AN: This is for the 2019 CM Big Bang - I've posted the whole thing on AO3, if you don't want to wait to read it all. That's also where you can find the accompanying art by Dark Jedi Queen!

As a side note, this fic deals with an autistic child and I've done my best to keep it realistic (I do have autism, so some of it is from experience), but I'm not an expert and I apologize for anything that doesn't ring true!

Derek heard Lux long before Emily came through the door with the child limp in her arms like a rag doll. The four year old was screaming bloody murder and could be heard from four floors above. He had long since gotten used to the girl's unpredictable temper.

When Emily came through the door, he could immediately tell something was wrong – and not just because he was studying to be a profiler. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying and her fingernails had been bitten down to the quick. Not to mention that she was home from work nearly three hours early.

"Emily, what's wrong?" he asked gently.

Ignoring the question, she set Lux down on the floor, temper tantrum burning itself out. "Lux's preschool called to say she was having a meltdown and they couldn't calm her down," she said in a non-answer.

"Emily," he tried again, "What happened?"

She still wouldn't look at him. She sniffled quietly, blinking too often. "I got fired," she whispered.

"What!?" he yelped, "Why?"

"They said they couldn't accommodate my schedule..." They both know that was code for Lux's needs were too much.

"They can't do that!" he declared, incensed on her behalf.

"Yeah...they can." This wasn't the first time this had happened. She collapsed down on the sofa and covered her face with her hands. "God, Derek, what am I going to do?" she asked, voice muffled. "I can't keep doing this..."

"I know," he said gently, sitting beside her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "We'll find you a new job."

"What place is going to hire me?" she scoffed. "This is the fifth place I've been fired from in the last two years!"

"That's not your fault," he insisted. "They knew when they hired you that your schedule wouldn't be easy to accommodate."

"You really think that matters?" she asked cynically.

He sighed. This wasn't the first time they'd had this argument. "Is there any chance your mother would help you out?" he asked warily.

"I'm not asking my mother to bail me out!" she said sharply.

He held his hands up in surrender, but shook his head at her stubborn refusal. "Why don't you call JJ and go out for a run together to clear your head?" he suggested.

"I should stay here – Lux is already having a bad day and..."

He cut her off, "She's sleeping." Sure enough, the child was fast asleep in the middle of the floor where Emily had left her. "I can handle a sleeping child," he said.

"But..." she protested.

"Go." He pressed her phone into her palm. "We'll be fine."

"They really fired you? Just like that?" JJ's voice got high and incredulous.

Emily sighed. "Can we not talk about this?" she groaned.

"I just don't understand it," JJ persisted, "You're smart, hard-working, you speak like six languages...you're a model employee! Who wouldn't want to hire you?"

"Everyone, apparently!" she exclaimed, getting emotional. "God, Jayje, what am I going to do? I've got a preschooler to support and no one will give me a job! I've got no experience and a degree in psychology for God's sake! What am I going to do with that?"

"Why don't you go back to the Academy?" JJ suggested. "It's what you've always wanted."

"And who's going to raise Lux when I die in the line of duty?"

JJ didn't point out that that argument seemed a little specious. Then, she was struck with an idea, "Hey! I know! That cute little bookstore next to the bakery is hiring!"

Emily just looked at her unamused for several moments. "Really, Jayje? That kitschy little place where all the hipster parents shop? Run by that obscenely cheerful woman with the obnoxiously colourful wardrobe? It's like you don't even know me."

JJ groaned. "You're being kind of judgey."

"I'm not being judgey," she argued.

"You kind of are."

"Whatever." She threw her hands up in exasperation. "My point is, she'll never hire someone like me, so why bother?"

JJ stopped suddenly, then gripped Emily's shoulders and shook her brusquely. "I get it, okay? You got dealt a shit hand. Deal with it. You've got to think about Lux right now. You need a job and the bookstore is hiring – you might not like it, but..." She shrugged.

Emily sighed, then shook her head. "You're right. You're right." She deflated a little. "I'm sorry."

JJ punched her shoulder gently, signalling all was forgiven. "Let's go get you a job."

There was a sign in the window of the bookstore advertising HELP WANTED, yellowed edges curling with age. Emily wondered how she'd never noticed it before now.

"Are you sure about this?" Emily whined, tugging the hem of the dress JJ had lent her lower down on her thighs.

"Yes," JJ said with a hint of annoyance. "She's going to love you."

"I meant about this dress," Emily corrected.

"Oh..." She brushed lint off the shoulder of the airy purple polka dotted fabric. "I know it's not you, but Garcia will like it."

Emily sighed dramatically, but didn't protest further.

Bells tinkled cheerfully as the two women entered the store, warm air rushing to meet them, smelling distinctly of books and coffee.

Penelope Garcia rushed up to greet them, a billowing cloud of cheerfulness in a pink cardigan. "JJ!" she squealed, wrapping the blonde in an embrace. "Who's your friend?"

"PG, this is Emily," JJ introduced, jabbing Emily in the small of her back so she would step forward.

Following the unspoken command, Emily extended her hand. "Emily Prentiss. I – umm – I saw the sign in the window. Are you still looking to hire someone?"

Garcia clapped her hands together a few times, then sized Emily up. "Favourite kids' book?" she asked..

"Matilda," Emily supplied easily. "But my daughter's favourite is The Paper Bag Princess."

"You have a daughter?"

"She's four, but she's... She's severely autistic." She braced herself for the woman's reaction, expecting judgement.

Garcia's eyes showed interest, but not judgement. "Have you read her the Spencer Reid, Boy Detective series?" she asked. "The main character is autistic and..."

"She loves it!" Emily exclaimed. "I must have read it to her a thousand times."

Garcia's face was lit up like she wanted to discuss it further, but they were interrupted by a little hand tugging on Garcia's skirt. "I finished my book," the little girl said with a pout, holding up a copy of Little House on the Prairie.

Without thinking, Emily knelt down so she was eye-level with the girl. "That's a very good book, isn't it?" The girl nodded shyly. "Have you read Anne of Green Gables? I bet you'd like it." She offered her hand to the girl. "Should we go look for it?"

As Emily lead the girl to the shelf of paperbacks, Garcia turned to JJ with a smile. "She's good. I like her."

"Don't tell her I told you, but she really needs this job," JJ whispered.

"I'll give her a shot," Garcia agreed.