"So, how did the interviews go?" Hotch asked Lynn and Garcia. "Have you decided on a midwife?"

Immediately following his debriefing, Hotch had stopped to speak with Rosa in Human Resources about his return to the BAU and then had hurried back to the hotel.

"Well, the first candidate is definitely out," Garcia declared. "It seems that her sister runs some sort of 'baby necessities' supply company and her main emphasis seemed to be on the fact that her expectant mothers are expected to purchase a complete newborn package from her sister."

"The second one was really nice," Lynn said thoughtfully. "She seemed to be concerned about me and asked a lot of questions about my first pregnancy."

"The third one was bossy to the extreme," Garcia observed. "Now, I have never had a baby, but I do know that when it comes to pushing one out you need to have someone there encouraging you. However, that woman didn't seem to be the encouraging type; she seemed to be more like a marine drill sergeant handing out orders. I wouldn't want her in my delivery room!"

"So, it's the second one then?" Hotch assumed.

"Maybe not," Lynn told him. "Tara called this morning with a suggestion. It seems that several years ago a friend of hers was accepted at medical school. However, once she got there, she wasn't at all happy with it. So, she started looking around for another career in the medical field and she settled on being a midwife."

"We spoke with her on the phone," Garcia continued. "And she seems to be really nice. So, she's going to stop by tomorrow morning to meet with Lynn and me and, if everything goes well, we'll probably go with her."

"You're still looking at a home birth then?" Hotch tried not to shiver at the thought.

"That's what I had last time and everything went just fine," Lynn pointed out. "So, I see no reason to change now. Besides, I don't think I like hospitals much."

"Okay, if that's what you want," Hotch told his wife as he walked over to kiss her. "In that case, we had better get you a home to have this home birth in."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Hotch's cousin Jeremiah apparently worked some magic because several days later the house Morgan had showed them was theirs.

"Now that the estate is out of probate, the heirs were anxious to sell," Jeremiah explained when he called Hotch with the good news. "And I offered them a fair price. Closing is scheduled for the day after tomorrow and you can take possession immediately afterwards."

"The house will need to be thoroughly cleaned before we move in," Hotch said thoughtfully. "The carpets need to be scrubbed, the windows need to be washed, and everything else needs to be washed down. I'll have to line up a company to do that."

"Call Lisette," Jeremiah suggested. "She probably knows someone. And, she'll undoubtedly have some advice on how to make the whole experience easier on Lynn. You don't need anything happening to her and/or the baby."

"Thanks, I'll do that," Hotch replied. "This is all such a new experience for her I don't know how she is going to handle it."

"By the way, I understand you and Jessica had quite the meeting with Mr. Lawrence," Jeremiah continued. "I don't want to damage the firm's reputation for confidentiality, but the whole second floor heard it."

"We certainly did," Hotch sighed. "We managed to straighten out several issues and agreed on terms for the return of my furniture and other belongings. But, there are still a lot of issues pending. Poor Jessica. I think she had a whole scenario worked out in her head about what was going to happen when I returned and, unfortunately, the reality isn't anything like what she was planning."

"Well, I just want you to know," Jeremiah told him. "If you ever need help with anything, feel free to give me a call. And, if you need help moving, my two boys are always available."