Prompt: Dear Santa

Characters: Derek, Aaron, Spencer (& Emily), What Makes a Family universe

Words: 373

"What am I supposed to say?" Aaron asked.

"I'm confused, too," Spencer added.

"Guys, it's not supposed to be confusing. It's supposed to be fun. You write a letter to Santa and then you mail it to the North Pole and he gets it. In the letter, you tell him what you want for Christmas," Derek explained, even though he was a little old to be writing letters to Santa. He did it until that last year with his parents. Then, he'd stopped. But he had at least a little experience. These guys had no idea how to write a Santa letter, and that was just sad. Especially for kids who were still little.

"But Emily always says we don't ask for things, we wait for them to be given to us," Aaron pointed out.

"Also, I think the North Pole is uninhabited," Spencer pointed out. "So mailboxes are extremely less likely than they would be in a neighborhood where actual people live. You guys know that Saint Nicholas lived a long time ago, right?"

"Yeah, we get it, but Emily wants us to have some Christmas traditions so lets do this, all right?"

"Did you write one?" Spencer asked skeptically.

"Not exactly," Derek admitted.

"Is Santa supposed to be magic?" Aaron asked. "I mean, is he like your hope?"

"I don't know," Derek shrugged. "It's not that serious, guys, I'm tellin' you. Just write the letter and you get stuff."

"I think we should write one together, then," Aaron decided.

Later that evening, Emily crept out into the kitchen for a cup of hot chocolate. Her artistic muses were always at their best late, and when the kids were in bed, it meant she could concentrate and get more done.

Something caught her attention, though. A sheet of paper in the middle of the kitchen table. It was labeled with a green Post-It note in Derek's handwriting, requesting that Emily please mail it to the North Pole since none of the boys had an address.

Her eyes fell on the letter - the single line, really - and Emily's breath caught in her throat:

Dear Santa,

For Christmas, we want a family, please.

From Derek Morgan, Aaron Hotchner and Spencer Reid