Chapter 26

~~CM~~

The movers had come and gone, leaving the garage full of boxes and pieces of furniture placed haphazardly in various rooms around the house. Overwhelmed, Aaron wandered from the garage to the family room then the study, unsure where to start.

"How about we start in the bedrooms? We make sure we have beds put together with sheets on them so we have a place to sleep tonight?" Emily suggested.

"Good plan," Aaron nodded, "I'll ask Declan to help me put the frames and headboards together."

Grabbing his toolbox from the garage, Aaron asked Declan if he wanted to help.

As they worked on the bed frames, Emily and Jack found the bed linens box and picked out sheets for the beds. With that complete, Emily asked Jack to unbox all the linens and towels and place them in the hallway closet.

Within the hour, Aaron was pleased to have three beds ready for the night. They could deal with books and toys later. He debated his next task when the doorbell rang.

Aaron jogged down the stairs to see Jack waiting in the doorway of study, staring at the front door, instead of flinging it open like he used to do when he was younger.

"Hector says when you move, your new neighbors bring you apple pie or brownies." Jack asked his father, "do you think it's our neighbors?"

Looking through the peephole, a laugh escaped from Aaron, "Not the neighbors but they have food." The entire BAU team was standing on the front steps with pizza and drinks. Aaron opened the door and welcomed his friends.

Within a minute, the house was filled with joyous noise as Declan tackled Spencer into a hug and Penelope toured their new home with more enthusiasm than a game show host.

Between Derek, JJ, and Aaron, the house was organized and furniture was moved to its proper place. Penelope and Emily hung curtains and unpacked the kitchen. Spencer and Declan placed hundreds of books on shelves in bookcases throughout the house. Dave and Jack supervised everyone and began organizing the garage as more boxes cleared out.

Dave kept sending Jack to ask Aaron questions, "Dad, is there a shed for lawn equipment? Do, do you want, I mean, where do you want the bikes to go?"

Answering half the questions repeated by Jack and trying to decipher the other half, Aaron got the feeling that Dave was just trying to keep Jack out of his hair.

Warming up the pizza in the oven, Emily thanked the team for their help, "and for bringing napkins and paper plates. I don't think any of us want to do dishes right now."

As dinner ended, most of the team called it a night and headed out. Aaron glanced at Penelope, "Could you stay a bit? Emily and I would like to discuss our wedding plans with you."

Clapping her hands together, Penelope agreed happily, "I'll make coffee while you put the boys to bed."

Aaron rushed the boys through their bedtime routine while Emily quickly unpacked the kids' bathroom box and rustled up pajamas. The boys agreed to leave the adjoining bathroom doors open, each bedroom door open, and the hallway light on so they could see each other.

"I'm so proud of you both," Emily said as she kissed them goodnight, "if you need anything and you can't remember where our bedroom is, you can call out, okay? We'll come to you."

Aaron took Emily's hand in his as they made their way back downstairs, "I'll bet Jack will be in Declan's bed by nine."

"I bet they'll both be in our bed when we come up."

~~CM~~

Emily was so relieved that Penelope wanted to help and she didn't mind working with her mother. She tried to caution Penelope about Elizabeth but the blonde just giggled, "I'm just as tenacious and relentless."

Nodding in agreement, Aaron couldn't help but smile at them, "Penelope is quite persistent but kind so she can persuade anyone into anything."

"Oh, Sir!"

Noticing how Penelope and Aaron both blushed at each other, Emily hid a smile and showed Penelope their wedding binder.

They reviewed the ideas for catering, flowers, and decorations while drinking coffee at the kitchen table.

"I think I know what you are looking for, energy and style-wise, intimate but elegant," Penelope watched their faces to see if they agreed with her assessment. "Can you show me around the backyard? I need to get a full picture of what we have to work with…"

Penelope paused as they headed to the deck then resumed talking, "oh yes, I can see it. We may need to put up a canopy or tent in case the weather doesn't cooperate but I can see it. Or if you want to extend the roofline, have a covered deck but that seems like a big project."

Aaron stepped out into the yard and looked back at the house, "I hadn't considered that option. Em, what do you think?"

"Honestly, I would prefer the tent over a dance floor in the yard rather than on the deck. We could enclose part of the deck so we can use it most of the year but not for the wedding."

Clapping her hands together, Penelope cheered as she rapidly typed into her phone, "I'll bet we can get a chandelier for the tent."

Giving Aaron a panicked look, Emily rubbed her eyes in frustration, "now we will need to reign in both Mother and Penelope."

"Maybe we should ask Jess to help?" Aaron suggested, "She seemed to enjoy helping with the proposal and she didn't make any outlandish suggestions."

Emily snorted, "we can't ask your ex-wife's sister to help plan our wedding."

Shrugging, Aaron didn't seem worried, "we are an untraditional family but it's your choice."

After kissing him deeply, Emily rested her forehead against his, "I'll think about it."

They both actively ignored Penelope's "Hotch can get it!" and the flash of her phone camera.

~~CM~~

Emily felt at home, here in her childhood home. It was so different from her mountain cabin where Aaron felt like a guest, or in his apartment, where she felt like she and Declan were taking up space and attention away from Jack. This was home and she had a feeling that Aaron felt the same way. She didn't even have an ounce of doubt about the boys' feelings. They were thriving here.

And in this house, this home, she felt like her father was here with her, watching over her proudly. Losing him had crushed her and her mother. And in their grief, Emily felt that she lost her mother too. Leaving their home, going from one international posting to another allowed the distance between mother and daughter to grow.

Now, she was back home and slowly trying to repair her relationship with her mother. Not that the Ambassador thought of it that way. No, Elizabeth Prentiss thought she was just embracing her new role as a grandmother. She didn't realize her admiration for Emily was on display throughout her visits with Declan and Jack.

Emily wondered when her mother would notice that she hadn't criticized her daughter's poor life choices in the past two visits. Glancing across the family room, Emily knew Walter had noticed.

Walter simply sat back, sipping coffee and watching. He saw Elizabeth enjoying spending time with the boys and slowly letting down her guard with Emily.

Jack was finishing a long harrowing tale of the school cafeteria and limited snacks, while Declan tried to interject about lunch table rules. Sensing the impending argument, Walter asked about Nutella and the backyard. The boys rushed Walter toward the back door as they called for the dog.

"Mother, Walter, I do hope you'll stay for dinner," Emily asked before Walter escaped, "we could talk about the wedding a bit."

Nodding at her, Elizabeth stood up, "shall I help you prep for dinner?"

The women worked together quietly, passing ingredients and utensils back and forth. Setting up her mother with the cutting board and a glass of wine, Emily admitted she didn't want a country club wedding.

"I understand, I just wanted you to have the," Elizabeth paused as she reached for a peeled carrot from Emily's pile, "I don't suppose you want a church ceremony either?"

"We are thinking about getting married here. We would prefer a small wedding. Maybe setting up a nice pergola with flowers and lights for the ceremony, maybe a small tent with a dance floor for the reception."

Dicing one carrot then another, Elizabeth finally looked up and gave Emily a warm smile, "I think that suits you, both of you."

"Thank you for understanding."

"It's taken me much too long to let you be you, rather than an extension of me." Elizabeth seemed to lose her composure for a moment, blinking rapidly before tears fell. She cleared her throat, "I want the best for you, Emily. Whatever that may look like for you."

Reaching out her hand, Emily squeezed her mother's, "even if it's writing children's books while living like a hippie in the mountains?"

Elizabeth dropped her hand and huffed, "yes, I supposed even if you returned to the mountains."

~~CM~~

"Moooooom," Declan yelled down the stairs to get her attention.

"EMILY!" Jack screeched even louder.

Emily chuckled to herself as she headed upstairs, "Why are you yelling? Are you hurt? Bleeding? Broken Bones?"

"No," the boys echoed each other.

"Then why didn't one of you come down to get me? Without yelling?" Emily looked them over. Both were in pajamas, robes, and slippers. A water stain on Jack's shirt and toothpaste on the corner of Declan's mouth indicated they had brushed their teeth. "Okay, what's up?"

Declan nodded to Jack, who nodded back with a serious expression.

"Emily, can you help us buy slippers for Daddy? His slippers are boring and I've got Spiderman and and and um, Declan has sharks, and you have bear feets with claws," Jack excitedly stuck his feet, one at a time, out for her to see his slippers.

"Yeah, we have animal ones and superhero ones so Aaron should have some too," Declan said, "silly ones, not boring ones."

"Okay, okay, slippers for Aaron," Emily laughed as she led the boys to Jack's room, "Jack, grab your book and climb into bed. Dec, wanna hop up on the bed? We can figure this out, read, then lights out."

Once they were settled, Emily opened a browser on her phone, "they might not have them for big feet like Aaron's but let's see, slippers in size 12s."

"Mom, those are all boring."

"Those look like shoes, Emily! We want silly."

Quickly changing the search parameters to add the word silly, Emily held up her phone so both kids could see, "how about Tigger?"

They all giggled at the options; fish, bunnies, dragons, Pokemon, and Super Mario.

"Look, Emily, that's Captain America. That's my dad!" Jack exclaimed, climbing out from under the covers, "Me and Uncle Dave call him that cause he's a superhero!"

"Aaron loves to watch the Captain America movies and the Avengers cartoons." Declan nodded in agreement, "those are the best slippers."

"Captain America it is, I'll order these and you can give them to him. It will take a few days, though, okay?"

Jack began jumping on his bed, shouting, "YES!" at the top of his lungs.

After Declan joined him, Emily let them jump for a bit before half-heartedly asking them to stop.

She made a mental note to order slippers later that night and to ask Dave why he called Aaron Captain America, "All right, my friends, no more jumping on the bed. We have time to read or we can do lights out early."

After the boys were asleep, Emily headed back downstairs to shut down the house. She made a cup of tea, and sat in the study, missing Aaron. Away on a case, he had reminded her that Jess was available if she needed any help with the boys. She hadn't needed help during the past few days but Jess weighed on her mind. Would she like to help with the wedding? Would that make her feel more included in their family? Or remind her that Aaron had been married before, to her sister, her dead sister?

Recalling her therapist telling her to stop assuming she knew what other people were thinking and just ask. Emily grumbled loudly and took a long sip from her mug. Jess had helped plan the proposal. She might be amenable.

Emily pulled out her phone and fired off a text before she could stop herself.

~~CM~~

A/N: An extra long chapter to make up for the time lapsed between chapters. Chapter 27 is in the works and I feel like I am planning a real wedding, researching dresses, pergolas, cakes…