Chapter Text
The sunlight filtered through the gap in the curtains, shining in Emily’s eyes and waking her up. Emily blinked a little and smiled when she realized that JJ was still asleep. Her arms were still wrapped around the blonde, holding her close. Emily leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to the back of JJ’s neck, letting out a small laugh when JJ let out a soft sigh.
“Good morning, Mrs. Jareau.” Emily whispered, kissing behind JJ’s ear before moving down to her shoulder.
“Why would you wake me up?” JJ mumbled, rolling over so she could face Emily. “You are by far the worst wife I’ve ever had.”
“I’m the best wife you’ve ever had.” Emily kissed JJ quickly on the lips with a smile. “Besides, I wanted to tell you how beautiful you are.”
“You already did that.” JJ replied quietly, kissing Emily again. “On our wedding night, on our wedding day, every ten minutes of our honeymoon, and every day after that.”
“Is that a problem?”
“It is when you wake me up to do it.”
They laid in bed for a while, not really talking, but enjoying each other’s company. Emily’s eyes widened when she heard rapid footsteps heading toward their bedroom, JJ rolled her eyes and pulled the blankets over her head. The door was thrown open, revealing Henry, who was still in his pajamas with tousled hair.
“It’s time to get up!” He announced, running over to the bed and jumping on top of both of the women. “Get up!”
“No, it’s time for sleep.” Emily sighed, closing her eyes and grinning when she heard Henry let out an irritated grunt.
“You promised to play with me all weekend!” Henry whined, flopping on top of Emily and sticking out his lower lip. “You promised, ‘cause I didn’t get to see you at all during your honeymoon!”
Emily opened her eyes and met Henry’s gaze. “And we have played with you all weekend.” She sighed. “But now it’s Monday, and that means the weekend is over.” Emily glanced at the clock. “And it also means that it’s time for school.”
Emily sat up and stretched before shoving JJ lightly. “Come on, we have work.”
“I don’t wanna work.” JJ groaned as Emily climbed out of bed.
“But you wanna show off your tan, right?” Emily teased, tugging the blankets off the bed and picking Henry up off the bed. “And you, my fine friend, need to get dressed and brush your teeth.”
She set Henry down and watched as he ran off.
“It’s time to get ready for work.” Emily sighed, moving to the bed and grabbing JJ’s hands, pulling her up. “We can’t be late on our first day back as a married couple.”
“Agent Prentiss, you’ll be on loan to Agent Hotchner’s team for this case.” The section chief announced after Hotch’s team was called to the conference room.
“Can I ask why?” Emily frowned a little.
“An agent left the BAU to raise her family.” The section chief replied. “Agent Hotchner has requested that you rejoin his team. Consider this a test run.”
“I thought that it would affect the team’s way of working...” Emily said, her brow furrowing. “I don’t want my relationship with Agent Jareau to put the team at risk, sir.”
“You never let that happen in the early stages of your relationship.”
Emily smiled wryly. “That’s true, sir.”
“I’d get into the conference room if I were you.” The section chief chuckled, glancing over at the door where Hotch and his team were. “Especially since your team is already gone, and you’ll be on desk duty if you decline Agent Hotchner’s offer.”
Emily nodded and almost ran to the conference room, earning odd looks from everyone but Hotch as she sat down in the vacant seat beside JJ. “Hi.”
“You do realize that you’re in the wrong room, right?” Morgan asked, leaning forward to poke Emily’s forehead. “Don’t tell me that you collected another head injury during your honeymoon.”
“Emily is on the team as a trial run to see if we can maintain our team dynamic despite two of our agents being in a committed relationship.” Hotch explained, looking at Garcia expectantly. “I believe that it’s time to present the case.”
Emily listened as Garcia presented the case. Four models were found in Alligator Alley just outside of Miami, all of them having been fed to the alligators. All of them with ligature marks on their limbs and all of them having had their throat slashed at some point. Emily sighed and looked at the screen, thankful that her first case back from her honeymoon wasn’t as gruesome as it could’ve been.
“How long did you know about this?” JJ asked as they were boarding the jet.
“About a minute before you did.” Emily replied with a smile. “So let’s be professional about this and make sure I can stay with you.”
They ended up bringing in an S&M photographer, called Marcus Carpenter, who had taken pictures of each of the women at separate times before their murders. Emily hated him immediately, mostly because of the way he kept eyeing JJ. And licking his lips when he did so. She hoped that JJ hadn’t noticed the way she subtly placed herself between the two of them at any given time.
“I want to interview him.” JJ said after he’d sat in the interview room for a while.
“No, he just wants time alone with you.” Emily snapped, causing JJ to send her a glare.
“Yeah, and he thinks I’m weak, I can catch him off guard.” JJ replied in an irritated tone. “Let me do my job, Agent Prentiss.”
Emily clenched her jaw and nodded once. “I’ll be observing, though.”
A small smile tugged at the corner of JJ’s mouth. “Of course you will.”
Emily watched as JJ stepped in to talk to Carpenter, sitting down across from him. She had to admit, it was smart for JJ to go in, even if Carpenter made her want to stab something. A frown formed on Emily’s face at the thought before making a mental note to ask Morgan to the shooting range after the case.
“You know,” Carpenter sighed after a bit. “I can make you a star...” He leaned forward, a smirk forming on his face as he made eye contact with JJ. “I just need to get you in my studio, rip your clothes off, and rough you up a bit.”
Emily didn’t hear what JJ said next, she was too busy trying to keep herself from running into that interview room, pulling out her gun, and shooting him in the crotch. She was sure that would make it incredibly difficult for her to stay on the team, let alone in the FBI. Before Emily could take in another breath, she felt a hand on her shoulder.
“You look like you’re about to kill someone.” Morgan mumbled, squeezing her shoulder once. “Look at your girl, Princess. She’s not phased at all. She’s gonna get this guy to confess, and then you’re gonna buy us drinks when we get home to celebrate coming back to our team.”
Emily didn’t look away from the glass. “I know what he’s thinking, Morgan.” Carpenter moved a little closer to JJ and Emily felt her skin crawl. “We’ve all seen his photoshoots, we’ve seen what he does to women, if he so much as touches her, I’ll chop his hand off.”
“And I’d hold him down for you.” Morgan replied. “You’ll be fine.”
JJ and Carpenter sat in the interview room for almost two hours before Carpenter confessed. Or rather, decided to lunge at JJ after she touched a nerve. Emily almost reached for her gun just as Hotch stepped into the room and restrained him.
“Thank god, he refused counsel, right?” JJ said when she left the room, offering Emily a small smile.
“Yeah.” Emily nodded once, making eye contact with Carpenter as he was taken away by the LEOs. “I think he just wanted to talk to you alone.”
“You okay?” JJ asked quietly, catching Emily’s attention. “Look, I know I snapped at you earlier, but-”
“You were right to.” Emily replied, offering a small smile. “And I promise I won’t try to keep you from doing your job again.”
“It’ll be hard for me too once you become a crash test dummy again.” JJ grinned, kissing Emily’s cheek and taking her hand. “We should get you a helmet, actually.”
“We’ll see.”
“A twister would do this town a favor.” Emily muttered as they drove through JJ’s hometown to visit her mother.
“Don’t be rude, Em.” JJ replied, frowning a little when they passed another barn. “Just because it’s no Rome, or Paris, doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its charm.”
“Then why did you leave the moment you turned eighteen?” Emily asked teasingly. “You know, if it was so great.”
“You’ve got me there, Prentiss.” JJ rolled her eyes. “You know, my mom’s gonna be really disappointed that Henry couldn’t be here for our visit.”
“Well, Will gets to love him too, what can we do?” Emily sighed, smiling a little. “Besides, he loves playing with his baby sister.”
“That’s just it...” JJ paused, taking a turn into her mother’s driveway. “My mom is definitely going to try and convince us to have another kid.”
“Oh.” Emily’s brow furrowed.
“Yeah, and I just wanted to warn you. I don’t want you to panic.”
“I’ll be fine.”
Emily wasn’t ready to be pushed into having children, but Sandy Jareau didn’t know that. Didn’t know that the more Emily was pushed, the more she dug in her heels and refused to budge. She was sure that after a weekend of hints and prodding, she would vow to never have a child just out of pure spite. Emily knew it was vindictive and childish, but that was just how she was.
“Well, hi there, strangers.” Sandy grinned, pulling JJ into a hug before looking at Emily. “You’re next.”
True to her word, Sandy wrapped her arms around Emily and squeezed tight, almost as if she were trying to give Emily a spine adjustment. Emily swore that she felt her back crack as well, but decided against voicing her complaint, choosing instead to return her mother-in-law’s embrace. Not that she minded in the least, there was something very comforting about hugging the older woman.
“You look great!” Sandy said as she pulled away from Emily. “Have you been getting more sleep?”
“Not really.” Emily chuckled as she walked to the trunk to get her and JJ’s bags. “But we did sleep a lot in Italy, maybe it’s like we have rollover hours or something. I really do feel well rested.”
“Maybe you’re just happy to be married.” Sandy replied, putting an arm around JJ again. “Now get your butts inside, I made cookies.”
“I hope you made enough for us to bring back to the office.” JJ said as they walked toward the house. “Morgan and Garcia almost stabbed me when I told them I forgot to bring them back some.”
“Your coworkers concern me, dear.” Sandy said quietly.
The three women entered the house and Emily took her and JJ’s bags up to her wife’s bedroom. Emily grinned at the sight of JJ’s childhood bedroom, no matter how many times she was over at Sandy’s house, she always found herself entertained by the sight of JJ’s room. Posters from JJ’s childhood were still pasted on the walls, the shelves held soccer trophies and old pictures of the blonde from her teen years with her friends, though Emily was mostly amused that the room had been painted bright pink.
“Em, are you gonna come down?” JJ asked, opening the door and poking her head in. “Or do you just plan on sitting in my old room all day?”
“I’d rather stay in here than hear about how my biological clock is ticking.” Emily replied with a smile. “Has anyone ever told you that your walls are an assault to the eyes?”
“Yeah, I didn’t really think it over when I asked for the color...” JJ shrugged, looking at the walls. “You know, being five and all...”
“Your mom is probably waiting for us.” Emily said, making a show of rubbing her eyes as she left the room.
“Probably.” JJ nodded, following Emily out.
They spent the afternoon catching Sandy up on current events, and being congratulated on the two of them being put on the same team. Sandy had also managed to convince the couple to show her every picture of Henry that they had on their phones, not that it was difficult. Emily smiled widely when Sandy asked her to send her the photo of the three of them at the zoo, right in front of the elephants.
“So, have either of you thought about having another one?” Sandy asked, looking at her cellphone with a smile. “Give Henry a little brother or sister?”
“Will and Megan had a baby girl, so Henry does have a little sister.” Emily replied with a small laugh.
“That’s not what I meant.” Sandy said, looking at JJ. “And not to be rude, but you are both getting older and...”
“I know, Mom...” JJ nodded once, glancing over at Emily with a tight smile. “But we haven’t discussed kids. Like at all.”
“Well, do either of you want another child?” Sandy looked from JJ to Emily with a frown,
“I don’t know...” Emily’s brow furrowed and she looked at JJ. “Do you?”
“I’ve thought about it, but if you don’t want to, I’m not gonna force you.” JJ put a hand on Emily’s shoulder.
Emily was silent for a moment. Of course she’d thought about kids, but somehow she’d never actually thought about pregnancy, birth, any kind of fertilization, hormones, getting bigger. No, that all terrified her, every bit of it, especially the part where she had to actually bring a child into the world, raise it, teach it right from wrong, then throw it into the world. But then again, she was doing the same thing with Henry.
“I think you have your answer, Mom.” JJ said, pulling Emily out of her thoughts. “We’re just not ready right now.
“So, have you thought about any little Prentiss’s or Jareaus or whatever last name you’ll give your future spawn?” Garcia asked as she sat down on Emily’s desk.
“No.” Emily replied quickly, thankful that JJ had offered to go get coffee for everyone. “And we haven’t discussed it.”
“But you’re like the two best moms in the world to Henry.” Garcia frowned a little. “And you would look so cute with a baby bump.”
“Garcia, I don’t think that I want to be pregnant.”
“But JJ did it the first time!”
“I never said there’d be a second time!”
“What are you two talking about?” Reid asked, turning around and looking at the women with a frown.
“I think that JJ and Em should have a baby.” Garcia said, smiling widely at Reid. “You know, give you another godson, or daughter, or whatever.”
“Ah yes, a little baby whatever.” Emily rolled her eyes. “I can’t think about what kind of name we’d give it. Maybe Torpol.”
“Well, if you consider going through in-vitro fertilization, you should be warned that it increases your chance of having multiples.” Reid said, putting down his pen. “And that way, the baby could be biologically related to either of you, no matter who carries it to term.”
“Thank you, Reid.” Emily sighed, looking back to her work. “But we haven’t discussed children at all. In fact, I’m not sure if I’m ready for kids. What if I turn out to be a terrible mother?”
“Have you seen how you are with kids?” Morgan asked as he approached, kissing Garcia on the cheek and leaning over Emily. “You would make the best mom! I mean, you’re great with Henry-”
“He’s not technically my child.” Emily replied with a frown. “There’s a difference between a mom and a stepmom, I don’t know if I’m ready to be a mom!”
“You’re awesome with kids, Em.” Garcia said, putting a hand on Emily’s shoulder. “I think you should have a kid with JJ. Your kids would be incredible. And you know I’d babysit.”
Emily shook her head and looked up only to see JJ entering the bullpen with coffees in hand. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to greet my wife and get some coffee.”
She stood up and walked over to JJ, relieving her of one of the cups and kissing her on the cheek. “Hi.”
“Hi.” JJ turned her head so their lips could meet. “Why was everyone gathered around your desk?”
“Because I’m beautiful and amazing.” Emily replied, heading over to her desk as the small crowd dispersed.
“Oh really?” JJ rolled her eyes and sat down at her desk. “And when are you doing to tell me the real reason?”
“When we get home.”
“Do you want kids?” Emily asked as she and JJ entered their house. “... More kids... I mean.”
“Well, yeah, but if you’re not ready, then...”
Emily sighed. “Okay, look, I don’t think I’ll be ready until I’m holding a child in my arms, or looking at an ultrasound... Parenting isn’t something I can prepare for, is it?”
“Not really.” JJ shook her head and frowned a little. “Is this your weird way of telling me that you want more kids?”
“Yes...” Emily froze and thought about her answer. “No. It’s my weird way of telling you that if you’re ready for kids, I’m not gonna get in your way.”
“That’s... not how it works, honey.” JJ said, sitting on the sofa. “But, I appreciate the thought. And maybe we can talk about our options.”
Emily nodded and sat down. “Okay.”
Apparently JJ had actually thought about having children. A lot, and the information Reid had e-mailed JJ on in-vitro fertilization had definitely come in handy. Emily found herself mildly irritated with their coworker, but then again, his loyalties did mostly lie with JJ. And he’d given her the number of a clinic with a doctor that specialized in that field.
“So are we going to make an appointment?” JJ asked with a small smile.
“I really don’t want to be pregnant.” Emily paused and thought for a moment. “Do we have a big enough house for another child?”
“So we’ll get a new place, then we’ll think about a baby.”
Emily and JJ had brought Morgan house hunting with them, using their friend’s contracting skills to their advantage. After nearly a month, they decided on a two story house in a gated community with a sizable yard, but not too far away from the neighbors. The three of them had inspected the house, looking for anything that could compromise the home’s security. JJ had even marked the areas where she wanted flood lights outside to make sure no one could even go near their home without being spotted by the neighbors.
The two of them had managed to get the entire team to help them move into their new home after the deal closed. Even Henry tried to help out, though Emily and JJ had just given him a box of his toys and had him bring it to his new bedroom. It took nearly four hours to get everything in their new home.
“Why don’t you get your toys unpacked?” JJ asked, sending Henry to his new room.
“Your new house is amazing, guys.” Reid said with a smile, looking at the fireplace. “I’m sure that this is just for show.”
“Probably.” Emily nodded, putting her hands in her pockets. “Not that I’d even know how to start a fire in this thing.”
“You can speak Arabic, but you can’t start a fire?” Morgan scoffed before pausing. “That sounds about right, actually.”
“I actually can build a fire, just so you all know.” Emily replied quickly, looking back at the fireplace. “I just don’t know how this works.”
“We’re just kidding, Prentiss.” Rossi clapped a hand on Emily’s shoulder. “I’m sure you know how to start a fire.”
“So now that you have the house, you can get started on the second child, right?” Hotch asked with a smile.
Emily sent JJ a glance before nodding minutely. “That’s the plan.”
Emily sat in the clinic’s waiting room, holding JJ’s hand tightly and tapping her feet anxiously. It was their fourth try at implantation, and finally time for the doctors to test JJ’s blood The realist in Emily said that after the fourth try, it was time to look into other options, but she wasn’t about to tell that to JJ. The blonde was adamant about being pregnant again. For some reason that Emily did not understand at all.
“Mrs. Jareau.” The nurse said, entering the waiting room. “The doctor is ready to see you now.”
Emily nodded and stood up with JJ, following her into one of the exam rooms, never letting go of the blonde’s hand. She watched with a furrowed brow as JJ had her blood drawn by the technician, she didn’t like that JJ had to be poked so many times with the needles. Hopefully this would be the last time this would happen.
“I will be back shortly with your test results.” The technician said with a smile before leaving.
They were quiet for a while, each deep in their own thoughts. Emily idly registered that she was tapping her feet and picking at her nails, which apparently annoyed her wife enough to earn her a slap on the arm. A frown formed on Emily’s face as she looked up at JJ, who looked mildly irritated.
“You’re gonna regret it if you keep picking your nails like that, Em.” She said calmly, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “Just try to calm down.”
“I can’t.” Emily replied with a frown. “Too nervous.”
“Don’t be.” JJ sighed, taking Emily’s hand in her own. “This is it. I can feel it in my bones.”
“Well, if you can feel it in your bones, then I guess you’re right.” Emily chuckled.
They chatted for half an hour until the doctor came back in with a clipboard and a smile. Emily felt her pulse race as she and JJ looked at the man expectantly. She knew that a smile usually meant good news, but for some reason all she could think about was how some people smile subconsciously when they’re given bad news. That didn’t help at all with the stress.
“Good afternoon Mrs. Jareau and Mrs. Prentiss.” The doctor said, his smile widening. “As you know, we’ve tested your human chorionic gonadotropin levels.” The technician looked directly at JJ. “Your HCG levels indicate that you are with child, Mrs. Jareau. Congratulations.”
Emily’s jaw went slack for a moment as the news hit her. JJ was pregnant. JJ was pregnant with their baby. She was going to be a mother. Emily blinked twice before looking over at her wife, who wore a large smile on her face.
“I’m pregnant.” JJ mumbled, holding her stomach.
Emily looked back to the doctor. “You’re sure about this?”
The doctor smiled and nodded once. “Yes, ma’am, I’m completely sure.” He paused for a moment. “A HCG level of more than ten is indicative of pregnancy. I can say with complete confidence that the egg has taken.” He looked at the chart. “I want you back two weeks from today for your ultrasound. That way we can make sure the fetus is developing on schedule and in a healthy manner.”
“What about false pregnancy?” JJ asked, biting her lower lip. “Isn’t that a possibility?”
“It would be if this were your first attempt,” The doctor replied kindly. “But seeing as this is your fourth try, I’d bet that you really are pregnant. The ultrasound will confirm my beliefs.
“R-really?” Emily felt her mouth go dry, she looked at JJ and back at the doctor.
“Test results don’t lie, ma’am.” The doctor nodded. “Now, are there questions you have for me?”
“N-no.” JJ shook her head. “Thank you, so much.”
“I’ll see you in two weeks.” The doctor smiled, heading to the door. “Have a good day, ladies.”
“You too.” Emily smiled, turning to look at her wife as the doctor left. “You’re pregnant.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself.” JJ said calmly, standing up. “We still need to go in for the ultrasound.”
“I thought you felt it in your bones?”
“There’s your baby.” The doctor said, pointing to a lima bean shaped object on the screen. “I’d say that you’re about six weeks along,” He turned and looked at JJ. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you.” JJ smiled widely, not taking her eyes off the screen.
Emily took in a few breaths before tearing her eyes away from the screen and looking at JJ. The confirmation made Emily feel light headed, barely able to look at anything properly without feeling slightly overwhelmed. A small voice in the back of her mind reminded her that she might not actually be ready for parenthood. That it was time to run.
“Here.” The doctor held out a print out of the screen with a smile. “You look like you could use it.”
Emily looked up at the man and smiled a little. “Thank you.” She took the photo and looked at it, running a finger over the small blob that would be her child.
“I’ll leave you two alone for a little bit.” The doctor stood up and left the room. “A nurse will be in to schedule our next appointment soon.”
“Thank you, doctor.” JJ grinned, finally looking away from the screen.
Emily jumped a little when she felt JJ squeeze her hand, she turned and looked at her wife. JJ’s eyes were filled with unshed tears, Emily smiled at her wife and squeezed back, tucking the photo in her pocket before sitting down beside JJ. She moved to touch JJ’s stomach, but for some reason, Emily couldn’t bring herself to do it. Her hand was hovering over her wife’s abdomen.
“It’s okay, Em.” JJ sighed, pulling the hand down to rest on her abdomen. “It won’t kick or anything, but...”
“That’s my baby.” Emily mumbled, her eyes filling with tears. “That little lima bean is my baby.”
“That little lima bean is gonna grow into your baby.” JJ replied, leaning up and kissing Emily quickly. “And just so you know, your hand is covered in ultrasound goo now.”
“That doesn’t matter.” Emily shook her head, looking back at the screen. “When do the baby’s ears start working? I want to tell it that I love it.”
JJ chuckled before sitting up and pulling her shirt back down, effectively moving Emily’s hand in the process. “I’m sure the baby knows that, Em.” She kissed Emily’s cheek. “We need to get back to work and show the team our baby.”
Emily thought about the picture in her pocket. “We’ll have to get another photo because you know Garcia’s gonna want one at her desk.” She said with a smile, biting her lip.
“I think you just don’t want to share your picture.”
JJ was completely right. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The sounds of JJ vomiting reverberated off the hotel bathroom walls as Emily leaned against the closed, and locked, door. Emily frowned at the noises, silently wishing that her wife would allow her in the bathroom to at least hold the blonde’s hair back, or even be responsible for the saltines. But JJ prefered to suffer alone, apparently. Not that Emily didn’t understand.
“Do you need anything, Jayj?” Emily called through the door.
“No, stay out.” JJ replied, flushing the toilet.
“I’ve seen you have morning sickness before.” Emily rolled her eyes. “Remember when you almost puked on me when we were cleaning up the chinese leftovers?” She chuckled. “You narrowly missed my shoes.”
The water was running inside the bathroom now. JJ was brushing her teeth.
The door opened after about a minute and JJ stepped out. Emily smiled a little and kissed JJ’s forehead, wrapping her in a tight embrace. She wished that there was a way to help her wife, not that she hadn’t already cut significant things out of her diet because they nauseated the blonde. Goodbye eggs, meat, and fruit juice.
“Feel better?” Emily asked, pulling away and pressing a hand on JJ’s stomach.
“Much.” JJ nodded, glancing at the clock on the wall. “We need to get to the precinct before Hotch thinks something is up.”
“I sent him a voicemail of you puking.” Emily chuckled, walking toward the door. “I think he’d understand.”
“Okay, what’s your pleasure, pal?” Emily asked as she mixed the pancake batter together and heated up the skillet.
“Star shaped!” Henry exclaimed, climbing up onto his stool. “And a square!”
“Ah, a challenge.” Emily smiled, pouring the batter onto the skillet and shaping it into a star. “And what shape do you think your mom would like?”
Henry paused and thought over Emily’s question. “Triangles.”
“What’s up with you and geometric shapes?” Emily teased, pouring another pancake.
“I like ‘em!”
Emily smiled widely and continued to make her interesting shaped pancakes. It was Henry’s job to hold the plate and make sure all of the pancakes were safe and sound. After about fifteen minutes, Emily and Henry had finished making their breakfast, and Emily could hear the telltale signs that JJ was awake.
“Hey there, Jayj.” Emily said with a grin as she got out the butter and syrup. “We made pancakes.” She pushed the plate with the triangle shaped pancakes toward JJ. “These are yours.”
“You guys made a huge mess.” Was all JJ said, her brow was furrowed and she looked about ready to stab someone.
“We’ll clean it up after we eat.” Emily replied, smiling a little when JJ took her plate. “Promise.”
JJ’s hormones were terrifying, and the only indication that she was calm was when she accepted food from someone else. Three weeks ago, JJ had thrown an entire can of soup at Emily because she was still upset about ‘Marley and Me.’ Not that Emily blamed her, Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston really managed to break their hearts. But they hadn’t watched the movie in over a year.
“Henry chose the shapes.” Emily said, watching as JJ took a large bite of her food.
“He chose right.” JJ smiled. “You did well, Em. The baby likes triangle shaped pancakes.”
“My little brother does?” Henry grinned, speaking through his mouthful of pancakes.
“Sorry to break it to you, little man.” Emily sighed, sipping her coffee. “But you could have another little sister.”
Henry groaned and dropped his forehead onto the counter. “No fair.”
“You’ll love that baby no matter what.”
The eight year old looked up and glared at his mother. “Please make it a brother?”\
“I don’t get to choose.”
“Spill it, JJ.” Morgan said, leaning on Emily’s desk and looking at the blonde. “You have to want one more than the other.”
“It doesn’t matter.” JJ replied, not looking up from her work. “I’ll love it no matter what.”
“Come on.” Morgan rolled his eyes. “I keep getting all that ‘as long as it’s healthy’ crap. I know you know. And I want to know, too!”
“No I don’t.” JJ cupped her swollen stomach and closed her folder before turning to Emily. “Are you almost done? I wanna get home as soon as I can. My feet are killing me.”
Emily chuckled and glanced at her watch. “I’d say, ten more minutes.”
JJ groaned and grabbed the empty ginger ale off her desk, throwing it at Morgan’s head. “That’s not fair.”
“Life’s not fair, Honey.” Emily sighed, continuing her work. “Now play nice with the other kids, so I can finish my work.”
“Come on, JJ, boy or girl?” Morgan pressed after a minute of silence. “You know, no matter what, Morgan works really well.”
“Fine, Morgan.” JJ rolled her eyes. “It’s a neither. The baby has a Barbie doll crotch, we’re naming it Torpol.”
Reid looked up from his desk and frowned. “Why would you name your child after a beta-blocker?”
“Emily’s idea.” JJ chuckled, watching as her friend shook his head. “And we told the doctor that we didn’t want to know.”
“He wrote down the sex on a piece of paper and put it in an envelope just in case we wanna know later.” Emily explained quickly, gesturing to the envelope on her desk.
If she were being completely honest, Emily really wanted to know what the sex was. But JJ didn’t, and what the pregnant woman said goes. No matter how much of Emily’s self control it took to not look.
“And you don’t wanna know, either?” Morgan raised an eyebrow at his friend.
Emily shook her head.
“Come on, just let me see!” Morgan whined, offering Emily and JJ a pleading look. “Does Garcia know?”
“She probably hacked our doctor’s computer by now.” JJ shrugged. “But we didn’t tell her.”
“You need to know.”
“No we don’t.”
“Come on, JJ!”
“No.”
“Please.”
“No.”
This went on for five minutes before Emily closed her folder and stood. She should have just taken Reid out to dinner and left the other two agents to whine at each other, not that they’d notice that the other’s were gone anyway. But since Emily felt the need to be a decent wife and future mother, she gently tapped JJ’s shoulder before kissing her cheek, telling her that it was time to go. Emily grabbed the envelope off her desk and followed JJ out of the bullpen.
“Please let me look.” Emily said the moment they entered the elevator.
Emily frowned at the evidence board in front of her, silently wishing that this case would just hurry up and end. JJ was two weeks away from her due date, and since Henry was three weeks early, it was fair to assume that the baby could come any minute. And Emily certainly did not want to be the cliched idiot who shows up after the fact, not that Garcia wouldn’t make a perfect birth coach.
“We’ve got nothing to go off of.” Morgan grumbled, looking at Emily with a frown. “Which means that we need more evidence, which means...”
“Someone else has to die.” Emily sighed, her frown deepening. Sometimes her job sucked.
“Not to mention your baby is gonna be popping out any minute now.” Morgan paused. “So is it a boy or a girl?”
Emily smiled a little at the question. After nearly an hour of begging, JJ had finally let her open the envelope and look at the sex. They were having a daughter, and just because a pregnant JJ was a petty JJ, they’d still painted the nursery a gender neutral color. Or rather painted the walls light blue and added clouds and dark green carpet. There was no way anyone could guess based on the nursery, or the well guarded baby girl clothes that were hidden under the couple’s bed.
“JJ would kill me if I told you.” Emily chuckled. “But I’ll give you a hint, it’s what we really wanted.”
“God dammit, Prentiss.” Morgan groaned. “So it’s healthy?!”
“Yes.”
They laughed for half a second before Hotch entered the room with the news of another murder. Emily and Morgan went to the morgue and had to, once again, look at the newly murdered man. Same MO, same signature, same victimology. It was their killer, only this time, instead of being stabbed nine times, he was stabbed thirty six times. Emily winced at the obvious overkill before her phone went off.
“Excuse me.” She said, taking two steps away and answering her phone without looking at the caller-ID. “Prentiss.”
“Em, it’s me,” Garcia replied, her voice panicky. “Uh, JJ’s in labor! She was having ‘cramps’ about ten times an hour, we’re in the hospital right now, she wanted to call, but... she’s in the middle of another... ‘cramp.’”
“Didn’t this happen last time?” Emily asked, already speed walking out of the building and to the SUV she and Morgan had taken. She’d apologize to him later, but at the moment she needed to get out of West Virginia as soon as possible.
“Yeah, but this time she didn’t argue-” Gracia was cut off by a pained grunt. “Don’t worry, JJ, she’s on her way.” Garcia’s voice turned irritated. “You are on your way, right?”
“I just need to call Hotch and let him know.” Emily replied, starting the car and pulling into the road. “Tell my wife I love her and that I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Okay, got it.” Garcia replied and hung up.
Emily sighed before calling Hotch and telling him that she was driving home, and that he would have to pick up Reid. While he sounded understanding on the phone, Hotch did seem mildly irritated that Emily had decided to leave an investigation. Not that he’d ever mention it, he had a son.
The drive took five hours, and despite being given updates every fifteen minutes, Emily was still panicking about the baby. What if she missed the birth? What if she missed the birth and something is wrong with the baby? What if she missed the birth and JJ gave the baby a stupid name? Emily found it kind of sad the her greatest concern at the moment was JJ giving the baby a stupid name.
“Give me some good news, Garcia.” Emily ordered when she answered the phone. She was still half an hour away from the hospital.
“Em, the baby’s gonna be here soon!” It was JJ, and her tone was a mix of irritation and excitement. “How long until you’re here?”
“Half an hour.” Emily replied tersely, “I have half a mind to turn on my sirens and-”
“You’ll get pulled over!”
“I’ll flash my badge.” Emily glanced at the speedometer. She was going almost eighty miles an hour.
“Do. Not.”
Emily took a sharp turn and pushed on the accelerator, silently willing the car to go faster. “How are you feeling?”
“I feel like the baby is shanking me.” JJ let out a small shriek of pain. “We never agreed to a natural birth, did we? Because this would be hell without the drugs.”
“Get as doped up as you need, Jayj.” Emily chuckled, taking another turn. “I’m fifteen minutes away.”
“You just said thirty?”
“I got a little... creative with my driving.”
“If you make me a single mother, I will use a god damn ouija board to make you help Henry with his homework.”
“Don’t worry, Jayj, I’ll be fine.” Emily replied in a soothing tone. “I’m kind of the expert on not dying. Remember?”
“If you almost die, you’re going to wish you had died!” JJ groaned. “Get here now! I’m gonna start pushing in five minutes!”
“I’ll get there as soon as I can.” Emily said, passing a teenager going at least seventy. “No choosing dumb names while I’m gone.”
“I love you.”
“Love you too, hold her in until I can come greet my daughter.”
“Absolutely not.”
“I’ll be there soon.”
JJ disconnected the call and Emily frowned. She knew that JJ wouldn’t try to hold in a baby just to wait for her, which was very reasonable. With a sigh, Emily narrowly ran a red light before turning into the hospital parking lot.
She ran into the building and headed directly to the nurse at the front desk, pulling out her credentials just in case. “Hello, my name is Emily Prentiss.” She said when the nurse looked up at her. “My wife, Jennifer Jareau, was recently taken in, she’s going to be giving birth soon. Where can I find her?”
The nurse nodded once and typed something on her computer before looking up at Emily. “She’s in the prenatal unit, room 309, third floor. Take the elevator down the hall, her room should be down the left hall.” The nurse paused. “Congratulations.”
Emily smiled at the woman and ran down the hall to the elevator. The stupid elevator music seemed to rile Emily up and make her heart beat faster than it had ever beat before. It was almost ridiculous that out of all of the things that could possibly rile her up, it was that stupid music that was.
Running through a hospital seemed like a bad idea, but Emily didn’t care. JJ was going to give birth any minute now, and Emily was absolutely not going to miss it. There was no way that she would miss the birth of her daughter.
“Welcome to the Thunderdome, Agent Prentiss.” Garcia grinned when Emily entered JJ’s room. “One enters, two leave.”
“You’ve got it reversed, Garcia.” JJ sighed from her bed, looking up at Emily with a smile. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Emily sat down in the chair beside JJ and kissed her wife’s cheek. “How far apart are the contractions?”
“I’ll be ready to pop soon.” JJ replied with a small smile. “How’d everyone react to you leaving early?”
“They didn’t, I kind of abandoned Morgan at the morgue and called Hotch while I was on the way over.” Emily said, laughing a little at the look of horror on JJ’s face. “I think he might forgive me.”
“Our daughter’s middle name has to be Morgan, after the man you abandoned to see her birth.” JJ said, taking Emily’s hand in her own and squeezing once.
It was another hour before JJ was moved into the delivery room, where all of those birthing classes finally paid off. Though nothing could really help her prepare for the entire birth. According to the doctor, Emily was a great coach, despite the small acts of violence that JJ was displaying. She would definitely have a bruise on her cheek because of JJ’s wicked right arm.
“Congratulations.” The doctor said after the last push. “It’s a baby girl.”
Emily cut the cord and watched in awe as the nurse cleaned off the baby. Her baby. She was so small and perfect, Emily felt her heart swell with pride, for her daughter and for JJ. Emily turned and looked at the blonde as she held the baby. She’d never seen a more beautiful sight.
“She’s perfect, JJ.” Emily mumbled, wiping a tear from her eye and sitting beside JJ on the bed. “You gave birth to a baby.”
“I’ve done it before, Em.” JJ replied, not looking away from her daughter’s face. “What’re we gonna call her?”
“I have a couple ideas.”
“Which one is she?” Morgan asked as they looked into the nursery. “There’re so many in there...”
“I’ll show you.” Emily smiled, as the nurse opened the door to let them in.
She walked down the rows of cribs with Morgan behind her before stopping in front of the far, left crib. Her daughter was wrapped in a pink blanket with a little pink hat on her head. Emily picked her up and handed her over to Morgan, a wide smile on her face.
“She’s beautiful.” Morgan mumbled, situating her in his arms. “Gonna look just like her mom.”
“Which one?” Emily smiled, watching as her daughter opened her eyes and looked at Morgan.
“Don’t know yet.” Morgan replied. he let the baby grab a hold of his index finger. “What’s her name?”
“Rosaline Penelope.” Emily said, her smile widening when Morgan turned to look at her. “We wanted to name her after you, but... Morgan doesn’t really fit with her name, and let’s face it, JJ really likes this name.”
“The next one though, right?” Morgan winked, handing Rosaline back to Emily.
“Right.” Emily nodded once. “Boy or girl, it’ll be Derek Morgan Jareau-Prentiss.”
“Maybe just a middle name.”
“Deal.”
Emily looked back down at her daughter’s face, smiling widely at her. It baffled her that just four years ago, she’d been terrified to even celebrate a holiday with JJ’s family. And now she was a wife and mother.
“You know, I never pictured you ever looking so domesticated.” Morgan said, crossing his arms. “You always seemed like some kind of panther, and now you’re just a house cat.”
“I don’t mind.”