~Author's Note~ If you guys haven't noticed, I've come up with a new way of logging my chapters for the story. This story will focus on 8 friends (4 couples) and their families.  So to make things easier, I figured we use their character names when the chapter mostly pertains to them. This particular chapter deals with Mason/Lex. Also, I'll have a poll for you guys at the end, so keep a lookout for that! As always,  upvotes, subscribers, and/or comments are always appreciated <3 Thank you, my lovely readers. 

~Author's Note Part 2: I've made a slight change to this chapter, let's see who notices!~ 

Mason’s POV

Walking out of the classroom, I saw Lex waiting for me by our locker. As she smiled, I could feel the walls I built up crumbling. How the hell did I get this lucky? I took her hand and pecked her lips. “Thanks for making me do this.”

She nodded and playfully pushed me back, “Don’t start getting sappy on me now Simmons. We still have date night for that.” She winked, laying her hands on my chest. “What’s on the agenda for tonight?”

I took her hand in mine and led her to the parking lot, as we got to the car I swiped the leaves off the hood and hopped onto it. I was about to help her up, but instead, she leaned onto the car, resting her body next to me. “Well, we were supposed to watch a movie and head over to Bryan’s, but my mom and JJ are officially moved into their new home and they wanted me to come over for dinner.”

She took both of my hands in hers and rubbed them lightly with the back of her thumbs. “I think dinner with your mom and JJ sounds lovely, they’re making an effort to be there for you and I respect that.” She quickly pecked my cheek. “You know I will support you no matter what.”

I couldn’t help the smile that spread on my face. “Thanks, Lex.” I kissed her lips resting my forehead against hers. “I brought a change of clothes, so I can chill at your house until it’s time for us to head over.” I kissed her cheek, wrapping my arms around her. “Maybe we can still watch something?”

She giggled and turned her head to kiss my cheek. “I think that sounds like a great idea, but I’m going to need your help picking an outfit to wear first.”

I let out a small groan and she giggled even more. She easily unwrapped herself from my arms and walked over to the door, I watched her as she opened it and got in. I got off the hood and threw my bag in the back and got into the driver's seat as I got in. Before driving off I checked my mirrors and took her hand in mine.

Fast forward 30 min…

For the past 10 min since we got here, I swear she’s tried on at least 5 different outfits. I laid on her bed, with my head resting on my arms groaning like I was in pain, “Ugh... Lex, stop with the outfit changes. It’s not going to make any difference what you wear! They’ll love you no matter what.”

She scoffed in my direction, “Mason, she is your mother, I want to make a good impression on her... and JJ! What if they don’t even like me?”

I let out a playful sigh and walked up behind her wrapping my arms around her, “Lex, you’ve met my mother before, remember? She loved you. And JJ is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met, so you have nothing to worry about.”

She turned around resting her hands on my face looking me in the eye, “Yeah, but things are different now. I’m your girlfriend. I’m not just your friend anymore…”

Well … I knew I forgot to do something… I could just not tell her, but that wouldn’t end very well for me...She’ll find out either way. I let out a nervous laugh and took her hands off my face, holding them gently in front of me. “So, funny story… Ahh, I didn’t tell them that we’re together. So technically they don't know just yet”

At first, she smiled, thinking I was playing around with her, “Haha, very funny, how long were you planning to tell me that, all day?”

I shook my head and her face said it all, and I can only remember something hitting me each time she said “OH. MY. GOD! You. didn’t. tell. them!”

As funny as I found her reaction to this, I tried to keep a straight face because right now she was not in the mood for humor, as you can tell. She was beyond furious and hitting any part of me that she could get. Slowly, I grabbed her arms and pulled her into a hug, trying to calm her down. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’ll tell them tonight, I promise.”

After a few minutes, her body became less tense and she returned my hug wrapping her arms around me, “Fine, but I hope you know that this is not over.” She poked my chest, a mischievous grin on her face. “You need to make it up to me.”

Before I could ask what, she meant, she lightly pushed me down onto her bed and sat on my lap, running her hands through my hair and kissing me slowly. I smirked into the kiss wrapping our bodies closer together and letting my hands caress her back. I pulled my lips away from her slowly, chuckling at the small moan of irritation she let out. “Not that I’m not enjoying this, but if we actually want to make it to dinner on time, you have to start getting dressed.”

She groaned leaning her forehead against mine, pecking my lips lightly before getting off my lap. She walked over to the mirror with her outfit on it, she playfully glared in my direction and said, “Well, I guess this is the outfit I’ll wear.”

As she slowly started to undress, I got up and took my stuff with me to the bathroom. Before closing the door, I let out, “About damn time!” Then I hastily shut/locked it before she could pound my face in.

Emily’s POV

Stating that I was nervous about seeing my youngest son was an understatement, I had been up since 7 am taking care of Henry and trying to make sure the house looked perfect, not that it really mattered how the house looked. But it helped me manage my nerves and kept me busy throughout the day. Mason and I had been really close in his younger years, but ever since the whole Ian Doyle, faking my own death, witness protection, coming back from the dead phenomenon, I was lucky if he even sat next to me at dinner, let alone answer my phone calls. JJ was also nervous but wasn’t having the best day. Her morning sickness hadn’t resided and she could barely keep anything down, besides half a cracker. She had been throwing up constantly since she woke up this morning and was miserable but tried to keep a smile on her face.

I took a break after lunch and watched a movie with her and Henry on the couch. Halfway through, she was so exhausted that she fell asleep. I let her rest, I took Henry upstairs to play with his toys and then tried to clean the windows in the kitchen to make sure they were spotless, which again was pointless because it’s not like Mason was coming over to judge my window washing skills.

Finally, I put everything away and went to check on Henry, who was also taking a nap. I ran my hands through his hair and gently kissed his head before coming back downstairs to the kitchen. I took a seat by the marble counter letting my elbow rest on the countertop, pinching the bridge of my nose with my thumb and index finger. “What the hell are you doing to yourself Prentiss?”

“Well if you ask me, she’s making the situation more complicated than it needs to be.”

Looking over my shoulder, I saw JJ leaning against the door frame, both of her arms wrapped around her baby bump. I smiled at her and walked over to her pulling her in for a kiss. “How was your nap? Seemed like the babies were giving you a hard time today.”

She smiled as our lips connected and when I pulled away her smile was replaced by a grimace. “The nap was wonderful, but I’m afraid that the babies are still making my stomach a little sensitive. I actually came to get some crackers.”

I kissed her cheek and led her to where I was sitting. “Sit down and rest more, I’ll get them for you.”

I walked over to the cabinet and grabbed the box of crackers, slowly making my way back to her. She thanked me as I handed her one. “3 babies are bound to make things harder on your body.” I cuddled her from behind resting my chin on her shoulder and both hands on her bump. “Jen, do you think tonight’s going to go well? I keep feeling this sense of impending doom.”

“Em, you need to stop stressing out about this, everything will be fine.”

I let out a sad sigh. “Easy for you to say. He hates me.”

She giggled at my comment and turned herself around to face me, kissing my lips lightly. “For the last time, he doesn’t hate you.”

“Well, he doesn’t exactly like me… I’m not his favorite parent.” I said a little bitter.

I couldn’t help but smile as she gently cupped my face with her hand. “Em, that’s not true.”

Before I could open my mouth to protest, she lifted a finger to my lips, signaling me to stop talking. “Do you remember when we first started dating?”

I nodded, “It was right after Morgan left the team… You guys agreed to help me with that Interpol case with the thrill killer, Michael Lee Peterson. Jennifer, where are you going with this?”

She continued on as if she hadn’t heard my question. “In your nightmare, the victim went from being Louise Holland to me... and you started to close yourself off from me, which…” Her expression turned deadly. “I suggest you never do again because I may kill you, especially with my hormones the way they are now.” I know she’s serious, but can’t help but laugh, bringing a smile to her face. “Once we were able to work through it, do you remember what you told me?”

I chuckled. “How could I ever forget? I told you that I may not be so great with words, but my eyes would tell you everything you need to know.”

She smiled widely, resting her forehead against mine, “Em, there’s a reason why Penelope refers to him as mini Prentiss. Mason is just like you, sometimes maybe too much.” We both laughed. “When you look into his eyes, you can see that he loves you so much, he just doesn’t know how to express it.”

I closed the distance between our lips, kissing her slowly before pulling away. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”

Before she could answer, her face turned as white as a sheet and her smile was gone. “Jennifer?”

She pushed past me running to the sink, throwing up whatever she had in her stomach. I quickly ran over and held her hair, rubbing her back lightly. “You’re okay, let it all out.”

Once she finished her body slumped against the sink as she struggled to take deep breaths. I wrapped my arms around her and held her close, whispering words of comfort in her ear.

Moments like this scared the crap out of me because I sometimes forget how hard all this is on her body. Her ankles were already swelling, she was constantly exhausted, her blood pressure was giving her problems, and even her weight was becoming an issue. For a 5 month pregnant woman carrying 3 babies, she was too skinny. The constant throwing up made it hard for her to gain weight. But no matter how hard things have been, I’ve never heard her complain, not even once. “Let me help you. You can barely hold yourself up.”

She would’ve tried to argue with me, but another wave of nausea hit her and she agreed. “Okay, but not too fast. I don’t want to get sick again.”

I nodded, leading her to the kitchen table. I slowly lowered her to the seat and then brought over a trash can, just in case. I knelt down in front of her her cheek gently. “Maybe we should do this another night? I don’t want you to push yourself. It’s okay if you’re not feeling up to it, Mason would understand.”

She held my hand to her face, tears threatening to pour from her eyes. I could tell that she was really considering it, but she shook her head. “No, you’ve been preparing for this all day and I haven’t seen Mason since he came to visit us for the summer. I wanted to tell him that he was right about you.”

She elaborated after seeing my very confused expression, kissing the back of my hand. “When I found out I was pregnant, I was so scared because I thought you’d leave me. You didn’t sign up for 3 babies and they were from a man that claimed to love me but hurt me in the worst ways possible. In my heart, I knew you’d never…” A few tears fell from her eyes. “But Will messed me up so bad... my brain started to play tricks on me.” She sniffled wiping her face with the back of her hand. Mason was the one that shoved those fears out of my head. He reassured me that you weren’t a coward and you loved me enough to stay. That you would do everything and anything to show me how much you love me. That you would love Henry and our 3 babies like they were your own.”

By this point, tears were coming down my face. “I... he… he said that?”

She chuckled, as she wiped the tears from my cheeks. “Yeah, he did. Honestly, it shocked me too, but it was nice to see that side of him. And ever since you asked me to marry you I’ve been dying to show him the ring. I need to let him know that I love him and that I’m really excited about being his mom.”

I forced myself to smile, not wanting to worry her, not that it would help me at all. “Sweetie, about that… he knows that we got engaged, but he doesn't know that we got married that very same day. ”

Her eyes were like daggers. Oh crap… she’s actually going to kill me... “Em, please tell me you’re kidding!?”

I shook my head, waiting for her to explode. Next thing I knew, she was trying to pry the back door open, but it wouldn't budge. “Stupid door, open!” 

“Jen, push don’t…-” Before I could finish the sentence, the door handle came off in her hands.

She stared at it for a long time before turning around to face me. Tears were pouring down her face and all she could get out was, “I broke it...” I walked over to her and laid my hand on the small of her back, but she pulled away from me. “DON’T touch me.”

I nodded in understanding, making sure to keep my hands where she could see them. As she walked back into the kitchen she slammed the doorknob onto the kitchen counter. Turning her body away from me, she started to sob. I didn’t try to touch her, but I quietly uttered her name. “Jennifer...?”

She slowly turned to face me and my heart fell to my stomach, she looked so broken... In a low quiet voice, she asked, “Is it because you’re ashamed of me, of us? Given my past and this pregnancy, I wouldn’t blame you...”

Great job Prentiss… Not only, have you managed to make the woman of your dreams doubt your love for her, but you also made her doubt her worth. You need to fix this, now. Whatever it takes. “Whatever it takes,” I whispered to myself. I slowly walked over and took a hold of her hand, placing the other gently under her chin, forcing her to look at me. “Jennifer, I am not ashamed of you or of our relationship. Sweetheart, I love you and our little kickers so much. Look into my eyes, I’m telling the truth.”

Our eyes connected and she took her time trying to find any hint of deception, but there was none. She blinked and more tears came down. “Then… why?”

I was at a loss for words. I just wanted to make her feel better. “Honestly, I don’t know and it doesn’t matter. But, I will shout it from the rooftops, if that’s what it takes to make you feel better. Because I, Emily Prentiss am madly in love with you and am the luckiest person on Earth because I am married to you, Jennifer Jareau.”

After a short moment of silence, I thought the worst was over, but I was badly mistaken. Her hormones were out of whack and I get that, but I doubt she even heard a word I said because next thing I knew, she was shouting, “It’s because I’m fat now, isn't it?!”

As I tried not to smile and hold in my chuckle I thought to myself, This is going to be a long night...