CHAPTER 146

LICKING YOUR LIPS AND ASKING FOR MORE

Emily inhaled sharply, as soon as she walked in the Bullpen, early on Friday morning. It smelled just the same as she remembered it from last week and she was happy to be back, even though it was weird to come back on a Friday, only to then have the weekend off, after she'd been away for basically all the work-week. But there were absolutely no regrets.

She walked up to her office and started laughing uncontrollably when she saw a white flag, hanging from the doorknob. Next to it there was a sticky note, secured with a bit of scotch, as it did have to stay there overnight since someone had put it on Thursday evening before going home.

"In case you're mad at me: I'm sorry, I love you, I take full responsibility and I will meet my punishment without regrets!"

The first sentence stated and Emily just kept on laughing.

"In case you're NOT mad at me: You are welcome, I hope you had an amazing time, I love you and I'm the best friend ever, which means I deserve to know ALL the JUICY details!"

The second sentence sent Emily into hysterical laughter.

JJ had made sure she'd be the last one to leave the office the previous night and she knew it for a fact that Emily would be the first one in, the next morning, so it was safe to leave such a note on her door. But just to be sure, she'd written 'Confidential' on top.

Emily opened the door and walked in. Being somewhat obsessed with the order of the objects in her office, and also her home, she instantly noticed a few discrepancies.

Why was her chair facing sideways? Maybe JJ had left it like this, she would have surely needed to enter the office, to do some work when Emily was gone.

Why was the framed photo of Paris tilted to the left? Emily always made it a point to have it be perfectly aligned with the edge of the shelf it sat on.

Why was one of her drawers cracked open? She remembered having grabbed a small ring from it, on her way out, last time she had been in her office. She had then pushed it shut with her thigh and she never looked back. Maybe that was why it hadn't shut all the way through?

She shook her head, deciding that she was most definitely acting paranoid. Too much time off was not a good thing for her. She needed to get back to her schedule and to get tons of work done. There was certainly a lot of catching up to be done.

All was good until she got thirsty. Without fussing about it, she let her hand open the drawer and grab her water bottle, while she was busy reading something on her computer screen.

She opened it and brought it to her lips after she figured there was still water left inside. It felt quite heavy and almost halfway full. And then…

"What the Hell…" She muttered, catching a glimpse of the edge of the bottle.

The redness didn't bother her. She knew it was her own lipstick, the one that looked amazing on her lips, but it stained everything it touched – mugs, bottles, cups, and it was incredibly stubborn when it stained one of her shirts. She hated that lipstick, but also, she loved it too, at the same time.

It was the hot pink color that was bothering her. Emily never wore pink lipstick and neither did JJ or Tara. At most, it could have been Garcia's, but Emily knew for a fact that Garcia was going through a phase of 'eww, everyone is disgusting' after Reid had given her a lecture on the transference of germs through badly washed cups or cutlery. Garcia refused to touch something with her lips if she hadn't personally washed it, twice, before using. There was no way she would have drunk from a bottle that already had greasy red lipstick stains on it. Just…no way!

Emily shook her head. The only other plausible culpable person was out of question. There was no possible way in which they would have been there for long enough to do that to her bottle. She was so confused.

It didn't bother her enough, so she drank from the bottle anyway. Running her tongue against her lips she felt a sticky strawberry flavor that she was not familiar with.

Trying to focus back on her computer screen, clearing out all the e-mails she had received and deciding which ones she had to reply to, she relaxed a little bit and forgot about the lipstick. That was until…

"What on Earth!?" She gasped when she looked towards the sofa and noticed something on the ground.

Screw the e-mails, she had to investigate.

Seconds later, she was kneeling down next to the sofa, holding the object in her hands. If her desk had been messed with by JJ, then who the Hell left a tiny torch underneath the couch? It was still on, but the light coming out of it was faint, as the batteries were nearly dead. The profiler in her estimated the approximate time of the crime at maximum two days ago. Those batteries were the cheap brand, she knew for a fact they would not last longer than two days, if even this much.

Something else caught her eye. On the side of the couch she saw a piece of fabric, poking through the hole. She removed the top part of the couch, only to find her favorite blazer on top of her Go Bag, in one of the storage compartments underneath. The fabric she had seen was from a shirt that had gotten stuck while closing the compartments.

"That was surely inside the Go Bag! I had it with me for the last case…which reminds me I never unpacked all of this crap and I never washed those clothes. Gross." She cringed, but this wasn't the biggest of her worries at that moment.

Bringing the blazer to her face, she could feel the scent of Dior perfume. As if she didn't already know exactly whose fault this whole mess was, but this final clue really nailed it, for her.

It made her smile, for some reason. And then she made it a point to go see Angela that evening.

"Are you mad?" A soft voice startled her.

Turning around, she saw JJ by the door, waiting to figure out Emily's mood before she'd walk further in.

"Come here, you…" Emily said cheerfully, standing up and walking towards her with open arms.

"Okay, I take it you're not mad." JJ sighed with relief before she hugged Emily. "It's so good to have you back!"

"Of course I'm not mad. Are you joking? This was the most amazing thing someone has ever done for me!" Emily smiled, inviting her in.

"ChayChay, I was only gone for four days." Emily added, chuckling at how tightly JJ was hugging her.

"Yeah, but it felt like an eternity without you here. But I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. Now…?" JJ sat on the chair in front of Emily's desk and looked at her expectantly.

"What? Here? Now?" Emily raised an eyebrow.

There was never a limit to the places where those two discussed private matters at, but 8 am on a Friday morning, in Emily's office was a new low for both of them.

"Yes! I want the good details!" JJ smirked.

"Okay, uh…" Emily could already feel her cheeks starting to blush.

"Oh my God! No way!" JJ gasped when she heard only the things that had happened on the first day in Paris.

Weirdly, Emily did not hold anything back. She even told her about the incident with the 'get lucky bra' and how she had decided to get rid of it, after all the years of faithful service.

"Ooh, I'm sorry, Ems." JJ pat her on the shoulder when the story reached the moment that Richard had muttered 'wrong size' while discarding the box of condoms that JJ had graciously put in the luggage.

JJ's mind automatically thought she had gone one size too big.

Emily let her have a moment to be upset about it before she smirked.

"No!" JJ gasped again, coming to the conclusion that she had gotten a size too small, instead.

"But these were already the big ones…" JJ whimpered. "I hate you, Emily Prentiss!" She added, in a fit of jealousy.

"In my defense, I had no idea when I fell for him." Emily smirked innocently.

"Oh, fell for him, huh?" JJ winked at her playfully.

"I don't know, JJ. This is so weird, it's all…new to me."

"That's because you've never really cared about someone before, Em. And look at you all smitten now. You're glowing. I swear to God, Emily, you are glowing!"

Emily was sure she was beyond blushing now.

She went on to tell her about the Spy Game and the picnic by the chateau and everything else they had experienced together.

At some point, JJ wiped tears from her eyes. She couldn't help getting a bit emotional about it. Emily was doing a great job at acting normal, but JJ was a mess. She was beyond happy for Emily.

"I'm mostly proud of you for finally using a Jacuzzi the way it's supposed to be used." JJ smirked, remembering that playful photo message Emily had sent her.

"Yeah, I have to admit, I thought I would hate this whole…experience." Emily pursed her lips. She had already denied Richard any sort of fun in the shower, but she had been beyond curious about the Jacuzzi instead, so she had caved in.

"But I found it to be oddly satisfying. No pun intended. Well, maybe a bit of pun intended." Emily added, in her usual dorky fashion.

"Now, walk me through what I've missed, before the team gets here." Emily urged her, as it was almost 9 o'clock now and they had already been chatting for an hour.

JJ had made it a point to get there an hour earlier, so she could get all the scoop before the workday started. She could have easily heard it all in the evening, over glasses of wine, but she was sure she would not have lasted even an hour without asking Emily about it all. And given how they had a lot to do that day, she wanted to get it out of her system beforehand.

JJ spoke for a few minutes, briefing Emily on everything major.

"Oh crap, I already had documents to sort out and fill in. I can only imagine what that pile looks like now, a week later." Emily tapped her forehead with one hand, suddenly realizing that all the fun was done. It was back to work now and she had to dive right in.

JJ pulled a big stack of documents from a compartment, underneath Emily's desk.

"Good God, oh, this hurts my eyes." Emily cringed, imagining the hours she had to spend, filling all of those papers.

"They're all done." JJ said with a smile, showing Emily a few of the top papers, all ready to be filed away in storage.

"Angela helped me out on Monday. And the ones that came into your office during the week, I just did on my own whenever I had the time." JJ informed her.

Emily was a bit confused which fact was more incredible: that JJ had done so much of her workload or that she had done some of it with someone who wouldn't even look at her?

"Oh, so it was Angela who wore my blazer and used my bottle?" It was a rhetorical question, but Emily felt the need to say it out loud.

"What? No. She did no such thing. She had her own water bottle and she wore her Academy uniform, as she came over during her lunch break on Monday." JJ informed her.

Then, when did Angie find the time and opportunity to sneak back into Emily's office? Because, she surely had done just that.

"And then Wednesday she only came halfway up the stairs before we went to dinner – her and I." JJ added, confusing Emily even more.

"Hold on! Are you messing with me? Are we talking about the same Angela here?"

"Yeah." JJ was toying with Emily. She was excited to tell her that they had met up and had actually gotten along pretty fine, but she was only giving some bits of information and making Emily work for the rest.

"Girl, I just told you about my boyfriend's…you know what. So, I believe you owe me a couple of straightforward answers, as well." Emily folded her arms, expecting JJ to spill it.

"Boyfriend? Awh, so official!" JJ teased.

"We haven't put a label on it. And it proved to be weird to not have a label. Anyway, back to Angela…" Emily urged her.

"I sure hope you had the 'exclusive dating' talk, though." JJ could not help but add. "Alright, since you forgot about your Monday morning plans with the girl, she came here, looking for you. And since I'm the most wonderful best friend in the world and I better be your Maid of honor or I'd be pissed, I totally lied my ass off and saved yours, in the process. So, we ended up training together and then we had breakfast and she came here after her classes, to help me with the documents."

"That we did. We both needed to know where we stand. I would have pulled the plug if he had said he'd be interested in dating other people as well." Emily was beaming, now that she knew that they were exclusive. They hadn't labeled this relationship, but whatever it was, it was exclusive and she liked that fact.

"How did you bribe her to do that?" She asked, when it came to Angela.

"I didn't. She offered and she also insisted on paying for the breakfast." JJ crossed her legs and sat back in the chair.

"What did you talk about?"

"Both Monday and Wednesday the conversation kind of revolved around our time at the Academy, and the job, stuff like that. She was really curious about Henry and Mickey, so I ended up inviting her to Henry's birthday. Also, Tara wants to extend an invitation to her, for the Go Kart thing she organized for next week, but she hasn't really seen her and we don't have her phone number. So, maybe you could be the messenger?" JJ suggested.

"No, I'm sure Tara will find a way to invite her personally." To Emily it sounded a bit impersonal if she had to invite someone to someone else's event.

"Oh, by the way, Angela is super easy to talk to. I have no idea how she does it, but she could look at you and make you tell her things you've never told a soul before. I don't know if I should be impressed or scared of that." JJ added.

"Yeah, she does have a way of getting under your skin." A small smile appeared on Emily's lips as she thought of all the things Angie had made her say or feel since they had started hanging out.

"How are things at home?" Emily asked the thing that has been on her mind for a while now.

"Good. The whole therapy thing really worked in our favor, but we've stopped going. I guess it was just a phase Will needed to shake off and then things went back to normal. Will doesn't hate you, by the way. He feels really guilty about everything."

"Water under the bridge, as far as I'm concerned. But if he acts out again and if he hurts you or the lil' monsters you two have created, I'm going after him and he better be ready!" Emily stated before she moved on to a different topic. She knew that JJ was reserved when she spoke about her home life, even with Emily.

"I guess I'll show my face around here this weekend and work on those, instead." Emily pointed at something she had written down on her To Do list, on the small notebook that she kept on top of her desk.

"Nope. Those are all done, as well." JJ smiled. "And don't get me wrong, but I'm good with only just playing Unit Chief. I kind of don't ever want to get this title. First of all, because it would mean you won't be here and that is not an option, and secondly, because all this paperwork has driven me insane. I don't know how you do it all the time. It's all calculations, theories, papers, documents, files, ugh. I'm happy to step in, when you need me, but that's as far as it goes. I'm terrified of what your title consists of and I've only done it for four days. I do, however, fancy your salary…" She ended off cheekily.

Emily's only reaction was a small and very forced smile. Her team was in the dark about a few things, connected to the budget and one of those things was the fact that when budget cuts had hit the different Units, Emily had bargained her ass off to be able to keep some of the BAU's privileges, at the cost of quite the cut from her usual salary. In theory, she was paying those privileges with her own salary. Practically though, the Bureau was paying it all and not paying Emily her full salary. It was all politics, she didn't want to bore anyone with the specifics of that arrangement. All she knew was that it worked for her and it was what was best for the team. The bottom line was, Emily Prentiss, the Unit Chief, was now getting paid less than what either one of her Agents was getting on a monthly basis. And she was fine with it, even when she had to do double the work that everyone else put in. It was worth it. They were her family!

"Okay, let me put this differently…" Emily turned to face JJ, somehow she figured there was more that JJ was not telling her about. "Is there anything left for me to do or have you been an absolute doll while I was away and you made sure that I could also have the weekend off, when I got back?"

"Well, I don't mean to brag, but…" JJ dusted her shoulder, a gesture to show her how proud she was of herself. "I kind of didn't leave anything for you to do. You can sleep in, work on that jet lag and then make sure you have a great weekend off before we kick it in on Monday."

"I don't say this enough, but I love you, Jennifer Jareau!" Emily stated with a grin.

"I'm sorry, am I interrupting?" Tara showed her face through the open door of Emily's office, right about at that moment.

"Hey, come in. JJ was walking me through everything you guys did this week. Have to say, I'm impressed. I kind of thought I'd find this place on fire, with glitter blowing from the air vents." Emily laughed and stood up to greet Tara.

"Good to have you back, Boss!" Tara greeted her politely. "I just got my results from that online course you enrolled me in. I did the exam yesterday and apparently, I passed! They're mailing my certificate next week. I'm not going to lie, it does feel good to be a bit of a nerd."

Emily could not help but feel proud. At a moment when the BAU was constantly being attacked, she had taken the decision to enroll everyone in a different class that may potentially help them out later on, during some case. She hadn't been sure whether her idea would be met with approval, but she had been pleasantly surprised to see how everyone jumped at the chance for some professional growth. Of course she would be proud to have such motivated people on her team.

"Oh, that reminds me – Spence got invited to give a lecture at the University of Florida in two weeks. He planned out the whole thing and he even has a PowerPoint presentation. Can you imagine? Spence and technology!?" JJ added to Emily's reasons to be proud.

"Which reminds me…where were you?" Tara asked. She had been way too curious and she had asked everyone, but nobody knew a thing. JJ had kept her mouth shut and had only said that Emily told her she had to take care of some personal stuff.

"I uh, I was…it was a personal matter." Emily stuttered, but it was somewhat of a good reply. Nobody ever dared push Emily to explain her personal stuff. They just knew it would never happen.

Luckily for her, she heard voices downstairs and she figured it was time to go down and greet whoever was just getting in. Emily asked for a meeting where they discussed some work matters from this week and, at the end, they inevitably started to goof around and ended up having a second meeting by the coffee machine.

"You are glowing!" Rossi commented, walking two steps behind everyone, with Emily by his side.

He could not care less about the way Emily had styled her hair or how she had put an effort in her make-up that morning, or even the nice clothes she was wearing. He saw the happiness on her face and that was all that mattered to him.

Emily pursed her lips and tried not to smile as her eyes danced around the room. It surely would have been an idiot-like grin, one that would inevitably speak volumes about the things she had done in the past few days.

"Are you happy?" Rossi asked.

He wasn't like JJ, he would not pry for the details. He cared about one thing only – Emily's happiness.

She nodded, with her lips still pursed, but forming that creepy smile that she could not fight against.

"Good." Rossi was a man of few words. This one-way conversation had told him more than a book could tell. He knew how to read Emily and he knew how to look for the important chapters, underneath her hard cover.


For the rest of the morning, Emily busied herself, catching up on everything. A few people from the team made quick stops by her office, to bring her coffee and some sweets, before they inevitably left her to do her job.

After a while, she felt confident that she was up to speed and thanks to the amazing work best friend she had, she now had no documents to fill and send out. Everything seems normal, peaceful.

Kicking her shoes off, under the desk, she relaxed for a few minutes, thinking of the four wonderful days she had just spent in Paris, with a man she was…well, she was confused what she felt about him, but it was exciting nonetheless. It still felt like a fairy tale, like she would wake up and realize it had all been a dream. Or could it maybe be possible that after years of being on her own and tons of useless dates that had gone nowhere, she had maybe found someone…maybe the one?

Smiling like an idiot, because she was now on her own, with the door closed, she allowed herself to make a split-second decision.

"Hello?" She heard his voice on the other side of the phone, as soon as she had dialed his number.

"Hey you." She said with a smile.

He couldn't see that smile, but he was smart enough to figure out it was there, on those perfect lips of hers.

"Bonjour, ma chérie." He replied, smiling back and she knew it. "I guess this is us, hitting yet another milestone – you, calling, instead of texting. Gotta say, it's nice to hear your voice."

His words made her smile grow wider. If she could only see herself, she would hate the pile of mush and emotions that she was. How did he manage to turn her into a romantic…into a sucker for those types of conversations…into a smitten puppy?

"Well, like I've said before – nothing about us is normal, so why the Hell not take it up a notch?" This time she smirked.

In each relationship she's ever had, all she could remember was herself, being reserved. She hated it when guys sent her flowers, because it meant they cared enough to do so, and that meant that this thing between them had potential to grow, which, in turn, meant that the more it grew, the more she'd fall and be hurt when it was over. And that always led to Emily Prentiss, running away like a coward.

But not with him. Somehow, taking steps forward with him did not seem all too scary. It was new, unknown, exciting, but it had never scared her. It made her curious. It made her smile. It made her happy.

"What are you up to?" She asked him casually.

They had a way of starting a conversation slowly and then having it explode into a discussion of anything and everything, except the topic of that initial conversation. They were both random as Hell.

"Catching up on everything, back in the office. And trying now to overdose on caffeine, although, I'm fairly sure I should have stopped three cups ago." He informed her and she could clearly hear the coffee high in his voice.

"Honestly, same. My colleagues are constantly giving me coffee and sweets and as much as I appreciate that, I'd really like to be able to sleep tonight. You know, for a change…" She trailed off, hinting at the reason why she hadn't been able to sleep much recently.

"Hmm, maybe next time I'll set you up in the guest room downstairs. You know, so you can do nothing other than sleep all night long." He teased her.

"Don't you even think about it!" She replied a bit too fast and he found it cute. He already knew she was insatiable, but it was fun to joke about it.

"Let me guess – JJ already pried all the juicy details from you?" He asked curiously.

"Oh, she came in an hour earlier today and she wouldn't drop it. I just had to tell her stuff."

"Did you tell her how great of a spy you are?" He asked, thinking of their second day, spent running around Paris, pretending to be spies.

"I'm pretty sure she already knows it." Emily chuckled.

If Richard only knew…

"I've been thinking of the best way to come out and ask you this in a seemingly casual way, without sounding too needy or whatever, but-…"

"Next weekend." She cut him off and replied to the question she knew he wanted to ask. "But I can only be away Saturday and Sunday. Add the hours of flights and transfer to the city and that leaves us about 24 hours…"

He felt bad. Each time it was Emily who had sacrificed her sleep and sanity, in order to get to Paris and then she'd go straight back to work, jet lagged, tired and without any energy left in her. He wanted to offer to travel this time, but he kept quiet, as that would invade her privacy a bit too much. She was clearly comfortable being on his turf, but things were different if he had to go there, on her turf. Maybe she didn't want that just yet. She had made it painfully clear that she needed their relationship to start on its own – no friends, no family, no work involved for a while. Maybe him, going to visit her, would make her feel uncomfortable and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

"I'd book those tickets right away! I just remembered this amazing little restaurant that I'd love to take you to. You'll really like it. And I also wanted you to taste a cake that this bar prepares, homemade, the bar owner used to work in a five-start hotel and she is an amazing pastry chef. You'd be licking your lips and asking for more!"

"God, give me the strength to restrain myself from making an inappropriate comment about that last thing he just said…" Emily mentally said to herself while biting her lips, making sure she'd stay quiet.

"Cake sounds awesome." She said, instead.

"Totally unrelated, but…your accent is even sexier on the phone. How is that possible?" She added after a moment of hesitation and it made him laugh.

"And on the contrary, you sound like a bad ass Boss on the phone. How is that possible? And why do I like it so much?" He said in reply.

Emily had been told that she had a very authoritarian phone-voice and it was something she could not help.

"Because of my job, I have to constantly boss people around, including on the phone. I guess it's a habit to be bad ass when this thing is on my ear." She laughed, replying sincerely.

"Also, please don't tell me you're into the dark stuff, you know, submission and such. Ugh, been there, done that, not really my game." She added, throwing him into panic.

She had done what? How much more was there to find out about this woman?

"I have a feeling I'm in for a ride with you, Madame Emily." He said politely, but it really was yet another joke.

Pedro had called her Madame Emily and Richard had made it his life's mission to remind her of it.

"I have a feeling you'll enjoy the ride-…Good God, JJ, ever heard of knocking!?" Emily had just started to reply to him when she saw the door to her office open and JJ barged in.

Emily heard Richard laugh on the other side of the line, but she was beyond ashamed to be busted, saying something like that.

"Sorry." JJ muttered, approaching Emily's desk with caution. "We just got assigned a case." She whispered, knowing how Emily was keeping her job a secret from Richard for now.

"There goes my quiet weekend." Emily sighed and told JJ she'd be downstairs in a minute.

"Work?" Richard asked rhetorically.

"Yeah. I have to go. I may not be able to reply much this weekend." She replied while gathering her essentials for a team meeting – her tablet, her work phone and most importantly – her shoes, still discarded under the desk.

"Say Hi to JJ from me. I feel like I already know her. And have a good weekend then."

"Yeah, after what she just heard me say, it's safe to say you won't be the topic of our conversations this weekend, if I can help it somehow." Emily laughed. "We never really spoke about this, but you and JJ conspiring via messages…that was the sweetest thing." She laughed, after giving him a moment to think that maybe she'd be upset about it.

"I both like her and I'm scared of her. She sounds like a great friend, which is why I know she'll be the one hazing the hardest. Anyway, go do…whatever it is that you do. And stay safe, Emily."

His words made her smile. She never told him how dangerous her job was and yet, there he was, telling her to be safe. For all he knew, she could be a waitress at a bar or a receptionist at a law firm. He needed her to be safe, nonetheless.

"You too, whatever it is that you do…" She smirked, wanting to tease him just one more time. "You know, with your illegal mobster business and all that."

"Yeah, actually, I gotta go. I've been meaning to put a bullet to someone's head and I just keep procrastinating, you know? Today is the day!" He laughed as well, but what Emily didn't know was how much truth there was to his words.

Richard had a name, a photo, a location and a deadline that was expiring at midnight.

As soon as they hung up, Victor called in a meeting to go over the details of something they were about to do that evening. And putting a bullet to someone's head was pretty much their main goal.


On her way to the meeting room downstairs, Emily had shot a text message to Angela, hoping the girl would even check her phone.

For the next hour the BAU went over the specifics of the new case that JJ had been presented with and Emily said her usual 'Wheels up in 30' line. After that everyone went to grab their Go Bags and to get ready for the transfer.

A sweaty Angela appeared in the Bullpen, looking around for Emily.

"Hey." Emily startled her, walking out of the rest rooms where she had freshened up and changed into something more comfortable, for traveling.

"Hi!" Angie threaded lightly.

She knew she was keeping a secret from Emily, yet another secret at that, so she wanted to know how much Emily knew. Maybe Luke had told her about the break in?

"So, I wanted to see you for a few minutes. I just got back and I'm leaving again, for a case. I may not be able to make it back in time for our Monday training, I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you with a wine night, as promised." Emily said with a smile and they both walked up to her office, so Emily could grab her Go Bag.

"Okay." Angie said sweetly, but Emily knew something was going on. Angie was never one to give one-word answers, unless she was extremely pissed or extremely guilty of something.

"Want to ride to the jet with us? The driver is taking the whole team there and he then needs to drive back to Headquarters. It's just a short ride, but we can catch up, if you don't have a class right now." Emily suggested.

"I have to do a training thing, but my group was assigned for tomorrow morning, so right now I have some time to do whatever. I was going to nerd out with one of the manuals, but it's law and we all know how I feel about it. So I guess a round trip to the tarmac is the better option." Angie smirked, watching Emily open the couch compartment and take the used clothes out of her Go Bag before she stuffed in some fresh clothes and zipped it up.

The blazer got tossed on top of the couch, as if Emily intended on putting it on and traveling with it. Angie bit her lower lip and looked away.

"I want you to know that while it's true that we can't discuss anything right now, I got your message and I will be there for you, as soon as I get back, okay?" Emily said softly, referring to the fact that Angie had been an emotional wreck and had told Emily they needed to talk.

"It can wait a little longer, it's not a problem." Angie shrugged, pretending not to care.

Somehow Emily failed to believe her. She knew her better than that.

"Here, put this on. Wouldn't want you to freeze in the car." Emily winked at her, holding the blazer in her hands, so that Angie would just stick her hands in the sleeves.

Angie froze for a second. Emily knew about the break in, she most definitely knew and this was her way of telling Angie.

"It looks good on you, even if it is old lady style." Emily teased.

"Actually, I like this one. It's not as bad as the others. This actually makes you look funky, like you have a thug side, but you're still the Boss, you know?"

Emily rolled her eyes. No, she did not know and she had no idea how Angie even came up with such things to say. But she was entertained by her words.

"Oh, I almost forgot my water bottle. Could you, please, grab it for me? I mean, you do know exactly where it is, after all." Emily added slyly, on her way to the door.

Yes, she most definitely knew that Angie had been there.

"Uff, I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to, I just…I was so bored and…" She trailed off. Somehow she couldn't say the next words that were on her mind: I wanted to feel close to you.

"Come here." Emily extended her hands and gave Angie a hug. "You are a piece of work, girl." She whispered to her ear when Angie willingly jumped in her arms.

They were now by the door of Emily's office, not knowing that someone was watching them, from downstairs.

"Finally getting everything you ever wanted, Emily…finally." Rossi muttered to himself, walking away with a smile after witnessing the little scene between the two.

"How are you holding up?" Emily asked, walking down the few stairs, with Angie right behind her.

"Meh, it's all the same. Academy, classes, training, studying…"

"That's not what I asked and you know it." Emily interrupted her.

"I'm fine. I guess. I mean, I'm working towards being fine. It's been…easier, lately. Hanging out with Clara helped a little."

"Yeah? How about hanging out with JJ?" Emily added with a knowing smirk.

"She's awesome!" Angie's sudden and genuine enthusiasm startled Emily.

"I told you she is. You just have to learn how to give people a chance. Don't write them out before you test the waters. You might be missing out on some great friendship opportunities." Emily's wisdom was unexpected.

Angie figured she'd just get a scolding speech on being rude to JJ, but Emily had gone down the 'smart reply' road instead.

"Right now, there's just one opportunity I'd like to not miss out on…" Angie trailed off, leaving it to Emily's imagination.

"Yeah?" Emily looked at her, stopping on their way to the elevator. She knew exactly what Angela was hinting at.

"Yeah!" Angie nodded.

"Please don't make me cry right now." Emily whispered to her, placing her hand on her back and urging her to keep going.

"Not right now…" Angie smiled. "But soon."

"Good." Emily smiled weakly. "Really good." She added, fighting her tears.


REVIEW REPLIES:

"sweetkid45" Oh hehe, just keep in mind Richard is a HUGE part of this story and he ain't going anywhere. Maybe you'll like him more when you learn who he really is and what his secrets hold. But yeah, for the moment Emily is back home, working and trying to stay sane hahaha.

"SLDGM" Hey :) Yup, I will do my best to post more often. Hmm, you inboxed me, as in private msg? I never got it! My account has been acting up for months - no private msges delivered, no story stats available :/ But I did send you a private msg, see if you got it? And thanks so much for saying this is the best fanfic ever, hehe. I humbly appreciate your words! I enjoy writing it so much! I would love to hear from you again :)!

"Guest" Yes, back and hopefully able to post more often :)! Thank you so much for reviewing. Hope you enjoyed the latest update.

"rmpcmfan" (You know the drill - everything until the end is for you!) I remember your GDSE theory from way back ;) Gotta admit, this can tie a lot of loose ends really nicely. However, no comment :P hehe. I love flipping Richard's credentials left and right, though. Emily has most certainly noticed that detail, multiple times. She's not oblivious to the hints, but she chooses to disregard everything. Her mind blocks it all out and she doesn't overthink anything, because the more she thinks, the worse her thoughts become and the more suspicious she is and she starts thinking he is the next Ian Doyle situation for her, which makes her want to run and never look back...which is not ideal for what comes next :P Also, she is terrified of how this new relationship (that she really does enjoy!) will tie back to her life in the US. She will not relocate, that is for sure...and she won't ask him to do so, for her. So, living in blissful denial suits her...for now.

I can confirm Richard SAW Angela's face during her video call with Emily. He even commented on how beautiful she was and how deep her relationship with Emily seems to be. And no matter how hard you reflect on Angie and Bella, IF there is any connection at all - trust me, you will be BLOWN AWAY when you learn the truth haha. (I mean, hopefully lol.)

The getaway car hahaha. I wrote that in while editing. I needed to give Richard one more reason to take the piss out of Emily and she sooo fell for it hahahaha!

As for "love"...well, feelings are there. One side is not afraid to admit to that, but the other one is terrified lol. Did we expect anything else from Prentiss!?

Also: I've sent you a few private msges. Not sure if your notifications don't work or if I'm annoying lol.