DISCLAIMER - I DO NOT OWN CRIMINAL MINDS OR THE CHARACTERS.
AN - All non Criminal Minds characters are my own.
CHAPTER 3 - The next afternoon
As Hotch pulled into Dave's driveway he noticed that Morgan had just arrived ahead of him.
"Afternoon Hotch. I did some thinking last night and realised that I do believe what Dave told us yesterday. I am also going to apologize for the rash actions that I took about Strauss's behaviour during the last case. I understand now how I could of read the situation wrong." sighed Morgan. He really didn't want to apologies but it was the right thing to do to help keep his friendship with Dave.
"Afternoon Morgan. I'm going to apologies as well for going behind Strauss's back to the Director without going to her first. I realised the only way we can all work together is if we trust each other and I feel I might have broken that with my actions. We had only just got to a workable relationship, even after everything that happened with Foyet. I only hope my actions against her don't hurt the team as a result." said Hotch as both men made their way up to Dave's front door.
As the doorbell rang David left Erin looking at the ultrasound they had received that morning. After they phoned the doctor he told them to come straight in, as with Erin's age there was a high risk to the pregnancy. He wanted to run some tests ASAP just to make sure everything was okay. They had left the doctors with the photographic proof that they were indeed pregnant and that Erin was further along than any of them thought. They couldn't believe it when the doctor explained that Erin was already passed the first trimester and well into her 4th month.
"Hi guys. Come on in. Erin's through in the den with Mudgie. Go on through." said Dave as he answered the front door. He had a massive grin on his face and nothing was going to dampen his mood today.
As the three men made their way to the den Erin stood to greet them. Not surprisingly she had a matching grin to David's which confused the other two men but neither wanted to pry into their lives more than they already had.
"Good afternoon gentlemen. Please. Have a seat." said Erin. Again both men were at a loss as to what they were missing as she had actually sounded truely pleased to see them.
"Thank you, Ma'am." said both of them as they took the sofa across from the couple.
After a couple of minutes of silence David realised he was going to have to start the ball rolling.
"So... Do you two have any more questions that you feel we haven't answered to explain why Erin is definitely not a drunk?"
"Actually." started Morgan "I would like to apologies for my actions regarding this situation as I should never have gone behind your back Ma'am."
"It's alright Agent Morgan. Now that I have had time to think about things as well, I realised that I never fully answered any of your questions about my behaviour that day, which probably gave you more questions." laughed Erin.
Hotch decided that Strauss seemed to be in a forgiving mood and would try his apology as well.
"Ma'am. I would also like to apologies for going behind your back to the Director instead of coming straight to you. I know since Hayley died, and even before that, you have been there for our team without us knowing and I would hate that our rash actions could cause any problems between us all."
"Again, Agent Hotchner, I am willing to put all this mess behind us and move on. David and I spoke with the Director this morning on the way back from the doctors and he understands how things got out of hand between us all. He decided no further action would be taken and that we should just forget about it."
"I hope we did not add to your stress Ma'am. If we were the cause of such a visit to the doctor then again I feel I must apologies for adding to an already stressful time in your life." replied Hotch. He hoped that everything was alright between the couple and that Erin's health didn't cause her to leave the Bureau. He would never admit it out loud, but she was the easiest Chief to get on with and didn't try to interfere in the running of his team too much like others had.
Although Erin didn't feel it necessary to share their news with the two agents in front of her, she realised that the two men were part of David's family and he had probably wanted to tell them as soon as they found out. Turning to look at husband she decided that she couldn't deny David this and so leaned in to whisper her okay for him to tell them.
Dave looked to his wife in shock. He couldn't believe she was okay with him telling his team mates before they had a chance to tell the kids.
"Are you sure you are okay with telling them?" questioned Dave. She must be in a really good mood then he thought.
"I have always known that your team mates were your family David and this news should be shared with family."
"Okay, I'll tell them. Do you want to go phone the kids and ask if they want to come for lunch tomorrow? As I know Tom still hasn't met his new nephew." suggested David. He was pleased that he could tell his team mates but didn't want Erin to be in the same room in case their reaction upset her. Finding out that your friend is married to your boss is one thing, but finding out that they are now expecting a child together is totally different.
Understanding dawned on Erin on what her husband was trying to do. "Sure sweetheart. I'll let Tom know that you will be giving him a rematch on that racing game you both love, as I am still not convinced you didn't cheat." replied Erin as she made her way to the kitchen.
Both men were now really confused as to what was going on. Both had expected the couple to be more upset with their actions the previous day but yet they seemed eager to put it behind them as if they had bigger things to worry about.
"Alright. Now that she's gone, what's going on? I honestly didn't think either of you would forgive us both so quickly. Especially me as I had gone to the Director with my concerns." asked a very puzzled Hotch.
"To be honest nothing is going to spoil my good mood just now, because when we were at the doctors we got the best news possible. Turns out that for the last few weeks Erin hasn't been feeling well, so I managed to convince her to go to the doctors this morning. We suspected last night what he would confirm but to be sure we went anyway." as David let them think over what he'd told them so far, he could see that Morgan had no clue as to what he was hinting at but Hotch seemed to be almost smiling as understanding dawned apon him.
"Come on Rossi. You gonna tell us what's going on or not because I have no clue what your talking about? Are you trying to tell us that Strauss is ill? If so, why are you so happy about it?" questioned Morgan.
"She is ill but at the same time, she's not. What she has will only last another 5 and a half months and then it becomes something else entirely." answered Rossi. He was having too much fun making Morgan confused to just tell them outright.
"I think I know what your talking about Dave and if so then I am really happy for the both of you. To make things up to both of you, I would be glad to help either of you anyway I can." said Hotch as he rose to shake Dave's hand.
"Thank you Hotch. It means a lot to me that you are happy for the both of us." said Dave as he pulled him into a man hug.
"Is anyone going to fill me in here? As I still don't understand how your wife being ill is such a happy thing." asked a very puzzled Morgan.
What all three men didn't realise was that Erin had re-entered the room and she had decided to put Morgan out of his misery.
"It's not the fact the I am ill Agent Morgan. It's the fact that in 5 and a half months a baby makes morning sickness and swollen ankles worth it." said Erin from the doorway.
As Morgan finally understood what Dave had been trying to tell him, he shot up from the couch and made a very good impression of a goldfish. As everybody else waited for him to start speaking again, Hotch walked over to Erin and proceeded to hug her.
"Ma'am. I would like to congratulate the both of you on this wonderful news. I'm sure everything will go smoothly during your pregnancy but if there is anything me or any of my team can do to help you or Dave, please just let us know. You and this baby are now both part of our family and we will do anything to protect our family. Isn't that right Morgan?"
"Erm... Yes man. Absolutely. I mean congratulations to both of you and if there is anything I can do to help make up for my past actions please don't hesitate to ask."
As Erin thought about their offer to help them, she realised that they still had four other members of the team to tell about their news. "
Actually gentlemen. Now that I think about it. We could use your help in telling the rest of the team about this. I mean it's a lot to take in that not only has your team mate been secretly married for 7 years but he's married to your bosses boss and they are expecting a baby in December." mused Erin.
As everyone pondered what would be the best way to tell the team, Rossi decided that the truth would be the best way forward.
"How about we call a team meeting first thing Monday morning and we tell them then? That way if they have any questions, which they will, we can answer them together as I'm not sure how much longer Morgan can keep this from Garcia anyway." suggested Rossi.
"I think your right David. You shouldn't have to lie to your friends anymore and the sooner they except this the better. Remember the doctor wants me to keep an eye on my blood pressure, so I will go in early and speak to Eric. Once he understands the situation I'm sure he will be able to give me more leeway with my working hours for appointments and such things."
"Well if that's settled then I think we will leave you two to enjoy your weekend. We will see you on Monday Dave." said Hotch as he and Morgan made their way to the door.
"Here Ma'am. I would like you to have this." said Morgan as they reached the front door. "These are my work and private numbers. If you ever need anything don't hesitate to call. Your family now and Dave would kill me if we didn't help look after you."
"Thank you very much Agent Morgan and its Erin when we're not in the office." replied Erin as she took the card he was offering.
"Then it's Derek, Erin. Have a nice weekend you two and I'll see you both on Monday. Oh... Erin. If you think Dave's cheating at GTA4, it's probably because Reid showed him how to input the cheats before each game." whispered Morgan as he turned and left their home.
"Really... I can't believe you David Rossi. I will certainly not be letting you do that any more." said Erin as she turned to face her husband.
"I thought it would be character building for him if he realised just because I'm older than him, it doesn't mean that I'm going to be a push over." replied David as he put on his best smile hoping that his wife would forgive him.
"I promise I will not use anymore of the cheats that Reid showed me. Okay?"
"Fine. Let's go inside and look at some baby things online, as I already have a few ideas about what we will need." suggested Erin as she headed to their shared office.
"Oh brother. It's gonna be a long 5 months." was all Dave could think as he followed he wife inside.
Hope everone likes the direction this story is taking. Have more still to come.
