Dave smiled as he looked around the room. While he would have preferred to have celebrated this milestone in his yard, he understood that Aaron and Jack had made a life for themselves in Illinois, and it would have been difficult to fly all those people in to Quantico. Instead, he had rented a private jet and flown out everyone who would still remember Jack and Hotch out to them. Though they had left the Program the summer between Jack's junior and senior years, there hadn't been any hint of them wanting to return to Quantico, ever.

"Hey, thanks again for letting Max join us," Reid said as he came up to Dave's side, a bottle of beer in his hand. "I know that you probably would have preferred it to be just our team, but she's part of my family now."

"I totally get it, kid. And there was more than enough room on the jet for her, and everyone."

He was about to say something more when movement by the house caught his attention. Feeling his jaw drop in astonishment, Dave barely recognized the fact that Reid was trying to get his attention. "You knew that she was alive, Dave."

"I did not know that she was still with her," he said offhandedly, feeling like the air was being stolen from his lungs at the sight of the two of them together. "And I did not know that they were going to show their faces here, after everything that happened."

Reid opened his mouth to reply when Dave brushed past him to stalk over to the two women, trying to keep a neutral expression on his face. It seemed like Erin had gotten over him in less than five minutes, her ghost having haunted his marriage to Krystall to the point where she had fast become ex-wife number four. And then, to show up so brazenly at Jack's graduation party, it just seemed to beggar belief. A still, small, voice in the back of his head whispered that he still wasn't over Erin, and he pushed that voice aside as he continued to make his way over to them, only to be stopped by Hotch.

"Think long and hard before you do anything rash, Dave," he said as he turned the man and led him over to the refreshment table. "Jack is making the rounds to his guests, and I would really appreciate if we could avoid a messy situation."

Dave rolled his eyes as he shrugged off Aaron's hand, grabbing a plate so that he could fill it with food. "I wouldn't have made it messy."

"The look on your face said otherwise, and you're lucky that neither one noticed you heading their way. You must know how protective Alex is of Erin, ever since she came out of protective custody."

He snorted as he followed Aaron over to a free table, plopping down in a chair and staring in the couple's direction as he dug into the potato salad with his fork. "And then she stole my girlfriend from beneath my nose! The ink was barely dry on the divorce papers before Alex moved her into the house in Boston."

"I seem to remember that happening a little differently, David."

"Bullshit. It took her five whole fucking minutes to move on from me and go with her. They hated each other, Hotch!"

His friend gave him a commiserating look as he shook his head. "Sometimes hate covers up a lot of pain, and from what I learned about Alex after we took out Curtis, well, she was hurting deeply. That's why it took her so long to accept Erin's amends. Erin was always holding out that olive branch the last year that she was with us, and I know that it killed her each time she was rejected."

"And now you're trying to tell me that you knew the woman I love better than I knew her?" he replied hotly before spearing a chunk of broccoli and stuffing it into his mouth, chewing furiously as he continued to glare. Alex had her arm around Erin's waist, holding her close as they laughed about something Jack had said to them, and he couldn't help but wonder what they found so funny.

"No, I'm just saying that there were signs there, ones that you ignored at the time because you wanted to be happy in love. I ignored the same signs when Haley and I were ending our relationship, and it's something that is so easy to do." Aaron drew in a deep breath before reaching out to pat his hand lightly. "Please, for Jack's sake, play nice."

"I'll try, Hotch. But I make no promises."

The look that Aaron fixed on him told Dave that there would be severe consequences if he did kick up a fuss, and he swallowed a little as he smirked at his friend as he got to his feet and began to mingle with the guests scattered around the yard. Dave let out a long breath as soon as Aaron's back was turned and he turned his focus back onto Erin and Alex as he continued to eat and nurse his bottle of beer. He knew that getting drunk would be a stupid thing to do, but a part of him wanted to get so blotto that he could find the courage to confront them about what they were doing, to demand that Erin give him the answers about why he wasn't her homeland anymore.

Finally, she seemed to notice that he was watching her and Alex so intensely, and she tugged on Alex's sleeve before whispering in her ear. The other woman glanced his way before giving Erin a small nod then kissing her cheek softly. That caused his blood to boil a little, which Alex seemed to pick up on, as she gave him a tender smile as she gently pushed Erin in his direction. There was a hesitancy to her walk, as if she wasn't certain that she wanted to come over to him, but was forcing herself to take step after step closer to him.

When she reached his side, Dave couldn't help but notice that her hands were trembling like leaves in the wind, and he tried to smile kindly as she took a seat across from him. "Hello, David," she said quietly as she stared at his chin, not trying to meet his eye. He reached out and took hold of her hand, holding on lightly as a jagged silence developed between them. "I wasn't certain if you were going to be here, too, but Alex and I wanted to celebrate Jack's achievement."

"That was why I rented a private jet for those of us still in Quantico."

She blushed a little at the harsh thrust of his words. "We've made a life for ourselves in Boston, and tried to be as quiet about it as possible. I think there's a certain irony to the fact that we're living a Boston marriage far past when it would be acceptable to actually get married."

"Are you that serious with her?"

"Yes. We've been together almost a decade now, and I don't think that we'll ever give up our happiness together."

"That's the happiness that we should have had," he muttered before he could stop himself. This caused Erin to finally meet his eyes, and he could read the surprise and hurt in her gaze. "We were strong, solid, before we went to New York and John hurt you."

"Oh, David, we were not as strong as you thought we were. I kept trying to work on our relationship in the months leading up to my attack, but even then my attention was divided. I was trying to make amends with Alex at the same time, and I was also cracking apart at the seams. You didn't see that, because I have always been so good at hiding away the things I didn't want anyone else to see. And this weakness was anathema when you viewed me as so strong. But whenever I brought up that weakness to you, you reminded me how I had battled back the demon that was my alcoholism."

This was news to him, and he tightened his hand on hers as he tried to think back to that time in their lives. Vaguely, he could recall times when Erin had wanted to speak about her feelings, and how he had brushed them off, intent on catching the Replicator, who had turned out to be John Curtis. She had slowly stopped sharing with him after that, instead keeping their conversations focused on other things, like her children who had so quickly grown to love having him in their lives. "I thought…"

"So did I. But we were only meant for a season. Alex and I, well, it was so easy to hide what we shared during the Amerithrax case. Women are allowed to be close, women are allowed to touch and whisper without being thought different. If I hadn't fucked her over, if I had managed to find some semblance of courage or honor, we would have left our husbands and had the life we were meant to have from the start."

The tenderness of Erin's expression tugged at his heart strings, and Dave finally began to see just how content she was with her relationship, and a part of him knew that they would never have found that level of peace. So often, they had sniped at each other, finding fault in the little things. It had led to great sex, but…maybe that was one of those signs that Aaron had mentioned. It wasn't sustainable. They had not been sustainable. Turning his head, he looked for Alex, seeing that she was still talking with Jack, and he shook his head a little before raising his hand and beckoning her over to them. "I never wanted to hurt you."

"You didn't, David. You loved me the best way you knew how, but you're possessive. And I was okay with that after I left rehab, because I needed someone who would look at me as worthy and hold my feet to the fire. You provided that to me, and it was so welcome. But towards the end, I was starting to chafe, and again, you weren't listening to me, you couldn't change my mind."

Erin drew in a deep breath as Alex took a seat next to her at the table, looking into her face as she smiled gently. "Are you two having a good catch up?"

"I think so, yes. Did you want to get food for us, or do you want me to handle that?"

"Just fill a plate for the two of us, and we'll pick. I have to save room for that delicious looking cake." Alex gave Erin a small wink before leaning over and kissing her cheek softly. "And I think that Jack said there was rose lemonade available, too. Thank god Jessica has the same weird taste that we do, even if we didn't know it."

Erin chuckled a little as she nodded rising to her feet and caressing Alex's shoulder before making her way over to the refreshment table. "She seems so happy."

"And you look like you want to get your knuckles wet with my blood."

He hadn't expected the frankness of her statement, having forgotten how forthright she was in her speech. "I was not happy to see you both appear, no. But do you blame me?"

Alex shook her head a little as she coolly regarded him. "I probably would feel just as upset if it had happened to me. But you need to focus that anger on me. Erin, after everything she went through with John, deserves nothing but love and kindness."

"I just expected us to last longer than a year. I thought she would be my last love."

She nodded as she glanced over at Erin, an almost sweet smile curving her lips upwards. "I don't mean to rub it in, but I am glad that she will be my last love. We picked up the pieces of our shattered lives and rebuilt them into something stronger and more beautiful. But she is still fragile in places. She'd probably tell you that I'm fragile in places as well, but we won't speak about that."

"I don't think that anyone who was ever attached to the BAU ever really talks about their feelings. Expect for Penelope."

"She is a dear woman. Did she make it today? I know that Erin was hoping to see her."

Dave nodded. "I think she's inside talking to Jessica and getting caught up on how things are going with the changeover from being a part of the Program to returning to normal life. I know that she's going to be glad to be able to have Aaron close to home once more. Jack's actually going to be close to where you guys are."

"I know, that's what I was talking to him about. A full ride scholarship to Harvard is nothing to scoff at, and I was giving him a few tips to ensure that his first semester would go smoothly."

"Did you also put in a plug for your seminar?" he teased, somehow finding it easier to be kind now that the air had been cleared between them.

"He said that he wants to follow in his father's footsteps, and I may have suggested that taking a few linguistics courses would help him out in the long run, whether if he chose to become a prosecutor or join the FBI." Erin returned then, setting down two bottles of the pink tinted lemonade with her right hand as she sat down in her chair and placed a completely full plate of food down between them. "I thought that we were going to save room for cake?"

"I'm really hungry today for some reason." They shared a look that Dave couldn't read, and he wondered if there was something going on that they weren't telling anyone. "This is a disagreement that we have quite often. One of the lingering side effects of John's MDMA cocktail was that it seriously screwed up my appetite. No matter what my doctors try, I find that I can sometimes go days without the sensation of hunger, and unless my Alex reminds me to eat, I often forget."

It was a pat answer, likely one that she had given many times to other concerned people, and Dave knew that that was as much as he would get from them both on that subject. But in that moment, he chose to really look at her, seeing that she had lost even more weight since the last time he had seen her, and while she wasn't alarmingly thin, it was a shock to recognize that she appeared so small. Tearing his gaze away from the woman he still loved, if he was honest with himself, he met Alex's gaze, trying to ask a question without words. Alex shook her head before looking at Erin, and he nodded, only for Erin to let out a little scoff of laughter. "What is it, bella?"

"If you have something to ask, ask it. I won't be offended."

"Do I have anything to worry about?"

Erin laughed as she shook her head. "Why would you worry about me? I'm not your homeland anymore, David. There's nothing for you to protect or defend now. That's Alex's position in my life." A choked little sob escaped her throat before she got up from the table and practically fled over to Jessica's side, asking her something. As David watched the two women enter the house, he felt Alex's gaze on him, and from the way the hair on the nape of his neck stood on end, he knew it wasn't a pleasant look.

"What did I say?" he asked lowly as he focused on Alex once more, feeling more confused than ever.

There was a long moment of silence as Alex stared stonily at him. "She doesn't like to be asked about why she can't eat. Erin almost died that night, and sometimes I wonder if we didn't get her fully back. Because there are times when she just zones out, and it can take me days to call her back. You weren't there to see that, Dave, so you're asking if you should be worried about her rings hollow to her ears. Or, I could just be projecting, or profiling. At this point, all I know is that she's probably in the house, trying to calm down enough to face everyone again. If you'll excuse me."

Alex picked up the plate of food before sticking her fingers in the necks of the bottles Erin had brought back, giving him one last glare before stalking over to the house, nodding to Jack as he let her inside. Dave rubbed the back of his neck as he stared at the house. "How did you manage to fuck it up so quickly, Rossi?"

He looked up at Morgan, giving him a small shrug as the man took the seat Alex had just left. "I asked the wrong question. I need to apologise to them both."

"I would give it a few minutes, if I were you. That look Blake gave before leaving the table tells me that she was pissed at you."

He swallowed thickly, feeling a strong stab of guilt attack his heart as he nodded. "She has every right to be. Aaron told me to tread carefully, and I just acted like a startled bull in the proverbial china shop. I think that Erin's ill."

"She looks thin, but healthy," Morgan quickly shot back.

"I know, but that's just the feeling that I have." He let out a deep sigh as he stared at the house, willing the two to come back out and join them, to prove that he hadn't done any lasting damage. There was no movement, though, and he frowned as he picked up his bottle of beer and quickly finished it before setting the bottle aside once more. "I just, I can't believe that I fucked this up so quickly. Both Erin and Hotch said that there were warning signs that I chose to ignore, but for the life of me, I don't know what those signs were, or if she even gave them off."

"You know that communication styles can sometimes come into conflict, Rossi. That's one of the basics in profiling."

"And I still missed it." Scratching his forehead, he took a deep breath before looking at Morgan once more. "Did Savannah come with you? I don't see her or Hank."

"Her sister actually went into labor yesterday, and wanted her by her side, and I didn't feel like bringing Hank here alone. It's not like he would recognize Hotch, and he never met Jack, so there would be nothing for him to do here. But I do have pictures." David smiled as he nodded encouragingly, watching him pull out his phone. The passage of time seemed to have happened so quickly, as Hank was so tall standing next to Savannah. "And don't even get me started on how big he is, I know. Time just seems to keep running faster and faster."

"Tell me about it," Penelope said as she sank down next to Derek. Her eyes were focused on Dave, and they were incredibly sad. "So, did they tell you that they're going to be grandmothers?"

"What? Which one of her kids is expecting?"

A small smile curved Penelope's lips, but it didn't touch her eyes, and somehow he knew that he was the cause of that sadness, which hurt him deeply. "Bruce's wife. She's about six months along, and even though they're not telling anyone the gender, as they want it to be a surprise, Alex thinks that it's going to be a boy. Erin is betting on it being a girl. So, did either of you have cake yet? I was tasked with coming out to get some for the people inside, but thought I'd ask before heading back."

"We're good, Baby Girl," Morgan answered for both of them, and she nodded as she reached out and patted his hand before getting up and leaving them alone once more. "You are not going in that house. I can read on your face that you want to, that you want to apologise to them, but now is not the time for that. Erin and Alex both need time to regroup from whatever it was that happened before they disappeared inside the house."

"I hate that you're right." Morgan gave him a slow nod as they watched Penelope disappear inside the house with three pieces of cake, and he felt his brow furrow together as he let out a deep sigh. "I feel like I might have fucked things up beyond all reconciliation. I hate that I keep getting further and further apart from her."

"You're your own worst enemy, Dave. But maybe, if you stick around until they come back out, you'll get a second chance to make amends with her. You just have to let her take the lead and listen to her. For once in your life, just listen. Okay?" He nodded, knowing that Morgan was correct. And he could only hope that Erin would give him another chance, one that he didn't deserve, before they went their separate ways again.