As soon as Director Shepperd had heard her near tears, he had agreed to allow her request to work from home. Only, not just for the day, but for the rest of the week, saying that family was most important at a time like this. Erin had been so grateful for his kindness, and as she packed up her bag with the first bit of work that she would need for that afternoon, she began to tell Helen what she would need while she was away from the office.

"Are you certain that you don't need me to do anything more for you, Erin?"

"No, but thank you. I just need some time to be with Elise and try not to worry about what comes next."

Helen nodded, her eyes shining with tears. "May, may I hug you?" Erin nodded and braced herself for the embrace she knew was coming. To her surprise, the hug was soft, tender, as if Helen knew that she didn't need to be enveloped in an embrace to know that her assistant cared deeply for her. "My wife and I, we'll say a prayer for Elise when I get home. And if you need anything, anything at all, we're here for you."

"Thank you," she murmured as she patted Helen's back a few times before stepping away from her side. "Now, before I start to cry once more, I am going to head home. I've already texted Haley to let her know that she's free to come over, and David to let him know that I'll be home for lunch. I'll see you tonight for file handovers."

"All right," Helen replied as she stepped away from Erin, swiping quickly at her eyes. "Drive safely."

"I will." Erin smiled a little as she shouldered her attaché case and purse. Nodding at Helen, she made her way out of the office, only to find herself running into Ms. Garcia as she went over to the elevators. She hoped that the woman wouldn't notice her red rimmed eyes, but from the sad look she gave her, Erin knew that that was a lost cause, and she once more braced herself for an effusive display of emotion.

"Ma'am, is everything all right?"

"I'm not feeling well, so the Director has allowed me to work from home for the rest of the week. And while I would love to chat about this with you, I need to get home so I can eat and then go to sleep."

"Of course, ma'am. And if there's anything that I can do…"

"I can call you. Thank you, Helen has also volunteered to do that as well. But I think that David is quite able to take care of all our needs." The elevator doors opened, and she stepped inside, pressing the button for the ground floor before waving a little at her as the doors closed. As soon as she was alone, Erin allowed her shoulders to sag as she took a few deep breath, trying to calm her racing thoughts and heart. She wished that she could have called David to bring her home, but he had to deal with getting Elise home safely. Which meant she had to suck it up and get home safely. Elise needed both of her parents in that moment, and she knew that she had to be extremely careful as she drove home.

Still, she couldn't remember a single thing about the drive, only that she was pulling into their driveway mere moments before Haley turned in behind her. Parking in the garage, Erin took a deep breath and made her way inside, making a beeline for the living room, knowing that David would be there with Elise. He looked up at her, his eyes red-rimmed from crying. "Stellina."

"I know. Haley's right behind me, so if you want to go let her inside. I need to hold my baby." He nodded as he got to his feet, handing Elise to her before wrapping her up in a tight hug and kissing her forehead fiercely. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he whispered before making his way out of the room. Erin let out a deep sigh as she snuggled Elise close to her chest, pressing kiss after kiss to the side of her head as she waited for Haley to join them. "The little man is getting so big already!"

"Yes, he is growing like a weed. It's hard to believe that they're fourteen months already, it seems like they were born yesterday. You can take him out of the car seat and hold him if you want, while we talk." Haley focused her gaze on Erin and Elise, coming over to their side and reaching out to rub her shoulder as she nodded, tears filling her eyes. "How are you holding up?"

"Not well. You know that I just got home, so I know nothing more than what I told you over the phone." Haley nodded as she gestured towards the sofa with her head. As Erin took a seat, Haley sank down next to her, a placid smile on her lips. She wondered how she could even be smiling at a time like this, but then remembered that Haley knew exactly what they were going through, and had made it through to the other side. "You said that this is a hereditary condition?"

"Yes. If it is an atrioventricular septal defect." David nodded, and Haley let out what sounded like a breath of relief to Erin's ears. "That's what Jack had, and it is easily corrected. I just wish that I had reached out to contact you in May, so that this could have been corrected sooner. And if it's not getting repaired until the new year, then it's not as large a problem as it was for Jack, and his was mild. So, I know it's not the best news, and that surgery always has its risks, you can relax a little."

The breath that Erin felt escape her lungs was so sweet, and she nodded as she adjusted how she was holding Elise, allowing Haley to get her first good look at her daughter. "That really sets my heart at ease, Haley. Thank you for being willing to come over and talk about this. Erin and I were both going a little out of our minds with worry."

"It's easy enough to do. I'm certain Aaron called you a few times when we were going through it with Jackers. We all need to reach out and find the people who can help us at times like these." Haley swallowed a few times before reaching out and stroking Elise's face softly. "And I really need to apologise to you both. My behaviour when Aaron told me that Erin was pregnant with Elise was histrionic. I want to say that it was against my nature, but…"

"You're a live wire," David replied, chuckling a little.

Haley nodded and shrugged. "I inherited that from my dad. Pop off quickly and then regret what I said later. I've been working on it, but lately, with Aaron gone so much, and Jack getting bigger, and the team going through so much upheaval, well, it's been easy to get angrier and angrier. It doesn't excuse the behaviour, but it might help explain it?"

Erin smiled as she nodded in return. "It does. I'm reticent to share with others, which is why I was so overwhelmed when Aaron just told you everything before he told me what he'd done."

A bright flush spread across Haley's face as she looked away from them to stare down into her lap. "Yes, well, I should have never contacted your ex-husband. I was just so furious and terrified that Aaron would leave me and I'd have no one to turn to. I haven't worked since he got his law degree, since I didn't have to. My fear made me a bitch, and I'm truly sorry for that."

"I accept your apology," Erin replied as Elise started to babble away in her arms. "Do you think that they'd like to play together for a little while? And you're free to stay for supper, since the team just left on the case."

"That would be really nice," Haley replied, and Erin smiled, feeling like maybe, just maybe, this small health crisis would help bring them all together.