Keeping Her Safe

Guilty.

Days pulled on, and the snow refused to relent as snowmen and snow angels were created and destroyed daily. Cars still roamed the roads, but they were a little more hesitant, and everyone wore as many layers as they could. Up on the sixth level of the FBI training centre in Quantico Virginia, however, was warm as Christmas filled their hearts and the office.

While some decorations had been strung out by the FBI, Garcia was disgusted by the lacklustre attempt at making the floor shine, so she brought along some decorations of her own. The tree was heavier from one day to the next, and tinsel seemed to out number sheets of paper in the room, but no one said anything until the snow globes started showing up.

In the conference room, everyone was pondering on how best to approach the subject of the decorations, when Sera walked in. 'Right, Agent Garcia. I love your spirit, but I do not need three snow globes on my desk of a very topless member of staff,' she chastised while placing all three on the table.

Morgan was stood, rubbing his hands together as he licked and bit his bottom lip while his exposed torso was on view. 'Wow, look at these,' Prentiss teased as she picked one up and shook it. 'Does it say "sup baby, I think you dropped something. My jaw" when you shake it?' She asked, impersonating him.

A rough hand snatched the snow globe out of Prentiss' hand, and Morgan shook his head while Sera stared at the ceiling, trying not to smile. 'I said it one time,' he complained.

With her attention back in the room, Sera scrunched her eyes closed as a grin appeared. She bit the inside of her lips to hold back the glee she felt, but everyone saw it. Especially when her eyes opened and a sparkle shone in them.

'That's the type of man to tell a woman that they lost their teddy bear, and then ask if they could sleep with them instead,' Sera remarked, disgusted by the confession that Morgan had tried to pick a woman up with awful lines. And he had done it since Prentiss joined the team, which was less than a decade ago.

'I'm being bullied now,' Morgan complained, but his eyes only widened when Prentiss and Sera subtly high fived.

'Let's get started on the briefing,' Hotch urged, not addressing what had been said.

Reid began with his cases, and everyone gave their opinions for each one. Sera was keen to talk, and while she had spoken a little more since regaining her hearing, her engagement had never been more present and upbeat.

Hotch saw it, for a few moments when she spoke, despite how foul the case was, something like hope shone in her eyes. The innocence was gone and would never be back, but she looked more put together, like her soul knew that everything would be okay in the end.

When everyone was done, Sera once again finished the meeting with her work and a few messages from their bosses before they were dismissed. Ninety minutes. 'Oh, Socks,' she began as they got to their feet.

Glancing across the room, Reid responded to his new nickname with a keen smile. 'I found that book I mentioned. In original Russian, I think. Still don't speak or read the language. Come with me and I'll show you,' she prompted.

'So you find his book, but you don't have time for a coffee stop?' Prentiss asked, chastising her for the supposed time misuse.

'Actually, I saw it when I was at a bookstore for something else. And I thought we agreed to have coffee together today,' Sera defended, and Prentiss puckered her lips as she recalled the agreement they had come to.

'Oh yeah. But you have to drink coffee this time,' Prentiss responded.

'I'll pick the drinks up before lunch,' Sera promised.

'Oh, count me in,' JJ called.

When a chorus of agreements came in, Sera realised that she was hosting a team lunch in her office. 'Why don't we have it in here?' She proposed as she realised that only six seats were available, unless two people sat on her coffee table.