"You didn't have to come with me today. I know that you have paperwork and editing to do on the new introduction to your book."
"And that can wait, Erin. I missed so many of these appointments when you were pregnant with Elise, that I want to get to as many of these checkups as I can with this little one. I know, I missed the last one, so do you think that we could find out the sex of our baby?"
Erin tried to hide her smile behind her hand, since she had found that out last time, and gave him a small nod. "I kept it to myself, since you mentioned that you wanted to come to this appointment if you were home. Even though I don't need you to be here."
He chuckled as he nodded, helping her to her feet. At almost six months pregnant, she was starting to feel ungainly and awkward, so the help was much appreciated. "I will always be there for you, stellina, because you're carrying around my heart in your heart." She sighed and tipped her cheek upwards for him to kiss. David obliged her with a quick peck as he helped her into her trench coat.
"Time for your next scan already?" Helen asked as they left her office, and she nodded as she smiled at her assistant. "This pregnancy has truly flown by so quickly!"
"I think that's because it's an easier pregnancy. I was expecting this to be a lot like Leelee's pregnancy, but this is more like when I was pregnant with Karen. Which is exactly what I need at this point in my life, since I'm firmly middle aged." Looking up at David, Erin let out a little sigh before looking at Helen once more. "I don't think that we're coming back to the office today, so forward any important calls to my cellphone."
"Of course, Erin. I hope that everything goes well for you!"
She nodded and allowed David to guide her out to the elevators, his arm around her waist holding her close as they waited for the car to arrive. "Headed to the doctor?"
Erin looked up to see Aaron standing there, a pained look on his face, as if he was imagining that he and Haley were in that position. "We are. I'm sorry to steal David away from you for the rest of the afternoon, but he insisted on going to this scan. I'm twenty three weeks along already, which doesn't seem possible."
"You look like you're having twins, honestly." His face turned a bit red with embarrassment, and Erin swallowed her laugh as she reached out and patted his shoulder.
"I've asked my ob a dozen times if that was what was going on, but she assures me that this is just one baby who has decided that they need this extra room to grow. Though that isn't impacting their growth. This baby is actually measuring a tiny bit small, which is what we're checking on today."
His face took on a concerned cast as he stepped a little closer to their side. "Do you need anything?"
"We'll be fine, or at least that's what I'm praying for. Though you're welcome to come over for supper tonight. It will be the whole family, since Alan is away on a business trip for the next two weeks, but I know that they wouldn't mind seeing you. And call Jessica, too, we can make it a true family affair."
"I will call her and see if she's free. Six, right?"
"Yes." The elevator doors opened, and Erin stepped inside, giving Aaron a warm smile as David pressed the button for the ground floor. "It's lasagna night, so whether it's both of you, or just yourself, there will be enough. Have a good afternoon."
Once the doors were closed, Erin sagged against David a little, rubbing her stomach absently. "You're more worried about the growth lag than you're letting on, aren't you?"
"That obvious?" He nodded. "All right, yes. I just haven't said anything to you about it because I want the focus to be on Aaron and finding Foyet. I'm self-reliant…"
"Hotch would argue the same damn thing about himself," David interrupted, and she smacked his chest lightly. "I'm just saying!"
"I know, but I just want to keep the course steady, and focusing my worry on someone outside myself helps with that. I need things to stay that way, until they're here. Okay?"
He nodded before tightening his arm around her waist and tugging her closer to his chest. "I will try very hard to remember that, Erin." She nodded as a soft silence fell over them and she contented herself with holding tightly to his hand as they went over to his car. On the drive to the doctor's office, she turned up the radio, letting the music wash over her as she absently rubbed her bump. "All right, we're here."
She looked up with a start to see that they had indeed arrived, and she shook her head a little as she climbed out of the car and waited for him to join her. Soon enough, he was taking hold of her hand and they were walking into the office together. Surprisingly, Erin was ushered right back to a room, but after glancing at her watch, she saw that there was only two minutes until her appointment was scheduled to begin. "You drove slow today, David."
"I have precious cargo to take care of, Erin," he replied, giving her a small wink. Rolling her eyes, Erin shoved her purse into his arms as she started to strip off her clothes before getting into the front closing gown, tying it closed before awkwardly sitting on the exam table to wait for Doctor Brunner to appear. "I also cannot wait to rub coconut oil into your skin tonight. I know how much you love…"
The door to her exam room opened suddenly, and they sprung away from each other, Erin letting out a startled giggle, feeling foolish at their reaction. "Oh, good, you were able to make it, Dave! Ready to find out what your partner already knows?"
He nodded as the doctor began to examine her, and Erin gave him a little wink as he helped her to recline backwards. Doctor Brunner spread apart the gown over her baby bump to place the ultrasound gel there. "I will never grow accustomed to how cold that feels to me," she murmured as the ultrasound machine was wheeled closer to them.
"Here we go," Doctor Brunner said cheerily as she turned the machine on and ran the wand over Erin's stomach. The quiet woosh filled the room, and David's hand tightened around hers as they watched the monitor. "It looks like your baby is still tracking about three or four days behind where she should be, but that's not something that we have to be worried about necessarily. We could have estimated the date of conception wrong."
"I'm sorry, she?" David asked, a look of wonder on his face as he gazed at the image of their baby on the monitor. "We're having another little girl?"
"We are. I hope that you're not disappointed."
He tore his eyes away from their baby to look at her, tears sparkling in his eyes. "How could I be disappointed with my daughter? She'll be the fourth little reflection of you, so that I can see my beloved reflected in the faces of her children." Reaching up, he caressed her cheek lightly before focusing on the monitor once more. "Is everything else looking good there, Doctor Brunner?"
"Everything else looks perfect. But now comes your least favorite part."
She nodded and took a deep breath as she fumbled for David's hand. "I'll be closing my eyes again. I trust you to make certain that everything goes well with the amnio." Doctor Brunner nodded as she patted Erin's knee, getting everything ready for the procedure. "I know, it has to be ridiculous, David. I can shoot a target, I can shoot a duck for Mudgie to retrieve, but I can't watch the doctor stick a needle into my stomach."
"You can't help what unnerves you, and you have me to hold your hand while it happens. Oh, our little bambina will be here in seventeen short weeks, and I cannot wait to meet her. Though I'm selfishly hoping that she has blonde hair like you." He leaned in and kissed her forehead softly as they waited for the doctor to return, and she found herself grateful to have her fiancé by her side in that moment, as it was that much easier for her to go through the amnio with him there. She still sent up a quick prayer that everything would be all right with their daughter, hoping that the test results would come back as normal.