Rating: T

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds.

Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews, guys! Keep 'em coming! I love the ideas y'all send my way. Let me know if there's something you want to see. Enjoy!

"Hello Emily. I'm glad to see you. I expect you brought the legal papers," the Ambassador said coolly from the opposite side of her exquisite walnut desk.

"Yes, they're right here. Have a nice day."

"Emily, would you happen to have time for lunch?"
"Umm, yes," Emily replied, taken off guard by her mother's request. "I have an hour or so for lunch. Now?"

"If it fits in your schedule, I thought we could have lunch at the club."

"Sure, let me just send a quick message to Hotch letting him know." Elizabeth nodded as Emily turned to type out a message. Well, this should be interesting, she thought to herself.

Twenty-five minutes later found the two women in a comfortable booth in an equally comfortable silence.

"You seem very happy."
"I am, Mother."

"I have had a great amount of time to think over the past few months, and I'm not proud of my relationship with you or the situations I've put you in. I would like a chance to change that and get to know you and the people that have made you so happy. I know I don't deserve a chance after the political games I've put you through, but I don't want to make the same mistakes I've made with you with my grandchildren." Elizabeth looked sincere as she took a healthy gulp of her Riesling.

"It's not that I don't appreciate the gesture. I just don't understand where this seemingly genuine side is coming from after all these years." Emily chose her words very carefully. She always wished for a better relationship with her mother, but with years of experiences fortifying her emotional wall, she was careful about getting her hopes up.

"I understand your hesitations. But I'm committed to making an effort to having a better relationship with you and being a part of your life."

"I think that's great, Mother, if you're really committed, but where is this coming from?"

"Darling, your father and I are getting a divorce. As a stipulation in our marriage contract, we were required to attempt marital counseling before filing for divorce. I became very fond of our marital therapist and she helped me see the different aspects of my life that need attention, my relationship with you and your family being most paramount."
"I'm sorry to hear about the divorce."
"Yes, well, your father and I haven't acted as a married couple in decades, and our relationship was no longer beneficial for either companionship or political image. That is why I insisted on the quick turnover of the legal documents. I was unaware of whatever extra stipulations were added on in the case of a divorce and I wanted to make sure you and your family got the trust funds deserved."

"I appreciate that. JJ was blown away by the amount. I'm not sure she knows what to do with a sum of money that large," Emily joked cautiously.

"She sounds like an amazing woman. Would you tell me about her? I would like a chance to prove to you that I've changed. I don't expect you to immediately invite me to the family dinners or parties, but eventually, I hope to be included in such gatherings. I'm a changed woman, Emily."
"I'm starting to see that. Unfortunately, Mother, I have to get back to the office, but maybe we could have lunch later this week. I can tell you about JJ and the kids. I'll bring some pictures for you to see."

"I would like that, Emily. Thank you."

A knock startled the blonde from her desk. She looked up and smiled as she saw her wife leaning casually against the doorframe.

"You look unbelievably calm for spending the last hour with your mother, who you've referred to as spawn of Satan on multiple occasions," JJ laughed, happy to see her lover at ease. Emily walked into the office and settled comfortably into the plush chairs.

"Well she changed, or she seemed to have changed."
"Changed? Really?" JJ asked in complete and utter disbelief. Emily nodded and informed the blonde about the most recent proceedings. "Well you said yourself nothing is out of the realm of possibility for Ambassador Prentiss."

"Yeah, Jayje, I was expecting the other realm of possibilities. You know the realm that leaves me emotionally crippled?"

"So what do you think? Is this for real?"

"I think so, Jen. I mean I can't help it. I was definitely profiling her the entire meal. She seems to genuinely want to know you and me. She wants to know the kids and our family."
"As always, whatever you pick, I'll be behind you."
"Thanks Jayje. I'm not sure we'll re-introduce her to the kids anytime soon, but I'm having lunch with her at the end of the week. Maybe the three of us can have dinner or something. It all sort of depends on how things go. I don't want to get my hopes up, but this is nice. I really hope she's changed. But now I get to go do battle with the massacred trees on my desk parading as files. Oh the exciting lives we lead," Emily joked, leaning over the desk and quickly kissing JJ.