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“Can I eat some of this?” Penelope asked. She was about to stick her finger into the batter.
“No.” Hotch shook his head and moved the bowl away.
“But Daddy lets me lick the bowl when he makes brownies or cake.” She reasoned.
“This isn’t cake, Penelope.”
“I said brownies or cake.”
“It’s not brownies either. This is French toast and the batter is kinda gross.”
“If it’s so gross then how come French toast is so good?” Morgan asked.
He was sitting at the table carefully slicing a sausage roll. They were making breakfast for Father’s Day. All four of the kids got up earlier than normal on a Sunday morning. It wasn’t easy but they had the best dad in the world and wanted to make sure he knew it.
Things had always been crazy, usually a good crazy. But since Erin’s car accident, Dave had been doing double and triple duty. Though he was tired he always had a smile on his face. He loved his kids more every day and they loved him too.
“Food is weird that way.” Emily replied. She was pulling down the good china from the cabinets. “You can mix all kinds of gross stuff and come out with something awesome.”
“Like what?” Penelope asked. She sounded skeptical. Most food was pretty yummy so it didn’t seem right. But Emily was really smart so she wouldn’t ignore it altogether.
“Um…French toast.” The older sister said.
“Not fair.” Penelope giggled. “C'mon Hotch, lemme do something. I'm not doing anything.”
“You're supervising.” Morgan said. He had finished cutting the roll so he washed the knife. He carried the plate of raw meat over to the counter by the stove. Hotch was standing there making the French toast.
“Supervising is no fun.” The seven year old made a face. “I wanna do something fun.”
“OK, OK, Garcia.” Hotch handed her the spatula. He went across the room and got the stool for her to stand on. “You can flip the French toast.”
“Yay!” she stood up on the stool while Hotch stood beside her. “Can I flip ‘em high like they do on TV?”
“That’s probably not a good idea. Be gentle.”
“OK.”
She wanted to flip them high but didn’t want to get in trouble. There were four big pieces of toast on the griddle. It smelled so yummy that she wanted to just grab one and eat it. But she flipped it just like Hotch showed her.
“Like that, Hotch?”
“Just like that…you're a natural.” He smiled.
“One day I'm gonna be a good cook like Daddy. I’ll make spaghetti and cookies and buttery asparagus.” She handed the spatula back to Hotch.
“Don’t forget muffins.” Emily said. “Dad makes the best muffins ever. C'mon Penelope, you can help me set the table.”
“OK.”
“I kinda think Uncle Jason makes better muffins than Dad.” Morgan said. “Don’t tell him I said so. But sometimes I have dreams about those blueberry muffins Uncle Jason made.”
“What happens in the dreams?” Hotch asked. He took the French toast from the griddle to a plate and dipped four more to cook.
“There might be singing…I'm not going to say.”
“I think you already have.” Emily laughed.
“Can I just cook the sausage?” Morgan asked after giving Prentiss a mock mean look.
“It’s gonna pop and hiss.” Hotch replied. “You think you'll be OK with that?”
“You can use my cape for protection if you wanna, Morgan.” Penelope wore a pair of Powerpuff Girls pajamas. She’d tied the Supergirl cape around them herself.
“Nah, I'm good.” He looked at his older brother. “I got it Hotch; I'm not scared of a little pop.”
“OK, well the griddle is ready.”
There was a second griddle on the large stove. Morgan actually needed the small step stool as well. He wasn’t as short as Penelope but was waiting for his pubescent growth spurt. He knew it was coming but hadn’t happened yet. The sausage did pop and hiss when it hit the griddle but he showed no fear. It was important that the food knew who was boss around there.
“The table is all set.” Penelope said.
“Nope.” Emily shook her head. “When have we ever eaten without napkins and forks and stuff?”
“Oh darn.”
“You handle that and I'm gonna make the fruit salad.”
“How come you guys won't let me around the food?” Penelope asked.
“We don’t want to have to tell Dad happy father’s day from the back of a fire truck.” Derek replied with a smirk.
“That was so funny I forgot to laugh.” Penelope made a face.
“One day when you're old enough you can cook too.” Emily said. “You can take my place as I'm much better at eating food than cooking it. Nan says I'm a reservations kind of girl.”
“Broke dudes can't make reservations.” Derek said. “At least they can't in the movies. You're gonna have to go for one of those Clooney types.”
“I don’t need a man to make me reservations.” Emily said. She was pulling the already sliced fruit out of the refrigerator.
“OK, you're gonna have to go for one of those Grace Kelly types. I bet you Grace Kelly can afford reservations…have you seen her clothes in those movies? They probably cost like a thousand bucks.”
“Grace Kelly is dead.” Hotch said. He said it in his usual matter of fact tone that made him sound 40 instead of 13.
“No boloney?” Morgan raised an eyebrow.
“No baloney.” Hotch shook his head.
“Man that sucks. What happened to her?”
“I don’t know, it was like 50 years ago.” Hotch said.
“No it wasn’t, Aaron, it was like the 70s I think.” Emily said. “She was in a car accident.”
“Dang, she was pretty and wore nice clothes.” Morgan said. “That’s sad.”
“Flip those sausages Morgan, we don’t want them to burn.”
“Emily?”
“Yes Penelope?”
“I think we should use the pretty cloth napkins we used when we made Mommy breakfast. Then we won't have to throw them in the trash and abuse the earth.”
“Good plan. They’re in the pantry.”
“OK.” She rushed off to get them.
“I should be filming this,” Erin said as she walked down the back stairs. “I'm not sure I've seen you guys work so well together…ever.”
“I don’t want to be rude but how would you know?” Hotch asked, holding back his laugh.
“Ahh, touché son of mine.” She smiled. “You got me on that one.”
“Did we wake Dad?’ Emily asked.
“Nope…he was pretty tired from last night.”
“I'm not even gonna ask.” Derek shook his head as he flipped the sausage.
“And I'm not telling. Can I help?”
“I found them.” Penelope came running out of the pantry. “Hey Mommy!”
“Good morning sweetie. Can I help you fold the napkins?”
“Yeah.”
“Morgan, you finish the French toast and I’ll finish the sausage.” Hotch said.
“Cool.”
They switched spatulas and moved to opposite sides of the stove. Emily was singing to herself as she finished the bowl of fruit salad. The kitchen smelled delicious and even though this was all about honoring their dad, she knew her siblings couldn’t wait to enjoy the fruits of their labor.
“I don’t smell coffee.” Penelope said. “Daddy has to have coffee.”
“Everyone’s hands are full.” Hotch said.
“I'm done with the fruit salad.” Emily put a bowl back in the refrigerator. Then she put a spoon in the salad bowl and set it in the middle of the table.
Erin watched the kids as they all went about different breakfast tasks. She and Dave had a great family. It was still crazy sometimes to wake up and realize she had four children. They were all so different and unique but the one thing they had in common was the two people they called mom and dad. It wasn’t easy, and less so since her accident, but the family was doing well. On mornings like this Erin just wanted to forget everything else and bask in the glow of what she and Dave had created, what they accomplished, and what other good things were to come.
“I don’t which smells better,” Dave said walking down the stairs with Mudgie. The kids had put the dog on Dad watch. “The coffee or the sausage.”
“Happy Father’s Day!” Penelope exclaimed throwing up her arms in victory.
“Thanks, kitten.”
“Happy Father’s Day, Dad.” Morgan smiled.
“Come and knock me over with love.” Dave held out his arms. The kids didn’t hesitate for a moment to rush into them. He had hugs and kisses for everyone before sitting down next to his wife at the table and kissing her.
“This is all for you.” Erin said.
“It’s awesome.” Dave smiled. “I've got a great family.”
“Don’t you forget it, Mister.”
“Should I throw in a joke here about your memory?” Dave asked.
“Not if you don’t want me to give you a good whack.” She replied smiling. “Just sit back, relax, and enjoy every moment of this.”
***