CHAPTER 76

DID YOU JUST SET UP A DATE WITH MY SON?

"Hi, Emmey." A sweet voice came from the other side of the line, as soon as Emily answered a call that was coming from Will's phone.

"Good afternoon, handsome." She greeted her favorite little human creature. "To what do I owe the pleasure of hearing your beautiful voice today?"

Henry stopped for a moment. Did she always have to sound so grown-up?

Emily chuckled. She had spent the majority of her Friday morning going over some paperwork she had to catch up on or review, and she had just come back to the office after having lunch with the team.

"Daddy just got me from school. We are going to get dessert, but don't tell mommy, okay?" Henry was too cute when he asked Emily to keep his innocent little secrets.

"Hmm, I don't know, buddy. I'm not too good at keeping things from your mommy. She's too smart. She'll figure it out." Emily wanted to give him a hard time, because lying was a bad thing, or at least that was what she liked to teach kids. Whether she took her own advice was at question.

"Okay, then let me tell her about it myself. Don't put yourself off the line for me!" He requested and the little mistake he did with his words made Emily smile.

"Okay, I won't put myself on the line." She emphasized on the right preposition, knowing he was smart enough to figure out his mistake without her pointing it out as an error and potentially embarrassing him.

"Uhm…" Henry was then suddenly at the loss of words.

"Come on. You wanted to be a big boy. You can do this yourself!" Emily heard Will's voice close to the phone and figured out that Henry must have frozen and was now handing the phone to his daddy, to take care of the mess.

"Well, if that's how it's going to be be…" Henry whimpered before bringing the phone close to his ear again.

"Emmey, you should know that I am now free for our Friday night plans." He stated, all seriousness in his voice.

Emily almost burst out in laughter.

"Oh? What about Katie?"

"I let her down, but gently, because daddy told me so. She did cry, though, but I don't think it was my fault." Henry spoke while munching on something. Emily could hear the crackling noise of what sounded like an apple. He did not sound one bit upset over his ruined dinner date plans with a girl his age. Not when that meant having dinner date plans with Emily instead.

"But, why? It sounded like you like this Katie girl. You were so excited just yesterday…" Emily was not naïve to think she was the only reason for this date to have been ruined.

"Okay, fine. Katie wears pink, like the girls who cry all the time. So, I don't think I like her anymore. But I like you, because you are tough and you do good things for people and you never cry. You also always take care of my mommy, so I never have to worry about her when she goes to work."

Emily stood up from the chair in the bullpen, where she had been discussing something with Tara and Luke, and she walked over to the coffee corner, very subtly sweeping a tear off her cheek. Yeah sure, she wished she was strong enough to never cry.

"Oh, Henry…" She whispered. "I'll tell you something. How about you ask daddy if he can drop you off here later today."

"But, does that mean I can stay with you tonight and we can watch TV and you will play with my dinosaur collection and make those funny faces?" He asked, full of hope.

Emily Prentiss was the Queen of funny faces and he knew it. Henry had never met someone else who could pull off a weird face with the grace of Emily Prentiss. He was sure that person did not exist. She was the best at faces, as much as she wanted to look poised while at work, she could not fool him. And he wanted was for her to send him into another giggling spree while acting like a zombie or a dragon – those were his favorite incarnations of her.

"All of that and much more, my precious little sweetheart." Emily promised and this was a promise she fully intended on keeping.

"Okay, we'll be there in an hour!" Henry announced and he thought he had hung up, but Emily could hear his next words to his dad. "That was easy! I told you she would say 'yes'."

After hearing his dad tell him that he had left her no other choice, Emily hung up, giving the two boys some privacy to have a conversation.

"Uhm, excuse me? Did you just set up a date with my son?" JJ appeared from behind Emily, having overheard the conversation from the point where her son's name was mentioned, forward.

"He insisted!" Emily put her hands in the air, in mock surrender.

"Oh yeah, very classy, Emily Prentiss! Blame it on a ten year old!" JJ said dramatically, followed by laughter, because this was the funniest thing.

"He canceled his date with Katie, for me. How cute!" Emily put a hand to her heart. "Why isn't he, like…thirty years older?"

"Prentiss!" JJ cringed.

"I am clearly joking. Relax." She exhaled. "Wow, I can't believe he's about to turn eleven in November. It's like it was just yesterday when you gave birth. God, you were so freaked out."

"That's because you've always been in my life, Emily." JJ smiled before she addressed her last statement. "If you had been giving birth, you'd be freaked out, too. It's a scary experience."

JJ then shut her eyes, wanting nothing more than to hit herself in the forehead. This was such a low blow for Emily.

Emily gulped, her mood instantly dropping. She excused herself, under the pretense that she had a lot of files to review by the end of the day. Truth was – she had already filed them. All she needed was some quiet now.

JJ walked away, feeling like a douchebag. Sometimes she had no filter between her mouth and her brain. She knew better than anyone else, that children – or the lack there of; were an extremely touchy topic for Emily. And as of recently, she had brought up a stupid comment about that, twice.


"You're not doing it!" Clara argued.

"Yes, I am!" Angie hissed back at her.

"No, young lady, you most definitely are not!" Clara's foot stomped on the ground, but it did not make Angie's facial expression look any softer. If anything, it aggravated her further.

"Doing what?" Garrett walked in on the argument that was happening in the middle of the tiny room that was at their disposal, at the police station.

"I fit in with victimology – young, brunette, beautiful, slim. I want to go undercover and meet the UnSub." Angie stated, noticing how Clara made subtle gestures to Jack to not agree with that horrendous plan.

"Ok." Jack said nonchalantly.

"Okay!?" Clara lost it. Screw subtle hints. She was about to go bananas on her boss. Again.

"Yes, I said ok." He knew he was getting on Clara's last nerve, so he dived into the glory of seeing her struggle with his decision. Ultimately, it was his decision what the team would do, anyway.

"Unless you don't believe that the one person you chose, out of 250 people, is not worth the shot? In that case, this would speak very poorly of your abilities to judge people and I would be extremely disappointed to have such a person on my team…" He pushed it even further, seeing fumes coming out of Clara's ears.

"I do believe in her-…" She started, but got cut off instantly.

"Ok, then it's settled. Hunter is going undercover." Jack acted so composed, it made Clara want to jump on him and strangle him.

He then walked out of the room, as he had only walked in to grab a folder before he needed to go somewhere else.

"You better not die!" He whispered to Angie, as he walked past her, on his way to the door.

"Some pep talk…" Angie rolled her eyes.


"Spencey!" Henry squealed, throwing himself at his favorite profiler.

He had big plans for the future – surviving high-school, off to college, then being Reid's assistant forever. This, at his age, sounded like the best job in the world.

"What about mommy?" JJ frowned, watching her child nearly knock her over, on his way to Spencer.

"Yeah, forget about mommy." She added with a sigh, walking upstairs to Emily's office for some advice, finding it empty.

She shot Emily a text, to which she did not reply.

"She better not have cold feet." JJ chuckled. "Eww, what am I even saying?"

JJ loved sending Henry to spend the night with either one of her colleagues. It meant more alone time with Will, but most of all, it meant that Henry had an opportunity to socialize and to open up. Recently, his feedback from school pointed at him being more and more silent, distancing himself from his friends.

"Oh, hi mom." Henry greeted quickly, now running to Garcia's office, his tiny fists bumping against the locked door.

"You better get all the hugs and kisses from Mickey, while you still can." Rossi commented, startling JJ.

"I don't even know when it happened. It's as if it was yesterday he was giving me soggy kisses and now he's all…" JJ looked at Henry with sad eyes. He was still trying to get Garcia's attention, not knowing that she was currently blasting music on her earphones and having a full on jam session, pretending to be working on something.

"Grown up?" Rossi smiled, somewhat sadly. "JJ, at least you had the chance to watch your kids grow up."

JJ frowned, realizing that Rossi never had that privilege. It must have sucked to start being a father when the child was already twenty-six, which had been the case with Joy – his daughter from his second marriage.

"I screwed up…" She fessed up. "With Emily, earlier. I made a comment about giving birth and it upset her. I'm an idiot!"

He could not do anything else, but to give her a small hug. Emily had shared certain things with him, and he wasn't sure up to what extent she had opened up to JJ about it all. So, his best option was to keep his thoughts to himself and to feel every bit of pain that Emily must be feeling, when it came to losing a child. Unfortunately, he also knew a few things about this kind of pain. If he was brave enough, he'd one day open up to Emily about it. Who knows? Maybe it would give her some peace, after all those years.


Angie was now ready and propped up, dressed down, with her hair wildly sticking out and looking like a mess. She got dropped off at the second location, where the latest two victims had lived at.

Clara had calculated the chances of the UnSub sticking to a routine. If he took three girls from the previous housing complex, he might return to take a third girl from the second location, as well.

Angie hung out with a few of the local youngsters in the courtyard, playing cards and skipping a rope while listening to Cuban reggaeton, just bending in, as if she was a local too.

Jack had insisted on surveilling the operation, so he, along with the team, was now inside one of the empty apartments in the building, watching Angie from the side of the window, pushing the curtains away just a tiny little bit, so he could have a good view of the yard.

"She's holding up fine." He commented, knowing that Clara would be stuck, right behind him, making sure her asset was safe.

"Why do you give her so much crap?" Clara's asked in soft voice.

Mae and Kevin were now discussing something, sitting on the couch. It wasn't possible for more than one person to stand by the tiny window without making it suspicious.

"I do not-…" He tried to lie, but Clara cut him off immediately.

"Yes, you do! You've been nothing but rude to her since I brought her in. You neglect Kevin altogether, but you go out of your way to be extra nasty when you speak to Angela. And since she is my asset, I deserve an answer."

"It's not her…"

"Oh, yeah?" He was once again cut off by Clara.

"It's you!" He spoke over her voice, finally grabbing her attention.

"Young, brunette, stunningly beautiful, full of hopes, new to the job and so damn stubborn…" As he trailed off, Clara finally started to warm up to what he was trying to say.

"Come on, Seger. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out." Jack shot Clara a glance before he looked back to where Angie was.

Clara shifted uncomfortably.

"If anything happens to this kid, it would make me re-live all those times when you got hurt when you first came to my team – young and talented, but so not ready to keep getting your ass kicked by men, twice your bodyweight. I've spent endless hours in the ER, bribing medical staff for information on your condition. I've gone nights, unable to sleep, wondering if what had just happened to you would push you over the edge. Would you quit the FBI? Would you harm yourself? I've witnessed a lot happening to you and…"

He kept his eyes on Angie, seeing nothing but a young version of Clara instead.

"And, I guess, having the kid here is just a reminder that this is a vicious circle of pain, a painful journey she is now embarking on." He added.

"She's smart and capable. Just give her a chance to prove herself to you. Yes, she's definitely ending up in a hospital, with that attitude of hers and that smug smirk. But this is the life she has chosen for herself and she is working extremely hard to show everyone that she is not the bubblehead idiot that she intentionally makes you believe she is, at first sight. Come on, Jack. Cut her some slack."

"Wait. Where did she go?" Jack panicked.

He had allowed himself to look at Clara once again, for a few minutes, after which he was unable to spot Angie anywhere in the courtyard.

Clara looked out the window, failing to identify her in the mass of young people hanging out.

"Status check?" Clara requested on the line.

Angie was wearing an earpiece and was able to communicate with them, if she turned it on, which apparently she had not.

"Angela?" Clara said desperately before kicking a chair, watching it land a few feet away.

"Yo, what's happening?" Mae jumped up from the sofa, scared for her life. And Angela's life, as well.

"She's gone." Clara tried to take a deep breath. "Her IFB earpiece is not active."

"She might be on her way back to the room to use the toilet. Relax." Jack tried to calm Clara down.

Usually, Clara was very calm and collected at work. But, for some reason, she was acting a mess at that moment.

"She's not an idiot to risk an operation. She'd hold it in!" Clara hissed at him. "It's all your fault. You let her do this!"

"Jesus, didn't you just beg me to give her the freedom to prove herself?" He rolled his eyes and put his hands on Clara's shoulders, forcing her to stop shaking and to look at him.

"Hey? If she's anything like you, she'll be just fine." His words were exactly what Clara needed to hear, so she'd refrain herself from fainting.


"Jesus, would it hurt you to act a little more alive?" Victor scolded his best friend.

They were attending a very sophisticated party, with some very influential people. And Richard looked miserable.

"I hate politics." Richard replied.

This whole evening was about politics, about who is who, who knows whom and who slept with whom. It disgusted him, it was not a world he fit in, but sadly it was a world he had to live in.

"Bonsoir, it is good to see you, Mr-…"

"Richard. It's just Richard, please." He interrupted a man who was approaching him with some overly dramatic greeting.

"Oh, yes. I keep forgetting you are playing the relatable one." The other man said.

"I'm not playing anything. This is who I am and my name is Richard." He said, taking offense.

He should be used to it by now, people had a habit of calling him out, thinking that his good behavior was an act. It was getting old to always have to defend his words and actions. He loved his job, but he hated everything it came with – all the lies and the deceit. Yes, he was really good at it all, that was part of the reason why he had gotten the promotion, but this…politics, fakeness, lies, luxury…this was not his world. And it sucked having to live in it, on his own, too.

"What do you want?" He came out and asked.

For the fifteen long minutes he had been at the party, three different people had tried to bribe him to do something for them. It was annoying.

"Well, I have been working on something and I would really like it if your…ehm, you and your people back us up on it." The other man – old, with grey hair, definitely one of the big sharks; requested.

"No. Now have a good evening, Sir." Richard cut him off and walked away. He wasn't interested in another high level conspiracy theory that might turn into a scandal.

"What are you doing!? He plays poker on Tuesdays with the Mayor!" Victor scolded Richard once again.

"And you're forgetting whose friend the Mayor is, Vic." Richard smirked.

The man he had just spoken to was important, but Richard had all the big sharks, the important people, in his corner. He was not afraid of anything and anyone.

"I need to get some fresh air." Richard stated, leaving his champagne glass on one of the nearby tables.

"Yeah sure. Go hide. Leave me to deal with…those…" Victor sighed, pointing at the room, full of people who would stab anyone's back, at any given time.

Richard walked to a more secluded area. He was familiar with this hotel, so he knew his way around. Two minutes later he pushed a door and found himself in a small and hidden garden area.

He exhaled with relief, now only able to hear the faint sounds of the live music, playing in the ballroom, but most importantly – unable to hear all the chatter.

"And so, fate reunites us again…" A female voice startled him.

He turned around and a gorgeous woman, visibly younger than him, walked out to the same garden.

"I don't think it counts as fate when you stalk someone." He rolled his eyes, knowing perfectly well what he was going to be hit with.

"I admit, I may have followed you here." She chuckled and it was the most obnoxious sound he had ever heard.

Lauren sounded much more soft, when she chuckled, as he remembered.

"Now, how convenient is it that I have a room, just a few floors up?" This woman was wasting no time. She was on a mission.

"Look, I'm not interested." Richard said right away.

"That's not what you were saying in between pants, the last time we met." She allowed herself to get closer to him, placing one hand on his chest as if she owned him.

He grabbed her hand, careful not to be too rough. God forbid that crazy bitch would file some kind of a complaint against him.

"I said No!" He repeated sternly.

It only made her other hand trail down his chest, resting comfortably in a place it shouldn't be touching.

"I see. You like to play rough. I'm into that, too." She whispered, her face inches away from his.

Her breath smelled like a mixture of alcohol and desperation. Lauren had been completely different, even at that moment when they had first spoken at the park, when she was completely drunk. She had been poised and well-mannered. And she smelled so good.

"I can see you are a little…hmm, tense…" She kept on whispering, her voice a little more gentle now, more seductive.

That damn hand was still there, too.

"I'm never going to sleep with you. Drop it and go back to the party." He said, grabbing her other hand as well, hoping that nobody would be watching them. That would look like he was being rough, now holding both of her hands, as if she was his hostage.

"You liked it last time. I can make your night a lot more fun." She leaned in and tried to steal a kiss.

"I can't believe I ever slept with you, in the first place. Have a good evening." He said calmly, letting go of her and walking back to the party.

He'd rather have to deal with fifty of France's most influential people, than with one overly desperate woman. Blonde, to top it all! What was he thinking back in the day? She was the complete exact opposite of the kind of woman he felt attracted to.

She was the complete opposite of Lauren.

Going up the stairs one more time, he rolled his eyes. How fortunate for him to have the job of his dreams and to work side by side with his best friend, and yet, how unfortunate for him that this job came at such a cost.

"I need to leave!" He stated once he found Victor, socializing with someone.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow at the office then." Victor said with a smile.

Something about the look that Richard gave him then made Victor worried enough to follow him to the valet parking outside.

"You didn't mean leave the party, did you?" Victor called out, the moment that Richard was getting into his car.

"I need some time, Vic. I need to clear my head. I need to be alone."

"No. You need to be with her. So, please tell me you have a plan." Victor said softly, sitting in the passenger's seat so they could have a conversation in private. The valet at the hotel was hardly some spy, but you never know and it is never a bad idea to be careful. Especially for the two of them.

"I do have a plan. I'm waiting for her to decide what she wants in her life. And until then, I'm just going to disappear for a little bit."

"Richard, bad things happen when you disappear." Victor reminded him, thinking of the last stunt Richard had pulled, a while ago.

"Well, I'm nice enough to let you know beforehand now, alright? Don't make me regret it. And don't try to find me, you already know I can't be found, if I don't want to be found." Richard was being irrational. It was barely the time and place to make such a huge decision about his life.

"Can we at least plan this? We can make it seem like you've-…"

"No, I don't want to be 'kidnapped' or 'killed off' again. I just need to lay low. Give me a couple of days, okay? People won't even notice." Richard argued.

"Dude, you won't be okay in the matter of days. Quite frankly, I don't know if you ever will be okay again. And no, I do not agree with your decision to disappear. However, I know I can't change your mind. Will you at least agree to stay in touch with me? Please? I need to know you're okay."

"Vic, I won't do anything stupid."

"That's what you said last time. Need I remind you where I had to go get your barely alive ass from, a month later?"

"Victor, I'm not that guy anymore. I'm fine. I really just need time and space. This whole scene, the politics…it's suffocating me. I want to go somewhere, enjoy a glass of wine, read a nice book and walk around the house barefoot. I need to wake up and feel grateful that I am alive."

"Please, keep in touch! This is all I'm asking of you! I will keep your secret and I'll do your job for as long as you need, just please, I am begging you, reach out every now and then, okay?"

"Okay fine. And thank you. I know I can always trust you." Richard smiled and felt a wave of relief.

Victor got out of the car and walked in direction of the hotel entrance again.

Richard drove away, already planning his little get away. He wanted to go somewhere near the beach, somewhere small and quiet. He knew the perfect place.

Without going back to his home, he drove in direction of the highway. It would take him a few hours to get to where he wanted to be, but he knew he wouldn't want to waste another minute. It would all be worth it, or at least he hoped it would.

Nothing was ever as it seemed with Richard and Victor. They had a weird way of communicating, without saying the thing that they were actually saying. It was their own language, full of nonverbal clues and metaphors, of small key words, thrown into a different context, so that nobody would be able to follow their real conversation. On the outside, they could look like they were discussing a rainy day at the beach, but it could really be a conversation about espionage and some intricate plan that was being concocted at the moment. People were often confused with the things those two said to each other, and even more often astonished to learn what was really being said, underneath a coat of what seemed like random words.

"This is going to be awesome!" Richard muttered to himself, keeping an eye out on the road.


AUTHOR'S NOTE:

"Natasha36" Thanks! And correct, Emily still doesn't even realize it (since she's never felt this way before), but JJ understood immediately! I can promise you, the day Emily Prentiss uses Richard's contact information, it will NOT be a random half-assed "Hi, how are you?" kind of a dumb text situation, LOL! Prepare for Emily to do Un-Emily-like things :)! And awwh, Richard is so into her that (trust me!) it wouldn't matter who the heck she is. As for Victor...it's not confusing, actually...Good work, Detective ;) Keep the investigation going!

"rmpcmfan" Hmm, nope. Butterflies - they symbolize something other than a pregnancy :P (Although I would honestly love to see Emily FINALLY get the biological child she's always wanted!) Something else will push her towards the man of her dreams, stay tuned. Emily still needs to get over certain things (which are the next story arc that starts right after these BAU and IRS cases close). I replied your Angie-related guesses via Inbox ;)! But Angie hints are everywhere, especially from now on. I think the readers (IF they figure it out!) will know the truth before any story character does. It's not about the TRUTH, it's about the behind the scenes of WHY all the trouble of hiding and denying it. I promise, one day all the mystery and little slip ups WILL make sense :)!

"Spooladio" Thanks, I envision her as smart, but not a genius; strong, but not flawless; with a good heart and absolutely insane brain when it comes to acting in social situations, LOL! She'd probably twerk her way out of jail, that's how spontaneous and weird I see her (and I try to portray her). And she has NO FILTER between her brain and her mouth...she's a big child - always saying it as it is, the rough unfiltered truth (unless she's lying intentionally, for her gain). LOL she's complicated, okay? Haha, it will be explained later. And yes, Ben owes Emily big time, from their earlier days on the job. He respects the crap out of her and he sees how hard she works! But, will the Director be a fan of hers? Hmm, you'll see in future chapters! Also, you do realize that a while ago Angie told BEN all the things that are wrong with the Academy and told him how bored she was? LOL. That's why he later said "I wanna know if she'd have the balls to speak to me that way, if she knew who I really am." Basically, nobody is what/who they seem to be, in my story, okay? :) Hehe! I love me an intricate mystery!

Hmm, you mean the BAU is too invasive on TV or in the story? I'm afraid to ask lol. I intentionally make everyone be up in everyone else's business, lol I enjoy them pushing each other's buttons and being nosy :P

No, I'm not familiar with those novels you mentioned. You find Angie similar to a character from them? Let me know more, I'm intrigued! However, Angie is not based on anyone in particular. I'm basing some of her characteristics on me - she loves singing and dancing and she speaks...languages. And she's super bubbly and random. And loves guns. And Criminology.

Spooladio, I've sent you a private msg reply a week ago, check your inbox :)!

"Ducksdragonfly" You are so kind! Well, I am isolated in an apartment, on my own, for two months now. I had no bread for over a week, because my supermarket was out...and I'm not allowed to leave my house without a signed permit with date stamps and specific routes for where I'm going and why, a mask and gloves. It's wild out here and I'm facing it all alone (don't get me started on paying my rent while not working and not getting paid a dime...) So, writing is what keeps me entertained and I really appreciate everyone's feedback, it's like some sort of a social interaction that makes me smile :)! I'm already writing Chapter 135, btw, so don't worry, there is a lot for you to look forward to! And thank you SO INCREDIBLY MUCH for what you said about my writing! As a non native English speaker, I do my best to not only put direct speech and be done with a scene, but to describe where the people are, what they do, how they feel, what they see, what the room smells like, what it reminds them of. (I also like putting a dramatic/emotional effect to things hehe) So, it is really nice that you are pointing that out, in a positive light! :) PS: Angie would be the one hanging upside down, from the monkey bars...or twerking in a split on top of the bar, lol, or the one looking for freebies like coffee and cookies.

PSS: Stay safe as well, okay? And if it makes you feel any better, you can always msg me. I'm happy to receive a msg, especially right now.