A/N: Hey y'all! I know I've been MIA. Sorry for that! But, I have been sitting on a BUNCH of chapters and I'm going to post them all today! So enjoy the influx of fuckery.

Wednesday afternoon, Emily picked up Ellie, Henry, then Lola. Emily knew she had to figure out a better schedule for school, Lola was the only kid who could hang around campus until Emily made her way there. They had been lucky enough to have JJ home to help in the mornings.

Lola spotted the car and waved to a group of girls before jogging in that direction. She sat in the passenger seat and dropped the bag to her feet. Emily looked over as she started to pull away, "Are those your friends?"

Lola smiled shyly, "Yeah. Aaliyah, Parker, and Quinn. They're in choir with me. Well, actually we have a lot of classes together."

"That's good!" Emily encouraged, "You know if you ever wanted to invite them over, that would totally okay. Sleep-overs and all that."

The teen nodded, looking out the window. "Thank you, I'll think about it."

By the time they got home, Ellie was asleep in her car seat. Her class had taken a field trip to the Smithsonian. The trip apparently tuckered out the little girl. "Lola, Henry, can you two go start your homework? I'll be in to help you after I get her down." Emily asked.

"Then snacks?" Henry asked, kicking his shoes off by the door.

"Yeah, then I'll make you a snack."

Emily made her way back down the stairs and put Henry's shoes in the rack by the door. She grabbed some snacks for both kids and brought it to the dining room where they both worked. Lola had an area in her room to do her work, but she only used it if she was working on math. Emily worked with both kids until she heard the chime of the security system at the gate. Emily wondered who it could be, JJ already knew the code, her parents weren't due for another two hours. She checked the camera and saw Sarah Daye through the camera positioned at the gate. Emily buzzed the gate open.

She opened the door before the social worker had a chance to knock. "Okay, Sarah. I know for a fact I didn't schedule anything." Emily joked nervously.

Sarah smiled, "It's good new, Emily."

Emily and Sarah sat across from each other in the living room, the coffee table between them. Sarah pulled a folder out of her bag and slid it across the table to Emily.

Emily opened it and read carefully, "A court date?"

Sarah's smile widened, "That means you and JJ have been approved by social services to adopt Eloise. All you have to do is appear before a judge, it's more of a formality. Once you get this far, you're almost guaranteed approval. The judge mostly counts what the social worker says."

Emily stared at Sarah, "You mean, we're getting her? She can be ours?"

Sarah nodded, "Emily, you and JJ have gone above and beyond for her, and Lola. It would be an injustice to Eloise to deny the request."

Emily stood, clutching the forms tightly in her hand, before hugging Sarah. Emily would never admit it, but she squealed like a little girl in her moment of excitement.

Just then, Eloise trotted down the stairs, rubbing her eyes, "Momma! Too loud!" she whined.

Emily ignored her complaint and ran to her, pulling the girl into her arms and twirling with her. She kissed the girl all over her face, earning a loud giggle.

"Oh, Eloise! I love you! I love you! I love you!" Emily cried.

Ellie held on tightly to her Momma, "I love you." She whispered back.

Lola and Henry were standing in the hall watching, and laughing at, the interaction.

JJ arrived shortly after Sarah left. She was barely inside the house before Emily kissed her lip passionately. When Emily pulled away, she rested their foreheads together. JJ was breathing heavily from the moment, "What was that for?" she whispered against her wife's lips.

"We've been approved to adopt Eloise." Emily whispered back, her smile returning full force.

JJ stepped back and looked at her wife, her own smile breaking onto her face, "What?" she asked dumbly.

"All we need is a judge to sign off. Sarah said that it was pretty much a done deal. The judge is just a formality." Emily explained before giving JJ another loving kiss.

"When will your parents be here?"

"About thirty minutes. We should get the kids ready."

"We have to get them ready for dinner in our own home?" JJ winked.

"You know my parents."

The couple maid their way to the playroom where Henry and Ellie were. "Ellie, come here." JJ said. She picked the girl up and hugged her tightly.

"That's too tight Mommy!" The toddler said, fighting JJ.

The blond didn't relinquish her grasp, "I just love you." JJ enjoyed the moment for a few seconds more and eased up. "Okay, we have to get ready for dinner with Grandma Liz and Papa."

While this was going on, Emily had already snagged Henry, and was helping him change. "Emmy?" he asked as she changed his shirt.

She paused and looked at Henry, "What's up, Big Man?"

"Are we keeping Ellie?"

Emily brushed his blond hair off his face, "Yeah. Is that okay?"

He nodded and smiled, "Yeah. I love Ellie. Can I call you Momma like her?" He paused and saw Emily's face change, "You know, so she doesn't get confused?" He added hastily.

Emily grinned at him, any more days like today were going to kill her, but man, it was a good way to go. "I would love that very much. I think Ellie would too." Emily knew he added that part as an excuse, but she played along to make him feel better.

"Okay. I'm hungry." He said, indicating for her to hurry up changing him.

Emily finished with Henry and told him to go downstairs to finish playing. She knocked lightly on Lola's room.

"Come in!" She heard Lola call.

"Hey, my parents will be here soon, can you change into a 'Sunday best' kind of outfit. My parents are kind of… pompous." Emily chuckled.

"Yeah! Do you want to pick it out? I don't know what to wear to impress them." Lola watched as Emily fished through her closet. "Hey, Emily?" she started and heard a hum from the woman in response, "Do you think they'll like me?" She asked nervously.

Emily turned back around with a blue flowy dress with flowers on it, "You know, when I was your age, I never would have thought my parents could like anyone. But now, I think they'll like you because you're with me. Jen and I always joke that they've gotten soft in their old age, but I think they always had it in them, they just had to hide away that vulnerability to do well in their careers." Emily answered earnestly, passing the dress and her dress flats to Lola.

"What did they do for work?" She asked.

"Career Politicians. My mother was a foreign ambassador and my father was on the Senate for quite a few years."

Lola laughed, "God, that sounds so boring!" She joked.

Emily joined in the laughter, "You have no idea! My family dinners were eaten in silence because that was more entertaining than their work conversations. Now, they tell stories to Henry and Ellie of their more exotic stories. I'm a little jealous, but I'm also glad they've changed so much."

"Yeah, I can see that." Lola said.

"Okay, well I'm going to let you get dressed. Leave your phone up here for dinner. I don't need the scolding from my mother." Emily winked as she walked out, shutting the door behind her.

Dinner went well, there were no meltdowns, no bitter arguments, just laughter and love. Emily and JJ got to sleep later than they would have like, but it didn't matter to them. At around three the next morning, the ringing of JJ's phone woke her up. She blearily fished around her nightstand for it. "Hello?" She answered.

"We have a case." Hotch deadpanned, "Be at the debriefing in an hour."

"Okay. I'll be there." JJ said before hanging up.

When she turned on the dim light by the bed, Emily began to stir. "Case?" she asked sleepily

"Yeah. Go back to sleep." JJ leant over and kissed Emily softly.

When she turned to stand and get ready, she saw Lola, sprawled out between the two chairs in their room, a blanket pulled up over her head. JJ walked over and gently nudged her, "Lola. Sweety, what's wrong?"

Lola pulled the blanket away and her lip quivered as she tried to force the tears away, "I had a nightmare. I felt safer in here, I'm sorry!" She whimpered.

JJ shushed her, "It's okay. You could have just woken us up. It's not a problem."

Emily sat up, threw the blankets back where JJ was and patted the bed, "Come on, you can sleep with me."

Lola stood, leaving the blanket in the chair and crawled in bed with Emily. Emily pulled the girl to her and played with her messy hair. Emily fell back asleep quickly, when Lola thought she was out cold, she pulled herself tighter to Emily, "Thank you, Emily. I love you."

"Love you too." The older woman mumbled and returned the warm hug.

When Emily's alarm went off, Lola was starfished on her stomach, taking up most of the bed, her limbs covering Emily too. Emily carefully extracted herself and got ready quickly before waking all the kids to repeat the pattern.

Emily called her mother to drop Lola off, the teen came into the kitchen to eat the breakfast Emily made, "My mom is going to drop you off at school since JJ had to leave. Is that okay?" Emily asked as she got plates for Ellie and Henry.

"Yeah, that's fine. Uhm, you said I could have friends over, is it okay if I have a sleep over this Saturday?" Lola asked timidly.

"Of course! Now, eat quickly. We don't have much time this morning." Emily said before running off. "Oh," She called, stopping abruptly, "you and Henry have piano lessons Saturday morning, so if we have it Saturday afternoon, there isn't an issue. Have their parents call me!" With that she was gone again.

"Hey, Emmy. We just wrapped up the case." JJ said through the phone. It was Saturday morning and Emily was still making breakfast while the kids watched Saturday morning cartoons. Well, Henry and Eloise watched them, Lola was simply sitting in the same room with headphones on as she tried to take a nap.

"Okay, when will you guys be back?" She asked, pressing the phone between her head and shoulder as she whisked the crepe batter.

"Uh, D.C. time, about 2 or 3 this afternoon."

"How was sunny California?" Emily asked, "Sun and beach waves?"

"More like murder and rain." JJ deadpanned.

"Well, at least when you get home, you'll have a house full of teenage girls. That'll be quite the way to relax." The brunette teased.

"Ughhh!" JJ groaned, "I forgot that was tonight. On second thought, we need to tie up some loose ends. Won't be home until tomorrow evening."

"Oh, no you don't. In one call I could end Hotchner's career if you don't get back here before dinner. I think he'd gladly listen to me over you." Emily added, spreading the last of the batter over the hot pan.

"Don't pull rank on me Prentiss! You don't even work for the Bureau anymore!"

Emily laughed heartily, "I'll see you when you get home. I have to feed your children, so I'm gonna go."

JJ groaned, "Mmm, what are you making?"

"Crepes."

"Why do you never cook those when I'm home?" The blond whined.

"Because you would be appalled at how much sugar I let the kids indulge in with them." Emily said candidly. "Okay, I just finished the last one. I love you."

"I love you too. Bye."

"Bye." Emily said before quickly hanging up, "Kids! Breakfast!" She hollered.

Ellie was the first to slide into the kitchen, her socks slipping on the tiled surface. Emily reached out just in time to catch her. She rested the girl against her hip, "Okay guys, crepes. There's a lot of fruit set out, and more sweets than Jen would ever allow. You know the rule, at least a big handful of fruit. Oh, also bacon. Henry let me get Ellie's and I'll help with yours, deal?"

He sighed, he just wanted whipped cream a soon as possible. "Okay." He said sadly.

Lola laughed, "I can help him Emily. Is that okay?"

Emily smiled as she dropped a crepe onto a plastic plate for Ellie, "More than okay. Just watch him with the syrup please."

Emily helped Ellie with hers. The crepes were big, so she got the girl one. She cut up the pastry and threw it together with strawberries, bananas, blueberries, powdered sugar, and whipped cream. Lola helped Henry load his with the same fruits, syrup and a drizzle of Nutella. Emily carried both plates to the dining room to avoid any messes. She got back to the kitchen and filled the bowls for Luna and Nova before she stepped to where the food was. She saw Lola spreading cream cheese on one side of her pastry and Nutella on the other.

"Oooh, good idea!" Emily said before reaching for both toppings.

"Yeah, it sounded really good, let's just hope it lives up to the expectation." She laughed as she filled in with fruits before folding it and topping it with powdered sugar and syrup.

Emily was just about done prepping her breakfast when Henry came back to the kitchen, "Momma, you forgot drinks."

Emily smiled, "You are absolutely right! What do you and Ellie want?" She asked. She saw Lola grab her usual breakfast drink, orange juice, before she went to the dining table.

"Milk. We both want it." Then he turned on his heel and left the room.

Emily got both kids their drinks before sitting down for her breakfast. She was just about to the first bite when the doorbell rang. She growled, "Fuck me." She muttered under her breath. She didn't know who it was, but whoever it was already knew the security passcode so she would have preferred they just waltz in at this point so she could eat her god damn crepes.

She swung the door open to reveal Penelope Garcia, the one and only. "I heard you made crepes. I thought I'd pop by." She smiled cheekily.

Emily stepped back from the door, "Kitchen. Help yourself. Coffee is warm. Take whatever you want." Emily disappeared into the house to finally eat.

"Are you excited for your sleepover?" Penelope asked Lola.

"Yes! I spend a lot of time with them at school, so it's nice to have time with them outside school." The teen explained.

"I remember those days. There's nothing quite like a group of girls who just let the world wash off around them as they watch trashy movies and gossip." Penelope laughed. She and Lola were playing a board game with Henry so Emily could wash the stickiness off Ellie. Penelope stroked her hand down Sergio who always made her lap his home when she was over.

"Exactly." Lola said, reaching out to scratch the soft furball. "You know, I've been here almost a month, and this is the first time I've seen this cat. Emily told me about him, but I haven't seen him." She laughed.

"Yeah, ever since Emily got the dogs and the gaggle of children, he's become quite the hider. I can barely convince him to let me pet him." She scratched his favorite spot, "Isn't that right, Serg?"

Ellie came running into the room, causing Sergio to quickly sprint by her, "Aunt Penny! Look! It's the outfit you got me!" She yelled, spinning to show it off.

"Wow! It looks great! Do you love it as much as I do?" She said leaning forward and pulled her into a hug.

"Yep!"

"Henry." Emily said from the hall, "Time for your bath. We have to be quick; the piano teacher should be here in an hour. Lola, why don't you shower while I get him ready?"

Emily dressed Henry in an outfit Penelope got him. It was a designer track suit with his name embroidered on the hip of the pants and the chest of the jacket.

Pen squealed with excitement at it and Henry was so used to her usually flamboyance, he didn't even flinch.

Henry's lesson was long, and Emily got bored watching it. But, every time he looked at her with excitement when he did something right, he felt joyous with him. Lola's lesson was more interesting, though Emily already knew what she was learning. Lola could read some music from choir, she had a fundamental understanding of music theory, she just had to learn how to apply it to a different instrument. Emily was impressed at how well she was picking up piano.

"Great job, Lola!" The teacher, Nadine, praised. "We're done for the day, but here is some sheet music with all the scales on it and their corresponding arpeggios. I want you to practice each twice, once in treble clef, once in bass clef. I'll see you next week."

Emily shook her hand, "Thank you, Nadine. Should I make the check out to you?"

"Yes, that will work. Henry's homework is to just work on his hand placements and to study the C scale. That will help him understand how to read the music and apply it." She noted.

Lola was working on her piano homework by the time Emily finished walking Nadine out. Emily stopped by her and smoothed her hair away from her face. "You're doing really well." She stated, "So Aaliyah, Parker and Quinn's parents all called me. They should be arriving tonight at 4:30."

Lola stood from the piano, "Okay, I'm going to go clean my room and get ready."

"Okay, hun. Jen will be home around 3:30." Emily informed before the girl nodded.

"Mr. Kilmer, please, come in. You must be Quinn." Emily smiled brightly and shook both their hands.

Emily saw the man eye her body, "Please call me James." He said with an air of confidence.

JJ must have sensed this from the other room, because she came up by Emily, protectively wrapping her arm around the taller woman. She kissed her wife's cheek, "Who is this baby?" She asked with false sweetness.

Emily raised an eyebrow challengingly, "This is James Kilmer. Quinn's father."

JJ covered her pride as his ego deflated, "It's a pleasure to meet you. Can we offer you anything to drink?"

He shook his head, "Actually I have to work. I'm on the night shift tonight. It was a pleasure to meet you."

"You as well." Emily composed, "Drive safely."

Parker Andersen was dropped off by her mom and Emily laughed about her last name.

When Aaliyah's father dropped her off, he exchanged pleasantries before looking to his daughter, "Aaliyah Marie Cortes be good. No bullshit tonight, got it?" He asked harshly in Spanish.

His daughter rolled her eyes and Emily saw her about to talk back. So, she answered in fluent Spanish, "I'm sure she'll be just fine. Right Aaliyah?"

The man looked shocked for a moment but smiled afterwards, "I think I'll like you Ms. Prentiss. Good evening."

"Goodnight."

Emily led the last girl up to Lola's room. All the teens were lounging around the room, "Okay, ladies. There are three guest rooms open, but you are more than welcome to sleep wherever. The basement living room is all yours after Jen and I go to bed. For dinner we're making pizza, the dough is ready whenever you guys are. You'll make your own, we have plenty of toppings. Just let me know. Have fun!" Emily ended her speech and left the room.

Emily sat with JJ in the playroom with Henry and Ellie. They played a movie while the kids played. After 5:30 Emily stood, "I'm going to get the kitchen set up, the oven started, and then I'll make ours first, so when the girls come down, they can just go ahead." She leant over and kissed her wife before walking off.

The first pizza she made for her and JJ was a basil and fresh mozzarella pizza with the expensive cheese that comes in a wet ball, a product her company imports, and a garlic infused olive oil instead of marinara. The next she made was a pepperoni, also imported, and green pepper. By the time that was done, she assumed the smell had wafted upstairs because four girls appeared in the kitchen.

"Hungry?" Emily asked, not having to look behind her to know who was there.

"Yeah!" Lola answered.

Emily instructed the girls on what ingredients were what before she showed them what to do and what to cook them on. "Have at it. Let me know if you need help."

Lola smiled as Emily walked away and waited for her friends to step up to the counter first. "Are you thirsty? We have some sodas." Lola got all the girls their drinks and stood next to them to start her own.

"Your moms are so cool" Quinn said absent mindedly.

Parker sharply elbowed her friend, "Quinn!" She whisper-yelled.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry Lola. That was dumb to say." Quinn said quietly, quilt washing over her face.

Lola took a sip of her sprite. "No, it's okay. Jen and Emily have been better moms than my actual mom."

Aaliyah looked hesitant in her question but asked, "How's that?"

Lola looked down, "You don't want to know. It's pretty fucked up." Lola didn't know how Emily and JJ would feel about her swearing, but she felt comfortable around her friends.

Aaliyah, usually the badass of the group, softened and stopped making her dinner, "Come on, Lola. It's okay. We're friends now. If you're hurting, we're hurting. You can be completely open with us. We won't judge you."

Lola sighed, if she didn't open up now it would fester all night and ruin the mood. If she did it now, they could get over it and resume the sleep over with normalcy. "So, you know what my step-dad did. Well I told my mom and she called me a liar, a whore. She sided with him. A couple nights ago I had a nightmare. When I woke up from it, I just felt the need to be closer to JJ and Emily. I didn't even think about what I was doing. I just grabbed a blanket and snuck into their room and fell back asleep on the chairs in their room. JJ woke up early to go to work and saw me. I thought she would be mad because after my mom remarried, she hated when I wanted to sleep with them. She would yell and spank me and put me back in my room. She even put a lock on the outside of my room so I couldn't leave it after bedtime. But when JJ found me, she told it was alright and Emily invited me into the bed with her. She just held me and that was the first time I've felt safe since my dad died." Lola wiped the tears off her face. "That was also the first time I realized I loved Emily and JJ more than I thought I could after all my shit. I'm just… so unbelievably grateful."

Aaliyah also wiped away a few tears that had fallen from the heartache of her friend. She hugged Lola tightly, then Quinn and Parker joined too. Lola laughed and fought her way out of the center of the group hug, "No. No more crying. I'm hungry."

She earned a few laughs, but they all finished making their pizzas. Parker made a plain cheese pizza with marinara, Aaliyah loaded hers up with cheese and meat and only a little bit of sauce, Lola made hers with half alfredo and veggies and the other half had marinara with pepperoni and sausage. Quinn fished through the fridge and pulled out the ranch before using it as a sauce adding the shredded chicken and bacon Emily set out.

Aaliyah looked over and scoffed. Quinn glared at her friend, "What?"

Aaliyah shrugged, "Nothing." Then added, "Gringo" under her breath.

The kitchen filled with laughter.

JJ and Emily had been standing out in the hall listening to the conversation for some time. "If that unsub hadn't killed her mother, I think I would have." Emily said venomously, "I mean how could you just do that? Choose mediocre sex and alcoholism over your own child?" She whispered loudly.

"Shhh." Her wife scolded, "Em, how do you know about the case?"

"You left the case file out and I got bored." She shrugged.

JJ laughed quietly, "Emmy, I'm hungry. Can we go in now? They're done being emotional." She whined.

"No. It'll look to suspicious. Might make her nervous. We have to wait for a bit." Emily heard the gringo comment and the laughter and found their opening, "Follow my lead." She said like it was a serious mission. She stood and walked in confidently, "What's all this laughter about?" She asked casually.

Lola finished laughing and shook her head, "Nothing. What's up?"

JJ reached for their pizzas. "Nothing. Just thought your brother and sister might like to eat before bedtime." She remarked, testing out the sibling part. When there were no adverse remarks, she continued, "Then we'll be out of your hair. You can eat in your room this time, just make sure you bring all the dishes back down. Deal?"

All the girls nodded, "Deal." They replied in unison before laughing again. JJ and Emily reveled in the happiness of Lola. It was more than they could have ever asked of her since they brought her home. The therapy and change of pace must be doing really good for her. It was all they could have asked for.