"You are so lucky you know that, right Reid?" Emily said a little enviously. "You have three lovely children and a mate who adores you. You also now have an aunt that you never knew you had."

They had all just been discussing their families. Out of all of them only Spencer, Garcia and JJ were mated. Dave been mated at one time, but Carolyn had died just a few short years ago. Of all the ones mentioned, Garcia was the only one that didn't have any children, but then her mating was very recent, just within the last few weeks. As for the others they had yet to find anyone to settle down with, part of that was a matter of preference and the rest of it was they worked a great deal of the time. For instance, Spencer didn't think that his friend Morgan was ever going to settle down, but that was his choice and definitely not one he would make for himself. When he had met Safina it was like being hit with a lightning bolt. So far things were going splendidly and he had three adorable children due to their mating, so he could understand Emily's envy at his luck.

"Yes, I know I'm lucky," Spencer agreed, taking a sip of his drink.

"Did you consider the fact that his life was so crappy before all this that the fates decided he deserved it?" Anderson suggested as he sits his beer. "Just look at what we know about his childhood, as it was as far from normal as you can get. The father was thrown out by his mother for his uncaring attitude. He made no friends because of his intelligence, though at least he had his brother and sister. He went to college at an early age and again likely had no friends."

"I hate to interrupt, but that's not quite true," Spencer said. "I knew this alpha in college and we became very good friends. My social skills of that age weren't totally lacking, mostly thanks to mom and my siblings."

"Now, this is something I haven't heard before," Morgan said immediately interested. "You never mentioned this alpha you met in college."

"The subject just never came up," Spencer shrugged. That wasn't the real reason of course. Spencer almost wished that he hadn't mentioned Maranda now, as it brought up some painful memories. Still, he felt it was only right to correct some misconceptions about him, since they were discussing the subject.

"So how close was close?" Emily asked curiously.

"Close enough that we considered mating after graduation, but then some things occurred and it just wasn't possible."

"What kind of things?" JJ asked.

"Let's just say her parents didn't approve of me, don't ask me why. Maybe, I didn't come from a rich enough family for them, as her parents were quite wealthy," Spencer explained with a shrug. "They threatened to cut Miranda off from the family teat."

While what he said was true it wasn't the whole story, but it was certainly truthful enough to pass muster at a table full of profilers.

"So you think that this Maranda wasn't strong enough to defy family expectations?" Dave asked now curious.

"It isn't that it all," Spencer said mildly. "Maranda was certainly strong enough to defy what her parents wanted, but since I didn't want her to be disowned I finished out my year, and then transferred to another college that had the same courses. Really, it was for the best."

"That's so sad," Penelope who had been listening said. "To threaten to disown one of your children just because you don't approve of their boyfriend..."

"Which makes no sense in your case, as you're polite, well mannered, intelligent," Grant said. "Did they even meet you to disapprove of you?"

"Yes, they did, but only once," Spencer admitted. "They took an instant dislike to me."

"It might be because Reid wanted something for his life other than to be just a House Omega," Dave suggested. "They might not have approved of an Omega that wanted a career of their own. There are some people like that, especially those from wealthy families. They might not necessarily have cared what their daughter wanted and although that's sad, it happens."

"It's also possible that they were trying to arrange a marriage for her," Anderson mentioned.

"That's certainly possible," Spencer agreed. "Of course, I don't see Maranda agreeing to be mated to anyone through an arrangement, but I don't know that for sure, just that her personality was too strong to agree to anything that she didn't want to do like mating with someone she probably barely knew."

"Sometimes things just don't work out," Penelope sympathized.

"So how are things with you and Aaron going?" JJ asked her friend.

"Oh, they're going just splendidly," Penelope grinned. "He really is the perfect alpha for me. He's very tender and loving when we're alone. We spend as much time together as we can considering our busy lives."

"So any little Hotchners in the near future?" Emily asked curious.

"As soon as I go into my next heat," Penelope informed everyone. "That's only less than two months from now, so yes, there will soon be little Hotchners running around. We decided to get started on having children right away, because I'm getting older and while I'm still young and healthy, it's just better to have kids when you're young."

"You've been wanting kids for a long time, Mama," Morgan said.

"Yes, I have, but even if I had some out of wedlock, I never could've afforded to raise them by myself. I did think about it seriously several times, but finances such as they are, just wouldn't have stretched to having three or four children. If I didn't know that I'd have at least twins and likely more, I might have more seriously considered it."

"So soon they'll be little Hotchners running around," JJ grinned smugly, having already known this.

"Yes, and I can hardly wait," Penelope said grinning like mad.

"I don't blame you there," Dave said looking reminiscent. "I remember what it was like when Carolyn I were first mated and we were waiting for her heat so we could start a family. Those were the days."

Dave looked reminiscent.

"You had quite a few children, didn't you? I seem to remember to you mentioning something about that awhile back," Anderson asked.

"Yes, we did," Dave grinned. "She was only pregnant four times, but we had triplets every time. We might actually have gone for a fifth time, but we spaced them apart on purpose, so that one lot would have time to grow up enough, that they weren't such a handful for the nanny we hired."

"That's what Safina and I are planning to do," Spencer mentioned. "We've already agreed to wait 4 to 6 years before we have anymore."

"So you are going to have some more than," Morgan asked Spencer nodded.

"Yeah, we are, but this will likely be the last time. We'll be out of space after that unless they share rooms or build on and while those are possibilities we probably won't have anymore after that. We'll probably have triplets again after all and personally, I think six is plenty. It's certainly fulfilled my desire to have a family."

"It certainly fulfilled mine when I had Henry and Lauren," JJ said raising a glass of wine to her lips, taking a delicate sip.

"So no more little LaMontagne's in the future?" Emily gently teased her friend.

"Will and I were talking about having a couple more," JJ said, "but while I would like some more, it's also Will's decision."

"And he's waffling," Dave guessed.

"More or less," JJ agreed. "I think I've nearly got into agree to get me pregnant one more time. The children can always share rooms if we have a boy and a girl again. Henry won't mind, as he's such a sweet, well-behaved child."

"Yes, he is," Spencer agreed. "Lauren is a whole different matter. She's more... temperamental."

"In other words, she would pitch a fit at having to share her space," Emily said amused.

"More or less," JJ agreed. "Still, I would like a couple more, you know? It would be simply perfect if I could get another girl and boy, though I know there's no guarantees on what sex I get."

"I understand that desire very well," Penelope said. She and JJ shared a look of complete understanding.

"So do I," Spencer agreed, as he took a sip of his beer. He was restricting himself to two beers only. Really, he wasn't much of a drinker like Morgan. An occasional glass of beer or wine was okay, but there was no need to drink to excess. "By the way, having a girl and boy are the most common type of twins, so you likely will get your wish, if you can convince Will to get you pregnant again."

All of them continued chat enjoying themselves before Spencer looked at his watch and said he had to get home.

"I promised Safina I would be home in half an hour," Spencer said.

"Yeah, I need to go to," JJ agreed. "This has been fun, but I do have two children that need to see their mother before bed time. I'm gone enough as it is."

"We'll see you at work tomorrow," Morgan said.

"Yeah, you will," Spencer said smiling.

Spencer rose from his chair, followed by JJ and the two of them left together.

"Well, at least they came out for a drink with us," Morgan said. "That's something anyway."

"Yes, but you have to realize that they're both mated and have young children. While neither one of them mind spending time with the team outside of work, they can't stay as late as some of us can. They stayed long enough to socialize before leaving to spend some time with their families. In Reid's case, his children are still infants and I'm sure he wants to spend as much time with them as he can, since he's gone so much for work," Dave said.

"I have to agree, because you know they won't have as much time to spend with their families, as those with other jobs," Emily added. "They stayed long enough to be sociable and that should be all that matters."

"I suppose," Morgan finally agreed.

"You need to find yourself a mate, Morgan," Dave said amused at the byplay. "You're the only one besides Emily that has never been mated. I had a mate at one point, but she's dead now and all my children are grown."

"I for one have tried," Emily said. "I haven't found anyone that I'd care to settle down with. Relationships take too much work and there are already enough demands on my time."

"That's true," Penelope said. "I had better get home myself, as Aaron will be home anytime now."

"So are you and Aaron looking for a house? Are you going to stay up in that penthouse?" Morgan asked, as Garcia had told him all about the penthouse where Aaron and his children resided. Safina had also lived there before she and Reid had mated."

"We're looking for a house actually, somewhere big with a decent size backyard. The penthouse isn't big enough for three or four more children, as I'm sure I'll have at least triplets. There's only one room free, the one that Safina occupied before she mated with, my Junior-G-Man. The nanny takes up what could have been a spare bedroom and lives with them."

"So that means there's five bedrooms," Dave said.

"Well, one room was being used as a gym, so their was actually six bedrooms," Penelope said, "and also a heat room, so that makes seven bedroom originally. There's also a fairly big kitchen, so at least two people can work without being crowded and also several bathrooms. It's actually a very big, self-contained apartment, and Aaron's private elevator goes straight to it. Still, its not big enough, if Aaron and I want children. If we didn't want children it would be about perfect."

"So you're looking for somewhere with at least 10 bedrooms like Reid's place," Morgan said.

"I was thinking along the lines of larger if I want any more children after this," Penelope admitted. "It really depends on how many I have this first time. I know Aaron has Jack and Britney, but he told me that he's been wanting a few more, something I'll be more than happy to provide, though I have no intention of getting pregnant at 50."

"So you're going to get pregnant at least twice then," Dave said.

"So long as Aaron agrees, I'd love to," Penelope said. "We'll have time to space them at least three years apart, so long as I don't want to get pregnant more than twice. We'll see what Aaron says before I start making any plans. He can certainly afford as many children as he wants."

"And if he doesn't want anymore after you get you pregnant once..." Emily said, letting her sentence trail off.

"Then I'll be a little disappointed, but not upset. Besides, it's always possible to change his mind," Penelope said with a wink.

"That's true," Emily giggled, knowing very well how her friend would try to change her mate's mind.

The five of them laughed, before finishing they're drinks and one of them going to get some more.

Finally, Penelope rose after finishing her beer and told the others goodbye and that she'd see them at work tomorrow as she headed for her car.

~~~Aaron and Penelope~~~

"Welcome home," Aaron said as soon as Penelope walked in the door.

Aaron said nothing, but he could smell the faint scent of her team on her. He recognized all their individual scents now. There was the scent of Morgan who was the strongest on her arm. Morgan had likely touched her arm, in a friendly gesture of affection. JJ was the next strongest and had likely been sitting beside her close enough to bump elbows or maybe they had put their heads together to talk together quietly. The others were much fainter, but still present.

"Thank you, it's good to be home," Penelope said smiling kissing Aaron passionately.

She had given up her tiny apartment without a qualm. It's where she had been shot after all, last year. Since her apartment was in a cul-de-sac it had been easy for Jason Battle to nearly kill her. She'd been weeks in recovering.

"Have a good time with the team?" Aaron asked.

"Absolutely, but I'm still glad to be home," Penelope said as she snuggled into her mate's arms. "I thought you'd be busy for at least another hour, otherwise, I would've been home sooner."

"No need," Aaron said. "You deserve some time to relax with people you are close too. I like your team and we are becoming friends, mostly because Spencer introduced us, but also because of you."

"Even Morgan approves of you and that ought to tell you something," Penelope said. "I'm sure you know, he's very protective of those he loves, even if it's in a platonic way."

"I understand," Aaron said. "I would never try to cut you off from people who genuinely care for you, just like Safina would never try to cut Spencer off from those that cared for him. I think that was Haley problem, she didn't have a job and no close friends, other than her sister, Jessica."

"It's a good thing, because the team would never let you," Penelope said cheerfully, though she was also speaking absolute truth. "Now, what about we go practice making babies, even though I know I can't get pregnant for a few more weeks."

"Now that's an offer I'm not about to turn down," Aaron said with a smug smile, as he started to remove Penelope's clothes one piece at a time.

"I didn't figure you would," Penelope laughed kissing him passionately, even as Aaron's hands worked to undo the button of her pants. "After all, we've only been mated about a month, so our relationship is still new and with the hours we put in..."

"Yes, it's going to take time for the intensity of the bond to die down," Aaron agreed, even as his tongue scraped over the mating gland on the side of his mate's neck.

Penelope had a feeling that Aaron would never let her mating mark not look like a fresh hickey, something she wasn't about to object too. She loved having someone to come home too.

The two of them headed for the bedroom, leaving a trail of clothes behind them for the children and the nanny were in bed and should be asleep.

~~~Aaron and Penelope~~~