Rachel kicked her legs back and forth impatiently as JJ braided her hair. "Are you almost done?" She asked with a groan.
"Rach, sit still and I will be." JJ said for the second time as Rachel twisted her head around.
"I can't." Rachel insisted.
"Yes you can."
"I'm too excited."
"Well, that's great, but you still need to sit still." JJ said with a smile.
"How many kids will there be?" Rachel asked as she sat as still as she could possibly manage.
"Umm...I'm not sure, I think about twelve?"
"And I'm the youngest?"
"I think so, when you danced for the teacher she said you could be in the upper levels. So you'll be with older kids, most of them are around twelve or thirteen I think. You need to pay attention and do what your teacher says."
"Mo..JJ, I know how to have a dance lesson." Rachel said, quickly. JJ saw her face redding and as much as she wanted to bring attention to the first syllable Rachel had uttered, she didn't. "I've danced a million times before JJ." She added, speaking rushed and looking down at her hands, annoyed that JJ didn't already know that. The blonde sighed and continued braiding Rachel's hair, remembering what Dr. Yang had told them; when – if – Rachel did call them Mom, it would go over much better if they didn't make a big deal out of it. That way, it would feel more natural to her.
"I know, but dance class with a bunch of other kids is going to be different than just you and Frankie." JJ reminded her.
"Okay." Rachel mumbled.
"Alright! Two french braids, turn and let me see." JJ announced. Rachel turned around, an excited, hopeful smile on her face. "Beautiful." JJ said, pressing her nose against Rachel's. She giggled and wrapped her arms around JJ's neck. The blonde lifted her off the counter and carried her over to the door. Rachel sat down and began putting on her shoes while JJ rummaged around for her keys. Emily walked down the stairs.
"All set?" She asked.
"Yup, come on Rach." JJ said as she ushered the little girl out to the car. Immediately, she slipped her hand into her wife's. "She did it again." JJ whispered as they reached the car.
"Really?" Emily whispered back. Rachel had made the same tiny slip up with Emily two days before. It had shocked and excited both of them, causing them to yearn to hear the full word even more than they had before. JJ nodded with a tiny grin. "This is driving me nuts." Emily said, kissing her wife before climbing into the passenger seat.
"What's nuts?" Rachel asked from the backseat. "After dance can we go see Spence?"
"You're nuts." Emily said, reaching around behind her and tickling Rachel's leg. "And yes, we can pop in on Reid."
"He recorded Doctor Who!" Rachel yelled happily.
"We recorded Doctor Who." JJ said with a sigh. Emily had brainwashed their child. She was a full on geek just like the brunette and Reid; JJ couldn't have loved it more if she tried, but she would never let them know that.
"Yeah I know, but I like watching it with Spence." Rachel said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the entire world.
"Not with us?" Emily asked, pretending to be offended.
"I like it better with Spence." Rachel admitted quietly. "But I like it with you too!" She insisted loudly.
"Why thank you, I feel so loved." JJ muttered with a grin. "We're here." She announced. They pulled into the dance studio parking lot and headed inside. JJ noticed Rachel immediately grow shy and stick close to her as they walked into the main studio. She placed her hand on Rachel's shoulders and gave her a reassuring squeeze. A group of girls all around ten-thirteen were in a corner warming up. Rachel looked up at JJ nervously. The blonde bent down to her. "You can dance circles around these girls baby, don't be nervous. It'll be fun." She whispered, making it look like she was just taking her coat. Rachel gave her a small smile and seemed to be somewhat reassured. The dance teacher, Miss Cindy waved her over while the other girls looked on warily. Rachel glanced back up at Emily and JJ once more, a new look of determination on her face. JJ watched proudly as she stood up straight, pulled on her jazz shoes and gracefully walked over to the group. God, Rachel was so tiny. She looked more like a five year old then a seven year old, especially when next to the older girls. "She looks so small." JJ said to Emily as they walked out.
"I know, but she's tough, she'll be fine." Emily said, wrapping her arm around JJ's shoulders. "Want to go grab a coffee until her class is over?"
"Yeah, sounds good."
The two of them decided to walk to the cafe a couple of blocks from the dance studio. Hand in hand, they hurried through the still cold air.
"I'll order, want to grab a table?" Emily asked.
"Okay." JJ headed over to a table by the window and picked at a straw wrapper. Emily slid in across from her and passed over her coffee. "Thanks." She said with a smile. She lifted it up to her mouth but only smelled it, knowing she would burn her tongue. "Tomorrow is the day Em." She said, tapping the top of her mug nervously.
"I know. I'm freaking out a little." Emily admitted adorably. JJ smirked.
"Me too. But I'm also really excited."
"And we've got everything all set for the party?" Emily asked. "Hotch and Jack are all set, so are Morgan and Rossi."
JJ nodded and dared a sip of her coffee, perfection. "And I've got Garcia on board and Reid." Garcia had gone a little nuts with the party planning, JJ had to wrangle her in a bit. They had decided to hold a party for Rachel after the court hearing. Garcia was insisting that it was a party for Emily and JJ as well, and had kicked them out of most of the planning, much to JJ's annoyance. Leaving Garcia alone to plan a party was never a safe thing, especially if there would be children involved. Garcia was not exactly always appropriate.
"So, how exactly is this going to work tomorrow, we just go in and sign a few papers?" Emily asked.
"Yeah basically. The social worker said the judge will talk to us, probably to Rachel alone and then we sign some stuff and she is officially our daughter." JJ smiled. She really loved saying that.
Rachel stood in the corner, waiting for her turn to do her leaps across the floor. There were ten girls in this class, all of them older than Rachel. Taylor was definitely the star. She was eleven and didn't seem to like Rachel one little bit. In the first couple of minutes she made it well known that she considered Rachel a baby and not good enough for their class.
"Taylor's mean, just ignore her." A girl named Kaley whispered from behind her. Kaley had been the youngest at nine until Rachel came along. She seemed to take pity on her. Rachel gave Kaley a small smile and watched as Hannah went across the floor, her leaps almost perfect. She turned and smirked at Rachel as she finished, walking next to Taylor and giggling. Hannah was twelve, but clearly followed whatever Taylor did.
Rachel moved forward, ignoring their looks while another girl, Whitney took her turn. Once she had finished, Rachel took a deep breath and smiled. Frankie was mean, and abusive, but one thing Rachel knew, was that he had turned her into a fantastic dancer. She could do this, and she could do it well. Rachel angled her body properly and began her leaps, one after another, she finished and made her way to the end of the line, hiding a tiny smile at the looks of shock her fellow classmates were giving her.
"Wonderful Rachel!" Miss Cindy yelled out. "Alright ladies, lets do a combination."
Rachel loved the class. Miss Cindy was fun, and made her feel good about herself, it was nothing like practicing with Frankie. If Rachel made a mistake, someone just corrected her and that was that. She did catch herself flinching the first time Miss Cindy came over to correct her foot position, but quickly got control of herself. By the end of the class, Rachel knew that combination cold, much to the annoyance of Taylor and Hannah. Miss Cindy told them to get into place to run the combination one last time. Many of the parents had trickled into the studio, watching the last run through of the dance. Rachel lit up at the sight of Emily and JJ waving to her. She bent down, getting into her starting position. Frankie always told her to sell it. No matter what was going on in the audience, Rachel danced, and she danced well. The music started and Rachel began to count. 5, 6, 7, 8. She gracefully lifted herself up and began to dance with the music. The steps came easily, she barely even noticed the other people in the room.
When they finished Rachel happily slipped into her ending pose, right in front of JJ and Emily. She looked up at them and smiled at the proud looks on their faces. "Alright ladies! That's it for today, I will see you all next week." Miss Cindy said happily. "And Rachel, great class." She added, smiling to the little girl. Grinning, Rachel said thank you and ran over to Emily and JJ.
"Hi!" She said a little out of breath.
"Baby, you were amazing!" JJ said proudly.
"Really?" Rachel asked, looking back and forth between them both.
"Really." Emily insisted. "Here put your coat on, its cold out." She held the coat out to Rachel who slid her arms in. "It might snow tomorrow." Emily whispered.
"Really? Can we go sledding?" Rachel asked excitedly.
"I don't know, it there is enough snow maybe, but we have important stuff to do tomorrow remember?" The brunette asked.
"Court." Rachel said with a nod. "I remember."
"And, Garcia has planned a party for us afterwords." JJ said taking Rachel's hand and swinging it back and forth. Rachel's face lit up.
"With cake?"
JJ chuckled and glanced over at Emily. "Probably."
"Yes!" Rachel cheered. "And Jack will be there?" She asked.
"Yep. Jack, Hotch, Garcia, Morgan, Reid, Rossi, Mary, Andrew and my parents." Emily said holding the door open for Rachel. She climbed in and buckled her car seat, swinging her legs back and forth in excitement.
"Do we get presents?" Rachel asked. JJ started the car and shot a look to Emily, who only shook her head.
"I don't know Rach, its more of a celebration than a presents type thing." Emily said. Rachel groaned exaggeratedly causing JJ and Emily to laugh.
Rachel bit her lip and shuffled her feet back and forth nervously while she looked in the mirror again. Her tights were bunching and she tried to smooth them out better. She lifted her green velvet dress and tucked it under her chin, trying to yank up her white tights.
"Rach?" JJ asked as she walked into the doorway. The blonde was dressed up as well, a deep red dress that was professional, comfortable and downright sexy. "Want some help instead of flashing everyone?" She asked with a light laugh as she crossed her arms.
Rachel turned around in a huff and dropped her dress. "No one else is in here!" She insisted. "And I can dress myself." She lifted her dress back up determinedly and tried again, unsuccessfully. Ignoring the smile that creeped onto JJ's face, she tried a third time before finally groaning in frustration and flopping down on the bed. "I hate these tights." She announced, pulling her dress over her face.
JJ smiled and walked over. "Sit still." She said with a laugh and fixed Rachel's tights while she lay on the bed, refusing to look at the blonde. "Feel better?" She asked. Rachel didn't move. "Rach?" JJ asked again. She sighed and pulled Rachel's dress back down, bending over and staring down at Rachel. "Better Monkey?" Rachel nodded. "Can I fix your hair?"
"Fine." Rachel grumbled. She crawled up into a sitting position in front of JJ.
"What would you like?" JJ asked. "Braids? Half up? Headband?"
"Half up, half down please." She said. JJ began brushing Rachel's hair while the little girl played with the end of her dress. Emily walked in, looking stunning in a dark blue dress of her own. Rachel grinned. "You look really pretty Mo...Emily." She said, correcting herself again. Emily beamed and shared a glance with JJ at the slip up.
"What? And I don't?" She asked. Finishing Rachel's hair and pretending to be offended. Rachel turned around and wrapped her arms around JJ's neck, hugging her tightly.
"You look beautiful!" She said with a smile. "What kind of cake will we have?" She asked as she pulled away.
"Is that what you care about?" Emily asked with a laugh as the two of them got up off the bed. "The cake?"
Rachel nodded. "Mostly." The little girl skipped down the hall and hurried downstairs. JJ slipped her arm around Emily's waist and kissed her pouting wife.
"You do look very pretty. And she doesn't only care about the cake. She's nervous." She whispered. Emily smiled and kissed JJ back.
"Let's go." The brunette said, handing JJ her sweater and pulling her downstairs.
Rachel was silent throughout the entire drive to the courtroom. Emily and JJ tried to talk as if this was a normal outing, but nothing they said seemed to calm her or still her nerves. Rachel ran up the steps ahead of them, jumping up, then down, trying to mimic the dance in The Sound of Music. There still wasn't any snow, but it was wet and JJ saw how easily Rachel could trip. "Rach! Careful please." She called up to her. Rachel jumped again, not quite paying attention. "Rachel!" JJ yelled again. She practically saw it right before it happened, Rachel jumped down, then twirled quickly about to jump up and slipped. With the quick reflexes of an FBI agent, JJ reached out and caught her right before she fell, Emily right behind her. "Rachel." She said with a sigh as she pulled her close.
"I'm sorry." Rachel said as she began to cry a little. She wasn't hurt, just shocked, crying the way children do because they were almost hurt.
"I got you, you're fine." JJ murmured. Rachel held her arms up, tears in her eyes and JJ sighed but picked her up. Emily placed her hand on the small of JJ's back and led them into the lobby. Rachel made herself comfortable in JJ's arms while they looked for her social worker. He caught their attention and waved them over. Dr. Yang was there as well and greeted them with a smile.
"They're just finishing up and then we can go in." He explained. "How are you today Rachel? You excited?"
"I get a cake later." She said happily, already forgetting almost hurting herself.
"A cake! Awesome, what kind?"
"I don't know!" Rachel exclaimed, kicking her legs back and forth, making it difficult for JJ to keep a hold of her. "I just like cake."
"Me too." He said giving her a smile. A guard caught their attention and ushered them inside. JJ set Rachel down and took her hand, walking into the courtroom. They took the seats assigned to them and sat down, seeing Ambassador Prentiss already inside. She smiled at them and waved to Rachel. The little girl lit up and ran over to hug her, much to her surprise. Emily grinned at the sight, Rachel had improved her relationship with her mother immensely. Elizabeth called at least once a week now to see how she was, asking about Rachel, JJ and her work. There was still some tension, it was hard to erase almost forty years of it, but it was certainly the most civil they had ever been.
Rachel ran back over to sit down as the judge glanced at them. He smiled as she climbed over Emily, giving the entire courtroom a view of the backside of her tights to sit in between the both of them. Emily just shook her head and pulled Rachel's dress down. "Hello everyone." He said, looking to the mostly empty room. They sat quietly as the judge spoke with Dr. Yang and Rachel's social worker. He had already reviewed the case, and only asked a few questions of Emily and JJ before turning to Rachel. "Hello Rachel." He said with a warm smile. "Can you come up here for me?" He asked. Rachel nodded and climbed over Emily, smoothing down her dress and walking as demurely as a nervous seven year old could up to him.
"Hello sir." She said softly, forcing herself to meet his eyes.
"Its very nice to meet you." He said. "Why don't you come over here." Rachel walked around the podium and stood next to the judge shyly shooting a glance back at Emily and JJ who smiled back reassuringly. "I'd like to ask you a question if you don't mind." He said. Rachel nodded, trying very hard not to play with her dress.
The rest of the courtroom couldn't really hear them as he had moved away from the mike in front of him. Emily and JJ looked to each other nervously and clasped hands. Emily felt someone place a hand on her shoulder and turned to smile at her mother.
"Rachel, do you like living with Agent Prentiss and Agent Jareau?" He asked softly.
"Yes sir."
"Would you like to stay with them? Have them be your parents?"
Rachel looked up from the floor and met his eyes. She liked his gray hair. He reminded her of Santa Claus. Rachel waved him forward and he humored her. She cupped her hand over his ear and whispered softly. "I love them more than anyone, I want to be with them forever please." She pulled back and smiled, and he returned it.
"You can go head on back down to you seat. It was very nice to meet you." He said. While Rachel trotted back down, she didn't bother climbing over Emily, she simply plopped herself down on her lap. "Most of the time, I have the displeasure of tearing families apart, that's why when I get a case like this, it makes my job feel like its worth something. I am honored to be the one to say that these three are a family. Rachel, Emily and Jennifer, I wish you the very best of luck and I hope you all have a wonderful life." Emily hugged Rachel tightly, her eyes welling up with tears of joy. Glancing over at her mother and JJ, she saw they were barely able to contain their excitement, tears in both their eyes. Elizabeth Prentiss was not one to cry in public, so the proud happy tearful look on her face only caused Emily (and JJ) to cry more. "Congratulations ladies, you are a family."