CHAPTER 52
ALWAYS WERE AND ALWAYS WILL BE ONE OF US
"Wake ya ol' ass up!" Angie said loudly, hopping on top of Bryan's bed.
"It's freaking 5:30 on a Saturday. And that's after a Friday night out. With drinks!" Bryan argued, desperately trying to get some more sleep.
"We have PFT!" She announced, her hands now shaking him by the shoulders.
"Not until 7." He groaned from underneath the covers which she soon tossed to the floor.
"Get up. Now!" She said sternly and, at this point, Bryan had already lost his faith in humanity.
She urged him to get ready and then announced that breakfast was on her. But, instead of buying anything, she had a different idea.
They walked to the main building, with Angie holding a little bag full of sweet treats, all from her care packages.
Bryan was soon introduced to Angie's favorite hangout spot – the Lounge.
"Dude, this place looks exclusive." He commented as soon as he walked in.
Everything was clean, minimalistic design, and it looked quite fancy.
"It's the FBI building. Everything is exclusive to us. We're just a bunch of Trainees." She pointed out and it was a valid point. Nothing they had was as shiny and new as what the main building looked like.
"Plus, check this out…" She walked over to the little counter in one of the corners of the room, pointing at the coffee machine and the tray of freshly baked goodies.
"Damn, I can't wait to be an Agent!" Bryan smirked, preparing two coffees and placing them in paper cups, so they could enjoy their breakfast outside, getting fresh air.
It was now 6 am and they were just about to walk out of the lounge, when a familiar face stopped Angie by the door.
"Hey!" The woman said to her. "You're the girl from the hearing. The one Fowler was abusing."
"Oh, God. I hope that nickname doesn't stick." Angie laughed.
"Why did you make a shush sign to us when we walked in?" The woman asked and Bryan realized this must be one of the two witnesses who saw the Section Chief being physically violent towards Angie, the previous morning.
"Because I know how to protect myself." Angie said calmly. "And also because I knew that you would do the right thing at that hearing." She then winked to the woman and left.
Angie was good at reading people. As soon as she had seen two people witness the scene, she was sure that those would testify against the woman. That was why she had immediately made a sign for them to leave and to let the scene unravel naturally. And she was right, that was exactly how things had played out.
"You're making quite a name for yourself here and it's only week three." Bryan commented as they were walking outside, searching for a quiet place to have their breakfast at.
"Isn't that the point, though? The more people know you, the more they respect you and give you chances to show them what you're capable of. I ain't here to waste no time." She said while placing a little blanket on the grass, finally happy with a spot near the pond.
"You know, you sometimes sound like such a lil' thug." He pointed out.
It was something he had noticed right from the start – Angie was usually calm and a bit too formal, overly educated even, when she spoke, but sometimes the inner thug in Angie came out to play and he found that to be hilarious, because he could simply not imagine her being all tough and merciless. She was such a sweet girl.
Bryan was not known to be the best judge of character, though.
They sat there for about an hour, getting sugar high while discussing random things about their classes.
"It's almost week four…" Angie commented at some point.
"Yeah. Wow. Time flies…" He smirked. "…when in good company." He then added, looking directly at her.
"Oh, I vow to protect and respect you until the day I take my last breath, because I simply cannot imagine a day in the life of Angela Hunter, without you in it!" She said in her usual sweet and innocent tone, giving him a hug of appreciation.
Bryan thought to himself for a moment. He had joined the Academy on a whim, or sort of. Thinking back, a month ago he was a completely different person. He had lost himself, but more than that – he had lost everything he ever had and wanted in life. So, for him to be able to smile and enjoy someone's company now, it only meant that this person was quite special. And she was more than special.
"Okay, guess it's time for PFT." Angie announced, checking the time.
They grabbed their stuff and walked to the outside training area. Nobody found it weird that Dan was there, because he usually sat through most of their classes anyway. He was like Big Brother – always watching, even if he was in the sidelines.
Instead of watching them train, which is something he had been very interested in for the past three weeks, he sat aside, talking to one of their teachers – the guy who was teaching Criminology.
"Hey, wasn't his class on for tomorrow instead?" Bryan asked the guy who was now training by his side since Angie was assigned to a different group for the day.
"Yeah, but you know how this week went with all the schedule changes." The guy shrugged and didn't give it too much importance.
Bryan however, had started to think like Angie recently. He would analyze things and clues and maybe make a big deal out of something at times, but he was a lot more curious and paid a lot more attention than he used to, three weeks ago.
After class, Dan asked them all to stay a few minutes, for an announcement.
"Hello everyone. As you all know, we've briefly revised the principles of Criminology and with each new class you are getting into the details and different sides of what it represents. Now, I would like to ask you to divide yourselves in groups from two to five people, and to present a case in class, showing an aspect that you want. It can be anything – from theft to larceny, murder, kidnapping. But I want to hear you discuss it from your point of view. Clearly, you can present an old open case, which you can find in the library. Remember, it is not important what the case is about, it is important for me to hear how you discuss it, the language you use, the techniques you suggest and the way you handle yourselves during this mock investigation. Good luck and I will see you in class tomorrow at 10." The Criminology teacher announced.
"Wait, when are we supposed to present that case?" Someone called out.
"I can already tell that some of you have no bright future as criminologists, if you were unable to tell, by my previous words, that the presentation is due tomorrow." The teacher said and Dan laughed.
Dan had asked him to be rough with Angie and Bryan, but this guy was playing his own game and Dan was loving it.
"Oh, I can hear your inner thoughts, my partner in crime!" Angie smirked as she walked to where Bryan was standing.
"Girl, we so got this!" He said, sure of himself.
They were then free to go shower before their morning class and all the way to the dorm, Angie and Bryan discussed their case.
"Okay, so we know Amanda is alive. That's an actual open case. I mean, clearly orchestrated by them, but we cracked it. So, we now need a Wow-factor." She stated.
"Like, fireworks at the end of our presentation?" He suggested, jokingly.
"No, like Amanda walking her fine ass in at the end of our presentation." She smirked.
"How the Hell are we going to find her in just one day if we haven't found her in three weeks now?" Bryan shrugged, suddenly feeling a bit unsure.
"First of all, she spent a week living with me. So it's been two weeks since she disappeared. Get your facts straight, Agent!" She smiled. "Secondly, we haven't been looking for her, like, at all. So, why do you just assume that we won't be able to find her in one day, if we never even tried?"
"I like your enthusiasm." He smiled, grabbing his towel as they had just entered their dorm.
"It's called positivity. You should get some of your own." She snapped her fingers in the air, acting dramatic, just to make him laugh.
"Uh, okay, Little Miss Diva!" He commented and disappeared in the bathroom as he didn't want them to be late for class.
Angie barely had time to shower and change before they had to run to the auditorium.
"Hahaha, if that ain't the class nerd." Some guy pointed a finger at Angie as she was hurrying for her class.
She turned around, to see if someone was behind her, before she replied to him.
"Oh, good. Nobody behind me. I would have been really upset if you meant those words for anyone other than me!" She smirked, pushing him aside, making herself space to keep walking down the hall.
Bryan had made a stop by the vending machines before class, wanting to grab himself a juice.
"You are so pathetic, though." One of the other guys commented.
"Oh, I most definitely am." Angela called out, now with her back to them, still walking.
One of the guys caught up with her and he made the colossal mistake of placing his hand on her shoulder, to try and make her stop walking and turn around to face him.
It took Angie three seconds to have him sprawled on the floor. He did not know what had hit him.
"Now, I'm going to tell you something and you're going to force your tiny idiotic brain to remember it for the rest of your life!" Angie said, now hovering on top of him, as if she was straddling him.
"You are never again to allow your grabby little hands touch a girl. Am I clear? Because if I ever so much as hear that you've dared to do this to another girl, I'll make damn sure that would be the last thing you ever touched. Alright? Okay now." She spoke calmly, yet with a very new expression on her face – she was no longer the sweet and innocent smiling young girl. She seemed quite…devilish.
"Now, do the world a favor and return to that bunch of idiots you call your 'friends' and never again dare speak to me or any other human being, the way you've been speaking all week long. Because nobody deserves to have your insecurities poured all over them in verbal or physical form. And you better remember that, the next time you try to be a dick to someone." She said.
"What's that?" He asked, since she emphasized on this specific word, but never explained it.
With one swift motion, she twisted his hand sideways until a tiny cracking sound was heard and he groaned in pain.
"I'm glad you asked." She smirked, finally letting him go and continuing her strut to the auditorium, as if nothing had happened.
The guy returned to his group of friends and he looked pissed.
"Dude, you got owned by a chick!" One of them started laughing and soon, everyone followed.
"Shut up, you idiots!" The main bully said, while trying to pop his shoulder back in its socket. It felt displaced.
"I didn't sign up for this." He added grumpily.
As a true Big Brother figure, Dan appeared from the corner.
"Yes, you did." Dan stated with a smirk.
"We were just supposed to give her a hard time, not to get our bones cracked!" The guy stated.
"Stop overreacting. You've been on the job long enough, surely you have felt pain before." Dan teased him.
"Ugh, I'm so glad this week is almost over." The guy rolled his eyes. "And I'm also glad you now owe us, big time! Because, trust me, that chick is harder to crack than one might think."
"No, here's where you're wrong, Agent." Dan smiled. "That chick is not hard to crack. She's impossible to crack." He corrected the guy.
"Now, all of you, get out of here. Your work here is done. Go back to your Units. Thank you." Dan added.
"Thank us when we call you one day, asking for a favor." The guy now seemed in a bit of a lighter mood. He loved the idea of Dan owing him one after their little stunt.
"Status check?" Emily texted the group chat, followed by a laughing emoticon.
Everyone replied that they were alive and sobering up. JJ took a while to reply, but she eventually did, too.
They made plans to go on a field trip that afternoon, since the weather promised to be nice and sunny. Plus, it was their day off.
Also, because it was the last day they got to spend with Morgan. And that day, they actually were off and could go hang out and be with him, without distractions.
"What?" Morgan looked up at Emily, who just appeared and stood by the door of the guest room, where he had been staying for the past five days.
"Wheels up!" She smirked.
"Ah, God, I've missed the mixture of the sound of your voice and those words." He said dreamily. "But seriously now, you guys got a case?"
"No, we're just going out of town for the day. You know, little BAU team building time." She smiled.
As if she knew what Morgan's reaction would be, she was already walking towards his bed, extending her hand to him.
"But, I'm no longer member of the team…" There it was, exactly what she thought he'd say.
Her hand pulled on his shirt, forcing him to stand up.
"You always were and you always will be one of us!" She said softly before throwing a shirt in his face.
"Now, try to look a little more decent." Her eyes checked him up and down. He looked like a hot mess.
"When did you become so good at being a ray of sunshine after a night out?" He asked grumpily, now standing up and searching through his bag, for a pair of pants to fit the shirt that Emily had just tossed at him.
"Since I stopped drinking." She laughed. "Also, since someone very special to me helped me get back into the body and soul of the Emily Prentiss that he used to know."
"Emily, it's 10:30 in the morning. I can't take all of your cuteness. Please, stop. My heart is aching!" He smiled, happy to hear that, even if he had spent a lot of time away from the team during his stay there, he had actually helped her get back on her feet.
The morning class was now wrapping up and Angie whispered something to Bryan. They both shot a glance at Dan as they were putting their study materials away in their backpacks.
"Hey Dan?" Bryan walked over to him when the class got dismissed.
"Yes?" Dan turned around to see that it was Bryan who was calling him.
"May we speak, in private?" Bryan asked, walking him to a corner of the auditorium.
"Hey, Bryan!" Angie called out and casually walked over to them. "Sorry to interrupt, I just need five bucks."
Bryan shifted around, searching through his pockets while Angie waited behind them. He then handed her a five dollar bill and she left.
"What were you going to talk to me about?" Dan asked, once they were on their own again.
"Yeah. The Academy. I wanted to ask your feedback on a few things." He started off and then asked about his general performance during PFT, expressing concern that he might be slacking a little at the sprint run.
Dan tried to be vague and to not give him the satisfaction of hearing that he had been performing exceptionally well. The focus of Dan's scheme was on the main Wild Card, but Bryan was surely on the radar as well, being the second chosen one this year. So, Dan pointed out a few flaws and made sure that Bryan would feel like crap after their talk. Which, he did.
"Here." Angie came back a few minutes later, giving Bryan his money back. "The damn vending machine only accepts coins." She added with a shrug.
Dan then moved away, just a few inches. And that was giving Angie a bit of a hard time. She leaned against the wall and, much like other times before, her clumsiness got the best of her. Her shoulder slid against the wall and she ended up crashing against Dan, who was now leaning, with his back against the wall, just inches away from her.
"Oh, shoot. I'm sorry." She said, feeling like an idiot. "Ok, baiiiiiiii." She greeted lamely and walked away.
Dan laughed, shaking his head.
"Yeah, she's kind of weird…" Bryan shrugged, as if that excused Angie's awkwardness.
"Tell me about it!" Dan waved his hand, dismissing Bryan, now that he had nothing left to come up with, just to make Bryan feel badly about himself.
Bryan walked out of there, feeling upset.
"What's up?" Angie asked him as soon as he joined her at the cafeteria.
"Dan said I was performing way under the Academy expectations, in PFT especially. And that sucks, because it was the one thing I've been so sure about." He really did look upset.
"Oh, come on. His job is to make us doubt ourselves. Don't let him win. I've seen you train and you are a beast out there, Bry-Bry!" She smiled, her hand gently rubbing his shoulder.
"I mean, I know. But it just sucks hearing that, you know?" He said honestly.
"I know. Words have the power of knocking you down more than actions ever could." She sighed, being well aware of that fact.
"Also, it was all for nothing." He didn't even look less upset when his favorite meal was now being served to him.
"You should have a little more faith in me, partner!" Angie smirked, holding up a crumbled piece of paper, with five phone numbers written down on it in a hurry.
"Woah, you actually did it? Oh, is that why you crashed against Dan at the end?" Bryan started laughing. He knew their plan and he was right there, in front of her, yet he didn't even notice her execute it all so flawlessly.
The plan had been for Bryan to distract Dan, while Angie pretends to need money as she grabs Dan's phone. A couple of minutes later, Angie would walk back in to give Bryan his money back and she'd slip Dan's phone back in his pocket. Simple and easy.
"Well, that idiot was leaning against the wall and I couldn't get to his back pocket, to put his phone back from where I took it. So I had to get creative. Plus, he already thinks I'm a clumsy airhead, so it all played out just fine." She smiled, now completely happy as she was being served her healthy lunch, with a complementary orange juice, since the waitress and her had once discussed hair accessories and thus, had become friends.
"Five?" He looked at the paper.
"Yes, all the Amandas in his phone directory." She shrugged.
"Give me your phone." She asked him and he obliged, knowing that she was perfectly capable of stealing it from his pocket if he didn't give it to her willingly.
She dialed the first number on the list and waited for someone to pick up, while she cut her food in pieces.
"Hello?" A female voice replied.
"Nope." Angie said, hanging up and then dialing the next number. This voice was way too high-pitched to be Amanda's.
"Amanda Xavier, hello?" The second female answered the phone and her voice was way more mature than the Amanda that Angie needed.
"Sorry, Mrs. Xavier. I think I have the wrong number." Angie said politely, having the feeling that this woman was important, since she introduced herself like that on the phone.
She dialed the third number.
"Yes?" The next Amanda on the list replied, but she was no match either.
"Hello, we are calling you from the National Institute for Research. Would you mind answering a few questions to help us with our database?" Angie said, using some weird accent that Bryan had never heard of.
The woman hung up halfway along the way.
"Okay, two more to go." Angie crossed out the first three numbers and dialed the fourth one.
"This is Amanda, I cannot get to the phone right now. Please leave a message. Thank you." Angie got sent to voicemail and she did the thing that pretty much anyone would do in such case – she hung up.
"Alright, this better be it!" Angie said while dialing the last number on the list, by this point completely forgetting about the food that was going cold already.
"Congratulations." The female voice that picked up the phone, spoke softly.
"Just so you know, you need to find yourself a new roommate to torture." Angie smirked, replying to her.
"Moving on, so soon?" The person on the other side of the line laughed and Angie then put her on loudspeaker.
"I never really liked you anyway." Angie teased.
"Oh yeah? Is that why you two have been obsessing over my case for the past two weeks now?" The voice laughed again.
"Shit, that's our Amanda!" Bryan gasped, now hearing the voice, the confirmation to their conspiracy theory.
"Hello there, Bry-Bry." Amanda greeted, teasing him with the annoying nickname Angie had come up with.
"I'm both glad that you're alive…and kind of not." He said jokingly.
"Don't worry. I won't be coming back to the Academy. You can have my bed." Amanda laughed, but there was something way softer about her voice now. She wasn't like the rude Amanda from three weeks ago.
"Oh, you're wrong, sweetie." Angie was only just starting to play the game. "We need you to flaunt that pretty face of yours, one more time, tomorrow morning. You're our Criminology case project!"
"I would be offended if I wasn't." Amanda smirked on the other side of the line.
"So, you knew it was all a test?" Angie asked, but Amanda had to cut the call short.
"You don't even know half of it yet, Trainee Hunter!" Amanda said and it felt like she was belittling her. As if she were a Superior. But Angie was used to her nasty remarks, in fact, she missed them.
"Just be in the auditorium tomorrow at 1:30. Bryan and I are the last slot for presenting, before lunch break. We'll text you when to enter. Oh and wear something dazzling, okay? Let them drool." Angie added before Amanda sighed and hung up.
"Wow…I mean, wow." Bryan commented.
"I know. I'm glad we were right, but moreover, I'm glad she's alive." Angie then turned her attention to her food, as they didn't have too much time left before their next class.
"It's almost time for the afternoon class." Bryan pointed out while finishing his food.
Angie hurried to finish her own before they headed off to class, making plans to prepare an amazing presentation once they got back to the dorm in the evening. Now that they had Amanda on their side, they would surely be the sweet desert, at the end of the class tomorrow.
"I got the frisbee!" Matt announced happily. He had stolen one of his kids' toys to play with, since they were now out on the open, at some rural area just outside of town, surrounded by just green and more green.
It was relaxing, yet a bit depressing. Too much of the same thing – just grass.
Emily trusted that each person from her team would bring something to make this a little more fun.
And she was not wrong.
"I have an inflatable beach ball." JJ announced as soon as she got out of her car and joined everyone else.
However, trying to inflate it, she realized why Henry hadn't expressed any desire to play with it lately – it had a hole on it and the kid had tried really hard to keep that fact from his parents, as they had only bought this ball just recently.
"Yup, never mind that." JJ frowned, tossing it to the side and hurrying to welcome Garcia, who was now getting out of Tara's car.
If someone knew how to spice things up, it was surely Garcia.
"I know, I know…" Garcia started off while Tara was opening the trunk. "But I knew we were going someplace boring and I couldn't help it, okay?"
"Garcia!" Emily walked over and started laughing instantly.
"She forced me to load it all in." Tara threw her hands in the air while Emily helped Garcia grab a few of the hundreds of little bags of props and colorful things, out of the car trunk.
"This is our last day with the chocolate love of my life and I refuse to let him go before we have a family photo session, all of us, together. Like we used to do, before…" Garcia frowned, because she was inevitably pointing to the fact that Morgan had left and it had changed a lot of things and dynamics within the team.
"Oh, goggles are mine!" Matt grabbed the first object he saw and he put it on his face, looking absolutely ridiculous.
He had an appreciation for water, swimming and all things water-related. So, goggles were fine with him, even if they were in the shape of huge purple flamingos.
"Yeah, screw it." Emily threw her hands in the air, not wanting to be a prude. If the whole team would make complete fools out of themselves and also pose for pictures, thus providing future bribing material for anyone whose hands may lay on those pictures, then so would she.
"Femme Fatale is my look and dare nobody touch this…thing." She cringed, realizing it was not a costume, but a robe with devil horns as hair accessory, to accompany it. And fishnet gloves which Tara would later on bribe Emily into putting on.
"I wanna be an astronaut. Got anything for me, Garcia?" Luke asked, going through the bags, but not finding anything he could really use.
"With that face, Newbie…I doubt you have the brain to be one." Garcia teased.
She had grown to like Luke, yet she still called him Newbie. They had their own little fun talk, but it wasn't like with Morgan. Nothing and nobody would ever come close to Morgan.
"Here, stop pouting. You look like you're five." Reid jumped at yet another chance to humiliate Luke in public. He had just found something astronaut-like in one of Garcia's bags and he tossed it at Luke.
"Cheerleader? Me? Really!?" JJ raised an eyebrow.
She was stunned at Emily's suggestion, who was now handing JJ a set of obnoxious pink pompoms and a huge hair bow.
"Shut up and take one for the team, will ya?" Emily laughed, still holding the objects in front of JJ who took them less than willingly.
"I played football in school. I hated cheerleaders. Ugh!" JJ groaned, but inevitably gave up.
"NASCAR driver, yes baby!" Tara had found her true calling and she was now holding onto that costume and a fake steering wheel, for dear life.
"Ok, that only leaves Reid and Rossi…" Garcia smiled.
"And you! You don't have any props yet." Reid pointed out, looking at Garcia.
"Oh, Genius one, I'm wonderful enough to be able to bless your photos with rays of sunshine, just the way I am." Garcia smirked and she sounded somewhat like Angela, when she was dramatizing and making fun of things and situations. Garcia would really love this girl, if she ever got the chance to meet her properly.
"What about Morgan?" Emily realized that he wasn't holding anything in his hands yet, either.
"I chose to leave him for dessert!" Garcia winked at Emily, clearly having a carefully thought-out plan for this one.
"Oh, I so got you back now, Reid!" Luke smirked, creeping over to where Reid was standing and plopping a huge blonde wig on his head.
"Oh my God! This looks awesome! Reid, you look like you came out of a two-page editorial spread in some fashion magazine!" Garcia said happily. It really did look good on Reid, with his model-like facial features.
"Yeah, if it were about drag queens." Luke kept on laughing.
"Shut up, you're just jealous you can't pull it off." Reid smirked and decided to embrace his fate.
He hated being turned into a woman, but he wouldn't give Luke the satisfaction of seeing him frown. Plus, most of them looked absolutely ridiculous in their outfits anyway, apart from Tara who looked like a total bad ass.
"A little lipstick…aha…" Garcia said while already applying something pink and sticky to Reid's lips.
"Part the hair sideways…juuust like that. Yeah, work it!" JJ joined in, messing with Reid's wig.
"Don't make me be the one to force him to put…that on!" Emily cringed, holding a corset that Garcia had handed her seconds ago.
"Oh, come on. Don't play the 'I'm the Boss' card again, Prentiss. We all know you like it freaky!" Tara nudged Emily.
Everyone had seen her loosen up last night and everyone kind of loved her that way.
"I don't like it 'freaky', whatever you might mean by that." Emily faked offense.
"I have video proof from last night. And so does Matt!" Luke smirked and received a nudge from Matt.
"Dude, I have four kids and a wife to feed back home. Don't you get me fired on my day off!" Matt laughed.
Everyone liked to tease Emily about being the Boss. It was weird. She was their best friend, nobody really saw her as a Superior figure, not in the traditional sense of the word anyway. Yes, they followed her rules and orders, but she was just Emily, off the field. And she most definitely was freaky.
"Girl, you called dibs on that sexy costume the second you laid eyes on it. I'm just saying…" JJ teased, in regards to that freaky comment from earlier.
"Hey Prentiss?" Morgan called out. "Got a whip?" He added with a smirk and dodged the hat that Emily had instantly thrown at him.
"What? It's just a costume. Jesus!" Emily blushed.
Looking around she realized she was the only to have gone dark. Everyone else looked like dorks.
"Living out your sixteen year old self's fantasies, Prentiss?" Morgan teased her, but the sudden look of pain in her eyes made him regret uttering those words.
Morgan may not have been active on the field for a couple of years, but the profiler in him had never stopped working - analyzing people, behavior, words. And Emily's reaction to his words worried him.
"Oh yes, a millionaire…what is that…is that the Playboy logo? Garcia!?" Rossi knew Emily better than anyone else. Plus, she had already shared some very disturbing information about her fifteen year old self, so he jumped at the chance to change the subject, by picking out the next thing from the bag, closest to him.
And he was scandalized. It was a bunch of fake money and a soft white jacket, but he didn't really get the idea behind that costume until he saw the hot pink bunny logo on it.
"Wait, BunBun goes with that costume!" Garcia called out, throwing a pink bunny stuffed toy at him.
"Great. Krystal better not divorce me over this. Again." Rossi rolled his eyes.
"Now, you, my irresistible chocolate temptation…" Garcia licked her lips, turning slowly to face Morgan.
"This…off!" She commanded, pointing at his shirt.
"Na-ah!" Her pointy finger pressed against his lips, just as he was about to open his mouth and protest.
"Good Lord, be gracious and bless my soul…" Rossi dramatized. Being of Italian heritage he was known to say a little prayer every now and then, but especially during turbulence, which was kind of almost as uncomfortable as the situation, unraveling in front of everyone's eyes at that moment.
"Aaa'ight, BabyGirl." Morgan obliged. Everyone had seen him shirtless, it wasn't a big deal…until he actually took it off.
"Jesus…" Emily was the first one to be vocal about it, which was something she'd regret later on.
"Ok, no. I'm married…" JJ looked away, feeling uncomfortable.
"Screw it, I'm not!" Tara's eyes were more than happy to wander around.
"I'm dead…" Garcia gasped for air.
Apparently, Morgan had been working out a lot lately. The amazing body that everyone remembered him having, was now twice as well built. Everything was perfectly in place and the only thing that could make him look more Godly was…
"You're not entering my car!" Emily stated first, now that Garcia was pouring some oil-like substance all over Morgan's abs.
"Jealous much?" Reid smirked in Luke's face.
So far, Luke and Matt were the BAU hunks. That, at least for as long as that Saturday lasted, had just changed.
"Bro, a little extra weight lifting tomorrow?" Matt whispered to Luke who was now giving Reid an icy cold stare.
"Bro…yeah!" Luke replied to Matt, wondering exactly how many hours of sweat Morgan had left behind, at the gym.
Garcia only stopped when the tiny bottle was empty. She then grabbed a hat and a pair of suspenders, handing them to Morgan.
"Oh, I see, Sexy Fireman. I'm diggin' it, BabyGirl!" Morgan finally understood what his costume really was.
"Now, who wants a photo with that?" Garcia grinned, pointing at Morgan's chest and abs.
Emily jumped up and handed Garcia a ten dollar bill, just for the laugh.
"Bitch, take a number!" Emily hissed at Tara who was trying to cut in front of her. Clearly it was said in a joking manner.
"Come here, Hot Stuff!" Morgan grinned and threw himself against Emily, embracing her while she kept repeating 'Ewww' silently. Her entire costume, body and hair were now covered in oil.
"Oh, what the heck." Emily sighed and allowed herself to stop thinking about the consequences. She could clean her car seats on Sunday. She didn't mind being all oiled up, in Morgan's hands at that moment.
"My wonderful Princess." He said proudly, kissing the top of her head.
She was just as tiny as he remembered. Yet, she was different. Her hair was now a tiny bit lighter, just a shade, but he had caught that instantly, the second he had laid his eyes on her, days ago, at that hallway. She had also changed her signature perfume yet again. And he couldn't help but notice she was more reserved, less fun, she didn't smile as much and her wonderful dorky sense of humor was safely tucked away in storage, leaving him to wonder if she'd ever unlock it once again.
"God, I miss you, Emily." He whispered when she hugged him back, as everyone was snapping photos of them on their phones and Garcia was armed with a Polaroid camera.
"Same…" Emily whispered back. She had a lot to say on that topic, but Morgan had begged everyone to respect his choice to leave, years ago, and she had no right to tell him exactly how she felt about it now, years later.
"Morgan…" Despite knowing how selfish she'd be to say it, she still needed to. It was eating her up on the inside.
"Shh." He said silently while posing for another photo. "I know, Princess…I know." He added, his right hand trailing up and down Emily's arm.
She gathered all the strength she had in her, forcing herself to smile, when she really wanted to cry – right then and right there, in his arms. He made her feel comfortable. He made her feel safe. And Goddamn, he reminded her of someone else who made her feel all that, plus other beautiful things.
"Prentiss, we know you're dying in there, but try to look a bit more alive, would you?" Luke teased her, giving her a reason to laugh, so in at least one of the photos it wouldn't be too damn obvious how much she hated the fact that this could possibly be the last photo she'd ever take, with Derek.
"Hey, I was next!" Tara frowned when Garcia pushed Emily out of the way and cozied up with Derek for her own photosession time, a minute later.
A couple of groups formed up and everyone was snapping photos of just about anything and everything around them. Luke had played some Reggaeton music, connecting his phone to the loudspeakers he had brought to this improvised outdoors 'party' and everyone was having a good time. Rossi had brought a few wine bottles that had weirdly been a few too many, since the last time the team had been over to his house for dinner.
"Guys…" Emily muttered nostalgically, her lip quivering a bit.
Everyone gathered for a group hug and it didn't matter how oily or sweaty the person next to them was – they hugged each other like it would be the last time.
"Thank you for being the best family I could ever wish for." Emily added, feeling oddly emotional.
"And thank you, Morgan, for being here for your second family, when we needed you the most." She looked at him, soaking in every image of him, in her mind.
"This feels like a Goodbye and I don't like goodbyes. More wine, please!" Garcia insisted, handing her glass to Rossi who obliged without objections.
They had taken three cars, to get there, so only three of them had to be sober anyway. The others were glad to soak their bitter feelings about Morgan's inevitable departure, in alcohol. Good, pricy alcohol, at that.
The next step to the party was an attempt at a group photo. They put a phone on top of Emily's car and set the timer, but with each photo that got snapped, someone stated that they had their eyes closed, or that they weren't ready yet, so at the end of the day, the total number of photos collected from everyone's phone amounted to 357. And they were all beautiful, even the blurry ones. They were perfect, just like the team.
