Friday morning, I come into the office in time to see JJ and Garcia with their backs to Dr. Reid's desk. He tells them to turn around and they avert their eyes. I sit at my desk and ignore them. Some small black object flies off his desk and smacks Prentiss in the face. She joins in on their physics fun. I ignore it, booting up my computer. As promised, Morgan is not around.

"You should see this, Cole," JJ offers.

"I'm good," I shrug.

The black object, which I've discovered is a cap, shoots through the air. Everyone goes quiet. Agent Hotchner approaches to scold Dr. Reid, but even he smiles. I don't understand how any of them can find him tolerable. When he isn't pestering me about all the things I'm bad at doing or being, he takes his time to run hazardous science experiments in the bullpen.

Before lunch, it seems like I've managed to curse them. They all are called out of the office without even debriefing in the conference room. I am not sure if I should stay late. I'm dismissed on time by Garcia. Her voice is quiet, dry. For someone who works investigating homicide, she never seems to do well when something happens. I spend time refreshing over the weekend. It always feels like I'm dragging my feet to get to the bureau every week. On Monday, everyone is back except Morgan. I'm guessing he got the luxury of staying in Chicago while the others went investigating.

That week, it is December. My siblings are trying to coordinate a date that works for all of us on an online chat, as well as a location. It looks like I'm going to be hopping into Stéphane's car and we're going to go to New Hampshire together. I'm trying to weasel my way out of it. They're going to try to drag me to Québec just like last year. Maman won't come over the border, but neither will I, so we are at a stalemate. I won last year, but I don't think I will be so lucky this year.

People begin to decorate their desks with holiday cheer. We organize a secret Santa, and I draw Dr. Reid because the universe is evil and hates me in particular. Asking for help would ruin the spirit of secret Santa, so I have to try to figure out what to get him that doesn't indicate to this office of profiling vultures that I despise him.

At the end of the week, I go shooting with Prentiss and JJ. Garcia isn't authorized to use a gun, so she doesn't come along. Instead, the three of us go to the targets and practice. They are far better shots than I am, but they have years of practice on me, and they actually shoot in the field. With my job, I'm not required to go into the field. Originally, it was something that I preferred. However, seeing how these people understand each other better than I do, it feels strange.

Garcia also brings me leftovers to bring to Estelle. We enjoy them over the weekend. Estelle is impressed, genuinely. On Monday, I let Garcia know.

Over the week, I learn more about Reid. He actually can finish most books within ten minutes, so books are out of the question as gifts to give him. It's unfortunate because he loves to regurgitate information like nobody's business. It's hard to find a gift for someone you choose not to know. I find myself listening in on his conversations. He doesn't seem to correct other people as much as he does me. He eats a hodgepodge of foods every day for lunch, so I'm guessing he cannot really cook. Even worse, he seems to stop bothering me this week, but I chalk that up to the spree of cases they've had recently and his mountain of paperwork. Most people in the office are pretty quiet. All that I've noticed is that he drinks at least four coffees a day, and twice that week he drinks five. On the coldest day, he comes in wearing a scarf. Morgan jokes that he shouldn't be allowed to wear a Halloween costume in December. After a lot of googling, I realize it's part of a costume for the fourth doctor in Doctor Who.

Bingo.

We do our gift exchange the next Wednesday. They placed it just a week before Christmas because they are worried about getting called away on Thursday or Friday. We are supposed to come back next Thursday, the twenty-seventh. Agent Hotchner is taking time off to be with his son, Jack.

So, we are lucky on Wednesday that they don't get a call which forces them to hop on a private jet. Instead, we gather around the conference room at lunch. Garcia plays Christmas music. Her outfit is quite spectacular, with candy cane earrings and scrunchies with candy cane colouring.

Morgan dances with her off to the side, and they both laugh. Agent Hotchner and JJ work together to set up the food that they've ordered for us all. Agent Gideon and Prentiss are talking off in the corner. I put my gift on the side table in the room, next to the other gifts.

"Who do you think has you?" Dr. Reid asks next to me.

He has such a habit of sneaking up on me. It almost makes my heart stop, "no one gave out clues."

"That's part of the fun of BAU secret Santa, it's a profiling game," Dr. Reid points out.

He glances around the room, "I think Agent Hotchner has you. He asked me last week why you hated the mug that I got you so much. He said he is trying to raise team cohesion, but I think he was fishing for a gift idea"

I had almost forgotten about that shitty gift. Now I am mad at myself for getting him something so thoughtful. When it comes to gift-giving, I am extremely committed. Maybe it pissed me off that he wasn't.

"I'm not a profiler," I say.

"Well, I bet you could guess anyway, it's not hard," he shrugs.

"Yeah, like creating a dataset isn't hard," I roll my eyes, laying on the sarcasm as thick as I possibly can.

"Exactly," Dr. Reid says. "We both got lucky our jobs aren't hard."

I don't think I should've passed my security check. I get angry too easily.

"Food's ready," JJ calls. She saves me from exploding on Dr. Reid.

Then, we all gather around the circle. We eat together, and I listen to everyone joke about the last year as well as their holiday plans.

Before any of us are allowed to open our gifts, we have to guess who got us what. Based on Dr. Reid's advice, I guess Agent Hotchner.

Unfortunately, we are also supposed to justify our answers. I wasn't good at bullshitting in college and I'm no different now because I struggle to have a good reason.

"I just feel like someone else would reveal it more easily," I offer, shrugging. "It could be Agent Gideon, but I had to guess one way or another."

We continue around the circle until we get to Dr. Reid.

"I thought it was Morgan until I saw the packaging," Dr. Reid observes. "Morgan has been pestering me all month. However, it's addressed to Dr. Reid, and I don't think anyone except Gideon or Bouchard would call me Dr. Reid. Well, Morgan might do it to throw me off, but that seems too thought-out for Morgan. Since Emily made a great argument for Gideon being her secret Santa, I'll have to go with Bouchard."

Damn it, he's got me. I was so close too.

Then, it is time to open our gifts. We are supposed to get a second guess afterwards, but none of us guessed the same person so I don't imagine that any of us are wrong.

We go in a circle to open them. In my family, we all open our gifts simultaneously. There is less pressure that way, at least. I feel all of their eyes on me when I open the bag.

Inside there are two small succulent plants as well as a cocktail set. I look to Agent Hotchner, hoping that I'm right.

"I thought your desk could use décor," Agent Hotchner shrugs, "and also something to use to relax after work."

At least he isn't explicitly saying that I need to relax. Hopefully, the holiday is good for me.

None of the other gifts are too remarkable. However, Garcia does squeal when she gets some trinkets from Morgan. She loves to brighten her office, I guess. Dr. Reid opens my gift.

He laughs at the interior, which is not the reaction I was hoping for. It took a while to find the gift, after all. It's a sugar jar shaped like the Tardis.

"I figured you were wasting so much paper with those sugar packets," I shrug.

"The scarf tipped you off, didn't it?" Dr. Reid asks. "I thought it would make someone's job easier if they were stuck."

I try not to frown. He even takes credit for my investigation skills. He is impossible to stand.

We go back to the work party after the gifts are exchanged. I wouldn't exactly describe myself as a holly jolly person, but this beats staring at a computer for hours upon hours. Of course, it doesn't last long enough. We are forced back to our desks. The profilers spend the next two days crossing their fingers, hoping that they are not going to get called away by the jet. We're lucky enough that on Friday, Agent Hotchner dismisses us at lunch.

I wasn't prepared. I was going to work through lunch today to finish off the seasonal analysis. It's taking longer than I had expected because I thought it would be more fruitful to break the cases down by region. Weather is so different across this vast country, so seasonal data might be impacted by that. Then, I also wanted to cross-reference it across the national data, and also by areas with religions, to see if holidays were an impact. All of it is taking too long.

Dr. Reid comes up behind me at one point, and I do my best to ignore him. The others file out of the bullpen, riding down the elevator together, leaving just him next to me.

"This is impressive," he says, leaning forward. "Although, this chi-square value makes little sense."

"It's just not statistically significant," I tell him. "Are you capable of giving a compliment without immediately criticizing me?"

He pulls away from the computer. His lips move as if muttering to himself, and his eyes narrow, "I have done that, haven't I?"

"My job is to notice patterns in data," I turn back to my work. "So yes, you have."

"I was trying to make you feel better earlier when I said I thought it was Morgan. That was an attempt at a compliment. I figured out you had me last week. You had a habit of passing by the break room to talk to Garcia more frequently when I was there. You had only done it twice in all the weeks before we set up Secret Santa, but you did it four times that week alone," he says.

I start typing on my computer, "you're doing it again."

"Right," he says, before shaking his head. "Are you going to JJ's party on New Year's Eve?"

"I hadn't considered it," I tell him. To be honest, I had. Estelle invited me along to a party with her colleagues at Georgetown, but I wouldn't want to feel out of place. "I have other friends."

"You should come," he says. "Hotch and Gideon won't be there, but the rest of us will be. JJ's roommates are having other people over, so if you don't enjoy our company, there will be other people for you to hang around."

"I'll consider," I finish punching in the last of the data.

"It's just..." he hesitates. I shut off my computer in the meantime. "A new year is a great time for new opportunities. You know, starting over. I thought that maybe... well... it would be nice to turn a new page on New Year's Eve. Symbolically, of course."

"I didn't think we would be reading at the party," I say, stuffing my things into my bag. "The symbolic nature of turning a new page was implied, you know."

"Just... it's something to consider," he shrugs. "And I do like the gift by the way."

"Thanks," I try not to pay attention. I just want to go home.

When I'm starting to walk to the elevator, he speaks, "it was just... thoughtful. The reboot premiered two years ago, and there are all sorts of things you can buy now. If you had wanted to, you could have gotten me some generic trinket related to the show, like a Dalek or a sonic screwdriver, but you didn't. You got me something that relates to me."

I hadn't realized that I had stopped walking until he stops just a few feet in front of me. So, I continue toward the exit. Then, I press the button next to the lift.

"Does it bother you that I call you Dr. Reid?" I ask.

No one else calls him Dr. Reid, after all. He is the only one to call me Bouchard, and I don't particularly like that. It's like he thinks using my first name is too personal.

The elevator dings in front of us. I step inside and he follows in next to me.

"Well... I guess, but honestly, it's pretty far down on the list of things that bother me when it comes to working across from each other, so I haven't put much thought to it," he says.

And, there he goes again. Good luck with his hopes of starting over in the new year. It won't matter if we do. It's going to be exactly the same.

~~~~~

I can't help the excitement I feel right now. It's urgh so strong enemies to lovers. What do y'all think?