This story is based a few months after JJ, Emily, and the kids' first Christmas together. For those who haven't read my other stories, these are all linked together, and the timeline is different from the show slightly. But you'll figure that out once you read this.
And yes for those who read my last story, 'Unexpected', I am working on the sequel to that one, it's just taking me longer than I anticipated.
Chapter 1
Emily was attempting to wrangle Henry and Ethan into their clothes on this certain chilly March morning, while JJ was getting breakfast together.
"Guys come on, work with me here" the brunette woman begged as she held a red t-shirt out to a resistant four year old
"Uh uh" Henry replied as he shook his head back and forth, his long blonde hair flapping across his face as he did
"H, listen buddy, I know you don't want to go to school, but once you get there you'll have fun" Emily said as she tried another angle
"Daddy said I not haf to" he told her as he crossed his little arms
The brunette woman sighed and cursed Will under her breath. The man hadn't been around for over a year now, then he just showed up out of the blue demanding to see Henry. As angry as JJ was, she couldn't deny Henry the right to see his father, especially after seeing his face light up at the sight of his daddy. However, Will's reappearance had sparked something in Henry causing him to act up more than he ever had in the past. He was throwing more tantrums now than he had during his bout of terrible two's. He was resistant to almost everything Emily and JJ asked him or told him to do and both women were positive it had to do with Will. When he had returned and found out that JJ and Emily were in a relationship he was furious. He didn't agree with it at all and he voiced his opinions quite loudly the first evening he returned Henry to Emily's condo. He cursed at JJ and called Emily names, before telling both of them they would be going to hell. Declan and Ethan had both been sitting on the stairs listening to the entire thing, before they both couldn't stand by anymore. The two raced down the stairs and began yelling back at the man they knew was Henry's father. Will wasn't entirely aware of the situation with Declan and Ethan so when he finally found out the truth about who they were his frustrations grew even more. A few days later he served JJ with papers suing her for full custody of Henry. The four year old knew something was wrong but he didn't understand what was happening.
Emily turned her attention from Henry to Ethan, who was laying in bed watching everything.
"Ethan you need to get up and get dressed. We are all going to be late" she told her newly turned eight year old
"I don't want to go to school and neither does Henry" he stated as he pulled the covers over his head
Turning back to the little blonde again, Emily said, "Henry even if you don't want to go to school you have to get dressed. You can't stay in your underwear all day"
She held the red t-shirt back out to the four year old as they stared at one another intently.
"Henry. Don't make me count to three" she told him, her tone turning more serious
The blonde boy's eyes slanted in anger as he pursed his lips together. Emily stared at the stubborn little boy whom she loved dearly. And she prepared herself for what she knew was about to come.
"NO" he shouted as he grabbed the shirt from Emily's hand and threw it on the ground
"Henry Nicholas LaMontange you will get dressed right now. One…"
"NO" he shouted as he continued to stare at the brunette woman
By this time Ethan had pulled the covers back down and was watching the interaction between his mother and his brother.
"Two"
"NO. I hate you" Henry shouted again as he continued to stare at the brunette woman
Ethan's eyes went wide at what his brother had just said. He quickly looked at his mother and he could see the hurt and shock on her face, which she covered quickly.
Emily swallowed the lump in her throat as she struggled to maintain her composure. She took a deep breath before moving closer to Henry and picking up the shirt on the floor. Then she took one of his little hands and placed the shirt in his hand. She looked into the four year old's eyes before she spoke.
"Well Henry, I want you to know that I love you. Always. No matter what" then she leaned forward and kissed his forehead before standing up and walking towards the doorway.
She turned around just before she left the bedroom and looked at her brunette son, "Get dressed and be downstairs in five minutes"
Ethan nodded his head as he watched his mother leave their bedroom before he threw his covers off and rolled off of the bottom bunk. He looked at his little brother who was standing there still holding the red t-shirt. Then the four year old walked over to the toys in the corner of the room and started to pull some out to play with.
"You need to get dressed H" the brunette told the blonde
"I don't wanna" he replied
"I don't care what you want, it's the rule and we have to get dressed and go to school"
"Why?" Henry questioned as he finally turned around to look at his brother
"Because we just do. We have to go learn so we can be smart like your mom and my mom"
"I pway later?" Henry asked
Ethan nodded, "Yeah you can play when we get home from school"
"Okay" the four year old replied as he reached across the floor for his red t-shirt before pulling it over his head
Ethan sighed as he pulled a pair of jeans out of the drawer for Henry and handed them to him. The brunette then pulled out a pair of jeans for himself as he began to get dressed as well.
"Henry why did you tell mo-Emily that you hate her?"
The blonde shrugged his shoulders as he sat on the floor pulling on a pair of socks.
"I think you hurt her feelings"
Henry stopped pulling on his socks as he turned to look at his brother, "Reawy?"
Ethan nodded, "It's not nice to say you hate someone. You shouldn't say stuff like that"
"Daddy say it" the four year old stated, still not understanding why it was so bad
"Well it's mean and you shouldn't say it" Ethan told him as he pulled on his shoes before walking out of the bedroom
Meanwhile Emily had stopped outside the hall bathroom on her way out of the boy's bedroom. She knocked on the door to check on her oldest son.
"Declan you almost done in there? The other two are going to need in"
"I can't go to school today" he replied
Emily sighed as she leaned her forehead against the bathroom door, "Why not?"
"I don't have my lucky shirt" he answered
"Declan"
"Mom, seriously. We have a scrimmage today and I always wear my lucky shirt on these days"
"Where is it?" she asked
"I don't know I can't find it. It's probably dirty"
"D, if it's dirty I can't do anything about it, you know that" she told her almost teenage son
"Mooooom" he whined
"Oh for goodness sake" she said out loud, before turning and heading back to the boy's bedroom just after Ethan walked out and headed down the stairs
She walked into the bedroom and saw Henry dressed and sitting on the floor, his shoes beside him. She walked to the closet, quickly searching through the shirts to see if Declan's lucky shirt had gotten mixed up in Henry or Ethan's section. When she couldn't find it, she moved back to the teenager's side of the closet, quickly skimming through them again. She then headed over to the dresser, quickly searching through all the drawers to see if it had gotten stuck there and she came up empty again. She moved to the dirty clothes hamper in the boy's room, quickly dumping the contents out onto the floor and rummaging through them, still not finding anything. She sighed before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Then she opened her eyes and scanned the room, looking over the dirty clothes scattered across the floor before her eyes landed on a baby blue shirt sticking out from under the bunk bed. She hurried over to it and pulled it out to find the lucky baby blue t-shirt with a lacrosse stick on it. She sniffed it to see if it was okay to wear.
"YES!" she shouted as she jumped around in a circle with the shirt, before practically running back out of the bedroom and to the bathroom
She knocked on the door a couple of times, "Declan I found it, open up"
The twelve year old cracked the door open to find his brunette mother holding up his lucky baby blue t-shirt. He smiled and his eyes lit up as he swung the door completely open before launching himself into her arms, hugging her tightly.
Emily laughed as she wrapped her arms around the blonde teenager, returning the hug.
"Thanks mom" he told her as he pulled away before standing on his tip toes to kiss her cheek
He took the shirt out of her hands as he pulled it over his head and smiling widely at her. Emily merely shook her head before ruffling his hair.
"Okay kid, get downstairs and eat" she told him before turning to go downstairs herself
Declan rushed past her, jumping on the steel banister and sliding down it. She stopped and went back to the boy's bedroom, spotting Henry still on the floor staring at his shoes. She sighed as she leaned against the doorframe.
"Hey H, you need help with your shoes?" she asked
Sad eyes looked up at her from under his bangs as he nodded his head, "Pwease"
She smiled sadly at the small four year old as she walked over and sat down across from him. She picked up his superman hi top converse and began to slide one shoe on his foot before lacing it up. As she was lacing up the second shoe Henry stared intently at the brunette.
"I sowwy Em'ly" he said as he continued to look at her
Emily finished lacing up the shoe before she looked at the sad eyes looking back at her, "Thank you Henry"
"I not wanna be mean" he told her
The brunette nodded her head as she grabbed his ankle and pulled him closer to her, "I know you don't want to be mean sport. And I know you didn't mean what you said"
He shook his head vigorously, "I huwrt you?"
She nodded sadly at the little blonde, "Yeah sport, you hurt my feelings"
"I sowwy" he said again as a tear slid down his face before he sat up and threw himself into Emily's arms, wrapping them tightly around the brunettes neck
"Shhhh" she told him as she rubbed circles on his back, "It's okay H I forgive you. And I love you sport"
"I wuv you too" he told her as he sniffled
She smiled slightly before turning her head and kissing Henry on the cheek. She carefully pulled him back so that she could look into his light brown eyes.
"I forgive you Henry and we will talk more about it later, okay, but right now we need to go eat breakfast"
He nodded as he looked sadly at her.
She tilted her head to the side, before she cupped his face in her hands, "I love you Henry LaMontange, okay" before she leaned forward and kissed him on the lips
He nodded before she lifted him off her lap and stood up.
"Okay let's go eat" she told him as she nudged him out of the bedroom
When they made it downstairs and into the kitchen Ethan lept off of the barstool he was on and threw his arms around his mother's waist.
"I love you mommy" he told her
Emily returned the hug, "I love you too E"
JJ watched the interaction as she raised an eyebrow at the brunette, "What's that all about? I didn't get a greeting like that this morning"
Ethan let go of his mother and turned towards JJ, "Because Henry didn't say he hated you"
JJ's eyes went wide as they darted from the eight year old, back up to Emily's who smiled sadly. The blonde then turned to her four year old son who had just climbed up onto the bar stool to eat his breakfast.
"Henry Nicholas LaMontange did you tell Emily you hated her?" she asked the little blonde in an angry tone
"JJ it's okay-"
"It's NOT okay Emily, so don't act like it is. We both know why those words even came out of his mouth" she said before turning back to the youngest boy
"We do not speak like that in this house young man" the blonde woman told her son in a harsh tone
"I'm sowwy mommy" the four year old told her sadly
"You need to tell Emily you are sorry"
"But I dids" he replied
JJ looked from Henry to Emily who's lips were in a thin line as she nodded, "He did"
"Okay. Well…we will talk more about this when you get home" JJ told her son as she set a bowl of cereal in front of the small boy
"You two go get your backpacks and your jackets" JJ told Declan and Ethan
The two boys hopped off of their chairs and ran up the stairs to their room to grab their stuff. As Declan stuck a book in his backpack he turned to his brother.
"Did Henry really say that to Emily?" he questioned
Ethan pulled his red hoodie over his grey v-neck t-shirt before turning to look at his older brother.
"Ya" he nodded as he grabbed his red and gray striped scarf and wrapped it around his neck
Declan nodded silently as he pulled his black leather jacket on over his lucky blue t-shirt before grabbing his green scarf and wrapping it around his neck.
Meanwhile downstairs JJ was leaning against the counter, her palms face down on the countertop as she looked at her son who was sitting in front of her at the bar eating his cereal.
"Henry why would you tell Emily you hate her?" the blonde woman asked as the boy slurped his cereal
He shrugged his shoulders and continued to eat.
"Henry Nicholas LaMontagne look at me" she ordered
The four year old dropped his spoon, causing it to fall into the bowl splattering him and the counter with milk and a few pieces of cheerios.
"JJ it's okay let him finish eating" Emily said as she stepped up beside the younger woman
The blonde turned to glare at the brunette.
"No" she told her, "This is not okay. He can't just say things like that and think there aren't any consequences"
"Jayje he's four"
"I know how old he is Emily" JJ replied in a sarcastic tone, "I also know that he has NEVER said that to anyone before. Funny how he just happens to spit it out after spending the weekend with Will"
"JJ-"
"Emily don't" JJ said holding up her hand as she stepped away from the brunette, "Don't you dare tell me it's okay, because it's not"
The brunette took a deep breath before stepping up beside the younger woman and placing a hand on her forearm.
"I know it's not okay JJ. I was there when he said it. And it hurt my feelings, but he knows that now."
"Don't fight mommy" Henry said as he looked at his blonde mother
"We aren't fighting baby" she replied gently before looking into his light brown eyes and smiling
"Sweetie if you're finished eating go get your jacket and your backpack so we can go to school" she told him
Henry put the spoon back in the bowl as he jumped off of the barstool and turned to run up the stairs. JJ then took a deep breath before turning to look at Emily.
"I'm sorry Em" she told the older woman as she reached for her hand
Emily smiled slightly, "I know baby. But it's not your fault. And I dealt with it in the moment and later he apologized. He didn't mean it, he was just mad I was making him get dressed"
"That's still no excuse for him to say it and I'm going to talk to him tonight when we get home" the blonde told her
Emily nodded before leaning forward and placing a kiss on JJ's forehead. A moment later there were the sounds of several footsteps as the three boys came running down the stairs.
They turned to find all three waiting impatiently next to the bar. They both smiled at them before JJ pulled Henry forward and zipped up his green jacket. Then the two women grabbed their bags as they ushered the three boys out of the condo.
While they were at the BAU Emily was working on paperwork more diligently than usual. JJ had snuck off to Garcia's for a quick chat and Reid was staring at the pages of a book with intensity. Morgan had been watching Emily most of the morning, noticing there was something off with her. He also noticed she never went to lunch and it was nearing two o'clock. He hadn't eaten either so he made his way to the brunette's desk.
"Hey Prentiss, you hungry?" he asked as he walked up to her desk
She didn't respond or even acknowledge his presence.
"Emily" he said again as he touched her shoulder
The brunette nearly jumped out of her skin as she gasped and let her back hit the back of her chair.
"Jesus Morgan. You almost gave me a heart attack"
"Princess I said your name twice and you didn't respond" he told her
"Oh"
He cocked his head to the side as he stared at her, noticing how she was clearly contemplating something.
"You hungry? I was going to grab a bite and I noticed you never ate"
"I'm not really hungry" she replied as she scooted back up to her desk to work on her paperwork again
Morgan grabbed her chair and pulled her away from her desk, spinning her towards him, "Emily you need to eat and I'm hungry. Just come to the little café with me. Please"
Emily rolled her eyes when she saw him give her the puppy face, "Fine"
Morgan smiled his one hundred watt smile, "Thank you"
Emily got up and the two of them headed down to the little café for a late lunch.
As they were waiting for their food to come Morgan finally spoke up as he looked at his partner in the chair across from him.
"Prentiss what's going on?" he asked
She locked eyes with him and opened her mouth to reply when he held up his hand.
"Don't even think about lying to me Emily. I know you. Something is bothering you"
The brunette sighed, "I hate profilers"
The dark skinned man laughed, "You hate them yet you live with one"
"Oh shut up" Emily said playfully, cracking a smile
"Now there's the Emily Prentiss I know" he said pointing to her smile
It faded quickly as she turned her water glass in circles. Finally she sighed once again before speaking.
"Henry told me he hated me this morning"
Morgan was stunned. That was the last thing he was expecting her to say. Those three boys were probably some of the sweetest and fun loving boys he had ever come in contact with. Then he remembered that Will had come back into the picture. He felt the anger boil up at the thought of what that man was filling the four year old boy's innocent head with.
"Em, he's four, he didn't mean it" he told her as he tried to level the anger inside of him
"I know. It's just…I never expected him to be the first one out of the three of them to say it"
"What prompted him to even say it?" Morgan asked, wanting to know what had possessed the tiny blonde to say those words
"He didn't want to get dressed for school this morning. I mean neither did Ethan, so I'm sure that played a part. But while Ethan just laid in bed with the covers over his head, Henry stood there in his underwear. He threw the shirt, I asked him to put on, to the ground, and then told me he hated me"
"Emily I think there's more to it than that"
"I know that Morgan" she snapped
The dark skinned agent stared at the sad look on his friends face. He could tell how badly Henry had hurt her even though she knew deep down that the four year old didn't understand what he had said.
"This is all Will's fault" Morgan finally stated, no longer able to hold it in
"Derek-"
"No. Emily you know it's true. You don't like him anymore than I do, so why are you protecting him? He has done nothing but cause your family turmoil and heart ache the last couple of months. And he filed for sole custody of Henry! I mean come on, you were pissed when you found out about that"
"I know. But Derek, he's still Henry's father. I don't want him to see me treat his father badly and in turn hate me. He deserves to have a father in his life. Declan and Ethan are already going to miss out on that themselves…I mean, God, why did all three of their father's have to turn out to be assholes?"
Morgan sat there for a moment, soaking in everything his partner and friend had just said.
"Emily you taking the so called high road in this scenario isn't working in anyone's favor. Henry is learning horrible things from Will. I mean aren't you worried about what other stuff he is telling him? I think you need to take a stand, maybe even in front of Henry. Maybe if he sees Will threaten you he will jump to your defense. You are the one who has been around the last year. Will hasn't."
Emily tilted her head to the side as she looked at her friend, "But Morgan I disappeared from his life for a year also"
"Okay, but still, Emily you and JJ are going to have to do something"
"Don't you think I know that Morgan. There's not a lot we can do with this custody battle going on. And I don't want to do anything that could jeopardize JJ losing Henry. I would never forgive myself. She's already worried enough."
"Well then, do you want me to pay Will a visit? Because you know, I would be glad to" he said with a smile
Emily returned the smile, "No, Derek, but thank you"
"Always princess. Just say the word and I'll be there" he told her as he gripped her hand across the table
"I know" she replied
Their food came a few moments later. As they began to eat Morgan remembered what Emily had said about Declan and Ethan's father.
"Emily" he said as he looked at her from across the table
"Yeah" she questioned as she looked up from her bowl of soup
"Just so you know. Declan and Ethan will always have a father figure. And if you ever need help with the boy stuff or if they ever want to go camping or have a guy's weekend, I would love to help out, in any way I can. And I'm pretty sure Reid, Hotch, and Rossi feel the same way"
Emily smiled at her best friend and did her best to keep her emotions in check.
"Thank you Derek. They would probably love that."
"Like I said Princess. Anytime."
Emily smiled again before saying, "I kinda love you Derek Morgan"
"Well that's good Emily Prentiss because I kinda love you too"
Later that evening when Emily and JJ finally returned home, they found all three boys in front of the tv. They excused the sitter so that she could go home before JJ walked over to the boys. She picked up the controller and turned the tv off.
"Mommy" Henry whined
"JJ" both Declan and Ethan echoed
"Declan, Ethan, would you please go upstairs for a bit. Emily and I need to speak with Henry. You two can go watch tv in our room if you want, just don't destroy anything" the blonde woman told the older two boys
Ethan smiled a devilish grin as he attempted to race Declan up the stairs. Emily saw the look on the seven year olds face and shouted,
"Ethan Tyler no jumping off of our bed practicing your flips. I am not taking you to the emergency room tonight"
JJ couldn't help but smile at that comment. She had seen the look on Ethan's face as well and she knew he was plotting something in his head that would most likely get him into trouble. She pushed that to the back of her mind as she returned her focus to the four year old sitting on the couch in front of her.
"Henry we need to talk about what happened this morning" she told him as she rested her hands on her hips
"Do you remember what you said to Emily this morning?" she questioned
He looked up at his mother through long blonde hair and nodded slowly, "I says sowwy"
"I know you did sweetie, but we need to know why you said it"
He shrugged his little shoulders as he looked back down at the ground.
"Baby you know that's not nice to say. We don't say we hate people" the blonde continued
"Daddy saids it. He saids he hated gay peoples" the four year old stated
JJ turned to lock eyes with Emily who was standing off to the side, leaning against the bar. The blond then turned back to her son.
"Henry did daddy say anything else that sounded mean?"
"He saids lots of fings"
"Like what?"
The three year old shrugged his shoulders causing JJ to sigh. She knew she was asking a lot of the four year old. It was hard for him to focus on one thing for too long, but she needed to know if Will had said anything about her, or more importantly Emily.
"Henry, did daddy say anything that you thought was mean, that he shouldn't have said?" she asked, trying a different angle
"He said you was sick mommy and dat Emmy make you sick"
JJ closed her eyes willing the hatred for Will to stop. Then Henry ushered the next words and the anger boiled over.
"He saids you was goin to hell coz Emmy made you sick and she was goin theres too"
"What?!" JJ said loudly, clearly upset
"I saids he was wong. Hell is for bad people but you and Emmy ain't bad"
JJ sighed a little and Emily let out the breath she had been holding in. This four year old knew what he believed and the brunette couldn't help but let out a small smile.
"He saids he hated Em'ly and he was gonna take me away so I not be sick or bad wike yous"
JJ saw the tears forming in her sons eyes and she moved towards him, sitting down on the glass coffee table in front of him.
"Sweetie you know you are not bad or sick, right?" she questioned as she ran her fingers through his bangs, attempting to brush them out of his face.
"But daddy says you bad" he repeated as the tears began to fall
Emily's heart broke as she watched the confused four year old begin to cry.
'Damn you Will' she thought to herself
JJ moved from the coffee table to the couch, scooping Henry into her arms, and rocking him back and forth.
"Listen to me sweetie. I am not bad and neither is Emily"
"Dats what I saids to him" Henry told her
JJ looked across the room at Emily before asking the next question.
"You told daddy that me and Emily weren't bad"
He nodded his little head into her chest, "I says I wuv you bof"
"We love you too baby" the blonde told her son as she kissed the top of his silky blonde head
"Why daddy says dat?"
JJ took a deep breath before she began to explain the relationship between her and Emily again to him.
"Well sweetie. You know how Emily and I talked to you about all of us moving in together?"
He nodded his head so she continued.
"Lots of times it's mommies and daddies who live in the same house with the kids, but sometimes it's two mommies or two daddies."
"Wike Katie? She's in my cwass and has two mommies"
"Yeah baby like Katie"
Henry nodded again.
"That's how Emily and I are. I love her very much and that's why we live together and are getting married. We love each other the way some mommies and daddies love each other. Remember the rings Emily and I gave each other for Christmas?"
"Uh huh. I helped!" he stated
"Yes you did. And that's because one day we are going to get married, so you and Declan, and Ethan will have two mommies, like Katie"
"Okay"
"Does that bother you?" she asked him
He shook his head, "I wuv you bof"
"We love you too sweetie"
JJ kissed his head again as she rocked him a bit more.
"Mommy" he said in a questioning voice
"Yes baby"
"Is daddy reawwy taking me away?"
JJ stopped rocking him as she shifted him slightly to look into his light brown, almost gray eyes.
"Sweetie I don't know. I'm doing everything I can to keep you here…Do you want to live with daddy?"
"I wike daddy, but I wikes it here more. I wike wiving wif you and Emmy and Decwan and Efan"
"Well we like you living here too" Emily said as she finally spoke up from her place at the bar
Henry looked over at her with a sad face, "But I says I hate you"
"I know you didn't mean it little man"
He continued to look at the brunette woman, "I hurt you feewings"
She nodded, "Yes you did, but I know you're sorry and I love you very much, so I forgive you"
Henry smiled slightly before sliding off his mother's lap and running towards Emily. He threw his little arms around her legs as he barreled into her.
"I wuv you Emmy. I sowwy" he told her in a sincere three year old voice.
The brunette ran her fingers threw his silky hair before unwrapping his arms from her legs and bending down to his level, holding his tiny hands in hers.
"I know, H, and I love you too. Very, very much" she told him with a smile before kissing him on the nose and causing him to let out a giggle.
He then threw his arms around her neck and squeezed tightly as she squeezed him back. She locked eyes with JJ, who was still sitting on the couch smiling at the interaction between the two.
"I love you" JJ mouthed to the brunette
Emily smiled and mouthed it back in return.
"Alright what do you say we go see what the two rugrats are doing upstairs?" Emily asked as she and Henry pulled out of their embrace.
He nodded his head vigorously before smiling and then shouting, "Piggy ride"
Emily laughed as she turned and Henry jumped onto her back. Then she stood up and ran past JJ before bounding up the stairs quickly, the four year old giggling the entire way.
A/N: Please leave me a note if you liked it! I have this story mostly complete, I'm working on the final chapter now!