Lucy had just put Clara and Aurora into the bath when Emily arrived home from work. What ensued was Lucy struggling to keep both girls in the tub in their excitement to see their Mommy. It wasn't exactly easy to keep two slippery energetic little bodies from doing what they wanted, meaning Lucy ended up soaked by the time Emily emerged into the bathroom.
Shucking off her blazer, Emily could only laugh to the chaos of preschoolers versus bath water (flooded floors and Lucy's see-through t-shirt included). Kneeling down to help, she kissed first one daughter, then the other. "I missed you, munchkins," she murmured. "And I missed Mama too." She leaned in to kiss Lucy.
"Where'd you go for work, Mommy?" Clara asked. Every time she came home, Clara would quiz Emily about where she'd been and Emily would tell her an interesting fact about the state that she'd learned from Reid.
"We went to Delaware this time," Emily said. "Their State Insect is the ladybug. You love ladybugs, don't you, Bug?"
She shrugged and abruptly changed the subject, asking, "Mommy, when are we gonna go home?"
Emily was silent for several moments while she worked shampoo in to Clara's hair. "Don't you like it here?" she asked gently. As far as she knew, Clara was thrilled to be in the States.
"I like London," she said. "'Cause we lives there."
Chewing her lip for a moment, Emily said, "What if we lived here?" Lucy shot her a curious look, but didn't comment. Emily continued, "You can go to school here and play with Henry and Michael all the time. You can spend time with Aunty Penny and Papa Dave. It'll be fun."
Clara opened her mouth to answer, but instead let out a wide yawn.
"I think someone is ready for bed," Lucy said, wrapping Aurora in a towel and lifting her from the water. "I know I am..."
"Agreed," Emily said, picking Clara up as well, tousling her hair with the towel. "Time for bed for two tired tots."
"So..." Lucy said slowly as she pulled off her damp shirt and tossed it in the hamper. "What's this about possibly making the trip here a permanent one?" She glanced at Emily over her shoulder with a quizzical brow.
Emily shrugged, saying nothing. She turned her back to Lucy so she wouldn't have to see the look in her eyes.
Turning around to affix her with a proper stare, Lucy burned a hole in Emily's back with her eyes.
In a rush of breath, words colliding together, Emily said, "Hotch is being reassigned permanently and he wants me to take over the Unit for good..."
Lucy's brows leapt up her forehead. "What?"
She heaved a sigh. "Hotch is gone. He wants my position to be permanent."
"Oh...kay," she said slowly. "That's... Wow."
"Is that a happy wow or a pissed off wow?" she asked quietly.
Lucy pursed her lips in thought. "I guess that depends... How long do we have to decide?"
Wincing, Emily mumbled, "Well, see... I kind of already said I'd take it."
"Excuse me?"
"I'm sorry," she said urgently. "But if I don't take the job, they'll split up the team..."
Lucy didn't seem to be buying the excuse. "Why doesn't Rossi take over? He's got more experience..."
"I don't know," she admitted, "But that's not the point."
Lucy cocked her head. "Well, is the point that you made a huge life-changing decision without consulting your wife?" she demanded.
Emily sighed. "I'm telling you now."
Lucy shook her head in frustration. "What about my career?" she asked. "My studio? What about our life there? The girls' lives? Doesn't any of that matter?"
"Yes, of course!" Emily insisted. "But we can make a new life here, can't we?"
Lucy gave her a pointed look. "Seems like we don't have a choice now, do we?"
With a sigh, Emily said, "I really don't want to fight with you right now."
"Well, then maybe you should sleep on the couch then," she said flatly.
Emily nodded slowly. Once. Twice. "Okay," she agreed. "I love you."
For a moment, it didn't seem like she was going to say it back, but eventually, she sighed. "I love you too," she echoed.
Emily attempted a smile, but it wasn't returned. She moved to the linen closet in search of spare blankets and a pillow, feeling like a terrible wife and terrible person.
It was nearly three AM (and Emily had barely slept a wink) when she felt a tiny warm body wriggle next to her. Cracking one eye open, she found Aurora cuddling up next to her, staring up at her with wonderment and love in her big blue eyes. "What are you doing awake, Sunshine?" she whispered, reaching up to smooth down her bedhead.
"Miss ooo," she whispered back. Whether she meant when she was gone on the case or while she was asleep, she couldn't be certain, but either way it made her heart clench.
"I missed you too," she replied, "But it's sleepy time. Remember you're supposed to stay in bed until your alarm clock shows the sun..."
"Want pamcakes..." she said. "Hung'y."
Emily laughed softly. "Maybe in the morning, okay? Right now you've got to get some sleep or Mama will be mad."
She shrugged. "S'rup?" she asked.
"You, missy, are all about the sweets, aren't you? You take after Mommy."
Blinking up at her, she smiled sweetly, leaned in for a kiss.
"Go to sleep, sunshine," Emily insisted again. She nuzzled Aurora's nose with her own. "I'll see you in the morning, okay?"
Aurora didn't reply, merely snuggling into her side and shutting her eyes. Her warm breath tickled Emily's skin with her slow breathing.
With a tender smile, Emily stared down at the soft baby face of her youngest daughter. All she could do was wrap her arms around the little body, pressing a gentle kiss to her temple. "I love you," she whispered. And in that moment, she knew that she could never survive being apart from her family...and if that meant turning down this job, she would do it.