A/N: Thank you very much for the reviews on the last chapter. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to reply back to everyone personally, but I really appreciate everyone's feedback!

Love And Loss

Chapter 11

~.~.~

She let her head sink when he passed her and went straight to his office. Obviously that phone call was more important to him. Would she ever be able to talk to him? Or would he ignore her forever? She was beginning to get the feeling that it had been a colossal mistake to let her guard down completely and pour out her feelings for him.

She had tried, hadn't she? She'd done everything short of locking him in a room with her and forcing him to listen. All she wanted was an answer, but he obviously wasn't willing to give her one straight to her face. Now all she could do was take his silence for said answer.

It broke her heart, and she knew that she had mostly herself to blame for this outcome, but if he had one upright bone in his body, he at least would acknowledge her with a definite decision.

Walking past his office, she stopped for a moment and looked through the window, watching him behind his desk, his cell phone still glued to his ear. For a brief moment she considered storming in and snatching the phone out of his hand, and not leaving before they had settled everything.

But that would cause another scene in front of the whole department that she was not willing to endure. She wanted to keep what was left of her pride and walk out of this mess with her head held high.

~.~.~

Dave noticed her as soon as she appeared in front of his window and caught her eyes for a moment. He saw the deep breath she took and for a second he was sure she would burst into his office.

The glimpse of a second later, he noticed her defeat. A slight shake of her head, her lips pressed firmly together, he could literally see the stone-cold walls she was erecting around herself again. Then she walked away.

His thoughts drifted off and he wasn't able to listen to his publisher on the other end of the line anymore. He was sure she would leave him alone from now on. And somehow that thought disturbed him more than he wanted to admit. It was what he wanted in the first place, wasn't it? So why did he feel like a first-class idiot then?

~.~.~

It was Erin's birthday the next day.

A bright and beautiful Saturday, but it couldn't get her mood up.

Just a few weeks ago she had made plans with Dave to spend the day and the whole weekend at his cabin, but now that seemed almost surreal, as if a lifetime had gone by since then.

And now she didn't have plans anymore.

Her kids were all grown up and away in college, and except for the obligatory phone calls, she knew she didn't have anything to expect from them.

She had purposely brought home a load of paperwork, reckoning that she might as well do something useful to distract herself.

Her ringing doorbell accompanied by a sharp knock on her apartment door pulled her out of her concentration by five p.m.

~.~.~

JJ's and Aaron's words wouldn't leave his thoughts. On the one hand he still felt that he was he was doing the right thing to leave Erin hanging, but the nagging 'what ifs' became louder and louder in his mind.

What if it could work out with Erin?

What if she was the one person who could make him happy for the rest of his life? What was he thinking, he had been happy with her!

He was cleaning up his house this Saturday morning when he found himself staring at the framed photographs he had put up over the fireplace. Between the pictures of his parents, family, and friends, there was also one of Erin.

He had taken it one Sunday morning, when she'd been up and in the kitchen before him, starting the coffee, wearing nothing but one of his shirts, her hair messed up and her eyes still sleepy. But to him she had never looked more beautiful, and he'd just had to capture that moment.

Of course, the moment she'd realized what he had done, she began chasing him through the whole house, trying to get a hold of the camera to delete the photo. They had ended up making love on the living room couch.

Dave couldn't tear his eyes away from the picture, and it was in that moment that he realized what they both had lost.

This was the real thing, his last chance at happiness, and he knew he had to act fast if he didn't want to make the loss permanent. Grabbing his car keys and his wallet, he rushed out of the house.

~.~.~

Erin groaned softly as the knock on her door became more and more impatient. She was honestly not in the mood for seeing anyone today, and briefly considered to pretend that she was not at home.

"Come on, Erin, I know you're in there!" She heard a muffled voice from the outside.

Could it...? Did her ears play tricks on her?

"Erin! I know you're home. Open the door!" He called again, a tad louder this time.

No, not a mistake. It was really David Rossi, whose voice intruded her apartment.

She felt herself getting excited and extremely nervous at the same time. If he was here to make her horrible birthday even worse – and at the moment she honestly wouldn't put it past him – she would shoot him. But then, he could just make her feel better, who knew.

Opening the door, she immediately felt her heartbeat begin to race as she took in his appearance. Dressed in a tuxedo, the scent of her favorite cologne of his permeated the air, her knees weakened at how deliciously handsome he was.

"What took you so long?" He asked, his face showing no emotion, neither positive nor negative, as he brushed past her into the apartment without being invited in.

Erin didn't know what to say. This was one of her very few moments she had ever been rendered speechless. But Dave wasted no time with explanations.

Handing her a big, flat white box, he simply demanded: "Put this on, we're going out!"

"Excuse me?"

"You can ask questions later, Erin. For now, would you please get dressed?"

Nodding slowly she accepted the box from his hands.

"I give you thirty minutes."

She looked at him, still too shocked for coherent words, and tried to read his face. His expression was still impassive, but she thought she detected a glint of mischief and amusement in his eyes.

Retreating into her bathroom, she opened the box and gasped audible.

Inside she found the perfect dress, one she would never have bought for herself. She usually wore light blue or dark evening gowns when the situation demanded it, underlining her cool and distant appearance with the way she dressed.

She'd always thought she wasn't the type for the kind of deep red this dress had, a color that was screaming of passion and fire, attributes that, while she knew she possessed them, she had always rather kept them hidden in her private life then tell the whole world about it.

~.~.~

When she exited the bathroom forty-five minutes later, Dave was glad that he had sat down.

Dropping the magazine he'd been reading to occupy himself, his mouth went dry and it was his turn to be speechless for a moment. Then his face broke into the first smile since he had arrived at her place.

The dress with its thin straps fit her perfectly, caressing her curves and showing just enough skin to get his imagination going, and her subtle makeup and the simple swept-up hairdo she'd chosen just enhanced her elegancy.

He took a few steps towards her and gestured her to turn.

"Wow," he managed to get out as he admired her from head to toe.

Erin didn't know if it was possible, but her heartbeat seemed to have accelerated even more thanks to his intense look. A warm feeling of complete happiness rushed through her body, and she wanted nothing more than to relish it, but her mind was still too confused. She just hoped that this was not a dream, not a product of her overactive imagination.

"David, what is this all about?" She finally asked.

He pulled a gift-wrapped envelope from his jacket and gave it to her.

"Your birthday present. Happy Birthday!"

~.~.~

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