A/N: Once more I need to aplogize for the delayed update. I have been packing and moving all by myself this last week and a half, so it took a lot longer than anticipated to be able to write a new chapter for my awesome and faithful readers. But have no fear, this story MUST be done by the end of the month. Thank you so much for your continued patience! And now on with the story! ENJOY!

A/N 2: Calling all CM readers and authors! Join us for our first Profiler's Choice CM Awards on the Fanfiction site! Help us choose the best of the best of the Criminal Minds stories on FF, and let your voice be heard. Anyone with a account is eligible to nominate. Please check out the nominating ballot and rules at Chit Chat on Author's Forum. Just click on the Criminal Minds Forum located above, then on Chit Chat On Author's Corner, and then on Profilers Choice CM Awards 2010. There you'll find all the rules and where and how to cast your nomination ballot for your favourite CM FanFic!

After drying her tears and splashing her face with cool water, Angel felt a little more in control. She always believed that talking things out somehow made everything easier to deal with, even if the only person you have to talk to is yourself. Her slight smile gave way to a small frown when she felt a slight niggling nipping at her after that thought crossed her mind. She sighed sadly as she wondered if that was how the rest of her life was going to be – every thought making her feel like she was forgetting something important.

"It doesn't matter girlfriend. You are who you are and no amount of wishing is going to change that fact. Suck it up Princess."

With her pep talk finished, Angel took one more cleansing breath and was ready to face the world once more. When she exited the washroom, the first thing she noticed was J.J. sitting quietly and waiting right where she'd left her. Only now, she was staring down at a large envelope laying on her lap and plucking nervously at the red string loosely tying the opening flap closed. Angel's steps faltered as her mind immediately connected the envelope with what was undoubtedly it's contents. Squaring her shoulders she walked towards J.J. and once again at her side, she was unable to stop herself from voicing the unnecessary question.

"Is.. is that it?"

J.J.'s head snapped up at the sound of Angel's unsteady voice. Immediately seeing the apprehension blanketing her face, J.J.'s eyes softened in both sympathy and understanding. She couldn't imagine what she'd do if she was in Angel's shoes. Finding her throat clogged with emotions she couldn't quite define, she was only able to nod in affirmation. Suddenly J.J. realized how harshly she'd treated Angel in the conference room, when all she'd done was try and preserve what she believed to be true to a bunch of strangers. Strangers that were essentially saying she didn't exist. Tearing her eyes away from Angel's troubled face, her gaze fell back to the manilla envelope on her lap. Such a small thing, yet within its thin walls, it held the power to change a life, several lives, irrevocably. The problem was for the first time, J.J. honestly didn't know if it would be for the better. Up until now, she believed Angel would be better off knowing who she really was. Now she wasn't so sure.

"So you know?" Angel asked softly as she sat down. When J.J. shook her head, Angel shot her a confused look. She'd been certain that the moment her results were in, J.J. would've dove in with both feet.

Seeing her confusion, J.J. cleared her throat and with a subdued voice, began to explain her hesitation. "To be perfectly honest, I'm fairly certain I already know what we're going to find when we open this up. I just thought that maybe you'd want to see the results yourself first before facing the rest of the team. I'm pretty sure that either result is going to knock you for a bit of a loop and I figured you might not want want to find out in front of everyone. Was I wrong?"

Angel trembled slightly when her mind pictured having to stand in front of the team and face their reaction to the results. "No you weren't wrong. I just never thought I had the option. But although I greatly appreciate your consideration, what's in that envelope doesn't matter to me anymore."

Now it was J.J.'s turn to be confused and more than a little stunned. "I'm sorry, I don't understand. How can it not matter anymore? Don't you want to know for sure?"

"J.J., it doesn't matter anymore because I already know what it's going to say. I felt my emotions catching up to me and I went to the washroom to have myself a private mini melt down instead of a very public one out here. While I was in there, I had what I guess you'd call a flashback to the day I got my tattoo. Given who I remembered being with me that day, there's really only one person I can be. I don't know what to think or feel at the moment because everything is still a jumbled up mess and I still have far more questions than I do answers, but I don't need a piece of paper to confirm my own findings. But hey, if you got a handy-dandy rewind or do-over button stashed away in there somewhere, I'd gladly take that instead."

"Sorry I'm fresh out of those, but I can go you one better. I can offer you the support and friendship I should have offered a long time ago. That and a heartfelt apology for being so rough on you before. I was totally out of line earlier and I'm sorry."

"No J.J., you did the right thing. I was spiralling out of control back there and you yanked me back from the edge just in time. I should be thanking you instead. If anything I should be the one apologizing to you and the rest of the team. I said some pretty nasty things back in the office. Especially to Morgan. Do..do you think he'll ever forgive me?"

"I guess that depends on whether or not you really want him to. Either way, there's really only one way to find out for sure."

Angel sighed. "I was afraid you were going to say that. Maybe we better open that envelope now instead of later after all. I really think I need to make sure one way or the other before I face him. He probably hates me right now and to be honest, I'm not so sure anymore that I can handle this alone."

So engrossed in their conversation, they didn't hear or see his quiet approach until he spoke, his deep and gentle voice startling them both.

"Then how about if we handle it together. After all isn't that what best friends are for?"