A/N: Hello again. So, I know I said before that there are a total of 10 chapters. But somehow I messed up the chapter numbering and there are actually only 9. Yeah, so after this chapter there are only two more. But, they're really good ones, if that's any consolation…
Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.
Chapter 7:
Rossi stood outside of Emily's hospital room door holding onto the little hands of each of his kids. He wasn't quite sure he'd prepared them enough. He wasn't sure that he could prepare them enough.
He knelt down between the kids looking at each one. "James, Gia, I need you to remember that even though she looks… different, it's still your mommy. All right? She still loves you the exact same."
They both nodded, uncharacteristically solemn for children their age. He stood back up and let go of James' hand to push open the door. He led Georgia inside and James followed.
"Is… is that mom?" James asked, voice wavering.
Rossi looked down at his little boy and followed his gaze to Emily's prone body on the hospital bed. It had been a shock to him seeing her look so helpless, so hurt laying there motionless. He knew to his kids, Emily was the one who kissed the owies not got them herself.
"Yes," Rossi answered solemnly, using his free hand to give his son a comforting squeeze on the shoulder.
He heard a gasp from his left and felt Georgia turn to hug his leg. She was frightened and it broke his heart. He leaned down to grab his little girl, "Come here, Gia…"
She wrapped her tiny arms around his neck. And he felt her cry into his shoulder. He rubbed her back trying to get her to calm down.
"Shh… shh… it's all right Gia… it's going to be all right," he murmured to her.
"What's wrong with mom?" James wanted to know. "What happened?"
He continued to try to get his baby girl calm, but answered, "You know your mom catches the bad guys', right?" James nodded. "She was chasing a bad man… but the bad man hurt her first…"
"Did Uncle Derek and Uncle Spence catch him?" James asked urgently. "Is he in jail?"
Rossi was relieved that he could give his son some good news. "Yes, he won't ever hurt anyone again."
Georgia pulled back, rubbing at her eyes; she gave him a stern look, so like her mother's. "Why'd he have to hurt my mommy? She's a nice mommy."
Rossi's heart nearly broke. "I don't know sweetheart, I don't know."
8888
Rossi watched Emily laugh at something Derek was saying to her as the man leaned down next to his wife; Emily was the center of attention at the moment. He became amused when she swatted Derek away a second later.
"Here's the next one, Emily," JJ said from a spot close to Emily's right.
He continued to watch as Emily grabbed the gold packaged, flat box from JJ. Emily read the card out loud, "To Georgia, with love, Uncle Morgan."
Emily shot the younger man a warm smile, causing him to blush. Rossi had long come to terms with the man's 'crush' on his wife; knowing that Emily only had feelings of friendship helped.
Curious as to what Derek Morgan brought his new baby girl for the baby shower, Rossi took the vacated seat next to his wife and daughter. Unlike the other men on the team, Derek Morgan did not have a woman in his life at the moment that could steer him in the right direction.
As Emily finished unwrapping, and pulling the box's lid off, Rossi was half expecting to see Bob the Builder pyjamas—like he'd bought for James' first birthday last month. But instead, he was pleasantly surprised.
"Oh, wow," Emily breathed out, also seemingly pleased.
Pushing aside the tissue paper, she pulled out the shimmery white dress, clearly Georgia's size. She held it out to him so he could see it.
"Look at this Dave," Emily gushed, still pumped on hormones.
"It's beautiful," he agreed.
"This will be perfect for Georgia's christening," she murmured. "Thanks Derek."
She got up from her seat and gave the man a kiss on the cheek. Rossi had to laugh when Derek's expression turned to one of wonder. He definitely had to find the man a suitable girlfriend.
The rest of the present opening was put on hold when Henry rushed into the room. He had been playing with Jack in one of their spare bedrooms.
"Mommy, I wanna eat cake!" he demanded.
JJ laughed. "Not yet, hon," JJ was telling him. "Georgia's not done opening her presents yet."
JJ pointed towards the baby girl in her car seat, placed between him and Emily. The whole room watched the four year old as he turned to look at the baby.
"Georg…gia," he pronounced her name, unsure.
Emily and Rossi shot JJ a look.
"Sorry guys," JJ said amused. "Henry's learning to read a little at pre-school. They're teaching him to sound out words. Georgia is Georg-gia to him."
Rossi smiled and he heard Emily chuckle. They continued to watch as the little boy approached their little baby. Georgia was awake and squirming in her seat like infants were bound to do.
Rossi watched as the little boy looked at his daughter in wonder. He looked from Georgia to JJ, back and forth, as if unsure about something. He finally settled on looking at his mom.
"Mommy, -Gia's very pwetty," he said in awe.
The whole room had to chuckle at that, confusing Henry just a bit.
"Gia," Emily echoed, "I like that."
Rossi gave it a seconds thought. "Yeah me too."
But Henry wasn't finished yet. He leaned a little closer to the infant and everyone seemed to lean forward in their seats, not wanting to miss the potentially memorable moment.
"Gia," Henry said solemnly, and Rossi had to wonder, was the little boy about to propose? "Can we have cake now?"
8888
The birth of Georgia's nickname always made Rossi smile. The memory seemed to make him feel calmer. At least he knew that if anything were to happen to either of them, him or Emily, his children would be well loved and taken care of by their extended family and the kid's godparents, Morgan and JJ.
Rossi looked at the sad faces of his children. He needed to change the subject from bad guys to hope. He put Georgia down quickly and grabbed one of the room's chairs. He placed it next to Emily's bed side. And then he turned back to the kids.
"James, Gia," Rossi started. "I know mommy looks like she's sleeping but she can hear everything we're saying. She loves you, even though she can't wake up right now she wants you to know she loves you… and she wants to hear your voices too."
He picked up his two children one at a time, placing them both to stand in the chair, so they could better see that despite all the cords and machines it was still Emily, it was still their mother.
"What do we do, daddy?" James asked timidly.
Rossi smiled. "Talk to her. Tell her anything you want. She wants to hear your voices. It will make her feel better."
James nodded, understanding. Georgia continued to look at him with wide eyes. She'd get it in a minute.
"Mom," James started. "Mommy?"
Of course Emily didn't reply, Rossi knew that his children expected her to, even though he'd explained that she wouldn't.
"Go on, son," Rossi encouraged.
James did as told. "Mommy… uh… guess what, Jack and Henry got new bikes for Chris'mas. They're gonna teach me!"
At the lack of response, he looked to his father once again. "Remember, she can hear you even though she can't say anything."
Georgia seemed to catch on suddenly. "Mommy, Jack and Henry pwayed tag with me today. I beats them!"
Both children continued to tell their mom all the things they did while they were with JJ and Reid. It was nice. And he knew that Emily heard every word of it.
"Ok guys, let's let mommy rest now, ok?" Rossi cut them off. They'd been at it for twenty minutes. "Tell her you love her."
James nodded. "Get better, mommy. I wanna show you the new toy car Uncle Derek gots me, ok? I love you."
"Mommy, I loves you too!" Georgia said eagerly.
Rossi was sure his smile was going to crack his face, he was smiling so widely. God, he loved his kids.
"Give mommy a kiss," Rossi said. He lifted each child carefully to let them place a kiss on their mother's cheek.
Then they left the room to a chorus of 'bye mommy.'
They were standing next to the elevators waiting for one that would take them back to the floor where his friend's were waiting for them when Gia's face suddenly fell.
"Mommy's all by herself!" she exclaimed. "She's scared!"
"Yeah, dad, we can't leave her all by herself!" his son finished, quite indignant for a four year old.
Rossi looked at them, a dilemma on his hands. He couldn't stay with the kids all night here. They were children after all. But it was clear they wanted him to stay.
Out of nowhere, a nurse was suddenly kneeling in front of his kids. It was the same nurse he'd chewed out before.
"Your dad can stay with your mom," the nurse was saying to them. "Will that make you feel better?"
Both kids nodded. She stood up then and faced him. "I can set up a cot in the room so you can stay with your wife," she told him kindly.
"Thank you," Rossi answered, surprised by her kindness. "That would be nice."
She smiled politely. She started to turn away.
"Uh wait," he said quickly. She turned around. "Uh… I'm sorry about before… I was—"
She held up a hand. "No worries. I understand. Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas," he murmured.
"Come on kids, let's get back to the others," Rossi told them, all the while feeling warmed by the kind gesture.
Well that's it for now. Hope you enjoyed!
Thanks for the great response! And thanks for the reviews: mummacass; Fanatical Writer; dustytiger; miaa29; TML; kbert1961; and p95000.
I'll be updating soon!
