Work Text:
“What are you two up to?” Emily asked suspiciously as she knocked on Jack’s bedroom door. Aaron and Jack had been holed up in there all evening and aside from a few giggles and muttered conversation, she hadn’t heard a peep from them. Although Aaron maintained the facade of a constant professional at work, when he was at home with Jack, it was another story all together. There were a lot more smiles, laughter and the occasional bout of mischief from father and son.
“Nothing!” Aaron and Jack chorused before Jack giggled and Aaron shushed him. Emily shook her head fondly and took the unspoken hint. This was a ‘Boy’s Only’ thing. No girls allowed. Emily wandered back to the kitchen and flicked on the coffee maker. As the coffee pot bubbled and filled, Emily wondered what her two Hotchner boys were up to. It wasn’t close to anyone’s birthdays, they had moved in together four months ago and although Jack had been begging and pleading for a puppy, it had been Aaron who had refused to let him have one. Even though they all knew that if they ever did have a dog, Aaron would be the one who would love it the most.
Sometimes it seemed almost too good to be true, that they had managed to build a life together, to find happiness. She and Aaron had spent so long avoiding and dancing around their feelings and it seemed like neither of them would be brave enough to take that step. But they had. Together. They had built a relationship, a life together; the two of them and Jack as a family.
Emily smiled to herself as she poured a cup of coffee. She could hear Aaron shushing Jack as they tiptoed into the living room. It seemed they were about to let her in on the secret. Aaron’s soft footsteps crept behind her and she set the mug down on the counter as she sensed him directly behind her. Aaron wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her temple gently. Emily leant into his embrace before Aaron removed his hands and set them over her eyes.
“What are you doing?” Emily laughed as she turned her head but Aaron kept his hands over her eyes and turned her head back into place.
“It’s a surprise.” Aaron replied. “Keep your eyes closed.”
“The things I do for you boys,” Emily teased but she did as she was told and allowed Aaron to walk her out of the kitchen and into the living room. She couldn’t hear Jack but she could sense his excitement radiating from him in waves. “Can I open my eyes?”
“Not yet,” Jack insisted. “Keep them closed!”
“Really?” Emily joked, she knew she would keep them closed until she was asked to open them but it was fun to play along with whatever mischief they had planned.
“Yes really,” Aaron ordered. “You heard Jack, keep them closed.”
Emily smiled and made a point of dramatically keeping her eyes closed as Aaron moved his hands from her eyes, turning her head left and right in the pretence of looking around. She could hear Jack’s soft laughter and Aaron and Jack fidgeting with something and she felt excitement and anticipation bubble in her stomach. Whatever it was, she could tell that it was something special.
“Open your eyes,” Aaron said softly, he sounded almost nervous and in the split second before she opened her eyes, she realised what was about to happen.
Emily opened her eyes and gasped in surprise as she looked at Aaron and Jack. Jack was grinning with excitement and pride as he held a hand written and decorated poster in his hands and was standing by Aaron’s shoulder. Aaron was smiling nervously at her as he knelt on one knee with a small velvet box in his hands. Whatever she had guessed, until this moment, she hadn't accepted the possibility that it would actually happen. But it had. It was happening. Right now.
“Oh my God,” Emily breathed as she read the carefully crafted sign in Jack’s hands and her gaze fell on the glittering diamond ring nestled safely in the cream velvet lining of the box. Her gaze was captivated, not by the ring but by the message on Jack’s sign. Instead of the usual sort of message about marrying Daddy, Jack had chosen to ask a different question of her.
Will you be my step-mom?
“Well,” Aaron prompted as he held up the ring. “Emily, we love you. You’ve made both of us so happy and we can’t imagine our lives without you. We’ve been debating this for weeks and we’ve decided that we want to have you in our lives forever. So, Emily, will you marry me?”
“And be my stepmom!” Jack piped in joyfully and Aaron smiled indulgently.
“And be Jack’s stepmom.” Aaron amended.
Emily felt the tears prick her eyes. Her heart was overwhelmed with love for this amazing man and his wonderful son. She was the lucky one to have them in her life. For once in her life, Emily found that she was speechless, the mixture of surprise, love and adoration had robbed her of her voice and finally, she managed to nod her head and regain her voice.
“Yes, yes! Yes of course I will!” Emily exclaimed as Aaron removed the ring from the box and slid it onto her finger. As they kissed, Jack shrieked with delight and flung his arms around Emily. Emily scooped him up and kissed his cheek. Jack did the same and hugged her tightly as Aaron kissed her again. The ring glittered under the soft lights of the living room, the diamond was pure and perfect, just as the proposal and her two Hotchner boys were.
What else could she ask for?