Just wanted to say again that I greatly appreciate the positive feedback I've received on this story. The favoriting, alerting, and esp. the reviewing all make me a very happy writer!
Emily quelled her nerves as she approached the room that Amanda was playing in with Janine. Wondering just what she should say to the girl and what kind of reaction she would get, she paused outside the door. She turned to her mother and Hotch, who had followed her down the hall and asked to have a moment alone with Amanda first, to which they readily agreed. Taking a deep, calming breath, she entered the room and waited for Janine to exit before taking a seat beside her niece on the couch.
Knowing she had to say something, yet still unsure what to say, she was surprised when the girl beat her to it.
"So am I gonna live with you now?" Emily tried to gauge the girl's state of mind, wondering if she was upset at the prospect of living with her. But the girl only seemed to be showing curiosity.
Emily nodded her head in answer. "Yea. Is that okay with you?"
The incredulous look the girl gave her made Emily want to burst out laughing, but it was her words that truly came as a surprise. "Of course, silly. I told the judge I wanted to live with you."
"You did?"
Amanda nodded her head, her face displaying such a serious look for a six year old. "You remind me of my mommy."
The statement was so completely unexpected that Emily's eyes filled with tears for the second time that day. "I do?" The girl nodded solemnly. "Did you know… did anyone tell you that your mom and I were sisters?"
Amanda looked surprised at this statement and shook her head no. "So does that mean we're family?"
Emily nodded. "It means that you're my niece and I'm your aunt. And you remember Elizabeth? She's your grandmother."
Amanda didn't say anything at first, and Emily was beginning to wonder if she had overwhelmed the girl with the information. Finally, the girl looked up at her and she could tell there was a question she wanted to ask. "What is it, sweetie?"
"If you're my aunt, how come I've never met you before?"
It was a question that she knew she should have been prepared for, but she was starting to wonder just how many times she was going to be left speechless in one day. Thinking back to the question Amanda had asked earlier in the day about why she calls Aaron Hotch, she realized she definitely needed more practice on how to explain things to a very perceptive six year old without saying too much.
"Well, sweetie, it's kinda a long story, but your mom and I grew up in different houses with different families and unfortunately, we didn't really get the chance to know each other."
Amanda contemplated this for a moment and seemed to accept the answer as good enough. "You'd have liked her. She made the best chocolate chip cookies and gave the best hugs."
Emily smiled at the heart-warming description. "Well, maybe you can tell me more about her some time?" Amanda eagerly agreed. "Alright, great. Well, how about for now we get outta here and go find some lunch? I don't know about you but I'm starving!" She got up off the couch and Amanda followed her up, taking hold of her hand. Emily marveled at how quickly the girl had taken to her. Shock and surprise seemed to be the words of the day – or maybe rather the words of the week. It still bewildered her to think about the fact that this had all happened in the span of just two days.
When Emily emerged from the room with Amanda, she was surprised to find only Hotch standing there, her mother nowhere in sight.
Seeing that Emily noticed her mother's absence, Hotch hurried to explain. "The ambassador said she had a benefit luncheon to attend so she had to leave. She also said she's expected in Chicago by tomorrow morning so she'd call you on the way to the airport tonight." He didn't really approve of the way the ambassador was skipping out on her first real chance to get to know her granddaughter, but it wasn't his place to say anything. And from what little he knew of their relationship combined with Emily's lack of reaction to his statement, it showed that it didn't really surprise Emily in the slightest – though he could see that the disappointment was still there. Not wanting to dampen the mood, he hurried to change the subject. "Well, it's nearly lunchtime. How about I swing by and pick up Jack from Jessica's and then us boys will take you girls out for a celebratory lunch?" They started making their way towards the elevator to leave the courthouse.
"If we're celebrating does that mean we get cake and ice cream?" Amanda asked, her voice raising several octaves in excitement over the prospect.
Emily couldn't help but laugh and think back to her lunch with the girls the day before. "You know, I have a friend named Penelope and I think you guys are gonna get along really really well."
"I think we can definitely manage some cake and ice cream." Hotch told Amanda before turning to look at Emily. "By the way, we're gonna have to tell the team sometime about all this and I'm thinking the sooner the better. I'll bet they'll volunteer to help us with the packing and moving of all of the Davis' things."
"Well, I told Pen and JJ yesterday. They kinda ambushed me for lunch, so they're awaiting a phone call or visit to the office to let them know how everything turned out. Reid, Morgan, and Rossi still need to be told though. And soon. We can definitely use them to do some of the heavy lifting."
"Okay, well why don't we go to lunch with the kids and then we can stop by the office afterwards? We can tell them and then make plans for the next few days to pack and move if they're willing to help. By the way, I have a duffel bag with some of Mandy's clothes and I also have her booster seat for the car. I'll get them for you." Emily followed him to his car and took the bag while he grabbed the booster seat and secured it in the backseat of her own car.
They made plans to meet up at Chuck E. Cheese's after Hotch swung by and picked up Jack. On his way there, he called JJ and asked her to assemble the team in the conference room at 3pm for a meeting.
A/N: So I actually checked online and apparently there aren't any Chuck E. Cheese's in Quantico but I couldn't think of any other really well known kids themed restaurants (other than McDonald's, which I didn't want to use) for them to go to that most readers would recognize. So oh well, it's fanfic, right? And if I want there to be a CEC in Quantico in this story, well there will be, darnit! ;)
