Dave woke up the next morning feeling a heavy weight on his chest, and he opened his eyes to see that Erin had sprawled atop him at some point during her sleep, and he carded his fingers through her tousled hair before leaning upwards and capturing her lips in a warm kiss. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open, and the free expression on her face stole his breath away. "Good morning, my bella Erin."
"Good morning, David. What time is it? I feel so well rested."
He glanced over at the clock to see that it was nearing ten in the morning, and he chuckled as he turned his head back to her and pressed another kiss to her lips. "We've definitely slept through breakfast," he replied as he gently pushed Erin off him so that he could slip from the bed. Picking up his dressing gown, he wrapped it around his body before jerking his head towards the master bathroom. "I'll be right back."
"Take your time, darling. I'll still be here when you get back."
Grinning, he padded over to the bathroom and quickly took care of his needs before brushing his teeth and dragging a comb through his goatee and hair, making himself look somewhat presentable before he went back into the bedroom. Erin was now dressed in one of his sweatshirts as she rummaged through her bag, grabbing at fresh clothes as she hummed beneath her breath. "That's a pretty song."
"It's the one that's in my heart this morning. I'm going to take a quick shower. Please, make certain that Alex has gotten something to eat while I do that? I feel like I'm being a bad host, and this isn't even my home."
"Not yet, but I hope that it might be someday." Erin nodded as she rose to her feet and went to his side, kissing his cheek before patting his bum as she moved past him to head into the bathroom. While he dressed, Dave listened to her in the shower. The song she had been humming had blossomed into a full-fledged singalong, and he smiled as he zipped his jeans and then started downstairs. As he went, he began to smell the scent of food being cooked, and he frowned a little, knowing that Alex must have started fending for herself. And just like Erin, he started to feel like a bad host as he went into the kitchen to see Alex standing in front of the stove, dressed in jeans and a plaid shirt, her hair pulled back in a high ponytail. "You should have woken us, I would have made breakfast."
"I know, but since you opened your cabin to me, I thought that this was the least that I could do for you and Erin. I take it that she's in the shower?" He nodded. "That doesn't surprise me. She loved her morning showers when we were in the Academy. Though I had forgotten what she sounds like…"
Alex's voice trailed off as a deep bluish colored her face. Turning her face to look down at the waffle maker, she moved her shoulders lightly as she struggled to get her composure back. "I think she forgot that you were here, or didn't know that the walls here aren't very soundproof. I've never had a partner up here, usually it's my hunting buddies, and sex is the last thing on our minds when we're after ducks."
Her entire body relaxed as she nodded, opening the waffle maker and placing them finished ones on the platter at her side. "It doesn't matter if it's sex or masturbation with Erin, I know that now. She makes the same sweet sounds. Her freedom in that aspect of her life allowed me to be that free when I finally found James."
"That's good to know, Lexie," Erin said as she came up to his side, wrapping her arm around his waist as she laid her head on his chest. "I'm sorry if we disturbed your sleep, though."
"You were fine, Erin. I'm the guest here."
"Still, I feel bad for imposing our sex life on you. I'm not an exhibitionist by trade."
Alex stepped away from the waffle maker, giving Erin a warm smile as she held out her hand to the woman. Erin came forward and clasped Alex's hand, holding on tightly as they looked at each other. "You said the same thing when I mentioned it during our Academy days. And I'll reply in the same way. Sex, even with just your own hand, is to be enjoyed and reveled in. The fact that you've found a partner who makes you feel good enough to react like that tells me that you're in a good place, maybe even a better one than Penelope realizes. Okay?"
Erin seemed to fold in on herself as she nodded, and Alex tugged her into a tight hug. Dave watched Erin's shoulders start to shake a little as she began to cry, and he knew that this release of emotion was exactly what she needed that morning. "I wish that you were back with us, Alex. I need another friend in the BAU, even if the others are starting to warm to me."
"There's not a place for me, and I'm assuming that whatever size your current team is, you're still facing budget issues. That is one thing that never changes."
"That is very true," Eri replied as they drifted over to the table. Dave brought the platter of waffles to the table and set it in the middle as he took a seat across from them, knowing that they needed this time to grow back together again. "David, I'm sorry that I keep forgetting you with Alex here. I promise, it's not on purpose."
"I know that, Topalina."
"I didn't say anything last night, but it is so sweet that you call Erin your little mouse. I have the feeling you had no idea how vocal she can be when encountering the right stimuli."
Erin's face was beet red by the time Alex finished speaking, and he chuckled a little as he speared two waffles, placing them on his plate before drowning them in strawberry syrup. "Oh, but you haven't heard the most darling little squeaks she makes when you catch her unawares with a tender kiss," he teasingly said, seeing Erin swallow thickly, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "I tease because I want to see you smile more, Erin. I know that it's been a rough road, getting you from there to here, and I just want you to know that you have me, and Penelope, and now Alex, to help guide you along this road."
"I know, it just feels weird at times, to catch myself being happy so soon after losing my children. And with having no hope of more in my future. I always assumed that I was going to be a grandmother," she said quietly before digging into her own waffles. He knew that she would need a moment to catch her emotions, and he sent Alex a grateful look when she reached out and closed her hand around her forearm in order to offer her support as they quietly ate.
"I had the hope of grandchildren, too, once. I wanted to try for another child, when we received Ethan's terminal diagnosis, but James was the voice of reason. He said that it wasn't fair to bring another child into this world when we weren't certain they wouldn't inherit what our genes had given to Ethan. And if they were, for lack of a more precise word, normal, it wouldn't be fair on them, since we would expect so much more out of them while not giving them the time they needed to grow and thrive, since all of our free time would be devoted to Ethan and his needs. But it is a hope that does not fade away quietly."
Dave felt his heart clench a little at the sorrow that permeated those words, and he nodded to Erin when she gave him a questioning look. Smiling sweetly, Erin turned her face so that she could look at Alex and then she was leaning over to kiss the other woman's cheek quickly. "We're all a part of this awful club, and I wish that I could make things better, but I am so glad that we get to be together now. Even if it took unimaginable tragedy for us to reconcile, maybe God knew that I would need my best friend back to help me deal with this. I've lost so much, but I've gained as well."
"We can't fill the niches in your heart that your children once occupied."
"I know that, Lexie. But you've already taken up residence once more in your niche." Erin blinked rapidly, trying to clear her eyes of tears, and he nodded to her as he continued to eat. "The hallways of my heart feel full of life once more, something that I never expected to happen so soon after their passing. Please, after you return to Boston, don't be a stranger. I am going to need my best friend just as much as I will need my new friend and my lover."
"That is a promise I will gladly keep." Alex knocked her shoulder against Erin's as they finished their meal, and Dave smiled as he watched Erin and Alex interact without words, the familiar nonverbal rhythms of their former closeness seeming to fall back into place as the minutes passed them all by.