Dave had expected Aaron to come see him when the team had returned from that urgent case he had sworn he needed Dave on, but that hadn't happened. Instead, Emily had brought him the after action reports and Derek had been acting as a go between for the team as they returned to the holding pattern that they were seemingly in. He wanted to reach out to his best friend, but couldn't think of a way to do so, which distressed him more and more each day that passed.

Finally, it seemed like things were going to come to a head, no matter what he did, and Dave prepared himself to come into work on Monday with Aaron confronting him on what was going on with him and Penelope and Erin. Sighing, he reached out and turned off the alarm before throwing back the covers and getting out of bed. It was still odd to wake up in a bed that wasn't his, though he tried not to think about the fact that the room had previously belonged to Erin's dead son. If he thought about that too much, he would never grow accustomed to it, and since Erin didn't want them to leave just yet, he needed to be in a place that was good for his back.

"Good morning, David."

Looking over at the doorway, he saw that Erin was already dressed for the day, wearing a soft outfit, one that reminded him of spring and sunshine, and he smiled at her as he beckoned her into the room. "Are you and Penelope planning on going somewhere this morning?" he asked when she was at his side, leaning against the closet door and watching him.

"Yes. We've finally packed all of the girls' clothing and makeup, and we're taking what can still be useful to the local women's shelter, so that someone can have use of them."

"That is incredibly kind of you, Erin."

"Yes, well, I have issues with Goodwill, and Penelope has issues with the Salvation Army, so we both thought that this was the best compromise. It will be more difficult to clear this room out, especially since you're here. But, we'll work around that starting tomorrow. I'm going to start breakfast, pancakes or waffles today?"

"Waffles sound good for a change," he replied as he finally decided what to wear that day, pulling it out of the closet. "Which bathroom is Penelope in?"

"Mine, of course. I showered last night so that she could take one this morning, but you shouldn't have to worry about running out of hot water if you hurry into the other one."

He chuckled as he nodded, slipping past Erin with clothes in hand, not commenting on the fact that she reached out and stroked his arm as he passed her by. He didn't want to encourage anything that Penelope might comment on, though he knew that Erin was reaching out unconsciously, as she was touching Penelope with a lot more frequency than before the funeral as well. He knew that it was a coping mechanism for her, and he wouldn't take that away from her, not when she was still grieving the annihilation of her family. "I hope that you're right, Erin," he said as he slipped into the bathroom, listening to her laugh as the door closed.

It didn't take long for him to strip down and then get into the shower, starting to sing as the water sluiced over his body. As he washed, he thought about what he was going to say to Aaron that day, knowing that he had to clear the air between them before things came to a head. Surprisingly, Erin had been right, and he had enough hot water to last his entire shower, and he stepped out of the shower still humming beneath his breath as he wrapped a towel around his waist and dried off his hair and body before taking care of his grooming needs. With that finished, he dried the rest of his body and dressed, meeting Penelope at the top of the stairs. "Hey, you're looking serious and dapper this morning."

"I'm going to broach talking with Aaron today. Things have to air out between us before I say or do something that I regret." She nodded as they walked down the stairs, an uneasy quiet settling between them quickly.

Dave wasn't surprised to see that Erin was setting their plates on the table the moment they stepped into the kitchen, and he gave her a wide smile as he took his usual seat, Erin settling in next to him before they all linked hands and she said a quick blessing over the food. "Can you think of anything to add to the shopping list, David? We're going to do the weekly shop after we drop off the donations at the women's shelter."

"Not that I can think of, right off hand. I'll text Penny if I think of something once I'm at work."

Erin nodded as they began to eat. An easy conversation rose up between them all, and he found himself so wrapped up in it that he lost track of time. "You need to get going, if you plan on being in the office on time, Dave," Penelope said, and he glanced at his watch to see that she was right. "Go, we'll take care of the dishes."

Grinning, he took one last swig of juice before wiping the back of his hand across his lips and then bending down to kiss Erin and Penelope on their cheeks before grabbing his bag and keys off the counter and heading out the door.

Dave found himself distracted as he drove in to the Bureau that morning, not realizing that he was there until he pulled into his parking spot and he shook his head a little as he locked his car and hurried inside the building, clearing security in record time before heading up to the sixth floor. As he stepped out of the elevator, the first person he ran into was Derek, and he gave the man a slight smile as he went to go around him and head up to his office. "We need to talk."

"Not this morning, Derek, I need to talk to Aaron first, and clear this bad blood between us."

"That's what I want to talk to you about, man. Can we just head to your office and talk? I think everything will become clearer if we di that."

Nodding reluctantly, he led Morgan into the bullpen and up to his office, noticing that the man closed the door after them, as if to tell everyone else to stay out while he was in there. "All right, what do you want to talk about?" he asked as he began to set out the files that he needed to get through that day, needing the shuffling of paper to help distract him from what he was certain Derek was going to say.

"Is Erin the reason that there's so much tension between you and Hotch right now?"

The plainspoken question took him by surprise, and he gave a jerky nod before steepling his fingers and letting out a long breath. "I know that you know a little about what's going on."

"Yeah, Emily's kept me in the loop, since Penelope has been a bit closed off from me lately. I'm assuming that she's taking care of Erin?"

Dave nodded once more before pinching the bridge of his nose, wondering just how much he should tell Derek about what was truly occurring. He wanted to keep Erin shrouded in as much privacy as possible, but he knew that the time for that was fast coming to an end, especially if he and Aaron got into it. "We are, yes. That is why I'm currently the acting Section Chief. You know about the loss of her family, but what you don't know is that Erin has twice made choices that were not the wisest, which is what led to Penelope and I watching over her, and why we will continue to do so until she kicks us out of her house."

Derek's face fell as he started to put the few pieces that he had together. "After all that work we went through to get her help, she chose to drink again. I mean, I get it, her family died, but still…"

"No, Derek, you don't understand. When you took Erin to rehab, Allie was just finishing up chemotherapy. If Director Sheppard had granted her the leave she requested, she would have been spending time with her family in California, and they all would have died in that helicopter."

"She wasn't granted leave because she had used up too much because we forced her into rehab," Derek whispered, all color leaving his face. "She must hate me."

"There's no room in her mind and heart for hate right now. Not when she is so desperately trying to cling to life."

It took a moment for Derek to understand what he was driving at, but when he got it, his mouth fell open in shock. "I caused that reaction."

"Oh, Derek, no. You got Erin the help that she needed in that moment. She was using alcohol to cope with the potential for Allie dying, and if she hadn't been in rehab, she would be dead now." He met Derek's eye. "I trust you not to repeat this outside of this office, though. I shouldn't even really have told you this, I'm breaking her confidence in doing so. But you need to understand, this is why we're taking care of Erin right now. She needs the kindness that only Penelope can give her. Me? I'm just the tree that Erin can lean against when she needs a strong shoulder to cry on."

"And Hotch knows nothing about any of this." He nodded. "Let me guess, he thinks Erin fell off the wagon again, and has been less than forgiving in his assessment of her." Again, he nodded. "Hell, man, I never thought that it would be like this. Do, do you guys need anything?"

"A friendly face for Erin when she finally comes back to the BAU. She'll be skittish and withdrawn, but I am trusting you, Emily, and Anderson to be kind." Derek nodded as they got to their feet, and he led the younger man over to the door. "And now I am going to get myself some coffee. I have the feeling that I am going to need a good amount of caffeine to get me through this coming day." Derek chuckled a little as he patted Dave's back, following him out of the office and down into the break room.