It was five to ten the next morning when the little knock sounded on her door. Emily grinned as she stood, walking quickly to the door to let both males into her apartment. “Good morning,” she sang cheerfully, even as her stomach rolled. She was nervous. Her mother’s message had put her off the night before, as had her own brazen decision to put ‘plus one’ on her RSVP. Now she just needed a way to actually ask him to accompany her to a family function.
Jack immediately hugged her leg. “We’re going to the zoo!”
“We are,” Emily agreed ruffling his hair. She watched as Jack’s curiosity seemed to get the better of him and he wandered off into her apartment to explore.
“Good morning,” Aaron greeted her softly. She looked absolutely domestic in jeans , a t-shirt and a zip-up hoodie. Her hair was pulled back into a functional ponytail. He liked this Emily.
Emily smiled, inwardly rolling her eyes. Aaron was a private man, but Jack was going to find out about their relationship change sooner or later. And the child wasn’t an idiot. Jack probably knew it was something significant when his father invited Emily along to the zoo. So she took the initiative, stepping into his personal space to bestow a light kiss on his lips. “How are you?”
“Good,” he said, smiling down at her. He pushed her door closed and pulled her in for a longer kiss. “Very good.”
She smiled, her cheeks going red.
Aaron took her hand. “Jack, come on.”
The small boy came racing back into the front hall, eyes bright with excitement. “We’re going to see all the animals!” he cheered.
Emily laughed, following father and son out so she could lock up. Jack jumped almost the entire way down on the elevator, making both Emily and Aaron nervous. He chattered the whole way about animals about school about anything he could come up with. Emily listened, asking the appropriate questions at the appropriate intervals and putting in all of the perfect reactions to his narration. Aaron sat in the front seat simply enjoying it all, trying not to laugh.
It seemed perfectly natural for her to grab Jack out of the backseat once they found a parking lot and hold onto the backpack of snacks and water Aaron had brought with them as father strapped son into a leash-like contraption.
“Alright,” Emily said as soon as they were through the zoo gates. “Where too first?”
“Hippos!” Jack exclaimed enthusiastically.
They were off.
Jack lost energy quickly around lunch time, partially because he was hungry, partially because he’d walked most of the way through the zoo. The animals were awesome, he decided. He’d seen hippos, and elephants and lions and monkeys. He liked spending time with Daddy and Daddy seemed especially happy when Emily was around. Jack like Emily too, so it didn’t matter so much.
But he was most definitely hungry. “Daddy, I’m hungry.”
Daddy exchanged a look with Emily. “I think we could stop for some lunch,” he agreed.
Jack was most thankful. He turned and held his hands up. “Carry me?”
Daddy seemed to make the sound parents made when they were annoyed with their children’s antics, but lifted him into the air. Jack watched as Daddy took Emily’s hand again. They’d been doing that all day, holding hands, hugging, the things Jack remembered his Daddy doing with his Mommy. Jack didn’t mind, really. He liked Emily and it seemed like Daddy liked Emily too. And if Daddy liked Emily and Daddy was happy when Emily was around, who was Jack to argue? He didn’t much enjoy it when Daddy was upset or sad.
Daddy carried him to a picnic table and sat him down, leaving him with the backpack and Emily as he went into the restaurant. That felt much better. His poor little feet were starting to hurt from all that walking. Jack’s eyes were on the birds wandering about the nearby grass. “What are those?” he asked Emily, sitting beside him.
“Peacocks,” Emily answered with a smile. “The boy peacocks are all the colours.”
“With the funny tails?” Jack asked. He grinned when Emily nodded. “Why do they have funny tails?”
“Because they want the girls to notice them,” Emily replied patiently as she pulled things out of the bag.
“Excuse me, ma’am? Would you like a picture of your son with Bobo?”
Jack looked up at the strange man and giggled at the small monkey sitting on top of his head. “You have a monkey on your head,” he said in between giggles.
“Do you want to hold him?” the man asked.
Jack looked to Emily who encouraged him with a smile and a nod. Still, he moved closer to her, climbing into her lap as the man let the monkey wander onto the table. Jack and Bobo stared at each other for a few moments before the monkey moved, racing up Emily’s nearby hand and arm to sit on her shoulder. Jack giggled as he looked up at her while Emily darted a surprised look at the monkey man.
He squealed when the monkey jumped from Emily’s shoulder to rest on his head. “He’s on my head!”
“He is,” Emily laughed, her hands reassuring around him.
Jack looked up to find Daddy. “Daddy! Look! I have a monkey on my head!” he exclaimed.
Daddy chuckled. “I see that.”
The monkey raced down again, chattering as he came to a stop in front of the monkey man. For the first time Jack noticed he had a camera. He giggled at the monkey’s antics while Daddy and Emily talked to the man and waved a cheery goodbye as both man and monkey departed. He happily turned to lunch as Daddy passed him food.
Emily watched with a soft smile on her face as they followed Jack closely through the Small Mammal House. It was odd to feel so much like a family when really, she wasn’t a part of it. At the same time, it felt very, very good. Jack was an adorable child and it was disgustingly obvious that Aaron doted on his son. It was Jack’s day, she and Aaron were simply tag-alongs. They’d let Jack choose every place they went, in what order they went to each place and what animals to see and which to avoid. Emily had quickly learned that Jack was not a fan of rhinos, even though he adored hippos, and elephants weren’t in his good books either.
But it had been a fantastic change to get time to spend with Aaron. While Jack was racing about, trying to weave his way through spaces Emily and Aaron couldn’t “ and not succeeding, for half of the time he was attached to a child leach “ the adults chatted about whatever they could think of. It wasn’t the first time they’d done it, and certainly wouldn’t be the last. They seemed to be able to discuss many different topics beyond serial killers, and crime. They both had an interest and investment in politics and had many stories from various gala nights or fundraisers they’d been forced to go to by their parents.
It was during one of those topics that Emily started chewing her lip. Aaron knew something was up.
“What is it?”
“What is what?” Emily replied, trying to play innocent. It was the perfect opportunity to see if he’d accompany her to her parents’ thanksgiving shindig.
“You’re chewing your lip,” he said with a smile, squeezing the hand he was holding. “Something’s up.”
Emily sighed. “My parents have this dinner every year for Thanksgiving,” she said finally. “I was hoping you’d come.”
“To your parents?” he tried to clarify with a raised eyebrow. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
Emily’s heart sank. She’d known it was too early in the official relationship to be asking him to meet the parents, but she’d hoped he’d want to go as much to spend time with her as because it was her family. “You’re probably right,” she said.
He knew her better than that and could tell that it wasn’t the answer she was looking for. “I’d love to go,” he told her honestly. “But…There’s the work thing, and they are your parents.”
She hadn’t thought about that. Sometimes it was nice to have another person around to think those things through, especially when they were as good looking as Aaron was. Still, she wasn’t sure she liked the idea of him not being there. It meant she had to suffer through her parents’ (mother’s) matchmaking attempts and too many men trying to feel her up or get her into dark corners. She didn’t much relish that kind of situation. She sighed. “You’re right,” she replied. “Very right.”
Aaron knew it didn’t make it much better and he found himself weighing the pros and the cons of a situation like that. Even if her parents didn’t say anything “ which was likely for the simple reason of trying to keep the scandal and drama to a minimum at events like theirs “ Emily would be looking at disapproving eyes all night. He didn’t much enjoy the idea of her being a single woman in a room full of her parents’ friends and their ‘eligible’ sons.
It was starting to look like the pros outweighed the cons.
“Okay,” Aaron said.
“Sorry?” Emily asked in surprise.
“I’ll check with Haley but I’m sure we can work something out with Jack,” he replied. “I’ll go with you.” Her excitement and relief was palpable as she screamed like a schoolgirl and hugged him tight. He couldn’t help but laugh at her.
“Don’t laugh, you’ve only met my mother.”
“I thought she was the bad one,” he replied, his eyes seeking out Jack’s small head not two feet away. They’d tripped a few people because Jack had gone racing ahead.
“She is,” Emily conceded. “My dad’s the good one. The rest are… optional.”
“The rest?” He’d been her mother’s security detail, but had met very little of the family. He knew she had a brother, but from there, he drew a blank.
“We’re not big,” Emily admitted. “I mean, there’s mom, dad, my brother and I and then my mom has one sister, my dad a brother and a sister. They’re all married, but I’ve lost touch with my cousins since I pulled away from my family.”
“You shouldn’t do that, you know.”
“Pull away from my family? I know, but it’s the extended family I’m not really in touch with. Chris and I talk all the time, Dad and I talk all the time. Mom and I talk when we have to.”
He remembered that. Elizabeth Prentiss had been involved in one of their cases and the relationship between mother and daughter had been cordial at best. “How many cousins?” He enjoyed getting to know the intricacies of what made Emily who she was especially since personal was generally out of the question at work.
“Uh… five,” Emily answered though the tone of her voice indicated she wasn’t completely sure.
He chuckled.
She smacked him. “Can you name your extended family?”
“No, but I make no secret of it,” he pointed out. “Sean and I are brothers, the rest is an optional part.”
“And you had Haley and you’ve got Jack. What more do you need?”
“Right,” Aaron agreed. But there was so much more he needed. Okay, maybe not needed, but definitely wanted. He liked having Haley to come home to every night, loved being greeted by Jack when, at four, he came racing to the door to greet him if he wasn’t home too late. He’d adored having Emily home. She knew what he saw every day and often left him to handle things himself. She knew he’d talk when he wanted to and until then, pushing him was futile.
He mentally smacked himself. The path his brain was going down was a dangerous one, especially with her so close and Jack right in front of him. He’d always loved the idea of a family, if only to give someone else what he didn’t have. He wasn’t close with either of his parents, and yet, strove for their approval. And he’d gotten it quite thoroughly. Between his time as one of the top federal prosecutors, his marriage to Haley, Jack and his ascension through the ranks of the FBI, he was the angel child to Sean’s free spirit. And yet, he hadn’t talked to his parents since Haley asked for the divorce. It had just been easier.
He found more comfort with Emily than Haley had ever given him. Emily had always been quiet strength for him. She was always encouraging, always strong and yet, he knew that she talked to Morgan, Garcia and JJ after cases. He hoped that would be something to change. Aaron knew she needed her friends, and knew that they were good genuine friends, but he also hoped that those insecurities about cases would be confided to him. When he’d made the decision that he wanted more with her, he’d known that he was going into it for the long haul. Emily wasn’t the type of person who put her job on the line for a passing attraction either and it made him much more comfortable in the relationship.
“You still with us?”
Emily’s amused voice brought him back to the present, where Emily had picked up an exhausted Jack because his father was lost in his own world. He hadn’t even felt her let go of his hand to pick him up. He felt himself stir and knew he had to either get out of there, or get Jack out of Emily’s arms. She’d make a fantastic mother. “Yeah, sorry.”
“See?” she asked the small toddler. “I told you Daddy wasn’t paying attention.”
Jack nodded sleepily against her shoulder. It had been a long day for the small tyke.
Aaron raised an eyebrow. “What did I miss?”
“What do you think the chances are that your parents are going to be there anyway?” Emily repeated her original question.
He winced. He so hadn’t thought about that. “Can we hope not?”
She tilted her head in consideration. “It would be killing two birds with one stone,” she pointed out. “Your family and my family. One night only.”
He laughed as his head whirled. It would be easier to do both families at once, but he knew they ‘d be less than impressed. It was one reason he was jealous of Emily. How she’d managed to toss her parents’ opinions out the window he’d never understand. He chalked it up to the fact that her father, from her own stories, adored her, even if her mother saw her as the poster child for modern feminism.
“Hey,” she said nudging him as they made their way out of the building. “Think of it this way: we’re in public, so even if they put two and two together and know we’re dating, it doesn’t matter. They can’t say anything to us while we’re there and then what? The worst we get is an angry telephone call that we can, technically, ignore. So we sit through a stuffy evening, talk about a few serial killers to keep annoying people off of our tails and play nice for the parents.”
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had to go to a political function. He often pulled the work card or ensured that he had something else he had to do and couldn’t attend. If it wasn’t work, it was family, and his parents usually left him alone when he mentioned Haley or Jack. Haley’s bed rest had been the perfect excuse for a few months too, not that he’d wish that on any mother. Emily actually made it sound bearable.
“And, you’ll be saving me from the paws of the still unmarried, or married-and-don’t-care men that are bound to be there. A knight, a saviour and someone I can actually talk to all rolled into one. You can hold your own at high profile functions and I know you look good in a suit.”
She’d just made the whole thing sound even better. “You don’t have to convince me,” Aaron told her. “I said I’d go.”
“Only after I made you feel guilty about not coming,” she replied as he held the door open for her. She almost gasped when she felt his hand rest on the small of her back. It wasn’t that it was the first time he’d done it but with Jack in her arms and no work around, it felt a little bit more intimate.
He shook his head, part amusement part exasperation. “I can understand why you wouldn’t want to go on your own.” And he knew why he wouldn’t want her going on her own. “I think I can spend a night with political society and come out alive.
She didn’t doubt it for a minute.