AN: I have received numerous PMs asking about what characters were accepted and when the first chapter would be up, so here you have it! I had all of the characters picked already on the deadline for submitting, but I did not have a chance to finish typing up the intro chapter until just recently. A good old stomach bug went through my family and where as I was kind enough to take care of everyone, I ended up catching it as well. I am 100% better now, though, so yay for that.

Here is the Character List. I ended up accepting an extra agent just because one of the agents is brand new and it worked out well with another person thrown in. Thank you for all of the submissions, but of course I sadly was not able to accept everyone.

Unit Chief/Supervisory Special Agent 1: Katrina Getz

Supervisory Special Agent 2: Tyler Blackout

Special Agent 1: Skyler Evans

Special Agent 2: Nathan Trangos

Special Agent 3: Amelia Grey

Special Agent 4/Media Liaison: Alana Meyers

Special Agent 5/Trainee: Beatrice Daven

Technical Analyst: Holly Dawson

I'm well aware that there was only 2 male characters accepted, but those were the only 2 male characters that I was sent, so I'm assuming all of you are ok with a female dominant team. So, as far as chapters go, I will do my best to update once a week. I go back to college next week, there for I apologize if I am late with an update that week as I'm sure it'll be hectic.

Side Notes:

All characters will get the attention they deserve, so please don't send my reviews complaining if your character was not present in a certain chapter or was present but was not focused on. Chances are, that means that in the next chapter posted your character will be a primary focus. Generally, each chapter will have the viewpoint of one or two different characters, possibly three if the chapter is longer. There will be chapters at times that will just have a general viewpoint with no focus on any particular character.

This story is AU. Canon character backgrounds/standings will primarily be season 1 and 2 based, but there will be differences, pulling some things from later seasons, or changing details in general to fit the story. So the characters involved are Aaron Hotchner, Jason Gideon, Derek Morgan, Jennifer Jareau, Spencer Reid, Emily Prentiss, and Penelope Garcia. For story purposes, JJ and Will are together and married and already have Henry who is 4 almost 5. Also Aaron and Haley already went through their divorce, she was already killed, and Jack is 7 years old. I'll try and let you know any other important details along the way. So do not message me/leave a review stating that something written is not Canon to the show, because this is AU. Chances are I changed the details on purpose. Canon characters will be heavily present in certain chapters, but most chapters will be only the OCs with the occasional appearance of the canons.

Warnings: This story is rated T for a reason. Some of the characters have fairly dark pasts, and those will be brought up at different points of the story. Also, due to this being a Criminal Minds story, there will at times possibly be mention of the horrible things people do to each other. I will make sure to put trigger warnings at the beginning of each chapter if I feel something I wrote could be seen as overly graphic. There are no real warnings for this chapter as I feel that it is free of any triggering content. The first 2-3 chapters will most likely be on the lighter side, more friendship and humor than dark stuff.

Disclaimers: I do not own Criminal Minds or anything related to it. Also, each of the OCs belong to their respective owner(s). Any and all mistakes present are my own.

Chapter One: Just a Typical Morning

"The worst thing you could do is tame the chaos in you. It's like being told not to feel when you're thrown into the fire" – Robert M. Drake

Profiling is not just a job. It is much more than that; it is a lifestyle. It takes over every aspect of your life, consuming your mind and your precious time. Before you know it, life has passed you by and all you have left are the memories of past cases, memories of people saved, memories of people lost, memories of life and death. The trick is to find balance. Now that is a nearly impossible feat. How hard it is to try and turn off that part of your brain that delves into the darkness of human deviance. Even away from work, thoughts still pop into your mind that have no business being there during your time of freedom. No matter how impossible it may seem to find balance, there are always those who still attempt to do so. Maybe some even succeed from time to time, at least so they think. Being a profiler is a choice. You choose to face danger. You choose to see the darkness within people. You choose to sacrifice yourself when or if the time comes. It is not a life that most people can live, but those who do, they are to be admired. They don't do it for the glory, they do it for the greater good, because even if one life is saved, it means the world.

The soft clicking of heels against the thin carpet of the walkway was what turned Aaron Hotchner's attention away from the pile of paperwork that sat in front of him. He always attempted to keep the stack as low as possible, but it was a hard accomplishment anymore with the influx of cases that were in need of his attention. The black ballpoint pen fell from between his fingers onto the wooden desktop beside his mug of coffee upon hearing his office door open without anyone having knocked. Having opened his mouth to reprimand said person, his words were quickly changed upon seeing who it was.

"You know, most people knock before entering a room with a closed door."

The brunette woman smirked at his stoic tone, dropping her black messenger bag beside the couch on the opposite side of the office. With her short stature, it took quite a few strides to cross the room and approach him, her hands finding resting spots on the front of the desk as she leaned forward over the piece of furniture, close enough that he could see the small dashing of freckles across the bridge of her nose. Such as now, he always felt that when her pale blue eyes were on him, she was gazing right into his soul.

"It's not like you can kick me out of my own office, Aaron," It was weird to hear a fellow agent call him by his first name, but he did not correct her as it was familiar rolling off of her tongue. His brown eyes watched as the woman turned away from him, kicking off her black high heels as she sighed in relief. Hotch leaned back in his black leather chair and ran a tired hand over his face.

"You know, the bureau will gladly give you your own office, Katrina." His words were answered with a soft snort. No one ever accused Katrina Getz of being very lady-like. She was very far from it actually, having always been a tom-boy at heart. Hence, why she was quite uncomfortable standing dressed up in a amethyst button down shirt, gray slacks, and a gray jacket, or as she deemed it, a "monkey suit". Meetings were the only thing she dressed up for when it came to work, and it had just been her luck to have one bright and early that morning after just having returned from a case late last night.

Katie hummed in acknowledgment of the dark haired man's words as she kicked the door shut with her bare foot (no itchy pantyhose for her). Shimmying her dress pants off over her slim hips and down her legs, she looked back over at him from where she had moved to towards the side of the room, noting that he had looked away even though she had on black leggings underneath.

"Yeah, I know. Admit it, you would miss me though. Plus, there's no point. One of us is nearly always gone on a case anyway, the other office would just be empty half of the time." It was a good point to be made, Hotch had to agree. When he and his team were at Quantico, ninety-five percent of the time she was gone on a case with her team and vice versa. There were even times that both teams were away from HQ. Though Katrina had her own set of quirks, he did enjoy her company when she was around. The mess she seemed to bring with her, he did not so much appreciate. It had taken him nearly 2 hours to clean up the office when he had returned from his latest case as she was not much for organization. Slob would be the best acronym, though she called it "organized chaos".

His eyes moved from his paperwork to glance at her, ending up finding that she was still getting changed, dressed only in black leggings and a red bra, her bare back facing towards him. The smooth expanse of porcelain skin was quite a sight even with the white lines that seemed to mar it, running horizontal across her spine. Her life had always been rough, that Aaron knew, but he knew very little details as he was aware that asking her would make her clam up. Pulling a navy blue fitted tee-shirt over her head, she turned back around to face him, just in time to hear him speak again.

"My office would be much neater without you in it." People always said that Aaron Hotchner did not smile, but Katie knew better, as he had a teasing smile on his face even now. She wouldn't be the one to break it to his team that he was not as strict and scary as he appeared to be. Deep down they probably knew it already, as his façade slipped from time to time, letting him know that he did care for them. The female unit chief stuck her tongue out in a childish manner as she gathered her long dark ash-brown curls into a bun atop her head. Her eyes scanned the room before huffing in annoyance. Of course he had reorganized everything from where she had things scattered.

"Where did you-"

Before she could finish her question, he pulled open the top drawer on the left hand side of the desk, passing over a hair tie to her. "Thanks, but stop moving my stuff around." After sliding on a tan cardigan and grabbing her black boots from where they had been strategically placed by a certain male agent, she lowered herself into one of the chairs in front of their shared desk. There was a silence that had fallen over the room, but it was a comfortable one. Having worked on a team with Aaron for 4 years before being assigned her own team of agents, they knew each other fairly well, at least as well as each of them had been willing to open up over the years. Of course they had profiles built on each other in the back of their minds as they did most people due to their line of work, one of the many job repercussions. You couldn't help but study those around you.

Hotchner shut the file folder that had been laying out in front of him and placed it back with the rest of the paperwork that needed to be done in the plastic organizer on the top right hand corner of the desk. He turned his attention to the woman seated before him, taking note of how she was very clearly biting the inside of her cheek as she laced up her boots. Something was eating at her and it wasn't the fact that she had to dress up for a meeting.

"I heard you had a tough one. Dawson made some comments to Garcia about it. Talk to me." Holly Dawson, Katie's tech wiz, was typically not very social, but she and Penelope tended to exchange words. There was no mistaking the tension in the brunette's body as she snapped her eyes up to meet his. Crossing her arms over her chest, in typical fashion, her face softened a bit, knowing that he was only trying to help her no matter if she hated talking out her feelings or not. His gaze was unrelenting, but it didn't make her squirm as it did most people. It almost had a calming effect.

"Serial killers are always tough. I'm sure Reid could rattle off some facts to you about the chances of catching one. Our profile was spot on down to the very last detail. We caught the UNSUB, but not soon enough to save the last victim. When we found her, she was barely breathing. Her heart stopped on the way to the hospital. She was only 22, Aaron. It hit us all hard. Can't save them all, right?"

He reached out to place his hand on her arm, but before he could do so, she stood up and moved towards the glass windows overlooking the bullpen. Clearing her throat, he saw her reach a hand up to her face, clearly wiping her eyes, but he made no comment on her slip in composure. The male agent knew just how hard it was to try and stay strong all the time. When she turned to him again, a smile was back on her face, easily reverting back to her strong demeanor as if nothing had ever happened. "It figures that when I leave my guys to get caught up on paperwork they all disappear."

"They take after you, apparently." His wry comment earned a light laughter followed by a knowing smirk.

"Well, your team sure does not take after you." The confused look that came across his face was priceless. She wished she could have taken a picture of it. "Your team whom you thought to be oh so diligently working on their own paperwork happen to be gone as well. Great work, Superman. Looks like we have to go track down our kids."

Before the conversation was even over Aaron Hotchner was up out of his seat, exiting the office, followed closely by the petite brunette. What a way to start the day.

AN: There you have it! You will get to meet all of the other team members next chapter, as this chapter was basically just a small intro in order to get to know team two's unit chief a bit, though she is far more complicated than she seems. It would make my day if you could drop me a review and let me know what you think so far. Thanks again to those of you who submitted characters.