"I thought we were heading home, David?" she asked when he turned down the road that led away from her home.
"We are, but it's my place. I hope that you don't mind. Though I'm surprised that you didn't see the children's bags in the trunk, which I thought was a dead giveaway."
She shook her head as she curled up into the passenger seat, listening to her kids talk between themselves as David continued to drive. There was something soothing about it, and she allowed her eyes to flutter closed as the voices of her children lulled her into a light sleep. A few minutes later, she felt warm lips press against her forehead and her cheeks, and she blinked her eyes open to see that they were in a large garage. "Have we arrived, then?"
"Yes, and the kids have already brought everything inside. I wanted to let you have a little more sleep, since I know that we walked a lot this afternoon."
"The exercise is good for me," she said as she took hold of his hand and allowed him to help her out of the vehicle and into the house. Breathing in, she could smell food baking, and she frowned a little as she looked up at him. "You let me sleep long enough to start food?"
"No, I had Karen call your favorite restaurant once you were out, and we picked up a meal before heading here. Helen should be by in about forty minutes to drop off your car and any paperwork that we need to work on this evening."
"When did she know that you were bringing me here?" she asked as they entered the kitchen, and she smiled to see that the children had already set the island with plates for all of them.
"When I called to inform her that I was taking you out this afternoon. Because I have a few questions to ask you tonight, once the kids have gone to bed."
She nodded as she carefully boosted herself up ono the barstool, picking up her glass of water and taking a few sips before smiling around at her family. The meal went smoothly, and just as they were finishing up, Helen dropped everything off, giving her a quick hug before leaving. As she brought the paperwork into the living room, she saw that David was already working through the files that had been in her bag, and she shook her head as she took a seat next to him, reviewing the work he had done before signing off on them and shoving them back into her bag.
"All right, everything is done here, what do you have to ask me?"
David got up and held out his hand expectantly. Frowning, she allowed him to pull her to her feet and then lead her upstairs. "There was one thing that I forgot, which was fresh clothes for tomorrow, so it's a good thing that you allowed me to purchase you some things that you swore you didn't need. While you've been busy at work, I've been busy with an interior decorator. I tried to go as neutral as possible, since we don't know for certain if you're having a boy or a girl yet, no matter what you feel in your heart."
She frowned a little as he guided her down the hall to a room at the end, only to gasp in pleased shock to see that David had turned the room into a nursery fit for a royal baby. "You managed to do this in the span of a few weeks?"
"I wanted to have it completed when I asked you my question, because I wanted to prove that the baby would have a place here, along with your kids. I know that it would be a large change, that Alan might be angry because this will put him farther away from his children."
Erin turned to look up into his face, reaching her hand out to cup his cheek. "Out with it, darling. What has you so flustered?"
"I want you to live here with me. I can keep a better eye on you, I can make certain that the kids get off to school so that you don't have to worry about doing that and getting to work on time. Of course, they'll stay in their schools, and I'll either hire a driver or take them myself when I'm not away on a book signing. I just feel that if we're going to make this work, we need to be together as much as possible. After all, you're carrying my baby, we're in a relationship, it would look weird to everyone watching us if we just lived separate lives?"
She gave him a small nod before turning to look at the nursery once more. He had gone to such great lengths to ensure that this would be a good place for her baby, that everything they could possibly need for her when she arrived was already in place, that she knew that she couldn't tell him anything but yes. Drifting over to the crib, she caressed the quilt that was laid over it in anticipation for the baby to come and burst into tears. "Was this yours?"
"Once upon a time, yes. And then, for a short time, it was James's. And now, it will be this one's, when they come home from the hospital. Does this mean that you'll stay here?"
"I want to say yes, but I have to ask my children first. They are my first priority, and always will be, no matter how tender my heart is towards you. Please, tell me that you understand that?"
He joined her by the crib and wrapped her in his arms. "I do, and I thought that was what your answer would be. Go in and ask before you come back to me here."
She let out a little sigh as she nodded, rising up on her tiptoes so that she could kiss him. Now that she had tasted his lips, she knew that it would be difficult to keep from kissing him any chance that she could. "I will be back, hopefully with the answer that you want, shortly." Kissing him once more, she turned on her heel and left the nursery before looking through the rooms on that floor, finding the master bedroom first, smiling at the sight of the large bed. Finally, she heard voices and opened a door to find all three of her children sitting on one bed, chatting animatedly.
"Mom! Did Dave ask you yet?" Tabitha asked.
"Ask me what?"
"If we wanted to move in here with him, of course!" Karen gave her that patient smile she had picked up from Erin, and she shook her head a little. "Oh, come on, we're not going to live in a mansion? I've already started bragging to my friends about our new home."
Erin felt her shoulders sag a little as she smiled at them tenderly. "I assumed that you would rather want to live with your father, since everything happened so quickly with the divorce and the baby."
"We've told you before, Mom. You're happier now. And when you're happy, we're happy. So, go give him the good news for us, will you?" Bruce gave her a small wink before they shooed her out of the room, and she laughed as she slipped out of the room and made her way back to the nursery, seeing that David was seated in the rocking chair, a knowing smirk on his lips.
"You already asked them, didn't you?"
"I talked to them about the future that I wanted for us all, yes, and they agreed that as long as I kept you happy, they would learn to get along with me as best they could and not cause any problems. Plus, I think that they are going to enjoy the perks of living with a famous author, since that means bragging rights."
She nodded as she came over to his side and curled up in his lap, resting her head on his shoulder as she curled her arm around his neck. "Oh, you do think of everything, don't you? I am so lucky that we've managed to put our petty differences behind us so that you were able to support me in my time of need. So, when do we start moving our things over?"
"I've hired movers for Monday."
"That confident, Rossi?" she needled, and he nodded. "Good. You are the good that I needed in my life." Erin promptly burst into tears, and burrowed closer to him as he rocked them gently, humming lightly in her ear as he sought to soothe her.