any interest in the show, Friends, that had routinely brought me joy. I adjusted my posture so I wasn't slouching as I watched the television screen, a few times within the next three minutes. Taking a deep breath, I looked down to the clothes which still were my business attire for work. I got up and went into the bathroom and showered, then got dressed in my panda pajamas. Then returned back to the bed.
Looking through the television guide, I tapped my head softly against the headboard of the frame of the bed. I returned to the channel that was playing a rerun of Friends, then went to the kitchen for a pint of ice cream. I layed on the bed leaning on my side and watched the show, still unamused by the funny jokes.
~~~
It is 08:32 AM.
Every agent at the BAU had been asked about Arizona's location by JJ, whether she had come into work or if she had a day off. And they all responded the same answer, no one knew. No one knew me enough to determine my whereabouts, but everyone knew that I had never missed a day of work. I have only been late, by very few minutes. JJ walked over to the team, who made their own little gathering to discuss Arizona by Emily's desk.
"Has anyone heard from Geller?" Hotch asked.
JJ shook her head, as the others did. "She is probably exhausted," JJ said, shrugging her shoulders. She glanced at the entrance of the bullpen to see if the person entering was her. It was not.
"Meaning?" Hotch questioned.
"Meaning she is tired, worn-out." Reid reasoned, stating the obvious.
"I know what the word means, " Hotch responded, glancing at Spencer. Spencer wiped his mouth so what he said wasn't heard. "But you asked..."
JJ looked around and sighed. "She was here last night, I was on my way out when I saw her at her desk asleep. And the moment I wake her she gets sort of defensive"
"That is Geller for you" Derek chuckled, crossing his arms.
"Well is she okay?" Garcia asked.
"I am not entirely sure, she says she is but..who actually knows..." JJ responded, looking at the rest of the team.
"Everyone, just keep an eye out," Hotch said with a nod. He was worried, since this behavior was out of the norm. Reid then spotted me and whispered to the team "Guys she is here"
"Stay for a minute, do not disperse, or else it will seem like we are hiding something," Hotch said.
"We kinda are," Reid whispered, slightly confused, and everyone just smiled at him. JJ nodded her head and patted him on the back.
I looked over at the team, specifically JJ who was looking back at me. I could only imagine the crap JJ was telling them. I broke eye contact to fill a paper cup with coffee, just glancing looking over my shoulder. They had not stopped looking at me. It got to the point where I overfilled the cup and the hot coffee was flowing onto my hand. "Ouch, shit," I whispered and placed the coffee pot down. I picked up a few napkins to dry the cup and my hand. Then I approached the group because I needed to pass them to reach my desk. "Morning," I say in an attempt to be polite, and hoping no one would bring up the situation they witnessed.
In near sync, the team responded with smiles. "Good Morning"
JJ then looked around the team, as did I. It was weird how in sync they were, not to mention all the smiles from everyone. "Um- we have a case so don't get too comfortable...everyone," JJ said as the team then dispersed to their desks before heading to the briefing room.
YOU ARE READING
Losing Control {Criminal Minds X OC}
Fanfiction* 1st Person POV * Arizona has been working at the BAU for some time now, two years. She had always kept the job strictly impersonal & professional. Not one person at the BAU knows of her personal life. She mostly kept to herself and rarely went out...
