When he woke up the next morning, he smelt breakfast cooking. Climbing out of bed, he pulled on a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt before going out to the kitchen. Jack was sitting on the counter, chatting with Erin as she cooked bacon.
"Morning."
"Daddy! Momma said we could go visit Aunt Penny and Irene today. I love you, Momma!"
Aaron looked at his lover and watched the gamut of emotions that ran across her face. "I love you, too, Jackers." A soft breath caught in her throat as she reached out to stroke his face. "If you'll excuse me." As she turned from them, Aaron heard her begin to sob. He touched her shoulder and she pulled away from him, running to their bedroom and slamming the door.
"Daddy, did Mister Erik ever tell Momma that he loved her?"
"I'm sure he did, Jack. Why?"
Jack looked at him seriously. "I don't think she hears those words enough, Daddy. Have you told her yet how you feel? I mean, you do love her, don't you?"
Slowly, he nodded, turning off the burner to the stove. "Set the table, Jack. I'll be right back." He turned and jogged to their room. Opening the door, he saw her lying on their bed, her shoulders heaving from her sobs. Aaron took a seat on the bed next to her, rubbing her back.
Erin looked up at him, her lashes spiky from her tears. "Yes, Aaron?"
"I love you, Erin." She drew in a sharp breath, a tiny flicker of hope in her eyes. "I love you." He bent down and kissed her upturned lips, letting her deepen the kiss as she pulled him down on top of her.
When she broke the kiss, Erin snuggled into him, smiling up at his face. "I've wanted to tell you I love you ever since our first night together."
"At Christmas?"
"No, Thanksgiving. I knew when you were so patient with me that I had made the right decision in being open to you."
"Why didn't you say something sooner?"
"I tried to, but each time I came close to telling you, you'd pull away. For the want of a gun…"
"A man fell in love." Erin reached up and stroked his face lovingly.
"And a woman. I love you, Aaron Hotchner." Erin kissed him once more. They heard a soft knocking at the bedroom door and Aaron jumped out of bed to go over and open the door.
"Hey, buddy, what're you doing?"
"Bringing us breakfast in bed. Did you tell Momma you love her?" He nodded, taking the tray from Jack's hands. "Good. I didn't bring any juice since I knew I'd spill it." Jack climbed into the bed next to Erin and looked expectantly at his father. "I'm hungry, Daddy."
Aaron smiled and sat down carefully, balancing the tray as best he could. He handed a plate to Erin and then his son before digging in himself. "So, tell me what we'll need to bring as we move in."
"Anything you want, I'll make room for it. It's going to be our house, Aaron. Not just mine with small traces of you scattered about."
He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "I love you."
"That's the third time you've said that this morning."
"Get used to it. I told Haley I loved her every chance I could." They finished eating and Erin helped Jack take the dishes to the kitchen while he dressed. After pulling on a dark blue polo shirt, he joined them in the kitchen . "Are you ready to leave?"
"I think so." Erin held out her hand and he took it, leading them out of the apartment. Jack skipped on a little ahead of them, turning back to grin at them occasionally. "I should probably tell the kids that we're making this permanent."
"How do you think Moly will take the news? After all, Jack and I will be invading her space, too."
"She's warming to you and Jack. I've told her more about you and Haley. At heart, she's a romantic, like my Georgia." She winced a little and touched her stomach lightly.
"What's wrong?"
"I forgot that a lot of grease upsets my stomach." She touched her hand to her lips as she swallowed hard. "I'm sure it will pass in a moment." Blinking, she smiled up at him, squeezing the hand she held.
Aaron nodded and pulled her a little closer to him, letting go of her hand to wrap his arm around her waist. "How's Penelope? Jack mentioned you chatted over the webcam yesterday."
"She's exhausted, like all new moms are, but she's finally getting her equilibrium back. I'm sure David is keeping you filled in on Irene's accomplishments. After the struggle of her first week of life, everything's been smooth sailing, thank God."
"It's good to hear that from you. Dave tends to sugar coat things."
"He's still an independent guy, honey. He wants to be able to do everything on his own, and doesn't want to admit that there's a hint of a struggle with his family. Kind of like you."
Aaron opened the car door for her and she slid in, putting on her seatbelt. "I'm not that bad, Rin."
"Yes, you are. I know Morgan had to twist your arm to let him do some of the paperwork so that you could spend more time with Jack. You just didn't want to admit that you're not perfect."
"How did you…?"
"I have eyes and ear everywhere, Aaron. You should know this by now," she replied archly as he began to drive. They'd driven about two miles when she touched his shoulder. "Could you pull over, love? I have to…"
He took one look at his lover and nodded, hastily pulling into a nearly empty parking lot. She threw open the door and he winced as he listened to her throw up. From the backseat, he heard Jack start to whimper a bit, "Everything's okay, Jackers. Momma just ate too much bacon this morning and it upset her stomach. Remember when you ate all the Halloween candy in one sitting?"
"Yeah."
"That's probably how she feels right now." Erin sat back up and rooted through his glove compartment, finally pulling out a few napkins and wiping her face clean. "Do you want me to stop and get you something to drink, Rin?"
"Water sounds amazing right now, Aaron." He nodded and pulled into the closest fast food joint, running in for a glass. Erin sipped at it the entire way to Dave and Penelope's, her hand absently rubbing her stomach. As he parked in the half moon driveway, she got out and helped Jack out of the car. Aaron watched his son cling tight to his lover, realizing in that instant that any minor complaint Erin had, Jack would blow it out of proportion, thinking she would leave him like Haley had.
Knocking on the door, he thought about having a home again, a place to start over with the woman he loved. Unconsciously, he stepped closer to Erin and she leaned into him. The door opened moments later and Dave ushered them inside. "Penelope's up in the nursery. She's been looking forward to this visit all day."
Erin reached up and kissed Dave's cheek. "I can't wait to see her, too." She took hold of Jack's hand and led him upstairs while Aaron hung back with Dave.
"You look exhausted."
"I am. Every time Irene cries, I think something is going to go wrong and she needs to go to a doctor. Penny's been better at that than I am."
"Let's try to get your mind off that for a little while, then."
"How?"
"Jack and I are going to move in with Erin. I need some help taking things over to her place. We could see if Morgan and Reid are free, too." He smiled as his friend nodded.
"It would be nice to do some physical work to relieve some of this tension. Do you have keys to her house?"
"Of course!"
"Then let's go. We'll take my truck, we can fit more in it." Dave clapped Aaron on the back and dug his keys out of his pocket. "Honey, Aaron and I are going out to do something. We'll be back later! I love you, cara," he called out before going to the garage, Aaron close behind him.
While he drove, Aaron called Reid , who readily agreed to help. Then he tried Morgan. Emily picked up on the other end of the line. "Yeah, Hotch? Do we have a case?"
"No. I was just looking for Morgana's help with a Saturday project." He took a deep breath. "Dave, Reid, and I, are going to be moving my things into Erin's house. We were hoping Derek could help."
"Of course we will. Are we meeting at your apartment?"
"Uh, yeah. Are you sure you want to?"
"I need to bond with my family again, Hotch. This is the best way to do so. Der and I will see you in fifteen minutes."
"Thanks, Emily."
The day moved quickly, and after the first load had been brought over to Erin's house, he stayed behind and began to put things away while the others brought loads over. Morgan ordered them Chinese for lunch and shortly after five, they had everything in the house, though not put away.
"So, if everyone wants to see Irene, follow me home. I'm sure Penelope would love to see you all as well," Dave said, sticking his hands in his pockets.
"Well, seeing as how I didn't get to hold our little princess yet, I'll take you up on that offer, Rossi." Morgan tightened his grip around Emily's waist, and Aaron saw that secretive smile of hers flash across her face.
"I think I'm going to see Ashley. She might be awake today." Reid smiled sadly at all of them and ambled out the door.
"I thought she had a boyfriend," Dave said.
"She did. He couldn't handle the stress of her injury. Reid's been visiting her as much as he can," Morgan replied.
"I see." They went out to their cars and Aaron rode with Dave once more. "Do you think I should call Penny and let her know we're having guests?"
"That would be a good idea, Dave." He settled back and listened to their conversation, eager to see Erin after a fulfilling day combining their households.