CHAPTER 97

CALL ME BABY ONE MORE TIME, I DARE YOU

Garcia had not let Angela breathe, all the way back to the office, after the Monday lunch with the team. She had showered her with all the possible questions she could think of. And then some.

Angela seemed to love the attention, said in a good way. She would always reply politely and sincerely, except for the times when she'd be vague, but she was a human and she had the right to reserve certain information to herself.

"Garcia, you are just something else…" Emily laughed as they walked in the bullpen.

Naturally, Luke's mad driving skills had gotten the rest of the team back, before them.

"We need JJ…" Matt informed Emily as soon as he saw her.

"Good. Because she's right here." JJ stated, coming back from a quick walk to the restrooms.

Emily gave her a scolding look. JJ had disobeyed a direct order and that did not sit well with her. Emily had told her to take the rest of the day off and she had blatantly disregarded that.

"I need to see you in my office when everyone clocks out." That was all Emily said to her before she started ignoring the fact that JJ just got on her nerves like she never had before.

"Do we have a case?" Emily then turned her attention to Matt who had spoken to her earlier.

Having arrived at the office five minutes before Emily's car, the rest of the team had been welcomed with the news of a new assignment that Emily had to now review and decide whether to take up on or not.

"Possibly." He said, motioning towards the meeting room.


"Oh, Lordy…" Garcia looked away when they presented photos of the third victim.

"There is no doubt we're dealing with one UnSub here. The MO is unvaried in all three crimes." Emily pointed out when they finished looking at the photos and reading the reports that some police station had sent them, along with an invite to tag along for the investigation.

"What do you think, Angela?" Rossi gave her the green light.

He had noticed her, sitting eagerly, on the edge of her chair, with her eyes darting from Emily to the screen and then back to Emily again, as if she had something to say, but needed permission to do so.

"I believe the UnSub is highly skilled with those blades – sharp clean cuts, hits the major arteries and lets his victims bleed out. That's intentional. And it points to him possibly having a job that involves blades, say, a doctor, a barber, even butcher, but then he wouldn't have such good knowledge of the human body, so I suppose that's a bit farfetched as a guess." Angela spoke slowly, calmly and confidently.

There was no sign of the bubbly freak who had made friends with everyone during lunch just minutes ago. She had flipped the switch again and was now acting twice her age.

"The large cooling off period points to him having some sort of stability in his life. He might be married or, if it is the case of him being a doctor, he might even still be in practice. The highly organized nature of his crimes points to an intelligent white male, in his 40's, with higher education, someone with good social skills and, as mentioned previously, possibly even married. The lack of sexual violence on the victims points to him having a stable sexual relationship, one that satisfies his needs, so he no longer has to look for that elsewhere." Angie continued.

"Or he might be impotent…" Rossi tried to trick her.

"All due respect Sir, but I don't think so. If he was, we'd see some sort of a sexual component to the crime. And according to those autopsy reports, there is none. The victims have not even been undressed…" She spoke, but he interrupted her again.

"Or they might have been re-dressed by the UnSub…" Rossi suggested one more time. He had already figured that Angela liked playing games, so now toying with her was his favorite game.

"All three victims were found with the clothes they had been last seen wearing, as stated in their missing persons reports. Also, stab wounds on victims two and three have pieces of fiber deep into the wound, matching the exact piece of clothing they were found wearing, when the bodies were discovered, and it matches the one on the report." Angela said confidently.

"Watch out, Pretty Boy. We now have Baby Genius on the team." Luke whispered to Reid while Angie spoke.

"Good. It was about time someone came in to challenge my intellect." Reid smirked. He did not mind having a younger person on the team, one who had the will and the power to establish herself as a great Agent and to work side by side with them.

"What about his trigger? Why the huge gap between kills?" Everyone kind of let Rossi play with his new favorite toy. They could tell he was getting a kick out of it.

Emily, for one, was now sitting comfortably in her chair, with her back rested comfortably and her hands on the armrests, enjoying every second of this show.

"Oh, Sir…I do not have the foggiest idea." Angela said honestly.

Rossi took a moment to interpret that. So far, Angie had been so sure of herself and she defended her opinion when she believed in it. And yet, she was not afraid to back down and admit it when she didn't know something. Rossi had seen so many people getting burned through the years, while trying to push their opinions or to form an opinion, when in reality they had no clue what was going on. So, he had to admit to himself that he quite liked the fact that Angela was honest with the team, instead of inventing herself a theory, just to sound like she knew what was going on. He found that refreshing. Also, her choice of words was rather strange and it had made a few team members chuckle quietly.

"Possible motive?" Rossi was fixated on making her sweat.

Angie leaned forward and checked a few items on the table. She re-read the police reports and some information on the victims, trying to form an opinion.

"Victimology?" Rossi poured yet another question at her, seeing as she took a while to think of an answer. He figured she needed a push into the right direction, even if his words were, once again, intentionally misleading.

"Well, that is up to us to investigate and come up with." She said calmly, shutting down his game. "Uh, I mean you – it is up to you guys." She added lamely and she sounded just like Emily who would randomly blurt out something embarrassing and then try to mask it up by saying something even more embarrassing instead.

Had she said anything else, Rossi would have been disappointed. They were never able to determine a motive without a thorough victimology dive first. He knew he was tricking her with those questions, but he had to make sure she could handle herself in a professional situation, while not having the right answer. And she handled herself brilliantly, for someone who had only a few weeks of Academy behind her back.

"May I?" Emily smirked, wanting to play with Angela as well.

"All yours." Rossi said, figuratively tossing Angela back to her rightful owner, for the week.

"Angela Hunter, you mentioned the lack of a sexual component, but to some the stabbing itself represents the sexual component." Emily pointed out.

"Yes, it does. However, it would not fit with the profile – him being organized, sexually competent and satisfied in his own personal life where he might also be married. Also, the stabbing here points to a violent outburst, a downpour of repressed aggression, accumulated over a long period of time. The big cooling off period affirms that. Something must be happening in his life, making him suddenly unable to resist the urge to kill. And if a knife is his weapon of choice, he must have one on him at all times, pointing to his possible career, involving knives or just blades, in general." Angela showed absolutely no sign of being intimidated by Emily.

On the contrary – she was now more easygoing as she spoke, in comparison to how she had replied to Rossi, all prim and professional. It almost felt like Emily was fueling a fire inside of Angela, one that made her light up and just speak her mind freely.

Emily bit her bottom lip, trying not to smile. She tilted her head sideways, looking straight in Rossi's eyes, as if to affirm his opinion on Angela.

"Also, call me 'Baby' one more time, I dare you…" Out of the blue, Angie turned to Luke, shutting down that comment he had dared to make about her, just a minute ago.

"Dude, you got burned!" Matt smirked in Luke's face, making him feel even crappier.

The team then took the lead and discussed things from their point of view, with all the years of experience they all had.

The profile they finally came up with was almost identical to what Angela had suggested earlier, with some additions.

"Wheels up in thirty!" Emily stated and everyone disappeared from the meeting room, gathering their Go Bags and getting ready for the trip.

"Come on, I'll drive you back to your Campus. It's on the way." Emily put her hand on Angela's shoulder, urging her to leave faster, now that the chill dynamics of the day had been turned around for everyone.

Angie frowned. There was so much pain on her face. Her week of learning had barely even started and yet, it had just come to an end. The team was now off to another city for who knows how long. She had so many expectations for this week. She wanted to spend time with them, to learn from Emily, to feel like she was part of something. And as soon as she got a taste of her best life, it all came crashing down.

Emily's heart broke a little bit, seeing Angie so visibly upset. That girl clearly had no idea what Emily had in store for her.

After Emily made a quick stop at her office, grabbing her Go Bag, they went to the parking lot and Angie was awfully quiet.

Emily had tried to put her hand on Angie's shoulder, to give her some sort of comfort, but the girl had shrugged it off instantly. She really was not a fan of physical contact, at all.

"Okay, here we are." Emily said with a smile as she pulled up in front of Angie's dorms.

"Thank you for everything, Emily Prentiss…" She started off, intending on being nice and emotionally detached, while giving a small speech on how much she had already learned from this woman, in less than a day.

"Save the sob speech for the plane." Emily pointed to the entrance of the dorm room building. "Come on. Don't take too long."

Angie snapped out of her misery instantly. Did she hear 'plane'?

"Clothes, toothbrush, hair bows, extra pair of shoes and Rossi's book." Emily winked at Angie, enlisting all the important things she knew Angie would love to have on the trip.

"Are you for real?" Angie questioned, with her jaw now hanging loose, looking like a complete fool.

"Oh girl, I'm the realest!" Emily kept on smiling. She even let her inner Diva come out as she replied with the attitude of an A-lister, flipping her hair with one hand.

It felt so good to have been the reason to turn that frown upside down. Angela was much prettier when smiling.

"Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. Oh my God. Cool!" Angie squealed while running down the hallway like a crazy person.

Emily could hear her all the way from the car and her heart was full of joy.

"BRYAN, I'M GOING TO NEW YORK WITH THE BAU!" Angela yelled at the top of her lungs, kicking the door open and grabbing her gym bag while scanning the room for her basic necessities. The first thing she grabbed was Rossi's latest bestseller, which she had only read eleven times so far, so it was basically brand new, according to Angela's book standards.

"What about the obligatory classes?" Bryan asked while packing his own bag.

"When Emily Prentiss asks you to join her team on a private jet, you don't have the time to think of those more pressing issues in your life." Angie laughed, coming to the realization that Dan had never authorized the Trainees to travel.

"You sound more obsessed with that woman, than I am." Bryan pointed out, stuffing two pairs of jeans in his bag.

"I might just be. She's kind of okay. I dunno, I'm still trying to figure her out." Angie said while sticking random things in her bag. "Where are you off to?"

"Field trip. The Unit I'm following this week is going to LA for an assignment and they asked me to go." He replied quickly while searching for socks.

"Living our best lives!" Angie chirped, sounding absolutely in love with what was happening to both of them.

Bryan had managed to follow a SWAT Agent, which was what he wanted to do all along. And Angie was not mad about her last minute choice of an Agent either. Sometimes fate works in mysterious ways.

"Be safe." She gave him a hug and darted out the door.

"You too." He replied, wrapping his arms around her briefly, now that she was finally allowing him to get this close to her, before she slipped out and ran off.


"That's the BAU jet?" Angie pointed at a plane when they got to the airport.

"Mhm." Matt replied to her, while munching on a sandwich he had just bought at the bar in the waiting lounge.

"Awesome!" Angie whispered to herself.

"Now, Angela Hunter, while you are coming as part of this team, there are also restrictions and rules you have to follow." Emily knew that at some point she'd have to crush Angie's enthusiasm a little bit.

"I know. I'm not an Agent and I cannot carry a gun or use any weapon, force or execute any type of authority. All actions of mine are unprotected by the Bureau and I can end up in court if I get reckless. I shall never disobey a direct order from any member of your team and I shall never approach witnesses, conduct interviews or express opinions. Also, I must never give out any kind of information, regarding the investigation. Don't worry, I'm really good at acting dumb and making people believe I don't even have the answer to their questions." Angie shrugged and it seemed like she was okay with these arrangements.

"Something along those lines…" Emily affirmed.

"How do you even know all of that?" Tara was curious to know.

"Clara repeated the briefing for the case I had with the IRS, two times." Angie saw confusion in the eyes of pretty much everyone.

"Oh, sorry. I meant Agent Seger." Angie cleared it up.

"The IRS case?" Rossi pointed out the part of her sentence that had confused them.

"Mhm. I went on a case with them in Cuba a week ago." She said casually, as if it wasn't a big deal at all.

"I'd hate to see her get purloined by the IRS…" Reid leaned in and whispered to Rossi who was sitting next to her.

"Yeah, tell me about it…" He replied, followed by a sigh.

"Good, now that Angela Hunter knows where she stays with the BAU…" Emily changed the conversation back to the rules.

"Agent Jareau, same thing applies to you." Emily added coldly.

Her words made Tara gasp out loud. Nobody had ever expected Emily to be so harsh with JJ. If anything, they expected her to tolerate JJ's behavior.

Emily, however, had to distinguish between her friendship and her professional relationship with her best friend.

"The two of you are consulting on this case, meaning that you are staying behind if the team needs to make a move and be on the field." Emily kept on speaking and nobody dared utter a word.

JJ looked at her for a second, with that 'Are you freaking kidding me!?' look on her face, but when she realized Emily was not joking, she looked away and tried not to show just how irritated she was to have been scolded and treated like a Trainee, in front of the whole team. Then again, she had acted out against Emily, in front of the whole team, so this seemed like a fitting punishment.

Emily held her hand out to JJ and awaited.

"Your gun, Agent Jareau." Emily specified what she was waiting for.

JJ kept quiet while she took the gun from its holster and put it in Emily's hand.

"We are ready for boarding." Someone came over at that moment and made the announcement that gave everyone the perfect excuse to leave this tensed up circle and get on their way to the jet.


"She'll come around." Reid whispered to JJ, daring to sit on the empty seat next to her.

"Mhm." JJ replied, but she seemed to be elsewhere at that moment.

"JJ, what's going on with you?" Poor Reid tried to initiate a conversation.

"I'm fine." JJ shut him down and started reading the files about the investigation so far.

"Pretty boy?" Luke called out for Reid and he put his arm around Reid's shoulder as soon as he walked to the back, where Luke, Matt and Tara were, as usual, getting up to no good, playing poker.

"We need you to supervise, in case someone is cheating." Luke explained the reason why he had called Reid to join them.

Reid, however, kept glancing over to where JJ was now sitting, all alone.

"Come on, man. Give her some space. She'll let us back in as soon as this blows over." Luke could not keep quiet anymore. The reason why he had called Reid was to give him an excuse to leave JJ's side. His heart could not take the sight of Reid, being upset, sitting next to his best friend, who was shutting him off.

"But I hate seeing JJ upset and not being able to do anything about it." Reid pouted and decided it was a smarter option to act like he was okay during the poker game, rather than to try and explain to his team why JJ meant so much to him.


During the entire flight, Angela was glued to Emily's side. They both sat quietly, occasionally exchanging the documents they were reading. There was a certain unison between them. Rossi noticed that, as he had the habit of keeping an eye on Emily when she was being weird. And lately, 'weird' did not even start to explain what Emily was.

Angela would read a file and then flip it over to the first page before slipping it across the table, while Emily would finish reading a report and tuck it into its paper folder before handing it to Angela, it hanging above the paper that Angela was now giving her. Like they had the unspoken agreement that Angela would slip it on the table, while Emily would always hand it on top. They must have done this exchange at least five times and neither of those times had they bumped into each other. It was always one swift motion, a quick exchange, in silence.

"Tout bon?" Emily asked at some point.

"Tout bon!" Angela nodded.

Yes, everything was more than okay. And yes, Emily speaking French was the cutest thing Angela had ever heard.


"We are going through some light turbulence, so you need to put your belts on and sit tight. It should be over in a few minutes." The pilot said on the loudspeaker at some point.

Rossi was a bad flyer. He started praying to God and making his Italian gestures of divine appraisal.

Angie found the strength to unglue herself from Emily, only to go sit next to Rossi instead.

Everyone knew that he hated turbulence and he wanted to be left alone, to freak out and sulk in silence. Angela was not going to give him this privilege.

The plane started shaking and everyone was now placing the taps back on their water bottles and securing their cups of coffee, to prevent spilling.

Angie was studying Rossi's face while his eyes were closed. He looked terrified.

"Don't worry. We're not going to die today." She said to him.

"I wish I was as convinced as you are." Rossi replied shortly.

"I am! It would be really dumb if our plane crashed before I even got that gun and badge. Like…seriously!?" Angie rolled her eyes and started making funny faces as she spoke in an overdramatic manner.

"Ha, I'm not the luckiest girl in the world, but I'm not a complete loser, either. I'd like to believe God has better plans for me. I once had a dream where an UnSub shot me. Phew, he really blew my brain off with that gun…" She realized that this was hardly a bright enough topic, to make Rossi take his mind off of death.

"Anyway, I've studied way too hard to not get to my own graduation. I want to wear something with glitter. Ha, that would make people laugh! I also know exactly which bow I'm going to have up in my hair when I'm handed my two babies."

"Two babies?" Rossi was confused. Weren't they just talking about graduation?

"Yeah, my gun and my badge!" Angie pointed out. "That would be the sweetest moment ever. Although, I guess I've dreamed about it for way too long and I might have set my expectations super high, so now I'm mentally preparing myself for a boring graduation, because nothing would be as good as how I've imagined it. Yeah, surely there won't be cupcakes with pink glitter toppings and lollipops in the shape of guns. Don't ask. I'm a weirdo with some pretty specific and weird taste. But it's okay. You'll get used to it. I'm actually kind of cool to hang out with."

Angie kept on talking about whatever things that came to her mind. She just did not want to stop.

Weirdly, Rossi listened to everything quite intently.

"When I was a kid, I drew a gun on my desk at school. Jesus, my teacher sent me to the shrink faster than anything. She thought I had psychopathic tendencies, that's what she said. She never even asked me why I drew a gun. Damn, I wish she could see me now! I mean, okay, I don't actually own a gun…legally…yet. But you know what I'm saying, right?"

"Yes, Garcia." Rossi laughed as he replied to Angie, calling her Garcia because that random downpour of weird information sounded just like something Garcia would say. Except that she'd be raving about kittens instead.

Rossi was now relaxed in his seat and giving his full attention to the human hurricane that Angela was.

"When I was a kid, I tried to skateboard with the boys. I faceplanted immediately and then all the boys laughed at me…" She pouted.

"Do I even want to know how you handled that situation?" Rossi questioned.

"I don't know. Are you prepared to hear the story of a nine year old girl kicking the ass of a ten year old and his eleven year old chubby brother?"

"You did not!" Rossi burst out laughing.

"Oh, I did! Nobody messes with Angela Hunter!" She smirked contently.

"You're a tough one, aren't you?" Rossi kept on laughing.

Meanwhile, Tara had filled the empty seat next to Emily, now that Matt had destroyed both her and Luke on poker. Reid was in the back, with a book in his hands and JJ was still an outcast, on her own.

"Rossi looks alive…during turbulence!" Tara pointed out in disbelief, watching him laugh and enjoy some small talk with the new girl.

"Yeah, it's a miracle." Emily said, leaving a folder on the table in front of her and paying more attention to Rossi. It was her turn to keep an eye on him now.

"I don't know where this lil' one came from, but I like her. And you know me – I rarely ever like humans." Tara laughed at herself.

"Seriously, you are the most antisocial person I know. You'd lay under your vintage car all day, every day, if you could." Emily laughed as well.

"Oh, that sounds lovely." Tara loved spending time on her own. After the long hours on the job, all she needed was peace and quiet and she had no problem coming off as antisocial. She never started new friendships anymore.

"Seriously. I wonder what she's saying to keep his mind off of…Oh God, this!" Tara ended her sentence, holding the armrests as the plane suddenly dropped some height.

At a moment like this one, Rossi would be curved into a ball. But looking at him now, Emily saw him laughing.

"She's something else, alright…" Tara pointed out one more time.

The whole team had attempted to get through Rossi, numerous times during flights, and he'd always shut them down.

Angela did not seem to have a problem with communication.

"Please take your seats. We will be landing shortly." The pilot said on the loudspeakers again.

"Wait…already? What about the turbulence?" Rossi was confused.

"Oh, we're done with it." Angie smiled.

It took him a moment to realize that what had felt like a second of initial turbulence, had actually lasted for a few minutes, during which time Angela was able to get his mind off of it by blabbing about…he did not even remember half of it already.

"Grazie." He thanked her in Italian, not even being mad about the fact that she had surely profiled him as a chicken.

"Prego." She replied, also in Italian, giving him a tiny wink and regretting that instantly. What if that got read as an advance? What if it was weird?

He didn't mention the wink and it did not get weird.


AUTHOR'S NOTE:

"rmpcmfan" The JJ/Angie dynamics will be explored further. Keep in mind JJ is going through a lot of personal stuff at the moment, so she's being a bit off. She just needs someone who knows how to handle her in such a situation, to bring her back to being the JJ we all know and love. Does JJ know Angie? She sure felt this way, but maybe it was flashbacks from when she was drunk and Angie helped her in the bar bathroom? | Angie was at a fragile age when the Italy thing happened - a relationship left her wondering why do people even have to be in a relationship at all! | Bella? What makes you make the parallel? I'm tempted to add in another Bella flashback soon hehe! | Emily knows she must be tough with JJ, it's the only way to get through to her and maybe, just maybe, Emily's approach would be the right one *wink*.

"sweetkid45" JJ has a lot of personal stuff going on right now. By keeping to herself, she came out rude towards the new girl in the group. And maybe you're also a bit right about the jealousy part, too, but not in a bad, vicious way :)!

"Natasha36" Hi Natasha :) I'm so happy to hear from you again. Glad you're enjoying the mystery. In a very complicated way Angela Hunter and Emily Prentiss have to figure each other out and build something from scratch. Angie is struggling with wanting to do so, but not wanting to let anyone in. Emily is struggling with the possibility of leaving/disappointing someone that she has NO doubts she wants to let in, willingly. So yeah, they have a lot to learn about each other, but also to learn about themselves through each other! Hehe, you've continuously been a supporter of the theory that Angie and Emily know each other or are connected somehow! That's cool! Keep looking for clues to support your theory or maybe to build a new one...who know what will happen *wink*. I can tell you that "Angela" had to meet "Emily" and build something with her from scratch, not knowing what this "Prentiss FBI Boss Lady" was all about - how she thought, acted, what she wanted from life, etc. I'm sorry I'm always vague, hehe, but I don't want to spoil anyone's fun when it comes to future reveals :P I want to allow everyone to enjoy the read and have them try to untangle the mystery themselves. :) As for the letter: trust me, JJ knows how to handle Emily in such a delicate situation. Very soon you will learn about it! Maybe JJ has already acted on it...just wait to see HOW. For now, it's Emily's turn to prove whether she can handle a fragile JJ well...you already saw her lash out on JJ and you will learn why Emily did it and what exactly is bothering JJ lately (in the next few chapters). Thank you so much for reviewing again. I appreciate each one of my reviewers! I hope you're safe and well :)!

"Ducksdragonfly" Wow, your review makes me proud of my little creation and of the hours of hard work. You have no idea how much thought I put into this, so the web of secrets will make sense in the end. A LOT is going on right now and the readers are COMPLETELY unaware! You all see the surface, but the real story is right there - you just don't have the right clues, so you can decipher it yet. If you want to re-read the story, I will advice you to do it later on, when you know more about Angie, so that when you read from the start, you'd find out you're reading a completely different story (at least I hope so, this is my goal!). I myself love reading things that then slap you in the face with something and you realize you have had it all wrong so far. (I'm a geek, okay? Hehe). Now to brush up on your personal thoughts/questions:

* My only ship is connected to Emily, she needs love! And it has to do more with the psychological exploration of her thoughts and feelings, right now. Everyone else has their loves, with Garcia now dating this (oc) Desmond guy and Luke being recently single, but I focus only on Emily and her friendships and feelings for Richard. I like a mix of work, crime, love, drama, and a lot of mystery!

* SECRETS are the base of this entire story! Not even "bad" secrets, just VERY personal ones, plus the inability to connect to people. I do like the psychological side of this mess and I believe people can help each other out, not tear each other apart (I mean, look at the world we live in - we need fiction and action against injustice!). I keep mentioning psychology - something VERY deep is going on right now and once you learn what it was all along, you'll possibly feel bad for one of the characters, or you may even admire their strength through this whole thing. It is draining more than one character, right now.

* I've had a comment before, saying my characters aren't cardboard cutouts. That's so cool to hear! It's challenging to make a character alive, in writing, especially an OC. Thank you :)!

* Richard and Angie? You mean Richard and Bella? I've written a series of Richard/Bella flashbacks and I'll insert them when the time is right. I'm very tempted to insert them now, but I don't want them to take away from (or confuse) the Angie/Monkey story, with their own flashbacks.

* The Ambassador comes to play later on. She may have a big role in Emily's trust/connection issues and there may be a flashback that may make you bawl your eyes out (I hope!). I may have re-read that flashback a thousand times, myself! I can't wait for everyone to read it, because it is HUGE! But that won't be too soon.

* Angie's Italy issue is NOT connected to Rossi in any type of way. In this sense, it is a pure coincidence that he is Italian. However, Rossi may play a direct-or-indirect role into Angie's obsession with criminology and he may or may not even know it! She does crave his recognition, but for all the different reasons (platonic! There is NO sexual component to Angie's connections to Emily, Clara, Rossi, Bryan, Dan...)

* Angie believes profiling is her calling and feels insanely motivated to do that, and no other job in the world. She does not believe it can help her with her own issues, but she believes she is good enough (and wants to learn more!) to help out other people, who need it.

* Hmm, in a way, yes - joining the BAU would speak volumes, to Monkey. But Angela does it purely for herself, with NO ulterior motive! Her issues with Monkey will soon deepen before she takes the final decision on how to handle that situation.

* Good catch about the glitter! So far the readers are supposed to have figured out Angie is not an airhead who rambles all the time, loves pink and glitter and wears bows, like an idiot. They serve a purpose and yes, they are connected to the idea of "childhood" and "innocence". It will be more clear when you find out something new about Angie, that has to deal with her childhood.

Ops, this was a LONG reply to your review, "ducksdragonfly", but I needed to be exhaustive :) Thank you for the wonderful review and for your continuous support!