"Tickle Me Elmo? Really, Penny?"

Penelope looked up at Alex, giving her a guilty shrug. "It's vintage now, you know. I was twenty four when they were first popular, and there was no way that I could have asked for one without seeming more odd than I already was. And now, our baby gets to have one from the moment they open it."

Alex rolled her eyes a little as she rolled out the closest tube of wrapping paper. "Nora does not need to have a doll that vibrates and laughs like a demon, Penelope. I don't care how cute or vintage you think it is."

"It's already purchased, and if it bothers you that much, Lexie, we don't have to put batteries in it, so it will just be another stuffie."

Alex nodded a little, fighting the urge to correct Penelope's terminology. The linguist in her knew that language was ever evolving and changing, but she still found that certain words grated on her sensibilities. Stuffie being one of them. Penelope let out a soft giggle as she tripped over to Alex, planting a soft kiss on her cheek. "I suppose that Nora should have a few stuffed animals to lug around."

"And maybe she won't even like Elmo, and we can donate it in a few weeks." There was a winning smile on her lips, one that Alex couldn't help but return as she took the box the monstrosity was in and began to wrap it. "Though I don't know why you're wrapping everything so nicely. Nora is just going to tear off the paper in a matter of minutes. She's only ten months, after all."

She shrugged a little as she finished wrapping the box, placing a bow in one corner. "But when she looks back on pictures of this day, I want her to know that she mattered enough to us to have pretty paper and pretty ribbons on her gifts."

"You are so sweet, Lexie!" Penelope knelt next to her, nuzzling her nose into Alex's hair before pulling it aside and pressing a kiss to the tendon of her neck. It was the right spot, and she shivered a little as she shakily placed the last piece of tape on gift. Spreading her hands out flat on the table, Alex drew in a few long breaths, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. "And you know exactly what I like to do to sweet things, right?"

Another delicious shiver swept down her spine, and Alex shifted in her seat as she tried to think of anything other than the sweet throbbing between her legs. And just like that, Nora started crying from her bedroom on the second floor, and Penelope sprung away from her, her cheeks flushed and her chest heaving. "I'm afraid that this will have to wait until later, Penny. Do you want to finish up here or get her?"

"I'll head upstairs, since I think she's hungry. At least, that's what my boobs are saying."

Alex nodded and set the finished gift to the side before picking up the stack of board books that she'd bought for Nora. She knew how important it was read with their child from the very first moment, and so, she'd asked around to all her friends, getting their favorite board book to read to their child. She'd even asked Erin's children what books they had had read to them whilst growing up, and had been surprised to find that they had readily turned over their old copies of their favorite books.

It had hurt, at first, to breathe in the very familiar scent of her former best friend, and to be reminded about the fact that she hadn't been able to save her in that most crucial moment. But then, she began to treasure the books, knowing that it was at least a tangible link between her and Erin. Just as she started wrapping the trio of books so steeped in memory, their doorbell rang, and Alex knew that she would have to answer it, since she was the closest person to the door.

Jogging out to the front door, she shook her head a little, hoping that she looked okay as she pulled open the door, not bothering to check who could be there. Opening the door, she smiled to see Dave standing there, a stack of packages in his hands. "Dave! What brings you by?"

"I had to bring by the gifts that we picked out."

She cocked her head to one side, wondering who else he was referring to. Last she knew, he wasn't seeing anyone, and as her brow furrowed, Dave stepped into their house, revealing a very much alive Erin Strauss. "Erin?"

"It was time to come home. I hope that home still includes me as your friend?" There was a soft hesitancy in her voice, and then Alex was stepping out onto the porch, reaching out to touch Erin's shoulder, to make certain that she was real and there. "Alexandra?"

"Of course. Can, can I hug you?" Erin nodded, giving her a little smile as she waited for Alex to make a move. Pursing her lips, Alex struggled to keep her composure as she closed the last gap between them to throw her arms around Erin's shoulders, feeling her sag against her body as she closed her arms around Alex's waist, letting her head turn in towards her neck. Alex felt the first tears drop onto her skin as another set of arms encircled them.

"Dave let the cat out of the bag as I was coming downstairs. It seems that he didn't want me to make a big deal out of this. I'm more lowkey now, though. And you get to meet our Nora now! Come inside!"

Alex felt Penelope kiss her cheek before guiding them both inside. Not really watching where they were going, Alex sighed and blinked back tears as she drifted close to her lover. "I heard that you had a baby, Penelope. Dave just forgot to mention to me that you had one with my friend until we pulled in the driveway."

"We haven't really talked much about our relationship to the outside world," Alex replied lowly. "My divorce was messy, and all I wanted was some space to heal. We started talking, and then…"

"And then I told her that she was in love with me, and that was that," Penelope finished before turning her head and kissing Alex's temple. She nodded dumbly as Penelope pulled her down onto the couch. Erin took a seat next to them, and then Dave was handing over their child to her, and Alex watched as a wave of love swept over the woman's face as the first few tears started to drop off her face onto Nora's. "Isn't she beautiful?"

"Gorgeous. Just like her mothers."

The gentle acceptance touched Alex, and she found a shy smile spreading across her face as she curled up against Penelope's side. "We used an anonymous donor, one who looked as close to Alex as possible, since we went with my egg. I said that if we knew where Hotch was, we could have asked him, since they have the same dark coloring."

Alex blushed as she glanced over at Erin and Nora. "And I said that that would be a little too close to home. There are some things that you don't want to get in the way of professional relationships."

Erin nodded, even as she giggled. "Oh, but that would have been an interesting baby, had you gone that route. Aaron Hotchner is a very intelligent man, and handsome, too. He would have been excellent genetic stock for your baby, if he had been available."

"See, Alex, I told you that I had the perfect idea! Even your bestie agrees with me!" Penelope tickled her side gently, and Alex squirmed a little at the touch, reaching over to squeeze her partner's knee in warning. Penelope giggled and nodded, draping her arm around Alex's shoulders and holding her close as Dave came over to Erin's side, kneeling down and gently stroking Nora's head. "I hope that you can get her to go back to sleep. She's been fussy all week, and I really want to spend more time with you guys. After all, it's not every Christmas that one can say a friend returned to us from beyond the veil."

"I was never behind any veil, Penelope. I was in WitSec, there's a rather large difference."

"Well, you'll forgive me for thinking that it was a veil that separated us up until now. After all, we did think you departed from us." Erin let out a soft sigh of acquiescence, and Alex chuckled under her breath as she locked eyes with Erin. This was the Christmas surprise that she hadn't known she had desired, but now that it was in front of her, she couldn't think of anything better in the world.

"Merry Christmas, Erin, Dave," she lowly murmured, never taking her eyes off the people that had made her holiday whole.