A/N: Gulp! What have I gotten myself in for? Sigh. SLAP! Focus; you can do this! Okay, I'm totally over that now.

I am rating this story M because their MAY be sex scenes later in the piece (better to be safe, than sorry) and there will definitely be adult themes and perhaps even a little language.

I'm taking a minute here to extend my thanks and gratitude to everyone who likes my work; I truly appreciate reading what you've written in your reviews or seeing a story or charmony added to your favourites lists and it inspires me to continue writing as I have begun. In particular I would like to thank those who have reviewed any of the last four pieces that I haven't already thanked: Bibi-Hibiki, miaa29, greengirl82 and blackandblueangel.

Also wanted to hugely thank PandaMeetsSquirel and fanficlover; your reviews in particular are giving me warm fuzzies whenever I read them and inspire me to write even better pieces. I hope this one doesn't disappoint.

This chapter will primarily be short scenes of the lead up to the big events and may even be from multiple view points.

PLEASE NOTE: This is NPH 9. If you aren't already following this series, I recommend that you make your way to my author profile page and start with NPH 1, as some or all of this will not make sense otherwise.

DISCLAIMER: I sadly do not own Criminal Minds, its storylines or characters. I can only claim to manipulate them for the purposes of this story.

Something Old…

"Agent Hotchner."

Hotch looked up from the paperwork he was reviewing and started to find Erin Strauss standing in his doorway with her arms crossed and a foot tapping an annoyed beat. He stood quickly as he rapidly reviewed his calendar to be sure he hadn't missed an appointment with her.

"Chief Strauss. To what do I owe this visit?"

"Is this, or is this not, still the Federal Bureau of Investigation?"

"To my knowledge that hasn't changed," he said slowly, cautiously, wondering where this was going and sure he wasn't going to like it at all.

"Then why is the meeting room in this section of the building filled with magazines, flowers and other bits and pieces? Unless we've suddenly become a wedding agency?"

He winced internally. "I'll take care of it Mam."

"See that you do," she said before she stalked off quickly with a disdainful look down the landing at the room in question. He sighed quietly and stepped out of his office. Dave stood just off to the side and shot him a questioning look.

"Everything alright?"

"I'm about to find out. Strauss had a complaint about the state of the meeting room."

"I might walk with you. She's got me curious."

"You and me both."

They set off down the landing in the opposite direction. Stopping in the doorway, they exchanged amused smiles.

Emily, Garcia and JJ were huddled around a massive piece of paper manipulating little bits of paper lying on it in an effort to sort out table and seating arrangements. It was only Wednesday, but already these three women had taken everything firmly in hand and had guest lists and invitations already sorted and in the mail. They were working everything on the assumption that no one would decline the invitations and if anyone did, they would simply be removed from the arrangements.

He checked the rest of the room and thought Strauss might have a point. The parts of the table not taken up by the paper of the reception hall were covered by magazines. Miniature flower arrangements were everywhere and there were baskets, ribbon and other things scattered all over.

He waited a minute to see if they'd be noticed him but when none of the women looked up, he cleared his throat. They all looked up at him and then about the room guiltily.

"Since we don't need the room, I don't really mind you using it for this reason. Unfortunately Strauss does, so I need you to clear this up and make another time to work on it. I'm sure your partners will understand if you are a bit busy in the evenings for the next few weeks."

He watched as they sighed and started packing everything up.

"Are you sure you're going to survive the next few weeks without her?"

"Having just opened my big mouth, I guess I'll have to wait and see."

New Section-

Emily smiled bravely at the nurse as the woman left the room to prepare the shot she'd be given to put her under for her surgery. The second the woman was out of the room, she pulled up her bag and fished out her mobile just as it started ringing.

"Hey, I was just about to call you."

"Hey kitten. How're you doing?"

"I'd be better if you weren't clear across the country right now. I missed you last night being here and Jack and I both missed you Thursday evening too."

JJ had finally received a request that stuck for the case that had landed on and off again on her desk for over a week and the whole team minus Emily had left for Seattle, Washington Thursday morning. Jack had been thrilled to still have one parental figure about but that hadn't stopped him missing his dad and the more he'd missed his dad, the more Emily had noticed his absence. Sleeping Thursday night had been impossible; she realised she'd become so accustomed to his presence that she couldn't sleep without him. Last night had been easier because she'd been so drained by the pain of having her knee drained, poked, prodded and moved this way and that for x-rays that they'd given her a combination painkiller/sleeping pill that knocked her out.

"We might have this all wrapped up by lunchtime if one of Reid's two hunches pay off. If we do, I'll be with you by midnight tonight and with Jess keeping Jack tomorrow for us, I can come spend the entire day with you."

"Hmm, I like the sound of that. The nurse is back to knock me out and she's frowning at the use of my mobile phone. I'd better go."

"I love you Emily. Never forget that."

"I never do; I love you too Aaron, so much."

New Section-

"What happened to the lovely, conscientious women we normally work with?" Derek demanded as three voices raised in anger wafted through the bullpen. "Isn't that the fourth time in the last week they've argued about something at volume? Strauss will start spitting chips soon if this continues."

Aaron continued reading the file he had in his hand as he answered, "Emily limped out of the apartment this morning muttering something about flowers and it being a really bad idea to mix the decorations in one of the sections. I got the feeling they can't agree on something major. And it's too late where Strauss is concerned."

"What about you guys completing the decorating in the fourth section yourselves and saving the rest of us from having to hear about that for the rest of our working lives?"

"Ah Hotch, you might want to go rescue Emily. I didn't think I'd ever see it, but she just burst into tears."

Aaron sighed and dropped the file on the end of Derek's desk. "I have no idea what's going on in that woman's head anymore. I'll be back for this."

"You mean you did before?" Dave asked in surprised amusement.

He needn't have worried though because the rest of the guys followed him.

He strode into JJ's office and found Emily sitting on a chair, leg extended in the brace and face in her hands as she sobbed quietly. Garcia and JJ took one look at him and pointing at the other person said simultaneously, "She did it!"

He glared briefly at both of them and crouched down beside the chair. He pulled her hands away from her face and peered up at her under the wave of her hair, ignoring the fragrance that called him to bury his face in her neck and kiss her senseless.

"Hey kitten. Things not going so well here?"

She shook her head and hiccupped. "I didn't think it was that bad but suddenly I was just crying and I couldn't stop."

"Derek had a great suggestion. Since Kevin, Will and I will also be at the reception being thrown for all of us, the three of us men should be able to participate in the decorating. Since I really like the idea, the section for the bridal parties and our combined nearest and dearest will be decorated by us and that's that."

"Even if you have to decorate it on your own?" JJ asked with wide eyes.

"Even if. No more arguing. If the three of you are having an issue, bring it to me. If I can't mediate it, I nominate Derek, Dave and Reid to do so in my place. Understand me? If another argument takes place at work, I'm cancelling all leave being taken for honeymoons, even my own."

The girls mumbled agreement and Garcia mumbled a further apology to Emily as she walked out of the room. Aaron helped Emily to her feet as JJ also apologised and walked her out of the room.

Crisis averted and with luck, the next week would be smoother than this one.

New Section-

Peace had reigned supreme for the last 6 days but that peace was about to be shattered in a big way. Only Will didn't have any family flying in for the wedding but he was at the airport to finally meet JJ's mother and her only aunt as they arrived in from Pennsylvania.

Within a two hour span after their arrival, the rest of the invited family members for the other two couples would be touching down. Hotch's brother Sean was first followed almost immediately by Garcia's four brothers. Kevin's sister was arriving at the end of the first hour and according to Kevin, they would have another 45 minutes to brace themselves for the arrival of his parents and then another 15 to brace further before Emily's mother arrived at the end of the two hour span.

"Where's JJ?" Will asked, returning from a walk to a large window facing the runway with Henry.

"In the bathroom with Garcia and Emily. I'm pretty certain they are trying to comfort Emily."

Will nodded as he set Henry on his feet and watched his son making a beeline for Kevin and Jack and the brightly coloured game they were currently playing.

"She does look real stressed. Is her mother as…ah…uptight as JJ said she could be?"

"Oh I'm pretty certain JJ was being polite when she spoke about her."

"You don't need to hold to that nicety?"

"Nope; Emily insists the only way I can comfort her is to tell it like it is so I don't even bother sugar-coating things where her mother is concerned. She says I'm being a smart partner."

Will nodded sagely as the women walked toward them. Emily looked a little better, JJ shot him a smile and Garcia bounced to his son and scooped the little boy up for a happy exchange of raspberries as the screens showed JJ's family's flight had just landed.

New Section-

4 hours later, Aaron shifted his weight off Emily's luscious body and pulled her in snug against him.

"Babe, I'm so glad we are talking about moving to a bigger place after your mother leaves town."

Emily's laugh was drowsy. "Hmm; it would definitely have been a difficult few days. How many times did she insist it wasn't too late to double the guest list and that we should have a reception all of our own to accommodate guests of her choosing?"

"I counted five times total; once each to us, twice to Will and JJ because they were the only ones close by while we collected her luggage and another mention snuck in to Kevin's entirely too-sympathetic parents."

Not all of the group had been hard to deal with though. Mariah Jareau and Marisa Watana were older versions of JJ's cool beauty and turned out to be friendly and warm individuals who instantly adored Henry and who eyed Will with definite approval.

Sean had arrived and he'd been thrilled to see his brother looking so relaxed and happy and was pleased as punch at the surprise he'd dropped on them; when he'd sent through his r.s.v.p. to both events, he'd indicated he would be bringing a date. What he hadn't told his big brother was that the 'date' he was bringing was actually the fiancée he'd kept quiet for the last year. Hannah was a sweet woman inside and out with honey-blond hair and big green eyes that looked at Sean like he was her world. They'd arrived with a wedding invitation for them that he and Emily had immediately replied to.

When Sean had pulled him aside later and told him he'd chosen well this second time around, Aaron had felt strong emotion well-up as he'd mentioned that Hannah was a perfect choice also. Sean had broken the emotional moment by asking if he'd invited his mother and Aaron had shot him a cool look and asked why he would possibly want to ruin a perfectly good day. Sean had backed off and Emily had urged him to take a short walk with her, thus soothing the ragged edges off his soul before he had to meet and be social with anyone else.

Garcia's four brothers, Mick, Shane, Harry and Ramirez (Rami to his friends) were big guys all over 6 feet tall who doted on their only sister. The only one who didn't match in looks was Rami, who'd been born to their mother and stepfather but it was obvious no one really cared about that because they were all very close. Kevin took a walk with the guys looking like he was about to face a lynch mob and as a group they returned laughing and jovial. No matter how Garcia prodded, no one would give up what had been discussed; all they'd say was that she'd made a wise choice.

Kevin's little sister arrived on the arm of a man who had to be at least 20 years her senior but who was obviously known and liked by Kevin; he'd admitted later that he'd had his reservations about Phillip Atlas's intentions towards his much younger girlfriend Britney but his sister was head-over-heels in love with a much older man who obviously loved her regardless of the age gap between them. Garcia had met Britney and Phillip at their wedding the year before so she warmly welcomed them and thanked Britney for agreeing to be an additional bridesmaid for her.

They found a café and sat down for coffee as they waited for the last three arrivals. Conversation had been light and easy and revolved around the details of each of the three weddings. Then it had been back to the arrivals gates, with Kevin continuing to apologise in advance for his parents. When Garcia had told him to stop fretting because surely they couldn't be that bad, he pointed out there was a reason they hadn't been invited to Britney's wedding and the same reason applied as to why he'd been so certain he didn't want them at his. The only reason they'd gotten an invite was because Garcia had sent it off saying she wanted them there.

It had taken Allen and Sandra Lynch less than a minute to totally offend the entire group and another minute after that before Garcia hissed in her fiancé's ear that he needed to keep them well away from her or she would be up on murder charges.

By comparison, Elizabeth Prentiss had been a delight to greet. She was stiffly formal and polite with everyone as she was introduced. 5 minutes later she'd spoiled her daughters' pleasure in her company.

As they made their way to the baggage carousel, she'd linked arms with her daughter and immediately launched into the extra people who should be invited to this very special event in her only child's life. Emily had shut her mother down calmly, stating the invitations were out and they were extremely happy with the guest list as it was. That lasted all of 10 minutes before she'd latched onto him and appealed to his sense of political correctness. Since he hated politics too, she'd gotten no further with him.

When they'd volunteered to collect her luggage for her and moved off, she'd apparently spent some time with Will and JJ trying to get them to help her change their minds. When that hadn't worked, she'd moved to stand with the Lynch's and complained to them about the lack of polite society who would be present at the upcoming nuptials. The Lynch's in turn, discussed the sheer stupidity of choosing to get married at the zoo. The three had hit it off in a way Kevin and Emily deplored.

By the time they'd left the airport, they were so grateful that the ambassador had hired a chauffeured car Emily had been wiping away a couple of tears. When Sean had quietly asked him if he was really okay with having a mother-in-law like that, he'd pointedly ignored the question as he hugged Emily and they heaved such sighs of relief that they'd laughed.

Jack had been so tired he'd turned grumpy at missing his nap. They'd dealt with it by making a rare stop at McDonalds for food; after consuming his with gusto, Jack had promptly fallen asleep. They'd put him to bed as soon as they'd gotten home and totally uninterested in anything else, he'd pulled Emily into the bedroom and seduced her til he was having to silence her screams with long, drugging kisses to avoid waking Jack.

"I feel so sorry for Kevin and Penelope. They were lucky they didn't have room for his parents to stay with them either but I can totally understand why he wouldn't want them here this weekend."

"It definitely explains why Kevin was so quick to volunteer his parents for their main section when we ran out of seating in the combined one." He yawned hugely and buried his face in her neck as he wrapped his arms more securely around her waist.

"Hmm. Another day and then we are officially Mr and Mrs Hotchner to the world. It'll be nice to stop hiding the truth…"

Her voice faded as she slipped into sleep and seconds later, he joined her as they dreamt of their big day.

New Section-

Emily smiled at Candice Wagner happily but her physiotherapist wagged a cautioning finger at her.

"Emily, I mean it when I say stay off the knee as much as possible. The slipper-shoes are a great idea in place of heels, but you still shouldn't be walking or standing unaided for very long, let alone for as long as would be required over the next three days. Make sure Aaron is clear on this and is with you for support as much as possible. If he isn't available, make sure you are either sitting down or someone else is providing support. Understood?"

"Yes Candice," Emily said as a bubble of happiness made her grin from ear to ear. 2 weeks of intense therapy had brought her to the point where she could limp down the aisle without needing the crutches.

Dave had been honoured by her request to walk her down the aisle and give her away and had happily relinquished his place in the grooms line up to do just that. She knew that he would be of total support for her as she needed it if Aaron wasn't available at any time.

This had been another bone of contention with her mother, but Dave had fully supported her decision and with Aaron completely on side, they'd backed her mother down. So Derek and Reid would stand with Sean as Aaron's grooms party and Jess joined JJ and Garcia on her side of the aisle.

"Just so you are sure. Now off with you to see the doctor. They should have your latest blood results and x-rays by now."

She hugged Candice as she extended her thanks and best wishes for the weekend ahead and taking up her crutches moved out of the room and down to her doctor's office at the end of the hall. She knocked awkwardly at the open door and entered at his call.

"Right Emily, we have your latest results and I can say it's looking good for you. Your knee is healing well and if you continue with the exercises Candice has given you I don't foresee any issues before you return from your honeymoon.

"Your blood work has also come back negative for infection, which is wonderful however we did find something else there that may have serious repercussions in the future that I want to discuss with you."

"What is it?"

End-

A/N: Stay tuned for the first of the three weddings and still to come…what the doctor found in Emily's blood work that has him so concerned.

Sorry for the length of time between postings. The last few weeks have been a little intense and unfortunately this week will be the same as I am attending a three day conference. I'll get chapter two out soonest.

As always, I love reviews, so please let me know what you think.