* A nice little update for this fine Friday. Enjoy! *
"JJ, tell me why we are doing this again?" Emily drug her feet as she followed her blonde friend to her car.
"Because we have the day off and because there will only be some many more days off that we both don't have children." JJ got into the driver's seat, Emily in the passenger.
"You do realize that we will still see each other, right?" Emily pointed out. "I have to call someone when I have questions about what to do when the baby won't stop crying and I've only slept for two hours."
JJ just rolled her eyes at the made-up scenario Emily described. "I know that we will see each other. But it's different when there is a newborn involved. I just wanted us to have some girl time before everything changes."
Emily sighed as she heard JJ say that. She knew that she was right, that once this baby was born, nothing would be the same. And it wasn't that Emily was thinking it was something negative, she just knew that her life wouldn't be all jet rides and cases and spending days with her team; they would soon be filled with feedings and changings and focusing on the newest little person in her life. A little person who was very close to meeting her mama.
"Well will you at least tell me where we are going?" Emily shifted in her seat anxiously as JJ drove.
"Can you ever just let someone else take the reins?" JJ huffed.
"Fine." Emily crossed her arms.
JJ continued to drive, before she pulled into the driveway of David Rossi's mansion. JJ stopped the car and got out. Emily followed her lead.
"Why are we at Rossi's?"
"You'll see."
"Wow, thank you for that very informative answer." The sarcasm dripping from Emily's words.
JJ just ignored her friend's complaint and continued to walk. Emily fell into pace next to her. JJ opened the front door that was unlocked and casually walked in.
"Really, JJ, why are we here?" Emily asked again.
JJ continued to ignore her as they made their way through Rossi's empty house.
"No one is even here. We can't just barge into Rossi's house like…"
But before Emily could finish her sentence, she had followed JJ into the backyard and her mouth dropped wide open when she saw what they were there for.
There were three round tables, small, white floral arrangements sitting in the middle of each one. Another table was filled with food and an ivory layered cake and sat off to the side. Along the row of bushes that lined the outskirts of Rossi's yard, silver balloons had been hung that read Oh Baby. It was a baby shower.
"There she is." Derek announced to everyone who was there.
Emily turned to look at JJ. "Jennifer Jareau, you did not do this."
She shrugged her shoulders, trying to hold back her smirk.
"Seriously, JJ? Did not listen to anything I told you."
The blonde still didn't answer, the smirk making its way across her lips.
"You certainly are pregnant, aren't you sweetie?" Elizabeth Prentiss approached her daughter.
"Mom." Emily tried to hide how surprised she was to see her mother. "You're here."
"Of course, I am." Elizabeth acted as if they had the most normal mother-daughter relationship. "I wouldn't miss your baby shower for the world."
"No, of course you wouldn't." Emily chuckled nervously.
Of course Emily's mother knew that she was pregnant; even though they didn't particularly get along, Emily wouldn't ever keep something so important from the woman. But the last place she had expected to see her mother was at the shower she wasn't expecting to have.
"Can I get you something sweetheart? Something to eat or drink?" Elizabeth was doing her best to pretend she was mother of the year.
"Umm… Just some water would be great, mother."
Elizabeth nodded and walked away to retrieve what her daughter had asked for. Emily waited until she was out of ear shot before she turned back to JJ.
"You invited my mother." Emily said dryly.
JJ gave her a very, large fake grin then continued to explain. "Look I know, okay? I just felt like I couldn't not invite her. You are her daughter and this is her grandchild. And honestly I assumed that she would be too busy to come."
"But she wasn't?"
"No she was going to be in DC anyway for something else, so she accepted the invitation right away."
"Heaven forbid she miss an opportunity to nag me about the choices I'm making in my life."
"I really am sorry."
"Don't be JJ." Emily assured her. "I never would have thought I was important enough for her to show up either."
"Okay, mama. Are you ready for the baby shower of your life?" Penelope came up to her.
Emily laughed at Penelope's choice of words to describe the party. "I think that even if I wasn't, you would make me be ready."
"You got that right." Garcia grabbed her hand and pulled her into the yard.
They spent the first hour and a half playing all of the shower games that Garcia could possibly come up with. Usually, Emily thought such games were trivial and cheesy, but it made Penelope extremely happy that she played along and watching the men, Derek, Spencer, and Rossi, play such girly games was entertaining for all of them.
"Alright, alright. It is time for the gifts." Garcia announced.
The bags and boxes of stuff had been left inside until it was time for it to be opened and when Emily saw the excessive number of gifts that were brought to her side where her chair was sitting.
"You all did not need to do this. The shower was enough." Emily said.
"Well it's too late now." Tara told her as she set a few more bags down. "And besides, from the last conversation we had, I'm pretty sure that you don't have anything."
"I can't argue that." Emily admitted.
Garcia brought a couple more gifts, handing one of them to Emily to open. She tore the tissue paper out of the bag and reached inside the bag. She pulled out the items from the bag: a soft yellow outfit, matching hat and booties. Emily ran her finger over the white embroidery, thinking about how her son or daughter would be little enough to fit into the outfit.
"I was going to buy it in blue and pink, but I figured yellow made more sense." Elizabeth explained to her daughter.
Emily should have known that the designer outfit was from her mother. "It's beautiful."
"Well only the best for my grandchild." Elizabeth chided.
Emily looked to JJ, who raised her eyebrows at Elizabeth's comment. The brunette just rolled her eyes.
As the shower went on, Emily continued to open her gifts. Her child's wardrobe continued to grow, everything gender-neutral colors. But it wasn't until the gifts from her team were opened, that Emily couldn't believe how lucky she was to have them. The biggest boxes, wrapped in bright polka dot paper that Emily was sure was courtesy of Penelope, were from the team. Inside the extensive wrap job was what Emily assumed was a rather expensive stroller. She gasped out loud when she opened it.
"You guys…" Emily felt guilty just looking at the box.
"You spoiled all the kids on this team yourself, Ms. Prentiss." Derek was referring to the gifts that she had sent to his own son. "We're just returning the favor."
JJ nodded in agreement. "I do recall quite a few gifts from a certain aunt at my baby shower and after both boys came home."
"Tell me what you want, but this is too much." Their unit chief looked utterly guilt ridden.
"Oh well, there's no return policy for it, so it looks like you'll be keeping it." Garcia told the mom-to-be. "Now open the other one."
Emily ripped the paper off to find the car seat that matched her stroller. She tried her best to hide the tears that were welling up in her eyes. She couldn't grasp how she had ended up with people who cared so much about her and her child. It wasn't that they had bought her such lavish gifts. It was that he had a family that would always be there for her, something she only dreamt of for so long.
"Thank you." She could barely get the words out.
The afternoon turned into evening and the only people left at Rossi's were the team. Elizabeth had to go to some important social gathering, but she had promised her daughter that she would see her in the next few days. The other guests had also left.
"Alright, Morgan, let's get cleaning." JJ patted him on the back,
"Why am I the one cleaning?" Derek questioned.
"Because you need to put those big muscles to work and help us put these tables away."
"If you need muscles than Rossi needs to help too." Derek tried to get out of it.
"Nope." Garcia cut him off. "We used Rossi's house, he's done his part."
Morgan gave up and followed the ladies. It left just Emily and Rossi sitting in the kitchen.
"Thank you for letting them do this here." She said to him.
"It was my pleasure." Rossi assured her. "But that does remind me that I have a little something else for you."
Rossi left for a minute and returned to the kitchen with a white envelope in his hand. He set it down in front of Emily, who was confused by what she had just been given. She picked it up and opened the seal. She had absolutely no words for what was inside.
"Now, I know what you're going to say. But everything you got today is for when they're a baby. I wanted to get them something that would come in handy down the line."
Emily's eyes went between the gift and Rossi. "I can't…"
"Yes you can." Rossi would not take no for answer.
It was a bank statement that showed the college fund Rossi had started for the baby with a rather large sum already deposited into it.
"If this child is anything like their mother, then they will end up at some expensive ivy league college, so I figure if we start now, then they'll be set when the time comes."
Emily wiped the few stray tears that were falling down her face. "I don't feel like thank you is enough, but thank you."
"You're welcome."
Emily took a deep breath, trying to compose herself. "Can I ask you something? And you don't have to do this or anything."
"Why don't you ask me first and then I'll decide."
"Would you… would you be this baby's godfather?"
Rossi was a bit taken aback by the question. That wasn't what he had expected to be asked. "You really want me?"
"Why wouldn't I? You've done so much for me and this baby already."
"You don't think that someone else would be better at it."
"No I don't." Emily told him honestly. "You just started a college fund for my child. You're the one who holds this team together, who forces us to focus on ourselves. You're the head of this crazy family and no one else would do a better job."
"Then I would be honored." Rossi accepted.
"Good because this baby is going to need some extra guidance with me as their mother."
"You can't really believe that." Rossi said.
"I don't know. I've never been a parent before."
"No one has ever been a parent before they have their first child, but that doesn't mean that they don't know anything. Emily, you were meant to be a mother. This baby is lucky to have you, whether you think so or not. You can't expect yourself to know everything right away. It will be a learning experience. But you're ready for it."
"I'm scared." Her voice was barely a whisper.
"I know you are. But that's normal. You just have to know that everything will be okay, better than okay. Everything will be great."
"What would I do without you Rossi?" Emily smiled at the older man.
"You would have to get all of your advice from someone else." Rossi suggested.
"Never." Emily said.
* So that was pretty fluffy, but I hope you all still liked it. Leave me your thoughts, pretty please! *
