When her mother had called with the suggestion that she come 'home' for the holidays, Emily Prentiss' first instinct had been to say no. After all, after living so many places, she wasn't sure what she called home and she had never been close to her mother. Desiring not to cause a stir in her already tenuous relationship with her mother, she had ignored that first instinct and replied that she would see if she could get time off from work.
So now here she was, once again stateside, and still wondering if she was doing the right thing. But she was here now, and there was no turning back. She had come to spend Christmas with her mother, but she knew there were people who would not forgive her if they knew she was here and didn't let them know. First on her list of people to see was a certain blonde who had made her exile overseas bearable.
Going through the metal gate, Emily made her way to the festively decorated front porch of the familiar townhouse. Icicle lights hung across the roof top. Trimming the windows and the door were the cords of other lights, though, being daytime, the lights weren't on. Emily wondered what color they were and wondered if she would be able to see the house lit up before she headed back to London. A blow up Frosty sat next to the front steps and a huge wreath with a silver bow decorated the door. Smiling at the decorations, Emily rang the doorbell.
"Coming," called a familiar voice, the single word drawn out with a New Orleans drawl.
Moments later, Emily found herself face to face with a surprised looking Will. She held one finger up to her lips and said quietly, "I want to surprise JJ. Is she home?"
Will nodded. "In the kitchen," he told her stepping aside as he motioned her inside. "It's so nice to see you," he added, shutting the door behind her before giving her a hug.
"It's good to see you, too," Emily replied easily as she stepped back.
"Here, let me take your coat," Will said.
Emily glanced around the living room as she shrugged out of her coat. Various toys, candy wrapping paper, bows and a stocking were strewn about.
"Forgive the mess," Will said, reaching out for the coat. "Henry's at a friend's house for the afternoon and I'm taking advantage of getting things ready for Christmas."
"It's fine," Emily said with a laugh, feeling a bit of Christmas spirit stirring within her. She spotted some Star Wars theme combs on the coffee table. Picking up one with the droids on it, she looked back at Will. "Spencer?"
"Spencer," Will confirmed. "But Henry is going to love them and I am going to enjoy putting together the Millennium Falcon Lego set together with Henry that Uncle 'Pence bought a certain young god son."
Emily laughed. "I bet you will."
"But why don't you go into the kitchen and catch up with JJ. I know she's really the one who came to see," Will told her.
Emily nodded, and after giving Will a quick peck on the cheek, headed for the kitchen. Reaching the doorway, Emily paused and took in the scene. Her friend was at the counter, decorating gingerbread men and singing a song about what to get a Wookie for Christmas. Emily couldn't stop the laughter that escaped as she listened to the lyrics.
The laughter caught JJ's attention, and she stopped in mid chorus as she looked up. Seeing her friend, the blonde dropped the tube of icing onto the counter and rushed to her friend.
"Emily, this is a surprise!" JJ gushed, throwing her arms around her friend.
"My mom invited me home for Christmas, but I also want to see all my friends while I'm home," Emily told her, returning the warm embrace.
"I'm so glad you did," JJ said, finally releasing Emily. "Have a seat," she added, waving a hand toward the kitchen table. "Can I get you something to drink?"
"Hot tea would be nice," Emily replied. "It's awfully cold out there."
"Henry keeps asking me when it is going to snow. He says the cold isn't worth it without snow," JJ said with a laugh, as she went about putting on water for the requested tea.
"I have to say I agree with him. Speaking of Henry, please tell me that was a song from one of his collections that you were singing?"
JJ blushed even as she replied. "It is. Spencer gave him the 'Christmas in the Stars' album and Henry has been wanting it played on repeat for the last week. That particular song happens to be his favorite. It sort of got stuck in my head," she confessed.
"Apparently," Emily replied, laughing again. "I bet Henry has grown since I last seen him," Emily said as her friend sat down at the table facing her.
"Every time I turn around, it seems like he's grown. He should be home before dinner. Can you stay and eat with us?"
"I'm sure my parents won't miss me tonight. There is still a week until Christmas. I'm sure we'll get our fill of each other in that time," Emily replied, looking forward to spending the evening gathered around the LaMontange's dinner table.
"Great!" JJ exclaimed. "Henry will be thrilled. Do the others know you're home?"
There was that word again - home. Was this her home? And if it was, why had she taken the position overseas.
"Not yet," Emily confessed. "I got in late last night and wanted to surprise you first. I want to call Garcia next and see if she can go shopping with me. I figured it would be easier to just do my Christmas shopping here rather than lug gifts on the plane with me."
"I'm sure she'll find the time as soon as she hears the word shop," JJ joked. "What about other plans while you're here?"
Emily shook her head slowly at the question. "My mother expects me to spend Christmas Day at home, of course, but, other than that, no specific plans."
"Then will you come to the Christmas Party I'm having for the team on Christmas Eve? We thought it would be nice to spend the evening together," JJ asked, as she got to her feet. She moved to the cupboard to get out the selection of tea bags she had. "Rossi offered his place, but I wanted to create Christmas for the team this year."
"I'm sure you'll do a lovely job," Emily said, as JJ placed both the tea bags and two tea cups down on the table. "I would also love to come. It'll be nice to see everyone again."
The whistling of the tea kettle drew JJ to the stove. "Everyone will be glad to see you too," JJ told her, picking up the kettle and heading back to the table with it. "We all miss you," she added, pouring hot water first into Emily's cup and then her own.
"I miss everyone too," Emily replied, as JJ returned the kettle to the stove. She idly looked through the tea bag selections, finally settling on a peach flavored herbal tea. "But I'm enjoying my new job. It's a nice change of pace."
"Good," JJ replied, trying to sound happy though Emily liking her job made it less likely that her former dark-haired teammate would come back stateside. She sat back down and selected a green tea from the selection of tea bags. "I'm glad you're enjoying your new job. Still, it's not quite the same around here without you. Do you remember when you found that guy pretending to be a FBI agent in order to pick up women when the three of us were out enjoying girls' night?" JJ asked, deciding that the conversation needed to move away from the direction it had taken. A trip down memory lane seemed like just the right thing.
"Do I ever," Emily said, laughing. "The look on that guy's face when we pulled out our badges was priceless!" she exclaimed, more than happy to talk about the past rather than dwell on how much she missed everyone.
As Emily continued to share stories from the past over tea, all her misgivings about coming back here for the holidays slipped away. Home was where your family was and although they didn't share blood, the bonds she had formed with her former teammates had made them her family. As much as she was enjoying her time with JJ, she also couldn't wait to see Garcia, Morgan, Reid, Hotch and Rossi again, especially Garcia. She briefly wondered if perhaps Garcia, JJ and herself might be able to fit in a girl's night out while she was here. Perhaps the shopping excursion? It was definitely something to consider.
Yes, it was sure going to be nice to be home for the holidays!