Reid let his hand slightly slip out of the open car door and feel the cool air softly brush against the tips of his fingers. "I think Jessica Reid sounds better, what do you think?" Emily said in a thoughtful tone.
"I don't know" He mumbled, lost in his mind as he attempted to pull himself out. "I think Jessica Prentiss sounds better" He eventually said.
"Wait, you haven't decided on her last name yet?" Garcia said with a laugh slipping through her voice. "We're going to sign her birth certificate and you don't even know what you're going to put on it?"
"I just think it's old fashioned for her to take my last name just because I'm the man" Reid said in the most diplomatic voice he could manage.
"Yeah but if you guys get married then you'll have to change her last name to Reid anyway" Garcia reminded them.
"Who says we're getting married?" Emily asked, sharing the same thought with Reid as they looked in Garcia's direction from the back seats of the car.
"And even if we did it doesn't mean Emily would have to change her last name" Reid pointed out as he glanced in between him and Emily to see Jessie sleeping quietly.
"You guys are so weird" Garcia said quietly as she turned down the busy Virginian streets. Reid and Emily gave her a mixture of confused and offended looks which made her smile a little. "You're both obviously in love but you're always trying to keep yourselves separate. You're only being picky over last names because you're convinced one of you will leave the other, not because you think its 'old fashioned'" Garcia explained. "You'd think after everything you'd have gotten over this" She added quietly.
Reid's and Emily's eyes flickered to the other as they shared a thought then Reid nodded and gave a weak smile. "If you want her last name to be Reid I'm alright with it" Reid said.
"And I'm fine with her last name being Prentiss, if that's what you want" Emily said, matching Reid's smile.
"You guys are hopeless" Garcia sighed from the front seat as she watched them through the rear view mirror. Reid and Emily smiled a little at hearing that and couldn't agree more, they were both so eager to please the other it left them doing things neither of them wanted.
"I think Jessica Reid sounds better" Emily repeated quietly, a little smile playing on her lips.
"Jessica Reid" Reid said to himself. "You're probably right" He admitted after a pause.
"Are we decided now?" Garcia asked from the front seats as she picked up the piece of paper with directions on. Reid looked over to Emily who was nodding so he did so too. "Good because, if these directions are right, we're here" She added as she pulled into the car park with another SUV carrying Morgan, JJ and Rossi in close behind her.
Emily let out a sigh of relief as she unclipped Jessie from her car seat and picked her up, passing her to Reid who was now outside of the car and waiting for them. "You guys should really get a sat nav" Garcia said as the other team members joined her by the car. Emily hopped out of the car and Reid passed Jessie back to her.
"We have maps though" Reid said as he pointed to the glove box Garcia had earlier opened and had been engulfed in the maps Reid was talking about.
"No kidding" Garcia said as they walked towards the building.
"Updated maps are much more dependable than a sat nav. If you're in a place of poor signal-" Reid began to explain and Emily and Garcia rolled their eyes as the lecture they'd heard a dozen times before began again.
"Alright, kids. Let's just get Jessie's birth certificate without boring anyone to death" Rossi said and shared a smile with the other team members as Reid looked around, oblivious of the joke but knowing he should be insulted.
"Hi, we're here to pick up our daughter's birth certificate?" Emily said as she approached the front desk.
"Names?" The receptionist asked as her eyes scanned the group gathered in front of her.
"Emily Prentiss and Spencer Reid" Reid answered as he placed a hand on the desk.
The receptionist quickly typed the information into her computer then looked up. "Turn right at the end of that corridor" She said pointing to a corridor leading away from the door. "First door on the left" She explained then looked back to her computer.
Emily quickly nodded then led the way with the group following close behind. She paused for a moment at the door as she readjusted the sleepy baby in her arms before opening the door to a small office with a middle aged woman sitting behind the desk. "Take a seat" The woman said as finished writing something down then looked up with a warm smile.
Emily and Reid took the two seats and the rest of the group leant against walls while Morgan's mind drifted and he started to profile the woman by the paintings and qualifications hanging on her walls. "Emily and Spencer, correct?" The woman asked as she looked down at a few pieces of paper on her slightly disorganised desk.
Reid quickly nodded and looked to Emily who gave him a warm smile to help him relax; he didn't even know why he was so stressed. "Well, this procedure is surprisingly easy" The woman said and looked back up to the couple with another warm smile. "All I need is your daughter's name and for you to sign the certificate and you can be on your way" She paused for a moment to find the document on her computer then turned back to Reid and Emily for the information.
"Her name's Jessica Reid" Emily said proudly and squeezed Reid's hand comfortingly. Reid turned to her while the woman typed in the name and gave her a warm thankful smile that the team noticed and that spread to them. Emily shifted Jessie slightly as she moved in her lap and let out a small cry for attention.
"I'll go get the certificate for you" The woman said as she stood and walked toward the door. "I won't be long" She called as she shut the door.
Emily picked up Jessie and gently placed her back down again, her little fingers wrapping round her mommy's as she did so. She quietly hushed her and rubbed her back soothingly as she let out another little cry.
"Here we go" The woman said as she reappeared a few minutes later with the shiny certificate. "Just sign where it says 'mother and father's signature' and we'll be done" She said and sat back down in her chair after she passed the certificate to Reid.
He quickly took the pen she offered him and signed then gently took Jessie so Emily was free to sign. "Well, that's everything" The woman said once both had signed and motioned toward the door. "You'll get her security code and some other bits through the mail within the next two weeks but you can take the certificate with you today" She said and handed it to Emily as Reid carried Jessie to the door with the team close behind.
"Thanks" Rossi said and gave her a warm smile as he followed them out, he'd never had any of his own children so this felt like his chance to share all that he'd earned over his lifetime. He thought of the whole team as his family but Reid and Emily, along with Morgan, were especially close to him; they were almost like his surrogate children despite their difficult start.
He quickly followed them out into the car park where they paused for a moment. "Where to now?" Morgan asked as he leant against one of the SUVs.
Reid and Emily looked round the group for answers and Garcia laughed a little. "You guys really are hopeless"
"What about Jenny's?" Morgan said as he thought back to the steamy hot pancakes he hadn't had for almost a month.
Rossi and JJ quickly nodded and she added "Sure"
"No syrup" Garcia said with a warning look to Morgan.
He held his hands up in the air defensively. "I wouldn't dream of it"
Emily gave Reid a slightly confused look so Reid smiled softly and gave her an 'I'll explain later' look in return which Emily seemed to accept as she nodded and carefully took Jessie to put her in the car. "I'm driving this time" Morgan called as he hopped into the driver's seat of the other SUV. "Rossi drives like my grandma" He said with a laugh as Rossi tossed him the keys and slide into the front passenger seat.
JJ rolled her eyes at the arguing boys and smiled at Emily "We'll see you there"