Once Emily and JJ were ready to wait for the car that was to take them, Jessica, and Aurora to the location of their photoshoot, they left their bedroom to head for the main staircase. On the way, they passed by Aurora's bedroom. The door was open, and she wasn't there, but Spencer was. His attention was clearly not on the room around him, but rather, something in the palm of his hand.

"Hey, Spence." JJ said as they walked over to him. "Everything alright?"

He tore his gaze away from his hand and smiled sheepishly at his friends. "Last night, Aurora and I went on a date… and, um… we talked about a lot of things—including when we want to get married."

Emily put a hand over her heart. "What did it come to?"

"We got as far as agreeing on having a wedding after the baby is here, but this means that before then, I have to propose to Aurora."

"Any ideas on that?"

Spencer shuffled his feet. "Not yet, no."

"Then what's in your hand?"

"Luuk and Jessica gave this to me, just now."

He showed the couple a diamond engagement ring. It was beautiful, and even though it was polished and presentable, Emily was sure there was a story behind it.

"Luuk proposed to Jessica with it." Spencer gave the ring to Emily for her to examine. "They wanted me to have it so I can propose to Aurora with it, because they'd always meant for it to be a family heirloom."

"Hey, that's really special."

Emily looked the ring, turning it over in her hand twice, before passing it to JJ so she could have a look, too. They were both already thinking of their own future as a married couple. When she looked back to Spencer, it was to see him looking dazed, so she gave him a pat on the cheek.

"You with with us?" Emily asked gently.

Spencer let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Yes, I am. I was just thinking—now I have to have a chat with someone who has actually proposed before."

He looked from Emily to JJ.

"Which one of you is going to propose to the other?"

"Me."

"I am."

Their answers had been in unison, so they both blushed, and Spencer gave them a cheeky grin.

"It looks like you two still have some things to talk about." he observed.

JJ cleared her throat, and handed the ring back to her friend. "So it would appear, but congratulations to you."

"I haven't even asked Aurora yet!"

"But all three of us know that she's going to say yes."

Emily rescued Spencer before he started to flounder. "I'm so happy for you two, because Aurora is my daughter and because you are one of my closest friends. I just have one question right now, though: does it weird you out that JJ and I are going to be your mothers-in-law?"

Spencer chose his words carefully. "Would it be bad if I said maybe just a little bit?"

"Not at all." Emily watched Spencer hide the ring in a pocket of his luggage. "We're going to go now, but gather yourself so you can go socialize."

JJ chimed in, "Just don't take too long, okay? Your future wife is about to take off with us and Jessica."

"Okay." Spencer said, though mostly for himself, than his friends. "I'll be along in a minute."

Satisfied, Emily and JJ left.

They were downstairs and waiting on their lift for all of a whole five minutes before Spencer joined them. He was in control of his faculties again, and so with great purpose, he strolled across the foyer towards Aurora. Seeing this, she went out to meet him.

"Spencer, what—"

Aurora was cut off by Spencer giving her a passionate kiss. It wasn't like he'd never kissed her that way before, or in front of other people, but this was different.

Emily and JJ were amused, while Jessica stared openly in surprise. Across the room, Juliana had been passing by in the hallway with Alice, and they were just in time to the display of affection. Alice giggled and averted eyes—she didn't like seeing her parents kiss—but Juliana, having no idea about the ring yet, called out to them.

"Spencer, just marry my sister already!"

He just laughed and kissed Aurora again.

Jessica glanced out the window, and then at her family, struggling to contain her amusement.

"Keep it together, everyone. Emily, JJ, Aurora, and I have to go now because the limo is here."

It was with a conscious effort that Spencer let go of Aurora and stepped back so he could watch her give Alice a hug and kiss goodbye. Once they left, he was going to sit down to make a list of marriage proposal ideas.

The people in charge of the day's events had originally arranged for a chauffeured town car to collect Jessica but after she confirmed that more people were coming, the town car had been upgraded to a nice black chauffeured limousine. Emily sat next to her, and opposite them were JJ and Aurora. She knew where they were going, but was keeping it a surprise just yet, so she pounced when Aurora had a vacant, but coy look on her face.

"What's up with you, sweet pea? Did you and Spencer have a chat, or something, while you were out on your date?"

Aurora shifted slightly in her seat. "We actually did, mom—we talked about the 'm' word."

"Marriage?"

"Yes."

Jessica smiled at this confirmation because it was clear to see that Aurora had no idea about the engagement ring, but also because her oldest child was the first of her children to be in a proper, healthy, committed, longterm relationship. Her heart would never not be jumpy on the subject.

"Well? Did you set a date, or something?"

"Nothing too specific, other than after the baby is here. Maybe in late summer, before the school year starts for Alice."

Jessica nodded, taking this in stride, and then regarded Emily and JJ. "Did you two know about this?"

"Yes." they said together.

Aurora gave a small cough. "Spencer and I talked about something else, too."

"And that would be what?" Jessica pressed.

"We decided that in a few years, when Alice is in proper elementary school, and this one," she pointed to her middle. "Is out of diapers, we want more kids."

Like Jessica, Aurora was also capable of casually blindsiding people, and had achieved in doing so, because all three of her mothers were gaping at her in surprise.

"What?" Jessica said in perplexity. "Really?"

"Didn't see that one coming." Emily quipped.

"Any name ideas?" JJ blurted.

Aurora just laughed at them and pushed her glasses back into place as they slid down the bridge of her nose. "Yes, really, because we want a big family. As far as names go, we haven't thought of a name for the kid on the way, so who knows what for anyone down the road."

"Hopefully," Emily said. "You guys have something hammered out by the time the baby's arrived. I knew for six months that I was going to call you Valentine, until I saw you and changed my mind."

"The way you're talking, Emily, it sounds like your parents dropped the ball when they were thinking of your name."

The agent sighed. "They did. They were so sure that I was going to be a boy that it took them a whopping four days to think of Emily Simone."

"Wow." Aurora cast a look over at Jessica. "What about you?"

The older woman smiled fondly. "My parents named me after their favorite character in The Merchant Of Venice."

"What about your middle name?" Emily asked, recalling Jessica's online biography page. "All there is is the middle initial of W."

"My middle name is Weslyn because it was my mom's middle name. I gave it to Julie because we wanted to keep it in the family." Jessica told her. "Weslyn means 'defending warrior' in German."

Emily complimented her before offering an idea. "I think it's pretty, Jessica. You should put it on your autobiography cover."

Jessica winked at her. "You know, I think I will."

Emily beamed, pleased that her hero was going to take her suggestion.

Jessica turned back to Aurora. "My parents were so sure that I was going to be a girl that they didn't consider anything besides the name I have now."

"Amazing."

She looked to JJ, who had been quiet for awhile, her thoughts elsewhere. When JJ realized her companions were watching her, she laughed nervously.

"What was the question?"

"Do you know how you got your name?" Aurora asked her.

"My parents had Jennifer Lily from start to finish, when they were trying for me, is what I was told."

"And then you have a brother, but you had a sister, correct?"

JJ nodded. "Uh-huh. My brother's name is Griffin, and my sister was called Rosaline."

"Those are nice names."

"My mom's maiden name was Griffin, so that's how my brother was named, and my sister was named for my parents' favorite novelist." she continued. "My parents named me Jennifer because it means fair one, and they chose my middle name because my mom has always loved lilies. What?"

While they heard what JJ was telling them, the other three were each looking at her like the cat who had eaten the canary.

"What you've told us is lovely," Emily said. "But we also want to know what's had you in La La Land."

JJ answered them without any preamble. "I was just thinking about how chaotic our lives will all be, by this time next year. Plus, Aurora's baby will be the same age as her new siblings."

Beside JJ, the woman in question groaned. "Now that someone's gone and said it out loud, it's even weirder to think about. I'm happy to meet them all, but it's still so weird."

"Fingers crossed that everybody gets along." Jessica joshed her.

Aurora just sighed. "Yeah, yeah. The only thing I need to worry about now is twins, even though that's surely a statistical anomaly."

This time, Jessica and JJ both looked to Emily, who promptly rolled her eyes.

"Oh, for God's sake!" she said in exasperation. "How is that train still on a track? And didn't Jessica say not to bring it up in front of Aurora?"

"I couldn't help it!" Jessica protested.

"Me, neither!" JJ added quickly.

Emily rolled her eyes again.

"Mom," Aurora said in surprise. "Are you…?"

Emily shrugged. "I don't know how many are in there yet because my next doctor's appointment isn't for awhile. Twins do run on the Prentiss family tree, though."

Aurora sat up straighter. "Really?"

"Yep. Grandpa Harrison's dad had a brother, and they were identical." Emily explained. "But more to the point—JJ is under the impression that just because I happen to be carrying big right now, there could be more than one baby in there. Jessica was there for that conversation, and apparently, she's jumped on the bandwagon, too."

"You three together are dangerous…"

From her seat, JJ smirked as a new thought popped into her head. "You know, if the chips fall a certain way, Aurora and I could be pregnant together again, the next time around."

Aurora groaned again, but only because thinking too far into the future was making her head hurt. "Alice is on her own, but the rest of the kids coming are going to be so confused. Back home, they'll probably even be in the same classes until high school."

JJ, Emily, and Jessica continued to wax philosophicals together, about what the future was going to be like, now that they were all one big family, and things were growing in leaps and bounds. It was mostly to push Aurora's buttons, and by the end, she was quite red in the face.

Finally, the car came to a complete stop, in a parking spot.

"Here we go, ladies." the driver looked at them through the rearview mirror. "This is The New York Botanical Garden!"

Emily, JJ, and Aurora were surprised, just like Jessica had been hoping for. However, Aurora was looking at Jessica with delight.

"Mom!" Aurora sputtered. "The garden? In December?"

"Yep. Weren't expecting that, were you?"

"No! How…?"

Jessica beamed at her daughter. "Thank the magazine—they rented it out for our photoshoot."

"But December here means…"

"Oh, yes." Jessica reassured her. "I'm extra glad you came today."

Aurora hugged her, and was out of the vehicle, the moment the chauffeur had opened the door.

"What was that about?" Emily asked as they exited the car and crossed over to where Aurora was waiting for them.

"When the kids were all in elementary school, Aurora and Max both had to have their appendix out at the same time, and then Julie and Kitty were both recovering from bronchitis."

"Oh, man."

Jessica bobbed her head. "Luuk and I are strong believers in education, since we met in high school, so we had the kids each pick an area of interest to study while they were cooped up."

"To keep their noggins sharp?" Emily guessed.

"Correct. Everyone chose different things, but Aurora picked butterflies, and she's loved them ever since—it's why her bedroom is a forest theme."

"How nice."

JJ nodded in agreement. "Definitely."

Emily arched an eyebrow at the sight of the look on her girlfriend's face. "I see that gleam in your eyes. What are you thinking?"

"That butterflies are one of my areas of expertise, my love."

With that, she kissed Emily on the cheek and hurried to where Aurora was waiting for them.

"Aurora!" she called. "You like butterflies? Me, too!"

And by the time they caught up to them, JJ was telling Aurora all about how she'd caught a rare butterfly by herself as a kid. Needless to say, Aurora was completely enthralled.

They were in for a fun day.