Aaron sat up and stretched, stifling the yawn that came to his mouth. Looking over, he saw his wife was still sleeping, her hand curled protectively around her stomach. "Wake up, Erin," he whispered in her ear, covering her hand with his own.
Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled up at him. "Mmm, what time is it?" she asked as she stretched.
"A little after six. We have to get ready for the day." He leaned down and kissed her gently.
"Do we have to? I want to spend the day in bed. I'm still not feeling well." She rubbed her stomach gently and bit her lip as she looked up at him. "This is weird, Aaron. I've never felt like this with any of my previous pregnancies."
"The doctor said everything checked out okay," he protested, trying to push away the hard knot forming in his stomach.
"I know she did, honey, but I have to listen to my body, too." He watched her swallow a few times before she scrambled off the bed and jogged over to the bathroom. Aaron heard her retching and he quickly called in to work, telling her assistant that Erin would be off for the day.
She rejoined him just as he was getting off the phone. "You're staying home. I'll have Jessica spend the day here with you after she brings Jack to school. Go back to sleep, my love."
Erin nodded and crawled back under the covers. Aaron pulled the sheet up around her shoulders, smoothing the fabric and smiling into her face. He gently kissed her before getting up, and could feel her eyes on him as he dressed for the day. "Aaron? What if I lose the baby?"
He turned back to look at her, seeing her tear-stained face. "Oh, Erin. If we lose the baby, it will be okay. You've given me four children already, my beloved." He sat on the bed, reaching out for her hand. She clasped it tightly, trying to keep her emotions in check. "Erin, look at me, please."
She looked up, her lashes spiky with tears. "Yes, Aaron?"
"I love you and will do everything in my power to keep you and our child safe. Rest and try to relax today." He leaned down and kissed her softly. "And if, on the off chance, you miscarry, we'll do whatever you want. Try again, adopt, look into surrogacy, whatever."
She nodded and then nuzzled her face into his shoulder. "Okay. Stay safe, my love."
"I'll call you at lunchtime to see how you're feeling." Gently, he lifted her face and kissed her, letting it linger on her lips. "I love you," he murmured.
"I love you, too," she replied, tugging softly on his hair. He'd grown accustomed to this small symbol of intimacy, her way of relieving stress. "I don't want to let you go."
"You have to, though. One of us has to make money today." He gave her another kiss and then stood up. "Sleep, Erin. I'll be home before you know it."
She nodded again, curling up on her side, her arms wrapped protectively around her stomach. Before he left the room, he took one last look at his wife, worry eating at his gut. He didn't even stop for breakfast, instead bending to kiss Jack's cheek. "Where's Momma?" he asked as Aaron picked up his briefcase.
"The baby is making her extra tired this morning, buddy, so she's gone back to sleep." His son nodded and he caught Jessica's eye, motioning towards the door with his head. She dipped her head once and followed him out to the garage.
"What is it you're not saying, Aaron?" she asked lowly, keeping an eye on the doorway.
"Erin's keyed up, worried about losing the baby, and I would really appreciate if you could spend the day here, looking after her. " He drew in a deep breath. "She knows her body, and if she's worried, I'm worried."
"You won't lose the baby, Aaron. I can work here today and take care of her. Try not to worry."
He nodded, slightly and then stiffened as she quickly hugged him. "Jess…"
"You need someone to look after you, too." She rubbed his back softly. "My sister was never the best at that, but Erin does well. Don't make her worry about you. Let that Morgan guy kick ass for a while. Okay?"
"Yes, Jessica." She let go of him and he smoothed his hair. "I'll see you tonight."
"All right. Do pork chops sound good for supper?"
"Delicious." He got in his car and waved to her as he drove out. Aaron couldn't remember a single thing about the drive in, his mind thinking about Erin and the baby. It struck him how much he wanted this baby, now that he was faced with the very real possibility of losing it.
Parking in his usual spot, he sat there, staring at the steering wheel for a long time before getting out and going up to his office. He noticed Morgan's lights on already and as soon as he set down his briefcase, he went back out to his office. "Good morning, Hotch."
"Morning, Derek. How's Emily this morning?"
"Cranky, which is why I'm here so early. Emily was rather glad to see the back of me, truth be told. I could not get her calmed down for anything and she has a migraine. I hate seeing her cry."
"I know that feeling." He sat down across from his friend. "We're nine and a half weeks along."
Morgan looked up at him in surprise. "What?"
"She's terrified of losing the baby, and I don't know how to allay those fears. What if she does miscarry? How do I support her through that?"
"Well, the first thing is to realize that she's looking to you for support. You need to put on a strong front for her even when you feel like breaking down. Like Emily does with me, she draws strength from you. And she's still pregnant. Make sure she's looked after. I know we'll do our part here, at least until you can convince her to go on maternity leave."
"I might have to have Penelope help me out with that one." A knock on the door had them both looking up to see Seaver standing there, a slight smile on her face.
"Hi. Andi told me I had to come up and see Chief Strauss to get my transfer finalized, but she's not in her office. I figured one of you might know where she is."
"She stayed home today. The baby was making her sick so I agreed with her when she wanted to stay home and sleep."
"Oh. So, what should I do? I don't want to disturb her at home, but Andi wants this taken care of today." She sank down in the other chair, looking at him. "Maybe, since you were my direct supervisor, you could sign off on the transfer?"
He was hesitant to agree with her, since he didn't know what the protocol was. "I'm sure Andi will understand if you tell her what's going on," Derek finally said, breaking the silence.
"Well, I would, but no one besides us knows about the pregnancy. Dave made us swear not to let it out, since the stress would be bad for her." Seaver's smile widened. "Though it has been so hard not telling anyone."
"Well, technically, we should wait two more weeks, until she's in the second trimester, to start spreading the news. A lot of miscarriages happen before the twelve week mark. Let me go speak to Andi, she might not believe it coming from your mouth." She nodded and stood shortly after him, following him from Derek's office and down to the fourth floor, where she would be based out of from then on.
"Is there anything I can do, Sir?"" she asked as they made their way down the short hall.
"Not at the moment. Besides, I have the feeling Penelope is going to be glued to her side as soon as she finds out there may be rough waters ahead."
Seaver laughed a little. "There is that. It must be nice having such a close friend."
"It is, but you have to let someone in first. Remember that this time, and try not to hold all your team members at arm's lengths." She nodded as they entered Andi's office. She was working on some paperwork, but looked up when Aaron cleared his throat. "So, I'm losing an agent to you."
"Yeah, sorry about that. You didn't need eight members, while I can always use a fresh face. Did you get her paperwork signed?"
"Small problem with that. My wife is out sick today, the baby was acting up."
"Very funny, Hotchner. When did we skip ahead two months?" She looked genuinely confused, and he realized how well his team had kept everything under wraps.
"Erin and I got married the day after Valentine's, and she's pregnant with our child. You know me, I wouldn't joke about something like this."
Andi's eyes widened as she took in what he was saying. "Why have none of us heard about this?"
"We wanted to keep it quiet. Shepperd knows, of course, but I was as surprised as you are that this is not common knowledge. Erin should be in tomorrow, you can get her to sign the official paperwork then."
"That will be fine. Aaron. I'll see you tomorrow, then."
He nodded and left the room, going back to the elevators. As he waited for the car to arrive, he pulled out his phone, texting Erin. We said goodbye to Ashley today. You'll have to sign her transfer papers tomorrow when you get in. if you're feeling better. I love you.
Getting on the elevator, he bounced on the balls of his feet. It would be a long, anxious, day spent doing paperwork, what with Dave still in the hospital and Penelope still on maternity leave. Oh sure, they could go out on the filed down an agent and with a different technical analyst, but it threw off their balance. Though he did regret grounding the team until Rossi was back, just for the sheer amount of paperwork slack they were picking up.
He'd barely gotten settled behind his desk when the phone rang. "Agent Hotchner," he said quietly.
"Hi, honey." Erin's voice was quiet and small, but still he smiled at the sound of it.
"I thought I told you to sleep."
"I tried. Jessica brought me breakfast in bed and I managed to eat it all. I'm going to try and read a few chapters in my book and then nap for a little bit. I just wanted to hear your voice once more this morning. Have a good day?"
"You, too, Buttercup. I love you."
"I love you, too." They hung up and he sat back in his chair, a gentle peace filling his heart.