Derek went back on travel duty with the team in the middle of October, and though Emily missed him when he was gone on a case, when he was home, he was still walking on clouds. She was glad he hadn't taken a transfer. Working for the BAU balanced him, and Emily knew all too well how important it was to have that balance in life.

On her part, she more than merely managed his absences. What Derek had worried about feeling like too much for her to handle alone never materialized. What happened instead was that her capacity to love with pure joy extended farther than she ever thought possible. Before she had felt this way with just Derek, like there was an aura of light around her whenever she saw him or touched him, and she thought she'd pretty much reached the limit on how far that light could expand. But it had expanded again with Serena, and then after Caleb came it expanded even further. And she held them all within that light, not just her little family, but all the people she knew and cared about. When Judy was over one day holding Caleb, she smiled at Emily and said, "Emily, I swear I have never in my life seen someone as radiantly happy as you. I get a contact high just being around you."

The team stopped by regularly and Emily loved their visits. They were very good about making sure Serena felt just as valued and loved as Caleb, showering both children with affection. JJ started coming in every morning and every evening, before and after she and Derek would drive to work together just for a quick peek and a little snuggle with the baby she'd help bring into this world.

Emily's body was different now - loose in abdomen where she used to be firm, though that was slowly improving, and if she thought her boobs were big during pregnancy, that was nothing compared to how they were now that she was breastfeeding. She and Derek both still loved her body; it had carefully and lovingly carried their son.

At the end of October, Dr. Rodgers gave her a new IUD and said she was healed and could return to her regular activities. Derek and her had had a long discussion about birth control. They felt assured that the combination of an IUD and Emily's breastfeeding would do the job for now. When Caleb started eating solids and she breastfed less, Derek offered up a vasectomy without hesitation. Her body had done its job, he told her, he could take one for the team. They agreed that they'd had enough healing for the time being and he could wait a few months.

Emily had read a lot about pregnancy, giving birth, breastfeeding and caring for the baby. She had never really read about sex after having the baby, except to know that they'd have to wait several weeks and get the go ahead from her doctor first. When Dr. Rodgers asked her if she had any questions about resuming sex, Emily had told her, "No, I'm good!" It was Derek, she thought; they'd go slow, they'd figure it out. Had she not shut down that conversation with such confidence in her voice, where the normally thorough Dr. Rodgers probably thought she'd read a novel on the topic, she might have known about the effects of breastfeeding on one's sex life.

Emily laughed, both in humor and complete love, when she thought about that first time again with Derek; it was quite a little adventure.

Serena was at school and Emily had just put Caleb down for a nap in his crib, rather than the bassinet, in preparation for when Derek returned home in the late morning after being gone on a case for three days. He found Emily on their bed, naked. She'd thought about keeping her nursing bra and pads on, figuring there would be a little bit of milk leakage when he touched her breasts, but decided against it. This was her, and him, always him. She wanted full-body contact. She winked at him when he came in the bedroom door, "Green light, Derek."

He laughed and quickly stripped off his clothes. They kissed and touched everywhere, but despite the fact that she was very excited, they both quickly learned that one of the effects of breastfeeding was a complete absence of any natural lubrication on her part. Having never had the need to purchase lubricant, Derek grabbed Emily's phone from the bedside table, mumbling that there must be something they could use in this house, and searched online. He found what he was looking for, whispered a quiet "praise Google" and kissed her before standing up and quickly and quietly going downstairs. He came back in the room with a bottle of olive oil and said with a grin, "Wanna cook us up something good?"

It felt different, not bad and not uncomfortable, just different. And wonderful, too, to be with him like this again. Absolutely wonderful. She was on top of him, leaning forward, hands on his chest and quietly moaning through a gently rolling orgasm when she felt her milk let down and start dripping out of her and onto him. She stopped moving and stared at Derek, who looked surprised. But then he shrugged his shoulders and laughed and grabbed her waist, turning her and laying her down so he was on top of her. "Olive oil and breast milk. We're quite the gourmets," he laughed, and she joined him. And then he started moving inside her again. After that they bought some lubricant and kept a couple of towels on hand next to the bed.

In November, Emily started pumping and storing some breast milk so she would have a good stockpile when she returned to work in January. They introduced Caleb to the bottle for one or two feedings a day, and Serena and Derek both loved to feed him. On the nights when he was home, Derek took over one night-time feeding so Emily could get a longer stretch of sleep. And one night, at around 2:00am, Emily awoke to Derek quietly laughing and crying, whispering, "Em," while he sat in the rocking chair in the corner of the bedroom. An empty bottle was beside Derek, next to a dim lamp on a little side table, and Caleb was laying on Derek's thighs. Emily sat up in bed and Derek looked at her and laughed through his tears. "He's smiling at me, Em. A real smile. Damn, he is so beautiful."

Emily crept out of bed to look, and Caleb's eyes found her. She smiled at the baby and he seemed to contemplate her for a few seconds, trying to find the right muscles. And then he smiled back. He looked like the perfect combination of both; Derek's beautiful smile and her shining eyes. In an instant she was laughing and crying, too.

A little before Thanksgiving, they traded in Emily's car for a roomier vehicle with a third row. She told JJ and Will, who had been paying a neighbor to be their sitter when needed, that she missed Henry and she was back in business. At that point, Serena had started in on the Harry Potter books and her play with Henry stopped involving super heroes and started involving wands and wizards. When he started being at the house more again, Serena decided to start the series over at the beginning with him, reading to him aloud and encouraging him to try reading some to her. At seven, he was a good reader, but those books were a little much for him. He tried, and Serena sat patiently with her wide eyes and big smile, helping him with the bigger words and being patient while he slowly read a paragraph before handing the book back to her. Emily watched them one evening from Serena's doorway and thought of her and Derek, and how they used to read to each other via Skype when she was in London. Full circle, indeed.

It wasn't long after that, when Emily was making dinner and Derek was holding Caleb, walking around the kitchen and singing to him, that they heard Serena's excited voice from the living room. "Check mate, Spencer!"

Emily and Derek stopped what they were doing and walked to the living room to see a smiling Serena looking at Spencer. Spencer handled it without shock, or anything that would tip Serena off that her win was unbelievable. He put his hand out to Serena, as if to shake it, and said, "Well played, Serena."

Serena stood up and gave him a hug instead of shaking his hand. "It was as fun game. You always win, Spencer, but I got you this time! But it was a good game. You did a good job!"

They talked that night with Spencer, after Serena was in bed. "She doesn't know it's remarkable," Spencer had told them. She confounds me, her IQ is on par with mine or maybe higher, but her social and empathy skills are out of this world, she's happy, just let her be a little girl, you'll know when she needs more - that was the gist of what he'd told them. They took Spencer's advice.

Fran flew out for Thanksgiving. It was her third trip since the baby was born, and Emily and Derek pitched a proposal to her. There was a house in Springfield that Derek had purchased in a foreclosure auction back when he'd sold his home after Emily came back from London. He'd put in some work on it last year, before Serena, but he hadn't really done more than check on the property since then. It was a cozy two bedroom on a quiet street. It still needed some work, which they could hire someone to do. It was fifteen minutes away from their house. It was Fran's if she wanted it.

Fran cried and hugged them and said she felt like she couldn't accept something like, but upon their reassurance that they wanted to do this, wanted her here, she agreed. They talked about her moving in the spring.

It was the first Saturday in December when Emily spontaneously decided it was time to give Derek the surprise of his life...

She was on the couch feeding Caleb while Derek and Serena put ornaments on the Christmas tree. Derek had a lot of ornaments from when he was a child and he told Serena different stories about them while Emily listened with a smile on her face. It was one of those moments she sometimes experienced where the love she felt for him and their family took her breath away.

Emily had surprised him with the name change, and she put that on par with his surprise with the engagement ring. She wanted something for him on par with what he did for her and them, when they got Serena. She looked at Caleb for a moment and then back up at Derek and Serena, watching and pondering, coming to a decision. He'd never do what she was planning to her, because he knew she might be embarrassed and overwhelmed. But he would love it if she did it for him, absolutely love it. She wondered if she could pull it off in eighteen days, but decided to go for it.

"What would you think about having a fancy Christmas party here on the 23rd?" Emily asked. "We never do things like that and I think it would be fun to get dressed up and celebrate with the team. Everyone's staying in town this year. Your mom and sisters will be here by then, too."

Serena bounced up and down, "Yes, yes, yes!"

Derek smiled at Serena and then looked at Emily, "Sure! Are you really up for that?"

"Absolutely! I'll invite the team. I'll get outside help if I need it. I'd love to do a celebration with all of them and our family."

When Caleb was done eating, Emily passed the baby to Derek so she could run to the bathroom. She quickly sent a text to JJ and Garcia while she was upstairs. "Need your help with a Christmas present for Derek. Derek's meeting with the contractor at the house in Springfield at 4:00. Can you come over?" They both quickly responded that they could.

When JJ and Garcia arrived at the house, they looked excited and anticipatory. Henry ran upstairs to see Serena, and JJ took Caleb from Emily's arms. They went into the living room to talk.

Emily smiled and laughed before she could compose herself and start talking. "OK, here's the deal. We're going to have a Christmas party here on the 23rd, so mark your calendars for that now. But I need your help. I need to find a good caterer to cook the food, which will be hard to find at this point. I think I have who I need to do what I want but may need your legal finesse there as well if she's not available. And I need you to tell the team, but keep this off texts and email because I want it to be a complete surprise for Derek and you all swap phones all of the time on a case."

They both looked at Emily, confused. Emily laughed again, "I'm going to ask a judge I know to show up here during that dinner. And Derek and I are going to get married."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Emily was careful and precise in her planning and the changes that went on in the house in the days that followed.

Barbara Gray, the district court judge she'd met and talked with during that case with little Hannah over a year ago, said she'd be more than happy to be there on the 23rd of the December. After Emily explained everything to her, she said she'd take care of the marriage license, it would be different but not anything that would be a problem, that it would probably be the highlight of her career.

Garcia found Emily an amazing caterer who would do the dinner on the 23rd at their house. When Emily received that news, she told Derek that she really wanted to enjoy that night, that they'd never done anything like a fancy dinner in their home before, and she wanted this caterer to prepare the food so they could all relax. He didn't blink an eye, just agreed.

She started making gradual changes around the house that could easily be explained as someone in love with her family, someone just a little bit bored at home while not working. She moved the living room furniture and said she liked it better that way with the Christmas tree in the room. She printed and framed pictures long held in the digital world and hung them over the mantel on the fireplace. She moved photos she already had printed on the fireplace mantel and the wall above it as well. When Derek came home one night and saw the picture of them on the dance floor that very first time, over eight years ago, he asked, "Why now?"

She simply told him, "Because I want everyone to see our story, my beautiful man."

The team knew, but not Derek's family, not the kids, not Serena. Emily could trust the team to hide things; she didn't want to give everyone else time to unknowingly spill the beans to Derek, who was so attune to human behavior.

On December 20th, the team got called in on a case in Texas. Emily was the one who picked up Fran, along with Derek's sisters, Desiree and Sarah, from the airport. They gushed over the kids in the car, they put their bags in the spare bedroom where Emily had set up two air mattresses. And that afternoon, while Serena was across the street playing with Ella before Judy and her family left for the holidays, Emily told them her plan. She asked them to be discreet. She impressed upon them the desire for surprise and told them all the stories as to why. They helped her clean, they hugged her, they kissed and hugged Caleb and Serena. And more than the holidays the year before, Emily learned exactly how Derek had managed to become who he was.

Emily started getting worried that the whole plan would be a bust because the case in Texas was taking so long, but early in the morning on the 23rd, JJ sent her a text, "We're done. Flying home. We'll make it in plenty of time. Taking everything in me to not dance or cry or piss myself in excitement! Love you, Em!"

Emily smiled at that text and took Serena in her room.

"My sweet girl, I have a secret to tell you. Daddy and I were planning to get married awhile ago, but before we could, you came into our lives and then Caleb did. Your daddy loves surprises, and he's surprised me with so many things. I want to surprise him back. A judge is coming tonight and we're going to get married, but I don't want him to know until the judge shows up. And I need you, my spectacular Serena, to help me."

Serena blinked at her with a smile on her face, "I'll help you, Mommy. I won't tell." She gave Emily a hug. "I love this, Mommy," Serena whispered.

Emily nodded and showed Serena a box. "I'm going to put this box down in the drawer of the side table in the living room. When the judge asks for the rings, it will be your job to get the box and hand it to us, OK?"

Serena nodded and giggled. "OK!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Derek arrived at the house around 4:00 that afternoon. He looked tired, but perked up at the site of the Serena, Caleb and his mom and sisters. The caterer was already there prepping things in the kitchen. The house was clean and looked ready for a party. Derek napped for an hour before waking to the sounds of preparation.

They dressed, Emily in a cream cocktail dress, Serena in a matching colored dress with a long skirt and a black ribbon around the waist. Emily dressed Caleb in a little baby suit. Sweet Caleb, who smiled at her constantly while he was on the changing table, like he knew the secret, too.

Derek showered and dressed in a shirt and tie. He kissed Emily's neck when they were both in the bathroom. He told her she was beautiful, that he was looking forward to everyone being there.

The team arrived, with Jack, Henry and Will, and there was a flurry of conversation and laughter, drinks and appetizers. Emily could hardly contain the butterflies in her stomach.

At 6:30, the doorbell rang and Emily asked Derek if he could see who was at the door. Emily shared a huge smile with JJ and handed Caleb to her as Derek went to open the door. Emily quietly walked behind him, the sounds in the room quieted.

Derek opened the door to Barbara Gray, a friendly and pleasant looking woman in her fifties, with bright eyes and a happy smile on her face. "Derek Morgan?" she asked.

"Yes?" he asked in a confused voice.

"I'm Judge Gray, a district court judge here in Fairfax. I was asked to come here tonight to perform a wedding ceremony," she said as her smile got bigger.

Emily saw Derek's back freeze at the door for a second before he turned back to look at her, at the tears welling in her eyes and the huge smile on her face. He looked at her with his eyebrows raised and she laughed and nodded her head. "Yes, she means us," she said happily.

Derek shook his head and huffed out a laugh and said, "But we don't have rings."

"Taken care of, Derek. You're not the only one who can buy jewelry," answered Emily.

"But I don't have anything ready to say for vows."

"What more is there to say?" she said with a sniffle and light laugh.

He stepped towards Emily and wrapped her in a hug, whispered in her ear, "Nicely played, Emily Morgan."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The ceremony was simple; they followed Barbara's cues. They repeated traditional vows. Though Emily could have written her opus about Derek, he already knew all of that and it didn't need a public declaration.

They stood in front of the fireplace with their lives together on display in pictures behind Judge Gray, their family gathered together in the living room before them. Caleb slept contentedly in JJ's arms. Rossi took pictures. Serena hugged their legs during the ceremony, a happier smile on her face than Emily had ever seen.

When it came time for the rings, Serena brought the box forward. She handed it to Emily. They veered a bit from a simple, traditional marriage here. Emily opened the box and gave Derek his ring before she got hers.

It was a simple white gold band. But as Emily held it, she tilted it up towards Derek so he could see the inscription inside the band: "Best love story ever."

His eyes swam with tears and he whispered, "Definitely," while Emily placed the ring on his finger.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Author's note: Done! I love them. I love this story. It's been a great ride and the next story has been swirling in my head. Thank you for all of the wonderful feedback - it's made this story even more special!