“Hey there Little Baby Girl.”
Derek looked down at his daughter, cradled in his arms. Penelope had fallen asleep after eight hours of labour leaving Derek with the baby. The team had gone home almost an hour before, after the little girl had been passed around to each of her Aunties and Uncles while Mommy and Daddy argued about what to call her. It had finally been settled after three hours of intense debate and comments from the general peanut gallery.
Gabriella Catherine Garcia-Morgan was the apple of her Daddy’s eye and she hadn’t even left the hospital. Derek couldn’t get over how small she was. Since the team had left he’d counted her fingers and toes, twice, and hadn’t taken his hands off of her since she’d been returned to him.
“You are one lucky kid you know,” he said quietly, not wanting to wake Penelope. She hadn’t managed to actually break his hand, but he had a few cracked bones. His hand was wrapped, but he still cradled his little girl with ease.
“You’ve got a Mommy that is going to adore you. She’s going to spoil you too, though probably not as bad as I will. Or your Aunties. Aunt Em is already talking about going shopping with your Aunt JJ so she can find things for you. Em says you’re going to grow fast so you’re going to need lots of clothes and things. Before we know it you’ll be crawling.
“And you’ve got the best uncles a girl could ask for, you know that? You’ve got your gangly Uncle Reid. You’ll think he’s a little weird, but he’s the closest thing I’ve got to a kid brother. He can be a little nerdy at times, but we’re trying to cure him of that. And Uncle Hotch can be a little scary, but Aunt Em says he’s a big teddy bear.
“And that’s just your BAU family, Ellie,” he continued. He knew the world would call her Gabi, and he had a feeling the team would have a hard time letting go of Peanut, but he wanted a name all to himself. “Your Grandma is going to hover and spoil you like no body’s business. You’re her first grandkid, you know. She’s so proud of you and you haven’t even come home yet. And your Aunt Sarah and Aunt Dee… I think they’re going to come visit once we’ve got you settled in at home. You’re going to be the center of attention for a long time, Beautiful.
“But the one thing you will never have to worry about is being safe. I’m not exactly sure about this whole Daddy thing, but I know that I love you from the bottom of my heart. I love your Mommy too and I’ll do whatever I have to, to make sure you girls are safe. You’re my world, Ellie. And I absolutely adore you. You can come to me with anything, okay? I don’t care what it is, I want you to know I’m going to be there for you. And so are your aunts and so are your uncles.”
“Derek?”
“Hey there, Hot Stuff.”
“Are you talking to our daughter?”
He smiled as he stood, Gabi still fast asleep in his arms. “Just telling her what to expect.”
“Did you tell her about dating yet? About how Mommy’s going to be her best friend then because Daddy will be sitting there with his badge and gun when the boy comes to pick her up?”
Derek looked down at the little baby, one tiny hand resting against her cheek. “She’s not dating until she’s forty. Not if she looks like you.”
“Mmm, if she looks like you, you mean.”
“I’m not having that argument with you.”
Penelope laughed softly. She looked at Derek and at Gabi, still in awe. “Derek, look what we did.”
“It’s unreal,” he agreed. He handed Gabi over to her mother, watching as Penelope smiled down at the newborn. He moved so one leg was resting up on the bed, his weight leaning towards his girls. He kissed her hair, hand running through the mussed curls. “You’re going to be a fantastic mother, Pen.”
Penelope smiled slightly. “How can something this small be so terrifying?”
“I don’t know,” Derek answered with a chuckle. He kissed her head again, then tilted her head up to kiss her mouth. “I love you. And I love Gabi. I love our family.”
Penelope felt tears spring to her eyes and sniffled. “I love our family too.”
“Marry me.”
Emily looked up at Aaron from just below his chin. They’d gotten home from the hospital not half an hour before, exhausted but happy for their friend and glowing with godparent pride. They were lying in bed, drifting off, her boxes piled in the living room since they hadn’t gotten to unpack them before rushing off to the hospital. “What?”
“Marry me.”
Emily pushed herself up, looking down at the man she loved in shock. “You’re serious.”
“Of course I’m serious,” he replied, his fingers tickling up and down her arm. “I even have the ring.”
Her eyes widened. Unexpected was an understatement in describing what she felt. “Aaron-“
“I had it all planned out,” he told her. “The dinner, the flowers, the music, the romance… Then I saw little Gabi today and Em, I want that. So much it hurts.”
She knew the feeling. When she’d seen Pen holding Gabi, she’d wanted nothing more than to have one of her own. But she wanted to do it ‘right’. “It’s sudden.”
He sighed. “You know, you’ve protested almost every major step in our relationship.”
“You know, we’ve had a pretty unconventional relationship from day one,” she shot back. “Falling in love because I almost died, sharing ‘I love you’s after you were almost shot, asking me to move in against an alley wall…”
“Which you still haven’t finished doing.”
“Pen and Derek wanted to move in before Gabi was born and I need a moving break. It’s just the big things anyway.” Most of her clothing and knickknacks were already spread around the house.
“You have two weeks to be moved in, Em.”
“We’re digressing.”
“I know. I figured you were changing the subject for a reason.”
“I want to marry you, you know that.”
“You want the romance.”
Emily looked down at Aaron. Why was she holding back? It was what she wanted so who cared if it wasn’t the perfect romantic moment? Who cared if they were half asleep in bed after watching Penelope give birth? Did it matter where or under what circumstances he proposed or did it matter that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her? “Yes.”
“Then we do the romance-“
“No.”
“I’m confused.”
Emily cupped his face in her hands, well aware that there were tears in her eyes. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
Aaron moved, sitting up and swinging his legs out of bed.
“Where are you going?”
“To get the ring. If you’re saying yes I want to give it to you now.”
Emily moved so she was sitting on her heels, legs tucked beneath her as he rifled through his briefcase. “Seriously? You take it to work with you?”
“You can’t find it if I have it all the time,” he pointed out logically, bringing the little black box towards her. “And since it was all planned out I didn’t want you to find it and ruin it.”
“You did,” she pointed out, taking the box with shaking hands.
“I couldn’t wait,” he replied.
“I don’t mind.” She took a deep breath before flipping open the box. It was a white-gold ring, her favourite and stunning in its simplicity. There was nothing but the single diamond, square cut and Emily’s perfect size. She heard herself sniffle before she realized she was crying.
He took the ring box from her, pulling her off the bed to stand. He got on one knee, in his boxers, her in his t-shirt and a pair of panties, tears in her eyes. “Marry me, Emily,” he said, presenting the ring box to her.
“Yes,” she replied, trying to stop her hands and voice from shaking.
Aaron slid the ring onto her finger, feeling the swell of emotion in his stomach. She was his and she was going to marry him. He couldn’t think of anything better.