"What do you mean, it's the last room available?"

Erin tried not to screech at the poor desk clerk, but she was having a hard time not to. Her nerves were shot and she desperately wanted a drink. Looking out the door, she saw Aaron idling there. Sighing, she looked back at the young woman. "I'm sorry, Ma'am, but with the storm, a lot of people turned off and decided to spend the night. There's nothing else I can do."

"Fine." She opened her purse and pulled out her billfold, handing over her license and credit card. "It's a government car, we're not allowed to leave the plate number."

The woman nodded and Erin tapped her fingers against the desk as she watched her fill out the data she needed. Her stomach knotted up painfully once more as a loud crack of thunder shook the building. "The storm should abate in another hour or two."

The warm sympathy was not something Erin had expected and she nodded a little as she took the keys and her cards from the woman's hand. "Thank you."

"No problem. Check out time is eleven, will that be a problem?"

"No, that should be fine." Turning, she made her way back to the rental car and slipped inside. "We're in Room 387."

"We?"

"There was only one available," she replied shortly, curling up in the seat. "Just drive around to the back, and then we can take the elevator up to our room." Her heart beat an unsteady tattoo in her chest, and she wondered if it was the lingering effects of the MDMA, or her unease at the situation they had found themselves in.

"Are you all right?" he asked softly, and she turned her head to look at him, shrugging slightly.

"I will be. I hope."

He nodded and pulled into a free spot, turning off the car. "You take the umbrella and our bags, I'll open the door."

She sighed softly as she picked it up, stepping outside the car once more, opening the umbrella and then going to the backseat and grabbing their duffles. "Jennifer left her bag in our car. I hope they were able to make it home, at least."

"I said I was sorry for getting us lost. I misheard the directions. You know my hearing is bad in my left ear."

"I know," she whispered as she made her way over to the door. "I just don't like storms." Going inside, she closed the umbrella and waited for him to join her by the elevator before pushing the button. The doors opened and she stepped in, shuffling to the back and letting him press the three button.

It was quiet on the ride up, with not even any music to distract her from her thoughts. "Erin?" She shied away from the light touch on her shoulder, withdrawing in on herself. "Tell me your thoughts."

"I don't like storms." It was all she was willing to tell him, and even that made her tear up a little. It had been storming the night her father had left them, storming the night she had lost her first baby, storming the night Alan told her he was leaving, and storming the night David had decided that love wasn't really love. And now, this.

The first stupid tear rolled down her cheek, and she dropped her bag to hurriedly brush it away. As the elevator came to a stop, she took a deep breath and picked up her bag, stepping out into the hall. Looking at the sign on the wall, she turned to the left and stalked down to their room, sliding the card into the lock.

Once she had a green light, she stepped inside and sighed deeply. There was only one bed, and none of the chairs looked big enough for her to curl up in. "I, I'll go sleep in the car," she whispered, turning to leave, only to run into Aaron's strong chest.

"No, Erin. We'll share the bed. I've had to do so numerous times on the field. We can remain professional." His arms closed around her, leading her back inside before closing and locking the door. She turned her head and glanced out the window in time to see a large flash of lighting strike and heard the accompanying clap of thunder. Erin couldn't stop the involuntary way her body tensed up, but she welcomed the soft feel of his hand rubbing her back. "Why didn't you tell me that storms bothered you this badly? This is more than not like storms."

"I'm still not good at opening up to other people." He led her over to the bed and helped her to sit, his arm never leaving her waist. Slowly, his thumb began to rub up and down her side, and she gave herself over to her tears, turning her face to bury it in the fabric of his shirt. "I've had many bad things happen to me during storms. Things I don't like to remember."

"I understand, Erin," he murmured, holding her close as she wept. "What do you need?"

"Just hold me. Tell me about Jack and Beth. Tell me something happy."

There was a long pause, and she wondered what she had said to take him aback. "We're not together any longer. After you had come back to us, after we had confirmed that it really was Curtis who had perished in the explosion, she decided that she couldn't worry about becoming the next target of some deranged unsub. Even though she loved me. Jack was upset, but he took it better than I did."

She nodded hesitantly against his chest, letting her eyes close as she sighed. "How did he do in school this year?"

"He's at the top of his class in everything. His teacher is recommending I place him in an accelerated learning class next year, but I haven't decided if I will or not. I want to keep him with his peers. And he hasn't told me he's bored yet. I think that's because his teacher does a good job at keeping him stimulated. Jessica would tell me about some of the assignments he had, and they were decidedly harder than the average student's."

"Maybe you should hire him a tutor. Give him extra-curricular things to focus on along with his schoolwork. Like, have him take up an instrument. I always wanted my children to learn the discipline of playing, but they just wanted to goof off. I still have the piano at my house, and I play sometimes, reminding myself of dreams of happier times."

The words slipped from her throat, even as she tried to stop them. "I don't have room for a piano at my place. But it sounds like a good idea." His thumb accidentally brushed the underside of her breast and she took a deep breath, trying to control her body's reaction to him. And then his thumb brushed against it once more, and Erin began to feel like it was not an accident at all. She pulled away from him, looking up into his eyes.

"Aaron?"

"I know of a way to take your mind off the storm outside. I know a way to make your body sing for a night. You need to feel better. I noticed the looks that you gave Dave on this case. I know that things happened between you and him." She pursed her lips as he brought his hand up to cup her cheek. "I want you to be okay."

"I want to be okay. I want to feel normal once more. Ever since I returned, things have been so awkward. My children are barely speaking to me, since they don't understand about the need to make certain that the man who wanted to murder me is really dead. David broke up with me, since he didn't want to hurt me any more than I already was. He blames himself for my near death. All I have is my empty house and my memories." Once unlocked, her heart kept pushing her to reveal her hurts to him. "I want my life back. Not this awful half-life I'm living right now."

A loud clap of thunder made her jump and then cling to Aaron, rubbing her face against his chest as she cried. "What is it?" he asked with tender concern.

"He raped me on a stormy night. The thunder covered up my screams and cries." She had never spoken of that to David. She wasn't sure he would understand, not even when he had been in the next room while it happened. "It was in the bunker. I learned how to hate there. And I hated you and your team for never being there for me, for never protecting me."

"Who hurt you?"
"Jason. I was the reason that he never came back to teach or guest lecture. When he turned in his credentials, the Director asked me if I thought he would be a good candidate, and I told him no. I, I couldn't have him that close to me, you see. It was easy when you all were out on the field, not in my presence, and he wasn't there to remind me of what happened. But if he had been in Quantico the whole time? Near me? Taunting me? I would have gone insane. I'm sorry."

He rubbed her back gently and she turned into him, straddling his waist in an effort to get closer to him. "I didn't know, Erin. I'm sorry." She shrugged a little and his hands splayed across her back, pressing her closer to him. He sought out her lips, kissing her sweetly, softly, and she sighed against him, loving the warmth he offered. "Will you let me comfort you tonight? Let me try to chase away your demons for an evening?"

"Yes," she whispered, bumping her nose against his cheek. "Yes."

He nodded and gently turned her onto her back, letting her relax against the mattress. His nimble fingers made short work of her jacket and then he was tugging her blouse from her skirt, undoing the buttons from the bottom up. "You have such soft skin," he said as he leaned in and brushed his lips against her stomach. She couldn't stop the soft whimper of pleasure that escaped her mouth as he licked at her skin, drawing his tongue up her stomach to the edge of her bra.

"Please, don't stop," she murmured as she arched up to let his hands slip around her back and unfasten her bra.

"Sit up a moment, so I can pull your clothes off," he said lowly, and she nodded, slipping her arms out of them as he quickly divested himself of suit coat and shirt. A flash of lightning let her glimpse the scars and marks on his chest, and she gasped a little. "At least your nightmare can be confined to stormy weather. It was just a normal night when Foyet hurt me."

"Oh, Aaron," she said as she leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his waist as she ran her hands up and down his back. "We survived, though, didn't we?"

"Even if our deepest scars rest inside of us." Erin nodded and pressed her lips against the firm flesh of his chest before resting her ear there, listening to his heart beat. He cuddled her close to him, rubbing her back once more as she focused on the steady thumping. "What were your dreams, when you were growing up?"

She smiled at the question, as if he knew that she was feeling a little trepidation at just making love to him, with no preamble, no real assurance of who he was outside the office. "I wanted to be a singer. I've always loved music, it's always been a part of my life. I could give Jack lessons, you know. Jessica could drop him off at my house once a week, and I could do something useful for once in my life."

"Hush, don't talk like that. You protected us, you figured out before we did that is was a mole on the inside, and you almost gave up everything to catch him. You have done so much of worth in your life, beyond your children." He tipped her head up and kissed her sweetly and she melted against him, relishing the feel of his tongue darting out to tap at her lips. Opening her mouth, she lapped at his tongue, enjoying the age old duel. "I wanted to be a writer. Instead, I followed in my father's footsteps and went to law school and when that didn't satisfy me, I joined the FBI."

"There's always time to chase our dreams. Or at least, that's what I tried to tell my children." She kissed him once more before running her hands down his chest to the buckle of his belt, quickly undoing it before unzipping his pants and pushing them down his hips. He seemed to take the hint and quickly removed her skirt, leaving them with only their underwear to separate them. He was so hard against her thigh, and she sighed a little, knowing that he was ready, even when she wasn't quite there yet.

"Shh," he whispered, kissing her lips once more before beginning to place light, gentle, tender, kisses on her face before moving down to caress her collar bone. "Do you like this?" he breathed out against the crook of her neck, and she shivered as she nodded, bringing her hand up to thread her fingers in his hair. "Good. I have a little self-control, and my mother always told me that being a man was about more than finding your own pleasure, it was about making sure your partner was pleased as well."

She teared up a little as looked into his eyes, her fingers tightening as she tried to control the tears. "Thank you."

"I promised I wouldn't leave you then, and I won't now." She nodded as he began to kiss her once more, his lips brushing the top of her breasts, and she moved her hips restlessly beneath him. He seemed to take her hint and reached out to tug her panties down her legs, letting her kick them off before fitting himself there. He chuckled lightly as he slipped his hand between her thighs, using his thumb to tease between her lips and seeking out her clitoris. Her body bowed up into him, causing him to press his lips tightly to her breast.

"Aaron, more," she whimpered as he stroked her, building up that sweet feeling of tightness in her body. "Please."

"What do you want?"

The question was equally wicked and sweet, and she smiled a little as she spread her legs a little wider to accommodate him. "I'd like to feel you in me now." A crack of thunder spooked her once more and then he was there, soothing her with a kiss, even as he fluidly entered her. Swallowing her cry of dismay, he then began to kiss her face tenderly, even as he moved in and out of her. She sighed, giving herself up to the pleasure he was bringing her.

Aaron leaned in and kissed her sweetly as her orgasm rocked her body. She welcomed the wonderful way he made she that she felt loved in this tender moment and Erin wrapped her arms around his torso, pulling him down on top of her as she shuddered through her completion. He followed soon after her and then collapsed fully, breathing heavily in her ear.

"How do you feel, Erin?"

"Precious," she whispered. "As if the lightning sparked something wonderful inside of me, instead of the fear."

"Good. That was the intention." He kissed her once more. "Precious, I like that. Our precious Erin." Placing another kiss on her lips, he covered them both with the sheets. "Sleep now, Precious. You'll be safe in my arms."

She nodded through a yawn, cuddling close to him. Somehow she knew that he would keep his word, that he would keep the demons at bay for a night. Closing her eyes, she let herself drift off to sleep, drawing in the warmth he exuded. This felt like heaven and home, and she didn't want the feeling to end.