This chapter is dedicated to: NCIS-fan-cecy, McNinja , nataliebianca , lilz54 , Madison-Gibbs , and ESPECIALLY Rolfy who got my butt in gear!
Emily and Aaron pulled up in front of Haley's house to pick up Jack and Riley. Hotch hadn't seen her daughter in two weeks because she was so stressed about the exams that awaited her at the end of the month, that she wasn't leaving the house unless it was time for school, dance, or she was going somewhere else to study. Jack continued to visit throughout Riley's hermit faze. Finally, Haley convinced Riley that she could also study at Hotch's house. Riley was concerned about the drive but she begrudgingly gave in. Aaron knocked on the door, and Jack opened it.
"Daddy? Mom said you were coming in a hour." Jack said.
"An hour." Emily corrected with a smile. "And we got off work early so we thought we'd pick you up."
"Oh. I guess that will work for me." He said after considering it. Haley appeared at the door soon after.
"Hello Aaron, hello Emily." Haley said. The adults exchanged greetings as Jack ran away to finish the level of Super Mario that he was playing before he went with his dad. Haley continued talking after he darted away. "Riley's at the studio still. We didn't think you'd be here for a while."
"That's alright; we'll pick her up there. Did she pack her stuff?" Hotch asked.
"Aaron, I almost haven't been able to make her leave her books for long enough to eat dinner. I'm sure she's probably not packed." Haley laughed. Emily thought this was very much like something Hotch would do.
"Why is she studying so much?" Hotch wondered. He knew Riley was a great student, and he didn't understand why she was stressing so much.
"She's convinced herself that she'll fail history, science and music. Apparently, she can't remember any dates, any elements or how to play the saxophone so she needs to study for thirty hours a day." Haley said sarcastically.
"She's not worried about dance?" Emily asked and Haley laughed.
"God no. She has a 96 in dance going into the exam. Riley knows she can do the exam in her sleep."
"Are there reasons for her to worry about her failing her other classes?" Aaron wondered. Riley was generally so rational.
"No." Haley shook her head. "Going into the exams, she has an 86 in history, a 95 in science and an 89 in music. She doesn't need to freak out but you know her. She always gets like this about exams." Hotch felt bad. He didn't know this at all, but he did now. He was getting to know his kids better, and maybe that's all he could ask for.
"Should I get some of her stuff?" Hotch asked.
"I guess so." Haley nodded. "Please, whatever you do, do NOT forget her backpack."
"Done." Hotch agreed.
"Or her birth control." She added.
"Okay."
"And she'll need her acne scrub, and her history textbook which isn't with her backpack; it's on her bedside table. She doesn't think she needs it, but bring "Intro to Dance" and "Dance Theory 3" for her to read over. Oh, and her saxophone, and two of the books beside it. The one that's called "Saxophone, Year 2" isn't necessary. I'd also grab some of her headache medicine." Haley listed.
"How the hell do you know everything she needs of the top of your head?" He asked.
"Aaron, I know that girl so well I could tell you what kind of ice cream she would buy if we went out." Haley laughed.
"Maybe I'll get her stuff. I have a better memory than this old man." Emily said, inclining her head towards Hotch. She then listed all of the things that Haley said to grab and Haley smiled.
"You'll need a memory like that soon enough." She said, gesturing to Emily's rapidly growing stomach.
"Yeah, I guess I will. Though, I'm not sure I'll know what kind of ice-cream they want whenever we go out." Emily laughed as she walked up the stairs. Emily then remembered that she'd never been in Riley's bedroom at Haley's house. She found Riley's room because the door was covered in posters and magazine clippings about all of her favourite things. Glee, Harry Potter, Lily Allen, The Beatles, and Blink 182 covered her door, especially Harry Potter. Emily made a mental note to read the books, because it would probably be a good topic of chat with Riley about.
Emily opened the door and she smiled. She couldn't tell what colour the walls were because every part of every wall was plastered with photographs. Each wall had a title that was drawn on printer paper in different styles of letters. "By Robin" was written in each corner. Emily had to admit, Robin (whoever she was) was talented. The biggest walls in her rectangular room said "Dance" and "Friends and School". The others said "Family" and "Other Photos That I Feel Belong On My Wall".
The room was a mess by anyone's standards. Papers, photos and clothes were scattered all over the room, but it had a special charm to it. Her backpack was under a sweater, her birth control was on her desk beside her new laptop and all her necessary books were either on her bed, or bedside table. Emily took another look around the room, and beside a tiny TV, there were DVDs all titled "Showcase" and there was a year written on it. She grabbed a few, knowing that they were from dance showcases from various years and put them in the bag she was packing. Emily wanted to see all of Riley's shows. And then she decided that her daughter (and maybe even son too!) would dance. Once she had everything, she decided to peek in Jack's room.
Jack's door wasn't as decorated as Riley's, but he had some hockey posters taped up. All of his favourite players were up, including a giant one of Sidney Crosby, who Jack adored. There were also a few super hero posters. Emily was not fully versed in the knowledge of superheroes but she decided to learn about Jack's favourites. Since she was learning about Harry Potter for Riley, she would learn about that to converse with Jack.
Emily opened his door and smiled again. Jack's room was dark green, and it clashed with his Spider Man comforter. He had no pictures on his walls, but on his bookshelf, there were many photo albums. Apparently the Hotchner kids liked their photography. She flipped through some of the albums and the pictures were similar to Riley's. There were school ones, friend ones, family ones and sport ones.
Jack's room was neat as a pin. He hated anything out of order, and his room reflected it. He had a small TV too, and beside it, there were many superhero movies. He had a shelf of trophies from soccer, hockey and karate. Haley said she liked keeping him active because he was so active. He didn't like to sit still. And then Emily decided that she'd have her kids in sports too. Now that she thought about it, she wanted her kids to be like Jack and Riley.
Emily, Jack and Aaron said goodbye to Haley and returned to their car.
"Aaron?" Emily began.
"Yeah?" He said.
"We're going to do the twin's rooms soon right?" She asked as she placed her hand on her stomach.
"Of course."
"Well, I was thinking. We need to do Riley's and Jack's rooms too." Hotch thought about this and wondered where she was coming from. Especially because he knew that painting annoyed Emily more than almost anything else.
"Why were you thinking that?" He asked.
"If we profiled their rooms, it would not show anything about them. Their rooms are both neutral colours, without pictures or anything. I saw their room's at Haley's. Those bedrooms show their personalities. Riley's is covered in pictures and books. Jack's is filled with sports memorabilia and superheroes. They don't even have interesting blankets at our house!" Emily ranted. "They look like hotel rooms."
"Oh." Hotch said, picturing Riley's and Jack's rooms. It was true. "Yeah. We should fix them up. Soon. I don't want it to be like somewhere they stay."
"No. It's got to be home." She nodded.
"Well, thanks to you it will be. You know, you think of everything." Hotch said. "You're going to be a wonderful mother."
A/N I've been a bit MIA this summer and I am sorry about that! Anyhow, I don't know how I feel about this chapter. I wanted to set it up for the next chapter which is re-doing the house a bit. Anyhow, love it or hate it, please review. I hope you enjoyed it.