Luuk and Jessica VanKoek were in the front hall very quickly, and when they saw Emily, they had eyes only for her.
"Come on, Emily." Aurora guided her mother gently by the hand. "They don't bite."
Emily couldn't help it, but the closer she got to Luuk and Jessica, the more teary-eyed she became. These were the people who had chosen her daughter, brought her home and loved her, and raised her. She never thought she'd meet them, let alone find Aurora again, yet… here they were.
They were both dressed casually, but still in a way that made for a good impression. Just as Emily had thought the first time she'd seen their picture, they were very good looking and probably somewhere within ten years of her age.
The thought was dashed from Emily's head altogether when Jessica spoke to her.
"Oh, please don't cry, sweet Emily." she held her hand and reached out, wiping the tears that were falling down her face. "Luuk and I are just as nervous about this as you are."
Emily surprised herself by being able to talk. "I-I never thought that this would ever happen, and I owe you two everything! Plus, after Aurora and I parted ways in Italy, my mother bought your cookbooks and used the recipes to teach me how to cook!"
Jessica's heart immediately swelled with love and she pulled Emily into a warm hug, which to Emily, was warm and seemed to last forever. It was exactly how she'd imagined things going between them.
When they pulled apart, Jessica wiped Emily's tears again and kissed her on the forehead. "Then this means that you and I have already been bonded for twenty-five years, hm?"
"Yeah, I suppose it does." Emily managed a smile. "I like it."
"So do I." Jessica gave Emily's hands an affectionate squeeze. "Now how about you go say hello to Luuk?"
The man in question also hugged Emily, and when he spoke, his voice was deep and had a Dutch lilt to it.
"Thank you for giving us Aurora. Our lives have been made better because of her."
Emily just about melted at that and had to focus even harder to not lose her composure again. "What an awesome thing to hear—I've always wondered how well she'd fit in with the family who chose her."
"She fits in perfectly, and her siblings have always looked up to her."
Emily's heart jumped at the mention of Aurora's siblings because they were in the house and she hadn't seen them yet. She wanted to say something about, but her words got caught in her throat, so Aurora stepped stepped forward with JJ, wanting to introduce her to her properly.
She touched JJ's elbow in indication as she spoke to her parents. "Mom, dad, this is Spencer's and Emily's colleague from work, Jennifer Jareau. She and Emily are to be engaged and married at some point, and when that happens, she'll be my stepmom, but we're already becoming very good friends, and I couldn't ask for anything more than that."
Now JJ was the one turning to mush and struggling maintain her own composure, but after she'd hugged Luuk and Jessica, Aurora whispered something in her ear and then looked at her, eyebrows raised. JJ immediately took a step back.
"Hey!" Emily protested when she noticed the interaction. "When did you two develop a secret best friends code?"
"While you weren't looking." Aurora said puckishly before turning her attention back to JJ. "I haven't said a word about that because I wanted to leave it to you and Emily."
Aurora's parents looked to her younger ones expectantly.
"What is it?" Jessica asked.
Emily took a breath and slowly let it out. "Aurora is going to be a big sister again—JJ and I are both pregnant!"
Jessica and Luuk hugged Emily and JJ again, even more thrilled. They already knew about Aurora's baby and they were delighted for her, especially because they adored Spencer and couldn't imagine anyone better for Aurora than him. Finding out that she was getting more siblings made them ecstatic.
Once the hubbub subsided, Aurora turned to Emily and JJ. "Let's let my parents catch up with Spencer and Alice; I want to see if we can find Juliana, Katrinka, Maxwell, and Zadie."
"Where would they be?" Emily asked.
"In the kitchen. Follow me."
Emily and JJ followed Aurora down a hallway whose walls were lined with pictures of the family throughout the years, and before long, they were in a large kitchen and adjoining dining area, both of which Emily had seen in a recent issue of Sunset magazine.
She barely had time to register this when there was a sudden rush of activity as the rest of Aurora's family abandoned the board game they'd been playing, hugging her and gushing over her baby bump. Emily's heart swelled with emotion as she watched Aurora interact with all of them—there was a lot of love there.
It was clear that Aurora was the ringleader because after everyone calmed and Zadie even gave her a hug around the waist before dashing out of the room, calling for Spencer and Alice, Juliana, Katrinka, and Maxwell gathered in a gaggle, waiting for Aurora to make the first move.
"Rory," Juliana said after introductions were made. "Are these your parents? They're gorgeous!"
Aurora beamed proudly—that was the first time anyone had referred to Emily and JJ together as her parents, and it made her very proud. Even Emily and JJ were flattered.
"Yes! These are my parents, Emily and JJ, and guess what? They both know Spencer because they're all part of the same profiling team at the FBI!"
They were all deeply impressed, and Maxwell quipped, "Well, now we know where Aurora gets her good looks from."
Katrinka flicked her brother on his ear. "How is that the first thing you say?!"
"But why did you have to flick me on the ear?" Maxwell whined, rubbing the injured body part. "When will you stop that?"
"The day you figure out subtlety or what a filter is…"
"Why, I—"
Aurora intervened, separating them as she issued in Dutch what sounded like a playful warning.
Juliana stepped forward. "Those three have always been like the Three Musketeers whenever they're together, and I'm the one who stays out of the way. Are you two hungry or anything after the trip up here? We were playing Monopoly with Zadie while we were waiting for you all to arrive, and now that you have, I've been instructed to tell you two specifically that Max, Kitty, and I are at your disposal."
Juliana was in some kind of 'hostess' mode, so Emily and JJ just rolled with it.
"I'm good for now," Emily told her. "But thank you, Juliana."
"We're all family here, so please call me Julie," she winked. "And just let me know."
She turned to JJ to see her sitting down at one of the chairs at the table and rubbing her middle. The sight threw Juliana for a loop.
"You're pregnant, JJ?"
"Yes, and so is Emily."
Juliana's heart leapt for joy, but she also felt a little confused as she turned to Aurora.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
Aurora was already getting a glass of water for JJ. When the blond accepted the drink and thanked her before quenching her thirst, Aurora turned back to her sister.
"It wasn't my news to share," she said with a shrug. "But just think of how full our lives are going to be when you and Zay come to D.C., and you meet our students. We're still learning about different family types."
Juliana sighed. "If the kids jump when you sneeze, then they're going to be really confused when we tell them that you and I are sisters."
"You still haven't told them?" JJ interjected, knowing full well of Aurora's major teaching plans for the upcoming months. "Ro, do they at least know that you've gone and found your Prince Charming and that you're expecting a baby?"
Aurora shifted her weight nervously from one foot to the other. "No?"
Emily held her hands in the 'time out' position. "Seriously, Jayje? Now you call her Ro?"
"What can I say, babe? She will be my stepdaughter when you and I tie the knot, but she's my friend now, and we were talking about her teaching plans when we planned this trip."
"And that was when?"
"Recently, when I was in my office at work. It's amazing, the things you can get done when your work space isn't in a noisy bullpen."
Emily sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "What am I going to do with you two?"
"Love us anyway?"
"Sounds about right."
Juliana voiced a new thought as it popped into her head. "Aurora, have you at least told them about you-know-what?"
"Told us what?" Emily and JJ asked together.
"Man, our family is weird." Maxwell muttered. "This went from zero to sixty really fast."
Next to him, Katrinka nodded. "I know that's right."
Just as she said her piece, the others walked in, led by Jessica. She wanted to see about getting all of the luggage upstairs, but she, Luuk, Spencer, Alice, and Zadie were greeted by the abrupt silence that had just fallen.
Jessica put her hands on her hips. "Okay, what? Our guests haven't even been here for a half hour yet!"
Maxwell answered her. "Nothing, mom. We've just learned that Emily and JJ fit in very well here."
"Good. Now please go help Spencer and your father bring the luggage upstairs."
"What? Why me?"
"Because I'm your mother? Because I need Julie and Kitty to help finish making lunch? Take your pick."
Maxwell got up and gave Jessica an exaggerated bow before heading out of the room with Luuk and Spencer.
Wanting Jessica's attention and with Alice at her side, holding her hand, Zadie addressed her.
"Oma! Oma! Oma!"
"Indoor voice, my tiny love, but what is it?"
In perfect Dutch, Zadie queried, "Hoe zit met ons?"
Jessica replied in kind. "Jij en Alice kunt gaan spelen."
The little girls called out, "Danke!" in unison, blew Jessica kisses of thanks and hurried out of the room together.
"Alice knows Dutch?" Emily asked in surprise.
Aurora nodded as she motioned for her to sit at the table with JJ before following in suit. "We all do because it's our second language. She and Zadie took to it very quickly because we taught them at the same time."
"What did Alice ask Jessica just now?
"If there was anything needed of them, but she just told them to go play and they said thank you."
Aurora looked over at Jessica.
"Mom, is there anything you need of me?"
Jessica quickly instructed Juliana and Katrinka to go set the table for lunch before answering her.
"No, sweet pea. You just hang out at the table with JJ."
"I can do that."
Jessica gave her approval before requesting Emily's company in the kitchen.
"Yes?" Emily asked politely.
"I'm cooking a few of Aurora's favorite things, but I still need to make something healthy; how well do you know my cookbooks?"
"Like the back of my hand. I have all of them."
"Perfect." Jessica motioned towards the counter beside her where the ingredients were laid out for one last part of the meal. "Will you make the Watercress-Fruit Salad for me?"
Nearly tripping over air because the question was coming from one of her personal heroes, Emily nodded and started washing her hands in the sink.
"Sure. Anything I should know before I start?"
"Only that I'm dying to know what you were like when you were a wee little thing. Will you indulge me in a few questions?"
"I would love to."