~~CM~~
"Oh Em, I am so happy for you," Pam gushed, squishing Emily in a tight hug.
"I am freaking out. I started looking at wedding websites last night and I am so overwhelmed."
Pam looked around the kitchen, "Where is your kettle?"
After sitting down with a cup of hot tea, Pam talked Emily off the ledge, asking her to close her eyes, "It's your wedding day, tell me what you see."
Relaxing back into her chair, Emily kept her eyes closed, "A field with flowers, a simple flowy dress, Aaron in a casual suit, no tie, JJ in a summer dress, Jack in a tiny little suit."
"And the guests?"
"Just a handful of people, you, Jess, the BAU,"
Within a few minutes, Emily had her perfect wedding in mind and Pam was able to be smug, announcing she was the best maid of honor of all time.
JJ and Jack joined them in the kitchen as Pam was making a list. Jack wanted to try her tea and climbed into Emily's lap.
JJ stood over Pam reading the list out loud over her shoulder:
Garden Wedding,
Small guest list, 20 people at most
Summer flowers - bright - Poppies and Posies? No Roses
Long Flowy Dresses
Tan or Light Blue Suits
Smallish Round Tiered Cake
Catering - Summer salads (Arugula and Goat Cheese, Grilled Watermelon), Fresh Lemonades (Mint and Lavender), Lobster? Grilled Fish?
JJ said "Ewww" after Grilled Fish, with Jack echoing her causing the women to laugh.
"Fine, no fish." Emily agreed.
"And no blue suits, I like the idea of tan jackets, with blue ties." JJ continued as she pulled up photos of men in tan suits on her phone, "Oooh with a vest, or even open collar and no tie."
Between JJ and Pam, Emily was confident she and Aaron would get the wedding they both wanted.
~~CM~~
Instead of wedding planning, it was birthday planning took over the blended family home. Jack was about to turn five and wanted to have a grand party. He narrowed it down to having a party at the park, a pool party, a pizza party, and an indoor trampoline party.
Jess was hands on for this and she quickly determined no one wanted to watch fifteen pre-schoolers attempt to drown each other. With the promise of Spiderman and pizza, Jess arranged for the party at a local indoor trampoline park. He could invite his friends from school and the soccer team without any fuss.
"You should be a party planner; give up your day job," Emily said as she was learning at the feet of a strong mentor as she watched Jess make all the arrangements.
"It's half of my job these days, planning business meetings."
"Wanna be our wedding planner? Pam and I made a list but that is as far as we got," embarrassed, Emily handed a crumpled paper to Jess, "I know most brides have a notebook or binder filled with notes and pictures."
Jess smoothed out the paper, and reviewed it, "A small intimate wedding outdoors, that's easy." Then she laughed, "Getting Aaron to call his little brother on the other hand..."
"His relationship with his brother is similar to the one between my mother and I. A few phone calls throughout the year and call it good." Emily leaned back, crossing her legs, "I promised him I would tell my mother if he told Sean. We have until the end of the week."
Sipping her coffee, Jess raised an eyebrow at the timeline, "Call her now and get it over with. I'll check dates for the botanic gardens; they have a perfect setting for you."
"Fine," Grumbled Emily and picked up her phone. Jess grabbed her own phone and left the room to give Emily privacy, "Hello Mother."
"Emily, nice to hear from you, dear. Now, who died? Not you again I hope." The Ambassador's displeasure was still alive and going strong well over two years later.
"Very funny, Mother. I have good news."
"Yes?"
Straight and to the point was the best method when her mother was in a mood, "Aaron and I are getting married."
"You've had quite a year, fostering a delinquent teenager, selling and buying houses, and now you are getting married and becoming a stepmother."
Sighing at the snotty voice on the phone, Emily put the phone down and drank her tea while her mother talked on and on about bad choices. Finally, her mother paused in her ranting and Emily picked up the phone again, "Yes, Mother, your opinions on my life choices have been noted. I will let you know when we chose a date for the wedding. I have to run, love you."
When Jess returned to the kitchen, she noted Emily's sour mood, "I think it's time to switch to wine."
~~CM~~
Aaron watched as JJ helped Jack do a backflip over on the trampolines. His friends were gathered around him, screeching and jumping, all waiting for their turns. Jess and Emily were setting the table with pizza, cupcakes, and drinks. The plates, napkins, and decorations all boasted Spiderman.
Happy, Aaron was happy. Last time he recalled being this happy was when Jack was born five years ago. He couldn't believe this was his life. He was getting married to the most amazing woman. A woman who was quickly and devotedly becoming a mother to his son. He had a foster daughter now, one that he wanted to adopt to ensure that the state could never take her away from them. His sister in law was close to his family despite all of the challenges from the divorce then Haley's death.
In fact, Jess was practically planning his wedding to Emily. And between Emily and Jess, they had twisted his arm until he called his irresponsible younger brother and told him he was getting married. Sean seemed sincere with his congratulations but waffled on the idea of taking time off to attend his older brother's wedding two months away.
Professionally, he was happy as well. His team had solidified with the addition of Dr. Reid. The young agent fit in beautifully with Morgan and Emily, and looked to Dave as a father figure.
JJ was still flipping kids and laughing when Emily announced it was time for pizza and cupcakes.
He watched his family gather and he knew, he truly couldn't be happier.
~~CM~~