Emma was busy feeding Maeve when Callen walked into the kitchen. When they got home last night Maeve was already fast asleep, so Callen cleaned her up a bit before putting her in her crib for the night. Emma wanted to stay up to spend some time with Callen but she was dead on her feet, so he kissed her on the forehead and told her they'd spend time after she had a good night's sleep in her own bed.
"Morning girls." Callen said as he gave each of them a kiss on the head.
"Morning." Emma smiled while Mae gave him a big smile.
"What do you have planned for the day?" Callen asked as he sat down with his coffee.
"Well, we have a lunch date with the girls at 12:30 and then we have a few last-minute gifts to get before tomorrow. You, my dear old dad are on decoration duty." Emma said as she pointed to the lights Deeks gave him last night on the table.
"You trust me with that?" Callen said with a smile behind his mug.
"You can do the outside and bring in the tree." Emma started but the doorbell rang before she could finish. "And that will be your partner for decorating the inside." She finished with a smile.
"What did you do?" Callen said as he side-eyed her and went for the door. "Anna?"
"Callen." Anna said with a smile as she walked passed him, "Morning, Emma-Grace."
"Good morning, Anna." Emma said from the doorway of the kitchen with Maeve on her hip.
"So, I'm going to guess you're here to make sure I don't make a mess of Christmas." Callen said towards Anna but he could see Emma had that little mischievous smile on her face.
"Emma asked if I had any plans for the day and when I said a TV marathon was MY way of getting in the Christmas mood, she told me that she needed help getting your house 'Christmas' ready."
"Ah, that will be something she needs help with." Callen smiled, "Can I get you anything to drink?"
"Chai tea would be nice if you have it." Anna said as Maeve reached for her.
"I got some yesterday. They're in my tea drawer." Emma said as she handed Maeve to Anna. "I'm going to get myself ready and pack up this little monkey. Are you good with her for a bit?" Em asked Anna.
"I think I can handle her till you're done." Anna said with a smile as Callen walked towards her with her drink.
"I'll take her while you drink your tea." Callen said but Mae wasn't having it.
"I think I can manage." Anna said as she walked towards the living room where she saw a few toys and sat down on the floor. Putting Maeve down in front of her, she picked up a toy and handed it to the little girl. Callen couldn't shake the feeling like this was what he always wanted… a big family Christmas.
"How does it feel to have Emma back home?" Anna asked as Mae was showing her all her toy ducks.
"Relieved." Callen said but Anna just looked at him, "I mean she's doing great in her training but some part of me will always want her to stay a kid for a bit longer."
"I know my mom always told me not to grow up but at some point, you have to take the training wheels off and let her do her own thing."
"That's what Sam keeps telling me but as her father, I will always worry about her." Callen said with a smile as he looked at Mae who handed him a pink duck.
"Okay, little monkey. Time to get dressed so we can head out." Emma said as she walked into the living room.
"I'll do that and you can tell Anna how you want stuff done." Callen said as he picked up the little girl and walked passed her big sister.
"Sure. Anna, do you want more tea?" Emma asked as she walked into the kitchen.
"That will be nice." Anna answered as she started to put the toys away. Once she was happy everything was in its place, she followed Emma into the kitchen. "So, how do you what everything?"
"I've brought up all the buckets with the Christmas stuff and I got a few more things yesterday but I'm not picky so do whatever you feel like." Emma said with a smile and handed the blond her tea.
"I've never done the Christmas thing." Anna said with a sad look.
"Me neither." Emma said as she looked at Anna. "I think that's why I want Maeve to have the big Christmas thing since Callen and I never had it growing up."
"You're a good big sister, you know?" Anna said with a smile.
"Do you have any siblings?"
"None that I know of. You never know with my dad and his history. And my mom never remarried so no siblings from her either."
"Well, you have the team now. They can be like the family you never had." Emma said as she took Anna's hand.
"I think having a few friends I can trust will be nice." Anna said as Callen walked into the kitchen with Maeve.
"You ready to go, monkey?" Em said as she took Mae from her dad.
"Do you have her bag?"
"Already packed and ready to go." Emma smiled, "Okay, Anna knows what to do, but it's up to you how crazy you want your house to look. I'll grab dinner on our way home for you guys."
"Sounds good to me."
"Do you want us to prep something for tomorrow when we finish the Christmas stuff?" Anna asked.
"I think I'm good with doing everything tomorrow morning but thanks for asking." Emma smiled at Anna, "Okay, pops we're out of here. I'll text you when we're on our way home."
"Stay safe and remember, traffic will be crazy this time of the year." Callen said as he kissed the little girl on the head, making her giggle.
Emma buckled the little girl in her car seat and closed the door. Maeve was happy to listen to Emma's music and now and again she'll let out a little squeak when she recognized a song. Emma missed this… time with her family. Emma hated LA traffic but when they finally made it to the mall, Emma was surprised Maeve fell asleep. That's the one thing about her baby sister she loved; she was an easy baby so her falling asleep in the car was how she told them she felt safe. Getting the stroller out, Emma picked up the sleeping girl and placed her in the stroller. Em made sure she put the little arctic fox next to the girl. Em strapped the diaper bag to the stroller and entered the mall. Em's first stop was the baby store where she bought most of Maeve's stuff for her room. She knew what she wanted to get for Melissa and the baby but since she didn't know the gender, she was going with natural colours. Emma loved spoiling Maeve and knew that Melissa and Justin's baby would be spoiled too. But she knew when to stop, unlike Justin's mum apparently. Emma spoke to Mel every other day and knew how frustrated her friend was with her future mother-in-law. Emma wished she knew what to say but had to remind Mel a few times that this was the first grandbaby on both sides and she was doing what most grandmothers do… spoil their grandbaby. Emma wished Maeve had an overbearing grandmother like Justin's mom but Hetty, as much as she loves Mae, made sure the little girl was spoiled with love more than material things. That doesn't mean she didn't spoil the little girl once in a while and if she did spoil both girls, she went all out. When Em was happy with everything she got, she went to the register. The girl behind the counter helped her make a pile for Maeve and a pile for Mel's baby.
"Do you want all of this wrapped?" The girl said with a smile.
"Yes, please. Some are for a baby shower and some are Christmas gifts for this little one." Emma said as she pointed to the stroller.
"She's a lucky girl."
"That she is but she gets spoiled with lots of love too."
"You can never spoil a child with too much love." The older lady behind Emma said.
"She has my dad wrapped around her finger and it's my job as big sister to make sure she has everything she'll need to succeed in life." Emma said proudly.
"She's lucky to have a big sister like you." The old said as she saw Mae waking up a bit.
"There you go, everything's ready and thank you for shopping with us today." The girl behind the counter said as she gave Em the bags.
"Thank you and Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas."
Emma stopped to get herself a tea and croissant before turning Maeve around since the little girl woke up and she wanted to see where they were. Feeding her a few pieces of croissant, Emma looked at her list to see what she still needed to get. Now that Anna was going to spend Christmas with them, she needed to get her something from the three of them. As she was thinking, she played with the locked that Zach gave her a few years back and that's when an idea came to mind. Packing up their stuff, Emma and Mae made their way toward the jewelry store where Em had to pick up the stuff she ordered for the girls. Maeve was fascinated by all the shiny things and Emma had to laugh at how the little girl looked at everything that was new to her.
"Good morning. How can I help you today?" An older lady asked Emma as she smiled at Mae.
"I placed an order a few days ago under the name Emma-Grace Callen."
"Yes, we got it all packed up for you. Let me grab it for you."
"Great. Can you tell me where I can find your lockets?"
"Absently, they're right on the other side. Allie, mind showing Ms. Callen the lockets?"
"Thank you." Emma said as she put Mae on her hip and followed Allie.
"Do you know what locket you're looking for?" Allie ask.
"I'm looking for something similar to this one." Emma said as she showed Allie her locked.
"That's a vintage piece so… yes, here we are." Allie said as she took one out of the display case and handed it to Em, "It's made of white gold with a cherry blossom design and has space for two photos inside."
"It's beautiful. Do you have it in gold?"
"We do. Let me go and get it in the back." Allie said as she left Emma to look at locked.
"Ms. Callen. While Allie's looking in the back, you can look over your order." Jen said as she walked up to her. She took out all the boxes and showed Em the gold bracelets with each of her friends' names engraved into them and a small pearl charm. Only two were different with the addition of a butterfly.
"Oh, my word! They're beautiful." Emma finally got out.
"I take it you approve." Jen smiled at the young girl.
"You guys did an amazing job. Thank you so much." Emma said as Mae went for the smaller bracelet with a butterfly on it, "You like that one?"
Maeve just looked at her sister and gave her a big smile.
"That's a yes from the little princess." Allie said as she walked up to them with the gold locket.
"They're going to love it. Thank you again." Emma said as she took the bracelet from Mae and handed it back to Jen.
"I'll put it by the register for you." Jen said as she took the bag and made way for Allie.
"Okay, here we have it. 24k gold, vintage cherry blossom design with a two-picture space inside." Allie said with a smile.
"I don't know which one looks better." Emma said but Mae had other ideas and she picked up the gold one.
"I think someone prefers the gold one."
"It looks like it." Emma said before looking down at the sister, "You think Anna would like that one?" Mae just gave her sister a toothy smile. "Then that's the one we'll take."
"Excellent! Can I gift wrap it for you?" Allie said as she started to put the other lockets away.
"No, thank you. I'll do it when I've placed the pictures in it." Emma said as she walked towards the stroller and placed Maeve in it. "So, what's the damage today?" Emma said to Jen.
"With the locket, it comes to $3560." As she placed the last box in the bag, Jen said, "Will it be cash or a card?"
"Card, please." Emma said as she took out her credit card. She didn't use it often but it was a good thing to have to build up credit.
"Whenever you're ready." Jen said as she handed her the machine.
While Emma was busy paying, Mae giggled before the fox flew out of her stroller. Emma shook her head, picked up the stuffed animal and returned it to the little girl. "Foxes don't fly, Mae. They run fast but they can't fly." Emma said as she placed the bag in with the other bags. "Thank you for everything and I hope to see you guys again." Emma said as she waved to the ladies.
"Looking forward to it and Merry Christmas." Jen said as Allie waved.
"Okay, monkey. Let's go and meet the girls." Emma said as she placed the little girl in her car seat and handed her a toy.
As they were driving, Mae kept on talking and Emma felt guilty that she was missing so much with her little sister but she knew that she needed to do what it took to show her that she could be whatever she wanted so when she grew up. Emma wasn't lying when she told Kensi that Maeve would look up to them. Emma looked up to Kensi and Nell… they were two women in a man's world but they made sure the boys knew that you don't mess with them. Some of the boys who didn't know Em tried to challenge her a few times but they regretted the moment they saw what she could do. And it wasn't her showing off, it was what she was trained to do. Emma knew Mae was getting frustrated when the happy talk became whiny talk.
"We're almost there, Mae. Just five more minutes." Emma said as she took the last turn off.
As soon as she parked, Em saw Melissa's car tuning in and parked next to her. Em smiled as she went to get the little girl and diaper bag before hugging her friends.
"You look amazing! You have that baby glow." Emma said while she took a good look at her friend.
"Thank you." Mel smiled and Emma could see her friend was really happy. "Now hand over that baby!" Mel said as she took Mae and kissed her all over the face, making the little girl giggle. Em turned to Alice and hugged her before turning towards Zola.
"You look like crap… no offence. When was the last time you slept?" Zola said with a smile and Emma knew she was just concerned.
"Sleep is the last thing on my mind at the moment, babe." Emma smiled, "I have a lot on my plate, I promise I'll sleep when I have time." Em finished as they walked towards the restaurant.
"I have to see it before I believe it." Alice said as she opened the door for everyone. Emma rolled her eyes when she passed the redhead and Alice just stuck her tongue out making everyone laugh. The hostess smiled when she saw them and quickly led them to the prepared patio. Emma grabbed one of the blankets from the couch and spread it on the floor before placing a few toys on it.
"Okay, monkey let's go change your diaper before we have some lunch." Emma said as she took Mae from Mel. "Would you mind asking the waitress if she could warm up her food for me."
"I can do that." Mel said as she took out the lunch bag Emma packed that morning.
By the time Emma made her way back to the patio, Karmen and Gemma joined the group. Maeve got her kisses and hugs from the girls before Emma put her in the highchair and got her bib on her. While feeding Mae, Emma had to laugh at all the stuff her friends got up to while she was gone. Em loved the friends she made at the academy but for her, these were her people. Once Mae was done eating, Emma cleaned her up and placed her with her toys on the blanket.
"How's training going?" Karmen asked Emma.
"Good, I'm learning a lot and meeting a lot of new people." Emma said with a small smile.
"Wait… did you say you're meeting new people? And talking to them." Zola laughed.
"I know… shocker." Emma laughed back while rolling her eyes at her friends.
"You know I'm just joking, babe." Zola said as she took her hand.
"I know I can be closed off a bit with new people but you guys have helped me come out of my shell a bit more."
"And that's what we like to call friendship." Melissa said as she hugged Em.
"So, Mel do we get to know if we're buying for a cheerleader or a football player." Gemma asked as Mae handed her a block.
"We don't know yet and leaning towards not finding out till the baby gets here." Mel said but Em knew there was more than the woman wanted to say but she stopped herself.
"I think that's a great idea. I've always hated when people do the whole gender reveal and judge a kid before it's born." Karmen said knowing that she didn't want to push too hard.
"I feel the same way and don't let anyone push you on the subject. This is your baby and you do what you feel is right for you." Alice said as she side-hugged her friend.
"And you have friends to help you when you need it." Emma said as she squeezed her friend's hand.
Mae knew something was wrong with Mel, so she made her way to her and pulled herself with the help of the couch. Melissa smiled at the little girl before picking her up to snuggle with her. Emma just smiled at her little sister and friend. They looked like they could be sisters except for their eyes… she would never get over those two mismatched eyes of Maeve. As the girls chatted away and snacked, Maeve lost her fight with sleep. Emma took her from Mel and made a little bed on the couch beside her.
"So, I got you all something for Christmas." Emma smiled as she took the jewelry boxes out and passed them to each girl.
"I love it when you buy us stuff." Alice said as the rest of the girls just looked at her.
"Oh, I know." Emma laughed as they opened the boxes.
"It's beautiful, Emma-Grace." Mel said as she took out the bracelet.
"It's just something for us to remember each other while we're miles apart." Em said as she hugged Mel.
"Hey, why does yours have an extra charm?" Zola asked as she helped Karmen put hers on.
"Because Mae has one too and since we're sisters, we get an extra charm." Emma said as she put the little girls on while she slept.
"That makes sense." Gemma said as she hugged Em.
The waitress was cleaning up their table, when they saw the boys walking their way. Emma was shocked to see Zach with them but she wasn't going to complain. She missed him and knew that he missed her or so he said. Zach stood back as all the boys hugged Emma and got settled before he brought her in for a hug.
"Hey." Zach said into her neck.
"Hey, yourself." Emma smiled.
"You missed an awesome day at the beach, Em." Belay said with a smile.
"You're not going to get me on a surfboard again. I tried it once and I embarrassed myself and poor Deeks." Emma said with a smile.
"How are you supposed to learn if you don't try it again." Justin said as he took Melissa's water.
"Give it up boys. Emma-Grace place is on dry land. Not the ocean." Zola said, taking the attention away from Em.
"I see someone got a new piece of jewelry." Zach said as he took Emma's hand.
"We all did. It's a Christmas gift for all the girls." Emma said with a smile.
"And we don't get anything?" Brae asked.
"Hey, you guys get to take your surfboards and have them cleaned and rewaxed on me whenever you want. So, no you guys already got your Christmas gift, birthday and what other gift because your gift is the gift that keeps on giving." Emma said with a wicket smile.
"Oh yeah, now I remember. You're the one who pays for that." Justin said with a smile.
"You girls almost ready to head home?" Kelton asked as he looked at Gemma. Emma made a mental note to ask Zach about them later.
"We just need to pay them we're ready." Alice said as she got up.
"Already paid the bill and left a tip." Zach said with a smile.
"Zachary Feldman… what did you do?" Melissa said with a half-amused smile and half-angry face.
"I paid the bill, so you girls don't have to. Take it as a Christmas gift from me." Zach said quickly because he didn't want to piss off a pregnant lady.
"I'll take that!" Alice said as she packed up all Maeve's toys.
"Thank you, Mr. Feldman. That was nice of you." Emma said as she kissed him on the cheek.
Zach just smiled at her before she turned to pick a sleepy Maeve. As soon as the little girl saw Zach, she reached for him. Taking her carefully from her sister, he stood up and walked around bunching her so she could go back to sleep. Zach never thought he'd be good with kids but Maeve made him think that maybe one day, he could be a good dad. Emma made sure she had everything packed before following the group to the parking lot. Brae offered to drive Alice home since she came with Melissa. Kelton said he'll drive Gemma home since Karmen had to leave early for her shift at the hospital. Hugging her friends and telling Melissa she'll see her in a few days, Emma placed the diaper bag in the back of her car.
"Do you need a ride home?" Emma asked Zach once he placed Mae in her car seat and closed the door.
"You know it's the opposite direction than Callen's, right?" Zach said with a mischievous smile as he brought her in for a hug.
"Callen wanted tacos from the food truck close to your mom's condo so I'm heading that way." Emma said as she looked up at him.
"Well then, I would love a ride home. Maybe I can ask mom if she wants taco's too; then she doesn't have to cook." Zach said as he opened her door for her.
"Why thank you, good sir." Emma said as she got in.
"You're welcome, my lady." Zach said with a wink when he got into the car.
Zach took her hand in his as soon as Em turned onto the highway. They drove in silence most of the way, only talking when one of them had a question or when they remembered something important. They found that they didn't always have to talk to each other to enjoy each other's company. Emma couldn't wait to turn 18, so they could finally be together and start planning for the future. When Emma took the last turn-off, Zach placed the orders and turned towards Maeve, who was beginning to wake up more. Reaching around he gave her his hand to play with and Em's heart just melted. Soon Emma parked the car and Zach got out to get Maeve so they could walk on the beach to kill some time before they picked up their food.
"How's your calendar looking while you're home?" Zach asked as they started walking.
"I'm spending tomorrow with Callen and the family and then Boxing day we're hanging out with the team remember? And then I made plans with Mel on the 29th so I have two days free but was thinking that maybe we could do something together." Emma said with a smile.
"What do you have in mind?" Zach couldn't help smile with her.
"Disneyland?" Emma said as she wiggled her eyebrows.
"I've never been there so why not." Zach said as they stopped and took Maeve out so she could feel the sand under her feet.
"Awesome!" Emma smiled at Maeve, "Do you want to come with us to Disneyland, little butterfly." She added as she took Maeve's hand to help her walk.
"Do you want to invite the team too?"
"I've missed everyone but I also want to just have time with you but that can only happen if we have a chaperone with us so yeah, let's invite them too." Emma said with a little smile.
"You know that I had to agree to that if we wanted to see each other. I told you I'll do whatever your dad asks me to do while we wait for you to be 18."
"I know. I just feel like we don't get time to ourselves and I know we both agreed to you transferring here will be better for our future but I still miss seeing you every day."
"You're almost done with your training and then 6 more weeks for FLETC and placement… which I'm sure you'll get somewhere in California. Don't quit on my now, babe." Zach said as he brought her in for a hug.
"You can't get rid of me that easily, babe." Emma said with a smile as Maeve giggled at them.
"Let's get out food and then you can get home. I know you have a lot of cooking to do for tomorrow and I'm expecting some leftovers."
"Your mom is cooking up a storm tomorrow, yet you want some of my cooking too." Emma smiled as she placed Maeve back in her stroller.
"I've missed you guys cooking for me. And you know I hate cooking for myself."
"Oh, I know you hate cooking for yourself. I'm surprised you've survived all on your own for this long."
"All you need is cereal, milk, eggs and bread. And a good Chine's food place and you're set."
"I'm not even going to comment on that." Emma said as she handed him the stroller and headed to go pay for the food.
"Emma, let me…" Zach started but he saw the look in her eyes and he stopped talking.
"Good boy." Emma said with a quite smile.
"I hope you don't turn out to be like your sister, Mae. Or else we're going to have trouble with two Callen's in our lives." Zach said to Maeve and she looked at him with a smile.
"I'm going to make sure she's exactly like me when she grows up. Have to keep you and G on your tones." Emma said as she handed him their food.
"Lord help me now."
"Let's get going little butterfly before your dad sends the calvary to come looking for us."
"I can only imagen how that conversation will go."
As soon as Maeve was buckled in, Emma closed the door and turned towards Zach.
"Text me when you get home." Zach said as he held her.
"I will and I'll see you on the 26th when we're at Uncle Sam's." Emma said hugged him back.
"Je t'aime mon amour." Zach whispered in her ear.
"Je t'aime my love." Emma whispered back.