CHAPTER 117

ARE YOU READY TO HEAR THOSE WORDS?

"Hey, where have you been?" Angie asked, as soon as she saw Bryan back on the training field.

She had lost him at lunch time and had no idea where he had disappeared off to.

"Oh, sorry. I went for a run. I'll see you in a bit, gotta go refill my water bottle before training." Bryan smiled and walked away.

She found that to be suspicious. He was the first one to tell her to hold off her income of liquids during training. He would never ditch her, for water that he would not even need until after the training was done. Something was up with him.


"Aaa'ight now, Trainees. Time to bust yo ass if you wanna stay in the Academy!" DeMo just walked over and everyone knew that this was going to be hard.

His SWAT trainings were possibly the most exhausting thing each Trainee had ever done in their entire lives. They were, also, the most realistic view of what their future day-to-day lives would look like. Everyone knew better than to slack, during SWAT training. Moreover, because DeMo was insanely strict and harsh, even about the smallest mistake.

He cornered Angela, seeing her frown and just generally uninterested. She was different than what he had already seen her, during training.

"Yo, Hunter?" DeMo called out, startling her.

"Eh?" She replied, sounding like an annoyed teenager.

"Reply to me with 'eh' one more time and you'll be bruisin', girl, understood?" DeMo stood his ground.

He knew how to handle a girl with an attitude – he had worked with Emily Prentiss before, he remembered how to push someone's buttons. Also, JJ had sometimes been less than a joy herself. But with Garcia, he never had to put up a game…unless she wanted him to.

"Leave your bad attitude here…" He pointed at the doorsteps of a building.

Wednesday's afternoon training was held at a mock bank office, at Hogan's Alley, where SWAT would be negotiating for hostages and trying to breech the bank undetected.

Of course, DeMo had made it practically impossible for them to succeed. He needed to see which Trainees would be on top of their game and quick on their feet. There was only one way to get inside the bank and it would take some non-standard thinking. If he had to be honest with himself, he considered Angela one of the very few Trainees who would be able to think of that breech strategy in time to rescue their hostages.

And Angela, being the way she had been so far – so fired out, so interested in training, so ambitions; she was surely going to flip out with joy when she learned their mock scenario for the day.

"You gotta go in with a clear mind, alright? Can't let those personal thoughts cloud your better judgment, with a gun in hand, ya feel me? Because one wrong move and you're possibly dead." He tried to soften his voice. He had already figured out that Angela was a smart young girl who didn't need to be yelled at. No, she needed a calm environment and intellectual stimulation.

Or at least so he thought.

"So?" She shrugged, clearly not willing to let go of her attitude, as she had just been instructed to do.

"It's not like anyone would miss me…" She added with a sigh.

At that moment DeMo realized two things. One - he felt sorry for her. It wasn't the first time she had let slip that she had nobody in her life, but hearing her say it so loud and clear, after he told her she might end up dead, it just made him feel bad. And two – he could kind of relate. Yes, he had Savannah and his child, but he didn't have his team, his family.

With a deep sigh, he closed his eyes, wondering if that pain in his chest was something like what Emily had felt, for those seven months of hiding. Had she felt all alone, too?

"Come on, be smart about this…" He leaned in, trying to keep up the calm vibe of the conversation.

But Angie was having none of it. She hated contact. She leaned backwards, as soon as he leaned in, almost as if she was afraid of him, or maybe she was just afraid of closure. Either way – he was most definitely not welcomed anywhere near her.

When she sensed that he wasn't done schooling her, she simply stood up and walked away, joining the other Trainees and waiting for the briefing for their mock mission.

An hour later, everyone was sweating profusely. Everyone but Angela.

She had done her best at concealing that unhappy face of hers, as she had tried to breech the building now five times in a row, with the team she had been assigned to. Each attempt was in vain. DeMo kept shouting at the team, pointing out their mistakes and making them start all over again.

No team so far had managed to enter the bank, nor had anyone successfully bargained for a hostage to be released. Some teams even got a few hostages killed off, by saying the wrong thing and triggering the robbers.

DeMo was more than pissed off. He had no voice left in him, from all the shouting. He had expected it to be hard for everyone, but somehow they were not motivated at all, that day. They were failing at simple tasks and most teams did not even reach the point where DeMo had made sure the troubles would come. They kind of gave up on the mission halfway through, with half-assed attempts.

"What's going on?" Dan asked, having just arrived at the training area.

"I think it's the Academy Curse. Everyone is all over the place. Man, looking at those people out there, I hope none of them gets handed a gun and a badge or the country is in some real trouble." He replied truthfully.

"She hasn't given them a pep talk yet?" Dan smirked. He had noticed how, in times like these, Angela liked to step it up and root for the team, even if it wasn't her own team. She'd talk to them and build them up before encouraging them to start the training all over again and to do things differently.

This time, however, no such thing had happened.

"Scratch that. Wow, she looks like she needs a pep talk of her own." Dan commented, watching Angie wander around by the front door of the building, with her gun holstered.

In a real life situation, she would have been grabbed by the robbers and held hostage, too. She was way too close to the door. Hell, she could have been killed, alternatively.

"Hunter, what the Hell!?" Dan called out for her.

"What?" She replied, even though she knew she was supposed to keep her voice down.

At that moment, someone from inside the bank grabbed her and dragged her inside the building.

"Great, your team now has a federal Agent as a hostage, along with the other fourteen hostages. Congratulations. Go get them…and good luck…" DeMo rolled his eyes, speaking to Angela's team.

A second later, a fake gunshot was heard and the door opened. The robbers kicked Angela's 'body' out, as a sign that they are not playing. In her hands there was a paper with all of their requirements – a helicopter, guns and more money, in non-traceable cash.

Angela walked off to the sidelines, now that she had been crossed out of the training.

When her team decided to call a bluff on the robbers, they received another 'body', being thrown out from the front door.

"Yo, what's wrong with you?" DeMo sat down next to Angela, who was now sitting on the curb of the road, eating an apple and rolling her eyes.

"Nothing." She said silently, but her eyes screamed denial.

"Come on, you're acting like a dumb idiot and I know you enough to know that this is far from what you are. What's bothering you?" DeMo pushed it, keeping his eyes on the bank door. At this point he had lost any hope that this team would go any further, but he allowed them a few more minutes, to let it all play out.

"They'll get all the hostages killed off and then the robbers will be cornered and they will retaliate and just yeah, call it suicide by cop and call it a day." Angie narrated and this was exactly what DeMo thought would happen next.

"Good analytical skills. Now, what could have been done differe-…" He tried to ask, but she was quicker.

"There's a pregnant woman, as a hostage. We could have used that to our advantage. We could have negotiated for her to get out safely, and given them one of us in exchange for her. Statistically, bank robbers are not coldblooded killers and are most likely either married or in a serious relationship. Most small bank robberies actually stem from the fact that the robbers want to have offer a better life for their families, unlike with serial killers who do it for their own pleasure and gain. So, statistically, most robbers would have the soul to let a pregnant woman out. If at least one of their gang members cracks, all will crack sooner or later and the girl will be out, for sure. Now, with an Agent on the inside, we could have had eyes on the situation – we would have known how many robbers we are dealing with, how heavily armed they are, what their strategy is. With the technology the Bureau has, the Agent wouldn't even need to wear a wire. Honestly, if I was on the inside, I could tell you at least two plausible ways to get information out to my team, without even saying a word. All I'd need is a window, a shoelace and a distraction. Also, with the pregnant girl out, we could have simply smoked their asses out with a smoke grenade, and with an experienced Agent on the inside, if the robbers were not more than three, we could have gotten a hold of the situation by now." Angie shot it all out and she didn't even seem to take a breath as she spoke.

"Very good. That's the only way to have handled this case. I mean, the hostage exchange, not the 'smoking their asses out' scenario. But I could see that as a plausible second version that might actually work. Now, it would have to be a very skilled and experienced Agent, to handle three armed robbers. I somehow doubt this could have been you…" He smirked, pushing her buttons as usual.

"Oh, try me!" She raised an eyebrow and walked over to Dan who was approaching them and he made a hand gesture for her to come over.

"You are quite frankly the dumbest little bitch I've ever seen step foot in the Academy!" Dan hissed at her, as they walked further away from the training grounds.

He needed a private space, to shout at her.

She opened her mouth to say something, undoubtedly dumb, but he stopped her instantly.

"Shh. Don't dig yourself a bigger hole now. God, I'm such an idiot for having invested so much into you. You!? Out of all people, I just had to choose the one idiot with a goddamn bow in her hair!? Really? Biggest mistake of my fucking life!" Dan continued.

Angela, at this point, had no desire to speak. She felt humiliated and she hated to admit it, but she agreed with how Dan felt about her. She had been acting like a huge disappointment, since the day before. It was way too obvious.

"Do you know how much money you cost the Academy? Do you have any idea the Hell my Superiors put me through before they signed my request to have you as my Wild Card? Do you know how I stuck out for you, how I put my gun and badge on the line, for you?" His face was now red with rage and she could swear she saw him spit a few times, as he spoke.

"No, don't you dare open that damn stupid mouth of yours! I don't want to hear one more dumb comeback! I've given you time and I've given you space and all you do is to continue disappointing me and the people who believed in you!"

Angie took a step back. Dan was dangerously close to her and she hated anyone who dared invade her personal space. She had spent enough time in the United Kingdom to have caught up on their weird habit of liking their personal space and keeping it as big as they possibly could. And Dan was a bit too much and a bit too close, at that moment.

"Do you have any idea that there are people out there, busting their asses for you? Rooting for you? Fighting for you!?" He continued and this time she most definitely felt him spit as he spoke. It was disgusting, it fell on her right hand and she wanted nothing more but to swipe it off and sanitize her entire arm.

She did, however, stay put and immobile. Her eyes were locked with his and she was listening and taking every word in.

"Do you know what a damn failure you are and how dumb those people would look when they realize all their efforts have been in vain? Huh? For someone who is ready to give up and cry, the first moment she gets denied something she wants? Huh? Do you have any idea how much of their ego you'd be crushing and whose reputation your idiotic little girl tantrums are ruining right now, huh!?"

He kept on speaking about a 'someone' who was fighting for her and whom Angela was hurting. That was what hit her the most. Out of all things in life that she'd be hit in the face with and remain calm, being told that she had failed someone who believed in her was the one thing that always made her blood boil. She hated being a disappointment.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA THAT YOU'RE RUINING THEIR ENTIRE CAREER!?" Dan finally lost it, completely.

He stepped closer, grabbing Angie by the shoulders and forcefully pushing her back up against a tree, nearby.

She was numb for the physical pain. She could care less if Dan punched her next. Hell, he could put his gun against her forehead and she wouldn't even blink.

But the way he was looking at her - looking down on her, disappointed by what she was doing to that 'someone'; that was what really got her.

Her lower lip quivered and she had still not said a single word to him. Not only that, but she had refrained from her usual Diva-like smirks, hair tossing, eye rolling and, her favorite deep sighing.

"Oh, little baby wants to cry now?" Dan yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Then cry, goddamnit. Cry your ass out! It's not like it would change anything. You've screwed over someone I care about and someone who was dumb enough to care about you. You're making them look like a fool, on Friday! Cry then. Come on, why are you not crying yet? Huh? I don't see the tears! Come on, Angela, cry! Cry like the damn baby you are!"

He kept on trying to break her and, even though he knew he had broken her on the inside, he was shocked to realize how strong and put together she looked, on the outside. If he hadn't known her so well, he'd say that she was completely unmoved by it all.

But Dan knew her…

"I SAID, CRY!" He yelled one more time, but Angela's eyes were solid.

Apart from her lip quivering for just the split of a second, she was completely calm and collected. It was giving him the chills. He had seen very few people who were able to remain calm in such a stressful situation, and that had only come after years of undercover training and missions. And Angela was just a dumb 23 year old with a bow in her hair. Who did she think she could fool with that poker face?

"I swear, if she loses her job because of you, I'm going to make you regret ever being born!" He tried one more tactic before he'd give up.

And this time, it worked.

"I've regretted my birth, every day of my life, since I was eight." She said, now a bit more emotional, a bit more unsteady.

Dan was not sure how to proceed. He had not broken her down with yelling, so now that the conversation took an emotional turn, he was at the loss of words.

"Well, then I guess it is very unfortunate for you that other people do not regret your birth and are actually happy to have you on this Planet. So, go ahead, go be dumb and go get yourself killed out there on the field, like you just did. Because today was a mock scenario, tomorrow is yet another mock training, but one day you'll be out on the field and you'll freeze and you will get your ass killed. See if you'll feel any happier then, you little twat!"

He eyed her up and down and realized that he was still pinning her against the tree, holding her shoulders.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" He yelled one more time, letting go of her and pointing his finger towards the training grounds before he watched her disappear.

He then sat on the ground, wondering why, out of all things she could have replied to, she only chose to reply with the fact that she, basically, hated being alive. This was hardly a good motivation for a future Agent to stay alive…or to even want to be an Agent at all.


"So?" Ben asked, pacing left and right, alongside the table in the meeting room.

"Her team failed, but all teams failed at the training today, so…" Morgan tried to soften it up.

He had been called in, to discuss the trainings, with the spotlight specifically shining on Angela.

"Could she have done anything to prevent that failure?" Ben was a smart man and he knew when someone was hiding the truth from him.

"Well, yeah. I mean, she had a really good strategy. She just…you know, she didn't do any of it, on the field…" Morgan felt like a traitor. He did not like the fact that Ben had called him in for a meeting, to snitch on one of his Trainees.

"How about you?" Ben looked at the person, sitting next to Morgan.

"I made this girl shit in her pants and I know it. I hit the right spot, for sure, but I just didn't get the right reaction…" Dan replied.

"Too much trailing off going on. Guys, I remind you that I am your Superior and anything that happens must get reported to me. Especially when I'm specifically asking you about it." Ben folded his arms in front of his chest and gave them a grumpy look.

"Well, the thing is – she definitely got what I was saying. But she was chillingly calm about it. Like it didn't bother her at all. And I'm not saying that it didn't, because I know she was freaking out on the inside. It's just…something about the way she holds herself in such a stressful situation, it's just…odd…" Dan elaborated.

"And that's good!" Morgan jumped at the chance to point out the positive side of that. "As an Agent, she'd be amazing, being able to keep her calm. Man, I could hear you yelling at her, all the way from the training grounds. If she could seem unmoved, then kudos to that girl! You sure got my hairs up, with all that screaming and all the things you said to her."

"Wait, you weren't dumb enough to tell her what's actually going on, were you?" Ben asked, just because he had lost a bit of faith in Dan lately.

"No, I'm not an idiot! Of course she has no idea." Dan sighed.

"Uhm, you're forgetting that I have no idea, either. So, unless you don't mind sharing, you guys need to shut up and discuss this privately." Morgan reminded them of his presence.

"It's nothing that concerns you and either way, whatever we say in this room, never leaves this room. Understood?" Ben asked and both Dan and Morgan nodded.

"I still don't know what the heck you two are on about. But I do know one thing and that is that Angela Hunter will be an amazing Agent one day. Yes, she's had her 24 hours of fallout, but there is only one way for her, from here on out and that is up. So you can put my name right next to the name of whoever it is that is rooting for that girl, and I'll happily sign it for you, because I guarantee for this girl, and yeah, I'm putting my gun and badge on that, too. Now, if you shall excuse me, I need to get back to the field and prepare for my next training." Morgan felt so good to have someone's back, before he realized one thing.

"Well, I mean, I don't actually have a gun and badge now that I'm just a training officer, but you know what I meant…" He added lamely.

"Get out of here, Morgan." Dan urged him to leave, because if at least one of them was able to save themselves from Ben's wrath and plotting, they should make a run for it and never look back.

"Dan, you realize there is literally nothing I could do, if she keeps this up, right?" Ben spoke up, as soon as Morgan closed the door from the outside.

"Yeah, I know. But I have a good feeling she might drop the act, or at the very least she'd tone it down a bit. She really did seem shaken to hear that she was disappointing and hurting someone and I didn't even give her a clue as to who that was. I keep telling you this, but she has a good heart. I guess it took me some time to figure out her soft spot, but I finally hit it today. Let's see how it goes." Dan shrugged.

"If she screws this up, after everything we've done…" Ben was unsure how to finish his sentence without sounding like a stone-cold murderer.

"I don't think she will. Just, have a little faith in her." Dan smiled, trying to calm down the dragon that was now in front of him.

"That's exactly what you said on day one, when you begged me to make her your Wild Card. And that's precisely why we're in this situation right now!" Ben had a bit of a temper.

"No. I was right about her all along and you know it. And don't act like it's just me who roots for her. Literally everyone within the lines of this government property is rooting for her! Don't make me smack you in the face with the evidence!"

"Oh, no. That would be Prentiss on Friday morning. I can't wait for her to make a fool of herself, in front of the Director, after everything I did, just to score her this meeting." Ben hissed back at him.

"God bless her soul. It was nice knowing her…" Dan said dramatically.

Emily was going to walk right into a forced early retirement this Friday.


"Hey, I didn't see you at dinner." Bryan said when Angie walked back to the dorms that evening.

"I skipped dinner. Went training on my own." She shrugged, sitting on the floor, next to the door.

If Bryan knew one thing about her, it was that she hated germs and she would never intentionally sit by the door, where the dirtiest place in the room was.

Yes, she would go down and dirty during a mock case and she'd have no problems with any gross substance coming in contact with her skin during work, but at home she would never intentionally sit on the floor.

He sat right next to her and he held her sideways, in a hug.

"Talk to me, GiGi." He whispered and it made her smile.

He had come up with that nickname for her in the first days of the Academy, but he hadn't called her that, too many times. She had stuck to Bry-Bry, but he only ever called her GiGi when he was being cute and supportive.

"There's nothing I need to say…" She sighed.

"Not to you, anyway…" She added and with those words she darted out of the room.


Emily had worked overtime that day, making sure a lot of things would be ready, both when it came to the BAU and when it came to something a bit more personal to her.

She walked out of the Headquarters, heading to the blue parking lot. All of her teammates had left at least two hours ago, so she walked on her own, in the dark.

"Oh, Jesus Christ!" She called out, tripping over something, as she turned the corner to get to her car's driver's seat.

"We should stop meeting like this!" Emily said, having a very unpleasant déjà vu.

"Is it you?" A soft voice asked, almost cracking as they spoke.

Emily froze in place. How would they know. How much did they know? What was she supposed to answer?

A staring match in the dark followed. Emily looked in this person's eyes while they sought their answer in Emily's eyes.

None of them spoke for the longest moment.

Emily pointed at her car, as if she urged the person to get in. And they did so, no questions asked.

She then drove off, once again in a direction the other one did not recognize. They did not care.

Half an hour later, the car was parked outside of a small restaurant, in a nice neighborhood.

Both of them walked in and inhaled the sweet smell of cooked food. Emily had skipped on dinner during the normal dinner hours, as well.

"Are you the person whose career I'm hurting?" The person finally spoke.

"Oh, Angela…" Emily was still staring at her, but this time her eyes were much softer.

"You're not hurting anyone's career." Emily added. "Well, yours, yeah, maybe."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be a disappointment to you…" Angie shrugged, looking down at the table.

"Oh…" Emily was unsure what was going on. Why was Angela suddenly so emotional and so hard on herself?

"Dan yelled at me and said I was a failure and that I'm a dumb idiot who'd get herself killed on the field."

"Well, you are not a failure. But I do have to agree that the way you've been acting since yesterday is quite dumb, yeah. And I know you're doing this, so that you'd get cut from the Academy and thus, you won't be disappointing me directly, after making a promise to me to stay." Emily picked the menu up and spoke very calmly.

"Only until Friday!" Angie reminded her the conditions to their agreement.

"And what? You think I was going to let you leave on Saturday morning? Please!" Emily's hand waved in the air, dismissively.

"But why do you care so much?"

"I have no problem saying it out loud, Angela Hunter." Emily finally raised an eyebrow challengingly.

"Are you ready to hear those words?" She added and saw how Angie sunk in her seat and remained quiet.

"Didn't think so." Emily smirked. She knew how to handle a young one with an attitude. "Now find yourself the yummiest thing on the menu and most importantly - treat yourself with a glass of wine. Or five. I'm driving you back to the Academy after this, don't worry."

"I don't want to be there…" Angie whispered.

"Well, I'm sorry, but you made a commitment to this country and to this Academy and you have to go through with it!" Emily said while eyeing the photos of all the dishes the restaurant was offering.

"No…" Angie felt her stomach growling, but food was not what she was craving for.

"I meant tonight…" She added, still whispering.

It took Emily just a second to understand better.

"I have a guest room that is just as vampire-like as my bedroom. If that's ok with you, then you're welcome to stay over." Emily spoke calmly, as if this was no big deal at all.

She knew that Angela needed to feel like she wasn't an inconvenience for her. Which, she really was not.

"Would it be okay with the Academy if I didn't come back tonight?"

"What do you care? You already have those papers ready for Saturday morning, don't you?" Emily looked up at her with a blank expression on her face.

"Well, I wasn't going to sign them…" Angie just rolled her eyes and felt like an idiot.

"I know." Emily smiled. "And I also know you, Angela. You don't give up and you don't back down. Ever! You're the most stubborn person I have ever met, and also the most suitable person for…"

"Say it. Come on." Angela was now the one to challenge Emily, who had trailed off before she'd say something she might regret later.

"You, out of all people, know that saying something out loud makes it way too official and way harder to digest and accept, right?" Emily's response was spot on and Angie had no witty comeback.

"Oh yeah. I'm the queen of denial!" Angie said truthfully.

"And fake identities." Emily added.

"Damn, I am good with those, aren't I?" Angie smirked.

If she had to be honest, she was proud of her weird talents. That and the fact that she could twerk on a handstand, although she rarely ever did that in front of people.

"It is not healthy to let yourself believe you are someone else. Trust me - been there, done that. It screwed me up more than you could ever imagine. I just don't want the same thing to happen to you. I know firsthand how easy it is to live a fantasy and then, before you know it, you're sucked into a world of lies and deceit until you no longer know who you really are." Emily felt goosebumps, sharing that. She thought of all the aliases she had ever had and it scared her to realize that she did not even remember all of their names.

"Oh, it's alright. I never even knew who I really was anyway. I'm fine." Angie reassured her.

"Well, the last two times I said that 'I'm fine', I watched my funeral, remotely, bawling my eyes out, watching the people I love bawling their eyes out, for me. So…"

Emily's words sent shivers down Angela's spine, too. It was chilling how easy it was for her to talk about her 'deaths' and the pain they had caused to numerous people.

"I'm just saying – I get it. Just keep in mind that there are limits as to how much mental roleplay the human soul and psyche can take before it snaps." With those words Emily placed her hand on top of Angie's.

Angie did not shriek away. She actually appreciated the gesture - the warmth of Emily's hand was soothing, in a weird way.

The waitress took their order and informed them that not everything on the menu was available at this hour. It was quite late and their kitchen only had a selected number of dishes left to be chosen from.

Unfortunately, both Emily and Angie's choice for dinner was not on the menu, so they both had to compromise and choose something else, from what the waitress enlisted.

They ate silently and quite quickly. Both of them were famished after the day they'd had.

"So, how do you feel about the dinner?" Emily asked casually, when they were in the car, driving towards her apartment.

"It was really good, actually. I'm glad the food I wanted was not on the menu. I managed to try something new that I would have otherwise never chosen. And I quite liked it. Also, thank you for paying…again." Angie said honestly.

Emily remained silent and let Angie come to a conclusion, on her own.

"Oh, God. If this is your sick and twisted profiler-like way of telling me that the Universe had a different plan for me and that even if I don't get the thing I want, I'd still end up liking what I do get, please, don't waste your time." Angie rolled her eyes, realizing the analogy.

Damn, Emily Prentiss was good!

"Hey, you said it yourself – you liked the food you were served." Emily smirked.

"Yeah. I also didn't spend every second of my entire life pinning for that cheesy sour cream chicken dish that I originally planned on ordering. So…"

"So…what? So you are telling me you didn't give the fish and chips a chance? And that you didn't like them? Come on, you left no crumb in that plate!" Emily kept her eyes on the road, because the last time she had allowed herself to get distracted by Angela, she had almost crashed the car against the barrier.

"Why do I have to keep telling you, people, that I want one thing and one thing only? Why is it so hard for everyone to understand where I'm coming from!?" Angie was losing her patience fast.

"Because we don't even know where you're coming from!" Emily stated calmly.

"Well, this is for me to know." Angie hissed.

"Good. We respect that, while we continue to not understand you and your life choices and career goals. That's all."

Damn Emily Prentiss, did she always know the right thing to say? Nobody had ever been able to challenge Angela the way this woman did.

"It's personal, okay?" Angie shrugged.

"Ok." Emily replied shortly, accompanied by a smile.

And then the silence was killing Angela.

Two minutes later, she groaned.

"Ugh! I don't want to talk about it!" She said, even though no word had been directed at her.

"I'm literally staring at the rear side window and you're snapping at me…" Emily acted innocent.

"Oh, I know what you're doing! You're wearing me out until I snap and I come out and say it. Well, guess what? It's not happening!" Angie said defensively.

"Alright." Emily continued being annoyingly calm.

Two more turns down the road and Angie's face was as red as Dan's earlier that day.

"I just do, okay!?" She said one more time.

"Sure. Whatever works for you." Emily allowed herself to catch a glimpse of Angela, just because it was too funny to not see with her own eyes, even if she was still driving.

Angie then invented a new identity – someone who would not talk to Emily Prentiss for as long as possible. And then she commanded herself to stick to playing the role of that character.

Although, that was proving to be impossible.

As they walked into Emily's apartment, she started telling Angie where she could find towels and all sorts of things, completely disregarding the previous topic. And that drove Angie nuts.

"Uuugh!" Angie groaned while Emily was pointing at the fridge and neatly enlisting all the things Angie could find in there, in case she was hungry or thirsty at night.

"Mushrooms? You don't like mushrooms?" Emily raised an eyebrow.

Angie had groaned just when Emily mentioned mushrooms, although she had no idea why she had even bought those. It wasn't like she was planning on cooking them and they weren't exactly something a normal person would snack on, at night.

"I don't care about mushrooms! I like cheese! And I want cheese! All I've ever wanted was cheese! Nothing else! Just cheese. Okay? CHEESE!" Angie stomped her foot and Emily bit her lip from the inside, preventing herself from laughing out loud at this entertaining little outburst.

"Oh, I bet you were just a pleasure to deal with when you were a teenager." Emily smiled, because as good as her poker face was, she could simply not contain herself when Angela was around. It was way too entertaining to watch her crumble and act out.

"You bet'cha. Then again, you wouldn't know!" Angie rolled her eyes and that was when Emily saw it - they had an identical eye roll. That made her smile once again.

For some reason, it also felt like Angela had just thrown a dagger, right into Emily's heart.

"Why are you smiling?" Angie questioned unhappily.

"Because I want some cheese as well. But if someone told me to sit on my ass and to wait until Friday, for my cheese platter, you bet'cha I'm gonna sit on my ass and make no sound. Understood?" Emily threw Angie's 'bet'cha' right back at her, along with a very subtle hidden context, to her words.

Angie took a moment to analyze what Emily was saying. Hell, neither of them was actually speaking about food at that moment.

"What's so important about Friday!?" Angie could finally not help asking.

"Well, sit on your ass, make no sound and wait. Maybe you'll find out. Who knows, maybe you'll even get some cheese…"

"Woah, wait, what!?" Angie's mood went from zero to flipping out, instantly.

"No, no! No promises, no expectations. And definitely no cheese for someone who can't keep a promise to someone else who is busting their ass, to get the good cheese on that platter…" It was now Emily's turn to roll her eyes, the same exact way that Angela had done, a minute ago.

"Fair enough." Angie shrugged.

"Can we go to bed now? It's been a long day for me. I know you must not be feeling tired after all the 'nothing' you did on the field today, but I've actually been working hard, you know, like real FBI Agents must do at all times…"

Damn Emily Prentiss and her right words at the right time. Angie was not sure if she hated that woman or if she was borderline obsessed with her.

"Wait, have you been keeping tabs on me?" Angie questioned.

"Always!" Emily smirked and urged Angie to walk towards the guest room.

"May I close the window?" Angie said right away, as she entered.

She could simply not believe how stupid Emily was, to have left a window opened while she was gone. Granted, she lived on one of the upper floors, but still, Angela was a bit paranoid sometimes.

"You may do whatever you want. This room is yours." Emily sighed. Sometimes Angela acted like a child, other times she used 'may' and 'shall', making herself sound at least thirty years older than what she was. It was confusing, to Emily.

"Niiice!" Angie looked around after being given the green light to do whatever she wanted to.

"Alright. No, you cannot paint the wall in sparkles. No, you cannot put your feet up on the bed, with your shoes on. No, you cannot spill red wine on the bed. White wine is alright, though. You know what? How about I take my previous statement back altogether and we stick to you, asking permission before doing something?" Emily realized her mistake.

She was afraid to think of what she might have found in the room in the morning, if Angela slept there, with the permission to do whatever she wanted.

"Okay." Angie said with her most innocent little smile and Emily knew that meant one thing – trouble.

"Fine, goodnight." Emily was beat and she could not wait to take a shower and close her eyes.

"Goodnight." Angie waved innocently and it only confirmed to Emily what she already knew – this girl was playing her.

Emily exhaled sharply when she walked back to her own room. It felt good to have some peace and quiet. She jumped in the shower right away and soon enough she was in her pajama, in bed.

Fifteen minutes after she switched her night lamp off, she heard footsteps.

"Please God, let her be going to the kitchen…" She said a little prayer, right before she heard the squeaking sound of her room's doorknob being twisted.

"What is it, Angela?" Emily asked in the dark.

"May I crack the window open, please? It's really hot in the room." Angie, the angel that she was, asked sweetly.

Oh, Emily's decision to have her ask permission about everything was really going to come back and bite her in the ass, wasn't it?

"Yes, you may." Emily hissed and turned around, placing the pillow on top of her head, making sure this gesture said just about enough to Angie before the girl returned to the guest room.

Another ten minutes later and the footsteps could be heard again.

"May I also leave the night light on?" Angie asked innocently.

"Jesus! Yes, you may!" Emily came off a bit too harsh, so she softened it up a little afterwards. She was known to be grumpy, when sleep deprived. Or otherwise deprived, which, she was both.

"I thought you were cool in the dark?" Emily questioned.

"Oh, I'm super cool. I prefer the dark anyway. I just…" Angie trailed off and Emily could swear this girl had just shrugged, standing by the door, in the darkness.

Her words communicated something to Emily, but she didn't want to overstep.

"Crack the window a bit, leave the door opened, sleep with the night light on, do it all and more. Just, please, go to sleep!" Emily begged and at this point she was willing to reach out for her gun, if Angie dared wake her up one more time.

Angie went back to the guest room again and this time she didn't even bother trying to get in the bed. Something felt off and she just paced around, unintentionally knocking a few things down along the way.

The noise surely communicated something more, to Emily. But she stayed put and let Angie do her thing.

Half an hour later, Emily was finally asleep. She didn't even hear the footsteps that, inevitably, reached her bedroom for the third time that night.

Emily only opened her eyes when paranoia made her believe that she felt a presence in her room. And she was not wrong.

Angie was sitting on the chair, next to Emily's bed, just staring at her, in the dark. As if she could not be any creepier. Had she done that with Clara, a few days earlier, Clara would have surely suffered a heart attack.

But not Emily…

She got Angela and that was why Angela was so annoyed by her. And also, so intrigued by her.

"The guest room is just creepy." Angie whispered, once she saw she had Emily's attention.

"Good God!" Emily sighed.

With one hand, she pulled the blankets up, while the rest of her body made enough space for one more person.

Angie smiled and crawled in bed without saying another word. She let Emily place the blanket on top of her, knowing perfectly well that she'd be kicking it away soon enough. Angie was always hot when she slept and she hated being covered by something heavy and warm.

"Merci." Angie whispered, in the perfect darkness of Emily's room.

It no longer felt creepy and hot. It felt just about right, in any given aspect.

"De rien, ma petite bijou. Bonne nuit." Emily whispered back in French, smiling in the dark because there was no way Angie could know that she was doing so.

And yet, she knew. She was smiling, too.


REVIEW REPLIES:

"Ducksdragonfly" I hope you also liked this chapter now. I had lots of fun writing it, especially the closing scene where Angie was a pain in Emily's existence hahaha! Then again - when is she not!? :)

"sweetkid45" LOL, I don't think that anyone can possibly replace this little Devil, in Emily's heart :)! I do pity the fool who tries, too, hehehe! There will come a time when Emily might feel a bit more inclined on inviting her new beau to Quantico...let's see how that will play out lol :P! Also, his business does often take him oversees, yes. Hmm...yeah I guess you could say that with Richard being in Quantico (or DC/Virginia) certain things might come up and certain people might not be too happy about them. So, for now, he's more than happy to have Emily over at his turf, where he can control how much she sees/hears about him.