DISCLAIMER : I do not own the Criminal Minds franchise, any character seen in the series is the sole property of the creators. No copyright infringement intended. Happy reading!

Guide to the story : anything in unbolded italics is a flashback, and anything in bold, straightfaced font is current.

Non Criminal Minds characters, this chapter (the ones I made up) : Trinity Lucille Morgan...Justin Banks...

Extra TidBits That Might Have Some Benefits : In the show Emily Prentiss is like 41 years of age, but I made her a decade younger. So this would make Derek Morgan a year older than she is. And all the other characters will have three to five years taken off their age to be fair.

"Lost In Paradise"

Chapter 5

{"A woman knows the face of the man she loves as a sailor knows the open sea."- Honore de Balzac}

Emily stood, speechless for a moment than a smile broke onto her face and she nodded, "Yes!" Tears of happiness strolled down her cheek as Derek slid the ring onto her ring finger. People that watched around began clapping as the two hugged each other. Declan ran up and smiled, "Diddya finally do it Derek?" Emily looked at her fiancee confused. "Sure did Dec." "Wait, wait, wait...did you two plan this?" Derek laughed "Em you aren't the only one whose been using Garcia's tech skills." She smiled and shook her head, "Lets finish the zoo trip shall we? Oh, and Derek...by the way you owe me dinner at the restuarant remember." "In due time Emily, in due time." Declan went off to see the rhinos as the couple watched from behind. "You should tell your daughter that, she's been kicking like a psycho today and they aren't soft either." She rested her head against Derek's shoulder and was immediately relaxed by his breathing. She was happy, most likely the happiest she's ever been.

The rest of the day went by smoothly and Justin Banks would turn and go the other way when he would see the trio walking in his direction. After their lunch near the elephants and a trip to the gift shop they went back home. "Is the team still coming for dinner tonight Em?" She nodded, "Yep, sure are. Steak, velvetta, brocoli and baked potatoes still right?" She asked as she mixed the cake mix for the carrot cake she was planning. "Yep, Kevin I know for sure is looking forward to that cake. I'd make two just so he could have his own." Emily laughed, when she was younger she never pictured herself an expectant mother, engaged to the man of her dreams...her soulmate, but here she was seven months pregnant, engaged and making an exceptional dinner for her coworkers whom she considered family. She looked over into the living room where Declan was playing his Tony Hawk game on the Xbox 360, when a knock sounded on the front door. "It's unlocked!" Derek yelled over his shoulder. "Hey Garcia! Hey Kev!" Emily greeted the pair with a smile, "Hey momma, how was the zoo?" Garcia sat her purse and the gift she had bought just for Declan on the table by the door. "It stunk if you ask me, but then again...I have like super sonic smelling senses now," They all laughed as Reid walked in, "Actually the enhance is smell is due to the increase of hormones..." He walked up and took a his usual seat at the island bar where Garcia and Kevin had already taken their spots. "Hey Em, I get that entire carrot cake right?" Kevin asked chuckling, "One step in front of you, I have two in there right now so you can take one home." The man's face lit up like a million LED lights and he was smiling. "Hey Declan, you ready to make those brownies?" Emily looked back over into the living room as the boy sprang up, completely ignoring his new game, and went over to his mother hugging her the best her stomach permitted. "Hey Dec, I got those books you wanted." Garcia inquired looking over to him, "Thank you Ms. Penelope." Emily cocked her head in confusion as Declan went and got the gift bag and went back over to the kitchen and got the two books out, one being Bedtime For Baby Star by Lauren Tinling and the other being a book on the FBI. "I asked Ms. Penelope if she could get me that one," he point to Bedtime For Baby Star, "so when the baby gets here, we can read her a story when she goes to bed." The adults couldn't help but all smile at Declan's innocence as he explained the books, when JJ who was carrying her five year old Henry, her fiancee Will, Hotch and his son Jack, who was two years younger than Declan and Rossi walked in. "Hey everyone!" JJ flashed her exquisite smile and sat Henry down who went one by one and hugged everyone of his 'aunts and uncles'. "God Em, I swear you can still move in and cook for me anytime of the day!" JJ joked with her friend, "Ha, yeah well you'll have to fight Derek for me and i'm afraid he's all acting macho uno now that Trin is getting closer to making her grand debut." The group laughed as the mentioned came in from the patio where he was grilling the steaks. "Oooh! There's Chocolate Thunder himself now." He rolled his eyes when Garcia announced his entry. "Thanks G, hey Em, can I take the guys down to the pool room while the last of the food is getting ready?" He placed the finished steaks in the microwave so they can could keep warm. "Oh you mean the man cave? Yeah sure, go ahead..I'm not going to stop you. Let the boys go too if they'd li-" She looked back over into the living room where all three where playing their own makeshift version of chess, "Nevermind I think those three are preoccupied."

Derek led Hotch, Rossi, Will, Kevin and Reid to the lower level room that had been set up just for Derek and his friends. "There's beer in the mini fridge under the air hockey table, Will take you up for the first round of pool?" "Sure thing D." His low southern drawl answered back to his friend. "By the way D, how do you manage to get this room? I mean, you have a flippin' 64in' plasma hanging on the wall above a sweet stereo system, a pool table, air hockey, a mini fridge, and a damn sweet leather couch..." Derek chuckled under his breath as all the other men looked at him, "it took a lot, and I mean a lot of persuasion on my part." Derek and Will began their round with Will striking the cue ball. "Lucky lucky man, I'm telling you. My man cave is now Henry's room." The men laughed, and the tone took a more serious note. "Hey Morgan," Hotch began, "how is Emily doing now? She looks really healthy and well rested." Derek looked up at his boss for a moment before hitting a stripped ball into the the left middle pocket. "She woke up the other night screaming...the first time in a while. It scares me sometimes, she'll do great and then she dreams about Ian repeating what he did to her. I mean...he beat her, beat her bad and almost killed not only Emily, but Trin as well. The moment the surgeon came in the waiting room and told us that both of them made it...I knew that my mom kept true to her word when she said she would look out for the me and the ones I loved right before she passed. We've been lucky, but Em deserves a medal for everything she's been through. What do you guys think of the ring?" "It's grand, and definately Emily. Strauss still isn't happy that two agents are together and have a baby on the way but she'll get over herself." Rossi laughed at his own input, when Reid straightened his stance. "Is Em still seeing her therapist?" "No, she was cleared right before the Salt Lake City case...Hotch wouldn't let her back without the clearance from both the doctor and the therapist." The wonder boy genius nodded."

-Meanwhile Upstairs-

"Oh Angel Face let me see that rock on your finger!" Garcia got up from the bar stool where she was sipping her red wine, "Em, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you are gonna be Mrs. Derek Morgan." Emily blushed, "Yeah, sure am. At the zoo of all places, but hey he blew my mind and I couldn't be happier." The two other women congratulated her and Garcia returned to her seat as a loud uproar from the men downstairs erupted "I beat you D!" "You cheated!" The women laughed, "Hey Declan the brownies are done." Emily took the pan out of the oven and sat it next to the cakes that JJ and Garcia were decortating with icing. Declan hopped up and went to the kitchen and began putting a thin layer of blue icing on the brownies, and sprinkled chocolate chips on them. He felt accomplished not only did he mix the brownie batter and baked them but he decorated them too, and the self appreciating smile told Emily that he was happy.

After dinner, everyone relaxed downstairs in Derek's man cave and had the movie "Iron Man" playing, but weren't really paying attention. "Oh God Em I'm in love with your cake." Kevin exclaimed euphorically. He eagerly stuck his fork into the pastry and ate away, "what do you put in these anyways?" A sly smile broke from her lips. "Cocaine from the evidence room." Every adult in the room laughed. "Wow...I knew there was something fishy about it." Emily shook her head chuckling, "It's not crack, I have a friend who lives in Jamaica who always brings me fresh sugar cane, and if you freeze it, it packs a pretty radical punch." Everyone nodded and Henry walked up to his mother and climbed into her lap and attentively watched the movie. Declan and Jack were busy playing chess again, Declan leaning against Emily's legs and within close range of his mother's touch. It was soothing to him like Morgan's was to her. "Alright, I think we should head out, Henry is pretty sleepy. Thank you guys so much for the dinner, it was fantastic. See you monday at the office." Emily got up carefully, trying not to kick Declan and hugged her friend bye. "Send me a text when you get home." "Will do."

After everyone had left, and Declan had his shower and was asleep in his room Derek and Emily precedded to clean up from dinner. "I really enjoyed tonight Babe, and dinner was fantastic." She smiled at her fiancee, "Kevin seemed to only care about that cake, it sure did make him happy." They both laughed and finished up and continued to take a shower and go to bed.