"Emily, what in the hell are you doing?"
Aaron held back a chuckle as he walked through the house, his eyes on the brunette who had her eyes glued to the television. He set his go-bag and briefcase down on the table before turning his attention back to Emily. Once he realized what she was watching, he couldn't hold it back anymore. He laughed, shaking his head. "Kipper? You're watching Kipper?"
It took Emily a few seconds to notice her husband, but when she did, she simply pouted. "Yes I'm watching Kipper. It's what our daughter wanted to watch, thank you very much." She glanced down at the tiny body in her arms and couldn't help but smile.
"First of all, sassy pants, our daughter is sleeping. She didn't force you to keep watching Kipper after she fell asleep. And second of all," Aaron sat down next to Emily, leaning down and gently pressing a kiss against his infant daughter's forehead. "How exactly did our seven month old tell you that she wanted to watch Kipper?"
Emily's response was quick. "We have mother/daughter telepathy. She talks to me about things all the time. But it's usually about how she feels bad for me because her daddy picks on me all the time."
"I do not pick on you." Aaron shook his head, defending himself as he let out a laugh. Emily's face was serious, and the brunette changed his mind. "Okay, fine. I pick on you, but I don't do it all the time!"
"Try telling your daughter that." Emily smirked, and Aaron just smiled as he watched his wife hold their baby girl.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, just taking in each other's company. Aaron had been away on a case for almost a week, and Emily couldn't possibly express how much she missed him. She planned on going back to the BAU once their daughter was a year old, but until then, she had to deal with missing Aaron while he was gone.
"How long has she been asleep?" Aaron asked Emily as he ran his hand through Alaina's dark hair.
Emily looked at the clock for a moment before looking back down at the baby resting in her arms. "About an hour. Give or take."
"Why was she up so late? Is she feeling alright?" Aaron felt a wave of panic rush over him, and he hoped that nothing was wrong with his baby girl.
The brunette nodded her head. "She's fine. I had her down and asleep around 11, but apparently she wanted to be up and play because she woke up a little over an hour later with all of the energy in the world." Emily chuckled softly. "I let her play with her lion for a little while, but I kept trying to get her to go back to sleep every few minutes. I gave her a bottle to try and get her to fall asleep, but the only way she would even close her eyes was if I was holding her."
Aaron smiled as he pressed a kiss against the infant girl's head. "Is that right, mama's girl? You would only go to sleep if you were in mommy's arms?" He whispered as he watched the little girl's chest rise and fall with every breath that she took. "That's okay, princess. I sleep much better when mommy's holding me too."
"How was the case?" Emily asked as she leaned back against her husband, her head resting on his shoulder.
Aaron shrugged. "It was the usual. Disturbing, exhausting, life-changing. I feel like with every case that we see, the amount of good in the world decreases." He frowned. "It makes me so worried for Jack and Lainey's future."
Emily nodded as she listened to her husband. She completely agreed with him. With every case that they dealt with, people seemed to amaze her more and more. She couldn't believe some of the sick people in this world. And now that she was a mother, these cases and criminals were starting to hit her in a completely different way. She knew that they couldn't completely eliminate evil from the world, but every person that they got off the streets was one less person that could potentially hurt their children.
"I can't promise that we can keep them safe from everything...but going out every day and searching for these screwed up people...that right there is making the world a safer place to live in for them. Slowly, but surely."
Aaron leaned over and kissed the side of his wife's head. "You're very right about that, sweetheart." He watched Alaina sleep for a few more minutes before looking up at Emily, who couldn't even keep her eyes open. "Let's go up to bed, sweetheart."
He stood up and held out his hand, and Emily gladly took it as she carefully stood, trying her best not to wake the sleeping infant in her arms. The couple checked to make sure that the doors were locked and that the alarm system was on before they headed up the stairs. Emily put Alaina to bed in her crib, watching her for a few moments to make sure that she would stay asleep. Before going to her and Aaron's bedroom, she peeked in through the slightly opened door to Jack's bedroom. She smiled to herself when she saw the little boy sound asleep, and now that she knew both of her children were safe and sound, she could head to bed herself.
When she laid down next to Aaron, he immediately wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him. He rested his head between her neck and shoulder, and pressed a soft kiss against her collarbone. Emily snuggled close to him, closing her eyes as she breathed in his scent. Searching for and getting into the minds of criminals every day definitely made for some serious doubt about the safety of the world that they currently lived in, but Aaron knew one thing for sure; the world felt just a little bit safer when he was in her arms.