A/N: This piece was going to be out yesterday but due to unforseen circumstances is coming out today instead. At least I'm back to daily postings; I feel better about that. This is me making up for my lousy showing over the past month and a half. Truly though I've been wanting to write this up for a while and now that I have pushed through my time issues and writers block everything is just flowing. It's beautiful.

This one is rated K for Christmas fluff…

Cuddles and Conversations

"If you don't stop this vehicle right this instant I'm going to throw up everywhere."

Aaron wisely said nothing as he pulled the car to a stop at the side of the road. The last time they'd stopped, she'd sworn she'd have no trouble lasting the distance to Marion. Now they were about ten minutes away and they were stopping again. He hid his smile as she climbed out and took several deep breaths. He watched her carefully to make sure she was alright as he waited patiently. It was midafternoon but the day was already dark with the threat of heavy snow. He really wanted to get to her mother's estate before the threatened blizzard hit but at the rate they were going they were going to be out of luck as the first fat flakes started to fall.

He checked the back seat and his softly snoring son as his wife climbed quickly back in the car.

"Remind me again how long we have in this thing?"

He smothered another smile and refrained from pointing out that he'd never been there before. Emily was tired and grumpy and miserable and in desperate need of a long nap. He somehow didn't think she'd be joining them for dinner as he set the car in motion and moved them forward with more caution than before as the snow started falling in earnest.

The ten minutes turned into half an hour but finally he edged them through the open garage door and watched as Elizabeth keyed it closed behind them. He slipped out of the vehicle with a soft look at his sleeping family.

"Ambassador Prentiss, it's wonderful to see you again."

"Please call me Elizabeth. And as we are family now, I hope you will allow me to call you Aaron?"

He inclined his head. "I'll wake Jack up since he's well past the time for his afternoon nap to be done but I'll just carry Emily up to our room. She's had a horrible day so I'd rather not wake her if I can help it."

"That's completely understandable. We can put a plate aside for her and reheat it if she wakes up hungry later. Thomas is really the most delightful cook; I have no talent in that area whatsoever."

"I'm looking forward to meeting him."

New Section-

She followed her nose at the insistence of her stomach. She was really so tired she could easily have slept the night through but she hadn't felt like breakfast and lunch had come back up about half an hour after it'd gone down; with nothing in her stomach she wasn't too surprised to be awake, just unhappy to find herself in this state.

She looked into the dining room just as laughter washed over her from the living area. She walked in that direction and entered the warmth of a room warmed by an honest-to-goodness fireplace. Peace wrapped around her as happy memories of her childhood made themselves known.

"Hey you," Aaron said as she settled on the arm of his chair. He snaked an arm around her waist and tumbled her into his lap and she snuggled into his arms with a yawn.

"I'm hungry," she mumbled. "My brain and my stomach are very much at odds right now."

Elizabeth stood to her feet. "I'll reheat her plate. Do you want some wine to go with it?"

Emily shook her head and mumbled, "Can't; bad for the baby."

Her mother, three steps from the door faltered to a halt and gaped at her daughter who was almost asleep again. She placed her hands on her hips and said, "Well then."

Aaron grinned engagingly at her. "If you could get her food, I'll answer any questions you may have while she eats and then I can send her back to bed."

She nodded and walked out of the room. Thomas grinned at him. "It's good to surprise her every now and then; builds new character and softens her up."

Aaron grinned back and shifted strands of Emily's hair. She shifted and looked blearily up at him. "What time is it?"

"It's late kitten, about 9. Your mother is getting your food and then while you eat she is going to grill me and then you can go back to sleep."

"Hmm, yummy. Wait, why would she need to grill you?"

"Because you told her the reason you can't have wine is because it's bad for the baby."

"Oh, oops. Sorry about that. I think I was going to lead into it gently."

Thomas cleared his throat and waited while Emily sat up and pushed her hair out of her face to focus on him. "I was just telling Aaron that surprises are good for her."

"My mother never deals well with surprises."

"She does now."

"No I don't; I just got better at hiding how well I don't deal with surprises. Careful darling, it's hot."

Emily slipped to the floor and tucked into the meal in front of her, allowing conversation to flow over and around her as the food filled her up. When she was done, she stood to take the plate to the kitchen but found that Aaron was there to do that for her as he sent her back to bed. She was frankly relieved as her tired body demanded more sleep and she briefly wondered if she'd get away with blaming her condition entirely on Aaron despite how sweet he was being to her. She hadn't quite figured it out when sleep sucked her back under.

New Section-

Emily looked up from the book she was reading and smiled as laughter filled the air. She'd gotten to meet Thomas properly the morning after their arrival and found a man more than worthy of her mother and better still, able and happy to keep up with the woman. He'd also been a hit with Aaron because the man wrote thrillers that were well researched and had an in-depth knowledge of the FBI that her husband could relate to. They were currently outside bringing more wood up from the shed and clearly the male bonding ritual continued. Her mother was taking a nap in an attempt to knock the cold she could feel coming on and Jack was…

She turned her head and smiled gently. "Hey sweetheart; what're you up to?" He had his blanket in hand and his favourite stuffed animal Mikey the monkey tucked under his arm.

Stopping at the end of the couch she was snuggled into, he asked, "Can I have a cuddle Emily?"

She put her book aside and patted her lap. It was a matter of seconds to settle boy and monkey and get them all wrapped up in his favourite blanket. For long minutes they spoke of the dogs who followed Jack everywhere and indeed were now curled up in front of the fire having followed the child into the room.

"Can we get a dog Emily? Daddy said he'd think about it and ask you what you thought and I don't think he's had a chance to ask you yet."

Emily smothered a smile as Aaron walked in with Thomas. "If daddy said he'd think about it and discuss it with me, you need to trust that he will do that. If you've only just asked him, you need to give him at least a day to talk to me about it and then you need to wait patiently for an answer."

"But I really want a dog and I promise I'll look after it and you won't have to do anything."

"What about while you are at school?" She stopped him from responding and said gently but firmly, "Now that you've asked us both to think about it, you need to wait for an answer and not bring it up again. Alright?"

He nodded dejectedly before perking up. "What about a baby? I really want a little brother or sister to play with. Can we get one of those instead? At least they talk back, not like the dogs."

Thomas cleared his throat like he was trying not to laugh and Aaron didn't even manage that one as a burst of laughter briefly filled the room. Emily shot them both a quelling look and smiled down at Jack as he looked hopefully up at her.

"What if I said we were already working on the little brother or sister?"

Jack frowned. "Well how long would I have to wait for them before we could play together?"

She ignored the renewed noises coming from the corner of the room. "Babies take about nine months to grow in their mummy's tummy and then it takes a few years for them to grow old enough for you to be able to safely play with them."

"Oh." She waited while he thought about what she'd said. "You said you and daddy were already working on it. Does that mean you have a baby growing in your tummy right now?"

Emily nodded with an uncertain smile. This was the moment of truth, where she found out if he was really okay with her being around for the rest of his life. Aaron kissed her forehead lightly before leaving the room for more wood and she smiled at the love she felt flowing off that simple gesture. He understood this and would back her up no matter what.

"When the baby is born, it'll grow up calling you mummy, won't it?"

Her mind raced as he asked something she hadn't been expecting. "It's true that your little brother or sister will call me mummy. Why do you ask?" Her heart started to race as she wondered if he might want to address her the same way.

"I was just thinking, that's all. Grandma says I can ride on a pony tomorrow if it stops snowing."

She shoved her disappointment down deep as she responded warmly, "If it stops snowing tomorrow, we'll all go for a ride tomorrow, including you master Jack."

Jack wiggled with happiness and started talking a mile a minute about his first ever horse ride and Emily pulled her mind away from her fantasies to focus on the precious reality in front of her.

New Section-

"Daddy, can I ask you something serious before Emily comes to tuck me in?"

Aaron raised an eyebrow as he nodded. He settled on the bed before his son and took the little finger offered to him. Woah, this really is serious.

"Daddy, do you think mummy will be upset with me if I decided to call Emily mummy like my little brother or sister will when they get big enough to talk?"

Aaron closed his eyes briefly and sent up a quick prayer of thanks. Emily had been crushed earlier when the conversation about titles hadn't resulted in her soon to be adopted son calling her mummy. He'd soothed her with the assurance that at least his son was thinking about it. Now it looked like it wouldn't be as far off as he thought it would be.

"I don't think she'd be upset at all buddy. I think she'd be happy to know that you are happy and that you trust Emily to be for you what she was when she was alive. Do you want to call Emily mummy?"

"I'm thinking about it daddy. Can we keep this a secret until I make a decision?"

He smiled gently at his often too-solemn little boy. "Of course we can; any talks we have with this special hold will be just between us unless someone witnesses it. How does that sound?"

Jack hugged him tight and snuggled down under the covers just as Emily arrived to tuck him in and tell him that nights' story. He got to his feet and stepped back to the wall to watch the interplay between these two people he loved more than anything else in the world. He was truly a blessed man.

End-

A/N: I truly love Christmas and one of these days my Christmas will be white because I will spend it away from home where Santa wear's his shorts…

Stay tuned for the next instalment; D is for...

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