The next thing that Erin was aware of was the sound of monitors beeping and making the most irritating, repetitive, sounds, and she frowned deeply as she tried to sit up, only to have a strong, large, hand press her back down onto a too thin mattress that was not her own. Opening her eyes, she found David looking down at her, his eyes red rimmed from tears, and she felt her heart lurch as she reached down to feel for her bump. Erin sagged down in relief to find it still there, and she burst into tears as David enclosed her in his arms. "Shh, Erin, you're going to be all right, and the baby is all right. Your blood pressure spiked, which is why you passed out in your office. Doctor Brunner has already been in to check on you, and I've had Helen fill the prescription that you'll need to take once you're home."

"I thought I was going to lose her, David."

"I can only imagine how terrifying that feeling was."

She nodded against his chest, listening to the steady thumping of his heart in his chest as he held her close. This was suddenly all too real, and her heart lurched again to consider the fact that she didn't want to leave the protection of his arms, that this had suddenly gone from a relationship of convenience to one that she desperately needed. "David?"

He pulled away to look into her eyes, and Erin gave him a small smile before gesturing for him to take a seat next to her on the bed. "What is it, stellina?"

She opened her mouth to tell him about the feelings for him changing but found them stick. Swallowing thickly, she took hold of his hand and threaded their fingers together. "Who's watching the children?"

"Helen left work early to make certain that they weren't alone when they got home from school, and then Alan said that he would spend the night and make certain they got to school tomorrow. You have the rest of the week off from work, to recover, and Director Shepperd would like to know if you want Hotch to face any repercussions. Helen was very fierce in her defense of you, and made it clear that my best friend got in your face and upset you to the point where you collapsed."

"No, he's under so much stress with Haley's pregnancy, and having Jason out on leave, and the grief everyone feels over losing a team member. It's a given that he would lash out, and since I'm the one who is easy to take that miasma of feelings out on, well, it was inevitable that he would eventually react poorly. I can play nice, as long as he can do so as well."

David narrowed his eyes a little, as if he didn't believe how diplomatic she was being, and she forced herself to smile. "I suppose that we will leave it there for the moment, then."

"Yes. Will, will you spend the night here with me?"

Erin hated how weak her voice sounded, but relaxed when David nodded. "There is no way that I would leave your side right now, Erin. You need someone here to watch over you."

"I knew there was a reason that I reached out to you when I first found out about my pregnancy." He gave her a small wink as he stretched out a little more on the bed, allowing her to scoot close to his side and rest more of her body on his. There was something so comfortable about this position, and they both let out a small sigh as she spread her hand out on his torso. "David?"

"Yes, stellina?"

She liked that nickname, even though she had no idea what it meant. Somehow, she knew that this was his way of honoring her request for her own pet name, and she teared up a little at its usage. "I don't want this to be a fake relationship. You showed up when I needed you and stayed when you didn't have to. My heart is quickly becoming too tender towards you, and I cannot afford to play pretend, not if the rest of my pregnancy is going to be like this. If, if you can't handle that, please let me know now, so that it doesn't hurt so much to lose the hope of this. Not like it would hurt after she was born."

There was a shimmering silence that sprung up between them as she waited for David to respond, each moment that he didn't say anything seeming longer and longer as she anticipated him rejecting her, of him getting off the bed and leaving her to pick up the pieces of her life that she had destroyed. But then, his arm tightening around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him before he dropped another soft, sweet, kiss to the crown of her head. "When I said that I wouldn't leave you tonight, I suppose that I should have been clearer. I have no intention of leaving your side unless you ask me to, at this point. I find myself thinking about a life that we could have together, with your children and the bambina and a few pets."

"That future sounds so beautiful, David," she said, choking a little on his name.

"And it's a future that we get to explore together."

"Yes." She lifted her face to look at him, and a little sigh slipped from her lips as he looked down. "Kiss me?"

"Are you certain, stellina?"

"Yes." His smile softened into something sweet, and that made Erin sigh with pleasure. "All right." David lowered his face to hers until their lips were pressing together in one of the most tender kisses she had ever experienced. A part of her wanted to deepen the kiss, to show a little more passion, but found that as it lingered on, there was something just so perfect about that moment that she couldn't do anything to change that moment in time. "This isn't what I was expecting."

"No, I wasn't expecting this, either. I had thought that I could lie to Alan, convince him that this was his baby, and that life would be okay." She took a deep breath as she blinked back tears. "I was going to so easily fuck him over the same way that I fucked Alex over, and that would have been so wrong. And maybe it is wrong to tell Aaron that this baby is yours, but I have this horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that he would try to sue for custody and I would never see her again if he was successful. I didn't mean to get pregnant, I don't want to terminate the pregnancy, I just…"

He bundled her closer to his chest, allowing her to cry it out on him as he rubbed her back gently. "You just want to raise this little one in peace. And there might come a time in the future where Aaron can be a part of her life, without all this anger that's in him."

"He's angry because of everything that's happened to him in the last few months, and I don't blame him. I just, I don't know. I hate lying."

"You remember my first wife, yes?" She nodded. "Carolyn loved poetry, especially lesser known poems. And she told me this couplet when I was telling her the same thing. 'A truth that's told with bad intent, Beats all the lies you can invent' was her response, though I can't remember which poet she was quoting. In this case, I think that's what you have to keep in mind. This would be a truth told with bad intent, and so we'll hold it close to our hearts until the time is right to tell him. All right?"

"All right." She yawned deeply, rubbing her cheek against his chest. "Can I go to sleep now?"

"Yeah, Erin, you need to get some rest so that you can leave in the morning, and I can take care of you all day." She chuckled a little before yawning once more and curling up close to her partner, knowing that he would be there to protect her from whatever came next.