Watching the children interact with the animals as much as they could is amazing. Seeing Melissa and Jack roar at the lions and tigers on Aaron's suggestion is possibly the cutest thing I have ever seen and knowing that Pen videotaped it for us to re-watch later is even better. The twins are tiring out the quickest in the group, strapped into their stroller, I can see Natalia's head bob as she tries to stay awake to look at the animals. Nathan is already fast asleep, since nap-time should have happened over an hour ago.

"Should we take them home and let them all nap?" I ask Aaron, looking at Nathan's sleeping form and knowing that Natalia would follow her twin soon.

"I doubt Melissa is going to want to leave and if Jack decides to nap, he'll do it in the stroller like Nathan is." Aaron says looking at the two of our children that are still playing by the glass of the tigers exhibit.

"Emly! Look! Tigers!" Melissa's voice calls out over her shoulder with her barely looking away from the striped creatures in front of her.

"I see. Do you remember what they are called in French?"

"Tigre!" Jack calls before Melissa has the chance too. Aaron's smile beams at his son and I can't help but smile too.

"That's correct Jack! Good job!"

"They know more French than I ever will." Penelope say dramatically.

"Most of that is thanks to my nanny. Sarah is great at teaching them the language."

"Maybe she can come by the BAU and teach me so I can teach this one." JJ says rubbing her belly once more.

"Leave your kid with Sarah for a few weeks and your little one will know more French than you do." Aaron adds quickly. "But he also gets the reaffirmation of it all from you so I don't know if I can fully put all of this teaching on her." His arm wraps around me as we look at the kids in front of us.

"So all of them are speaking French?" Pen asks with a look of shock.

"They speak minimal amounts. I think out of all of them Melissa is picking it up the quickest just because she's the oldest of them."

"That's not entirely true. You've been speaking French to Natalia and Nathan since they were born. They understand more of it and speak more of it than children their age normally would even with being taught."

"I mean maybe that's true, but that would still only put them with knowing the same level of what they know in English which still isn't much." I shrug off the compliment that Aaron is trying to give me.

"But they know the same amount in English and in French, that's a lot for their age." Aaron's hand squeezes my hip ever so slightly. "I'd say that puts them at the front of their class."

"I don't think it has to be a competition between the four of them of who knows more French though."

"True, but I think you need to give yourself more credit on how much they know for their age." Aaron concedes.

"Ok fine, they understand more than most would. Is that better? Now, to decide on the real big thing, which animal should we go look for next?" I direct this question at the two children that aren't in their stroller napping and I'm not surprised that I get two different answers.

"L'éléphant!" Melissa cries out.

"Gorille!" Jack's voice calls out at the same time.

"Hmmm, how about we see gorillas first since they're on the way to the elephants?" Aaron suggests.

"It seems someone else is picking up more French as the days go on." I comment quickly since Aaron had figured out what our kids had wanted to see.

"It's only because it's easy to figure out those two words." Aaron rolls his eyes at my statement.

"Would it be more helpful if I get you a French to English dictionary?" I joke towards him as Jack grabs onto my hand as a steadying point while he toddles along.

"Maybe French for Dummies is a better option." Aaron jokes back before scooping Melissa into his arms, who wraps her arms around his neck.

"How about both and we call it even?" Aaron's nose scrunches at this and I know the disagreement will soon be vocalized.

"How about I just utilize my girlfriend as a translator when I need it?"

"I guess that will work too if we're being picky about having some extra books around."

"You're just a much faster and more reliable translator."

"Sure, sure."

"You two are way too cute." Penelope says from next to me and Jack.

"Thanks Pen." Penelope is pushing the twins since they're both asleep now, even though Natalia didn't want to fall asleep. JJ is pushing an empty stroller while Pen has a hand on the other stroller holding the twins while we walk. If the twins are both out, maybe Jack will go down for a nap, but I can't say for sure if he will go down. Right now he seems perfectly content with toddling along and staying awake, but in half an hour, who's to say what will happen. "Captain Jack, you ready to go see le gorille?" I ask as I offer a hand to the toddler. He nods his head and grabs my hand. He steps in next to me and toddles along towards the gorillas.

"Mama, look." Jack's hand reaches towards the stuffed animals pouring from the gift shop entrance. "Gorilla."

"That's right. But don't we want to see the big ones?" I ask as I scoop Jack up to distract him from the toys. "They can swing like this." I swing him from side to side, moving him down the path towards the gorillas.

"Weeeeeee!" Jack's smile radiates to brighten up his whole face. "Higher Mama, higher!" Melissa's head turns to look over Aaron's shoulder to see what Jack is laughing about.

"Aaron, look. Jack and Emly are silly." Melissa can't help but smile as she reports us to Aaron.

"They are pretty silly aren't they Melissa?" Aaron looks back at us and then back to the three year old in his arms. "Do you want to swing like Jack?" Melissa seems to need a moment to ponder this, but soon is enthusiastically nodding her head too. "Let's all swing to the gorillas then." I watch as Aaron shifts her ever so slightly to hold her so he can swing her from side to side like I am doing with Jack.

"We're like the monkeys in the movie." Melissa exclaims as she swings.

"Which movie?" Aaron asks before I can.

"The Jungle Book." I don't remember showing her that movie, so she must have watched it with her parents.

"Do you like that movie?" Aaron asks.

"I like the monkeys. They're funny."

"Monkeys climb trees." Jack says, suddenly looking very much like Aaron as he very solemnly says these words.

"They do. You're so smart Jack." Jack turns back into his normal smiling mood as he beams up at me. After a few more swings down the path, we arrive at the gorilla enclosure.

"Down Mama! Please!" I set him down and he toddles over to the glass, placing his hands on the window as he gazes in on the primates. "Daddy! Look, look!" Aaron swings Melissa over to where Jack is staring at the gorillas and, after setting my daughter down, he crouches down next to Jack. I want to keep looking on at the interaction between Aaron and the kids, but I can feel JJ and Pen burning a hole into my back.

"Yes?"

"We didn't say anything." JJ says as she absentmindedly runs a hand over her belly.

"Yeah, we've been quiet as mice back here."

"Your eyes are literally digging your questions into my spine. So spill. What's up?" I duck down to tuck Ms. Duckie back into Natalia's arm as well as check on Nathan.

"Jack just called you Mama like three times and you didn't react, like at all?" Pen's voice goes high pitched as her question leaves her mouth.

"Yeah, did you and Hotch have an affair before your relationship you forgot to mention?" JJ tacks on.

"Far from. Jack has heard Nathan and Natalia call me Mama so many times that he picked it up, kind of like how he's picking up French with them."

"And you and Hotch are…?" Pen trails off.

"We're rolling with it. It's easier than trying to explain to a two and a half year old that barely spent time with his own mom that the woman he spends a lot of time around isn't his mom. We can explain that when he's older."

"So you're in this for the long run?"

"If that's how it works out then yes." Nathan's binkie falls from his mouth, so I grab it and throw it in the diaper bag as I answer it. "Aaron and I want to think this is for the long run, but we've only been together for a short amount of time. We're really trying to make it work."

"Emly! Look!" Melissa's voice cuts me off from continuing the discussion with my two closest friends.

"Go. We have time to chat later." JJ says with a smile. I walk over to where Melissa and Jack are enthralled with the sights in front of them.

"What do you see Melissa?" Her hand points towards the back of the enclosure.

"There's a baby. Like Talia and Nathan." Her nickname for Natalia catches me off guard for a second, but I kind of really like it. Nathan leans towards calling Natalia 'Lia' mainly because her name is a mouthful. While the twins are my N&N, I could see Natalia growing into being a 'Talia' as she gets older possibly.

"A baby gorilla? It's very cute. What do you think it's name would be?"

"I would name it Potato."

"That's a neat name for it Melissa." I turn towards Jack to ask him, but notice him drooping in Aaron's arms. So instead I pose a question to Aaron. "Elephants and then home?"

"Good plan." Aaron stands up, pulling Jack up in his arms as he stands. He walks towards the stroller to place Jack down, but Jack's arms tighten around his dad's neck.

"No down." His sleepy mumble is heard as his head lays on Aaron's shoulder.

"No down, aye aye captain." Aaron says softly as he rubs a hand softly up and down Jack's back to help him fall asleep.

"Want to head over to les éléphants Melissa?" She nods her head. "Do you want to ride in the stroller or walk?"

"Walk." Melissa nods as she says it. "Hold my hand?" She offers it up to me, her eyebrows pulled down towards her eyes as she asks.

"Of course I will."

When we finally get home after seeing elephants, driving home and saying goodbye to JJ and Pen, I feel ready for a nap that I know won't happen. I know that eventually I'll have to have the talk with Melissa about Aaron and Jack going home tonight. But since the little ones are all still asleep, Aaron and I move them to the nursery before sitting in the living room with Melissa. It's very rare to have just one of the kids, so now's probably the best time to approach talking with her. "Melissa, do you know that Aaron has his own apartment?" I say to her as we sit playing with her toy vet set. I'm hoping she will go down for a nap later, but we might just get a cranky three year old instead.

"Really?"

"Really. And he might sleep there sometimes."

"Why?" Her eyebrows pull together to paint the confusion across her face.

"You know how you have your bed and Natalia and Nathan have their own beds?" Melissa nods. "Well Aaron has his own bed and he wants to sleep in it."

"But you and Aaron share a bed." Melissa states.

"But it's nice to have your own bed from time to time. You know how you share my bed from every now and then when you have a nightmare?" Melissa nods again, but slower this time. "It's nice to share a bed in that moment, but then the next night you know how you go back to sleeping in your bed because you love your princess bed?"

"Yes."

"Well Aaron likes his bed so he wants to use it."

"Will Jack stay here?"

"No Jack's bed is at Aaron's apartment. And then Nathan can sleep in his bed again."

"Oh." Melissa thinks over all of this. "But will Aaron and Jack still come and play with us?"

"Of course. They love us a lot. In fact I think Aaron loves you more than me."

"Really?" Melissa looks at me with super wide eyes. "But my mommy and daddy said that it's possible to love each other and love me the same. I think Aaron can love you the same as he loves me Emly."

"That's really sweet Melissa."

"I'll go tell him!" Melissa gets up and runs over to where Aaron sits with Jack, Nathan and Natalia. She taps his shoulder ever so slightly and motions towards her as if she has a secret to tell him. Her whispers aren't the most secretive, but the idea of it all means a lot to me. Conveying that this going back to our own apartments was both easier and harder than I expected it to be. Melissa is taking it a lot better than I would have hoped she would, but I'm worried about what will happen once we actually go to our own apartments. Aaron and Jack are only staying through dinner tonight. Will Melissa be ok with it all when it comes to the actual splitting up for the night? We will have to just wait and see.