Aaron sat behind his desk, looking down blankly at the file in front of him. He knew that he should be trying to get this done, since he had to get over to Dave's, and give Erin her lesson for the week, but he was having a difficult time focusing, which was unusual for him. All his thoughts were consumed by Erin and Dave and how to fix this muddled mess he had managed to get himself into. Truly, if he had been thinking, he would have steered Erin away from him and back into the arms of her husband. He would have talked to Dave, gotten him to see how much he was hurting Erin, and talked him into being patient with Erin and grateful for the fact she had given birth to his children. He would have stopped himself from starting an affair.

Shaking his head a little, Aaron pushed away from his desk and made his way out into the hall. Dave's office door was still closed, which relieved him a little. Turning, he made his way to Garcia's office and knocked on the door, heading inside before she had welcomed him in. "To what do I owe this pleasure, Aaron?" she asked a bit peevishly, and he wondered just how much Erin had told her, since it was clear that they were becoming close friends as the weeks had gone by.

"I take it Erin's discussed the current state of things with you?" he asked lowly as he crossed over to her desk and took a seat on the edge. She refused to look at him, instead giving a tight nod before tapping away furiously on her keyboard. "I never meant for this to happen."

"And yet, you still slept with her. She was weak, vulnerable, needy, and you took advantage of that."

"I'm sorry?"

"You heard me. You took advantage of a situation that was entirely in your control. You are supposed to be the most levelheaded person amongst us, since you're our leader. What happens when David finds out about this?"

"He won't find out."

"Neither of you are very good at keeping secrets, Aaron. She told me in a phone call what had happened, and then you didn't even bother to deny it, just assumed that I knew when I wasn't my usual perky self in answering you. And if I know, how many others are going to know? And then how long before it gets back to him? What if he kicks her out? You know he won't let her take Isabella and Katrina with her, if that happens."

He released a long, low, breath as he shrugged. "I haven't really thought that far into the future. But I do know that what I'm feeling is more than friendly, which is most likely why I allowed things to get out of hand so quickly."

She looked up at him, fury in her eyes, and he flinched away from that look. "You fell in love with her? And you think that excuses what you did? She still loves Rossi! But now she also thinks that she loves you, too! That's it! Today's lesson is going to be your last, and you are going to tell Erin exactly that, in the nicest way possible, so that you don't break her heart any more than you already will."

Aaron tensed a little, taking umbrage with her declaration, and tightened his jaw as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I will do no such thing, Penelope. We are both adults, and can make our own decisions."

"Even if they are idiotic."

"Even if." Their eyes met once more, and this time, Aaron could see the caring behind the rage, and knew that she meant the best for them, even though she was being obstinate about things. "Now, I have a lesson to get to, and I would thank you to keep Dave occupied for an hour or so. Nothing will happen between us today, except maybe some talking."

Penelope let out a deep sigh before nodding a little. "I wouldn't be so hard on you, but I love you both like family."

"I know," he said as he patted her shoulder. "And thank you for caring so much. It keeps us grounded." She gave him a small smile as he stood up and then made his way out of the room. Their little talk hadn't made him feel much better, but it did help to put things into perspective. Jessica had given him similar advice, to break things off before they became too attached to each other, and he had similarly rebuffed her, knowing that anything that happened between him and Erin had to be worked out between the two of them.

Walking slowly, he went back to his office and collected his guitar and briefcase before heading out to the elevators. As the doors were closing on him, he noticed Dave leave his office, and he wondered if they were going to have an awkward lesson that afternoon after all. Knowing there was nothing he could do at this point, he continued on his way down to the ground floor and out to his car, making the drive to Dave's house as quickly and safely as he could.

Bernice met him at the door that afternoon, Isabella on her hip, and he gave them a warm smile as he stepped inside. "Miss Erin is in the study, waiting for you. Bella was listening to her play, but we know how important it is that she have her lessons as uninterrupted as possible."

"Thank you, Bernice." He patted Isabella's head softly, watching the little girl grin at him before she buried her face in Bernice's neck. The nanny gave him a quick smile as they parted ways, each heading to a different area of the house. He could hear Erin singing and playing, and the closer he got, the clearer he could hear.

"Oh mother, oh mother go dig my grave, Make it both long and narrow, Sweet William died of love for me, And I will die of sorrow." He came into the study as that verse died on her lips, and he could feel the overwhelming air of melancholy weigh heavily on his shoulders. "Aaron, I didn't hear you arrive."

"Bernice let me in. I, I had a talk with Penelope today."

"Oh." Erin hugged her guitar close to her torso, her fingers worrying the strings as she stared at the carpet. "Are you going to leave me, then? She said that that would be for the best, for us to cut off all communication with each other until this infatuation passed. But I feel like this isn't just some passing fancy. Whatever has been growing between us is deeper than just that. I, I think I've fallen in love with you, while still being in love with David. I just, I don't know what I would do if you left me, too."

"Too?"

"Oh, you know that David has left me emotionally, months ago. And now, it's just me, holding up both sides of our marriage." A few tears began to roll down her cheeks as she started to play Barbara Allen once more. "I want to be selfish, Aaron, and have both of you in my life. At least until I'm strong enough to choose you."

He took a seat next to Erin, closing his hand around her shoulder. She paused her playing to look at him, and he leaned in, pressing his lips to her forehead. "Everyone who loves us would say that we're playing with fire, that we're encouraging folly, but for some reason, this feels right. I know that our feelings are not often a good indicator of what is true and right, but I also cannot deny them. Because I do find myself in love with you, too."

Erin's breath caught in her throat as she set her guitar in its stand and turned to him, love and sorrow in her gaze as she scooted closer to him, close enough to rest her head on his shoulder as she took hold of his hand and threaded their fingers together. "It gets harder and harder to live a lie each day. I had to tell Penelope, because there was no one else in my life who would understand, and I knew that she would still care for me, even though she might disapprove of what we did." Aaron could feel her shoulders shake a little, and he knew that she was openly crying. He closed his arms around her waist and held her close, trying to control his impulse to kiss her temple in comfort. That move, he knew, would get them nowhere, even though he longed to do something more than hold her.

"Penelope is a dear friend, to both of us," he finally said lowly as he brought one hand up to cradle her head closer to his chest, allowing her tears to stain his shirt. "I know that she's right, deep in my heart, but I find that these feelings I have are stronger than any logic I could place on what is happening here."

"And that is why I cannot afford to let you go, Aaron." She let out a long breath before lifting her head and pressing her lips to his jaw. "Because I do love you. And I hope that I don't die from love or sorrow." The melancholy air in her words seemed to suit the song she had been playing when he had entered, and all he could do was nod, knowing that whatever bad thing happened next, he would be there to support Erin through it, no matter what.