THIRTEEN. GRACE

FOUR LONG HOURS LATER, DAISY AND AARON WELCOMED A LITTLE BABY GIRL. She screamed and cried and slept with her tiny lips parted, just like her mother did. Rhea thought she was the most beautiful little thing in the world. The way her little fingers curled around her father's thumb, how she stopped crying once Jack had lightly kissed her forehead, and how her grey eyes stared up at the woman who had carried her for the past nine months - it was like she'd brought all the good back into the world.

However, that wasn't the case. As Rhea sat by Daisy's hospital bed, bouncing Jack on her lap, Aaron was checking his phone anxiously, as his team was in the field without him. After the death of his unit chief, Erin, his protective nature had been kicked into overdrive. He hadn't left the baby's side, watching over her like a guardian angel. It was hard to think that something so perfect was in so much danger already. Rhea knew about what happened to Aaron's late ex-wife, Haley, and the toll it had taken on him. He couldn't lose any other members of his family. But, that also included the people he worked with.

Rhea adjusted her grip on Jack, who was starting to fall asleep in her arms. She had been watching the man for a few minutes now, concerned about his restlessness. He hadn't uttered a word about the case when Daisy had been awake, but now that she was finally resting, he was showing his stress. "Aaron."

The man looked up, quick to assume something was wrong. He saw the godmother of his newborn holding his sleeping son, worry written on her face. "What is it?"

Rhea pursed her lips, her eyes drifting to Daisy. The woman had always been an ugly sleeper, her mouth wide open and hair sprawled in all directions. Still, it made her smile. "She'd understand. Go catch the bad guy."

Aaron hesitated. "But-"

"It's your job," she said softly. "We'll all be here when you get back."

She could tell he needed to go, but she could also see the clear reluctance in his eyes. He didn't want to leave them, he couldn't. But what about his other family? "They're in choppers just outside the city now. I could take the car and meet them on location."

He looked down at the baby and pressed his lips gently to her forehead. He did the same to Jack and then moved onto Daisy, softly touching her face. She stirred, her eyes fluttering open to see him. "Aaron...is everything okay?"

He dipped his head to kiss her, his hand reaching up to stroke her hair with upmost care. "The team's in trouble."

She grunted softly, shifting under the thin covers. "Go."

"Are you sure?"

"Go be a hero," she murmured, managing a tired smile. "And tell me all about it when you get back."

He cupped her face. "I love you."

"I love you too," she mumbled, before closing her eyes. "Save the team, I want them to meet the baby."

Aaron chuckled. "Yes ma'am."

★☆

"They're all okay," Agent Grant Anderson stepped inside the room, his phone in hand. He'd been in charge of watching over the room since Aaron had left, and he'd been quite pleasant to be around. When Daisy had woken up thirsty, he'd run off and gotten her a cup of water, laughing as she managed to tease him despite her current situation.

Since then, he'd been in and out with updates, making polite conversation with Rhea and finding things to entertain Jack with. The young boy had since been picked up by his Aunt considering the team knew where the Unsub was, meaning he wasn't in danger anymore. Despite this, Anderson had stayed, just to make sure his coworker was okay.

Rhea breathed a sigh of relief, looking down at the baby in her arms. She seemed so peaceful. The blissful ignorance of knowing nothing about the world was something to be envied.

Anderson seemed quite bewildered by the small child. Rhea chuckled at his facial expression, drawing his attention to her. She was exhausted; she hadn't slept since Daisy had gone into labour, and she didn't plan on doing any such thing until she knew everything would be okay. "I'm guessing you don't have kids?"

"No, I don't," his voice was soft, yet articulated. He'd been nothing but kind to the woman despite never having met her. He'd seen her visiting the office, but they'd never actually spoken. Nonetheless, he treated her like an old friend. "I have two nieces and three nephews, though. What about yourself? You seem like you know what you're doing."

"I teach thirty of them five days a week," her thumb rubbed the baby's head gently as she spoke. "But I don't have any of my own."

Anderson pulled up a chair, careful not to drag it so he didn't wake Daisy up. She was snoring, having nursed the baby before falling asleep once more. It was the most she'd be getting for a while now that she was a parent. "Would you ever consider it? Kids, I mean."

"I'd love to adopt," she hummed, a tired smile on her face. "I just think there's so many kids who weren't given a chance, you know? The foster system's a complicated mess and there's so many who have to fend for themselves when they get too old."

"I don't mean to pry," his eyes searched her face carefully. "But I'm guessing you have some kind of experience?"

"Everyone seems to figure that out pretty quickly," she laughed quietly. He went to apologise, but she shook her head to silence him. "Don't worry, Doctor Reid was a lot more blunt about it."

Anderson chuckled. "Yeah, he does that."

They sat in silence for a few minutes. It was nice, especially knowing that the team would soon be back to meet the new addition to the family.

★☆

"She's gorgeous," JJ cooed, rocking the baby back and forth in her arms. "Have you guys decided on a name yet?"

"No," Aaron shook his head, squeezing Daisy's hand. Rhea smiled softly at the two reunited lovers. It could have been disastrous, as the choppers the team were in had been sent down by the Unsub, the same man who had visited the hospital hours earlier. It was a miracle no one had been seriously hurt. After a serious of medical checks, they were cleared to see the newborn and mother. "Not yet, we're still trying to figure it out."

"Rhea, do you have your license on you?" Anderson asked softly from the end of the room. She was finally able to sit out and take a breath, not having spoken to anyone since the return of the team. Now that she knew her best friend was safe, she could finally close her eyes. "Just for the witness report."

"Yeah, sure," she mumbled digging around in her purse. She pulled out her card and handing it over, not missing how her fingers lightly brushed against his. She cleared her throat and pulled away, taking a seat on the floor and leaning against the wall.

The man looked over it and wrote the information down. He seemed particularly hung up on the middle name. It didn't seem to suit the hip, young teacher in front of him. "Is Grace a family name?"

Spencer shifted a little uncomfortably as he saw Rhea's reaction to the question. He hadn't said a word to her since he'd arrived, but even if he would, he didn't know what to say. They didn't have Katie to talk about anymore, and there was a slight divide since the girl had left.

"Yeah, I think so," Rhea hummed. She'd never really been a fan of the name, as it was what had been used when she was in trouble, or being transferred to a new foster home. "I never really cared to look into it."

Anderson noticed her discomfort, and quickly apologised. "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot-"

"Don't worry," Rhea assured him warmly, reaching over from where she sat to pat his foot. His lips curved into a thankful smile at her dismissal of his mistake, though the faces of Daisy and Spencer said otherwise. The former was in deep thought, while the latter seemed slightly put off by the fact that Anderson seemed to have emotionally connected with his friend.

Daisy looked up at Aaron and he looked down at her. They both seemed to have the same idea. JJ handed the baby back over to the parents, and Daisy grinned. "Maybe we could make it a family name."

Rhea looked over in surprise. "What?"

"You're my family," Daisy shrugged like it was matter-of-fact.

"And she looks like a Grace," Aaron watched his daughter with adoring eyes. "Maybe this way you can associate the name with something good."

Rhea felt like her heart was about to burst out of her chest. One hand reached to cup her mouth while the other tried to get herself off the ground. Anderson reached down and took her by the arm, pulling her to her feet. She leaned into him slightly to find her balance, trying to fight the shock creeping up in her throat. "Oh my God..."

Daisy reached out for her best friend, who stepped forward and joined her on the opposite side of the bed from Aaron. "Grace Hotchner, I like it."

"Either way, the kid's gonna be a hell of a speller," Rossi joked, causing a ripple of chuckles throughout the room.

Rhea wiped her teary eyes as she looked upon her goddaughter. "She really is beautiful."

Daisy beamed. "That's cause I was on top."

★☆

UGH FUCK OKAY

and yes i brought anderson into this cause i love him <3