When Erin came to, she had a blanket wrapped around her. Sitting up, she pulled the blanket close around her and looked around. Beth was also curled up, a blanket covering her, still sound asleep. Stretching, she looked at the coffee table and found a sheet of paper underneath her water glass.
Picking it up, she quickly read Dear Erin, We took off about three this afternoon. JJ and Will are giving me and Martha a ride home. The leftovers are in the fridge for whenever you and Beth wake up. Take care of her and whatever burden she's carrying. You have a beautiful soul, my precious English rose. I love you so very much and we'll talk later. Your mo chroi, Davie
Smiling, she set aside the note and watched Beth sleep. Even covered, she could tell that the woman had her hand protectively covering her stomach and her heart broke a little. Sighing, she stood and picked her cellphone up, going out onto the porch. Quickly, she dialed Penelope, hoping she was making the right choice. "Penny?"
"Erin! How is everything? You're still alive, which is a good sign."
"Yes, well, I need you to do something for me, something that would get us both into trouble."
"Name it, my sweet Erin, and I will do it."
She laughed a little. "So, I need you to break HIPAA and hack into the medical records for Beth. You need to find out what her doctor told her about her condition and the truth about her ability to carry children."
"What?"
"Need I say that this is a highly sensitive task?"
"No, Erin. I'll try to get back to you as quickly as I can." They hung up and Erin went back inside, finding Beth just coming to wakefulness.
"We've been left to our own devices, Beth." She sat back down next to her, patting her knee gently. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Just listen, I suppose. How long were we napping?"
Erin looked at the clock above the fireplace. "About three hours. Are you feeling any better?" Beth shrugged a little, bringing her knees up to her chest. "Have you ever gotten a second opinion about your condition?"
"Why should I? The doctor made it quite clear back then that nothing would ever fix me."
"And there's been quite a few years to make medical advances. Perhaps something has changed and you could carry the baby to term, without harm to you." Beth shrugged once more. "You're still hurting."
"I was fourteen and stupid. My boyfriend was seventeen. I should have listened to my mom and not gone out with him, but what teenager listens to their parents? We broke up after that, but the damage was done. When I went in for the procedure, the doctor did something wrong and I ended up with the inability to carry children safely." More tears trickled down her cheeks and Erin held out her arm. Beth leaned into her, sighing deeply.
"Have you told Aaron about that?"
"I tried to. How is it I can be more open with you than with the man I'm in love with?" Beth curled her hand in the fabric of Erin's blouse, worrying it between her fingers. "I want to tell him, and then, the words won't come to my mouth. Something inside me stops them from coming out."
"I can understand that. It was hard telling David how I lost my baby, since it is not a story that I like repeating. I held it close to my heart for so long, and then, when I finally told him, it felt like a weight came off my shoulders."
"Would you mind…no, that's not my place. Forget I asked."
"No, you told me something deeply personal, I owe you the same courtesy." She took a deep breath and pulled back from Beth, looking away from her. "My first husband was a violent man. Dave asked me why I stayed, and I told him it was because of the children, they needed a stable home. They hated that I was a drunk, too, though, and so weak to stay. Anyway, I was pregnant with my fourth child, and he got angry at me for something, and began to wail on me with a pillowcase filled with oranges."
Beth gasped. "Oh, my god, Erin, I understand now. I would have drank, too, to escape that."
Erin smiled wryly as she blinked back tears. "There are no excuses, I know that now. I started losing the baby at work the next morning. And then, she was gone, there was nothing they could do, and they had to give me a complete hysterectomy. Such wonderful news to hear when you're mourning the loss of your baby and hoping that you could have another."
"No, it's not." She looked at Beth and reached out for her hand, clasping it tightly. "But now you have Dave and I have Aaron, and we're trying to rebuild our lives."
"There is that." They settled back and Erin drew her knees up to her chest tightly, letting go of Beth's hand. "I cannot imagine how my life would have turned out had I made just one different choice."
"Would you really give up who you are now for who you could have been?"
"Probably not, since I am in the perfect place right now. Even if there are jagged edges to my life, those jagged edges fit perfectly with Dave's and make us a whole." She sighed.
"You miss him, don't you?"
Erin nodded. "I swore I was never going to be one of those clingy women who can't live an hour without her man. But there's something in me that's cleaved to him so tightly."
"The same way I've clung to Aaron. I'm on tenterhooks every time he goes out in the field. I mean, I know he's trained for his job, just like I've trained for mine. But there's that momentary panic I experience every time he calls to tell me he's heading out."
Erin nodded. "Do you want to call them back? Just our significant others?"
The other woman smiled widely. "I would love that, actually."
Erin grinned as she pulled out her cellphone, quickly dialing home. Dave picked up on the first ring. "Everything all right, Erin?"
"Perfectly fine. Would you call Aaron and have him run you over? Beth and I want to spend a romantic evening with our beaus."
She listened to him chuckle lowly. "Couldn't bear to get rid of me, huh? We should be there in about forty minutes. Maybe I can get MarJo to watch Jack for him, too."
"Whatever you do, hurry. We miss you."
"Two shakes of a lamb's tail, sweetheart." She nodded and hung up, putting her phone away. Beth looked at her questioningly and she smiled.
"About forty minutes and they'll be here. Do you want to go down to the lake with me? It's the perfect waiting spot."
"Sure." Erin grabbed her blanket off the couch and walked over to the door, stepping out onto the porch. Beth trailed after her and they climbed down the steps to the lawn together. The sun was just starting to go down in the west and she spread her blanket out on the end of the dock. Sitting heavily, she crossed her legs and watched the birds flying. "How can you ever bear to leave this heaven?"
"It's our haven, something to look forward to. I love coming here when I need to be away from everything, so that makes it easier to leave, once my soul is recharged." She flopped back on the blanket, staring up at the sky. "The stars are so beautiful here, too. On a clear night, it looks like the sky is blanketed in them."
Her phone buzzed and she pulled it out, smiling at the text message from Penelope that told her some very welcome news had been anonymously forwarded to Beth's email account. "What was that?"
"Just some good news, Beth." She slipped the phone back in her pocket and sighed. "Is there anything in the world that would ever make you change your mind about checking to see if things had changed for you? Part of working on our past is taking stock of what's changed. For instance, I had to see that being a lone wolf in my job was no longer the preferred way of doing things. That had changed and so I had to change with it."
Beth sighed, laying back on the deck as well. "I would love it if I were proven wrong. I would love to keep this baby and have no problems doing so. I just don't know if my heart can take getting my hopes up and then hearing it was all for naught. It would destroy me."
Erin nodded and sighed, letting her eyes close. "What if I told you there was nothing to worry about? That this part of your past has been worked on and fixed?"
Beth's breath hitched a little as she drew it in and Erin turned on her side to look at her. Beth was staring at her, her eyes wide and hopeful. "What did you have Penelope do?"
"What anyone would do for a friend. She found out that there is a procedure that will let you carry to term safely. I don't know all the details, since medical terminology is not my forte, but there is cause for hope."
She watched Beth begin to cry, cradling her stomach gently. "When I first met Aaron, one of the things he told me was that his boss tried to portray herself as a bitch, but that she had a heart of gold. And then I let your drinking cloud my thoughts on you. I should have kept that heart of gold in mind. Thank you."
"You're welcome." Erin reached out her hand to the other woman and she clasped it tightly. "Now there's no hurdle to your happiness with Aaron. Davie has said that I'm a closet romantic, and he's right. I just want everyone to be happy, especially after everything Aaron has been through in his life."
They fell silent and Erin turned back onto her back. The sky was darkening, but the heat refused to go away. She loved the heat, though, and would be sad to see the summer fade into fall. "Erin! Beth! Are you out there?" She sat up and looked towards the deck. Dave and Aaron were standing there and she waved to them eagerly. Dave's smile widened as he saw them, and he came ambling down to the water.
Erin stood, picking up her blanket, and jogged over to him, throwing her arms around him as she kissed his lips. "You're here," she murmured. "I have officially become one of those women, mo chroi. I couldn't stand knowing you were home and I wasn't with you."
He kissed her again and then nuzzled his nose in her hair. "I don't care if you are one of those women, my love. That just means you are mine." They turned to see Beth and Aaron, locked in a tender embrace, murmuring to each other. "Okay, kiddos, let's head inside and eat supper before it gets cold. Aaron and I stopped and picked up a lasagna that smells heavenly."
They nodded and caught up to them on the deck, following them inside. The food really did smell delicious, and Erin covered her stomach hurriedly when it growled. "This is why I have to remember to eat. I embarrass myself otherwise." Her husband rubbed her back as he brought her into the kitchen.
"Yeah, and I don't want you to fade away. You got really thin there for a while." He kissed her temple and she sighed. On the kitchen table, everything was ready for them to eat and she sat down next to Dave. Aaron and Beth sat across from them and they dug in. Erin managed to eat the entire slab that Dave had put on her plate, relishing the delicious taste.
"We'll do the dishes, ladies, if you want to get our rooms set up for the night." Aaron squeezed Beth's hand before shooing her off. Erin went over to the door and waited for the other woman. Once Beth had joined her, they went upstairs and she showed her the guest room.
"You can borrow one of my nighties, if you want. They probably didn't think to bring anything to wear tonight." Beth nodded and followed her into the master bedroom. Erin rummaged through her drawers until she found a nightgown that would be good for the other woman. "Here, this should fit you."
Beth took the garment from her hands and then stepped forward to hug Erin tightly. Whirling around, she rushed from the room and Erin laughed a little as she took out a nightgown of her own. Taking it into the bathroom, she quickly showered and then pulled the nightie on over her head.
Climbing into bed, she curled up to wait for her husband, anxious to feel his arms around her once more. Her eyes closed as she slipped into her favorite fantasy of them. Her hand slipped down her body, slipping between her folds to tease her clit as she slid deeper into the fantasy. "Couldn't wait for me, beloved?"
Her eyes opened lazily as she shrugged. "More like priming the pump." He chuckled as he closed the door and then stalked over to her side. Sitting down, he bent over her body and kissed her deeply. "This is what I have to do when you're gone, mo chroi. My hand is no substitute for you."
"I love you." The sudden declaration surprised her and she looked up at him questioningly. "You delight me with surprises, Erin. After Carolyn, I never thought to find that kind of relationship again." He kissed her again. "We'll have to be quiet, if we make love tonight. Our walls aren't exactly soundproof."
"I'd forgotten about that. Kiss me quick, then, mo chroi." He nodded and stripped off his clothes, letting them lay where they fell. Spreading her legs, she welcomed in her body, loving the fullness he created in her. They moved in fluid synchronicity and she felt her orgasm steal over her body. Pulling down his head, she kissed him, hard, to drown out the sound of her moan as she came.
Dave stayed inside her as he turned them on their sides. "God, Erin, I don't think I will ever get enough of you."
"And I don't think I will ever get enough of you, either." She kissed him once more. "So, we now have three pregnant women on our hands. Penelope, Martha, and Beth. This is going to be an interesting year coming up."
"That it is. Aaron told me a little of what Beth was thinking. Is she going to go through with the pregnancy?"
"Now that she knows she can, safely." She snuggled into her love, resting her head on his chest. "Ever since Christmas, I've been working on my past, trying to get over what I'd done, and I never stopped to think about the fact that we're all trying to get over what we've done. Help me to keep that in mind, all right?"
"Yes, Erin." He dropped a kiss on the top of her head before wrapping his arms around her, drawing her close to him. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and let sleep come, knowing she would be safe in his arms.
