As per usual, many thanks for the reads and reviews on the last chapter.

I got inspired late last night to write a Halloween conversation. I stayed up late writing it, and then spent a little bit today editing and tweaking it a bit, so if you find any errors, my sincerest apologies.

Happy reading =)

"A grandmother is a mother who has a second chance." – Author Unknown

"Tee, Matty, be careful on the steps!" I hear Emily call out as she struggles to catch up with the kids who had run ahead of her when they were let out of the car. "Wait for me, please."

They halt their forward movement and wait grudgingly for her to catch up, their little legs bouncing in excitement. When she reaches them she holds out her hands and they each grab one tightly. They make their way up the front porch's steps carefully, a task made far more difficult by the kids' desire to keep eye contact with me rather than focus on negotiating the steps. When they finally reach the top, they pull their hands out of her grasp and yell out "Gamma!" as they run toward me quickly. I open up my arms and am almost knocked over by the force of their momentum.

"Oh my goodness! What do we have here?" I say as I wrap my arms around them tightly.

"I see a lion and a bear, but where are my grandchildren?!" I say dramatically, earning a quick laugh and shake of the head from Emily. I'm just happy that I've stopped seeing shocked expressions on her face whenever I show any kind of affection. I really have tried to turn over a new leaf.

"We here!" Matty says confidently, pointing to his chest.

"But you're not Matthew! You're a scary lion! And this isn't Tegan - it's a bear!"

"It pwetend," he explains as he scrunches his face.

"Oh, silly me! These are just costumes?"

"Oh yeah!" Tegan says with an enthusiastic nod.

"Good! I thought I'd lost you!"

"Nooooooooooo!" they say in unison, throwing their arms around me once more and pressing kisses to my face.

"Well let's go inside, I think I have some treats in there for you."

"Yeah!" they yell in unison once more, running ahead of me toward the front door.

"Be careful, please!" Emily says, keeping a watchful eye on them as she wraps her arms around me in a quick hug. "Hey, mom."

"Hi, Em. They are absolutely adorable."

"So everyone tells me," she quips with a straight face, but a smile creeps onto her face betraying her real thoughts on the matter.

"Can I get you anything?" I ask politely once we're settled in the living room, Emily on the couch, and the twins on the floor with their toys.

Emily smiles knowingly. "I can get it, Mom. You play with the munchkins. They've been going on and on about you all morning."

"No, no, it's fine. Let me, you've no doubt been on your feet chasing these little ones for a few hours already."

"It's fine, you don't see them that often. Stay and play with them. They're excited to see their grandmother, not their mom," she says and then heads toward the kitchen. "Anything for you?"

"No, I'm fine. Thanks, Em."

I turn my attention back to my grandchildren and have a seat between them. Right away both are quick to try and engage me in their own activity. Tegan is busy building a tower from some foam blocks, while Matthew is pushing around a wooden train. I do my best to split my attention between them, answering their questions and participating as they request.

Emily returns a few moments later with a mug of coffee, and settles into her spot on the couch. Her eyes drift toward her children, a smile creeping onto her face once more. I watch her out of the corner of my eye, sipping at her coffee and closing her eyes in relaxation. I turn my attention to her fully and notice the tiredness that is apparent on her face, no doubt a result of Derek being away on a case, leaving her to handle the twins.

"Gamma!" Tegan says, interrupting my scrutiny of my daughter.

"Yes, Tegan?" I say, turning my gaze toward her.

"You do?" she asks, pointing to the half-completed tower of blocks.

"Yes, dear. Let's build a tower."

I set about piling the blocks on top of each other and end up grinning widely as Tegan squeals with glee as she knocks over the tower. "You do," she repeats, pointing again to the blocks.

"Okay, but you have to help me this time," I bargain. "Derek on a case?" I ask, looking up from the blocks to find Emily's eyes open once more.

"Mama! Mama! Mama!" Matthew says loudly and tugs on her sleeve, his toy train long forgotten.

"Matty, I'm talking with Grandma right now. You have to wait," she says.

"Oh," he says, covering his mouth with his hand and remaining quiet for a moment before pulliing his hand away and asking, "Why?" innocently.

"Because it isn't polite to interrupt people while they're talking," she explains patiently.

"Why?"

"Because it hurts their feelings."

"Why?" he asks, his face scrunching in concentration.

"Because they don't get to say what they want to say," she offers.

"Why?"

She sighs and shakes her head. "Play with your train, little man."

He looks at her for just a moment before a wide grin appears on his face. "O-tay!" he says and throws himself back into pushing his train around with renewed gusto.

"I see he's gotten to the inquisitive phase," I note, arching an eyebrow in amusement.

"Yeah, both of them have. I usually get through two or three why's before I settle on "just because" or misdirection of some kind."

I laugh. "They're so much like you when you were their age."

"Really?"

"Oh yes. You had such curiosity for the world. You never asked "why" just for the sake of asking, you always asked because you were genuinely interested in hearing the answer. And unlike Matthew, you never gave up or bought my efforts at misdirection. You always made sure to get the answers you wanted. I guess some things never change," I say with a smile.

"Oh god. I must have driven you crazy."

"Some days, yes. But your innocent curiosity was always refreshing. It was interesting to me to try and explain things in terms that you'd understand."

"I know what you mean. Derek and I always have to translate Reid's very verbose, scientific explanations, but they never seem to quite believe what we're telling them is the same as what he said."

"They're definitely your children then," I say with a chuckle. "I remember at one Christmas party when you were about their age, you started up a line of questioning about snow with one of my colleagues. The poor gentleman didn't have much experience with kids and rambled off a very high-level explanation, I tried to translate his response into child-friendly terms, but you gave me this look that said you didn't quite trust what I was saying. You turned back to to the gentleman and then looked back at me while pointing to me, said "no" and then looked him straight in the eye and asked "why" again."

"I didn't?!" she exclaims, bringing a hand to her mouth in shock.

"You were the centre of attention for the entirety of that party. No one could get enough of you, but you always ended up heading back to that same gentleman and trying to confirm whatever was being explained to you."

"You're right. I guess some things never change," she says with a shake of her head and a hearty chuckle.

"Where's Derek today? Away on a case?" I ask, remembering my unanswered question from before.

I watch as her face falls slightly and the smile disappears. "Yeah, the team got called away yesterday morning to Oklahoma. This time of year always seems to bring out the gruesome cases," she says with a sigh.

"That must be hard," I say sympathetically.

She shrugs. "They'll get it done. And these guys always seem to lift their spirits afterward," she says with a gesture toward the twins.

"No, I meant you not having Derek around today."

"Oh. Well I think he drew the short stick in this case. I get to spend it with my kids, while he's off chasing an unsub."

"Yes, but you're watching two very energetic toddlers on a day famed for its sugar content…"

"I can't in good conscience complain," she says with a slightly pained expression.

"Emily, it's okay to feel frustrated by his absence," I offer as I get up to join her on the couch. "What you're doing here is important too. Raising kids is no easy task."

"I just feel guilty lamenting having to do this by myself when it's out of his control and he's halfway across the country, probably wanting nothing more than to be here with us."

"Don't feel guilty, Em. It's a lot of work raising a kid by yourself, and you've got double the workload with twins. And you're holding down a demanding job at the same time."

"I know. I just feel bad when I make little comments about how he's never home. It's not fair of me. We both knew what the job's demands were when we decided to have kids, and yet here I am getting angry with him over it."

"It's natural, Em. Your father and I talked about exactly how things would be once you came into the picture, so I knew that he wouldn't be around much, but I still got frustrated when I was up with you several times every night and he was nowhere to be found."

"He wasn't around when I was a baby?" she asks, her brow furrowing.

"Not often. He was in and out, mostly for parties and functions, but for the most part, no. He stayed away on business trips."

"Wow," she says with wide eyes.

"That surprises you?"

"I guess not really now that I think about it."

"You're lucky to have Derek. He's a wonderful father. I know the job keeps him busy, but he does his best, and it's plain to see how much he loves you and the twins."

"Mmhmm. No arguments there," she says with a small smile.

"The point is, it's okay for you to feel frustrated not having your husband around, whatever the circumstances may be. But you're doing a fantastic job with them, Em," I say, glancing at the kids who have begun to build an elaborate structure together.

"Thanks, mom," she says, wrapping an arm around me and giving a one-armed hug.

"Anytime, Em. Are you taking them trick-or-treating tonight?"

"That's the plan," she says after waiting for the twins' continuing chorus of "twick or tweet, twick or tweet!" to die down.

"Any idea if Derek is going to make it back in time?"

"I doubt it. They hadn't made much progress when I talked to him this morning."

"I could come over and give you a hand, if you'd like," I offer. "I don't have to though, if you've got a handle on things."

She nods and smiles in relief. "That'd be great, actually. I was pretty nervous at trying to handle too very excited Morgan children tonight," she admits.

"I don't blame you. These two are energetic to say the least. What time do you want me to come by?"

"I was planning on taking them out around 5:30, so some time between 4:30 and 5?"

"I'll be there."

"Thanks again, Mom."

"It's my pleasure. The more time I get to spend with these little ones, the happier I am," I say plainly. "And I owe it to you, Em. I know I wasn't around during your childhood, and was emotionally distant when I was, and that wasn't fair to you. I want to try and make it up to you," I finish, a sad tone taking over at the memories of the rift that opened up between us as a result.

"You don't have to, Mom. You and me, we're good. I've got you now, and Matty and Tee have you too, which is what I've always wanted."

We settle into silence as we watch the two kids gleefully knock over the elaborate structure they'd built, with squeals of laughter filling the room. Emily glances at her watch and sets down her now empty mug as she stretches her legs out from underneath her. "Tegan, Matty, we need to leave soon, so can you put away the blocks and the train, please?"

They immediately begin to put the toys back into the bag Emily had brought with her, and I'm struck by how well behaved they are. When they finish cleaning up they run over to the couch where we're seated and look up at us.

"What do you say to Grandma for your treats and for playing with you today?" Emily prompts.

"'ank you," they say in unison, large grins spreading on their faces once more.

"You're more than welcome," I reply. "And you know what? Grandma's going to come trick-or-treating with you tonight!"

"Yeah!" they both yell and hug my legs tightly. "Twick or tweet!"

"Okay, munchkins, let's go. Poor Campbell is probably bored out of his mind. Get your shoes on, please."

We make our way toward the front door and I watch as they run ahead of us and slip on their shoes. I help them tie up their laces, and get a big hug and kiss from each of them before they wave goodbye and head toward the car.

I'm struck by how lucky I am to not only have gotten Emily back and patched things up with her, but also that she's allowed me to be involved in her children's lives. I think back to the difficult childhood that had been the bone of contention between us for all those years and count my lucky stars that I'd come to my senses and apologized. Life's too short to not spend it with the ones you love, which is a lesson I'd learned the hard way when she'd "died" those few short years ago. I'd gotten another chance at things when she came back, and I'd been determined not to let it go to waste. Our relationship had mended slowly, bit by bit, until we'd reached a point where the resentment and anger had disappeared. My guilt still ate at me from time to time, but we'd mended things for the most part. And that was something I would be forever grateful for.

I'd love to hear your thoughts if you have the chance.

And a happy 'free candy from strangers' day to you, or as most people say: Happy Halloween. ;)