Emma was exhausted as she fell onto the hotel bed. Her flight was 2 hours delayed and then she had to wait for Hailey's flight to get in as that was also delayed. By the time Hailey got her bags, the weather was horrible and Emma didn't want to drive in a snowstorm, so they got a room at the nearest hotel and planned to get up early to head back to campus. She missed LA already and wished she could have stayed longer but she needed to get back to Virginia to help the BAU team with a case. She was a little shocked when she got Agent Rossi's phone call but also knew that this was what she wanted so she didn't hesitate to say yes. Callen was happy that she was doing so well in her training and he could see that she was really happy. That's all he's ever wanted for her to be happy and be the best version of herself. They spent her last night talking and laughing about all the silly things Emma was doing and all the things the team got up to while she was gone.
Emma spent all her free time in LA with her family and friends. Christmas with the Callen family was… well it was interesting. Emma got to meet her grandfather, her aunt, and her cousin. Jake was a sweet boy and so patient with Mae and all he talked about was Lego's but that didn't bother Emma since she could see that was his thing. Anna loved her locket from them and didn't take it off while Emma was there. Zach invited Melissa and Justin to join the "family" at Disneyland so Emma got to spend some more time with her friends. Since Jake and Alex have never been there, Callen invited them along to meet the rest of his "family." Sam and Callen had to remind the young adults that they are in fact adults and not kids but after a while they just let them be. They weren't hurting anyone and they were having a good time. Alex tried and failed to get Emma and Callen to not spoil Jake but they told her that this was still part of his Christmas present. Mel and Anna choose some cute outfits for Mae and Emma had to shake her head at the two of them. Emma was happy that Mel and Anna got along so well and Anna even gave Mel her number to call if she ever needed anything. At the end of the day, they did their little tradition of posing for a group picture in front of the castle and Emma felt like her life has never been this full.
The day after their Disney trip, Callen surprised Anna, Emma, Mae and Jake with a trip to Legoland and he regretted it the moment he stopped the car. Luckily he invited Zack with them because he realized he needed help keeping them all in check… Emma was the easiest to keep in check because he took her wallet at the start of the day and told her that she needs to make a good case to him if she wanted to buy something. He knew she would want to spoil Jake but he also promised Alex that he would make sure Jake knows that he can't just have everything he wants at once. Emma was good with her money and Callen had to say he was proud of her for it but sometimes she's a pushover when it comes to Mae and her friends. At the end of the day Jake, Maeve and Anna were passed out the whole drive home so Callen had some peace. Callen told Emma that she could drive home with Zach so she could spend some alone time with him without anyone interrupting them. He even let Zach take Emma to dinner and a movie one night without a chaperone but he made it clear no hanky panky and at that, Emma just rolled her eyes at him. Callen could see that they were taking everything slow just like Zach promised him and Sam. Zach would hold her hand and kiss her on the head but never on her lips. He asked Emma about it one night and she told him that they decided they were not going to kiss on the lips till they were officially a couple and that made him appreciate Zach even more. He was also surprised when Emma told him that they decided for Zach to be transferred to Pendleton, together as they knew that it would be better for their future no matter where she's placed after FLETC. His heart swelled with pride even more for how far this young girl has come over the last few years. She was the daughter that every father wanted… confident, independent, fiercely protective of her family and friends, humble and caring.
"Hey, Emma-Grace, you have mail." Nadia said as she saw Emma enter the building.
"Thanks, Nadia." Emma said as she grabbed the envelope.
"Oh, a love letter." David said as he passed her.
"Shup it, dipsit." Emma said, not in the mood for him today. She was tired and her brain was on fire not to mention her muscles.
As she waited for the elevator, Emma took a good look at the envelope and her heart sank. She took a gamble a couple of weeks ago and applied for snipper school but she didn't tell the team that she applied. One side of her felt horrible for keeping it from them and the other side kept telling her that she did the right thing. Emma loved her family, but they could sometimes be a bit overbearing and always say they can make a call and get her in whenever she said she might be considering applying somewhere. But she wanted to see if she could get in somewhere WITHOUT them making a call or calling in a favour. And now she knows that she could, even if the letter said she didn't get in. Walking to her room, she unlocked the door and sat on her bed. Taking a deep breath, Emma opened the envelope and she had a little smile on her face. She got in and she did it all by herself. Now what? A knock on the door got her out of her thoughts.
"Come in." Emma said as she placed the letter on her bedside table.
"Hey, was wondering if you wanted to head out to dinner with us?" Brian said as he walked in.
"Sure, let me take a quick shower." Emma said with a smile as she grabbed her clothes and went to the bathroom. Emma decided not the wash her hair since that would take too long and she wasn't in the mood to wash it and then have it sweaty again tomorrow with training. As she exited the bathroom, she saw Brian with the letter in his hand.
"Want to tell me something?" He said with a smile.
"I applied for snipper school AND I go in." Emma said with a smile.
"Why do I have a feeling you're not happy." Brian said as he grabbed her coat for her.
"I am, really but I haven't told Callen or Zach that I applied." Emma said as they walked towards the elevator.
"I see." Brian said as they got in, "Mind if I ask why you haven't told them yet?"
"If they knew I was applying, Kensi would have made a call and made sure I got in. I just wanted to see if I could get in without their help. I know they love me and what's best for me but they're always butting in or wanting to make a call to help me along." Emma said as she got into the car.
"And you wanted to do it yourself."
"Yes and I hate lying to them but for once I wanted to see if I could do it myself, just like other people. I mean you didn't get in because of who your father or grandmother is."
"That's true but you got into the BAU without their help."
"I did but I bet a phone call was made and someone was threatened with a letter opener." Emma said with a smile.
"Your grandmother sounds like a hoot." Brian said as he parked the car.
"Oh, that she is. Just don't say it out loud… she has ears everywhere."
"When do start your sniper training?" He asked as they sat down.
"I'm done with my FBI training but Agent Rossi asked me to stay on a bit longer and help them with a few cases. But training in San Diego starts beginning March and then I'll go straight to FLETC in June like Granger wanted me to do."
"When are you going to tell the team that you're going?"
"I don't know but I'll tell Zach tonight when we talk. I'll figure out how to tell the team later or I was leaning towards not telling them and just doing the training, pass and then tell them."
"Your dad will kill you if you do that but I'm all for that one." Brian said with a smile.
"Can I get you guys something to drink?" The waitress asked with a smile.
"One lime and soda for the lady, a whiskey neat for me and then a glass of your house red for the man who's always late." Brian said as Travis pulled out a chair next to Emma.
"Hey, traffic was hell." Travis said as he kissed Emma on the cheek.
"Then you'll never survive LA, babe."
"So, what did I miss?" Travis said with a smile.
"Emma got into snipper school and she's not going to tell Callen till she's done."
"Oh, I would love to know how that'll go for you."
"I bet they'll find out your first day there and Callen will drag your ass home. And then ground you for life." Brian said as he took their drinks.
"Ready to order?"
"Hell yeah, I'm starving." Emma said with a wicket smile.
"And now you sound like Kensi." Travis said and they all laughed.
Emma was busy drying her hair when she heard her phone ring and she knew who it would be before seeing the caller ID. With a smile, she picked up her phone and hid the video button. "Good morning little butterfly." Emma said as she saw her baby sister's face.
"Amma!" Maeve said as she tried to kiss the phone.
"Yeah, no kissing my phone. You don't know where it's been." Callen said as he moved the phone away from her mouth.
"Maybe she doesn't want to know where it's been either." Emma said as she placed her phone on the bathroom counter and started to braid her hair.
"It's for the best." Callen said with a wink, "But we called for a reason…"
"And that would be?"
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Callen said and Maeve tried to say the words too.
"Ahh, that's the reason." Emma said with a smile.
"My dear Emma-Grace, you are finally 18 and now saying it out loud makes me feel old." Callen said as he handed Mae her duck.
"You are old. And thank you for the birthday wishes." Emma said as she made herself a tea to go.
"How's your day looking? Any big plans?" Callen asked as he sat down on the floor.
"We're still busy with the rape cases I told you about, so can't do anything till we get that close. But Brian and Travis took me out to brunch last Sunday for an early birthday present."
"That was nice of them. I always like them and how they treat you as a little sister." As soon as Mae heard the word 'sister' she point at the screen and said 'ister.' Callen and Emma just laughed.
"Great job, Mae. Another word to the list." Emma said and Callen just rolled his eyes.
"Have you heard from Zach yet?" Callen asked.
"No, not yet. He was doing night training this week, so he's probably still busy with that or sleeping." Emma said as she pour the water into her travel mug.
"You both sound busy."
"We are but he might come up this weekend so we'll just have to wait and see." Emma said as she picked up her bag and added her water bottle to it.
"I'm going to let you go but please stay safe and we'll see you at graduation." Callen said, sensing she had to get to work.
"I will and you stay safe too. Bye little butterfly and I love you both." Emma said as she blow them a kiss.
"Love you too." Callen said before he ended the call.
Emma grabbed her jack and opened the door only to find Hailey ready to knock. "You're up early." Emma said with a smile.
"Wanted to make sure I caught you before you handed in." Hailey said as she handed Emma a plant and two envelopes. "Happy Birthday, Em."
"Ah, thank you." Emma said as she side-hugged the girl.
"This yellow one is from my grandparents and the blue one is from me and Billy." Hailey said as Emma placed the plant on the table she had by her door and handed Hailey her mug to open the envelopes. The yellow one is a card with a big moose with colourful balloons and the words 'Happy Birthday' in them. Emma opened the card and found $50 in it and a nice note from them wishing her a blessed year. "That's so nice of them, tell them I say thank you when you talk to them again."
"They're really sad to hear that you're almost done and leaving soon." Hailey said with a sad smile. "But they're happy to know you're following your dreams."
"I know but you have Brian and Travis here for you when you need them. And I'm a phone call away so you're not getting rid of me that easily." Emma said with a side hug her again. "I have to run but how about you and I go for a spa day and a nice dinner as soon as this case is done?" Emma said as she pressed the elevator button.
"That would be nice." Hailey said as she hugged Em before the elevator dinged.
"Have a good day and kick some butt today."
"Emma-Grace, would you mind going through these files and sorting them on the whiteboard for us?" JJ said as she handed her a stack of files.
"Any particular order or just sort them like normal?" Emma ask as she opened the first file.
"Like you normally do since that works better for us." JJ said with a smile.
"I got some more here if you're done with those." Penelope said as she handed Emma a box.
"Okay, let me get started with these and then I'll look at those." Emma said as she moved the box over and started to read.
"Who's that tall drink of water?" Emily said as she walked into the briefing room.
"I don't know but I want to find out." Penelope said as Emma looked out the window to see who they were talking about.
Emma had to do a double take to make sure her mind wasn't playing tricks on her. "Mind if I take a 5-minute break?" Emma said as Rossi walked in. Rossi just shook his head yes and Emma made a beeline for the visitor.
"I think we're about to find out." Spencer said as he took one file and sat down to read.
Emma practically run down the stairs and once her feet hit the ground she walked as fast as she could to him. "What are you doing here?" Emma said as she brought him in for a hug.
"I got an assignment so I asked if I could fly out of DC." Zach said into her neck. "Luckily most of our company's family is here so here I am." Zach said as he pulled away. "Happy Birthday, babe." Zach said as he kissed her cheek.
"Thank you. What time do you leave?" Emma asked.
"We leave in an hour. Our flight got delayed so we were rushing a bit." Zach said as he took in her appearance, "Do you have a few minutes to talk?"
Emma turned towards the brief room and Rossi just waved her away, "Sure, let's go to JJ's office." Emma took his hands and let him down the hall. Once the door was closed, Zach brought her into a hug again.
"I had this whole thing planned out for the weekend but life happened."
"We both knew this day was coming." Emma said as she took his hands.
"I promise you that I will do this right when I get back." Zach said as he took something out of his pocket.
"Do what right?" Emma said confused.
"Emma-Grace Callen, getting to know you these last few months has been the best part of my life. And I can't wait to see where the future holds for us." Zach started as he opened the ring box. "Would you do me the honour of being mine?"
Emma looked at the ring and she didn't know what to say. She wanted this since she knew her feelings for him and now here they are. All she could get out was a soft 'yes' and a shack of her head.
"Yes?" Zach asked.
"Yes!" Emma said as she brought him down for a kiss.
It took Zach about 10 seconds to get his baring before he started to kiss her back. Nothing at that moment mattered but them and how they finally get to be together. When they pulled away, Zach took the ring and placed it on her finger with a big smile.
"One day soon, I'll add two more rings to it." Zach said with a kiss on the forehead.
"Can't wait." Emma said as she kissed his chest.
Just then, Zach's phone pinged. Taking it out of his pocket, he looked at it and saw that they were heading to the airport in 10 minutes.
"I have to go but as soon as I get back, I'm taking you on a proper date."
"That sounds like a plan." Emma said as she took his hand and walked back towards the elevators.
With one last hug and kiss, Emma watched Zach till the door closed. Looking down at the ring, she took a deep breath and walked back to reality.