Disclaimer: Because the world is a cruel place, I don't own Alphas.

A/N: Just a little-turned-long idea that popped into my head one day while cooking dinner. I think it kind of works.

…

"After the stunt you pulled, the DOD would like to assess the situation. That task fell to me. I'm just going to try to get a sense of you and your team."

The petite blonde seemed strangely pleasant, not at all pushy like Cley or Sullivan.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Dr. Rosen asked.

"I'm just going to have a quick word with each member of the team, and then I'll be out of your hair." She said and smiled at him. "Should be simple and hopefully painless."

"All right," Dr. Rosen said. "Who would you like to start with?"

…

Bill studied the blonde woman sitting across from him. She seemed relaxed, leaning back into her chair.

"Do you trust your team?"

"They're amateurs," Bill said, shrugging as if that was all that needed to be said. Truthfully, he wanted to see her response.

"That doesn't answer my question."

Bill was moderately shocked. He had expected her to assume he meant 'no, he didn't trust them' and jump at the opportunity to break the team up.

"It doesn't?"

"I used to be FBI. One of my team members… His physical skills – self-defense, weapons – they could definitely use some improvement, but that doesn't mean I didn't trust him. He's brilliant, and there's always more than way to resolve a situation. I know that if I was in danger he'd have my back by finding the solution that worked for him.

"So I'll ask again. Do you trust your team?"

"Yeah, I guess I do."

She gazed at him and then said, "That's good enough for me."

Bill got up to leave.

"And Agent Harken?" Bill turned around to face her. "You could have just said, 'yes.'"

"What?"

She smiled at him. "I worked with profilers for nearly 7 years. I know when someone's trying to figure me out."

Before he could manage a response, she said, "If you could send Miss Theroux in next, I'd appreciate it."

…

"You're not wearing shades," Nina said mockingly as she sat down.

The DOD agent seemed unconcerned. "Should I be?"

"I could push you right now, make you write down whatever I want you to," Nina said, trying to test the waters.

The agent shrugged. "Just because you could doesn't mean you would."

Was this some sort of test? Nina thought to herself. Out loud she said, "Really? You're just going to trust me?"

"Do I have any reason not to?"

"No."

The blonde nodded, seemingly satisfied with her answer. "I'm not bad with persuasion, myself, but I have to use words."

Nina rolled her eyes. "Is this your way of trying to empathize with me?"

"More like trying to find common ground."

"There's a difference?"

"Empathizing is like me trying to play in your sandbox and share your toys. Common ground is more like a seesaw – a collaborative back-and-forth to make something work."

Nina scoffed, "You really do know how to spin your words."

"I know how to get what I want, especially around D.C. So how about you show me you can have an honest conversation without pushing me?"

…

"I see you're the newest member of this team."

"Does that matter?" Hicks asked, observing the woman sitting across from him. She seemed to be either a genuine politician or a bureaucratic agent. Either seemed strange to him.

"Perhaps."

"How so?"

"The newest member tends to be the least trusted." She picked up a file. "And I see from this, that your team is no exception."

Right, Hicks thought to himself, the imposter file. He should've known. "That was nothing."

She tilted her head at his response. "I wouldn't call teammates coming to blows 'nothing.'"

"It was a misunderstanding."

"Based on secrets."

"We all like our secrets."

Her lips quirked into a smile. "Yes, we do."

"So what's next?" Hicks asked, expecting her to bring something worse to the table next.

"You tell me," she said nonchalantly.

"Aren't you the one doing the questioning?" Hicks was feeling very off-footed.

She replied, "Yes but I've gotten what I needed."

"I don't expect that you'll tell me, but what exactly were you looking for?"

She smiled enigmatically and changed the subject. "Maybe we should try a game of darts sometime."

"Seriously?" Hicks was beginning to doubt that she had actually read their files. She did realize he was a hyperkinetic, right?

"I may not have hyperkinesis, but I think I could give you a challenge," she said, smiling slightly. "And it's been a while since I've had one."

…

Rachel fidgeted nervously in her chair.

"I'm making you nervous," the blonde woman stated.

"When we get questioned like this, things never go well."

The agent smiled slightly. "I think it's a tad more than that."

"No," Rachel said quickly. "No, it's not."

"You're the insecure one on this team." It was more of a statement than a question. Rachel was about to stutter out a protest, when the blonde smiled reassuringly. "It's ok to be insecure. Everyone has their moments of doubt."

"You don't seem very insecure."

The agent shrugged. "No one is immune to periods of insecurity. You just have to remember that what you think is worth saying just like everyone else."

"I've been getting better at it," Rachel admitted with a slight hint of pride.

"I'm glad to hear that," the agent said. "Your team needs someone level-headed like you."

Rachel smiled shyly. "Thanks."

The agent returned her smile. "Just saying what I think. You're free to go, Rachel."

Rachel stood up. "You smell nice. Goji berries and orchids."

The other woman smiled bemusedly.

"I mean," Rachel blushed. "It's nice, as in subtle. It's not overpowering. With a lot of people, their perfume or cologne is – I just…" She trailed off awkwardly.

The blonde once again smiled reassuringly. "I don't have enhanced senses, and I know what you mean."

…

Gary walked suspiciously into the room. Last time, Cley had been a signal bully, and he didn't like that at all. He quickly tested to see if he could find any frequencies.

"Hi, Gary. Can you have a seat?"

He looked up to see a blonde woman sitting at the table. She was smiling gently and didn't look at all mean like Cley or even sometimes Sullivan did.

"I'm here to see how your team is doing," she said as he sat down across from her.

He wasn't quite sure if he could trust her, so he pulled out his DCIS badge. "Respect the badge."

The blonde's smile grew, and she nodded. "How about this? I'll respect your badge if you respect mine." She pulled out her badge. "I'm with the DOD, just like you."

Gary looked it over. It didn't have her name on it, which he thought was weird, but otherwise looked just like his. "Ok, but that means I get to ask questions too."

"Gary, I think you know that's not how this works. Besides, I'm not sure if I have anything worth telling you."

He didn't think that last sentence was true, but she was right. Cley would never have answered any of his questions. He crossed his arms and pouted. "Fine."

"Tell me about, Anna."

"We were friends. We didn't talk about work, but everyone kept telling me not to talk to her. I'm my own person now. And then they killed her."

"I'm sorry they did that."

"People die. And you could be lying because she was Red Flag. People lie. It's a social skill."

The agent nodded. "Unfortunately it is, but I won't lie to you, Gary. Remember? I'm respecting your badge."

"Yeah," Gary said. "Respect the badge."

…

"Dr. Rosen, she says you're next," Gary said as he entered the room.

Rosen stood up. "Thank you, Gary."

"I like her," Gary continued. "She's nice."

"Yeah, she is," Rachel agreed.

"She seemed ok, but does anyone even know her name?" Hicks asked.

Each alpha shook their head.

"I like her," Gary repeated. "She respects the badge."

"Why can't we work with her?" Rachel asked.

"I don't know, Rach," Nina said. "There's something off about her."

"You're suspicious of everyone," Rachel countered.

"What was she supposed to get out of this?" Bill added, clearly as suspicious as Nina. "She's barely talked to each of us for more than a couple minutes."

"Well, hopefully I'll find out," Dr. Rosen said before leaving the room.

…

"My team seems to conflicted on their opinions of you," Dr. Rosen said upon entering the room.

She smiled at him. "Let me guess – Harken and Theroux have their doubts about me. I must have something up my sleeve or some ulterior motive. Hicks could go either way. My lack of answers would have annoyed him, but at the same time, I seemed genuine enough. Rachel and Gary (if my use of their first names isn't already a clue) find me kind and relatable."

"I'm impressed." He truly was even though he wasn't all that sure of the specifics.

"Well, as I mentioned to one of your team members, I did work with profilers for quite some time." She switched tracks. "Let's start with your team and then end with you."

"Very well."

"Once again, I'll give you my assessment of your team. You can give me your thoughts afterwards." At Rosen's nod, she continued, "I just wanted to be sure that Harken could rely on the team, that Theroux had learned control in when to use her ability, that Hicks could accept that the team would be so quick to distrust him, that Rachel is able to move past her insecurities and speak up, and that Gary had really dealt with the loss of a friend at the hands of people who were supposed to be on his side.

"I'd say they passed, maybe not with flying colors, but more than decently enough. So," she cocked her head at him. "What do you think?"

"You want me to comment on that?"

"You're their boss. In all honesty, I'd say your opinion matters more than mine."

"Most people would cite lack of objectivity and say otherwise."

She leaned towards him. "I came from a team that was like family, and I know what it's like to have outsiders try to judge your unit. I trust that you know your team better than I do, and in that case, I don't care much about whether or not you can be objective in your assessment."

He carefully regarded her words, facial expression, and mannerisms. Then he said, "I think you've done a good job in picking out their potential downfalls both within themselves and the team. And I'd like to think that you really do believe the team's ok."

"I'm not fishing for a reason to disband your team, Dr. Rosen."

Rosen was skeptical. "I thought that's what the DOD would've wanted."

"I won't speak to that," she said. "However, I'm here to come up with an honest assessment. And to be truthful, Dr. Rosen, I'm good enough at politics that I can maneuver around obeying every word of the powers that be.

"Now, let's talk about you."

"What would you like to discuss?"

"I think we've sufficiently covered your team, so let's talk briefly about your daughter."

Of course, Rosen thought to himself. No surprise there. "She's an alpha whose ability is empathy. We were estranged, but we're mending fences. I don't know what else there is to say."

"Are you planning on involving her with the team?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Because she's not ready or because you're trying to keep her out of harm's way?"

"Because I don't think it's something she wants to do."

"And if she does one day?"

That was an interesting thought. Rosen wasn't sure how he would handle that. "I'll deal with that when the day comes."

"Good," the blonde agent said and began to gather her things. "I think we're done."

Rosen hadn't expected everything to be done so quickly. "What?"

"Well, I did say the word 'briefly.' The team has been managing and even improving under your guidance, and I'm encouraged by your lack of false pretense regarding your daughter."

And before he could get anything else from her, she stood and said, "It was a pleasure meeting you, Dr. Rosen."

"Likewise…" Rosen trailed off, not knowing what to call her.

"Jareau. Agent Jareau."

...

A/N: Yup, it's JJ from Criminal Minds. As I thought of this idea, I figured JJ would fit the role well. (If you don't watch CM, give it a shot. It's really good. I promise.) I suppose this is the part where I mention I don't own CM either. That's right. I don't own either of them. I shall go cry pathetically in a corner now.