"Is she ready?"
"Yeah, let me call her. Athena, your dad's here!"
Athena walks down the stairs, seeing Emily and Hotch at the door, their arms wrapped around each other. "You ready to go on a little date with Daddy and Jack?"
She nods. "Mommy come with us."
"It's okay Baby, we went on a date last week, it's your turn."
Emily gives her a kiss on the cheek, and gives Hotch a kiss as well. "Tell Jack that we'll bake cookies soon!"
She waves goodbye as they pull out of the driveway. Emily closes the door and looks around the house. "Time to tackle the house."
On the way there, Jack and Athena fall asleep. Once they arrive, Hotch wakes them up, and holds their hands as they walk into Jumpy & Co, a trampoline park.
They each get wristbands but Hotch gets a couple more. He leads the kids to the locker room, where they can put their shoes in. "Dad can we go now?"
"Not yet Buddy, we're waiting for a couple people."
As they wait, Jack teaches Athena how to thumb wrestle, after a while she finally gets the hang out it. Someone walks into the locker room and they all look up. "Hey."
Athena runs up to them, giving them each a hug. "Auntie Elle, Uncle Derek, Auntie JJ, Henry, Auntie Tara, Uncle Luke, Auntie Alex, Auntie Penelope, Auntie Kate, Meg and Cairo!"
"Where's Reid?" Hotch asks.
Derek looks at his phone. "He said he'll be running late because he's on a little date."
Hotch raises his eyebrow. "He has a girlfriend?"
He stares at Penelope. He knows that she knows the answer. "All right! He does but don't ruin it for our Genius."
"Let's jump!" Jack yells.
The rest of the adults put their jackets away in other lockers. Hotch hands them a wristband and they run out like children. Luke carries Athena while Derek carries Cairo, chasing each other. Meg, Henry, and Jack chase after them.
Everyone's scattered everywhere. JJ and Alex jumping on the big trampolines and as they jump, Tara lays down, bouncing up and down. Elle, Kate, Penelope, Athena, and Cairo are in the cube pit. And Meg, Henry, and Jack are in the dodgeball cage with Luke and Derek.
Hotch decides to wait until Spencer comes. "Hey!"
"Glad you made it," Hotch says, handing a wristband to him.
The family's there for a while and to end their activity, they decide to play dodgeball. Luke and Derek tried to make teams but it ended up with everyone throwing the soft balls at each other.
"Daddy!"
Hotch turns around to see Athena, with a ball in her hand. She throws it, hitting Hotch lightly. He drops to the trampoline and Athena joins him. As they conclude, they head back to the locker room, everyone puts their jackets and shoes on. They walk out and stand outside.
"Thank you for coming, but let me treat you guys. Some food and ice cream," Hotch offered.
Everyone was starving from having too much fun so they agreed. In 30 minutes, they finally arrive at a restaurant and they order.
Elle gives her menu to the waitress and looks at Hotch. "So how's you and Emily?"
Hotch looks at everyone, who's looking at him. They wanted to know too.
"Well, we're doing good. It's been 5 months since we've been together. I'm just glad that I got to spend the holidays with my family, with everyone here," he explains. "And Alex, I'm glad you're staying. Our meeting tomorrow?"
"Thank you, and yes I'll be there. My time here has been amazing and I'm kind of glad that there are interns who took over. I will be communicating with my husband but it feels right here, everything feels right," Alex replies.
The food finally comes after chitchatting for some time, everyone eats. On both sides of Hotch, are Athena and Jack, and on Athena's side is Elle, who is helping her eat.
Hotch pays the check and they all walk out. "One last thing before today ends. Let's get ice cream."
"Bossman is being too kind today, isn't that suspicious?" Penelope whispers.
JJ laughs, holding Henry's hand. "He's opening his heart out, he's becoming soft, most likely because of Emily. Have you seen him?"
"We talking about Hotch?" Luke asks. "I mean I met the guy less than a year ago but he's different from what Emily and Elle told me. He's not as strict, when it comes to cases anymore."
"What can we say? He's happy and Emily's happy," Elle joins in. "But the cases we have now are so much different from what I remembered."
Penelope holds Luke's arm as they walk to their cars before separating. "Does anyone know if Emily's going to work for the BAU? She's not working for Interpol anymore. And she has no job."
Elle sighs. "She just wants to spend time with Athena."
And it's true. Emily was not the family type but when Athena was born, everything changed. She basically dropped everything for family. After Athena's birthday weekend, Emily called Walker.
"Walker, I'm so sorry, I can't take your offer. Everything's finally falling into place and I can't lose it."
"You don't have to apologize. I understand," Walker answers. "And I'm guessing that you want to resign."
Emily takes a seat after pacing around. "I hate to say it but yeah. Luke and Elle are planning to work at the BAU. Aaron Hotchner is speaking with Erin Strauss soon."
"Well, I'll definitely recommend Luke and Elle. And I'll recommend you when you're ready. Thank you for your service Agent Prentiss, Interpol appreciates it. And as for being your friend, this isn't goodbye. I'll see you soon and maybe you can have Pending Chief of Interpol Matt Simmons, as one of your contacts if needed."
She smiles. "Thank you Walker, and bid my congrats to Matt."
These past few months have been a little life changing too. And one of these changes is Elle moving out to go live with Derek.
"Auntie Elle, you can't go."
Elle turns around. "I'm not leaving forever, I just can't live with you anymore. But that doesn't mean I don't love you."
Athena pouts as Elle cups her hands around her face. "I love you so much. You're practically my kid. Don't worry. I'll always visit and we can have sleepovers. Auntie Penelope's Chocolate Thunder will protect me."
"I love you too."
Elle gives her a kiss and stands up, looking at Emily. "Wow Emily Prentiss, things changed so much."
Emily wipes her tears. "I know, I thought it'd just be the 3 of us but look at you, moving in with Derek and I'm back with Aaron."
"I'm so proud of you Em. Thank you for staying by my side. I love you both," Elle says, walking away to the car where Derek's waiting for her.
"Text me when you're settled in! I love you Elle Greenaway."
Elle brushes her tears away and waves from the car as they pull out of the driveway.
Emily picks up a crying Athena and they walk back into the house.
Not only did Elle move out, Athena barely got to see Luke and Tara anymore.
"Mama, where's Uncle Luke and Auntie Tara?"
Emily washes the dishes as Athena eats at the island. "Remember baby? They're on a case, like Uncle Spence."
"I miss them."
"I know angel, me too. But work comes first now."
Athena looks at her food. "He's with Auntie Penelope a lot and what about Auntie Tara?"
Emily abandons her chore and sits next to Athena. She sees that she barely touched her food so Emily feeds her, for her to at least eat some lunch. "Everyone has their own life. Like you but you get that when you're bigger."
Emily tries to use big words and not baby Athena. With this, Athena understands a lot more at a young age.
"But Mommy what about us? They forgot."
"They haven't forgotten about us, my love. We spent New Year's with them, that was 2 weeks ago. And now they're busy."
Athena opens her mouth as Emily feeds her some Mac and Cheese. "What about Auntie Tara?"
The night of New Year's day, Penelope, Tara, Luke, Derek, and Elle go out to a club for a small celebration. Turns out, Tara met a little someone and they've been going on a couple dates.
"But when will they come back?"
Emily sighs. "I'll ask Daddy. Let's finish eating?"
Not only did these changes happen in a couple months, it hurt Athena. And it hurt Emily to see Athena hurt. Growing up, Athena's main parental figures were always around her, despite the fact that they had to be there 24/7 for a reason, someone was out to get them at the time. And now that they're free, everyone has moved on.
Occasionally Luke's there to tuck Athena in or Elle visits after a case to play with Athena. Spencer rarely came around too because he started dating someone. Athena wanted her mom and Alex to make plans with the rest of the family but they were always abandoned because the team always had a case.
If a case was still in Virginia, some of the members would crash there or work on victimology at Emily's house. This made Athena happy as she went to sleep, but woke up disappointed to see that her favorite people left.
Hotch always tried to sleep over, a couple days every month. He also tried to bring Jack over too. Sleepovers with 2 kids would end up with them crawling into bed with Emily and Hotch. They wouldn't mind but sometimes Hotch would leave early in the morning to head back to the office to work on some paperwork.
This left Emily to take care of Jack, which she didn't mind, nor did Athena and Alex. To Athena, this meant fun plans.
Alex was a little worried about Emily. She seemed a little down after these changes happened.
"Hey, you wanna talk?"
"Sure, let me grab the wine," Emily says.
Alex sits on the couch. "No need, come sit."
Emily sits on the couch and wraps herself with a blanket. "What did you want to talk about?"
"You."
"Me? Why?"
Alex leans on the pillow and faces Emily. "I can tell when something's wrong Emily. Elle moved out, Luke and Tara are barely home. Hotch and Jack come around everyone once in a while to sleep here. I mean he does take you out on dates but what about Athena? I hear her complain, you know. And everyone else rarely comes around."
Emily tears up. "It's March, Alex. 4 months since Hotch and I started to date again. 3 months since Elle left. 2 and a half months before Luke and Tara started working and having a life. My daughter doesn't see her favorite people anymore, and I hate that she feels that way."
"Athena will understand. I'm positive she will. I mean I try to watch movies with her and play with her but that's the best I can do," Alex says.
"And Athena and I are deeply grateful that you are here," Emily whispers. "It's just that she grew up with them around and all of a sudden they're not here anymore? What does that do to a 4 year old?"
Alex continues to look at Emily. "My advice to you is find ways to keep her occupied. Maybe it's go out and explore more. Or to prepare her for school. Or to bake with her. You love being a stay at home mom?"
Emily nods. "I love my daughter Alex. And it surprises me that my urge for work isn't overpowering my emotions."
"Well, how do you feel?"
Emily stares at the ceiling. "I miss being adventurous. The adrenaline when we catch the unsub. The only adrenaline I have is when Athena climbs on the table and can't get down.
Alex laughs. "You know you can be a mom and a profiler at the same time. Look at JJ and Hotch. They're parents but they make it work, for their kids. You can too."
"Talk to Hotch about it, and maybe you can be a profiler again," Alex continues. "Just because you're a mom doesn't mean you can't do what you wanna do."
Emily agrees.
But Emily hasn't talked to Aaron. She's always been occupied to keep Athena happy and that meant spending more time with her.
Even on small dates Emily and Hotch have, she doesn't bother to mention it because she wants to soak up the little time they have together.
Today was a free day, the team didn't have any cases and they finished their paperwork beforehand.
The team arrives at the ice cream shop, meeting Rossi there. "What took you so long?"
"Italian Stallion, please be patient," Penelope pleads.
They all order ice cream and dessert and they head to the park, right across the street. Everyone sits on the benches. And Hotch stands up, facing all of them.
"Thank you all for being here. And I'm sure the kids had a great time," he starts off. "There's a reason why you're all gathered here today."
Everyone faces him, listening.
"These past few months have been hectic for Emily. We started dating, Elle moved out, Alvez and Lewis joined the team, soon Alex Blake will too. They've spent lots of time with Emily and I've realized that Emily wouldn't be a mom without their help."
Spencer raises his hand, before helping Athena with her ice cream. "I helped too."
Hotch grins. "You all must know the past, whether Emily told you or you lived it. I missed out on more than 3 years of Athena's life. And without help, Emily would've been a single mother, and honestly I don't know where she would've been."
"The reason why I brought you all here is because I love Emily. And our kids. I know day by day you're all getting closer to her. I am too, I try to make time for her even if paperwork is too much. And I want to spend everyday of my life with her and our kids."
He puts down his ice cream and reaches in his pocket. "Which is why I wanted to ask all of you if you approve of me. Marrying Emily."
Everyone gasps. Hotch opens a box that holds a diamond ring. Penelope starts to tear up. "And help me plan the proposal."
They all nod and give Hotch a group hug. Rossi kisses his cheeks. Derek pats his shoulder. Hotch's not the type to express his emotions but he lets it pass.
"Oh my God, we get to plan a proposal!" Penelope yells.
"I hope you can keep a secret Penelope," Hotch assumes.
She nods and salutes him. "Yes Sir!"
Hotch bends down to reach Athena's height. "Can I marry Mommy?"
"Yes! Big family!" Athena says.
He picks her up and turns to Jack. "Buddy, is it okay if I marry Emily?"
Jack nods. "She's going to become my mom!"
Hotch wasn't so sure how to answer that so he just nodded. They all finished their ice cream and Luke, Derek, and Spencer brought the kids to the playground while the ladies and Rossi talked with Hotch.
"Has Emily ever told you specifically where our first kiss was?"
They all shake their head. "It was in this park. Near that specific bench."
He points to the bench on the other side. "It started to rain and she wanted to run back into the car. I stopped her and I kissed her."
Kate jumps up and down. "That's really sweet."
"I was thinking of bringing her here, and the walkway will be filled with rose petals, leading up to that bench. And we can have a wall of flowers saying 'Marry me?' or 'Will you marry me?', something like that."
Penelope butts in. "Don't worry Sir, us ladies have this under control."
Hotch nods. "I want this to happen in less than a month. So whenever we don't have a case, I want to you to begin preparing. And ask the park if we can close this down for the night, we'll clean it up."
"Is there anywhere you want to eat dinner at? Before or after?" Penelope asks, typing all of this on her phone.
"Yeah there is."
-
"Come on Emily! Let's go. We finally have time to ourselves, the kids are with the team, watching a movie."
Hotch looks at his watch and looks at himself in the mirror, he fixes his tie.
"Emily?"
No response. He decides to walk upstairs into the room. He walks in to see Emily in a black bodycon dress, with a slit that shows off her left leg. Her heels black heels make her look a couple inches taller. Her hair is curled and light makeup was applied. She's at the balcony, looking out at the sky. "Wow, you look gorgeous."
She turns around. "Thank you, and you look handsome."
"Is there something wrong?"
"Just admiring the night sky. The moon's shining today, more brighter. The breeze feels nice. And out of everything that has happened to me in the last couple months, everything feels right," Emily says, looking away. "Do you think we could just stay in? It's just you and me."
Hotch joins her. "Last time going out. And then our next 3 dates will be at home."
She nods and he wraps his arms around her waist. He gives a kiss on her cheek. "You ready?"
"Mhm."
They walk out of the room, grabbing Emily's cardigan and purse. They get into the car and drive away. "So what's our plans for tonight?"
"A surprise. Can you take the blindfold from the compartment?"
Emily opens in and reaches for it. "You naughty man."
Hotch chuckles. "It's not like that. Put it on."
"Okay?" And she puts it on.
They arrive at their destination and Hotch opens the door. He helps her out of the car and guides her to stand somewhere. "You're not the one to like things like this so you might hate me."
He stops and she lets go of his arm. She hears footsteps departing. "What do you mean?"
After a minute, she calls out. "Aaron? Where the hell are you? Don't leave me again!"
Suddenly a voice spooks her. "Take your blindfold off."
She takes it off to see that she's standing at the beginning of a rose petal walk way. On the outside of the walkways, are bright lights and candles to lead her. To her right, she sees Rossi, with his hand out. She passes him the blindfold and continues to look around. All her friends on the outside of the walkway, on each side, holding roses. All are wearing dresses or suits.
She sees Aaron at the end of the walkway, behind him was a white rose wall. And 5 little bodies near him.
As Emily begins to walk down the walkway slowly, her friends begin to hand her each a rose or two and gives her a hug or a kiss on the cheek. She begins to tear up. During this, a song plays, Can't Help Falling In Love by Elvis Presley.
She reaches Elle and gives her a big hug. "We love you Em."
Spencer gives her a kiss on the head. "I'm so happy for you and Athena."
Towards the end, she's holding a bouquet of roses. She reaches Hotch and he takes the bouquet from her and sets it down on the bench. A photographer begins to take pictures of them, assuming he already started when they first arrived.
The family is then gathered around them, outside of the walkway.
The music is lowered and Emily looks at the bodies turned around, holding signs. She notices one at the end and they look at her. "Hi Mommy!"
Emily waves and turns back to Hotch. "What's going on?"
Hotch takes her hands. "The day you walked into my office, I knew you were different. You're amazing at your jobs. Being a profiler and becoming a mother. Do you know where this place is?"
Looking at her surroundings, she finally realizes where she is. "The place where we had our first kiss."
He nods and continues. "That day was eventful. I told you about your offer and we became a couple. But in a couple weeks, you left because of me. And those 3 years without you, was hell. I lost my best friend and the love of my life."
"I tried to drown out my emotions by using work or spending time with Jack but every time I walked into the BAU, I imagined you there. Or everytime I went home, I imagined you sleeping next to me. And now look where we are, we made a beautiful daughter. We have a family now."
Emily continues to make eye contact with him, both not trying to bawl their eyes out. "Not only do I love you for you, I love how you love Jack as your own. I know he appreciates it and I do too. And you even raised Athena. Every single day, my love for you and our kids grow. I will forever continue to make it up to you after what I said. You're the love of my life Emily Prentiss, and for the rest of my life, I want to spend it with you. And our kids."
He gets down on one knee, pulling out a box and the kids turn. Emily looks at the signs which reads, "Will you marry me?"
"I love you Emily Prentiss. Will you marry me?"
♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡
Author's Note:
OMG I HAD SO MUCH FUN WRITING THIS CHAPTER! it's almost coming to an end guys :((