Chapter 3: It's Coming Together

It really shouldn't be this hard. She already knew how they would respond. At least, she hoped she knew. Either way, she wouldn't know until she tried.

The trying part was just taking a while.

"Em?" prompted Aaron. "Are you going to do this anytime soon?"

He was stretched out on her bed in her dorm room. Opposite, Emily was perched on her desk chair, eyeing her cell phone. It lay on her desk, which is where it had been for the past fifteen minutes.

"What if they say no?" she asked, not looking at her boyfriend.

"Then they say no," Aaron replied. Emily suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. "Why are you so worried? You knew from the get-go there's a chance they won't agree to this. What do you have to lose?"

Emily sighed. "I don't want to let everyone down. They're all so excited."

Aaron studied her closely. "And… maybe you're excited too?"

Emily frowned and glared at him. "Don't profile me."

"I'm only a freshman, I hardly know how to profile people."

"Well, either way, that's what you're doing now!" She turned her gaze back to her motionless phone. Aaron sat up and leaned forward. He grasped Emily's hands within his own and squeezed.

"Hey," he said softly. "Look at me."

Emily resisted for a moment, but eventually she looked over. Aaron smiled and rubbed his thumb across her knuckles.

"No one will blame you if your parents say no. We'll just have to come up with a plan B if they do." He looked at her square in the eye. "We'll make it work."

Emily bit her lip, then nodded. Aaron kissed her briefly on the lips before pulling away and untangling one of his hands. He picked up her phone and held it out to her. After a small pause, Emily took it from him. With a shift of the thumb, her phone was unlocked, and her mother's number was gracing the screen. Pressing the green "call" button, she lifted the phone to her ear and waited while it rang. Aaron still held her other hand, and he squeezed it right then. She offered him a weak smile.

"Hello?" Elizabeth Prentiss's crisp voice sounded over the line. Emily swallowed.

"Hey, Mom. It's me."

"Emily! It's so wonderful to hear from you. You haven't called in a while." Only Mrs. Prentiss could make something sound simultaneously accusing and nonchalant.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I've just had a lot of stuff going on." Emily glanced at Aaron, and he gave her a reassuring smile and nod. Warmth spread through her chest.

"Working hard? I should certainly hope so…"

"Oh, yeah, lots of hard work. In the past month alone I've had, like, four essays. I can't wait for break."

"Is that coming up soon?" Mrs. Prentiss sounded disinterested. Emily's social life never did occur to her. "Will you be coming home?"

"Well…" Emily took a deep breath. This was her in. "That's what I wanted to ask you about."

"Of course you can come home, Emily, you're always welcome. You know that."

Emily winced. Aaron squeezed her hand, and she offered a meek grin in response. She switched her gaze to a spot on the wall behind his head, trying to phrase her words very carefully.

"Oh, I do know that. But, since it's Spring Break, and it's so close to the end of the school year, I was hoping to do something a little more… fun."

"Fun?" Mrs. Prentiss repeated blankly. Emily wondered if that word was even in her mother's vocabulary. "What did you have in mind?"

Emily looked at Aaron, as if he would tell her what to say next. Of course, having not heard Mrs. Prentiss, he had no idea. He just gave her a blank look in response. Emily glanced away again.

"A trip," she said with as much confidence as she could muster. "With my friends."

There was a pause. Emily chewed on her lower lip as she waited. It felt like an eternity.

"And where would this trip go?"

"Panama Beach," Emily answered readily.

"Sounds expensive."

"We found a website that caters to college kids on break. It's budget-friendly."

Elizabeth sighed. "What exactly are you asking me, Emily? Don't beat around the bush, you know how much I hate that."

"Can you help pay for our trip to Panama Beach for Spring Break?" asked Emily, her words coming out quickly and nervously. She had rehearsed it over and over in her head, planning each word carefully.

Again, a pause. Emily's heart rate increased by several beats. Aaron seemed anxious too, but he wasn't showing it as much as his girlfriend. However, she noticed the way his jaw clenched after she finished her question. It was his tell. Emily had gotten quite adept at picking those out (though Aaron noticed hers first, the jerk).

"That is a hefty request," Elizabeth finally said. Emily was so scared of an immediate negative response that she didn't even know what to say. Her mouth opened and closed for a moment before she thought of something.

"I realize that. And I wouldn't ask if this wasn't important to us. To me. But… it is. We haven't seen each other in a while, and school has really been getting to us lately. We need this. Just two weeks, on vacation, all together. Besides, I haven't taken any money recently. This could be your way of making it up to me." She cringed. "I mean, my way of making it up to you." A groan. "You know what I mean."

Emily could practically see her mother purse her lips. She began jiggling her foot up and down. Aaron raised his eyebrows. The reassuring squeeze made a reappearance, but Emily didn't smile. This was the make-or-break moment.

"I assume you've thought most of this out already?"

Thankfully, they had. Penelope, in all her enthusiasm and computer-wiz glory, had come up with an in-depth itinerary. Prices for lodging and travel were all outlined, as well as additional expenses.

"Yes," said Emily. "I can email it all to you as soon as needed. Heck, I can send it now."

"Please do. I'll look it over and discuss is with your father."

Emily let out the breath she hadn't fully realized she was holding. Aaron's eyebrows lifted in question, and the corner of her lips quirked up for an answer. His brown eyes lit up, a grin of his own starting to form.

"Thank you so much, Mom! I would hug you if I were actually near you."

Elizabeth chuckled briefly. "Don't be so quick with the thanks. I haven't said yes yet."

"Oh, I know. But I figure I gotta butter you up somehow."

"I'll let you know soon, Emily. In the meantime, keep up the good work. And tell Aaron I say hello."

"Will do. Love you."

"I love you too."

Emily hung up and looked at Aaron. He returned her gaze expectantly, though he obviously knew how the conversation went.

"She's gonna talk to my dad," Emily reported. Aaron nodded.

"That's good! That's not a no."

"No, it most certainly is not."

A few days later, they had their answer. The team of misfits was headed to Panama Beach for two weeks come April, and they could not have been more excited. Penelope coated her dorm room in lists upon lists of things to pack, things to do once there, and general "To Do's" prior to leaving. Derek took great pleasure in telling everyone he could about the upcoming trip. Emily convinced Aaron to not bring a single textbook with him. She discussed which outfits to bring with Penelope and JJ, once JJ was informed of their plans.

Spencer was the one that told her. He had requested to be the bearer of good news, and no one objected. After all, it had been his idea.

"Hey, Spence," JJ greeted, cell phone lodged between her ear and shoulder. She was in the process of tucking her textbooks into her backpack, and it was proving to be quite difficult.

"Hi, JJ." He paused. "What are you doing? It sounds like you're climbing a mountain."

JJ moaned. "I have too much stuff, and very little space in my bag. I'm about two seconds away from chucking one of these god-awful book out the window."

"Sounds like you need a break," Spencer said lightly. JJ barked out a laugh.

"You're telling me. I have a countdown for Spring Break on my phone."

"Got any plans for that?" Spencer tried his best to sound casual, but anyone who knew Spencer Reid knew he was terrible at casual. JJ paused in her packing endeavor and frowned.

"I was just going to go home, but do you have something else in mind?"

"Well… it just so happens that our dear friends have an idea."

JJ smirked. Of course they did.

"And that idea would be?"

"Panama Beach, Florida. All of us. Spring Break."

JJ froze. That most certainly was not what she expected. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

"JJ?" Spencer prompted. "You still there?"

"I…" She cleared her throat. "You're not serious, are you?"

"I am. Emily's parents are helping with the money. Penelope's got all the travel plans in order. All you need to do is say yes. And pack. And probably inform your parents."

"Spence, I…" She shook her head. "I can't… That seems too good to be true."

"JJ," he said gently. "Just say yes." She hesitated for a fraction of a second.

"Hell yes."

A/N: Hi. So, I am really, really, reallyyyy sorry about the long wait between chapters. My life has gotten so very crazy, and I haven't had much time to do anything outside of school and work. I'm optimistic about things slowing down soon, but I've thought that before and been proven wrong, so please bear with me. I promise to never abandon this. I will update eventually, but not as often as I would like.

Thank you all for your continued support. It means the world to me, and it makes my hectic life a whole lot more tolerable. =)