"I don't want you to save me I want you to stand by my side as I save myself"
― sushil, The Flexible Enterprise
"Did you do it?" Blake hissed, over the phone.
"The bitch almost shot me!" Craig said, holding an almost- antique flip phone to his ear.
"Don't be so dramatic." Alex rolled her eyes and took another sip of her wine, these updates kept her entertained while her husband was away saving the world. "You don't bring a loaded gun to the shooting range, everyone knows that."
"Were you there?" Craig fiddled with the car radio, he was bored waiting for his partner to come back. "Get me the fuck off this detail, I'm not killing nobody!"
"Would you calm down, you were never in any danger. Erin's all bark-"
"Then you handle it!" Craig exploded, slapping the dashboard in front of him.
"That's why I pay you. Your daughter's thriving in that private school…. That's hard to do on a rookie's salary." Alex had Craig by the balls and he knew it. While she was home, in her comfortable house, drinking expensive wine, Craig was stuck in a smelly, unmarked car in front of the house of some mid-level FBI bureaucrat. His daughter, was in boarding school, paid in full because he agreed to scare the shit out of a bureaucrat at the shooting range. "Come get this powder too!" He exploded, watching Moore amble up the walkway. "I don't want this shit on me!"
"Just shut up and keep it in the bag," Blake said.
"It was reckless-" The chime of the doorbell interrupted Erin's train of thought.
"Pause for the cause," Dave pecked her on the cheek and went inside to answer the door. He checked the peephole of the front door, the lead security officer stood on the front porch. Dave opened the door and stepped onto the porch.
"Agent Rossi?"
"Agent Moore."
"My guys are whooped, there's been no action for 48 hours since Blake tried to call us off. Do you think I can send them home for a while?"
Dave thought for a moment and checked his watch. The night shift wasn't supposed to come for another two hours, but twelve hour shifts in a car with nothing happening was hell in itself and the men weren't any good if they were exhausted. "Send 'em home." Dave decided. "We're good here, but I want a car left in the back." He didn't want to give the impression that everyone had gone home.
"Thank you, Sir." Moore nodded, relieved to have his crew off his back. He stuck out his hand, intending to shake Rossi's hand.
Dave frowned, at the leather driving gloves encasing Moore's hands. "What's with the gloves?"
"Oh..uhh.." Moore dropped his hand. "I have psoriasis and it's cold at night." Moore peeled back his glove just enough to reveal the angry red blotches on his skin.
"Forget I mentioned it," Dave said and stuck out his hand for Moore to shake. The two men shook hands and Dave watched Moore get in the car, then went back inside. Dave closed the door behind him and turned the deadbolt. Erin was seated on the couch, wrapped in a blanket.
"What was that about?" She asked.
"I sent the calvary home for the night," he sat down beside her and pulled her feet in his lap, "I figured we could be left alone for two hours."
"Okay, I trust you," she said, but there was an edge to her voice.
"Go pack a bag," he said and patted her leg.
"Why?"
"We'll go to my house. If there's no one here to see us leave, then no one will know that we left."
"Are we going to have agents guarding my empty house?" That didn't make much sense, fiscally. The Director was going to have her ass on a platter if she abused the privilege of a government funded security detail.
"I don't know," he shrugged, "If nothing else, it gets Blake off your trail for a while. The next step is the FBI's safehouse."
"I'm not going there." She said stubbornly. "That's too far from the kids-"
"That's kind of the point, Babe." He patted her leg again, "get up and go pack a suitcase."
"That escalated quickly," she quipped, moving her feet to the floor. "You went from a bag to a suitcase-" She teased.
"Woman!" He said, exasperated, "would you go pack already?"
"I'm going." Erin stomped her foot, "stop rushing me."
A half an hour later, Dave was loading Erin's suitcase in the trunk of his car. A box of groceries sat in the backseat, they planned to make a detour and meet Vera halfway between his house and Peter's. She was supposed to take the groceries and then take the backroads to Peter's house. Maybe they were being overly cautious, but if someone was following them, he didn't want to lead them to the kids. At this point, Dave trusted no one, not even Bureau appointed security.
He closed the trunk and stepped on the porch, he opened the door and stuck his head inside. "Erin, you ready?"
"I'm coming." She grabbed her keys and wallet off the counter then set the alarm. "We have about 30 seconds before the alarm goes off." She said, as she crossed the living room. She walked out the front door, locked it and closed it behind her.
"Well, if the cops show up, that blows my plan out of the water," Dave whispered and unlocked the Cadillac with his key fob.
Erin climbed in the passenger seat and buckled her belt, Dave closed her door and went around to the other side.
"Do you really think Alex would go that far?" Erin asked, once his door was closed and the keys were in the ignition. "Surely we can trust our security-"
"I thought so too." He checked his mirrors and glanced over his shoulder before pulling away from the house. "Your gut doesn't lie, if you trusted your detail you wouldn't have pulled the gun-"
"I was paranoid," she argued. "Now that you're worried about it, I'm starting to think I was right, from the start."
"I'm always on your side," he said and pulled onto the highway.
Forty five minutes later, Dave pulled into the parking lot of a gas station, the light in the parking lot gave him a false sense of security. He checked the mirrors again, so far they hadn't been followed.
"She's over there," Erin pointed out her mother's Sedan on the other side of the lot. Dave pulled forward and parked beside Vera.
"Hello, there," Vera said, through the open window.
Erin pulled the handle of her door and got out of the car, Paul barreled out of the backseat.
"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" Erin asked, hugging her son.
"I decided at the last minute," He said, with his head against her torso. Grandma said she was going to meet you and the girls were at the movies."
"I think you've gotten taller," she said, patting his dark hair. "Why didn't you go to the movie?"
"Not by much," he grinned and pulled back. "They talked Dad into seeing a chick flick," he grouched. "I didn't want to pay to take a nap-"
"Good call," Dave said, with the box of food in his hand.
Paul turned around and opened the back door of Vera's car for Dave. "How much longer do you think this is going to go on?" The teenager asked as Dave sat the box on the bench seat.
"Not much longer, Kid." Dave smiled and closed the car door. "We're just trying to keep everyone safe."
"I know." Paul smiled up at his mother, "we're fine, Mom." Paul said, for her benefit.
"Yeah Mom." Vera teased, through the window. "Everybody's fine, now hurry up and get where you're going. We still have to take the long way home."
Paul hugged Erin again. "I want Mom to come inside with me-"
"Why?" Vera arched her brow at Paul. "You don't need anything."
"Suddenly, I need water," Erin said. She hadn't been around her children in weeks, if her son wanted to go inside the gas station with her, obviously that's where they went. "Paul, are you coming?"
Dave chuckled, her petty streak was a mile long and it was hilarious when it wasn't being used against him. "Do you want my card?"
"I got it." Erin said and breezed into the store.
A few minutes later, Erin and Paul were back in the parking lot armed with snacks and bottled water.
"Call me when you get home," she said, brushing Paul's hair out of his eyes. "Tell your father you need a haircut."
Paul turned his head, flipping the hair out of his eyes. "I like it long-"
"Somehow, I don't think that argument is going to fly at your school."
"Oh well," Paul shrugged and hugged Erin again.
"If a haircut is the biggest thing we have to worry about, then we're doing okay." Erin agreed.
"Ain't that the truth," Dave said, "I hate to break this up-"
"We're going, we're going," Paul huffed good-naturedly. "Love ya, Mom."
"Love you too," Erin walked with Paul back to the passenger side of Vera's car.
Dave's chest filled with sudden warmth, watching Erin with Paul. "We love you," Dave said as Erin closed the passenger side door.
Paul stuck his head out the window, "Don't go soft on me now."
"See you later," Vera said, turning the key in the ignition.
"Call when you get there," Dave said, then looked over his shoulder. "Let us know you're safe."
"Eye eye, Captain," Vera said, rolling her eyes.
Erin walked back to the Cadillac and got in, why was David being so nice to her mother? Vera wasn't returning in kind.
A minute later, Dave was in the driver's seat of the Cadillac. When Vera pulled out of the parking lot, he leaned over the seat to look Erin in the eye. "You're a wonderful mother," he said softly and laid his hand on her thigh.
"David." She met his eyes, his hand was hot through the fabric of her pants. "Are you alright?" His eyes were glazed over, in the glare of the streetlight, his complexion turned waxen. You don't look so good."
"What?" He mumbled, his carotid hammered in his neck, the world swayed underneath him.
Erin pulled the keys from the ignition. "I'm driving."
"Huh?" He asked, her face wavered in front of him. "I'm okay, give me the keys," he argued, but the weakness in his body ruled out. "I feel kinda funny," he said, swiping his hand across his sweaty forehead. "I feel like I have The Flu…"
She got out of the car and went around to his side, she yanked the door open, he jumped slightly when the night air blew inside the interior of the car. "I'm driving," she repeated, holding the door open. "Come on, get out."
"It's so hot outside," he mumbled, pulling off his sports coat. He stumbled out of the car, Erin kept her arm across his back and walked with him around to the other side.
When he was safely inside, she closed the door and went back to the driver's side.
By the time she was back in the car, Dave had his sleeves rolled to his elbows, his jacket and belt flung across the backseat. The Flu wouldn't come on so quickly and it wouldn't make him paranoid. "David!" She put her hand on his bicep, "Talk to me," she demanded. "What did you touch?" That's the only thing that made sense, poisoning explained everything. Dave's sudden paranoia, his unusual affection toward her mother, whatever garbage Curtis used took all the fun effects of MDMA and destroyed them and intensified the misery.
"What?" He stared at her, he knew she was talking, she looked scared, but her words were muffled, they didn't make any sense. "Touch what? Erin, touch what? You want me to touch you?"
She jerked back as he reached for her midsection."Not me. Focus," she held his warm face between her hands to make him look at her. "David, what did you touch at my house?" She asked, forcefully. "Tell me what you touched!"
"I-I-Erin I-Moore…" he blurted out, the words she said made a little more sense. I shook
his hand."
"Okay," she leaned across him and retrieved the grocery bag from the gas station. If the gas station had a functioning bathroom she would have taken him there to wash his hands, but they didn't. A bottle of water and a pack of wet wipes would have to work. She got out of the car again and went to David. She pulled open his door, "Hold out your hands." She said, ripping open the wipes. She sat the package on the ground and cracked the seal on the water bottle with her teeth. "We'll get this shit off you, if you don't feel better in an hour we'll go to the ER."
"You didn't," he said, wincing when she poured a bottle of cold water on his hands and wrists.
"We're different people," she argued, yanking several wipes from their package. "Wipe your hands." She reached around him and opened the glove compartment. "I really hope you keep napkins in here, like the rest of us." She said, then pulled out a stack of brown napkins and handed them to him. "Dry off." He tossed the trash on the floorboard and closed the door, leaning his head back on the seat.
Erin tossed the wipes and the empty bottle at Dave's feet and grabbed her phone from her pocket. If David was exposed, whatever he touched could be on the groceries. Vera picked up a minute later.
"Don't touch anything I gave you." Erin said, walking around the back end of the car. "Wear gloves and wipe everything down. The box, the canned goods, anything we might have touched-"
"Why?" Vera snapped, drumming her long manicured fingernails on the steering wheel impatiently, the traffic light in front of her was annoyingly red.
"That's classified information," it wasn't, but scaring the hell out of her family wouldn't solve anything. "Please, promise me you'll wipe everything down." She said, pulling the car door open.
Vera huffed, "I don't like it when you keep secrets from me."
"And I don't like keeping them," Erin countered, climbing inside the car.
"You'll explain everything once this is over," Vera left no room for argument.
"Fine. Now, I have to go. Wipe everything down. Wear gloves."
"Okay," Vera relented, "We'll stop at the drug store and get gloves."
The line went dead, Erin laid her phone in the cup holder beside her. "How are you feeling?"
Dave was reclined in the seat, eyes closed, but his complexion was a few shades closer to normal. "I touched Moore," he said. "We need CSU on the cars." He sat up, urgently groping around the seat of his phone. "Where's my phone?"
"Shh…" She put her hand on his arm. "It's okay, relax. I'll make the call." She said, dialing the number.
Erin turned the key in the lock and turned the knob, Dave's house was completely dark. Walking inside, she flipped the light switch then turned to the alarm's keypad. Her fingers trembled with rage as she entered the alarm code. If Curtis wasn't already dead, she would have happily set him on fire and lit a cigarette off him as he burned. Coming after her, was one thing, poisoning David and putting her family in danger, was something else entirely. Her only comfort was that CSU was combing over all of the cars that had been dispatched to her house. The agents were being questioned, tested and swabbed. They were one step closer to nailing the unsub to the wall. There was nothing else she could do, but take care of David.
Once the alarm was off, she went back outside onto the porch. David was still in the car. She waited a beat, but he didn't appear to be getting out of the car. Very slowly, the passenger door opened, Erin hurried down the steps to help him.
"Come on," she said, wrapping her arm around his waist. "Let me help you." She held him by the waist with her left arm and held his wrist with her right. He trembled against her, the humid night air did nothing to warm him up.
"It's fr-freezing, Babe," He mumbled, clamping his jaw shut to keep from shivering.
"I know." Whatever was in this concoction made its victim doubt everything they knew, right down to the weather. If it was warm outside, the victim froze. "Let's go inside," She carefully led them up the steps and opened the door. Mudgie barked twice when they crossed the threshold, then he turned around and went back to his bed.
"Come on," Erin grazed her fingertips across David's forehead. "We need to break that fever." She led them up the stairs into the Master bedroom and into the en-suite bathroom. "Wash your hands." She let go of him long enough to turn on the water at the sink.
He leaned heavily against the marble countertop, scrubbing his hands. When he was done, he turned off the water, the countertop supported most of his weight.
"Are you okay?"
"The damn vents!" Dave groaned as the air conditioner turned on, forcing cold air into the room. "It's freezing." He said, sitting down on the closed toilet. He crossed his arms and hunched over on the seat. "Why is it so cold?"
Erin lowered the plug on the bathtub and turned the taps on full blast. "Just a minute," she tried to soothe him, but it was no use.
She ducked out of the bathroom, leaving Dave huddled in the bathroom.
"Where are you going?" He asked weakly. He'd gone from the picture of health to falling apart in the span of an hour, the change was giving him whiplash.
"I'm trying to help you," she threw back over her shoulder. She grabbed his robe off the back of the door and flung it over her arm. The thermostat sat on the wall above the four-poster bed. The digital screen showed the temperature at 63℉. No wonder he was freezing.
She returned a minute later and turned off the water, she stuck her hand in the tub to check the temperature. Too hot, she turned the water back on to cool off the bath, when she was satisfied that it wouldn't burn him or throw him into shock, she turned back to him.
"Let me help you." She knelt down in front of him, pulling off his shoes and socks. She tossed his loafers across the bathroom floor so no one tripped over them.
"Why are you be-being so nice to me?" He asked, she unbuttoned his shirt and pushed it off his shoulders.
"Because you're miserable." She said, "don't expect this kind of treatment when you get a cold," she teased, tossing his shirt across the room. He stood up, shucked off his pants and boxers and climbed in the tub.
"If this is how you felt after you touched the plant, I should have made you go to the hospital," he admitted. He wouldn't wish this on his worst enemy.
"It wasn't so bad," she grabbed a washcloth from the shelf above the toilet and dipped it in the bathwater. "I don't think there's anything a doctor can do for you that I can't do here." She knelt down on the floor beside him and mopped his face with the washcloth.
His chest heaved as he released a heavy sigh. "You don't have to stay here."
"That's my line," she said, watching the trail of water drip down the panes of his chest.
He chuckled faintly, "I'm glad you can find the humor in this."
"Someone has to make sure you don't drown," she said, sitting down with her back against the claw foot tub.
He caught her wrist in his hand and brought it to his lips. "I meant what I said." A faint smile crossed his mouth. "You are a wonderful mother, but right now I'm a grown man and I feel like I'm eight years old again.
"Is this your polite way of telling me to stop mothering you?"
"Please stop," he chuckled in relief. "Get off the floor. Go make yourself comfortable and I'll be out in a few minutes."
"Okay," she stood up and grabbed a towel off the shelf, she spread it on the floor in front of the tub. "You really should invest in a bathmat."
"I'm a shower guy," he shrugged.
"It's not all about you." She laid another towel on the toilet tank, then walked out. Closing the door behind her.
Dave stared at the closed door, "oh." He nodded, to himself, a bathmat would be a good investment.
From the bedroom, Erin took a pair of pajamas from the dresser and laid them on the bed for Dave. He wanted to be taken care of, no matter what he said. That's why he'd been married three times. He liked coming home to a home-cooked meal and a wife to vent his troubles to. He hadn't changed that much since his last marriage.
She heard the water splash as he got out of the tub.
A minute later, he emerged from the bathroom, his robe was wide open. His whole body on display.
"Is this an invitation?" She asked, grinning like the Cheshire cat.
He sat down on the edge of the bed just before his knees buckled underneath him. "Only if you want to put in all of the work," he said, a faint smile on his lips.
"Don't worry about it," she pulled a t-shirt from the dresser and laid it across the foot of the bed. Then stripped off her sweatshirt and yoga pants. "How do you feel?" She asked, laying her bra on the dresser.
"Like I have the Flu," he said and stood up long enough to pull the blankets back on the bed, then sat back down.
"You're all wet," she groused, yanking the t-shirt over her head. "Don't get in bed yet." She ducked into the bathroom and grabbed a towel.
She stood in front of him, "you'll freeze to death." She said, kneeling down, she lifted his foot off the floor and dried his leg with the towel.
"Erin-" He put his hand on her shoulder, stalling her movements. "Please stop."
"I'm trying to help you-" She argued, lifting his other foot from the floor.
"Stand up," he demanded, with fire in his eyes.
"Would you let me help you?" She spat, without moving from her spot on the floor. "David, please let me help you."
"No." He jerked away from her hands. "I don't need your help."
Erin threw the towel on the floor. "Yes, you do!" She said.
"Who helped you?" He finally asked, he had been across the hall while she was burning with fever. She kept it from him and he never thought to ask. "Come on, Erin, please get off the floor."
"That wasn't your fault," she said softly. "I didn't ask for help."
"You shouldn't have to." That was just another thing he didn't notice, he was keeping score and so far, he was losing. He pulled his robe closed and stood up. "Come on," he reached for her hand to help her up.
"Fine," she took his hand and climbed to her feet. "I need your I-pad. Where is it?" She asked, when she didn't see it on top of the dresser.
"Second drawer on the left," he said, pulling on the pants she left out for him.
She took the tablet from the dresser and went around to the other side of the bed. Then thought better of it, when they were at her house, they slept in separate beds.
"You're sleeping in here, aren't you?" He asked, turning on the bedside lamp.
She nodded. "If you want me to." She flipped the light switch and went back to his side.
He yanked the blankets back, "Come here," he patted the mattress beside him. "I want to wake up with you beside me."
"Okay," she sat down next to him and turned on the I-pad. "I like the sound of that."
"What are you looking for?" He asked, rolling over to face her.
"An OB," she answered, without looking up from the screen. With everything going on with Blake and The Replicator, she didn't have time. Now, it didn't matter, she'd been exposed to a mystery poison on three separate occasions, her child's health had to take priority. "I've been putting it off, but we need to make sure he's healthy."
He leaned over, supporting his weight on his arm and kissed her above the brow. "Do I need to make some calls?"
"I'll find someone," she scrolled through her options, bookmarking the ones with the highest ratings. "David…" She laid the tablet on the bedside table. "I know you're not ready to accept him, but I am. If something happens to him...I can't face it." She should have gotten care sooner, she knew that, but now, she was doing the best she could with what she had.
"Oh, Bella…" he whispered and pulled her close to him, her arms wrapped around his neck. "He's ours," he said against her hair. "We'll face this together. I was here when we made him and I'll be beside you when he makes his appearance."
Erin pulled back to look him in the eye. "I gave him a name," she said, her voice cracking. "We don't have to keep it," she said quickly and held up her hand. "I just..I didn't know where we were and I had to call him something."
"Well…" Dave cleared his throat, she named his son without his input. He hadn't expected that to sting. "What are you calling him?" Dave's hand traveled down her back and around to her hip.
"Carlo," Erin answered, more confident than she felt. "I'm calling him Carlo."
"Carlo Rossi...hmph..." Dave said the name, letting it thoughtfully run off his tongue. "Carlo Rossi. I think I like it." He said, pulling his hand away from her hip, hovering over her abdomen. "I'm sorry I pushed him away. I just thought..."
"Shh..." Erin held her finger against his lips. "It's alright. He's right here," Erin took his hand and laid his palm where Carlo was moving. "Don't pull away from him," she said, pressing his hand on her abdomen holding it there with her hand on top of his.
A slight smile pulled across his face and his heart swelled with emotion he couldn't place. For a moment, he was a proud father. "I'm not going anywhere. Except...hold on." He had an idea, "I want to try something." He pulled away and got off the bed. "I'll be right back."
Surely he had a kid-friendly book somewhere, for Jack and Henry. He went down the hall to his office and closed the door, he ran his hand across the bookshelves, scanning the titles for anything that would be appropriate. Notes on serial killers and his editorial copies of his own books, would never do. Giving his son nightmares in the womb wouldn't put him off to a good start. He knelt down the lowest shelf, past the dust bunnies, he found what he was looking for.
He pulled off the dust jacket and tossed it on the desk, then hurried back to the bedroom.
"What are you doing?" Erin asked as he climbed back in bed with a book in hand.
"I'm an author," he said, as if that explained everything. "I'm assuming he can hear me."
"I'm sure he can," Erin shifted closer to Dave, "he doesn't like sleeping." She complained, touching her abdomen. "It's like he can't get comfortable in there."
"Let's see if we can settle him down." Dave stretched comfortably on his back. "We're a little light on kid's books, but this one's not bad." He said, flipping to the first page.
"Dave?" She stared at him, "What are you doing?" He had done a complete 180 in a few hours, how did she know he wouldn't change his mind again. "Are you sure this time?"
"Sure about what?" He raised his eyebrow, incredulously. "I'm a writer, my son needs to be exposed to books, every kid likes to hear a bedtime story. Come on Erin," he moved toward the middle of the bed. "Come put your head on my chest and listen to the book."
"Sir, yes, Sir." She said, but allowed him to put his arm around her. She laid her head against his bare chest, comforted by the gentle rhythm of his breathing.
Dave cleared his throat and began to read. "In the great green room there was a telephone and a red balloon and a picture of the cow jumping over the moon."
"What are you doing?" Erin groaned, without opening her eyes. Sunlight streamed in from the window, she kept her hand over her was used to Carlo poking her, from the inside, but being poked from the outside while she was trying to sleep, was just weird.
"He's awake." Dave shrugged, as if that explained everything. He was laying on his stomach, legs hanging off the bed, staring in awe at her bare abdomen as if it contained all the secrets in the universe.
"I'm aware," she grumbled, without opening her eyes, "but I am still sleeping."
"I didn't think he would reciprocate," Dave said. Without moving his hand from where Carlo lay. "I told you we were going to wake her up," he whispered, conspiratorially. "Probably not a good move, Kid."
"Are you teaching him Morse Code or something?" She asked, eyes still closed.
Dave leaned in close to her abdomen, "Listen, Kid, I get to give your mom problems, that's my job, but you have to go easy on her." He paused and inclined his head, listening intently. "Uh huh...I hear ya. Right...okay."
"What?" Erin asked, with a grin, as annoying as it was to have her sleep interrupted, watching Dave bond with their kid was pretty cute.
"Hang on," Dave held up his hand and went back to his conversation with Carlo. "Oh, I mean, I can try, but I don't think that's going to work." He raised up and slid off the bed, hurrying to her side. "I'm under strict instructions to kiss his Momma, to atone for waking her up."
She shrugged, feigning indifference. "You know, the smallest person usually runs the house."
He kissed her forehead, lingering there. "That's from Carlo."
"How long have you been up?" She asked, sitting up.
"A while," he sat down beside her. "I made some calls while you were asleep."
"It's 9am," Erin stretched, languidly, her neck giving a satisfying pop. "Who did you call?"
"Neither one of us are going to work until the unsub is caught, so I looked at the pages you marked on the I-pad. We have an appointment at one."
"Then we better get moving," Erin sat up and put her feet on the floor. She hadn't expected Dave to take charge, but, she hoped, if she dropped enough hints, he might and he didn't disappoint her.
"Who is the appointment with?" She asked, ducking into the bathroom.
"I got us in with Dr. Leigh. She's like the Cadillac of medicine," Dave boasted, changing his clothes.
Erin stuck her head out the door, "What insurance does she take?"
"Does it matter?" Dave asked, shrugging.
"It matters when I'm on an HMO." Peter put the whole family on his insurance, but after the divorce, Erin was on her own. She never got sick, so she took out the most basic policy The Bureau offered for one person.
"I have an Amex," he said, buttoning his shirt.
Erin started the shower and climbed in, rushing through her morning routine.
Dave styled his hair in the mirror, feeling pretty pleased with himself. He'd arranged for Erin to be seen by one of the top OBGYN's in the country, Dr. Leigh had one opening for a new patient, had they waited any longer, Erin would have been put on a waitlist. According to the secretary, the list was sure to be a mile long.
He heard the water in the bathroom turn off.
"Did you know, people book this doctor before they're even pregnant?" Erin called, through the closed door, she stood at the double sinks, scrolling through reviews on her phone. Her hair was in a towel, a toothbrush dangled from her mouth.
"What?" Dave called, "I can't understand you!"
Erin rinsed her mouth and spat in the sink, "I said, people book their appointments with her before they're even pregnant. She's better than a Cadillac."
"Nothing's better than Cadillac." Dave said, adjusting the collar of his shirt in the mirror. He watched her, through the mirror as she emerged from the bathroom, his t-shirt hung at her knees.
He went into the bathroom, the box of latex gloves sat on the sink. "I'll go get your suitcase."
"Thanks," she went over to the dresser to brush her hair in the mirror. She kept the bare minimum at Dave's house. Everything she needed for a shower and a pair of panties to mark her territory. If he was seeing someone on the side, the woman would eventually discover her dainty red thong and move on to the next man. She opened the nightstand and a box of condoms sat beside her untouched thong. Was it appropriate for this situation? Probably not, but doctors didn't care about your underwear. She pulled on the panties, just as Dave rolled her suitcase into the room.
"Where are your gloves?"
"I doused the suitcase in bleach before bringing it in," he answered, laying the hardback suitcase on the floor and unzipping it.
She knelt on the floor, sorting through her things.
"Oh, you found that?" He asked, eying the hem of her t-shirt, it had ridden up. Showcasing the underwear. "What's that shade?" He mused, tapping his chin. "Petty Betty, Red?"
"Are you calling me petty?" She asked, standing up, she yanked the shirt back into place.
"Would you prefer; X-marks the spot?" He asked, chuckling. His tone turned serious, "You didn't need to leave that here. There's never been anyone here to find it."
"Then how did you know it was there?"
"Uh, it's my nightstand," he raised an eyebrow at her. "I was refilling the box."
She looked at him, narrowing one eye and asked,"Why the sudden urge to refill the box? It's not like we actually make a regular habit of using them." Erin stated, pointedly looking down at her abdomen, and then back up to Dave as she waited for an explanation.
He had the grace to look guilty,"good point."
The book Dave reads is Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. I haven't forgotten about any of my CM stories, updates are coming! Which would YOU the reader like to see updated first? Help me out, give me something to shoot for.