Erin snorted when she thought about how wrong she and Penelope had been when it came to things getting worse during the Fisher King case. Agent Greenaway had ended up shot and nearly died on the operating table, and that news had Erin immediately thinking back to the Bale case when Alpha team had lost Benjamin. Another loss, eighteen months after the first one, would have been extremely devastating to the team, and they might not recover from it this time. She had noticed the way that the shooting had marked the others, though, especially Jason, and knew that there would be a fire that she would have to put out sooner rather than later. She couldn't overlook the rumblings coming from above that the ice her main team was walking on was thinner than ever.

Sighing deeply, she pushed away from her desk and picked up her phone, calling David to talk, since she didn't have any work to focus on at the moment. He picked up at the second ring, and a tired smile spread across her lips when she heard his voice. "Hello, Erin."

"David, it is so good to hear your voice. And before you tell me something about the fact that we just saw each other four hours ago, I know that. I just came out of a two hour meeting with the Director, though, and I needed to hear your voice telling me that everything is going to be all right."

"Do you want me to bring Elise and have lunch with you?"

"Oh, would you?"

"All you had to do was ask, stellina. We'll be there in forty."

"Thank you. Though if you want to take a little longer and pick up that delicious Monte Cristo from the deli I love, I would be perfectly fine with that, too." She listened to him chuckle, finding her heart lifting at the sound. "And this will give us the opportunity to discuss what we want to do for Elise's first birthday. I'd like to have my parents there, and to be able to meet your sisters."

"We'll talk about that when we get there, Erin."

She laughed a little as she nodded. "I suppose that I can wait until then. But hurry?"

"I'll go as fast as the speed limit and the line at the deli allows. See you soon."

Erin kissed into the phone before hanging up and pulling the report on Agent Greenaway's current mental status. She had some misgivings about her returning back to work so soon, but Aaron had made the case that it had been four months since her being released from the hospital and that she was strong enough now to at least be on desk duty. It was clear that he wanted her to feel like she was still a vibrant member of the team, and a part of her agreed with him, even if she did have misgivings about the assessment. Every member of the BAU knew the right answer to give to psych evaluations, and to use the psychiatrist in a way that would get them the results they wanted. She knew that that was how Jason had returned after his six month leave, and was the reason why she was still keeping an eye on him. Letting out a little sigh, she returned to her work, losing herself in it.

David cleared his throat loudly, getting her attention some time later, and she looked up quickly to smile at him. "That didn't take too long."

"It's been an hour, traffic was a little heavy around the deli." She nodded as she got to her feet and reached out for Elise. Her daughter snuggled in close to her side, and Erin pressed a soft kiss to her cheek as she rubbed her back. "How are things here?"

"Frustrating. I find myself having to keep a closer eye on Alpha, because Director Shepperd has already hinted that there could be trouble down the line if there are any more incidents." She held Elise closer to her chest as she let out a sigh, making her way over to the table where David was setting out their food. "Did Aaron see you?"

"No, Helen played lookout for us, and we managed to sneak in here unseen. I'll use her again to make my exit. But are you really certain that you want to continue keeping the truth from him?"

"Given the state of things between us at this moment, I really don't want to rock that boat. Maybe one day it will feel right to come clean. Even if I do feel a little guilty about this."

"That's why I asked, Erin. I can see the way the guilt eats at you, and I just don't want you to start making rash decisions as a result." She leaned over and kissed his cheek tenderly before taking a seat and balancing Elise on her thigh as she picked up her coffee with her free hand and took a sip. "I hope I got that right. I know that you have a special order from the coffee shop, but…"

"You drink your coffee as black as your soul?" she teased. He nodded and gave her a cheeky wink before taking a drink of his own coffee. "Though you should be drinking straight milk if that were the case. Because you've been so good for me. For us." Erin blinked back tears as she picked up her sandwich and took a bite before dipping it in the raspberry preserves and taking another bite. As they ate, she and David started to make plans for Elise's party, and she found herself becoming more and more relaxed now that she had her partner and baby with her.

"You seem a lot more at ease now," he murmured as he brought out a large cupcake, cutting it in half with a knife before handing a fork over to her. "I like it when you're this way."

"I like it to be this way, too. But there's just so much pressure coming from all sides to be perfect, and I think that Alpha team is not going to like the way I'll have to be cracking down quite soon. They get good results, but that's not everything." She took the fork from his hand and flaked off a large bite. "This is heaven in a sweet."

"Yeah, the clerk reminded me that you love that flavor, so I added it to our order. I thought that if we shared, it wouldn't be quite so decadent."

"True, yes. These are the best treat, even after a heavy sandwich like I just had."

A soft knocking at the door caused her to look over, and she smiled at her assistant, beckoning her inside. "I just wanted to let David know that Agent Hotchner has just returned from his lunch. I'm assuming that he'll be headed right up to his office, which means that you have a window of about twenty minutes to get out of here unseen."

"Thanks, Helen. Did you want to see how big Elise has gotten?" Erin said as she beckoned her assistant over to their sides. She nodded and scurried over to them, a wide grin on her face. Elise started to babble away at the woman, reaching out her pudgy little hands to tap at her face, and Erin laughed a little to see her daughter play, glad that she had the support of her assistant in keeping Elise safe and away from Aaron's notice.