"I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be."
― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations
The first time she felt it, they were on the jet. A quick flutter, like bubbles popping inside her abdomen. Her hand flew down to her abdomen, a frown crinkling across her forehead.
"What's up, Mama?" JJ asked, noticing the change in her friend's behaviour.
"N-Nothing." Emily frowned, feeling it again, sliding her hand to the other side of her abdomen.
JJ squealed and dropped on the seat next to her friend. "Oh my GOSH Emily, you're feeling your babies MOVE! Isn't it cool!? What does it feel like with two of them?"
Emily frowned, eyeing her belly with a look of interest and confusion. "Weird." She said finally. "It's...weird."
Laughing softly, JJ leaned back against the seat and watched her best friend. "They'll just get stronger each day." She smiled and squeezed Emily's forearm.
The brunette stared down at her abdomen in silence.
"You okay, Em?" JJ asked The issue with being a profiler was that your emotions never went unchecked.
Emily looked down at her abdomen and then back at JJ. "It just feels really really real now." She admitted softly.
The jet flew on, Emily's hand on her swollen abdomen.
JJ dropped her off at home and Emily dropped her bag in the doorway, finding Derek in front of the TV on the couch. She plopped down beside him and took his hand, resting it on her bump.
"Guess what?"
Looking over, Derek arched his eyebrows. "I'm able to be back on full duty?"
Emily gripped his chin softly and kissed him a few times before grinning. "Three more days, Derek. You're lucky that you're friends with a doctor and she cleared you for half days. Anyway, something even more awesome than your ass going back to work. I felt the babies move today."
His face lit up and he lifted her shirt, his hand large and dark on her round belly. "What did it feel like?" He asked, his trigger roughened fingers soft and gentle on her skin.
"Kind of like popping bubbles." She said finally. "I'm not really sure how it feels. But JJ assured me that it's normal and in a few weeks you'll be able to feel them." Curling up against him, she sighed softly. "This makes it really real, Derek." She whispered.
"It is really real, Emily." Derek said pressing his lips to the top of her head. He rested his uncasted hand on her abdomen as they sat in silence for a few moments.
"I really want ice cream." Emily hummed against his skin. "I really want mint chocolate ice cream."
He laughed and untangled himself from her body. "Thankfully we have some mint chip ice cream in the freezer." Scooping out a bowl, he walked back and passed Emily a spoon. There were days when he looked at her and wondered how he got so lucky. Today was one of those days. His wife glowed as she took a mouthful of the artificially coloured green ice cream. Her dark eyes sparked as her hand rested on her growing baby belly. She was beautiful before the pregnancy, but now? There was an incredible aura around her now. Even despite what they did, what they saw every day, her face broke into an easy beautiful smile.
"You gonna come help me with this, or are you going to watch me eat this whole bowl of ice cream by myself?" She asked looking up at him with a brilliant smile.
He sat down beside her and took a spoonful of ice cream. "You're amazing, you know that?" He questioned, his hand brushing her hair off her face.
The brilliant smile appeared again and she took another spoonful of ice cream. "Oh, by the way, we need to go shoe shopping again."
He groaned and threw himself back dramatically against the couch. "You have a full closet full of shoes and boots! Whhhhhhyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?"
Emily spun on the couch and dropped her feet on his lap. "Because my ankles are swollen and I can't see my feet anymore. I need something I can tie. No more boots. We can even go to a sports store and you can find the best shoes for me...and maybe a pair of cute slip ons for when I can't even do the sneakers."
"Okay, fine." He said, the smile on his face belying his voice. "I guess I'll forgive you since you're carrying my babies."
"Mmmm hmmm." She wiggled her toes on his lap. "I'll give you a break from the foot massage duty until your hand heals."
Derek smiled and tugged at one of her toes. "My hero."
Emily didn't do sports stores. Sure, she was athletic, you had to be in the FBI to a certain degree. But her idea of athletics was yoga and hand to hand combat, boxing, and swimming. Derek walked her to an enormous wall of shoes and started to look through them. He found four or five different styles and brands. "Size 8, right?"
She shrugged, sitting down on the bench. "Dunno, get them to bring an 8, 8.5, and a 9. My feet are pregnant now too." Toeing off the flip flops she was wearing, she pulled out socks out of her bag and tossed them to Derek. He knelt down and dutifully pulled her socks on before going and speaking to the associate. The young man came back a few minutes later with his arms full of boxes. Derek knelt at her feet and started to put on different pairs of shoes on her feet. He found a pair of black ones, with minimal other colours that would still be professional at work. "Okay, walk around." He ordered as he tied them up. She walked up and down the aisle before looking back at him with a smile. "Okay, Princess. Come sit down and let's try on some slip ons. Go find some pretty ones."
"Sneakers aren't pretty. Louboutins are pretty. Jimmy Choos are pretty. These are practical and some of them are cute. But they aren't pretty." She got up and glanced through some of the slip on shoes finding a few different pairs. She pulled off some different shoes, most of them dark colours but she grabbed a pair of white ones with pastel swirls. He gave her a smile, his eyebrows arching. "Didn't expect you to choose those."
Shrugging, Emily sat down and handed them to him. "They were calling to me." Waiting until they got the pair in her size, she tried them on and wiggled her toes. "They fit. Bit roomy in the top and the toes, but I think for days when my feet are swollen they'll work perfectly." She said handing them back to Derek.
Derek grabbed both shoe boxes, Derek helped Emily to her feet. "Let's go, Princess." He said pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "We can go grocery shopping on the way back...pick up more ice cream…"
"My hero." She replied with a smirk, standing on her tip toes and fluttering kisses to her lips.
They were in North Dakota, using Bismarck as a home base. Emily had already sent JJ, Matt, Reid, and Luke out to the field to the crime scene and to talk to the coroner. She, Tara, and Rossi headed to the Bismarck precinct to set things up. Rossi went ahead to speak to the Sheriff and the deputy while Tara and Emily set up the room and board.
"This is Dr. Tara Lewis, and this is our unit chief, SSA Emily Prentiss." Rossi introduced pointing to each woman.
"The rest of the team is already talking to your coroner and then out at the crime scene." Emily said, shaking their hands strongly.
The older of the two men looked between Rossi and Emily and then back at Rossi. Emily strode away to speak with Tara and examine the map.
"Your unit chief is pregnant." The sheriff said, shaking his head. "Like really pregnant."
Rossi looked at him and then at Emily. "Wait, she's pregnant? Holy crap. Hey, Prentiss, you're pregnant!"
Emily glared at him, one hand on her abdomen. "Really? Thanks for that, Tips." Shaking her head, she went back to focusing on the map and flipping through her tablet. Tara choked on her coffee and turned away, fighting back a laugh. As the pregnancy progressed Emily had chosen more comfortable, yet professional wardrobe. Dark jeans, longer tops and a blazer matched with her running shoes.
"Are you sure she can do this job?" He asked Rossi as they watched Emily.
"Better than anyone I know." Rossi commented with a proud smile. "Anyway, let's get to work."
Emily hated the fact that she was stuck in the precinct, but she hated it even more when she was the only woman in the building. She had sent Tara to go speak to a person of interest, which left her as the only female in the precinct. Filling up her mug with tea, she took a long sip before crossing her arms over her bump and staring at the map. They knew the approximate area that he was killing in, though it crossed into the Standing Rock Indian Reserve and into South Dakota making it a federal case. Sighing, she crossed her arms across her chest and stared at the map before her back started to ache and she sat down at the table.
"Excuse me, Ma'am?"
"Agent Prentiss. Or Agent." Emily replied without looking up.
"Sorry, Agent Prentiss, I was just wondering...if you should be doing this job in your condition?"
Dark eyes dragged up and Emily looked at the man. "In my condition? I'm pregnant, not incapacitated."
He shrugged and sat down across from her. "And you look like you're far along, Agent Prentiss. Aren't you concerned that something might happen to you at this point in the pregnancy?
"I'm 18 weeks." Emily retorted. "With twins. And my husband is six two." She said quickly. "I'm fine, and my babies are fine. My team needs me to be a leader, and I can lead from here."
"And is it safe for your babies? All this stress? Hearing all this stuff? What does your boyfriend...husband...partner? What do they have to say about this?"
Sighing, Emily rubbed her temples. "And is this any of your business? I am very very good at my job and my husband used to be a part of our team, he's now the head of his own team. He knows what goes on here and he supports my decisions and what I do." She said stiffly. "What I do is my business and that of my husband's. Not yours. Now if you don't have anything relevant to the case, I'm working." The officer walked away and Emily flipped through her tablet making notes until she felt Rossi sit down across from her. She could feel his eyes on her, the scent of his spicy cologne mixed with dark coffee. "What?"
"Nothing." The older man smiled and looked at Emily. "You must be stuffed."
Emily looked up and arched her eyebrows. "Sorry?"
"You know, eating grown men for breakfast like you do." He smirked and took a sip of his coffee.
"Shut up, Rossi." Emily said, a laugh playing on her lips. Sighing, she rested her hands on her bump. "I just...it's our business, mine and Derek's. We're doing everything to keep our babies safe. I'm 100 percent able to work, I'm not out in the field anymore. I'm talking to unsubs with you, or Luke, or Matt in the room. I can still work."
The older man held his hands up in defeat. "Emily, I'm not the one who said you couldn't." He said softly. "And we all know that you're doing everything in your power to keep you and your baby safe, Emily. You're going to be a great mother. Hell, you already are a great mother."
"Thanks, Dave." Emily said softly, her hand rubbing her stomach softly.
"You don't need to thank me. You and Derek are doing a great job, though at this point it's more you than Derek."
Emily smirked and looked down at her belly. "He gives pretty good back rubs and foot rubs."
Rossi nodded and got to his feet. "I'm going to see if the family has come in yet to interview. You should eat something." He said, giving her a very fatherly glare. "You haven't eaten anything since the jet, and that was about six hours ago."
Sighing, Emily followed suit and stretched. "Okay fine. I'll go grab something from the deli."
"Want someone to come with you?"
Emily shook her head. "No, some fresh air will do me some good, but thanks Dave." Grabbing her credit card, Emily headed to the deli that was a few blocks away. Grabbing some fresh vegetables with dip along with a sandwich and a bottle of sparkling water. Dave was interviewing the family when she walked in, settling at the table. The precinct wasn't very big and she opened her sandwich and focused on the table trying to stay focused on work.
"She said she's 18 weeks, but she's the same size as my wife when she was at close to 30 weeks."
"I can't believe her husband lets her out here, interviewing serial killers. That can't be good for a baby."
"Wonder what kind of deadbeat would let their wife work in a job like this?"
She rewrapped her sandwich, leaving it untouched and got out her cellphone and sent Tara a quick text. She needed another woman in there with her before she committed homicide herself.
