"Are you ready to head over to Rossi's?" Aaron asked as he stepped into the living room, smiling to see that Erin and Jack were curled up together in the oversized loveseat that Erin had convinced him to purchase last week, after getting news that Alex Blake was returning to the BAU. He didn't know why that bothered her so much, only that there was definitely bad blood between the two of them. He didn't want to press Erin, since he knew that she would eventually tell him what was wrong. That was what happened with Wyoming, and as her trust in him continued to grow, then she would turn to him and tell him why she wasn't happy about Alex coming back to the BAU.

Erin cleared her throat, signaling that he had been wool gathering a little too long, and he smirked at her as he turned his complete attention back to his wife. "Yes, I am ready to get out of here for a little while. I don't know if I'll be able to handle this maternity leave," she muttered as Jack sprang to his feet before helping her up as best he could, Aaron rescuing his son as he took hold of Erin's other hand and pulled her tightly to his side.

"I know, but the doctor did say that we could take a few trips here and there, as long as you don't get too taxed. I think that visiting friends will not be terribly rough. After all, we need to keep Dave's spirits up, too. Even though he's home, he's still not fully up to his previous activities. Which is why him taking over my role will be good for him, since he can stay back and video conference with the team while working on paperwork and writing his new book."

"On company time," she teased as they went out to the garage and he chuckled a little at the quip. Nodding, he helped her into the passenger seat while Jack clambered into his booster seat. Leaning in, he kissed Erin softly before going over to the driver's side of the car and settling behind the wheel. As he backed out of the garage, Aaron listened to the continuing conversation between Erin and Jack, finding something so lovely about the relationship that they had. By the time he was pulling into Dave's drive, they were winding up things, and he waited for the conversation to come to a natural end before helping Erin out of the car and leading her and Jack up to the stoop.

"You're just in time! Dave is grumbling about having to bunk down in the study for the next six weeks, because although he can go to work, his doctor doesn't want him to climb stairs too often. Which is why we have a small favor to ask of you."

Penelope gave him her most winning smile, and he rolled his eyes a little as he chuckled. "Let me guess, you want me to share my office with your husband until the doctor clears him to go up and down stairs once more?"

"You are so good at profiling, Aaron! No wonder Erin wanted to promote you to her position when she decided to take early retirement!" Giggling a little, Penelope brought them inside and then crouched down to look into Jack's eyes. "Hey, do you want to come with me and Erin to see Iris? I think that your dad and Uncle Dave need time to talk alone, about boring grownup stuff."

Jack nodded excitedly as he took hold of Erin's hand and followed Penelope further into the house. Since Aaron knew where the study was, he felt comfortable letting them go off by themselves while he headed straight for the study. He was unsurprised to see that his best friend was hobbling around as best he could around the large medical bed that was set up where his matching wingback chairs normally were.

"My wife is under the assumption that I need to be treated with kid gloves until this damned leg is completely healed. I don't need that treatment. I am a grown man, Aaron!"

He couldn't help but laugh as he went over to the liquor cabinet and began to pour them each a glass of whiskey. "I think that you need to have a little talk with my wife. She is already chafing at being under full bedrest. I know that I went through this with Haley, but it was only for the end of her pregnancy, not for twenty six weeks, hopefully. We want to keep her as stress free and healthy as possible so that our little miracle baby stays in there for as long as possible. I don't want to think about the possibility that she might go into preterm labor and we either lose the baby or they're in NICU for months on end. That sort of stress would be too much on Erin."

"You know, you do have options to help take care of Erin and make certain that she's not bored while we're at work. That's what gets to her most, being stir crazy. If she has something to focus her time and talents on, she's calmer."

"I have noticed that, yes. But what are these options?"

"Well, she has four adult children, you have a sister-in-law that adores Jack and would do anything to help you out, and if none of those options work out, you can hire someone to help around the house. I'm assuming that she was given a good maternity leave and early retirement package, so you could afford to hire a maid or a chef for her and Jack."

"I think that she would have something to say about that, since just like you, she's more stubborn than the day is long."

Dave touched his chest in mock outrage as he allowed his mouth to gape open for a few seconds. "I am hurt, Aaron, truly, that you would think we're stubborn. Erin and I are some of the most laid-back people you will ever meet."

A delicate snort behind them caught their attention, and Aaron looked up to see Penelope standing in the doorway. "I wanted to check in on you two, to make certain that Hotch was talking some sense into you, but I see that I calculated wrong. Don't let him buffalo you, Hotch. He needs to rest and relax, not be a stubborn old goat who might have to be off that leg longer if he doesn't follow his doctor's advice."

Dave let out a rich laugh as he drained the rest of his whiskey. "We were actually talking more about Erin and what we're going to do about her stubborn streak, which we don't have. We just know what we want and how to go after it. In any way possible."

"And that is precisely the point, Dave. I know that you want to get right back out in the field, especially since Doctor Blake has hit the ground running, but you need to focus on healing, and leading the team from back here until that leg is stronger."

Penelope let out a little sigh as she moved away from the door and took the empty glass from Dave's hand before heading back out once more. "She does have a point, Dave," Aaron said once the door was closed. "I do need you to be as healthy as possible to keep an eye on the team when they're out in the field. I think that adding Alex was a good idea, she's been gelling well with the others, but she still needs to get used to you as the leader. And I know that there is a bit of bad blood between her and Erin, which I haven't been privy to just yet, but if you could dig out some of that for me, I'd be grateful."

Dave raised his eyebrows a little as he looked at Aaron. "Erin knows that Alex is back?" He nodded. "Well, that certainly makes things interesting. And does Alex know that Erin is your wife?"

"Yes. She was a little vocal about things being cool between them because of the Amerithrax case, but I was in Seattle at that time, so I didn't hear everything that went down. All Gideon would ever say was that decisions were made as a result of Erin's position as Section Chief, and she regretted those decisions once more information had come to light."

"I see. Well, you're going to have to wait for Erin to tell you more about that situation, since I don't really know more than you do, and I have the feeling that Blake won't open up to me, once she knows how close I am with you and Erin. And Penelope won't get any information out of her, because the first time that Blake says anything remotely negative about Erin, she's going to defend her best friend. And we both know how fiercely Penny guards her friends."

"That is true, yes. So I guess that this is another time where we have to tread carefully. Because I know that Erin does not need any other stressors in her life at the moment."

"I would take another drink, so that I could toast to that, but Penelope took my glass, which is a clear indication that she wasn't pleased with my having the first drink."

"Would she have a reason for that?"

Dave looked a little guilty as he shied away from looking at Aaron, which told him that there was a very good reason for him not to drink. "I'm not supposed to drink any alcohol due to the strength of painkillers that I'm on. This was my first sip of the stuff since the car accident."

"You should have told me! I would have drank both of them if that was the case!"

Dave chuckled a little as he rubbed the spot between his shoulders sheepishly. "Eh, I wanted to take a small risk, since I'm home, and the bed is right there, if I feel a little woozy as a result of my indulgence. You're fine, Penny won't be angry at you, I'm the one who will take the brunt of that."

"I'll make certain to apologise for my lapse of judgment. Now, how about we talk about something a little lighter before we get into more trouble. Do you think I would be in much trouble if I chose to ask Georgia to come live with us until Erin gives birth? When you mentioned her older children earlier, I immediately thought of her, since they haven't had a long time to bond. This would give them a way to create new memories and still Erin would be looked after."

"I think that it wouldn't hurt to ask her. But you'll probably have issues with Molly, since she hasn't been pleased with anything relating to her older sister, from what Penelope's told me. You'll just have to resign yourself to the fact that there might be a fight there, one that you'll need to keep Erin out of as much as possible, at least until the baby is here." Aaron nodded slowly as the conversation spun off in a new direction, his mind still thinking about the future that was beginning to spin out in front of them.