"All right, darlings, let's get you up to bed. Midnight comes so early, after all."
"Yes, Mama," Catherine lisped as she got to her feet. "Come, Lisey, maybe Karen will read us a story." Elise rolled her eyes a little before jumping up and coming over to Erin's side, giving her a tight hug.
"What is it, Elise?"
"I was hoping to open a gift before we went to sleep," she pouted, and Erin shook her head as she smiled. "Why?"
"Because gifts are for after breakfast."
"We got to open one gift when Jack was here!" she protested, and Erin rubbed her back softly. "It's not fair!"
"It was special because Jack is in New York with his uncle Sean this year, so he won't be with us. We're having a small family celebration this year, remember?"
"Yeah. But we're still going to Poppop's for New Year's, right?"
Erin nodded before kissing Elise's forehead. "Yes. We wouldn't miss spending time with them for anything, dear. Now, go with Cath upstairs, and I'll tuck you in shortly."
"Okay." Elise still pouted a little as she followed her little sister out of the room. As soon as she heard their feet on the stairs, Erin got up from the sofa and went out into the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea. She had only managed to turn the kettle on before the doorbell rang, and she frowned a little, glancing at the clock to see just how late it was.
"Who could this possibly be?" she murmured as she turned on the porch light to look out the window and see who was there. "Lex?"
"Hey, Erin," she replied sheepishly as she held out an exquisitely wrapped gift. "I, that is, Christmas is a time to let go of the past and start anew. Right?"
"Yes," Erin breathed out as she beckoned Alex inside. "I just feel awful for not having a gift for you."
"You had no way of knowing that I was coming over, or that I would be open to accepting anything from you." She nodded as she led Alex to the living room and took a seat on the sofa, curling up in the corner closest to the fireplace, wanting that warmth to sink into her skin as she spoke with Alex.
"Did I hear the doorbell? Oh, hello, Alex."
"Hi, Dave. I thought that you would be home, since Hotch went away for Christmas. I've heard that you all celebrate the holiday as one huge family, usually."
"Let me guess, you were talking to Garcia?" he asked, and Alex nodded. "She's right, but Sean's apartment couldn't handle all of us, and it's easier for it just to be Hotch and Jack at this time. Do you want anything to drink?"
"Dammit, that's what I forgot. The kettle is on in the kitchen. Make us a pot of Lady Grey, please? I have the feeling that we'll be here talking for a long time."
"Of course, just remember that we need to leave the house by eleven thirty to get to the midnight service."
She nodded offhandedly before turning her full attention to Alex. "So, what did you want to talk about?" she asked as she settled into the sofa once more, watching as Alex copied her movements and used the blanket on the back to curl up with.
"I wasn't really certain, since this was a spur of the moment decision. Well, not the gift, I was planning on leaving that on your doorstep, until I remembered the other, weird, gift that you had been left and decided that I just needed to buck up and talk to you."
Erin laughed a little as she reached out her leg to gently kick Alex's shin. "That was always our hardest thing to do, because we always just understood each other."
"That's what's going to be the good part of this new facet of our friendship. Learning how to talk without hurting each other." Alex nodded as Erin looked at her watch. "I know that David will return with our tea soon. I'll be back in about five minutes, as I'll want to tuck the littles in before we really get to talking."
Alex nodded, giving her a gentle smile as Erin stretched out her body and rose to her feet, heading upstairs to see what her babies were up to. A warm feeling filled her chest when she heard Karen reading to them in their room, and Erin went inside as she finished the page she was reading. "What's up, Mom?"
"I just need to say goodnight. A dear friend has unexpectedly stopped by, and I know that we'll get to talking, and I won't be able to say sleep well before you all fall asleep." Going over to the bed, she kissed her children in turn before caressing their heads and then heading over to Bruce's room. He was busy reading, so she quickly said goodnight before stopping in Tabitha's room, only to see that her daughter was asleep already. Erin pulled the sheets up around her shoulders before she leaned down and kissed her forehead gently. "Sleep well, darling one," she whispered before heading back down to the living room.
She passed by her husband, welcoming his lips caressing her cheek as they stopped for a moment. "I'm glad that you're talking to her."
"I'm glad that she's willing to talk. I'll be upstairs shortly."
"No, you won't, and you're going to regret not getting in a nap before the service."
Erin rolled her eyes a little as she shook her head, moving past him to get to the living room. Picking up her tea as she took a seat once more, Erin looked at Alex, seeing that she was glancing around the room at the decorations and tree. "You still keep an elegant home."
"It's what I'm good at. That and politics. At least one of my skills is somewhat healthy." Alex laughed a little as she nodded. "All right, let's settle in to talk." Another nod from Alex and then they were beginning their first conversation about their lives in years. All too soon, Erin was yawning deeply, and Alex was copying her. "Do you want to do something that we haven't done since our Academy days?"
"What, share a bed and talk until we fall asleep?" Erin nodded. "At least this time, I'm assuming that you'll have a bigger bed than what we had in our dorm."
"That is true. We have a California king in the guest room, for when Aaron spends the night, since his height necessitates a larger bed. Come along, Lex." Reaching out, she patted Alex's leg softly before getting to her feet, Alex following after her and together, they went upstairs. Erin peeked in on her children along the way, seeing that they were all now sleeping, but for Karen, who told her that she would just stay up until after the service, since she could go sleep afterwards.
And then, they were in the guest room, and Erin was pulling down the covers as Alex took off her shoes, setting them at the end of the bed before crawling in next to Erin, turning on her side to look at her. "This really does bring me back," she whispered through a yawn, and Erin nodded as they picked up their conversation from where they had left off, soon falling asleep on each other as the hour grew later and later.