November 2017
Kids' Ages
Jack Hotchner - 12
Henry LaMontagne - 9
Elaine Hotchner - 5
Olivia Garcia - 5
Michael LaMontagne - 22 months
Grace Hotchner - 20 months
Hank Morgan - 15 months
Jules Reid - 13 days
*Emily is six and a half months pregnant
*Savannah is two months pregnant
Like every gathering, Thanksgiving was held at Rossi's mansion. When the Hotchners pulled into the driveway, the only other car there was JJ's Volvo. As soon as the car was in park, the older two Hotchner children were out of their seats and halfway to Rossi's front door. Aaron got out to free Grace from her confines as she had begun to whimper, watching her older siblings leave her behind.
Getting out of the passenger seat carrying a dish of green bean casserole, Emily smiled at the words her husband spoke to their youngest child.
"It's okay, Gracie-Girl. Soon enough, you'll be big enough to run away with them. And then it'll just be me and your momma all the way back here."
"And Josh," Emily reminded him as though the large bump wasn't enough reminder of their soon-to-be arriving son.
Aaron's eyes lit up even more. "That's right! We have one more we can torture with our love." This was in reference to Ellie, who, though only five, had decided that her parents were totally uncool.
Emily was only slightly surprised to see Will sitting next to JJ on Rossi's couch like nothing ever happened. She went into the kitchen where Rossi was opening up all of the dishes that were already done and finishing up the ones that weren't. Emily sat the green bean casserole down on the counter next to a tray of deviled eggs. She peeled off the tin foil covering. Rossi made a face of disgust.
"What the fuck is that?!"
"Green bean casserole? It's good."
"No! Absolutely not. Get that shit out of my kitchen."
"Don't mess with the green bean casserole!" Derek protested, walking into the kitchen with a tinfoil-wrapped serving bowl in one hand and Hank in the other arm.
Emily took Hank out of Derek's arms, cooing at him. As she headed toward the living room she stood out her tongue at Rossi, making Hank laugh.
"Hank, don't do what Aunt Emmy does," Derek told his son. "Aunt Emmy is naughty.
His words fell on deaf ears as Hank stuck out his tongue.
Emily laughed, putting her hand in the air so Hank could high-five it.
Entering the living room, Emily saw all of the recent B.A.U babies were sitting with someone other than their parents. She still had Hank, Savannah was holding Grace, and Aaron was on the floor, playing cars with Michael. This was more than common with their group. Usually, if you walked in with your baby, you wouldn't have them again until it was time to leave.
"Let's eat!" Rossi hollered from the kitchen.
"Spence and Pen aren't here yet," JJ called back.
"We're here!" Penelope exclaimed, bursting into the living room slightly out of breath. Olivia and Spencer piled into the room behind her.
"Good, let's eat. I'm starving," Emily said, leading to group into the dining room. After they all had heaping plates and were seated around the table, Rossi finally acknowledged the blanket-covered baby in Spencer's arms. Aaron noted that the young doctor had taken to fatherhood well. The baby hadn't left his arms since he had taken her out of the car seat when they sat down. He had managed so far to eat his dinner with only one hand without dropping a single bit.
"So Reid, are you going to introduce us to your plus one?"
Spencer, who had been totally absorbed in the bundle wrapped in pink, snapped his head up. "Oh, uh, right." He gently moved the blanket and maneuvered the sleeping infant so the whole team could see her. The baby looked a lot like her dad. One noticeable difference was her hair, of which she had a lot. Instead of the soft golden brown, she had rich chocolaty brown.
"Guys, this is my daughter. Jules Diana Reid."
A few minutes later, JJ stood up from the table. "Spence, d'ya want me to take her into the living room for a while so you can finish eating?"
"No thanks. I don't want her out of my eyesight right now. Actually, um, I think she might need her diaper changed so I'm just going to go do that. Thank you though." JJ patted his shoulder and then collected his plate along with hers.
Later on, the children had long since returned to the basement, and the adults started playing a complex card game. Between a round, Aaron stood up to stretch his legs. "Reid, join me?" It sounded like a question but it was anything but. The two men went out the back door onto the patio. Both men gazed at the baby as she woke up and began to whine. Spencer soothed her back to sleep.
"She's beautiful, Reid."
"Thanks, Hotch. I, um, would you like to hold her?
Aaron nodded, gently taking the newborn into his arms. He smiled down at her.
"I'm going to ask Derek to be her godfather, but I was wondering if you could just watch out for her. Be there for her."
"Reid, of I will. We all will." There was a lull in the conversation. "I'm proud of you, Spencer. You're a great dad. If Gideon were here, he would tell you the same thing."
"Thanks, Hotch, it means a lot. I just want to do my best by her."
It was the truth. Spencer never thought he wanted children, but now that Jules was here, he was in love. He would move mountains for her. He would never let his little girl down.