They hugged for a while and then Emily said that Derek was going to love the letter.
"Do you really think so?" Bella asked turning to look at her.
"Yeah" Emily smiled.
"Don't tell him about it, okay?" Bella said.
"I won't. You'll give to him when you're ready" Emily said and hugged Bella again. She smelled the girl's neck, then her hair, then she moved to the neck again and then the tummy.
"You need a shower" Emily said.
"No, I don't" Bella said laughing as Emily kept smelling her and it was tickling.
"Yeah you do. Come on" Emily said lifting the girl up. Bella just kept laughing as Emily walked to the bathroom and tickled her stomach. Emily put her down and said "I'll get your pjs" and walked out. Bella took her clothes off and got in the shower.
"It's on the sink, okay honey?" Emily said as she placed the pajamas on the sink.
"Okay" Bella said. Emily walked out and went to shower in the other bathroom.
A while later both met in the bedroom.
"Do you need help with your hair?" Emily asked as she saw Bella drying it with a towel. The girl walked to her and handed her the brush. Emily combed it and then combed her own hair.
"All ready for bed?" Emily asked.
"Yup" Bella said and Emily smiled.
"Teeth too?" Emily asked.
"Oops" Bella said and ran to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth and then went to bed.
They laid down and suddenly heard a noise at the front door. Bella hugged Emily tight and hid her face.
"Shuuuuuu it's okay. It's outside" Emily said trying to calm the girl down.
"It's the door" Bella said as her eyes filled with tears.
"Hello, anybody home?" Came Penelope's voice.
Both breathed out relieved. Bella ran to the door.
"Don't you ever do that again" Bella said as she hugged Penelope.
"Do what bunny?" Garcia asked confused.
"Come here super late and make noises at the door" Bella said and let go of the hug.
"Oh I'm sorry pumpkin. I didn't mean to scare you. My Key got stuck" Penelope said feeling bad and hugged Bella again.
"Did they catch the guy?" Emily asked.
"No. It was really late and everyone was tired. We'll resume tomorrow morning" Garcia said and Emily made a sorry face.
"Well, it is late so you young lady should be in bed right now" Emily said. "Say goodnight to Aunt Penelope and back to bed" she said.
"Night" Bella said and hugged Garcia again.
"Sorry I scared you" Penelope said.
"It's okay" Bella said. Emily smiled.
"Let's go." Emily said but Bella didn't move. "To bed. Come on" she said and pulled Bella by the hand.
Isabella laid down and Emily laid next to her.
"Do you want a story tonight?" Emily asked as she laid on her left side and faced Bella.
"Did you forget I'm 9 and not 4?" Bella said.
"Oh yeah? You're too old for bed time stories huh?" Emily said smiling and pushing hair away from the child's face.
"I'm not too old for songs though" Bella said and Emily laughed.
"Close your eyes" Emily said getting closer to Bella and wrapping the girl in her arms. Bella turned and hid her face on her mother's chest.
"Baby don't you cry, I'm gonna make a pie... " Emily started to sing one of the songs she used to sing to Bella when the girl was little.
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(Thursday)
Emily woke up with the alarm clock at 6:30. They had an hour to get ready for the last day of school party.
"Bella, wake up mon amour" Emily sang running her hand on the child's back. The girl moved a bit and then opened her eyes.
"Good morning" Emily smiled and placed a kiss on the girl's cheek. "Time to wake up, come on"
"What time is it?" Bella asked.
"6:30" Emily said sitting up on the bed.
"What? No, it's too early" Bella complained and Emily laughed.
"We have to get ready. Come on" Emily smiled and Bella stared at her.
"Did you change your mind?" Emily asked.
Bella took some time to think and then shook her head no. She was a bit scared to go but at the same time she felt like she had to at least try.
"So let's get ready then" Emily said and got out of bed.
They went and got ready, then sat to have breakfast with Penelope.
"I hope we are done with this case in time for Gavin's birthday party. I want to go so bad" Garcia said. She was now really good friends with Gavin's mother, Colette.
"It's at 4, right?" Emily asked.
"Yeah. And it's a pool party so make sure you get all her pool stuff" Penelope said and Emily smiled. Suddenly Penelope's phone rang. It was JJ, Jennifer told her that the team was already at the police station and they needed her to search for something. Penelope said she was heading to the BAU and hung up.
"Work is calling for the genius" Garcia told Emily and Bella.
"See you later munchkin" Penelope said giving Bella a hug.
"Bye" Bella said. Emily said goodbye too and Penelope left.
They finished eating, brushed their teeth and headed to the school.
As Emily parked the car she noticed how nervous Bella was.
"Hey. It's going to be fun" Emily told the girl. Bella looked down. "There's no reason for you to be scared."
"But I am" Bella said. "I'm not sure why, I just am"
"Look at me" Emily said and Bella looked.
"I'll be right there with you the entire time. Just try to have fun. And if it's too much and you need to leave just tell me and we'll leave. Okay?"
Bella took some time to think and then nodded.
"Do we have a deal then?" Emily asked and Bella nodded again and took a deep breath.
"Alright. Let's go" Emily said and they got out of the car. Bella walked inside the school holding her mother's hand tightly. They went to the classroom and almost all the kids were there but only a few parents went. Hilary was sitting on Chloe's seat next to Colette on Gavin's seat. They smiled when they saw Emily, both women were happy Bella decided to go.
Emily walked to them still holding Isabella's hand.
"Good morning" Emily said.
"Hi. I'm so happy you came!" Hilary smiled and gave Bella a hug. Suddenly Chloe and Gavin ran to them.
"Hey!" Gavin said wrapping Bella in a hug.
"We are going to vote for the games now. Wanna come?" Chloe asked. Bella looked unsure at Emily. Everyone could see she was a little nervous.
"Go ahead. I'll sit right here on your desk" Emily said taking Bella's seat. Isabella took a deep breath and followed her friends outside.
"How is she?" Colette asked once the kids left.
"Still not sure about being away" Emily said.
"From you or..?" Hilary asked a bit concern.
"Mostly me but sometimes Derek too" Emily explained.
"She's a tough kid. She'll be alright" Colette said with a smile and Emily and Hilary smiled too.
Outside, Bella followed her friends and voted for what games they wanted to play. The principal collected all the votes and then told everyone to go back to their classrooms and he would announce soon. So the kids headed back.
"I'm really glad you came" Ro smiled and Bella smiled back shyly.
They walked back inside and the kids went to their parents. Emily pulled Bella to her lap.
"Are you okay?" Emily asked and Bella nodded yes. "Good" Emily smiled and placed a kiss on the girl's cheek.
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The morning went great.
The kids showed their artwork and then the choir sang. Bella had missed a lot of school so she wasn't a part of it but she liked sitting in the theater and watching it all.
The kids had a lot of fun and Emily and the other parents could definitely say the same.
Later that morning Bella was the last one standing on her team at dodgeball...
"Grab the ball Bella!" Emily yelled as the girl kept running away from it, afraid she would get hit and lose.
When Bella heard that she went for it. The other kid threw the ball at her, she grabbed it and threw it back superfast. The kid tried to hold the ball but it hit him too hard and it ended up falling and with that Bella's team won. The entire team ran in the court and Emily picked Bella up to celebrate.
"You did it!" Emily smiled so happy to see a big smile on her daughter's face.
"The wining team gets popsicles!" The P.E. teacher said and everybody smiled excited. They ate and then played other games.
Around 1, the team got back to DC and Derek decided to stop by the school.
"Derek!" Bella said excited as she ran to him.
"Are you having fun?" He asked letting go of the hug.
"Yeah" Bella smiled and ran back to her friends. Derek walked to Emily, Hilary and Colette.
"You're back" Emily smiled and handed him a Coke.
"We just got here" he said. "Garcia said you guys came so I thought I'd come see how things were"
"Things are great" Emily smiled as Bella ran around playing tag with her friends.
"How's the party planning?" Derek asked Colette.
"All he talks about is the ice cream cake" Colette said. "And his video games" she added and everyone laughed.
Suddenly Derek felt something hit his back and he got soaking wet. Everyone laughed as he turned and saw Bella had thrown a water balloon at him.
"You know you shouldn't mess with an FBI agent, don't you?" Derek said and Bella laughed. Derek took a step forward and Bella's eyes widened. She ran and Derek ran after her. He caught up quickly and scooped her up. The girl giggled as he tickled her.
"I'm sorry I'm sorry" she laughed.
"Oh no, I will have my revenge" he said letting go of her and grabbing a water balloon. He threw it on her leg and she kept running.
Derek looked over at the women and they were all laughing. He held two water balloons and stared at Emily with a grin.
"No, you wouldn't" Emily said concerned but holding a laugh.
"Oh I would" he said and ran after her as she ran to the closest bucket full of balloons. She grabbed one and threw it at him. He threw one at her and then the kids attacked them.
Emily smiled the entire time as she heard Bella and her friends giggling happy while they played.
Everyone got soaking wet. They really had a great time.
Once it was over, they said goodbye and headed to Derek's house. They needed lunch and also to get ready for Gavin's party later.
"Well, that was fun" Emily said as she placed a towel in the driver's seat.
"My hair is soaking wet" Bella smiled and buckled up.
Emily laughed and started the car. Derek drove on his car. They met up again in the driveway.
"You, straight to the shower" Emily told Bella who ran inside with a smile on her face.
"I seriously thought she wouldn't last an hour in there" Emily said impressed that the girl had so much fun.
"I thought she wouldn't even go" Derek said and they walked in.
"Hi!" Penelope greeted them with a warm smile. "How was it? Haw was it?" She asked excited and suddenly saw they were wet. "What happened?" She asked.
"Water balloon fight" Emily said smiling.
"Did everything go okay with the little one?" Garcia asked.
"Impressively yes" Emily said.
They all showered and got dressed. Bella sat in the living room with Derek while Emily and Penelope cooked lunch. Around 2:40 they had lunch.
"We should get ready for the party" Emily said when she noticed it was 3 already.
"Yeah" Penelope said excited and they all went to their bedrooms to get ready.
"Bella your swim things are here" Emily said grabbing a bag from the wardrobe. Bella got it and took her swimsuit out. It had been forever since the last time she wore it. The last time she went to the pool was before Emily left.
She went to the bathroom to put it on and once done she just wanted to cry. Of course her entire back was visible and She hated it because the clover was there for anyone who wanted to see. She tried holding the tears but she couldn't, some fell and she angrily wiped them off. She took the swimsuit off and put a dress on and then walked out.
"You're not gonna put that under?" Emily asked when she saw the swimsuit on the girl's hand.
Bella shook her head no and Emily knew something happened.
"Hey" Emily said walking to Bella. The girl threw the swimsuit on the bed and sat down.
"What's wrong?" Emily asked sitting next to Bella on the bed.
"I don't wanna go anymore" the girl said.
"What?" Emily asked in shock. "You had so much fun this morning"
"I don't want to go" Bella said looking sad.
Emily pulled the girl to her lap. "Come on, tell me what happened?" She said.
Bella felt tears fill her eyes.
"I can't wear that" she said looking at the swimsuit.
Emily didn't need to ask why, she just knew.
"Baby you barely have any scars" Emily said feeling bad.
"But I have that" Bella said and the tears started rolling.
Emily felt really bad so she just hugged the girl. Suddenly she had an idea.
"We can cover it up with a bandaid. That way no one will see" Emily said.
"A bandaid won't cover that, I already tried" Bella said looking at Emily.
"We can stop somewhere and buy those big ones. Those will cover it just fine" Emily said.
"Do you think so?" Bella asked.
"Yeah. I'm sure they will" Emily said wiping the girl's face. "Okay? We'll get those"
"Okay" Bella said.
"Alright then, no more crying" Emily said.
"Okay" Bella said looking a bit embarrassed.
"I love you" Emily said hugging the girl tight. "Now go get ready" she said and Bella went. She put the swimsuit on and then the light blue dress, she got her purple havaianas on and went to the living room.
"Do you need help with your hair?" Garcia asked.
"No. I'll leave it down" Bella said.
"Here" Emily said handing Bella her bag. Garcia had packed the girl another outfit, sunscreen and a towel.
"Everybody ready?" Derek asked.
"Yup" Garcia and Bella said in unison and everyone smiled.
"Oh wait the present!" Bella said.
"It's on your desk" Derek said as the girl ran to her room. She got the wood box and checked to see if the watch was inside, then ran back.
"Let's go?" Emily asked. Everyone agreed and they headed out. They went inside Derek's car and Emily said "could you stop at Walgreens? I need to get something"
"Sure" Derek said.
They drove for a little while and then Derek parked the car in front of the store.
"It won't be long" Emily said and got out of the car. She quickly got the big bandaid, paid and went back.
So Derek drove to Gavin's house.
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"Come on in" said Colette.
Garcia, Morgan, Emily and Bella walked inside the house.
"The kids are in the pool" Colette told Bella.
Bella grabbed Emily's hand.
"Come on I'll help you with the sunscreen" Emily said.
"There's a bathroom right there" Colette pointed.
"Thank you" Emily said and went to the bathroom with Bella.
They walked in and Bella was clearly nervous.
"Hey. It's okay baby. You're gonna have lots of fun just like this morning" Emily said but Bella just stood there looking nervous.
Emily took the Band-Aid out of her bag and said "come on, take your dress off"
"What if it doesn't cover it up?" Bella asked nervously.
"It will baby. Look at the size of this" Emily said as she opened the box and showed the Band-Aids to Bella.
"What if someone asks what happened?" Bella asked with tears in her eyes.
"You just say you got hurt. You don't have to explain to anybody." Emily said. "Come on" she said and started to pull the dress up. Bella took it off and turned around. Emily put sunscreen on the girl and then carefully covered the clover with the bandaid and let out a smile when she saw it worked perfectly.
"All done. It looks perfect" Emily said. Bella tried to look but she couldn't really see it well.
"Here" Emily said picking the girl up. She turned to the mirror and Bella looked at it.
"Is that good?" Emily asked.
Bella nodded and held a little smile. Emily smiled and gave her a hug and then put her down.
"Now go have fun" Emily said opening the door.
Bella walked pass the kitchen and went to the backyard. Emily walked out of the bathroom and found Derek, Penelope, Hilary and Colette staring at her with a smile.
"Whose idea was it?" Derek asked.
"Mine" Emily said.
"Oh I love you, genius!" Penelope said and ran and hugged Emily. Everyone laughed.
The grownups sat at the pool deck, they talked about work and life while the kids played.
After about an hour, Bella was playing at the stairs of pool when Emily noticed the bandaid had fallen off. She felt a lump on her throat as if she knew that was going to end bad.
And just as she saw, two girls who were in the pool saw it too.
"Please don't mention it" Emily kept praying in her head but those girls walked to Bella and one of them said "you have a tattoo?"
Bella froze.
"On your back. Is that a tattoo?" One of the girls asked. They were both 13.
Bella put her hand on her back and didn't feel the bandaid. She looked at Chloe and tried not to panic.
"Yes" she spilled out.
"Cool" one of the girls said.
"How old are you?" The other one asked.
"9" Bella said.
"Wow! Your mom let you do a tattoo already? That's so cool" the girl said.
Bella let out a little smile. Emily was watching from the deck confused.
"Did it hurt?" One of the girl's asked.
"Yeah" Bella said.
"Can we see it?"
Bella froze again. Gavin knew Bella wouldn't say yes so he kind of turned her around himself.
"That's so cool! It's kind of white, it's awesome" The girl said.
"Yeah! I want a tattoo so bad" the other said. "Why did you choose a clover though?"
By that point Bella had a huge lump on the throat too. She felt she was going to throw up at any second.
"Her mom has one" Chloe said. Bella had told her that.
"Oh cool. So you did matching tattoos. That's awesome. I wish my mom would do something like that with me" the girl said.
Bella just kept a little smile on her face. She was so nervous and so embarrassed.
"Clovers are cool. They mean good luck, you know?" The girl said.
"Yeah" Bella said.
"Cool" one of the girls said and got off the pool.
"I hope my mom will let me do one soon. I don't want to wait till I'm 18" the other one said and got off the pool and followed the other girl inside the house.
Chloe, Gavin and Ro just stared at Bella. They had also not seen the clover till then.
"Does it look okay like they said?" Bella asked.
"It actually looks pretty cool" Gavin said. "And kind of badass" he added and all three girls laughed.
From the deck Emily watched with a smile on her face. She looked back a Hilary and her friends and saw they were all watching too.
"I've never met a tougher child" Colette said with a smile.
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The kids played in the pool, ate hotdogs and then played some more till it was time to sing happy birthday. No one mentioned the Band-Aid or the clover again, not even Emily.
They sang happy birthday and ate ice cream cake.
"Can I have some more?" Bella asked Emily, with her mouth full.
Everyone laughed.
"Of course you can sweetie" Colette said and went to the table with Bella to get more.
They had a really great time and the kids were exhausted when it was time to leave. Ro went home first, then Hilary took Chloe and Millie home because Millie had fallen asleep. Bella went to the pool with Gavin and his two sisters for a while and then Emily thought it was time to go home.
"Happy birthday again Gav" Bella said and gave him a hug.
"I'll see you sometime" Gavin said.
"You're going to the ballet thing, right?" Bella asked.
"Sure" he said.
"See you there then. Bye" she said and went to say goodbye to Colette.
They drove to Derek's house and Bella was almost asleep when they got there.
"Do you need a ride?" Derek asked opening the car door. He picked Bella up and she rested her head on his shoulder.
"Don't sleep yet cause you need a shower" Emily said and they walked inside.
Bella took a quick shower and then got ready for bed, it was almost 9:30. She walked to the living room and found the 3 adults there.
"Come here" Emily said and Bella walked to her and sat on her lap.
"We saw what happened in the pool today" she said. "We are so proud of you" she added and Bella looked at her shyly.
"They asked if it was a tattoo and I said yes" Bella said.
"You even let them see it." Penelope said with a smile. "That was really brave"
"They said it was cool." Bella said.
"Yeah?" Emily smiled.
"I don't really think so but... Gavin said it's badass" Bella said and they all laughed.
"It is badass" Derek said.
Emily hugged the girl tight. "You are so tough, child" she said.
"Prentisses are tough, mom" Bella said.
"Oh yeah. Can a Prentiss take this?" Emily asked and started tickling Bella who immediately started moving trying to get away from it.
"No! Stop! Not this!" The girl begged and laughed. Emily stopped and hugged her again. "I love you and I'm so proud of you" she said.
"I love you too" Bella said and sat up straight.
Bella smiled when she saw Penelope and Derek were smiling at her.
Suddenly she yawned.
"Well, i think it's time for bed" Emily said making Bella stand up.
"Carry me, I'm too tired" Bella said all dramatic falling back on Emily, and everyone laughed.
"Carry me? Who do you think I am?" Emily said and Bella laughed.
"Please?" Bella said and Emily smiled and picked her up.
"Say goodnight" Emily told her and she said goodnight to Morgan and Garcia.