The next morning found Emily still in the hospital, but waiting to get discharged. She was very sore yet from the beatings she'd received, and she also had a sprained ankle and bruised bone, the latter of which was causing her a lot of pain, as well as earning her crutches and a medical boot that went up to her knee... along with another thing that blindsided her altogether.


"A wheelchair?" Emily squawked. "I have to have a wheelchair?"

JJ was in a chair at her lover's bedside, trying not to laugh. Emily had accepted the need for her ankle to be wrapped up in gauze, and that the bindings would have to be changed once a day, and she even accepted the boot and crutches without complaint, but was really drawing the line at the wheelchair and had yet to sit in it. Trying to get her to do so was like trying to get a picky six-year-old to eat their vegetables.

"But it's a lightweight one that'll be easy to fold and unfold since you and I can't exactly be lugging super heavy things around these days." she tried.

"Babe, we live in an apartment with a steep staircase! By the time I'm healed, we'll be well into our third trimesters!"

They were both in month five already.

JJ arched an eyebrow. "You've hurt that specific leg before, haven't you?"

Emily nodded. "Yeah, but I don't remember it because I was one."

"Get in the wheelchair. Now." JJ crossed her arms over her big belly and tilted her head towards the offending piece of wheeled furniture. "The doctor said she's going to call yours in D.C. to update her so she'll be in the know when we return, but she also said that you have to practice navigating before she can let you sign your release papers."

"Fine." Emily sighed theatrically and pulled herself into a sitting position, glad that she was at least wearing her own clothes. "Will you help me?"

"Of course."

JJ helped Emily into her chair and even made sure that her feet were properly elevated the way the doctor had instructed.

All was fine, until—

"Oh, come on!" Emily cried, although her protest ended in a groan as she clutched the underside of her bump. "Do you have to do this to mama now, Baby Bear?"

"He's at it again, huh?"

"Your son is nuts, babe."

"So he's mine today?"

"Yeah." Emily griped. "How are Kitty and Ladybug?"

JJ gave her bump a tickle and was promptly greeted by Kitty's elbow and Ladybug's arm, but the movements were soft.

"They're awake and being gentle with mommy."

Emily just made a harmuphing noise and then another when JJ clapped her hands.

"Come on and quite stalling!"

"I—"

Emily didn't get a chance to say what she was going to say because there was a knock on the open door, and when they looked to see who it was, they were surprised—it wasn't the doctor, or even Rossi and Spencer, who had already come earlier to collect Derek to bring him back to the hotel where they'd been staying.

It was Ingrid Fitzgerald, and she was looking very relieved.

"I'm so glad I was able to catch you two here! Is it alright if I come in for a minute?"

"Yes!" Emily chirped, happy for another distraction. "How can we help, Missus Fitzgerald?"

The other woman laughed as she entered. "You can start by calling me Ingrid, but I came by because Sasha and Sloan had some things they wanted to pass along."

"Oh?" queried JJ, remembering stuffed animals she'd received.

"Mhm."

Ingrid held out gift bags to them—green for JJ and yellow for Emily.

"This was all their idea, but they'd ask if I'd come by because Polly wanted to stay home."

Quite curious now, JJ sat on the chair and opened her bag to find two beautiful picture frames, each one filled with a picture that took her breath away. The first one was of her and Emily cuddling with Polly, and the second was of her having a moment with Polly, giving her a hug. JJ's heart immediately filled with love for yet another child that she'd encountered in recent months who was helping change her heart and make it whole again. She knew in a heartbeat that these pictures would be going on her office desk, next to the ones of Zooey, and Hope and Vivian. In that moment, she finally understood why one of Jason Gideon's hobbies had been collecting photos of particularly memorable people he'd encountered throughout their cases, and it made her heart fill with even more love.

Emily had received pictures like those, too, and she also looked very happy.

JJ spoke first. "Ingrid, this is really wonderful, and some of the nicest things anyone has ever given us."

Emily nodded in agreement. "Tha—oof... he won't quit!"

JJ kissed the top of her head sympathetically, and Ingrid watched them fondly.

"Your little one is a boy?"

Emily gave another nod. "He's just figured out how to kick hard, and he's been at it almost around the clock since last night. It's like he only stops to sleep."

Ingrid briefly wrinkled the bridge of her nose before turning to JJ. "Do you know anything about your little ones?"

"Two baby girls," JJ said proudly. "And they're also not nearly as jumpy as their brother."

As if a point was being proved, Emily rubbed at a spot near her navel as she felt a random punch there. "You've had both, right, Ingrid? Who's easier?"

"It's always depended on the baby's overall temperament because everyone was all over the place."

"Then will you at least say who kicked the most?"

Ingrid gave a grin worthy of the Cheshire Cat. "My twin daughters, Charlotte and Quinlan, and not just because they're a literal pair."

Emily hung her head. "I'm doomed."

"Charlie and Quin are still as much are as much a pair as they ever were. They're also completely identical, and best friends."

JJ was fascinated. "Where do you they fall in the line-up?"

"Sloan and Sasha are tied for first because they're only a day apart, and that was one of the first things we learned about her." Ingrid said in a tone of doing math aloud. "The twins are less than a year younger than them, so including Sasha, Charlie and Quin make numbers three and four. They're turning twenty-five next month, actually, and Sloan and Sasha's birthdays are next week."

"Wow."

"I heard you two accepted invitations the wedding, so you'll meet the girls then, unless..."

JJ raised an eyebrow. "Unless what?"

"They have a friend in D.C. named Haley, and sometimes they visit her."

That threw the agents for a loop, and JJ asked, "Would it be Haley Hotchner, perchance?"

"Yes, actually. How—"

Her inquiry was interrupted by a sudden loud stream of hiccups that made her want to just crawl back in the bed and sleep off those, as well as the intense baby kicks and punches accompanying them. She loved being pregnant, but she was not enjoying this aspect at the moment.

"And I remember that part, too." Ingrid sympathized as she regathered her things. "I still have your contact information, so I'll drop a line about addresses when Sasha and Sloan have their Save The Date cards all sorted."

JJ and Emily nodded in agreement and waved goodbye to their friend.

Emily's doctor arrived not long after Ingrid left, and after some stronger cajoling, she got Emily to perform a few basic maneuvers on her chair before feeling satisfied enough to let her finally sign the release papers.

Emily's hiccups were still going strong fifteen minutes later, when Rossi and Spencer finally arrived to bring them back to the airport. She wanted another distraction.

One came when they were halfway home in the jet in the form of Hotch receiving a phone call. Nobody thought anything of it until they heard what he said just before he hung up.

"Yes, and thank you very much—I'll tell them now. Good bye."

"Are we *hic* turning around *hic* now, sir?" Emily asked from where she was camped out on the sofa.

"No." Hotch told her, smiling in amusement when a collective sigh of relief could be heard from the others. "That was Chief Strauss just now; she knows about the tumbles that all of us, but especially the ones that you, JJ, and Morgan had on this case, and she's letting us have off until Wednesday to recharge since our caseload has been heavy since Alabama, anyway. We're even going to be getting paid time-and-a-half because she's feeling generous."

Another collective sigh of relief could be heard throughout the cabin—today was Wednesday, so not only were they getting a weeklong impromptu vacation, but they were getting paid for it, too.

The plane ride home was even more relaxing after that.

Emily's hiccups even stopped.


When they were finally back in the BAU building, though, namely in JJ's office, the weariness of the past few days was finally kicking in and she wanted even more to get into a bed and sleep for a long time. There was also another thing she wanted.

"Jayje, what do you think of us calling my parents to see if we can stay over there? I really want to see them."

JJ smiled, thinking of how she'd benefited from spending time at Casa de la Prentiss after their last trip to New York. Hanging out there, and with Emily's parents now sounded very appealing.

"I like it a lot. It sounds perfect."

Emily just gave her a thumb's up and leaned back in her chair—the exhaustion was really setting in.

JJ called Elizabeth, and she picked up quickly.

"JJ, sweetheart!" she chirped merrily. "How are you and Emelia?"

JJ laughed nervously. "We just got back from New York again, and the whole team is on paid leave until next Wednesday because we all need to recharge."

Elizabeth's tone changed to one of concern, and she was glad to already be sitting at the kitchen table. "What happened there this time?"

"All the right people have been arrested, but do you remember Derek?"

"Yes."

"He was shot in the shoulder by the person we were chasing, and had to have surgery to remove the bullet, but he pulled that just fine because it wasn't as bad as it looked at first glance. He's going to be in a sling for awhile."

"Well, that's good." Elizabeth said before she pressed JJ to keep talking. "Something else happened, huh?"

"I fainted from shock because I was in the vicinity when that went down."

"Dear Lord! Jennifer, tell me that you and the twins are okay—just for my own peace of mind."

"I had a brief stay in the hospital, but I promise you that all three of us are healthy now, Elizabeth."

"Thank you." she paused for a second, like she was thinking something through, or else on her fingers. "Wait—there are seven of you on the team, yes?"

"Correct."

"That means that there'd have to be at least three of you that had some kind of sp—what happened to Emelia?"

Not even questioning how she'd made that leap already, JJ replied, "She was taken by the same person who shot Derek, and that person and his friends hurt Emelia, too."

Elizabeth put a hand over her heart as she felt its beat quicken. "Spare me the details of how and why for now, and just tell me what Emelia's injuries are."

"A bruised bone and a twisted ankle."

"Where are you two now?"

"At work. We were hoping to be able to spend our week off at your house with you and Max."

"That isn't even a question because I was about to insist. Has everyone from your team gone home?"

"Yes."

JJ heard the scraping of a chair and Elizabeth having a brief exchange in Italian with Max before she spoke to her again.

"JJ, Max is ringing the chauffeur, and when he gets here, we'll be along to collect you two, alright? Don't go anywhere."

"We won't, and thank you for this."

"You are very welcome, and you've been as good as a daughter to Max and I ever since Emelia brought you home at Christmastime; we'll do anything for you. Anything."

JJ almost wanted to cry because that was one of the sweetest things Elizabeth had ever told her.

"I appreciate that," was what she managed to respond with.

Elizabeth smiled, even though JJ couldn't see her and she said warmly, "See you soon."

When JJ hung up and pocketed her phone, she turned to Emily, intending to update her, only to see that she had fallen asleep.

JJ let her be.