"We got here as soon as we could. It's turning into a veritable winter wonderland out there!" Penelope exclaimed as she entered the cabin. "I'm just sorry that we couldn't get our cabin up in Maine again."
"Well, it turns out that our cabin is normally really popular. I did end up making reservations for next year, though. Hopefully, our extended family will all be able to fit in it. We might have to bunk up a little more."
Erin led them into the living room, where JJ and Will were talking quietly to Martha. Her pregnancy was quickly nearing its end and Erin couldn't wait to meet this newest addition. "Hey, Jayje, have you and Will come up with a name for the sprog yet?"
JJ looked up at them and nodded. "That's actually what we were just discussing. Her name is going to be Kristen Susanne."
"Our little Kricket!" Penelope exclaimed, and Erin laughed as she took a seat on the sofa, waiting for Penelope to join her.
"She's not even here and you've given her a nickname."
"It's what I do best, my sweet Erin. You should know that by now," she replied as she sat, taking Olivia from Derek's arm. "Do you want to go see Auntie Erin, Liv? I'm sure she wants to hold you." Erin opened her arms to the baby, cooing at her as she held out a finger for her to grab.
The others slowly filled her living room and she loved hearing the chatter of her family. The last person to arrive was Alex and she smiled at her as she took the empty seat on the sofa. "Thank you for hosting this tonight, Erin. I'm glad that I didn't have to spend Christmas alone."
"That's how I felt last year, Alex. I've made so many friends in a year's time, I hardly recognize myself." She let her left hand leave Olivia's back and softly clasped Alex's, wanting her to feel included. In the month since Thanksgiving, they had made tenuous steps towards a real relationship, one unhindered by their shared bitter past. It had been hard work, but Erin knew that it would be worthwhile in the end.
"I had no idea when I came back to the BAU that I would find this family." Her voice was low, almost shaking and Erin squeezed the hand she held, wanting to bring her comfort.
"How is Cameron?"
"I haven't heard from him in two days. That's normal, you know, since communication is so spotty out there. But I'm worried. The fighting in Israel doesn't help anything, since it just seems to bring out more of the fanatics. I, I…"
She broke off and took a deep breath, resting her head against the back of the sofa to stare up at the ceiling. Erin knew the exact moment when the woman's mind registered the fact that there were stars painted there. "Oscar Wilde."
"Ah, yes. When did you do this?"
"Actually, that was one of my Christmas surprises. Dave thought I needed a physical reminder of that saying." She turned her head to look at Alex, smiling kindly. She smiled back and then looked back up at the ceiling.
"So, tonight, I had a little more help in the kitchen. Or, I should say that Erin planned the meal and ordered me to do the cooking." Dave smiled at her as the others laughed. "Supper is now ready." He held out his hand to Erin and she accepted it, letting him pull her up. Rather than give Olivia back to her parents, she held her close to her chest. "After we eat, we're going to open the presents that you all have been dropping off this past week."
The others nodded and took their seats. Dave had bought a new dining room table to accommodate all of them, since Thanksgiving had proven a little tight. Looking around at all the assembled guests, she felt a warm rush of love run through her body. Tenderly, she clasped Martha's hand as Dave said the blessing for the food, his hand on her shoulder.
They were almost through the meal when Erin began to hear the ping of ice hitting the windows. Nodding to Dave, she watched him stand and look out at the yard. "What's the verdict, Davie?" she asked softly as he sat back down.
"Two in a row, my sweet English rose," he whispered as he leaned over to kiss her cheek. Clearing his throat, he got the attention of the others. "Well, it looks like we're getting freezing rain right now, just like the meteorologist predicted. If you want to stay the night, we have more than enough room for all of you."
"Really, Uncle Dave?" Jack asked excitedly, looking between him and Aaron. "Can we, Daddy? It would be so much fun!"
Aaron looked over at Beth and Erin saw the quick smile that lighted the woman's lips. "I guess we'll be houseguests this evening, Dave, Erin."
"And you can totally count us three in," Penelope chirped, grinning at her. "This will be like last year, everyone together and happy!"
"Well, I suppose that means we'll be here, too," Reid answered, his own smile widening as he looked at Erin. "Nothing could be better than being with our friends this Christmas, too."
Her children gave their own quick acquiescence, and then Will nodded to JJ. "I think it would be nice to stay together, here, with everyone," he slowly drawled.
Everyone then expectantly looked to Alex for her answer. "Well, I can't really say no after all that, now can I? I suppose the question I should ask though, is if you really want me here."
"You know what my answer will be, Alex. Yes, you are wanted and welcome here." Erin smiled across the table at Alex as they finished eating. While the men cleaned up and did the dishes, Erin led the women into the living room once more. While they all took seats, Henry and Jack began to play with Fiona and Erin sighed deeply.
"What is it, Sugar Plum?" Penelope asked as she took Olivia from her arms and beginning to feed her.
"I'm just so happy this year. I keep thinking that there's going to be a shoe dropping in my near future, but it doesn't seem like it. I might finally be getting the happy ending that everyone always talks about." She rested her head on Penelope's shoulder and looked at the Christmas tree twinkling brightly.
"Aunt Erin! Are we going to open pwesents soon?" Henry lisped out as he climbed into her lap, snuggling into her.
"Just as soon as your father and his friends finish cleaning up. It shouldn't be too much longer, I promise." She hugged him close to her and began to hum lowly under her breath.
"…had a very shiny nose," Penelope began to sing along, and soon the others joined in on the impromptu sing-along. Erin grinned when she heard Dave's deep bass join in. Looking up, she saw that he had put on a Santa hat and was carrying a bag over his shoulder.
"Are there any people here who want to open presents?" he asked as he set his bag down by the tree.
Henry and Jack ran up and tackled him in a large hug as they shouted their me's. She and David met eyes and he winked at her. She felt the blush that covered her cheeks and she covered her mouth with her hand, hoping not to draw attention to herself. "What order are we going to go in this year?" she asked.
"Alphabetical sounds good to me," Hotch replied quickly, smiling down at Beth.
"Daddy, that is so not fair! That would mean you and Beth go first. I think it should be youngest to oldest."
"Oh, and then it would be Olivia first," Beth responded, teasing him gently.
"She's just a baby, why would she get to go first?" Henry asked, looking between Beth and his mother.
"Because she has presents under the tree, too, sweetie," JJ replied, shaking her head as she pulled out a small digital camera. "Now, I think it is a perfectly good idea for us to go in that order, so let us get our unwrapping on." She grinned at her son and took a quick picture of him.
"Why don't you help Jack hand out presents, Henry? That's almost as fun as opening them," Will drawled, a gentle smile appearing on his lips as he watched Martha rub her stomach. "Is she kicking a lot tonight?"
"A little. Maybe she's going to be a soccer player like her mother." Martha smiled at JJ, who could only nod, tears brightening her eyes. "Or a dancer, like I wanted to be once upon a time. As long as she's happy, that's all that matters."
JJ nodded as she got up to sit next to Martha. "We could always try both and find out which one she likes the best." She wrapped her arm around Martha's waist, pulling her close. Henry and Jack took a few minutes to pass out the gifts to all the others, creating small piles in front of each person. The children ended up with the lion's share of the gifts, as it should be, and Erin smiled as she looked at the packages by her feet.
"All right, now that everyone has their gifts, we'll start with Olivia," Aaron said, his own arm around Beth, rubbing her baby bump gently. Henry and Jack nodded and watched Derek and Penelope open up their daughter's gifts.
"Did you make this, Erin?" she asked as she held up the frilly, lacy, pink dress. She nodded and Penelope grinned. "I love it!"
"I'm glad. It took forever to make." They laughed as Derek opened Olivia's final gift and then Henry was tearing into his, not even waiting for the go ahead.
"Slow down, Hen, they'll still be here if you take longer than a minute to open them all," Will said and his son nodded, smiling at the camera JJ held up. Once he had everything open, he ran around the room, hugging and thanking everyone for what they had given him. He lingered with Erin, though, and she pulled him up onto her lap as Jack methodically began to go through his gifts. He chose the smallest one first, and Erin recognized their wrapping paper.
"Look, Daddy! I got my own Swiss army knife!" Aaron's head whipped around to look at Dave and then her while Beth laughed gently.
"Don't you think that's a bit much?" he drolly said, and they both shrugged in tandem. "What if he cuts himself?"
"Then he cuts himself. I had my first pocket knife at his age. And yeah, I cut myself a few times, but I learned from those nicks and scrapes how to be more careful."
"And look, there's a little pair of scissors on here, too! And a corkscrew! This is so amazing!" He could hardly set it aside to open his other presents, but he finally had everything open and then looked around expectantly. "So, who's next?"
"Why, want to help them out?"
"Maybe. I like opening presents." They all chuckled as Martha picked up the first of her gifts, sliding her fingernail beneath the tape to break the seal. She pulled off the paper to reveal a small jewelry box. Opening it, she gasped, showing her mother the amethyst ring nestled there.
"This is so perfect. Thank you, JJ, Will," she breathed out as she slipped the ring on her finger.
"We each got one for Henry, and I figured it would be fitting to get one for all of us with Kristen." JJ held up her finger to show off a matching ring, and they both burst into tears, hugging tightly.
"Mushy stuff, yuck," Henry said, rubbing his nose against Erin's shoulder.
"One day, you'll come to appreciate the mushy stuff, Hen," she whispered in his ear, feeling her own tears clog her throat.
As each person opened their gifts, the general oohing and aahing happened, and Erin found herself content to watch the proceedings. That is, until Spencer came to his present from her. "Does this have to be the very last one, Erin?" he asked, winking at her, "Because I have a present for you that needs to be the very last one, too."
In that moment, she knew what he had gotten her and she nodded. "We'll open the last ones together, provided I don't start crying too hard." He nodded as Emily snuggled into him, shaking her head a little.
Finally, Dave had opened the last of his gifts from the group and she and Spencer held up nearly identical small boxes. He cleared his throat and everyone looked at him. "A year ago, I made a promise to someone who has become a very dear friend. And with a lot of hard work, we've kept that promise. I've made it another year, and she's made it through her first. Here's to the beginning of the next year, and all the years to come."
She drew in a shaky breath and nodded. "The first, best, year of my life recently. We're going to make it through anything, I'm convinced of it, Spencer." She delicately tore the paper off the small box and revealed a heavy golden coin on a chain. The one year engraving made her smile and she quickly put it around her neck. "Thank you." The tears that had been threatening to fall spilled down her cheeks and she hugged Henry a little more tightly.
"What's wrong, Aunt Erin?" he asked, reaching up to pat her cheek.
"I'm just so happy, honey. So very happy." She kissed his forehead lightly and he pouted a little. "Sorry about the mushy stuff. That happens when grownups are happy, kiddo."
Henry nodded and snuggled back into her. "Can we watch a movie?" he asked, looking to his mother.
"I don't see why not. We all have tomorrow off, so we can stay up as late as we want. How about we get Uncle Dave and Uncle Derek to make hot chocolate for us while we pick out something to watch?"
He grinned up at her. "That would be great! Daddy can help out, too!" he volunteered and Will stood up, shaking his head a little.
"I'll get out the Christmas movies, Mama," Sarah said as she stood up, going over to the bookcase and pulling down a case of DVDs. "So, we could start with Rudolph and move on to The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and then a few more animated movies? Those were always my favorites when I was younger."
The boys nodded and she popped the first DVD in, starting it up before coming to sit at Erin's feet. Soon, Martha and Ken had joined her, Martha wrapping her arm around one of Erin's legs.
After Dave and the others had returned with trays of hot chocolate and Christmas cookies, she crooked her finger to her husband. "Why don't you grab out some pillows and blankets? We should be comfortable while we're watching the movies."
He nodded before kissing her sweetly. "Anything for you, my beloved English rose." He disappeared for a few more minutes before returning with the requested items, passing them around before settling next to her on the couch. Erin leaned against him, letting him wrap an arm around her shoulders as she focused on the movie.
It didn't take long for the boys to fall asleep, tired out by the meal and their excitement. Aaron was the first to speak up after they had. "Well, I suppose that should be our cue to get to sleep ourselves. Where are we going to be bunking down tonight, Dave?"
"Maddie and I are going to sleep with Mama and Papa Dave," Martha quickly said, as if daring the others to disagree.
"The boys can join me in my room," Ken said, smiling at his mother.
"All right, well let's get everyone squared away, then." Dave took the sleeping Henry from Erin's arms and she stood, stretching a little. "Follow us."
They trooped upstairs and Ken opened his door first, helping Aaron put Jack down in the middle of the king sized bed. Dave set Henry next to the sleeping kid and then they left to drop more people off. Soon, everyone was in a room and they made their way back to their bedroom.
"Merry Christmas, David." She kissed him softly as they closed the door to the hall. From the corner of her eye, she saw her girls watching them, somehow already in pajamas. "But it seems we have an audience."
"That we do, Erin. Unfortunately, we cannot give them a show tonight."
"Or any night, Papa Dave," Martha teased gently, rubbing her stomach absently. "Now are you coming to bed anytime soon? We only want to get comfortable once."
Maddie nodded, shrugging as she grinned. Erin rolled her eyes and went over to their armoire, pulling out pajamas for the both of them. "Let's go get changed in the bathroom," she purred, enjoying the blush that appeared on both her daughters' cheeks.
He laughed as he followed her through the door, shutting it behind him. "I love the way you think, Erin." Leaning forward, he kissed her gently. "A year of utter and complete joy. Yes, we've had our bumps along the way, but I never want to let you go."
Dave began to undo the buttons on her blouse, slipping it from her shoulders before unclasping her bra. The coin rested between her breasts and he picked it up, fingering it delicately. "And now I've made it a year with you and the others beside me. Thank you, David." Leaning up on tiptoe, she kissed him passionately, enjoying the feel of his shirt against her breasts. Her fingers made short work of his buttons and she tugged the shirt off, baring his chest to her lips and fingers.
"You can't tease me tonight, beloved. We have to spend the night with our daughters in the room with us."
A warm glow filled her heart at those words and she nodded as she shimmied out of the rest of her clothes, pulling the nightgown over her head and letting it fall around her ankles. He just as swiftly changed before leading her back out into the bedroom. Both Madeline and Martha were fast asleep already, curled up on her usual side of the bed, and she sighed.
"They look like angels," she whispered as she crawled in beside Martha, spooning her body around hers, resting a hand on her stomach, only to feel the baby kick against it.
"They do. But then, they take after their mother." He dropped a kiss on her cheek as he joined her in the bed, his own arm supporting her breasts as he nuzzled his face into her hair. "Three perfect angels who wormed their way into my heart and blessed my life with such happiness." He placed another kiss on her neck and she sighed deeply.
"I love you, David."
"I love you, Erin. Merry Christmas." Lowly, he began to sing. "Silent night, holy night," and she couldn't help but join him.
"Sleep in heavenly peace," she murmured, feeling that peace steal over her as she fell asleep. Christmas in Quantico had been just as wonderful as her Christmas in Maine, and she never wanted to let go of that feeling.