A/N – so this is the first part, the second will follow in the next day or so, am back at work so things are a little hectic as we settle back into routine and am potty training my youngest so I can't take my eyes off him when I am home at the moment!

Preparations -

Emily poured herself a glass of wine in the kitchen, carefully carrying the drink as she wandered through to the living space as she decided to curl up on the oversized armchair by the picture window. Allowing herself a moment as she closed her eyes to put away the memories of the last case from New York. It had been a long and stressful case and hadn't ended prettily as Emily had found herself cornered by the unsub but had managed to reach and fire her weapon before he had a chance to think. Exhausted she had stayed to write up her report and left it on Hotch's desk, she had been determined to finish it even if it had meant working late as the next few days were going to be extremely special and she didn't want work interfering. Garcia had been helping Emily plan everything out and had left work as soon as the case had finished so she could pick Kate up from the Ambassador's house and had brought her home, Emily had popped her head into the girl's bedroom as Garcia left, smiling as she watched her sleeping form, she allowed herself to creep in and gently place a kiss on her forehead before she walked out and poured herself the glass of red wine. Emily opened her eyes and took a long sip, she was confident that no nightmares would come that night, there were too many positive thoughts running through her mind, most of the preparations had already been done as she had known that with her job there was no leaving things until the last moment, especially as in two days time it was Kate's birthday.

It was the sound of the shower that caused Kate to stir, the familiarity of her surroundings immediately put her at ease as she walked out of her bedroom and quickly climbed into the large bed in the other bedroom, pulling the comforter over her head.

Emily threw the wet towel into the laundry basket in the bathroom and quickly pulled on the clothes that she had brought in with her, casually dressed in a pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt she walked out of the bathroom and back into her adjoining bedroom a wide smile enveloping her face as she saw the lump in the middle of her bed.

"I'm sure that I made this bed and I know that I wouldn't leave it all lumpy and bumpy!"

Emily grinned as she walked closer until she bent down and put two hands on her daughter's back, gently prodding her until the girl squealed with delight and brought her head up onto the pillow.

"Ok stop mom!"

Emily couldn't stop the giggles from escaping from her mouth as she collapsed the bed, laying next to Kate she quickly wrapped an arm around the girl.

"Hey munchkin, it's great to see you, I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too mom."

They both fell silent as Emily felt Kate rest her head on her shoulder but it could only last a few minutes as Emily turned and looked at her adopted daughter.

"Come on Kate time to get ready for school."

Kate sighed heavily as she reluctantly moved off of the bed.

"You really know how to cheer me up mom!"

"Sorry munchkin but only one day to go until the weekend."

Kate rolled her eyes as she walked out of the bedroom, heading back to hers to find her uniform to put on.

Emily stopped the car in the small car park and immediately spotted the blonde sitting inside the coffee shop with two cups sitting in front of her, quickly Emily grabbed her purse and wandered in smiling apologetically as she sat down.

"Sorry traffic was bad."

"It's ok I was just catching up with a few emails."

JJ smiled as she put away her Blackberry.

"Please don't tell me we have got another case, because it will Kate's heart you'll be breaking not mine!"

Emily's eyes opened wide as she looked concerned at her friend but the grin across JJ's face soon put her at ease.

"It's ok I was just putting the finishing touches to everything for tomorrow!"

"Oh thank god, I really couldn't handle another case right now."

"Come on then drink up, we've got plenty to do!"

Emily nodded as she watched the enthusiasm evident on JJ's face, she knew that she wasn't the only one excited about celebrating Kate's birthday the next day, and even though the girl hadn't been with them for a year the whole team had embraced her as one of their own and had their own little individual celebrations planned for Kate.

Kate lay in the bed with her eyes open, it was dark outside and she knew that it was the middle of the night even without checking the alarm clock beside her bed, it hadn't been a nightmare that had woken her but she found herself unable to drift back to sleep as various thoughts rumbled through her head. It had been nine months, 23 days since she had met Emily and she couldn't quite believe that it was her birthday as her mind trundled back to her last birthday she tossed and turned in the bed sighing heavily as she willed her body to sleep. Kate closed her eyes as her mind refused to slow down, she placed her hand on her forehead as she heard soft footsteps padding into her bedroom before she felt the comforting body rest against hers and the soft hand stroke her blonde hair. No words were said between them, the knowledge that Emily had known that she was awake and had come through to her was immense as Kate felt a single tear trickle down her face but slowly her mind slowed down and eventually she drifted off to sleep.

Emily opened her eyes and blinked them quickly as she adjusted to the morning light streaming through a creak in the curtains, her shoulder ached but she quickly put it out of her mind as she squeezed her hand around Kate's.

"Wake up Kate!"

Kate screwed her eyes up as she heard the voice whisper into her ear but she quickly turned around and smiled.

"Hi mom, thanks for last night, I just couldn't get to sleep my mind just didn't want to relax."

Emily reached up and stroked Kate's hair away from her face before she leant across and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Happy birthday munchkin!"

"Thanks mom and it's a Saturday so I get to lie in, right?"

"Not a chance, not with everything we've got planned for today!"

Kate frowned as she saw the wide smile on her mom's face.

"We've?"

"Oh the whole team have got things planned for you this weekend!"

"Really? Like what?"

"Oh you'll have to wait and see!"

Emily giggled as she answered unable to stop once Kate pouted her annoyance, she knew that the look wouldn't last, in fact she knew that it would disappear as soon as Kate got downstairs.