Author's note: This took a little bit of a turn and became a filler chapter instead of an ending, I didn't question it. Instead, I let the characters lead me.
If the path be beautiful, let us not ask where it leads.
Anatole France
Carlo whimpered from the plastic bassinet beside Erin's bed. It wasn't the high-pitched wail that Dave had expected from a newborn, instead, Carlo made quiet, squeaky sounds of distress from his crib. Almost as if he didn't want to kick up too much of a fuss in the twilight hours blurring the line between nighttime and early morning.
Dave's eyes popped open; he waited for half a second for his eyes to adjust to the darkness in the room. The glow of the New York City streetlights through the 5th-floor window was the only light in the room. He panned his focus over to Erin, across the room. Her chest moved steadily up and down as she slept, with one hand dangling inside Carlo's crib, her fingers grazed against his chest. As if the 8-inch space between her hospital bed and his plastic bassinet were too far and she couldn't bear to be away from him.
Dave stretched his arms over his head and lowered his socked feet to the floor, from the plastic sofa under the window. He padded over to the bassinet. He waited half a minute to see if his son changed his mind, before angling his hands under Caro's small body and laying him on his chest. Lifting Erin's hand and laying in on the mattress beside her. "It's alright, I got him."
"Come here, Tesorino." Padding over to the small rocking chair in the corner of the room, Dave sat down and laid Carlo's ear against his chest. Relishing in the way his son's soft and gentle breathing felt against his body. He held Carlo against him with one hand and grabbed Erin's cooler off the table with the other. Finding the small, prepared bottle of breastmilk inside the bag. Then he lifted Carlo into the crook of his arm and offered him the bottle.
Even in the dim light, the bright purple bruise across his forehead, shown prominently, marring his flawless olive complexion underneath the band of the white and blue striped hat from the hospital.
If birth were so painful for everyone involved, then the human race would die out. Still, Dave brushed his thumb across Carlo's forehead and when he flinched, and his brow furrowed, Dave debated whether or not to give him a dose of the infant Tylenol that Erin packed in their birth-bag.
"It's your first night here," Dave said, laying Carlo over his shoulder and patting his back. Maybe the low rumble of his father's voice would coax the baby back to sleep? He stood up, looking out the window in the glow of the New York City skyline. Still Carlo whimpered against his shoulder.
"It's brighter than you're used to, you're probably always a little bit cold and everything is louder than you think it should be." Dave took a deep breath, released it and then began to speak from his heart. "I'm sure it's an adjustment for you… but I'm here. I'm your daddy, I'll always be here to help you." One thing Dave knew for sure was that Carlo would never have to spend a minute alone. There would always be someone around to help and support him.
"And your mom…" Dave trailed off, running his hand up and down Carlo's back as he thought about what to say. "You've met her… she's the best there is." Of course, Dave knew Erin loved her children fiercely, she would fight, kill or die protecting her children; but Dave didn't realize how much she loved them until he saw it in action. When she took on the security guard in charge of protecting Peter's house, after the guard sent suggestive text messages to Allison. Getting right in the man's face, with no fear, then when she didn't get the answer, she wanted; Erin broke his nose.
Then, when Paul got called into the principal's office at school, Erin didn't hesitate to drop everything to stand next to him and work with the school to come up with a fair and appropriate punishment. So far, Erin's oldest daughter Cassie was the only one of the Strauss children to make it out of her childhood unscathed.
For Dave, the piece de resistance of maternal love and sacrifice, happened less than 6 hours ago. Dave watched Erin endure hours and hours of hard labor, with barely a complaint. Any talk of pain killers was immediately shot down, because she didn't want to endanger the baby who now rested in his arms. For that alone, Dave would happily let her sleep awhile longer. "We're not perfect people… but we're in your corner. Your mom…" he turned away from the window, just to get a glimpse of the woman on the bed across the room. "She's the best there is and she's ours." Dave's chest suddenly swelled with gratitude for the woman across the room.
He never thought he would fall in love with her as fast and easily as he did. All it took was for her to step out of her own way and get sober. Who would have thought that in the space of a year; he would be head over heels for Erin Strauss, even when… scratch that… especially when she was putting him in his place. Because she wouldn't waste her breath trying to make him better if she didn't care. "How lucky are we, Piccolo Orso?"
"I heard 'orso," Erin mumbled, sitting up just slightly. "Did you just call my baby a bear?"
"He's hairy and kinda brown," Dave gave a sly smile. He should have known she was listening. "Little Bear, is fitting."
"Bring me the Orso," Erin held out her hands. "I miss him."
"He took a bottle, and his diaper is dry." Dave crossed the room, spinning the dial on the wall, raising the light enough to see across the room. "What else is there?" Dave asked as Carlo continued to whimper.
"He's just talkative," Erin took the baby and laid him on her chest to comfort him. "He comes by it honestly."
"Do you think he's okay?" Dave sat on the edge of the bed, with his hand on Carlo's back. "His forehead is still pretty bruised."
"I think he's alright," She soothed, laying Carlo on his back against her knees, studying him. "Where's the hat from Garcia?"
Dave fumbled through the duffle bag, "there's a light blue from Penelope and a green from my mother. Which one?"
"Hmm… try the green one," she gently pulled the hospital's knit cap off his head and ran her fingers over his thick, soft, dark hair. "It figures, I did all the work, and he comes out looking just like you."
"He's got your nose," Dave offered, handing over the hat.
"Sure," she gave a sardonic snort. "Aside from that, he's basically your clone."
"Well," Dave shrugged, "good looks run in the family."
He feels a little warm. Erin slipped the hat off his head and laid it to the side. Then deftly unwrapped the baby from his swaddle.
"Like a fever?" Dave jumped in, concerned. Poised to go alert a nurse.
"Just warm," She slipped him out of his onesie and laid him skin-to-skin against her chest, so her body heat would help him regulate his temperature. "Come and sit back down."
"You're sure he's, okay?" Dave asked, without moving from his spot by the door.
Erin nodded, covering Carlo's lower body with a blanket as he started to cool down. "Sit down, Dave, the baby's fine."
Without a word, he sat down on the edge of the bed beside her. He didn't know if they needed to make up after their fight at the hotel, but if he didn't try… well… his exes were good at throwing his past transgressions in his face. "This might be a good time for us to talk about our little… disagreement back at the hotel."
"It wasn't a disagreement, you accused me of lying… she gestured towards the diaper-clad baby on her chest. "As you can see… that was wrong." Karma turned out to be a real bitch.
"But you were planning to lie?" He clarified; his tone wasn't confrontational. He just wanted to know how far she was willing to go to save his ratings.
"Amanda said it would help your image and when I couldn't find information about your tour online…" her voice trailed off. She only went behind his back because she didn't want to pile more stress onto his plate. "Dave, I thought I was helping you. I wanted your tour to finish strong, because as much as you hate to admit it, you love being the center of attention for a couple of weeks out of the year. I didn't want you to lose that." She didn't want to see his ego take a hit, if it did; he might have given up on writing for good.
Dave paused, letting her words sink in. "I understand," he wouldn't have traded this time with Erin and their son for all the limelight in the world. "It doesn't matter though… I don't care to go on tour again. I don't even like the idea of getting on the jet for the BAU." The fear of missing out felt more real by the minute. He took a deep breath and slowly released it. Keeping one hand over hers on top of Carlo's back. "I've spent half my life on the move, chasing the next Unsub… or the next book signing. What if I don't have anything to chase anymore?" The only thing he really wanted was to stay home and raise his family. A wiser person might say that David Rossi was finally happy with his lot in life.
Erin sat up to attention, wondering where he was going with this. Surely, he wasn't talking about retiring again? "What are you saying?"
"What if I cut back." It wasn't a question; he was just stating his options.
"We both know that sounds good on paper, but what happens when your team revolts and tries to change your mind?" She would never expect him to choose between his career that helped form him into the man he was today and his family. But that was because she used to be afraid of the answer.
"I could travel less…. Maybe teach a class or two with the academy." He had seen every part of the country; been to every national park and natural phenomenon that he had any interest in. "I don't want to put Carlo in the Government Service Agent's daycare program." Government buildings were prone to being targets for terrorism, their kids were safer at home.
"What are you going to do Dave? Be a full-time househusband?"
"I don't know," He shrugged, "maybe." There was no point in having a beautiful home and a loving family if he couldn't be around to enjoy them.
"Good luck with that," Her face pulled into a lopsided grin as she tried and failed to hold back a laugh.
"Are you laughing at me?" He asked, mildly affronted. "Erin, I'm being serious."
"Yes." She admitted, laying Carlo in the bassinet beside the bed. "I'm laughing at the thought of you, up to your neck in diapers and dirty laundry while I'm in the office every day." She stopped laughing, suddenly serious. "Dave, you won't like staying home, long term… listen." She took his hand in hers, "Carlo's brand new and I know that you want to spend every second you can with him, but eventually…that newness is going to wear off. In a month or two, when you can't remember the last time you slept through the night, you'll be begging for a case; and you will want that case to be as far away from home as possible." His emotions were driving his decisions and he needed a reality check.
"So, you're saying I should keep my options open?"
"That's all I'm saying. Spend a couple of weeks at home and if you still feel like you want to make it permanent, then we can talk about it." As much as they didn't want to talk about it, Dave was getting older, inching closer and closer to mandatory retirement. "I don't want you to be forced out of The Bureau but missing out wouldn't help you. Just give it some thought before filling out the paperwork."
A soft knock at the door interrupted his response.
"What are you guys doing here?" Dave smiled, as Allison practically skipped into the room, with a wide smile splitting her face.
"It's not even 8 o'clock yet," Erin opened her arms for her youngest daughter. "You're supposed to be spending Father's Day with your dad."
Allison crawled onto the bed beside Erin. "I've been with him for three days. When we left the hotel, he was still snoring."
"One Sunday won't kill him," Erin finished the thought.
"Can I see the baby again?" Allison asked, flashing an eager smile.
"She wanted to see her brother before going back home," Vera answered, and sat a small vase of flowers on the nightstand. "These are from Pete-" she said, letting Erin know the flowers weren't from her.
"That's nice of him," Erin didn't give the tasteful arrangement a second glance as Dave went over to the bassinet and wheeled it across the room.
"I picked them out," Allison perked up and held out her hands for the baby, as Dave handed him over.
"They're lovely, Sweetheart," Erin spotted the arrangement of fresh white lilies and blue carnations while helping her support Carlo's head. "Thank you."
"He's cute," Allison said, with all the confidence of someone who had just been promoted to an older sibling. "And better than a sister."
"You wouldn't want another sister?" Dave teased.
Allison wrinkled her nose, "One is plenty." She grimaced in disgust, "take him back, he smells!"
"I'm with you, Allie." Vera said, frowning as Dave retrieved the baby and started his diaper change. "I don't think it's appropriate for Dave to change him."
"Are you volunteering?" Dave snarked, as Vera moved further away from the smell.
He turned to Erin, frowning at her mother. "How did you survive her?"
"I had a nanny," Erin deadpanned. "She lived with us until my sophomore year of college."
Dave fastened a clean diaper on Carlo, "thank God. What happened to her?" He directed the pointed jab right at Vera.
"My husband got her in the divorce, and they jetted off to Costa Rica before the ink on the divorce papers were dry."
Dave couldn't imagine why, but wisely kept that comment to himself.
"Dave," Erin caught his attention as he laid Carlo back in the bassinet. "Would you mind going down to the cafeteria and getting me a cup of coffee?"
"Sure," he reached into his pocket, for his wallet. "Want something to eat, too? I've heard rumors that they used to serve steak and champagne after a birth," Dave flipped through the hospital's menu, disappointed with the selections.
"It depends on the hospital, but I could eat."
"Damn," he laid the menu back on the bedside table, "I should have done my homework. Wishful thinking, I guess." He stood up from the chair by the window and leaned in for a kiss. "Where am I going?"
"Steak and eggs," she pecked his lips, and he dropped a kiss on Carlo's forehead. "We'll see you when you get back."
Dave turned on his heel, stuffing Erin's car keys in his pocket. "Love you."
"Love you, more." Erin beamed, "Hurry back." As soon as the door closed behind him, Erin rifled through her duffle bag, looking for a plain white onesie and a permanent marker.
"What are you doing?" Allison asked, watching her mother shuffle through the mountain of baby clothes in the bag. From the corner of the room.
"Proposing to David, when he gets back."
"Why not let him ask you?"
"Because he's tried three times already-"
"And you have to win," Allison finished the thought. "You two are always in competition."
Erin threw her youngest daughter a disgruntled look. "It's not like he's losing, Allie."
"True," Allison shrugged -and pulled a fabric marker from her backpack. "Try this. It won't bleed through the fabric." She passed the marker to her mom, then pulled out her I-pad, and played with the camera, adding different filters and effects to the photos. "What are you going to write on the onesie?"
"I don't know yet," Erin crawled back on the bed with a white onesie in hand. "Any ideas?"
"Nope," Allison curled up on the couch along the length of the window, with a smile.
"Gee thanks," Erin deadpanned, sticking her tongue out at her ten-year-old. Allison's cheeky demeanor kept her young, somehow, she knew that Carlo would continue the streak.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Vera sniffed; her lips pressed into a thin line as Carlo started to squirm.
"Sure, it is, we're getting married anyway. Mother, can you grab Carlo?"
"No," Vera crossed her arms over her chest. "He'll be fine until you're finished."
"Seriously?" Erin shot her mother a glare in disbelief, snapping the cap on the marker. "He's your grandson."
"What's your point," Vera stepped over to the crib and patted Carlo but didn't pick him up. "If you don't want to care for him, you can have him brought to the nursery."
"I didn't say I wouldn't take care of him," Erin snapped, lifting Carlo into her arms, helping him latch. She kept her head held high; her mother wasn't going to fuck up her good mood. "You can leave, Mother. If you don't want to be here, you can leave."
"It's a free country," Vera threw back, in an icy tone. "But we do need to get on the road."
"I don't want to go yet," Allison said, making herself comfortable on the couch. "I got to see how this proposal goes."
"You know how it will go," Vera rolled her eyes. "he'll say yes… pull out the ring…. Why bother?"
"You sound so disappointed," Erin said, sliding the onesie over Carlo's head. "He wants us to be a legal family and his son to have his last name. What's wrong with that?"
"Well." Vera shrugged, "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't upset that there's no chance for you and Pete-"
"You've made that clear," Erin laid Carlo across her knees and wrote on the onesie. "I think it's funny that you're more upset about my divorce than my children ever were."
"Well…" Vera bristled, crossing her arms over her chest again. "I just want my grandchildren to be happy."
"We are happy!" Allison piped in. "We love Dave."
"He's not your father-" Vera snapped.
"We love him, too," Allison answered, shrugging her shoulders. Being able to love multiple people at the same time, was the simplest thing in the world.
Erin turned to her mother. Speaking without a second thought. The worst thing that could happen was that her mother never spoke to her again. In Erin's opinion, that might not be such a bad thing. "Why is it that my 10-year-old can love every single person around her, without question, but you can't even say a kind word to me. Your only child?"
"I don't know what you're talking about-"
Erin's eyes turned dark, fed up with the constant backhanded bullying from her mother. "Listen to me, Mother. I don't want Allison to lose that ability to care about the people around her. and the more time she spends with you, the more jaded my children are going to become."
"Erin-" A shiver of fear slipped through Vera; Erin was going to take her grandkids away. They were finally old enough to be interesting and she was going to cut her out of their lives.
"I'm not done." Erin laid Carlo in the bassinet, then stood up from the bed. "I didn't call you to come and be with me. David did because he thought the presence of my mother would be comforting to me. He believed that your being with us would healthy. Instead, you've done the opposite."
"W-what do you mean?" A flash of humility lit Vera's face.
"How am I supposed to teach my children to stand up to the bad guys and the bullies, if my bully lives in my house and makes me feel small, on a daily basis?"
"Erin, you're drunk-"Vera was grasping at straws. "You're crazy- I'm not a bully."
Erin ignored her accusations and plowed right in, ready to face her consequences. "You're mean and unhappy, Mother. You spread your misery onto everyone around you and I'm tired of it-"
"I'm going to…" Vera reached for the pack of Marlboro Red 100s in her purse. "I'm going to smoke, maybe by the time I come back you'll have changed your attitude." She turned on her heel with a flourish, slamming the door behind her.
Dave's foot tapped an impatient beat on the elevator floor. Precariously balancing a paper bag, from the bakery across the street from the hospital in one hand and a tray of hot coffees in the other. As the doors slid open, he stepped out. Catching sight of a flash of light blonde hair hanging loosely around her face. Eyes locked on the tile floor. He tried to step out of the way before Vera knocked into him but failed.
"Ow," He bit out when hot coffee splashed on her knuckles. "Hey, wait a second-" he turned, trying to catch up with her, but the metal doors slid closed before he could react. Someone threw water on the wicked witch. 'Oh well,' he mused, 'she had it coming.'
