Emily never thought children would be in the cards for her. At least not biological children. Between the damage Doyle had done to her body and the universe likely planning to punish her for the abortion she had as a teenager, she didn't think it was likely to happen for her.
Emily had thought for sure it would be the thing that broke she and Derek up. The more serious they had gotten, the more she worried about when the conversation would eventually come. But when it did, it wasn't all that scary. He said that he loved her and if it was only ever the two of them, that would be enough for him.
However, Derek was glad to know that she wasn't against having children, she just thought it was unlikely she could. They both agreed they would be willing to consider adoption if they later felt a strong desire to become parents. But they were happy with each other for the time being.
It came as quite a shock when Emily started showing the symptoms of pregnancy a mere two months into their marriage. Such a shock that the meaning of the symptoms didn't register for weeks.
The timing was funny. They were never all that careful even when they first began dating, so the fact that it looked like they were having a honeymoon baby to anyone who didn't know better was quite amusing.
Derek noticed she wasn't acting like herself before she did. She was flipping back and forth between having no appetite, and having the appetite of a teenage boy.
"Emily, do you think there's any chance you're pregnant?"
At first, she had just laughed and made a joke about how many years he's been putting her through the mattress without condoms. But then the more she thought on it, the more she got her hopes up.
She had accepted her fate long ago. The thought of convincing herself it was true just to be wrong sounded crushing.
They had been getting ready to eat dinner at the time. She pushed her wine glass towards him. "Well I can't enjoy this until I know for sure. Let's go to CVS."
Their night had ended with happy tears, tangled up bodies, and her wine poured down the drain. When her doctor confirmed the news a few days later, the couple celebrated again.
Derek was over the moon. Of course he meant it when he had told her he would be okay if they never had children. But it just felt meant to be. Emily always talked like she would only get what she deserved, and she thought she was somehow less deserving because of the choice she made at sixteen. Derek never believed that was true. But if she saw things that way, and this could somehow make her see that she was deserving and worthy of motherhood, he would take it.
At Emily's insistence, they didn't tell a soul until they hit the twelve week mark. Emily thought if they lost the baby, Derek's mother, Fran Morgan, would feel the pain nearly as acutely as them.
When they hit twelve weeks and the doctor confirmed the baby appeared to be perfectly healthy, they called her in the car before they even drove home. She was in a puddle.
…
For a week, Derek and Emily unsuccessfully tried to get the whole team to go out for a drink one evening so they could make their announcement. Someone always had something else going on and they couldn't get the whole group together. They decided to have everyone over for dinner so they could plan it a week in advance and make sure everyone would be there. Maybe it was a little over the top, but the BAU was their family.
"What do you think? Do I still pour you a glass of wine? Keep the mystery alive a little longer?" Derek asked Emily as they were setting the table before their guests arrived.
"Set a glass out," Emily said. "But you might not need to fill it as a decoy because I'm not sure I'll be able to wait very long before I blurt it out."
Derek placed the wine glasses that were in his hands down on the table then walked over to Emily and wrapped her in a hug. "Me too, baby. We'll see who spills first."
Emily tipped her face up to his and he pressed a kiss to her lips. Then another. Derek slid his hand down to her belly as he continued to kiss her. It was definitely too early on for someone who wasn't aware to notice a bump. But Derek swore she was starting to show.
The doorbell rang, interrupting their kiss. Emily popped back. "We're out of time!"
"Not fair," Derek said. "Now I already can't wait for them to leave."
Over the next fifteen minutes, everyone arrived. First Penelope, then JJ and Will, Rossi, Reid, and finally Hotch.
JJ gave Emily an extra tight hug around her middle. Almost like she already knew.
After a round of drinks, they moved to the dining room.
"Emily, this looks fantastic," Rossi said.
"Thank you! Derek actually roasted the meat," Emily said. "But I made the rest. The baby bella mushrooms, roasted baby carrots and baby potatoes," she listed, looking around to see if anyone was catching on.
Reid looked up and met her eyes with a smile. Of course he was the first to put together what she was doing.
Derek picked up his glass and started speaking. "Emily and I didn't want to have you guys over just because. We actually have some exciting news to share." Everyone looked up at them in anticipation, surely guessing but wanting to hear it for certain. Derek looked to his wife to continue.
"We're having a baby!" Emily announced excitedly.
"Oh my God!" Penelope was the first to shout out. "Congratulations!"
"That's wonderful!" The room was abuzz with congratulations and cheers and questions about the due date.
"Emily is about three and a half months pregnant," Derek answered. "Due in February."
"Your little baby valentine," Penelope gushed.
"Very clever with the food," JJ commented. "The baby carrots and all that."
Rossi couldn't resist. "Was "beef tenderloin" a euphemism as well?" The table exploded in laughter.
"Do you know if you're having a boy or a girl?" Reid asked.
"I wish!" Emily said. "Derek wants to be surprised."
"You're nicer than me," JJ kidded. "If I'm carrying a baby for nine months, I'm deciding when we find out."
Emily laughed. "I don't really mind. The surprise will be kind of fun. But my gut reaction was to find out."
Derek thought back to the night they had that discussion. Emily had thrown her hands in the air exasperatedly and asked, "The fact that I'm pregnant at all isn't enough of a surprise?" Derek had laughed and laughed at the time. He thought about telling that story tonight but then decided against it. No one needs to know how truly surprised they were.
That night of celebrating with their closest friends was everything they wanted it to be. Even though Emily couldn't drink, she kept the wine and eventually the whiskey flowing for her guests. After everyone left, the couple was up late cleaning.
Derek came up behind Emily when she was standing at the sink. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulder. "Let's go to bed, Em. The rest can wait until tomorrow."
"Really? We're almost done," Emily said.
"Really. I need to be making love to my wife."
…
Ever since their marriage, when Emily signed her reports, she was SSA Emily Morgan. But in the field, her team continued to call her Prentiss at her request. She didn't want an unsub to zero in on their marriage and attempt to use it against them.
Despite the engagement ring, and then eventually the wedding rings, the pair had managed to behave in such a way that no unsub ever did take notice. However, once Emily got pregnant and her bump was starting to show, Derek's protectiveness proved easy for some unsubs to sniff out.
It caused some strife. Derek and Emily were interrogating a particularly vile criminal one day. He was locked up, but they thought he might be connected to a new string of murders.
This man tortured women. He was already in for life so he had absolutely nothing to lose. As soon as Emily and Derek walked into the room, his eyes were drawn to her bump with a disgustingly eager smile on his face. Of course, Emily could hold her own. She had seen a lot worse in her career. But that didn't make his comments about her being a naughty girl any less repulsive.
"Well, you would know a thing or two about being naughty," Emily had thrown back before continuing with their questioning.
But Derek was on edge. When the criminal lunged forward for show, his cuffs and chains rattling against the table he was tied to, Derek flew in front of Emily.
It couldn't have gone unnoticed. The prisoner had grinned evilly, looking like a cat with a mouse. "What do we have here? Is this daddy?"
In the end, Rossi came in to continue the questioning with Emily. He just had to give Derek a stern look that told him he needed to step away. Emily wasn't going to give this monster the satisfaction of her leaving.
"You need to pull her out of the field," Derek ranted to Hotch later.
"I think this is a conversation you need to have with your wife. From my perspective she's still fully capable of doing her job," Hotch said.
"She won't listen to me! It's dangerous."
"What is she, five months along? You two need to figure this out because I'm not having you derail interrogations for the next couple months."
"Me derail them? Did you see that animal in there?" Derek was worked up.
"Yes. Animal is exactly right. You're supposed to be one of the stable ones in the room."
Derek paused and took a breath. "I'm sorry, Hotch. I'm just so worried about her all the time these days."
"I remember feeling that way about Haley. And of course she wasn't even in the field. But you have to remember that Prentiss is more than capable. She didn't even flinch in there." Derek felt like Hotch wanted to add "and you did" but he bit his tongue.
…
Derek and Emily flew home to Chicago for Christmas. Emily was about seven months along at this point.
Fran Morgan was ecstatic. When she saw Emily's large belly, she felt like she was getting the news all over again. She was a little teary as she greeted them at the door.
They wrestled all their bags through the door, Derek telling Emily to leave the Christmas presents for him to get.
"I've got them, Derek. They're not that heavy."
Fran pulled her in for a hug. "Honey, you just let him do it all. I remember what thirty weeks pregnant felt like."
"It's beautiful in here!" Emily admired all of Fran's lovely decorations. Christmas wasn't the coziest in her home growing up.
First Fran heated up some leftovers for them. Their flight got in so late. Then they settled in to the living room to catch up. They would get to see Derek's sisters and their families tomorrow, but tonight it was just the three of them.
"I've barely gotten to hear how it's all going! How has your pregnancy been?" Fran asked genuinely.
"All good, I think," Emily said. "I feel big. And I don't have the energy I used to. But I've mostly still been able to keep up at work."
"Even though I wish she wouldn't," Derek added.
Fran decided to stay out of that one. "I never even heard the story! How did you tell Derek once you found out? You two were lucky. You really didn't have to try for that long."
Wow. A lot to unpack there. Surely Fran wasn't so naïve as to think they weren't having sex before they were married? Or maybe she just thought they would've had the good sense to be extra cautious with protection before they were married. She would be wrong about those intimate details. How to answer these questions without bursting her bubble?
"I'm sorry to say I didn't have a cutesy reveal for Derek. He actually noticed changes first. He just asked me if I thought I might be one evening."
"Oh. Well that's certainly interesting." It clearly wasn't the romantic story she was expecting. "When Hank and I were trying to get pregnant I would convince myself I was every month just to find out I wasn't most of the time."
"Yeah, I don't know. I guess I just hadn't wanted to get my hopes up," Emily said. Which was true. True without revealing their pregnancy was unplanned.
Emily decided she could lay it on thick in other areas. Clearly, Derek's mother was craving to be involved.
"But it's been the best seven months. Derek has been the very best husband. I mean, of course he has. We talk baby names every night. We've had fun working on the nursery together," Emily listed.
Everything she said was true. Emily smiled at Derek and he put his arm around her from his spot beside her on the couch. She leaned in, laying her head on his shoulder.
"We are doing really well," Derek said.
"I'm just so happy for you two," Fran said. "I want to be helpful when you go into labor. Call me as soon as it happens, anytime of night, and I will be on the next flight out. If that's okay, I mean," she quickly added.
"Of course that's okay! We want you there as soon as possible," Emily said.
"Little peanut will need to meet his or her Grammy," Derek agreed. His fingers gently held her head, working into her hair. Emily could fall asleep. He eyes shut briefly, enjoying the moment.
"I'm so sorry to cut this short," Emily said. "Do you mind if I go change into my PJs? I can't be in these pants any longer."
"Oh my goodness, how rude of me. You are probably exhausted! I need to go to bed anyway. We can call it a night. Do you need anything? Fresh towels are in the bathroom."
"I think we're good, Mama. I might make Em a cup of tea but then we'll be heading to bed too."
"Okay. I have tons of tea. You know where, same place it's always been. Sweet dreams."
Later that night tucked away in Derek's childhood room, Derek and Emily got ready for bed.
"She is so excited," Emily said. "That makes me really happy."
"Me too," Derek agreed. "But I could do without all of her comments about us trying. It's so weird when people talk about trying."
Emily laughed. "She wants to know you were putting in the hours."
"Yeah, a little too personal, huh? But I would never burst her bubble by telling her we weren't trying at all."
"I think she'll take any details we'll give her," Emily kidded.
"Okay, I'm done thinking about my mom thinking about us. Do you want to put in some hours tonight?" He raised an eyebrow in his flirty, suggestive way.
"What's a trip home without sex in the childhood bedroom?"
…
Back home in Virginia, the days were short and freezing, and the baby countdown was on. Friday the team surprised Emily and Derek with a mini baby shower in the briefing room. Penelope and Reid had been in there with the blinds closed for an hour making Emily wonder what was going on. But she hadn't guessed the surprise would be so sweet. They had decorated and gotten some food and there was a little stack of presents.
Emily was overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness of the gesture. She thanked them and struggled for more words to express how touched she was.
"Open!" Penelope said excitedly, placing the first of many presents in her hands. "You had to know we were going to spoil baby Morgan."
She opened all sorts of cute onesies and burp rags and blankets. JJ gave her a breast pump which got a slightly uncomfortable laugh.
"Hey, no one wants to give the practical stuff but it's what I was most grateful for once Henry came," she explained.
In typical Rossi fashion, he went way over the top and gave them a stroller. Reid gave a mini library of books. They were for different ages too so plenty of room to grow. Hotch gave a wearable carrier and told Derek it was because he enjoyed carrying Jack around in one. Penelope gave gift after gift of stuffed animals, swaddles, and binkies.
"Thank you so much. For everything. You guys really didn't have to do all this but we appreciate it more than I can say," Emily said.
Derek agreed. "This baby is the luckiest because he will have you all in his life. Or she," he quickly added.
"Is a boy your latest hunch?" Rossi asked.
"I keep changing what I think," Derek said.
"I had the most vivid dream we had a girl," Emily said. "But then a week later I dreamed we came home from the hospital with a puppy so I don't put much weight into it."
…
The time came for Emily to be relegated to desk duty. The final month was rough, partially because of that. She was bored not being in the field! But she understood why she shouldn't be out there right now. She was to the point where she wasn't allowed to fly.
Her second trimester had been magic. Once her hormones leveled out and the early queasiness disappeared, she was great. Her sex drive had been unreal and Derek was happy to deliver. She was also just so excited and had felt like she had all the time in the world back then.
But now, it was looming. Giving birth was starting to scare her and she could do nothing but wait. She felt uncomfortable these days, unable to find a good position to sleep in. She and Derek were still enjoying each other, but she had to admit she wasn't able to contribute as much effort these days, and there were only so many positions that accommodated her body right now.
Scary as it was, she wished she could just give birth today and get that part over with. But she still had a few weeks to go.
The rest of the team was on their way home from Albuquerque, yet another case she didn't get to join on.
It's not entirely fair to say she didn't get to join at all. She was still involved in helping profile, just not on the ground in person. She got to spend tons of time with Penelope and see her side of things sitting back in Quantico as an analyst.
"This has been so fun having you here," Penelope said. "As far as I'm concerned, keep getting pregnant."
Emily just laughed at her joke. "Maybe! We're just focusing on this one for now." Emily laid her hands on her large baby belly.
"I promise I was kidding, Emily. I know that's very personal. I didn't mean to…"
"Oh, I know! You're fine. You know me well enough to know I'm not easily offended."
"You're going to be an amazing mother," Penelope said. "And a Morgan/Prentiss baby has got to be like the most adorable thing on the planet. I think you're going to want ten more."
Emily again laughed at her exuberant friend. "Only if you're volunteering to babysit!"
"Oh any time, day or night, auntie Penelope is there."
The rest of their team arrived back at the office within the hour.
"Little peanut still in there?" Derek asked jokingly, leaning down to give Emily a quick kiss where she was sitting at her desk. That's something he never would have done in the office before she was pregnant.
"Still here. Still drawing out the grand entrance," Emily said with a sigh.
A week later, Emily woke up early in the morning with some light contractions. Derek was supposed to be leaving for a case, but stayed back because they thought it was time. A couple of hours later, her doctor explained that it was just her body's way of practicing. False alarm. She felt bad he missed traveling for the case.
Instead, Derek also got the Penelope Garcia technical analyst experience. They both did what they could to help profile from back home. Derek definitely gained some sympathy for Emily for how dull it was. It just wasn't the same as being there.
After that false alarm, Emily really stressed about how to know when it was time. She couldn't trust herself to decide when Derek needed to stay home from a case. She was very afraid of going into labor while he was out of town, but she didn't want to hold him back unnecessarily a second time.
"Baby, you'll know," Derek said. "Don't worry about it. Once you're uncomfortable with me leaving I won't leave."
"I've never done this before! I'm not so sure I will know."
Thankfully, the baby made the decision for them. In the most embarrassing scenario she could've dreamed up, Emily's water broke in a briefing room chair. Hotch and Penelope had just been getting ready to brief everyone on their next case.
"Oh my God," Emily interrupted. "No one look down. I think my water just broke."
"Oh shit, just like that?" Derek jumped up. "What do you need? Do we need to go now? Let's go now." He answered his own question, up in a frenzy.
They made their way out quickly, everyone wishing them well. As intense as Derek usually was driving to an unsub on a case, that's how he was today. Emily had always found it attractive how collected he was in the driver's seat on a case. Today it was amusing to see how similar his behavior was.
"We've got time, Derek," she said. "Don't speed. My contractions aren't coming that quickly."
He reached across the center console and took her hand, intertwining their fingers before bringing the back of her hand to his lips.
"I'm just excited. I love you, Em."
"I love you too."
Derek was not prepared for how much patience he needed for this process. Emily labored for hours. Hours of watching her in pain, waiting for her epidural, and watching her be checked by the doctor only to be told she was hardly any more dilated than the last check. He wanted the process to move along faster only because he couldn't stand to see her in pain any longer.
"Are you okay?" He was asking it constantly. "I'll call them back in here. You shouldn't have to be in this much pain. There's got to be something they can do for you."
"Derek, honey, I'm fine. We're getting there. You heard the doctor, she doesn't think I should have the epidural until I'm at six centimeters."
He squeezed her hand and used his other hand to gently brush her hair out of her face. "Okay. Just tell me if it becomes too much."
"I love you so much."
The day drug on. "My mom is going to land in a few hours," Derek said. "At this rate, she might make it to the hospital before the baby is even born."
"Derek, would you call my mom for me please?"
"Yeah. Yeah, of course. Sorry, I probably should've thought of that when I called mine."
"No, don't say that. I should've thought to sooner. I just didn't want her to feel like she had to come here super early and wait around all day. You know my mom and I," Emily said.
Derek knew what she meant. Emily and her mother loved each other. But it wasn't the warm and fuzzy kind of love that Derek was raised with. But he knew Emily would be different as a mom. She might be more guarded when a relationship is new, but she loves more fiercely than anyone he knows.
After thirty-six hours of labor, Derek and Emily were the proud new parents of a beautiful baby girl, Emma Frances Morgan. Frances after Derek's mother.
Emily was sleep deprived, fragile, starving, exhausted, and ecstatic. When she first got to hold her, when she got to feel her tiny baby pressed to her chest, she thought her heart was going to burst. Emily was so in love it hurt.
She was holding it together so well. That was until she saw their six pound, four ounce baby in Derek's strong arms. She cried for the first time in months.
Derek felt complete with his daughter in his arms. When the doctor announced they had a girl, Derek saw a perfect miniature Emily. She was more than he ever dreamed of.
Her Grammy was the third person Emma got to meet. Fran was in the room holding Emma as soon as the doctor and nurses were done with all of their initial wellness checks.
Fran was of course ecstatic. When they told her Emma's full name, she teared up. "She's so beautiful," Fran repeated again and again.
Emily's mother visited next and Emily was so grateful to have her there. She saw more emotion on her mother's face than she had seen in years. She would love for her daughter to grow up having a strong relationship with her grandmother. With both of her grandmothers.
Their team decided not to go to the hospital but waited until Derek and Emily got Emma home. Once they were settled at home, they welcomed everyone over to meet her.
Emily was feeling exhausted and embarrassed of her messy house and not up to the task of hosting. But once everyone walked in the door, she knew she had been worried for nothing. It was so good to see them all again. It warmed her heart to watch them take turns holding their daughter.
At home, Derek and Emily adjusted to life as new parents. They got a lot less sleep than they used to, they cleaned up more messes, and they spent more time sitting still just holding their sleeping baby in their arms. Life had been so good to them.
Emma was still sleeping in the bassinet beside their bed. She was about three weeks old. Derek and Emily had really started to get the hang of things. Emily finished feeding Emma and put her down in the bassinet before crawling into bed. Derek wrapped an arm around her, pulling her body against his. "This is more than I ever dreamed of. I have Em and Em. I love you."
"I love you too. I'm so glad she is ours."
The End