CHAPTER 115
IT'S YOUR HEART, EMILY
Tuesday morning resulted in some very unpleasant headache for a few very important Agents.
Emily had called an Uber for her and JJ. None of them felt like driving to work, so they abandoned their cars at the parking lot in front of Emily's house after their little gossip-filled sleepover, and let a stranger drive them, just to be safe…as safe as that shall be.
Clara woke up to the smell of pancakes…burning.
"I tried." Angie shrugged, covered in flour and with eggshells sprawled across the kitchen board.
She looked awfully chipper, for someone who had downed two bottles of wine, along with Clara last night.
Clara brushed it off, blaming it all on the youth. She remembered being Angie's age and oh, Emily and her had practically defined the term 'partying'. They'd roll up to their UN internship, the day after, looking fresh and clean, hiding the hungover like they had been trained to do so.
If she had to be honest with herself, she quite missed those times. She made a great team, with Emily by her side. It was unfortunate they were now playing for different teams, at the FBI, but they had completely different training and each one of them had ended up where she belonged.
"Hey, Prentiss, I need to run this by you…" Reid jumped at her, the second she walked in the bullpen.
He was holding a threatening folder with many papers inside of it. Surely it would be time consuming to tend to it.
"Ask JJ. Or Rossi. Anyone, but me." Emily said softly, so she wouldn't sound rude.
"Guys, I am off limits to anyone, regarding anything that is not a matter of life or death. Until lunch." With those words, Emily walked into her office and closed the door.
Reid looked at her with questioning eyes. Emily never really worked on her own, not like this. She would at least tell the team what she was working on. Plus, she wouldn't isolate herself completely. This was…weird and he didn't know how to feel about it.
"Okay, let's do this…" Emily muttered to herself, sitting on her chair and switching her computer on.
She had a cup of double black coffee in hand, the second one and most definitely not the last one for the day. And she also had determination in her eyes.
It all started by creating a new file. A blank file, a white page, but one with the BAU logo and her name and signature on the bottom of it. Clearly, this was going to be official business if she opted for that template.
For the next hour or so, Emily put her creative mind at work. She wrote the most heart-wrenching motivational letter. She was a Prentiss and the one good thing she had learned from her mother was how to make an impact, with her words only. And the final product was worthy of a literary award.
Then, she added three columns: name and Unit; personal notes, if any; and signature.
The first one of what she hoped would be a long list of names, was Emily Prentiss.
Emily Prentiss, BAU Unit Chief
She felt proud to write that down. She knew she was deserving of that title, now more than ever.
After that, she put the file online, making sure the 'sharing' option was on. Next step was to spam just about every single soul in the Quantico Headquarters of the FBI, including outsourcing such as the cleaning staff and the gardeners. The Academy staff was surely receiving the e-mail that oh-so-kindly begged them to take notice of this 'letter'. Or rather – petition. Every trainer, even the actors the FBI hired for the Hogan's Alley tactical trainings; every teacher, including the swimming teacher and the laboratory assistants; every single soul received said e-mail. And this was not where it stopped.
Emily's next target were the cafeterias. She e-mailed the general address that was stated on their business cards, but that did not stop her from begging the owners, managers of whoever really would read that mail, to spread the e-mail to all of their employees.
And then she did the same, with Devil Child bar. That surely was going to give her good results.
Next step was to call Dan on the phone.
"Hi Dan. I need the list of all Trainee e-mails, even the ones that got cut and even the ones that are actual Agents and posed as Trainees for the first two weeks of the Academy. Any e-mail you could spare. And yes, I know all about privacy and whatnot. I simply do not care. I need those e-mails and I need them now. Thank you!" Emily shot it all, before Dan could even have the chance to greet her after he picked up.
"Agent Prentiss, I can't do that…" He tried to argue, but he knew that with her, much like with Angela, one would simply never win.
"I wasn't asking." Emily said confidently. "And I wasn't doing so in my capacity of an Agent. No, Dan. I did it as a Unit Chief. And a human being, too. So, now, I would advise you to go fetch that long list of names and e-mails for me. Thank you."
"God, you sound like your mother, so formal and insisting…" Dan cringed.
He knew the Ambassador from her numerous TV appearances and she had always seemed like quite the scary and influential woman.
"Fine, I'm even willing to sit here and take your digs. Just, get me that damn list!" Emily rolled her eyes. She hated being compared to her mother, of all people.
"May I ask what this charade is all about?" He questioned.
"May I ask why haven't you read your incoming e-mails yet?" She raised an eyebrow, having sent that mail to him just minutes ago.
He briefly went through his inbox and he gasped when he skimmed through the file that Emily had sent.
"Alright, I'm on it, Prentiss. You will have all the e-mail addressed I have access to. Give me half an hour." He completely changed his mind about his answer, once he knew what it was all about.
"You have ten minutes." Emily smirked before she hung up.
Just out of curiosity, she checked the shared file.
It already had twenty signatures, just for the few minutes it had been up.
The first seven signatures came from Team BAU. Each one of her colleagues had signed and written a damn solid personal note.
Then there were signatures from Clara and the IRT team and some other random people that Emily would never have suspected would take part in this. This was the sole proof that mass-spamming the entire FBI was, after all, a good idea.
Her phone buzzed and she finally realized she had a few missed messages. Her mind had been in the game for almost two hours now and the entire world did not exist to her.
"I am so incredibly proud of you, Emily!" The newest text message read, the one that had just come in.
It was from Rossi, who had been the first person to sign her file, as soon as she had sent it out. His personal note was also the longest, most detailed one, and it would surely not go unnoticed that someone of his ranking was sponsoring her little petition so fiercely and passionately.
She smiled and allowed herself a couple of minutes of 'Emily time', to check her other messages.
"Je suis désolé, I was unable to reply to you until now. I'm glad your flight was okay. I'm glad we are okay. How is your day going?"
She smiled even wider, realizing that it had been more than 24 hours since she had texted Richard and she hadn't even stressed out about the fact that he never replied. It was weird. Emily Prentiss liked her replies, right away. Yet somehow, she never even thought about the fact that he wasn't replying. Subconsciously, she knew he would, as soon as he possibly could, which his text message confirmed. Apparently, she was a little less clingy than she thought she might be, if she ever wanted to be in a relationship.
"C'est bon. I know work can get in the way, trust me. My day? Yeah, it's been going fine, so far. I'm working on something very important to me and seeing the first results is just wonderful. How about you?"
She texted back before taking another large sip of coffee while checking out her other incoming messages and replying to them, as well.
Once again, she didn't feel that annoying urge to check if he had read it yet, if it was even delivered yet, or if he was typing a reply. For once, she didn't feel that urge to be a complete obsessive stalker. She just let him be. He'd reply whenever he possibly could. And she was more than okay with that.
"Great, I hope your efforts get rewarded. My day, well…it's been a bit hectic. But I can't complain. Work, you know? It's sunny outside, I bet the Fountain would be a wonderful place to go grab an afternoon coffee at."
He was now sitting up in the hospital bed, all broken from being beaten up the previous night. But no, he would not bother her with the details. His left hand was still immobile and his knee was twitching from the pain. A nasty bruise had formed on the right side of his face, but he was proud of it all – the pain, the bruises…all of it had been worth it, because it had ultimately lead to sparing the life of someone he cared so much about. Marie was worth it. He would do it all over again.
"Oh, you best believe I won't rest until my efforts get rewarded! I'll know the outcome in a few days. Oh, the Fountain...I love Paris in the Spring. I love Paris – always, actually. Hey, maybe when this work thing gets settled, I can take a few days off and come over…sounds good?"
It was forward, but she didn't feel weird to be asking him that. After all, their agreement had been that whenever one of them could take days off, they'd travel to meet up.
"So driven…I like it! And yes, Paris is always beautiful, especially with someone just as beautiful, to experience it with. A visit from you does not sound 'good', ma chérie. It sounds absolument merveilleux! Whenever you can, just let me know a day in advance, if possible."
He gulped, hoping that she wouldn't read too much into his last request. He'd need at least a day, to be able to get himself free of work assignments, meetings and errands. And also, to mask up a few things around the house. Or, why not, book a hotel? But that would feel way too…forward. She would definitely be reading that wrong. Analyzing those thoughts of his, he realized he had no idea what to do, if she really did decide to visit.
"I have a meeting in a bit and I really need to focus on my statistics right about now. How about we text later? I'll let you know when I clock out, ok?"
Emily did not want to get rid of him, but she kind of had to. She had a Board meeting to attend right before lunch and she was stressed out about it.
"No problem, but keep in mind it would be nighttime for me by then, so I might not be replying for a few hours. Also, the French flag looks great on you :P"
And there, he said it, making Emily blush. She had allowed herself to be emboldened by Angie's constant yapping, so she had sent him a very subtle photo of that two-piece lingerie – nothing raunchy or too revealing. Just…a little teaser.
She also realized that this was hard to deal with, from the get go. They were not only in two opposite points of the Globe, but there was also time difference and jet lag and hours of flying in and out.
And yet, she wasn't bothered. At all.
"Good morning to all the Unit Chiefs." Ben greeted everyone as soon as they entered the meeting room.
Emily waved at Jessica Meyers who made it a point to sit right next to Emily.
"We are here to discuss Unit strategy optimization…" Ben started his introduction to what the meeting was all about.
Then, one by one, all the Unit Chiefs pitched their ideas.
Emily went last.
"Emily Prentiss, Unit Chief of the Behavioral Analysis Unit." She introduced herself, not because people in that room did not know each other, but because it was yet one of the pain in the ass Bureau formalities.
"And my team has no new strategy optimization pitch." She stated calmly, standing up and standing tall, with everyone's eyes now glued to her.
"Agent Prentiss…?" Ben urged her, almost scoldingly.
"No, Sir. We do not have a new one and we do not need a new one." She re-affirmed her previous statement.
"You see, my Unit improves their strategy on a daily basis. We talk to each other, all the time. We don't have monthly sit-downs for some brainstorming. No. We do that daily, every morning, sipping on our coffee, together, as a family. So, if you need me to tell you something new, I can tell you what we discussed just yesterday morning, Sir." She continued, so sure of herself, with her head held high, like the Boss Lady that she really was.
"Doctor Spencer Reid has decided to cut down on the caffeine and to punch in a few extra hours at the shooting range, to improve his aim, which he believes has not been the best, lately. Agent Rossi now parks his car two miles away from home, making sure he'd have a solid reason for a morning jog, a way of keeping himself and his physical health in check, every single day. Agent Jareau has started an online crash course on cybercrime, as our Unit is not specialized in that and she volunteered to learn more, so that if we ever need someone's expertise, we can trust and lean on one of our own, instead of outsourcing to other Units. And she is doing so, while nurturing for a young child with a broken arm, back home, and his elder brother who just got expelled from school after defending himself against bullies and is now having troubles being assigned to a new school, so he is forced to learn at his own pace, at home, with two parents who work in law enforcement, full time."
Emily stopped just for a brief second, so she could breathe.
"Agent Simmons is extending his knowledge on explosives out to Agent Alvez, after office hours. Agent Lewis is preparing a speech on sexual harassment of women and psychological ways to deal with it, if and when it happens. She will be holding that speech in Columbia University, to over five hundred young students and God knows how many of them had already gone through what we have…"
Emily didn't mean to let that slip, but it just came out of her mouth. Tara had never hidden her past and the reasons why she had decided to go into law enforcement, to fight the monsters who abuse and harass women. But Emily never spoke about it, herself.
"Our beautiful tech analyst Penelope Garcia has also started a training cycle of her own, making sure she'd be in a better shape physically. She also just upgraded our communication systems, using all the money from her last salary and some from the previous one. For the team. Because this is what we do – we talk to each other, we help each other out, not when we need to step things up so we can make a good impression at a meeting like this one, but always, Sir."
Emily ended off, but then realized something was missing.
"Oh yeah, and I've started drinking more green tea, to help calm me down a bit during the long days of work. And I have just started a very special project and I would like to thank those ones of you who have already signed it, for me." She looked around the room, her eyes setting on Jessica first, and then on two of the male Unit Chiefs, Jack Garrett from the IRS being one of them.
She also did not want to boost about her own achievements lately. Ben knew, he was her Superior. She didn't give a damn if the other Unit Chiefs knew just how much she had been busting her ass at work, especially after that Hearing a while ago.
Ben then thanked her for sharing it all. Who was he kidding? Did he really expect Emily Prentiss to be anything other than unconventional?
The meeting ended up shortly after that and each Unit Chief got points, in Ben's little book. They all knew that there had recently been a 'grading system' and that they were being watched, but they did not know to what end.
"Agent Prentiss?" Ben called out for her before she would leave the room.
Everyone else was on their way out and he needed to be alone with her.
"How about we anticipate our Thursday afternoon coffee to, say, right now? Or, in your case, green tea?" He suggested.
"Oh, I never said I gave up on coffee entirely. I'm very careful with my words." Emily smirked and let him lead the way to the elevator.
Once they were outside and in possession of a much needed cup of coffee, Ben finally allowed himself to talk to her, like a friend.
"Look, Emily…about that file…" He started off, but she did not interrupt him. She knew she wouldn't have to even say a word.
"You know, in my position at the Bureau, I cannot take sides. It wouldn't be fair, you understand that, right?" He asked and she nodded.
Yes, of course she knew how unfair it was of her to ask this of him. She simply did not care.
"I can't go against the Director's final decision, no matter where my beliefs stand. He is my boss, directly. Every day, I have to sit there and back him up with whatever he comes up with and I have absolutely no say in it. You know that, right?"
Emily nodded once again, but her poker face did not change. Her lips were relaxed, her eyes were soft and she looked peaceful and quite confident.
"He could end my career with the snap of his fingers and, quite frankly, he holds the power over your career, as well. So, I'm going to ask you one last time – are you absolutely, one hundred percent sure that you want to do this?" He narrowed his eyes on her. Why was she so damn calm? He was basically shooting her down and telling her that she was insane, yet once again.
"Yes." She simply replied before taking a sip of her coffee, looking absolutely unbothered.
Short. Truthful. This was the only thing she wanted to tell him.
"Well, in this case…" He fiddled with his phone for a few seconds before he hit the Send button.
Emily was not dumb. She knew this was a test and she knew how to play her cards right. She also knew how to read Ben like an open book.
In turn, she held her phone up and checked the file. Like she suspected, Ben had just signed it. But what surprised her was the insanely long personal note he had written before his signature. He couldn't have possibly written that in just two seconds now. So, had he already written it before the Unit Chiefs' meeting? Had he waited for a moment to let her know how crazy she was and just how much he supported her, before he'd send the signed file back to her?
And one more thing that struck her – Ben, being the last person to sign it, was at column number 175. This was insane. Emily never imagined she'd get this much support, in such a short time.
"You really do have a heart of gold, Emily Prentiss." Ben commented, after giving her a minute to get over the shock after seeing the updated file online.
"Thank you so much, Ben! This means the world to me and I'll owe you, big time!" She could feel her heart beating fast and it was a wonderful feeling.
"I didn't do it for the favor. I did it because I believe you are doing the right thing. And it's a very noble thing, too, Emily. And if the Director has a problem with me, supporting you, I'm willing to take the heat. But if you've taught me one thing lately, it is to stand up for what you believe in and I really do believe that you are chasing a cause, worth chasing after."
Her heart was now about to burst with joy. This was huge. This was insane. This was something that would be a game-changer for her, on Friday.
After the coffee break, Emily texted her team to find out where they were having lunch and she quickly got there herself.
"Oh good, you've ordered for me. I'm starving!" She exclaimed while taking a seat between Garcia and Tara and eyeing her favorite pizza – hot salami and extra cheese on top.
"You guys are life savers!" She muttered, while munching on a slice of pizza that she was now holding in her hands while feeding herself. Screw table manners. She had about ten minutes to destroy her food and get dessert, before the team would have to go back to the office.
"Actually, Emily…" Rossi started. "You are a life changer."
"Yeah, what you're doing is just…wonderful. We hope it brings us results." JJ backed him up.
"Us?" Emily could not help but catch that.
"Yes. Us. Because we are all in this together and we all want the same thing." JJ confirmed.
"Even you? Seriously? Why the change of heart?" Emily raised an eyebrow. JJ was suspiciously determined and involved.
"Emily, there is not a single venture you'd embark on, that either one of us would not back you up on, 150 percent!" JJ pointed out and it was true, Emily knew it was true.
"Thank you guys. Fingers crossed this would work." Emily smiled, now grabbing a second slice of her pizza.
"And if it doesn't?" As happy as Rossi was, he always made it a point to keep Emily leveled with reality.
"Do you really think this is the only card I'm playing? Ha!" Emily smirked victoriously.
"This is merely a pawn in my endgame. You just wait for it." She added calmly, looking so collected and so sure of herself.
"Oh, woaaaaaah!" Bryan's jaw dropped when he received an e-mail from SSA Emily Prentiss, more so after he read said e-mail.
Dan had made good on his promise and he had given Emily a long list of e-mails to contact, which she had done right after her lunch date with her team. It was a long day, she kept herself busy.
"What's up, punk?" Angie asked curiously, plopping on the bed, beside him and trying to catch a glimpse of his tablet screen.
He turned it off, just in time. That e-mail was clearly not intended to end up in her inbox, so he knew better than to share it with her.
"Just some chick, sending me nudes." He shrugged, saying the one thing that he knew would scandalize her to the point where she'd leave him alone and never ask about it again.
"Eww." And he was right. She stood up and put her shoes back on.
They had a long lunch break that day, before they'd need to go to a special SWAT training that would continue until late that evening. So, Angie and Bryan had grabbed some food, to eat back in the dorms, then had a forty minute power nap before taking a shower and getting ready for the training.
"Es-tu réveillé?" Emily texted in the evening, after she got home and took a relaxing shower.
"I am awake now." Richard texted back a minute later.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up. I only just got the chance to chat." She replied quickly before pouring herself a glass of wine, just because she now could do so, without having to worry about side effects.
"I could get used to being woken up by you at this time of the night, Emily. Now, how was your day?" He replied cheekily. And very honestly. He really did want to get used to that. And if she was laying by his side at night, before she'd wake him up, it would be even better.
"Good. Busy, but really good actually. My project got amazing support, from people I wouldn't have expected. That really made me feel good. I also had a meeting with my Superiors and that went well, too. I mean, having in mind that I improvised my speech and all." She was starting to feel weird. Those texts were way too vague especially since they didn't know what the other one's job was. And yet, it would be weird if she changed topic. Somehow, work felt like common ground, like an Ok topic to discuss at that moment.
"Yeah, you look like someone who'd be good at improvising. (And I mean that as a compliment!) Do you like chocolate soufflé? I just had some before sleep."
She sighed with relief when she read how swiftly he managed to change the topic. Thank God.
"I don't think I've been clear enough, but I like chocolate ANYTHING :P" She replied back playfully.
"Hmm, don't think I got the memo. You may try letting me know just how much you like chocolate anything, next time I see you." He was taking a bit longer to reply and Emily thought it was because he was sleepy. But the sad reality was that he was in a lot of pain, only able to move his right hand and the thing that pained him the most – he was all alone.
"I have a good feeling I would." Emily wrote down, before a pause. She'd applaud him if he actually got the subtle naughty context of her words. And then she added something that would change the topic yet again. "What quality about yourself do you value most?"
"You tease! And that would be my loyalty. Certainly not my modesty haha! But I am extremely loyal to the few people I consider important to me. And I would do ANYTHING to protect them. How about you?" He replied, having remembered about the sweet option for speech-to-text. It was so much easier to send faster, longer messages this way.
"I don't know. I really don't know… People might say it's my charisma, but others consider me to be a complete bitch, so I'm confused. I'd say I'm quick on my feet, especially under pressure, but then again, I am known to have made some colossal mistakes in my life, so scratch that too, right? So, I have no idea what my best quality is, if I even have one." She replied in the blink of an eye, not giving her words much thought. No editing either. Whatever came out, she sent it.
"It's your heart, Emily. It's the way you connect to people, the way you make them feel, the way you make them fall in love with you. It's the way you care about people. It's the way you love – truly, madly, deeply…and I don't mean just in a romantic way. I mean it about your friends, too. You love them more than anything – this much I managed to figure out about you, my Mysterious Beauty."
Emily chuckled, reading his text. She didn't want to be bigheaded and admit that he was right, but screw that – he was most definitely right and she could not find it in herself to deny it.
"Thank you. Lately, people keep reminding me of that. I'm almost starting to believe all of you, hehe." This time Emily kept her reply short.
"What is the first thing that you notice when meeting someone new?" He asked curiously. There was so much he still wanted to learn about this woman.
"Honestly? If they have a gun… How about you?" Emily knew this was unconventional. But if they were being honest with each other, she'd keep it real and as vague as possible.
"Honestly? Same! What is one weird thing about you? I mean, other than you, looking out for guns at Walmart…and I just pictured you do that, lol!" Richard laughed out loud when he read her reply. If she was being honest, he'd also be honest.
"Walmart? Are you joking? I did that at the neonatal intensive care unit when my best friend JJ gave birth! Better safe than sorry, right? And uh, ONE weird thing about me? You are limiting me way too much, hahaha! There is a LOT to find weird, when it comes to me. Buckle up! Now, last three websites you visited? NO CHEATING!" She kept on laughing as she texted. This man had absolutely no idea what he had just gotten himself into.
Richard rolled his eyes at her new question. He wouldn't lie to her or cheat, even if he got paid for it. Well, not again, that is.
Instead of typing it out, he sent her a screenshot of his recent browsing history.
Google Translate – Emily did not find that weird. She often used that, as well.
The official website for NASA – What? Was he an astronaut or a helpless nerd who's into space exploring and scientific discoveries?
Some random website with an aptitude test. Emily clicked on it, out of curiosity, learning that the purpose was to assess one's critical and abstract reasoning ability. She made it a point to pass the test later that night, with flying colors, at that.
His screenshot featured four searches, so she concluded that he most definitely wanted to point out the fourth one, thus he included it on the screenshot.
Air France. Interesting. Was he already searching for available flights to go see her?
"Before you conclude that I am an extremely good and innocent guy, I shall warn you that my best friend went all out and actually set me up with a barely twenty year old bleached blonde skinny escort that goes under the name of Soft Cookie online. (I did not go through with that date, though). And I like cupcakes, instead! Now, your last five Google searches?" He texted, hoping it would be obvious that he hadn't been interested in that woman, or any other woman.
He also decided to up the game. She had asked for three searches, but she received four. So now he had the right to up it to five, because he knew he'd be entertained with her response and somehow he knew he'd want to read more.
The first thing that came to her mind when she read his incoming text was: good, you like cupcakes? You'll be a happy camper. And then she realized she had to stop being so inappropriate all the time, even in her own thoughts. Plus, 'sweet vanilla cupcakes' was the nickname an ex had given her breasts and Richard would hardly find joy in knowing that.
Emily then gulped, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious. She used Google for the most random things and, often, would find herself deleting her search history as she figured it would scandalize most people.
But since he had sent her a screenshot, she decided to do the same.
Out of all the things Richard might have expected from her, he did not expect…that.
"Soft BDSM - mini silicone textured paddle" He read her first search to himself, gasping out loud. What on Earth was this woman into? He wasn't sure if he was scandalized…or curious. Maybe a little bit of both.
"Long-term recovery stage in ICD-11 Complex PTSD, childhood trauma in adults" That was a mouthful to read and it sure as Hell changed the naughty direction he thought her searches were going.
For a long moment there, he analyzed what that might mean. Was Emily the 'child'? Had she been through something traumatic in her earliest years? Or was it maybe a search for someone else? And if someone went through the trouble of placing such a detailed search, they surely were someone who cared deeply about the person they were trying to understand, to connect to…maybe even to help out, in any way possible. In that case, Richard would allow his feelings for her to grow even stronger. How could he not!?
"Do cars run out of honk?" This one made him laugh out loud and instantly regretting doing so, as his ribs hurt like Hell, from the beating he'd received very recently. And yet, the pain was worth it. This woman sure was an aggressive driver and he'd experienced it first-hand, seeing her abuse the honk at any and every occasion she had. She was also, clearly, not much of a car expert, if that was a genuine question she had. What he didn't know was that she had searched for that on the night when JJ had slept over and they'd been more than tipsy and curious to find out the answer. JJ, as well, was known to abuse the honk. For a petite blondie, she sure had an attitude behind the wheel.
"Butt Lifter Push-up Panty, Butt Bra Enhancer" That, again, made him laugh. In his humble opinion, she wouldn't need one. She was perfect, as far as his curious hands had been able to figure out, on their own. And yet, closing his eyes for just a brief moment, he allowed himself to imagine what she might look like, wearing some form-fitting jeans, with that thing – if it even existed, hidden underneath the fabric. And damn…
He shook his head, shaking those visuals away. Daydreaming about her was one thing when he was in the privacy of his own home, but it was kind of inappropriate in a hospital, even if he had a private room. It just felt weird, no matter how comforting it was.
"High paying jobs for incredibly intelligent people who HATE math…and the law…and politics…and most humans" This search resulted in him rolling his eyes, right before he realized that he could see himself, typing out the same exact thing. Well, maybe except the 'hating most humans' part. What he didn't know was that it hadn't been Emily to search for this. It had been Angela, the last time they had hung out together.
"I…don't know what to say. Hahahahaha! What is your favorite childhood memory?" He hit her with a new question, so he wouldn't have to comment on her screenshot. It was…confusing, to say the least.
"Becoming an adult and being able to hit my parents with: 'I can legally make my own decisions now!' Not that it worked anyway, but hey…" Emily's reply pointed to a very strained relationship with her parents.
"Let me rephrase then: As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?" He texted quickly.
"A grown up, so I could make my own decisions!" Emily's reply did not change before she added a question for him now. "Do you believe in fate?"
"Well, I kind of have to now, don't I? But I didn't use to, before. Before you, I mean. How many pairs of shoes do you own?" He laughed at his question, sure that it would be hard for her to reply, judging by her love of shopping.
"Oh, shhh! Do not even go there! Hahaha! What is the first thing that you think of in the morning?" Emily was more than enjoying this absolutely brainless quick fire chat that was going on between them.
"Oooh, shhh! Do not even go there!" Richard licked his lips while typing a reply, identical to hers. Recently, his mornings had been giving him a bit of a…hard time. "What is your morning routine?" He asked in turn.
"Wake up, check if I'm alive and, only in case I am, I fall back asleep for 'five more minutes', only to wake up half an hour later by a text from someone on my team, informing me of something urgent. Then I'd get up, grumpy of course, pretend like it's okay to walk with a see through robe with my windows opened. I'd search for any type of food in the kitchen and when I fail to find anything edible and not too expired, I'd grumpily decide to stop by whatever fast food place is on my way to work. I'd bless the Lord for my coffee machine, every single morning, so I'd get my first dose of caffeine on an empty stomach before I'd end up honking my horn at whoever is in front of me at the McDrive, fifteen minutes later, so I could place my breakfast order and tell the cashier I'm ordering for three, when in reality – I just love donuts, okay!? Then I'd fix myself a third coffee at work, pretending like I hadn't just ordered my second one at McDonalds. And with that, my morning routine is done. I mean, I do shower and brush my teeth and all that boring stuff, but this much you could figure out on your own." Emily hit the Send button and was amazed at how fast she had managed to type all of that.
"Are you scared of dying?" Richard asked curiously, inspired by the beginning of Emily's previous message.
"No. Been there, done that, twice already. It's inevitable. At least now I know what to expect and how it feels. I'm good." She replied honestly. To any normal person, her words would sound horrifying.
"What's one of your worst habits?" Richard found himself changing topic yet one more time. Her replies were so honest, he didn't know how to reply to that, so he just kept asking.
"I used to bite my nails up until a week ago. And then I stopped, because of someone. Been doing good. I have acrylic nails now. They could get in the way of mundane daily things, but hey, I look good, so it's worth the hassle. Why are you the only one asking questions? Uhhh! How would your friends describe you?" She asked strategically. One would always praise themselves, but it was what their friends thought of them, that really spoke about who they were.
"I don't have too many close friends. But the few ones I do have, think I'm a great person. They also know I'm crazy and kind of a Daredevil and they find a way to love me, despite my wild dark side." Richard smirked. Oh, Emily had no idea.
"Well, I guess I am naturally attracted to Daredevils then. Hey, isn't it really late for you right now?" Emily remembered that, as nice as it was to chat, he must be in need of sleep and rest before he'd go to work the next morning.
"It's actually quite early. It's a bit past 4 am here." Truth was – he was beat. He felt exhausted, everything hurt and he was barely keeping his eyes opened, no matter how entertaining her found their little chat to be.
"Oh wow. That's it – no more chat for you. Go get some sleep. We'll talk again soon. Bonne nuit." Emily was the stronger one, the one who managed to find it in them to put an end to the fun chat.
"Bonne nuit, ma chérie. Talk to you soon." He replied and two minutes later he was asleep. He could not bear a second more, with the pain creeping all over his body.
That night, Emily had the first good night of sleep, after those nights she had slept by his side, with his hands protectively holding her, close to him. And it felt good. For the moment, it was all she needed.
REVIEW REPLIES:
"rmpcmfan" I replied to your review via Inbox, giving you some inside scoop and teasers, but NO SPOILERS, don't worry :)!
"Ducksdragonfly" Hi again :)! Yes, Angie is kind of spiraling quietly and yes, she has strong females on her side. Does she want to let them in and let them help, though? Not a chance, lol! Now sit back and get ready for some Prentiss scheming. Cue the pop-corn and wine (for those readers who are of legal drinking age, of course!), because you'll be laughing your ass off with Emily's insanity :P! Also, wonder what her new long-distance relationship might look like? Wonder no more, just keep reading and you'll know. PS: Hope it's good stuff that's keeping you busy. Stay safe and keep in touch. I appreciate each line/word that someone sends me and you're one of the OGs here, shout ouuuuut!
"sweetkid45" Hey, be good :) You've been warned since chapter one that the story is told through "fragmented narrative", hehehe :P! I wanted to create a multi-storyline kind of a story...like, with the vibe of a new season of episodes, with different scenes inside each episode (aka chapter). It's what I'm drawn to when reading fiction, so I'm writing about different scenes and what people do at the same time, but in different locations. Be warned there will be HEAVY use of flashbacks later on, to explain something huge that is going to happen. As for Jemily, it is never going to be a romantic relationship kind of Jemily fic! However, Jemily as best friends and work wives - YES! JJ knows all of Emily's dirty secrets and they sure love to overshare hahahaha. More awesomeness to come between those two! Also, some future chapters might brush up on Emily's "naughty" past and ehm, experiments...so yeah, there's that :P!
