Hey there. A nice long update to make up for the fact that there will be no more until at least the 23rd of August. I really need to update The High Life and for some reason, my muse for Little Charlie Jareau has decided to kick in NOW of all times. Hopes this lives up to your standards. As for the last chapter, I wanted it to be different from peoples expecations because we all know that Morgan would blow a gasket at the news. Reid will be explained later. The next chapter will most likely involve the talk between mother and daughter. And Christmas at Hotch's house.
Also, if you haven't read it, "Scars" needs 10 more reviews in the next 24 hours to push me to write more smut with out favourite ass-kicking, kevlar wearing BAU ladies...with chocolate sauce and whipped cream...maybe a cherry on top...together.
Thanks guys, and onto the family fluff and slight angst!
She was glad to be at home and be able to sink into the cushioning of the living room couch, to hide out for a little while and to have enough time to gather her wits. It had been a several long days since Emily had been revealed to the team, and the pile of paperwork the brunette had to fill out had done nothing but grow. If she wasn't careful, she would end up with permanent cramps in her right hand. The piles of paperwork hadn't been the only thing to grown since she had returned; the number of times Emily saw the faces of her colleagues paled in comparison to how often she saw their backs. With the exception of Reid, the BAU team had all been thrilled to see that Emily was alive and now that they had had some time to let it all sink in, they had taken to avoiding her.
It was obvious that a few days break would do them all some good, let everyone vent and get it out of their systems. She sighed loudly and took a sip from the glass of wine she was cradling, practically falling asleep with her feet on the coffee table, as the annual Christmas Eve movie switched over from the commercials. JJ was upstairs checking on Henry, who had already gotten up twice since being put to bed in hopes of catching Santa in the middle of delivering his presents. Half-eaten cookies and a near empty glass of milk were sitting on the mantle; JJ and Emily had consumed some only minutes before Henry had woken up for the second time. Emily was sure that she had seen the same scene twice in her exhausted state when the rustling of snug clothing pulled her from her trance.
With a sleepy gaze, she watched as JJ dropped onto the couch, tucking her body under Emily's arm and teasingly snatched the glass of wine, finishing it in one gulp with a smile. "He still asleep?" the brunette asked, taking the glass and propping it onto the side table. She tightened her arm around her girlfriend, fingers tickling the ribs beneath her hand.
"Yeah. Out like a light, thank God. I don't remember him being so hyper last year." JJ's head came to rest on Emily's shoulder, and they cuddled together, both basking in the comfort of the other.
"That's because he didn't understand the whole concept of Christmas last year. He heard the word 'present' and went for the wrapping paper," she joked.
"He still does that," JJ agreed. Her hand slipped from her own thigh to Emily's stomach, and she looked up. "Hey, you okay?"
"Hmmm? Oh, yeah. Yeah. I'm just thinking about the team, and how much it is going to suck when we go back after Boxing Day, especially if the team would rather me having a conversation with their backs. I don't blame them, it's just..." she trailed off.
"Taking a lot out of you?" the blonde finished. Emily nodded. "They'll get used to it. All they need is time for it to... all make sense. A few days away from the office, the confusion; it'll help the process start moving."
Emily sunk further into her seat of the overstuffed couch and her arm pulled JJ even closer. "I know." Her eyes finally slid shut when there was a slight nip at her jaw line and the feeling of a hand heading south, towards the buttons of her jeans, was clouding her senses. "Are you trying to get lucky again?"
"Like you're complaining," the blonde shrugged, hiding her face once again in the crook of Emily's neck.
"I'm not sure what is going to burn me out first: the team avoiding me," Emily began to laugh, "Or you trying to get some every night. I've been home for seven nights. One week and we've had mind blowing sex every night."
JJ pushed off Emily's arm, and moved to straddle her girlfriend. "Hey, we have over nine months to catch up on."
"Yes, but every night for nine months?" Emily stressed with a playful smirk, and slapping the thighs sitting on either side of her hips. She leaned forward, her hands cupping JJ's arse and squeezing.
Their lips met in a heated kiss, and JJ pressed herself impossibly closer. Her hands dropped from Emily's neck, skimming the restrained breasts and pushing the woman beneath her backwards to rest against the couch, effectively breaking their kiss just as Emily tongue slipped into her mouth. She groaned at the loss of contact and slipped her hand under JJ's t-shirt to feel the taut stomach muscles. Emily's button up shirt was ripped open and the little pieces of plastic hit several other pieces of furniture, exposing the red bra that JJ had become so fond of.
"Wait. What about Henry?" Emily asked, trying to throw a cautious look up towards the stairs.
"He's asleep," JJ kissed her again. "Don't worry."
"But-"
"Emily, shut up. And don't be too loud." When JJ's lips met skin above her breast, her hands also popped open the button on her jeans, sliding down the zipper, all thoughts of the little boy officially leaving her mind.
Bypassing Emily's panties, JJ's fingers slipped into the wetness and flicked her thumb over the suddenly over sensitized bundle of nerves. Hips bucked and there was an obvious attempt to hold back a moan. Fingers pushed in slowly, pulling back out to the first knuckle before gliding back in as deep as JJ could go, the arousal coating her hand strongly. They both groaned at the contact.
Emily pushed her hand past the barrier of the pyjama pants the blonde was wearing, meeting a dripping sex. A lone finger probed gently and JJ gasped. Although she wasn't sure if it was from the muscles clenching around her own fingers or the hand that had snuck into her panties. JJ rolled her hips, silently requesting for Emily speed up and sink her fingers in further. The noise from the TV was just enough to cover their ragged breathing.
Together they found a rhythm that was fast and hard, with several rushed kisses in between, when they weren't too overwhelmed by the growing heat in the pits of their stomachs. JJ's wrist was beginning to cramp at the awkward angle and the increasing force she was having to exert. Emily's arm was starting to sear. They were both getting close; bodies were turning rigid until they came together simultaneously with violent shakes and spasms.
Both of them continued to quiver as hands fell from between thighs, foreheads bumped together until lips met. JJ smiled when Emily's brown orbs came into view as she was coming down from her high. As her back straightened, she licked her fingers clean and fixed up Emily's jeans. As the sweet saltiness hit her tastebuds, she checked the clock; the long hand showing that it had just past midnight.
"Merry Christmas, Emily."
JJ was barely awake. Her senses were coming back to her slowly. Her eyelids felt rather heavy, so she simply kept them closed, shuffling back into the warmth of Emily's body behind her. She could feel the woman behind her stirring as the arm beneath their shared pillow shifted and the brunette curled around her. After their quick romp on the couch, the two of them had moved the large collection of presents from the garage to the living room before, at JJ's playful insistence, retreated into their bedroom to experience the mind blowing side of their sex life, resulting in only a few hours of much needed rest.
She could hear the bedroom door creak open softly, and the cushioned patter of little feet across the carpet. The bed began bouncing and Emily groaned into the skin of JJ's neck. She was silently thankful that they had remembered to put clothes on before they had fallen asleep the night before. There had been no doubt in JJ's mind the night before, that Christmas day would begin with an early start. A broken sleeping pattern would not deter Henry from waking them at the earliest possible moment. JJ pulled the covers up and over their shoulders just as a childish chant began.
"Wake up! Santa came! Wake up! Wake up, Santa came!"
"Waz goin' on?" Emily murmured, scrunching her eyes.
JJ's head snapped up from its resting place half buried by her discarded pillow. She glared at her son as he jumped up and down on the end of the bed with a humoured smiled on his face. He laughed at their reactions.
"Gee, you'd think that there was some sort of holiday event going on around here," JJ mumbled, as she gave up on trying to relax. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she pushed herself up to lean against the headboard. Emily reluctantly let go of the blonde to allow her to move, and cuddled in to sit her head on JJ's stomach. Together, they watched Henry jump up and down with excitement, fingers running through the dark locks, as they attempted to wake themselves up.
Emily yawned and moved to check the clock. "Five forty-three?" She turned to Henry. "Really? It's not even six am," she complained. Henry stopped bouncing, his face dropping. JJ watched, trying to hide her smile behind a yawn. He would never learn. Emily launched forward, pulling the little boy into her lap for a tickle-fest. His high pitched squeals echoed throughout the room, louder than JJ's giggles or Emily's chuckles.
Henry eventually managed to get out of Emily's grasp and hurriedly crawled into his mother's arms. She wrapped him in a protective embrace as Emily tried to continue tickling him. She collapsed back onto the pillows, with an arm over two of the most important people in her life, a smile on her face.
"Aren't we supposed to do something this morning, buddy?" JJ asked, sitting him up in her lap.
His eyes lit up. "Pwesents?"
Emily laughed into JJ's side at the little boy's enthusiasm. She sat her head in her hand and simply watched them.
"Almost. How about we give Emmy her present first?" the blonde suggested. She was met with a confused and put out look. Henry really wanted his presents, and he had no idea what his mother was talking about. She leant forward to whisper. "Do you remember what we talked about last night when you went to bed? What did you ask me about? What were you going ask her about?"
Now Emily was intrigued. Her brow furrowed as she tried to remember any question he had asked. The night before, when JJ had had put him to bed, she had taken longer than usual to tuck him in, before she would send Emily in to read him his usual nightly bedtime story. That rarely happened in the past, but now he was entering a stage where he had to question everything. Combined with his kind mind and growing intelligence, his need to ask about things could only make it an important topic. Even if he was only three years old.
Emily sat up half way to snuggle into JJ, and her arm snuck back under the blonde's body. "What are you two talking about? I don't need to tickle you again, do I?"
"Henry came up with this all on his own. I had nothing to do with it. He just asked me if I thought you would like it," JJ explained, looking at Emily, whose fingers brushed across her spine.
"What did you want to ask me buddy?" she asked, taking the little boys hand and playing with it when he looked down. "Hmmm?"
"Well, Mama said youse guys are gonna get mawwied. Like the Mama's and the Daddies do."
"Yeah. What do you want to ask me Henry?" She was a little confused.
"Ummm. Can I call you my Mum?"
Emily was taken aback, and. It was the last thing she had expected him to ask. The thoughts running through her head made her think he was going to make her promise to stay, to never leave them. She had always been his Emmy. That was just the role she played in his life and she had never thought or wanted that to change, but this question made her decision. She couldn't help it, but the profiler within her kicked in. Maybe this was his way of making sure she never left them again. Or maybe he just wanted to show how much he loved her. Either way, she was stumped.
"Kiddo, you can call me whatever you want. Okay? And if you want to call me your Mama Emmy, then that is what you call me," Emily said. She smiled at him, out of pride, but mostly to stop the tears that were threatening to fall. Only when she pulled him into a hug, did she let a few slip down her cheeks. JJ managed to wipe them away before her fiancé released Henry from their embrace. "And that is the best present I could ever get. Speaking of presents, I think that it's time to go downstairs and open the ones you got from Santa. What do you think?"
His eyes lit up like the Christmas lights on the house down the street. "Yeah. Huwwy up. Pwesants!"
They laughed at him as he tried to lower himself to the floor, instead of falling from the bed, and sprinted clumsily for the doorway. JJ called after him to be careful on the stairs and they heard his footsteps pretty much halt just out of their view. Emily turned to JJ, rolling her body onto the other woman's, her face covered with a serious expression.
"You knew that was coming didn't you?"
"Of course I did," JJ smirked. "He just wants you to stay. In his head, if that means saying 'I love you' more, or drawing you more pictures, or asking if he can call you his Mum, he will do it in a heartbeat. The love he has for you is so strong. He can't lose you again."
"He's not going to lose me. You're not going to lose me either."
"Well, you're the one that asked me marry you. You're kind of stuck with me now," JJ smiled, pressing her lips to Emily's, only to pull back when they heard Henry yell for them to hurry up. "Come on Mum, we gotta please the boy."
A few minutes later, when they had covered themselves up appropriately with their dressing gowns, and the camera was in Emily's, they found Henry bouncing on his little Transformers couch, waiting comically as he rocked back and forth. He was waiting impatiently for presents to be handed out; there were so many of them sitting under the tree. JJ took a seat by the window, glancing at the snow covered backyard and swing set. Emily handed her a quickly brewed cup of coffee and took a seat on the couch, in the exact same spot she had been in the night before, and started the camera up.
JJ handed presents out to the little boy; from Santa; from his grandparents; a couple from his dad; and a handful from his Mama and Mum. They watched as small piles of new clothes formed next to a junior sized soccer ball and net, Tonka Trucks, a few new story books and knick-knacks. Emily had the camera in her lap, taking photos as he quickly lost his focus on clothes and went straight for the wrapping paper, before moving onto the next gift. His face was scrunched up in confusion when his mother stood a heavy and squishy cylindrical present in front of him.
"What's that?"
"I don't know. You gotta open it to find out," said Emily. She loved his innocence. She wanted him to keep it for as long as possible, and he would. Especially if she had anything to say about it. It turned out to be a play rug with a street map, with roads wide enough for him to fit his toy cars onto. Emily snapped another photo as he snatched up one of his new matchbox cars and began to drive around the carpeted city, trying to mimic the sound of JJ's car to the best of his ability.
The activity of Henry unwrapping his presents took well over an hour, his attention having drifted back and forth between his already opened gifts and ones he had yet to rip the paper off. Once again his focus wavered between his own presents and the small, sapphire blue box hidden by the base of the plastic tree. JJ watched as he would play with bits of paper, and trace the streets with his hands with a smile, until he spotted the last present, before going back to what he had been doing. It was almost as if he was waiting for JJ to hand it out.
"Mama?" he asked, after crawling under the lowest branches to retrieve it and handing it to his mother.
"Oh yeah, that's for Em-Mama Emmy. Why don't you go give it to her?" she suggested.
Henry waddled over to Emily, jumping over the strewn piles of paper and toys awkwardly before thrusting the box into her hands. She thanked him, and he went back to his toys with occasional glance of curiosity. Emily checked the tag on the gift, and then glared at the blonde. Well, the older one of the two in front of her.
"JJ, we agreed on not getting each other gifts this year," she stressed. When they had been wrapping Henry's presents the day before his return, Emily had asked her what she wanted from Santa with a dorky grin. She had replied with 'I got my present early when you came home. I don't need any gifts, as long as you are here'. That had shut Emily up, after she had agreed with the notion of no material items and suggested they focus on spoiling Henry. "You were the one to suggest it."
"I know. But I thought this only seemed fitting. You kinda need this," the blonde replied vaguely.
Emily huffed noncommittally and snapped the tape holding it down on one side, and pulled a deep red box, that contrasted with the wrapping paper perfectly, out from its restraints. Ideas of little pieces of jewellery flittered though her mind. But when she opened the sides, Emily was stunned for the second time since waking up. It was a diamond engagement ring; a subtle diamond was centred with smaller inlays set into a white gold band. She lifted it from its holder to examine it closer. "Jay..."
The blonde shuffled over to lean against the arm of the couch from her seat on the floor, her hand resting on Emily's knee gently. "I need something to keep those crazy women away from you," she joked. She was waiting for Emily to spot the inscription. Henry was too busy playing to notice the exchange between his Mamas.
"What does it say?" Emily asked, finally spotting it when she had brought it up to her eye for a closer look. 11-15-2006. 11-19-2006. Fate.
"Eleven, fifteen, two thousand and six. Eleven, nineteen, two thousand and six. Fate."
"Why those dates?"
"I met you oh so briefly on the fifteenth of November that year. You were standing in Hotch's office looking confused as hell as to why he didn't know you were coming. I actually stumbled over my words when I looked at you. I fell in love with you on the nineteenth when I was ordered to spend all of that time with you. Those hours we spent pouring over policies and rules and procedural notes, were the best I'd ever had. It was like I was fated to fall for you. It was written in the skies, that I would love you forever."
JJ's tone shifted easily from comical to serious to nostalgic as she explained her reasoning with a passion that Emily had only ever seen come from the blonde when she was talking about her son in any sense.
"You can pinpoint the exact day you fell in love with me?" Emily whispered, the ring being toyed with in her hands.
"Yeah. November nineteeth, two thousand and six," she said with ease, taking the ring from Emily and pausing, the piece of jewellery hanging over the tip of Emily's ring finger. "When you walked into my office at about eight thirty in the morning," she laughed. JJ raised an eyebrow at Emily, who simply nodded and the ring was gliding up comfortably.
Emily admired it for a moment. "It's perfect." The shared a sweet kiss that wasn't able to be broken by Henry's engine imitations. "That was also the cheesiest thing you have ever said to me." They laughed and kissed once more, basking in the emotion floating about the room, settling down with JJ's head leaning against Emily's legs.
The clock clicked over to eight o'clock, chiming the necessary number of times. JJ's eyes snapped up, as she realised her dilemma. Not only had she not broken the news to Emily of their brunch plans, she had yet to mention who was going to be arriving at ten thirty for the morning meal. And she still had to fix up the food. Emily had sensed her tension.
"What's going on?" she asked, her fingers threading through JJ's hair, earning a nervous hum in return. "JJ?"
"I really do hate having to burst the bubble we've created this morning, but I need to start getting food ready for brunch."
Emily watched with confusion as she tried to dig through her memory of the previous week to find the knowledge of a Christmas brunch and who it was with. JJ quickly scurried out of the living room and into the kitchen to scan the fridge and pantry with an even faster look in the freezer, pulling out different items all at one. The brunette followed a moment later.
"When was this decided?"
"It was organised before you came back, I forgot. I'm sorry," she exasperated.
Emily had to take her fiancé's wrists to stop her long enough for her to calm down. "Breath, baby. Who is coming?" JJ cringed at the thought. "Jay."
"Your mother."
Her wrists were dropped as if they were on fire, heating Emily's hands to a scalding temperature. In the time that Emily had been back in their lives, a week with JJ and Henry, and barely three days with the team, they hadn't actually gotten around to discussing talking to the former Ambassador. Both Prentiss women had never had the best relationship with each other, but Elizabeth had taken Emily's death harder than anyone had thought she would. She was lost because there was no more time for her to make up for her mistakes as a parent.
"My mother is going to be here in two hours?"
"Two and a half," JJ shrugged sheepishly. She cut off Emily before the older woman could tell her off for forgetting to mention that little fact. "She became attached to Henry after you died. She thought that he was her last connection to you. She may have not been very supportive of our relationship when you were still here, but it was like she had the world's biggest epiphany when you were gone. It was almost as if being there for Henry, to tell him all about you, would begin to make up for her shortcomings as a mother."
Emily stood stock silent as the words sunk in. This was going to be worse than Reid blowing up in face to the power of five hundred. Essentially, she was fucked.
"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you, I honestly forgot that she was coming over today. I swear." JJ stressed, trying to take Emily's hands again. She was brushed off.
"I'm going to go and clean up the mess in the living room, have a shower and get him ready." Emily's voice was neutral, but JJ could feel the coldness coming from her in waves. She tried to apologise again. "It's fine, JJ. I just need to vent a little, sort my head out before she gets here."
Without another word, Emily left the kitchen with a garbage bag in her hands and seconds later the scrunching of scraps being shoved angrily into the bag could be heard. In total silence, Emily walked through the kitchen and down to the garage to sit the trash down there until later when she more weather compatible clothes on. She kept her head down as she walked back past JJ and headed up the stairs for her shower.
The next hour was spent in silence between the two women, only broken by the sounds of chopping or stirring, or Henry's toys and imitations in the living room. Emily had gone down and back up the stairs half a dozen times during those sixty minutes, having showered and dressed in record time, dressed Henry and taken most of his presents up to his room, such as the piles of clothes and the small toys.
JJ had tried to ignore the sounds of her footsteps on the stairs, chopping with just enough force to drown them out. She understood that it had to be frustrating for Emily, for having to go back and explain to everyone what happened, telling her story over and over again and again. She could understand Emily's hesitancy to tell that story to her mother, but it had to be done. Elizabeth Prentiss was the last one to find out about the whole thing, and if Emily didn't choose to do it herself, it would probably never get done.
There was less than an hour left until her future mother-in-law was scheduled to arrive. She was never late and never early; always right on time. Emily walked into the kitchen with a smart shirt and dark slacks on, her hair freshly washed and straightened and very little makeup on. Her arms came to wrap around JJ's waist, pulling the blondes body into her own.
"I'm sorry for snapping earlier," she whispered, her chin resting on the shoulder in front of her.
"It's okay, Em. I get your frustration. But you have to admit that if you could get away with never having to confront your mother about this whole thing, you never would," JJ explained, turning the heat down on the homemade soup before shifting to face Emily.
"Yeah, I know." Emily sighed and willingly accepted the kiss JJ was offering. "She's going to kill me."
"She's gonna have to get through me and Henry first."
"When she gets mad, she looks for revenge. Maybe it would safer for you if you played dumb. Say you didn't know and I just turned up a couple of days ago."
"No!" JJ exclaimed. Her tone was strong and unwaivering, unwilling to bend to Emily's request. She spoke softer. "No. I'm not going to hang you out to dry and watch from the sidelines. Did you suddenly forget that I was in on it too? We do this together."
Emily nodded in submission and pulled JJ closer. They stood together in a comfortable silence, the issue between them having been resolved. JJ could feel the tension in Emily's body slowly begin to leave her muscles slowly. Emily was using the strength JJ had found in a faraway place that she mustn't have known about, because every time she had gone soul searching, she had struggled to even simply identify any semblance of strength within herself.
"Go on, you can say it," Emily said.
"Say what?"
"Those four little words you've been telling me all week."
"I love you too?" JJ asked, faking her confusion. She wanted to hear Emily say it; maybe it would make a difference to her mentality.
"You know what I'm talking about. Don't play coy with me."
"What words?" she asked, still playing dumb.
"'Everything will be fine'," Emily said.
JJ could see a change in the brunette's eyes as the words finally sunk in despite the many times is had been repeated over the last week. It was as if everything suddenly made sense, like a light bulb had gone off in her mind. She smiled smugly as the realisation came over Emily's face. "It's good to know that you think that."
"You tricked me."
"It was for the greater good. My turn for a shower," she said, giving a gentle pat to Emily's ass, checking the soup and leaving it to boil, and turning on her heel for the stairs.
She huffed with an expression of understanding, and gratefulness. Sometimes, Emily just needed a push and JJ was always there to push or shove; whatever Emily really needed. That was the reason she loved the blonde. Well, one of the reasons anyways. There were too many to count and name, and Emily was sure that if she were to attempt it, she would lose track and repeat some.
She took a seat in the loveseat, watching Henry play innocently. She snapped a few photos while she waited for the hour to wind down. He had been bathed, after Emily had showered, and dressed in a neat brown polo shirt and jeans. His socks were either on backwards or upside down. Emily wasn't sure which it was seeing as he had put them on himself. Henry's hair had grown and when he whipped around to smile at her, his mop of blonde locks followed a split second later. He giggled and jumped into Emily's arms for a quick cuddle, followed by a rather large yawn.
"You are going to be so tired by dinner time," she said. He sat up in her lap, another yawn ripping through his little body.
"Nu-uh!"
"Maybe you should have a nap before we go to Uncle Hotch's."
"But-,"
Emily was sure he was going to say something about wanting to play with all of his Christmas toys, to figure out which were the best ones, but he didn't have time to respond. JJ came flying down the stairs, her socks nearly slipping on the carpet, in Emily's deep red shirt and her favourite slacks, her hair up messily with no makeup on. Emily had to restrain herself from drooling on the three year old in her lap.
"Come on buddy, Grandma's here."
"Grandma?" Emily asked from the couch. Henry bounced off of Emily's lap and hurled himself in the direction of the front door, running into it merely seconds after the bell rang.
"Don't ask. You want to stay here?"
"Yeah. I'll come into the kitchen in a sec."
JJ nodded and pressed a kiss to Emily's temple before chasing after Henry to stop him from opening the door. He had recently begun to try and open the door without waiting for JJ to see who it was. From her seat in the lounge, the sound of the lock snapping open and quick greetings floated through the house to meet her ears, and the worst possible scenarios ran through her mind for the umpteenth time in the past two hours. There was a shuffling of bags as JJ helped Elizabeth with the armfuls of presents and Henry jumped up and down around them, like a pixie on a sugar high. It was now or never.
Emily came to stand in the kitchen doorway just as JJ had finished explaining that she needed to discuss something with Elizabeth urgently. When the older Prentiss finally realised that there was someone standing in the doorway, JJ had already circled the centre island to stand next to Emily. With her hands in her pockets, she spoke up, effectively getting her mother's attention, and for the first time in her entire life, rendering the woman speechless. Her coming out didn't count.
"Hey Henry, why don't you go and get one of your new toys to show...Grandma?"
He was gone in a flash and Emily had yet to break eye contact with her mother. She had never seen the familiar brown eyes so confused. As an Ambassador, Elizabeth Prentiss had always had her eye on the metaphorical prize, the next posting higher up on the political ladder. She knew what she wanted and how to get there. But now, the emotions her mother was showing were so alien like to the woman.
"Hi."
Three steps to cross the room, and there was a loud smack echoing throughout the kitchen. The stinging heat in Emily's left cheek was more severe than the slap Garcia had welcomed her home with. The deafening silence took over as soon as the echo's had stopped. Holes were being bored into the side of Emily's head as Elizabeth glared at her daughter.
They hadn't heard the shuffling in the living room that was Henry trying to pick out his favourite toy stop, and the little boy running back into the kitchen only to halt less than a foot behind Emily, flinching as Elizabeth's hand made contact with Emily's cheek fiercely. His face scrunched up and he dropped his toy to the floor with a muffled thud. Until Henry ran into the kitchen and directly into his grandmother's legs, no one had even taken notice that he had been watching.
"No!" he yelled, his little body basically ramming the legs he ran into. No one would hurt his mum, not if he could help it. He was staring angrily at the older woman, his head tilted back to meet her gaze as she stared back. JJ tried to pick him up to carry him back into to the living room, but the damage had already been done and he fought his mother's grip. "No!" Forfeiting the staring contest he had started with Elizabeth, he turned and hugged Emily as best he could.
"Come here," she whispered, picking him up successfully and leaving the kitchen. She could hear JJ beginning to explain the whole situation as Henry's arms tightened around her neck. Her mother would have to wait for her explanation and personal apology as she tried to settle the now distraught toddler.
Too fluffy? Too angsty? What was your favourite bit? R&R thanks!
