CHAPTER 124

THAT FEELING NEVER REALLY GOES AWAY

"Hey, sorry to bother you, but is Hunter around?" Emily said on the phone, early the morning after the case was closed and the team got back home.

"Yeah, hold on. I'll get her for you." Dan replied and she could hear him call Angela's name three times before the girl even replied.

So typical of her.

"Trainee Angela Hunter." Angie introduced herself politely, taking Dan's phone with one hand and walking away.

"Wow, so formal." Emily chuckled. In her mind she knew that Angela could simply not wait for the day she'd be able to introduce herself with 'Agent' instead of 'Trainee'.

"Oh, hello. I thought it was someone important." Angie sighed, her voice oozing every bit of disappointment.

"Ouch. My feelings!" Emily faked offense, placing one hand on her heart. "Hope I didn't catch you at a bad time."

"No, it's totally fine right now. We're at the gun shooting range, practicing. There's just so many lines to take, so we got divided in groups and my group is already done. I'm just hanging around and learning from everyone's mistakes. I mean, it's way past half the Academy and it amazes me how some people still don't know how to hold a gun properly. Come on!" She didn't mean to whine, but also, they all had to be good, at this point. And some people were just not.

"What's on your afternoon schedule?" Emily asked.

"SWAT at Hogan's Alley. I can't wait. I love this training, it's so useful and the dude that trains us busts our asses. He screams at us and makes us feel so small and insignificant. It's awesome! We learn so much from him. And he's sexy, so…"

"Eww, Angela, don't you dare get involved with a trainer or you'll be out of the Academy immediately. It's not worth the risk. "

"Seriously? You don't know nothing about me yet!? I'm not interested in a relationship of this kind. I'm here for me and for my professional growth. I'm not here to be anyone's bitch."

"Good. Oh hey, speaking of that, I just got called a whore yesterday." Emily laughed out loud. For some reason, she found it hilarious to share such a thing with her.

"Well…finally!" Angie tried not to laugh, so her words would come off genuine, but she gave up and chuckled as well.

"Oh my God, the nerve you have, young lady!" Angie heard a loud gasp, right after Emily said those words.

"I'm just kidding. Unless you liked it…" Angie trailed off. "In which case, I can keep going…"

"No. Please stop. Ugh. You are a terrible human being!" Emily pleaded. This girl was more than straight-forward.

"Thank you. Been brought up this way. Hard to change the skin you're in, you know."

"Angela! It is so typical of you to blame other people for your own behavior." Emily kept on laughing. This girl never ceased to amaze her.

"So, why are you calling me?" Angie asked cautiously.

Emily had already told her about her failed attempts to get her into the BAU, so now each time Angie would see the woman, she'd hold some hope of things changing. And if she was now calling her during class, maybe it was with good news?

"Sadly, it's not what you might expect to hear. I just came back from a case and I wanted to see if you'd like to have lunch with us today. We're going out, to a really nice little restaurant that we like. And no, they do not accept food coupons. Also yes, lunch is on me. For you, I mean, not for the entire team."

The way Emily ended off, pointing out she wouldn't be treating everyone to lunch, but just Angie, made her smile. It kind of made her feel special.

"Well, I have a big break between classes today. I'll be done at half past twelve and I don't start until quarter past two. So I guess it would be enough time to get the Hell out of this place and go breathe some FBI-free air."

"Good, FBI-free is what my team needs right now. You're not the only one disappointed by the Bureau. We can all talk smack about the FBI while emptying the plates. Sounds good?" Emily knew how to put it in words, so Angie would get excited.

"Sounds marvelous. I can't wait. Oh and thank you so much. I really appreciate being around your team, even if only just for a lunch break. You have some awesome people by your side."

"Great, then how about we wait for you at the Academy parking lot at half past twelve? Just walk right out when you're done." Emily suggested. She didn't need to place this new appointment in her calendar – she simply knew there was no way she'd forget.

"Awesome, yes. See you later then." Angie walked back to Dan and gave him his phone back before asking if she could go for another round of shooting.

"Hunter, you're already good at this. You nailed all the points you need for today." Dan groaned, placing his phone in his back pocket.

"I know, but it's not about the points, it's about the practice. Come on, please? Give me the last line? It's always free." She pointed all the way down the far end corner of the shooting area, where a line was currently unoccupied.

"It's always free. There's barely any visibility there, the light bulbs are busted. It's a waste of time, you can't even see the target, let alone make clean shots."

"Perfect! That's way closer to any real life experience than this super fancy lit place with those immobile targets and the perfect lines and everything. Come on, please? I can actually learn a thing or two, training in disadvantage! Surely it would be better than sitting on my butt for the next half an hour until the class finishes for everyone." Angie hit him with her best puppy eyes look and there was just no denying her.

"Damn it, Hunter. Get your shooting gear and get out of here." Dan gave up, pointing in direction of the free shooting line.

He admired her desire to learn all the time and anything she possibly could. He'd seen her train on her own and whenever she had to wait her turn, she'd pay close attention to what the other groups were doing and she'd analyze their tactics and try to draw her own conclusions, without saying a word out loud. She wasn't there to judge. She was there to be judged and she took criticism like it was her drug and like she needed more of it, in order to survive.

Angie spent the next half an hour on her own, a bit secluded, in the dark, shooting at a cardboard figure that swayed left and right. She'd groan in annoyance, each time she'd miss the target, but then she'd remind herself that this was training, this was her time to teach herself how to not miss, one day, out on the field. She'd then pick up the gun again and she'd focus, imagining a scenario in which she was breaching some place and she could see a faint figure in the distance. She gave herself enough time to figure out if it was a suspect or a hostage, before she'd shoot. She liked playing a role and she enjoyed diving into a world, different than the real one. It was all she had ever known in life.

"Damn, you have a few clean shots out there, Hunter." Dan said when the class ended and he noticed that she was way into her little game and she hadn't even realized that everyone was now gone.

He pulled the cardboard cutout closer to them and analyzed it.

"Ok, these three shots are awesome." He pointed at three of the holes on the target.

"These would have been deadly. However, you had to have been absolutely sure that this was your suspect, before firing. And you didn't have enough visibility to make that call."

"Yes, Sir, I know. But I shot these three in the scenario where I had been chasing this man for a while now and I shot him right before he'd be able to run off and hide in the darkness of the Marina." She explained.

The Marina? What the Hell was she on about?

"Hunter, I've never seen anyone with an imagination, as vivid and weird as yours!" He rolled his eyes. This girl was something else. It had been weeks now, and she still amazed him with the things she came up with.

"Thank you, Sir! Have a good day!" She said politely, not even realizing that this was not an actual compliment. Yet, she took it as one and she left her gun and gear safe and secured, before she ran out to go join the rest of the Trainees at the Auditorium for their next class, which was two and a half hours of theory.

The theory class finished about twenty minutes earlier, so Angie told Bryan she'd be hanging out with the BAU for lunch before she ran out the door.

Bryan had plans of his own, with a few other Trainees, so it wasn't a big deal for him. If anything, he was happy that the BAU had extended such a nice invitation over to her. He knew how much she'd appreciate it.

"Over here!" Emily called out when she saw Angie walk around the parking lot aimlessly.

"Hey, I thought you weren't here yet. My class finished early and I just wanted to get some fresh air while waiting for all of you." Angie greeted her with a small wave with her hand, as she reached her car.

"I just parked here five minutes ago. The team is still in the office, but I needed some fresh air as well. They'd be joining us at the restaurant later." Emily explained, showing Angie the book she had brought with her, to keep her company while waiting for Angie's class to finish.

"Oh, that's a good book! I read it in Spanish when I was eleven. I lived in Barcelona then. Wait, no, it was Madrid. No…Barcelona, yeah, because I moved back to France after that and then I went to Madrid for a few months before I moved to Vienna." Angie was a bit confused about her own life timeline. It was a mess of locations, people, years, dates and mostly – messy situations, regrets, pain and complications.

"You never really had any stability in life…" Emily's words were not a question. They were not a statement. They were not an observation. They were simply…pain, in the form of words.

She hated that Angie's life had been somewhat like her own, besides the fact that Emily had grown up a Prentiss, in huge lavish homes, dressed in designer clothes, going to private schools. Angie had presumably never had any of this, and yet, the pain must have been just the same, Emily was sure of it. She knew first hand that it hurt - being alone in this world, feeling alone; and she knew it would hurt with or without the money and lavish lifestyle.

She respected Angela so much, for having grown up such an amazing young woman - strong and opinionated, smart and respectful towards others. It would have been easy for her to turn to drugs, end up on the streets, in a gang, or even in jail. But she did not. She fought against what life had hit her with and she turned out to be just fine, well, not counting the emotional damage all of it had caused her. But Angie was damn good at concealing that. Too bad Emily was damn good at seeing it, either way.

"How did the case go?" Angie changed topic and Emily let it slide.

"Weirdly smooth. Apart from when the guy called me a whore, of course." Emily laughed. She could still hear him, screaming those words in her face. It was hilarious.

"I can't believe he had the nerve to do that!" Angie spoke while stretching her hand. She had been gripping the gun a bit too tight, which was a bad thing, so now she felt her hand a bit numb, even after the theory class, but during that one she had been gripping the pen with the same hand, so it helped raise the level of numbness she was feeling. Her fingers felt sore and her muscles were all clenched and unable to relax.

"I know certain other people who have the nerve to say even worse things…" Emily nudged Angie and it made her chuckle.

It was so easy to talk to this girl. It was pleasant, fun and the best part was that none of them felt like they had to hold their tongue back. They would just randomly blurt out whatever was on their mind – appropriate or not.

"Thank you for not backing Clara up on me being a total psychopath." Angie's words came out of nowhere.

Emily took a step back, from the shock. She remembered that night when she had asked Clara to invite Angie for a sleepover at her house. And then she had received the disturbing news that Angela had flipped a switch and nearly tried to stab Clara with a fork.

"Of course you'd sneak a peek into Clara's phone. She should have been more careful when leaving it in your sight."

"Actually, she was dumb enough to hand it to me, herself. I asked if I could use it to text Bryan that I'm not coming back to the dorms that night." Angie said innocently.

"Oh yeah and my text conversation with her just popped up on the screen, eh?" Emily was not dumb. She knew Angela would have searched for it, as soon as the phone was in her hands.

"It was on the screen. I couldn't help it…" Angie shrugged, still playing innocent.

"For your information, you'd be a sociopath in that specific case, rather than a psychopath. You should know this by now."

"Oh, definitely. I've been told to have sociopathic tendencies. Guess it doesn't surprise me."

Emily then narrowed her eyes. This was the best time to bring something up.

"Do you…want to talk about anything?" Emily said slowly and silently. She didn't want to freak Angela out.

"No, I'm good." Angie kept on smiling, like nothing was happening.

Of course she knew what Emily was on about, she just chose to ignore it.

"On second thought - definitely a psychopath…with some clearly shown sociopathic tendencies, in certain occasions. Yup!" Emily laughed, adjusting her initial profile to fit Angela's character better.

At this point, all she could do was to dramatize the situation, before it would escalate.

"Should we get going?" Emily added, holding the keys to her car in one hand.

She had stepped out of the car as soon as Angie had walked out of the building. Both needed some fresh air and they were enjoying the sunshine, standing next to the car, but both also needed food.

Angie nodded and got in the passenger's seat.

"Hey, hey, beautiful ladies!" Matt greeted both Emily and Angie, when the team rolled up to the restaurant a little after the dynamic duo had arrived.

Everyone had a huge smile on their face and Emily called them out instantly.

"What did you guys do?" Emily asked, raising an eyebrow and praying that it wouldn't be anything bad.

"Tell her the secondary damage first! She'd be less mad about that!" Garcia whispered to Matt.

"No! The rage would then only escalate! Bad news first. Always! Have you learned nothing, working for the FBI?" Luke shot Garcia a glance before he set his eyes on Matt.

"What? Why is everyone looking at me? Why do I have to be the messenger? I already sacrificed myself, walking in here first. I put myself in the line of fire, for all of you, ungrateful people! Have my back now, come on!" Matt whined jokingly.

"Guys, what the Hell happened?" Emily was on the edge of her seat. This did not sound good, at all.

"Relax. They were just playing a stupid game, in your office, and your new coffee mug got knocked off from the desk." Rossi, the voice of reason, spoke.

"They?" JJ exploded, trying to sound serious. "Oh, I'm sorry, are you forgetting the moment when it was your turn to do her?" She added, pointing at Emily.

"Wow, ya'll are naughty!" Angie smirked. She was loving this.

"Eww, not like that!" JJ cringed. "We were doing impersonations of Emily, in her office, and someone sat on her desk and the mug ended on the floor."

"Why would someone sit on my desk!?" Emily asked.

"Because, hello, when have you ever sat on an actual chair, like a normal person!?" JJ laughed out loud.

Everyone knew about Emily's weird obsession with sitting on things, rather than chairs. She'd sit on tables, boxes, just about anything that was not a chair. And if, for some reason, there were only chairs or sofas around her, she'd either sit on or lean over the armrest, but never directly on the seat. It was her thing. She did it subconsciously and she had been doing it for years. Even in the meeting room, discussing a case, she'd randomly walk up to someone to check their progress with something and she'd sit on top of the table, hovering over that person. It was the most 'Emily' thing to do.

"Yeah, fair enough." Emily shrugged. She was aware of her weird little kink and she had no idea why she subconsciously always avoided chairs.

"So, what's the secondary thing?" She asked curiously.

"That was the secondary thing…" Tara said with a soft smile, hoping she'd not get killed.

"Guys, out with it. Come on, I'm too hungry for charades." Emily urged them and since nobody was willing to talk, she targeted the most vulnerable one.

"We then tried to replace your new mug with your BAU one, but we didn't find it in the drawer where you usually keep it and then we kind of broke the drawer door…" Reid shot it out, the second Emily's eyes laid on him. He was a good boy, he'd always tell her the truth.

"Yeah, where is your BAU Prentiss mug anyway?" Garcia asked. "You loved that mug. You wouldn't let anyone touch it."

Emily looked at Angie and concealed a smile.

At that moment, Angie realized that this was more than just a stupid coffee mug for Emily. It had been an object she treasured. And she had given it to her willingly, a few weeks ago.

"Guess it was time for a change in my life. The mug is in good hands now. And I don't care about the new mug, come on guys, it was a three dollar mug from Target." Emily stated.

"I'll get the drawer door fixed easily. I don't care about any of it. Don't you barge in and give me a mini heart attack like that." Emily kept on laughing, thankful that this was all the bad news her team had for her.

"So, who won?" Emily asked curiously. "The 'imitating Prentiss' game. Come on, I need to know!" She added with a smile, just to let them know she wasn't mad about it.

Luke raised his hand up, a bit shyly.

To his surprise, Emily willingly gave him a high five for the job well done, winking at him. Of course he'd win that game – he was the one that cared the least, whether he was doing or saying the wrong thing. He was spontaneous and real, which was why he would have been a great Prentiss impersonator. Emily was only upset about the fact that she hadn't been able to see him shine in all of his Prentiss glory.

"Hey, can I buy you a new mug?" Angie offered, whispering to Emily when everyone was busy checking the menu.

"That depends on whether or not you're going to let me give you some money to spend…" Emily challenged.

It was obvious that Angela had nothing. She had been running on food coupons for weeks now.

"Ok, no new mug then." Angie's response was exactly what Emily had expected. This girl would never take money she hadn't worked for and Emily knew it.

"So, Angela, how have you been?" JJ initiated a conversation. She was determined to patch things up with this girl.

"Good." Angie replied shortly, her eyes fixated on the menu. "Oh, chicken parmigiana!" She added, licking her lips and changing the topic completely.

Emily gave her a disapproving look that Angela did not even notice. Something about the way Angie acted with JJ was bothering her way too much.

"I'm sorry." Emily mouthed to JJ, across the table, as if it was her fault that Angela was being so stand offish with her.

JJ shrugged, as if to say that it was out of her control now. She had tried and failed, numerous times.

"The seminar is in a few days! I e-mailed Dan to ask if you could be excused from the Academy for the entire day and he said it was okay. Prentiss gave her consent to it, too." Reid changed the topic once again, reminding Angela about the seminar he'd once invited her to accompany him to.

He wasn't sure why Angie was icing JJ out, but he felt bad for his best friend and he did not want to judge Angie for her actions before he knew the facts. Maybe she had a valid reason to act that way. What if JJ reminded her of someone from her past and she was transferring her negative emotions towards that person, onto JJ?

"Really? Thank you! Wow, I don't even deserve this…" Angie said enthusiastically, but Emily was about to crush that enthusiasm in a second.

"No, you really do not." Emily stated, giving Angie an icy look, no doubt connected to her behavior towards JJ just seconds ago.

Angie felt uncomfortable. She did have a reason to want to stay distant from JJ, she just could never tell anyone about it. So, her only option was to fake ignorance and to let the team think that she was a moody asshole, when it came to JJ.

"Did you know that our UnSub called Emily a whore yesterday?" Tara butted in, trying to save the mood of this lunch break.

It was hardly the most appropriate thing to say, but at least her blunt way of coming up with it made everyone laugh.

They told Angie the specifics of the case and at some point Rossi even let Angie analyze some of the information, before they told her the outcome.

"You're good at this." Matt stated, after hearing what Angie had to say about the case.

Her deduction was a bit off, but she made a few valid points as well. She was also willing to listen to everyone who wanted to explain her errors after she had stopped talking. And she asked about a million questions after that, too.

"But I want to learn more. I want to know everything." Angie replied to Matt, enthusiasm oozing from her voice.

Before they knew it, an hour had gone by and they had finished their food, while discussing random little things. Angie fit in so well, she kept on talking to everyone, but she never really spoke directly to JJ. She wouldn't even look at her and whenever she felt JJ's eyes on her, she instantly tensed up.

The team paid for their lunch, with Emily paying for both her and Angie, before they made plans to go grab a coffee and walk around the nearby park a little bit.

As they went through the park gates, Emily walked a few steps behind everyone, waving at Angie, urging her to come closer.

"Ok, so let's get one thing straight - if you want to be in my life, you need to respect the fact that JJ is my best friend and that she is always going to be in my life. And consequently, you have to respect JJ, too." Emily started speaking as soon as Angie was closer.

"I'm not done talking!" Emily put her hand up in the air, preventing Angie from speaking, the second the girl had opened her mouth. "The BAU is a family and we don't tolerate grudges. So, whatever your problem with JJ is, I need you to either work it out or find a way for you to be cordial with her, or I wouldn't even want you anywhere near my team. Is that understood?"

Angie gulped. She knew this speech was coming. She also knew that Emily was the last person she'd like to tell the truth to, when it came to the reasons why she was being cold with JJ.

She only nodded, looking away, as she was too ashamed to look Emily in the eyes. She just got scolded, like a child, and she really did deserve it. In fact, it was way nicer than what Angie expected Emily to hit her with.

"Now go get yourself a coffee and think about what I said. Nobody messes with my team members, not even you." Emily handed Angie ten dollars and pointed at a coffee truck nearby, where the rest of the team was already in line to get their drinks.

Angie did not dare speak back. She knew it would be rude and disrespectful, no matter what she said. Instead, she just joined the team and waited in line.

Reid and Tara asked her a few questions and she replied absentmindedly. Her thoughts were occupied by the speech she had just been given.

Right after she got her coffee, she was on her way to give the rest of the money back to Emily, when she saw a guy, sitting on a bench, selling sunglasses for five bucks. This was perfect, her coffee had only cost four dollars and ninety-five cents.

She bought a pair of dark lens sunglasses and she had the best idea of action.

It was sunny outside, so she could get away with wearing the sunglasses without raising any suspicion.

"Hey, can I talk to you?" She said timidly, walking up to JJ, who was leaning over a fence, talking to Garcia at that moment.

"Sure…" JJ excused herself and they both walked off.

Emily had been keeping an eye on Angela ever since they walked in the park and she had made that scene. She knew what Angela would do and so far, all of her deductions were turning into reality. Angie had taken a few minutes to cool off and to come up with a plan and then she had successfully extracted JJ from the team. If she wasn't heading off to a more secluded area of the park to kill JJ, she must be headed off to a private place, to talk. Emily prayed for the latter.

"Hey." Angie said awkwardly once they were far enough from the team.

"Hi." JJ waved at her, because no matter what she did, she had always been given the cold shoulder.

"So, I just wanted to say…" Angie started off, but she didn't have a speech. She felt unprepared. And, weirdly, for whatever reason she also felt unable to improvise. Angela – the greatest actress of all times, the skillful liar…she could simply not say a word.

"It's okay. Just say it as it is. Don't overthink it. Trust me." JJ urged her, knowing how hard it was for someone to be open and honest with someone they disliked.

"It's not that I don't like you. I actually do and I think you are an amazing Agent. You must have saved so many people's lives through the years and I bet you are some little girl's or boy's superhero…" Angie started off.

If JJ wanted the unedited version of her thoughts, she'd get just that. But it was about to get messy.

"And I know you're Emily's best friend and she really cares about you. It's not fair of me to…" Angie trailed off, feeling more than guilty.

What was she supposed to say next? Ice you out? Treat you like crap?

"Just tell me why." JJ asked, helping her just get to the point.

"I can't. I really can't. I wish I could, but I can't. All I can say to you is that, looking at you, I see a very painful scene from my past and I can't get over it. I can't shake it. You remind me of the worst thing that has ever happened to me, and in a weird way, of the best thing in my life, as well. So yeah, I'm a little confused as to what kind of a relationship I need to be building with you right now. I figured - no relationship, no problems. But then I seem like I'm being rude to you, if I never talk to you, and I don't want that. But also, when I speak to you, it's too much for me to handle. I just…can't even look at you…"

Angie's lower lip quivered and she looked down at her shoes. Good idea to have sunglasses on, so JJ wouldn't be able to see tears, forming in her eyes at that very moment. She didn't let them fall, but they were there, like a pool of pain, ready to overflow.

"Oh…" JJ gasped. She hadn't expected this. She thought that maybe Angie ignored her because she thought she was lame and boring, or whatever other reason. Just not that reason.

"Well, I'm sorry I remind you of something so painful. I'm sorry you even had to go through something painful. I can tell you're a strong girl and you are so smart, too. No wonder Emily is so drawn to you - it's like you are two of a kind, in many ways. And, for what it's worth, I will try to give you space and have you see less of me around. I know a thing or two about psychological transference, I've been though it myself and I know how hard it is to shake that feeling. Like, each time you see someone, you see the worst of you and you just want it to stop. Honestly, I'm sorry that, for whatever reason, I'm a source of pain for you. And thank you for telling me that. You're not being rude. It's just life and we can't always control how we feel. I get it." JJ spoke softly and at some point she did what she always did when having a heated emotional conversation with someone – she put her right hand on Angie's shoulder.

Emily was still able to see them, from where she was sitting, listening to some theory Reid was telling her about, but really, her full attention was on the scene unraveling between Angie and JJ, in the distance.

"Oh, no! It was going so well! Why did you have to touch her!?" Emily groaned in despair. She fully expected Angie to shriek away and to close herself in her own shell again.

"Wait…what?" Emily muttered in disbelief when, instead, she could see a hint of a smile on Angie's face, as she let JJ's hand just rest on her shoulder.

This was one for the books. Angie had been so sweet with the rest of the team, but she hadn't let anyone, besides Emily, touch her. And it wasn't even always that she let Emily touch her - half the times she'd shriek away from her hand as well.

It was weird. Angie had been so cold with JJ and it took her a three-minute talk to open up and let her get this personal? No. Emily was not buying it. There must have been another reason.

"Uhh, Garcia just asked me how spectroscopy really works…" Rossi said out loud, approaching Emily and Reid.

"Oh, no! I have to save her from blissful ignorance. Excuse me, Prentiss, we shall continue this talk later." Reid walked off instantly, completely unaware of the fact that so far he had only been having a monologue, with a very spy-mode Prentiss by his side, absolutely absent from the conversation and not giving him even a glance.

"You know how to get rid of Boy Genius." Emily smirked, sensing how Rossi took a seat in front of her, while her eyes were still glued to Angie and JJ, in the distance.

"You can't control her, Emily. She's not a child anymore." Rossi was not there to talk about Reid and Emily knew it.

"I know, it's just this feeling…" Emily sighed, hating her inability to put it into words.

She wasn't even sure what this feeling was called. Maybe if Reid would have stayed, he would have been able to put a name to it, so she could later Google everything about it and possible ways of prevention.

"It's called protection. Guidance. Worry. And it's normal, Emily. That feeling never really goes away." Rossi said with a soft smile.

"Then why are you so hard on me for having this feeling, even if she's not a child?"

"Touché, Prentiss." He laughed. "Look, when Joy came into my life, I had no idea how to be a father. And then, the more I knew about her, the more this weird feeling came over me. It took me a while to figure it out and I still don't have just one word to describe it with, but I know that it is the most wonderful, heart-warming feeling a parent could have."

Emily bit her bottom lip. Why was he saying all that, in those words?

At the very same time, JJ's hand was still on Angie's shoulder. Only seconds have passed, but it felt like an eternity.

"I just needed you to know why I refuse to even look at you. It's not hatred. It's years of pent up anger and pain and I just don't know how to deal with it when you're around to remind me of it. And I know it's not fair, because it almost sounds like I'm blaming you for it, which I am not, but…" Angie tried to summarize everything, but she wasn't finding the right words.

"I understand perfectly. How about we act cordial to each other and apart from some group chat, we don't interact with each other? Not in a bad way, just…in a way that gives you some space. Okay? And for what it's worth – I would have really liked to be able to get to know you." JJ said with a half smile.

She was curious about Angie. Everybody was, but for some reason for JJ it felt personal. And it pained her to know that she won't ever get the chance to really know Angela Hunter, like the rest of her team could. But she also understood the reasons why, now that Angela had done the right thing to explain her behavior a little better.

"Thank you so much for understanding. And for what it's worth – in a parallel universe, I think we might have been really good friends, so I'm sorry as well, that I won't be able to get to know the real you. And don't ever forget that for some young girl or boy, you are a superhero, Jennifer Jareau!" Angie repeated and JJ found that suspicious. Saying it once was cute and flattering, but saying it again, and out of context too, was a bit off.

"Thank you for doing the grown-up thing to come talk to me about it. I don't suppose it was easy for you to share that…" JJ looked down, remembering a pain from her own past.

Angie nodded. Not easy? JJ had no idea how much courage this talk had cost her.

The team gathered their scattered bags, sunglasses, coffee cups and things and they left the park. It was time to go back to the BAU office and to get some work done. Sadly, for Angie it was just time to go back to class. She knew she still had to finish the Academy before even getting an internship, but she was kind of impatient to get to the good part – a placement with the Bureau.

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"rmpcmfan" Hello :)! I have to admit I edited in a lot of the Rossi/Emily flashbacks in the previous chapter, purely because I needed it to have that sentimental feel. I'm glad it worked :)! Their friendship is so precious and I wanted to point it out in a chapter, as it ties the whole 'Emily post Doyle trauma' arc with the 'Emily running off to London' arc and 'The Great Emily Prentiss who worked on herself and is slowly obtaining the things/people she wants in life' arc. I feel like if ONE person could have contributed to Emily starting to get her life together, it would have been Rossi, so I used these flashbacks to explain it. And oh, you bet'cha - Emily was royally pissed that Rossi ruined that interrogation without being invited in lol, but it all worked out just fine. Also, yes, Emily 'played a role' by saying all those ehm naughty things to the UnSub, to make him tick..and it worked. But ehm, how much of her 'confession' was made up, really!? Messin' around with a guy she barely knows? Havin' a good time without being married? Come on, hits too close to home *wink*. Also, lol I couldn't help making the UnSub call her the 'W' word, so she can proudly go on and tell everyone about it, afterwards, hahaha! Emily was enjoying the heck out of that interrogation, as it finally let her say these things out loud and have the excuse to later on say that she was 'in character'. Uh-huh, Emily...we see you, girl :P! And the texting is cute and fun...until they'd need something more. Maybe one of them will find a way to take this long-distance relationship to a more fun and personal level? We'll see :P! As for George and Johnny/Brad - LOL! George is going to be a recurring 'character' hehe...he uhm, he's very 'loyal' to Emily. And let's leave it at that, hahahahaha!

"sweetkid45" Hi :)! Well, my turn on the Emily & Mark relationship is that it did not work out, as it was purely physical, with not much emotional connection there. Emily enjoyed it, for the time being, and like Rossi said - it was what she needed at that moment of her life. And I won't turn Mark into a bad guy, but rather - they separated in a nice, educated way, both going in different directions in life. Later on you will learn how/why exactly they split up and why it would have never worked out if they ever got back together. As for Emily/JJ, my words were in reply to your question whether JJ was jealous as a best friend (because Emily spends a lot of time with Angela now and she is in a new relationship, too), or whether JJ is jealous because she has romantic feelings for Emily - that's why I said there is NO romantic connection (in my story) hehe, so you wouldn't be confused when I tease later on that JJ is 'jealous' It's only as a joke and JJ will say it sometimes to Emily, just to laugh about it. They are super close and tell each other everything and share those inappropriate comments, which makes it look like they are more than friends, but this is the fun of their friendship and I really enjoy that. Both Emily and JJ always joke around and tell each other they love each other, but they mean it as friends :)!