Great Loss (a hotchniss story)

family

"Wake up."

Emily opens her eyes to see everyone in the room. "What time is it?"

Elle mouths, trying not to wake up Athena. "9 am."

She sees Meg, Henry, Jack, and Cairo holding balloons. Elle and Derek have their hands around each other. Everyone's huddled together, as Hotch approaches Athena's side of the bed with a cake. Emily decides it's time to wake Athena up, so she begins to wake her up slowly. She opens her eyes to see everyone.

"Happy birthday Athena!"

Athena huddles next to her mom and smiles.

"Happy 4th birthday Sweetheart," Hotch and Emily say. "Make a wish and blow out the candles."

Athena closes her eyes to make a wish and she blows on the candles. Everyone claps and gives Athena hugs and kisses before walking out.

"Happy birthday Angel!"

"Happiest birthday baby girl!"

Hotch and Jack are the last ones to leave the room, Emily gives Luke a look to close the door, as he carries the cake out.

"Happy birthday Athena," Jack says, sitting on the bed.

She smiles. "Thank you."

Emily and Hotch look at each other. "So we're here today to talk about something. Jack, remember when I was dating your dad?"

Jack was old enough to understand dating, his dad never really dated after Beth but he doesn't know about her. "Yeah?"

"Well, Buddy, once she left, she found out she was pregnant, and the only person she was with, was me."

Jack also knew what being pregnant was. Whenever he asked, Hotch and him would go through photos, seeing Haley pregnant and him as a baby. Hotch didn't want him to ever forget Haley.

"Was she pregnant was Athena?" Jack asks.

Hotch nods. "And do you know what that means?"

He has a confused look on his face. "Kind of."

Emily strokes Athena's hair. "Well that means that you and Athena are brother and sister."

Jack looks at Hotch. "I've always wanted a sibling, Dad."

Hotch smiles and looks at Athena. "And that means you're Jack's little sister, sweetheart."

Athena smiles, although she didn't know what a really was, Spencer and Luke explained that it's someone who will always play with her and love her. From that definition, Athena has always wanted a sibling, but Emily explained she couldn't for now.

Jack hugs Athena and she hugs him back. They pull away and Jack asks a question. "Does that mean Emmy's my mom?"

Emily freezes. "Not necessarily, me and your dad have a lot of talking to do, but I'm always here for you."

He nods. "Can we go eat breakfast?"

Hotch and Emily agree, letting the kids walk out. "Well, that went well."

They too walk out, as Athena's surprised by the decorations. It was princess themed. Balloons all over the floor, a pink banner that read "Happy Birthday", and a table filled with presents.

Everyone eats breakfast and gathers around the living room to watch Athena open her presents. She gets clothes, books, toys, etc. For each present she gets, she walks up to the person who gifted them to her and gives them a hug.

Once she's finished, everyone scatters around to get ready for their day out in the town. After an hour of getting ready, they finally close the door to the cabin. They decide to take 4 cars, instead of taking all the cars. Spencer and Rossi join into JJ's car, Tara rides with Elle and Derek's car, and Alex joins in Kate's car. That leaves Hotch riding with Emily, which she's okay with.