I do not own Criminal Minds, only the characters I have created in that world.

Chapter 28: Loose Lips

Garcia was still having trouble finding much of anything on Dillon Cranston that they could use. Between the cases, consults, and general work she had to get done for everyone, she was only able to get basic information. Up to this point, she could only give her boss what she found, and none of it was really helpful.

"So… I've been digging," she said, approaching him.

"Yeah?" Aaron prodded.

"Turns out, Dillon Cranston is a real person. He is a relative of Patrick McAndrew."

"I thought he didn't have any family. We looked into that."

"Right," she nodded. "We did. I did. But he's not immediate family. He's a second cousin, and that didn't even seem relevant because it looked like he wasn't a part of McAndrew's life. It didn't fit what we were looking for."

"Alright… What else do you have?"

"It doesn't look like they've had any contact since McAndrew's incarceration way back when."

"So why would he be doing this now? How did he even now McAndrew died?"

"I'm trying to find that out. So far, I don't see any calls from anyone of interest on the prison logs or in his cell phone records. There were a couple numbers that appeared more than once. I'm running those now. I'll let you know what I come up with."

"Great. Thank you so much, Penelope." He stood up from his desk and moved around to where she was standing. "It's getting late, though. Why don't you head home?"

"Maybe you should do the same. No cases tonight! We have to enjoy that while it lasts."

"We do. I'm leaving as soon as I finish up in here. Keep up the good work, Penelope," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Have a good night."

"You too, Sir."

After Garcia left, Hotch took a moment to look over the few files she had on Dillon Cranston. This man, a man who was indeed McAndrew's cousin, was suing him. But the question of why remained. On paper, at least, it looked like these two people had minimal contact over the years. They were practically strangers after McAndrew's initial incarceration all those years ago.

He sighed, feeling like the situation was weighing on him again. McAndrew was supposed to be out of their lives for good, but he was haunting them from the grave. Even if, realistically, he knew that the worst that could happen was losing some money, and, possibly, should work use it as bait to investigate further, his job, he just didn't want to have to deal with any of it.

It was never ending, but he wasn't letting this control his life. With McAndrew, there was an eminent threat. Now, he was the only one threatened, technically, and it wasn't with danger, so he'd handle it. But, for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why this was happening. Was it just some sick way to get money or was there more to the story than he was seeing mapped out on a page?

"Nothing you can do about it right now," he mumbled to himself and shoved the files into his drawer.

It was a Friday night after a long work week, most of it spent away on a case, and now that the necessities were out of the way, he just wanted to go home. By the time he got there, Emily should have been back from her mother's after dropping off the kids. Charlie and Jack were spending the weekend there for some quality Grandma time before Elizabeth left for a brief trip.

So, with them gone, Emily and Aaron spent a quiet night with the babies. They went out to dinner for the first time in a while, everyone telling them what beautiful babies they had. It did their heart good to hear, though it wasn't anything they ever doubted. Their children, all four of them, were perfect in every way.

"Oh, look at those big cheeks," an older woman said as she walked by them near the restaurant. "Like a little cherub. And twins. What a handful. Just like our boys. Right Marty?" she asked her husband.

"Girls are always the trouble ones. Don't have to worry about the boys. Have any other kids?" Marty asked them.

"Another boy and girl," Aaron responded.

"Bless you. A small army. We had a hard time with our three."

"Our Maggie was quite the handful."

"The girls always are," Marty added as the couple continued their banter like rant sharing their experiences with Aaron and Emily.

Eventually, Emily and Aaron, very politely, told them they needed to get the babies inside. It was too cold to keep them out too long. They knew they held up the younger couple long enough and thanked them for indulging them, telling Emily and Aaron once more what beautiful kids they had before walking away.

Smiles on, they found their way into a family friendly restaurant and sat down for a nice meal. Kenzie and Ben were having fun finding their way to everything on the table. Emily turned to the waiter and Aaron caught Kenzie grabbing for the salt shaker, knocking it over since she wasn't quite able to actually grab yet. Ben threw Aaron's napkin on the ground. Obviously, it was unintentional, but it had the parents thinking that they should've listened better to Marty and Cindy to see how they handled their twins.

"Kids will be kids," they both said. "Ben and Kenzie are exploring. That's good for them." On that they agreed. The mess, however, made them want to think differently.

The outing was a success, though, so they made a mental note to take the whole family out more often. They even stopped at the grocery store on their way home to pick up some odds and ends. Up to that point, they usually left the babies home with one parent as the other went with one or both of the older kids, but Ben and Kenzie handled it well. They loved seeing all the different colors on the shelves and all the people walking around. They were the little observers, already so much like their parents, mini profilers in training.

When they got home that evening, Emily and Aaron called Charlie and Jack to say goodnight and tell them they loved them. The older two were having fun with Grandma and couldn't wait for mom, dad, Ben, and Kenzie to come for lunch the next day. Emily was sure her mother would make it an event even though it was just them. It didn't bother her though.

Later, Aaron and Emily were in their rooms. Emily had just finished feeding the babies and Aaron grabbed a book to read to them. The four cozily gathered as he began to read.

"Guess they were tired," he said.

"They were. We had a fun day. And, hey, thank you for really being with us tonight. I know your head is on the lawsuit and that Pen keeps getting pulled away from her searches for you, but you didn't seem miles away tonight. I appreciate that, and our kids do too."

"I'm always here, Em, and I always will be for you and our kids."

"I know," she whispered, sleeping baby on her chest as she leaned over to kiss him. "I love you."

"I love you too. Now," he said, scooting back a little. "What do you say we put these two in their beds? I'll make us some tea and we can catch up on that show you like."

"Really? But you hate it."

"I don't hate it. And, even if I did, I love you, so I can bear it."

"I knew there was a reason I married you."

"I hope TV watching isn't the only one."

"Just one of a million or more," she said, moving to get up with Kenzie.

With the kids in their room, they returned to their bed, cuddled in with tea, blankets, and each other for some crappy TV. They enjoyed the calm simplicity of it. Neither of them would admit it, but they were tired after the long week and fell asleep in each other's arms almost as quickly as their babies had.

The next day, Emily and Aaron slept in, the babies allowing them an extra hour of peace before their bottomless pit of a boy wanted his stomach full again. He sure could eat. Kenzie, they could already tell, would be their picky little eater. They'd have to see. After an appointment with their doctor, they decided to hold off introducing solids until seven months, so they had a month more to go, but Ben seemed to be more than ready to try what his siblings were having.

"Ready to go?" Aaron asked Emily who was just putting on Kenzie's sweater.

"Yeah. I just need to grab my coat."

Aaron already had it in his hand and held it up to help her put it on.

"Chivalry will get you everywhere."

"I'll keep that in mind. Now, let's go before I get scolded by your mother for making us late."

"We'd have to blame the babies. She'll never scold them for that. She loves them more."

"Smart thinking. Still, let's get a move on."

"I'm ready. Get their bag and my purse. I have them."

"Everything's already in the car."

With a nod, she passed him Kenzie and carried Ben out to the car. She double checked to make sure both her purse and the baby bag was in there. Satisfied that they had everything, they were off.

They had a lovely lunch with Elizabeth before they left, sans children. Elizabeth was keeping Ben and Kenzie as well as the other two for the night so that Aaron could blow off some steam with the guys and Emily could have the gals over for some, as Penelope called it, Hotly wedding planning. Oh, Pen…

"There are plenty of bottles in there. They should be set for the night. Their schedule's in there… If you need us for anything… Don't hesitate to call. We'll be right over.

"Emily, I've watched them before. We don't need to do this every time."

"I know. I just…"

"Em, come on. Your mom is right. Let's go before we both become those hovering, crazy parents."

"Become?" she huffed. "Fine. Bye Mom. Thanks."

With a hug and kiss to each of their children, Emily and Aaron went home. After changing and getting out a few things they'd need for planning, Emily pulled out some snacks and wine for their little group as she waited their arrival. Both Penelope and JJ showed up with wine and bridal magazines.

"Now this is a party," Penelope said, looking at the collection of booze, snacks, and wedding paraphernalia. "You both better be drinking."

"I have no kids tonight and pumped enough that they can get by," Emily said.

Nodding, JJ added, "Me too."

"Good. So a drink for everyone before we get started." She wasn't giving them the choice. She popped the cork and poured them a round.

While they were doing their thing, Aaron was going to meet Derek and Dave for a drink and some guy talk, so he came down to say goodbye.

"Oh! Hotch!" Penelope called for him. "I just wanted to let you know that I have my babies doing their thing. I may have found something on Dillon Cranston. I just have to wait for the searches to come back and for a phone call to be returned."

"What kind of something?"

"A connection we've been looking for. I'll explain what I've found if I find it. Just wanted to keep you updated."

"Thanks. I appreciate it. How about we talk about what you may have found on Monday morning before the briefing?"

"Perfect!" she said and sauntered back over to the couch and her wine glass.

Aaron pulled Emily aside to say goodbye. "Careful with that," he said, pointing to the alcohol. "You haven't done much drinking in a while."

"I'll be good."

"I'm sure you will."

"A Prentiss can hold her wine."

"A Prentiss who hasn't had any in a very long time?"

"Can still keep it together."

"Ok. Just be careful. Love you. Get some planning done and have fun."

"Have fun too."

As they separated and he made to leave, he said, "Enjoy your evening ladies." And boy would they, though, remembering it might have been a little hard.

House to themselves, no kids or significant others to worry about, they dove right in, wine first. After the first clink of their glasses and Emily savoring the sweet nectar she had missed so much. "It has been way too long, Old Friend," she spoke to her glass.

"Ok, now that Emily is having a love affair with her pinot noir, over there, it's time to get down to business. Where do we start? Venues? Catering? Dresses?" she asked, waving around one bridal magazine after another that she pulled from one of the many neat stacks that had taken over her coffee table.

"We already know where we're having it," Emily said, sipping from her glass.

"Oh! Where? Is it a location wedding? I'd love to travel. Paris? Rome?" Penelope's eyes were wide, boring into Emily as if asking how she could have waited so long to tell them that.

"It's a family estate. I'll show you pictures. There's a beautiful garden in the back and a fountain that makes a perfect backdrop. I was thinking that maybe we can put a Chuppah, well an archway really since we're not Jewish… Anyway, we could put it by the fountain and cover it with vines and flowers."

"Aww, you guys are so cute," Pen swooned. "I'll still need pictures."

"I want to see them too," JJ said.

"I will get the pictures in a little while. Let's get something done before we get sidetracked. Like it or not, in the end, it's decided. That's where we want to be married."

"Fine… Oh, I have so many ideas, E. Every thought of a themed wedding?" Penelope's eyes lit up in a way that frightened Emily. A themed wedding?

"I don't know, Pen," JJ answered first. "I can't see Emily and Hotch dressed in period pieces or weird garb."

"Hush, let her decide that. Emily?"

"JJ's right, Pen. I don't know… Themes seem so… not right for this." Or for them… Ever.

"Ok, we'll come back to that. Let's start even easier. Any ideas for flowers?"

"What about roses? That's classic."

JJ put in her opinion. "Or tulips."

"Tulips are pretty," Penelope concurred.

As they bantered back and forth, Emily sat quietly and imagined how she really wanted the day to go. The first one was so perfect, so intimate and very sophisticated in its own way. While she didn't want an exact replica because that perfect day couldn't and shouldn't be copied, she wanted something close, and she knew she could start with the flowers.

"French lavender, lilac, and calla lilies," Emily said with certainty. She wanted the same flowers the kids picked out for her.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"So a purple color theme?"

"Yes," Emily said. "Charlie will love it and I know we can do a lot with that."

"Ok…" Penelope pulled up some arrangements on her phone to get a visual. "Oh, JJ, look at this. Isn't it pretty?"

"Gorgeous."

"Our E has good taste. These flowers will do."

"Definitely," JJ agreed and poured.

Emily showed them her favorite arrangement, one they all seemed to love and, the choice made, they celebrated their first conclusive decision of the night with something a little stronger than wine. And thus, the party really began. For the rest of the night, they were easily sidetracked, Penelope the only remotely on track since her system was the only one not experiencing alcohol for the first time after a long break. The blonde techie used that to her advantage, throwing out ideas that she knew sober Emily and JJ would never entertain, but man was it entertaining to her.

"It can be superhero themed. The kids would love that."

"Can you imagine, me coming down the aisle with a long white cape and unitard."

"A fancy unitard that said Wonder Woman," Penelope corrected.

"And Aaron… in a…." Emily laughed very hard as she imagined this in her head, the laughter infectious and moving to the rest of the group… "He'd be… He'd… and in skin tight… A unitard!" It didn't make sense, but they got the idea, and it was funny for everyone to envision.

"But come on, Charlie and Jack could wear little Wonder Girl and Super Boy costumes. The twins too! It would be so adorable."

"And what will my matron of honor and bride's maid wear?"

"Oh, well, we'll just be in pretty dresses," she said, thinking about it. She didn't really want to wear the costume.

"Not fair."

"Ok, then I take that one back. What about an old Southern theme? Like Gone with the Wind! Haven't you ever wanted to wear a hoop skirt?"

"No," both JJ and Emily said, Penelope sighing. Clearly, she hadn't gotten them tipsy enough for mentions of hoop skirts, though they did get quite the story out of Emily.

"I don't do hoop skirts… Never ever, ever again. Not ever…"

"Again?" JJ asked.

"When I was sixteen, my mother tried to get me to do Cotillion. Thought it would help me make better, more level headed friends. By that, she meant she wanted me to sell my soul to the airheads. We were in Charleston for a few months over the summer and she said it would be a good time. It was a good time alright, if you know what I mean."

"We don't. We don't know what you mean. But we wanna! Oh, we so wanna. Tell us more," they fished for details and the alcohol allowed Emily to share without the normal level of embarrassment.

Emily went on to set the scene, telling them about the type of community it was and what was expected of her. "I don't know how my mom managed to get me to agree, but I did."

"Something tells me you didn't let her get away with that."

"Of course not. I found the worst guy I could find to be my escort. I knew that Craig had all the right qualities for pissing my mom off. Tall, handsome, a musician, and a player. He was notorious at the club for sleeping around."

"Did you sleep with him?"

"Relax, I'm getting there."

JJ turned to Penelope and said, "She so did."

"Shush, I'm telling a story."

They were all ears as she told them more about her Lothario and how her mother made her do fittings for the dress as she reprimanded her for her choice of dates. "You know very well what kind of man child he is. I hear he has a child, Emily. A child!" she could hear her mother's voice as she told her story.

"He had a kid?"

"No. He didn't. Not at that point, anyway. But that's not the point. He was doing exactly what I wanted."

"Driving a wedge between you and your mom?"

"Well, something like that. The wedge was already there and I was messed up. Anyway, she had me dressed to the nines in white. It was like a wedding dress with a hoop skirt and corset. My first act of rebellion was to go braless."

"I bet commando too."

"Practically."

"I did what she wanted, made it through the party. 'Came out' to society, and at the after party, I took Craig back to our limo for a little celebration."

"You did sleep with him!"

"We were making out and he was trying to undo my corset when the limo door opened and my mom came in."

"What happened? What happened?" Penelope urged her for more.

"Well, she knocked on the window before coming in, and that was just enough to startle us. Now, keep in mind that I was wearing a hoop skirt. I couldn't really sit down, so I was on my knees in front of him, he had his hand working my back, and his shirt open. When my mom knocked, I quickly turned around… and his watch was caught on the corset. I fell over…"

"Oh my god! Did you give mama Prentiss a peep show?!"

"It was terrible…" Emily shook her head, hand going to cover the embarrassment on her face as her logical self kept telling her to stop telling this story and reminded her that she kept it to herself all these years for a reason, but that was overpowered by the tipsy euphoria. "I scarred her for life and I was mortified. The skirt flipped up and I was literally lying there exposing myself to my mother and Craig was there about to put his hand in his pants."

"Naughty."

"Needless to say… I don't, nor will I ever wear a hoop skirt again," she said, stepping away to refill and chug her glass as the regret of telling that story started to seep in and they berated her with questions, most she refused to answer.

"Fine, fine, fine… We'll drop that, but then we still need a theme."

"Why does there have to be a theme again? We've got caterers. My mom has that handled. Flowers were picked and, by extension, colors. So just dresses for us. JJ's my matron of honor, Pen, my best bride's maid. Rossi and my mother are walking me down the aisle."

"Rossi?"

"Yeah. I asked him."

"What's up Kiddo?" Dave asked, catching up with Emily after the Baptism. "You look like you have something on your mind."

"Actually, there is something." Emily stood up, rocking Kenzie who rested in the baby sling hung around Emily's neck. "Walk with me?"

Dave nodded and motioned with his hand. "Lead the way."

Emily lead him toward the study, opening the door to let them in, closing it behind them so that they could have some privacy. "Have a seat," she said.

"Uh oh, is this a sitting kind of thing?"

"No, no. It's nothing bad. Please, just sit. I'd sit with you, but she likes to be rocked."

"No need to sit on my account." He sat, though, leaning back into the chair to look up at her. "Tell me what's going on."

"I… I want you to know how much you mean to me… To us."

"I know that."

"I hope you're not offended that we didn't name you a godparent."

"Of course not. I'm Grandpa and this little girl's womb-mate is named in my son's memory. What else do I need?"

"Well… I was kind of hoping you'd play dad."

"Emily, that's Aaron's job. Don't tell me I need to beat some sense into him." He scooted forward in the chair, ready to pounce if need be.

"No, nothing like that. I meant… My dad."

"I'm missing something here, Emily."

"Aaron and I set a date for our wedding and I want you to walk me down the aisle. Maybe it's weird. I don't know, but you're important to me. No, you're not my dad, but you're the closest I have to one and you've always treated me like a daughter. So I was hoping you and my mom could…"

He got up and hugged her, effectively cutting her off, but careful not to squish the baby. "Yes. I would love to walk you down the aisle and give you away."

"Really?"

"Absolutely."

"Thank you," she whispered, holding him as tightly as she could with Kenzie between them.

"You're welcome. Now, you can thank me again by letting me hold this little girl right here. She's the only one I haven't gotten a hold of today, and, believe it or not, I have a soothing effect on the ladies. I'll put her right to sleep for you."

"Ok," Emily agreed with a smile. "Just don't charm her too much. She's way too young to start having things for older men."

"I can't make any promises." He winked and gracefully accepted Kenzie into his arms.

"He and my mother both agreed to do it together. I want them both to be a part of the day."

"Is Hotch going to ask all the guys to be a part of his groomsmen?"

"Yes. We haven't figured it all out, but we want everyone to be a part of the day."

Their night of planning soon turned into a gossip booze fest. In their defense, it was a well-deserved one. They did manage to get a lot done regardless. Penelope even decided to throw a bachelorette party, snuck that one in when Emily was good and drunk. That was one way to get the answer she wanted. Opportunity knocked and Penelope Garcia answered. Yay! Drunk promise or not, she got what she needed, and it helped loosen her friends' lips a little. Time for some sex talk, Pen said.

"So…" she started, waiting for the others to finish their current sip. "How's boss man in bed, Em?"

"I'm not answering," Emily slurred.

"Come on. I won't tell. JJ won't either."

"Nope, won't. Lips are zippity dipped."

Brows furrowed, semi sober Penelope returned her gaze to Emily. "And by that, JJ means she won't tell anyone and she'll tell us all about Will."

All sense of reason was gone from the mothers. Their tolerance was on negative and they were divulging everything Penelope wanted to know. She felt like she had just won the lottery as Emily admitted more about her first weekend with Agent Hotchner and the creation of one Miss Charlie.

"Damn. That sounds fun."

"Where can I find me a Hotch Rocket?" Penelope asked.

"I don't know, but you can't have mine."

"Let me live through you. Kevin's away. Tell me something juicy." Penelope thought about it and then it came to her. "Oh! Oh, I know. Where's the craziest place you've had sex… Doesn't even have to be with Hotch. I won't tell."

"I know that one. It was with…"

"JJ! You're not supposed to tell people my things."

"Oopsy."

"No, tell me. Tell me, tell me, tell me," Penelope pleaded.

"There was this one time…" Penelope ate it all up and JJ listened on with a giggle fit. "But none of that compares to Strauss' office."

"What?" both blondes screamed.

"Oh yeah… Best Halloween ever," Emily said as she really started drifting off more.

"Halloween? In the cat suit! I so made that happen. See JJ, you should have let me dress you too."

"Mmhhmm, next time," JJ said.

"No. No! You two stay awake," Penelope clapped and snapped, trying to keep them alert and focused. "We have a little more planning to do."

"No more. Me tired. Sleep," Emily moaned, snuggling the couch cushion, JJ finding herself resting on Emily's side.

"We're almost there." It didn't matter if it was late and she was tired too. They were there for a reason and they needed to finish what they started. "Both of you wake up. Smell the roses. Our Gumdrop is getting married to Boss man! She needs to tell us what she wants."

"I know what I want," Emily mumbled.

"And what's that Sugar?"

"I want it to be just as perfect as my first wedding… Magical and intimate… No craziness. No drama… Just love…" It came out quiet and mumbled, but Penelope heard what she heard. First wedding?! She was married before? Oh, she was going to dig if she remembered that in the morning. She looked over to JJ to see if she heard it too, but she was passed out, as was Emily. So, she pulled out her pen and scribbled something on her arm before sinking back into her seat and resting her eyes. "Just for a second," she told herself.

When Aaron came home, it was just after midnight and the sight he walked in on was quite the thing to see. Emily was hunched over the arm of the couch, her head hanging off the side, dangling. JJ looked cozy using Emily as a human pillow, her head on Emily's hip. And Penelope, she looked incredibly comfortable, the loveseat her little nest as she snuggled a pillow and had Jack's blanket wrapped around her like a cocoon.

He smiled as he quietly approached them. His hand bushed through Emily's hair. When that didn't wake her, he was sure she was more than a little drunk. That was the only time she was a heavy sleeper, plus the excess of opened bottles offered insight into how much they drank. He sent a text to Will to make sure he knew JJ was perfectly fine and would be staying the night before he gently nudged her awake.

"Hotch?" she asked.

"Yeah. It's me. I'm going to help you into the guest room."

"Don't want to walk. Emily comfortable."

"I know, but you'll thank me in the morning. You and Garcia can stay down in the study room together so you don't have to go very far. Ok?"

"Okay…" She sleepily leaned on him as he helped her there, carefully maneuvering her through the hall and onto the bed.

After, he returned to wake Garcia and repeated the process. She put up more of a fight, though. "What are you doing Hoch Rocket? I don't want to move."

"Don't call me that."

"But Emily says…"

"Emily says nothing. Come on. We'll get you nice and comfortable with JJ."

"Where can I find me a Hotchner, Hotch?"

"I think you have enough Hotchners in your life," he said and helped her up. She got a little handsy as they moved about, her grip getting dangerously low on his back.

"Firm," she said, copping a feel as he helped her into bed. "I like it."

He brushed it off with a smile. "Goodnight, Penelope." Two down, one to go.

When he returned to her, Emily looked to be in an even more uncomfortable position. He swore if she stayed like that any longer, she'd be stuck in that position for the next week.

"Emily," he shook her. "Em, wake up."

"Don't wanna."

"Come on. Time for bed."

"Bed with you?"

"Yes, bed with me."

"Will there be touching?"

"Lots of touching," he said. "I'll be practically carrying you up the stairs."

"Or we could just do it on the stairs."

He pulled her up onto her feet, her body resting heavily on his, chest to chest. "Only if by do it, you mean walk up the stairs."

"No, it." She emphasized it by feeling him up.

"Now, none of that," he said, gently moving her hands.

"But it's fun. You feel good. Yummy. Soft in all the right places. Hard in all the rest."

"Thank you, but you're drunk and we need to get you to bed," he said, giving her a loving push. Getting her up the stairs was… fun, almost reminiscent of the night he saw her after finding out about Charlie. She was high as a kite and in pain. At least this time she was voluntarily drunk and, to his knowledge, not in pain.

"Bed with you can be fu-un."

"I'm glad you think so, but we have company and I'm not an exhibitionist."

"Penelope would love it if you were."

"Let's not give her that idea. She already talked to me about my 'Hotch Rocket.' Please tell me you don't call it that."

"Nope," she said, popping the p. "I have other names for it."

"Oh boy." He shook his head. "Come on crazy. We're almost in bed."

"But I'm hot. Aren't you hot? Oh! We're hot together," she said, making her way to the bedroom without his help, fumbling as she tried to strip herself from her clothes.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting naked. Aren't you? We're hot together."

"Why are you making this so hard?" he asked, coming into the room where she was now down to her underwear and leaning heavily on the bed.

"That's the plan. Why wouldn't you want it hard?"

"What are you doing to me?"

Still dressed, he walked over to her, just slipping off his shoes, and laid down beside her, holding her so she stilled. There were a few attempts to touch him more, but they were easily put to rest.

"The room is spinning," she said.

"So close your eyes."

"Ok," she mumbled her body moving to lay on his, her hand reaching into his pocket. And that was the position she fell asleep in.

"I think she's trying to drive me crazy," Aaron whispered to himself as her hand rested in intimate areas, rubbing every time she moved. Once she was fast asleep and he was able to move. He decided to take a late shower and take care of his little problem. Damn, Emily…

The next morning, each of the women woke up with a bottle of water and aspirin by their beds accompanied by a note telling them to drink up and take the meds, breakfast and coffee would be waiting for them.

"Ugh…" Emily groaned. She felt gross. No amount of aspirin, coffee, or water was going to solve that. "Why did I drink so much?" she asked herself, hands covering her eyes from the light.

"I thought I heard you. Good morning."

"Good for who?" she spat. "I feel like I'm dying."

"I can assure you, you have been much closer to death's door."

"Don't remind me."

"Drink the water. Take the aspirin. You'll feel better."

"Doubtful."

"Come on," he coaxed, sitting beside her on the bed ad holding out the bottle to her. She reluctantly took it and he passed her the pills. "I made coffee for you. There are pancakes too, but I'll make you some eggs if you want."

She gagged a little. "No thanks."

"How about getting dressed? Can you do that?"

Eyes closed and stretching out, the blanket falling from her bare chest. "Why can't I just come down in my pajamas?"

"Well you could… if you were wearing any."

"What?" Her eyes snapped open as she inspected her body. "I'm naked. What the hell did I do last night? You?"

"No… You were… Hot."

"So I striped… Awesome." She flopped back down onto the pillow, sighing.

"I thought it was. You went to sleep up here in your underwear. I woke up about an hour later with your underwear being thrown at my face and you doing a strip tease for me. Then you really woke me up."

"That's embarrassing and… really not out of character for me. Did we have sex?"

"Babe, trust me, you'd remember."

"So no?"

"No. Not for your lack of effort though. I almost had to take another shower."

Emily threw a pillow at him and groaned as she pulled the covers back over her.

"No. Come on. Time to get up. We're going to pick the kids up soon."

"Fine." She was excited for that. She missed all of her babies and their loud good mornings. "I'm going to need something stronger than aspirin and we're going to have to stop for more coffee on the way."

"Deal. Get dressed. I'm going to make sure Garcia and JJ are awake too."

Emily, JJ, and Penelope were all dragging, sluggishly getting out of bed. But Penelope was not in as bad a spot as the other two. In fact, she woke up as curious and questioning as the night before. She had to admit, the headache she had was not fun, but she wasn't so bad off. A little water, the aspirin, thank you Hotch, and soon some breakfast, extra coffee, and she had no doubt she wouldn't be feeling anything from the night. JJ and Emily, she soon realized, could not say the same.

Before that, however, she remembered what she heard the previous night. She questioned her memory, of course. How could she not? If Emily had been married before, they'd know, right? She would at least. The glaring reminder of sloppy Sharpie writing on her arm, "Em married before? LOOK INTO" it read, handwriting muddled by the booze.

"Holy shnikees. I wasn't making that up."

After lots of coffee and mild breakfast conversation, Hotch rivalling Penelope for the liveliest of the bunch; she wasn't at her best, JJ and Penelope hit the road. Before JJ could get too far, however, Penelope had to stop her and share what she knew.

"JJ! You'll never believe what Emily said last night."

"Pen, I can barely believe some of the stuff I said last night. Ugh. I need to go see Henry and Lucas, and pump before my boobs explode. Can we do this later?"

"But…" she deflated. "Fine," Penelope huffed. "But call me! This is big. Like juicy and need to know big."

Leaving, Penelope was a woman on a mission. She was determined to go home and check if they were already married, ready to search high and low for the answers, but, instead, she went home to something that would really make a difference and there was no way she could keep this one to herself. She had to make the call. He needed to know.

"I have something you need to see. Meet me at the office in an hour."

Aaron wasted no time getting there, beating Penelope even, but that left Emily to pick up the kids by herself. She didn't mind though. She did, however, wish the headache would go away. She pulled up at her mother's estate about two hours after everyone left, giving herself a little, much needed, me time to shower, change and pump before she went there. She needed to be presentable. Her mother would have some fun with her if she showed up as haggardly as she looked that morning.

The time helped. She was feeling a little better. Coffee perked her up. The shower definitely worked a little magic, and now she wasn't afraid to face her mother. Even with the slight jetlag like state she was in, she could have sworn that she saw a familiar car just outside of the driveway as she pulled in. "Weird," she thought, but wrote it off.

Emily took a deep breath and pinched her cheeks to add some color to them before she walked into the house, not bothering to knock. She quietly, though not intentionally quiet, made her way into the living room. Surprised that she didn't hear the kids or anyone else for that matter, she looked around only to be completely stunned by what she witnessed.

There, through the kitchen window, she spotted her mom on the back patio. The babies were in a playpen not far from her and the kids were further back in the yard playing on the play set. Elizabeth was just standing there, looking like she was talking to herself when a man walked up to her and into Emily's line of sight.

Emily couldn't see his face, but she knew that she knew him. She watched in awe as the man leaned in and kissed her mother. Her mother was dating?! She was kissing? What? But that was when she realized who it was. The familiar car, that hair, and now that profile… She knew him.

"Rossi?!" Her mouth fell open, jaw practically falling to the floor as she just watched them kiss. It was like a train wreck. She couldn't look away. More than that, she had no idea how to process it.

At least Aaron was getting some information that was easier to process. When Garcia called him in, he was eager to hear what she had to say. Of course, though, he was very early. The offices were pretty dead when he showed up. Naturally, even though she said to meet her in his office later, he checked hers. He knew she wouldn't be there, but he had to try. He was anxious to know what she found, anxious for it all to be over. He didn't think that was realistic, but since she called, there had been a glimmer of hope brewing within him that it could actually happen. Oh, how he wanted it to happen.

So, he found himself there, pacing as he waited impatiently. His watch was being watched like a hawk as he continued to check it over and over. When she finally came, he all but dragged her from the bull pen and into his office. He didn't understand how she could walk so leisurely in, strolling around like it was nothing, while he was standing on a razor's edge.

"What took you so long?" he asked, a tone demanding an answer.

Penelope, still stunned by being pulled out of nowhere, was a bit shell shocked. "I was called in to help with another team." She looked to her watch. "I'm not late. I said we'd meet now, right?"

"Yes… I'm sorry," he said, genuinely. "I just… I need to know what you found."

"Oh boy, do you. It's a doozy. You ready for this?"

"Tell me… Tell me what you found."

"Well, I think I've found the answer to this whole mess. Sit down, I've got a lot to show you," Penelope directed, moving to pull up some things on her laptop. What she had would definitely change things.

Bear with me as the semester is getting busy again. Only a few more weeks and then the summer begins. Hang in there. I'll update again as soon as I can.

Sorry for any grammatical errors. Thank you everyone who has added this story to alerts or favorites and to those of you who have given feedback. Opinions are much appreciated; feedback, input, whatever. Constructive criticism also welcomed. I hope you enjoy. Until next time…