Chapter 152
AN: Again, sorry about the delay, I'm really trying to write more, but not really succeeding.
Two days have passed since Penelope and Emily almost had a fight and unsurprisingly, they have not talked about it. As Casey is now twenty-one weeks old, she is starting to creep around the floor, but she hasn't started to crawl.
It's a Monday morning and Penelope, Emily and their kids are in the kitchen having breakfast together.
"Are we going to come into work with you today?" Maddie asks curious, hoping the answer is yes.
"Not today," Emily answers, causing all the older kids to look disappointed, as while she, Penelope, and the team are more than fine with the kids being around she isn't sure the higher ups, or other people who work on the floor are so found of the kids being around.
"For the next couple of days Dave is going to be with you," Penelope explains, as she and Emily are trying to slowly get the kids used to the Nanny they like to have people the kids know better to spend time with them when they can. As Rossi has a tone of vacation days he offered to take a few off to spend with the kids.
"Cool!" Noah says excited. "I can't wait to talk about soccer," Noah says, to Emily and Penelope's amusement.
"I'm sure he's going to love that," Emily says amused, and they all continue to have breakfast together.
A couple of hours after she and Emily told the kids that they will be spending the day with Rossi Penelope is in her office at the BAU. While she should be working Penelope is sitting in her office, just staring at her phone; debating what to do.
After a lot of debating, and picking up her phone more than once before putting it down, Penelope finally places a call to her most frequent contacts.
After a few rings Penelope hears, "You've reached Assistant US Attorney Stephen Gideon, please leave your message after the beep,", but as she cannot bring herself to leave a message Penelope hangs up and sighs.
After the kids spent a second day with Rossi Penelope and Emily were able to come home a little early. Having just changed Connor's crib into a toddler bed, as they have realized it's time, Emily is walking into the main living area where she's Penelope and Kenzie sitting together on the couch, with Penelope's laptop in front of them.
"That's so cool," Kenzie says amazed, causing Emily to realize that Penelope is showing her various computer things.
"Do you want to learn how to do it?" Penelope asks curious.
"Yes!" Kenzie exclaims excitedly as Emily walks into the kitchen, where Maddie is sitting at the bench with her laptop.
"You okay, Mads?" Emily asks curious.
"Yep," Maddie confirms. "Mom, you speak a lot of languages, don't you?" Maddie asks.
"Yeah, I speak a few," Emily confirms.
"Could you teach me?" Maddie asks. "I would really like to learn to speak more languages; I think it would be good," Maddie explains as she loves to learn and thinks this would be a good thing to learn.
"Of course, I can teach you," Emily says, sounding thrilled, and she walks over and sits down next to Maddie, and starts to teach Maddie a language, deciding to start with Italian.
The next morning, while the kids are at home with the Nanny, Penelope, Emily, and the rest of the team have just finished a case briefing. As the rest of the team leave Emily walks over to her wife.
"Noah slipped his bear into my bag this morning, I'll leave it in my office for you to take home," Emily says to her wife.
"Sounds good, you know why he did that, right?" Penelope asks.
"Yeah, he wanted me to have a friend like you do," Emily reveals, as all the kids are fascinated by the toys Penelope has in her office. "He's such a sweetheart," Emily says, her voice full of fondness.
"He really is," Penelope confirms. "I know we talked about starting to let Becca stay closer to seven, but I don't know if we're ready for that," Penelope admits, and Emily is amazed that Penelope can so easily talk about concerns, but not about what is bothering her. "I was thinking I would head home about five and work out the office if needed," Penelope explains. "Is that okay with you?"
"Beyond okay," Emily says, as she was going to suggest something similar. "The kids are still getting used to her, I'm still getting used to the idea of Becca. So, if you don't mind…" Emily stats to say.
"Not at all," Penelope says before kissing her wife. "Stay safe, I love you," Penelope says.
"I love you," Emily responds. "I will talk to you, and the kids later," Emily says, before heading out of the office.
Hours later, at six pm DC time, just like she said she would to Emily, Penelope is home making dinner while also having her laptop set up. While the older kids are upstairs in their respective rooms Casey is downstairs with Penelope and it is almost like she is watching everything that she is doing.
"MAMA!" Maddie's voice suddenly yells, and Penelope feels terror rise up inside of her.
"Maddie?" Penelope asks concerned, hurrying towards the stirs, forgetting about the food she is making,
"MAMA! MAMA!" Maddie yells, running down the stairs, and Penelope gets to her just as she gets to the bottom.
"Maddie? What's wrong?" Penelope asks, terrified of what she is going to say.
"Look! My tooth fell out!" Maddie says, excitedly, showing Penelope her tooth. "It finally fell out!" Maddie says.
"So, it did," Penelope says, feeling beyond relieved that nothing is wrong. "Let's go get some tissue paper to wrap it in," Penelope says, and the two of them head towards the kitchen.
Once Penelope and Maddie are in the kitchen Penelope gets some tissue paper and wraps Maddie's tooth in it.
"Tonight, you'll put it under your pillow for the tooth fairy," Penelope explains.
"Cool!" Maddie says amazed. "Can I call Mom and tell her?" Maddie asks curious.
"Sure," Penelope says, handing her phone to Maddie as she gets re-started on dinner.
Feeling excited Maddie hurriedly calls Emily as she is beyond excited and cannot wait to tell Emily what happened.
"Hey Pen, you're on speaker," Emily, who is in a room with the entire team and the Local PD who are working the case with them, answers, having no idea that it's not her wife on the phone.
"MOM!" Maddie's voice says, and Emily immediately feels panic.
"Maddie?" Emily asks worried, taking the phone off speaker as the team exchange concerned looks. "What's wrong?" Emily asks, terrified of the answer.
"I lost my tooth!" Maddie says excited. "Mama says if I put it under my pillow tonight the tooth fair will come!" Maddie says, and despite the worry she was feeling a few seconds earlier Emily can't help but smile at how excited she is.
"Mama's right, she will," Emily says, amusement in her voice. "Mads, I need to talk to some people here, but I'm going to video call in about an hour, and I want to hear all about your tooth, okay?" Emily asks, as while she would much rather continue talking to Maddie she can't at the moment.
"Sure," Maddie responds. "I love you Mom," Maddie says.
"I love you too, Sweetheart," Emily says, before hanging up.
"Everything okay?" Rossi asks curious, and a little concerned.
"Yeah, Maddie just wanted to let me know that she's lost the tooth that's been lose for about a week," Emily explains, and once she does the team gets back to work.
Hours after Maddie excitedly told her that she lost a tooth Penelope, who is waiting for Maddie to be asleep enough to replace her tooth with money, is sitting up in bed working on her computer. As she waits Penelope isn't at all surprised when her phone rings with Emily on the caller ID.
"Hey," Penelope answers.
"Hey," Emily greats. "Have you put your wings on yet?" Emily asks curious.
"Not yet," Penelope answers. "How'd you know I was going to put on my wings?" Penelope asks curious.
"I know you," Emily says amused; knowing that Penelope is going to go all out, make the entire tooth fairy experience as convincing as possible. "God Pen, when I heard Maddie's voice I thought…" Emily starts to explain.
"I thought the same thing," Penelope admits. "I was cooking, and I just heard her yelling for me, I was terrified, it was a kind of terror I've never felt before," Penelope admits, and Emily knows that's a big deal as Penelope has felt a lot of different types of Terror.
"Pen, they're finally getting to experience all the things they should have always had," Emily says, knowing that they are going to make sure the kids have all the special experiences they have never gotten.
"I know, it's incredible," Penelope says, with a smile. "I'll send you plenty of pictures of what I set up," Penelope explains to her wife.
"I'd like that," Emily admits.
The following evening, after a day where Emily continued to work the case, and Maddie couldn't stop talking about the tooth fairy, Penelope has put the four younger children to bed and is walking up to Kenzie's room as it is her bedtime. Getting to Kenzie's room Penelope reaches out and knocks on the door.
"Come in," Kenzie's voice says and Penelope walks in.
As she walks into Kenzie's room Penelope finds her sitting on her couch with her guitar and is writing something in the book.
"Ten minutes until bedtime, Kenz," Penelope informs her.
"I know," Kenzie responds, and as she does it almost looks like Kenzie wants to say something but can't bring herself to.
"Everything okay, Kiddo?" Penelope asks concerned.
"Yeah," Kenzie says.
"You know you can always talk to me," Penelope says as she walks over and sits down next to Kenzie.
"In our sessions Jane has said that if I can't talk about what happened, how I feel about it, and how I feel about how things are now, that I should try writing a song," Kenzie explains.
"That sounds like a really good idea," Penelope admits.
"Can I play you what I've written so far?" Kenzie asks curious.
"Of course," Penelope responds. "Can I record you so I can send it to Mom?" Penelope asks her daughter as she knows that Emily would love to see it, and she notices that Kenzie looks a little nervous. "I don't have to, but if it helps, I can tell her not to show anyone else," Penelope explains.
"I'd be okay with that," Kenzie says, and once she does Penelope pulls her phone, and gets it ready.
"Whenever you're comfortable Kenz," Penelope says, and after Kenzie gives a nod Penelope presses record.
"It's not that great," Kenzie admits as she is still working on it, but she starts to play a simple tune and begins to sing;
"Every night I laid awake, wondering how much more pain I could take
My life became so fake, but nothing could take away that ache.
Too afraid to close my eyes, even when unwise
As I needed to protect my siblings,
Who light up my skies," Kenzie sings, and as she does tears come to Penelope's eyes as she is so amazed by the incredible song Kenzie has written.
"I'm not afraid anymore
We have a home I adore
I know what real moms are
It's a love that's with you whether near or far," Kenzie says, looking at both Penelope and her phone as she sings, causing Penelope to feel beyond amazed. "I've found my voice
And moving forward is my choice
I will never forget my past
But my new life is so much more vast
I'm not afraid anymore
We have a home I adore
I know what real moms are
It's a love that's with you whether near or far
The scars remain
As does the pain
But I won't let that take away from what I have gained," Kenzie sings, and she stops playing. "It's not that great…" Kenzie says, sounding nervous as Penelope stops recording.
"It's incredible," Penelope says, before hugging her daughter, feeling overwhelmed. "I'm so proud of you," Penelope assures her daughter, kissing her head. "It was beautiful," Penelope assures her.
As Penelope hugs her Kenzie feels all the nervousness she was feeling disappear, only to be replaced by the vary love she sang about.
A while later, Penelope who doesn't sleep without Emily beside her these days, is wide awake on Reddit, when she gets video call requests from Emily. Answering the call Penelope sees her wife who is clearly in her hotel room bed. The second she sees Emily Penelope knows that she has been crying.
"You watched the video," Penelope says, being able to tell that.
"Pen, it was incredible," Emily says, sounding amazed.
"I know," Penelope admits. "Kenz still doesn't open herself up much; but that was her being completely open, singing her truth," Penelope reveals.
"It really was," Emily confirms. "I am so proud of her," Emily admits.
"Me too," Penelope confirms.
"I'm going to watch it so many times," Emily says, knowing that.
"I think I am too," Penelope reveals. It is more than clear that both Penelope and Emily are beyond proud, and beyond amazed by Kenzie. "After she stopped singing, I just kept hugging her, and I didn't want to let go," Penelope explains.
"I'm going to hug her so tightly when I get home," Emily responds.
"She'll like that," Penelope responds, and the two of them drift into silence.
Even though they drift into silence Penelope and Emily stay on the call with each other as neither want to hang up.
Two days after Penelope and Emily were amazed by the song Kenzie wrote, it is a Saturday afternoon and the Prentiss's are home after their usual Saturday morning therapy appointments.
As they did their grocery shopping after lunch Penelope and Emily are unpacking the groceries with the help of the older kids while Casey, who is chewing on a teething ring, watches on. As they all put away the groceries both Penelope and Emily notice Maddie and Kenzie exchanging looks.
"What's for dinner tonight?" Connor asks curious.
"We were thinking we would make pizza before movie night," Penelope tells him.
"Awesome!" Noah says, sounding glad.
"Girls, whatever you want to ask, just ask it, don't be nervous," Emily says, as she figures that neither girl will ask what they want to know without a bit of a push.
"Becca's really cool, and we really like her," Maddie reveals. "And It has been so awesome to have Reid and Dave here; but we really really like the BAU," Maddie reveals.
"While we're on school holidays we would really like it if we could spend more time at the BAU; if that's possible," Kenzie asks, and both Penelope and Emily appreciate how big of a deal it is for Kenzie to ask for that.
"That would be awesome," Noah says, sounding thrilled.
"It really would be," Connor confirms.
"We would love that," Emily admits. "But it is something Mama and I have to talk about, okay?" Emily asks, looking between the kids.
"Okay," Maddie says as that's a better answer than she was expecting.
"We'll give you an answer once we've had a chance to talk about it," Penelope explains.
"Okay Mama," Kenzie says.
"Mom, I can't reach!" Noah complains as he is trying to put something up.
"I've got you, bud," Emily says, picking up Noah and lifting him so that he can reach where he is trying to reach.
Hours later, after their traditional movie night, all the kids are in bed, while Penelope and Emily are sitting down in the living room together, with glasses of wine.
"So, the kids want to come to the BAU," Emily says as she moves so she is sitting cross legged like Penelope is.
"Yeah, Kenz and Mads are actually asking for things they want. that's an improvement," Penelope notes.
"It is," Emily confirms. "What do you think about the idea?" Emily asks interested.
"I know it's unusual, and that the higher ups might not approve, but I think it would be a really good idea," Penelope admits.
"You're probably right about the higherups, but that's not enough to dismiss the idea," Emily admits. "But why do you think it's a good idea?" Emily asks curious as she knows that Penelope's childhood would give a high insight into why Penelope feels that way.
"When I was a kid I was brought into the BAU when something bad happened, something horrible, and that's what it's been like for Jack, and Henry, and Michael; even our kids when you had Will bring them in," Penelope explains, and Emily goes to say something. "Which was totally the right choice, and I completely understand," Penelope admits. "But that doesn't change the fact that for so long I associated the BAU with badness; I don't want that for our kids," Penelope reveals. "We both know, even if we don't like it, that there will be times where the kids are brought into the BAU because something bad has happened; but if we can make it so that's not their only association, that would be good," Penelope admits.
"I think you're right," Emily admits. "The night of your abduction the kids were so scared, they saw how scared I was, and they saw you in shock, and that's awful," Emily admits. "But then when they came to the BAU next they were so happy; they enjoyed themselves so much," Emily says. "You're right, they are probably going to have more bad associations with the BAU in the future; so, we should give them as many good as possible," Emily admits. "I'll talk to who I have to talk to get approval," Emily says, knowing that it is slightly easier because she is Unit Chief.
"Sounds good to me," Penelope says, and once she dose the sound of Casey crying comes through the monitor.
"I've got her," Emily says, before Penelope has a chance to say anything, and she puts her wine glass down before heading upstairs.
AN: I'm not great a poetry, and I have never written a song before, so I hope Kenzie's song wasn't too bad.