A/N: I know how evil I am, making you all wait for a second instalment, but I pretty much had it finished on the tail end of writing the first chapter; I just decided at the moment that I posted to leave you all in suspense. I'm glad to know you don't all hate me.

The response to the first chapter made me giggle because I got royally scolded and encouraged all in the same reviews. Thanks so much to Danzjaron, megameighteen, HGRHfan35, greengirl82, melodic2686, Wtiger5, Hazmatt and anonymous (whoever you are, thank you). And just so you all know, I don't mind getting anonymous reviews at all. I prefer to have a name so I can thank you properly, but I'm quite happy regardless...I really am a review hussy.

I totally couldn't do this without my amazing beta, medical guru and sister Wtiger5. I love and adore you honey; thanks just doesn't begin to cover it for me.

This is Life's Wishes 10 and has some mild adult themes.

The Joy of Life - Chapter 2

"Little mamma, little mamma, may we come in?"

Emily looked up from the baby in her arms and smiled warmly at Penelope and JJ as they filled her doorway with the guys crowding in behind them. She could faintly see the outline of balloons that someone was holding and by the looks of things, all of them had gifts in their hands.

She laughed softly and beckoned them in. "Aaron and Jack will be here shortly with the other two. This little princess was simply the first one to get done with the doctor."

"So you have at least one girl? Because Aaron didn't tell me anything when he came to get Jack," Dave jumped in quickly.

Emily shot him a mysterious smile, causing him to mutter something no doubt uncomplimentary under his breath. JJ shot him a dark look and Penelope stomped on his foot as she moved closer to the bed and peered around the blanket, leaving him hopping and trying not to swear behind her. Then she straightened up abruptly.

"Sorry, I didn't realise you were feeding her."

Emily laughed again and shifted the blanket a little higher as everyone in the room turned around.

"Seriously guys, it isn't that big of a deal. I seem to have lost most of my modesty in the wake of the surgery. If you're all comfortable being here, make yourselves comfortable. I'm almost done anyway."

"What about the other two?"

"I fed them before they went for their check-ups while this one was getting hers done. Now I'm feeding her while I wait for the other two...and here they are."

With everyone turned towards Aaron and Jack as they proudly walked in behind the nurse pushing the wheeled bed, Emily finished feeding her daughter and slipped her bra and top back into place before she moved to burp her.

"Yellow blankets. How on earth did you two score yellow blankets in a hospital," Penelope demanded as she attempted to figure out just from the faces what the sex of the two other Hotchner babies might be.

She's so cute with her nose all screwed up like that.

Emily yawned slightly and settled back as a nice burp met her ears.

"Oh, that was just beautiful darling. The best burp of the three of you. You'll definitely end up being your big brothers favourite sister if you keep that up. He likes burping, though why I have yet to fathom."

Aaron interrupted her by lifting Jack up onto the bed beside her so he could snuggle in to her side. She wrapped her spare arm around him and kissed the top of his head lightly as he peered at his sister.

"She's asleep," he said, his tone laced with soft disgust. "All they do is sleep. When will I ever get to play with them?"

Don't laugh, don't laugh, don't laugh...hard to avoid when everyone else is smiling around you. Don't look, don't laugh and you'll be fine.

"Remember what we said when we told you they were coming buddy?" Jack turned to look at his father, sitting up straighter when he saw the baby his father held in his arms. "It'll be a while before they're big enough to play with you. But don't worry, soon enough you'll have three of them chasing you around. Now, do you want to hold one while we tell everyone what their names are?"

Jack nodded eagerly and carefully held out both his arms like Emily showed him. A minute later, Jack beamed out at everyone as he carefully cradled his bundle of baby.

"Well," Dave demanded crossly. "Kill the suspense already and tell us what happened."

Emily rolled her eyes and Aaron raised his eyebrows. "Really Dave, they say patience is a virtue."

Dave actually growled and Emily lost it laughing, careful though of the child in her arms and the baby she was keeping a close eye on in Jack's.

Aaron suppressed a laugh of his own as he settled at the end of Emily's bed and proceeded to recall what had occurred the morning of the day before.

New Section

"Congratulations Emily and Aaron; your firstborn is a girl. And you can be very happy with the lungs on her."

Breathe through the need to cry...if you cry, you won't be able to see properly.

"Emily." She opened her eyes at the awe she heard in Aaron's voice to find a masked nurse holding a squirming, blood-covered, screaming baby in front of her. Her breath caught in her throat and she had to swallow the emotion down hard as she carefully reached out a hand to lightly touch her.

The nurse turned her head as her name was called and then turned back to them. "You can see her in a bit, but she needs to be weighed and measured and we need to make sure there isn't anything that is going to immediately affect her health. We'll just be right over there."

Emily nodded reluctantly as the nurses eyes crinkled with what had to be an understanding smile and then she was out of sight as Aaron moved back in close to her side and the doctor announced, "Okay, snip that there...and here she is, another little girl for you. Those lungs are a wonderful sound. Breathing is always the first thing to worry about in multiples and premmies, but these girls of yours definitely don't seem to have that problem."

Again Emily could only look on with awe as her second daughter was held in front of her for a minute before being whisked off out of sight by the nurse from the second team.

"Okay, one more and we're done. How're you feeling there Emily?"

How am I feeling?

"I'm alright. I just want to hold them so much."

The doctor chuckled lightly as he murmured something to a nurse before he answered. "We'll get you to that stage as soon as humanly possible. We need to take care of you first, and they need to see their NICU teams before we can get to the cuddles stage; however, hearing the lungs on them, I don't think that will take too long."

Emily nodded slightly and took a deep breath as nausea threatened. Julia must have been watching her, because she smiled sympathetically.

"Not to worry; the nausea is normal due to the drugs being used. Just let me know immediately if you think you might throw up, alright?"

She nodded again as the doctor chuckled. "Love it everyone. It's raining girls today, not men, cause baby number three is a girl too. Congratulations Emily and Aaron, you have three beautiful baby girls. And I've been doing this long enough that I'm pretty certain I can tell you just from my brief glimpses of them that they're going to be identical. The two of you are going to have a handful. You might want to buy a shotgun Mr Hotchner, particularly if they grow up looking like your wife."

Aaron grinned as he gently stroked Emily's soft cheek. "I already have two handguns and a badge; they'll be more than enough."

Emily smiled agreement as they shared a heartfelt kiss.

New Section

"You have one son and three daughters?" Reid squeaked in surprise.

"Did you know that was what you were having?" JJ asked as she tried to soothe Reid.

"We had no clue throughout the pregnancy. When we first wanted to know, they couldn't get the right angles and then we just decided that it didn't matter. That's why we asked for neutral colours like whites, yellows and greens for all the clothing. And since none of us are really fans of anything pink, that works out well for now."

"Until Auntie Penelope gets her hands on them you mean," Derek said teasingly.

Emily eyed Penelope closely and said firmly, "Mummy and Auntie Penelope are having words before Auntie Penelope gets to the stage where she can corrupt her children."

Everyone laughed as Penelope pouted, though she too laughed before asking, "Are they well?"

Aaron nodded and tucked the blanket closer around the child in his arms, watching as her eyes opened sleepily and she looked up at him.

Oh wow...

Emily smiled at the soft, wondrous look on Aaron's face and answered Penelope's question. "They're surprising well for being six weeks early and being born in their distressed states. They're on the small side, too small for a couple of their doctors liking, so they'll be here for a couple of weeks until they put on a little more weight, but health-wise they're perfect. Their lungs are wonderfully developed and everything else is in the right place and proportion."

Everyone sighed in relief and laughed softly. It was Derek who asked the question everyone wanted to know the answer to. "So now that we know what you have, and that they're alright, what are their names?"

Everyone looked eagerly at the Hotchners and Emily and Aaron shared a loving look before prompting Jack.

Jack looked up with a proud smile. "I'm holding the oldest, cause she came out of Mummy's tummy first, and I got to pick her name from the list that Mummy and Daddy gave me. So I decided her name is Lily May Hotchner."

Everyone agreed that it was a wonderful name for the beautiful little girl in Jack's arms.

Aaron continued, "In the interests of fairness, we each chose a name for the girls, so no one would feel left out. And to be honest, the names that were chosen are just completely perfect for each of these precious little girls. I have the middle girl and for her name, I chose Catherine Anne Hotchner."

"I'm surprised that you didn't go the route of naming all your children by the same initial. A lot of parents with multiples do that."

Emily shrugged. "We aren't going conventional routes with our children. None of this common naming business and under no circumstances dressing them in the same clothes. They will have their own personalities and they will be encouraged and loved in all their individuality. Am I clear?" Once she was sure they all understood, she softened her attitude and smiled at everyone. "This precious little princess in my arms is our youngest. And because we aren't common, her name is Sophia Joy Hotchner."

"Lily, Catherine and Sophia," JJ said softly and sighed happily. "That's just beautiful guys."

Penelope aimed a huge smile at everyone and stated happily, "Lily, Catherine and Sophia, welcome to the family."

End

A/N: I hope you like my choice of three girls and their names. I thought about evening things out, but just decided that this was better.

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