(This isn't really a sequel, per se, just a little Holiday oneshot set in the Cody Prentiss AU Reality….Enjoy)
Her dark brown locks were in ringlets, pulled back with real CZ clips. Her dress was dark red satin, the cut decorous and appropriate for a company Christmas party. Pretty half-inch heels encased her feminine little feet. Cody Prentiss was ready for the party. Almost.
"I don't understand why you get to wear makeup and I don't." She whined to her mother. Her mother's dark hair was in curls, but swept up off her neck, and the lone clip that held it in place was the real deal—elegant diamonds winked in the light as she and her daughter argued in front of the mirror.
"Because I am an adult and it's expected. Because you are a child—and it's not expected, or appropriate." Emily hated that she sounded just like her own mother, but she knew that was the curse of parenthood.
"Just a little bit?" Cody's hand fiddled with the tube of lipstick longingly.
Emily watched her, remembering being on that cliff between woman and little girl herself. She could feel herself relenting. "Just this once, and I get to apply it."
"You mean it?"
Cody held absolutely still while her mother applied the barest hint of gold eyeshadow and faint blusher. The coup de grace was the red tinted clear gloss. "Awesome! Thanks, Mommy."
"Once it wears off, that's it, so don't lick your lips, ok?" Emily instructed, mind focusing on the contradiction of a child using the term mommy while wearing makeup. Of course, contradiction described pre-teen girls perfectly.
"Ok!" Cody bounced around while Emily slipped her own dress on. Hers appeared nearly black at first, but upon closer inspection it was two filmy layers. Black chiffon made the top layer and beneath it was black satin shot through with metallic red, gold, silver, and dark green threads. It made her appear almost iridescent in the light with just the smallest of movements. With only thin straps holding it up, it was more daring than the dress she'd chosen to go hunting that viper, Viper.
To Cody, her mother was absolutely beautiful. To Emily, all she could see in the mirror were the nerves coating her face.
Hotch and Jack were picking them up for the Bureau Christmas party in less than an hour.
It was their first official public appearance as a couple—and he'd chosen the venue. She wasn't so sure throwing it in the Bureau's proverbial face was too great of an idea. But he seemed sure. Sure he could weather any fallout careerwise. She still wasn't sure it was a good idea for his career—or hers.
But she trusted him when he'd said he'd minimize the fallout. And it wasn't like the team—or even Strauss, for that matter—didn't know. The older woman had found out quite by accident when she'd ran into Hotch and Emily at Cody's school on a day the two profilers had both requested off. The same school Strauss's children attended. She'd told them both that as long as their job performance didn't suffer, they'd face no repercussions. It had shocked both profilers immensely. So far they'd kept their end of the bargain. Strauss had kept hers, too.
But the rest of the Bureau might not be so understanding.
"When will Uncle Hotch and Jack get here?"
"Six-thirty. So in…fifteen minutes." Emily's eyes widened. "Go! I have to finish getting ready! So, scoot!"
"Are you wearing those garter things? Sexy!" Cody giggled wickedly.
"Cody Ann!"
"Emily Anne!" The little girl mocked. "Come on, Mom. I'm not a baby!"
"Still, that's not something you need to be concerned with. No go wait downstairs. And check the peephole before opening the door!"
"Yes, Mommy!" Emily heard the child's laughter echoing down the stairs and shook her head bemusedly. Then stood and made sure her stockings—and garters—were straight. Hotch deserved a good Christmas present as well—and she knew green was his favorite color.
The little girl was too precocious and too damned observant to be a mere twelve-year-old. It was like she was a mini-profiler in a child's body.
But Emily loved her and it was their first official Christmas together as mother and daughter. Emily couldn't be more happy—and Hotch was on his way.
HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO
Hotch held on to the wiggling little boy in one arm and the two sets of roses in the other. Jack was more than excited to see Cody and Emily. Hotch echoed that excitement. Tonight he was showing the world he worked in the three people he loved most. Tonight he showed them all that he was with Emily Prentiss and there was nothing anyone could do to change that.
"Daddy, me see M-we?"
"Yes, Jack. You'll see Emily and Cody."
"Good. And we eat cookies? Have presents?"
"Probably." Hotch rang the buzzer, almost as impatient as his son. Cody answered the door, looking like a perfect little girl. And looking just like Emily. Oh, the shape of the eyes and mouth were slightly different, attesting to the fact the only biological tie between the two females was distant, but when it came down to it, Prentiss genes ran strong in Emily's family.
"Uncle Hotch! Jack! Mom's almost ready! Hi, Jack-Jack!"
"Fowers. For Co-Dee and M-we." Jack beamed at the little girl.
Hotch dutifully handed the girl the little white mini-roses he'd ordered just for her. He always brought Cody flowers when he brought Emily flowers. For her mother, he'd chosen traditional roses in deep red.
"I'm ready," Emily's voice floated down from the second floor, and twisted Hotch's gut. It was low, smoky, and sexy as hell.
The woman coming down the stairs was even sexier. Hotch wished for just a moment that Cody and Jack were anywhere else. Just long enough for him to have fifteen minutes alone with the vision before him.
"M-we bootiful." Jack clapped his little hands.
"Thank you, and Jack is very handsome this evening." She leaned in to kiss the little boy's cheek as she ran an eye over the tuxedo-clad man and the little tuxedo-clad boy in front of her. "You look just like Daddy."
"Me wear green. Daddy wear red. Christmas-y!" Jack fingered the tiny bow-tie at his neck proudly.
"It certainly is. Cody, grab your coat." Emily said, before moving to kiss the elder Hotchner. "Hello."
"You look magnificent." Hotch told her, ignoring the children for a moment.
"This old thing?" She snickered. "Jordan and I bought it when we went shopping before hunting down Viper."
"I am so glad." He held out an arm—the one not holding his son—and she took it. "Shall we?"
She rested one hand on her daughter, uniting the four of them again. "We shall."
MERRYCHRISTMASTOALL
It was the first night JJ had been out since giving birth. And she was both having a great time and missing her little baby with every breath.
"Relax, Mama-chickie." Garcia bubbled at her side. "Baby is fine."
JJ and Will could have brought Henry, but it was a little too soon for JJ to feel comfortable having him around a large group of people. "I know."
"Look! Em's here! And check out that dress!" Garcia squealed, causing JJ to start. Will and Kevin just winced, a tipsy Garcia was very exuberant at times.
"Wow." JJ said, running an image-experienced eye over her darkhaired friend. Morgan, Reid and Dave were standing nearby and they just gawked, while Jordan—who'd seen the dress before, just laughed softly.
Dave was the only one to comment. "The Prentiss women sure do clean up nice."
He should know. His date was one. The ambassador laughed before studying her daughter and granddaughter—and their dates.
"They all look so perfect, perfectly Christmas-cardy." Garcia said as they watched the four brunettes being greeted by uppity-ups and Bureau Bureaucrats. Seemed like everyone and their cousin wanted to speak to Hotch or his date.
"Grandma Beth!" Cody was the first one to spot the team, and break free of the crowd near the front of the ballroom. "Mom let me wear some of her makeup!"
"And you look absolutely beautiful, darling!" The ambassador said, smiling.
"It's a family trait!" Dave joked, charmingly. The ambassador had no plans on becoming ex-wife number four, but the two had a great time whenever they were together. Which was often.
"It certainly is." Hotch added as he, Emily, and Jack arrived to hear the older profiler's words. Hotch sat Jack on his feet and the little boy immediately grabbed Cody's hand. He idolized the older child, and she doted on him.
"We were wondering what was taking you so long," Morgan teased, giving Emily a flirtatious once over. "Now, I can understand! Wow! Who are you and what have you done with Emily Prentiss?"
"Funny." Emily snickered, reached out to flip his bow-tie. "Guess I lose the bet, huh, Jordan?"
"What bet?" Morgan asked.
"We merely made a bet as to how well you'd clean up, yourself." Jordan said, from beside Reid. She'd gotten quite a thrill turning Morgan down when he'd asked her to accompany him. She'd already agreed to go with Reid on a just friends basis. "I won."
"So you do think I clean up nice?" Morgan asked.
"No. The bet I made was that you wouldn't…clean up nice. Emily bet you would…She lost."
While the team joked, people circulated around them. Cody and Jack were soon ushered over to the children's section where cookies, cakes, punch, and presents were abundant—as was company provided supervision. This left the team to socialize with other teams and units.
Soon Hotch and his date were separated, as were the male team members. Hotch could see Emily with her mother and JJ on one side, Todd and Garcia on the other. They were clear across the room, Emily a magnet –it seemed to Hotch—for every single, unattached, man in the room. They all gravitated to her side.
"Emily looks particularly enchanting." Dave commented during a lull in their own meet-n-greet. "That dress is…"
"Gorgeous."
A warning tone entered Dave's voice as he watched a blond man approach the woman in question. "We're not the only ones who've noticed."
"Dammit." Hotch said, setting his glass on the tray of a passing waiter. The man was one he recognized and not someone he wanted near Emily. At any time. "I thought he'd been transferred to Chicago around the time Jack was born."
"Apparently he's back." Dave said, remembering the man from before he retired. "And moving in."
Hotch's face grew dark. "You don't know even half of it. He hit on Hayley at every available opportunity. And tried to sabotage my qualifications trials at least twice."
"Still holds a grudge?" Dave asked, watching as the man asked Emily to dance. She declined politely and he left, but a determined look was on the man's face. "A. he noticed who she came in with, or B. he simply thinks she's a beautiful woman."
"Or C. both." Hotch left Dave standing near the buffet table and walked purposefully to her side. His hand on her arm was a bit past professional. But he didn't care. "Dance with me."
O!THEWEATHEROUTSIDEISFRIGHTFUL
Emily smiled at him, loving the look of him in a tux. A suit was one thing, but Hotch in a tux—wow. She smiled at him softly as she allowed him lead her onto the dance floor. Dave had been only a few steps behind him, drawing her mother to the floor nearby. Dave and Elizabeth were good together, ironic since Dave admitted to liking much younger women. The ambassador had five years on the profiler. But it worked for them.
"Having a nice time, sweetheart?" Hotch asked, his breath hot against her ear. Emily shivered. His hands tightened.
"Hmm. Now I am." She smiled against his shoulder, delighting in how close he held her. "Have you checked on Cody and Jack?"
"Five minutes after you did. According to Cody 'everything's fine, Uncle Hotch. You and Mom have fun. And stop worrying, me and Dillon are watching Jack.'"
"Dillon?" Emily asked, distracted by the hand he was running over her spine in lazy circles.
"Ready for this? Dillon Strauss—they're in the same science class. They were holding hands, sweetheart." Hotch's laugh shook her slightly.
"Oh, God! You're kidding me?" Emily released a choked laugh.
"Not at all. They were helping Jack with a plate of cookies. He's a good kid, really polite. Looks just like his mother—it was disconcerting." Hotch spun her quickly, then pulled her tight against him. They ignored the world around them.
"Tell me about it." Emily said, "What about you? Anything interesting?"
"Political-ese." Hotch tucked her against his chest, after sneaking a peek down the front of her dress. "That guy a few minutes ago, blond, about my age?"
"Yes, what about him?"
"He's a problem." He told her.
"How so?"
"Very competitive. We were in the academy together. Saw me as a rival. I did nothing to encourage it, but I didn't discourage it, either. He dogged my footsteps for several years, including making several passes at Hayley through the years. I want you to be careful."
"Of course, Hotch. But all he did was ask me to dance." Emily said, "Not ask me to run away with him."
"Em, I'm dead serious about this. I strongly suspect he's responsible for my gun jamming during qualifiers six years ago. The guy is a classic narcissist with slight sociopathic tendencies. I made my concerns known and he was transferred out. I'm not sure why he's back."
"Understood." She was serious for a moment, looking up at him with a concerned expression in her big eyes. "Maybe you'd better just stay by my side the rest of the night to be sure I'm safe."
"I can do that. But first—"
"Let's check on the kids!" They finished together.
BUTTHEFIREISSODELIGHTFULSINCEWE'VENOPLACETOGO
He couldn't stay at her side all night no matter how much he wanted. They kept getting pulled in opposite directions.
Childcare ended at ten, then it was up to the parents so Cody and Dillon soon found their way to Hotch's side. Thankfully. He'd been caught by an overly amorous female unit chief from White Collar and was having trouble extracting himself when he felt a bump against his elbow. He looked down, surprised to see the little girl pressing against his side. Dillon Strauss was at her side, his young face concerned.
"Cody, where's Jack?" he wrapped one hand around her shoulder to look into fever-bright eyes. One hand rose, instinctively resting on her forehead in the age-old gesture of parental concern. "Sweetheart?"
"Mommy took him to the bathroom." He voice was petulant and she sniffled. It didn't take a profiler to realize the little girl was getting sick, just a parent. "I don't feel good, I want to go home."
Hotch nodded politely at the woman as he stepped back, lifting the little girl as he did so. Her head found its way to his shoulder as if it had landed there a thousand times before. "If you'll excuse us, I'd better find her mother so we can get her home."
As he walked away, Dillon at his side, he hear the woman turn to her companion and say, "I thought he wasn't married?"
He wasn't, Hotch thought, but he was definitely taken, and he wanted everyone to know that.
LETITSNOWLETSNOWLETITSNOW
Jack Hotchner was a handsome, charming, little night owl. A night owl currently flirting unashamedly with his daddy's girlfriend. She helped him wash his hands than carried him from the restroom. He seemed perfectly content to ride on her hip, and seemed fascinated with her hair. Much the way his father was. His little hands were fiddling with the curls at her neck.
"Let's find Daddy, ok?" She tickled him, then removed the punch-stained green bow-tie from his little neck. In the six minutes it took to find Hotch—and Cody—Jack slipped into a sound sleep, head draped over her shoulder.
Hotch carried Cody in a nearly identical position. "Em, I don't think Cody's feeling well."
Emily shifted her own burden to free one hand. She rested it against her child's forehead. "Oh? She's burning up!"
"I think it's probably some sort of cold." He said, soothingly as the Dave and Elizabeth wondered up as if by some invisible pre-arranged signal. "But we'd probably better get her home."
"Probably." Emily agreed, moving seamlessly from belle of the ball into concerned mother. She had so many roles, and Hotch loved every one of them. "Mother, you have your key, correct?"
"Of course, dear." The ambassador said.
Hotch settled the little girl on a chair and Emily sank down beside her, Jack still clutched in her arms. Hotch ruffled the boy's hair, "I'll go get the car, if you want to get their coats."
"Of course." Emily said, as Cody slumped against her shoulder. "I hope she's better soon. She'll be so disappointed if she wakes up tomorrow ill. It would ruin her whole Christmas."
"We'll make sure she's fine," Hotch said. "I'll be right back."
"I'll come with you." Dave said, "Get my own car. I think we'll follow you back."
Then it was just Emily and the ambassador and the children, in the hotel coat room. The ambassador helped Emily bundle the children up, first little Jack, whom they laid in a second chair, and then Cody, who didn't awaken.
"I'll be back in a moment," The ambassador excused herself to use the restroom, leaving Emily and the children to wait for the men. Emily scooped Jack back up, seeing he was getting restless. He tucked his head back on her shoulder, and settled.
"You look too beautiful to have two children." A male voice said from behind her.
"Really?" Emily turned to see the man Hotch had warned her about standing in the door to the coat room. "This one's not mine, I'm afraid."
"He's Hotchner's?" The man moved closer and all of Emily's instincts went on alert. "And that Hayley's?"
"Yes." She said, warily. One hand dropped to rest behind her daughter, the other tightened around Hotch's son. "He's Hotch's son."
"Hotch and Hayley no longer together, huh? And where do you fit in to that picture?" The man moved closer, blocking the path to the door with his body, trapping Emily and the sleeping children. "You are?"
"Supervisory Special Agent Prentiss." She said, frostily. "Hotch and I are on the same team. Why is it any of your concern?"
"So the great Hotchner is screwing a teammate? How about that?" The man moved closer, close enough to stand directly in front of Emily. Her legs tensed, ready to ram into his knee with her heels if he moved any closer. "Never would have thought he'd have the balls."
"What about it?" She asked, coolly. She'd seen his type before. It was only the two children that kept her from tearing him down.
"So you'll screw around with Hotchner but you won't even dance with me?" The man made no attempt to keep his voice down for benefit of the sleeping children. Emily continued to let him talk, seeing the shadows of people moving toward the coat room. "What sort of woman sleeps with her unit chief? What does that say about you—or Hotchner? Or does it matter that golden boy is breaking the rules with a hot little bitch like you?"
"What sort of man verbally attacks a woman with two young children in her lap?" She asked, again keeping her tone cool. "What does that say about a nasty beast like you?"
"That is a good question, Agent Prentiss. Agent…Dawes." A male voice demanded from behind the man. Emily vaguely recognized the man that entered as Director Fitzgerald. A very high player in the DC Bureau. "Is there a problem here, Dawes? I'm sure you can find it in yourself to apologize to Agent Prentiss for your insults."
Dawes didn't waste time, he followed the man's instructions but Emily knew he didn't mean it. Fitzgerald nodded at her, before gathering his and his wife's coats, then excused himself, with a parting note. "Agent Hotchner's son, I believe he's waking. Probably heard some things he shouldn't."
Jack's eyes were wide when Emily looked down. "The scary man gone-ded?"
"Yeah, baby. He's gone. Why don't you go back to sleep, now, while we wait for Daddy." Emily whispered in his ear.
"M-we?"
"Yes, sweetie?" she patted his little bottom, as he spoke.
"Me and Daddy sweeping at your house while we wait for SannaCwazz?"
"Yes, baby."
"Gwama Bef and Gwampa Day, too?"
"Yes, Jack-Jack. Now shhh." She smiled, thinking of how this year was going to be so different from the last.
"M-we, sing song?" He requested.
"Sure, baby." She kissed his little forehead, ran one hand lovingly over Cody's brow as Fitzgerald left and the ambassador entered, before softly beginning to sing the little boy back to sleep.
GODBLESSUSEVERYONE!!!!!!!!
Hotch parked his car, leaving the engine running under the watchful eye of the hotel valet. He'd waited a few minutes, wanting the heat to get the car good and warm before driving to the front. He wanted it warm before Cody was placed in it. Dave seemed to be of the same mind, letting his own Envoy warm up. The two men hurried back inside to pick up their Prentiss women.
Director Fitzgerald was exiting the coatroom as they approached. "Agent Hotchner?"
Hotch paused a moment to speak with the older man. "Yes, sir?"
"Agent Dawes needed reminded of his manners with Agent Prentiss. You might be aware of it."
"Is she ok?" Hotch asked, as anger and guilt surfaced. He probably shouldn't have left her alone knowing Dawes was in the building.
"She handles herself well. But your son woke toward the last of it. Am not sure how much he heard." The director said, and Hotch remembered meeting the man's own grown son, Martin, on several occasions. Their eyes met, one father to another.
"I understand." Hotch said.
"I believe Agent Prentiss was rocking him back to sleep. A remarkably beautiful woman."
"That she is." Hotch said, standing straighter, waiting for the man to object.
"That she is. And you are a very lucky man." Was all the director said of the breach of Bureau protocol. Hotch felt himself relax.
"I tell myself that everyday." Hotch said, honestly.
Dave just watched, a small smile on his own face. Fitzgerald nodded slightly at Dave. The two men were friends, had long known each other from their own early Bureau days. Dave doubted Hotch even knew that.
Fitzgerald's approval of Emily and Hotch's relationship was Dave's Christmas present to the two that he doubted he'd ever tell them he arranged. Dave had never seen two people—four if you counted the children—who belonged together more. They were on their way to becoming a family. And had welcomed an old screw-up like him into the fold. Dave would be eternally grateful for that.
The three men nodded, shook hands, and turned to leave just as the sweet sound of Emily Prentiss singing Silent Night drifted out of the hotel coat room.
It was a beautiful sound, and it was a beautiful night.
Hotch smiled, then turned to go collect the three people he loved the most. Time to get them home, for tomorrow was their first Christmas.
And Hotch couldn't wait.
MERRYCHRISTMASTOALLANDTOALLAGOODNIGHT!!!!!!!