Aaron overslept the next morning. He and Erin had stayed at the café for a few hours, though he made no headway with her since every time he'd tried to get the focus on her, she neatly turned it back to him. Sitting up, he saw Jack curled up on his bed, his teddy bear clutched tightly to his chest.

"Hey, when did you join me?" he asked as he woke his son up.

"I don't know, Daddy. Did you have a good night?" Jack snuggled up close to his father.

"I did. I spent some more time with my friend. Would you like to meet her again?"

"I know her? Who is it?"

"Do you remember Mrs. Strauss? She visited us once after Mommy died." Jack nodded solemnly. "Well, her husband recently died, and we've been getting closer. If I were to have her over for supper, would you make her feel welcome?"

"Yes, Daddy."

"Good. Now, I have to go in to work for a little bit. Would you like to stop at the bookstore and pick out some books to read while I do my job?" Jack nodded again and Aaron smiled. "And we could stop for breakfast at McDonald's."

"Really? I'll be ready in like five minutes, Daddy!" Jack scrambled out of bed and took off for his room. Aaron used the opportunity to get dressed himself, throwing on a casual shirt and pants, forgoing the usual tie he wore. It was Saturday after all, and he'd be there with his son.

They ate quickly and then stopped at The Book Nook. While Jack looked at the picture books, Aaron asked the clerk, "Would you happen to have a copy of Deerskin in stock?"

"Let me check, sir." The young woman disappeared and he crouched down next to Jack.

"Have you found anything yet, buddy?"

"Uh huh." He held up a copy of The Lion and the Mouse. "I want this one for sure. How many can I pick?"

"Four more besides this one."

"Awesome!" Jack went back to the books, a serious look on his face. Aaron took a seat in the nearby chair, his eyes never leaving Jack. After a few minutes, the clerk returned, holding out a copy of the book.

"You're in luck, one of two copies left in the store. Is this book for you?"

He nodded. "Why do you ask?"

"I just always caution people who think McKinley is only for young women. This book is definitely not suitable for pre-teens to read. It's such a sad story."

"I take it you've read the book, then. Is there any way it could be seen as hopeful?"

"In a sense, yes. But read for yourself and decide one way or the other."

"Thank you for finding this for me. Jack, have you picked your books out yet?"

His son came up to him, holding six books. "I couldn't decide, Daddy. May I get them all?" Jack gave him a large eyed look that Aaron knew he couldn't resist. "Please?"

"All right, as long as you promise to be good and not whine about how long I'm taking."

"I promise." Aaron ruffled his son's hair and led him up to the cash register. Once the clerk had rung him up, they were underway once more. "Do you think Aunt Penny will be there?"

"I don't know, Jackers. She's been taking a lot of Saturdays off since she found out she and Uncle Dave were having a baby."

"You never told me that! When's the baby going to be here?"

'In about four months."

"Are we going to get her a gift?"

"Eventually." Aaron pulled into the parking garage and they got out. It took a moment to get Jack his visitor badge and then they went up to his office. "I'm going to read a little bit of my book, too, okay, buddy?" Jack nodded and crawled onto the sofa, pulling out one of his books from the bag.

Aaron took out Deerskin and sat next to his son. Unlike most books, he was hooked from the opening page. He'd read about fifty or so pages when his office door opened and closed. Putting his finger on his spot, he looked up and saw Penelope standing before them, rubbing her stomach. "Hey, Boss Man, what are you doing in today?"

"I have a few reports to finish up and thought I'd work on them. I don't know how much I'll actually get done, though."

"The book does have that pull. Hey, Jackers, why don't you come with me to my office and we can play some games while Daddy finishes his work."

"Is that going to be okay?" he asked as Jack turned to look at him.

"Of course, I wouldn't have offered if it weren't. Besides, I need more practice with little ones. Irene will be here before we know it." She held out her hand to Jack and he slipped off the couch, taking hold of it.

As Hotch read on, he found himself grateful that Penelope had taken his son. Jack would have picked up on his distress and pestered him until he told him what was wrong. He finally closed the book two hours after he'd begun reading it, his eyes wet with unshed tears. How could Erin identify with Lissar? he wondered, staring at the cover.

Standing, he went over to his desk and opened the first file. For five full minutes he stared unseeing at the page, trying to connect the dots that were all in front of him. If he were to profile the situation, where would he start? Obviously, Wyoming played a huge factor in things. And the way both Rossi and Penelope had freaked out over the similarities in the Montana case played into things as well. Then there was Deerskin. What did all three things share?

Shaking his head, he booted up his computer and logged into his mail. Jessica had sent him her new monthly schedule. Not much had changed, though he noticed she'd marked in more time with her fiancé. He forwarded the email to Penelope with a note asking if she would watch Jack if Jessica couldn't.

The next email was from Erin and was marked as being sent that morning. Opening it, he saw she'd asked him just one question. Did Haley ever forgive you? Aaron stared at the screen, wondering how to respond to her.

Finally, he wrote back to her For what? While he waited for her response, he turned back to his files. He'd managed to get through an entire one before his computer dinged. He pulled up the email client and saw the email was from Penelope, letting him know she'd be fine with that, up until the baby came, at least. He smiled, knowing she was probably telling Jack about the new arrangement.

Aaron went back to his work, wrapping up two more files. The computer dinged once more and he checked his mail. It was from Erin. His eyes slipped over her reply to his question. Of course, she'd countered with more questions. Aaron, you must know what I mean. Did she ever forgive you for betraying her? For choosing the job over her? To return to this den of horror day after day even when she begged you not to, that it was destroying you? For losing your brightness and happiness to what we see cross our desks all the time? Did you ever find exculpation from her for the life we chose to lead?

Aaron reclined in his chair, staring at her questions. She was driving him to give her an answer to something he had no idea she was asking. It was obvious she felt intense guilt about something, most likely Wyoming and her more than justified one night stand with Dave.

He clicked reply and wrote back Are you asking if Erik ever forgave you for Wyoming and the baby you had? He hit send and then finished the last report. He put the finished files in his out box and then stood up, grabbing the bag of books, shoving Deerskin inside, and then he went down to Penelope's office. Opening the door, he found his son curled up in her lap, listening to her read him The Lion and the Mouse.

Aaron leaned against the doorjamb, listening to her voice. Like his son, he was enthralled by it, by the way she added emotion and inflection to the story. Irene was going to be a very lucky baby to have parents like hers, he thought as the story went on. On the last page, Penelope looked up and smiled at him. "Hey, have you finished your work?"

"Yes, I'm finally free for the rest of the day. Would you like to go have lunch with us?"

"Oh, please, Aunt Penny, say you will." Jack turned his eyes on her and Aaron watched her melt.

"Yeah, that sounds like fun. Just let me grab my purse." She stood awkwardly and went over to her desk, taking out the large handbag. "The café down the block sound good?"

"Wonderful." Aaron put Jack's other books in the bag and held out his hand. Jack clasped it tightly and they all walked down to the café. The hostess showed them to a table near the back and he looked over the menu. "What do you want, Jack?"

"Grilled cheese and chocolate milk," was his quick reply as he smiled up at him.

"Is that all?" Jack nodded and stuck his hands on Penelope's stomach. "Hey there, buddy, did you ask? Not everyone likes that, young man."

"It's fine, Hotch. He just wants to feel Irene move. She's been kinda quiet this morning, though." The waitress came to take their order and Penelope looked up at her. "Me and the little man are having grilled cheese and chocolate milk. And you, Boss Man?"

"Make it a threepeat." The girl nodded and moved off while Aaron watched his son's eyes widened. "Can you feel the baby move?"

"Uh huh. How does she know to kick out and not your insides, Aunt Penny?"

"She doesn't, not always. And as she gets bigger, she'll kick and hit and push wherever she can since she'll be bigger than her surroundings."

Jack wrinkled his nose. "And you want to have something inside you that hurts you?"

"Look at the end result – a wonderful kid like you. Who knows, you might even have a brother or sister one day."

"Not unless Daddy asks Mrs. Strauss to be my new mommy. But they're just friends." Jack took a bite of his sandwich, ignoring Penelope's shocked smile and his father's own bemused look. From where he stood, it looked like his son was following in his footsteps of profiling.