AN: I'm posting a bunch of new stories at the same time to gauge interest. I'm going to post a poll on my profile - please vote for the story you like the most because that's the one I'm going to focus my time and energy on currently! Thanks!
Emily wrapped an arm around Lucy's waist as the two of them watched Declan prompt Aurora to pet the lamb which was nosing at their pockets as if suspecting they were hiding food on their persons. Aurora seemed dubious about the idea, but she trusted Declan and if he said it was okay, she would do it. If there was one thing Clara and Aurora had in common, it was how much they adored their big brother.
Declan had the day off from his university classes and had readily agreed to accompany them to the pumpkin patch to celebrate Aurora's second birthday. (Emily had teased him, saying he was the worst college student ever because didn't go to parties and get drunk with any sort of regularity, but she was not-so-secretly glad he remained fully devoted to his brotherly duties.)
"They're so sweet together, aren't they?" Emily mused.
"Adorable," Lucy agreed. "They're so lucky to have him." She worried sometimes about how growing up without a father figure would effect the girls, but she never worried for long, knowing there was an abundance of men in their lives who would be there for them.
Emily leaned in for a kiss. "Thank you for giving me two beautiful daughters," she murmured against her lips. "I'm incredibly lucky to have you."
Lucy laughed softly. "Thank you for being born so I could have an incredible wife to give two daughters to." Emily had insisted they didn't need to do anything for her birthday because she was content to simply celebrate the little girl who shared the day with her, but Lucy wasn't about to let that go without at least a small remark.
Clara came running over then, squealing, "Mommy! Mama! I fed the baby goat right out of my hand! It tickled!"
"That's very cool!" Lucy murmured, sweeping Clara into her arms. "Are you going to be a goat farmer when you grow up?" (Her future career dreams changed with her moods – most of the time it was ballerina, but most recently she'd proclaimed her dream was to be a 'fireman princess'...)
She wrinkled her nose in distaste. "No, they're stinky!"
With a laugh, Emily said, "You used to be stinky when you were in diapers..."
"'Cause I was just a baby," she said sagely. Now that she was almost five, she felt very grown up and never missed a chance to remind her parents that she wasn't a baby anymore.
"A stinky little baby goat," Emily teased her, tickling her tummy until she shrieked with giggles.
"Nu-uh!" Clara retorted, wriggling around in Lucy's arms to escape the tickle attack.
"Mmhmm," Emily insisted. "But we love you anyway because you're our stinky baby goat."
Clara was thoughtful for a moment. "Well, I love you even if you's mean," she said pleasantly.
"You're a turkey," Emily said, ruffling her hair. She leaned in to steal a kiss. "And I love you."
Clara leaned her head on Lucy's shoulder. "How come if you loves me, you have 'Rora too?"
Lucy ran a gentle hand up and down Clara's back. "We loved you so very much, but we had even more love in our hearts that we wanted to share it with another baby."
"I loves her," she replied. "But I want a brother."
Emily laughed. "A brother?" she repeated. "Why?" It was the first time she'd voiced such a desire, made all the more surprising by the fact that she regularly insisted boys – namely Henry and Jack – were 'icky'.
She shrugged. "Henry gets a baby brother. I like Michael."
Lucy just shook her head and smiled. "We'll think about it, okay?"
Something seemed to occur to Clara then. "How do you get a baby?"
Emily and Lucy shared a look, silently debating what to say to the almost five year old. "Well..." Emily said slowly, "The baby grows in a Mommy's tummy and then after nine months, she pushes the baby out her vagina."
"Oh." A beat. "Was I in your tummy or Mama's tummy?"
"You and Aurora both grew in my tummy," Lucy said. "I'm very very lucky...even though you both like Mommy better."
Clara shrugged. "She gives me Lucky Charms."
"Hey!" Emily scolded. "That was our secret!"
As they wandered through the corn maze, pulling a snoozing Aurora in a wagon behind them while Clara raced ahead with Declan jogging after her, Lucy glanced over at Emily with a fond smile on her face.
"What?" Emily asked with a little laugh. "You keep staring at me."
"Am I not allowed to look at my gorgeous wife?" Lucy retorted teasingly.
Emily rolled her eyes, but she did so with a smile.
"I think we should do it," Lucy said, rather apropos of nothing.
Emily fixed her with a raised brow. "You'll have to be more specific..."
Lucy reached for her hand then. "Try for a boy," she said with a shrug as if she weren't suggesting something rather monumental.
"Really?" Emily said, surprised.
She shrugged again. "Only if you want to," she said, backtracking slightly.
Emily hummed a thoughtful note. "Three kids would be a big change," she said slowly. "But Clara is in kindergarten now and Aurora is out of diapers..."
Lucy nodded. "Since we're back in the States, we'd have more help," she said. "But you're also running the Unit, so there's more work for you to do..."
"It's only temporary, until Hotch can return," Emily said. She was silent for a moment. "Is this really what you want?"
"It is," she confirmed. "I've been thinking about it for awhile – I think we should try one more time and if it doesn't work, then it wasn't meant to be." A beat. "But I think – if you want – we should use your eggs this time..."
That made Emily's brows leap up her forehead. "Really? Why?"
She smiled softly. "We've got two mini-me's running around, I think it's your turn."
Emily laughed. "You have no idea what you're in for, you know that, right?"
