Aaron had his head buried in his work when he heard a soft cough meant to catch his attention. Looking up, he saw that Blake was standing there, an almost amused smirk on her face. He set his pen aside as he steepled his hands in front of him on the desk. "May I help you?" he asked as he motioned for her to take a seat. Looking around, he saw that Dave was not in there, which most likely meant that he had gone to visit Penelope at some point while he had been working. That also told him that Blake had planned this moment so that it was just the two of them in the room, as if she wanted to discuss something without being overheard.

"I know that you most likely won't believe me when I say this, but it is a true question, nonetheless. How is Erin doing so far? I know that the older a woman is when she gets pregnant, the higher the risks are. And before you ask, yes, I have been doing some research into that, because…"

She broke off, and Aaron wondered if she and her husband had been discussing, as well. That would explain her reticence to explain why she had been doing the research as to the risks. "Well, I am glad that you're asking after her. I know that she would appreciate the chance to talk to you and make amends for what happened in the past."

"I see that she's been talking to you, then."

He quirked an eyebrow as he appraised her, trying to think about how to delicately answer her question without making her angrier with Erin in the fallout. "I asked her to tell me about why she reacted so strongly to the news that you were returning to the BAU. It took a while for her to open up enough to tell me a little of the story, and even then, I think that I only got the side that put you in the best light and her in the worst. And I know that if I ask for your side of the story, it will paint her in the worst light, and yourself in the best light. So I won't get the true feel of things, because Erin still cares enough about you to protect you and paint herself in the role of horrible monster."

"She was always good at that, yes," Alex murmured as she sat back in the chair, tugging on the edges of her blazer as she looked away from him. "Though you might be surprised by how I would speak about that time in our lives. I am still seething at times, I won't lie about that."

"Well, start from the beginning, and depending on what I hear, then I'll tell you a little more about how Erin is doing."

She nodded and took a deep breath. "We were two driven women in a male dominated department. We were both brilliant and driven, and I knew that one of us was going to be Section Chief sooner or later. But we had to put the time in first. And then, there was that case in Wyoming, that no one talked about afterwards, only to say that Erin had caught the unsub. Shortly thereafter, Shepperd was promoted to Assistant Director and then to Director, and Erin went from rookie star to Section Chief."

"That must have made you quite angry."

Blake rolled her eyes a little. "I think that the word you're looking for is furious, righteously furious. And then the rumors started to go around about there being something a little hinky about what happened in Wyoming, how it was odd that two men and a woman went out there, and no one really knew what happened. There were rumors, also, about how Erin mysteriously gained quite a bit of weight, went away for three weeks, and came back close to her former weight. No one used the word pregnant, but there were a lot of side eyes. She changed after that, became cold and distant to a lot of people, mostly men. But she was drawn to me, like that proverbial moth to a flame, and I tried my best to be what she needed me to be. Which lasted until the Amerithrax case, and she threw me under the bus alongside John."

"She had a job to uphold. She knew how much scrutiny she was under, and that she had to do things by the book."

Blake chuckled wryly. "So, giving up a bastard is doing things by the book?"

Aaron frowned as he leaned forward, staring darkly at the woman. "Georgia is not a bastard. Erin wanted her very much. And that is all I can tell you about her, because her story is not my story to tell. You'll have to ask her yourself if you want the full details, though I doubt that she'll give them to you."

She narrowed her eyes at him as her nostrils flared delicately, letting him know that she was not pleased with that answer. "And why wouldn't she tell me that, if she so desperately wants to make amends?"

"Because there are only five people alive who know the full story, and it took my stumbling onto something close to the correct answer. If that hadn't happened, I think that it would have taken much longer for Erin to completely trust me and let me in. And I doubt, much though she might want to make things right between the two of you, that she'll automatically let you in and tell you all her deepest, darkest, secrets."

The look on Blake's face darkened, as if she didn't like the thought that she would be left out of the loop on something that was obviously very important to who Erin was. Aaron knew that he had probably walked a little too close to that fine line between saying too much and keeping secrets, but he also knew that Erin would not want him telling tales out of turn. "I don't know if I want to let her in enough to trust her like that."

"It doesn't have to be right away. I just know that Erin is bound and determined to have things settled before this little girl enters our lives. And if it eases her heart, that means she'll have less stress, and then the baby will be born healthier. That is my number one priority, keeping them healthy and safe."

Blake nodded as she took a deep breath. "I will have to give some consideration to that request, Hotch. Until then, please give me the updates that you feel are appropriate for me to know."

"Of course, Alex. Have a good day." She knew that she was being dismissed, and as she got to her feet, Blake gave him a small smile before she left the room. Hearing a slight shuffle in the outer office told him that Dave must have returned from his break, and he tried to look busy as his friend hobbled in on his crutch. "How much trouble did you get in when you went up to Penelope's office with only one of those?" he asked sardonically.

"She made it clear to me that I needed to follow everything my doctor said so that I could heal to the best of my ability. So it will be up to you to not squeal about my clomping around here without any crutches."

Aaron gave him a look, but Dave just smirked a little as he went over to his desk and took a seat. "You know that if Penelope says anything to Erin, I won't hear the end of it. Do you really want that to happen to me?"

"Hotch, Erin and Penelope have been doing this to me for months, so the fact that you might suffer a tiny bit doesn't really bother me all that much."

"I will remember that when it comes time for your annual review, and I have to decide on whether or not you deserve a raise."

Dave chuckled lowly as he picked up his reading glasses and began to go over the files that were in his inbox. "You and I both know that I'm not in it for the money. I have more money than Penelope and I could possibly spend in this lifetime, and Iris and her children will be quite comfortable, too."

"Nothing I can say will get to you, will it?"

He shrugged as he leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling. "No, not really. You know that we're both stubborn old goats."

"You shouldn't talk about your wife that way," Penelope said as she peeked her head inside the office.

"And you shouldn't be eavesdropping, dear."

She giggled as she went over to Dave's desk and took a seat on the edge of it. "I just came to see if you were telling Hotch how I have my eye on both of you. Well, that, and I wanted to see why Blake came here while my husband was with me."

Aaron knew that he was not going to get any work done for the next few minutes, so he set his work aside once more and took a look at the pair. "Alex was just checking in on Erin. I told her a little of what she wanted to know, but not enough to satisfy her curiosity."

"Now that sounds like you have an ulterior motive to things, Hotch."

He shrugged a little as he absently itched at his chin. "I know that Erin has been desperate to make amends with Alex sooner rather than later, especially as her pregnancy progresses. And I will do everything in my power to make certain that this latest bobble doesn't affect things too badly. I worry about her far too much."

"I think that it's rather sweet, how much you worry about your wife. It's almost as much as I worry about Dave, especially when he makes stupid mistakes. Like trying to run before he can hobble." Penelope glared at her husband before turning her attention back to Aaron. "And I know that you're best friends with this old goat, but I truly need you to think about his recovery. If he can't climb stairs, he will have to remain here, in your office, for that much longer. Thinking about my relationship with Morgan, well, I know that I couldn't have him underfoot for any length of time. As much as I love my best friend, I know that we would get on each other's nerves faster than a bullet train arrives in Tokyo."

Aaron glanced over at his best friend, seeing the sheepish look that was on his face as he stared down at the open file on his desk. "You do make a good point there, Penelope. I will try to make my best friend see the light with regard to his recovery. Because I have the feeling that you're also starting to chafe a little under seeing him constantly?"

"I have no shame in admitting that things sometimes get tense between us as a result of this accident. But every couple has growing pains and there will be some more grumbles as we navigate how to survive this time in our marriage. But as soon as he's been cleared for more active duty, well…"

Dave let out a loud bark of a laugh, and Aaron couldn't help joining in at the way Penelope's face turned red as a lobster at what she had just revealed. "You, Garcia, have to learn how to control your mouth. This is the second Section Chief that you've done this to," he teased, and she shrugged in an effort to shake off the embarrassment. "It's endearing, truly. Now, how about the two of you come over for supper tonight? I know that Erin would really love to see Iris."

"That sounds like the best idea to recover from this. I'll meet you both back here to head home at five." Penelope gave him a small wink before leaning in and kissing her husband lightly. "Have a good rest of your day!" As she sashayed from the room, Aaron knew that their supper was going to be an interesting one.