Holding the three month old in her arms, the ambassador's daughter hiked her daughter higher on her hip so she could see the ornaments she and her husband had hung on the tree. "Look at that one," she whispered, seeing the red ball reflecting in her daughter's dark eyes. "This is one of your daddy's favorites."
Reaching forward, the little girl tried to take the glass ball in her hands.
"I don't think so," Emily chuckled quietly, taking Addyln's hands in her own. "We can't risk breaking that one."
Addlyn's head turned, wide eyes looking up to her mother.
"Did daddy ever tell you how he got that one?" Holding her daughter tight against her, Emily kissed her tiny hands. "Daddy's mommy went to Italy to see her own mommy and daddy, and they gave her this ornament so she could give it to her only son. It's an heirloom," she tried to explain, almost laughing when her daughter's face erupted into a smile. "It means a lot to your daddy."
Hearing a soft snoring behind her, Emily turned. "Your daddy is really tired," she laughed, watching her husband snuggle deeper into the couch. He had been up so late trying to finish the presents for their children that he hadn't even been able to make it up the steps and fall asleep.
"This is your first Christmas," Emily smiled to her daughter, peppering kisses to her hairline. "You know, my last Christmas you were still in my tummy."
Sitting her daughter on her opposite hip when her arm began to tire, the brunette woman ran her hand down Addyln's stomach and sat herself in the recliner. "We were so excited when we found out you were in my tummy. Do you know how badly your daddy wanted a girl?"
Addyln looked away from her mother, the gold necklace around Emily's neck clutched in her hands.
"We really wanted a family, and your daddy and I went to a doctor that told us we couldn't have any children. A year after that, we were able to adopt your big brother." A five year old boy who had Emily's hair, Dave's jawline and the brightest blue eyes. "Have I ever told you the story? I was making pancakes for breakfast and your brother came up and started to hug my stomach." Brushing a few of Addyln's hairs from eyes, the ambassador's daughter smiled. "He asked if he was going to have a baby sister."
"He was really calling you fat."
Emily chuckled at the tired words, looking over to the couch and seeing her husband moving onto his back. "Hush, you." Standing, she made her way toward the hall. "I'll get you some coffee, honey."
"Mommy!"
She braced herself, letting her son run down the stairs and into her legs for a hug. "What are you doing up?"
Anthony nuzzled his forehead into Emily's stomach before pulling away. "I heard you," he whispered excitedly. "Is Santa here?"
Taking her son by the hand, Emily walked her son into the living room and gestured over to the tree. "Santa just left."
"Wow," he breathed, rushing over toward the presents.
"Whoa there piccolo," Dave huffed, grabbing his son and pulling him back onto the couch. "We're not opening presents until the morning, ok?"
Anthony groaned, throwing his head back into the couch cushion. "Daaaad!"
The world famous author ruffled his son's hair, pulling him between his body and the couch cushions so he couldn't run away as he tickled him.
"Dad!" he laughed, looking to his mother for help.
Emily chuckled, shaking her head and making her way to the kitchen to get her husband the cup of coffee she had promised him. It wasn't a rare occurrence for their family to have random happy moments in their household, but it being three in the morning on Christmas day with the entire family laughing in the living room? This is what Emily loved.
She had never been able to have these moments when she was growing up, being able to laugh with her parents or even sit with them on the couch to watch a movie or look at the Christmas tree, and she was adamant that she would be available to do it with her children whenever they wanted.
That was why she quit the BAU.
Of course she knew it would be possible to have a family and keep her job, Hotch and JJ were perfect examples of that, but she knew what she had grown up with; the silent dinners because her parents weren't there, and when they were they would only communicate with other dignitaries on the phone. Everything was more important than she was.
A desk job would make it much easier for her to be there for her children; that was where she needed to be.
Pouring the coffee into her husband's favorite mug, she put in a spoonful of creamer and carried it back into the living room. "Well," she chuckled, noticing her two favorite men asleep on the couch, "that didn't take long."
Emily set the mug on the coffee table and took a moment to appreciate the sight before her. Anthony had his arms wrapped around his father's midriff, his head above Dave's heart.
"Bah!"
"What?" Emily laughed at the big smile Addlyn held on her face, running the pad of her pointer finger over her daughter's dimple. "Are you ready for bed?"
Before she could take her daughter back up to her pink and yellow painted nursery, the brown eyed woman carried her squirming daughter back over to the Christmas tree. "Your first Christmas you need to pick out a favorite ornament," she told the four month old matter-of-factly. "Which one?"
Popping a spit bubble with her lips, the little girl reached out toward the crystal cross ornament hanging near the top of the tree.
"That one?" Emily could some type of feeling swell in her chest and her cheeks flush, reaching along with her daughter to touch the crystal ornament. It was a wedding present from her father, given to her only two days before he had passed away. "That's a good pick, baby."
Feeling Addyln's small hands against her chest, the newly appointed Counterterrorism Section Chief looked into her daughter's dark eyes. "What? Do you want to know my favorite?" Hearing her son's gentle snoring fall in synch with his father's, the smiling woman walked to the side of the tree and pointed to a glass ornament up near the angel that they had mounted at the top. "That one is my favorite."
A beautiful lilac painted ornament, Emily, Dave, Anthony and Addlyn's faces painted on the smooth glass with their names in script at the bottom.
She pressed a kiss to her four month's old button nose, watching the lights on the Christmas tree flash behind the ornament. "Merry Christmas, baby girl."