A Second Chance

To Leave or Not to Leave

Once the reception ended, everyone headed back to the hotels they were staying at. Again, the team all picked the same hotel and were all on the third floor. The LaMontage crew all headed up to their room and got ready for bed. Will and Michael were in one bed, Henry was in a cot, and JJ and Sophia were in the other bed.

Sophia was having trouble falling asleep that night. She kept moving around and JJ could tell her mind was somewhere else. Sophia shifted again and moved so she was on her side.
"Soph?" JJ whispered.
"What?" the child whispered back.
"What's going on with you? Are you okay?" Jennifer asked.
Sophia sighed then said,
"It's Emily."
"What about her?"
"She told me that she couldn't keep me because of my father," the kid explained.
"Makes sense," JJ commented.
"Wait. You know who he is?" Sophia wanted to know.
"I know a little about him," JJ told her reluctantly.
"Like what?"
"Listen, I think this is a conversation you should have with-"
"Emily...I know," Sophia finished the blonde's sentence.
"I'm sorry. I wish I could tell you, but it's not my place."
"Ugh, fine."
"So you'll talk to Emily tomorrow?" JJ asked hopefully.
"I don't know, maybe," Sophia said softly.
"We should get some sleep," JJ mentioned.
"I guess you're right," Sophia sighed.
"Goodnight Sophia," JJ said and reached over and kissed the girl's head.
"Night," Sophia said back.

The next morning, Sophia woke up to find everyone else gone. Will and the boys were down at breakfast and JJ was waiting for Sophia.
"Hey, you're up," JJ said walking out of the bathroom into the bedroom.
Sophia nodded and rubbed her eyes a little.
"The boys are down at breakfast, so whenever you're ready we'll go."
Sophia got up and dressed and then headed down to breakfast with JJ.

By the time she got there, everyone else was already settled and sitting around talking. Sophia spotted Morgan, Savannah and Hank at one table with Garcia and Reid, and then Will, the boys and Emily at the next table with Hotch and Jack.
Sophia went and made herself a waffle as JJ got a cup of coffee. Then the two joined the table Will was at. Sophia ended up next to Jack, but about five minutes into her meal, Jack and Aaron got up to leave and go back to their room to pack, leaving Sophia next to Emily.
Sophia stared down at her food and tried to ignore the woman next to her, which was hard.
"When do you fly back?" JJ asked Prentiss.
"Tomorrow morning," Emily replied.
"Ugh, I wish you were here longer," JJ told her.
"Me too," the brunette said back.
"Hey, why don't we have a little dinner tonight so we can catch up before you leave?" Jennifer offered.
"Are you sure?" Emily asked, eying her daughter.
"Yeah, the whole team can come and it'll be like the good old days," JJ said with a smile.
"Okay," Emily agreed.
"How's six?"
"Six is good," Prentiss replied.

Later that night, JJ was preparing for her little family dinner she had planned. Everyone on the team was going except for Hotch because he was having a father son weekend with Jack and wanted to be dedicated to that.

Before all the guests arrived, JJ popped her head into Sophia's room.
"Hey, I just wanted to make sure you're going to be okay tonight," Jennifer said.
"What do you mean? I'll be fine," Sophia assured her.
"If you say so," the blonde said and then kept walking.
Sophia sighed.
She promised herself that that night she wouldn't let Emily get the best of her and that she would keep her cool. Little did she know what was in store for her.

Emily was the last guest to arrive and when she did, the conversation died down a little and Sophia went silent. The rest of the night went smoothly, that is, until dinner.

"Reid, can you pass the salad?" JJ asked from across the table.
The genius did as she had asked.
By that point, the team was talking about Emily and her work and how she was going back.
"And how's Mark?" Garcia asked and gave her friend a teasing smile.
"Actually, Mark and I broke up," Emily informed her.
"I know. I'm not asking about that Mark," Penelope said back with a grin. Sophia looked up at her mom wondering if this Mark guy was her father.
"You know, it scares me how much you know about me and I live across the Atlantic," Prentiss said with a light laugh.
Garcia smiled but said,
"Cmon, I want the details," the tech begged.
"Okay, well. He's a plastic surgeon and an old friend," Emily stated.
"And?" Garcia asked.
"And he's a really great guy," Prentiss added.
"Those weren't the details I wanted," Penelope complained, making those around the table chuckle.
"Well, that's all you're getting for now. In case you forgot, my thirteen year old daughter is sitting right next to you, and we're all eating, so I think I should spare you all the details," Emily joked.
Penelope looked over at Sophia, who was in fact right next to her and apologized to her.