The snowfall turned into the promised blizzard as the evening wore on.

Dinner was had. Dessert, too.

Everything was perfect. Emily wouldn't have changed a thing. Nor would Virginia.

But then reality hit. Chore time.

Emily paused immediately when she noticed Virginia drag a box over from beside the front door over to an empty spot at the dining table.

"I must know what's in there." she said to Virginia when she noticed that the box was long and slender.

"New crutches. I ordered these last month and they only arrived this afternoon. The purple crutches were the ones I first received in Mississippi. I learned to walk again on them." Virginia opened the box and removed her new devices. "They actually predate Zion. I decided that it was time for an upgrade."

Emily watched as Virginia settled into her new forearm crutches before she pulled herself up. There was one major difference now in the appearance of the devices.

"Woah—they're transparent!"

Indeed they were.

"My hope is to look both cool and formal because now that my tour more than succeeded expectations, I'll be having a lot of meetings." Virginia began walking experimentally on her crutches. "Not my cup of tea."

She came to a stop in front of Emily after making a lap around the table.

"What do you think?"

Emily happily looked her up and down. "I think you hit the exact bracket you were hoping for. Everyone is going to love it."

Virginia beamed. "Thank you. I'll be right back."

She left for her office, returning a few minutes later with a curious assortment of items: a worn journal, a bag of writing instruments, and for some reason, a stuffed banana.

Emily chose her words carefully. "Ace, why are you carrying that banana?"

"River loves to play with it. I just keep it away from her because it's full of catnip." she replied. "Heaven forbid River finds herself stoned. Again."

River then came bouncing over from the other side of the room. She sat obediently at her mistress' feet when she noticed her holy grail of toys.

Virginia held it out to her pet. "Here you go, sweet thing. Knock yourself out."

River gave a meow of thanks and took the toy in her mouth. She then settled on the floor some odd paces away so she could entertain herself.

Pleased that the cat was content, Emily and Virginia focused on beginning their evening tasks at last. Maintenance. Journal-keeping.

It was nice. Emily felt she could get used to this lifestyle. Rambunctious during the day, but quiet and so full of love at night. Perfection.

Before Virginia could put pen to paper, however, she fished her pocket watch from her dress pocket and set it on the dining table. "River likes to sniff in my pockets. Woe-betide damage falls to the last link I have to my father."

Emily's curiosity got the better of her. "Have you ever thought about looking for him?"

"I entertain the notion from time to time, and I believe my mother when she says I'm not missing much, but..."

Her words trailed off as she contemplated a deep thought. It looked like she was weighing something heavily on her mind. Emily just felt like she was being sized up.

"May I share a secret with you?" Virginia finally said. "I was going to tell you, anyway, but I think we've already jumped through several humungous relationship hoops."

"Definitely true. All the rules are out the window for us." Emily said thoughtfully. "Go for it."

"My mother's second husband was murdered six months before before Jubilation was born. They never met. He was also Phoenix's and Lilith's father, but they won't talk to him because of how bad he was to our mother. 'Astronomically awful' is a polite way to put it."

Emily could immediately tell that a larder part of the story was being left out, but she found sympathy. "That's crazy."

Virginia shrugged. "The twins are very curious about my father because the mystery there is way more intriguing. Every now and then, my sisters try to talk me into searching him out. They've been at it for the last five years, though."

"Half a decade is nothing to sneeze at. What's your stance?"

"I'm not sure anymore. We asked mother about the man, and she said that if we knew what was good for us, we would never cross her with talk of him again. He must have really scorned her." Virginia wrinkled the bridge of her nose. "I wish I had a brother. He would shake things up, and things would just be better. My mother is a friendly person but has had a weird dark side for as long as I can remember. I don't think I've known her without it."

Emily made a humming sound because she didn't know how to respond to this. "What did you tell Phoenix and Lilith about why you haven't looked for your father?"

"That I love my life as it is now to dig into anything with my learned investigative skills on purpose, to be honest. Zeus would have to strike me before I really put effort into a search. But... I have been thinking about it, these last few months." Virginia leaned back in her seat. "One more single big act from Zeus or whomever would be the catalyst. I don't want one, but it would be rude to ignore it."

"That sounds like a perfect answer. Anything you need, I'm here. Promise."

Virginia softened up. "Thanks, Emelise. Your words mean a lot."

"I'm with you. Adventures are always add variety to life."

They kissed after that, sealing things.

And they moved on.

Virginia started in her journal. Emily returned to cleaning her gun. River played happily at their feet.

The unit's heater kicked in. Before long, the whole place was toasty. Zion remained asleep upstairs. Laundry was even being done. Everything felt domestic. And perfect. Unconventional, but perfect.

All of them were safe while the storm raged outside.

Today had been the best Valentine's Day that Emily had ever experienced.

Yet… neither she nor Virginia had any idea of what was to come.

Emily finally laid her cleaning tools aside.

"Alright." she said, twirling both wrists to get feeling back. "I'm finished."

Virginia responded, "I think you should play with River. See if you can find something that will make her go for a run."

"Okay. I can do that." Emily closed the lid on her boot polish. "Just let me put everything away."

"I'll do it for you." Virginia rose to her feet. "My legs could do with some stretching. Please go liven up River's night."

Virginia watched River happily follow Emily over to the toy box. Their newfound bond made her happy.

But... she also wondered how she has gotten so lucky as to be able to cross paths with Emily at all.

When Virginia sat back down after putting Emily's belongings away, her attention was diverted from her journal to her pocket watch. Light from overhead was reflecting off it.

Would searching her father out really be worth a try? And what about Emily? Asking for help from her might actually get the conundrum somewhere. But so would hearing her whole opinion after she told the whole story.

What harm could come from that?

River fell asleep in Emily's bed that night, and she even followed her friend all the way down to the first floor. It was nice to not be alone.

There was a few moments' quiet before—

"Emmy!" A delighted voice rent the still air.

Zion was at the foot of the stairs and looking hopeful.

Emily beckoned to him. "Please come over, little bird. I didn't hear you."

"That's 'cause I'm sneaky." Zion jogged over and settled in Emily's lap. "Like a cat."

He yawned hugely.

"You're still here."

"Uh-huh." Emily murmured. "I'm here until it's alright for me to go home again."

"Okay…" And Zion began to doze.

Virginia found them like this, and her heart swelled with affection.

"I just saw a weather report on the tv while I was getting dressed." Virginia said after kissing Emily hello and checking on Zion.

"What did the report say?" Emily wanted to know. "I haven't even looked out of the windows yet."

"Luckily, that blizzard has been downgraded to a heavy snowfall. Driving or calling for a car would be a very bad idea." Virginia shivered. "But I don't want you out there, anyway. Too dangerous. I just got groceries yesterday, so we're fully stocked. We have actual survival supplies. You can stay for as long as it takes. I mean it."

"Thank you. I love you." Emily kissed Virginia on one hand. "I'm officially taking you up on the offer. Do you have the time?"

Virginia checked her pocket watch. "Eight-twenty. Would you like to eat breakfast?"

"Yes." Emily decided. "Need any help?"

"Uh-uh. You can stay where you are."

And Emily did.

In the kitchen, Virginia looked back to see Emily pulling Zion closer to her as he snoozed. And River was curling up Emily's lap. They were becoming cozier with each other.

Surreptitiously so, Virginia snapped a picture of them on her phone. Emily could see it later.

No sooner had Virginia sent Zion on his way after breakfast to play with his toys than her phone rang.

The conversation began pleasantly enough. "Morning, Kailey!"

Pause. Virginia quickly grew agitated.

"Are you k—"

Pause.

"Do know how insane that is? We've just had a blizzard—"

Another pause. Virginia rolled her eyes theatrically.

"Nope—it's fine. I can make it work. See you then. Good-bye, Kailey."

And Virginia hung up in a huff.

"Kailey is my publicist, and she's in London right now." Virginia elaborated when she saw Emily's raised eyebrows. "The main thing is that she just passed on a message. Remember how I said recently that I'm going to need major baby-sitting for Zion?"

Emily nodded. "Yeah."

"Well... Now it's going to have to happen even sooner. Kailey just told me that the meeting has been moved to this Thursday. Everyone in the family will be busy or traveling."

A sudden idea popped into Emily's brain. "What time does your meeting start?"

"It'll be at three, and probably last about two hours."

"As long as we don't have a case I would love to take care of Zion fro you." Emily offered. "If you want."

Virginia's woes evaporated on the spot. "You would do that?"

"Yes. I could even cut out of Quantico early, but I just have to check something with JJ first."

"And here I thought you were the one in charge." Virginia teased gently.

"Smart ass." Emily gave her girlfriend a playful swat in the arm. "Have you seen my phone?"

Virginia picked it up from the counter and handed it over. "Here, my dear."

JJ picked up quickly when she saw the name on her phone screen. "Hey, Em. Are you alright?"

"Perfectly content." the older woman replied in a genuinely happy tone. "Listen—what is the likelihood of us going on a case before next weekend?"

"Zero. Have plans?"

Emily squirmed, even though JJ couldn't see her. "Ginny needs baby-sitting for Zion this Thursday. I want to make sure that work obligations won't keep me from committing."

JJ smirked. "Then go ahead and commit. Don't be afraid to bring Zion over here—there are toys I think he would like. There's just one caveat."

"And is it what I think it is?" Emily said in a defeated tone.

"Naturally. Please tell Ginny that we will be expecting her and Zion to stay for dinner."

"Okay, Jayje. I'll tell her."

"Thanks, Em. Catch you later."

When Emily ended her call, Virginia regarded her with an arched eyebrow. "Tell me what?"

"JJ said we won't have anything pressing and to bring Zion to her house."

"But…?"

Emily laughed nervously. "JJ also told me to tell you that she expects you and Zion to stay for dinner."

"Not subtle." Virginia chuckled.

"JJ is actually really good at being subtle most of the time, but she and her husband have been wheedling me about you for awhile. I think this is JJ pressing fast-forward. My family really wants to meet you and Zion because they're curious."

"It's a good thing that the feeling is mutual." Virginia winked. "Tell JJ that I'm excited to meet her and the rest of the family soon."

Emily's heart bloomed. "I will do just that."

At the LaMontagne house, a beep from JJ's phone broke a quiet moment she'd been having with Michael. The little boy had found his mother stretched out on the couch, basking in the warmth from the roaring fireplace. Michael took advantage of the quiet just to spend time with her. JJ loved it. She had even set aside an old photo album she'd been looking through so she could hold her son.

But she still checked her phone because she had been waiting on something.

Ginny is all in. We'll tell Zion later, the message read.

JJ's answer was very swift. Fantastic. I'll tell Will.

She set her phone down again after this and called out for her husband. "Will?"

He came walking in from the hallway. "Did you need something, darling?"

"Just to talk for a quick second. The super short version is that Emily is baby-sitting Zion this coming Thursday, and we'll be meeting Ginny because I invited her to stay for dinner when her day is done."

"It's about time we meet her and Zion. Finally."

JJ gave a nod of agreement.

Michael chose to speak up during the momentary juncture. "Daddy, look!"

Will drew closer to the couch. "And what's that you've got, champ?"

"This! It has pictures!" Michael was holding the photo album aloft.

Will remarked, "That is one of my favorite books. Have you seen the little boy in the pictures?"

Michael bobbed his head. "Yes, daddy."

"That little boy is me!"

"No way…"

"It's true. I was a kid once."

JJ chimed in. "Even I was a kid once."

Michael changed lanes by pointing to the albums cover. "Please can we look?"

Will nodded. "Of course we can."

Before long, Will was comfortable on the couch with his family, and narrating the pictures as best he could. He had been a small child when most of these images were shot. And not too much older than Michael was now.

But all the same… his little boy's curiosity made his most determined yet to uncover the truth about his past.