Second Chances – chapter twenty two
Later that morning, Emily and Morgan sat side by side on the back porch as they took turns throwing Clooney's ball for him.
"You're not really going to tell your mother about how I proposed the first time, are you?" She gave him a wicked smile as she thought of her mothers' reaction.
"It's a tempting thought," she replied.
"Reel in the rebellious teenager," he smirked back
"I do need to tell her that I've moved back to DC though and that we're getting married," Emily told him.
Emily could see the questions running through his head as he thought about her return to the states. Not much talking had occurred after she had presented him with her change of assignment papers. "How long did you know that you were moving back?"
"Well, I made the decision to come home when we were in Atlantic City," she let that information sink in before continuing. "I was going to start looking for a job here, when Easter offered me the DC while we were at Annabel's first birthday. Only Amy, Easter and Annabel knew what I was planning."
"You've known since September?" He clarified.
"I didn't want to get your hopes up in case it fell through. Plus there was this little part of me that wanted to surprise you for a change." Her smile softened as she looked at the newly acquired ring on her finger. "It seems like we were both planning surprises. The ring is beautiful." They shared a quick kiss.
"I loved your surprise," he look turned thoughtful for a moment. "If you don't mind, I would like to go talk to Reid later on this afternoon. I would like him to know today."
"That's a great idea," she said as she leant into him, dropping her head to his shoulder as they watched Clooney run around the garden. "We can go see him together."
"Um, actually I would like to see him on my own," he told her a hesitantly.
"But I would like to thank him for everything he has done for us," she said frowning a little as she lifted her head from his shoulder. He took a deep breath.
"I know, but I want to talk to him about something," Morgan told her. "Do Penelope and JJ know that you've moved home yet?" He asked trying to distract her. He failed.
"Not yet," she answered. "Is everything okay with Spencer?" Emily worried.
"He's fine, Em." Morgan knew he would have to tell her what he wanted to talk to Reid about to stop her from worrying. "I just I want to ask him to be my best man."
Emily immediately calmed down as his words registered in her head. "Oh," she smiled at him. "I'll invite JJ and PG over and tell them how you popped the question."
He began to blush a little as he thought of his co-workers knowing that particular detail. "Um about that, I don't suppose you could tell them I got down on one knee and declared my undying love, could you? And leave out the part where we were…" The blush had spread across his face as his words trailed off.
"The part where we were having sex?" Emily questioned, smiling wickedly at him. "Hm, you'd have to offer me something pretty good in exchange for my silence, 'cause we girls like to share details like that. Plus they're going to see through any lies I tell them."
"I'm sure we can think of something to bargain with," he smirked at her as she schooled her expression to stay neutral. Sighing in defeat, Morgan pleaded with her, "At least promise me that our mothers will get the PG version, if you can't keep it from our friends."
Emily's features faltered as she thought of Fran's expression, she immediately felt the flush creeping up her neck. "Okay, I'll give my mother the PG version," Emily pouted a little.
Relieved, Morgan leant into her, kissing her. "Thank you," he said.
"Although, your mother doesn't think you're half as innocent as you think she does," Emily laughed as his head twisted comically to look at her, his eyes wide with shock at her statement.
It was later that day when Emily opened the front door to Penelope and JJ, exchanging hugs with the women. She ushered them into the living room, sitting opposite them as they sat side by side on the sofa. For a minute they sat in silence, Emily had been vague on the phone when she had rung them, refusing to elaborate on why she needed to speak to them. Emily could see the confusion, worry and intrigue etched across their faces and they looked her over, trying to find something out of place. Emily saw JJ's eyes land on the ring, and her friend smiled but kept her silence when Emily flicked her eyes at Penelope. JJ gave a slight nod as they both waited for the inevitable scream.
But it never came, and Emily could see the exact moment when the anticipation got the better of Penelope. "Okay, my Vision, enough of the silence. What's going on?"
"I moved home on Thursday," Emily stated, easing into the revelations that would come this afternoon. Both women looked confused at what Emily had to say.
"But I thought you were only here for a month," JJ queried, allowing her friend to tell her story in her own time. JJ could hear Morgan upstairs, getting ready to go out.
"I lied," Emily said a bit sheepishly. "I said that to not to get Morgan's hopes up if everything fell through. I had decided to move back before Easter offered me the DC office to run; he knew I wanted to come home."
Immediately her friends smiled at her explanation. "Oh my god," Penelope's eyes widened as it sunk in. She cast her mind back to what she had seen on Morgan's phone before Christmas, and allowed her gaze to drop to Emily's left hand. "He picked that one," Penelope said looking back up at Emily. "It's beautiful."
Emily and JJ both turned to the techie in shock. "You knew?" Emily laughed.
"It was the hardest two months of my life. I was so excited when I found him looking at them on his phone." JJ snickered beside her.
"It's great news Em," JJ told her. "Now come here so we can hug, because we're all not gonna fit on that armchair."
The brunette sat in the small space between her friends, and was immediately engulfed in their arms.
"We need to start planning the bachelorette party," Penelope said excitedly as Morgan appeared in the doorway.
"Uh, do I get some love too?" He questioned as he saw all three women huddled together. JJ and Penelope got up to congratulate him as well.
"And you were worried she'd say no," Penelope said as she released him. Morgan looked past her to see Emily's head tilting to the side, questioning. Morgan shrugged in response.
"I was nervous," he told her. Emily smiled warmly at him as the others resumed their previous position beside her. "Right I'll leave you ladies to it; I'm going to find Reid." He gave them a short wave before turning to open the front door.
Just as Morgan stepped out the front door he heard JJ ask, "So how did he propose?" He groaned when he heard Emily's small chuckle in response.
….
In contrast to her childhood homes, the home she now shared with Morgan had photographs, reminders of special events, a few precious keep sakes; something she had avoided keeping her entire life. As a child they were painful reminders of the isolation, lack of affection from her parents, her parents' marriage deteriorating as they both strived to keep a social standing with other Ambassadors; and as a teenager she had rebelled against those tokens; during her time at the CIA and Interpol, she had been taught to be ready to walk away at any time, leaving nothing traceable behind. Something Easter encouraged all employees to do. Something he was doing with Amy and Annabel, nothing could trace him to their home unless they followed him. Emily knew he was prepared to walk away if he ever thought his girls were in danger.
The Saturday following Morgan's proposal Emily found herself standing in her mother's living room. Emily saw some pictures she had never thought she would see again. Picking up the photo frame from the table next to her, she gazed into the faces of a younger version of herself and her grandfather. Smiling slightly, Emily wondered how her mother came to have it; she presumed it was lost during the time she had been in Paris. Examining the room further she found the bracelet that had been passed down to her on her sixteenth birthday on her mother's desk, draped across a small photo of her as a baby; the one her grandmother had given to her mother and her mother had given to her.
Other small trinkets started to get Emily's attention as she waited for her mother to join her so they could have lunch. Once again Emily wondered how these items came to be in her mother's possession.
Elizabeth Prentiss breezed into the room, barely registering her daughter as she read the file in her hands. "Emily," she said brightly, looking up at her daughter. Emily saw the usual appraisal her mother gave her on initial contact; knowing her mother was judging her posture, weight, nervousness, searching for injuries. As her mother's gaze drifted down Emily, her attention was caught by the engagement ring on her finger and Emily fought the urge to fiddle with it. Her mother lifted her gaze to look Emily in the eye and raised an eyebrow as she queried, "I didn't know you were involved with anyone."
"We've been together for nearly two years now. He proposed last week,"
Elizabeth kept her focus on her daughter as she thought. "Who is he? Someone you met in London?"
"No," Emily started. "Derek Morgan, from my old team at the BAU," there was a flash of recognition in her mothers' eyes and she flicked her gaze towards the bracelet, Emily resisted asking her mother about it now. "He proposed when I moved back to DC last week. I'm running the Interpol office here now," Emily smiled warmly as she looked down at her hand.
"Agent Morgan?" Elizabeth questioned. Emily sighed at the neutral tone in her mother's voice.
"Yes, you met when you came to the BAU for help," she inwardly winced at her own tense tone. Before her 'death', she and her mother had made an effort to repair their relationship and bridge the emotional distance between them. Since her return, the interaction with her mother had been laced with the disapproval that Emily had often felt during her teenage years.
Emily was surprised by the unguarded smile that came over her mother's face. "I know. He's a lovely man." Emily's head tilted to the side as she contemplated her mother; they had been introduced, but to Emily's recollection they didn't interact much. Not enough for her mother to draw that conclusion. "We met again after your funeral," Elizabeth stated as she saw the questions in Emily's eyes. "I was unable to make it home in time, and he contacted me after I arrived back. He and your friends had sorted your things into storage for me, but he put aside a box of items he thought I might want to keep hold of. We had a nice talk."
Emily was stunned into silence. Morgan had given her mother the tokens she had found around the room; and she was amazed that her often unaffectionate mother had wanted to keep them. She tried to think of something to say, but her mother beat her to it. "I'm glad he was able to bring you home." The accompanying look was full of the maternal love that Emily had craved as a child. "Both times," she added.
"So am I," Emily said in a small voice as she and her mother took seats opposite each other. In the middle of the coffee table a tray with tea and cups had been placed. There was a staring contest between mother and daughter for a few minutes as they both tried to collect their thoughts.
"Are you in love?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yes," Emily told her without hesitation.
"He's been in love with you for a long time." Emily found it strange talking to her mother about this aspect of her relationship, especially when she apparently knew about Derek's feelings before Emily did. "Why didn't you bring Derek with you?"
"He got called away on a case yesterday, but I wanted to talk to you on my own first, so we could catch up without it being awkward for Derek," Emily explained, her mother nodded understandingly. "What did you two talk about?" Emily asked, not really knowing if she wanted know the truth or whether she hoped her mother would keep Derek's confidence.
"You," her mother stated warmly, before a frown descended on her features. "Derek was very sweet, showing concern for me, while he looked like he would shatter if anyone asked how he was feeling. We told each other stories about you, I told him of your first steps; and in return he told me some amusing stories of team nights out, although I suspect they were the toned down versions for me." Elizabeth gave a small smirk, which made Emily flush slightly. The woman sitting in front of her was in complete contrast to the one that had yelled at her as a teenager for her wild child antics.
"So, I take it you approve?"
"Of course. Would it matter if I didn't?" Elizabeth asked.
"No at all," Emily stated with confidence, maintaining eye contact.
"Good," Elizabeth paused, her gaze drifting over Emily's shoulder out the patio doors behind her as she thought of something. "Would you like to have the wedding here?" She asked.
"Really?" Emily questioned. She did love her mother's garden, and the space would be beautiful for the wedding. "I'll talk to Derek about it before we confirm anything."
Her mothers' head tipped to the side as she examined her. "You seem more settled than before you moved to London." Elizabeth told Emily.
Emily took a deep breath, looking down at her hands, resisting the urge to bite her nails. "I am. I needed time to step back from my life here; deal with everything that had happened. It took a while to get used to the fact that everyone was still in my life this time round." Emily looked back up at her mother. "I hope that includes you."
"Do you regret what's happened? Returning from Paris, going to London?" Elizabeth wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answer. There was a long pause before Emily answered.
"There are a lot of things that I regret about the past few years; that the people I love thought I was dead; that Derek and I decided we wanted to be together after I moved almost four thousand miles away; that I was unable to be here when my friends needed me." Emily took a deep breath before continuing. "But there's a part of me that wouldn't change it, as it led me to where I am today. I just wish it wasn't with as much heartbreak."
Elizabeth nodded in understanding; knowing how career decisions often destroyed loving families. "You're happy now?" She asked.
A huge smile appeared on Emily's face as she toyed with the engagement ring on her finger, she nodded. "Yes, very happy." Elizabeth smiled at her daughter.
"How did he propose?"
Emily bit her lip as she thought back to the morning he woke her up, placing kisses along her neck. Emily told her mother the version Morgan had made her promise to tell. "I never told him I was moving back. I wanted it to be a surprise. The morning after I told him, I woke to find him holding the ring in his hand. He told me he loved me, and then he asked me to be his wife." Unable to resist any further, the nail of her index finger met her lip before she was able to pull it back. She saw a flicker in her mother's eye at the movement.
"Congratulations," Elizabeth told her, as she sat forward to pour them both a cup of tea. "There are people I would like to invite…"
"No," Emily cut her off before she could start listing other political figures or dignitaries. "My marriage to Derek will have nothing to do with politics; that includes the wedding. All we want is a small ceremony for friends and family. If you don't agree with that, then we can find somewhere else to get married." Elizabeth sat there stunned for a moment; knowing her reaction would dictate the future of the relationship she had with her daughter.
"A small wedding with family and friends," Elizabeth repeated, her smile grew as Emily released the breath she had been holding. "It sounds wonderful." Emily smiled back at her. "So," Elizabeth started after a moment passed, "how did he really propose?"
Emily's eyes flashed to her mothers' as the rebellious teenager she once was, usually buried deep within her, rose to the surface for a moment as she told her mother the truth. "Mid orgasm," she stated unapologetically as she took a sip of her tea.
Elizabeth's responding smirk and comment made Emily cough slightly as the tea went down the wrong way. "When you inform your father, lie to him a bit more convincingly."
That evening, Emily curled up on the sofa reading her book when her phone beeped. Emily picked up the phone, her hand brushing the bracelet that her mother had given back to her. She saw a message from Morgan.
'Hey Princess, how was lunch with your Mother?'
'Good, she's happy for us, wants to have dinner with both of us.' Emily typed back.
'Okay sounds good. I haven't got much time. I love you, and will try to speak to you tomorrow.'
Emily typed a similar response. A few minutes later she received another message.
'You told her, didn't you?'
Author Note – I must confess that I wrote Elizabeth's reaction to the proposal before I wrote the proposal. It's the reason why Morgan proposed mid coitus. I have reread the story and I have a few loose ends I would like to tie up, so there are probably only a few chapters left. Thank you for all the wonderful comments let me know what you think.