The next thing Erin was aware of was the sound of machines beeping in her ears. Groaning a little, she opened her too heavy eyes, quickly closing them when the lights overhead stabbed at her eyes. It seemed that once she was aware of her surroundings, her body began to inform her what it was experiencing, and that was overwhelming pain. Her shoulder ached from where Foyet had shot her, and strangely, her stomach hurt.

Trying to sit up, Erin immediately noticed that her stomach was flat, the baby bump that she had been growing for the last seven months gone. A franticness began to fill her mind as she awkwardly shifted around on the bed, using her one good arm to get her into as best of a seated position as she could manage as she looked around for David, Aaron, anyone. Finding herself alone, Erin burst into sobs as she heard the machines that she was hooked up to start to clang with warnings. Moments later, the door to her room opened, and a few nurses rushed in, Penelope close behind them. Ignoring the health care workers, she focused her gaze on Penelope, holding out her good arm as she continued to sob, Erin welcomed the heavy feel of Penelope's body against hers as she struggled to get control of her emotions.

"I need you to step back for a few moments, ma'am, so that we can get her vitals taken, and ask a few questions." The taller nurse gave Erin an understanding smile, and she nodded in response as she nudged Penelope away, even though she was loathe to lose the comfort of her touch, since she was the only familiar face there at that moment. "All right, Erin, you are awake sooner than we thought you might be, given your blood loss, but it is good to see that you're back with us. It was touch and go for quite some time, as the bullet nicked the artery in your shoulder. While you were in surgery to repair that wound, your baby was found to be in distress, and it was felt that it was in both of your best interests if we proceeded with an emergency c-section."

"And, and my baby?" she asked hesitantly, her uninjured arm sliding down to stroke the place where her baby had been just a short while ago. A part of her was fearful to hear what the nurse had to say, since this baby was so much earlier than Elise had been. The nurse gave her a tense smile, which she automatically assumed meant the worst, and she nodded as she rubbed her lips together, falling quiet as they finished taking her vitals and checking the wound on her shoulder. "How long was I unconscious?"

"Only about three hours after your surgeries, Erin. And those took four hours, so it's almost seven now." Penelope's voice was welcome to her ears, and she nodded as the nurses left the room. It was good to be alone, so that she could break down with only one other person to judge her for doing so. "Helen won't be here until tomorrow, she's holding down the fort back at the office, along with Director Shepperd and the Red Cell team. There will be an inquiry in two weeks' time, which the Director thinks will be sufficient for you to heal and lead said inquiry."

"I can't do that, I was directly involved," she began to protest as Penelope sank down on the mattress next to her.

"The Director seems to think that there won't be that large a conflict of interest, especially given how tough you've been on our team in the past. Plus, and you did not hear this from me, I think that he knows what he wants the outcome of the inquiry to be, especially given the nature of how the Reaper died. Rossi will fill you in on all the icky details, but suffice it to say, we don't need to worry about him coming back to hunt our team once more. Now, I noticed that the nurse didn't answer your question, and you didn't press for answers, before she left."

"I assumed that meant that my baby didn't make it."

Penelope shook her head as she gave Erin a watery smile. "I wish that there was an easy way to hug you without hurting you at the moment. Hotch, at least, wasn't as badly injured as you were, even though he did take a beating from Foyet."

Erin nodded as she groped around for Penelope's hand, finally starting to wonder where David was. "And…?"

"And you have an incredibly strong daughter who inherited her fighting spirit from her mother. That's why Rossi and Hotch aren't here with you now. They're up in the NICU with her right now, and if I had to hazard a guess, your partner is probably helping him talk about his grief."

"Aaron doesn't talk about his feelings. He's like me, keeping them close to the vest," she whispered as she allowed her head to come to rest against Penelope's shoulder as she took a few deep breaths. "Were you able to see our daughter?"

"No, they whisked her away before I was able to get here. Once I did arrive, Hotch left your side to go be with Rossi, since he didn't want to leave you alone. The others on the team are still at Hotch's house, since it's considered a federal crime scene, and someone needs to gather all the data for our reports."

Erin nodded as she tried to take in all the information that she was being given. It was almost too much to take in, but still, she needed to know what had happened after she had been shot. "I know that I'll hear more what happened today during the inquest, but I need to know from you what went down."

"I'll tell you as much as I know. I was in the office while the others were out trying to track down Foyet, though we were all on the phone to overhear Hotch and Foyet talking."

Erin felt the blood drain from her face as she pulled away a little in order to look into Penelope's eyes. "No."

"Yeah, everyone now knows that Elise is definitely Hotch's daughter. No one's really said anything about it yet, because of everything that's happened, but yeah. I know that's not how you would have wanted the news to come out, but we needed some way of finding out where Foyet had brought Haley and Jack. Something that one of you said clued us all in, but we still didn't get there until after Foyet was dead. I sent an ambulance over, just in case one or both of you had survived, and I am so glad that I did, since that was what saved your life, and your daughter's. Hotch, well, he beat Foyet to death, according to Derek. The back of his head was just…pulp. I don't blame Hotch for what he did, he was protecting you and the children. He knew that Foyet had to be taken care of, otherwise he would finish what he started with Haley and you."

Erin nodded slowly, feeling a bone crushing weariness starting to fill her senses. "I see," she murmured. "Will you, will you please send my David to me now? I need him."

"Of course, Erin. I'll be right back with him." Before she could protest, Penelope bent in and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek before popping to her feet and scurrying from room, leaving Erin alone with her thoughts and worries.