"Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."
— John Lennon
Four weeks after Erin's abduction, Dave paced the length of his bedroom, the glaring sunshine streaming through the eyelet curtains rivaling the heat building in his chest. How could his whole weekend spiral down the tubes in the space of one phone call? The she-devil on the other side of the phone thrived on his misfortune.
"I told you, Amanda, "I'm not going," he practically growled into the phone. He clenched the phone to his face in a white-knuckled grip. Tossing another stack of folded dress shirts from the dresser into his suitcase. Going on tour was the last place he wanted to be.
He thought of the cabin and all the things he had planned to do there. His tackle box was already in the car along with an engagement ring in the glove compartment.
"Listen, Hotshot, you have to be here." Amanda checked her watch for the third time since calling him. "We need you here. You're going to be on TV. Your contract depends on this. Come on, David. You've got to strike while the iron's hot!" Amanda insisted, flipping through the latest issue of The New York Post. Where Alex Blake and her eyepatch graced the front page. "Dave, you have one hell of a story here… The dramatic rescue, the romance!" She keened.
"I. Said. No!" Dave shouted, enunciating each word. "That's not an option."
"Bring Erin with you, tell your story, and take advantage of the spotlight!"
"Erin can't fly and I'm not dragging her through that-" It was bad enough that Blake gave her side of the story and a picture, during a jailhouse interview. Erin wanted no part of it. As per usual, if she ignored it, it would go away.
"It's been four weeks and the press is still eating out of your hand! Get her in front of the camera, you two will surely make the cover of People Magazine. Don't you want to be on the cover?" Amanda was practically begging, she lived for the spotlight and his spotlight was her promotion.
"I don't want to be on the cover of anything! You need to do something-" He demanded, isn't that what he paid her for anyway? "What's the point in having a manager if you can't manage to move stuff around?"
"I did!" Amanda hissed, "An hour's flight from home is the best that I can do. Unless." She paused, coolly inspecting her manicure. "You don't want to renew your contract."
"Shit." He bit out, she had him over the barrel and she knew it. "Would it kill you to call me when you have good news?"
"So, I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Maybe-" He turned sharply towards the closed door.
"What do you mean, maybe?" Amanda shrieked in his ear.
"I haven't decided. Goodbye."
He ended the call and dialed Penelope, she answered on the first ring, her voice oozing cheerfulness and enthusiasm. "Your Friendly Neighborhood Proposal Fairy, how may I help you?"
"Change of plans, Penelope-"
"But-but I got the flowers and the lights and the-" her cheerful tone fell as she glanced around the living room of the cabin. The room was covered in fresh flowers and potted plants, the indoor waterfall in the corner ran full force, setting the scene. "I even found the bearskin rug and the booze-free bubbly-"
"I know…. I know." Dave bit out, "my publicist wants me in New York," The cabin would have to wait.
"So, you're popping the question there? In New York?" Penelope's voice went tight, "Where The Replicator-"
"I know." He'd have to figure out how to make that better. The last thing he wanted to do was set Erin back, by bringing her to the place of her first assault.
"What do I do with all this stuff? Your whole place looks like a flower shop."
"I don't know yet. I don't have another plan-"
"You don't have a backup plan?" Penelope asked, wide-eyed. "The Italian Stallion, King of the romantic gestures doesn't have a PLAN for proposing?"
"Penelope!" He groaned, "That's not the point."
"Right, right, not the point. What do you want me to do with this place?"
"Listen, call Morgan and make a date out of it." He paused as Erin's footsteps loomed closer. "I gotta go."
"Good luck, Boss-"
"I scheduled your Bureau physical for tomorrow," Erin called out, stepping into the bedroom with her hands planted on her hips. "I thought you'd want to get it done before we leave for the cabin-"
"And I do but I can't tomorrow-" He yanked the phone away from his face and ended the call, tossing the infernal phone onto the bed. He turned to face his lady love, "I'm sorry, Bella. Amanda called and they want me in Manhattan tomorrow."
Erin eyed the sports coats and ties laying inside the open suitcase on the bed. "Why do you need a tie?"
"It's the damn tour, they want me on TV." Disappointment rolled off him in waves. "I'm sorry."
"David, did you know about this?" She asked sharply, her face fell in disappointment.
"I tried to push it back, Cara. I didn't want to go on TV at all. I don't want to go to New York. I want to be with you-"
"But you did know this was a possibility before we made plans." She paused, waiting for his explanation.
"I thought Amanda would move things around."
"It's Father's Day weekend," she pointed out, his first official Father's Day weekend. Adding a TV appearance in New York, wasn't part of her plan. "Why didn't you say anything?" She asked, tapping her foot impatiently.
"I know, I'm sorry-" He rifled through the drawer of his nightstand, "Shit!" The notebook he was looking for was nowhere to be found. He didn't think he would need it so soon.
"Well, I guess you have to go," She sat down on the edge of the bed, watching him pace the length of their bedroom. "I get it, David." She watched him shuffle through the top drawer of the dresser.
"I can't find my notepad-I need my talking points. I think I left it on my desk."
"At the BAU?" She took a wild guess, because where else would it be? He looked for any reason to be there.
"Want to ride along?" He asked hopefully, trying to savor the last of their time together. She didn't need the stress of going back to New York, it was better not to mention it.
"Not really," she watched as his face fell. Pretty soon they were going to be a family of six. The kids would be back from their father's Monday night. Here they were arguing over a car ride to the office.
"Alright," he grabbed his keys and wallet off the top of the dresser. "I guess I'll see you when I get back." He dropped a kiss on her cheek and headed for the door.
Erin paused, this wasn't part of the plan, she never felt comfortable in New York City, but she loved him more than she hated being inconvenienced. She'd follow him to the moon. "David, wait." She bit the inside of her cheek, thinking it over. "Don't head out just yet."
"What?" he paused, with his hand lingering on the doorknob. Had she changed her mind? Selfishly, he hoped she would. Maybe a weekend in The Big Apple wouldn't be so bad. There was plenty to do and see, maybe then he could come up with another way to pop the question. But he wouldn't do it in the hospital or the hotel. The moment had to be perfect.
"Give me ten minutes to pack a bag and we'll leave tonight."
"You want to come with me?" He clarified, "To Manhattan? Amanda's out for blood, she wants to take advantage of the press's interest in us."
"I don't care about what Amanda wants." She held her head high, stubborn to a fault. "I'll drive while you figure out your talking points. While we're on the subject," she walked over to the nightstand on her side of the bed and opened the drawer. "I finished your book." She held out a small memo pad, "these are my notes."
He flipped open the notepad, glancing at the pages. "Annotated and color-coded?" He could open a copy of his book and find the passage her note referred to.
"Obviously," she shrugged her shoulders. Her lips turned upwards in a smug, proud smile.
"You're such a nerd." He teased, flipping through the pages. "This is incredible! Thank you!"
"Watching you geek out over it is the highlight of my week," she boasted. "I thought you'd appreciate the details."
"You know I do." He tucked the notebook in his back pocket and pulled her close, dragging his thumbs across her hips, playing with the waistband of her jeans. "How about…her warm lips covered his, pulling him closer.
"Maybe…" he pulled back enough to speak, "we don't go to the office." A seductive grin spread across his face. He shoved the suitcase, sending his clothes to the floor. "I don't need my notes now that I have yours."
"Hmm?" She pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Do you have time for that?"
He grinned, dropping a kiss to the side of her neck, lingering on the pulse point. "I'll make time," he whispered in her ear. Leading her back on the bed, "Let's kickstart this romantic weekend."
"Are you sure you want to come with me?" Dave added his toiletry bag to his suitcase. A mid-afternoon roll in the hay cleared his head.
"We're only going 4 hours from home-" Erin said, straightening her t-shirt.
"A two-hour flight," Dave pointed out. He knew the route from home to the hospital with his eyes shut. He didn't plan for New York City.
"So?" She shrugged, one shoulder. Tossing a pair of sandals into her bag. "We'll leave early.
"Are you completely sold on spending 4 days back in New York?" He asked again, looking her up and down. His eyes stopped at her burgeoning belly, leading the way. "In your condition, I thought you might want to stay closer to home. It's why I wanted to go to the cabin-"
"My condition," She scoffed, shaking her head. "Please," She laid her hand on his arm. "Of all things to worry about, the baby isn't one of them. He's not due for at least another 3 weeks and all of my kids came like clockwork.
"I just don't like being so far from familiar territory-"
"My shortest labor was 16 hours. That's plenty of time to get to the hospital." She said, adding another outfit to her suitcase. "We're not going to worry about that until there's something to worry about."
"Don't get cocky, Cara Bella." He teased, pointing at her belly. "You said once that you thought you'd go into labor on the tour-" He had a right to be concerned.
"I thought he would have been here by now." Erin pointed out. "If my water didn't break in that warehouse while I was getting my ass handed to me-"
"Fair point," he relented, waving his hand. She'd made her point, in spades. He zipped his suitcase and waited for her to finish packing. "Manhattan, here we come."
Twenty minutes later, Erin stepped off the porch with the alarm set behind her. As Dave loaded their luggage into the trunk, beside Mudgie's crate. The dog in question stretched out in the backseat of her Lexus. She climbed into the driver's seat and tried to ignore the fact that the dog hair and the smell of wet dog would never come out of the leather interior.
Dave closed the trunk and came around to the passenger side.
"Ready?" She adjusted her seat and fiddled with the rearview mirror until she could see the mailbox behind her. Then turned the knobs on the A/C and adjusted the vents.
Dave closed his door and clicked the seatbelt into place. "Ready."
They didn't make it 10 miles down the road when Dave complained loudly from the passenger seat. "You're freezing me out, Babe." He complained, reaching for the knob on the thermostat.
"Close your vent," she said, shifting the vent closest to her till the chilly air was aimed in her direction.
"I did that, three miles ago—"
"There's a blanket in the backseat," she offered.
"That's Mudgie's blanket," he grouched, pointedly. Glancing towards the backseat, where Mudgie lay on the blanket she'd offered. He reached for the stereo, adjusting the station.
"What are you doing? Put it back on NPR."
"I'm changing the station," he shrugged, turning the knob until The Rolling Stones, 'Start Me Up,' rang loudly through the surround sound speakers.
"Turn it down, David—"
"Turn up the air, then." He countered, reaching for the controls again.
"Leave stuff alone," she hissed through clenched teeth, stalling his hand. "I'm driving and you're distracting me."
"Yeah, and I feel like I'm doing my homework in the car," he groaned, juggling between the kindle copy of his book and Erin's notepad. "I don't like this, at all." He grumbled. "Can I please drive?"
"What about your talking points?" She asked, ignoring the way the seatbelt cut across her lap. Her baby bump brushed against the steering wheel making her feel just a touch claustrophobic.
"Ugh," he groaned, "It doesn't matter. I'll figure it out at the hotel."
"It does matter," she countered. "I'm trying to be supportive."
"Slow down!" He demanded, grabbing the 'oh shit' handle for dear life.
"I'm going the speed limit—" She assured him, glancing at the speedometer.
"But the guy in front of you isn't!" He countered as they edged closer to the stoplight. "Babe!"
A cacophony of horns blared; around them as Erin tapped the brake pedal just in time. Screeching to a halt. Narrowly missing the car stalled out, Honda in front of them.
"Pull over," he demanded. "I'm driving.
"I will happily let you drive," Erin grouched, flipping on the blinker, and made a left-hand turn into a Wendy's parking lot.
"Is this a craving or just a convenient place to park?" He cast a sideways glance at the traffic that wrapped around the drive-through.
"Rossi," she rolled her eyes. His cranky attitude had finally, rubbed off on her. "I am officially 9 months pregnant with your child." She nailed him with a glare. Her bright blue-green eyes narrowed coldly. "I- with no preparation suddenly must be on T.V. tomorrow. I'm fat, my ankles are swollen, and I don't think a frosty is going to make any of it any worse!" She slammed the gearshift, parking the vehicle. "I thought I was doing you a favor by offering to drive, so you could prep for your speech, but you couldn't stop complaining long enough for it to matter."
"Then why did you come?" It wasn't too late to drop her off at home if that's what she wanted.
"Because sitting at home alone sounded like a terrible idea- come to think of it, you didn't even invite me to come with you." The detail that she'd originally overlooked, suddenly cut like a knife.
"I didn't think you'd want to come-"
"You packed your suitcase before you even tried to talk to me!" What would have happened had she not come up the stairs and found him packing his bags? Would he have snuck out the back door? "What was I supposed to do, David? You weren't going to invite me; I wasn't about to sit around and wait for you to come home when we planned to spend the weekend together."
"Damn it." Packing for the cabin and packing for New York, were the same thing to him. "Cara I'm sorry. I don't even want to go-" If it weren't for the fact that they'd just broken ground on the 12-bedroom mansion, he wouldn't have cared less about his contract.
"Why wouldn't I want to come?" She crossed her arms across her chest. "We had a wonderful time the last time we went on tour. Why is this any different?" It was the trivial things that were starting to add up. She'd heard him on the phone in a hushed tone with Penelope Garcia. Erin checked his phone. He'd been talking with Garcia outside of work, several times throughout the week. He always ended the call when Erin walked into the room. So, she took his phone while he was in the shower. She snooped. She found Facetime calls that lasted 2-3 minutes at a time and equally short phone calls. Dave was smart enough not to leave a trail of text messages in his wake. "Why didn't you want me to come with you?"
"I wanted you to come, I just thought… I didn't want to set you back-"
"Just tell me one thing," She insisted, ignoring him. Her anger had dissipated, it was replaced with a resigned, hollow tone as her mind whirled with questions.
"Why Garcia?" Penelope was Erin's complete opposite. What did she have, that Erin didn't?
"What?" Dave's blank expression caught her off guard. "Babe, I don't know what the hell you're talking about."
She pulled in a breath; her chest ached. "Don't lie to me David," She demanded, through clenched teeth. "I went through your phone on Tuesday while you were in the shower."
He unbuckled his seatbelt with cold, numb fingers. "What did you find?"
She thought about it, a few short phone calls and brief Facetime sessions. "Why did you rush off the phone when I came into the room?"
"Because you came into the room-"
She gave a derisive snort. "Obviously," She flicked back the stray tear, sliding down her cheek, with cold fingers.
"I was packing for the cabin when Amanda called, that's why my suitcase was open when you came in. I hung up with Penelope because I wanted to give you my full attention-"
"You've been secretive all week-" She'd read his call log, he'd talked to Penelope after work hours several times, then he'd quickly end the call. "What the hell is going on, David?" She didn't have the nerve to ask him about it. Part of her knew she waited for the kids to leave, to confront him. The other part of her knew that was bullshit and she was postponing the inevitable. David Rossi loved her, that part wasn't up for debate. If someone else was fulfilling a, need she didn't know he had… well…no she couldn't overlook it. She wasn't that good.
"It's not what you think," He reached for his phone and pulled up his 'deleted' folder. Ruining the surprise was his only choice. "Erin, look at this." He offered her his phone. "I love you-"
"That's what you keep saying," She sniffed. "I'll let you know when you start acting like it."
"Please," he reached for her hand, begging her to put her preconceived ideas aside. "Just read the texts and I promise, it'll make sense."
She scrolled through the phone, studying each text and accompanying picture. Her pulse pounded on her wrist as she scrolled. Pictures of various exotic flower arrangements and jewelry. Each caption asked his opinion, and Dave would respond with single sentences. Such as, 'Yes, to the orchids. No on the pearls. Too old-fashioned. Need something yellow. Erin's favorite color.
She shoved the phone in his hand. Annoyed that she didn't see it before. "Explain it to me," she demanded. If she heard it from him, she would believe it.
"Don't you see?" He reached for her hand, relieved when she didn't pull away. Penelope was doing my leg work; I was just trying to decide how to ask you to marry me."
She pulled her shoulders back, holding her head high. "David, you know I don't care about the ring."
"I care," he countered. They'd only had that talk 12 times. She didn't need the ring, but he wanted her to have one. Just not yet. He wanted to rip the ring out of the box right then and shove it on her finger, but doing it to stop the argument, wasn't what he was going for.
"I know you do, which is why I'm confused. There's a picture of a necklace and two bracelets, but no ring." If there was a hole in his story, she was going to find it. She had more on the line than he did, anything less than total honesty wasn't going to work.
"I already have the ring," he answered quickly. "Cara, I'm the happiest I've ever been. I'm not about to lose that." 'Please', he begged the universe and any deity who wasn't tired of listening to him. 'Let her understand that he'd never cheat on her.' "I'm sorry if I made you doubt that."
"I didn't think you'd cheat on me, until..."
"It looked like a possibility." He finished, in a grim tone. "I know what that pain feels like," he thought back to his first marriage. He knew about Carolyn's affair and pretended he didn't. Until she threw him out of the house. "I'm sorry. I wanted to set up the cabin and ask you this weekend-"
"Then Amanda called and blew up your plans?" She guessed, nodding her head. "I felt like you didn't invite me because you changed your mind and didn't want to spend time with me."
"Cara Bella. Listen. To. Me." He enunciated each word. "The. Only. Plan-"
"I'm listening," She squeezed his hand, "Honey, you can stop enunciating."
"The." He tried again, heavily enunciating.
"David!" She groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose to keep from laughing.
"Only." He dragged out the word watching as the corners of her mouth turned up. "Stop that," she demanded.
"Yes, Ma'am." He relented softly, lifting her palm to his lips. "I promise," his goatee scratched the inside of her arm, his mouth covering the figure 8 scar on her wrist. "The only thing that changed was this weekend's destination."
"Good," she cradled his cheek in her palm. Brushing her thumb down his jawline, if she wasn't a smart woman, she could have lost herself forever in his warm brown eyes.
"Just don't ask me yet." He was a writer; she was madly and hopelessly in love with a writer. Building up to the big romantic gesture was just another side of his personality.
"Will I get a different answer?" He asked quickly.
"No, but don't pull out the ring just to prove your point."
"Don't worry," his lips brushed softly against hers. "I'll ask you the right way."
Mudgie's high-pitched bark from the backseat cut through the air.
"What's the matter, Boy?" Erin called out, wincing when Mudgie put his paw on the window. His sharp claws scratched down the glass.
"Mudgie, stop!" Dave demanded when the dog continued to paw at the window.
"Look," Erin pointed out the driver's side window where a dirty, collarless, yellow Labrador lumbered across the parking lot, her long pink tongue drooping from her dry mouth. The outline of her ribcage was shown against stretched yellow skin, betraying the way her rounded belly dragged towards the ground.
"Poor thing," Erin clicked her tongue, shaking her head.
"Someone probably dropped her off," Dave said, checking his watch. "Let's grab some food-"
Erin opened her mouth to respond, "don't worry," Dave said, "we'll grab a couple of extras to share with the dogs."
"Thank you." She grabbed the door handle, ignoring Dave's protests as he jumped out of the car after her.
"Erin, what are you doing?" He called out, just in time to see her bent down, offering her hand for the dog to sniff.
"Hi," She waited for the dog to approach her, seconds later she carefully ran her hands across the dog's ears. A skinny yellow tail wagged cheerfully as Erin continued petting her. Erin stood up, keeping her hand on the dog's back. "She's sweet, Dave."
"Okay, Snow White, back in the car," Dave jabbed his thumb towards the car and got into the driver's seat, shaking his head. Next, the birds were going to start singing and the woodland creatures would appear from their holes and start detailing the Lexus.
"We have to do something," Erin shook her head at his theatrics. "We can't leave her here."
"If she's still here when we come out of the drive-thru, I'll let Mudgie out and see how he reacts." He offered the compromise secretly hoping that someone else would decide to be a good Samaritan today.
"That's fair," Erin opened her door and watched as Mudgie laid back in the backseat, ears perked up as he watched out the window. "I don't think he'll have a problem."
"You realize, we're taking two fairly large dogs to a hotel, now."
"They'll sleep," Erin shrugged, climbing into the passenger seat. If nothing else, they could track down the dog's owner and get her back home.
As promised, once they had their food, Dave circled the parking lot, armed with an extra bag of dollar burgers and cups of water. He opened the car door, gauging the dog's reaction. The dog laid down, on the grass that outlined the parking lot. Batting her doleful eyes up at him.
"Here," he tore off a piece of his burger and dropped it for her. She snarfed it up in record timing. "You like that?" He remarked, sliding out of his seat. He went around to the trunk and grabbed Mudgie's travel bowl and cracked open a can of dog food and offered it.
"She's starving," Erin shook her head. "She'll be more receptive once she's eaten." She unbuckled her seatbelt. Negotiating with a stray dog, was Dave's territory. She sat back, enjoying her treat.
"You were right," Dave called out, once the bowl was empty, gesturing Erin over. "Bring Mudgie."
Erin got out of the car, hooking a leash to Mudgie's collar. "Come on, Bud."
Mudgie lopped out of the car, on the leash, sniffing the other dog. They took turns sussing each other out, tails wagging, tongues out. Dave knew then that they were absolutely taking a second dog to a five-star hotel. Whether he liked it or not.
"Come on," Dave relented, opening the trunk. He clambered to unlock the latch on Mudgie's crate, and the dog jumped inside.
"You're a good man, David Rossi." Erin unwrapped another burger and passed it to him since he'd shared most of his lunch with the dogs.
"We're not keeping her." Dave took a bite of the burger and started the car and pulled back onto the highway.
They would take the stray to the vet once they arrived in New York and track down the owners, but something told him that the owners were the reason the dog was wandering the streets, to begin with.
"Puppies?" Dave repeated, his mouth going dry at the thought. He tugged at his collar, The warm fluorescent lights in the veterinary office seemed too hot all of a sudden.
"That's right," The vet nodded her head, gesturing to the light board that reflected the x-ray. "The scan shows 5 puppies. Due any day."
"Great…." Erin forced a smile. Without meeting Dave's eyes. "What about a microchip?"
"You did the right thing by bringing her in," the vet continued. "She's not chipped."
"I thought not," Dave bit out. "People who chip their dogs, don't let them get pregnant and dump them on the side of the road."
"What can we do?" Erin continued, with an expression that told him, she was digging in her heels. Come Hell or high water, she wasn't leaving that dog.
"Let us keep her overnight. She'll get an IV and some high-calorie food." The vet said, "after that, I can arrange for her to be picked up by the no-kill shelter."
"See?" That wasn't so bad," Erin said as they walked through the sliding glass doors of the veterinary office into the waning sunshine. "We're not bringing home another dog-" she said.
"Six more dogs," he countered, shuddering slightly, "a litter of puppies sounds like a nightmare." He grouched, unlocking and starting the car, "but we did the right thing-"
"Yeah, but what happens now?" Erin tugged on her seatbelt, shifting in her seat. Staring out the window, she swiped her sweaty palms over her jeans as they got closer to the hotel.
"Oh, hell no," Dave groaned, as they approached the building. He was going to throttle Amanda when he saw her. "We're not staying here."
"It's okay!" Her voice raised a touch too high to be convincing. "We can stay here."
"I'm sorry, I was so excited that you were coming with me, that I didn't think to look up the address-" Served him right for trusting Amanda to listen to him.
"It's fine," Erin pushed her shoulders back. "Curtis is dead, and his accomplices are in jail." She had no reason to be nervous, so why did her heart race faster as they approached the building?
