Chapter Text
Their lives changed on a Sunday. Or maybe it was Monday. Emily, in the haze of white-hot pain, had lost track of time hours ago.
But it was all worth it in the end as she gazed down at the tiny pink bundle in her arms.
Emily thought she knew who she was. A daughter, an agent, a friend, a wife, a leader. But nothing quite prepared her for the almost immediate shift that cradling a newborn could cause.
Emily looked down at her daughter, taking in her dark hair, her tiny fingers, and the slope of her perfectly shaped nose. Just like that, everything Emily had ever endured had no significance at all because this was it.
This little baby, dozing peacefully in her arms, that somehow she had created, was the thing that would forever define her.
Mama.
She catalogued the baby's every feature, smiling and chuckling softly to herself. Then, for a brief second, the baby's eyes cracked open and Emily was met with darkness.
So dark.
So much like her own.
She and JJ had discussed at length who this beautiful little person would end up looking like.
Would she have JJ's smile?
Or Emily's nose?
Or maybe she would come out looking completely unique?
But instead, Emily felt as though she was staring at a tiny reflection, and she suddenly understood why people put so much stock into who a baby might look like.
Because for the first time in her life she could see herself in someone else.
Not her mother.
Not her father.
Her.
"You're staring."
JJ's voice came from the other side of the bed, where she was pressed closely to Emily's side.
"Can you blame me?" Emily asked.
"Not at all. She's perfect. You're both perfect."
JJ pressed a soft kiss to Emily's still-sweaty forehead.
Emily smiled dopily and settled deeper into JJ's touch. Feeling the slight movement, the baby made a soft sound and curled tighter into her mama's chest.
And it was perfect.
Emily's eyes burned unexpectedly.
"Em?" JJ asked, her brows furrowed with concern.
"I'm okay," Emily replied a little too quickly.
But she wasn't really okay.
Because this gift, this responsibility, was bigger, louder, more terrifying, and more wonderful than anything she had ever experienced.
This was everything.
The baby squirmed and squeaked out a disgruntled sound. Instinctively, Emily adjusted her hold without thinking or an instruction manual. Something in her just knew.
And that realization brought another wave of wetness to her eyes.
For years, Emily had wondered whether she'd be good at this. Sure, she had Henry, but JJ and Will had always done most of the heavy lifting in his life.
Since the day the strip turned pink, she'd wondered whether she'd know how to be a mother. Whether she deserved to be one.
Now this tiny little person had been here for less than a day, and Emily couldn't imagine a world where she wasn't hers.
"Hi, sweetheart."
The baby's tiny fingers stretched. Emily offered one of her own. Immediately, a miniature hand wrapped around it. Her grip was strong for someone who had only been alive for an hour.
JJ laughed.
"Uh oh. She's got you wrapped around her finger already."
"Yeah," Emily replied, a kind of wonder in her voice that JJ had never heard before.
It made her heart swell.
"Well, I guess that means I'm bad cop."
Emily laughed softly, still staring down at the baby in her arms. Eloise made a sleepy sound and tightened her tiny grip around Emily's finger. It was ridiculous how quickly she'd become completely consumed by a person who had only existed in the world for a handful of hours.
For years, Emily had wondered if she would be any good at this. Whether she'd know what to do. Whether she'd deserve it.
Now she couldn't imagine a world where Eloise wasn't hers.
A knock at the door came an hour later.
Before either woman had a chance to break from their blissful bubble, the door burst open.
"My darlings!" Penelope squealed as she barreled into the room carrying what looked suspiciously like three gift bags, two balloons, and enough stuffed animals to start a zoo.
"Emily, you're glowing!" Garcia exclaimed.
"I've been in labor for fourteen hours. No need to lie, Garcia."
"I would never lie," Garcia scolded, setting down her million bags of stuff next to the bed. "Now where is my precious angel godchild that I will spoil from now until forever?"
Emily shifted the baby in her arms so Penelope could get a better view.
Garcia squealed excitedly.
JJ laughed.
"Inside voice."
"There is a baby present. I physically cannot."
After a moment of fussing over the baby, Penelope signaled for the rest of the team to enter.
They filed in quietly. Hotch, Morgan, Reid, Rossi.
Surely they were breaking some kind of hospital visitor policy, but they didn't care.
Tucked between all four adults, Henry sheepishly approached the bed. He eyed the tubes and wires nervously.
"Mom, is Emily okay?" he asked quietly.
"Perfectly okay," JJ replied sweetly.
"Why don't you come closer?" Emily asked. "We have someone we want you to meet."
Henry held tightly to Spencer's hand as they walked to the side of the bed. His eyes widened when he caught sight of the baby.
"That's her?" he asked.
He cautiously moved a step closer as though she might explode.
Emily carefully shifted the baby so he could see.
The newborn stretched and yawned.
Henry gasped.
"She moved."
Morgan barked out a laugh.
"Good observation, buddy."
"She's really small."
"Also correct."
Henry considered that.
Then asked the most important question in the world.
"Can I keep her?"
The room erupted into laughter.
JJ held out her arms. Henry climbed onto the bed beside her. The baby made another sleepy sound.
Henry's entire face lit up.
Emily felt something tighten in her chest.
Because that was it.
That was the moment.
Not the delivery room.
Not the first cry.
Not signing the paperwork.
This.
Looking around a hospital room filled with people who loved her. Watching her son stare at his baby sister like she'd hung the moon. Seeing the family they'd built. The one none of them had expected. The one they had chosen.
The one that had chosen them right back.
"Okay, okay," Rossi cut in, disrupting the peaceful calm that had settled over the team. "The suspense is killing me. What is her name?"
JJ and Emily looked at each other and then back out to the team.
"Her name is Eloise Penelope Prentiss," JJ announced.
Garcia sniffled loudly.
"You named her after me?"
Morgan pointed immediately.
"She's crying."
"I am not."
"You absolutely are," Derek said smugly.
"I have allergies," Garcia shot back, blowing her nose.
"Inside a hospital?"
"Medical allergies."
"Sure thing, baby girl," Derek teased, earning a soft smack from Garcia.
"Eloise Prentiss," Reid said, testing the name on his tongue. "Hey, that's the same initials as Emily."
"Another EP. Look out, world," Derek teased.
Emily laughed.
The sound surprised even her because she couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this happy. Eloise stirred again, her tiny fingers flexing. Her dark eyes blinked open.
Emily looked down.
Eloise stared back.
And for the first time in her life, Emily understood something she had spent years profiling in other people.
Love at first sight wasn't always romantic.
Sometimes it looked like a seven-pound newborn wrapped in a hospital blanket. Sometimes it looked like a little hand wrapped around your finger.
Sometimes it looked like family.
"I'm gonna call her Elo," Henry chimed in.
"Elo," JJ repeated. "I like it."
JJ looked down at the baby in her wife's arms.
"What do you think about it, little Miss Elo?"
At that moment, Eloise opened her eyes wide and stuck out her tongue.
"I think that means she likes it," Emily smiled.
The room erupted with laughter.
And everything was perfect.