Baby Names and Brief Scares, Rossi/Prentiss, PG-13 (A Change of Plan Universe)

[innerslytherin]

This fic is unbetaed except by me.  We've had a very long lapse in our co-writing, but there are a LOT of fics locked in "the vault" that we've written and not betaed/edited.  I'm hoping to start posting some of those more regularly.  This particular series is being updated because onesmallshift requested it. :D


Title: Baby Names and Brief Scares
Authors: innerslytherin and severity_softly
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Rossi/Prentiss
WC: ~5,800
Summary: Emily has a scare, with unintended results.
Important notes: This fic is unbetaed except by me.  We've had a very long lapse in our co-writing, but there are a LOT of fics locked in "the vault" that we've written and not betaed/edited.  I'm hoping to start posting some of those more regularly.  This particular series is being updated because onesmallshift requested it. :D
Note 2: This installment contains serious HIPAA violation.

Series: This is the sixth installment to our Change of Plans series, which is an AU from the What Happens In Vegas universe.



David Rossi was a man with a problem.

They'd accomplished the merging of two households of furniture and cooking utensils fairly well, though he thought they ought to go pick out new sheets and towels together, and he hadn't even begun to organize their newly-doubled DVD and CD collections.  The painters had done an excellent job and had accomplished every color that he and Emily had picked out with no problems.  He'd even weathered the good-natured teasing they'd gotten from the rest of the team when he fibbed and said they hadn't quite decided what to do with the extra bedroom.

But now he was staring down at approximately two million crib parts and wondering where the hell the instructions had gone.

"How does a damn baby bed have so many stinking parts?" he groused, and lifted up the box again to make sure the instructions hadn't slipped underneath it.

Emily was sitting across the room watching him.  Her hand was resting on her stomach, and she was smirking, damn her.  "There aren't that many parts.  Has anyone ever told you how dramatic you can be sometimes?"

Dave glared at her.  "It's been mentioned."  He thought about that for a moment.  The last person to mention it had been Aaron, just before they caught Foyet.  Foyet, who was still at large, as far as anyone knew, with Morgan's credentials in hand.  "If you're going to hang around, you ought to make yourself useful."

"It's more fun watching you struggle.  Anyway, I'm busy," she said, holding up the book of baby names in her lap.  Dave wasn't convinced she was as interested in it as she was in teasing him, though.

"Yeah, really busy," he grumbled.  "I thought we were naming the baby Sasha."  Finally he spotted the instructions under the foamy thing that served as a mattress.  "Dammit," he growled, grabbing them.

She laughed.  "We decided on that?" she asked, then flipped a few pages in the book.  "Sasha.  'Defending men'."  She shrugged.  "What about Adele?  Noble."

"Too old-fashioned," Dave protested.  "What about Katherine?"

"I like Adele," Emily said, frowning.  "Anyway, Katherine is hardly modern, and I hate 'Kathy'.  You have to think about nicknames too."  She flipped some pages anyway.  "Means 'pure'."

"We'd call her Kate.  What would people call Adele?  Addy?  Ugh."  He glowered at the instructions, then started organizing his parts in the order he would need them.

"I like Addy too," she said dismissively.  She sighed.  "Tatum?  For a girl."

"Isn't there an actress named that?  I don't want anything too trendy.  Old-fashioned is fine, but Adele is just...weird.  Addy, that's like we'd be dooming her to be a mathematician."  Dave had a feeling she was going to chuck the book at him any moment.  He'd been partial to Katherine.

She laughed.  "Addy is cute."  She flipped a few pages.  "Fine, not Adele or Katherine."  After a moment, she laughed again.  "Oh, nice.  Davina.  Female form of David."  She made a face.

Dave snorted.  "No thanks."  He was starting to think maybe he should have had the crib delivered already assembled.  "Maybe it'll be a boy.  We could name him Aaron."  He grinned.

"Ooh, Fiamma Rossi," she said with a perfect Italian accent, ignoring Dave for a moment, then grinned at him before starting to flip pages.  "Aaron.  Mountain."  Her smile went more affectionate.  "That's fitting."

"Huh, really?  God, that is so fitting."  Of course, his best friend was looking a lot less stressed since JJ and Henry became a bigger part of his life.  He knew Aaron still wanted to spend more time with Jack, and Henry would never take Jack's place, but at least Aaron had someone supporting him emotionally.  "Or Stefano," he suggested, glancing at Emily.  "If you're looking at Italian names."

She scrunched her nose.  "Not a fan," she said.  "I don't mind Stephen, though.  But it's a little common.  Besides, Aaron Stephen or Stephen Aaron sounds weird, if we like Aaron."

"True.  What's your dad's name? Would it sound good with Aaron?"  Dave fiddled with the piece  he was connecting.  They hadn't actually heard back from her father whether he was coming to the wedding or not.  He found himself somewhat nervous about that, more so than about the Ambassador.

"Jeremy."  She tilted her head.  "I'd keep wanting to meld them.  Jaaron or Aaremy."

Dave snorted, then burst out laughing.  "Screw it, we'll make up our own name."  He glanced at the instructions again, sighed, and started on the next piece.  "Catholic convention would have us using a saint's name for the middle name.  I suppose we could name her Adele Katherine."

She gave him a look.  "We're not exactly a conventional Catholic couple," she said.  "Anyway, you don't like Adele."  She looked back down at the book for a while, reading in silence as he struggled with the crib.  After a while, she said, "Aaron Porter Rossi?"

"Porter, huh?  What does that mean?"  Dave liked it a lot, actually. Just then his screwdriver slipped off the head of the screw he was tightening and jabbed into his hand.  "Dammit."

She pressed her lips together, but he could hear her trying not to laugh.  Then she cleared her throat.  "It means 'one who carries goods' or 'gatekeeper'."

Dave stuck his thumb in his mouth for a moment.  "So we'd be naming our son 'one who carries a mountain'."  He grinned.  "But actually I like it."

She snickered.  "Hey, you know, carrying a mountain is pretty manly."  She slid off the chair and crawled over to him to kiss him.  "I like it too."  She sat cross-legged and kept flipping.  "So Aaron Porter goes on the list."

"Mmm.  Definitely."  He smiled at her and brushed a finger against one of her bare feet, then turned his attention back to the crib.

For a few moments, the only noise in the room was the little grunts of frustration Dave was making, then Emily said, "Quin for a girl?"

Dave glanced up.  "Quin.  Meaning?"  It was unconventional, but it didn't seem yuppie and fashionable.  He might be nouveau riche, but he wasn't tacky.

She shrugged.  "'Fifth'."  She glanced up at him and grinned wickedly.  "Maybe we should save that one for when we're almost done with that half dozen Garcia wants us to have."

"Oh my God," he said, appalled all over again at the thought of six small children running around the house.  "Two, maybe.  Six, hell no."  He jabbed himself again with the screwdriver, swore, and threw it down, scowling.

She was just staring at him, though, her expression strange.  After a moment, she sucked in a breath and lifted her eyebrows.  "Two?"

He looked over at her, confused by her tone of voice.  Then he shrugged.  "We have one, we might as well have two.  But three would probably do me in."

She nodded, then leaned in to kiss him slowly.  After a moment, she slid the book off her lap and shifted behind him, wrapping her arms around him and resting her chin on his shoulder.  "There's always Kaitlyn," she murmured.  "Similar to Katherine, and we could call her Kate without the risk of Kathy."

"Mmm."  He didn't like Kaitlyn much, but he wasn't going to say so just now.  He kissed her again.  "I love you, you know," he murmured.

"I love you so much," she returned, lifting a hand to stroke his hair.  "I was sort of thinking you'd draw the line at one.  Not that I'm sure we should have another, given our jobs, but I always wanted a sister or brother."  She sighed and squeezed him tighter, then whispered, "And it means so much to me that you would give me a second child, if I wanted that."

Dave wanted to hold her, but the way she was squeezing him didn't really encourage him to move.  "I sort of assumed you'd want more than one," he said, leaning into her embrace and smiling.  "Maybe Caterina.  Or Carina?"

"Mmm," she hummed, dismissing his suggestions.  Her hand stroked his chest.  "I do want two.  I was lonely growing up, and I know that we'll be there for our baby, but it's not the same, I wouldn't imagine," she said.  "I mean, you have brothers and sisters, and that can't be the same."  He felt her shrug behind him.  "And if anything happened to us... they'd have each other."  She kissed his neck.  "But I assumed you wouldn't want a second, given that you never really intended to be a father in the first place."

Dave chuckled.  "If I'm going to do it, I might as well do it properly," he said.  "I'm not as close to the siblings that are a lot older than I am, but Mikey and Tommy and I grew up tight.  And Georgie counts as a brother, he was over so often.  I really don't want to be raising children until I'm eighty, but if you want two, then I want two."

She drew in a deep breath and pressed her lips to his neck again.  "I love you," she whispered after a silence.

"Mmm, I love you too," he replied, lifting a hand to stroke over her hair.  "I like the way you react when I say things like this."

She hummed a noise somewhere between amusement and happiness.  "You keep surprising me."

"Oh, baby, I'm full of surprises," Dave said in a corny voice.

She snorted.  "Yeah, like you can't handle a screwdriver to save your life."

"Shuddup," he muttered, and kissed her.  "I really ought to keep working on this, or little Cara Adele won't have any place to sleep when she's born."

"Oh... I like that," she said, and kissed him.  "Cara Adele goes on the list."  She kissed his hair and stood, grabbing the book.  "You keep up stabbing yourself with that thing, and I'm going to make lunch.  Want something?"

"Do I want something?"  Dave turned to give her a look.  "I've taken up carpentry for you, woman.  And now what, you're thinking of starving me?"  He grinned and waved her on.  Cara Adele.  He kind of liked that, despite that he'd just thrown those together.

He heard her laughing as she went down the stairs, and he went back to trying to assemble the crib, smiling.  Of course, the smile didn't last very long, but he was in a relatively good mood anyway.

He was relieved when she called up that food was ready after about twenty minutes, and he wandered downstairs to find her lying on the floor in the middle of the living room.  There was a plate of fried sandwiches on the floor next to her, and she turned to look at him.

"You didn't say what you wanted, so I made what I wanted."

Upon further inspection, the sandwiches appeared to be grilled cheese with bologna.  Hers seemed to have potato chips in it too.

"Excellent, it's haute cuisine today," he said, and kissed the top of her head before sitting on the floor next to her.  He knew there would be people who thought she was crazy for marrying him, considering the fact that he'd misplaced three wives before her.  But so many things were different this time around.  Not that he hadn't loved Kay or Rita, or even Debbie.  But Emily Prentiss took his breath away just by looking at him...and somehow still was his best friend.  God, she made him crazy.  And he loved it.

"Absolutely."  She grinned at him, then rolled a little to rest her head on his knee.  "I wasn't sure if you wanted yours crunchy, so I took the safe route."

"Looks good to me," he said, and took a bite.  He'd never combined bologna and cheese in a fried sandwich, but it wasn't half bad.  He ran his fingers lazily through her hair as he ate.  "You make me ridiculously happy," he muttered, "even if you laugh at my screwing skills."

She took a bite as he spoke, then snorted and started laughing a muffled laugh with her mouth shut.  After a moment, it got a little louder, and she pressed her hand to her mouth, her body shaking with laughter as she tried to keep from sputtered her food everywhere.

Dave grinned at her, enjoying the fact that she actually laughed at his joke.  A moment later she coughed a little and stopped laughing, and when she finally swallowed, she managed, "Dave, if I hurt your feelings, tell me, but don't try to choke me."  Her voice was a little rough, but she was smiling.

His grin widened and he cupped a hand against her cheek.  "Sorry.  Guess there should be a rule not to say funny things when someone's eating."

"It was really more goofy than funny," she informed him.

"Gee, thanks."  He tugged her hair gently, but he was still grinning at her.  "I guess I'm lucky I found a woman who thinks goofy is sexy."

"Oh, you know it," she said, and took another bite of her sandwich before putting it back on the plate and pulling him down for a kiss.

Dave hummed into the kiss, wrapping an arm around her.  At this rate they were going to do more making out than eating, but he wasn't about to complain over that.

"And really, I have no complaints with how you screw," she whispered.

He hummed and kissed her again.  "I'm very glad to hear that," he murmured.  "Though it's possible I could use some more practice at it."

She chuckled softly.  "I'd be more than happy to give you a couple lessons," she said, her fingers threading through his hair.  "Do you realize you're irresistible?  I never stood a chance."

"I'm irresistible?" he repeated.  "Funny how well you hid it for so long."  He was still holding his sandwich in one hand, but he pulled her closer with the other arm and kissed her again.  "I'm glad I wore you down."

"Yeah, well, I guess being infuriatingly stubborn pays off in some respects," she said, smiling.  "What I meant was that once I start touching you, it's hard to stop."

"It's good to know I'm the sort of guy who can be irresistible with a bologna and cheese sandwich in my hand," he said, grinning at her.  "Have I mentioned any time recently how much I love you?"

"Once or twice."  She reached up and took the sandwich from him and tossed it on the plate, then pulled him down so that he had to shift out of his seated position to climb above her.  "You know, we really had better get out fill of sex on the floor whenever we want before the baby's born."

"Mmm, that sounds like an excellent idea," he said, leaning in to kiss her.  "Though I thought babies were pretty stationary for a few months.  If I get the crib put together, we'll have the floor to ourselves, right?"  He grinned and nibbled lightly at her neck.

She laughed.  "Sure, I'm totally going to be ready to fuck on the floor after I push an entire human being out of my body."  She tilted her chin to give him more room.  "Like I said.  Let's get our fill now."

"Well, I didn't suppose you'd want to bring him home, stick him in the crib, and let me ravish you," Dave said.  "I'm not entirely stupid about pregnancy and childbirth."  He kissed her jaw.  "Just mostly stupid about it."  He nuzzled her skin and sucked lightly at her throat.

"Mmm," she hummed, arching up into his touch.  She tugged up on the bottom of his shirt and slid a warm hand up against his skin.  "Going to have to educate you.  But it can wait for a bit," she murmured, kissing him hungrily.

Dave happily abandoned all thoughts of getting the crib finished in one day and slid a hand under her shirt to rest on her belly.  "Definitely," he agreed breathlessly.  "Later."  He kissed her again, then pushed her shirt up a bit, leaning down to kiss her stomach.  One hand was creeping up towards her breasts when the house phone rang.  Dave groaned.

She sighed and slumped back against the floor.  "We need to set up the answering machine," she groaned, then nudged him to go get it.

He grunted and kissed her once more, then went to answer it.

"Something wrong with your cell phone?" Hotch asked.

Dave frowned.  "Must be upstairs."

Hotch made a knowing noise, but let it go.  "Need you two at the airport.  We've got a very messy situation in Dallas.  Briefing on the jet."

When Dave hung up, he sighed.  "Grab your bag," he said, and reached down to pull Emily to her feet.

She groaned and kissed him briefly, then picked up the plate.  "Here, put this up and I'll meet you with your bag too," she said, then started up the stairs.


***


The next four days were spent in pursuit of a narcissistic unsub who had left behind a trail of death and was rapidly devolving.  The closer they got to catching him, the more reckless and violent he got.  Emily knew she was pushing herself, running on too little sleep and too little food, but they were all pushing themselves.  She didn't want special treatment, even if Dave's expression clearly indicated, from time to time, that he wished she would take it.

One nice thing was the way they'd given up having JJ book them separate rooms, so she could at least spend a few hours each night in Dave's arms.  He wasn't sleeping well, especially since the case was reminding him of a violent spree of murders he'd worked as a young agent, but she would rather have him with her than either of them sleep alone.

She had to wonder if it was the lack of sleep that had made them so slow when it came time to draw the net tight around Vaughn.  A convenience store clerk had given them a tip that had led straight to the cheap, rent-by-the-week apartments where Vaughn was hiding.  Dave and Morgan had taken point as they approached the apartment door.

Morgan was kicking it in a moment later, and Emily followed in behind them as they cleared room by room.  It was starting to look like they'd missed him, but then she heard a noise from the back of the apartment and rounded a corner to find a back window open.  Beyond it, the fire escape was easy to see.

"Guys!" she called.  "Fire escape!"  Then she climbed out without waiting.  She saw Vaughn running up the stairs rather than down them, and followed immediately.  "Jamison Vaughn!  FBI!  Stop!"  He didn't stop--not that she'd expected him to--and Emily heard either Dave or Morgan climb out onto the fire escape too.

It was Dave behind her.  She heard him telling the others over the radio that Vaughn was headed for the roof, and then her radio went quiet and he said, "Em, be careful," in a low voice.

"Yeah," she breathed, but kept running.  Vaughn didn't appear to be armed, and he wasn't stopping.  She doubted he was going to jump, but she wasn't going to let him out of her sight either.  She was focusing on the metallic sound of three sets of feet pounding on the stairs and the way Vaughn's breath was going ragged ahead of her.

And then the rhythm changed entirely.  Her heart jumped when the stair under her wavered, and then she lost her footing entirely.  It just felt like the stairs fell out from under her.  The blur of pain came next, first her arm slammed against metal, then her knee wrenched.  Last, her back and head slammed into the railing at the end of a landing, and it stopped her, but her eyes flew open when the thing shuddered and creaked for a moment.

She heard Dave yelling, and then there was a hand on her cheek.  He was repeating her name, his voice growing more anxious.  Vaughn's footsteps were still retreating, and she opened her mouth to tell Dave to go on, but the fall had knocked the wind out of her.  Pain was pulsing through her, mostly centered at the three places she'd felt make contact, but she tried to force herself up; Vaughn was getting away.

"Emily, stay down," Dave said, his hand covering her shoulder and holding her gently so she couldn't move.  "Don't move."

"D--"  Her breath was still short, and she shook her head, trying to clear the fog that was forming.  "Go," she managed.  "I'll stay, just go."

"I am not leaving you here," he growled.  "You're bleeding.  We need to get a medic here."

Their radios crackled and she heard JJ say, "I see him," followed by Hotch's crisp order: "Take the shot."

Morgan had reached them and started past, but at those words, he paused.

"What happened?" he asked, barely winded even though Dave and Emily were both panting.

"The stair went," Dave replied, his voice curt.  In the momentary silence that followed, they all heard the report of JJ's Glock.

Emily had closed her eyes, clamping them shut in pain, and she knew it was obvious now that she wasn't as all right as she'd wanted Dave to think.  It seemed pointless to cover now, though.  Vaughn was probably gone.

"M'bleeding, but are my bones still in place?" she asked.  She was starting to worry about the condition of her knee... and then suddenly the thing that should have hit her sooner, the thing that had been lost in the blur and confusion, turned her blood cold.  The baby.  "Oh God," she panted, and gripped Dave's arm, telling herself to calm down.  She'd only make this worse if she panicked.  "Dave."

"Stay still," Dave ordered, though his voice was gentle.  One hand stroked her hair, the other rested at her hip.  "It'll be okay.  Don't panic.  I'm here, okay?  Morgan, I need you to get a medic and see if it's safe to get them up here with us."

She heard Morgan agree, and as his footsteps receded back down the stairs, Dave's hand slipped over to rest gingerly over the baby.  "It'll be okay," he murmured again.

"God," she managed, but now she was just trying to keep herself from crying because just the threat of tears was making it harder to breathe.  She frantically tried to play the fall over in her head.  "I don't think I--  fell on--"  She couldn't remember, though.

"No," he said.  He kissed her forehead.  "Just stay still until the medic gets here.  You'll both be okay."

Her breath was shaking, but she nodded.  "Okay," she managed, but it wasn't that easy, and all she could think of was that she might have lost another baby.  "God, Dave."  She realized suddenly that she was shaking, and she hoped it was emotional rather than physical.

"It's okay," Dave murmured.  "It's okay."  He just kept saying that over and over, his hands touching her soothingly.  He sounded so strong, so sure.  All the same, it seemed like forever until she heard the medic climbing gingerly up towards them.

"I'm gonna get my weight off the stairs, okay?" Dave said.  He kissed her and stood.  "Your EMT is right here, and I'll be close."  She heard Dave telling the medic that she was pregnant, then his footsteps retreated.

"Agent Prentiss?"  The medic was a middle-aged woman with a reassuring smile.  "Don't worry, we're going to take good care of you."

They took her through the closest apartment window, but it was a struggle to get her through it.  They weren't sure it was safe to get several medics out on the landing with a stretcher.  If was funny, she thought vaguely, how they'd all been so fearless about storming up the stairs of this run down building until she fell.

When she got inside and they got her on the stretcher, the little bit of moving she'd had to do was sending pain coursing through her, and she closed her eyes tight, trying not to think anything but about how this was all going to be okay.  Stay calm.  Breathe.  It's going to be okay, she repeated to herself, then tried to make herself continue to think that way when she felt Dave's hand slip into hers in the ambulance.  He was so strong that it was easy to think she was allowed to lose it when he was there again.  "It'll be okay," she whispered to him, but it was mostly for herself.

His hand tightened on hers, though he stayed out of the way as the EMTs took her vitals and kept her from moving.  When all they had left to do was wait to get to the hospital, he started murmuring his reassurances again.  He stayed with her when they got to the hospital, lending her quiet encouragement as the doctors treated her cuts and scrapes and started setting up an ultrasound to check on the baby.

"You said you're around twenty-one weeks? Have you started feeling movements from the baby yet?" the doctor asked.

Emily shook her head, then closed her eyes when it hurt.  "Not much.  Just... every once in a while."

"What about since the fall?  Any movements?"  As she asked, she got a picture up on the screen, and Emily heard Dave make a noise.

She looked over at him.  He was staring at the monitor.  "Oh, my God," he breathed, sheer amazement on his face.

As worried and as sore as she was, Emily could help but smile at him.  She reached out and gripped his hand, then said, "I haven't felt anything."

The woman nodded.  "That doesn't necessarily mean anything, since you say the baby's not terribly active yet.  Everything looks normal here."  She glanced at Dave, looking amused.  "Do you want to hear the baby's heartbeat?"  She held out a stethoscope.

Dave's eyes widened, but he nodded and took it, then fiddled with it a lot longer than Emily thought he needed to.  He glanced over at her, looking oddly nervous.

She laughed quietly, then took the end of it and pressed it to the bump on her stomach for him.  It was so much more obvious with her shirt pulled up, the way their baby was growing.  She was almost surprised no one had seemed to notice that she was suddenly wearing much looser clothes than she normally did.

She wasn't really surprised at the way his eyes suddenly got very shiny as he was listening.  Then he looked up at her face.  "God," he whispered.

The doctor was obviously enjoying his reaction, but she just made a few notes, watching the monitor.

Emily just stared at Dave.  "Pretty amazing, isn't it?" she murmured.  "You did that."

His lips quirked into a goofy sort of grin.  "We did that," he said, staring back at her.  "Oh, God, this is..."  He trailed off and shook his head.  Seeing him speechless like this reminded her of the night she'd told him she was pregnant.  But at least this time she knew he was happy about it.

She grinned.  "You're adorable.  Do you know that?"

"Adorable," he scoffed, but he lifted her hand up to kiss her fingers, then took the stethoscope and put it on her ears so she could hear the heartbeat.

She sucked in a breath.  She'd heard it before, but hearing it now after her fall was so good, and she felt her eyes prickling.  "Thank God," she whispered, listening for a long moment, then she glanced at the doctor.  "It's okay, right?"

The woman patted her hand.  "Everything seems normal, though considering your age and other injuries, you might be admitted overnight for observation."  She smiled at her.  "They really have a lot of cushioning, thanks to the amniotic fluid.  I know it feels scary, though."

"Thank you," Emily said, nodding, then wiped her eyes as the doctor left.

Dave leaned down and kissed her softly.  "It'll be okay," he promised.  He brushed a thumb across her cheek.

"I love you," she murmured.  "I wanted to beat you that you didn't go on, but I love that you stayed."  She laughed softly.  "If that even makes sense."

"Yup."  He kissed her again, then leaned his forehead against hers.  "God, you scared the shit out of me."

"I know," she murmured.  "What happened?  Did you see?  I just... everything fell out from under me."

"One of the steps broke," he said.  "We're lucky you didn't go through instead of just falling down a single flight."  He stroked his fingers through her hair.  "I couldn't stand losing you," he whispered.

She nodded, and didn't tell him he would have eventually been fine.  She just kissed him.  "I couldn't have taken it if we'd lost the baby."

"I know."  He took her gently into his arms.  "I...Just thinking about that..."  He made a quiet noise and kissed her forehead.  "It'll be okay, though.  You're both okay."  After a few moments he sighed.  "I should tell the others."

"Yeah," she agreed.  "See if they can give me anything for pain while you're out?" she added.  They hadn't given her anything at first out of concern for the baby, but now she needed something if they could safely give it.

He nodded and kissed her forehead one more time, then smiled at her.  "You rest.  I'll see what can be done."

Emily smiled back and closed her eyes.





As Dave headed out to the waiting room, looking forward to sharing the good news, he discovered that someone had beaten him to it.  The doctor was already there, and she was happily telling them everything would be all right.  "Both mother and baby are fine," she assured them, and Dave's heart nearly stopped.  He gave a moment's thought to turning and running, but then Aaron saw him, and it was too late.

He sucked in a deep breath, took in the surprised and shocked expressions on Reid and Morgan's faces, and walked over anyway.  "Well, sounds like you've all heard the good news already," he said casually.

Garcia, at least, was doing a credible job of acting surprised too.  The doctor had the grace to look chagrined and apologize for spilling the beans, but Dave just waved it off.  They were going to have to tell them at some point.  Might as well be now.

"Is this why you're gettin' married?" Morgan demanded.  There was suspicion on his face that hadn't been there for a while, and it sort of hurt Dave's feelings.

"This is the reason for the timing of getting married," Dave said.  "But it would have happened anyway."  It was a slight fib, but only because he didn't think Emily would have had him if he hadn't agreed to have children.

"Wow," Reid said, just staring at Dave.

For a minute, it lightened the mood a bit, and Dave's lips quirked.  "Hey, I'm not that old."

Reid shook himself.  "That's not what I meant," he backpedaled. "Although, mothers over the age of thirty-five are at an increased risk of labor and delivery problems, as well as having children with birth defects due to an abnormal number of chromo--"  He stopped talking when Dave's expression turned into a glower.

"If you tell any of that to Emily, I will rip your tie off and stuff it in your mouth," Dave said, and Reid gave him an affronted look while Garcia giggled and came over to hug Dave.

"Congratulations," she said, and kissed his cheek.  Morgan looked amused when she pulled back, and Dave supposed he had bright red lipstick left on his face.

"You're going to get me in trouble," he told her.

"Oh, psh," she said, and dug in her purse for a little packet of tissues, which she offered him.  "I promise, I'd return you in the same condition you were before I stole you away for our little rendezvous."

Dave rolled his eyes as he wiped at his face.  "Sorry, beautiful, I'm a one-woman man, and she's in there listening to our baby's heartbeat."  That sent another thrill through him just thinking about it.  God, they'd made a little person.  It blew his mind.

Something must be showing on his face, because Morgan came over and clapped him on the shoulder.  "Congratulations, man.  It'll be fun watching you chase around a two-year-old."

Dave's eyes widened.  "Two?  Let's not get ahead of ourselves.  I'm going to need the 24 months leading up to that to build up to it."

Everyone laughed, and Dave was thankful that Morgan and Reid weren't upset.  He suddenly realized they were the only ones that hadn't known.

Aaron slapped Dave's shoulder.  "I think as long as Emily doesn't kill you, you'll be fine."

"I'm not planning on doing anything to deserve killing," Dave said.  "You should see me at home."  Then he paused.  "Okay, I'm glad you can't see me at home.  I was actually glad to get the call on this case, because I was killing myself trying to get the crib put together.  I have become the ice-cream delivery boy and foot-rubber extraordinaire."

"Have you gotten to pickles and ice cream yet?" JJ teased, and Dave didn't miss the warm look Aaron gave her.

"No, but we've gotten to grilled cheese with bologna and crushed potato chips."

Morgan made a face.  "Aw, man.  That's disgusting.  Never ever."

"Just wait," Dave said, grinning at him.  "Someday you'll meet a woman who kicks your ass and drags you behind her over miles of rough road, and then you'll be all too happy to eat the most disgusting concoction ever just because she's craving it."  He looked around.  "And speaking of fetching and carrying, I need to see if they can give Em something for the pain.  JJ, if you and Garcia want to go in and see her, she probably wouldn't mind."  JJ smiled, then took Garcia's hand and pulled her toward Emily's room.

"Congratulations," Reid said suddenly, apparently having just recovered from his earlier faux pas.

"Thanks," Dave said, smiling at him.  "With the practice you'll get with Henry, I'll expect baby-sitting offers from you," he teased.

After a few minutes, Reid and Morgan headed to get coffee.  Dave flagged down the doctor and talked to her about medication, then slumped into a chair, feeling exhausted but relieved.

"You're going to do a good job, you know," Aaron said quietly, sitting next to him.  "It may not be my place to say this, but I'm proud of you."

Dave huffed a laugh, then gave Aaron a lopsided smile.  "Yeah," he said.  "I'm sort of proud of me too."

Comments

[mingsmommy.livejournal.com]

OMG! I am SO excited. I didn't think you were going to finish this series. I am SO excited to see an update! And what an update!


EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

I just love how in love you write them and I love the bit about might as well have two if they're having one. I love the whole thing!

[innerslytherin]

No promises about finishing, but at least there's more written than we had posted. :)

[severity-softly.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[onesmallshift.livejournal.com]

Squeeeee!

I just saw your reply to my comment and I'm so glad I decided to de-lurk!
I haven't even read this yet but I am so excited - I'll be back after I read it!

[onesmallshift.livejournal.com]

I love how happy they are about being together and about the baby! And Derek always doubting - sometimes it drives me crazy when I watch the show - but hopefully he gets it now.

I second mingmommy's comment - please finish? But even if you don't I love what you have posted already and I will just use my imagination if you leave it here.

[innerslytherin]

Thanks! :) I choose to believe it's part of Derek's protective older brother role, that he doubts people's intentions until they prove themselves to him. But I know what you mean about it driving one crazy in the show!

I'm glad you enjoyed this. I hope we do get to finish it. :)

[paksenarrion2.livejournal.com]

This was wonderful. And my heart was in my throat when Prentiss fell.

Poor Dave having to eat the fried bologna and cheese sandwiches. You can tell he loves her though since he does it without a single complaint.

[innerslytherin]

Dave is pretty far gone, isn't he? *G* I don't think I would eat a fried bologna and cheese sandwich for anyone. :D I'm glad you enjoyed this.

[severity-softly.livejournal.com]

He draws the line at chips, though!

Though, I have to admit... I got that idea from my dad... and it's not as bad as it sounds... *hides*

Thanks!

[microgirl8225.livejournal.com]

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

I am so happy you guys updated this fic!! I loved, loved, loved it. The discussion of the names was too cute and the way Dave dropped everything during the chase made me melty. This was just lovely. Thank you so much for the update!!

[innerslytherin]

Awww, thank you! :) I'm glad you enjoyed it. We have a bit more of this fic written, so I'd like to get that posted for the people who've been reading. *hug*

[severity-softly.livejournal.com]

Glad you liked it! :)

[kosmickway.livejournal.com]

WOWIE-ZOWIE!

I need to go read the rest of this series. Like, NOW.

This was SO great. The banter between Dave and Em is wonderful ... especially the baby name conversation. SO funny. Their chemistry is just great ... sweet and sexy and tender and snarky all at once.

Reid's little "WOW" almost did me in! Too funny!

I TOTALLY need to go read the rest of this series. What a team you two make!

[innerslytherin]

Hee, thanks! :) Severity gave me weird looks when I first suggested Rossi/Prentiss to her, but it's obviously become my favorite ship, though she is still a big multi-shipper.

[kosmickway.livejournal.com]

I can't go as many places with ship crossing as some people do. JJHotch and RossiPrentiss is all I can manage now, though mcgarrygirl78 has turned me on to RossiStrauss.

Aaaaaaand ... part 2 of "Combustion" is up for you now at my journal and at cmrossiprentiss. I had SO much fun writing it. And there'll be more. This is one story that needs lots of detail.

There's one part I'm not entirely sure is in character for Rossi (you'll know which it is, I think) but it literally came tumbling out of my head and onto the screen, so I went with it. I hope you like it though!

[innerslytherin]

I confess, the mere thought of Strauss/Rossi makes me cringe, but then again, I also cringe at the idea of shipping Gideon with anyone, and I know mcgarrygirl78 does that too. Not to mention I know there are people out there who hate the idea of shipping Rossi with anyone. LOL

BTW need to comment in detail still, but LOVE COMBUSTION A LOT.

[severity-softly.livejournal.com]

Hee! Thanks!

[citymusings.livejournal.com]

Aww, that's very sweet. I'm glad Em's okay.

[innerslytherin]

Thanks! :)

[severity-softly.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[sissi-parker.livejournal.com]

Thank you for continuing this series. I love it so much. I never would have thought to become a Rossi/Prentiss-Fan. But you made me one. ;-)

[innerslytherin]

I'm so glad we got you to like the ship! :) I'm not sure the series will ever be totally finished, but we do have more written that can stand on its own, so I'd like to share them.

[severity-softly.livejournal.com]

Glad you liked it! Thanks!

[shivering-flame.livejournal.com]

Yaaay, you're back! *throws some glitter*

Thank you for coming back and posted a new chapter. This pairing is not my favourite but you've never failed to amuse me and 'm prettyreallygodzillasized happyhappy so i apologise but i must start to read.

[innerslytherin]

Yikes, I am sorry I didn't comment to this! I am sorry to say we're not exactly 'back', because this is just an old installment we had written but never posted. But hopefully I'll be able to get some more fic posted. I'm glad you enjoyed reading this! :)

[hermyam.livejournal.com]

I have come to the conclusion that I will read pretty much any pairing written by the two of you. Needless to say I'm hoping you'll dig through your vault again soon and post up some more of the things you've gotten written, and if it just so happened to be the next instalment of this series that would be pretty awesome. *g*

[innerslytherin]

Thank you so much! :) I'm not sure if we have any more of this one written but unposted. We've both been focusing more on our original writing pursuits, but hopefully one of these days I'll get some more fic up. I'm really glad you enjoyed this. :)

[severity-softly.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Glad you liked it! :)