Family is Everything

Mother

Around seven o'clock, Emily woke up with Juliet still cuddled up to her. She loved mornings like these, where she was able to sleep in and not have to worry about being in a rush. Prentiss ran her hand through Juliet's hair and stared down at the child lovingly.

Suddenly, her phone started ringing. "Hello?" Prentiss answered quietly. "Emily dear, how are you?" the other voice said.
"Mother. I'm good, how are you?"
"I'm doing well. Your friend, Anderson and I should be arriving at your apartment shortly. I was just calling to let you know."
Emily's eyes widened. She forgot all about her mother. Well, after everything that happened with Juliet, let's just say her mother was not the first thing on her mind.
"Okay, we'll see you in a bit," Emily said trying to sound excited.
Elizabeth Prentiss picked up on the "we" part of that, but decided to ignore it. She just thought Emily was going to introduce her to a male friend or something. Emily quickly got out of bed and got changed out of her pajamas. She started the tea and coffee, then started making breakfast.

Within ten minutes, there was a knock at the door. Emily took a deep breath before opening it. Her mother's face greeted her as the door opened. Elizabeth smiled.
"Hello, Emily."
"Mother, welcome. Come on in," Emily said backing away from the door. Elizabeth put her bag down but accidentally knocked over a pile of books, which made a big thud.
"Oh I'm so sorry," the ambassador said bending down to pick up her daughter's books. When she looked at them, she was confused to why she had a bunch of mystery novels.
"Don't you get enough of this at work?" Emily's mother asked her, while picking up an Agatha Christie book. "They're not mine," Emily stated, making her mother even more confused. Before Elizabeth could ask, they heard a girl scream,
"Emily!" from down the hall.
Emily's eyes flashed from her mother's, then to the hall. She knew it was Juliet. The books falling must've woken her up.
"Mom?" they heard again, but the voice this time sounded scared.
Immediately, Emily reacted and yelled back,
"Honey, I'm coming." She walked down the hall to her room and found Juliet in her bed crying. Elizabeth was right behind her.
"I heard a loud noise, and when I woke up, you weren't here," Juliet said sounding scared as Emily approached her.
"I know, and I'm sorry," Emily apologized, while sitting on the bed next to Juliet. Juliet sighed, closed her eyes, and let her head fall into Emily. Prentiss wrapped her arm around the girl and looked back up at her mother, who was in shock. Juliet didn't even notice Emily's mother in the room, because she was so focused on her own. "What's going on?" Elizabeth finally asked. The unfamiliar voice caught Juliet's attention and she looked up to see the other woman.
"Mom, who's that?" Juliet whispered quietly.
"Mom?" Elizabeth questioned. Emily didn't know what to say, because she was having trouble reading her mom. She couldn't tell if she was angry, happy, or just in shock.
"Sweetie, this is my mother," Emily said looking at Juliet. Juliet seemed to understand that Emily's mother wasn't as casual as she was.
"Hi," Juliet said shyly to her grandmother.
"Hello, what's your name?" Elizabeth asked walking toward her daughter's bed. Juliet stayed as close as she could to Emily and replied,
"I'm Juliet."
Emily was glad her mother was staying calm. She thought for sure that she would flip out. There was an awkward silence and no one knew what to say. Juliet was still clinging to Emily, and Elizabeth was still just standing next to the bed, clueless.
"You know what, I have breakfast started. Why don't we go eat?" Emily asked. Elizabeth nodded and so did Juliet. Ambassador Prentiss started making her way to the kitchen and Juliet said she had to use the bathroom. Emily followed her mother back to the kitchen and said,
"Mother, wait."
Elizabeth turned around.
"Is there something you want to tell me, Emily?" she asked sounding annoyed.
"I wanted to tell you sooner, but I didn't know how you would react," Emily said truthfully.
"Emily, I'm disappointed you didn't tell me sooner, but I'm over the moon that I have a grandchild. She seems great, and I can see how much she loves you. How long has she been with you?" Elizabeth asked, surprising  her daughter.
"How did you know she was adopted?" Emily wondered.
"Well, at first I thought she was actually your biological daughter. You too really look like you could be mother and daughter. But then I thought, 'no way, because Emily would've told me sooner.' Plus, the last time I visited, you didn't mention anything about a family." Emily was impressed.
"Wow. Anyways, our story is complicated, but legally she has been in my care for about a month." Elizabeth looked confused.
"Yet, you're so close already?" she asked.
"Well, we've been through a lot together and we knew each other before I adopted her," Emily tried to explain.
"Oh," the ambassador replied.
Just then, eleven year old Juliet walked into the room and went straight over to Emily for a hug.
"Good morning, sunshine," Emily said, making Juliet smile. Elizabeth was in awe as she watched her daughter transform into a mother herself. The scene brought a smile to her face.
"I'm making pancakes, wanna help?" Emily asked looking down at Juliet, who nodded happily.
"Mother, what kind of pancakes do you want?" Emily asked.
"Just plain is fine, thank you," she responded.
"And you?" Emily asked Juliet. "Chocolate chip please," the girl said. Emily and Juliet made breakfast together. When they were done, they set the table with the eggs and pancakes they made.
"Mother can you grab the syrup?" Emily asked. Elizabeth did as she was told and sat down next to her granddaughter. Juliet squealed as Emily put the food on her plate. Throughout the meal, Elizabeth and Emily talked about their work. Elizabeth isn't great with kids, so having a child in the family again was going to be a challenge.
"Juliet, right?" the ambassador asked. Juliet nodded and Emily watched cautiously as her mom tried to talk to her daughter.
"What grade are you in?" she wondered.
"Sixth," Juliet replied.
"Do you like it?"
"Kinda," Juliet admitted, playing with her food.
"Why only kinda?" Elizabeth pressed. Emily knew Juliet was getting uncomfortable, so she butted in and said,
"Mother, Juliet starts soccer in the spring. Did you know she played?"
"I didn't even know she existed," Elizabeth said back. Emily knew she had that coming so she asked,
"Juliet, what do you want to do today? Where should we take your grandmother?" Juliet took a moment to think then said shyly,
"I don't know."
"What about the park? We can all take a walk and show my mother around." Juliet nodded. Elizabeth smiled and said sincerely,
"I can't wait to spend the day with you two. I missed out a lot when you were younger, but I promise not to with Juliet." Emily forced a smile back, unsure on whether she could trust her mom again. She knew Juliet wouldn't be able to go through loosing someone else, and she knew her mother always ended up leaving.