In the biggest whirlwind of her life, Emily finished work, oversaw the packing up of her apartment and the moving of her belongings into the LaMontagne household. She even managed to purchase presents for Virginia and Zion. Emily quite enjoyed every moment of it. Her life was becoming relatively normal. Usually, she was alone after work.

What a fabulous change of pace.

Another thing she really enjoyed was having a fill house to come home to.

She had just emerged from putting her gun away in the main safe when—

"Oh, Aunt Emily!" Henry cried when he saw her. "You're home!"

Then Michael came bounding into the room as he cried, "AUNT EMMY, AUNT EMMY, AUNT EMMY!"

She scooped the little boy up before he could collide into her. Michael was just so excited to see Emily that he hung on to her like a baby koala. Emily didn't mind.

The trio quickly relocated to the living room couch. Michael even relaxed his grip on Emily, going so far as to snuggle with and keep one hand over her heart. This was the same treatment he gave JJ at all the time. Henry sat with Emily, facing her. He had a look of joy on his face. In his mind, it was just simply because he was that happy to see her.

Emily decided to have a conversation with them.

"Have you two seen all of those boxes that were moved into the spare bedroom by the utilities room?" she asked.

Michael just nodded.

"Yes." Henry said. "Mom and dad just didn't say why they're there."

"My things have been moved because—just for a little while—I'm going to be living here."

This update left Henry and Michael feeling speechless.

"It's one hundred percent true." Emily hugged both of them. "I also have another big surprise."

Henry's follow-up was immediate and very cheeky. "Are you going to marry Ginny?"

"Still on that train?"

"Yeah." Henry shrugged. "My mom and dad got their happily ever after. You need one, too. Ginny makes you happy, Aunt Emily. That's important."

"Henry, you are so sweet." Emily hugged him. "Do you think my happy ending will be with her?"

Shrug. "It would be cool. And fun."

"I'll have you know that I'm going to see her later tonight."

"Really?" Henry cried in surprise.

Emily laughed. "Really. What do you think?"

"That you're the luckiest person ever."

"That's a good choice of words." Emily agreed. "You ready to hear about my other big surprise?"

Henry and Michael answered her in unison. "Yes!"

"Later in the summer, I'm having a baby."

Emily was met with two gaping expressions of surprise. She could tell that this was the last thing that either of them had been expecting.

"How many are there?" Henry asked seriously. "My mom is having two…"

"There's only one. You and your family would know if I was having two. Yours and your siblings' new cousin will be here about a month after your mother's birthday." Emily put a hand on her middle for indication. "The little one is right here."

In an instant transport of joy, Henry hugged her and then ran from the room as he called for his parents. This was the best day ever.

Michael remained. He had already reacted very well to JJ telling him that he was going to be a big brother because the idea of being a big brother truly delighted him. And as Emily recalled, JJ had said that Michael would have kneaded her middle if he was a kitten. He appeared to be experiencing the same thought process.

Emily moved Michael's bangs out of his big blue eyes. "Do you like the idea of being a big cousin?"

"Yes." Michael decided. "Is it a boy, or a girl?"

"I don't know. How about you tell me?"

Bashful to have such an important question, Michael paused for some serious thought.

"I think it's a girl." he finally said.

"So do I." As Emily said this out loud, it hit her that she was admitting it for the first time, and that her confidant was a three-year-old. "Would you be her buddy?"

Michael nodded. "Uh-huh."

Emily hugged him. "Thank you. You're a good boy."

Michael grinned at the praised and settled back in for more cuddling.

His and Emily's quiet moment was disrupted by Will, a few moments later.

"There you are!" the detective said to his youngest son.

Michael sat up. "Hi, daddy!"

"Hi, big man. Please go find your brother so he can help you put your outside things on."

"Okay." Michael slid off Emily's lap and landed on his feet. "But why?"

"We're going to the grocery store—I need you and Henry to help me pick some fun things out, for when everyone comes over tonight." Will told him. "Please run along now."

Michael was off like a shot. He was always game for a new adventure.

"What's going on?" Emily asked as Will helped her to her feet.

"Henry didn't tell you yet?" Will said in amusement.

"Tell me what?"

"He passed his placement test with flying colors, and officially starts the higher class on Monday."

"That's great." Emily told him. "I told the boys about how I'm staying here, and about the baby. Looks like Henry forgot about everything else."

"I'm not surprised." Will chuckled. "If you hurry, you can give him a hug before he and Michael start fussing at me to leave already."

"Emily? Where'd you go?"

JJ was calling for Emily from the kitchen. Will had taken the boys out, leaving the profilers the only ones home. But they still had to get ready for the rest of the family's arrival. No time to waste.

"Here I am." Emily joined her from the living room. "What's in that box? Tickets and luggage for us to go to Fiji?"

"I wish." JJ pointed to the box. "One benefit of being married to a very organized person is that we always have things in bulk, espcially when it comes to party decor. Will got this out of storage before the and the boys left."

"Quite a benefit. Will told me that Henry aced his test and starts the higher class on Monday. Has tonight's gathering turned into a party?"

"It has." JJ confirmed. "Katherine, August, and Aurora all seem to be nervous about the things they have to share. We decided to create a cheerful environment to ease them into it."

JJ then quickly responded to an incoming text on her phone, and when she set the device back down, it was clear that she was now giddy about something.

"What just happened?" Emily wanted to know.

"I contacted my mom and Hannah earlier, to see if they could make it here tonight. They said yes. I just forgot to tell you because we were at work. Will already knows."

"It's been a hell of a day, so I don't blame you for it slipping your mind."

"Good. My mothers—God, that's weird to say—are on the way here now. That text I just got was from Hannah telling me so."

"This is going to be a great night. So your mother must be getting a late train out to South Carolina, and Hannah will be catching one back to Baltimore." Emily sounded like she was thinking out loud. "I take it that Hannah didn't go back home after the get-together at my parents' place?"

"That's right. My dad left for Atlantic City this morning," JJ sneered momentarily at this. "But Hannah didn't want to be alone and she still isn't really talking to him, so she got a room at the hotel where the Spellingses are. They spent part of the day together."

"How nice. What about the rest of time?" Emily asked curiously.

"Hannah was hanging out with my mom. They're actually making an effort to be friends with each other."

Emily was very pleased to hear this. "That makes me so happy. How are things now?"

JJ winked. "They're close enough that they've agreed to split the cost of a car that will take them to the train station later."

"Wow."

"There was a time when I didn't think that any parts of my family would ever even come together. Now here we are, peacefully coexisting. I've never been happier."

The family's impromptu gathering was in full swing when JJ realized that Katherine was more squirrelly than ever. August and Aurora were both behind her in these feelings. It was time to start talking. No other time would be better.

Sandy and Hannah moved with Henry, Michael, Olivia, and Lucy to the play room to keep them contained. The others were very appreciative of this gesture.

JJ spoke to Katherine first. "What's on your mind?"

Katherine opened her mouth, but no words came out. She wasn't normally this nervous about anything.

August quickly came to his twin's rescue. "We have an announcement, actually."

"There's technically two." amended Aurora. "He's just lumping them together."

"We're all ears, and we're all family." Emily encouraged them. "Can you just give me a quick rundown of what you and August do at the zoo?"

"We work the giraffe enclosure at the Baltimore Zoo, and we met in the first place we because were hired at the same time."

"Got it."

August spoke next. "We were just offered to lead the giraffe enclosure at the National Zoo here. This opportunity comes with higher pay and better benefits."

"Did you take it?" Emily asked.

"We did. That's announcement number one taken care of." August squirmed again. "The second announcement is that like my dear twin, we've also been getting ready to move house. We just wanted to surprise everyone."

"Achievement unlocked." said Will. "Where's your new place?"

August's answer was delivered with a very straight face. "Number Nineteen, on Broadchurch Close."

There was a beat of silence as everyone processed this.

JJ broke the silence first, surprised. "But that's right next door!"

"Yes, it is. We move in on Monday."

JJ said nothing because she was quite surprised. She wasn't mad that they hadn't said anything. Just... surprised.

Will spoke up when he say that JJ was taking some time to digest the latest news. "Give a call if you need help."

August saluted. "Copy that."

Aurora stepped back in. "D.C. is where we're going to put down our homestead roots. We'd been discussing it for quite some time, and then universe gave us a blatant sign through our job. We felt it would be a poor choice to ignore it."

"I'm glad you took the sign." JJ replied. "This means that we can all get to know each other more, and the kids can grow up together."

"Those were two of our driving thoughts."

JJ gave a nod of approval and turned back to her sister. "Come on, Kit. Just talk."

"I've also been employed by the Boston Zoo, but they transferred me to the zoo here, too. It's just as well—Philemon is buried here." Katherine said. "I even have a house lined up to move in to, but I couldn't go anywhere because I had a project to finish first. That's the short version."

"I'm glad you were able to take your time." Emily told her.

"So am I, because I'm already in fast forward about something else."

JJ moved from across the room to where Katherine was. "It's okay. We're all on your side."

This emboldened Katherine. "I've found out that Olivia is going to be a big sister. She just doesn't know yet."

JJ and Will had already known this because she had confirmed it for them in Dunn Loring, but it was news to August, Aurora, and Emily. The Jareaus took the most time to digest the news. This was understandable because they knew Katherine the best.

Meanwhile, Emily was already happy for her friend. Katherine's kids meant two more for her to dote on. They were also two more people in the weird, eclectic family she thought she'd never had.

"I'm really happy for you." Emily told Katherine. "How are you feeling?"

Katherine gave a shrug. "I don't know because I found out about the baby after Philemon's funeral. If it's a boy, I'll name him after his daddy."

"That's a great way to honor him.

"It is." Katherine laughed softly as she thought of what she had to say next. "Have I told any of you where the new place is?"

"No." the rest of her company replied.

"I can't make this up—but it's Number Fifteen."

This pronouncement was greeted by a loud silence. How small was their world?

Yet again, everyone looked to the LaMontagne matriarch to see what she had to say.

JJ just hugged her sister. "Kit, this is really great! When do you move in?"

Curiously, Katherine blushed. "I've hit a snag there. My house in Baltimore is packed up, and we were supposed to start moving this weekend. I was blindsided by the current occupants telling me that they needed more time. This has left Olivia and I high and dry until next week."

Will cringed. "And when are they scheduled to move now?"

"Next Friday."

This was Thursday.

Will turned to JJ. Both of them had anticipated something like these because it seemed as if the whole family was going through a season of change. They, the LaMontagnes, were the anchors. It was time to help someone else now.

They had a very quick but silent conversation using only their eyes.

JJ spoke first, directly to Katherine. "You can stay with us for as long as you need."

Katherine breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, my God—thank you."

"We can talk about the finer details later." Will told her. "Just make yourself at home."

"I definitely will. Thanks again."

JJ looked over at Emily. "And what do you think about all of this now? Since you're also staying here?"

Emily was actually a little startled to be asked her opinion. While she had been paying attention to the conversation, her brain was mostly of the realm of trying to figure out what to wear for her date with Virginia. It was almost time to get ready.

But she still answered JJ. "I'm really excited, and I love the idea of a full house. It's going to be fun."

As if Emily's thoughts were the final word on the matter, the atmosphere of the whole room relaxed. Everyone was happy. In that moment, they all knew that they were family.

Talk turned to other things, and Emily took this as her cue to head towards the front stairs. JJ followed her.

"What do you think about this whole night?" she asked.

"I'm happy that everyone is working their way towards a healthy level of stability. Do you and Will normally do last-minute gatherings?"

"We don't, but we told each other that we're going to do things that we're going to start setting better examples for the kids, especially the twins. Part of that includes reaching out to other people."

"Those are good plans." Emily said.

JJ smiled at her. "You and your little one have officially joined the family during the chapter that's new for all of us. I'm glad you get to be part of it."

"Me, too." Emily shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "I know the adults are in the other room, but…"

"Are you wondering if I'm still going to help you get ready for your date with Virginia?" guessed JJ.

"Yes."

"I'm your parter to the end, Emelise—ride or die." JJ smiled more. "Let's go get you ready."