December 24

Emily was so nervous, her stomach was tying itself in knots. And, she was fidgeting, driving Morgan-Derek, rather-crazy with it.

"Emily," he said, frustration leaking through his voice as they pulled onto his block, "Would you please relax? You're acting like we going to an Inquisition, my mother is not that scary. You have met her before."

"Yeah, when I was questioning her about you being a murder suspect."

"And, even under the circumstances, you made a good impression. Afterward, she told me you were very reassuring, and seemed like a nice young lady."

"Yeah?" She asked hopefully.

"Yes, and it's a good thing, because we're here." Emily followed his gaze to the small Chicago row house, and took a deep breath. Morgan killed the engine and squeezed her hand.

Emily carried Addy in her car seat, and Derek grabbed the bags, at least a couple of them. Addy had more luggage then either of them. He knocked on the door, and Fran answered quickly, smiling widely at them.

"Hi mama," he greeted happily.

She hugged him tightly. "Oh, I missed you. I don't get to see you nearly often enough."

"I know, I missed you too." He pulled away and gestured to Emily. "Mama, you remember Emily, and that little princess is Addy."

"Of course, Emily it's good to see you again, and under much better circumstances." Emily was a little startled by the hug, but went with it, and similarly followed Derek as Fran ushered them both in.

"It's nice to see you as well, Mrs. Morgan. Thank you for having us over."

"Oh honey, you can call me Fran, it's less formal. And, I'm so excited to finally see Addy, Derek has been going on and on about her for months." She smiled and gestured them to the sofa.

Emily sat, and set the carrier beside her, unbelting Addy, and unzipping the snowsuit that stood in for a coat and made the baby look like a starfish. She let Morgan get it off her, and bring her over to his mother, sitting beside her, and setting Addy in her arms. Emily's heartbeat was pounding out of control, because she knew what was coming.

"Mama, meet your first grandbaby." He seemed so proud when he said it, like Addy was the best thing he'd ever done.

Fran had been smiling at the baby, but looked up, surprise and confusion on her face. She obviously wasn't sure what he meant, knowing that her son didn't contribute DNA to the infant in her arms.

Morgan clarified, just as proud, and just as happy. "I adopted her, it went through a few weeks ago."

Fran stared between the two of them, eyes wide, mouth slightly open, evidently not prepared for that information. She was silent for at least a minute, looking between the two of them. Emily wished she'd say something, because her stomach was churning so violently, she might actually throw up. Please say you're happy about it, or you'll break your son's heart, Emily begged silently in her head.

"Well," she finally said, "that's quite a surprise. I knew you were involved, Derek, but I didn't know you were that involved." Then she suddenly frowned. "Wait, did you get married?"

It was their turn to look stunned. Morgan offered a nervous chuckle. "No Mama, it's called a second parent adoption."

She nodded, then froze again. "You are seeing each other though?"

"Yes, we started seeing each other," he said.

She sighed with relief, and looked at Emily. "Thank goodness, I put you together in Derek's old room."

"That's fine," Emily assured her. "We've been sleeping together for a couple weeks." As soon as it came out of her mouth, her eyes widened, and she quickly tried to correct it. "In the same bed, we've been sleeping in the same bed." Emily blushed a deep crimson, and briefly closed her eyes in horror.

Morgan began to chuckle and she shot him a glare. He held up his hands in surrender, though her was still looking rather amused. Fran Morgan was also looking rather amused, but soon turned her attention to Addy. Garcia and JJ had picked out a girlie little jumper set while she was in the hospital, and assured her that Addy would be irresistible. She was pretty cute in it.

Fran tickled her, and Addy giggled and tried to grab at her hands. She smiled at the baby, and then looked up at Emily. "She's absolutely beautiful, Emily."

She released a pent up breath. "Thank you...Derek has been an absolute godsend since she was born."

She smiled at her son. "He's always been a good boy."

Emily was amused to see him look slightly bashful. "I always thought he was a nice guy."

Fran looked between them, then at Addy, and finally at Derek. "Does this mean I can look forward to more grandbabies?"

Derek drew back. "What? Mama, I just put one in your lap, and you're already asking for more?"

"I told you I want a whole bunch of them."

He let his head dropped dramatically. "Addy is only four months old, and Emily and I barely started dating, at least wait to Easter before you ask for more."

The older woman's eyes lit up. "So you'll all be coming to Chicago for Easter?"

Morgan turned to Emily, and she just shrugged. It was fine with her, it's not like she had standing Easter plans. He turned back to his mother. "Sure we will, work permitting."

Fran was about to speak when the door opened, and the girls poured in, squealing at the sight of their brother. He got up to greet them with hugs, and pulled them over into the living room.

"Sarah, Desi, I believe you met Emily, and the little angel in mama's lap is your niece, Addy." He didn't seem nervous at all, and yet Emily was feeling queasy again.

The girls had the same reaction as their mother, freezing and exchanging a confused look, until they were both satisfied that neither knew what was going on. Sarah was the one who asked. "I seem to remember a conversation a couple months ago where you told me you met Addy's father, and hated him on sight."

Emily resisted the urge to smirk at that, she knew Derek hated Max. Part of it was that Max had abandoned his child, which Morgan found unforgivable, but also because for eight weeks, Max was the only person who could take over the role he'd adopted in Addy's life.

"You remember correctly, but we started the adoption process shortly after that, and it went through three weeks ago," he explained.

Confusion turned to surprise, but Desi shook it off quickly, and sat down beside her mother, holding her hands out for Addy. Reluctantly, Fran handed her over, and both women proceeded to play with her, Fran glancing up only once at her other children, noting the tension, but seeming to decide to let them handle it themselves.

"Derek, kitchen." And, without another word, Sarah headed into the room. Emily felt like throwing up.

"What's wrong, Sarah?" Morgan closed the kitchen door, and crossed his arms over his chest. He was feeling more than a little defensive, Sarah knew how much Addy meant to him, and couldn't fathom what she was upset about.

"I'm worried about you." The hostility she'd used as a mask slipped, and all he saw was over-protectiveness.

"Why?"

She sighed as if he was being an idiot. "Derek, I know you are in love with this child, but have you thought about this long-term?"

"Of course, I thought about it. You think I made this decision without thinking?"

"I had considered the thought."

He glared at her.

Again she sighed, and leaned marble-topped counter, the one that had been a gift from all three of them the first year they all had real jobs. They wanted their mama to have something nice, something she'd never thought to buy herself because she was always taking care of them.

"What if Emily gets married someday? What if that man wants to be father to his step-child? What happens then? What if you get married? You think a woman is going to overlook how close you are to a female friend, the enormous part you play in her child's life? You think any man will overlook your part in Emily's life?"

"Sarah…we're seeing each other, so most of that is irrelevant now."

Her eyebrows rose. "And you think that is a fix-all? You work together, Derek, how the hell are you going to explain this to your boss? I doubt the FBI is okay with it's agents seeing each other, or god knows, getting married. And, if it doesn't work out? Break-ups are miserable, and the people usually end up hating each other. Where does that leave Addy?"

"If it ends badly we'll deal with it. We'll insulate Addy from it. And, we're trying to take it slow. We'll tell Hotch when it gets serious," he explained. It's not like he hadn't thought about any of this, he had, but they were happy, and he wanted to enjoy that happiness.

"Serious? Are you kidding, Derek? You adopted the woman's child. How much more serious does it get?"

Morgan threw his hands up, and clenched them in fists. "Damn it, Sarah. I know it's a weird situation, but we're navigating the best we can and we're happy with whatever it is we've got. Would you be like this if I'd just started dating a woman with a kid, or is there something specific about Emily and Addy that bothers you?"

"The difference with those two scenarios, Derek? You are already in love with that baby. When you called mama about the car accident, worried about Emily and Addy, she said you were about crying, scared out of your wits. She was all upset, the last time she saw you cry was when you told us what that bastard Buford did to you when you were a kid. And, before that it was when Daddy died. That little baby girl already stole your heart, and Derek, if it comes to bad blood between you and Emily, then, unless she gets addicted to crack, no one is going to be giving you custody. You'll get to see Addy every other weekend, Thursdays and two holidays out of the year. And, I know that would break your heart, and I don't want to see my favorite brother's heart broken."

He ran a hand over his head, and the fight seemed to deflate from him. "Is that what you're worried about? Well, I'm not going to say it's impossible for it to go bad or for us to end up hating each other. But, it is damn unlikely, and I don't believe for a minute that Emily would ever keep Addy away from me."

Sarah looked slightly hopeful. "You know her that well, do you, brother?"

"Busting into a house of an armed psycho with only your gun, your wits, and your trust that your partner has your back, that teaches you things about a person that you'd never learn anywhere else. Yes, that much I do know about her." Such was the nature of their job. And, then there was everything he'd learned about during and since Addy's birth.

His sister finally nodded, looking hopeful and worried at the same time. He rolled his eyes. "Fine, if she breaks my heart, I'll fly out here, and you can let me cry on your shoulder, and we'll watch chick movies and eat ice cream. That's what you and Desi do, right?"

In response she thwacked the back of his head.

"Hey!" He yelped.

"What, big tough FBI man can't take a smack from his little sister?"

"Big tough FBI man does not come home to be abused," he retorted. Then he put his hands on his hips. "By the way, favorite brother? Unless Mama forgot to tell me something I am your only brother."

She snorted. "You think I'd pick you if I had another option?"

"What? Now, that's not—" But she was already walking out. He followed her, objecting behind her. "Mama, she's abusing your baby boy again."

His mother rolled her eyes. "I thought the sibling squabbles ended at 30?"

He and his sisters chuckled, as he took a seat beside Emily, and Sarah headed straight for Addy. She held out her hands. "Alright, my turn to hold her."

In minutes she was hoisting Addy on her hip, bouncing her around and smiling at her. Addy was smiling too, so far unbothered by the affection of strangers. Emily nudged him to get his attention, looked him in the eyes, and tilted her head toward Sarah.

"It's all fine," he assured her.

Sarah pushed the shopping cart through the grocery store, Addy in the attached baby seat, attempting to pull off her shoes, and Emily trying to keep up beside her. Sarah shopped like it was a mission, and never deviated from the list her mother provided. Emily figured this wasn't an unusual occurrence. She wished she could be half as efficient shopping, but she had to constantly debate whether it was worth buying something, considering she could get called out of town for a few days or a week at any minute.

Fran had fed them all brunch, then told Derek that she'd waited until he was home to get a tree, so he best take her to go get one. Desi went with them, and she decided to tag along on Sarah's shopping trip. It's not like she was much use with the busted arm-for anything-but it felt weird to stay in the house alone, and she wanted to talk to Sarah anyway. The discussion she and Derek had seemed to alleviate the woman's concerns, but frankly, Emily was concerned that she even had concerns. Now, she just had to get up the nerve to ask her.

"Sarah, are you okay with this...?" She finally managed, as the other woman studied the display of sweet potatoes.

"With what?" Sarah glanced at her. "Oh, you mean you and Derek?"

"And," Emily gestured to Addy.

Sarah turned completely to her, a sweet potato in each hand, which she seemed to have forgotten she was holding. "I have no problem with you or your daughter, I just worry about my brother."

"Anything in particular that you're worried about now?"

Sarah picked four medium sized potatoes, just as the list directed, and tossed the plastic bag in the cart. Then she pushed the cart toward a less trafficked area, and turned to Emily. "For the last twenty years, my brother has been a player. It's easy for him, because he's a beautiful man, and women have always fallen all over him. Desi and I have ragged on him about it, and even my mother knows this, but chooses to pretend she doesn't. The point is, he's never given any indication that he plans to, or even wants to settle down, now or ever. Then, in August he calls our mother, and tells her about this baby he held, and he doesn't have to say he's awed by it, because she can hear it in his voice, and he tells her this unbelievable story of his friend giving birth on an airplane, and I spoke to him the next day, I could still hear that in his voice, awe or whatever it was. We're a close family, we talk all the time and keep up with each other's business, and pretty soon, he's always excited to say something about Addy. Now today, he tells us he's adopted this child. My brother, the player with no interest in settling down up until the day that little girl came into this world. So, I'm left wondering what's going on with Derek, in that he suddenly feels the need to be father to this child."

Emily blinked, and finally said. "Yeah, I wonder about that too."

Now it was Sarah's turn to look surprised, and if Emily was interpreting right, a little amused.

The profiler smirked. "What, you think I'm not familiar with Derek's...dating habits? I've teased him about it before, and I aware how, uh strange this all is, but honestly the last four or five months have just been a whole lot of weird and confusing. And, I know it's still confusing to him sometimes too, but I think the one thing he is sure of, is that Addy is his daughter."

"And, how sure are you of that?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm mean if it goes bad between you two, will you give him fair custody rights?"

Emily's mouth fell open and closed as she physically moved back in shock. "Honestly, I haven't thought much about if it all goes to hell, but I know that nothing will change that he is and will be a good father to her. I would never keep them apart."

Sarah nodded, "You're right, he will." Then she sighed. "Let's finish this list, I don't want to miss Derek trying to heave that tree into the house."

Emily smiled, still unsure of the other woman's feelings, and followed her to get the last few items on the list. At the door, she slid Addy into her snowsuit, and Sarah handled the groceries-there was only one brown bag. She held Addy in her good arm as they fought through the throngs of people going in and out of the store. Emily was struggling to make out what Sarah was saying to her when someone slammed into her, nearly knocking her down. As she was trying to get her balance back, Addy was being pulled from her arms. The street was so crowded, she couldn't even figure out where Sarah was, as she struggled to hold on to Addy. She failed.

Addy began to cry, and Emily followed the noise with her eyes to a young woman. Dark skin, thigh-high boots over bright purple leggings, big hoop earings, and a coat left open to expose her ample cleavage. She could have been a hooker.

"Hey! Hey!" Emily ran after the woman, barely catching Sarah's alarmed eyes, as she pursued the woman. "Damn it! Stop! FBI stop!"

The woman slowed down at the mouth of an alley, and turned it. Emily desperately wished she had her gun, or at least two working arms. She stopped in the mouth of the alley and turned cautiously.

The woman had delivered Addy to a man, also dark-skinned, late thirties, early forties, fit, facial hair and sunglasses. He was sitting on the hood of a black, tricked-out Charger with spinning rims, and racing stripes. She would bet her next five paychecks that this man holding her daughter was carrying, probably something small, and that the car held at least one automatic weapon.

"You're Derek Morgan's girl," he said, exposing bleached white teeth in the smile of a predator.

Yes, another cliffhanger, but this chapter is super long, so I figure it's even. Thanks everyone that reviewed the last chapter!