AN: Here it is.
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Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or the quotes.
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"Home murmurs 'where have you been?' And I cannot help but say 'Away; looking for you'
-Noor Unnahar
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Emily was lost as everything was said at once. A 'what' from Chloe, a 'how' from Mattea, and a 'really' from Elise rang in the background. The clearer statement came from both Erin and Rossi, "You knew?"
Rossi led them to the living room where Emily explained. "I never knew I was adopted until I heard you humming. My mind flooded with memories of hearing the same tune. Everything made since, so I spoke to the Ambassador. She confirmed I was adopted which led me to Garcia for answers. Garcia didn't tell me who my parents were, but I knew."
Erin was crying. "I can't believe after all this time you're here, and you have kids," She looked up at Rossi, "we have three grandchildren." They'd known about the girls, but there was a different feeling having everything out in the open.
Emily nodded with a smile. "You've briefly met all of them, but meet your grandkids: Mattea, Chloe, and Elise."
Elise smiled at Erin and whispered, "Hi."
Erin pulled Elise into her lap. "Hi"
Rossi left Erin's side and returned with a photo album; he handed it to Emily. The cover was a dark brown with Evie written in the middle. Emily ran her hand along the cover in aw. Chloe was peering over her shoulder. "What is it?" She questioned.
"It's a photo album from when Emily was little," Rossi explained.
Chloe's eyes lit up. "I want to see."
Emily slowly opened the cover. The first page was of two ultrasound pictures with notes written to the side. As she moved through the book she was surprised to find pictures of every major and minor thing in the first three years of her life.
"Why does it end when you're still little?" Chloe asked.
Emily wiped away the tears that were streaming down her face. She motioned for Chloe to get in her lap and wrapped her arms around her. "Because when I was little some bad people took me away, and I grew up with another family."
Chloe looked up, her eyes showing their innocence. "And now you found each other?"
Emily looked at her parents; she had finally found something she didn't know she was missing. "Yes, we found each other."
"And we're never loosing you again," Rossi stated pulling Emily into a side hug. Everyone else followed his lead creating a group hug.
After the group hug Rossi declared they needed to eat before doing anymore crying. Mattea had been quietly choosing her next words carefully, "Do you need any help bringing the food into the dining room, Nonno?"
Rossi's face lit up with a proud smile; everyone else was shocked. "I could use a little help."
Mattea followed Rossi into the kitchen while Emily and Erin took the girls into the dinning room. Erin held up a booster seat. "We didn't know if this would be necessary."
Emily smiled. "It's not necessary, but very helpful."
When everyone was seated and food served, a silence fell across the room. Rossi and Erin sat at the ends of the table with Mattea and Chloe on one side and Emily and Elise on the other. "What do you normally talk about at dinner?" Rossi finally asked.
"School," Chloe disclosed with a grin.
"How was school?" Rossi directed to Chloe.
Chloe excitedly rambled about her day, "We had a spelling test, and I got a 98. I would have gotten a 100 if I didn't forget favorite doesn't have 'u'. Ms. David gave me a few points since I had the right spelling just not your spelling."
"That's good," Erin commented. She turned to Mattea, "How was your day?"
"I helped three kids with French during German today, taught Caitlin how to do part of our final dance, and Trevor dropped me again during practice. I would say I had an average day," Mattea turned to Emily, "Dr. Blake invited me to join French and Spanish club, Coach Todd wants me for track team in the spring, and Mr. Black wants me on the chess team."
"Is there an after school activity you're not part of?" Rossi asked with a since of pride.
Mattea blushed, she'd gotten so caught up in talking to her mom, she forgot they weren't at home. "Just those four things and Show Choir."
"Did you have a good day, Elise?" Emily prompted towards her youngest daughter.
Elise nodded. "Big kids read."
"I heard something about a group of freshman going to the primary school to read," Mattea added as further explanation.
"Ethan read my favorite book," Elise stated with a true smile.
"How was your day?" Mattea asked the three adults.
"Paperwork," They all stated together.
Chloe and Mattea laughed as Rossi and Emily's phones went off. "Case?" Erin asked.
"Case," Rossi confirmed.
All three girls frowned. "I want to stay," Chloe stated.
"Me two," Elise added.
Rossi and Emily both got up from the table. "The girls can stay for a bit, and I can take them home when they're ready," Erin stated.
"Is that okay with you?" Emily asked the girls. All three girls nodded. "Are you sure it's okay?" She asked Erin.
Erin nodded with a smile. "We'll be fine besides they haven't even finished dinner yet." She stood up, kissed Rossi on the cheek, and gave Emily an unsure hug. "Now go catch the bad guys and stay safe."
"Thank you," Emily said following Rossi out the door.
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"What do we call you?" Chloe asked.
"You can call me Erin," She replied.
Chloe scrunched her face up and shook her head. "No, do we call you Nonna or Grandma?"
"I was thinking Grandma so we don't get confused with Nonna Carmelina," Mattea stated.
Erin was a little taken back. Yes, Mattea had called Rossi Nonno, but she still hadn't expected the other girls to take so quickly to everything.
"Nana," Elise suggested quietly.
Chloe grinned. "Perfect. They both have names with 'N's."
Mattea looked to Erin. "Is Nana okay?"
Erin kept the tears at bay as her heart swelled. She thought she would never hear those words. "It's perfect."
Chloe jumped out of her seat and wrapped her arms around Erin. Elise wiggled in her booster seat until Mattea let her out to join the hug. "You are really good kids," Erin told them.
"Mom did a pretty good job with us," Mattea replied.
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"What happens now?" Emily asked as Rossi drove.
"What do you want to happen?" Rossi inquired.
Emily took a moment to think. "I guess I want to catch up on the last twenty something years."
"I think that's a good place to start," Rossi stated with a smile.
"Do you really have three ex-wives?" Emily asked having heard things around the office.
Rossi chuckled, he didn't realize that rumor was still floating around. "Never been married."
Emily was shocked. "But-"
"Erin and I never tied the knot. We were going to at one point, but we drifted apart. When I came back from retirement it was like we fell back to before we drifted. We'd kept in touch over the years, but there was something different when I came back," Rossi explained.
Emily nodded taking in the information. "This is why I don't like office gossip."
"What about you?" Rossi asked.
"Never married, but I did fall in love one time. Real love not the temporary kind," Emily spoke, her walls long broken.
"The girls' father?" Rossi guessed.
Emily ran her tongue across her bottom lip. "I love my girls, but their fathers were not the highlights of my life."
"If you don't mind me asking; are their fathers in their life at all?" Rossi asked.
Emily sighed. "Mattea's father saw her once right after I had her. Chloe's father signed his rights away too, but he still comes around as an uncle figure. Elise's father doesn't know about her, and I would like to keep it that way."
"Thank you for sharing," Rossi said pulling into the parking garage.
"It's a new concept I'm trying," Emily half joked.
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"Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this, too, was a gift.
