Erin was almost ready to head out to lunch when Helen came into her office, a nervous grin on her lips. Erin knew that this meant there had been a break in the Foyet case, and she wondered why David had contacted her. Frowning a little, she indicated for Helen to take a seat in front of her desk while she fished her phone out of her purse and scrolled through her notifications to see if she had missed something while she had been working on compiling the data for the next quarter's budget. There wasn't anything from him, however, and her frown deepened as she splayed her hand out on her baby bump and fixed a look on Helen. "All right, what's happened?"
Helen smiled widely before leaning forward, placing her hands on Erin's desk as she drew in a deep breath. "Ms. Garcia managed to figure out which medication that Foyet is on cannot be duplicated, and after she came back to the conference room with that information, Doctor Reid was able to figure out that he was using an alias to get that prescription, and things just sort of snowballed from there. Agent Morgan decided to call in SWAT, and they're going to case the apartment building that was listed as his alias's residence. Hopefully, luck will be on our side, and we can actually catch this bastard before he gets away again."
"That is good news, indeed," she replied letting out a long breath as she rubbed her stomach, finding that the baby was starting to kick up a storm, reminding Erin that she was hungry, since it always seemed that she became more active when Erin hadn't eaten in a while. "And I'm glad that Agent Morgan decided to do the smart thing and call in SWAT rather than head over to the apartment building with the team. I know that the Director would have had a field day if that choice had been made."
"I know, Erin, and I agree. Maybe they're starting to wisen up a little?"
"From your lips to God's ears, Helen." Wincing a little, Erin managed to get herself to her feet and went over to the coat tree, slipping into her coat before tying the belt around her waist into a loose bow. "Now, I am going to head out for lunch, and get my daily exercise in. Will you please call me if anything pressing occurs before I return?"
"Of course. But, are you going to be heading out alone?" Erin glared at her as she went back to her desk and grabbed her purse, stuffing her phone inside it before roughly yanking the zipper closed. "I'm sorry, I have to ask! You know how protective Agent Rossi is of you, and I also wouldn't hear the end of it from Agent Hotchner if something happened to you."
"I'm sorry?"
"Yeah, he's been asking after you, when you're occupied in meetings or out at appointments. I know, I probably should have said something to you, but I thought it was rather endearing that he would see if you were doing all right. It just goes to show how much he's changed since you found out you were pregnant with Elise."
"I suppose that you do have a point, Helen." Erin relaxed a little as she gave her assistant a warm smile. "I will be back shortly, I'm just going to that little café right down the road." Helen nodded and then followed Erin out of her office, taking a seat behind her own desk as she got back to work. "Helen, it's lunch time. Go and eat."
"I'll just eat here."
Erin narrowed her eyes a little before shaking her head. "If you're going to be stubborn like that…"
"I have to be prepared, just in case there's a break that you need to know about. As soon as you get back, then I'll take a proper break, I promise."
She nodded reluctantly before leaving the office and heading over to the elevators. "Erin, wait up!"
Turning a little, Erin smiled tiredly at David, welcoming him in her space as she pressed the down button. "I'm heading out for lunch, darling. You have to stay here, just in case something happens with the Foyet case. I know that when breaks happen, you need to move on them quickly."
He nodded before reaching out and caressing her shoulder gently. "I know, I just wanted to touch base with you for a moment. I feel like we haven't seen much of each other in the last few days. Are you doing okay?"
Erin drew in a tired breath as she nodded. "I'm fine, I just feel a little more tired at the moment. Which is probably a result of the stress of this case and the fact that it's so late in my pregnancy. Though a part of me wishes that all my children were yours, because this is the easiest pregnancy I've had." He chuckled before pressing a quick kiss to her temple as the elevator doors slid open. "Now, I'm assuming that none of you have stopped for food. Am I correct?"
"Yes."
"Take the team's sandwich orders for our café, and I'll put the order in while I'm eating, so that it will be ready when I leave, and you all don't have to worry about stopping to think about a detail like that."
"Make certain you put it on our credit card."
"I was going to write it off as an office expense. I hardly ever use my food budget after all, and this would be for the best cause. Okay?"
He nodded and pulled away from her a little so that she could get in the elevator, giving him a small wave before pressing the button for the ground floor. It was surprising just how she felt better for seeing her fiancé, even if only for a few moments, but she knew that being so connected to him for the last five years had bound them much closer together than she could ever have imagined. Humming happily to herself as the elevator descended, Erin rubbed her stomach, thinking about how close they were to meeting this little one. While she was at the point where the baby had a good chance of survival if born at any time past that day, she also knew that every hour she kept their last little princess inside, the stronger she would become.
"Erin, I did not realise you were pregnant again!"
She turned to see who was addressing her, and smiled to see Katie Cole stepping out of the stairwell, an easy grin on her face. "Where have you been for the last seven months?" she joked as they made their way out to the sidewalk. "But this will definitely be the last little Rossi child. I don't think my body would like it if I tried to have another little one."
"Well, hopefully this little one is as adorable as Elise is. Dave was showing off pictures in the elevator the other day, and I can't get over how she's so perfect."
"I was very blessed, yes," she replied softly. "Are you headed to the café?"
"Yeah, you?" Erin nodded. "Excellent! I feel like we haven't had much opportunity to catch up in a while, so it will be nice to have a short lunch with you."
"As long as you don't mind my showing off more pictures of all my children." Katie shook her head, giving her a wide smile as they continued to make their way to the café, chatting about the things that were inconsequential in order to take their minds off what they saw every day at work.