CHAPTER 33

THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH

"Hey." This time it was Emily who had woken up before Richard.

This meant it was now Richard who got to see Emily's face, looking down at him, as if she was waiting for him to wake up. Which, she was.

"Do we have to check out already?" He asked jokingly, imitating her question from the morning before that one.

"No. The maid knocked on the door and I told her to come back tomorrow." She said devilishly.

"Good." He rubbed his eyes lazily.

Even without alcohol, he still found it hard to wake up properly, the morning after a night out.

"It should come as no surprise to you when I say that, but I'm hungry." Emily stated.

Oh, this must be why she was so eager for him to wake up.

"Seriously, how do you eat so much and stay in such a good shape?" He questioned, his hand caressing her thigh before moving to her flat stomach, under the covers.

"I work out, like, all the time. Usually in the morning. And sometimes late at night, too." She stated and then realized that she hadn't been to the gym in a week.

"I bet you're really good at the gym." He commented, without a doubt in his mind. A woman her age, with that figure, would obviously be good at working out.

"Probably not as good as you." Her hand then traveled up his chest, painfully slowly, allowing her to feel every muscle, his abs, everything.

"How about this?" He suggested. "We get dressed, we go get some breakfast and then we find a nice gym around here?"

"Oh, you just can't wait to see me beat your ass at the gym!" She laughed, only half-joking.

"I can't wait to see you sweat." He leaned in, whispering to her ear teasingly, before he hopped out of bed.

"Mean!" She called out after him, throwing a pillow in his direction, but he dodged it.

They got ready, once again dressing up in yesterday's clothes, since their suitcases were still in his car.

Emily lead the way out of the hotel, going by the reception desk with her head held high. They even got greeted by the staff, even though nobody remembered them ever checking in.

"Lunch?" A hotel employee pointed to the outdoors restaurant area.

"Oh, no. We only just woke up. We're heading out for breakfast first." Richard waved his hand in the air, showing him that they had no interest in staying. Moreover, since they had no right to stay and eat the food.

"That's ok, Sir. We can fix you a wonderful breakfast. Go, get yourselves comfortable. A waiter will be with you soon." The young employee insisted with a smile.

"Well then, my darling, we shall go." Emily said in old-fashioned English, feeling a tug on her hand, as Richard clearly just wanted to get out of there.

"Woman, es-tu fou?" He asked her if she was crazy, as soon as they were on their own and Emily was walking over to a secluded table.

"Oui." She stated.

A waiter came by and brought them coffee, making sure it would match their tastes. He then brought them a whole tray of French pastries and some jam, made of fruits from their region.

"Merci." Emily thanked the man in French before he walked away.

"You're good at this." Richard stated.

"I'm good at a lot of things." She said before taking a sip of her coffee. "You'll have to elaborate on that."

"Acting undercover. You're actually amazing at it." Richard's words made her choke on her second sip of coffee.

Something about the way he said that, made Emily shiver.

"You know what else is amazing?" She did what she did best in situations when she didn't want to reply.

"These croissants. Uh! Heavenly!" She changed the topic.

Richard grabbed one and started munching on it without going back to his previous statement.

"Can I use your phone for a second?" She asked while spreading jam on a cookie.

Richard fiddled with the phone between his fingers. It almost felt like he didn't want it to end up in her hands. He didn't have a problem when she had asked for his phone and taken that selfie with him, but that was because he was right next to her and he could see what she was doing. At that moment, however, Emily was sitting on the other side of the table and he would have no visual of his phone. No way was she getting to use it then.

"What do you need it for?" He asked lamely.

"I just want to Google an active wear shop nearby. I doubt I'd be comfortable working out in this dress." She laughed, only to mask up that she had definitely sensed Richard's awkward refusal.

"Don't worry about that. There's surely going to be some stuff to buy at the gym's front desk." He then did what she had done earlier when she didn't want the topic to continue – he changed it, much like Emily just seconds ago. "How are those ones with the jam? Any good?" He pointed at the cookies.

"Yummy." Emily was really good at pretending like she was completely oblivious. He had literally just admitted to the same thing.

She let it slide, for now.

After breakfast, they walked out of the hotel without paying for a single service they had used. It wasn't about the money, clearly. It was about the thrill.

Walking around, they soon found a gym, just a few streets away from the hotel. Like Richard had supposed, there was a limited choice of active wear sold there, but at least it was better than the dress Emily was wearing.

Emily opted for plain black leggings and a crimson red sports bra and long tank top. Richard got a pair of black shorts with a dark grey shirt.

They walked in and checked out the stations. Next step was to plan out their work out and then came the best part – the sweating.

Each different station they trained on, Richard thought he would dominate at. At some, he really did. At others, well, not so much. Emily was quite good at almost everything and he was impressed. At some stations she even gave him a run for his money and she enjoyed watching him suffer, sweat and sigh with desperation.

An hour and fifteen minutes later, they were done. Exhausted. Completely drenched in sweat.

"Three miles?" Emily suggested.

"Are you out of your mind?" Running was the last thing Richard wanted to do as they were just now stepping out of the gym.

"What? I always go for a run after the gym. It's good, it's cardio." She shrugged, it was something normal for her.

"Oh, I'll give you cardio!" He said threateningly, but also, very much teasingly.

She pushed him away when he leaned over. "Eww, no." She reminded him that they were both sweaty and there was no way he was getting anywhere near her, not like that.

"Fine, then let's just run to the car. I need to get my bathing suit. I refuse to leave St. Tropez without having laid at the beach for at least a couple of hours." She suggested and looked in direction to where the parking lot was. Apparently, even after all these circles around the city, she was still quite good with orientation, as she knew exactly which direction to look at.

They did as she had suggested and Richard was glad he had complied. She looked so good in that two-piece and he now had five more minutes to enjoy her in it, before she'd have to change.

Emily inevitably drifted towards the beach, running alongside it. She sure seemed to enjoy the water, a lot. He would have assumed she had grown up around the beach, as she was so carefree and happy, each time her feet felt the water.

The sun started to set down and they realized they hadn't even had a proper lunch after the gym. Richard suggested checking into a hotel, this time the right way, and taking a shower, changing into something nicer and then going to get an early dinner before spending the evening bar hopping and enjoying the scenery.

Emily agreed to it all and they found a nice hotel near the beach. Richard walked in first and she already knew he wasn't going to let her even mention paying.

He got things settled with the hotel, meaning that he paid for the Ambassador Suite and all services included, and they were soon accompanied to their room upstairs.

"Wow." Emily walked in, wide eyed.

Floor-to-ceiling windows, an amazing view of the coastline and the water, and candy on top of the bedside tables. Emily was a happy girl.

However, the bigger her smile, the deeper the frown on Richard's face was.

It had just hit him, one more time, as he was paying for one night only, that this was their one night, the only night left.

He left his bag by the bed and took a shower first, leaving her feeling a bit confused.

When he got out, she took a shower as well and it took her a little longer than usual. She then blamed it on having to shampoo her hair twice after the gym and the beach, but the truth was, she had once again fallen deep into thoughts about life and whatnot.

They got ready quickly and went out, in search of a good restaurant. Emily pointed one out and Richard liked it as well, so they ended up walking in there and not regretting their choice later. The food was really good, the portions were not as small as Emily expected, it being a cliché that portions in France were always small; and the view was breathtaking.

The view was what had drawn Emily to that specific restaurant. They were up on an open terrace, overlooking the promenade, feeling the gentle breeze against their bare arms until Emily ended up having goosebumps, twice; and there were lights, everywhere. Lights were hanging from the terrace, lights wrapped around the table legs, lights everywhere she looked. It reminded her of fairy lights and she smiled. There had been a time when Emily Prentiss thought that fairy lights were so dumb, but there had also been a time when Lauren Reynolds had grown to love those.

"What are you thinking about?" His curiosity got the best of him.

He had been watching her get lost in her thoughts, once again, with her eyes wandering left and right for the past couple of minutes.

"Just…life." She replied with a smile.

"Lauren, I-…" He started off, but once again, she did not want to hear it. Whatever it might have been. She had a bad feeling about it.

"Can we get more of this?" She pointed at one of the dishes that they had just shared, only to change the topic.

Little did she know, he was able to play her game and turn it against her.

"We can't always have more of what we want, Lauren." He said, not even looking at the empty plate, as it was not what he was referring to.

Emily gulped guiltily.

"We can't always control what we want." She added to his statement.

"No." He smiled, a forced smile. "We can't."

"I really wish I was drunk right about now!" Emily thought to herself while sipping on some water.

"I-…" He started off once again, but this time she physically prevented him from speaking, as she put her index finger to his mouth.

"Please…" She almost begged. "Don't."

Richard shook his head. He had to get something off his chest and each time he had tried to do it, since last Sunday when they met, Emily had found a way to stop him. This was messing with his head so much and he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep it to himself.

But one thing was sure – Emily would not be leaving without the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth!

Or, would she?


"It felt really good, seeing you all again!" Garcia chimed happily after their Sunday morning breakfast turned into a four-hour brunch.

"Aw, Garcia. It's not like you won't see us ever again. Everything will be back to normal tomorrow morning." JJ reassured her, giving her a tight hug and offering to drive her home, since on the way there Garcia had gotten a ride with Luke, who was now going in a different direction.

"Guys, one more thing." Rossi said before they would all jump into their cars. "Emily hates feeling 'babied'. Don't be awkward and overly protective around her. In other words – don't make her regret coming back home."

"If she even comes back home…" Reid whispered silently and it tore JJ's heart apart. She knew how broken Emily had left him a few years ago.

An hour later JJ dropped Garcia off in front of her house and went to pick Henry up from Sunday soccer practice, as Will was busy with Michael at the playground and he wasn't going to make it in time to the football field.

Garcia walked up the stairs, feeling both happy and sad.

After making herself a relaxing cup of tea, she sat in front of her triple-secured computer.

Different pop-ups appeared on her screen.

A few had to do with promotions from her favorite stores, cafes and shopping centers.

Others were connected to some weird searches that she had done recently, such as 'How to be a better friend'. Apparently someone had just dropped a book on that subject and with a couple of clicks Garcia had just pre-ordered it.

Three pop-ups had to do with work-related things and twenty-four others had to do with cats.

The last two ones were the important ones, though.

One of those notified her for new credit card activity from Lyon, France. Garcia panicked, but then remembered how Emily had bribed her into promising that she would stop stalking her and she would stop worrying. Well, Garcia could never do good on the No Stalking promise, but the least she could do was to not worry and to trust that Emily was okay. Even if she had used her twice-dead alias' credit card in a city, diverse from the one she was in, just two days prior.

But then, what if she was kidnapped?

That thought made Garcia nearly finish her tea all at once.

It did a crappy job at calming her down, so she then got up and fixed herself a second cup of tea, which she immediately dropped and spilled all over herself, as soon as she read her last notification.

New e-mail from Chocolate Mike

Garcia was dead. She was in Heaven and she was sure of it.

She then took a moment to appreciate the name of this undercover account. Mike, as in 'Magic Mike', and Chocolate as in 'Chocolate City' – Garia's two bibles, a.k.a. favorite movies ever.

She took a deep breath and then exhaled sharply.

A few days ago she had poured her heart out to a very special man in her life. It was now his turn to wow her with his magic words.

She made a huge build-up before she finally clicked on the e-mail, expecting something amazing, heart-warming.

And then she frowned.

Hey there BabyGirl,

I miss you too. Every. Single. Day.

There will be a delivery for you, tomorrow at noon.

PS: Someone says Hi in the attachment.

Love you, my sweet, sexy, smart, irresistible vanilla temptation.

Your Beau!

Garcia started crying before she even opened the attachment.

This e-mail…yes, it was cute, but damn, it was so emotionally unfulfilling. It was not what she wanted. It was short, it felt like it had been scribbled down quickly, as if he didn't want to bother wasting too much time on her.

When she opened the attachment, she cried even harder.

A tiny little figure was waving, in a photo. A child, the cutest one she had ever seen. Morgan's son. She realized how grown up he was now and it made her cry even saltier tears, knowing that she had missed out precious moments of this child's life. She had only seen him in a few photos, but Morgan had made his choice clear once he had left the Bureau – he wanted a new name, new life, on a new continent even. Nobody knew where he was and he was smart enough to block the tracking of his each e-mail, the few ones he had sent to the team for the last couple of years anyway.

So, to have a few lines reply to everything that Garcia confided in him, was just blah! That was the exact word Garcia would use to explain ow she felt about it. Blah.

"JJ?" Garcia then decided it was a great idea to call JJ, who was driving on the highway by now, and to freak the Hell out on her.

"Oh my God, Garcia. Are you okay?" JJ gasped, hearing Garcia's heavy breathing on the other side of the line.

"No." She had never had any problems admitting defeat. Garcia was the one who would cry when she wanted to. She would always let people know when she was hurt. And those were qualities that Emily had always admired, reasons why she loved Garcia so much. Maybe Emily was even a bit jealous, in a healthy way.

"What's wrong? Is anyone in the house? Do you need help?" JJ was beyond freaking out, to the point where she was now driving in the middle of two lanes.

"I'm okay. It's just…" Garcia started off, interrupted by hiccups every now and then. "I know Sunday is family time and I also know we just spent hours together. But I have no family. And I don't want to be in this house on my own. And I'm such an egoist for calling you right now. I know you were excited to see the end of Henry's soccer practice and to take him out for ice-cream later. I just, I really wanted to hear your voice. It's the only thing that could really calm me down."

"No, that's Emily's voice. Usually." JJ corrected Garcia, but then realized her mistake.

A few days ago it had been JJ to break down in hysterical sobs, at the mere mention of Emily's name. She was now doing something similar to Garcia, just by pronouncing it.

"Listen. Try to calm down. Go take a nice bath, try out one of those new bath bombs I got you last week, okay?" JJ suggested while doing her best to stay in one lane only.

"Oh, I likey-likey bath bombs!" Garcia was like a big child – she could always be lured by something colorful and smelling good.

"Then I want you to prepare an overnight bag and to sit on your butt and wait, okay?" JJ added.

"Wh-why?" Garcia stuttered, still crying.

"Because I'm on my way to go get Henry and then I'm on my way to come get you. You are both family to me, okay? And then we are all going to get ice-cream and Will and Mikey will come join us when they are ready to, as they wanted to go visit the aquarium after the playground." JJ smiled on the phone. "You are spending the night at my house and we are watching cartoons with the kids and making Will go crazy with all the scented body spray we are going to use before bed, okay?"

"Are you su-su-sure?" Garcia was now smiling through her tears.

"Absolutely! Now let me drive, girl!" JJ laughed.

"What did I ever do to deserve you?" Garcia chuckled and it made JJ feel much better, knowing that she had successfully changed her friend's mood.

"See you later." JJ said before hanging up and focusing on the road again.

Garcia was probably the only person for whom JJ would drive 40 minutes in one direction and then 40 minutes more in the opposite direction, and then an hour more, including Sunday afternoon traffic, back to her house.

Well, Garcia and Reid. Those were the only ones.

And Emily.

But that was it! Just those three people, out of seven billion people in the world – it was the three of them that would always have that special place in JJ's heart.