CHAPTER 144

THE LAST TIME I HEARD SILENCE

"Good morning." Emily greeted him normally, for the first time.

She remembered waving at him, like a complete idiot, back when they had first met. Then there was also the time when he had said 'Good morning' to her and she had replied with a lame 'Okay' before she had almost fallen back asleep again.

She blamed it on him. If he wasn't so damn irresistible, she might have been able to keep her hands off of him the previous night, thus, she might have had a little bit more sleep and that meant that she might have woken up a bit more normal and functioning, like a human being. It was all his fault. Damn him and his sexy French accent. And those hands…those eyes…

Emily rolled her eyes, just thinking about that. The realization that she might be turning into a romantic was too scary for her to handle.

"What would you like to do today?" He asked her while brushing his hand against her cheek. It was reddened, from being pressed against the pillow as she had slept, and it was warm and soft. It was also the cheek of the woman he still could not believe he as holding in his arms.

"I don't know. I guess I don't feel like sightseeing, now that I've come clean about the fact that I know every corner of Paris." She whispered, extending her hand in the air and trying to wake her muscles up.

"How about we do something different? We can get out of the city for the day." He suggested.

"Oh, that would be lovely. I'm not really in the mood to see people around me. I'd love a day, just you and me…and maybe food." She added cheekily.

"Sea or mountain?" He asked, already having an option for both.

"Neither." Emily turned sideways, covering herself with the blanket.

First of all, she wouldn't just lay there, completely naked. Secondly, she had a scar on the left side of her chest, one that Doyle had left there, along with all the emotional scars he had graced her with.

Ever after being branded by him, Emily had been incredibly conscious when it came to showing her body. She'd even turn around when she was changing in front of JJ and Tara, when on a case. And they knew - of course they knew; but that wasn't the point. That scar was Emily's biggest enemy and she wouldn't let anyone see it, to the point where she wouldn't even look at herself in the mirror before putting a shirt on, just to avoid seeing it herself.

Each time she had been with Richard, she had made damn sure it would be dark enough, or that she'd lean just the right way, so that he wouldn't see it. She'd bring her hand up, pretending to be fixing her hair, just to cover it up, in case he was looking. Their romantic rendezvous had been a mixture of 40% pleasure and 60% 'let's play hide-and-seek', for her. Each time Richard's hand might have trailed anywhere near that scar, she'd suck in her breath and pray that he wouldn't feel it, he wouldn't ask about it…she'd pray that she would never have to come clean about Doyle. Not to Richard. That would be beyond humiliating. How was she supposed to tell this man – a man she was crazy about; that she had been forced to be with a man – a cruel man who had broken her; all for a stupid case. And then again – a case? That meant she'd have to tell him what she had done, in the past. Interpol? CIA? Undercover operations? All those guns, the violence, the preying on people, the stalking, the waiting in dark corners, the fighting, the shootings, the scars, the wounds, the trauma…

"Emily?" His voice brought her back to reality now.

She had zoned out, thinking about all those things, while pressing the blanket against her chest.

His index finger trailed down the valley of her chest, slowly pressing against her skin as he locked his eyes with hers.

"You are beautiful." He whispered before giving her a kiss that meant the world to her.

That gesture with his finger meant that he had seen it. He knew. He was aware of the reason why Emily was always hiding that part of her body. And his words only reassured her that he did not care.

It made her smile.

"I kind of want to go to a chateau. Like the one we went to before, remember? It would be really nice to have a picnic, out in the open, and to just lay down on the grass and hear nothing at all. No noises, no cars, no people. Just you and me." She finally told him what she had wanted for a while now.

For those two months before she finally contacted him, Emily been having a recurring dream that looked exactly like this. And it was just the two of them, it was beautiful. She wanted to experience it, not just as a dream.

"You got it!" He smiled and grabbed his phone.

Richard was a sucker for an old-style chateau. He remembered a time, years ago, when he'd go to different castles around Europe, with Bella by his side. She had loved pretending to be the owner of the place and she would run around the gardens all day. It was the only time he'd ever seen her act like a child. He treasured those memories with her.

"All set. It's a little over an hour out of Paris. You'll love the gardens there and the fountain is magnificent." He told her after he sent an e-mail to someone, making sure he'd be granted access to the chateau of his choice.

"Thank you." She said politely, quietly imagining what their day would turn out to look like.


"Hey there, night owl." Bryan smirked at Angie when she ran to the training field early in the morning. "Someone didn't sleep in her own bed last night. Gotta say – I'm proud of you!"

"Eww, stop! I hung out with someone." Angie sat down, stretching her legs, preparing for the training session.

"Boyfriend?" Bryan gave her a knowing wink.

"Not even a friend, honestly. Just someone I recently met." Angie said calmly. It was true, after all.

"Then you wouldn't mind telling me who it was." Bryan was on a mission to find out.

Angie had already slept over at Emily's apartment and also at Clara's, but she had never admitted to having spent the night out, with a guy.

"I don't care if you knew. It's just that you've never met him, so it wouldn't even matter if I drop his name or not."

"Introduce us?" Bryan kept on going.

He really wanted to see Angie happy and maybe a bit smitten with someone. That, however, was far from what was on her mind.

"Wait, actually you kind of know him. He was at Emily's dinner! How could I forget?" Angie realized that Bryan had also been there.

"Let me guess – tall, dark, handsome, muscular Latino dude who couldn't keep your eyes off of you?" Bryan couldn't even force himself to sound surprised about it.

"Do you always have to think with your magic stick?" Angie shot a glance at his trousers before looking up to meet his eyes. "I am not interested in anyone! Please, put that in your head and stop teasing me."

"Fine. Alright." He put his hands in the air in mock surrender. "But for the record – you did sleep over at him place…"

The look she gave him after this addition was chilling and it worked as a nice little stop to this topic.

Angie could be a bit bossy sometimes and she always got her way. Bryan made sure he'd never cross her. She was too feisty for him to handle.

"Oh, by the way, something got delivered for you last night. I left the box on your bed." He informed her and she instantly brightened up.

"Thank you for letting me use your account once again. I swear, one day I'll pay you back, with interest." She blew him a kiss, just to prove the point that she was incredibly grateful for each time he had trusted her enough with his credit card.

"I don't care about the money. Just please don't murder me, okay? That's a 'thank you' enough for me." He laughed and they heard their trainer start his rounds, assigning each group the exercises he wanted them to start with.


"Jesus, Angela! Is that you!?" Bryan nearly dropped his towel when he caught a glimpse of her.

They had just gotten back to their room after the entire day of classes and trainings and they wanted to relax a little. Bryan had taken a shower first while Angie had been obsessed with unpacking the thing she'd gotten earlier from Amazon. When he walked out of the bathroom, he was amazed to find out just what item she had been so keen on receiving.

"You look nothing like yourself. Wow! It's amazing how big of a difference some color contact lenses make." He kept on staring at her eyes, which were now a normal shade of brown. It confused him, he thought all girls with brown eyes thought they were boring, so they opted for color lenses, like blue or green, like Angie's natural color. But she had gone the complete opposite route.

"Perfect!" Angie clapped her hands enthusiastically when he told her she didn't even resemble her real self anymore.

"Have fun tonight. See you tomorrow at PFT!" She called out on her way to take a shower.

"But I thought…" He tried to speak, but she closed the bathroom door in his face. Apparently she was in a hurry to get ready and go somewhere.

"I thought we were going to that bar, with the others, for drinks…damn it." He added lamely, speaking to himself.

The Trainees who were staying on Campus for the weekend had decided to go have some fun, have a few drinks, maybe dance a little. They all had things to focus on and way too much studying materials to memorize, but being focused and motivated all the time was not realistic. Every now and then they'd do leisure things, just to de-stress and to enjoy themselves before going back to nerd mode. That night was a big outing for everyone from the Academy and Angie had been looking forward to it.

As soon as she walked out of the bathroom, after her shower, she started getting ready. Bryan was amazed to see that she was applying just a little more make-up than usual, bolder eye-shadow color and a darker shade of pink on her lips. When he saw her choose a dress to wear, he was officially questioning her reasons for dumping the Trainees to go hang out with whoever else that she had in mind.

"Okay, I'll bring my phone. You have my number. If my plans for tonight fail, I'll call to see where you guys are and I'll join you. Okay?" Angie informed him while checking herself out in the mirror and grabbing a bag to put her essentials in.

"Hey, have this, please." He said, offering her five bills of 20 dollars each. He knew she had no money and he wouldn't want her to go out and have a miserable time.

"Will you allow me to give you all the money back, one day?" She asked and only after he nodded she took the money from his hand and she hurried out the door.

She walked to the main building and back to a place she was quite familiar with.

"Ah, I knew it that you couldn't stay away for long." Luke teased Angela as soon as she walked in the BAU bullpen.

It had been a little over 24 hours since she had been found there, on her own. This night, however, the BAU team had stayed up late, having a reunion and a quick phone call with Emily, briefly informing her on the decisions they've taken and the work they had done while she was away.

"Actually, I'm not here for you." She smirked and walked right past him, on her way to find someone else.

Tara, Matt and Rossi had already left. Garcia and Reid were on their way out as well and she had already spoken to Luke. But, where was JJ?

Angie walked upstairs, knowing how JJ stepped in each time Emily was away, so she figured she'd find her in Emily's office.

"Looking for someone?" JJ asked, startling Angie right the second when she put her hand on the doorknob of Emily's office. JJ had just walked out of Rossi's, instead, so she just magically appeared behind Angela.

"Yeah. You, actually. Hi." Angie greeted her with an awkward smile.

"Oh?" JJ was confused. Angela had been pretty clear about the fact that she needed to keep some distance from JJ, but then again, this was the second time in just three days, that Angie had specifically gone out of her way, to go talk to her.

"I know you have a family, kids and all that, but…" Angie shifted uncomfortably.

She hadn't thought this through. It was almost nine in the evening and surely JJ's priority would be to go back home to her kids and husband.

"Do you, maybe…wanna grab a quick bite or a drink on your way home?" She just came out and said it. "Although, now that I've said it out loud, it does sound super weird and stalker-ish."

"It's not weird. And I'd love to grab a bite. My husband took the kids to the lake this afternoon and they're not even on their way back home yet, which gives me a couple more hours to myself. And I'd like to spend them with you." JJ smiled politely, but deep down inside she felt like something was wrong.

"Great. There's a Mall somewhat close to here, I can jog back to the Academy later." Angie suggested.

"No chance in Hell I'm letting you jog through woods and isolated roads alone, at night. JJ cut out.

"Well, jog with me then?" Angie said sarcastically, but the joke was not received well.

"I'm driving you back." As soon as JJ spoke, Angie opened her mouth to disagree. "And before you say anything at all, let me reassure you that you are not going back home alone, not on my watch. That's it!"

Angie chuckled to that. JJ sounded like she was scolding her adolescent son Henry.

"Alright, alriiight." Angie sighed, now sounding like JJ's son when he'd answer back in his typical annoyed voice.

JJ nodded in agreement to the plan. It was perfect - that Mall was on her way home, after all, and it wouldn't be more than a five-minute extra drive to get Angie back to safety.


"Wow, this place is magnificent." Emily said in awe, as soon as she walked down the little garden pathways of this old chateau that Richard had taken her to.

They had brought enough food and drinks to last them a few days, even if they'd only be there for a few hours. Emily had gone a bit overboard at the supermarket, but she loved French food and she had grabbed one too many things to snack on.

"Have you ever been here before?" She asked him, noticing how silent he had become ever since they'd gotten out of the car.

Richard eyed the gardens, he heard the water from the fountain falling down and a faint wind blew the branches of the trees, creating the most silent noise all around them. It was so peaceful and quiet. The entire property looked abandoned, there wasn't a single soul out there, maybe because it was in the middle of the week, but he was glad they were alone.

"A few times…" He said, dreamily still eyeing this entire place.

In his mind, he remembered being there with Bella. In the silence, he could almost hear a faint echo of her young voice. In the shadows, he could almost spot her tiny figure, hiding behind a tree.

When he looked at the woman, standing next to him at that moment, he smiled even wider.

Bella had been Richard's dream come true. She had brought so much joy into his life and he couldn't have possibly asked for anyone better than Bella. And now another one of his dreams was coming true – he was with Emily.

They walked further down the path, finding a small and hidden place in the gardens, where it was allowed to step on the grass and to walk around.

They set up for their little picnic there. Emily sorted out the wine and some of the appetizers from their 'picnic basket', which really was just a jumbo-sized reusable supermarket bag, while Richard placed a blanket on the ground. Emily wasn't sure if she liked it, based on the size. It wasn't big enough for two people to get comfortable and to maybe put the food between them, on the blanket. But as soon as she laid down and found herself having to physically cuddle closer to him, so they would both fit, she appreciated the size so much more.

"You good?" He asked after letting her rest her head against his arm, while his hand caressed her cheek for a brief moment.

"I'm just great." She replied, cursing herself mentally for being such a sucker for something as romantic and intimate as a picnic at a secluded place.

Emily Prentiss had always been a sucker for adventure. She'd ask someone if they wanted to go jumping off a helicopter, as a first date idea. She would never in a million years think that she would, one day, be getting cozy with a guy, looking like a commercially available Stock photo couple, with a bottle of wine and a few different cheese and ham packages next to them, to nibble on before they'd get to eat their actual lunch. This was nauseatingly sweet, it almost gave her a headache, or was there maybe another reason why she felt like her head was spinning? Like, maybe he had swept her off her feet and taken her for the ride of her lifetime?

"I could get used to this…" He whispered, bringing his lips closer to her ear.

She was oozing warmth and he found that to be so nice to cuddle next to. There was a faint wind outside, but having her there to give him warmth was more than he could wish for.

"Holding you…" He continued his thought, even though she was fairly sure she knew what he had meant.

For a long moment Emily allowed herself to picture a future, with him – waking up next to him, coming home from work, telling him about her day, having a glass of wine with him, just doing stupid little mundane things with him. Hell, she was even curious to experience going to Target with him.

And then, the best of all – having him meet the team. Most of all, Emily was curious what Rossi would think of Richard. Would he approve of him? Would he be happy for her?

She already knew that JJ would be all over Richard, asking him a million questions and making sure he would be the perfect candidate for Emily. It's what best friends are supposed to do. Somewhere along the way JJ might stoop down to a dirtier level of playing around and she might enlist Garcia's help in uncovering some dirty secrets from Richard's past, for the sake of knowing whose hands Emily had ended up in.

Luke and Matt would undoubtedly question Richard's physical stamina, asking him out for a seemingly casual and very friendly game of shooting hoops, where the two young hulks would surely wipe the floor with Richard and deliver him back to Emily breathless, sweating and borderline destroyed. The BAU hunks would never let Emily end up with a guy who couldn't keep up with her insane energy levels and she knew they would do a test on Richard's performance.

Reid would question Richard's intellect, just because he did so with anyone he ever met, but Emily was sure he'd like him. Richard was well-spoken and she had no damn clue what he did for a living or where and what he had studied, but she could tell he was a worldly man, smart, very outgoing and charismatic.

Emily could only hope and pray that Tara won't be single by the time she'd get to meet Richard. He would so be her type, which might be a little awkward, in the long run.

Long run? That thought made Emily chuckle. Was she already thinking 'long run' with this man? Had she lost her mind completely?

That left Garcia…she would flip out. Scratch Richard being Tara's type - Garcia would be onto him like a moth to a flame. He had the charms and he was somewhat dorky and very bubbly, too, which made him the perfect conversation partner for Garcia. She would be obsessed with this man. He would not be able to peel himself off of Garcia's side for even just a second. Emily could see it, all the noisy chatter and the giggles that having Richard there would accumulate, as far as Garcia was concerned.

Emily could not help but think of Morgan, too. He was a part of the BAU team and legal documents, stating the opposite, would never change Emily's mind. Morgan was BAU. Morgan was family! He would eye Richard up and down, giving him that death glare of his, one that could make a person freeze. He would try to intimidate Richard, but oh, he'd be so wrong. Richard would stand his ground and he would stand tall. Morgan would hate his guts, that much Emily did know for sure. He'd do his best to trick him, to scare him, to make him back down, but Richard would do no such thing.

He'd get hazed by more than just Morgan – Emily was sure Luke and Matt would jump on the 'bro hazing' train as well. But he'd never back down. He'd be put through 'the test', he'd have to answer a million questions, he'd have to show the guys he'd do the right thing in any and every occasion, he'd have to be nothing short out of perfect, in order for them to finally see him and accept him for what he really was – a man, worthy of capturing their Boss' heart. A man, worthy of Emily Prentiss. A man that would, without a hint of doubt, make their Boss, their friend, their colleague, happy…the kind of happy that neither of the BAU members had ever seen her be before.

"Angela would adore him…" Emily muttered when Richard nudged her.

He knew she was deep in her thoughts once again, so the nudge had been a way of him to get her attention. Instead, it had made her utter her last inner thoughts, out loud.

"Adore who?" He asked, all confused.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to say it out loud." Emily blushed. She was used to being a dork in situations where normal people would act, well - normal.

"And I meant you. I was thinking how my team would react to meeting you and I think Angela would really like you." She continued.

"I sure hope that girl doesn't keep on calling me 'French Daddy'. That would be awkward…" He thought to himself: for many, many inappropriate reasons!

"Oh, this is nothing, trust me! She doesn't have a filter between her brain and her mouth. I swear to God, she'd say the weirdest things and she wouldn't give a damn. I bet you've never met anyone like her. She's one of a kind." Emily tried to sum Angie up in a few words and that was what came out.

Richard smiled to himself. Emily could be wrong about that statement.

"Is she happy?" He asked, out of the blue. "I mean, I know she's studying to become…whatever you are…but is she happy? Does she have everything she needs? Does she eat healthy? Does she have any friends?"

Emily found that to be an odd question, but maybe it was just Richard's way of asking Emily about something or someone she cared about, without being too personal and asking about her job instead.

"I'm not sure how I should answer. I don't think she's happy, at all. But at the same time I know she's doing something she has always wanted to do, so maybe she is happy, after all? As far as food goes, I can only hope she is consuming it, regardless of it being healthy or not. Her schedule is way too tight and so is her money. I'm trying to help out and make sure she doesn't skip meals. And yeah, she has a bunch of friends from her classes. Bryan, the boy she lives with, is a real sweetheart. He adores her." Emily's words sent Richard into panic.

"She lives with a dude!?" Richard nearly choked on his words.

"Yeah. They share a room in the…the housing establishment for the school where she goes to." Emily put it in different words, trying not to say 'Academy' and 'dorms'.

"A room? With a guy? What, they shower together, as well?" Richard was not thinking straight. He came off a bit protective and that was over someone he hadn't ever seen before.

"I don't think so. They're just flat mates. She's not interested in guys." Emily said a bit too casually.

"Wait…really?" Richard was now even more surprised, but not in a way that would hint at disappointment. Just, pure surprise. Did that mean Angela liked girls, instead? And why would he even care?

"Let me correct myself: this girl does not want to date anyone right now! But she does like guys, trust me, I've heard her say things that I don't even want to repeat…" Emily rolled her eyes, remembering a few of her conversations with Angela.

"She's just really focused on her studies and on achieving her goal, which, sadly, isn't happening, so…" She added with a frown.

His hand rubbed her shoulder before it went down slowly, until their fingers intertwined. Yes, she was most definitely a sucker for romance, if that small gesture of his gave her so much joy.

"I get the feeling you'd do anything in your power, to take this girl under your wing. And, from what I heard earlier, she would be lucky to have you be her Mentor." In a way, this was him, trying to encourage Emily to not give up.

He had no idea how she already knew she was never going to give up on Angela!

"I want to be so much more…" Emily whispered, unsure if he even heard those words.

He did.

He just chose not to comment.

"Do you think your team would like me?" He changed the topic, knowing that whenever Emily spoke about those people, she was always in a good mood.

"Uhm, I think so. Ultimately, yes. But brace yourself for some good old-fashioned hazing. I work with a few hunky young dudes that are way too overprotective over me." Like he had predicted – Emily was now smiling brightly speaking of her team.

"What about the girls? I'm sure they would be nothing short of wonderful." He asked, already picturing how the men around Emily would jump at him like he was prey. It was kind of cute to think that Emily had people who cared enough, to protect her.

"Oh, if you thought the guys were the problem, you are sadly mistaken! No, no. You see, JJ will carve your eyes out the second she senses that you're hiding something from me, especially if it might be something big…which, I mean, in all honesty, with what I've asked you to not tell me just yet, if you met my team right now, you wouldn't survive a day!" Emily laughed, but found it disturbing that she knew just how savage JJ could be. She would surely rip Richard apart if she knew that he was keeping a secret from Emily, even if it had been Emily to ask him to keep it. JJ was protective, she was the mother of two, but she was the best friend of seven and Emily was her Number One, on that name list.

"And just wait until you meet Clara! Oh God, she is something else. She'll bring you dancing, get you drunk and then handcuff you some place outside, in public, and give you a full-on interrogation about your intentions when it comes to me, discarding one piece of your clothing for each answer she doesn't like. She'd dust off that whip from her closet, too. Trust me. I've seen it. That cuckoo has done it before and it was with someone I wasn't even serious about."

Richard laid sideways, looking at Emily's face. There was no hint that she was joking, about any of this. She just smirked, because Clara had really used said whip on some guy who had tried to date Emily, years ago. And when Clara had deemed him unworthy of Emily Prentiss' attention, she had left him handcuffed to a bench, outside of a night club, wearing nothing but his underpants and a knock off watch on his wrist. That was how insane Clara was when it came to making sure Emily was in good hands.

Emily had lately been wondering how come Clara and JJ hadn't become close? Their jobs were demanding, so Emily only ever hung out with one of them, at a time, but maybe she had to change that. Maybe it would be nice to invite Clara out, with the team, and have her mix and mingle with them, in some rare occasion when Clara wouldn't be out in the world, chasing criminals with the IRS.

"And Penelope, don't even get me started!" Emily laughed, looking up at the blue sky as she spoke.

He watched her face with curiosity. She lit up, with each word she spoke of her team, she was getting brighter and brighter, her smile grew wider and she looked much more alive than when she had first met him.

Lauren, back then, had been a bit of an emotional mess, occasionally.

Emily, now, was an incredible woman who was clearly surrounded by a team of incredible people on a daily basis.

"She's all the rays of the sunshine. Only that each one of those rays is multi-colored and soaked into cold brew, unsweetened. Yeah, she's…ah, you have to meet her, I can't…no words can ever describe my Penny G!" Emily looked down for a moment and she noticed the wine bottle, sitting next to them, which is where her attention would shortly wander off to.


"…or maybe some good grill? Oh yeah, grilled anything is awesome!" JJ ended off her long list of suggestions as to what they could eat at the Mall, once Angie was quietly sitting in the passenger's seat.

To Angie it all sounded a bit too posh. Restaurants, little bars, food corners – they would all be flooded with people in the evening. And Angie was not a crowd person sometimes. She was great with people, but on certain occasions she preferred one-on-one communication.

"How about here?" Angie pointed at a Diner, on their way to the Mall.

"Oh, I love this place. They have the best burgers and the chips portion is double what you get anywhere else. And they have my favorite sauce, too." JJ commented, slowing down and getting ready to pull over.

As they walked in, Angie noticed it was still busy, but not as much as the Mall would be. She chose a secluded table, as she usually did, and they got comfortable.

Their booth was tiny and it accommodated only two people, which meant that JJ was now in Angie's face, sitting right in front of her, in close proximity.

JJ thought this would be super weird for Angie, who refused to ever look her in the eyes, but she soon learned that she was wrong.

Angie kept smiling and looking at JJ directly. She even kept the eye contact for a whole minute, while she was busy telling JJ about something in the Academy. The conversation seemed to be flowing, too, and JJ had no idea how that happened. One moment she was giving Angela space and the next thing she knew, they were out for food and laughing about random stuff.

There was also this one other thing – Angela seemed a bit too eager to study JJ's face, all of it. She'd look at her nose and her lips, her eyebrow shape, everything. In case JJ ever asked about it, Angie would tell her she had worked as an esthetician and that this was some professional weird thing she did, ever since those days. But her reasons went way deeper than vanity. She wanted to know every curve of JJ's face.

"Holy smokes!" Angela gasped when she was being served her order - the simplest burger with the simplest side on the menu.

Simple? It was gigantic! The melted cheese dripped from the side of it and Angie licked her lips. She was obsessed with cheese.

"I never thought I'd love Diners so much!" Angie exclaimed, still eyeing the food on her plate.

"Didn't you have Diners around your hometown?" JJ was curious, but she didn't want to push it and come out and ask where Angie was from. However, there were Diners everywhere in America, so to see Angie get so excited about something so trivial, was a bit strange.

"Nope, it's an American thing." Angie said before popping a hot fry in her mouth.

JJ shifted in her seat, torn between doing what she wanted to, which was to ask where Angie was from; and doing what she had to do, which was to shut up and eat her food.

"I've lived in Europe. Primarily." Angie shared, on her own free will.

"Oh, that's wonderful. Europe is so beautiful! Have you ever been to Paris?" JJ commented, feeling like she was in an alternate universe.

Not only did Angie ask her to hang out, twice in three days, but she was now locking eyes with her and telling her things that JJ didn't even dare to ask about.

"Yeah, it was the place of my second birth." Angie said before biting the burger for the first time and relishing that moment.

"You have two kids!?" JJ almost flipped out. This was new!

"No, no! It was my second…my re-birth location, I guess." Angie shrugged, watching JJ struggle to make sense of those words. "It's a long story. It doesn't really matter."

"Oh, I get it. Sometimes I feel like I was re-born when I left my hometown. Not really that specific moment, actually. It was more the moment when I joined the Academy. It was something completely different to anything I've ever known in life. Oh, you should have seen how people looked down on me – tiny blonde thing with a gun. I had so much to prove to them that I sometimes forgot to focus on being myself, just so I could please everyone." JJ inadvertently went out on a small rant.

Angie was surprised to learn that her weird re-birth comment had actually been received well and moreover – JJ could relate to that feeling.

"If it is of any consolation, it isn't much different now. There's a bunch of Trainees that call me the Class Nerd, even though I'm more than obviously not good at every subject. Yes, okay, I do excel in some, but in others I'm either somewhat good or I have to kick my ass real hard, in order to pass the exam. And I can't help it that when someone asks a question and nobody replies, I'd raise my hand if I know the answer." Angie commented.

"Right? I was really good at a bunch of subjects, but I struggled with others, too. I can relate to that." JJ smiled and spurted an insane amount of sauce on top of her fries.

Angie looked at her approvingly, being a sucker for sauce on top of everything, too.

"Can't imagine it is any easier on you now, than it was for me years ago. I mean, come on, we're the best bullying subjects – me, the blonde with blue eyes, and you, the cutie with those gree-…" JJ cut herself off.

Something about Angie had been bothering her all evening long, but she couldn't figure it out until now. She kind of figured it must be the way Angie is all of a sudden curious to look JJ in the eyes and to study her every facial feature, but that was not it. As soon as JJ was about to mention Angie's eye color, she figured it was what has been bothering her. She had noticed the cheap brown contact lenses the second she'd seen her earlier, at the BAU, but since she had never really looked at Angie's eyes before, she didn't pay that much attention. It now became clear to her that they were the reason why she felt awkward.

"Oh, yeah. Prescription lenses." Angie pointed at her right eye with the fork before she grabbed another fry with it and casually brought it to her lips.

It didn't sound weird to JJ. She didn't know Angela and thus, she had no idea if the girl had a problem with her eyesight. Maybe she needed lenses for her classes, or for her shooting assignments, to see the aim better. Anything was possible, so JJ just dropped the subject completely.

"I've never seen someone eat a burger in such a posh way. Honestly! And fries with a fork?" JJ commented.

She was used to having barbeques all the time, since she was a child, living in the outskirts of nowhere. She ate with her hands and she was now ashamed of it.

But Angie seemed prim and proper at the table. She had even put a napkin on her legs, as if this was a five-star restaurant. After every bite, she'd pat her lips with another napkin, making sure she wouldn't look like a Neanderthal. Sometimes she ate like one, granted, but that was usually when she'd have take-out at home, just chilling. When in public, she had manners.

"I've been brought up to have manners at the table. And this is in no way a dig towards people who eat with their fingers, least of all – a dig towards you!" Angie commented, making sure JJ would know that she wasn't being attacked.

Her words, after a quick analyzing process in the back of JJ's mind, showed that she actually did like JJ, after all. She went out of her way, to make sure JJ won't be offended and that was sweet of her.

"You know, you remind me so much of Emily…" JJ said innocently.

"Yeah? How so?" Angie perked up.

She really wanted to know. Different people had told her the same thing, too, and she was curious to hear their reasons for saying those words.

"First of all, the table manners. We used to pick at her all the time when she came back from London and then later on from Paris as well. She looked like she was a Princess at a Masked Ball or something, cutting through her pizza with surgical precision, or grabbing her fries with a fork, just like you are doing right now. It took some time, but we shaped her back into the reasonably disgusting person that we all are – eating pizza with our hands and dipping fries in a side pool of ketchup."

Those words made Angie laugh out loud.

"Then there's also the way you speak. You sound much older at times, but there's also a young vibe to you. Emily is the same – she could be kick-ass Boss one minute and then she turns around and cracks some dorky joke to make everyone laugh. And you're both a bit unpredictable. And then there's the obvious…" JJ trailed off, as if Angie would know exactly what she meant. Which, Angie did not, judging by the look she gave her.

"You're insanely intelligent and good at this job, duh." JJ said it out loud. Everyone knew that fact.

"Ok, I'm about to start blushing now." Angie pinched her own cheeks before she started laughing.

"JJ, can I ask you a few things, about the job?" Angie added, suddenly full of curiosity.

"Go ahead." JJ gave her the Go and took the opportunity to take a few more bites of her burger while Angie spoke.

"Well, was there any instance where you had to keep a secret and you couldn't tell anyone about it? But it was something huuuge that if it came out, it would hurt a lot of people and it would change pretty much everything? And obviously, how did you cope with it?" Angie asked. Such an oddly specific question, at that.

In the back of her mind, JJ had the perfect answer – the time when she had been forced to lie to everyone, about Emily's life after Doyle's attack.

"It has happened a few times, yes. And each time, the truth came out and it did hurt a lot of people that I love, but there wasn't anything else I could have done differently about it…" JJ started to answer.

"So, your conscious wasn't eating you up inside?" Angie supposed this was what JJ was getting at.

"On the contrary – I felt torn the entire time! I had to look in people's eyes and keep a horrific lie going for months. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life. And I knew that it would blow up in my face, eventually, but when it did, I wasn't anywhere near prepared to handle the consequences of my actions." JJ's answer was far from what Angie expected.

"How did you deal with it?"

"Well, luckily for me, the people I've hurt - those people whom I love more than anything in life, apart from my family; they are also people who love me back. They took their time to heal and they all gave me a second chance. Although, I can't deny that it always feels like it's forgiven, but not forgotten, you know?" JJ looked down at her plate, seeing flashes back to how broken Reid had been and how strained their friendship had been, for weeks after Emily had come back.

Then she also thought of Emily's own relationship with the team. Morgan had given her the harshest 'welcome' of all. That must have hurt like Hell.

"Then there was this one other time, many years ago…" JJ opened up a bit more. "It was at the very beginning of my career as an Agent. I had to do something that I could never tell anyone about. To this day, I've never said a word about it, not even to my therapist. It's something that stayed with me, it's what made me change my direction, in fact, I told you about it the other day."

"Oh, when you went from Special Agent to just Communications Liaison?" Angie remembered it vividly.

"Exactly. I couldn't handle the pressure and I couldn't tell anyone about it, so I guess I cracked. It took me years to go back and complete some more training, so I could be a Special Agent again. And for a long while, when I was out on the field, I could feel the pressure of this thing, like it was preventing me from doing my job as well as I should have. I suppose it was some sort of a mental block and I'm not really sure I'm over it just yet. Sometimes I think about that night and about the things I had to do, the secrets I swore to carry to my grave." JJ was now eyeing the bottle of ketchup that sat in the middle of the table, just so she wouldn't make eye contact with Angela. She spoke silently, as if she didn't want to admit it out loud.

"Do you ever regret it?" Angie asked again. She seemed to have all the questions in the world.

"No. Not even for a second. I did a good thing and that's what keeps me sane. I started a new story for someone, but I just wish…" JJ trailed off. She wished for so many things, but she found it hard to formulate a sentence.

"You wish you knew how the story unfolded?" Angie, surprisingly, had the perfect ending to JJ's words.

"Exactly!" JJ nodded and forced a faint smile on her lips. "I've thought about it for years. What if things went wrong, after that night? What if I helped destroy someone, instead? What if I put someone in harm's way?"

Angie blinked a few times, trying to get rid of the moist she felt in her eyes. She slid her hand across the table and put it on top of JJ's, which she found resting next to the fork that she hadn't even used yet.

"Hey, don't put this on yourself, okay? I'm sure their story had a much better outcome than what you could ever imagine." Angie's voice was so soothing. That, combined with the tiny squeeze she gave to JJ's hand, helped relax her a bit.

"I hope so." JJ whispered, fiercely biting back tears.

This was an extremely touchy topic for JJ, one she hadn't even discussed with her own husband or therapist. She was a bit too emotional at this moment to even realize she was telling this to Angela – someone she barely even knew. And the weirdest part of it was just how easy it was for JJ to open up to this specific girl. Angela had her own way of making people speak about their deepest, darkest secrets.

After a moment of silence, JJ spoke again.

"This is one more reason why you remind me so much of Emily. You both have this weird way of making people feel good."

Angie smiled, retrieving her hand before they'd look like a smitten couple, holding hands at the Diner.

"What about Emily? Did she ever hide something huge from you, guys?" Angie threaded lightly. She didn't want to come off like she was prying information out of Emily's best friend, but at the same time…this was exactly what she was doing.

"Apart from this one guy she knew, who then came after her and she ran in order to save her team, I don't think she's hid anything huge. Not that we know of, anyway."

"But, if she did, would you guys hate her for it?" Angie kept going with the questions.

JJ didn't mind, but she also felt like Angie had a bit too specific questions to ask.

"At this point, after so many years, I don't think either of us could hate her, no matter what she might have hidden from us. We all know about Emily's secretive past and she isn't one to trust people so easily, which is why it amuses me how close she's gotten to you, so incredibly quickly."

"So, it wouldn't change the way you guys see her?" Angie ignored the last part, where Emily had gotten close to her quickly. That was not the main reason for her impromptu interrogation.

"I don't think so. Maybe Spence would feel differently, as he was beyond destroyed and disappointed in her the last time she pulled a stunt on us. But the rest of the team would be just fine." JJ's honesty was refreshing. It was everything Angie needed to hear.

"She really hit the jackpot with you. I mean, all of you." Angie muttered quietly, thinking how those people have changed Emily's life.

"It's us that hit the jackpot with her, really. We sometimes joke that Garcia is the glue that holds us together, but it really is Emily, especially since she became Unit Chief. She always puts the team first, even if it hurts her or if it goes against her beliefs." JJ said quietly as well.

After that, they both focused on their food, discussing less intense topics, such as traveling for work with the BAU jet, which Angie had a million additional questions about.


"I really like this one." Emily held a cheese slice in her hand while Richard was already unpacking the take-away food they had grabbed on their way to the chateau.

"I figured you would. It's one of France's finest cheese types. It's associated with the French aristocracy and if you go somewhere and it's on a platter, you're surely at the home of someone sophisticated." He commented, placing a box of food in front of her and handing her a fork.

"I don't really like the aristocracy too much. There's so much more to those people, underneath the layers of poshness, expensive clothes and the political-scented cloud of lies hanging above their heads." Emily shared her thoughts.

She had been brought up in absolute lavishness. She knew that life and she also knew what that life was really all about. So, as soon as she was legal to go on her own, she had extracted herself from the pain and misery that the political world entailed.

"To be honest, I'm not a fan either. I just like the posh food and the expensive wine. Everything else I can live without." He laughed, making Emily wonder exactly how posh his real life really was.

She had seen his penthouse, which was amazing, and she knew he had one too many cars. But, how had he gotten it all? He didn't seem to care about spending large sums of money and he was more than well-connected. Not to mention the way some people had bowed to his feet when he had introduced himself.

Then again, he had once told her he hated politics, specifically. So, at least this was not a thought that could bother her any longer. She refused to believe there is a future out there for her, in which she'd be forced back into the world of politics and drama.

And then she smiled again, realizing for the hundredth time that her inner thoughts inevitably always took her to a future place where she knew she wanted Richard, by her side.

"I can't remember the last time I heard this…" Emily looked out towards the gardens and so did Richard.

Apart from some flowers, freshly cut decorative bushes and trees, they saw nothing. And apart from the whistling of the wind, they heard nothing.

"Silence." She added dreamily.

"Yeah, I've heard way too much noise in my life recently, as well." He nodded his head, taking one more sip of wine before he re-filled both of their glasses.

"You know, there was a time in my life when silence freaked me out." She laughed. Saying it out loud felt weird.

"I remember I'd play the TV loudly and I'd listen to a podcast or something, but the moment I heard silence, I didn't know how to deal with it. And now, strangely, I feel this huge need for silence and just peace. Not that I necessarily want it to last too long, or that I want to be on my own, for the long run. But just…silence…you know…" She continued before she finally tasted the food.

It was delicious. They had grabbed a rice dish to share and some other boxes of things to try. Her favorite were the tiny deep-fried cheese balls with paprika salt.

"Silence puts you in that calm state of mind where you can close your eyes and enjoy the moment. Like you can see memories from your past, just flashing in front of you." He added, making Emily turn to face him with a smile.

It's like he understood her, completely. Like he knew exactly what she was talking about and like it was exactly what he felt the need for, at this point in his life as well.


"Oooh, I love darts!" Angie commented on their way out of the Diner.

There was a corner, by the door, with a bunch of dart boards and a Pinball machine.

"No, please don't do this to yourself. We've only just started to maybe get along, I don't want you to go back to hating my guts after I humiliate you at darts! I'm warning you – it's like a national sport back where I come from! My hometown was too small for a bowling alley." JJ laughed and walked over to the Pinball machine instead.

"Fine then, Pinball it is." Angie smiled and procured them a few coins.

JJ played first and she was surprisingly good at it. When it was Angie's turn, she was clueless. She just hit the buttons without any sort of game strategy and she didn't even seem to be aiming at something.

The first game ended with JJ having three times the points, even after she had tried to tame her inner winner down.

"Great, I guess I can add Pinball to my long list of things I absolutely suck at." Angie said cheerfully, starting a new game.

It didn't matter that she had lost, she liked to play and she wanted to try and improve her points.

"Have you ever tried shuffleboard?" JJ asked.

Angie quickly googled what the heck this thing was before she'd answer.

"Oh, Hell no! That game looks absolutely terrifying! I feel like one of those round things…disks, whatever they're called, is going to fly to my face and at the very least break all of my perfect, cute lil' front teeth!" Angie's reply now made JJ laugh uncontrollably.

"What kind of games do you like to play then? Board games? Monopoly and such?" JJ was curious.

Back where she was from, it was all about the tiny Arcade place in her small town, where all the kids hung out, all the time. It was how she had gotten to be the darts champion that the BAU now loved to hate, when they had to play against her.

"I prefer different types of games." Angie's reply was vague. It left a lot to the imagination.

If it had been Emily to ask her that, then Angie would surely have made it sound like her reply hinted at something sexual, just to mess with Emily a little. But it was JJ and she didn't have that kind of a connection with her. Maybe not just yet. If ever. So, she played it safe and replied in her usual mysterious way.

"I really like rollerblading. I know this place where they play loud music and there's disco lights and you're just out there with a bunch of people, wearing weird 80's themed clothes and having a blast. Henry used to love going there and I can't deny that I was enjoying myself, too. Mickey is afraid of skates, so he would always have a hissy fit and demand he'd go someplace else with his daddy while Henry and I skate."

Angie saw a spark in JJ's eyes. She had noticed it the previous time they had a conversation and it only ever came up when she spoke about her kids.

"I suck on rollerblades and I have the scars on my knees to prove it." Angie laughed, this was not the type of fun activity she liked to partake in. "I do like ice-skating, though. But only when the rink is nearly empty, so I can go around and make a fool out of myself as much as I want. I always end up on my arse when I try to spin around or – God forbid, make a small jump. I'm just not good on anything with wheels, I guess. That includes cars. I hate driving. It's fun and even relaxing the first half an hour, especially if I drive at night, on an empty road, but then I get bored and impatient to get to where I need to be and I just…ugh, it's a stressful thing, okay?"

JJ noticed how Angie said 'arse', as a British person would. She meant to ask her about it, but then forgot as soon as her words about driving made her laugh again.

"Then I guess you'd hate the Go Karting outing that Tara has planned for next month." JJ mentioned.

"Well, I'm not even invited, but the truth is that out of anything that has to do with wheels, maybe Go Karting is the coolest thing, in my opinion. I've done it quite a few times and it's quite enjoyable. Oh God, don't you dare think I'm good at it, though!" She shook her head, thinking of all the many times when she had finished a race last. She could not care less.

"Oh? But Tara mentioned you the other day, she said she'd like to invite you." JJ spoke while starting last turn to play, for the second game of Pinball.

"I haven't hung out with her, maybe that's why. She literally hasn't had the chance to see me recently. She was already gone when I popped by the BAU earlier." Angie was not worried about not being invited yet.

"About that…" JJ trailed off for a few seconds, just to make her last shot sweet, scoring double the points before the lights in the machine went mad. "We kind of like it when you pop by. You're always welcome around. I know you're super busy with the Academy, but if you ever have time and if you want to, just come over, okay?"

"Thanks." Angie said before getting in the zone, mentally preparing herself for her last turn in the game.

No matter how hard she tried this time, she still lost to JJ with at least half the points that JJ had accumulated. But she wasn't bitter about it at all. In fact, she laughed it off both times. Angie was smart enough to know that winning was not the most important thing, at least when leisure activities were involved.


"Do we both agree that silence is good, but we've just reached the point where it is weird now?" Emily asked cheekily.

They'd spent about half an hour in complete silence, both enjoying the random little sounds – the wind blowing the tree branches, the water in the fountain spurting everywhere, birds chirping around them.

"Agreed." He smiled, looking at her laying next to him.

"Maybe we can talk about…stuff…" He added, instantly seeing Emily tense up.

"Or…not…" He ended off lamely.

Oh, Emily knew exactly the stuff he wanted to discuss with her – who he was, what he did for a living and what this huge grey cloud over their heads really was.

She wanted none of it.

She had known the truth about Ian Doyle and she had fallen for him, nonetheless. She had hated herself for enough years so far and the last thing she needed now was to know that the next guy she'd developed feelings for was also a criminal. Plus, with her being FBI, she'd need to report his activity and put those handcuffs on him, just not in the sexy way she'd dreamt of doing, just before traveling to see him in Paris.

Her mood going downwards was granted – both of them expected it. But she noticed how much he started feeling ill-at-ease.

"Why the rush?" She asked breathlessly.

She'd had this weird feeling that each time Richard would look at her, the truth was on the tip of his tongue, ready to be spoken.

"Because the more we wait, the worse it will be."

"For you or for me?" She asked.

"For both, but since I know the truth already, then I guess it will be a thousand times harder for you."

Emily nibbled on her bottom lip, realizing it was a better bet to speak to him before things would go wrong.

However, in true Prentiss fashion, she decided to go against her common sense once again.

"I don't want you to see me differently-…" She started to say, but his index finger pressed against her lips, silencing her.

"I need you to be absolutely sure of this – whatever you decide to share about you, I could never look at you differently."

Emily rolled her eyes, contemplating all the things she could say.

"I used to be a spy. Then I was FBI, then I was in Interpol and then I went back to the FBI." She thought to herself, chuckling as this sounded like the plot of a really bad movie.

"I slept with the worst criminal on the planet Earth and then I caught feelings for him. Oh and I also absolutely adore his son. And that's not all…" She sighed as those words invaded her thoughts.

"I was in a relationship with my employee in London. Absolutely no feelings, on both sides, just pure and brainless fun. And yes, that includes in the office, as well." She wasn't proud of it, but it had been fun, for the time being, sneaking around with Mark from the Interpol office.

"I've died a few times already. The last time I actually coded in the ambulance." She continued to dive into her thoughts about all the things she might need to tell him about herself – things that would inevitably change how he'd see her.

However, this time, with this last thought, something was different.

"Oh…" He commented, at which point she realized she'd said this last thing out loud.

"Shit." Emily blew out some air. What an idiot, how could she ever say such a thing out loud!?

"So have I." He said in the most nonchalant, calm and casual way, his right shoulder rising a bit as if he was shrugging the severity of the statement off.

"The fuck…" She whispered underneath her nose.

He caught her off guard. How could he be so calm? And how could it be that the absolute worst thing that had happened in her life, had happened in his, as well!?

Her head rested on his shoulder and she gazed in the distance without saying a word for the next few minutes.

Apparently silence was better.

…until he broke it.

"I'd see you just the same, no matter if you tell me you're a stripper, the US President or a janitor at an elementary school."

His words made her smile, but she kept her silence.

"There is a lot we need to discuss about us, Emily…" He started off.

"The envelope?" She assumed it was all in those papers inside the envelope he'd given her way back.

He nodded.

"The envelope contains the facts. It does not explain how I feel about you…how I've felt about you…"

The accent he put on the past tense of that verb made her shiver.

Felt? Come on, he'd only known her for a month or so. Then again, in French one would need to use the past simple tense, to say the same thing, so maybe he was just translating directly from his native language.

Or…was he?

"Well, I have the damn envelope. I will open it when I want to. Why are you so set out to clear things up so quickly?" She tried to negotiate.

He'd been pushing her to talk about this stuff every single time they'd been together.

"Because of my previous statement."

Emily groaned. He was like a dog with a bone.

"I just don't get it…you say you don't care what my past is, what my job is, who I am…"

"I don't give a flying fuck, as you Americans would say."

Emily smirked, approving of his foul language.

"Then what's the problem!?"

"You would care about mine." He stated calmly.

Emily gulped, thinking to herself: 'Not another Ian Doyle situation, God…please!'

"I did promise to hear you out, didn't I?" She said a bit too defensively.

For the life of her, she couldn't understand his problem.

"You did. But you will break that promise."

"No, I won't!" Her face turned towards him, so he could see she was offended by his assumption.

"Watch yourself do so." He challenged.

A million thoughts invaded her mind.

Why?

How?

What was so bad that he just knew she was going to cut him off?

"I made you a promise. We have a pact. I'm a woman of my word. Well, most times." She smirked. "I will keep my promise, I promise. Wait, okay, that sounded weird, but you know what I mean…"

"Emily…" He paused for a second, choosing his next words very wisely. "Think of the only reason why you might break your promise to me."

She took the challenge and instantly only one thing came to mind – Angela.

If whatever he had to say would impact Angela in any kind of way, she would crush his skull without blinking.

When she looked at his face once more, he just nodded, as if saying 'Exactly!' to her thoughts. Not that he would know what she was thinking about, anyways.

"Oh God. Why did I think this was light and fun and enjoyable…" Emily shook her head.

"It can be. It depends on your promise, which I know for a fact you are going to break."

"One question…" She gathered the courage. "Is whatever you need to tell me, bad? Like, is it going to harm me or the people I love? Would it change anything?"

"That was more than one question, but the answer is the same to all." He replied wittily.

"And the answer is…?"

"I'm curious to know what you think my answer will be." He challenged.

"Maybe?" Emily suggested uncomfortably.

His hand just slid on her shoulder, holding her close to him.

"Try again, Emily."

"Sort of…?"

He laughed, silently giving her one more try.

"Possibly…"

"Emily!" He gasped.

He'd assumed that by giving her three chances to say the right answer, the options would gradually get more optimistic.

But no, not with Emily Prentiss.

"Ugh, what's the answer then?"

"You won't believe it, anyways."

"Try me!"

"Not at all." He finally gave her the real answer.

"Hmm." She raised an eyebrow. "For real?"

"For absolute real!"

"It won't change a thing?"

"Not a single damn thing. That is, of course, if you let me explain, which you won't."

"Stop assuming things about me!" She hissed. "You don't know me!"

"I do." He smiled at her upset face. "Oh, I do!"

"If you did, you'd know I'll give you the chance I've promised you."

"Once again – think of the one thing that might make you break your promise."

Emily once again thought about Angela. Not about her job, her life, her reputation, her team even.

Nope.

Angela.

"If my reason was a person, would your truth hurt them?" She inquired.

"If your reason for breaking your promise was a person, I can assure you that my truth will only benefit them, in the best of ways: for them, for you, for me, for us and our future."

She was confused now.

"That is, of course, if-…" He tried to continue, but she interrupted him and continued the sentence.

"…if I let you explain it all. I get it."

He chose not to let her know how adorable she was when she'd roll her eyes at him, with this attitude.

"Please, never forget that! There will come a time when I will count on your promise to me. Okay?"

"Okay, but please drop it now. I really don't want to hear it, not just yet."

"Alright. I just thought you'd want to control the when and how the truth will come out. Because, trust me…it would."

"I do. Just…not yet." She once again decided that this was the best decision, for her.

Oh, was she wrong…

"Macaron?" He offered, holding a small box of French sweets in front of her.

He figured food was the best change of subject.

She hesitantly took one, but Richard could tell she was deep in thought. She was gazing right trough him, possibly trying to figure out if she was an idiot to not be taking any of those chances he was giving her - chances to come clean about it all.

Which, yes, she most certainly was an idiot. But he wasn't going to tell her that.

He tried his best to avoid making eye contact with her. Instead, he stared at the distance.

The more he stared, the more the shadow of the most important person in his life started to appear. He saw it right by the fountain, remembering how this person had enjoyed throwing cents in there, making silent wishes for their future. Together.

He pursed his lips, realizing that currently they had no life, not together anyways. And he would do anything in his power to change that, but not at the expense of something else - the something he had with Emily. Ideally, he'd have both, but he was finding it harder to believe it would happen, one day.

"My reason for wanting to tell you is also a person. Just…for the record. I will shut up now." He blurted out quickly, before his brain would register the stupidity of bringing back the topic he'd been forced to change just minutes ago.

"And is my denial hurting them in any way?" Emily asked, expecting the same answer he'd given her about her reason, her person: Not at all!

"Absolutely. Yes!"

Many times in her life, Emily Prentiss had felt like an idiot, like a selfish asshole who'd let people down, let her own self down, screw someone over and just generally act like an absolute bitch. Not so much recently, but she definitely had such regrets in her past.

And yet, this pit in her stomach when she heard Richard's answer now, kind of broke her heart.

The Devil inside of her tried reminding her that she was now hurting someone she didn't even know, so why care!?

The Angel, however, screamed at her for hurting someone special to the someone she claimed to be special to her. How could she!?

"If only just for this reason alone – I vow to never break my promise to you!" She announced.

"You will, Emily." He pushed. "To you, your reason would be way more important to you, considering you know nothing about my reason."

"What if both are equally as important?" She tried to argue, realizing a bit too late that she was arguing against her own case.

"They are. They are basically the same exact reason. Remember those words."

"Okay." She backed down.

Who was she to judge his relationship with someone important to him? He'd never judged her for feeling so strongly about this girl Angela, whom he'd never even seen.

"Ugh, great timing!" Richard groaned, hearing his phone ring.

"Actually, I don't mind the timing. I could use some more silence. No offence." She said honestly, needing a moment to reflect.

"That's great, because this is work and I must get that…"

"No problem." She smiled.

"…I uh…need to…" He hated having to do this, but he retrieved his hand from her shoulder and he made a motion as if he wanted to get up from the blanket.

"Oh damn it, just pick up the phone and go wherever you want to. I can take care of myself." She chuckled.

It almost felt like he didn't want to leave her side, but she couldn't figure out if it was in a protective kind of way or he just really didn't want her to listen to his work conversation.

He stood up reluctantly and he walked off quickly after he'd picked up and only said "Oui" to whoever was on the other side of the call.

Emily reached for another macaron. Screw dieting and healthy food. She loved French sweets.

"Richard?"

"Yo, Richard?"

"DUDE?"

"Stop screaming! I was walking away." Richard finally answered to the other person's annoying attempts of making him speak.

"Yeah, about that…I'm sorry to ruin a date, but…"

"What's going on?" Richard asked.

"Uhm, so Sasha has kind of gone rogue."

"What's new?" Richard smirked. He'd taught her well.

"She uh, she's on a plane to Germany right now."

"Good. She may actually finalize the job now."

"Come on! She's walking right into the lion's den!"

"Victor, calm down. She knows exactly what she's doing. She's been doing this job for too long."

"Yeah, but you know what happened with Marie…"

"Yeah, we got her back, didn't we?"

"Right, but-…"

"Victor, don't forget who runs things here!"

Richard's stern voice, combined with those words he'd never used with his employees, made Victor freeze in place.

"Did it go bad?" Victor asked, knowing that the 'talk about the truth' was bound to happen with Emily.

"It didn't go!" Richard said grumpily. "She doesn't want to hear it."

"Oh man, you are so screwed!"

"I know. She keeps promising to give me the chance to explain, though…"

"She won't, bro! We know how she is – she won't!"

"Yeah, which is why I said the previous thing with irony, in case you didn't catch that."

Victor could imagine Richard was fuming right now. And with good reason.

"Should I send back up to the Berlin airport?" Richard added, changing the topic.

He hated the topic of the 'truth'. At this point, it was just this annoying cloud of rain, constantly hovering on top of him.

"No, no. She's fine."

"Which alias did she use for the tickets?"

"Sarah."

"Good. Sarah has the strongest background."

"You know, if Arianna was there, the two of them would get this thing over and done with in a day, right?"

"Yes, Victor, I know! I also know why Arianna is unavailable to us at the moment."

"Right." Victor bit on his lip. "Riiight…"

"I swear, I'm about to go insane here."

"Stupid question, but for what reason, exactly?"

"Emily…"

"Ah." Victor exclaimed. "Well, we all knew this was going to be a crazy ride."

"Yeah, but I am the only one dealing with this."

"True. Brother, I owe you drinks when she's back to the US."

"Mhm, you do." Richard sighed, looking over to where Emily laid on the blanket.

She looked comfortable, resting her head on her bag, with one foot on top of the other, her eyes closed and seemingly deeply in thought.

"Let me know when Sasha lands, okay?" Richard asked.

"Yess, Boss. Don't worry, I'm holding the front here. You just enjoy your time with Emily."

"Yeah, easier said than done. That woman is set out to destroy my mental health with her denial, Goddamn it!"

Victor just laughed.

"Oh, one last thing…" Richard added. "Is Sasha getting the drugs from Gunther's crew?"

"Yes. I spoke to Hans before I called you – shipment is ready. She will get the delivery in the apartment we booked for her. Everything is under control."

"Top quality, right?"

"Yeah, it's the good stuff. I made sure of it."

"Good. I don't want any hurdles for this deal. And I want Sasha back in Paris by the weekend. Alive, naturally!"

"Richard, I've got this. Don't worry. If something goes sideways, I'll let you know immediately."

"Thanks, man. You're the best!"

"Now go before Emily gets suspicious."

"Ha! I wish she would! Sometimes I just want this whole thing to blow up in her face already, so I can deal with the consequences."

"Eww, Richard, how could you say that!?"

"That's how I feel, okay!? It's killing me and I can't help it."

"Then again – you're right. It's a horrible situation to be put in."

"No shit!?" Richard scoffed. "Alright, talk to you later. And please sign the stuff on my desk for me, okay? I need this mailed by the end of tomorrow and I'm quite sure I can't have Emily as a guest over there, so…"

"Haha, can you imagine Emily strutting down the office hallways!?"

"Oh, I can imagine everyone queuing to get her autograph." Richard laughed out loud. "Alright, gotta go. Call me with updates.

"Oui, bye."

"Bye." Richard hung up and made his way back to the picnic set up.

"All good?" Emily asked.

He put two thumbs up, but in reality he was worried beyond limits. He trusted Sasha, but this was dangerous and she was the most spontaneous person on his team. Well, the second most spontaneous, after a certain girl named Arianna…and Ashley…and Amy…and Addie…

"Where did the macarons go?"

Looking at the box, Emily had been nice enough to leave one for him. One, out of eight.

"Oopsie." She chuckled.

Emily Prentiss never chuckled. This was not part of her brand.

With him, however, she was doing things that she never imagined she'd ever do.

"Ah, come here…you Sweet Monster…" He opened his arms for her and she gladly laid next to him, letting him hold her.

She didn't even cringe when he placed a small kiss on her head, as if she was a child. Emily hated displays of affection, but with him, it was all different.

They stayed in silence for the next half an hour before the conversation picked up in a much lighter tone as they discussed what they could do on the following day.

Weirdly enough, even after the hard conversation they'd had earlier, Emily felt completely at peace next to him – no pressure, no worry, no fear.

Calm.

Just calm.

It was both comforting and annoying to be so damn calm, given the circumstances.


REVIEW REPLIES:

"rmpcmfan" Awh, I think Luke is adorable :P (in the series, he's a cute lil' cookie, yay!). Angie definitely needs some time away from the Academy, lol...but I don't think this is possible at this point, with all the trainings and exams they have each week. However, there may be more snippets with these two coming up...maybe... :) In fact, your latest review inspired a certain upcoming chapter :)! Hey, did you start receiving notifications again? Hope my tip worked. It seems to be working okay for me now.

"sweetkid45" Hey! Thanks for the support. I haven't abandoned the story, don't worry hehe, I don't have such plans. There's a looot more to come, I just need time for editing before posting what I've already written ahead. There's plenty of action as well, to look forward to :)!