A name for Baby Girl
Late June, 2010
Emily stood bent over the cradle looking at her little baby girl, who was fast asleep. She loved to just look at her while she slept, because she looked so peaceful. Emily smiled and walked back to her and Hotch's bed where he was sitting with books spread around him.
"So, what do you think about Carolina?" Hotch asked as Emily sat down next to him.
She wrinkled up her nose and said, "But that's a state."
"It is a nice name."
"Yeah, but I'm not going to name my daughter after a state," Emily said and grabbed one of the books herself. "Where did you get all off this book with baby names from?"
"Two of them are the ones you brought and the rest is JJ's."
Emily looked surprised at Hotch. "Aaron, are you serious? There are like twenty books here."
"Apparently JJ and Will had a more difficult time picking out a name for Henry than we through," Hotch said and grabbed another book. "So, do you have any suggestion, because we can't keep calling her Baby Girl?"
"I don't think Garcia will ever stop calling her that, but you've got a point," Emily said with a laugh. "What about America?"
"You won't name her after a state, but will name her after the country you live in?" Hotch raised an eyebrow.
"I was just kidding."
Hotch leafed through the book and then looked up. "What about Ophelia?"
"Like from Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'?"
"Well, yes."
"Doesn't Hamlet dead in the end?"
"Emily, do you like the name or not?"
"I like Addison better," Emily said and laid her book down and pulled her legs to her chest.
"Addison is the name of a disease," Hotch said and put his book down, too.
Emily sighed, "Let's just go to bed. We can talk about it tomorrow, okay?"
"Let's do that. It won't hurt her to be called Baby Girl for one more day," Hotch said.
"Baby Girl Hotchner," Emily said with a wide grin.
Hotch shook his head. "That will never happen."
/
Jack was sitting under the kitchen table at Hotch and Emily's apartment. Hotch had picked him up after work so he could spend the rest of the week with them, and he had helped Jack build a cave under the kitchen table where he was playing now. But Jack did not think it was as much fun as it used to be, because his dad and Emily would usually play with him, but today they kept talking about names for his little sister. He stuck his head out between the blankets and looked at them sitting on the couch with the 'baby names' books on the coffee table.
"Julie?"
"No," Emily said. "Erika?"
Hotch shock his head and turn a page. "Elizabeth?"
"Like my mother? God no!" Emily sighed. "What about Sarah?"
"No."
"Why not? It's a sweet name and it means princess."
"It's too common, but how about Emma?"
"No."
"And why not?"
"It's too close to my name – Emma and Emily. No." Emily sighed and leant back into the couch. "Aaron, do you ever think we will find a name we both agree on?"
"Of course we will, but it is probably just going to take some time."
Jack looked back and forth between them. He knew the perfect name for his little sister, but no one even through about asking him what he would like her to be named, so he silently crawled back into his cave and blocked out their voices as he went back to playing.
/
The next day was Friday and Jack had been allowed to stay home from preschool, so he could go to the office with Emily and Baby Girl and as they walked through the glass doors Garcia squealed loudly. They were soon surrounded by the others, who all wanted to see the little girl again. They had all been to visit them at the hospital after Baby Girl had been born, but Emily had not been up to any visitors since then and the others had been very understanding. Baby Girl's birth had not really gone as planed and Hotch had been nervous about how the whole thing would affect Jack. The first couple of weeks after the birth Jack would not go anywhere near the kitchen or be home alone with Emily; because he was afraid it would happen again and they had given up on trying to convince him that it would not. But now things seemed to have gotten better and Jack was very protective of his new baby sister.
"So, do you like being a big brother?" Morgan asked and pulled Jack into his lap.
Jack nodded. "But she cries at night and it sometimes wakes me up."
"That sucks."
Jack nodded again and leant closer to Morgan and whisper in his ear. "She doesn't have a name yet. Daddy and Emily can't find one."
"They can't?"
"Nope, so we still just calls her Baby Girl like you call Penny," Jack said jumping of Morgan's lap when everyone started going back to doing paperwork. Jack ran over JJ. Hugging her around the waist he looked up at her with a big smile. "Jenny, can I come with you to your office?"
"Sure." JJ grabbed Jack's hand and they were about to work off together when Hotch turned around to look at Jack with Baby Girl in his arms. "You don't want to come with me to my office?" He asked carefully handling her to Emily.
Jack and JJ looked at each other and laughed. "Not today daddy," Jack said and then they walked away still laughing.
"What is going on with the two of them?" Hotch asked confused and looked at Emily, who just shrugged her shoulder with a smile.
/
Jack liked Garcia's office. It was filled with funny toys and happy pictures and Garcia would usually let him watch a movie on one of her computers. That was really great! But JJ, she had a candy bar in her drawer for him. A candy bar! Candy was much better when a movie. Jack could watch a movie everyday if he wanted to, but he was not allowed to eat candy doing the week – only on Saturdays and Sundays, so the candy bar was Jack and JJ's little secret.
Jack sat down on the edge of JJ's couch, swinging his legs back and forth and ate the candy bar in silence. JJ sat down next to him. "You are really quiet. Is something wrong?" JJ asked and kissed his cheek.
Jack looked up at her. "Daddy and Emily fights."
"They do?"
"Well it's not really fighting they just don't agree. They say 'no' to everything ther other says." Jack sighed. "I think my sister is going to be called Baby Girl for the rest for her life."
JJ smiled. "Baby names can be difficult to agree on. It took Will and me a long time, but then we heard the name Henry and we both just loved it."
"But I already know that name I love – Sophie!" Jack smiled widely.
"That is a lovely name," JJ said and wiped some chocolate of Jack's lips. "What did your daddy and Emily say to it?"
"I haven't told them and didn't ask if I had any ideas." Jack looked a little sad at her.
JJ got up from the couch and pulled Jack with her and then went over to her desk and got out a piece of paper and some colour pencils from her bottom desk drawer. She handed the things to Jack and said, "I have an idea. Why don't you make a name sign for your sister's pram?"
Jack smiled, but it slowly faded away. "I don't know how to spell it."
JJ quickly wrote 'Sophie' on a post it note and laid it in front of Jack. "Here you go."
A couple of minutes later Jack was finish with his drawing and showed it to JJ. "Look Jenny, it's all done."
JJ looked at it. Sophie was written in pink and all around the name were flowers painted in red, purple and orange. "It's really pretty, Jack."
"Thank you!" Jack said and ran out the door with his drawing in one hand and the tape in the other. He ran down to Hotch's office and stuck his head in. "Come with me, daddy," Jack said and ran off again. Confused Hotch got up from his desk and followed after his son, who was on his way down the stairs. Garcia stood leant over the pram's handle looking at the baby, when Jack walked up to her and gently pushed her away.
"Jack, what are you doing?" Emily asked just as Hotch reached them.
Jack did not answer her; he just held the drawing between his knees while he cut a couple piece of tape of the tape. Then he took the drawing from between his knees and taped it to the pram and turned around. "Her name is now Sophie!" Jack said determined with his hands on his hips looking at Hotch and Emily, who were stirring at him open mouthed.
"It's creepy how much Jack looks like Hotch right now," Garcia whispered to Morgan.
"I know that you mean and there is no way that little girl is going to get any other name but Sophie now," he whispered back.
"You couldn't find a name for her, so I did."
Hotch and Emily looked at each other and then Emily started laughing. She bent down and hugged Jack. "I love the name!"
Jack over Emily's shoulder and looked up at Hotch. "Do you love it too, daddy?"
Hotch smiled and nodded. "I do."