"Erin! You're here!" Penelope squealed, pulling the woman into a tight hug after she'd opened the door on them, smiling widely.
"Aunt Penny, aren't you glad to see me, too?" Jack asked, pouting slightly.
"Of course I am, Jackers." She knelt awkwardly and opened her arms, Jack hugging her tightly. "Do you want a hug, too, Hotch?" she asked as she stood.
"I'm good, Penelope. How was your Christmas?" he asked as they entered the Rossi home.
"Good. I've been slowing down a little since Irene's almost here." She touched her stomach lightly. "Dave wants me to start maternity leave after the first of the year, but I want to be like Jayje and work up until the last moment."
"You'll do whatever is best for the baby, Penelope." Aaron pinned her with his gaze and she squirmed a little.
"Yes, sir," she reluctantly replied as she took their coats. "Everyone's in the den. Now that you're here, we can get this party started."
Aaron took Erin's arm and they made their way to the den, Jack running on ahead. Reid motioned them over, a happy grin on his face. "Hey guys! Happy Boxing Day. Did you hear the news yet? They spotted Doyle in Italy last night. A vacationing CIA agent noticed him when we went to Mass at one of the less popular cathedrals in Rome. Hopefully, we can bring some justice for Emily soon."
"That would be nice," Erin replied as Rossi came around and gave them glasses of wine. "Thank you, David."
"My pleasure, Erin." Aaron felt a momentary flash of jealousy, which was quickly quelled by his lover wrapping her arm around his waist, hugging him close to her.
"Honey, do you want to go sit down with me? I'm suddenly not feeling all the greatest," she said lowly once Rossi had moved on. Aaron nodded and sat down. Erin sat next to him, curling up her legs as she looked out over the room.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't know. Usually I only get this feeling when a particularly bad case crosses my desk. Which is why this is so silly. We've not been at the office for me to look at new cases." She leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder.
Ashley smiled at them as she walked by. "Say cheese!" she said as she snapped a picture of them. "Did you have a good Christmas?"
"It was wonderful, Ms. Seaver. And yourself?"
"Mine was pretty good, too. My boyfriend got me tickets to see Tosca, so that made me happy."
"Ah, Puccini. I'm partial to Turandot, myself." Erin smiled as she engaged the young woman in a conversation about opera. Aaron listened with half an ear until he heard Erin say: "That's my favorite part of The Fifth Element, as well."
"Wait, you like that movie?"
"More than I probably should. Josh wanted to see it when he was home sick one day, and I indulged him. The romantic in me couldn't help but adore the idea of love saving the day."
Aaron kissed her temple as his cell phone began to ring. Taking it out, he frowned slightly. "It's Director Shepperd." He stood to answer it, going over to a quiet corner of the room. "Hello?"
"Agent Hotchner, I would not be calling if it were not urgent. I need you to assemble your team and head back to the BAU as soon as possible. We have a situation brewing in Michigan."
"Can't Sam's team handle it?"
"Sam and Mick are in Italy, dealing with the Doyle problem. We need the best people on the field, Agent Hotchner, and right now you're it."
He sighed. "Give us an hour and we'll be there."
"Thank you." The other man hung up and Aaron looked around at the relaxed, happy, faces of his team. He hated to do this to them, but duty called.
"Listen up, everyone. That was the Director. Apparently, something is going down in Michigan and he needs us there as soon as possible." Everyone groaned. "Penelope, I want you to stay with Erin and Jack. This is going to be a bad case, and I don't want you to be under such stress this close to your due date."
She looked ready to protest when her husband shot her a knowing look. "All right, Boss Man. Everyone, please take a plate with you. I don't want all this food to go to waste."
The group nodded and began to get ready to leave as Aaron helped Erin up. "Stay safe in Michigan."
"I'll try my best. I'm sorry our holiday was cut short."
"There will be other weekends together, Aaron." She reached up and kissed him, letting his arms wrap around her in front of everyone. "My Aaron."
"My Erin," he replied just as possessively, kissing her once more before letting her go. "Look after Jack while I'm gone. Jessica's in Barbados with Tom."
"I will, I promise," she said as he hugged Jack.
"Be good for Miss Erin, okay? I love you, Jack."
"I love you, too, Daddy." Jack latched onto Erin's side as he left the den, going into the dining room for food before they left.
"Can I catch a ride with you, Dave? Jack still needs a booster, so I should leave my car here for when they need to go home."
"Of course, Hotch. Wasn't the red cell team available for this?"
"I asked Shepperd the same thing. Seems Sam and Mick are dealing with Doyle."
"Better them than us. I don't want to be so far away from Penelope right now. I'm still worried."
"She's really close to her due date."
"From my eyes, she's a month and a half away."
Aaron nodded. "At least she didn't have to go on bedrest. When Haley was pregnant with Jack, that was the one thing that terrified me." They got in Dave's car and he followed the others into the BAU. "In the end, Jack turned out okay. Cold comfort when you're waiting, I know."
"Yes and no. Not to change the subject, but how's Erin doing? While she might confide in my wife since she's started seeing you, I've been pushed to the side. As it should be, since she's your lover. I just kind of miss talking to her, strange as that may sound."
"She's doing okay. Georgia's over at the house with the rest of her kids, which has made her a little uneasy. You probably know better than I do, Dave. How did Erik treat her?"
"Erin adored Erik, loved him deeply. He was more reserved, held her at arm's length at times. I don't mean to speak ill of the dead, but Erik could never move past Wyoming and that held Erin there as well. It ate away at him until he ended up with brain cancer."
Aaron looked at him in surprise. "He was dying all along?"
"Pretty much. And then he took the easy way out to spite her. I had Penelope get me access to his medical records a little bit ago. It was a slow growing tumor, he could have lived for eight to ten more years."
"That bastard."
"Exactly. In the end, you got the better part of the bargain." Rossi flipped on the radio and jazz poured out of the speakers, signaling the end of their conversation. Aaron sat back in his seat, watching the familiar landscape pass by. If Erin was right about her gut feeling, this was going to be a horrible case.
They walked into the bullpen as a team, and Aaron saw Shepperd pacing the floor, waiting for them. "Thank God you made it so quickly. I don't have a case file for you, since this has just stared happening. You're headed to Grand Rapids. Police there don't know if this is the work of one person, or a team, but it is brutal. In the past three days, ten pastors in the greater Grand Rapids area have been found murdered. Written on the wall of where they are found is 'Death to the tyrants'. Whoever this is, they are taking excellent counter forensic steps, since not one shred of evidence has been found."
He handed Aaron a CD. "What's this?"
"Pictures of the unsub's work. You need to get going."
Aaron nodded and turned to his team. "Let's head to the airfield." They grabbed their go bags while Aaron hurried up to his office. Pulling out his bag, he stuffed the picture of Erin and Jack inside. He wanted them close for this case. Somehow, he knew it would not end well.