A.N. I really have no excuse other than laziness this time. But band season is over and it's Fall Break, so I expect to update a couple of things this week. Hope you enjoy!
"You should have lunch with us." Evelyn invited. "All of you. It'll be fun, won't it Dr. Spence?"
"Evelyn, what about your manners?" Spence reminded her. "You haven't even introduced yourself yet."
"Sorry, Dr. Spence, Mommy," She said, but she was smiling. She turned to face Derek and Emily again. "My name is Evelyn Ann Smith, everyone but Dr. Spence calls me Evie unless I've done something wrong. I'm Amanda Jane Smith's daughter." She looked at me with a big grin. "Was that good enough Mommy?" At my nod she continued, "What are your names?"
"Special Agent Derek Morgan, at your service Miss Evie." Derek held out his hand for her to shake and she did so seriously. "How old are you?"
"It's not polite to ask a woman her age." She giggled. "But I'll tell you anyway. I'm 8." She then faced Emily and stated. "You're pretty. And I like your shirt. Purple's my favorite color. Mommy's too."
"Why thank you, Evie. My name's Emily Prentiss and I like the color purple too." She shook my baby's small hand and smiled at me over her head. "You're very polite."
"That's how Mommy and Grandma and Grandpa raised me." Then she asked me, "Can I tell them yet? I think they should know, since they're your friends."
"How about we go sit in the conference room?" I suggested. "We can eat lunch in there okay, Evie?" At her nod Uncle Aaron swept her up and asked her about school and if she'd made any friends while the rest of us stayed where we were.
"You have a daughter?" Derek asked as soon as they were out of earshot. "And everyone knew about her except for me and Emily?" I nodded.
"Is there any other pretty important piece of information that you're keeping from us?" Emily asked, sounding less angry than I expected.
"Spence and I are dating…and living together." I whispered to the floor, and then hurried to explain. "We probably should've told you, but you two were the only ones who didn't guess and we wanted to have at least some control over who found out."
"Way to go, Little Sis." Derek laughed, and my head shot up.
"You're not mad?" I exclaimed.
"It's our own fault that we didn't see it, even though we're trained profilers." Emily admitted, "Besides, in this team there are some things you just want to tell the team on your own terms." She smiled, "I'm happy for you guys."
"Well, thanks for understanding." I sighed. "Evie wanted to be the one to tell you the next bit of news, so why don't we catch up to her?"