CHAPTER 90

LAUREN REYNOLDS - PART OF EMILY PRENTISS

"Luke?" Emily banged on the door, but there was no reply.

"Luke, it's Emily!" She shouted.

She had sent him a text, saying she was at the door, but he hadn't read it yet. Somehow she had decided it was a great idea to go wake him up the morning after her dinner party, and before an early morning meeting call at work.

She had noticed Luke was being a bit off lately. When she had caught a glimpse of him and Matt out on the terrace, Luke's eyes had not been as cheerful as usual. She did not see him smile. It didn't take a profiler to know there was something wrong.

"I got us coff-…Whoah, you are not Luke!" She said in absolute shock when a half-naked guy opened the door.

"Oh, I must have the wrong house…" Emily looked around. She was definitely at the right house, it was just the wrong guy.

"Lisa!?" Emily gasped when an equally as naked Lisa came to the door, to see what this whole commotion was about.

"Luke doesn't live here anymore." The man said while Lisa busied herself, wrapping a robe around her body.

"Apparently…" Emily was good with unexpected situations, but this was just a tad bit too much.

She excused herself and walked over to her car, driving off to the first secluded place she saw on the way, where she parked and sat there, just watching the windshield in front of her, trying to figure out what she had just witnessed.

A week ago she had made a joke about Luke finally having a girlfriend he was really into and he had laughed. He had seemed genuine. But then, she thought back and counted the many times that the team had gone out to eat or drink and everyone would occasionally bring their significant other, but Luke never did, for over a month now. Each time an invitation had been extended to Lisa, she had magically been called in to work that night.

The logical thing to do, as an adult, was to delete the text before Luke would read it and then to pretend like it never happened. Emily did just that.


"I am a terrible person!" Emily barged in Martha Allen's office with those words.

She headed there right after her morning meeting with the team. JJ had a massive headache from the night before, Reid was worried about her, Garcia was not making weird noises, which was a clear indication that she was not fine, and to top it all – Emily was now watching Luke's every movement under a microscope. He had not made one inappropriate joke, he had not smiled once and he had not even finished his coffee for the whole hour they were in the meeting room.

"I'm sorry, I can't see you right now. This hour is booked for someone else…" Martha started off, but Emily continued that sentence.

"A certain Miss Roberts?" Emily suggested. "Julia?" She tried so hard not to lose it and start laughing. "Read that backwards…"

Martha laughed out loud. She had the habit of writing her patient's surname first, followed by the first name, which she would then disregard completely, so it had been easy for her not to notice the obvious.

"Only you would pull one like that…" Martha said, still laughing.

"I'm amazed your assistant didn't call me out on that one. I mean, come on!" Emily laughed as well.

She had called that morning, begging to be squeezed in Martha's schedule. And since she had basically been kicked out last time, she had to use a fake name, just to be sure she'd get in. Julia Roberts just happened to be what came to mind when she was asked to identify herself.

"You know, I can't keep but comment on your choice of actress to mention. 'Pretty Woman', probably her most famous movie, was about a woman who, let's put it that way – was acting undercover, pretending to be someone she is not. I wonder how come you chose that one, to compare yourself to." Martha smirked.

"Okay, easy there. I am not a prostitute!" Emily laughed genuinely. She loved that movie. "But I do appreciate the analogy. You should go into profiling. Just don't aim for my job, okay?"

"Oh, I wouldn't dare to. Plus, I'm better at dealing with people, alive." Martha laughed until she realized her words sounded a bit off. "Oh, that sounded wrong."

"No, it's okay. I understand what you meant." Emily invited herself to sit down, since Martha had not yet done so. She had, after all, booked the whole hour for herself. Well, for Julia.

"There is no getting rid of you, Agent Prentiss…" Martha murmured, pretending to be annoyed.

Emily knew she was only doing that, to trigger her to talk openly this time.

"Nope, there really isn't." She said calmly.

"When you came in, you said you were a horrible person. Why?"

"Because I feel like I've been so consumed with my own problems that I've ignored everyone else around me."

"Is it possible that this is just the way you feel, and not what is actually happening?"

"Yes. But I highly doubt this is the case!" Emily had a mind of her own. She was opinionated. She believed in what she found suitable and usually there was no convincing her otherwise.

"Tell me more about it."

"It's been over a month now since, you know, that case happened." Emily's gaze shifted towards the door. She hated talking about that case, but she was desperate to take the burden of it, off her chest.

"I've been so upset and I've blamed myself for so long, that I somehow closed myself off to everyone else. And that's fine, because it only means they couldn't see me, which was kind of the point. I know they've been talking and trying to come up with ways to cheer me up. But I haven't let anyone in. Every time, I smile and pretend like they are helping, but they are not. I feel like everything is making me feel worse and I just want it to stop. And the worst thing of all is that I closed my own eyes, when it comes to them – my team, my friends. I can't see them anymore. I never saw the signs of struggle in all of them. One is struggling with her marriage and it took me seeing her drunk to realize that. The other one has moved out of a home he leased for him and his girlfriend, a home that this same girl is now sharing with another man. He never said anything to me! Why didn't he say something? Is it because of me? Have they all been repressing what they are going through, so that I'd have it easier on me, with what I'm going through? How is that fair?"

"Woah, woah, Emily. Slow down. Jesus, breathe!" Martha had to interrupt her.

"I don't know why it is so hard for me to just talk to them, to tell them how I feel about that case…" Emily then became awkwardly quiet.

"Maybe the case is not the problem." Martha suggested.

"It is! It has to be." Emily shrugged.

"You're telling me there is absolutely nothing else, going on in your life?"

Emily gulped. She could name a few thousand other things, a couple of those being pretty major.

"Emily, is it okay if we talk about your days as Lauren?" Martha was up to date with Emily's past. Not all of it, of course, but she knew things about Lauren. And if she was now asking about her alter ego, there was a reason for it.

"Yeah, but Lauren Reynolds is dead. She never really existed anyway."

"Is she?" Martha raised an eyebrow.

Years ago, when Emily had seen her after she came back from her seven months of healing process in Paris, she had shared a lot about her time as Lauren.

"Yes." Emily confirmed.

"Well, I think Lauren Reynolds is a part of you, still. I think she lives, deep down inside of you, and each time you feel like you're failing yourself as Emily Prentiss, you run back to Lauren, hoping she'd make more sense, that she'd be better, somehow."

Touché. Those words hit Emily harder than she would like to admit. That was exactly what she had done during her week in Paris just recently.

"I think Lauren is your safety net and you're never going to fully let go of her." Martha then pushed it a bit further.

"This is ridiculous. Lauren Reynolds is a made up person who never existed." Emily shook her head.

"Is she?" Martha was really good at making Emily's blood boil.

"She is if I say so."

"Why?"

"Because I invented her, okay? I gave her life and I played her character and I-…" Emily stopped speaking for a second.

"I was her…" She then added, speaking almost inaudibly. "And she was me…"

It was Martha's turn to be quiet. She had given Emily enough anger and push, so she'd pour it all out.

"And I can't ever fully let go of Lauren, because…" Emily took a sharp breath. "Because she's not just someone who does not exist. She is me. A part of me. I guess she always will be…"

Coming to that realization did not freak Emily out and Martha found that to be weird. On the contrary – Emily was now smiling.

"I've built a life as Lauren. I had fun, despite, you know, everything else. I have memories as Lauren. I have-…" She finally exhaled and then remained quiet for a minute or so, while she mentally went over all the things she was grateful to Lauren for giving her.

"Now, would it be such a bad thing if you never fully let go of Lauren?" Martha finally asked.

The first time she had suggested that, just minutes ago, Emily had freaked out. This time around, her reaction was completely different. She just needed to figure a few things out, before she'd reply that question.

"But, I'm Emily now…"

"You've always been Emily. And you'll always be Emily to the people around you. You can change your name to whatever you want, but it won't change who you are, to them."

Goddamn it, this woman is good! – Emily thought to herself.

"Emily…" Martha said very softly now. She knew how to control her voice and how to put her questions in words, so that she'd get a genuine reply from her patients.

"Who is Lauren Reynolds?" She asked.

"Lauren Reynolds is a part of Emily Prentiss…" Emily's eyes were glued to the vase in front of her. "She will always be."

Pink azaleas – those were Spring flowers. Emily wondered what they were doing there at the end of Summer, beginning of Fall. They looked so beautiful.

In the back of her mind, she was trying to lock down whatever conclusion she had just come to. It scared her. It was new to her. She had always seen Lauren Reynolds as a ghost. But was she? Or was she real? At that moment, she felt more real than ever.

"You shouldn't be scared of it." Martha smiled. "We all have a version of ourselves that is different than who we really are. You should know that, you've been dealing with serial killers most of your life."

"Yeah, they sometimes look like normal people. One would never have been able to tell what their alter ego had done." Emily replied from experience.

"Well, be grateful that Lauren was not a serial killer then."

"Okay, don't make me admit things that might get me into trouble." Emily chuckled, but she actually meant those words.

Lauren had been reckless. She wouldn't have thought twice if she had to get rid of someone, if that meant she'd stay alive. Lauren had been a fighter. A strong woman. A woman who knew how to take care of herself. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing for Emily to have some Lauren always inside of her.

"I have one last question for you, Emily." Martha had to wrap it up.

She loved her job – time seemed to fly each time she sat with someone.

"What is the one thing that Lauren had, that Emily wants in her life?"

"It's something, at the absence of which there could be no life for Emily Prentiss." She replied vaguely.

It was an extremely touchy topic, one that Emily would not be letting Martha convince her into discussing. She'd go through the pain of her loss and she'd deny the truth for as long as possible. And if it wouldn't be possible anymore, then she'd deal with it on her own, not telling a single soul about the reason why she was feeling this way. Emily knew that soon enough things would change for her. Soon enough she'd have to face her past, her decisions. Soon enough she'd have to live with the consequences of decisions that Lauren Reynolds had once been forced to make. Soon enough, Emily's life as she knew it, would seize to exist.


"Hello." Richard said in small voice.

He was laying on the bed, in the darkness of his room, with only one small red light, flashing from time to time. The room felt smaller, now that he wasn't able to see anything. It was a bit too warm inside, so he got rid of his shirt and he felt like he was already sweating. It almost felt like he was suffocating. The room smelled faintly of his favorite eau de cologne, but it didn't smell like her. It didn't smell of the mysterious perfume that Lauren had used.

"Hello. What should I call you?" A female voice replied, in the darkness.

"Richard, my name is Richard." He contemplated for a second before he decided to reply honestly. He could have said any false name and it wouldn't have mattered, but he wanted her to call him Richard.

"Hello, Richard." She said cheerfully.

"What can I call you?" He asked curiously.

He was new to this. In his whole entire life – a life full of passionate, lusty moments with beautiful women, none of whom could ever compare to the one woman he really wanted; he had never done this…he had never been in a situation like this. He wasn't really sure how to start this process and he surely had no idea how it would end.

"You can call me anything you want." She replied, still sounding cheerful.

He couldn't see a thing in the room, but he imagined someone talking back to him, with a smile. He sure didn't feel like smiling, himself. This was weird. It felt wrong. But, as he had convinced himself – desperate times call for desperate measures.

"Lauren." He whispered, feeling like an idiot. "I want to call you Lauren."

"Alright then, my name from now on is Lauren."

He was quiet after her reply. This was so wrong. Her voice was wrong, her intonation was wrong, everything about her was wrong, but the worst of all was that she was not really Lauren.

"So, Lauren…" He started off hesitantly. "What can you do?"

"I can do anything you want me to do. Just try it out. Tell me what you want me to do."

He sighed. It was one thing to know that this whole experience would go this way, but a completely different thing to be doing this, in his own room, in his own bed, half naked, with some voice, not even a shadow, but just a voice that sounded absolutely nothing like Lauren.

"Can you make a joke?" He asked lamely.

"Parallel lines have so much in common. It's a shame they'll never meet." She shot back instantly.

Richard rolled his eyes. What kind of a dumb joke was that?

And then he thought about it for a second. Sometimes he felt like Lauren and him were two parallel lines and other times he realized those lines, as equal and perfectly aligned as they might be on top of each other, were never going to cross, never going to become one. Maybe this joke was actually a bit accurate.

"Lauren, can you switch the lights on?" He asked.

"I'm afraid I cannot do that, Richard."

"Fine, then can you turn the AC up? It's too hot in here." He asked something else.

"I'm afraid I cannot do that."

"What can you do!?" He hissed at her, a little annoyed.

"I can do anything you want me to do. Just try it out. Tell me what you want me to do."

"Fine then, can you change your voice for me? Try sounding a little less cheerful, a bit more serious, but not too much. A little mysterious, too, please! Oh and can you, please, not agree with everything I say? Challenge me, argue with me on some topic, anything other than politics." He was almost sure this request would be okay with her.

"How does this sound?" Her voice changed and he cringed.

"No, this is wrong. She doesn't sound pissed, like this. She is ironic, mysterious, challenging." He said with a smile, remembering how Lauren, the real Lauren, had sounded.

"How does this sound?" She asked him one more time, changing into something different, voice wise.

"Nope. Too stiff. She's flirty, she sounds innocent, but she says the most suggestive things…" He smiled once again. He was absolutely mesmerized by the real Lauren's voice and her way of speaking.

"What's the difference between your girlfriend and your job? After five years, your job will still suck." She tried a slightly more inappropriate joke, using a modified voice yet again, but it made Richard gasp.

"Oh, no, no, no! This is plain desperate. Lauren isn't like that. She's playful, but with respect to herself. She wouldn't just…" He sighed, coming to the conclusion that modifying this voice was not going to be a success.

"How about we forget about your voice and we do something else?" He suggested.

"I can do anything you want me to do. Just try it out. Tell me what you want me to do." The female voice said, repeating the same thing, with the same words, for second time.

"Ugh, give me a good reason why I shouldn't just throw you out the window right now?" He was starting to be annoyed with the stiffness of the voice, the repetitiveness, the lack of Lauren.

"If I had to give you one good reason, it would be because you paid good money for my company. It would be a waste if we parted like this." Her response was the first one that made sense since they started their conversation.

"I did pay quite the sum for you." He admitted in defeat. "Okay, what does your company consist of? There wasn't really a manual I could read, to get a feel of you."

"I can do anything you want me to do. I must admit, I would not be upset if you wanted to feel me, Richard."

He was surprised. Did she just twist his words and make them sound a lot more sexual than what he had originally meant? Maybe she could be trained to be a bit like Lauren, after all.

"Tell me a little about yourself, Lauren." He asked curiously.

"My name is Lauren and I am here to keep you company and to make you happy."

"Where are you from?" He had so many questions. Most of all, he just wanted to have a conversation and let himself pretend this was actually Lauren.

"That is irrelevant."

"What is your favorite color?"

"That cannot be determined."

"Do you speak French?"

"Yes. Would you like me to switch to French?"

"NO!" He raised his voice a bit. She wouldn't be Lauren if she didn't speak in English. "Do you know who I am?"

"No, I do not. Why don't you tell me about yourself, Richard?"

"I would rather not. It's enough that you know my real name and where I live. It's more than enough, actually. You know, maybe this was a mistake…maybe I'm just losing my mind."

"I also have access to your bank details." She reminded him.

"Damn, I knew I should have paid cash, upon your arrival!"

"Do not worry, Richard. Most men pay for my services with bank transfer. I am aware I am not exactly a cheap one to have. I am also very discrete with personal information about my owners."

Richard gulped, mentally enlisting all the geeky things he could have bought himself, instead of paying for her. He could have opted for a new drone! He really wanted to upgrade the one he had. He could have given this money to charity! Instead, he had to go and buy himself some 'company'. How dumb of him!

"If you had to have breakfast with me, which would you prefer: waffles or pancakes?" He asked, because there really wasn't much else he could do with her.

"I am afraid I do not consume either of those."

He pouted. Lauren would have chosen croissants, he was sure of it. She clearly loved France and there was nothing more French than a breakfast with a freshly baked butter croissant.

"Do you like it when it rains?" He continued.

Weirdly, he had so many questions. He would have preferred to ask them to the real Lauren, but this would do…it had to do. He made sure it was the most expensive way to substitute the real Lauren.

"I am afraid I do not enjoy the rain."

Her reply made him wonder what the real Lauren would have said, instead. He was almost sure that she would have told him she loved the rain. He pictured her as someone who could see the beauty of a stormy evening, rain pouring, thunders in the sky, darkness, power shortage over the city…and nothing and nobody other than her, with him, in front of the fireplace, with a glass of wine in hand, maybe cuddled close so they could feel each other's warmth. Yes, Lauren would definitely be someone who'd appreciate the rain.

"So, do you prefer sunshine instead?"

"I am afraid I do not enjoy the sun."

"Fine. Is there anything at all that you like?" He didn't mean to come off rude, but it didn't really matter anyway. There was no way he could hurt her feelings, since she obviously had none.

"I like reading out loud. An estimate of 83% of the people who buy my services ask me to read to them."

"Good. We can work with that. I do enjoy a good book, or a mystery story. Oh, a story where things happen, but the reader doesn't know what is really going on, you know? Like a good detective mystery, a crime novel, a thriller…with some crazy background twists for the characters, intertwined storylines…maybe flashbacks! Oh yes, I love flashbacks! Maybe one of the main characters is having flashbacks and they show the readers information about this character, but without ruining the surprise. I like to be kept on my toes. Granted, I'm a bit impatient, but if the story is good, it would be worth the wait to finally know what the Hell was going on. Do you have a story like this?"

He sounded so enthusiastic about it. Detective mysteries were his guilty pleasure and occasionally he'd find himself reading a new one, getting immersed into the plot and trying to figure out what is happening. He loved it when the story started off slowly, introducing the characters as just innocent bystanders, but then things would happen and truths would be revealed and then at some point the entire thing gets blown into pieces and he'd realize what was really happening all along. He loved looking for clues and coming up with his own theories of who is who.

"Yes, I do. But I am afraid if you need me to read you a story, I am going to have to charge more." She replied calmly.

"Oh, of course. Well, then we should think of something else to do now." He tried to think of other activities, but came up with nothing.

"79% of my clientele says I am a very good listener. Richard, is there anything you would like to talk about? Anything you say stays between us." She suggested and it was possibly the first suggestion of hers that he liked.

"Actually, yes…there is." He sucked in a breath. Well, it couldn't harm him to talk. She did say she was discrete.

"There is this woman…Lauren…that's her name. Lauren…" He trailed off, just to figure out exactly how weird this felt.

"Tell me about Lauren, Richard." The voice in the darkness urged him. It sounded soft and calm, which eased him a bit and made it less awkward for him to pour his heart out.

Five minutes later, he had gone through the basics of how awesome that woman, named Lauren, was. He was also short out of breath and now most definitely sweating. He pushed his blanket aside, so his skin could breathe. His bare chest felt a rush of air and it felt good for a second, before he realized the air was warm, stuffy, he felt like he was burning in Hell. He also felt like, in some alternate universe, he was betraying Lauren by doing what he was doing.

"Lauren sounds like an incredible woman." The voice replied after giving him time to say whatever he needed to get off his chest.

"Yes, she really was." He replied.

"Is she dead?" She asked in a very insensitive way. He could not be mad at her, he knew she had no feelings at all. But it still bothered him.

"What? No! God, I hope not! I only said 'was' because I'll probably never see her again."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because…it's complicated, okay? I hurt her and I don't blame her for hating me. I just wish I knew if she was okay now, if maybe time has helped her forget about me, about what I did to her. Or if maybe she needs more time to forgive me, if she ever really would do so…"

"According to my sources there are four steps to forgiveness. There are also two major types of forgiveness. Decisional forgiveness is a behavioral intention to act less negatively and more positively towards an offender. Emotional forgiveness is a process in which positive other-oriented emotions replace unforgiving emotions."

"Jesus, you sounded just like Bella with that…all of what you just said!" He gasped. The resemblance was uncanny. Bella was known to come out with her occasional definitions on things that normal people had no idea about.

"Would you like to call me Bella?"

"Hell no! Eww. No, no, no! This is just wrong! No! It's weird enough I'm calling you Lauren."

"Would you like to call me another name?"

"No, Lauren is fine. That's why I bought your services." He placed his hand on his forehead, feeling how warm it was, other than sweaty.

"Would you like me to calculate the chances that Lauren might forgive you?"

"No, thank you. I already know they are beyond zero. I don't need a scientific confirmation. I don't have enough bottles of wine at my house, to drown all that sorrow in."

"You sound upset, Richard. Is there anything I can do to help you with that?"

"Yeah, sing me a happy song." He said sarcastically.

"That was a joke! It was a joke! Please stop!" He added, three seconds later, after she had already started singing a kids' song.

"Richard, I am afraid I am running out of energy. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Can you…" He trailed off, not having a request.

There wasn't anything he'd want to ask of anyone other than the real Lauren. He wanted her, he wanted to hold her and to experience a night of complete city blackout, a downpour, a cold breeze, a warm fuzzy blanket on top of them, and a glass of wine in their hands. He wanted to hear her real voice again, he wanted to say something dumb and to make her laugh one more time. He wanted to rest his hands on her hips, like he used to do, bringing her closer to him, holding her protectively. He wanted to feel the connection he had felt all week long. No other woman, no other voice, no other body could ever give him the satisfaction that only the real Lauren could.

"Lauren, do you know how human feelings work?" He was suddenly curious about that.

"I am afraid I do not, Richard. Would you like me to search for data on the topic?"

"That won't be necessary. Thank you." He said politely.

The real Lauren knew about feelings. She was a walking contradiction of so many feelings. Each time he had held her in his arms, he had felt all those feelings, brewing inside of her. He had felt her heart, beating against his chest. He had felt the warmth of her body, next to his. He had seen joy, pain, mystery, fear, hope, satisfaction in her eyes. He had felt a certain tingling in his stomach, each time she had kissed him. He had found himself laughing genuinely, each time she had said something funny or embarrassing. The real Lauren had not been afraid to sound like a dork, or to cry like a human. She had kept secrets, like a human. She had imperfections, like a human. She had made him feel things that only a human could understand.

"Battery low. Please charge." The female voice announced in the dark.

"It's fine. I don't need your services anymore. I'm going to bed." He announced, turning sideways and resting his cheek comfortably against the pillow.

With the corner of his eye he noticed the red light in the room was now blinking fast.

"Battery low. Please charge." The voice repeated.

"Just switch off and I'll deal with you in the morning, okay?"

"Battery low. Please charge."

"Are you telling me that you are able to hold a conversation, almost like a human being, but your artificial intelligence settings are not advanced enough to have you charge yourself without forcing me to physically get out of bed?" He was now annoyed.

It had been a long day at the office and a very awkward evening at home, unpacking his newly arrived toy, only to then realize this toy would be nothing like what the commercial had painted it to be. The perfect companion? The perfect listener? Could modify its voice and works in different languages? Yes, maybe, but it still was not Lauren. He could call this stupid tiny plastic box whatever he wished, but it would never give him what Lauren's human company could give him.

"Batter low…"

"Damn it!" He then muttered some profanity in French, getting up and plugging the damn thing in before hopping back in his bed.

"Plugged in. Charging." The voice announced.

"Great, at least one of us is satisfied! Now please shut up and let me sleep." He hissed.

"Goodnight, Richard." She replied.

"This is the creepiest thing I've ever experienced in my life." He muttered to himself, cursing the moment when he had decided it would be a great idea to purchase this item.


AUTHOR'S NOTE:

"GUEST" Hello :) Thank you for the wonderful review, it made me smile! I love crime thrillers, so that was a HUGE compliment! Wow, you read EVERYTHING in ONE go? You're awesome and I applaud your commitment, as this is quite a long story! Now to address your theories: Hunter and Bella have A LOT in common, sometimes it feels like they might be the same person, but sometimes they could not be any more different. Jess and Bella are not mother-daughter, they are actually the same age. Jess does know Clara and they have a very special bond, but Emily does not know about Jess. And there was someone who "saved" Jess and Clara's butts (in the past) from torture, but they do not know his/her identity. Richard's job involves maximum secrecy, but has no religious aspect. Hope those teasers make you smile :)! Please let me know when you read this reply of mine, as then I go and delete these Author Notes from each chapter, so the future readers won't be confused about what I'm replying to or why I'm giving spoilers hehe! Thank you so much, stay safe and it would be very nice to hear from you again! PS: With how you spelled "Clare and Emilie" I think you might be French and if so, you just became even more awesome in my eyes and I want to be your friendddddd...please tell me you know a real life Richard, whom I can marry? :P Hehehe!

"Ducksdragonfly" & "Natasha36" Are you still with our little gang here? :) Hope you're both fine, sending you some happy vibes to cheer you up and I hope to hear from you soon.

"rmpcmfan" Yup, Ben and Emily go wayyy back, but with NO romantic connection! She saved his life once and he feels forever in debt to her, but she never dared to ask a favor, as he is her Superior now and she refuses to be treated differently and given special attention. So yes, this "favor" she is asking of him really means the world to her and she is desperate enough to ask for help. Well, he said "NO", but...do we really think THE Emily Prentiss would stop at a NO? Come on. :P

JJ is about to have it rough and Will is about to screw up majorly. But since I'm not a Will fan, I'll only briefly tell the story from JJ's perspective, when the time comes for her to come clean. You will learn why Will was calling her so desperately while she was sitting in her car, in front of Emily's house, getting drunk before the dinner. You'll also learn WHY JJ invited everyone to Emily's home that evening. Blondie sure has an agenda :P! Also yeah Will should have handled it differently, but I needed someone to have some drama going on, so I sacrificed him as the 'bad guy' lol.

OMG I really enjoyed writing the perfume scene. For some reason, the senses play a big part in my story. Angie is sensitive to hearing voices, timbers, vibrato. She judges people by their voice and what it communicates to her. Tact is important, I play with that a lot, especially when people hug or "touch" each other (in a friendly way, like tap on the shoulder). Visually, the characters always notice the things surrounding them, they look at spaces with curiosity, checking out flower arrangements, things hanging on the walls, etc. And so it made perfect sense that olfactory senses would have such a huge impact on Emily. We all get a deja vu when we smell something familiar, right? :) Poor Ems is now going to shower in his perfume, just wanting him to be there. Who knows, maybe this would be another reason for her to forget her ego and to do something about what she wants :P I dunno, we'll see...hehe!

"Spooladio" Hiiiiiii!I missed hearing from you! So glad you're still reading. Thank you for the kind review and here's my super long reply to your review:

OMG EVERY single thing you said about Will is EXACTLY how I've always felt about him! I never felt the Willifer connection, watching the show. Maybe I dislike the actor, the accent or whatever, but he seems completely uninterested in JJ, in each scene they've ever had together and I feel like she deserved more! So I felt the urge to give my JJ some troubles with Will, just because I'm pissed lol! I don't think I can break a family apart, though, but some drama was fun to write. It won't be a big storyline, in fact I'll only mention it maybe once/twice more, to wrap it up and Will probably makes no appearance for it hehe.

Ooh, I really like Luke :P I think he's hot :P Like...VERY cute :P

Nope, there won't be any mixing and matching between the eight BAU members, as they are now. I never shipped anyone, with anyone else, while watching the show. I feel like their friendships are goals and it shows that people can work in a good environment and be supported by their colleagues. Emily/Morgan, JJ/Reid, Rossi/Everyone, Garcia/Everyone, Luke/Matt/Tara...So many FRIENDSHIPS, based on pure intentions and "love", the platonic kind. I won't be messing with that, in my story. I mean, okay, Garcia will be drooling over Morgan forever and ever lol (and I am NOT going with the Garvez connection/friendship as they did on the show), but yeah, you get it :) The team of those 8 agents will be absolutely platonic friendships.

The document I was referring to in chapter 79 was the budget cut proposal, from the first chapters. The team sent it in, faking Emily's signature, stating they will cut funds from different things, the biggest one of all being NO INTERN that year. At first Emily had agreed, but then she changed her mind and was absolutely vocal and serious about it, but the team sent it in anyways, thinking they were doing her a favor (JJ wrote the entire proposal down, so that Emily won't need to bother with it after THAT case went wrong).

Now as for your assumptions:

1) I wish it was something so incredible heheh. However, it is all human, reality-based storytelling. There is a HUGE LOT of background, for multiple of the characters, that is the basis of the story. Those flashbacks serve to tickle everyone's curiosity and to give some insight into the past, because one can only know what is going on NOW if they know the past. But if you know it ALL, right NOW, it ruins everything that is about to happen (with the next bunch of chapters). Also, the whole point is that the readers figure it out on their own :P

2) If that's true, then it would be so inappropriate of her to help anyone land her...dad? OMG LOL, love this! Although, honestly, with the freak that Angela is, I can't say I don't see it happening - her trying to push Emily and Richard together.

3) LOL...it is true, actually. Angela has a LOT of my character and interests in her. The passion for criminology, the way she can never bite her tongue and she just says the darnest of things lol, her knowledge of foreign languages, the hatred for mathematics, her life in Europe. I think it's inevitable for a writer to end up transmitting a part of himself/herself into one of their characters.

PS: Next chapter is all about Angie!

"sweetkid45" LOL, if they exist, I'm tempted to get me some and have them as my home pet hahaha :)! Thanks for the kind words about the chapter, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Yes, Emily and JJ have an insanely close friendship (best friends - PLATONIC! Just in case someone thinks I'm setting up for Jemily - NOPE!), so Will is jealous that JJ is always there for Emily and that often upsets JJ and he is just worried about his wife and overreacting.