Emily Prentiss had barely stepped off of the plane when her team surrounded her. JJ's arms were around Emily's neck in an instant, pulling her into a very tight and immediately returned hug.
The moment she let go, Morgan threw his arms around her waist, lifting her off of the ground and spinning her around in a circle. He planted a kiss on her forehead.
"Garcia!" Emily exclaimed as Morgan set her down. She found herself immediately enveloped in a one-armed hug from the Technical Analyst, and pulled away almost immediately.
"Why are you - oh, my God!" Emily squealed, her eyes landing on the caramel-colored baby in Garcia's other arm. The child was asleep and looked to be about six months old. "Penelope Garcia!" she exclaimed incredulously, turning from Garcia to Morgan to the baby.
Garcia smiled and shrugged playfully, and then Morgan came up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist.
"So, what, are you two, like, a thing now?" Emily asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Oh, well," Garcia said, blushing, "No. Not really."
Emily's eyebrows shot up. "Not really?"
"We're both, um, kind of... seeing other people," Garcia explained.
"So... you had a baby together... but now you're just, not dating?"
Morgan and Garcia exchanged a look, and then they both nodded.
"Um, okay," said Emily, frowning slightly as she looked back at the baby, "Oh, my God, she's so cute, though. What's her name?"
"Kendall Fracine Morgan," Morgan said proudly. "After my mother."
Garcia wrinkled her nose in what resembled disgust at the mention of the name "Francine", and Emily bit back a laugh.
"It's the genetically perfect offspring of Derek Morgan and Penelope Garcia," Emily stated, winking at the technical analyst.
She looked along the line of agents and children gathered to see her. "Hotch," she declared, stepping forward to pull him into an awkward hug, which he returned with surprising passion.
"We've missed you, Prentiss," Hotch said, flashing her one of his rare dimpled smiles.
"I've missed you guys, too," said Emily, smiling at them. "So much." She stepped back again, looking at the agents. "Wow, Jack, you've gotten so big! How old are you?"
"Eight."
"Wow, practically a grown man!" Emily exclaimed, beaming at the child. "And Henry, how old are you?"
"I'm six," he said, smiling up at her. "I missed you, Auntie Emmy!" he exclaimed loudly. Emily bent down and scooped the little boy up onto her hip, planting a kiss on his cheek.
"I missed you, too, buddy!" Emily said happily. She turned to Rossi, who kissed her on the cheek.
"You're looking good, kiddo," he said, pulling her into a hug. "We missed you so much."
"I've missed you all so much, too," said Emily, hugging Reid. "Oh, my God, and JJ is pregnant! You're huge! How far are you?"
"Seven months," said JJ, running her hands over her baby bump. "It's twins."
"Aww, really? That's great!" Emily said, placing her right hand on JJ's swollen stomach, still holding Henry on her left hip, her left arm curled around the little boy's torso. Henry began to twist a braid into a section of Emily's hair.
"So, where's Will?"
The entire team tensed up along with the little boy in her arms, and Emily immediately knew that something was wrong.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize... how long?" she asked awkwardly, as Hotch and Morgan and Rossi dismissed themselves to go and find Emily's luggage. The girls began to walk towards the airport cafe.
"Um... probably about... seven months."
"Is he the...?" Emily asked, finally setting Henry down at a booth.
"No."
Emily raised her eyebrows, sliding into the booth after Jack and setting her carry on bag next to her seat. JJ and Garcia sat across from them, the baby still in Garcia's arms.
"No?" Emily asked, surprised. "Who is, then? I mean, I know it's none of my business... If you don't want to tell me..."
JJ exchanged a glance with Garcia, who wiggled her eyebrows.
"Rossi."
Emily choked on a sip of water she had taken, coughing some of it up. It took her long enough to recover that Jack and Henry both looked up from their drawings, concerned, and the baby woke up. Garcia quickly calmed her daughter down, and the child sat on her lap, giggling happily and tugging on her curly hair. Kendall wore a bright pink dress with a cat on it, and she had a huge bow and a blue flower in her hair. She was dressed like a miniature Garcia. "Rossi? Dave Rossi? Our Rossi?"
JJ laughed. "Yes, our Rossi."
"Wow," said Emily, leaning back against the torn booth cushion, "I didn't see that one coming. So are you, like, together now?"
JJ smiled and sighed. "Yeah, we are. We're engaged."
"Oh my god," Emily squealed excitedly. "Jennifer Jareau, the fourth Mrs. Rossi!"
"Don't remind me," said JJ, rolling her eyes. "You know, he had to ask me five times before I agreed."
"Wow," she replied. The girls sat in a happy silence for a few minutes and then Emily's gaze wandered back to the baby. "How old is she, PG?"
"This baby girl is six months old already," Garcia said, sighing. "Kendy-Boo," she said, turning her gaze to the little girl and talking in a baby-voice, "This is your Auntie Em. She lived in London for awhile, but then she tapped her ruby-slippers together and decided 'There's no place like home!'" Emily and JJ laughed at the animated expressions flitting across Garcia's face as she cooed to her daughter. The baby, however, looked confused.
Kendall turned her gaze toward Emily, and the two pairs of chocolate brown eyes met. Kendall gave Emily a gummy smile, and reached her arms out towards her. Emily lifted the baby over the table and settled her on her hip. "Hi, sweet-pea, how are you?" she cooed to the baby, who giggled.
"Aww, Em, she likes you," Garcia said, smiling at her friend.
"You ever think about having any?" JJ asked Emily after a glance towards Garcia.
"Huh?" Emily asked, tearing her gaze away from the little girl. "No, I'm not... I mean... I don't know. I don't really think I'm all that maternal."
"Are you kidding?" Garcia demanded. "Look at you! You already flirted with Jack earlier and you carried Henry across the airport and now you're playing with Kendall!"
"They all do adore you, Emily," said JJ. "When I told Henry that Auntie Em was coming back, he did his happy dance. He hasn't done that since Will..." she trailed off, staring at her napkin. Garcia rubbed her back gently.
"And so what's the deal with you and Morgan, Pen?" Emily asked.
"Oh, I don't know," Garcia said a little sadly. "We were kind of together and then we weren't anymore."
"And was that before or after the baby?"
"Before," she replied, and then frowned. "Well, maybe during."
"During? During the pregnancy, you mean?"
"Yeah," Garcia said. "I think I was about four or five months when we... Well, I don't know. We were never officially a thing so it's kind of hard to say when it ended, you know?"
Emily nodded, although she wasn't actually quite sure what her quirky friend was trying to say. "So who are you guys seeing now?"
"I'm with Kevin again, and Morgan's seeing a woman named Savannah."
"Do you like Savannah?" Emily asked.
"Yeah, I do, actually. She's really great."
"Well, that's good, I guess. It's kind of weird that Morgan would just up and leave you like that, though," Emily said, frowning slightly.
"Leave me?" Garcia asked, her eyebrows pressed up in confusion.
"No, Em, they live together," JJ said.
"Wait, wait, wait," Emily said, frowning. "You live together, and you have a baby together, but you're both seeing other people, and the other people are okay with that whole arrangement?"
Garcia shrugged. "More or less."
"Isn't that weird, though?"
"Not really," Garcia said, although it was phrased more as a question than an answer.
"It's pretty weird," JJ said firmly.
"Huh," Emily said, shaking her head in wonder. "So, I know Rossi and JJ are together, and Morgan and Garcia are in a state of weirdness, and so naturally I have to ask, how're Hotch and Beth?"
Jack looked up from his coloring paper. "Daddy and Beth broke up. They don't like each other anymore."
Emily raised her eyebrows at the little boy. "Oh, yeah? When was that, buddy?"
Jack shrugged. "Two years ago."
"Four months," JJ stated, trying not to laugh at Jack's exaggeration. "She couldn't handle his work hours."
Emily grimaced and nodded. "Most people can't."
"Lord knows Will couldn't," JJ muttered.
"Jayje, don't say his name!" Rossi exclaimed, finally coming back into the cafe with Hotch, Reid, and Morgan, Emily's six suitcases in tow. She had sold most of her belongings in England before coming back to the States, determined to start over... again. They stacked the suitcases next to their booth, and Morgan carefully placed Sergio's cat carrier on top of the pile.
Garcia leaned in towards Emily and stated, "Will's name is now the equivalent of Voldemort's," she exclaimed. "The name's taboo!" she added in an almost-believable English accent.
"They're being dramatic," JJ said, rolling her eyes. Rossi placed a kiss on her lips, and she smiled at him. Rossi slid into the booth beside JJ and took Henry onto his lap so that he, JJ, and Garcia sat on one side of the table, while Hotch, Emily, and Jack took the other side. Morgan pulled up a chair, and they all ordered their food.
As they were finishing up their dinner, conversation drifted to work.
"So, Em, how long until you come back to work?"
"Oh, um, Cruz... You like him?" she asked hopefully.
"He's a good guy," Rossi began.
"Not at all like Strauss," said Hotch.
"He's very laid back," said Morgan.
"He's a sweetheart," JJ exclaimed, earning a dirty look from her fiance.
"Good," Emily said and nodded approvingly. "He's putting the papers through. He told me it might be a few days, so I don't know if I'll be on the next case with you or not."
"You won't be," said Hotch.
"Oh, really? Did Cruz tell you something he didn't tell me?" Emily asked.
"No. I think it'd be better for the team if you sit the first one out. It'll give you time to move into your apartment and it'll give the team time to adjust to your presence."
"Okay, whatever works," Emily said, just happy to be home.
The team fell into a comfortable silence, each person picking at their dessert, not really hungry after the large late-night meal. Henry and Kendall had both fallen asleep, and as Jack began to nod off, Hotch said, "Maybe we should head out for the night."
JJ grabbed Rossi's wrist, glancing at his watch. "3 AM! How did it get this late? Your flight came in at eleven thirty!"
"Wow, is it that time already?" Garcia asked, glancing at her smartphone to confirm that it was indeed three in the morning. "Yeah, we should definitely head out."
Morgan and Garcia left first, Kendall in tow, after hugging everyone goodbye and promising to see each other the next day. JJ and Rossi left next, Henry's limp, slightly snoring form in Rossi's arms. Reid followed them out after a brief goodbye.
"Shit," Emily said just after they left, and then slapped her hand over her mouth, glancing at Jack. To her relief, he was sound asleep and hadn't heard her cursing. "My landlord is not going to let me into my apartment at 3 AM! I'll have to get a hotel room."
Hotch hesitated slightly before saying, "Don't worry about it, Prentiss. We have a guest room, you're welcome to spend the night at our place."
Emily hesitated. "Oh, no, Hotch. I don't want to intrude -"
"It's no intrusion," he said reassuringly. "We're friends, friends can help each other out. It's just one night."
"Just one night," Emily repeated in confirmation. "Alright, I guess that can't do too much harm."