AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hey, beautiful readers! I need to clarify one thing :)
In the previous Chapter 104 Emily was NOT asking Ben anything about the budget! Her request was for the BAU to be legally allowed to welcome an intern. I was intentionally very vague, because I wanted Ben to just know what Emily was asking, without her actually saying it out loud. The comment about "her getting the opportunities/placement she deserves" and Emily's metaphor about a "girl being sent on the journey of her life" were the hints that her request was connected to Angela (or rather: BAU having an intern). In fact, Ben asked Emily "how are you going to meet your budget?", intending "...if you add one more person to your team.".
DISCLAIMER: This chapter is probably M rated, just to be safe. It's because of Emily's filthy mind and Angie's filthy mouth. Those two have the weirdest banter going on, I dunno, it just happened, ok? :) Hope you enjoy it.
CHAPTER 105
FULL CIRCLE
"What are you doing?" Emily laughed, walking back into her office and finding Angela writing fiercely on one of the papers she had given her earlier.
After they had finished the case-related work and after yet another emotional talk, Emily had excused herself for about half an hour, as she needed to deliver one of the paper folders personally.
Angie had stayed behind, so Emily now found her sitting in the middle of her desk, right where the tag saying 'Emily Prentiss – BAU Unit Chief' was situated, and on top of Emily's comfortable black leather chair. It made her smile.
"Wait, just give me a minute." Angie put her hand up in the air, requesting for some peace and quiet so she could finish writing.
Emily walked over, leaning over the paper Angie was writing, which she realized was now more than one paper. To the side of it there were two more papers, already filled with words.
Angie grabbed her work of art and gave Emily the shoulder.
"Can't I have a glimpse? I mean, you've practically taken over my office, what now, I can't see what you're doing, Little Miss Future BAU Unit Chief?" Emily smirked.
If she had to be honest with herself, Angela looked quite good, sitting there. Yes, she also looked like a lunatic, writing fast and scribbling things down before striking out a whole phrase and starting all over. But, down the road, Emily could see Angela taking her spot, if Ben would ever make good on his half-spoken promise.
"I have to make it out of the Academy alive, first." Angie rolled her eyes, writing down the last few bits of her letter before sticking it in an envelope and closing it with the secure mark, so that Emily's prying eyes would not be able to read a word of it all, if Angie was to leave it unattended for a second.
"I e-mailed Dan again, to let him know that you should be excused for your absence in class this entire week." Emily said.
"Thank you, but I'm pretty sure this guy is now terrified by me and he wouldn't have the nerve to come yapping at me for that. Or anything, really." Angie said innocently.
"How so?"
"It's confidential!" It was now Angie's turn to have the upper hand. Although, she was itching to tell Emily all about it.
"Oh yeah? So, we can't discuss this right here…or someone might overhear." Emily played along.
"Mhm."
"Say mhm one more time, I dare you!" Emily laughed and once again made sure everything was in her handbag, before she stood up and made a sign for Angela to do the same.
"Come on. Let's go someplace private and talk." She suggested.
"Oh no. I'm done talking. Please. This is weird…" Angie laughed, unable to recall a time in her life when she had been so damn open and honest, so emotional when talking to someone. Emily Prentiss was a bit too much for her.
"I meant…talk about…" Emily made a sign, letting Angie know that she wanted to hear the confidential information.
It was all a game. Neither it was confidential, nor Emily would get into trouble for knowing about it. But it felt good, to act like spies, like two undercover agents, making plans to meet up and discuss dangerous topics. It felt…familiar.
"Spider web 7-2." Angie suggested, speaking in code.
"Oh, oui, exactement." Emily confirmed in French and they walked out.
"BRYAAAAAAAAAAN?" Angie yelled as she walked in her dorm, with Emily walking in right behind her.
After leaving Emily's office, Angie had expressed her desire to go home and change before they'd go out for lunch.
She had also mentioned that being dressed similarly made them look like the Pokemons or rather – like they were out on a lunch break from their jobs as sales assistants at whatever shop. It was embarrassing. Plus, she wanted to wear something else, something that she hadn't been sweating in all morning.
"Agent Hotness alert! Cover up if you're walking out of the bathroom all naked again!" She called out, giving him a fair heads up.
"Or, get naked, whichever you prefer, since your crush is here!" She added, making Emily physically slap her shoulder, just to make her stop talking.
"Bryan?" She didn't find him in bed, on the sofa and, opening the bathroom door, he wasn't even there.
"He must be out, training with the guys." Angie shrugged.
"On a Sunday?" Emily would have guessed the guys were drinking beer instead.
"Yeah. There's a bunch of us that do some extra training together, whenever we have the time. And tonight we have the cuts, so I guess those ass-kissers are out there, making a good impression." She smirked.
"Oh, them? What about Angela Hunter? I'd peg her for an overachiever, too." Emily knew for a fact that her words were true.
"She is, but she has an excuse to be lazy this week…" She pointed at Emily, figuratively meaning that she was supposed to only follow Emily, and not Academy-related things. At least until the sun went down that day. After that Cinderella Mini Prentiss would turn back into the Academy Pumpkin once more.
"Yeah, blame it on me, girl. Blame it on me!" Emily rolled her eyes and laughed at her own fake dramatic moment.
"Mhhh, I guess I'm done blaming people for things." Angie said cheerfully, trying to pick a nice outfit out of her wardrobe.
She frowned, as soon as her fingers touched any next item on those hangers.
"Uh-oh…" Emily teased, walking closer and realizing that Angie had two types of items – Academy branded uniforms and sportswear.
"I guess the nicest thing I own is what I'm already wearing. And that's lame. I mean, no offense, you're literally wearing the same thing, basically." She laughed.
Smart looked good on Emily, but a little too desperate on Angela, with her tender age.
"I have this white dress, but my ass would freeze if I put it on now, with those temperatures. Plus, it's the only nice dress I have, I came to the Academy with it."
"You walked in Quantico, wearing that!?" Emily's jaw dropped as her eyes inspected the garment.
The dress was pretty, all white and sparkly, but it did not belong there.
"All eyes on me, from day one. Just like I wanted it!" Angie smirked victoriously, making one of her favorite Diva gestures.
"I swear to God, you belong to Broadway…or any other major stage, really." Emily messed with Angie's hair for a second, before her hand gave her a push towards the door.
Angie gave up and ended up wearing the same outfit from the morning as they walked towards the car.
"Get in, loser. We're going shopping." Emily called out as she got in the car first.
"Oh, I know this is a quote from 'Mean Girls'. I was forced to watch it at sports camp!" Angie said, proud to be able to pinpoint a movie quote.
She hated movies. All she ever knew about movies was what she had randomly read online or heard on TV, so she wasn't good at movie references.
With music, however, she was unbeatable!
Emily sped up and went straight to the shopping center where they had gone to on Monday, the one with the French Patisserie.
"Full circle?" Angie smirked, calling Emily out on her obvious attempt to be cute and to recreate their first day together, on their last day together.
"Full circle!" Emily confirmed.
But before they'd inevitably end up at the French place, they walked around the mall for an hour. Emily had bribed Angela into trying at least ten different dresses, two of which she had absolutely insisted on buying for her.
Angie changed into one of her new acquisitions and strut around the mall, looking a lot more confident now. It put a genuine smile on Emily's face, seeing Angie in her element, or more like – acting like someone her age.
"Spider web 7-2?" Angie said that weird thing in code once again and Emily exhaled.
"Thank God you said it first. I'm starving." With those words, Emily took the corridor that lead to where it had all started, seven days ago.
"Bonjour." Angela greeted the staff, knowing that they weren't actually French, but still, it felt nice.
Somehow, she had gotten over her shyness already and she ended up ordering a few items, without worrying about Emily's credit card.
Emily remembered how, on Monday, she had sat there, at the very same secluded table for two, with a very different, shy and reserved girl. The difference was enormous. In only just a week she had seen Angela bloom into this wonderful, amazing person. At some point Emily had to ask herself: is that what a parent's pride feels like – having a child, watching it grow up in front of your eyes, always saying that they're growing up way too fast, watching them transform, learn, grow and become their own person? Was being a parent such an emotional ride, like the one Emily had embarked on for those seven days? What would her life had been, had she been a parent all along?
She exhaled sharply, trying to block all those incoming thoughts and questions, out of her mind. And then, as soon as she laid eyes on Angela again, it all started from the beginning: what would it have been? What could have been? What if Emily's life had taken a different turn, all these years ago? What if…just…what if…
"So, how come there's no Mr. Prentiss in your life?" Angie asked casually, licking her fork after finishing her starter.
"And I mean, a love interest. Because, let's face it – you are a bad ass gal and if a guy was to be with you, you won't be taking his surname. He'd be honored to take yours." Angie chuckled at the weird way this all came out.
"Uhh…" Emily's eyes got drawn to the venue's sign.
French Patisserie…
Out of all the men she'd ever been with, only one came to mind, when answering Angie's question.
"There was someone…" She sighed.
"Oh?" Angie's face lit up like a Christmas tree. She loved a good story.
"There isn't…anymore." Emily shrugged, going from the start of the story, straight to the end.
"Oh, come on. That's the worst fairy tale I've ever heard!" Angie whimpered. She had been preparing for an amazing tale, instead.
"That's the worst fairy tale I've ever lived, so…" Emily shrugged once again.
"Was he cute?"
"Angela!" Emily blushed a little.
Angela was hot and cold, sometimes reserved, but then at times – so blunt about the way she stated or asked things.
"Fine. Yeah. He was 'cute', in his 'cute' French way." Emily made air quotes around that one word, sounding like someone Angie's age, to be using it when describing a full-grown man.
"Was he a good kisser? God, French men know how to kiss." Angie was now smiling wide.
"Exactly how many French men have you kissed, young lady?" Protective Emily came out to play, not liking what Angie's words were insinuating.
"Just…about…enough…" Angie shrugged innocently. "And you're dodging the question!"
"He was not bad…" That was all Emily decided to say, in reply.
"You keep trailing off. Come on, I thought we were going to be honest with each other this week." Angie then frowned, giving Emily her cutest puppy eyes – a look no one had ever been able to resist.
Emily thought for a second. Angela had been somewhat of an open book, all week long. Yes, she had been a bit reserved, but a lot of the ice had melted between them, almost instantly. And Emily was now finding herself to be the one holding back. Why?
"Fine. I don't see how any of this is your business, but if you really must know…" Emily trailed off once again, just to make Angie flip out, before she'd get her sweet reply.
"He was the most amazing man I've ever met. And he had the weirdest sense of humor, which, yeah…it kind of worked perfectly, for me. And I know I'm FBI and all that, but at times, a woman just needs to feel safe. And he did that for me. He made me feel safe and happy…and even somewhat normal." Emily was smiling wide, recalling events from her week in France, with Richard.
"Yeah, yeaaah…" Angie faked a yawn. "Was he a good kisser?" She pressed her most important question one more time.
"I already told you." Emily now felt like her cheeks were on fire and she was hoping they hadn't changed color on the outside.
"You're blushing. Oooh, Emily Prentiss is blusshhhhhiiing…" Angie said in sing-song tone.
"Stop it." Emily chuckled, with a huge idiot-like grin on her face.
"Emily Prentiss has a cruuuush, on a cute guyyyyy." Angela continued to sing annoyingly. "A cute French guy, yay yay yay…"
"Come on, stop. People are looking…Oh God." Emily buried her face in her hands, with her elbows resting on the edge of the table. It was hardly table etiquette, but it helped conceal some of her identity, preserve some of her pride too.
"You know what else French men do exceptionally well?" Angie stuck her tongue out and bit the tip of it, in the most suggestive manner.
"Oh, mon Dieu. Please, stop! Oh my God, Angela. No! No, no. Just no! Oh God!" Emily was terrified of what Angie might have suggested, with that tongue out like that.
"Fromage!" Angie smirked, giving Emily her answer while licking her lower lip. "Je aime le fromage!" She added, being a sucker for cheese.
Cheese? Really? Angela built up for something juicy and ended up saying 'cheese' in the end? Did she really dare test Emily's dirty mind? Or Emily's boundaries when it came to dirty talk? Because, as far as anyone was concerned, Emily Prentiss was the Queen of sexual innuendos and nobody in the entire world could ever beat her, not even Morgan himself.
"Look, I am this close to murdering you right about now…" Emily was fuming red, as soon as she figured out that Angela had just set her up.
"Oh hey, don't blame me. It's the power of suggestion. Come on, you should know that, Miss Profiler. Ain't my fault you have a naughty mind, hey!" Angie put her hands up in mock surrender.
Emily was quiet for a second. Angela wanted to play tough? She'd show her tough.
"But yeah, I guess, on second thought, you're right." Emily said, super casually, before taking a sip of water.
"About what? I'm right about a lot of things. You'd have to elaborate on that." Angie smirked.
"That thing, with the tongue. French men know how to work it." Emily tried so damn hard not to burst out in laughter as she spoke. She came out blunt, just like Angela sometimes was, and so damn direct.
Angie's eyes widened. Did she really just…?
Her lips formed into a confused smile and her cheeks were now a shade darker than what Emily's had been, just a minute ago.
"You know what else they do, oh so exceptionally well?" Emily leaned forward and whispered across the table.
If she needed to whisper, God knows what piece of inappropriate information she was about to pour out to poor innocent little Angela.
"No, and I think I've heard enough. Thanks." Angie said defensively.
But Emily would not give up.
"Oh, but trust me, this is good." Emily kept on whispering.
Angie was now beyond confused and she felt so incredibly awkward.
"They do that thing…" Emily raised an eyebrow, as if she was communicating that the next part of her statement would be juicy.
"No…" Angie muttered to herself, trying to block her auditory functions, mentally.
"With their fingers…" Emily continued and Angie winced, as if she was in pain.
"They usually use three, sometimes even four…" Emily trailed off after each piece of her statement, allowing Angela to sink deeper into her chair.
"There's also this thing, you know, long, round…and at times quite big. Always hard…" Emily smirked. She was enjoying every damn second of this torture.
Angela was now pale. Emily could see her gulp, with her eyes still wide, in shock from what she was hearing.
"And French people are sooo good with those fingers, that they have different ways of doing it. Twisting it, taking turns, one on top of the other…"
"Eww, I never want to have sex…" Angie felt sick, a different kind of sickness than the one she had experienced when Dan and his posse had drugged her, weeks ago.
"Then don't." Emily smirked. "Try French knitting instead! It's wonderful. I just briefly touched base on what it consists of. And they use all the colorful threads and make beautiful ornaments and bracelets with it. You'll like it."
Emily saw Angela's jaw drop, realizing that all of those words Emily had just uttered, really did describe the process of French knitting, and not what had been on Angie's mind all along.
Emily sat there, letting Angela feel even more awkward now that she realized she had been played by the original player.
"Don't screw around with a profiler!" Emily winked at her and, very casually, took another sip of her water.
It felt good to show some more of her Boss Lady, invincible dirty innuendos, savage Emily side now. She had missed her, or rather – she had repressed her for way too long. It was time for different hidden sides of Emily Prentiss to resurface and Emily was not mad about that.
"Yes, Ma'am!" Angie was so stressed that her only reply was to treat Emily as if they were Marines – calling her Madam and making a formal salute with her right hand against her forehead.
Emily finally burst out laughing.
"That was good…" Angie admitted, placing a hand on her heart, to steady it.
"And you, my dear, have no right to call me out on my dirty mind, from here on now." Emily said, pushing one of the dishes that they were sharing, closer to Angie, after she noticed how much the girl enjoyed it.
"Fine, it's human nature. Or so I keep being told." Angie shrugged, sounding a bit…inexperienced.
"Oh?" Emily's eyes instantly flew to Angie's right hand. More specifically, to one of her fingers, where Emily saw a dainty ring.
Emily knew what that was, it looked a lot like a purity ring, or some kind of a promise ring anyway. And from what she saw, Angie was quite attached to it.
Angie caught Emily's spying eyes and, subconsciously, brought her left hand on top of the right one and her fingers started playing with that ring, as she kept on blushing.
"You should know that sex is the number one topic at the BAU, both during work and outside of it. If you don't feel comfortable enough to share things, you don't have to." Emily smiled, now in a more sincere and understanding way.
"I wouldn't have to, at all." Angie reminded her – it was Sunday. It was the last time she'd ever be with the BAU.
A sigh escaped Emily's lips. A loud sigh, coming from deep inside.
As they continued their lunch, they spoke about random little things. Emily was curious to know about the Academy, while Angela had learned not to ask Emily any more questions about her love life.
At some point, Emily grabbed her phone from her handbag and shot a quick message before leaving it facing down, on the table.
A few minutes later, the annoying buzzing got to her and she finally picked it up again, reading her replies.
"It is rude to be on your phone, at the table, while entertaining such a beautiful guest as moi!" Angie pointed at herself, smiling.
She had that weird way of being random, dorky and so cute, at the same time. She'd give herself compliments and she'd laugh about it, clearly making a joke, but Emily knew better.
To Emily, Angela's words pointed to the fact that she did, indeed, value herself. She certainly had her moments of self-doubt, but for the most part she knew her worth. She thought highly of herself. And that was something Emily could only envy her for. Maybe if they had a little more time to spend together, maybe…just maybe Emily would learn how to value herself as well.
"Je suis desolee…" Emily muttered her excuse in French before replying with a quick text and then switching the sound and vibration off and sticking her phone in the small pocket of her handbag, zipping it all the way up.
Angie chuckled.
"What?" Emily questioned.
"Nothing." Angie could fool anyone with those eyes. Anyone but Emily Prentiss.
"Come on, Baby Profiler. Spill it and I might someday show you those confidential documents that I hid from you earlier, in the office." Emily knew that the best way to get anything out of Angela was through extortion and bribing, so that's what she did.
"Fine. You are so desperate to soak every second with me, that you could not have put your work phone further away, as if it was a prisoner." Angie said with a smile.
"It's kind of cute, actually." She added and when Emily gave her a scolding look, she knew she had to soften it up a little. "What? You asked for it!" She smirked, deciding against that softening up after all.
"You are a piece of work, Angela Hunter." Emily shook her head, but she could not deny the truth of the words she had just heard.
Angela surely was a piece of work.
Emily Prentiss would not mind doing all that work, though – being around her, being there for her, just watching her grow.
"Guys, I was thinking…how about a dinner tonight at my place, for the end of Angela's week with us?"
That was the text Emily had sent to the BAU group chat during her lunch with Angela.
She would then ignore the chat that unraveled, giving her undivided attention to Angela, instead.
In the meantime, everyone replied in their own way.
"Awwwwh Ems, this is so sweet of you! Yes, yes and double yes! Wait, isn't that three yesses? Three times yes? Yesses…is that even a word? HELP!" Garcia replied first.
"Ohh no. I'm taking the kids to a birthday party this afternoon, so my wife is going to need all the help she could get, to put the naughty sugar-high little ones to bed tonight. I'm sorry. I really wish I could be there." Matt replied after Garcia.
"I'm there!" Reid said and got quoted by both Luke and Tara, who sent thumbs up and a bunch of various smiley faces after that, too.
"I can't." JJ texted a short, sour reply.
"Come on, JJ…" Tara protested.
It was obvious to everyone that Angie and JJ did not click, at all.
"Have some family stuff going on tonight. What? I have a life, too!" JJ argued and then stopped replying.
"Rossi?" Tara asked, as he was the only one who hadn't yet replied.
"Angela would really appreciate this, Emily. She deserves it after the great work she did these days. I am definitely going to be there and I am bringing the good white wine!" Rossi finally replied.
By the time everyone answered, Emily was done with hearing her phone buzzing. She picked it up and skimmed through the messages, pouting at the outcome.
She wanted Angela to be integrated into the BAU, so everyone had to be there and unfortunately Matt was unable to attend, that evening.
"Tomorrow night?" Emily texted quickly, offering another option.
Everyone quickly said Yes. Monday night was much easier for them to hang out, as they would have spent the day together anyway.
Matt confirmed it was okay for him, too.
This time JJ did not reply at all.
Emily groaned, while listening to Angela give her a speech on table etiquette. She put the phone away in her bag and decided to deal with JJ's tantrums later. She would be present at that dinner, if Emily had to personally drag her jealous ass all the way to her house.
"Angela Hunter…" Emily said, piling her now empty plates on top of each other, so the waitress would find it easier to grab them. "What are you doing tomorrow evening?"
Angie shrugged. "I dunno. Probably…either working out with the guys or reading a book. Why?"
"I'd like to invite you to dinner at my home, with my team. You know, as a Thank You for being such a wonderful Mini to me this week. And such a great addition to the team." Emily smiled, but she seemed like a stressed out teenager, afraid to speak up. She looked…shy.
"Oh…" Angie could not help but feel proud, hearing those words.
"I would love to!" She added before Emily would pass out after just a vague 'Oh' as an answer.
"I would also like to extend the invite to Bryan, as well. Given that he can behave, in front of my team. So, that's no more 'Agent Hotness' references and no more subtle and not-so-subtle remarks from you, young lady!" Emily's finger pointed towards Angie, accusingly.
"So, basically, you want me to behave?" Angie smirked.
"Exactly." Emily nodded.
"So, you wouldn't mind Bryan misbehaving? You want him to be a bad boy?" Angie pouted, biting her lips in the most suggestive way, accompanying her little question.
"Angela Hunter!" Emily gasped in complete shock. "This is exactly what cannot happen at the dinner. You…and your filthy mind and your little…ugh comments. Ugh!"
Angie enjoyed watching Emily grimace and feel uncomfortable. She fully deserved that, after the trick she had played on her with that French knitting comment.
"That's karma." Angie smirked victoriously.
"Oh, sweet little innocent child…" Emily smirked right back and that confused Angela. Wasn't she just the one feeling uncomfortable? What happened?
"If this week should teach you one thing, it would be that you are never going to win the game of dirty talking. Not against Emily Prentiss. Ever!" Emily pushed a strand of hair from her face, so that Angie could have a better look of the content smile she had on her face.
"Pfff. Fine. But I'm usually the one to drop inappropriate jokes. It's like, one of my many charms." She said lamely, as if a child was being denied something they wanted and they needed to justify it.
"Well then you're going to have to share that charming and quite disturbing quality with moi. Because I'm not going to change." Emily loved having the upper hand, even though at this moment she was just messing with Angela. It was just so much fun.
"Yeah, guess it would be hard to change at your age…" Angie was a tough cookie. She would not back down, even in front of an authority figure, such as Emily Prentiss.
"Ouch! Exactly how old do you think I am?" Emily pouted, unsure if she wanted to hear an answer to this question.
"Old enough to look damn great with that hair…and those form-fitting pants…and that V-neck." Angie meant that to be a compliment, but Emily received it wrong.
"Okay, Bryan…calm down. Take it easy…" Emily started laughing.
The way Angela spoke sometimes sounded a bit…flirty. Her enthusiasm reminded her of Bryan, but then again, Emily realized that Bryan had never said such words to her. It had always been Angela to insinuate things and then blame them on Bryan. Poor guy.
"You do have a big mouth." Emily added with a sigh.
"Been told so, yeah…" Angie said cheekily.
She was not joking about her love of dropping inappropriate hints, like…all the time.
"Eww, oh my God. Stop!" Emily covered her ears with both hands.
Angela surely knew how to push her buttons.
"What else is on your agenda today? Or, do you want to get rid of me already and go home, I dunno, sleep or whatever?" Angie changed the topic, which was a really smart thing to do.
"I don't have any intention of getting rid of you, young lady. Not today. Not ever." Emily stated calmly, swiping her credit card to pay for the lunch that was now finished.
"How about we go do something fun?" Emily suggested.
"Like what?" Angie shot her a glance, afraid of what things this woman might consider 'fun'.
"I have no idea. I never have any fun." Emily laughed, intending it to be a joke, but the truth was not too far from that statement. "What is it that young people do for fun?"
"Young people? They smoke pot, disrespect their parents, fail out of college, hook up with strangers, break into old people's houses and steal their money, set things on fire, torture street cats and so on…" Angie could continue, but she decided to stop.
"Okay, you got me. I meant, what is it that you, Angela Hunter, do for fun?" Emily rephrased her question.
"I like tumbling…" She smirked, obviously she could not do that with Emily. "I like breaking into the swimming pool with Bryan, late at night…" She continued. "I also like eating anything that contains sugar and I like readi-…"
"Reading just about any of Rossi's books?" Emily continued that last statement, along with Angela, making the girl blush a little, at her own predictability.
"Anything less athletic, less illegal and less, well, nerdy?" Emily asked, still trying to find common ground.
"Uhm…" It took Angela a whole minute to think about it and yet, she came up with no answer.
"That's fine. Let's try something new. Maybe we'll like it. It can become our thing, you know?" Emily suggested, standing up and putting her jacket on.
"Be brave enough to suck at something new!" Angie stated as she, as well, stood up and made sure both chairs were perfectly aligned with the table, just the way they had found them when they had been accommodated at the table earlier.
Emily smiled, liking Angie's way of thinking. This girl was not afraid to try out new things, even if she wasn't sure she'd be good at them. She then noticed something else – Angie wiped a small water drop from the table and brushed a few breadcrumbs away. She then placed both water glasses on top of the only plate left, and she took them all to the counter.
"Thank you very much, Sir. We enjoyed the food and the atmosphere. Great choice of music, I love Joe Dassin! Have a good day, Sir." She said politely, to the first person she saw at the counter, which was an elderly man with white hair and a very soothing smile.
"Thank you, young girl. Have a good day yourself." The man greeted her back. It wasn't every day that a youngster would have the manners that this girl was showing.
"God, you really are amazing…" Emily muttered, more to herself, than as a statement to Angela.
But she heard her anyway.
"I keep telling people that and they don't believe me!" Angie said dramatically, swaying her hands in the air and letting out a long sigh.
By this point, Emily was used to her little funny outbursts and her weird sense of humor. She liked how Angela had a Diva side to her, but only when she was joking. This girl was not bigheaded at all. If anything, she was the most down to Earth person Emily had ever met.
Walking around the last floor of the mall, where the food court and the playground were, Emily pointed a few things out, for Angela to choose from.
"Mini golf?" Emily's first suggestion popped up, seeing the playing field right in front of them.
"I don't like playing with balls…" Angie smirked, earning herself an instant icy stare at the connotation those words had, in a different sense.
"Cinema?" Emily continued.
"Can't really talk during a movie. You know how annoying it is to have random people shush me all the time? Ugh! No, thank you." Angie clearly did not even acknowledge the fact that normal people went to the movies, for the movies, not for socializing with each other.
"Bowling?" Emily kept on checking their surroundings, now shooting each and every suggestion that she possibly could.
"What? You're just begging for another balls-related statement, aren't you?" Angie made sure she was at least two feet away from Emily when she pronounced those words, just in case Emily might feel the urge to slap her.
"Fine. I give up!" Emily threw her hands in the air.
Everything else she saw around them was for kids. There was a mini train that went around the upper floor, there was also a coloring station for the youngest ones, and an air-pumped castle that a few toddlers were jumping on.
That gave Angie an idea.
"Wanna really go full circle?" She raised an eyebrow challengingly.
"Why not?" Emily agreed.
"Can we go back and play with the kids? I want to know if little Nora's adoption papers have all been approved." Angie spoke with a huge smile on her face.
Emily was silent for a long moment. So, these were the last few hours that Angela had with her and she could have asked for anything…anything in the world. Yet, all she wanted to do was go make other kids happy by playing with them. Really? Was she an actual Angel? Was she even real?
"I can call Mrs. Vallard and arrange that. The kids usually play outside in the afternoon, if the weather is nice. And it is quite sunny today."
"Perfect!" Angie then looked at herself.
She was all cute, in her new dress. She had the other new dress in a shopping bag, plus her smart black pants and the bordeaux shirt from this morning. It was hardly appropriate for her to roll on the ground, wearing either of those items of clothing.
"Don't worry. We're hitting that sports shop downstairs on the way." Emily, the profiler, already knew what Angela was thinking about.
Half an hour later they were dressed in leggings and simple shirts, with hoodies to keep them warm, and on the way to Emily's car at the parking lot.
"You look great in sportswear." Angie said, this time making her compliment sound a lot less…flirty.
"Please, don't comment on my ass!" Emily rolled her eyes, fully expecting Angela to continue by saying something inappropriate.
"Wasn't going to." Angie shrugged. But she really, really wanted to say just that.
"Are you ready for a massive headache?" Emily laughed when she pulled up to the parking lot of the orphanage, a few minutes later.
The kids were always loud and they were everywhere – jumping, screaming and throwing objects at Emily, each time she had visited them. But that headache she always brought back home was nothing, compared to the joy they had filled her with, each time. And she knew that they were happy to have her there, as well. Like Mrs. Vallard had already told her – she was one of the very few sponsors who would actually spend time with the kids, instead of just pouring a check and leaving instantly.
"Can't wait!" Angie said happily. She adored children and she could never get annoyed, by anything they did.
They were greeted and accompanied to the back yard by a girl who worked there. As soon as the kids noticed Emily, they dropped whatever they were doing and they were on their merry way to go greet their favorite comedian.
Emily was all serious when she was Unit Chief Prentiss, but she was a complete goofball in the presence of kids. She would pull the most random and unflattering faces, just to make them laugh. All BAU kids adored her for it – Henry had been obsessed with her since he could remember himself, Mickey would be sent into hysterical giggles just a minute upon Emily's arrival in his vicinity and Matt's kids were currently preparing their Family Day gifts for their parents and they had a special arts project to finish, for Emily, because as far as they were concerned this woman was family, even if her surname was not Simmons.
Sometimes Emily would think about little Hank Spencer Morgan. Would he have liked her? Would he even remember her? She had only seen him as a newborn, right before his daddy left the BAU and moved to the other side of the world. Would Hank and her have a close connection, like she had with everyone else's child? Hell, even Rossi's daughter Joy's child was a little sucker for some Emily playtime and he would run after her and play tricks on her at every event that they were both attending. Maybe baby Morgan would like her, too, if he ever had the chance to get to know her, to get to spend time with her.
"Emmmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" One of the younger kids squealed at the top of their lungs, running towards her and breaking her concentration on her inner thoughts.
"And Sparkly Angel!" One of the girls who had loved Angie's hair last time, chose to run to her side, instead.
Before they knew it, new games had started and numerous little playgroups had been formed. For the next two hours they often played in teams, against one another, which made their competitive sides come out. Emily felt humiliated when Angie's playgroup won one of the first games, but then her own group won the next few rounds. While Angela had taken the defeat with maximum sportsmanship, Emily felt the need to rub her own victory in the girl's face anyway.
Angela laughed it off, at the moment, but she would surely rub it in Emily's face later – the fact that she was a sore loser.
At some point a very sad looking little Nora walked out to the backyard.
When Emily and Angela didn't see her among the other kids earlier, they just figured she was with her new adoptive family already. So, seeing her pouty little face now came as a shock to both.
"No." Angela put her hand in front of Emily, as if to restrain her, at the moment when she saw Emily try to take a step forward, towards where Nora was now, pouting and looking at the kids from a far.
"But I-…" Emily started off, unsure if she was going to say that she 'needed to go talk to Nora' or that she 'wanted to be there for Nora'.
"No." Angie repeated calmly. "You don't get her. You can't be there for her."
Emily gulped, but she agreed with that statement. She knew nothing about Nora's pain at that moment.
Without saying another word, Angela walked over to Nora instead.
"Hey, Bubbah." She greeted the kid who had a blank expression on her face.
"Hey, I want to talk to you about something. Is that okay? Can I talk to you?" Angie asked for permission, in two different ways.
She could relate to a young child who was keeping secrets and who wanted to isolate themselves from everyone and everything.
"Nora, can we talk?" Angie pushed a third time, but not only did she not receive permission, but she received absolutely no recognition at all.
Nora just kept her eyes on whatever there was in front of her, with that same troublesome expression on her face and the same pain in her eyes.
As soon as Angie followed Nora's eyes and figured out that they weren't gazing into the nothingness, but rather – at Emily, herself, Angie figured out what might be going on.
"You are hers now." Nora said spitefully.
"Why you? Why couldn't it be me?" The child added, suddenly going into tears.
Angie had been forced to deal with an emotional, crying Prentiss all week long, and now she found herself having to console yet another crying girl.
She extended her hands and she knew Nora would jump in, which she did, right away.
"Let's go inside and get something to drink, okay?" Angie said softly, wanting to take Nora away from everyone.
Kids could be ruthless and she didn't want to risk either one of them later on laughing at Nora, for crying. But mostly – she didn't want Emily to see the child in tears.
Once they were surely on their own, sitting on a sofa in the living room area, Angela tried to keep the conversation going.
"Tell me what is bothering you, sweetie." She asked softly, still holding Nora, in attempts to make her stop crying.
"She chose you." Nora said accusingly.
At some point in her life, Nora had this desire to be adopted by Emily. And then she got over it, as soon as her new host family started showing interest in her. It was a better deal – she would have both a mommy and a daddy, with them. So, once she realized that Emily wasn't going anywhere and she even promised to still go see her and be in her life, Nora had let go of her original desire and she started hoping to be placed with the family, instead.
But still, given what was going on with her adoption, Nora couldn't help but go back to what she had wanted first, and she let herself throw a little tantrum.
"Do you want me to be honest with you? Or do you want me to tell you what you want to hear?" Angela, growing up, had been spoken to as an adult, so she treated Nora the same way now.
To Nora both suggestions sounded somewhat the same, so she chose the first one – the truth.
"Okay, the truth is that she never chose me." Angie said with pain in her voice. "I chose her. For better or worse, she was my choice and I don't necessarily regret it. In fact, if I had to go back in time…"
Angie trailed off for a moment. Nora was surely confused as Hell and that poor thing wouldn't understand a word of Angie's emotional downpour, but that was okay. Nora was just happy to be held, even if it was by the person she envied so damn much at that moment.
"If I had to go back in time…" Angie repeated. "I wouldn't change a single thing." She added with a smile.
And then, just as about a million things ran through her mind, she realized something.
"Life isn't perfect and sometimes the people we choose end up hurting us or disappointing us, in different ways. They sometimes won't choose us back. They might choose themselves, instead. That does not mean they don't love us or that they don't want us, okay?" She looked at Nora for some sort of a confirmation that she was still listening.
Weirdly, Nora was quite invested in Angie's words, trying to decipher them and apply them in her own little world.
"What does it mean then?" Nora asked.
She had been disappointed before and that had left her confused, so talking to Angie who sounded like she had experienced pretty much the same, made her feel good. It made her feel less lonely in her pain. It made her feel like someone out there understood her, when none of the kids could relate to what Nora had gone through. She never even spoke about it, not even with Mrs. Vallard, who clearly knew Nora's background and was aware of her issues and the psychological trauma she had been through.
"I haven't figured it out yet, but I think it might mean that this person was, at the time, not strong enough to handle all the love they felt…"
"Huh?" Nora eyed Angie as if she was crazy. Her words made absolutely no sense to her.
And yet, to Angela, this realization hit hard.
"You are weird!" Nora stated honestly, cringing a little.
"I know, sweetie. I'm weird and I'm spontaneous and I'm a bit of a mess and I'm also an overachiever, but I do procrastinate like there is no tomorrow…and I also love myself, but I sometimes hate myself too. I'm messy…" Angie then smiled, quoting a part of her letter to Monkey. "I'm educated. I'm sloppy. I'm imperfect…"
"But I am only human…" Angie kept on quoting. "…Just like I told her…" She added, now fully immersed into her own thoughts, the parallels she was drawing in her head.
"You told who? Emily?" Nora asked, noticing how Angie was now looking directly at Emily, on the other side of the window.
"Nope." Angie shook her head. "Monkey. I told Monkey. I also asked Monkey why I wasn't good enough. And I still don't know the answer. I don't think I ever will…" Angie replied in her usual confusing metaphoric way that made Nora sigh unhappily. Poor kid, she wished she could follow Angie's train of thought.
"But that's okay. You know why?" Angie asked rhetorically.
"Because…you are cool enough, because you can talk to monkeys?" Nora suggested naively. This was as much as she could grasp from Angie's words anyway.
"No, no. I meant that it's okay because someone else loves me now. Someone else believes in me. So, it's fine…it's life. It goes on, you know? Sometimes we have to let go of the things we wanted, in order to get other things…things that we are meant to have."
"But…you can still talk to monkeys, right?" Nora asked, as this was the most pressing question she currently had.
"In a way, yes I can. However, I don't think I will be doing so anymore. I have to let go…" Angie was so far gone into her own thoughts that she forgot Nora's age and just blabbed things that were indecipherable.
"I have to move on…" Angie whispered to herself.
She then smiled, realizing one more thing – she had gone to the Academy, all kinds of screwed up. Her thoughts and desires were all over the place and she had been trying way too hard to come off as a happy girl, when in reality there had been numerous times when she just wanted to sit down and bang her head against a wall for hours. She had felt lonely and she had felt confused. Each time her fellow Trainees had received a letter from family members or their loved ones, Angela had made jokes and laughed about them, to give her own self a distraction, a reason not to show weakness. Because, having nobody to care about you, to write to you, to come see you…it really sucked.
The only person who knew and who reached out had been Monkey, each time they had the chance to send a care package. And yet, somehow, it did not sit right with Angie. She felt resentment, she felt betrayed and she felt all sorts of fucked up when it came to her relationship with Monkey. Hurt. Confused. Scared. Everything. She felt everything while feeling like she felt nothing on the inside. How could that not be confusing?
Then she had ended up doing Mini Week with this Emily Prentiss woman – one she knew absolutely nothing about. She did not know her favorite foods, she did not know that she sometimes chewed with her mouth open, she did not have a damn clue that this woman was so bad ass, but also so vulnerable, at the same time. This person – Emily Prentiss, was someone Angela wanted to know more about. And she had spent the past seven days, following her around like a puppy, studying her every move, the way she walked, the way she dressed, the way she pronounced things, the way she squinted her eyes right before she'd go off on someone, the way she'd hold her gun, the way she'd analyze a case in great detail and most importantly – the way she constantly went out of her way, just to be with Angela, to teach her something new, to show her something more about her real self.
What she valued the most was the way Emily Prentiss vowed to be completely honest with her and with each chance she had, she showed Angela nothing but a 100% of her true self. No inhibitions. No filters. Just Emily Prentiss, with her gentle soft side, with her boss side, with her vulnerable side and with just about a million other sides of her character, the character that Angela now called Emily Prentiss.
She has had seven days to figure out her issue with Monkey – someone who had once vowed to love her and who had let her down twice before. Someone who hadn't been able to appreciate Angela, with all the traits of her own real character. Someone who may not have been strong enough to understand, accept or even assimilate all the innocent love that they had been showered with.
"Sounds like you hate monkeys." Nora came to the conclusion, since Angie was smiling and then pouting, suddenly claiming she wanted to move on from that species.
"No, little Nora. I love Monkey. But sometimes love is not reciprocated. Sometimes you just have to go on, searching for someone who would love you back."
"Have you found that person yet?" Nora asked and Angie nodded, without saying a word.
"It's Emily, isn't it?" Nora once again asked, out of the blue.
Angie did not speak up.
"I can see how you look at her. It's the way all those new parents who come here, look at the kid they have chosen." Nora backed her assumption up with a very disturbing, but very valid and logical reasoning.
"Like I told you – I chose her. Years ago I chose Monkey, but they didn't choose me back, so it was extremely hard to come out of my shell and choose someone else now." Angie replied honestly.
"Well, I think Emily will choose you, too. She also looks at you the way new parents do, right before they take one of the kids." Nora explained herself the best way she could.
She had been at the orphanage for a while now and she had seen many people, whom she called 'new parents', walk in and choose someone. She wouldn't admit it, but each time she had been jealous.
"Why wouldn't anyone choose me?" Nora asked, her little eyes watering up once again. "Am I not good enough?"
Angie thought for a moment. She knew Nora's background story from when Emily had told her about the BAU case that had left Nora an orphan. That would surely lead to trauma and that meant that not any and every couple could adopt her. They had to understand her, to want to help her out, to make her feel loved. No doubt it would be extremely hard to transition a child like Nora, into a new home. Sadly, Angela was quite sure of that.
"You are good enough, do you hear me?" Angie whispered, touching Nora's chin with one hand and making her face her.
"You are an amazing little girl. You are strong and you can't let anyone make you feel anything less than amazing. Okay?" Angie continued.
"But nobody wants me…" Nora pushed it once again.
Clearly, that was what was bothering her.
"Maybe I should act differently. Maybe if I was…I don't know…if I was different. Maybe if I played with the kids more…" Nora tried to think of something she might have done wrong, a reason why she was still there when other kids had new families now.
"No. No, no. Get those thoughts out of your head!" Angie nearly commanded her. "Sweetie, if someone doesn't want you, it's their own damn fault they cannot appreciate you. It has nothing to do with you. There is not a single thing in the world that you could possibly change, so that they would like you."
"But you are good enough. Why didn't your Monkey want you?" Nora tried to hold back her tears.
She was ashamed. She felt weak and helpless when crying. And she wanted to be done feeling either of those things.
What she didn't know was just how much Angie could relate to her pain.
"Like I said - I may never know." Angie shrugged, letting one hand caress Nora's face. It was so soft, so warm.
"But Emily wants you now." Nora pointed out.
In a week she had seen Emily twice and not only that, but each time Emily had walked in with Angela by her side. She had never before brought her friends in to play with the kids.
"I guess so. We shall see..." Angie said, in doubt.
"I know she does. You're a lucky girl." Nora once again let out a tiny sigh of desperation.
"Is it okay if we spoke about you now?" Angie asked for permission once again.
During her numerous and diverse studies she had also done some training in how to talk to children, specifically children who were victims of or survivors in major crimes. She knew for a fact that those kids needed constant reassurance. If she wanted to get information out of them, then she had to thread extremely lightly. She had to establish a connection first and then maybe try to ask them a few questions.
"Yes." Nora nodded.
"What is making you upset? Tell me about your host family..." Angie kept her voice even and somewhat authoritative, but still friendly.
Nora had to see Angie as a friend, but to think of her as someone older, wiser, someone she could confide in.
"I liked them a lot. I've been to their house a few times. They were supposed to come get me this Friday afternoon, for the weekend. But they didn't. And then next week was going to be my last week here and then I was going to have a home again. But I guess that is not happening either. I think they may have changed their mind. They never told me anything. Mrs. Vallard gave me extra ice cream yesterday and she always does that for the kids who are upset. I guess the family told her they don't want me anymore, so that must be why she is treating me so nicely."
Nora's downpour enraged Angela. If she could sign those papers and adopt Nora herself, she would do that in the blink of an eye.
However, she was nowhere near the right mindset to have a child. She would soon have no home, when the Academy finished, and she might not even have a job. Everything kind of sucked for Angela at that moment.
And yet, looking into Nora's eyes, she could not imagine a reason why someone would not want to call this child their own.
"Nora, if they didn't come for you, there must be a reason for that. If it is anything bureaucratic, I don't think Mrs. Vallard is prepared to explain that to you." She said weakly.
"I didn't understand what you meant." Nora shrugged.
Her innocent way of saying that made Angie smile. It was the same way Angie herself would spontaneously just tell people when she did not understand them.
"Let me put it like this - Mrs. Vallard may not have told you what is happening, because she does not know how to tell you, which words to use, how to make it simple, so that you will understand. She is your custodian and it is challenging to break certain news, especially to kids. Now, how would you feel if I asked Mrs. Vallard for an explanation instead? I'm older, I will understand her words. And I am your friend, aren't I?"
"Yes, yes! I want to be your friend!" Nora nodded enthusiastically.
"Well, as your friend I promise to come back for you and to explain everything to you. Is that okay?"
"Yes! I want to see you again!" Nora spoke while cuddling up to Angie.
"Okay, then I need you to be patient. And one more thing..." Once again Angie's hand pushed Nora's chin up, so the kid would look at her face.
"Never doubt yourself! Okay? Promise me that! Promise me you will always look in the mirror and tell yourself only good things. Compliment your hair, say you like your clothes, say you made another child smile that day, say that you have a big heart and that you deserve nothing but the best in life. Okay? Can you do that?" Angie asked.
"Is that what you did?" Nora asked, with a hidden agenda behind that question.
She knew very little about Angela, but she knew for a fact that she would like to be just like her, when she grew up. Angela was smart and nice to kids, she was funny, she always smelled good and she had pretty hair. What kid would not put her on a pedestal!? Plus, Angela was now wanted by someone amazing and all that Nora aspired to be in life was wanted. She needed a family who would love her, she needed someone to look at her, the way Emily looked at Angela.
So, if Angela was now giving her advice on what to do in life, Nora would surely make it a point to copy Angie's behavior up to the last tiny detail. Maybe then she would end up loved and wanted, just like Angela? Maybe Angela was doing all the right things in life, to deserve someone's love and affection?
"Yes, that is exactly what I did. At times it is hard to think of the positive side of things, but you can always find something nice to say to yourself. And I know it sounds silly, but you need to hear your own self, speaking only highly of you, before you start wishing that others would do the same. Do you understand?"
"Umm, most of it - yes. And okay, I promise." Nora perked up, suddenly feeling a boost of confidence.
"I'm cute and I have nice hair and I like coloring books with clothes and accessories. And I want to be a fashion designer one day!" Nora tried it out right away, just shooting the first positive thoughts that came to her mind.
"Perfect! This is perfect!" Angie sent a wink her way and urged her to go outside and try to get involved in one of the games.
Emily looked in their direction as soon as they walked out to the backyard.
"Girl talk?" Emily smiled, curious whether one of them would share what they had said to each other.
She already knew that it wouldn't be Angela. That girl would keep her mouth shut for ages and she would not say a word, if she didn't want to, no matter how hard someone might work, in order to get her to speak up.
"Yes. Angie said she loves monkeys. And then she told me Mrs. Vallard doesn't know how to talk to kids."
"Good God..." Angie's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "This is taken way...way out of context!"
Emily laughed, watching Nora lose all interest in her as she ran off to go catch one of the boys who had dared steal her favorite toy earlier that day. She wouldn't even want to imagine what little Nora would do to him when she would eventually catch up and capture him.
"You love monkeys, huh?" Emily brought it up with Angela a few minutes later, when the other kids' loud screaming seemed to have toned down a little bit.
"Like I said - it was taken way out of context." Angie replied calmly before she pretended to have tripped on something and she fell on the ground, shifting the attention to something else now.
Emily looked at her, shaking her head. When would this girl understand that to Emily she was an open book? She could run and hide, deny and deceive, but Emily would always know what is really going on in her head. Faking a fall would not make any difference to someone who was trained and had spent her entire life in reading people. It wouldn't distract her, nor make her forget the original topic of their conversation. It might, however, give her a sign that she needs to drop it and that Angela might not want to discuss a certain something with her.
"Do you want me to help you out with...it?" Emily chose her words wisely.
Like Hell, she wouldn't drop it so easily.
Both her and Angela knew that 'it' was not referred to the fact that Angela was still on the ground, with grass and toys all around her. That was not what Angela needed help with and she was smart enough to acknowledge that fact herself.
"No..." Angie replied weakly, sitting up comfortably, just taking a moment to herself.
Her reply seemed to have upset Emily, as she was now licking her lower lip, as if she was guilty of something.
"Not yet, at least." Angie added and that surely helped Emily start breathing normally again.
"Whenever you want me to..." Emily whispered, already extending a helping hand to Angela.
"...I'll always be here for you." She finished her statement while pulling Angie up on her feet.
In her mind, this was yet another good metaphor - she wanted to be the one to help Angie stand on her own two feet, to keep her grounded and to teach her how to stand her ground in life, like a true Boss Lady.
"I'm done with people who make bogus promises..." Angie whispered back.
She was thinking of a moment in her life, many years ago, when she had begged Monkey not to give her any promises that she would not be able to commit to. And yet Monkey had promised her the world, only to go snatch that dream away from innocent young Angela.
Thinking of that, Angie suddenly let go of Emily's hand. She didn't want anyone's proximity and she didn't need anyone's pity. She also didn't want to hear any more of those promises.
"People can change..." Emily replied, retrieving her hand as it now hung awkwardly in the air between them.
"I have yet to see that."
With that announcement, Angie walked back inside the building and found Mrs. Vallard who then told her why Nora's future adoptive parents did not come for her - the father had come down the flu a few days ago and they hadn't dared risk taking the child in their home and maybe having her get sick as well. But the more pressing issue was that there had been a serious setback with the adoption agency. After a thorough look into that family's life and finances, the agency had raised their doubts whether that home would be a good placement for someone like Nora, so they were now stalling. It would take much more than a week, for those documents to receive all the signatures needed...if it ever even happened.
How was Angela supposed to tell Nora any of this!?
Mrs. Vallard explained that Nora had a problem taking bad news. She would flip out and scream and she could get a little aggressive at times. Angela tried not to sound like a know-it-all, but she knew exactly why Nora might have felt the need to act out, when given bad news.
Angie insisted on being the one to tell Nora the news and Mrs. Vallard agreed, but not before hearing about all of Angela's previous formation in the field of child psychology and development. Plus, if Angela was someone that Emily Prentiss would bring along, then she was a trustworthy person in Mrs. Vallard's eyes already.
"You're awfully quiet." Emily pointed out an hour later, as they were in her car and on their way back to Quantico.
"Just...thinking..." Angie kept her eyes on the road ahead of them as she spoke.
"The kids loved playing with you today. I'm glad you suggested that. I had fun too." Emily said with a smile.
Angie saw her tight grip on the wheel. Hell, this woman could smile all she wanted, but she wasn't going to fool her. That steering wheel looked like it was going to snap under the pressure of Emily's squeezed fingers. If it were a person, it would have taken its last breath as soon as Emily had grabbed it. Angie remembered reading some article on stress coping mechanisms and gripping onto something was one of the recommended ones. Wasn't that why stress balls existed anyway?
"Are you ready to go back to the Academy life?" Emily continued, trying to find some topic that would make Angela part her lips and maybe talk, or even just sigh.
"No." Angela kept her reply short and simple, but most importantly - honest.
"Oh, that's right, you have the cuts tonight." Emily remembered. As if that would be what was bothering Angela.
"I'm not worried about that. Not to sound bigheaded or anything, but they would be insane if they let go of someone like Angela Hunter. She's the epitome of what the Bureau wants in the Academy. I've done my research." Angie commented.
"Yeah? Is that why you invented her?" Emily dared to ask.
"What do you mean? I am her. Duh!" Angie rolled her eyes and seemed completely unbothered and quite oblivious to what Emily's words were suggesting.
"Mhm..." Emily smirked.
For a smart girl, Angela sure was playing dumb in all the wrong ways. She could fool the entire world, but she could never fool Emily Prentiss.
"I can't have this conversation..." Angie then blurted out.
"Not with me?" Emily asked.
"Not yet." Angie corrected her.
Emily was not the problem. All along, she had been the solution to Angie's problem. But Angie wasn't ready to face it. Not yet.
Soon enough they were at Quantico and Angie found herself wanting to give some sort of a lame 'thank you' speech, now that everything was officially over. It was Sunday evening. Her week with the BAU was over.
"Save the sob speech for dinner tomorrow." Emily eased it for her, turning the awkwardness into a joke.
"And good luck with the cuts tonight." She added.
"I don't need luck. I am good enough. I've always been good enough. If someone can't see my true worth and cannot value me enough, then screw them...I don't even need them in my life." As Angie spoke, she forgot all about the cuts. That was not what, or rather who she was speaking of and it was painfully obvious to Emily, too.
"Thank you." Emily's words came out of nowhere.
"For what? For offending people and animal species left and right, any chance I get?" Once again, Angie confirmed that her words had been directed towards a very specific Monkey person.
"For being you." Emily pointed out, refraining from adding: and for being so damn brutally honest.
"I wouldn't know how to be anyone else." Angie shrugged, hopping out of the car and closing the door after her, on her way to the dorm rooms building.
Angela Hunter knew how to be many people, at the same time, even. And she was damn good at it. However, to Emily Prentiss, she would always be one person and one person only – that sweet, innocent girl, with a 24 carat smile, those piercing green eyes, a heart of gold, a tough character, a mind of her own and the ability to go from 'cute' to 'psycho' in two seconds. She knew her, she understood her and she would not have her any other way.
"I swear to God I've heard Reid say the same exact words before…" Emily muttered to herself before she headed back home for the night.
REVIEW REPLIES:
"Ducksdragonfly" Hehe, short and straight to the point? :) Thank you. Hope you enjoyed this weird ride of a chapter, because...yeah, it changed from filthy to innocent and I dunno what happened. I wrote it in installments. What are the temperatures there like? We had a heatwave of like 36 degrees (celsius) all day, every day, just recently. It's gotten down to 30 now and the nights are starting to let people sleep, as the temps got a bit lower and they allow one to breathe. I'm not a fan of super high temps, which is weird as I've lived on an island with 45 degrees (celsius) at 8 in the morning lol. Every. Single. Freaking. Day :\ Ok, there goes my rant. Have a beautiful day.
"sweetkid45" Matt? You mean Bryan, from the Academy? Hmm, he isn't jealous, but other people sure are. Angela is working extremely hard for the job position she wants, but we'll see if that might one day be possible, because right now it is not. And don't worry there is LOTS of adrenaline and action coming up in future chapters. I like writing different scenes: cute, fluffy, messy, teasing, flirty, action, hurt, emotional, etc. So many chapters will have a different feel to them :)!
"rmpcmfan" Thank you :)! As for your assumption - I added an Author's Note at the beginning of this Chapter 105 - it explains how Emily's request was NOT about the budget, but about the BAU being able to welcome and intern...Angela, indirectly. Ben was definitely the ONLY one who Emily could go to and it basically all depends on him - whether he'd want to push it with the Director or stay quiet. This kind of request is absurd and really insignificant, as a favor to ask, especially after what Emily had done for this man. However, Ben understood how passionately Emily feels about it. We'll see what happens next ;)! He does, after all...and quite literally, own Emily his life!
You best believe Emily is a persuasive, ruthless bad ass, LOL! As I wrote certain scenes, I could just imagine Paget Brewster acting it all out - sitting there, giving someone the stink eye and letting them know, in more ways than one, that she ain't taking their shit and crappy compromises, hahaha!
WOW! Your thought/prediction is insanely cool! It would surely explain why Emily feels so strongly about this girl that seems to have just come out of nowhere.
As always, I'll be true to my teasing, secretive nature and I will not confirm, nor deny anything about this prediction :P (we don't want any spoilers, hehe).
Be on the lookout for more Monkey "appearances" soon :)!
Also, to reply your doubt from your previous review: The Academy started right after Angie's two month long Summer Sports Camp, so that was the beginning of August. I guess it would be September right now, as timeframe. And we all know what's in October - spoiler: EMILY'S BDAAAAYYYY TURN UUUUUPPPPPPP :)!
