Fluffing the ends of her curled strands of hair, Emily made sure to look as best she could for their family photo op that day. Her wife had been planning it for over three weeks and if she did anything to mess it up, what it was she could do she didn't know but she was sure something would happen, her wife would have a field day.
"Mommy!"
Emily turned from the mirror to look over to her bedroom door. "Be right out, baby."
"Mommy!" Three little knocks. "Mommy come out!"
The brunette laughed, standing from her seat on the vanity bench. Opening up the door slowly, she peeked her head out to see her four year old standing on the other side. "What's the code word?"
Thinking hard, the brown eyed girl with her dark curls bit down on her lip just as her mother did. "Mommy is really pretty?"
Emily sent her daughter a grin before opening up the door and taking the little girl in her arms. "That wasn't it but I'll accept it," she smiled, kissing her daughter's cheek. "Do you want to help me finish my hair?"
Maggie was quick to nod her head. She crawled up her mother's body until she was seated on her hip, and she let the FBI agent she called her mommy carry her through the bedroom and over to her vanity. "Can I have some, mommy?" she asked, seeing the red nail polish on the counter.
"You already have your nails done," she reminded her four year old, seating Maggie on her lap and showing her her own light pink nails. "See?"
"I want mine like yours."
Emily grinned into their reflection and pressed a kiss to her daughter's dark hair. "Maybe when this starts to chip away, we can get our nails done together."
The dark eyed girl looked into the mirror to see her mother's face. "Yeah!"
"Yeah!" she laughed, putting Maggie's curls behind her ears. "Now you help me with the rest of my hair and we can get downstairs to mama."
Maggie took the brush from her mother's vanity and turned in her lap, brushing the ends of her curls so they wouldn't be as tight. "Uncle Dave is here," the four year old lisped, playing with her mother's hair when she felt it soften after she had brushed it.
"I know. He's taking our picture."
Maggie watched as the brunette she sat on puckered her lips and put on her lipstick. "Why do we need a picture?"
"For memories," her mother was quick to answer. Making sure none of her lipstick had gotten on her ivory skin, she capped the tube and put it back in her makeup bag. "You know how you see all the pictures in the hallway?"
The four year old was quick to nod her head.
Emily smiled, smoothing down a few stray hairs she saw. "Those are all there because we want to remember those moments. You're never going to be this small again," she whispered dramatically. "We want to remember you as this tiny."
Maggie giggled, her mother tickling her sides. "Stop mommy!"
The agent stood and swung her daughter back into her arms, sitting her on her hip as she picked up her heels.
"You look pretty."
"As do you," she cooed, sharing a kiss with the four year old before she walked them out into the hallway. Walking down the stairs, she forced her eyes not to widen as she watched the rest of her kids running around the living room. "We live in a zoo," the agent whispered to herself, hearing the girl on her hip laugh at her words.
"Cara!"
Emily set her daughter down on the ground before rushing over to her father figure. "Hi Dave," she grinned, her arms wrapping around his center. "Thank you so much for doing this."
The goateed man laughed, backing away from the younger woman. "You know your wife would have my tail if I didn't agree."
"True," she snorted.
"But I would have done it anyway."
Looking around the first floor of her home, the ambassador's daughter frowned when she didn't see the woman in question. "Where is JJ anyway?" She dropped her heels to the floor and picked up one of the toddlers running around her living room. "What on Earth are you doing?"
The close to two year old boy made a face. "Mommy!" he laughed, squirming in Emily's hold.
"Have you seen your mama?"
Thomas settled into his mother's hold and pointed over to the front door.
Carrying one of her toddler children over to the front door with her, Emily smiled, her hand to JJ's back. "Hey," she grinned, looking to the woman in their doorway. "Can we help you?"
"I'm Agatha Bines," the redhead smiled at them, gesturing to the young boy by her side. "This is my son Aaron. We're new to the town."
JJ nodded, stealing Thomas from her wife and smoothing down his blond hair. "This is my wife Emily," she smiled politely. "And this is our son Thomas. He's turning two in three months."
The new woman in town felt herself swoon at the beautiful little boy. "He's precious," she smiled. "Aaron is turning five. Aaron, say hi."
The shy boy waved up to the toddler in the blondes' hold.
"We would love to invite you in," JJ said with a frown, "but we're having our pictures taken today so we're a little busy."
"Mommy!"
Emily turned and knelt down to Maggie's level. "Go and get your shoes on, ok? We're taking our picture in just a minute."
The redheaded woman in their doorway smiled as the little girl ran back into the house. "How many do you have?"
"Five," Emily sighed with a smile. She watched as the unfamiliar woman's face changed and she laughed, nodding her head. "I know, it's a lot. We have a five year old, a four year old and triplets about to turn two."
"My God, what a full house," she laughed.
Emily nodded. "Henry, Maggie, Thomas, Anthony and Charlotte."
"Well we'll let you alone. We live just down the street and we'd love to have a playdate sometime."
JJ agreed, smiling to the other woman as she walked away before closing the front door behind her. "Ok, we need to get this done." She rushed back into the living room with her wife on her heels, looking into their living room to see their other children doing their best to fix the couch and coffee table like she had instructed them. "Guys you did so good," JJ cheered, setting Thomas down on the ground and letting him run over to his siblings. "Ok, everyone on the couch."
She turned to Dave who was adjusting the lens of his camera. "After the living room, we're going out to the backyard. Is that ok?"
"Of course, cara."
Emily put on a frown as she walked up to her friend. "Calling two women 'cara'?" she tsked, laughing at the look she was getting from the older man. "Hey, can you keep shooting even if we're not all ready?" Candid shots were always her favorite.
Dave winked. "Of course."
Running over to the couch, Emily caught Charlotte and Thomas in her arms and scooped them up from the ground to place them on the couch. "Get together," she smiled to them, taking her heels from the floor and slipping them on.
JJ pulled Henry over to her and sat him in between her and her wife, placing Anthony who wouldn't stop biting his fingers on his lap. "You hold him tight, ok? Don't let him slip off your lap."
"Ok mom," he nodded, letting his mother fix his glasses on his face.
Emily had Charlotte and Thomas together on her lap, gently scolding them when they tried to slap each other. "Hit each other one more time and see what happens."
"See what happens," Thomas taunted, flicking Charlotte's arm.
"Hey." Emily took his hand and forced her son too look in her eyes. "Do not do that to your sister or you're going in time out." She watched as his blue eyes widened and she nodded her head. "That's what I thought." Smoothing down both of their hair, she pointed to their uncle. "Smile for the camera."
Maggie wiggled on JJ's lap, doing her best to reach over Henry and take her mommy's hand.
"Maggie, stay with mama."
"Mommy!"
JJ smoothed down the four year old's hair and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "You can sit with mommy in just a minute, sweetheart." She cuddled her daughter into her chest and played with her fingers just the way she liked. "Don't you love mama?"
Maggie pouted, lying against her mother's chest. "Yes mama."
Smiling to the camera, Thomas held tight onto Charlotte's hand.
"Precious babies," Emily whispered to herself, smiling up to the camera so Dave could take their picture.
JJ gestured over to the camera, the flash going off because she knew damn well her wife asked him to keep taking pictures whether they were ready for him or not. "Smile, Maggie."
"Cheese!"
After a few pictures, the family readjusted on the couch so Emily and JJ were next to each other and their kids were scattered around them. Reaching up to put an out of place hair back into her wife's curls, Emily sent her a smile. "Beautiful."
JJ blushed, knowing Dave was taking another picture as she leaned in and pressed a kiss to her wife's lips. "I'm sorry I got so crazy," she whispered.
Putting on a pout, the brunette ran her thumb down JJ's cheek. "I wouldn't have married you without knowing how crazy you can get." She snorted, the glare from her wife making the moment that much better as the flash went off again.
"No more pictures!" Charlotte screamed, jumping off the couch and taking off through the house.
"Charlie!" Emily called. "Get back here!"
Immediately the other two of the triplets were out of their parents' hold and off chasing their sister.
"God." JJ let her head fall into her hands as she sighed, and she could feel her wife's arm wrapping around her waist.
Winking at Dave as he continued their pictures, she gestured for him to follow the kids around the house. "We'll wait for them to get tired before we continue," she giggled, lifting her wife's head and kissing her once more. "Love you."
JJ laughed into the kiss, seeing a flash as she closed her eyes. "Love you too."