"Haven't you left for the appointment yet?"

Aaron looked up from the file that he was working on, seeing that both Penelope and Blake were looking in at him through his doorway, Carri trying to hide behind Penelope, though not as well as she might have hoped. He shook his head briefly before returning to the file he needed to finish before he could head out. "You're going to be late, and you know that Erin is waiting for this appointment to happen, because she'll find out if she'll be allowed to have a slightly longer golden leash attached to her ankle."

"That's a bit flowery, even for you, Garcia."

He heard her let out a little huff of frustration, and then the sound of feet crossing his floor caught his attention, though he refused to look up or acknowledge them, since he knew that he had enough time to finish the task at hand before he had to go, and he was determined to get that accomplished. "I have to prod you into action somehow, Boss Man! She's depending on you!"

"And I am not returning to the office after the appointment, as I'm taking Erin out to a late lunch. Hence, the need for me to finish this, since it is due by the end of the day."

Aaron knew that he hadn't mollified the women, since he vaguely saw them fill the seats in front of his desk. Still, he decided to ignore them and continue on with his work, knowing that he was truly near the end of it. Finally, fifteen minutes later, and right on time, he ended the report and looking up as he closed it, meeting Carri's eye. She blushed a little as she held out her hand, accepting the file from him as he got to his feet. "I'll just turn that in to the Director, then," she murmured before scurrying from the office, and he chuckled a little.

"And before the two of you say anything, I will still have enough time, even if there is an accident, to arrive at the appointment on time."

Blake was the only one to look guilty, Penelope just smiled sunnily at him. "And you will let us know how things are progressing? As soon as the doctor tells you what's going on?" she asked shamelessly, giving him a little wink.

"I might call Dave tonight, to give him an update. If he chooses to update you, that's on him."

Aaron kept his face carefully blank as he filled his briefcase with the work he would have to do at home, after the appointment, though he was smirking inside at the way that Penelope began to pout, stamping her foot a little as she jumped to her feet, looking like she was about to protest some more, only for Dave to hobble back in. "You haven't left, Hotch?"

"Your wife thinks that I should have left thirty minutes ago, and she's recruited Blake to her side. As their Unit Chief, you need to give them more work to do so that they don't have all this downtime." From the gleam in his best friend's eye, Aaron knew that he had caught the hidden teasing in his words, and he watched as Dave nodded solemnly.

"Well, since we're home this week, with Reid and Morgan conducting some custodials, I suppose that I could have them both head down to the old bunker and begin to digitize all the files that are still gathering dust."

Garcia gasped in outrage, taking hold of Blake's hand and dragging her from the office before they could be burdened with any extra work. As soon as they were gone, he and Dave chuckled lowly. "I do have to be going now, though. This is cutting into my buffer time."

"I should have known that you and Erin would build buffer time into this whole affair," he said with a laugh as he made his way over to his desk and took a seat. "Any instructions for me while you're gone?"

"No, I think that everything should go all right in my absence. I'll see you tomorrow." Giving him a tight nod, Aaron left the office and then made his way over to the elevators and waited for the next downward car. As he waited, he pulled out his phone, seeing that Erin had texted to let him know that she was ready to go when he arrived. Smiling, he tapped out a quick reply to let her know that he was just stepping onto the elevator before shoving the phone back into his pocket.

The drive home didn't take too long, which was good, since he had to make up two or three minutes due to his chats with Penelope and Dave. As he pulled into the driveway, he watched the door, trying to see if he would need to go inside or if Erin would come out to him. That question was answered moments later when his wife slipped out the front door, locking it behind her before she made her way over to the car, a gorgeous smile on her lips. Her attitude was infectious, and he found an easy smile starting to grace his lips as she opened the door and climbed into the passenger seat. "You didn't make too bad time, darling."

"I was able to hit all the lights just right, which helped. Were you able to sleep in this morning?"

"Yes, thanks to Jessica. She must have come over so early to make certain that Jack was up and ready for school so that I wouldn't have to worry about that this morning."

"She knows how important it is to you that you're able to have less restrictions to your movements today. And I hope that you get good news like that, too." He reached over and took hold of her hand, squeezing it slightly before putting it back on the wheel as he continued to drive to their doctor's office. And though he knew that Erin wanted to have her leash cut, to be able to freely come and go as she pleased, within reason, a part of him wanted her to have orders to remain quiet, since he still had some trepidatious feelings about what she was experiencing.

He let her off by the door before finding a parking spot, jogging over to her side as she gazed at him, her eyes filled with love. "Here, hold my hand," she murmured as they came together once more, and he nodded, clasping it gently as they made their way to the correct office. After checking in, Aaron watched his wife fill out the paperwork necessary for that appointment, finding his eyes constantly drawn to her baby bump. "Did you always watch Haley like this when she was pregnant?"

"I did. We tried so hard to get pregnant, and I was just entranced by the changes in her body. Does it bother you?"

She shook her head a little as she looked at him, giving him a quick smile before finishing the paperwork. Within moments, a nurse came out into the lobby. "Erin Hotchner?"

They rose to their feet, and Aaron placed his hand on the small of Erin's back as they made their way over to the woman. "Good afternoon," Erin softly said as they were led back to a private room.

"Good afternoon. First I'm going to record your vitals, then get a weight check. After that, I'll have you change into a gown and then you'll be waiting for the doctor to come see you. Do you have any questions?" the woman asked as Erin shrugged off her cardigan, Aaron catching it before it hit the floor. He watched the numbers on the blood pressure machine closely, not truly paying attention to what was being said as he saw that the numbers hadn't really gone down all that much since their time in hospital, and he almost knew that that would mean Erin's bed rest wouldn't be lifted any time soon.

"All right, we're all finished here," the nurse said after she had written down all Erin's vitals. "Just change into the gown now, and the doctor will be here in a few minutes."

Erin nodded, waiting until they were alone before she began to undress. It didn't take long for her to change, and then he was helping her up onto the bed before taking a seat in one of the provided chairs. "Did you look at my blood pressure?" He nodded. "Well?"

"Let's wait for the doctor. Okay?"

She gave him a dark look, which told Aaron immediately that she understood what he wasn't telling her. He just didn't have the heart to tell her that it was most likely going to be news that she didn't want to hear, and that she would be most likely staying on bed rest for the foreseeable future. "When you say that, you sound very politic. Like me. Which means I know exactly what you're trying to avoid saying, and I don't think that I'm ready to hear that officially."

"I wish that I could tell you that you're wrong, Erin, but you know me far too well by now. And I don't want to start lying to you now, since that is the last thing our relationship needs." He reached out and Erin leaned over to take hold of his hand, squeezing a few times before sitting back up and curling her arms protectively around her bump.

"I know that this is an extremely high-risk pregnancy. I don't want to endanger our baby, but I have this itch in my chest to do things. Not large things, not go back to work, but to go out to a park and take a walk in nature. Or to gently play with Jack while you're on a case. All the things I could do if I weren't pregnant."

She burst into tears, and Aaron jumped to his feet, wrapping his arms around her in a warm embrace as she buried her face in his chest as she struggled to get control of her emotions. As he held her, Aaron made a mental note to text Jessica to have Erin's favorite takeout ready for them when they arrived home, knowing that she would need to comfort food no matter what news their doctor gave them today. "Everything will work out the way that it's supposed to," he murmured in her ear as he rubbed her back.

"I know, I know, I just can't help feeling restless. It's awful, this homebound wanderlust that fills my heart, since I know that I have to take things slowly and gently to protect the baby. I wish that I was a few years younger, then things might be different. I feel like I'm being too clingy, and…"

"You are no such thing, Erin. And even if you are a little more attached to us right now, you need to be. We need to take care of you, and I know that Jessica, Georgia, and everyone will do our best to make certain that you have everything that you need from here until the end of the pregnancy. All right?"

She pulled away from his chest to look up into his eyes, her expression entirely too sad for him not to feel moved, and then Erin reached up to cup his cheek, stroking it with her thumb as she took a deep breath. "It has to be all right, darling, because I will do anything in my power to grow this little one as long as possible and give her the best possible start in life." He nodded a little before she leaned up and kissed him softly, pouring out her emotion in that tender embrace as they settled into looking ahead to the appointment.