Chapter Thirteen: Permission to Celebrate
It was 19th November. Frost was beginning to form on the glass and a flurry of snow dropped from the cold sky. A biting wind blew causing the leaves to rustle in the trees.
Persephone was currently sat snuggly in front of the cracking fire painting a picture of a winter forest. She was ever more thankful that today was a quiet Sunday. It meant she didn't have to spend her 32nd birthday around a group of profilers. With any luck she could mark the momentous occasion by doing nothing with no-one.
It seemed luck was deciding not in her favour. The doorbell rang. Persephone sighed as she left her painting, now finished, to dry. Whoever it was at the door better have a good reason to disturb her weekend.
When she saw who it was, Persephone was slightly startled. The team was stood on her doorstep each member holding up bags and a multitude of different sizes and shapes.
"Happy Birthday!" They cried in unison.
The brief scowl that pained Persephone's face should have been clue enough that she was not happy to see them.
However, it was gone in a second. She may not enjoy the fact they had come to surprise her, but she didn't want to risk exposing herself or her past. Anyway, it would be quite rude to take her irritation out on them. Speaking of rude things, leaving her team on the doorstep while it snowed was definitely not polite.
"Come in." She offered stepping aside and letting her team enter her home.
Persephone gave them apprising look. They shifted a little nervously in the awkward silence.
In Persephone's mind, people should be asked for their constant before someone forcing a celebrating their birthday. If she didn't want to celebrate it, that was her business and invading her home on a Sunday of all days to have a party she neither wanted nor asked for was highly disrespectful. So, the fact that her front room was now being decorated with bunting, balloons and banners was surprising, the fact that she was letting it happen was even more surprising.
"Ok. Ok. Stop." Persephone ordered placing a hand on top of Reid's to stop him from putting up another banner.
The team halted in their movements and turned to look at their newest member. Persephone sighed rubbed the bridge of her nose. She felt a headache coming on. Garcia's wide eyes made her feel a little guilty.
"What exactly are you doing here guys?" Persephone asked although she already knew. She asked the question not because she didn't know the answer, but to highlight the fact she wasn't happy at their unannounced arrival. She did not like it when people dropped by unannounced. That added to the pet peeve of a forced birthday party really annoyed her.
Her team looked at each other trying to decide who should speak. In the end, Reid volunteered. He dropped the banner and spoke softly.
"Well, you didn't tell us when your birthday was. So, when Garcia informed us yesterday that it was today, we planned a surprised birthday party at your house."
Persephone tried hard to refrain from groaning. "Didn't you think that maybe I withheld that information for a reason?"
A look of realisation fell on the team. Well, that minus Garcia but considering she wasn't a profiler that was to be expected.
"You don't want to celebrate your birthday," Prentiss stated saying at loud the conclusion the profilers came to.
"No, I don't," Persephone confirmed. Giving each member of her team a seething look. If someone didn't tell you that their birthday was coming up, it should at least partway obvious that they didn't want you to know. That implied that a celebration of their birthday was not wanted.
Garcia's eyes grew even larger. She seemed genuinely surprised that anyone wouldn't want to have their birthday celebrated. Who didn't like their birthday? Persephone saw the hurt look in her eyes and apologised.
"Why don't you want your birthday celebrated?" Garcia asked curiously before Persephone could give a word of explanation, the technical analyst was speaking again.
"Oh. Are you a Jehovah's Witness? It wasn't on your file, but they don't celebrate their birthday and if you are I'm so sorry-"
"Garcia," Persephone cut off her rambling "It's okay. I'm not a Jehovah's Witness. I just don't like to celebrate my birthday. It's personal reasons."
"Alright, I'm sorry." Garcia apologised sadly.
"Shall we take this stuff down?" Morgan asked looking around the half-decorated room.
The team looked to Persephone for an answer. This was her house after all, and her birthday. In hindsight, it would have been better to speak to Persephone first but that would have defeated the object of a surprise. However, if she didn't want to have a party, they couldn't and wouldn't force her.
Persephone saw the questioning looks and the hopeful one on Garcia's. She wanted to be left alone to stew on this day like she did every year. It was obvious to her that Garcia had had the best of intentions however, as the saying goes, the path to hell is paved with good intentions. Then again, Garcia had obviously already spent a lot of time and money on this surprise. So, against her better judgement, she rubbed her face and replied.
"No. It's alright. You're here now. I just wish you had said something first."
"Permission to celebrate Ambrose?" Hotch deadpanned.
Persephone chuckled at the formality of that request. It lightened the mood so that a few of the other team members joined in the joviality. The serious tone that Hotch asked it with only increased that humour.
"Granted." She answered just as serious.
She watched them put the last of the decorations. She tried to help but was quickly informed that she was to sit down and relax. Garcia went off to put the kettle on and soon she was sat on the sofa drinking a nice cup of tea.
"I would ask how you found out the significance of today's date." Persephone's gaze flickered to Garcia. "But I fear I already know the answer to that question."
"It was in your file Sephy. I read it and the team yesterday. We would have brought the kids, but we decided to do that celebration another week."
Persephone's eyes flashed with fire at hearing that nickname. It reminded her of a birthday that happened years ago.
"Sephy! Sephy!" Ignatius and Cassiopeia ran up to Persephone who was currently cooking in the kitchen. They jumped into her arms for a hug, nearly knocking the saucepan of stew off the stove.
"Careful gingersnaps if that stew had fallen of the stove they'd be trouble. Besides, it could have burnt you. Let me get away from the oven before you tackle me." Persephone rebooked softly.
"Sorry Sephy." They apologised together.
"Don't you worry about it. Now what was it you ginger parkins wanted?" Persephone asked affectionately.
The children gave each other a conspiring look. Persephone noticed they now had their hands behind their backs. She was immediately on edge.
"What's the matter? What are you two up to? You haven't broken anything again have you?" She questioned. She searched their eyes for signs of fear or guilt. She didn't find any but that didn't ease her fears. The last time they'd broken something Persephone had taken the fall. It had been weeks since she walked properly again.
"Nothing's the matter Sephy. Stop worrying!" Cassiopeia rolling her eyes which although cute, was not a habit Persephone wanted to encourage.
"I will worry however much I want. And please do not roll your eyes like that at me Cassiopeia.
"I'm sorry."
Persephone planted a kiss to Cassiopeia's forehead.
"Now what was it you wanted?"
"We wanted to surprise you." Ignatius explained.
Persephone raised an eyebrow at them.
"Surprise me? Whatever for?"
Cassiopeia and Ignatius smiled at each other before they removed their arms behind their backs. In their hands were two cupcakes: one plain, one chocolate.
"Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to Sephy! Happy Birthday to you!"
Persephone beamed. She crouched down to their eyeline and took the cupcakes from their hands.
"Wherever did you get that?" She quizzed.
"We saved our pudding from today's school lunch." Cassiopeia responded.
"Oh, you didn't have to do that sweeties. You should eat your lunch."
"We wanted to. Didn't we Opie?" Ignatius retorted.
"Of course! You always do something for our birthdays." Cassiopeia agreed.
"We made you cards too but they're in our room." Ignatius added.
"I'll tell you what, I'll hide this and then after dinner we can share it in my room. We can have a little pic-nick How does that sound?"
"Yes!" The two chorused eagerly.
Persephone snapped out of the flashback. She glanced sheepishly around the room after she realised that they had be trying to get her attention for a while.
"Are you alright Persephone?" JJ asked with concern.
The brit suddenly remembered what had caused her to fall into another flashback. She turned to Garcia and looked the technical analyst dead in the eye.
"Do not call me Sephy." The ginger snapped (pun not intended) with a furiosity that the team had neither heard from her before nor expected.
Garcia flinched slightly making Persephone feel even more guilty at snapping at her.
"I'm sorry pumpkin."
"No, I am the one who should be apologising. I just don't like being called that. It's not a big deal just don't call me that again. Alright?"
"I promise." Garcia answered.
When they were finished decorating the front room, the team sat down. Garcia was setting up a small spread of various British themed party food. Persephone had to admit that the little cupcakes with the Union Flag (it's only the Union Jack when it's at sea) looked really tasty. Once it was all laid out the team helped themselves. Then after, everyone had had their fill, Persephone began to open some of the gifts.
The first gift was a rectangle shape about three inches thick. It was wrapped in plain blue wrapping paper with a card attached to it. Persephone read that first.
"Happy Birthday Percy have a great day, Spencer," She read aloud. "Thanks Reid!"
She opened the gift slowly being careful not rip the paper. After opening one end she gently slipped the present out.
As Persephone had predicted, there were two books inside. One was a book on Social and Cultural Anthology, and another was Murder on The Links by Agatha laughed a little after seeing the second book. It was a reference to an earlier conservation the two of the had about the best detective authors. Persephone had argued that Agatha Christie was the best and also her favourite.
"Cheers! I'll enjoy reading this. Social and Cultural Anthology sounds interesting."
Morgan snorted. "I knew you were a fellow book nerd."
Persephone shot him a stony glare. "It's the book nerd's birthday so I would shut it if I were you."
"You right. I apologise." Morgan waved his hands in mock surrender.
JJ's was the next gift she opened. It was a bunch of different bath and shower stuff. There was also a little pot made from clay and painted in several different colours. It was obviously made by a young child. The second card clearly also made by a child confirmed Persephone's conclusions that it was made by Henry. He couldn't really write yet, so JJ had written in the card for him and had the young boy 'sign' it with a squiggle and a handprint.
"Aww. Tell Henry I said thank-you. I'll put this on my desk in my office. Thanks for the bath stuff."
"I'll tell him. And you're welcome. The kids wanted to come but it's Henry's daddy and son day. Jack's at a friend's house."
Morgan's gift was next. It was a set of paints and a few canvases of different sizes.
"Did I get it right?" He asked, "Do you paint?"
Apparently, he had profiled that she like to do arts and crafts. Perhaps he had spotted some dried paint or felt tip on her fingers on day. Persephone nodded and got up to be her painting was drying near the fire. Thanks to its proximity to the fire it was nearly dried. She turned it around so they could see.
"Wow Percy that's brilliant!" Reid complimented.
"Yeah! I love the little splash of colour you added to it." Prentiss agreed.
"Well thank-you for the paints Morgan, they'll come in useful and I was running low on watercolours."
The next gift Persephone opened was Garcia's It was soft and squishy, so she wasn't surprised when it turned out to be a British Bulldog toy. She also included bars of Cadbury's Caramel and Dairy Milk.
"Wow thank-you Garcia. These are my favourites. Cadbury's for the win!" Persephone cried.
The next one was Hotch's. He'd given her a baking set with lots of cookie cutters and piping tips. Jack had obviously tried his hand at baking some bread because there were two hedgehog bread rolls. He'd also made a card but as he was older he had written it himself.
"I'm sure it is delicious. Tell Jack thank-you and that the did a good job."
Then came Prentiss' gift. She gave her a notebook and stationery set. It was a gift that she apricated. She could use it to write her thoughts or recipes.
"Thank-you Cleo. I love it." Persephone thanked deciding now was the perfect time to introduce her nickname.
"Cleo?" Prentiss asked.
"Cleo. It's short for Cleopatra. When I first saw you, you reminded me of what she looks like in films."
"I like it." Prentiss decided.
Lastly, was Rossi's gift. It was a couple of cookbooks and a signed copy of his latest book.
"Wow thank-you Rossi. I'll really enjoy reading this and trying out these recipes."
With all of the gifts opened, it was time to have a little party. They put some music on and danced together. Persephone jumped at the sound of the doorbell ringing. Curious to who it was, she went to the door and opened it.
It was her neighbour. Persephone had not been in much contact with her neighbour. She knew his name was Daniel Evans and had a 10-year-old sun Persephone had not met yet. She immediately realised that he was on edge.
"Mr Evans, whatever's the matter?" She questioned.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your Sunday morning. You haven't seen Noah have you? He's gone!" Mr Evans fretted.
"No, I haven't seen him. What happened?"
"He was in the garden but when I went out there he was gone! I think someone took her! You're in the FBI right? You can help."
"You had better come in Mr Evans. I will put the kettle on. Please, try to keep calm."
Persephone opened the door and allowed him her panicked neighbour to enter. He obeyed and stood startled when he saw that team was sat there.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realise you had visitors. It's your birthday?" Mr Evans quired looking around the room in surprise.
"Yes. But that's doesn't matter right now, this is my team. Here, drink this tea." Persephone handed the cup to him.
"Mr Evans, this is important, what was your son wearing and where might he go?" Hotch questioned.
Evans took a breath and tried to remember what Noah was wearing that morning. It was strange, at first he couldn't remember. What sort of father didn't know what his own kid was wearing that morning? Then finally the picture of his son came into his mind and as clear as day, he knew the answer.
"He was wearing a blue and white striped shirt, black basketball shorts and green sneakers." He answered, "He'd likely go to his best friend's house."
"Have you checked there?" Persephone inquired softly. She knew it was obvious, but when you were this worked up, it could be hard to think clearly. Realisation stuck Evans and he sat up straighter in his seat.
"No, I didn't." He admitted
"Ambrose, go with Mr Evans to the friend's house, we'll go over to Mr Evans in case Noah comes back. Call us when you get there."
"Yes sir. Come on Mr Evans, I'm sure Noah's alright. He's probably gone to his friend's house without telling you." Persephone soothed.
She got in her car and typed in the address in the GPS before setting off. It wasn't a long drive but driving there would be quicker. Evans was the first to speak.
"Thanks for this. I know weekends are precious." He declared.
"No problem." Persephone asserted.
"I know I might seem a bit crazy, but it's just been us since my wife died. Noah's my world. If anything has happened to him…" He tried off and wiped away a tear that threatened to fall.
"No, it's alright, I get it. He's your everything and it's a scary world out there for a parent." Persephone put in.
Evans nodded sadly. "Do you have kids?"
"No, I don't but two of my teammates do and if they disappeared, I'd tear to world apart looking for them." Persephone responded. She noticed that she had reached her destination and so she pulled over at the side of the road.
The two got out and went to the front door. They knocked on it and it opened after a few seconds.
"Daniel?" The women at the door greeted.
"Have you seen Noah?" He begged not bothering to say hello. "Or has Thomas seen him?"
"Why yes. They're in the yard."
Evans gave a massive sigh of relief. Persephone followed him to the garden deciding to wait until he had eyes on Noah before she phoned Hotch and the rest of the team. When they got to the garden she saw the boy in question playing football (not the American kind) with another boy.
"Noah!" Mr Evans shouted. His son turned around and ran to him.
"Dad!" Noah shouted hugging his father. "Tommy and I are playing soccer."
"Did you ask before you came over here Noah Evans?" His dad demanded. Now that he was satisfied that his son was alright he switched to lecture.
"No. I forgot."
Persephone smiled as he spoke to Hotch on the phone. With the false alarm announced, told him that she was going to meet them back at the house.
"Noah, I was worried. I have no problem with you going to see Thomas, but you need to ask me first. Alright bud?"
"I'm sorry Dad."
"I know kiddo but if you do this again you'll be grounded alright?"
"Yeah Dad."
Mr Evans turned to Persephone and shook her hand.
"Thank-you so much. I'm sorry I overreacted." He put a hand on Noah's shoulder and gave it a soft comforting squeeze. Noah seemed a little annoyed at his dad's comforting, but he decided to allow it.
"Don't worry about it, I'm just glad that Noah's alright." Persephone insisted.
She left the father-son duo after that. They had declined Persephone's offer for a ride home as they wanted to play football together. They'd walk home after. Noah had managed to run to his friend's house, he could manage to walk back.
When she got back, the team was sat in the front room chatting about odd moments that had happened over the years. Persephone sat down with a sigh of relief. Today had been a crazy day, that was for sure.
"Well I don't think Noah will be leaving the house without asking for a while." Morgan commented once Persephone had told them what had happened over at the friend's house.
"At least the kid's alright and everything worked out all right." Prentiss added.
"Definitely, I didn't want to have a missing child on our hands. I couldn't bear to hear about a child in danger." Garcia agreed.
"Yeah I know I don't really celebrate my birthday and I'm not the best example but investigating a kidnaping is not the way I'd want to spend it." Persephone chuckled sightly.
"That would definitely knocked off our plans." Reid began. Then after thinking it over for a few seconds amended his statement. "Not that it would be more important then saving a missing child of course.
"Of course." Persephone smiled.
"Persephone, would you mind telling us a bit about why you don't like to celebrate your birthday?" Reid asked softly.
Persephone considered it for a little bit. She knew she should properly give some sort of explanation for the hatred she had surrounding her birthday, but it was too personal. The team waited patiently for as she pondered over her answer. Finally, she decided to explain, if not entirely.
"When I was kid, my mum went all out when it came to my birthday. When she died that's didn't really happen and it just reminded me of what I lost. So, when I was an adult I stopped." Persephone gave.
The team listened to what she had to say but it was clear they were waiting for her to elaborate. She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. The silence was both awkward and deafening.
"That is all I wish to say on the matter so it will have to quell your very annoying curiosity."
"That's alright Percy, you don't have to say anything else. You didn't even have to tell us that much if you didn't want to. So, thank-you for confiding in us."
Persephone gave a non-comital grunt. "You're welcome."
"I understand that celebrating your birthday reminds you of what you have lost. However, it doesn't have to always be that way. Let us remind you of what you have now." Garcia suggested.
"Alright Nellie, alright Nellie."
Rossi got up and started cooking the meal. The other day he'd made a chocolate fudge cake which was waiting for afterwards. He cooked a quick risotto and soon the team were enjoying a well-made meal.
"This is really delicious." Persephone praised. "Though of course we expected that."
"Yeah I mean I've never eaten one of Rossi's dishes that I didn't like." Prentiss agreed.
"My Nonna would be proud to hear that. God bless her soul." Rossi prayed looking up towards to sky.
The team let Rossi a few moments of contemplation. His Nonna was no doubt very dear to him and they wanted to let him a few minutes to think about her.
"Did I see that you made chocolate cake Rossi?" Reid chimed in hopefully, after an appropriate amount of silence had passed.
"You are such a big kid Spence." JJ chuckled.
"Have you tried Rossi's chocolate fudge cake?" Reid kissed his fingers. Everybody laughed even Hotch.
"Well you're right kid. I did indeed make a chocolate cake. I believe you brough candle bambina?" Rossi looked to Garcia for confirmation. The technical analyst squealed in delight and nodded. She followed him to the kitchen and placed the candles on the cake.
Once they were lit, Rossi carefully carried the cake through the kitchen and took it to Persephone. He switched the lights off and the team all sang happy birthday to her. The very delicious looking cake was placed in front of her and when the song came to an end, she gave out a big breath, blowing out all the candles in one go.
Only for them to lit back up again a second later.
"Really guys? Trick candles?" Persephone joked.
"They did the same to me on my birthday too." Reid informed her. "They think that it is funny."
"Oh, it is funny." Morgan insisted.
"Hilarious!" JJ approved.
Persephone rolled her eyes as she took the candles out of the cake and put them out by shaking them and taking them to the sink to run under the tap.
"I'll admit it is slightly humorous. Now are we going to cut this cake or talk about the candles?"
"Cake!" Reid shouted clapping his hands together.
"You are such a child." Morgan laughed.
"Speaking of children, make sure you set aside a piece for Henry and Jack." Persephone reminded.
Rossi nodded and wrapped two slices up in tin foil. With everyone having their own slice, they dug in.
"Spen was right. This cake is the best ever!" Persephone admired.
The team gave chorus of agreements. Persephone was very glad that she agreed to celebrate her birthday. That cake was worth it. Anyway, her team had made her feel special. It didn't make up for losing her mum, but it did make celebrating her birthday feel like a worthwhile affair. The longer she spent on this team the more she felt like she had a family again.
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