May 2013
A couple weeks after the Replicator was caught, Emily and Harper sat on the floor of the nursery, looking over paint colors. Emily was 7 months pregnant now, and had recently discovered she was pregnant with twins, which had come as a surprise to everyone, especially Hotch and Emily. Since neither had twins in their family line but they were happy about in none the less. They'd announced it at Emily's baby shower shortly after and had taken everyone by surprise which make the team have one joyful moment among the horrors they saw nearly every day. Now that Emily was coming closer to having the twins, her and Harper were in charge of decorating the nursery while Aaron and Spencer kept Jack, Amelia and Daniel busy on one of their rare weekends off.
"Come on mom, if you told me what the babies are then I could help you with a color and I'd be done painting before the end of the day so tomorrow we could have Aaron and Spencer build all the furniture and put it where you like" Harper says.
Emily sighs, "Fine but you can't tell a soul. Not even your boy genius husband and no changing your bet either" Emily says.
Harper laughed, "Alright, I promise" Harper says, her mother had known her to well.
"We're having one of each, a boy and a girl" Emily says.
Harper scooted over and hugged her mom, "Oh that's great!" Harper says and then looks at the colors chosen again. She carefully looks through them and hands her mom a soft yellow and hands it to Emily. "I think you should go with this one" Harper says.
Emily looks at it and nods, "Alright, I'll let you get painting" Emily says.
"Ok, I'll call JJ and Penny, they'll take you to the spa" Harper says.
"Wait, I thought I was here with you for painting" Emily says as Harper helps her up off the floor.
"No way, you are pregnant and aren't allowed to be around harsh chemical smells like paint. So JJ and Penny agreed to take you out to get pampered while I painted. And by the time you're done, the paint will be dry and fumes will be gone and then tomorrow we'll get everything set up the way you like" Harper says pulling out her phone and sending JJ a text.
After going back and forth for 20 minutes, Emily gives up, "Fine but I'm going to get you back for this" Emily says as the doorbell rings.
"Sure mom" Harper says as she goes and lets JJ and Penny in.
"Ok where is the mom to be?" Penny asks.
"She's getting her flip-flops and will be ready" Harper says ignoring Penelope's comment.
"She finally pick a color?" JJ asks as they wait.
"Yes, after I nearly begged. Now I get a few hours to myself before Aaron and Spencer get back with the kids and then its back to normal life" Harper says.
"I understand that. Will was happy to take Henry off my hands for the afternoon but I'm very jealous of you" JJ says as Emily comes walking out of her room.
"Ok I'm ready" Emily says.
"Alright let's go!" Penelope says.
The three women hustle out of the house and Harper locks the front door behind them. She runs to get the paint from the store before getting ready to work on the babies' room. Harper lays out the plastic tarp, gets everything taped off and gets to painting.
After getting all the painting done, Harper gets the tarp, tape and paint taken out of the room and throw or put away before opening the window (with screen) to let the room air out. She also turns on the fan and has another portable fan placed in front of the door. She double checked that the door is locked and lays down on the couch to take a nap. She still had a few hours before anyone was to be home and she was going to enjoy the time to herself.
After a couple hours, Spencer and Aaron pull up to the house with the 3 kids who were ready for dinner. While they were getting the kids out, Penelope pulls up with JJ and Emily. Emily gets out and Jack goes running over to her.
"Hi, how was time out with daddy?" Emily asks as she gives Jack a hug.
"It was fun" Jack says as Aaron walks over and helps Emily with her shopping bags.
"I see someone else had fun" Aaron says.
"We did. How was time out with all the kids?" Penelope asks as she and JJ get out.
"Everything went pretty well. It's nice not having to look over our shoulders for some UNSUB" Spencer says holding Daniel as Amelia comes running over to JJ for a hug. Amelia loved JJ just as much as Henry loved Spencer.
"Hi sweetie" JJ says as everyone heads for the door.
"Wonder how Harper liked her day off?" Spencer asks as Hotch opens the door and they all could see Harper asleep on the couch. Daniel became excited as he saw his mom and wanted to go over to her.
Spencer, of course, set him down and he went running over to Harper asleep on the couch and started talking to her. Harper's eyes fluttered open and turned her head to see her baby boy talking to her.
"Hi angel" Harper says sitting up and swinging her legs off the couch before picking Daniel up. "I see everyone is home" Harper says looking at everyone filling in.
"You'd be right" Spencer says smiling as Amelia comes running over to Harper.
"Mommy, Daddy and Pop took us to the park and then the museum" Amelia says. Since the normal grandparent names were taken by Spencer's parents, Elizabeth, Emily and Rossi, Amelia and Daniel had dubbed Aaron, Pop.
"Did you now?" Harper asks as she and Daniel tell her all about their day.
"See I told you Hotch, the moment we got home, they'd be all over her" Spencer says as Hotch closes the door.
"So how'd the painting go?" Spencer asks sitting next to Harper, pulling Amelia into his lap.
"All done, it should be dry by now and all aired out. Now you and Aaron get to put furniture together tomorrow" Harper says with a smile.
"Bet you and Emily are looking forward to watching that" Spencer says.
"Yes, yes I am" Harper says and kisses Spencer on the check before getting up with Daniel and going to talk to Emily, JJ and Penelope.
The commotion settled down and then Harper showed off the room, Emily fell in love with the color all over again.
"Harper this looks great" Emily says running her hand over the dried paint.
"Glad you like it. Now I'm going to take this bunch home and getting them feed" Harper says looking down at Daniel.
"Ok I won't keep you and I'll see you tomorrow for our day of laughs" Emily says.
"Hey, I've put a crib together before" Hotch says.
"Oh I know but it's still going to be fun to watch" Emily says hooking her arm around Hotch before kissing him on the cheek. Harper and Spencer rounded up the kids and they headed home, having dinner together and doing their normal bedtime routine with Amelia and Daniel. After managing to get Daniel down to bed, Harper walked into her and Spencer's room as he lay in bed with his newest novel out.
"Why do you get Amelia and I get Daniel?" Harper asks laying across the bed, putting her head in his lap.
Spencer looks down at her, smiling, "Because Daniel goes down easier when you put him to bed, even Emily has said so" Spencer says.
"What is with you Reid men and your mothers?" Harper asks poking his nose.
"We love them. Speaking of which, my dad called and said he and mom should be moving into the new house in a little over a month" Spencer says.
Harper nodded, William and Diana had wanted to move closer to Harper and Spencer for a while now but it had taken more time than they had thought for Diana to get used to the idea or more easily for her to cope with because of her disease. They'd found her a wonderful doctor, whom she liked, and a home that she and William had both agreed on. Though it had taken some time for the sell of the house on top of everything, they would finally be moving out into the Virginia country, close enough to Diana's doctors but far enough to please both of Spencer's parents. William and Diana had even spoken of getting remarried but Spencer was worried about everything but Harper had assured him if they could deal with her mother marrying their boss, then they could defiantly deal with his parents remarrying each other since they did love each other very much and they wanted to be closer to their grandchildren.
"That means we're going to have to work out visits to their house once they're settled" Harper says.
"True but I think Emily would love to have some extra hands to watch the kids, especially once the twins are here" Spencer says.
"I wouldn't doubt it but starting soon we're going to need to start looking at schools for Amelia" Harper says.
"She doesn't need to be in school for another 2 years Harper, she's only going to be 3 in a few months" Spencer says putting his book down looking at his wife.
Harper sighs, "Spencer you and I both know she'll start school sooner than that. She's already extremely bright and is developmentally ahead of children her age, Daniel too. I know we don't want to think about it but we're going to have to start" Harper says knowing Spencer didn't want to have this conversation.
"Can we not talk about this tonight?" Spencer asks.
"Then when do you want to talk about it Spencer? I don't want her going through what we did when we were in school. And nowadays they have schools for children like us, like Amelia and Daniel but if we don't prepare then she'll be forced to go through what we did. Do you want that?" Harper asks getting up from the bed and turning to her husband.
"Of course I don't want that but I just don't want to talk about it right now Harper" Spencer says. Harper throws her hands up and goes into the bathroom, closing the door behind her and changes into her pjs. She and her husband didn't agree on this subject and she knew eventually he'd come around or she'd give up. Harper knew she wasn't about to give up on her kids' futures so she just had to wait until Spencer came around even if that meant going behind his back. He'd figure it out but if she could help profile criminals she could try and keep this from him until he could make up his own mind.
The next day, Harper and Spencer brought the kids over to Emily and Aaron's home. Emily opened the door and saw the look on her daughter's face, "Come on in you two" Emily says glancing between the two.
"Thanks Emily" Spencer says walking in with Amelia.
"Aaron is waiting for you in the baby room. He moved everything in last night so you two just have to put it all together and Jack is in the kids play room if you want to put Amelia in there" Emily says.
"Ok thanks" Spencer says and goes to put Amelia in the playroom before heading to find Hotch.
"So what happened between leaving here and coming back?" Emily asks Harper as she brings Daniel inside.
"Went home, had dinner, put the kids to bed, and then I brought up looking at schools for Amelia" Harper says sighing.
"Ah I see. Come on I have cookies and wine" Emily says as they head for the kitchen.
"Mom you can't have wine" Harper says.
"Doesn't mean you can't. The cookies though are 100% mine" Emily says. Harper laughs as her mom gathers everything and they head to the play room to oversee the kids. Emily hands each of the kids a cookie and they go off and play.
"He didn't want to talk about it, did he?" Emily asks.
Harper takes a sip of her wine, "No and I don't blame him but Amelia and Daniel are going to have higher IQs, their doctor's have even said so and I don't want them going through what Spencer and I did because we didn't have as many options as we do now. So I'm just trying to prepare, just look at schools and see what would be the best fit for them and us. I'm not saying ship her off this very minute, but those kind of schools have waitlists and I don't want to do this all last minute" Harper says.
"Honey I understand, trust me but Spencer is going to have to come to this realization in his own time" Emily says.
"I know" Harper says taking another sip of her wine.
"You've already come to that conclusion haven't you?" Emily asks.
"Yes" Harper says.
"And you're going to look anyway aren't you?" Emily asks.
"Wouldn't you?" Harper asks
Emily sighs, "Yes I would but how are you going to keep it from him?" Emily asks keeping her tone down.
"I'm going to get Penny's help to search schools, narrow down the best ones and then I'll fill out the applications from school I like or I think Spencer might like in my free time and schedule any in person stuff when I'm able to" Harper says.
"Seems like you've thought this through slightly" Emily says.
Harper sighs, "Don't get me wrong, I love how I grew up. Grandpa and Grandma always tried to help give me the best while helping you out too. I just don't want Amelia and Daniel or any other children we may or may not have in the future, having to go through what our school situations were like. Especially since they've come so far as creating schools for gifted children" Harper says.
Emily nods, eating another cookie, "Ok I'll help if I can. I'm going to have my hands full next month" Emily says.
"Mom, no, don't worry about that. You're going to have so much to do as it is, I don't want to add anything else to your plate" Harper says.
"Honey, I'm going to be taking care of 4 kids, full time, for some time. I'll need something to do during nap time" Emily says.
"About that, what if you had a little help?" Harper asks.
"Help from who?" Emily asks.
"Well, Diana and William should be moving into their house soon and could take Daniel and Amelia for a few days or even come over and help. Diana loves kids and with William working remotely from home now for his firm, he'll need something to keep him busy in his down time" Harper says.
Emily thinks it over, "Sure, I would love to have them help but only once they've gotten settled" Emily says.
"Ok, I'll let them know" Harper says when Harper hears a thud come from the nursery. "You think we should check on them?" Harper asks.
"Nah, they'll figure it out. Hotch already set up the nanny cam so we can watch what's happening from here" Emily says pulling out her phone and pulling up the nursery camera.
"And I thought Spencer and I were paranoid" Harper says scooting over to watch as Spencer rubs his hand, while glaring at a piece of wood.
As the day went on Emily instructed Spencer and Aaron on where to place the intact furniture as Harper kept the kids busy. And only after wasting most of the day, they were finally done with the nursery.
The next month seemed to fly by and before anyone knew it, Emily was giving birth. The team had just returned from a case in Gloversville, NY for a child abduction, catching their UNSUB quickly, when Emily called Aaron to tell him, she was on her way to the hospital. Penny was driver her, Jack, Amelia and Daniel there. The team quickly made their way to the hospital and met Penelope in the waiting room.
"What room number is she?" Aaron asks, trying to remain calm.
"302, I'd have gone in with but these three don't need to see anything" Penelope says as Amelia and Daniel run over to Harper and Spencer and Jack to Hotch.
"Jack, can you stay with Harper until I get back?" Hotch asks looking down at Jack. Jack nods and Aaron gives him a quick hug before heading back to Emily's room. Jack walks over to Harper and sits next to her.
"What's happening to Emily?" Jack asks Harper.
"Well, you know those babies' she's having?" Harper asks.
Jack nods, "Well, that's why were here. After a while, we'll be able to go in and meet them and know their names" Harper says.
"Really?" Jack asks awed by what Harper told him.
"Yes, but we've got to wait until your dad comes to get us but we'll probably get to meet them today" Harper says.
"Papa!" Amelia says as Rossi comes into the waiting room after parking the car.
"Hi munchkin" Rossi says as he picks up the little girl after she comes running over to him and gives her a hug.
The team waits and after a few hours, Hotch comes out with a grin on his face. "Harper, Jack are you ready to meet them?" Aaron asks looking at the two.
"Yes!" Jack says jumping up and walking over to his dad. Harper nods and hands Daniel over to Spencer before following the father son pair to the hospital room. They walk in and Emily is holding two bundles, a pink and a blue. Harper closes the door behind her and walks over to her mom, who is obviously tried but extremely happy.
"So they're both healthy?" Harper asks.
"Yes. They're both doing great from what the doctor says" Emily says.
Jack is helped next to Emily by Hotch as Harper walks over to the other side looking down at the tiny babies in her mother's arms.
"So this is Evelyn Maria and Carson Joseph Hotchner" Emily says as Emily helps place Carson into Jack's arms with Aaron's help. And then hands Evelyn over to Harper. Harper looks at the twins and notices the differences and similarities between herself, Jack, and the twins.
"So who's older?" Harper asks.
"That would be Evelyn" Aaron says.
Harper looks down at her half sister and thinks about it, "There is a 28-year age difference between me and them" Harper says almost in awe.
Emily laughs, "Yes don't remind me, they are also Aunt and Uncle to Amelia and Daniel" Emily says rubbing her temples.
"We'll cross that bridge later, much much later" Harper says laughing knowing that none of the kids would understand everything about their little mix matched family until they were older anyway.
After sometime the rest of the BAU family was introduced to the twins and then everyone went home to give Emily and Aaron time to spend with their new additions. Harper had offered to take Jack but his aunt, Haley's sister, had offered to take him for the week. Harper tucks Amelia in before heading off to put Daniel to bed. She heads to the master bedroom and notices Spencer isn't there. Harper shrugs it off and changes clothes before laying down and staring up at the ceiling when Spencer comes walking in.
"How are you holding up?" Spencer asks sitting on the edge of Harper's side of the bed.
"I'm handling it. I'm happy for them" Harper says looking over at her husband. He leans down and kisses her before going off and changing clothes himself. She knew that she was prepared for her siblings but she didn't know why the situation made her feel uneasy. She chalked it up to no longer being an only child and drifted off to sleep once Spencer crawled into bed next to her.
