LIKE A GIRL ｡ CRIMINAL MINDS

EPILOGUE

EPILOGUE. SEVERAL YEARS LATER

"JACK, GRACE, WE'RE LEAVING!" DAISY CALLED AS SHE RUSHED OUT THE BEDROOM, FIXING HER COAT SLEEVES. She wove through the apartment in search for the ten-year-old and his sister, following the smell of freshly baked cookies into the kitchen to find the half-siblings fanning the goods with the recipe box. She chuckled at the sight, ruffling the boy's blond hair and kissing the side of his head, before moving onto the younger of the two. "Those look amazing, guys!"

"Thanks," Jack beamed, speeding up the cooling process by waving the box up and down even faster. Grace was sitting on a dining room chair she'd dragged over in hopes to see what he was doing, though she was just tall enough to look over the countertop. "I'm trying to get them cold enough for you and dad to eat before you go."

"Well, in that case," Daisy trailed off, reaching for the cookie on the end of the tray, only for Jack to swat her away. She laughed, rubbing her wrist with her other hand. "Hey!"

"They're too hot," the boy insisted, his thin brows furrowed in concentration. He looked a lot like his father when he did that. "Aunt Jess says they could burn your mouth."

"Too hot, mommy," Grace repeated, shaking her head vigorously.

Daisy pouted, looking up to see Jessica Brooks walking into the room. The woman tapped her watch to indicate that they were running late, and the ex-agent blew out a spout of air from her cheeks, before leaning back to call down the hallway. "Aaron, we're not gonna get there in time for the first round!"

The man sped through the home, his footsteps loud and purposeful - something that had stayed the same over the years. He had changed from his suit to a pullover and jeans, though the casual look he was trying to achieve was thrown off by his worried expression. "Have you seen the team badges?"

"They're right here," Daisy grabbed her purse on the kitchen counter and pulled them out, tossing him one. He sighed in relief and clipped it onto his collar, the bright blue words of their trivia team name, the BEANIE BABIES unmistakeable. Daisy grinned, remembering when Penelope had brought them around to each of them to honour the stupid thing her sister requested be named after her.

Aaron walked around to the kids, reaching for one of Jack's cookies, only for the ten-year-old to smack him away as well. "They're not ready yet, dad!"

"Seriously?" he groaned dramatically, before picking Grace up and balancing her on his hip. The toddler wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled into him, so he bounced her up and down with a smile on his face. "But they look so good, buddy. You gotta let us have a couple for the road."

"Wait," Jack hummed, reaching for some napkins and wrapping the two biggest cookies up tightly. He gave them to Daisy, making sure she didn't burn her hand. "Here. You can't have them until they've cooled down, promise?"