Into the Grey
Congressman Grant Collins straightened his bow tie in the hall mirror. There was a charity event on the Hill and he wanted to arrive a little early. He knocked on the open master bedroom door. "Erin?" he called out. "Need any help?"
"Could you zip me up?" she came out of the walk-in in a stunning navy gown.
"Lovely choice." he smiled. "Fits great."
"That remains to be seen." she told him. "Finger crossed it zips. I think I did irreparable damage to my favorite black dress."
There were many favorite black dresses. "Which one?"
Erin turned her bare back toward him. "The off the shoulder one with the jewels at the strap."
"Ah, the Grecian Goddess."
"I don't think Goddesses wear black, Grant."
He zipped the dress up effortlessly. "Sure they can." his hands lingered over the smooth skin of her shoulders. Her hair was swept up and there was something positively inviting about the pale flesh or her neck. "We'll get you another one." his breath was warm against her as he spoke.
Erin slipped out of his embrace. "We don't want to be late." she smoothed her dress out in the mirror. The empire waist hiding the beginnings of her rounded lower abdomen.
"Why do you do that?"
Her eyes met his in the mirror. "Do what?"
"Pull away from me like that?"
She cast her eyes away from his, checking her hair and her makeup. "You walk on eggshells with me. Afraid of tipping my sobriety cart. You feel a duty and a responsibility to me. And you shouldn't."
"You've come so far, Erin. I just don't want you to back track." he admitted. "I don't want to be the reason you stumble."
"I appreciate that, Grant. I really and honestly do, but this isn't right." she told him. "It isn't fair to either of us. Especially you."
"Life isn't fair." he told her. "We both know that."
Erin turned to face him. "I'm carrying another man's baby." her voice was low. "I know it's killing you. And the more the pregnancy progresses the more it's going to hurt. Both of us."
"I know." he admitted. "But I also know that you had an error in judgement, not a long standing affair with Agent Hotchner."
"We've both had a few errors in judgements."
"That we have." he agreed. "And we've always come out on the other side."
"Yes but this error in judgement resulted in a baby." she told him. "In five months there's going to be a tangible reminder."
Grant shook his head. "I don't know what you want me to do, Erin."
"I want to know why all of the sudden our marriage is magically fixed?" she asked him. "How talking about separation and divorce not even six months ago is no longer mentioned?"
"I'm trying to be supportive here, Erin."
"Feels more like enabling, Grant." she told him. "I've got to be able to stand on my own two feet. And before you ask I would be saying this even if I weren't pregnant. I love you, but this isn't working. It hasn't for a while."
As angry and hurt as he had been about her infidelity and subsequent pregnancy he couldn't bring himself to lash out at her. He didn't want to undo all the work she had done while she was in treatment. "I don't want to leave you alone and vulnerable." he said. "You've made amazing progress."
"And I'm going to keep making progress." she assured him. "You've been so supportive throughout all this. It's been so unfair to you. Any other man would have just up and left."
"I'm not any other man."
"I know that." she replied, softly. "That's why I know that we can do this amicably with as little damage done to our children as possible."
Grant nodded his agreement. "We'll do this slowly." he told her. "Make the transition easier."
"Thank you." she whispered.
His hands came to rest on her shoulders. "Let's just take a deep breath and calm down." he suggested. "We'll go to the event tonight and have a good time. All the details can be worked out later."
Erin nodded. "Just let me get some shoes."
"Not too high, okay?"
/
The night was going rather well. It was Erin's first social event since she got home from treatment. At first she stuck close to her husband before getting her footing and venturing out to reconnect with friends and acquittances on her own. It was when a waiter came toward her with a serving tray of champagne that David Rossi stepped between them. "No thank you." he quickly told the young man. "Erin, it's good to see you."
"What have you done wrong in my absence, Dave?"
"Nothing."
Erin smirked. "You're not usually this...welcoming."
"Oh, come on. I know we're not friends but we're certainly not enemies." he said. "Besides you know what they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder."
"Oh, is that what they say?" she arched her defined eyebrow. "When the cat is away the mouse will play seems to be more fitting."
"I've been on my best behavior."
"I've heard." she replied. "Aaron has been keeping me up to date on everything. Must have been difficult for you without anyone there to keep you in line."
David shrugged. "I managed." he said. "You look great by the way. Taking a sabbatical seems to agree with you."
"Hmm." she sighed. "We both know there was more to it than that."
"It's none of my business." he knew. Not many people knew about her entrance into rehab but he was one of the few. "Would you care to dance?"
Erin glanced to where Grant was on the other side of the room and then back to David. "Sure why not." she took his hand. "Maybe I can figure out your motive."
"Motive?"
"For being so cordial."
"I didn't know it was a crime to be cordial to a beautiful woman." he told her. "Especially when that woman is your boss." He reached for her hand. "Just to warn you I'm not that great at the waltz."
"Simplest dance in the world."
"Would it be too awkward if I asked you to lead?"
"Incredibly." she replied. "Besides you're doing fine."
David's hand slipped down to the small of her back, pulling her toward him a little more. The firmness of her lower abdomen pushed against him. Erin stiffened and pulled back without breaking their dance steps. "It's not the tango." she told him. "We don't have to be that close."
He eyed her suspiciously. "You're pregnant."
She looked up at him. "So that was the reason for the dance." she started to pull away but he held onto her. "I knew you were up to something."
"My curiosity got the best of me." he admitted. "Congratulations."
"Thank you." she replied, flatly.
"Oh." he breathed out. "A surprise I take it?"
"I'm not discussing this with you, David."
"You don't have to." he told her. "Your eyes say so much. They always have."
"Do you know something you shouldn't?"
David chuckled. "I know lots of things I shouldn't."
They continued to dance in silence. He wasn't as bad of a dancer as he initially lead on. Either that or he was a quick study. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Erin looked up at him. "Thank you, but no." she replied. "There's nothing to talk about. We both know where I was. The only thing that matters now is that I'm back. I'll be in the office on Monday morning."
/
The screeching of tires rang out loudly and then an ungodly racket of metal against metal. Glass shattered. An SUV had plowed into the side of the congressman's limo. Grant's instincts had been quick, pushing Erin as far toward the other side of the car as he could, his body shielding hers.
tbc...
