Christmas morning came with JJ and Emily waking early, and with Emily covering JJ in soft, delicate kisses for a few moments as she marveled over how happy it made her to wake up with such a beautiful person every morning.
Had they not been in danger of a possible interruption from Emily's parents, JJ would have let Emily take her, right then and there on the bed, but since neither of them were at all quiet during sex when they were enjoying it, that would have to wait for another time, when they were actually alone.
They would have to make do with kisses for the time being.
When they were decent and mostly ready to go downstairs and socialize with Elizabeth and Maximo, the couple stopped for a moment at the window and looked out at Kissinger Lane to see that it had been turned into a winter wonderland from the snow fall in the night.
A happy thought occurred to JJ suddenly, and it actually made her blush.
Emily noticed. "What is it, birthday girl?"
"We've only been awake an hour, and this is already turning out to be a great birthday because I thought I'd be alone this year—maybe even at the office—but now I'm under the same roof as my amazing new family." JJ tore her eyes away from the winter wonderland outside, planting a near brain-melting kiss on Emily's lips. "And between you and I, we're carrying our three children, who, by my next birthday, will be able to enjoy Christmas with us, if not just the sights and sounds that it brings. A family of my own is all I've ever wanted and is a thing I thought I'd never have, but now… I have all of that and more because I'm with you, and you are the love of my life."
Emily's heart immediately filled up with an incredible amount of love that brought tears to her eyes, prompting her to hug JJ for a moment.
"You are the love of mine," she told her. "And there's nobody else I'd rather be having a family with."
Those words warmed JJ's heart even more and she pulled away to look at her girlfriend.
"Em?"
"Yes?"
"Just don't wait until my next birthday to ask me to be your wife, alright?"
Emily started to respond, but when she fully processed what she'd said, her heart first turned over and then she saw that JJ was already putting on a sweater over her pajamas and slippers on her feet. She even grabbed the tote bag of gifts she and Emily had bought for each other and Elizabeth and Maximo with her good hand, and when she turned to look at Emily, she gave her a look that was very magnetic. The brunette immediately found herself being drawn to the blond, almost as if she was under a spell.
"Wait, what?" she finally managed to say, slipping an arm in the crook of JJ's when she offered it.
"Well," JJ said slyly, leading her out into the hallway, towards the staircase. "If you don't ask me, I'll ask you, but I just don't want to steal your thunder."
"Well, that's nice of you. When we are engaged, can we get a house in DuPont Circle?"
"DuPont Circle?" JJ echoed as they headed down the stairs and stopped on the landing. "Come on, Em, we're having three kids, and that calls for a house in a proper family neighborhood, like say… Capitol Hill. The Hotchners live there, and they love it."
"I guess we can look at real estate listings for houses in Capitol Hill when vacation is over." Emily said. "Can we get a cat for the babies?"
"Only if you want me sneezing uncontrollably and breaking into hives."
"Okay… then we'll get them a puppy and call him Chico."
"Chico?!" JJ protested. "Absolutely not, and that's the kind of name you give to a hamster!"
Emily thought quickly as they continued down the second leg of the staircase. "Then we'll call the puppy Sergio. That name is cooler."
"Yes." JJ nodded in agreement. "Sergio is much cooler."
"And speaking of names," Emily pointed to her middle when they reached the bottom of the stairs. "I've got Baby Bear in here, but the twins need nicknames, too. They shouldn't be left out."
JJ was about to say something in agreement to that, but her thoughts were derailed when all of a sudden, a very familiar aroma filled her nose and she turned to Emily in surprise.
"Is that biscuits and gravy? Those are my favorite things to eat for breakfast; how did you know?"
"Because, my love," Emily said, walking her towards the kitchen. "Every time we go to a southern state, especially one of the deep south states, you always manage to find a place that has biscuits on the menu and get them there if you can't order them to the hotel room."
"Huh." JJ said, feeling a little dazed. "I didn't think anybody noticed…"
Emily laughed. "Well, I am a profiler, so it's almost second nature to observe the little things, even with my friends."
"And you told your parents that I like to eat biscuits and gravy, huh?" JJ asked, thinking of how she'd grown up eating a lot of southern cooking, as well as classic French and Russian cuisine.
"Uh-huh, but all I did was tell them that biscuits and gravy are your comfort food. It smells like they just ran with it, which ought to be fun because they're excellent cooks."
Emily hadn't been kidding around about her parents being excellent cooks because once they greeted her and JJ, they showed them the spread of breakfast food they'd made: besides the biscuits and gravy, there was also scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, pancakes for those who wanted any, hash browns, a beautiful fruit salad, and a tall pitcher of orange juice. There was also three drinking glasses for the juice. The display looked heavenly.
"Wow!" JJ exclaimed. "You did all this for me?"
Elizabeth nodded. "We did."
"We thought it would be nice for you to have a little taste of home, especially on a day like today." Maximo added. "You like it?"
"Oh, yes." JJ told the elder Prentisses. "Thank you both so very much."
After breakfast, the family sat in the living room, opening stockings before they got to the presents.
"Jennifer?"
JJ looked up, slightly surprised at the use of her actual name and turned to Elizabeth, who had called her.
"Yes?"
"Are you alright? You haven't opened your stocking yet."
"I'm fine." JJ promised as she rubbed the large soft red fur-trimmed stocking in her lap; it was packed with goodies and trinkets, and there was even a candy cane hooked over the brim. "I've just never had a stocking before."
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "Not once?"
"Nope. I've had plenty of presents over the years, but never a stocking."
At that, Maximo and Emily both looked up from their own stockings and looked at the other two.
"It looks like there's a first time for everything." Maximo chirped.
"Go on, babe." Emily encouraged JJ. "It's always a treasure trove, and you seriously never know what you'll find!"
'Treasure trove' was the correct descriptor because by the time JJ had finished unwrapping everything, she'd amassed a new deck of playing cards, a new pair of warm woolen socks, a box of her favorite mint tea, an orange and a few chocolates, new travel and mini-mergency kits and aviator sunglasses (all of which Emily had gotten, too), a new pocket knife (which was fantastic because she'd lost her old one in a tussle by a river during the Oregon case), and even a $50 iTunes gift card. Just for fun, there was an instant win scratch card, and even a bundle of two, five, and ten dollar bills with a twenty tucked in between. They were found at the very bottom of the stocking with a note wrapped around them explaining that she should have some spending money for food, just in case, since she was always traveling. Emily got spending money, too.
JJ was impressed with her haul, and she couldn't imagine what else was waiting for her under the tree. It turned out quite a lot: a new hat, glove, and scarf set, new pajamas and slippers, a new pen and notepad for when she was out in the field (although she'd have to wait until her arm healed before she could use those), desktop and wall calendars for her office, and amongst the treasures from Emily was a personalized ornament for her to hang on the tree since the rest of them had personalized ornaments hanging up, too. By the end of the present-opening, JJ was feeling more loved then ever.
"JJ," Elizabeth said after everyone had opened their presents. "There's one last parcel here, and it's from one of your friends."
"Oh?" JJ asked as she accepted the package and put it in her lap. "Do you know who?"
"That tech girl of yours, Penelope. She called me and asked if she could drop it off here before she left for her vacation."
Touched that Penelope had gotten her a birthday present and mildly amused that she had tracked the ambassador down, JJ unwrapped the gift.
Her heart was immediately in her throat when she saw what the gift was: a picture frame with a picture of her, Hope, and Vivian in the hospital, giving them kisses and cuddles. How she loved those little girls, and always would.
"Look who it is." she said, handing the frame to Emily.
When Emily saw who it was, she immediately hugged JJ, remembering how much Hope and Vivian had imprinted on JJ and vice versa.
"It's okay, babe." Emily told her. "Now you have a picture to put next to the one of Zooey that Derek gave you."
JJ just nodded and leaned into Emily as she thought back to how much Zooey, Hope, and Vivian had changed her life.
Emily handed the frame to Elizabeth, explaining, "Those little girls are Hope and Vivian Greenaway, and JJ rescued them when we were in New York and her ex accidentally kidnapped them during a carjacking. Their mother is actually the woman I replaced in the BAU."
"If not for those dear little ones, finding out about Emily's baby, and then looking after an infant girl for awhile during a case in Oregon the week before that," JJ chimed in, rubbing the bulge in her middle and smiling as she felt her little ones tumble around. "I wouldn't have had the strength to even have the twins. That's why I got so emotional."
Closest to JJ, Maximo patted his new daughter's cheek in an affectionate way as he stood. "Take it from us, dearheart: family is everything, even if you have to take the long way around to figure it out."
"And," Elizabeth stood and handed the picture frame back to JJ. "You will understand when the babies all come, but being a mother truly is the best and most special feeling in the world."
JJ took the frame back and held it over her heart. "I can't wait for that day."
Elizabeth smiled fondly at her and left the room with Maximo, heading in the direction of the kitchen, discussing what to make for dinner later. Though their family wasn't particularly large, the Prentisses had always been a family to stand on tradition, and Christmas dinner was part of the holiday that they always took very seriously.
When they left, JJ was grinning like she'd been wrapped in a blanket of warm fuzzies.
"What are you thinking?" Emily asked.
"That I'm home," JJ told her. "And that I've never been happier in my life."
