Thanks to a phone call between Gerald and Sam Cooper, JJ and Hotch were given the summer off. In fact, they weren't to come back to work until the team was positive the Integrity case was closed. Since Stratton and Samuel's arrests the BAU team has been put back into rotation however, light rotation meaning they were working half the caseload if that so they could focus on Integrity. The BAU wasn't down agents though because Matt and Luke were still on loan thanks to the Prentiss family seeing as JJ was home and Oliver didn't have soccer during the summer.
Part of the case would be nicely worked in the Prentiss home with River while the other part would be not so nicely grilled out of Samuel in prison by the team. As it turned out, River felt more comfortable talking with Emily and JJ, at least for now and that was perfectly okay. Until she asked to speak with a therapist, the women were here for her in any way she needed. They had learned a lot so far from her and relayed it to the team so they could try and use it against Samuel in some way to break him.
They knew when and how River was taken, along with her parents. Doctor Amy Diaz was already there before the Evans family arrived, Randell, Vanessa and River were the last three Samuel brought to his secondary location where he had kept Melissa Philips her entire pregnancy.
River found herself flashing back to specific moments often, but right now because she had just been going over things with Emily. She was currently laying on her bed snuggled up in her River Blair blanket as Emily suggested she take a break, maybe get some rest, listen to music and/or take a bath. She knew what it was like to go through trauma and after you talk about it, you're completely drained—not to say River couldn't hang out with everyone upstairs because she could, but Emily could sense she was exhausted and River was, so she laid down.
After Hudson was cleaned off the man forced Dr. Diaz to hand the baby to him, Samuel then brought him into the other room while Melissa was still in labor with the second baby and played mind games with the Evans family.
"If you were given a second chance to do it all again, would you make the same mistakes?" Samuel asked, holding the baby boy in one arm and pointing the gun at Randall with his other.
River was forced to watch and what was worse about the whole thing was each question Samuel asked her parents she knew the answer would always be a lie. Realistically, anyone with a gun to their head would lie to get out alive but her parents always had to uphold this perfect life to everyone and it made her feel sick.
"What are you talking about? I've never made any mistakes as a father," Randall answered with a scoff, holding his head high.
In the background they heard more screaming and River wondered what was happening because Samuel already had the baby in his arms, why would the woman still be screaming this much, she didn't understand. She was however 20 years old and terrified, twins was the last thing on her mind. Samuel then turned and aimed the gun at River as the baby boy in his arms continued wailing and asked, "Do you agree with the statement your daddy dearest just made?"
River looked up at Samuel then over at her father, then her eyes wandered to the baby and she pleaded, "Can I please comfort him? His blanket is falling off, I bet he's cold."
Samuel tucked the gun into the back of his pants then cut River's restraints but only her hands, he didn't want her to make a run for it. Once he tested she wasn't going to try and undo her ankles, Samuel handed River the baby and almost smiled when he calmed down in her arms. Once the baby was settled, Samuel turned back to look at Randall and said, "I don't believe you'd change your ways." And with that, he shot Randall, killing him instantly.
Vanessa completely lost her mind however, River had been focused on the baby she didn't see Samuel kill her father. She never knew if it was intentional or not because Samuel spared River from watching him kill her mother as well after she showed interest in the baby. He played mind games with them for what felt like hours before Melissa went into labor though and her anxiety level was so high, it wouldn't really be possible to ever know.
Samuel did seem to almost soften in that moment however, and that became an important part of the case because not only did it lead the team in a helpful direction it expanded where Emily and JJ wanted to go with their own questions with River. They assumed things were pretty open and shut with Dr. Diaz and the twins birth mother Melissa but that wasn't the case at all; Samuel kept them alive far longer than they initially thought.
River's mind jumped again and a new memory flooded in, this time she started with tears streaming down her cheeks. "What are we going to do now?" she cried.
The twins were six months old and only allowed to go on walks with River and Samuel because he knew he'd be able to control the petite woman, especially with a gun and the baby's with him. He delivered his weekly supply of food and before leaving, casually let them know Amy would not be coming back anymore meaning, he killed her.
"Promise me something, River," Melissa said, wiping River's cheeks dry of tears. She wasn't naïve, Melissa knew she was next and just prayed her sweet babies would be taken care of by this girl.
"Okay," she nodded.
"I'm not going to get out of here alive," Melissa said, even through River's protests that they would all be fine. "River, honey I need you to listen to me. Okay?"
River nodded again but she couldn't stop more tears from falling as Melissa continued. "I want my babies to know the importance of being kind to one another, to be respectful, to have good manners, to know they can be anything they want one day, and know they are always loved. Can you promise me that?"
"I promise," River agreed.
"Thank you, River. I love you Hudson Gray and Emerson Kate," Melissa said, kissing them each before she cuddled River as well the way the four of them every night while the twins fell asleep.
And with that, River dozed into a peaceful slumber of her own.
"Are you excited for your spectacular Saturday?" JJ asked the next day as she helped straighten out Hudson's shirt.
"Yeah!" he exclaimed, then furrowed his brows. "But umm, pe'nut butter comin' too, right momma?"
"I think grandma planned an extra fun activity including peanut butter," she whispered.
"No way!"
"Hey little dude, do you need any backup today?" Clarke asked, walking into her brother's room. She had offered to go with the twins on their first spectacular Saturday so they'd have a piece of home with them even though they were going together. Emily and JJ figured when they were ready, Hudson and Emerson would make it known they wanted their own special day but for now, they were doing their grandparent day together which was fine.
"What bout' you?" he questioned, and Clarke saw her mom nodding along even though she knew the plan. Gosh she needs more coffee Clarke thought to herself.
This time it was JJ's turn to furrow her brows and Clarke answered the unasked question with a simple, "It's just your weekend with Emerson buddy, not mine. Mom really needs to check the schedule, what's she been tellin' you in here, huh?"
"I could have sworn I saw your name written down," she said, winking at her daughter now back on track with the plan. It was an early start to the day and she had only had two cups of coffee, she needed at least three more.
"You're a week ahead, I'm going next weekend unless this excavator needs my help," Clarke teased, pointing to Hudson and the t-shirt he was wearing with a truck on it. He was the truck master and because Allen was a contractor he was all for it, they could talk trucks for hours.
"No this not a—" Hudson said, pulling at his shirt so he could see it. Clarke moved them both so the little boy was now in front of a mirror and a huge smile appeared on his face. "Oh yeah, this is a x'avatah," he giggled.
Upstairs they were having a similar conversation however, not about trucks. "I want mewmaid hair mommy, pwease!" Emerson said, happy it was now her turn.
"Which colors are on your shirt, baby?" Emily asked, peeking around to see the ocean mermaid theme she had on there. "It looks like aqua, pink and purple," she continued, picking out the fun colors she bought to braid into the girls hair for the summer or when they went to Disney.
"No, mommy!" Emerson exclaimed. "This not—" she said, also pulling her shirt out so she could see it the same way Hudson did. She then repeated the colors pink and purple but it was the aqua causing her so much concern. "It this one, mommy," Emerson stated, holding up the same color Emily already had in her hand then giggling when she realized they matched.
"You're such a silly monkey," Emily teased, then tickled her sides. "Okay, lets get these mermaid braids in before grandma and grandpa get here for your special day with them baby girl."
"Hello!" Allen called out when he opened the front door not even two minutes later. "We're here for a day of fun, anyone home?"
"I not weady yet," Emerson gasped.
"It's okay sweet girl," Emily said, kissing the top of her head. "They won't leave without you and your brother, I promise."
"Oh good," she said, breathing a sigh of relief that caused Emily to laugh. Oh little kids, they were truly the best.
Amelia and Oliver were now kicking the soccer ball around and Lily and Oakley were playing with River and the littlest twins while Emily, JJ, Clarke, Sandy and Allen figured out what the twins would decide to do.
"You two have a built in buddy with each other and I think that's the coolest thing ever," Clarke said, kneeling next to them while she spoke. "But if you want me to come, I will. You also know that you can call mommy and momma anytime and they'll pick up, or if you aren't having fun, even though I know you'll be having the most fun ever, I promise you can come home. What do you think?"
Emily and JJ had already told the twins all of this however, coming from a sibling might be just what they needed to hear. Sandy and Allen weren't worried about a thing, maybe they should be, but they weren't. Hudson and Emerson warmed up to them immediately and they had a ton of practice raising their own children and taking care of their grandchildren. This would go great, they were certain.
"You can pway here," Hudson told his big sister after okaying it with his twin.
"Okay," Clarke said with a smile. "Have so much fun then come home and tell me all about it okay?"
"Otay!" they agreed and hugged her.
JJ hugged and kissed them next then Emily said, "Come here my babies." The twins fell into her arms and she held them tightly, peppering kisses to each of their faces until the breathless giggles started and she patted their bottoms and said, "Have the best time. I love you both so much."
"Wuv you mommy, momma, and Cwalke," Emerson said.
"Me wuv you too mommy, momma, and Cwalke," Hudson repeated after his sister.
"Bye girls, we love you all," Sandy smiled, then took the twins hands and led them out the door.
Clarke instantly felt two pairs of arms wrap around her and she looked at her mothers then patted their arms in a there, there motion. "Don't you have a diaper to change or another kid to cuddle?"
"Nope, we love you too much to let go. Mwah, mwah, mwah, mwah, mwah," JJ teased, causing Clarke to try and escape her super crazy embarrassing moms.
When Clarke did manage to get away, the mothers were left standing there and couldn't help but burst out laughing. "We're totally going to nail the embarrassing mom thing," JJ said proudly.
Today they were throwing the twins a late 5th birthday party because they were coming up on a crazy time in the Prentiss household. Hudson and Emerson's birthday was near the end of May, just a week before the team found rescued them so the mothers thought this year they'd fudge the dates a bit then correct it next year because throwing them a party as five was so special.
After the twins left with Allen and Sandy they got started and the family trickled over to help get the backyard set up for their combined party of trucks and mermaids as those were Hudson and Emerson's favorites. Half the yard was going to be set up with all of Hudson's favorite trucks and the other half would have an underwater theme with mermaids hence the t-shirts they had on and the special hair-do Emerson left with.
"I have an odd sense of déjà vu," JJ commented as she hung some mermaid décor up.
"You have a million kids, that's bound to happen," Morgan said to her.
She whacked him a few times and when he screamed ow, Garcia made her way over to the two of them and intervened. "What is going on over here?"
"She just started whackin' me for no reason!"
"Mom feels like she's done this before," Clarke stated, surprising them all. "My music isn't that loud," she continued, taking out her earbud and showing them the fact she only had one in to begin with. "Wasn't one of Oakley's birthday mermaids too?"
"Oh that's right," JJ said, cupping Clarke's cheeks and kissing the side of her head. "You're so smart."
"Mom," Clarke said, trying to escape her for the second time today. "Why are you so embarrassing?"
Morgan and Penelope laughed knowing the mothers would only become more embarrassing to her as she got older and couldn't wait. It was cute to them as adults, but also because it meant she was truly thriving. "Come on, let's go see if they need any help on the truck side," Morgan said, nodding towards the other side of the backyard.
"I love you, sweets," JJ yelled causing Clarke to smile. She secretly loved it so much but she couldn't let her moms know that because they'd only do it more and Clarke still was a teenager, almost.
"So, mermaids this week what's next week?" Garcia asked once Clarke and Morgan made their exit.
"Oakley has requested unicorns, but get this," JJ said, now facing her best friend. "She looked at Em and I with a straight face and said, I want them to be fancy glitter unicorns," JJ said, imitating the way Oakley had asked she and Emily with a pop of her hip and a hand on her other.
"I love it," Penelope squealed causing JJ to cover her ears.
"Yo baby, calm the crazy down!" Morgan said from the other side of the yard. "We're not even close to being done yet."
Before she could respond, Brooks ran by shirtless and holding one of the mermaids that had yet to be set up followed by River who was apologizing, "I'm sorry, he got away from me. He's surprisingly fast."
"Eeeeee!" Brooks squealed, now caught and hanging upside-down in his uncle's arms and giggling.
"Don't worry about it," Emily said. She knew how fast they were, it happened to all of them many, many times and because of the party they disassembled the twins playpen seeing as there were plenty of adults and older siblings along with a gated backyard; not to mention there wasn't anything the twins could get into water wise.
"What are you running from, buddy?" Hotch asked him. He and Hayley weren't telling people they were pregnant yet but he was excited about doing this again if he was being honest.
"Me, balala rawr," he babbled, holding up the mermaid in his hand.
"Oh yeah, well that tracks," Hotch nodded, knowing it was best to agree with Brooks. He had learned his lesson while they were on vacation; if he even teasingly disagreed with Brynley she continued to babble at him but if he did the same thing with Brooks he'd go off on him and scream babble, clearly telling him off in his own way. "Look at this belly," he continued, poking his extra chub.
"You're going to give him a complex," JJ stated, taking Brooks out of Hotch's arms. "Momma loves your belly, bub."
"Jen, he's a baby. It's his job to have a belly and walk around all day sticking it out," Emily said, happily tickling the proud stomach Brooks was protruding out while in his mothers arms. "Plus, it's only natural for two guys to shoot the breeze talking about their bellies," she teased, causing everyone to laugh. "Now, can we please get back to decorating?"
JJ handed Brooks back to River then Hotch processed what his sister said and was left standing there as everyone dispersed. "Wait a minute." He looked down and poked his own stomach then looked up hearing a snicker and saw a familiar set of brown eyes laughing at him. "Oh you better freakin' run."
"Those two," Rossi commented to Gerald seeing Aaron chasing after Emily.
"Woah, wook at all this Emmie," Hudson exclaimed, pulling his sister along when he saw what their grandparents had laid out in the kitchen of their house.
"Woah, Huddy!" she gasped, following along.
Sandy and Allen smiled seeing how excited they were and helped them up into the booster seats they had on the chairs for the kids then took a seat themselves. "I thought we could make some matching costumes for each of you and your stuffies peanut butter and bubbles," Sandy suggested.
"Wike a supa-hewo cape?" Hudson asked.
"And a mewmaid wike my shirt?" Emerson questioned, pointing to her t-shirt.
"You bet so. We even have all these fun things to decorate with," Allen said with a smile; he loved the craft store just as much as his wife because he was able to pick things out that his grandchildren would love to use for projects he could help with too. "Grandma's even going to use her sewing machine."
"What's that?" they asked with a shrug.
Allen then took the time to explain the machine that was also on the table then the kids picked out the fabrics they wanted to use while Sandy measured them and the stuffed animals to make sure the capes and mermaid costumes would fit perfectly. She had made costumes for the kids, their stuffies, their dolls, and made blankets from either their baby clothes or the clothes from the first year the children were with them as a keepsake. Halloween costumes she would happily make however, the kids were too particular and Emily didn't want to trouble Sandy. They had a huge dress up section at their grandparents house of Sandy's creations and a chest Allen made for them to go in, it was a big deal.
"Pe'nut butter gonna be a supa-hewo all the day now," Hudson said, watching as his grandmother started on the cape.
Allen had suggested Emerson start drawing the mermaid scales first because there were so many which she readily agreed to and that allowed Sandy to begin sewing Hudson's first. "Oh yeah, what do you think his first mission will be?" Sandy asked, completely invested in the story he'd come up with.
"Umm—" Hudson said, making his signature thinking face.
"Wook at this pwetty color," Emerson smiled, holding up a purple to show Allen.
"Wow, I think that's one of my favorites. Which one should I use?"
"Umm, this one," she said, handing her grandpa the orange one.
"Oh, I love orange."
"I fink owimge makes mewmaids swim supah fast," Emerson said, getting overly excited and losing the cap to her purple marker in the process. "Oopsies, umm can you help pwease."
"I sure can, Emerson," Allen said, reaching down to grab the cap. "So, orange makes mermaids swim faster huh? Does that mean if I got an orange bathing suit I could swim faster too?" he asked and she burst out laughing.
"Pe'nut butter save the whole world from s'getti the other day," Hudson recalled with a giggle, gesturing with his arms when he said the whole world. "That a weally big pwace. Did you know it?"
"I did know," Sandy nodded with a little laugh. "How'd he save the world from spaghetti?"
"Oh, it was weally a lot," Hudson announced, setting his arms heavily down on the table as if he had just saved the world himself.
"Well, I'll bet it was," Sandy said. "Do you think we should have some apple juice and a little snack then you can tell me some more?" she continued, winking at Allen who briefly looked over at the boy when he laid his arms on the table. At first Allen thought there may be a problem but then he saw his wife smile and realized Hudson was mid story, he sure was an expressive little guy.
"Yeah, that prahbawee a good idea," he agreed.
"Hey munchkin," Allen whispered so as not to disrupt Emerson's focus. She had been midsentence and stopped to stick out her tongue when she got right to the edge of the outline Sandy had drawn for her on the fabric. Once Emerson's blue eyes locked on Allen he continued, "Do you want some juice and a snack?"
"Yes pwease."
"You heard the boss," Allen said to Sandy then focused back on his own coloring.
"Woah Emmie, that wooks so pwetty!"
"Fanks Huddy."
"Mommy!" Lily bellowed, making herself known throughout the backyard.
"One minute Lily," Emily said without turning around as she continued giving instructions to her dad and Hotch regarding the two bounce houses they ordered specifically for today as they were themed.
"Uhh mom, you're gonna want to see this," Clarke interrupted, pointing towards her sister.
Emily turned around expecting to see many different scenarios besides the one she was met with. "Oh Lily bug, what happened baby?" she asked, seeing the little one somehow covered in neon paint from head to toe.
"Me haf dis wewwow stuff all ovah me!" she exclaimed, waving her little hands around.
"Yeah, you do have yellow paint all over you bug," Emily agreed. "Don't move, okay? Mommy will come to you, and don't touch your eyes we don't want any ouchies."
"Otay. But hurry mommy, dis told," she shivered.
When they were on vacation Allen came up with an idea for the kids that they absolutely fell in love with—in fact, the adults did as well because it became a core memory and something they wanted to do again due to how fun it was. Arts and crafts and being outside were some of Hudson and Emersons favorite things to do, with good reason, hence the outdoor party, arts and crafts for their first spectacular Saturday and then again as a part of their party.
Arts and crafts without the color yellow now though as Lily was somehow wearing it, although with so many people here the mother was confident someone would run to the store and get more paint. Emily glared at Morgan who was trying to hide his laughter and shock at the same time while holding a tray of colors as he stood next to the paint covered sass queen piecing together what happened as she made her way over to the little peanut.
She accepted the towel from her wife and knelt down next to Lily and gently wiped around her eyes first then captured the rest of her in one fell swoop to make sure her hands wouldn't be able to touch anything on the way up to the bath. "Oh Lily bug, Uncle Morgan really got you didn't he?"
"Yeah!" she exclaimed. "He bad. Dis not uppos to be on me, mommy," she continued.
"I know baby, you're so right," Emily stated then made a face at Morgan.
"I'm sorry mini princess, I didn't mean to spill the paint onto you. It was an accident. Can you forgive me, pretty please with sugar on top?" he asked.
"Umm, no right now," she answered, shaking her head. "Me haf dis on me, an me haf umm me tapin a baf now."
"Maybe we can forgive Uncle Morgan after your bath, right bug?" Emily suggested.
"Yeah," Lily nodded.
"I understand," Morgan responded.
Emily made sure Jen knew about the last few people delivering party supplies then brought her neon yellow Lily bug inside for an unexpected bath to not only get the paint off her little body but out of her beautiful brown hair as well. She was grateful she didn't let the kids put on their party shirts yet because Lily's would be ruined with paint thanks to Morgan.
"You turned my little sister into a highlighter," Clarke commented as she helped her uncle clean up the clear plastic they had put down to go under the paints.
"It wasn't intentional, she ran right under my legs I almost tripped over her," Morgan said, defending himself.
"So you're blaming the tiny four year old?" Clarke teased.
"No! No, of course I'm not. But it was either spill one jar on her head or have me squash her like a bug and drop all eleven jars in the process."
"Why wasn't the yellow on the tray with the others in the first place, you'd think twelve would fit? Then this mess wouldn't have happened in the first place, Uncle Clumsy," Clarke asked.
Morgan picked up the green paint and tempted to throw it at Clarke causing the girl to quickly get up and start running away. "I'm done, I promise. I promise!" she squealed.
Morgan laughed and threw away the bunched up plastic he now had in his hands then looked around at the backyard, it looked like a dream birthday party. Hudson and Emerson were going to lose their minds in excitement, this was truly something. Emily and JJ didn't go too over the top where they'd feel almost scared to enjoy themselves, it was the perfect balance and the split was so special. They even had two cakes so the twins would know their individuality was celebrated just as much as their super special bond.
The minute Hudson's capes were completed he started racing around the house with peanut butter in tow and now, Allen was following him while Sandy helped Emerson finish her mermaid tails. "Woah, watch out gwampa. There fwyin' wego pieces comin'," he said, pretending to dodge them.
Allen followed along and ducked the way Hudson did adding his own noises that caused the little boy to giggle and create more to his newest adventure with peanut butter saving the world. One of the things the grandparents loved most was their grandchildren's imaginations and the stories they told them because my gosh, they always took them on the most fun and thrilling adventures.
"But how come this here, gwamma?" Emerson asked, lifted the bottom of the mermaid tail where she saw a hole.
"Look honey," Sandy said, demonstrating how it worked with the mermaid tail that was already finished for the little girls stuffy. "If you fold up the bottom of the tail you can tuck it into the secret pouch that only you and I know about and bubbles can use her feet to walk."
Emerson gasped and she told Sandy all about the little mermaid movie as it was her favorite and Ariel walks just like bubbles would now be able to do as well. "Awiel didn't haf this, but she use her feet too," Emerson said, super excited that she'd be just like Ariel.
"Now you'll be just like her," Sandy stated, obviously knowing all about the movie. She however just wanted Emerson to be safe and there was no way she would be able to walk if the tail was sewn shut which wouldn't be very fun for her because she'd have to play in one spot wearing the costume.
"I a mewmaid too," Emerson repeated just above a whisper with a huge smile on her face.
Sandy cupped her cheek then handed her the glitter pen, "Are we going to add more, honey? Or are you all done?"
"More!" Emerson exclaimed.
Just then Sandy received a text message from JJ asking how things were going and also to let her know they needed another hour or so to finish setting up. She replied letting her daughter things were going extremely well and she understood then focused back on the little artist who was hard at work with her tongue sticking straight out as she colored in the last few glitter scales on her mermaid tail.
"We awmost there gwampa, hurry," Hudson happily screamed as he ran through the living room with Allen right behind him. "We gotta get the cwstil to the protectah," he exclaimed, holding up one of the mini acrylic marbles Allen had taken out of the beautiful glass vase his wife had on the mantel to use for the game.
"Oh boy," Allen said, just as excited. "Okay, I think we can do it Hudson. You said we need to give the crystal to the protector, but who is it?" he asked, pretending to look around for other people besides Emerson and Sandy.
Hudson giggled then put his hands on his head and said, "Oh my gosh. You so silly."
"The protector must be bubbles, right?" Allen teased.
"No gwampa," Hudson exclaimed.
"Hmm, then is it…grandma?" he asked, and Hudson shook his head. Emerson was now invested in the game as well, watching her twin and giggling along when her grandpa guessed wrong each time. She had completed her mermaid tail and was very excited about it however, Hudson's game was taking over and she couldn't help but want to play too.
"No, it me gwampa!" Emerson interjected. They had played this game many times in the past few weeks and even before being rescued although, the twins didn't have a crystal or capes and mermaid tails but they did have their imaginations and River to help them think of new fun ideas.
"Oh of course, Emerson you should have been my first guess," Allen said, winking at his wife who was smiling at him.
"Fast gwampa, twick sand right there," Hudson said, pointing to the living room floor as he jumped from the carpet and onto the open concept kitchen floor. "It gonna get you!"
"Jump!" Emerson added, she didn't want her grandfather to be swallowed by the quicksand.
Allen jumped just in time and they ran to Emerson then handed her the crystal which in return, saved the world from flying legos. Phew, they dodged another bullet thanks to peanut butter today. "You awmost getted eated by twick sand gwampa," Hudson giggled.
"It's a good thing you two told him to jump," Sandy chimed in.
"Yeah, that would be not good," Emerson added.
"Hey, is this the finished product honey?" Allen asked, looking at the mermaid tail in front of the little girl.
"Mhm, you wike it?" she asked, flashing her cerulean blue eyes up at him the same way JJ did when she was Emerson's age. Gosh, it was uncanny really. The brown hair was different but that didn't phase Allen, the eyes however, those always get him.
"No, I love it! You did an amazing job, Emerson. You're going to be the most beautiful mermaid I've ever seen in my whole life."
"You see a mewmaid ba-fore?" Emerson gasped, struggling with the e in before. Kindergarten was going to be really great for the twins because Hudson and Emerson were almost there with so many things, in fact, you'd never guess they grew up the way they did.
"Oh yeah, lots of times," Allen fibbed, taking a seat and pulling Emerson into his lap while Sandy did the same with Hudson after she got them all some water.
Allen then told the kids all about his interactions with mermaids and even the times he's met real life superheroes. These were stories he's told his own children and grandchildren for years now although they've only gotten better over time thanks to the movies that have come out. The twins were completely mesmerized by his stories until he purposefully began telling them a very familiar one they hear every night and their eyes closed: Bedtime for Baby Star, a Prentiss classic. Emily and JJ said not to worry about the twin's naps however, if they did take one that would be great because then they would be ready to party.
An hour and a half later Sandy and Allen carried the twins from the couch to the car and were happy neither woke up during the transfer because they'd happily wake up to see their mommies after a very fun morning with grandma and grandpa. "Did you let the girls know we're coming?" Allen asked as he pulled out of the garage.
"I did, they are meeting us out front," Sandy responded. "I'm happy Hudson and Emerson were able to nap, they'll enjoy the p-a-r-t-y much more now," she continued, spelling out party just in case either was on the verge of waking up.
"I agree honey," Allen said, reaching over the console to take his wife's hand. He was very excited to celebrate the twins birthday, it didn't matter to him they were a bit off schedule as long as they got to have a party dedicated just to them, that was all he truly cared about. Next year they'd celebrate in May, this year was to show the twins what a true birthday looked like and he was happy to be a part of it.
Every child deserved to have a party like the one the mothers were throwing for Hudson and Emerson, even if it was a bit scaled back so as not to overwhelm them. They enjoyed the family gatherings and this was all that was along with a backyard full of decorations specifically tailored to their current favorite things, bouncing on the trampoline or the bouncy house, arts and crafts, trucks and mermaids. And duh, cake!
It was going to be a really fun day for them and thankfully, they were coming straight off a two-hour nap.
When Allen put the car in park Emily and JJ walked out the front door of the house and each opened one of the backseat doors to find two sleepy babies wearing new handcrafted costumes and clutching a stuffy who was wearing a matching one. "It looks like you had a lot of fun today," JJ commented, looking at all the glitter on Emerson's mermaid tail.
"Did we ever," Sandy stated with a big smile on her face.
Emily saw Hudson was securely grasping peanut butter but he was also holding onto something else with his little hand and she carefully opened it to find one of Sandy's marbles then she closed his fingers back over it as Allen told her why they let him keep the super special magic crystal.
"Ahh, I see," she said with a laugh once Allen finished the story. Emily then ran her fingers through Hudson's hair and smiled when he leaned into the touch. "Hudson, my sleepy little baby. Are you going to show mommy your beautiful blue eyes?" she asked.
On the other side of the car JJ tempted the same thing but another way, "Emerson, momma and mommy have a surprise for you and your brother sleepy girl. We're looking for mermaids and superheroes only, do you know any?"
"Mewmaids and supa-hewos?"
And with that, a set of blue eyes revealed themselves…