"I am so sorry that I'm going to be missing Elise's third birthday, Erin. But this case in Las Vegas, I just, I don't want another parent losing their child."
Erin nodded as she gave him a sad look. "I figured that that would be the case, darling, when I sent this on to Aaron to review. Go, and know that we'll have a small party when you get home. Though you do owe me for having to deal with a dozen toddlers and their parents."
"I have a few ideas in mind of what I could do to make it up to you," he said lowly before closing the distance between them and kissing her softly. "Make certain that you take a lot of pictures of the party, I can't wait to see what our daughter gets, or how she reacts to my present."
Erin cocked her head to one side as she watched him back away from her, a sheepish grin on his face. "What did you do?"
"You'll find out Saturday! I love you!"
Before she could say another word, he had exited the room, giving her a small wave before turning in his heel and striding away. Letting out a long breath, she began to think about what he might have done that would create that reaction in him. There wasn't too much that she would find bad, but she also didn't think that he would really purchase something extravagant when he knew how she felt about spoiling the children. Scratching her temple in irritation, Erin sank down in her chair before turning to her computer and starting to catch up on the paperwork that she had let pile up for the entire week.
A few hours later, when she felt sufficiently caught up, Erin decided to check her email and see if she had received anything of note, smiling to see that Haley had written her. Knowing that she would have more than enough time to read what she had sent and get a little more work done afterwards, Erin clicked on the message, smiling to see that while it was late, she and Jack could come to Elise's party, since Aaron would be out in Nevada with the team. A soft smile spread across her face as she wrote out a short reply to her, letting her know that she would be glad to have them there.
With that out of the way, Erin leaned back in her chair and let out a small sigh, thinking about everything that she had to do before the party on Saturday. Thankfully, it was only Thursday, which meant that she still had two evenings to plan and prepare. Tonight, she knew, she would have to pick up Elise's cake from the baker before heading home. The caterers would take care of everything else, she knew, which was one less thing that she had to worry about. Still, there was decorating the living room, since it appeared that it was going to be rainy and cool on Saturday. She would have much rather preferred to hold the party outside, but knew she couldn't compete against nature.
Pulling out her list of things to do, Erin checked it again to make certain that there wasn't anything else she had to do before heading home for the day, she smiled to see that she had been right in thinking that it was only picking up the cake. Tucking that back in her pocket, she turned back to her computer and began to work on the rest of what she needed to catch up on.
"Did they really drag Agent Jareau out with them on this latest case? She looks like she's ready to give birth!"
Erin turned her chair to look at Helen standing in the doorway, frowning a little. "She was supposed to be starting maternity leave, that was why I approved her asking for Agent Todd to join the team for the length of her leave." Motioning for Helen to take a seat in front of her desk, Erin pulled out her phone and quickly dialed her fiancé, hoping that he would pick up.
"Hey, stellina, what can I do for you?"
"You can tell me that Agent Jareau is here safely in the bullpen, rather than out gallivanting with you on this case. She is past the point of not being able to fly in her current condition!"
He chuckled a little, and Erin could just picture him running his fingers through his hair as he tried to look innocent. "She has already promised us that this will be her last case, but since it involves children, she felt like she had to be here. Don't worry, we're all looking out for her, even as she tries to protest that she doesn't want to be treated with kid gloves. Can I tell you something?"
"I suppose, but I doubt it will make me feel better about the fact that I have an agent within four weeks of delivery out in the field."
David drew in a soft breath, and Erin copied the breath, waiting for him to speak once more. "She reminds me a little of you in the week before you gave birth to Elise. I know that she was a little early, but there just is something that is familiar about her that I remember from you." There was a brief pause, and then she heard him say, "Yeah, Hotch, I'll be right there, just let me wrap up my conversation with Erin. Sorry, babe, we're headed out to the home of the family now. I'll talk to you more later this evening. And again, I love you."
"I love you, too, David. Stay safe out there." She refrained from kissing into the phone, since Helen was still sitting across from her, and ended the call, setting her phone aside as she let out a long breath. "She swears this is her last case before going on maternity leave. I really wish that the BAU was not full of stubborn people who think that they're doing the noble thing by working themselves to the bone and not taking the appropriate time to heal and nest."
Helen snorted a little before covering the sound up with a light cough as Erin glared at her. "I'm sorry, but you should count yourself amongst that number. You not only worked from home through the entirety of your maternity leave, you also returned two weeks early." Erin blushed as she nodded, knowing that Helen had a very valid point, even if she didn't want to admit to it. "Now, is there any way that we can make things easier for Agent Jareau?"
"Not that I can think of. David said that he was reminded of me at the end of my pregnancy, which means that she is likely to chafe if anyone even looks at her the wrong way." Helen laughed as she nodded in agreement. "It will be odd to have her baby born so close to Elise and Jack's birthday. I would never have thought that our children would cluster like this, you know?"
"It is a little odd, but that was because Elise was so eager to meet us! And this way, you can all request for the same weekend to be home, since you have a valid excuse for that to happen."
"There is that, yes." She glanced down at her phone to see that David had sent her a photo via text, and she shook her head a little. "I suppose that's my cue to get back to work. There are definitely not enough hours in the day the rest of this week, so I need to get as much done as possible."
Helen nodded as she got to her feet. "If you need any help, feel free to ask, and I'll do whatever I can."
"Thank you," Erin replied absently as she turned back to her computer and began to work through the files that needed to be finished, knowing that the sooner she got that task accomplished, the sooner she would be headed on her way home to her children and the things she needed to do to prepare for Saturday.